by Janie Crouch
Those babies were a piece of her now. She would do anything to protect them, even what was almost impossible for her: trusting other people.
She didn’t know exactly why the Andrewses were helping her, just knew right now she didn’t have any other options, so she would accept it. She had a door that locked, a general feeling of security and their basic needs were being met.
Maybe she wasn’t exactly doing a great job with the twins’ care—Christian still cried all the time, obviously subconsciously aware in his little baby brain that Bree wasn’t a qualified caretaker—but hopefully if Melissa could see them now she wouldn’t completely regret her decision to trust Bree.
And being safe here had allowed Bree to start looking into the data on the hard drive Melissa had sent with the twins.
Very, very carefully.
The data on it could only be accessed by pinging off the Organization’s own servers. Bree was an expert at covering her tracks, but nobody could completely hide from them while simultaneously attempting to access their own network. The best she could do was make them think she was harmless.
And that she definitely wasn’t Bethany Malone, the hacker genius they’d helped create, forging her in brutality.
But coming at the data this way was slow, especially when Bree wasn’t sure what exactly she was accessing and how it might help Melissa. She just knew she had to take some time to try while she was relatively safe, even if it meant working for hours at night after already putting in long shifts during the day.
Christian began to cry, so she picked him up, walking back and forth while rubbing his back. “Come on now, kiddo. I’ve had a full day on my feet. How about if you settle down so I can worry myself sick before the big bad cop arrives.”
Beth, unlike her cranky brother, stayed asleep, as she tended to do. Even when she was awake, she was all smiles and big eyes. But both of them were growing more every day. Staying awake a little longer. Showing just a little more personality.
Soon they wouldn’t be content to stay in their carriers most of the time. They’d want to sit up and look around more. Not long after that, they’d begin crawling.
That was beyond scary to think about.
“I know your mama misses you, buddy. She wouldn’t believe how big you’ve gotten in the weeks since she’s seen you. I’m going to try to get you back to her real soon.”
As if those were the words Christian had been waiting to hear, he snuggled into her shoulder and closed his eyes.
Bree had only known these beautiful babies for a few weeks, and she already knew it was going to tear a hole in her when she had to give them back to Melissa.
But that was stupid. Bree had been completely alone for the past three years since her mom died, and really even before that, when her mom had started to deteriorate. She was used to being alone. Loved being alone. A few weeks couldn’t change her entire outlook on life.
But she was already afraid it had.
The knock she’d been expecting finally came. Now she was about to find out whether the choice to stay here was taken out of her hands. She opened the door.
“Officer.” She gave a nod of greeting.
“Looks like you were expecting me.”
God, he was still as sexy as she’d remembered. Half a foot taller than her with thick black hair and warm brown eyes, before she quickly looked away from them. He was dressed in jeans and a beige Henley that molded over his chest.
Studying his shoulders and biceps, Bree let herself imagine what it would be like to be in the arms of a man. Not any man, this man. Being on the run most of her life hadn’t left time for any sort of relationships. Not friendships and definitely not romantic entanglements. She’d never wanted to.
But, now...
She finally looked up and found him staring down at her. He was waiting for her to speak. “Um, yeah, I realized you would probably have some questions about why I was still in town.”
He gave a nod. “Can I come in?”
“If I say no, are you going to arrest me?”
“Have you done anything for me to arrest you for?” One dark brow raised.
“Not today.” She meant it as a joke, but he was obviously taking her seriously.
“Then I guess I won’t be arresting you today. And if you tell me I can’t come in then I’ll leave. But I’ll take Mrs. A’s lemon pie with me.” He held up a paper bag.
Her mouth immediately watered. “That’s not fair, it’s my favorite. How did you know?”
“You’re breathing, aren’t you? Of course it’s your favorite. It’s everybody’s favorite. If it wasn’t your favorite then I would have to arrest you.”
She gestured for him to enter. “Since you have pie.”
“I also have a chicken sandwich from Mrs. A. She said you left without getting your normal meal and that you weren’t allowed to have the pie until you ate it.”
She took the bag and turned back toward the small kitchen table in the corner. He followed her in, closing the door behind him.
“Cheryl says I don’t eat enough.” Bree put the chicken sandwich on a plate. “She makes me eat at least one meal at the diner every day.”
He chuckled, a casually confident sound that mesmerized her. Bree couldn’t remember ever chuckling like that in her life. And if she had, it definitely wouldn’t have sounded that sexy.
“Mrs. Andrews says everyone doesn’t eat enough. I would find it less suspicious if she wasn’t the owner of a restaurant. But in your case, I think she might be right. Between being a new mother and working every day, you’re probably burning a lot of calories.”
“Do you want any of this sandwich?” She gestured for him to sit with her, but he shook his head.
“No, thanks. I already ate plenty.”
She nodded. “So, Dempsey. Is that the same Dempsey as the teenager that comes in a couple times a week to help out at the diner?”
“That would probably be my cousin Robbie. My father’s brother’s son. I’ve got a lot of family that lives around here. How about you, got any family?”
She took another bite of her chicken sandwich. “None here in Risk Peak.”
He leaned against the wall, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “Oh, I’m damn sure I would know it if you lived around here, believe me. Got any family anywhere else?”
She took another bite of chicken and chewed it slowly, more to give her time to decide what to say. She had a driver’s license that said Bree Daniels. If he checked that out, it wouldn’t bring the whole world crashing down. So she was probably best off sticking with it.
“No, no family. Just me.”
He tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing. “And the babies.”
“Of course.” Damn it. She was so used to thinking of herself as alone. “Christian and Beth.”
“And their father? He’s family, too, in a way. He around anywhere?”
She stuffed more food in her mouth. “He’s not in the picture.”
She didn’t know if the twins’ father was friend or foe. There were so many things she needed to ask Melissa. Every day she waited for that phone to ring, but it never did.
He let her finish eating without any more questions, but she didn’t deceive herself into thinking he was done. She immediately unwrapped the pie when she finished her sandwich. Partially to hold off more questions, but she hadn’t been lying when she said it was her favorite.
“It looks like Cheryl put two slices in here. Do you want one?”
He nodded and sat down with her at the table. She got him a fork, and they both began to eat. She was only on her third bite when she looked over and found him finishing his.
“That’s good pie,” he said, shoveling the last bite into his mouth.
Bree watched with wide eyes, scooting her plate closer to her protectively. “Y
ou’re not one for savoring, are you?”
He leaned back in his chair and smiled.
Good God, that smile was lethal.
She sat frozen as he reached across the table and wiped a little piece of pie that had gotten caught on the corner of her mouth.
He brought the crumb up to his lips and licked it off. “Oh, I’m definitely for savoring when the time is right. For savoring every little bit as long as possible.”
She had the distinct feeling they weren’t talking about pie anymore.
But then he straightened in his chair, breaking the spell. “But when it comes to one of the Sunrise lemon pies, I had two siblings and a mother and father all vying for as much of one pie as possible every Saturday evening when I was growing up. Whoever finished first generally got to eat whatever bits had been left in the tray. I learned how to eat my slice in three bites when it counted.”
She put another bite in her mouth and chewed slowly. Except for the meals she’d eaten at the Sunrise Diner over the last week, she’d never really eaten with anyone else. Even her mother hadn’t been interested in family meals at the table. She’d been too paranoid.
“Wow.” She took another bite quickly, not completely sure he wouldn’t try to make a grab for hers. “I guess you can buy your own pie now.”
“Yeah, but sometimes my brother, sister and I still take a turn at it when we’re together for a meal. My mom gets in on the action, too.”
She could almost imagine it. A table full of grown people eating the delicious dessert as fast as they could to fight for leftovers.
It seemed...nice.
“Did your dad wise up? Does he stay out of the fray now?”
She peeked over at Tanner just in time to see the smile completely fade from his face. “No. My dad’s dead.”
She threw her gaze down to her pie again. “Oh. I’m sorry for your loss.”
Mentioning his dad had completely broken the mood. Tanner stiffened in his chair. “What kind of trouble are you in, Bree?”
“What makes you think I’m in any trouble at all?”
“You’ve got trouble all but tattooed on your forehead. It was one thing when you were just passing through. But now you’ve stuck around, so whatever trouble you’re in becomes my problem, too. I don’t want to see the Andrewses get hurt.”
“I’m not going to hurt them. I’m not going to hurt anyone.” She just needed to stay under the radar.
He ran his fingers through that thick dark hair. “The babies’ dad... Did he hurt you, maybe? I can help if that’s the case.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s nothing like that.”
“Are you in trouble with the law? On the run? You may not believe me, but I can help with that, too. Almost always, things go more leniently with a judge when a person turns herself in of her own accord.”
She let out a sigh. “I’m not wanted by the law, either. I just...needed some changes in my life. Then before I knew it, I was broke, but the babies still needed all their baby stuff.”
That was as close to the truth as she could come without bringing down the type of danger even the police weren’t equipped to deal with.
Tanner studied her with those deep brown eyes that missed nothing. She forced herself to meet his gaze, to remain calm.
To not act guilty.
“So, if you told me your last name, and I run it right now in our system, there’s not going to be some husband who has reported a kidnapping of his children by his wife? There’s not going to be an APB out for your arrest somewhere?”
She stood and walked over to the diaper bag and got out her driver’s license. She walked back to him and handed over the license. “Bree Daniels.”
She’d surprised him. He’d thought she was just going to tell him a name. A lie.
But he recovered quickly. “You won’t mind if I call this in and have them run it real quickly at the office?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Not at all.”
He stood and pulled out his phone, an old flip version like the one she had. That reassured her. The Organization couldn’t steal the info from that phone. Although if they figured out she was here, there weren’t many places to hide in a town this size.
Tanner turned away from her to talk to someone in his office, reading her name and driver’s license number.
Bree Daniels would look real in any system. She had a Social Security number, work history, even had a library card if someone searched that far.
Bree had built the identity herself after her mother died. Had thought she would use this identity for a much longer time. Had hoped to be Bree Daniels forever.
That might not be possible soon.
He hung up and sat back down at the table with her. “They’ll call me back in a few minutes. Shouldn’t take long.”
She stood and began clearing the dishes off the table.
“So you’re from Missouri. Were the babies born in Kansas City?”
Damn it. She hadn’t thought about Beth and Christian. Would he try to track down more information about them from hospitals? How many twins could possibly have been born there in the last few months?
She rinsed the plate off in the sink. “No, I was actually out of town when they were born.”
When she turned, she found him studying her. “Were they premature?”
The more information she gave, the more easily she could get caught in a lie. “Not by much, a little early, I guess. Not unusual with twins.”
He was still studying her too closely. “You look like you’re in amazing shape.”
She turned to wipe down the counter.
Keep calm.
He didn’t know anything. He was fishing.
After she finished wiping, she turned and gave him the biggest smile she could muster. “Well, Mrs. Andrews’s lemon pie certainly is not helping.”
He was going to push the issue, she could tell. But his phone buzzed in his hand. He kept his eyes pinned on her as he lifted it to his ear.
He listened to the report without saying much of anything. At the end, he thanked whoever was on the line and hung up. He stood.
“It seems I owe you an apology. Bree Daniels has no APBs out for her arrest, and no one has reported you either as a missing person or as someone of interest in any cases.”
“Glad to hear it.”
He wanted to say more. She could tell he wanted to say so much more, but one of the babies started to fuss from over in the playpen where they slept.
Tanner nodded. “You’ve had a full day of work, and I’m sure those kiddos don’t sleep very long. I’ll get out of your hair.”
She was surprised at the disappointment that washed over her. She wanted him gone, right? She didn’t long for a normal conversation with him, because that wasn’t very smart.
Smart is how you stay alive.
“Thank you for bringing dinner,” she whispered.
He nodded then walked to the door and opened it, looking back at her. “Bree?”
“Yes?”
Those brown eyes pinned her. “I’ll see you around. Soon.”
It was both a threat and a promise.
Chapter Six
When Bree’s name had come back clean in the report, Tanner immediately went to the station and ran it again himself.
It had been clean again.
After going home and sleeping for twelve hours, he’d come back to the station and run it again.
And yet again, nothing.
Bree Daniels was a law-abiding citizen with no criminal record and nothing to make anyone wary. Everything about her seemed legitimate. She was twenty-four years old, a little younger than he would’ve thought, but being a mother of two probably made someone grow up quickly. She’d never been married and, as she’d said, had no run-ins with the law, ba
rring the shoplifting incident.
There was no reason to think she was anything other than what she said she was: someone making changes in her life that hadn’t worked out the way she thought they would.
But Tanner couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a lot more trouble surrounding her than that. Every instinct he had—honed by his ten years of law enforcement—told him there was more to Bree Daniels than met the eye.
A battle waged inside him between his sworn duty to protect Risk Peak and all of Grand County, and this unfamiliar need to help Bree with whatever danger was at her heels.
Because no clean record was going to convince him that she wasn’t frightened of something.
So here he was a week later, having his second cup of coffee at the Sunrise, just like the last seven mornings. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews had taken to just ignoring him, since they knew he was there in a half-official capacity. In the unspoken battle between team Bree and team Tanner, they’d obviously chosen her side.
Tanner wasn’t surprised. It was hard for anyone not to be protective of the quiet woman. Not to mention Bree could’ve been Jack the Ripper and the Andrewses would’ve loved her because of the babies.
Tanner sipped and watched the woman in question. One thing was for sure: she was becoming more fragile, not less so. In the week since he’d talked to her at her apartment, she’d lost weight, despite Mrs. Andrews’s insistence that she eat, and the circles under her eyes had become more pronounced. Maybe the babies kept her up all night. It couldn’t be easy having infant twins, even though they seemed pretty manageable during the day.
Mrs. A walked up beside him and refilled his coffee cup, both of them watching Bree clear off the table that had just been vacated.
“You’re worried about her,” she said.
Tanner turned slightly toward the older woman but kept his attention on Bree. “I thought you weren’t talking to me.”
Mrs. A shrugged. “Only if you’re going to spend your time trying to convince me Bree is dangerous. You watch her like she’s a suspect.”
“It’s my job to keep the people of Risk Peak safe.”
