He kept the final goal in mind. Yes, they would have to spend time away from her during the lengthy trial. No doubt they could arrange some sort of getaway, maybe once a month, fly her somewhere and meet her there.
After taking all precautions to not be followed.
He’d seen firsthand the lengths Victor Bianco would go to stay ahead of law enforcement. The men whose deaths he’d helped fake were only the ones he’d been able to save. The lucky ones.
To this day, he was haunted by crime scene and autopsy photos of the victims he’d been unable to help. Including women.
Not to mention the people who’d disappeared without a trace.
Patience pays, he reminded himself. He’d testify, Victor Bianco 204 Tymber Dalton
would go down for life in prison, and the three of them could have a life together.
Four days after Ben’s encounter with Leeza Maxwell, he was again sitting in Many Blessings and reading the newspaper when what little feeling of security he had shattered.
On the front page of the local section, a headline and picture screamed at him.
Local Woman Killed in Apparent Home Invasion.
Leeza Maxwell.
“Shit!” He grabbed the paper and bolted from the store and across the square, dodging cars and pedestrians alike. When he stormed into the bakery, he ran past a woman at the counter, ignoring Libbie’s concerned look as he did. He snagged Allan’s arm and dragged him into the back.
“Dude, what the he—”
Ben shoved the paper in his brother’s face and waited as he caught his breath.
“Shit.” Allan took the paper from him and turned away, reading.
Libbie finished with the customer and hurried into the back.
“What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
Ben swallowed hard. He’d hoped they would have another month with her, at least. Maybe longer if Bianco’s legal beagles stalled things and filed motions to delay.
But not now. They couldn’t risk it.
They couldn’t put Libbie at risk.
Allan had finished reading and turned. “This…this has to be a coincidence.”
“Bullshit,” Ben said. “You know it as much as I do. She runs into ‘you’ and then days later, she’s dead?”
“What’s going on?” Libbie demanded again. “Who’s dead?”
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205
Ben took the paper from Allan and handed it to Libbie. “That’s Leeza Maxwell, the woman who mistook me for Allan.”
Her mouth formed a shocked O as she read the story. Her hands shook, and he gently placed his over hers, waiting for her to look up at him once she finished reading.
“Baby, it’s not safe for us to stay here now. It’s a matter of time before Bianco finds us. We can’t risk you being caught in the middle like that.”
She shook her head. “I don’t care. You don’t have to go yet. The trial isn’t supposed to start for a while.”
He didn’t take his eyes off her but heard Allan’s resigned sigh.
“He’s right,” Allan quietly said. “It’s too risky.”
Ben hated that tears brimmed in her sweet green eyes. “How could they possibly find you here? You could be anywhere. You don’t even know it was Bianco who killed her. It could have been a coincidence.”
“In law enforcement,” Ben said, “you learn that coincidences like this happen far less often than we wish they did. Usually, there is a connection.” He looked at Allan. “We’ll need to go talk to the detective in charge of the case.”
“And what if there isn’t a connection?” she said, sounding borderline hysterical. “What if they find out it’s an ex-boyfriend or stupid junkie that killed her? That means you can stay, right?”
He gently cupped her cheek. “Libbie, we can’t—we won’t—put you in danger. This is too much of a coincidence to not be related.”
Allan stepped behind her. His arms encircled her waist. “We need you to be strong, sweetheart. We’ll be together when the trial is over, but until that wraps up, we need you to be strong for us. We need to know you’re okay.”
“Okay?” Libbie spun in his arms. She felt like she couldn’t 206 Tymber Dalton
breathe. “No, I’m not okay! You two are going to walk out of my life, and you want me to be strong? Bullshit! I love you, both of you, and you said you love me. If you love me, you can’t leave me like this!”
Worse than it being hard to catch her breath, it felt like her heart was breaking.
Allan stared down at her. “Sweetheart, we do love you. That’s why we can’t risk Bianco finding out who and where you are. You can do this for us. I know you can. We’ll figure out something. We’ll talk on the phone. We’ll figure out ways to meet with you, but we can’t risk him finding out about you right now and coming after you.”
She stared at them, numb. She never dreamed they’d have to leave this soon. “This isn’t fair,” she finally managed. “Not now, not so soon after…” She couldn’t say it.
Not so soon after finally knowing you love me as much as I love you.
Ben pulled her to him and kissed her. “We have to go talk to the detective in charge of the case. We’ll know more then. Okay?”
She nodded.
Ben knew the grim look on Allan’s face mirrored his own. He drove them to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office headquarters, where after a call he’d learned the detective in charge of the case was based. Detective Anderson led them to his office, where he shut the door behind them before taking his seat.
“What can I do for you gentlemen today?”
Ben and Allan both showed him their real IDs after they sat, but Ben did the talking. “We need to discuss Leeza Maxwell’s murder with you.”
Detective Anderson frowned. “No offense, but why is Miami-Dade interested in a home invasion in Hernando County?”
“Get comfortable,” Ben said. “This will take a while.”
It’s a Sweet Life
207
Twenty minutes later, when Ben finished telling their story, Anderson wore a frown. “I’m glad you came forward.” He tapped on his computer keyboard for a moment before turning the screen to face them.
On it, Leeza Maxwell’s Facebook page. Specifically, a comment she’d posted on a photo.
Ben and Allan both leaned in to read it.
“Damn it,” Allan whispered.
Anderson nodded. “It would seem not to be a random
coincidence, based on what you’ve just told me.”
Ben scrubbed at his face with his hands, feeling weary to the core of his being. “That does it.” He looked at Allan. “We have to leave.
We can’t stay here and put Libbie at risk.”
“Who’s Libbie?” Anderson asked.
“She’s…a friend of ours.” Ben stared at the screen, at the profile pic of the young woman who died three weeks shy of her twenty-seventh birthday. “We’ve been renting an apartment from her.”
“Presuming there is a connection to the Bianco case, is there any information Leeza Maxwell could have given them that would lead them to you?”
Ben shook his head. “No. And she thought I was Allan anyway.”
An hour later, they sat in silence in the truck outside the sheriff’s office building.
Allan spoke first. “Tomorrow, at least? Not tonight. Please, not tonight.”
He had to catch his breath and nodded without speaking.
More silence. “How do we do this? I know it’s temporary, but how do we get through this knowing we’re leaving her alone?”