Page 45 of Storm Warning

“Ingenious,” Iona said. “How sure are you that Christopher is being abused?”

“Ninety percent sure.” Andre glanced at Elias. “What about you?”

“Yeah, I feel the same.” He frowned. “If we had more time, we could investigate deeper. The way things are shaking out, though, we’ll have to leave the investigation to Zane and Brent.”

Riley studied them. “What would you need to do the job yourselves?”

Andre pushed aside his empty plate. “Medical records, police reports if there are any, eyewitness accounts of incidents, any testimonies offered, things like that.”

“I’ll see if I can find anything like that in between my other searches.”

“That would be great if you could. Zane is on it, but he’s juggling other tasks, including being our tech and communication support on this mission. Any information you run down, send him a copy so the two of you don’t duplicate each other’s efforts.”

She blinked. “That’s a good point. I’ll contact Zane and coordinate our searches. If he hasn’t already started on it, I’d like to focus on Christopher’s medical records.”

After they cleaned up and brewed another pot of coffee, Andre and Riley went to the security room for the first night watch while Iona and Elias went to their rooms to sleep.

Dropping into the seat in front of the computer screens with camera views of the surrounding area, Andre studied each one, committing it to memory in case something changed during their watch. When the sun rose, he and Elias would walk the perimeter around the cabin and memorize the area while planning where to place surprises for unwanted visitors.

Riley set her computer down on the table next to Andre. “I’ll get coffee. Do you want anything else?”

“Not at the moment. Want help?”

“I’ve got it.” She brushed a light kiss over his mouth and left the security room.

He turned back to the computer screens and resumed his study of the camera views. This area of Tennessee was beautiful and filled with bushes and trees. All of them created great places to hide from the cameras. Might be worth setting up a few cameras that were more hidden.

Riley returned and placed a large to-go cup of coffee on the table by his hand.

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

Her cheeks flamed. “You’re welcome.”

“What’s in your cup?”

“Not coffee.” She sat beside Andre. “I chose hot chocolate again.”

He studied her for a moment. “Comfort drink, huh?”

Riley booted up her laptop. “Is that a problem?” She sounded defensive.

“Nope. Just observing.” And making note that his woman was still having difficulty with something. Not sure if the problem stemmed from Riley’s kidnapping or the possibility of Chris being the victim of abuse, something Riley seemed to know too much about from firsthand experience.

Once again, he considered looking into her background. Almost immediately, he concluded that he still wanted her to tell him. Didn’t seem fair to dig into her file. Andre longed for Riley to tell him herself, to trust him enough to divulge the secrets of her past.

It all went back to trust. Even though Riley was moving in the right direction, she hadn’t yet reached the point where she trusted him with everything, and that’s what he wanted from her. Everything. He was crazy about this woman. He’d been moving slowly, giving her time. Holding back was becomingmore difficult by the minute. Sometime soon, he’d slip up, and he was afraid of how she’d react.

“Are you okay?”

His head whipped toward her. “Sure. Why?”

“You haven’t moved in five minutes. That’s not like you.”

“I’m fine.”

“If you say so.” She turned back to her laptop and typed.

He had to get his mind back on task. His personal relationship with Riley would have to simmer in the background until their current problems were resolved.