Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1 by Margaret Daley, Katy Lee Page B

trying not to think of her journal in someone else’s hands. “Is that why my head is pounding? I’d hoped if I ignored it, the headache would go away.” She glanced at the kitchen clock. “Time for another pain reliever, and then I need to get back to work straightening up this place.”
    â€œI have a suggestion. Why don’t you lie down and rest while I at least put your furniture back and straighten some. It might make it easier for you to go through your belongings later.”
    â€œDon’t you have to work?”
    â€œIt’s nearly noon, so I’m on my lunch break.”
    She studied him, his commanding presence appealing at a time when she felt vulnerable. “Fine, if you make sure I only nap for half an hour. I finished upstairs, but look at all this. I’ve got too much to do, so I can’t rest long, and someone is coming at one to install the alarm system.”
    â€œThat’s good he’s coming so quickly.”
    As she made her way to her bedroom, she glanced over her shoulder at Max, at attention, by the front door, then mounted the stairs. She sensed Nicholas watching her from the bottom of the steps, but she wouldn’t look back to check. In the bathroom, she swallowed an over-the-counter pain reliever and some water then stretched out on her bed, hoping the tap dancing inside her head would subside. The only reason she’d agreed to his assistance was because she needed her house put back right as fast as possible. The sight of the chaos made her feel exposed and weak. She’d fought hard these past years not to be either.
    * * *
    â€œWell, Max, it’s just you and me to clean this up as much as possible while she’s sleeping. She’ll probably kick us out once she gets up.” Nicholas started at one end of the large living area, returning books strewn near the bookcase. He might not put them back in the right order, but they would at least be off the floor.
    As he began picking up items and the small pieces of furniture that were still turned over, he checked for any sign of the tablet. The fact that it was the only thing missing—at least so far—meant this break-in could be tied to the Jeffries murder somehow. Or tied to Michael Jeffries, anyway. Although he didn’t believe as Selena did in the connection, he’d been taught to investigate every lead. What if it led to the break the team needed?
    Although the Capitol K-9 Unit was working other cases, this one was important to their captain, and therefore the team. Congressman Jeffries had helped Captain Gavin McCord as a child. He owed the man a lot. Nicholas wasn’t as fond of Congressman Jeffries, who he suspected might have taken bribes in the past, and Gavin had asked him to withhold judgment until there was evidence that Jeffries was involved in anything shady.
    Right now, he had to figure out the connection between Selena’s missing tablet and Michael Jeffries’s murder.
Was
there something to the Littleton case as Selena hoped? There was the connection to Senator Eagleton, which might be something—or nothing. Selena wanted to prove her cousin was innocent, so she was looking for anything to throw suspicion somewhere else. He wasn’t sure what to think, but he did know that someone out there didn’t like what Selena was doing. She might not appreciate it, but he was going to hang around as much as he could because he couldn’t shake the feeling she could be in danger. What if the person who took the tablet didn’t like what he or she found and decided to stop Selena’s snooping permanently? What if Littleton was innocent and the murderer knew what Selena was doing? That was exactly what Selena thought might have gotten Michael Jeffries killed.
    When Nicholas finished the living room and started on the kitchen, the doorbell rang. He looked at the wall clock and realized it was ten to one. He hurried to the front door,