The SEAL's Surprise Son (The Admiral's Seals, #1) - Leslie North Page 0,39

the roof was patched with shingles in multiple colors. What had once been a fenced yard was open to the street, with weeds chaotically growing among untrimmed shrubs.

This was her only potential lead, though, and she was following it. She opened the car door and stepped onto the cracked concrete of the street. She picked her way across until she stood on the sidewalk in front of the house. Up close, it looked in even worse shape. Age and neglect had worn the place past the point of repair.

A sense of dread descended on her, and she had the unmistakable feeling that someone was watching her. She turned to scan the street around her. No one appeared, even though it was late afternoon, a busy time elsewhere in the city. Zach’s caution against putting herself in a dangerous situation echoed in her head, making her pause before approaching the house any further.

If her assumptions were right, she could be walking into a trap with a very dangerous person, someone willing to hire robbers and commit arson. She wanted answers, but it wasn’t worth her life. That’s what she had promised Zach the night before. She pivoted and jogged back to her car, slamming and locking the door before putting the car into gear and escaping from the street.

A few blocks away, she breathed easier and felt sure she’d done the right thing by retreating. She took the on-ramp to a road that bypassed the city’s center and was usually a faster way home. Not today, she realized when brake lights showed ahead of her and she stopped on the highway. She flipped on the radio, searching for a traffic report. An accident was blocking all lanes half a mile ahead. She was stuck, but she was safe, so she called her mom to let her know that she’d be late picking up Austin.

Rolling down the window, she shut off the engine and waited with the other motorists. Twenty minutes later, her phone rang.

“Hey, sweetheart, my office said you called earlier.” Zach’s voice was concerned.

“I was hoping you could help me with something, but I decided not to do it.”

“Okay…what was it?”

“I’ll explain when I get home,” she said, already dreading his reaction even though she hadn’t gone through with her plan. “I’m stuck in traffic on the bypass.”

“I’ll pick up Austin, then,” he said.

“That would be great.” It would make things easier for her, since she was running so late.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” He didn’t seem convinced, which said something about his perceptive abilities.

“I am. I’ll be home as soon as this accident is cleared up.” She hung up before he could ask more questions. She’d tell him everything: what motivated her to seek out the address, and what had her running back to her car. He wasn’t going to like any of it.

An hour later, she pulled into her garage. The door leading into the kitchen opened immediately, and Zach stood in the doorway.

“Where’s Austin?” she asked, concerned there was a problem.

“He was really tired. Your mom had him outside a lot today, so I put him down for a little nap before dinner. Hope that’s okay.”

“Sure,” she said, walking past him into the kitchen. It was just as well Austin didn’t witness what was probably going to be a disagreement between his parents.

“What were you doing on the bypass?” So he didn’t plan to beat around the bush. “I thought you were at the store today.”

“I was most of the day,” she said. “The fire inspector says it was arson, as you suspected.”

“Wish I was wrong about that. What else, Carolyn?”

She blew out a breath and got a glass of water before responding. “I went to the last known address for Marta Huntly, over on Decatur Street.”

“Not a nice part of town,” he observed, his tone dry. “Why’d you go?”

“I wanted to see if her son still lived there, if maybe he could give me some answers about all this. It was probably a crazy idea, but I don’t have much to go on.”

“I thought we agreed that you weren’t going to move on anything.” They faced each other across her kitchen, the tension thick between them.

“We did, which is why I didn’t knock on the door. I got to within ten feet and remembered your warning, so I left.” She hoped that would satisfy him, but from the look on his face, it hadn’t.

“You called me to join you there? That was your plan.” He