by A. M. Mahler
Her house was small, a two-bedroom ranch in a family-oriented neighborhood. The neighbors to one side were retired, and across the street, there was a family with a stay-at-home mom. There were people around during the day that would be able to note any suspicious activity, should there be any. She had new furniture, also courtesy of the Marshals Service. She did her own painting and decorating, though, and it was starting to feel like home.
But there was nothing personal in her house. There were no photographs of her with friends or anything she had done in her previous life. Her memories could no longer be real. Sarah Currie was gone, and with her, all her memories, stories, and life experiences.
But with Natalie Shepherd’s new life came new opportunity. Working in the town hospital made her part of the community. People were getting to know her, and they greeted her when they saw her out running errands. There was a book club that met once a week at the library, and she even considered getting a card just so she could join it. While she wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, she did want to make friends. She didn’t want to spend her evenings and days off alone in her little house. She was friendly enough with her neighbors, but she wanted real friends she could do things with. Going to dinner at Jackie’s had felt so good. Even though they hadn’t known who she really was, she’d felt like she belonged.
She also genuinely enjoyed being around Jackie and Ryan. She couldn’t help but see Ryan’s devotion to his sister. If he knew Natalie was his sister, as well, would she get that kind of devotion from him, too? She shook her head. It didn’t do to dwell on things like that. She’d never have that answer. She could only hope for a good friendship.
But now, that was all in jeopardy. Somehow, Eric had discovered who she really was. The Marshals Service had told her to notify them immediately if her identity was ever compromised. She knew why she was hesitating. She wasn’t ready to give up what she could have here. But was that really worth her life?
If she moved on and started all over again, what kind of life would she have? How many times would she have to learn a new identity? The marshals had assured her that if she followed their protocol, she would never be exposed. She really wished she knew how Eric had found out about her. What kind of work did he do on the side?
Something about him made her trust that he wouldn’t spill her secret, but she knew in her head that she’d be stupid to trust so easily. For now, she decided to stay put. She’d take extra precautions. Maybe she would adopt a dog, and she could learn how to train it for protection. Then she was going to look into self-defense classes, maybe even learn to shoot. She wasn’t a fan of guns, but Natalie Shepherd needed to learn how to defend herself.
She had a deputy marshal assigned to her. He didn’t provide physical protection on a constant basis, but he did check in with her once a week. He was assigned to New Hampshire, and the office was about an hour away. Maybe he could teach her to shoot and help her find self-defense classes. After all, his official role in her new life was as a cousin, since he was way too young to be an uncle. Usually, he called on a secure phone line, but he’d told her that every few months he wanted to do a face-to-face in a public place. She wasn’t supposed to ever go to the marshal’s office.
Marshals assigned to WITSEC had a different computer system and generally didn’t interact much with other marshals. It was another added layer of protection for the people in the program. It wasn’t time for the face-to-face yet, but she could still call him. She didn’t think it would be out of the realm of possibility that someone in her position would want to learn how to protect themselves.
Having a plan in place made her feel better. If she could only figure out what to do about Eric Davis.
“BOMB SQUAD?” RYAN asked, sliding into the booth across from Danny. “I’ve never even heard of this place.”
Danny watched him survey the small tavern in the Village.
“Is this a cop bar?”
“Gee. What gave it away?”
“The name, for one,” Ryan answered, ignoring Danny’s sarcasm. “Then there’s all the guys in jeans and blazers. You know only cops dress like that, right? Everybody knows you’re hiding a gun when you dress like that.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of the point.”
“It’s not very effective going undercover.”
“That’s not what we wear when we go undercover.”
“So, Chief, what was so fucking important that I had to drop everything, cancel an extremely important meeting—”
“Your love life isn’t my problem.”
“It wasn’t a date, dickhead,” Ryan shot back as a waitress sidled up. “This is an amazing craft beer menu, by the way.”
“Cops like beer, too,” Danny said. “Order your beer. The pizza order’s already in.”
“It better be meat lovers.”
“Of course it’s fucking meat lovers.”
Ryan put in his drink order and faced Danny. “I can’t believe no one knows about this place. There’s no better beer menu in town.”
“Every cop on the NYPD knows this place. Nobody’s got the balls to come in here because it’s crawling with cops. Too many guilty consciences.”
They waited while the waitress returned with Ryan’s beer.
Danny figured he was going to need it for what came next.
“What did you find out?”
“Put your drink down first,” Danny ordered.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to wear it.”
Ryan put his pint glass down and looked at Danny expectantly.
“Daisy Dolan had four more kids.”
“Jesus!” Ryan picked up his beer and took a long swallow. “Four?”
As Danny gave him the rundown, he watched him take it all in. If it had hit Danny hard, he couldn’t imagine what Ryan must be feeling. He didn’t look forward to telling Jackie, either, especially since he was going to have to tell her why he had her mother checked out to begin with, but that was Ryan’s problem. He’d been the one to reopen the investigation into her father’s death.
“I’m telling Jackie when I get back,” Danny said as he ended his rundown. “She’s going to want to know why I looked into your mother, though, and I’m not going to lie to her.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to,” Ryan shot back. “Lying was never my intention.”
“Sometimes omission amounts to the same thing. She might not thank you for that.”
“I’m not afraid of my sister. She’s gotten pissed at me before, and she’ll get pissed at me again. Why stir up old feelings until I have something concrete to tell her? You did the exact same thing.”
“I didn’t reopen the investigation into her father’s death and not tell her.”
Danny took another sip of his beer. Maybe he was on the hook for some of the secrecy, but not as much as Ryan. He wasn’t going to go down with him.
“As soon as I told you what was going on, you jumped on the bandwagon,” Ryan said. “Don’t try to worm your way out of it now. She might get pissed at you, too.”
Before Danny could respond, Ryan sat up straight when he saw who entered the bar. “Well, isn’t this just the coincidence of all coincidences?”
Danny turned his head and was shocked to see Cooper Eden had walked into the bar with another man who looked vaguely familiar.
“Not just a cop bar, I guess,” Ryan noted.
“The guy he’s with is a cop. I’ve seen him around,” Danny said as his memory was jogged. “I thought Eden was in Hong Kong?”
“What made you think that?”
“He used to seriously freak out your sister. I didn’t think it was such a bad idea to find out where he was.”
Danny didn’t admit to Ryan that he was seriously considering keeping the tail on Cooper for a few more months.
“I could have told you that,” Ryan said.
“I thought you two had a falling out. Jackie said you reconnected a few years ago, but nothing really came of it.”
“He still emails me sometimes,” Ryan admitted. “The last one was a few days ago, and he mentioned he was supposed to be going to Hong Kong. He’s coming over here now.”
“Of course he is,” Danny groaned. He relaxed his posture and prepared himself to deal with the one person that pissed him off more than Ryan.
“Hey, Ry, how’s it going?” Cooper flashed a million-dollar smile and reached over to shake Ryan’s hand.
“All right. Hong Kong get canceled?”
“Rescheduled,” Cooper replied, then turned to Danny. “Didn’t think I’d ever see you again, and hanging with Willis, no less.”
“Well, he comes with Jackie, so…”
Danny had the pleasure of watching Cooper’s jaw tighten.
“Yeah? How’s she doing? I haven’t seen her in a few years, but I have fond memories of a reconnection one night in college. Let’s just say I now know what had you so hooked at Trent.”
“Watch it,” Danny growled. He’d hate himself later for losing his cool with Eden, but slamming his fist into the guy’s face would be so worth it.
“You did not hook up with her in college,” Ryan scoffed. “No way would she have gone out with you.”
“Ooh, she didn’t tell either one of you?” Cooper baited them. “I kind of like the idea of being her dirty little secret. See you around, Ry.”
He strolled back to the bar where his friend was waiting while Danny seethed.
“Don’t get worked up. It’s not true,” Ryan said. “He’s just trying to get a rise out you.”
“Maybe he did.”
“If Jackie was so freaked out by Cooper, why would she allow herself to be alone with him?”
“Maybe it wasn’t her choice,” Danny said through clenched teeth.
He had no place getting upset about the men Jackie had dated and slept with during the time they were apart. He knew Cooper had to be lying or phrasing what did occur to sound like it was more. That didn’t stop his body from tensing up, however. He felt an overwhelming urge to go across the bar and plow his fist into Eden’s face a few times.
“Don’t put that idea in my head, man, or I’ll kill him.”
“You’d have to get in line.”
“WHAT’S UP, DOC?”
Jackie looked up from her desk and smiled as Danny entered her office. “Don’t you look handsome in that uniform.”
“Sadie at the front desk thought I was a stripper,” he frowned.
Jackie threw back her head and laughed. He looked so perplexed. This was a man that had no idea of his sex appeal. Danny and Sadie hadn’t met on Danny’s previous drop-ins at the hospital.
“It’s not funny. I’m an officer of the law. Why would she think I’m a stripper?”
“You’re awfully good-looking, Danny, and you fill out that uniform very nicely. It makes for a sexy picture.”
Danny frowned even more. “I’m not here to be a sexy picture.”
Jackie laughed and came around the desk. She ran her hands up his chest. “Not even for me?”
“Maybe I could keep the uniform on until you get home.”
“Mmm,” she murmured with a kiss. “As if I needed a reason to come home early. You were the one who got home late last night.”
“Yeah, sorry,” he said, pulling back. “We unloaded everything into the barn. I didn’t want to wake you up.”
On Danny’s trip to New York City to talk to Ryan, he’d also packed up everything he wanted from his apartment and brought it back to New Hampshire with him. Anything he didn’t want, his landlord was going to send to the Salvation Army.
“It’s okay. I just missed you while you were gone.”
“Me too.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and stepped back. “Do you have some time now?”
“Sure. We’re pretty slow today anyway. Unless an emergency comes in, my next appointment isn’t until two o’clock. I’ve just been catching up on some paperwork.”
They walked over to the couch in her office and sat down.
“This seems serious.”
“It is,” Danny said, letting out a breath. “I didn’t want to wait to tell you until tonight. Maybe I should have told you before, but I wanted to wait until I knew more.”
“I’m getting a little nervous here.”
“Well, it is a bit of a bomb I’m about to drop,” he admitted. “It’s best to just say it. When I was in the hospital, Ryan came to visit me. He wanted me to know that he’d reopened the investigation into your father’s death.”
“My father died of a heart attack.”
“Ryan’s not so sure,” Danny replied. “Back at Trent, he told me that he’d had his suspicions back then and that he thought things were weird on the race circuit that summer. I guess it’s always bothered him, and he finally decided to look into it a bit more. When he told me that your governess carried a gun, I thought your dad must have had some reason for hiring security for you.”
“I was the only family my dad had, Danny. He was just paranoid.”
“I think he might have had good reason to be. Based on what Ryan told me, I had Eric do a little investigating. He checked into your mother, your father, Toby, and Ryan. Before you get pissed that I investigated your family, that’s just how police work goes. You investigate everyone close to the situation to try and find the link and rule out everyone else.”
Jackie sat back a bit. Danny knew she was trying to take in all he was telling her. He didn’t know what she was thinking, though. She was masking her thoughts pretty well when she was usually an open book. He hated to continue, but he had no choice.
“Eric’s investigation turned up a lot of information. First of all, I don’t know if you knew this at the time, but apparently, your father had sponsor trouble that year. He was trying to drop Mason Energy, but they were holding tight. Several people on his pit crew doubled as security guards. Whatever he was afraid of, he was really afraid of it.”
“He kept that from me. He never talked about the business end of racing with me. That was all done with the team owner. Any of those issues he’d have taken up with the team owner.”
“He’ll be next on the list to check out,” Danny said, nodding his head. And he intended to have Eric get on that immediately, along with Jimmy’s crew chief. “The thing is, when Eric looked into your mother, he discovered that you and Ryan actually have four more siblings.”
He paused when Jackie’s eyes went wide. She stood up and crossed the office to stand in front of the window. Then she hugged her arms around her chest and took a deep breath.
“Wow,” she said quietly.
“Three brothers and a sister.”
She turned back to him, still drawn into herself. “I guess I never really gave it a lot of thought before, but it certainly makes sense now. It was a long time ago, but of course she’d have had other relationships. Did she get married, too?”
“Eventually,” he nodded. He stood up and walked closer to her, needing to be near her. “Ryan was born third, and you were fourth. Sebastian is the oldest. He’s a surgeon in Chicago. Sarah is next, but she’s had some trouble. She witnessed an assassination by a drug cartel and is currently in witness protection. Eric actually tracked her down, and it turns out she’s here in Grayson Falls. He wouldn’t tell me who she was because he didn’t want her to take off and leave the program, but he assures me that we know her and she’s in a non-threatening position. He wanted to talk to her and let her decide whether or not she would reveal herself.”
“Great, so I’m going to be asking myself, ‘Is this my sister?’ every time I talk to any woman in town now?”
“Believe me, I will be doing that, too,” Danny assured her. “Ethan comes after you. He was just discharged from the Marines. Then there’s Zach. He’s a professional baseball player. Daisy Dolan married Zach’s father. His father is a psychiatrist, and he recognized the signs of a personality disorder in Daisy. According to Zach, there are a lot of times she has no idea how many children
she has. Sometimes, she doesn’t even recognize him. In one of her more lucid moments, she told Zach about his siblings, but he never had enough information to try to find any of you. All of them want to meet each other, except Sarah, since we don’t know who she is.”
“I guess that’s only natural,” Jackie sighed. “Wow, I thought just having one sibling was overwhelming. I can’t believe I’m one of six.”
“You don’t have to meet anyone, you know,” he said. He finally stepped over to her and ran his hands up and down her arms. “It’s your life. Just because they want to meet you doesn’t mean they get to.”
“I should meet them, though. They’re my brothers and my sister—although I guess I won’t be meeting her. What develops from meeting them, I can’t say, but it’s only natural to be curious about each other. How is this going to be organized? Are they all coming at once?”
“I don’t know. I imagine it will happen as their schedules free up. It’s still baseball season, too. If the Mavericks make the playoffs, it would be at least November before Zach could make it to town. Sebastian’s a surgeon, so it’s probably difficult for him to get away at a specific time, as well. I don’t even know if Ethan has started working or not.”
“Okay then,” she said. “I guess Ryan and I have a few things to discuss. The first being his hiding things from me.”
“How pissed at me are you?”
“I know you told me as soon as you felt it was right,” she sighed. “And I understand your reasons. I don’t particularly like that you did it, but I understand why you did it. It’s hard to stay mad at you; you know that.”
“And Ryan?”
“Oh, he won’t get off that easy. He’s been keeping this from me our entire relationship. Maybe he wouldn’t have wanted to tell me in the beginning, but he’s had more than ample opportunity over the years to bring it up. I may not talk about my dad’s death much, but it’s not because I can’t.”
