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“You have no idea what I’ve been through. Having Anthony Caruso attempt to kill me isn’t the worst I’ve suffered.” She told herself to shut up before she found herself blubbering about her past.
    The last thing she wanted or needed was Jonah’s sympathy.
    “You’re right, Mallory. I don’t know everything you’ve suffered. But I do know about my own experience.” There was a long pause before he continued. “Drew was my partner. He was a few years older than me, and he taught me everything I needed to know about being a cop.”
    The stark agony in his eyes made her wish she’d never asked about his nightmare. She knew, only too well, how reliving the past only made it harder to forget.
    “One day, we caught this kid running drugs. He was young, barely eleven, and I wanted the guy who was pulling the strings on this kid. Drew wanted to haul him in, but I convinced him to try it my way first. The kid was so young, and he looked up at me with big eyes, telling me he’d show us where he was supposed to take the money. I believed him. Drew tried to talk me out of it, but I insisted. The kid led us right into a trap.”
    She gasped, the scene so vivid she felt as if she was right there with him.
    “And when the shooting started, I instinctively protected the kid who’d betrayed us, leaving my partner open. He died as a result of my actions.” Jonah’s expression was grim as he faced her. “So while I don’t know what you’ve been through, Mallory, I do know that God can help carry a heavy burden.”
    A long silence stretched between them, and she had no idea what to say. But she realized that Jonah’s past was just as difficult to live with as hers.
    Jonah reached out to touch the Bible. “Without faith, I would never have made it through the worst time of my life.”
    She gave a helpless shrug. “I guess I just don’t understand how believing in God helps.”
    “It’s hard to explain,” he admitted. “But I can tell you that God doesn’t abandon us when we need Him. He’s there for us, always.”
    She didn’t believe God was there for her. Not back when she was seventeen, or when Caruso’s thug tried to kill her.
    Unless God had sent Jonah to save her?
    No, she didn’t really believe that, and this wasn’t the time or place to argue with Jonah over religion.
    “Maybe at some point, you’ll give it a try,” Jonah said. “However, right now, we need to think of some way to get evidence against Caruso.”
    She was glad he let the subject drop. “I went back over the night of the fundraiser, and there is one other thing I remember. Although I’m not sure it means much.”
    He leaned forward. “What is it?”
    “There was a brief disagreement between Jefferson and Caruso. I didn’t really pay much attention then, but looking back, it was right about the time Jefferson took a phone call. I think the news may have been about Schaefer.”
    “Can you remember exactly what was said? By
either Jefferson or Caruso?”
    “Caruso said something like, ‘I wouldn’t have to worry if you weren’t such an amateur.’” She wished she’d heard what they were saying. “At the time, I assumed they were talking about investments, but now I’m thinking the conversation may have referred to having Schaefer stabbed and being forced to attribute the stabbing to gang activity.”
    “You could be right. Nice detective work, Mallory.”
    She blushed and shrugged off the compliment. No doubt Jonah was simply trying to stay on her good side. “So now what? Where do we go from here?”
    He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Good question. Give me some time to pull myself together, and I’ll try to come up with a plan.”
    “As long as your plan doesn’t involve me turning myself in to the D.A.,” she murmured as she turned away. No matter how good of a detective Jonah was, he couldn’t possibly find proof she couldn’t even be sure existed. And they couldn’t stay on the run forever—they both