Free The Agent's Redemption (Special Agents At The Altar 4) by LISA CHILDS

dust, covered his desk. Because of the prior case and his concussion, Jared hadn’t spent much time in his office. And he didn’t want to be here now, either. He wanted to be with Becca and Alex.
    “I think Troy Kotlarz is a jerk,” he replied, “but I don’t know if he’s a killer.” He would find and interview Amy’s high school boyfriend, though. He had another suspect to find, too—the one he’d promised Becca he would interview again. Lexi’s former fiancé.
    Reyes said, “Well, I’ve got good news.”
    “The crime lab found something? DNA?” Jared needed some evidence—any evidence—to lead him to the real killer. And convict him.
    Reyes shook his head. “That must’ve been some concussion if you think they got results back in less than a day. This isn’t a damn TV show, you know.”
    Jared sighed. “If only it could be that fast...”
    Reyes sighed, too. “Unfortunately this is the real world. But the real world can be fast, too. Penny Payne called.”
    “Is she a witness?” Jared asked. For six years he’d been looking for a witness. “Someone from the bridal shop?”
    “She owns a wedding chapel in River City, Michigan,” Reyes said.
    “River City?” No victim had been abducted from there, but he knew the place. “That’s where Special Agent Nick Rus has been working a case—for a year now.”
    “Yeah, investigating the police and district attorney’s office,” Dalton replied. “The corruption runs deeper than he realized. Guess he reconnected with some family, too.”
    “Rus has family?” Jared was surprised. He’d known the other agent a long time. Hell, they even shared an apartment in Chicago—when either of them was actually home. Nick hadn’t been for the past year. But when he’d been there, he’d never mentioned having any family. Jared had identified with that because he’d been an only child, too. Like Alex...
    With no one else to play with, he’d focused on school and excelled. Would Alex? His son looked nothing like Jared—except for being small for his age. Did he have any other of his characteristics? Or, because they’d never been around each other, were they nothing alike?
    “You sure you should have checked yourself out?” Dalton asked. “You just zoned out. Are you feeling all right? Should I take you back to the hospital?”
    “I’m fine,” Jared insisted. “Just wondering if you got hit in the head, too. I don’t know why you’re talking about some wedding chapel in River City.”
    “Nick recommended Elizabeth and I get married there. Penny Payne is the woman who runs it. Her family is all bodyguards, so she can provide protection, too. She handles everything. She called me because she had a cancellation. Elizabeth and I are getting married next weekend!”
    “Next weekend?” It was crazy to consider a marriage now. “That’s too soon.” It didn’t give him enough time to find the killer and prevent him from trying to kill Elizabeth. When she’d first been found, the media had dubbed her the one who’d gotten away from The Bride Butcher. The killer would no doubt want to prove that she wouldn’t have gotten away from him.
    “Feels like forever to me,” Dalton said.
    Jared snorted in derision. “You must’ve gotten hit in the head. I know you love Elizabeth, but you’re putting her in danger.”
    “It’ll be fine,” Dalton insisted. “This killer isn’t going to get past professional bodyguards and FBI agents. So are you in?”
    Jared had to be in—he had to make sure nothing happened to Dalton’s bride. “Of course.”
    “So you’ll be my best man? I asked you last night, but you never answered me.”
    He’d been distracted the night before. “You were serious about me being your best man?”
    He hadn’t thought he was. Dalton Reyes had many friends—many more friends than Jared had made in the Bureau or outside of it. He was still the loner he’d grown up as—whereas Reyes had never met a stranger.
    “I told