Leaving the 99

25~God can fill the missing pieces

Caleb stood on the balcony facing the horizon, his hands gripping the rail.

Rachel couldn't take her eyes off him.

"I've been thinking," he said, aware of her presence though she hadn't made a sound. "Have you ever felt like you're missing something that is right in front of you?"

"Besides you?" she teased.

He turned around, pinning her with a searing look that made her tingle all the way to her toes. "You have me, baby. I won't push you away again."

The smooth, rich timbre of his voice whispered over her like a caress. She opened her mouth to speak the words in her heart, but courage failed her.

With purposeful strides, his boots ate the distance between them. He was close enough that she felt his body heat, but he didn't touch her. His burning gaze flicked to hers. It was difficult to breathe. "Rachel, I—"

Stopping abruptly, he reached for her but dropped his hand as suddenly as he'd lifted it.

"Caleb?"

"When this mess is over, you and I are going to talk. About us." His gaze dropped to her mouth and a deep groan escaped him. "I have to focus. Something is bothering me about the night of the Ferris Wheel and Jones' thugs attacking Ty. I feel like those incidents are related."

She inhaled a shaky breath. "You think Jones had something to do with whoever was shooting at us?"

"I don't know, Rach. It sounds wild, but after last summer I'm not ruling anything out."

"You checked on Ty's place while he was at school."

"Yeah. I never saw anything I thought suspicious, but there was this one time I showed up and there were these two guys on the porch." He rubbed his jaw, pensively. "They said they were realtors. I didn't question it."

"Maybe they were."

"They knew my name."

Her eyes widened.

"I figured it was because of the movie. We were getting a lot of attention." He shook his head, frowning. "Not long after that, I lost the keys to my truck. I always put them on the credenza. That day I drove mom's car, and that night I found the keys on the credenza."

Caleb's eyes snapped to hers. "I thought I'd missed them, but I'm sure now I didn't."

"You think someone stole your keys and returned them. Why would they do that unless---Oh, Caleb, you think they planted money in your truck?"

"Money, drugs, who knows." He groaned. "This sounds like a movie. I could be losing my mind."

Rachel's belly hollowed. Fear slipped through her. "Caleb, I—I thought I was imagining it. It's probably nothing."

His jaw clenched. "Tell me."

"Sometimes I get the feeling someone is watching me."

Stepping forward he cradled her face between his hands. His expression was fierce. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

His touch soothed her. "I wasn't sure."

"You can tell me anything, Rach." His jaw clenched, revealing his emotion. "Has anyone approached you or—"

"No, I'd have told you." She felt awful for worrying him. "It's just a weird feeling."

He nestled her into his chest, and she relished the safety in his arms. "You've earned the right to pull the fire alarm when you get a weird feeling."

"Something wrong?" Tanner asked, ambling into the living room with coffee. He met their incredulous looks with a smile. "Ok, Ok. Stupid question."

"At least we're not stranded on the island this time," Parker said, joining them. "And no one's chasing us."

"Yet," Rachel added because you never knew.

Tommy strolled in carrying a sweet roll. "No offense but you guys are sort of dangerous to be around."

Laurel tossed a smile. "You should have stayed home, Lil' Bro."

"I'm big enough to protect my sister and older than you Little Laurel." Tommy flashed a smile back at her.

"No flirting kids. Mom and Dad are going to have to adult today," Caleb chided.

"That's right. We have big people problems. Anyone checked their phones lately?"

"I'm afraid. I don't even want to know anymore." Laurel's expression was sad.

"I'll bet the movie people are flipping out. The premiere is tonight."

"Strange as it seems our public fall from grace has created a lot of interest in the movie." Parker didn't seem pleased. "We've made the national news again."

"Wonderful."

"They're calling you all fallen angels," Jessie said quietly.

"Great." Caleb's sarcastic tone matched Tanner's. "People love drama. If we appeared to be devout Christians, no one would give a care what we did."

"Caleb's right." All eyes turned at the sound of Ty's voice. Annie and Josh were with him. "There's a ton of movie buzz. Those pictures are turning the movie into a potential blockbuster."

"Who would've thought?"

"Anyone with something to gain from that movie," Josh said grimly. "The producers kept telling us to stay out of trouble, but then they'd turn around have these wild parties."

While everyone was taking that in, Caleb's phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket. "Hello?"

Rachel and the others were silent, listening.

"Yes, sir. Ok. Yes, sir. Let me get everyone." Caleb tapped his phone and looked up. "It's Roberts. He says he has information."

Anticipation crackled in the air. Caleb waited as they all gathered close. "I'm putting you on speaker, Detective."

"Please tell us you have good news."

"There's bad news and really bad news." Roberts' tone was dry.

Tanner sighed. "You're joking."

"The suspects who broke into Prince Charming's house are still in custody."

"That's good."

"Prince Charming's phone wasn't on them."

"That's bad."

"Can you shut up and let me talk?" Roberts' voice held no bite. "They probably ditched it. We've tried to trace it, but it's not on. You probably don't need to worry about anyone getting information from it. Bad news is they'll will likely make bail."

"The really bad news?" Ty's asked after a long moment.

"We sent units to retrieve Cowboy's truck. There were bullet holes." Something in Robert's voice let them know that wasn't the worst part. "They guy who was keeping the truck—Lopez. He's dead."

"What?" Caleb cried.

"I'm sorry. It looks like a homicide. We have to wait for the report."

"Do you think the incidents are related?" Ty asked.

"I don't see how they could be, but we're not ruling anything out. The Feds are going to the prison to talk to Jones. When I know more I'll be in touch. Until then, you kids need to lay low." He paused. "You do understand what that means, right?"

"You mean we can't go live with the wild beach party we're throwing?" Tanner asked, feigning confusion.

"Thanks, Detective," Ty spoke quickly before Roberts could respond.

The room was quiet as what Jones' had said sank in.

After a moment, Tommy broke the silence. "Where's Dani?"