Friday's Child by Clare Revell Page A

and keep her singing. Not that he liked the way she dressed or the lyrics she chose. But it was her choice and she wasn’t prepared to discuss her faith, or lack of it, with him right now. He wasn’t going to let it drop, however. The fate of her soul hung in the balance.
    Lord, Elle needs my help. Not just to keep her safe from Foster if that’s who this Mr. F turns out to be, but to guide her back to You. I don’t know what she thinks she did that was so terrible, but the very fact she says she’s beyond redemption, indicates to me at least, that she hasn’t done anything that unforgivable.
    He glanced at her again. His feelings for her hadn’t changed, yet he knew deep down there wasn’t a chance of anything developing between them. And it wasn’t just the fact he didn’t have time.
    She didn’t want him anymore. Her attitude towards him made that perfectly clear. Well, that wasn’t going to stop him from loving her, looking out for her, and protecting her to the best of his ability.
    Whether she liked the idea or not.
    And as for the fight with her manager? Someone in the club had threatened Elle, and he had a good idea now who it was. Whether he was involved in the drug ring or not, Zeke had just put himself on the MI5 radar. If Patrick had tipped his hand, it would have exposed Elle and that wasn’t going to happen—at least not yet. He had a role to play here, and it wasn’t to look threatening. Thus he’d sat back down at the bar and waited. He’d bide his time, then this Zeke bloke would pay for hitting Elle.
    He parked outside the safe house and secured the area before nodding to Shay. She woke Eleanor and together they escorted her inside the house as quickly as possible.
    Shay looked at Patrick. “I don’t know about you, but I’m shattered. You all right if I go to bed?”
    Patrick nodded. “Sure. I need to unwind for a bit first anyway.”
    “OK, good night.” She headed up the stairs.
    Eleanor looked at him. “Bit early to go to bed, isn’t it?”
    “We’ve worked pretty much every hour there is since Monday,” he explained. “The case culminated in a raid and shootout this morning. The last time I actually saw a bed was Sunday night.”
    “But it’s Thursday. How did you manage?”
    “Cat napped at the desk. It’s just the way it goes sometimes.”
    “If you want to sleep…”
    He stifled a yawn. “In a bit. Once Nigel gets here.”
    Her face creased. “Who’s Nigel? I thought you and Shay were my guard dogs.”
    He grimaced at her derogatory tone. He’d have preferred sheep dog given the choice. “He’s doing the nightshift. He’ll sit in the lounge and watch TV.”
    “OK. Silly question, but why can’t you sleep now?”
    “Because if I’m asleep, I can’t protect you.” He broke off as his phone rang. “Shame I don’t get paid extra to answer this,” he quipped. “Page.” He listened for a moment. “What’s wrong? Oh, no, is she all right? I see. OK, no, no, you stay home and make sure she rests up. We’ll manage. Yes—Give Laura a hug from me and tell her to go to bed and stay there. OK. Good night.”
    “What’s up?” Her hand touched his arm, sending rivers of warmth pouring through him and straight to his stomach.
    “That was Nigel. He’s been at the hospital with his wife most of the afternoon.”
    “That’s not good. Is she all right?”
    Patrick nodded his head. Nigel and Laura had been trying for a baby for years. And a scare like this was the last thing either of them needed. “As long as she rests, she’ll be fine. So I’ll go take a cold shower to wake up some and then make a pot of coffee.”
    “There’s no need. You don’t need to watch me. I’m tired. If I go to bed, you can lock up and sleep, too. This is a safe house, right? No one knows where we are?”
    “Yeah…” What was she getting at? Maybe he was more tired than he thought. Or she just didn’t understand. Surely she wasn’t that naïve?
    “So we’ll be fine.