Authors: Jeri Odell
The elevator doors opened, and she stepped inside. He blocked the doors from sliding shut. “I read you loud and clear.” The truth was, he’d completely misread her. “Turn on your body pack so we can make sure our gear is working.” They both reached behind them and slid the little buttons over. “Testing.”
Delanie nodded that his voice had come over the wire. “Testing,” she said in a shaky voice.
“We’re good.” Eli walked away, and the elevator whisked Delanie off.
He wondered how he’d so utterly misinterpreted her. He leaned against the car to catch his breath and regroup. Though his feelings ran deep, hers obviously didn’t. He shook his head, struggling to reconcile her words with the tender looks she sometimes gave him and the kiss they’d shared moments before with this end result. He climbed in the car, slamming the door. Now he remembered why he’d avoided women—none of them made a bit of sense.
❧
Delanie couldn’t chase away the memory of the hurt expression she’d brought to Eli’s face. It broke her heart to treat him so callously, but she didn’t know what else to do.
Exiting the elevator, she took a seat on the bench at the bus stop. She couldn’t very well tell him she had feelings for him, too, but because of her relationship with God, she’d have to ignore those emotions. He already hated God enough without her adding more ammunition. Then he’d not only blame God for his brother’s death and his mother’s leaving, but blame God for their failed relationship, too.
She also couldn’t risk telling him the truth in case he decided to become a Christian just so they could start dating. Nope, that was never a good idea. A true conversion had to happen between a man and God, not with the motive of a woman behind it.
The one plus from this mess—Delanie would have no trouble crying in the lawyer’s office. She was on the verge now.
A bus pulled up, and the door opened. Shaking her head, she waved it on.
“Then get off my bench, lady,” the driver yelled. He shut his door and drove off, leaving Delanie to choke on the bus’s exhaust. She rose and started walking toward the bank building.
Eli pulled out of the garage and passed her. “Don’t enter the building until you’re told.” His voice had a hard edge to it. “Copy?”
“Copy.” She wanted to find a quiet corner somewhere and bawl her eyes out, but three other guys heard everything she did, so she’d have to be tough and save the tears for later.
Buck up, little buckaroo.
She walked to Dreamer’s and ordered an iced blended mocha. The other two cops teased her and complained about sitting in a hot stairwell while she lived the good life. Eli, however, said nary a word.
Delanie grabbed a table outside and watched the river rush by, wishing she could follow it somewhere far away from heartbreak. Even worse than her own sorrow was knowing she’d hurt Eli. He’d opened his heart for the first time in a long time and offered not only his friendship, but more, and because of circumstances beyond her control, she cruelly shoved the deal back in his face. She knew instinctively they’d no longer share the lighthearted relationship she’d come to love. Eli would shut her out, and their tenuous buds of friendship would not survive today.
Lord, please heal his hurts and touch him with Your love. Send someone who’ll adore him and then draw them both to You.
Delanie wiped a silent tear from her cheek.
“Cooper, we’re in place. Keep us apprised of your approach.” Eli was all business.
Digging through her purse, Delanie said, “I’m leaving the river walk. ETA at the front door in two minutes.” Once she finished talking, she closed her oversized handbag. Rummaging through it provided a good distraction for conversing without anyone’s being able to tell.
She entered the building and pressed the elevator button. She was the only one in it, so she freely said, “Approaching the third floor.”
“Copy,” echoed in her ear three times.
“This will be my last update, so unless I say different, assume all is going according to plan.” Delanie grabbed a stick of gum from her purse. “Excuse the chomping, but I’m role-playing.”
She stuffed the gum in her mouth, exited the elevator, and found suite 314.
Delanie’s heart pounded. She stopped by the restroom to inspect her appearance. Yep, she looked the part of a pregnant teen. She said a quick prayer and sauntered through the office door and up to the receptionist, requesting to speak to George Benavides.
“Do you have an appointment?”
Delanie chomped, shaking her head back and forth.
“I’m sorry. Without an appointment he can’t see you.”
Delanie pictured Eli’s face when she pushed him away and rejected his offering of something more. This time she could let the tears fall, and fall they did.
“I tried to make an appointment, but you wouldn’t let me.” She spoke loudly to draw the attention and, she hoped, sympathy of the onlookers.
“Miss, please calm down.” The receptionist spoke in a quiet, calm tone. “Mr. Benavides doesn’t handle adoptions. Isn’t that why you’re here? I explained that to you on the phone when you called earlier.”
Delanie cried harder, for Brandi, for Julie, for Eli. “He does. I know he does. A girl I met on the bus told me he’d help me find a wonderful home for my baby. Another girl I met in the mall told me the same thing.” Delanie sobbed. “Why are you lying to me?”
Two security guards entered the office. The receptionist must have pushed some sort of button to summon them. Delanie hadn’t counted on that.
“Please show this young lady out and see that she doesn’t return.”
The men each took an arm and escorted her all the way to the front door of the building. “You’d best heed our warning, miss. Don’t come back, or we’ll handle you more severely next time.”
Delanie nodded.
“Head to the garage,” Eli’s voice boomed through her earpiece. “I’m in section 4B. I’ll meet you at the car.”
All of the emotion of the day wore on her. She wanted to go home, soak in a hot tub, and shed a few tears. Oh, how she wished she could unbreak a couple of hearts.
Chapter 11
Delanie was already waiting when he got to the car. She looked a mess, her face red and blotchy, her eyes swollen. She didn’t say a word, which was fine by him. He’d foolishly thought she cared. He’d obviously failed to learn his lesson well enough, but this would be the last time he’d ever open himself to anyone.
He pushed the number 3 on his cell phone and unlocked her door.
“Eli, how’d things come down?” Sarge asked.
Eli recounted the afternoon.
“You two head home. We’ll put our heads together and devise a new plan in the morning.”
“Will do.” Eli shut his phone and slipped it into the pocket inside his suit jacket. When he pulled to a stop in front of Delanie’s place, he relayed what Sarge had said.
She nodded. “I think I’ll drive myself in to work tomorrow morning. I’ve got some errands and stuff. . .”
Relieved, he agreed. “Yeah, that’s probably better.”
She opened her door.
“Delanie?”
She paused.
He hated to ask but had to know.
“Are you going to the center tonight?”
“No. I think I’m going to take a break for a while.”
Good.
“When you decide to go, if you’ll give me the heads-up, I’ll stay out of your hair.”
She inclined her head in acknowledgment. “Bye, Eli.” Her words sounded so final, and his heart hurt with the loss.
What went wrong?
He didn’t have a clue.
He was relieved she planned to take a break from Cops-N-Kidz. The guys loved going there, and frankly, so did he. Some unknown something inside him craved more of what he found there—the joy, the peace, even the messages that uplifted instead of condemned. His brood felt the same way, and they often ended up there four or five times a week. Tonight was no different. The vote was unanimous, and they loaded up the van and headed over, stopping at the Burger House on the way.
Sarge delivered tonight’s message, and his words were powerful. He spoke about God’s amazing, immeasurable, unconditional love for each person in the room. “No matter what you look like, how unlovable you feel, God adores each one of you. The Bible calls us—all people everywhere—the apple of God’s eye!”
Eli felt a tug on his heartstrings but chalked it up to a long day and Delanie’s rejection.
At the end Sarge invited people forward to receive Christ. Oscar and Jose both responded to the invitation. Eli envied their childlike faith, wishing it were that easy as an adult to simply believe.
❧
The following morning Eli made his way to Sarge’s office, wishing he didn’t have to face Delanie after his foolish proclamation yesterday. Talk about a man with regrets.
Yet there she was in the midst of a serious conversation with Sarge. Were they talking about him?
When Delanie saw him, she smiled, one of those ear-to-ear jobs that lit her whole face. “Sarge said Oscar and Jose accepted Christ last night! That’s so wonderful!” She bubbled over with excitement.
So that was what they’d been talking about. Probably wondering when he’d take the plunge. He decided a change of topic was in order. “Anybody come up with a plan yet?”
“We need to get an undercover worker into the office.” Sarge focused on him. “Any ideas?”
“It would have to be entry level.” Eli took the seat next to Delanie. “Cleaning service? Night security for the whole building?”
“What about the receptionist?” Delanie paced to the window. “The person who has direct access to all files.”
Sarge nodded. “Could work.”
Skeptical, Eli reminded them, “That lady was no-nonsense and pretty hard-nosed. I’m not sure she’d roll over easily.”
“Let’s check the angles.” Sarge grabbed a pen and jotted as he spoke. “Eli, you check out the building, both security and cleaning. Who does it, what sort of access they have to files, and the like.”
Pointing his pen at Delanie, he continued, “Find out everything there is to know about the receptionist. We’ll meet back here tomorrow morning and make the best plan with all the info available. Agreed?”
A day without Delanie—he’d more than agree.
❧
The next morning Eli and Delanie met in Sarge’s office. He was there first. She blamed the line at the coffee shop for holding her up.
“So what did you discover?” Sarge gazed in Eli’s direction.
“The janitorial service cleans the building every Saturday.”
“That’s out. We’d stall the case for another week.” His eyes shifted. “Delanie?”
“The receptionist, Lisa Konica, is a single mom with two teenage boys. Both have had minor scrimmages with the law. She needs her job. I think she’s the way for us to go.” She glanced at Eli, looking as if she expected an argument.
“What’s your plan?” Sarge asked.
Delanie shared her idea.
“You have anything better?”
Eli shook his head. “The night guard wouldn’t necessarily have access to files.”
“All right, then. You two head out and conquer the world. Get the warrants and paperwork in place. I’ll arrange for a temp to step in this afternoon. I know the perfect policewoman for the job. Name’s Mildred. She’ll whip their office into shape in no time.”
“We’ll get it all done before noon,” Eli promised.
They took care of all of the arrangements and at noon were waiting outside the bank building to tail the receptionist. Other than the frosty silence, she and Eli were still simpatico. They worked well together. And other than the empty ache in her heart and the sadness in his eyes, she could almost pretend life was status quo.
“She’s leaving the building,” announced an officer planted near the elevator on the third floor. Eli glanced at Delanie, and she gave him a nod, letting him know her earpiece worked and she’d heard.
Another announcement came from the cop planted on the first floor. Eli had parked near the receptionist’s car, and they’d trail her off the property in case those security goons were anywhere near the site.
The plan was flowing perfectly. Lisa Konica climbed into her car and drove out. Eli followed at a respectable distance.
“Target en route. Thanks, guys,” Delanie said into the radio.
“Over and out, then.”
“Wonder where she’ll go for lunch.”
Eli didn’t respond to her ponderings other than giving a shrug.
The woman drove toward Delanie’s part of town, turning into Plum Tree Plaza.
“I’ll bet she’s going to Emerald City.”
❧
Eli glanced up at the sign. E
MERALD
C
ITY
E
SPRESSO &
T
EA
C
AFÉ
. No surprise that Delanie knew about this place. Any spot in Reno that sold designer coffee, she had a handle on.
The receptionist entered the restaurant with her purse and a book. “Let’s give her space—let her order and settle in. Then we’ll join her.”