by Kathy Ivan
“Do you honestly think that’s what this is, Serena? Tell the truth.”
She huffed out a sigh. “Fine. But I’ll only go for a day or two. Since it’s the weekend, I can move a couple of things around. But I’ve got to work on Monday. I’m not going to cancel my appointments because I’m being paranoid.”
Antonio moved closer and picked up her hands in his. He didn’t miss the slight trembling or how cold they felt. She was more scared than she’d admit, even though she tried to put on a brave front. If he didn’t already know what she was hiding, he’d probably have missed the signs. Lifting one hand, he brushed a light kiss against her knuckles, watched her eyes widen at his surprise move.
“Let me make a couple calls and get everything set. By the time I’m done, I bet Rafe and his team will be finished, and you can pack enough for a couple days. Okay?”
She gave a sharp nod and pulled her hands free, wrapping her arms across her middle. With unhurried movements, he stood and walked back into the kitchen, pulling out his cell phone along the way. His first call was to his momma. Serena would be safe with her. She’d watch over her like a mama bear protecting her cub, and he couldn’t think of better hands to handle Serena’s care.
Serena watched Antonio walk away, her mind racing. Too much had happened today. She’d been thrown for a loop at the diner when Beth had mentioned Big Jim and the possibility he’d get a new trial. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the feds would be hot on her trail again, wanting her to rehash in agonizing detail at the family dynamics and drama she’d run from in the first place. Then to come home and find her privacy had been violated. Somebody had found her, and her past was nipping at her heels.
Every survival instinct screamed for her to run. But it felt like she’d been running her whole life, and she was tired. Tired of hiding, changing her appearance, her name, her very identity because she’d done the right thing. Even now, she felt like she was the guilty party, because she’d been the one who’d ended up punished. Living in a prison of her own making, because she’d turned her back on her family, and trusted the government to keep their word, and keep her safe.
The way she lived wasn’t living, merely existing, always looking over her shoulder, waiting for a sign she’d been found. Ready to run at any hint her uncle or one of his followers was onto her. Living in Shiloh Springs, she’d finally felt like she’d found a little peace. She’d even started to believe she might have a future, a life with the man she found fascinating, and a family who made her feel like she belonged.
She should have known it was too good to be true. Looking around her townhouse, it sank in she didn’t have anything here she’d miss once she hit the road. Her worldly possessions would fit into one bag, and even then if she had to, she could leave it all behind and not miss anything. The clothing she wore was simply a façade, part of the persona she’d adopted to go along with the profession she’d found. Easily replaced with her next iteration—like a chameleon, she’d change and blend with her surroundings, adapt and survive.
Her go-bag was ready in the back of the master bedroom closet. Early on, she’d figured out keeping one handy saved her a lot of time and gave her fewer headaches when she needed to make a quick getaway. She’d fallen out of practice the last year, had gotten complacent. Soft—she’d grown soft and ill-prepared because she’d allowed herself to feel.
When Rafe walked into the living room, she stood and met him halfway. “Are you finished?”
He nodded. “We’ve taken prints and swept your bedroom and the other one. You didn’t notice anything missing?”
“No. Just out of place. I’m starting to wonder if it’s my imagination playing tricks.” The look he shot her stopped her from spewing any more lies. It was clear he wasn’t buying them anyway.
“I think you should stay someplace else until we figure out what exactly is going on.”
Serena gave a harsh chuckle. “You and your brother think alike. He’s in the kitchen calling the Big House and making arrangements for me to stay there over the weekend.”
Rafe smiled and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes twinkling. “I was going to suggest the same. Momma will take good care of you, and you won’t be alone. Plus, she’ll stuff you full of good food. She’ll love having somebody around to spoil, especially since Nica can’t make it home like she planned.”
The two techs paused in the doorway, and Rafe walked the few steps to meet them, and she watched them talk for a few seconds. She couldn’t hear what they said, but she didn’t miss the evidence bags in their hands, or the look of compassion Judith shot her way before she headed out the door.
Antonio roughly ran a hand through his hair. “Douglas will be here in a couple minutes.”
“That’s not necessary. I can drive myself—”
“He insisted.” Antonio’s mulish expression had her closing her mouth against further protest. It wouldn’t do any good. He’d simply pick her up and haul her out to the truck like a sack of potatoes when his father got there if she argued. She’d like to keep what little dignity she had left.
“Rafe, we still need to talk. I’ll give you a ride back to the station, if you don’t mind waiting a few more minutes.” Rafe gave a brief jerk of his head, and walked outside with the other tech.
Antonio walked over and stood close enough she could reach out her hand and touch him. And she wanted to. She wanted to feel his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. She ached to feel his lips against hers, wild and unbridled, and finally unleash the passion she’d kept buried deep. If her days were numbered, she wanted to be wild and free, at least once in her life, and he was the man she’d secretly yearned for since the moment they’d met.
When his hand reached out and cupped her cheek, she closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his calloused skin against hers. She leaned into his touch, realizing she needed it, wanted it with her last breath. If this was all she could get, she’d take it and cherish the memory. The movement of his thumb against her cheek in a gentle caress made her gasp, the sound loud in the silent room.
“Serena, I…”
“Dad’s here,” Rafe’s voice boomed from the doorway, shattering the moment, and Serena’s eyelids sprang open, her eyes scanning Antonio’s face. Whatever he’d been about to reveal was gone, his inscrutable mask firmly back in place.
“Listen to Dad, and do what he says. I’ll be out later tonight.” He paused, looking like he wanted to add more, then glanced away. “We have a few things we need to discuss.”
“Alright.”
“Serena, promise me you’ll stay.”
Her eyes flew to his face, trying to determine if there was some underlying meaning to his words. No, she was reading too much into things. He couldn’t possibly know her secret.
“Please.”
She nodded without thinking, because of one little word. Antonio never begged, never yielded, and yet he’d added a single please. How could she say no? Even if she ended up regretting it, she’d stay until she had no other choice.
CHAPTER TEN
“Williamson, we’ve got a situation.”
“What kind of situation? You’ve barely started looking into the Berkley case. Have you found something already?”
Antonio scrubbed a hand over his face, and looked at his brother across his desk. After leaving Serena’s townhouse, he’d driven Rafe back to the sheriff’s office. He’d planned on explaining things to Rafe earlier, before they’d gotten the call about the break-in at Serena’s, and there hadn’t been time since. So, he’d done the next best thing. He’d followed Rafe into his office, closed the door, and put in a call to the special agent in charge of the case, putting the phone on speaker. Letting Rafe listen in would get him up to speed, and he needed to let Williamson know he was bringing the county sheriff in on the case as more than a consultant.
“First, I’ve got this call on speaker. I’m in the sheriff’s office. We need to bring him in on this case.” Rafe quir
ked his brow, but didn’t say anything.
“Any particular reason you’re bringing the sheriff in on an FBI assignment, Boudreau?”
“Several, which I’ll explain, if I may?”
He heard Williamson sigh. “This is gonna be good. Go ahead, Boudreau. Make my weekend.”
Antonio bit back a chuckle. Williamson sounded tired. He didn’t blame him, the Austin FBI office was woefully understaffed, and their case load had exploded. And he was about to load even more bad news onto the other man’s shoulders.
“First things first. SAC Derrick Williamson, meet Rafe Boudreau, sheriff of Shiloh Springs.”
“Rafe Boudreau? Any relation?”
“My brother.” Antonio watched Rafe across the table, noted the amused expression on his face.
“Good to meet you, Williamson. Hope Antonio isn’t giving you too much grief.”
“Other than disturbing the first Saturday I’ve had off in six weeks, he’s okay. You have any idea what his big news is?”
“Not a clue.”
“Alright then, Antonio, what’s going on?”
“I should tell you, I may have a conflict of interest in this case. Once I explain, if you want to pull me off and reassign it to somebody else, I’ll understand.”
He watched his brother straighten in his chair, his attention fully focused and directed at him. Antonio could read the question in his gaze, and he gave a nonchalant shrug, waiting for Williamson’s response.
“This day keeps getting better and better. Spit it out, Boudreau.”
“Turns out, I know Sharon Berkley.”
“What?” The voices were like a choreographed duet, both Rafe and Williamson’s question echoing through the speaker.
“Explain.” Williamson’s command came through loud and clear.
“I went through the info you provided on the Berkley case, both Big Jim and Sharon. I didn’t look at her file until late this morning.” He paused for a second before opening the file, sliding it across Rafe’s desk, and pointed to the photo. “I recognized Sharon Berkley immediately.”
“What? How?”
“Sir, the woman in the photo, Sharon Berkley, has been living in Shiloh Springs for almost a year under a different name. She looks different than in the photo, of course. She’s changed her hair color, obviously wears colored contacts, but there’s no denying it’s her.”
Rafe’s head shot up, his expression perplexed. Antonio knew exactly how he felt, since he’d already run the gamut of emotions ever since he’d seen Sharon’s face staring back at him from the FBI photograph.
“Serena?” he mouthed. Antonio nodded, still listening to Williamson’s muttered curses.
“I guess that explains why you’ve brought your brother into the mix, since he knows her too. Have you taken her into custody?”
“No. There’s been an…incident.”
“What kind of incident and do I really want to know?”
“Somebody may have broken into Serena’s, um, Sharon’s, townhouse today. We’re checking it out, and the crime scene team has taken fingerprints. There’s nothing definitive, but it’s possible one of Big Jim’s associates may have discovered she’s living in Shiloh Springs.”
“All the more reason to bring her in. We can relocate her, get her back into witness protection, and prepped for her testimony against James Berkley.”
Antonio stood, because sitting was making him antsy. He walked several steps across the office, turned and paced back in the opposite direction. How was he going to convince Williamson it was in Serena’s best interests to stay in Shiloh Springs? She’d been in witness protection twice, and even though Williamson had told him the feds leak had been plugged, who was to say another one wouldn’t spring open if enough money changed hands? Putting Serena’s safety into somebody else’s safekeeping didn’t sit well. She was his. His responsibility. His family’s friend. His—just his. Period.
“Mr. Williamson, Antonio’s told me the basics of the case, but from what I understand, Serena, I mean Sharon, went into witness protection during and after Big Jim’s trial, and at least twice she was located with assassination attempts, correct?”
Williamson sighed. “True. There was an agent, part of WITSEC, who accepted bribes to reveal her location. Said former agent is now serving time in a federal facility himself.”
“Until we are sure Serena’s cover has been blown, I think it’s safer to keep her here in Shiloh Springs. Hear me out,” Rafe interjected when Williamson started to interrupt. “Shiloh Springs is a smaller town than say Austin, and we usually know when a stranger shows up. Right now, we’ve got Sharon, Serena—that’s way too confusing, why don’t we call her Serena since it’s the name she’s been using for the last year. Anyway, Serena is at my parents’ house. She can be protected there. Trust me, there are a lot of Boudreaus who either live at the ranch, or can be roped into helping out, keeping an eye on Serena.”
“I don’t know. It seems like she’d be better off in federal custody for her own protection.”
“Williamson, we need Serena’s cooperation. Her testimony is tantamount to keeping Big Jim behind bars for good. Here, she’s among friends, people who’ve come to care about her a great deal. Don’t you think being here, instead of holed up in some hotel room for the next who knows how many months, would make her more cooperative?” Antonio watched in awe as his brother laid it out for the Special Agent in Charge. Who knew his brother was so silver-tongued?
“Serena doesn’t know anybody in Shiloh Springs knows her true identity. I’ll have to break it to her, and I can guarantee her first instinct is going to be to run. But if she’s surrounded by friends, people she considers as close as family, making her feel safe, I can talk her into staying.”
Rafe nodded at his brother’s words, giving him a hand gesture as if telling him to keep talking. He hoped Williamson bought it, because he knew Serena wouldn’t stick around if she knew the FBI was sending agents to pick her up. And if she heard her uncle was getting another trial, they’d be lucky if she didn’t leave the country altogether this time.
“Sir, she trusts me. She trusts Rafe. She works for my mother. Living at the Big House, we can make sure there’s somebody with her twenty-four/seven. If you want feds there, we can make it look like they’re working on the ranch, so she won’t be suspicious. It’s a win-win. Serena stays safe and the feds know exactly where she is when it’s time for her to testify.”
“You’ve both made valid points. Is this some kind of Boudreau thing—tag team the other guy until you get what you want?”
Rafe laughed. “No, but if it works, we might put it into our repertoire.”
“Antonio, I want reports every day. If there’s even a hint somebody’s found her, I’m yanking her into federal custody. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Williamson huffed out a long breath. “I hope I’m not making the biggest mistake of my career. Copy me on the break-in report.”
“You’ve got it. I’ll have it in your e-mail by end of the day.” Antonio gave his brother a fist bump, ecstatic he’d won this round. Though he knew he had a lot of explaining to do, not only to Rafe, but to his family. They’d need to know the salient facts in order to keep Serena safe and protected, without making her feel suffocated. A big chore, but better than the alternative.
“Every day, Boudreau. I want a phone call every day with updates, or I’m pulling her out of there.”
“Understood. Thanks.”
He hung up and looked at Rafe. “That went well, don’t you think?”
“I think you’ve stepped in a huge smelly pile of problems is what I think. Serena? Sweet little Serena is related to that rotten scum?”
“Blows your mind. Yet it explains a lot. Why she’s always been a little reserved, never revealed much about her background. She passed a background check, because our mother always does one on new hires, even contractors. Guess she used a pretty darn good hacker for her ID.”
Raf
e stood and grabbed his hat. “I’ve got a couple things to do before I head home. Unless you want me to go to the Big House with you to talk to Serena?”
“No, I’ve got it. I’ll figure out how to tell her by the time I get there.” I hope.
“We’ll watch over her, keep her safe.”
Antonio walked out with Rafe and headed for his car. Somehow, in the next hour, he needed to come up with a logical explanation to clue Serena in he knew about her past, knew her real identity, and he was her brand spanking shiny new bodyguard until the whole Big Jim situation was resolved.
It was going to be a long night.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Guys, I still think this is going overboard.” Serena stood by the passenger door as Douglas lifted her suitcase out of the trunk. “I’m perfectly fine staying at my place.”
At Douglas’ direct stare, she immediately closed her mouth. The big man didn’t need to stay a word to get his message across. She was staying with him and Ms. Patti until they figured out who’d invaded her townhouse and searched her stuff, and that was final. With a single phone call, Douglas had shown up at her townhouse, taken her bag, and loaded her in his truck without a single word. Before he’d helped her into the truck, he’d pulled her into his arms and wrapped her in a big bear hug. Somehow, with his simple act, she’d felt loved, safe and secure. Like she belonged. And now it was all going to disappear—just like she was going to vanish into the night.
Was it any wonder she’d grown to adore this family? From the very beginning, Ms. Patti had taken her under her wing and treated her like she was one of their own. Serena had soaked up the attention and affection like a half-starved pup, because it was unfamiliar and yet wonderful. She’d never had anything in her life which even compared with what the Boudreaus had, a loving family. A family who cared about the people around them, wanted only the best for each person in their close-knit group. It was so different from what she’d grown up understanding a family was, and what it meant. The second there’d been trouble, the entire Berkley clan turned their backs on her without a second thought. Big Jim held control over them all, with a tight fist and an iron hand. A shudder ran through her at the thought of her uncle. People thought they understood what monsters were. They had no real clue. Thankfully, he was behind bars, hopefully for the rest of his life, and couldn’t hurt her any more.