LITMIR.BIZ

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a suspect, he’d keep his distance.

      She deserved better than the likes of him. His own parents had disowned him after his reckless-driving charge. And his ex-girlfriend had cured him of any illusions that anyone else would ever want him.

      Kim shoved her hands into the soggy pockets of her shorts. “I don’t see what the police can do. The car didn’t hit me.”

      “So you said.” Based on the background checks he’d done, Kim Corbett—daughter of the detention facility’s founder, vocal supporter of the facility’s mission to rehabilitate young offenders and faithful member of Miller’s Bay Community Church—was the last employee of Hope Manor he imagined likely of luring residents into the drug trade.

      “What would they arrest him for?” Kim persisted. “Scaring the daylights out of me?”

      “How about reckless driving?”

      Ethan didn’t miss the way Kim’s jaw clenched at the suggestion. The only plausible reason she’d cover for the jerk was if she had something bigger to lose.

      In the past year, the local cops had identified two former residents of Hope Manor as drug pushers. The pair negotiated a deal to give up the person who’d recruited them in return for a suspended sentence. But neither survived long enough to finger him. Somehow, someone got to them in the jail cell. Which meant whoever was behind the operation would stop at nothing to ensure his anonymity.

      And maybe Kim knew it. Maybe this was a warning to keep her mouth shut, or else.

      Ethan winced at the thought. Okay, so forget calling the police. He’d handle this himself.

      Darryl nudged his sister to start walking. “Let’s get you ice for that ankle and into dry clothes before we worry about anything else.”

      Despite her earlier bravado, Kim gingerly avoided putting her full weight on her left foot.

      Thankful that at least she didn’t have a spinal injury, Ethan dragged in his first full breath since finding her sprawled in the ditch. He may have relinquished his hold on her, but the tension in his muscles took longer to let go. This guy had some sort of control over her, and if Ethan wanted to win her confidence enough to learn what it was, he might as well forget about keeping his distance.

      The rustle of a dirt-smeared newspaper caught his attention. “Is this yours?” he called after Kim, and then stooped to retrieve the paper. The headline—Funding Cuts Threaten Detention Center’s Future—dominated the page.

      The instant Darryl scanned the headline, his eyes darkened. “Please tell me you aren’t hatching another one of your schemes.” At Ethan’s raised eyebrow, Darryl explained. “Our dad founded this place, and as the oldest child, Kim seems to think she has a sacred duty to save it.”

      Kim gasped. “How can you say that?”

      Another reason crossed Ethan’s mind. Closing the manor would dry up a ready supply of eager recruits.

      Kim met his gaze. “Is it so wrong to not want to see my father’s work lost?”

      “No, I think it’s admirable.”

      Kim shot her brother a smug grin.

      Ethan chuckled at Darryl’s snort. Joining Kim’s cause might be the perfect opportunity to get closer to her and, more importantly, closer to the truth. He tucked the newspaper under his arm and fell into step beside her. “How do you plan to save Hope Manor from the chopping block?”

      “I want to get a petition together to pressure the provincial government to reconsider,” Kim explained. “And I want to pitch an idea to the newspaper for a series on former residents who’ve made good. Once people see the impact we have, I’m sure they’ll support our petition.”

      “You’ll only make the situation worse.” Darryl swiped his pass card over the lock to the staff entrance and opened the door. Chilled air spilled out, but the crisp blast did nothing to cool the heat in his voice. “Half the people in this town didn’t know there was a detention center here until you wrote that letter to the editor a few weeks back.”

      Kim eased onto one of the benches lining the space between the walls of lockers and unlaced her shoe. “That’s why they need to hear its success stories.”

      “Trust me. They don’t want to know that Miller’s Bay harbors young offenders. Involve the papers and it’s only a matter of time before the incident with Mitch gets out, too.”

      “The Mitch I was hired to replace?” Ethan asked, surprised they’d managed to suppress the news this long in such a small town. The town’s size had been one of the reasons he’d been recruited for this assignment from outside the local force.

      “Yeah,” Darryl said. “He got injured chasing a resident who ran off during a field trip.”

      “Ouch, not the kind of news that will endear Hope Manor to the citizens of Miller’s Bay.”

      Darryl shot his sister a look. “Exactly.”

      “I won’t give up, Darryl. Dad poured his life into this place, because he believes in God’s forgiveness. These kids need to know that even if they repeatedly mess up, God will forgive them, too.”

      Kim reminded him of Joy. Despite the pain he’d caused her, she’d offered him that kind of forgiveness. And because of her, he devoted his life to ridding the streets of people like the irresponsible teenager he’d been. While Kim worked to set them free.

      What he needed to know was … did she work out of compassion, or to sideline in something more lucrative?

      Because, if she was on the level, why had someone just tried to kill her?

      TWO

      “Change out of those wet clothes while I grab you an ice pack and find Ethan a bandage for his hand,” Kim’s brother said, unlocking the hall door.

      Ethan gave the room one last surreptitious scan before stepping into the empty corridor. Aside from the feeling in his gut, he had little evidence the attack on Kim was deliberate, let alone connected to his case. But at least no one could get to her in the locked room.

      The main floor of the facility was divided into three units that each housed ten residents and a staff station. Ethan turned left toward the closest. “I’d sure like to get my hands on whoever ran down your sister,” he said, hoping to loosen Darryl’s tongue.

      Darryl caught him by the shoulder and swung him around. “Don’t even think about messing with my sister.”

      Ethan whacked off the guy’s hold. “What are you talking about?”

      “I saw the way you looked at her. You’re here to do a job. Not cozy up to Kim.”

      Ethan backed up a step and lifted his hands in innocence. “Hey, I just want to catch the jerk who scared her.”

      A door clicked and Darryl’s gaze snapped to the end of the hall.

      The manor’s interim director, Aaron Sheppard, hurried toward them. Ethan fought not to gag at the overpowering scent of the thirty-year-old’s trendy cologne. Or maybe it was the smell of the gunk he used to make his hair poke out in that wannabe-actor look. His too blue eyes—had to be colored contacts—zeroed in on Darryl. “How’s Kim? I heard she had an accident.”

      Darryl stopped the guy from pushing his way into the locker room. “She was jogging and twisted her ankle. She’ll be fine. Her ankle just needs a little icing.”

      “But someone said—”

      “She’s embarrassed enough,” Darryl interrupted, apparently more concerned about guarding his sister than ticking off his boss. “She doesn’t need people yakking about her.”

      Aaron drew in a breath as if he intended to argue, but then his gaze shifted to Ethan. He thrust out his hand. “Ethan, right? Welcome aboard.”

      Ethan

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