A Little Harmless Secret (5 page)

“Oh. Okay.” She accepted that answer, like most four-year-olds would. Alicia knew some day it wouldn’t be so easy to explain things away. Then, this life she had been living would bite her in the ass.

“How about we have some spaghetti and meatballs for dinner?” Alicia asked.

Bridget smiled. “Yummy.”

“Go on and play. I’ll call you when it’s done.”

Bridget skipped out of the kitchen and Alicia sat down at the table. She had so much to think about, and she didn’t know where to start. The only thing she knew for sure was that no one would hurt her little girl.

CHAPTER FIVE

In the last few days, Devon had ridden a sick rollercoaster wave of emotions. Now, he was numb. He couldn’t even drum up an emotion about how he felt at the moment. He needed to regroup, recharge…think about things. Unfortunately, Dee wouldn’t shut the hell up. The one emotion he could accept was irritation. Sisters just didn’t know when to stop poking the bear.

“You need to stay out of it, Dee,” Devon said as he walked down the hall to the apartment they rented for the vacation. She had been berating him since they left Alicia’s house. Dee was the worst when she got something between her teeth. It made it very hard not to resort to their childhood scuffles.

“You wouldn’t even have a phone number to call her if it hadn’t been for me.”

How many times had she said that to him in the span of thirty minutes? At least five freaking times. There was only so much he could take off the woman, even if she was his twin. Devon unlocked the door and ignored his sister. Micah was sitting on the couch in the living room.

“If either of you wakes up Alana, I might just have to beat the shit out of Devon.” Dee walked over and gave him a kiss. Micah touched her stomach. “How are you doing?”

“Doing just fine, although, I’m starting to get hungry.”

“You’re always hungry,” Devon said. He looked at Micah. “And why just me?”

“Because, Dee is the light of my life, carrying my child.” He looked at Devon. “So?”

“She’s definitely Dev’s. She has his eyes.”

“I don’t need you to answer for me, Dee.”

She made a face but thankfully shut up.

Micah didn’t take his gaze from Devon. “And?”

Devon dropped into the chair beside the couch and scrubbed a hand over his face. He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since that day at the market. The days had all started to bleed together and he knew soon he would crash. Before that though, there was always a chance for him to make some very bad decisions.

He sighed. “And nothing for the moment.”

“You just left your daughter there?” Micah asked.

“Well, he doesn’t have a right to her,” Dee said.

That sent rage coursing through his blood. “I have every right to my daughter.”

Dee shook her head. “I didn’t mean like that. I meant legally at the moment. You couldn’t just snap her up and leave. And besides, you wouldn’t want to do that. It would scare Bridget.”

He agreed, but it didn’t make him any happier with the situation. Truth was, he didn’t know much about little girls. Or little kids in general. What he did know he’d picked up in the last couple of years after spending time with Alana. He definitely wasn’t an expert. And, even though he was furious with Ali, she was the girl’s mother. He did not believe depriving Bridget of the one person she trusted in the world. That would make him a monster.

“What’s your next move?” Micah asked.

He shrugged. “I know that Alicia, or whatever she’s calling herself these days, isn’t going to keep me from my daughter. Or she seemed to agree to it right now.”

“Why didn’t she contact you before?”

“She thought Devon had something to do with her father’s death. We didn’t get the whole story. And let’s face it, Devon isn’t that easy to find.”

“I was an assignment.”

He spat out the words, irritated that more than his ego hurt over that. He had never forgotten her, dreamed about her most nights, and yearned to touch her again. He had been a job to her and now a man she feared. For him, it had been an experience that touched his soul. If she hadn’t ended up pregnant with their daughter, he wondered if she would have even remembered him.

“Okay, I think we need to back up, because I’m confused.”

“I can’t explain it all. She didn’t tell us the entire story. Her—our—daughter was there and I didn’t want to alarm her.”

“So she’s in the business?”

He nodded. “I should have known.”

“How were you an assignment?”

“She came looking for me because her father had been interested in me for some reason. He had been missing. That’s about all we got out of her before we left.”

“Show him the picture.”

Devon rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to show him the picture.”

As usual, Dee ignored him. She sat down on the couch next to Micah.

“It was so sweet. We were talking to Alicia and Bridget, that’s the girl’s name, went and drew him a picture. Then Devon took it and put it in his wallet.”

Dammit. Dee fooled a lot of people with her sweet smile and big blue eyes. They always thought she was an empty headed idiot. She wasn’t.

“How did you know?”

“It wasn’t in the car when I got there and I knew you didn’t get rid of it.”

Micah looked at him, then said to Dee. “Hey, babe, why don’t you go check on Alana?”

Dee looked between them and nodded. She kissed Micah on the cheek and then rose to check on their daughter.

Micah studied Devon for a long moment. “Listen, I don’t like to butt in—”

“Bullshit.”

Micah continued on as if Devon hadn’t said anything. “But you need to make sure you get your head screwed on straight. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have the first clue about this, but I do now, thanks to your sister. Once you know you have blood in this world, you don’t ever let them go. We can stay for a while since Evan has been running the club with the help of Danny.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I thought about sending you back to Hawaii. Jay could return here and wait for me.”

Micah leaned back on the couch. “Now, son, you should know better than that. Dee isn’t going to let me leave you here on your own. And whether you like it or not, we’re family and you’re stuck with me.”

He gave him a smile. “You might not believe this, but I am pretty damned happy Dee married you.”

“That makes two of us.”

He stood and decided to grab something to eat before heading back over to her house.

Micah didn’t ask where he was going. “Get some coffee so you don’t fall asleep.”

Devon waved behind him as he walked out the door.

* * * *

“So, he’s going on a stakeout?” Dee asked as she walked in.

Micah nodded and glanced at her. “You’re not mad I let him go, are you?”

She shrugged. “No. I had a feeling he would go watch over her.”

“He’s going to make sure she doesn’t run.”

Dee shook her head and sat down beside him. “No. You didn’t see that house. It isn’t just where they live, she’s made a home. There were pictures on the walls, and it was well cared for. And, you didn’t see his face when he got that picture. He looked stunned.”

Micah heard a suspicious sniffle. When he looked at her, he saw the tears. She had been the same last time during her pregnancy. The truth was, he didn’t know how to deal with it this time around any better than he did last time. Dee wasn’t a woman who shed tears easily. So, he did the same thing he always did. He patted her knee.

“He’ll be fine. He comes from tough stock.” He kissed her on the nose. “I know that for a fact.”

She smiled at him. “He’s not as tough as I am.”

“No way.” He glanced back at the closed door to their room. “Is Alana still sleeping?”

She nodded, as she sniffed.

“So, we’re all alone in this big, beautiful apartment without a meddling brother and a sleeping child?”

She smiled. “Yes.”

He eased her back on the sofa. “Whatever will we do with our time, Mrs. Ross?”

She slipped her hands up to his shoulders. “I’m pretty sure you can come up with something.”

He chuckled as he leaned down to kiss her and forget about all their troubles for at least a little while.

* * * *

Alicia tucked Bridget into bed, then sat beside her. She was exhausted, as if she’d been on a three day stakeout. Every muscle felt strained and every one of her bones ached.

She was only thirty-years-old and she felt as if she were three times as old.

“Do you think the man will come to visit again? You said he would.”

She nodded. Since Devon and Dee had left earlier that day, Bridget could not stop talking about Devon. She was definitely intrigued by him, but Alicia had waved the concern away. It probably had more to do with the fact that he was a man. Other than service or deliverymen, there had never been any in the house.

“Do you think he’ll be here tomorrow?”

Alicia thought back to the look on his face when he had accepted the picture.

“I’m pretty sure he’ll come back tomorrow or the next day.”

Bridget yawned, as her eyes started to close. Alicia leaned down and kissed her forehead.

“Sweet dreams, poppet.”

She rose from the bed and walked toward the door, stopping just as she stepped over the threshold. As Alicia looked at her, Bridget turned over on her side, her breathing eased into a steady rhythm.

Alicia decided to make some tea and then head to bed. Just as she reached the kitchen, the lights flickered three times, signaling someone had broken through her hundred yard perimeter.

Panic came first, surging up so fast that her head spun. Bile rose in her throat as she tried to pull herself together. As soon as she had her head screwed on straight, in the next second, she ran back toward Bridget’s room. Her daughter was still sleeping since the alarm hadn’t hit the second stage yet.

Alicia squatted by the bed and gently shook her daughter. “Bridget, we have to go.”

Her daughter sat up, her eyes barely open. “What’s wrong, Mummy?”

“We’ve got a situation.” She pulled her onto the floor and looked at her. Alicia kept her voice as even as she could even though fear danced over every nerve ending. “Now, I told you something like this could happen. We need to get out of the house and we need to do it as quietly as we can.”

Bridget’s eyes widened but she said nothing. She was her mother’s daughter after all. Bridget nodded and slipped out of bed to the floor beside Alicia. She picked her up.

“Wrap your legs around me.”

Bridget did as ordered, and Alicia stood and ran out of the room. She stopped along the way to get the 9mm she had stored inside the hallway linen closet in the safe. She had to give up a minute or two for their escape time, but she didn’t want to go unarmed. The cold metal felt familiar as she wrapped her hand around the weapon.

She crouched down as she ran toward the front door. Then, she stopped, fear lancing her heart leaving her almost breathless. A large, dark figure loomed in the hall doorway.

“Ali, let’s go. Someone’s coming through your backyard.” She knew that voice, would never be able to forget it.

Relief filled her. “Devon?”

“Yes. Come on.”

He came to her and took Bridget from her arms. “Come on.”

“No.”

“I don’t have time to fuck around. There are at least five in the back. We can argue later.”

“I have a bag to take.”

“Get Charles!” Bridget yelled.

“Right.”

She stopped in Bridget’s room, picked up her favorite bear and the go bag she had packed for Bridget. Then, she grabbed her own and was following Devon out of the front door. They ran to his SUV, which was parked in front of her driveway. He put Bridget in the backseat.

“Strap yourself in, Bridget,” Devon said. He popped the trunk and Alicia threw the bags in. Then she slipped in beside him.

“Go.”

He didn’t argue. Instead, he hit the gas and they went raring off into the night. Alicia’s heart was pounding hard against her chest and she couldn’t catch her breath. She made sure the safety was on her gun before setting it down on the floorboard, then strapped herself in.

“You were right, Mummy. He did come back.”

She smiled and looked at Devon, then at her daughter.

“He did, poppet. He really did.”

And thank God he did. She could have gotten them out of trouble, but it was definitely easier with Devon there.

“Where are we going?”

“Back to the apartment I rented for us here.”

For a moment she was confused, but then she realized he was talking about his sister and her husband.

“I don’t know if I want to do that.”

“You really don’t have a fu—”

“Watch it,” she said. He glanced at her, and she motioned with her head toward Bridget.

He sighed.

“And, what I meant was I didn’t want to put your family in any more danger.”

“What makes you think they’ll link you and me?”

She realized that on this one point, he was correct. He continued driving, making sure to double back a few times.

“I really appreciate this,” she said. “We’ll find a new place soon.”

He didn’t say anything for a few minutes as he continued to drive. Then, he glanced up in the rearview mirror to check on Bridget. She also looked and found her daughter asleep.

“Let’s get one thing straight. You and Bridget will not be out of my sight until I know that both of you are safe. There is no discussion. I will take care of both of you, but if you refuse, you go alone. You will not walk off with my daughter.”

CHAPTER SIX

The rain started to fall about five minutes from the apartment. Devon turned on the windshield wipers as he tried to come to terms with what just happened.

He had been sitting out on the street, keeping an eye on the house, and he’d seen a movement. It had taken a moment or two for him to figure out exactly what he was seeing. They’d been dressed from head to toe in black, appearing almost out of nowhere.