There needed to be as much commitment to the relationship as there was to work, and Hunter didn’t think he’d ever be able to give that. He certainly hadn’t had a good example of how to make it work, that was for sure.
He frowned, not sure why he was letting his mind wander in that direction.
Another soft sound drifted from Annie’s room. He peeked in the door. The bed was empty. His heart jumped in surprise, but he wasn’t worried. No way could Sophia have gone far. Then again, he didn’t know how far a toddler would have to go to find trouble in an apartment that wasn’t baby-proofed.
“Sophia?” he called as he walked into the room.
No answer.
He rounded the bed and found her lying beside it, a blanket clutched in one arm. Still sound asleep by the look of things.
He scooped her up, planning to put her back in bed, but her little arms wrapped round his neck, and she held on tight.
“Time to get back in bed, Sophia,” he said.
“Where’s Mommy?” She popped her thumb in her mouth and eyed him suspiciously.
“In the living room. She’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“I want Mommy,” she somehow managed to say without taking her thumb out of her mouth.
For such a young kid, she was very articulate, every word she spoke crystal clear. He had good reason to know it. She was speaking more and more lately, her voice high-pitched and sweet. “All right. I’ll get her for you.”
He tried to put her down again, but she tightened her grip on his neck.
“Hey,” he said, easing one of her little arms from his neck before she cut off circulation. “You’ve got quite a grip, kid.”
“I not kid. I Sophia.”
The comment surprised a laugh out of him. “Sorry. Sophia.”
“Good boy, Hunter,” she said solemnly, patting his cheek.
He was more amused than he probably should be. He was working, after all. Protecting Sophia and Annie. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted.
“Come on,” he said, carrying her from the room. “Let’s get your mom.”
“And a cookie?”
He almost laughed again. “That’s up to your mom.”
“What’s up to me?” Annie hurried into the hall. Obviously, she’d heard him talking to Sophia. She took the toddler from his arms and eyed him with the same suspicion he’d seen in her daughter’s eyes.
They looked a lot alike. Both with dark hair and big blue eyes. Both with smooth skin and delicate features. Hunter had seen pictures of Joe. His hair had been light brown, his eyes gray. Whatever he’d passed on to his daughter didn’t show in her face.
“Sophia wanted a cookie,” he said.
“Does Mommy ever give you cookies before breakfast, Sophia?” She looked at her daughter rather than him, and he had the distinct feeling she was trying to cut him out of the conversation, exclude him from their little circle of family.
That should have been just fine. He’d spent the vast majority of his adult years standing on the edges of other people’s lives. It was part of the job.
For some reason, with Annie, it bothered him.
With her, the quick pivot and half jog down the hall and away from him was more than annoying. It was downright insulting. He’d been providing for Sophia’s needs for months, making sure the little girl was safe and protected. In the last safe house, he’d been the one to buy outlet covers. He’d also been the one to shove them into every outlet in the house so that Sophia wouldn’t stick her fingers into the sockets. He’d purchased a car seat for their trips to and from the airport and to and from the prosecuting attorney’s office. He’d even researched the best ones, making sure that he bought one with the highest safety rating. He’d purchased cabinet locks for the kitchen and little padded covers for the edges of the coffee table in the living room. Annie hadn’t had to think about or worry about any of those things. They’d been done before she’d arrived.
So, yeah, having Sophia snatched from his arms and hurried away as though he might kidnap the kid irked.
He almost asked Annie what her problem was. Why she felt the need to protect her daughter from the guy who’d spent the past month providing everything the little girl needed.
His better self prevailed. His professional self, the one who always kept his cool and never let a witness shake his confidence or his calm, won out over irritation.
Barely.
And that worried him.
Maybe the past year had taken more of a toll than he’d thought it had. Losing Daniel in the line of duty, seeing his team suffer, had given him plenty of sleepless nights. With the Delacorte trial approaching, the danger to Sophia and Annie was intensifying. That had never bothered him with other cases, but this case was different. It involved a completely innocent woman and her child. He’d found himself caring just a little more, going to just a little more trouble for his charges.
Going to a little more trouble was one thing—letting them affect his emotions was another. Once he got Annie safely through the trial, he was going to take a vacation, spend a couple of weeks at his uncle’s ranch in Montana. He’d always loved it there. The fresh air and wide-open spaces. The chance to breathe and think without the clutter of city noise and smog.
He glanced at his watch. He needed to be at the office in two hours. His replacement would arrive soon. The best thing he could do was prepare for the meeting.
He grabbed a laptop from the room beside Annie’s and carried it into the living room. Annie was in the kitchen, making eggs for Sophia. Serena was manning the monitor.
He settled into a chair, opened the laptop and got to work.
FIVE
The worst thing about being in witness protection in St. Louis was that she was never alone. Ever.
And, sometimes, Annie really wanted to be.
In the six hours she’d been awake, she hadn’t had a moment to herself. Serena and Hunter had hovered close by until they’d had to leave for a meeting. After they left, their replacements had done the same.
She rubbed the back of her neck and lifted the blanket Sophia had covered herself with.
“Found you!” she said for the hundredth time.
Sophia giggled and ran away, her chubby legs churning as she zipped past Burke Trier. Tall and muscular with dark hair and eyes, he had a quick smile and an easygoing personality. He was funny, smart and interesting.
He was also a player.
It had taken Annie only a couple of days to figure that out. Not because he’d overstepped any professional lines, but because he constantly seemed to be arriving for his shift after a long night or rushing out because he had a hot date.
His words. Not hers.
Personally, she’d only ever been on nice dates with a nice guy. At least, Joe had seemed nice when they’d been dating during high school and college. He had been nice, but nice didn’t mean honest.
That had been a hard lesson to learn.
She had learned it well. Even if she hadn’t, men like Burke had never appealed to her.
She scooped Sophia into her arms, offering Burke an apologetic smile. “She’s a little hyper. That seems to happen when she doesn’t get enough sleep.”
“She’s less hyper than my nieces and nephews get when they’re tired,” he said with the charming smile he used every time they spoke. “She’s also pretty steady on her feet. Once all this is over, you should put her in gymnastics or dance or something.”
“She’s still a little young for that.”
“My niece is the same age. My sister-in-law takes her to Mommy and Me classes. Gymnastics and dance.”
His sister-in-law obviously had a husband who could help her afford classes. Either that or she had a good job that still allowed her plenty of time to spend with her daughter.
Annie’s situation was different.
There was no sense in trying to explain that to Burke. In a few weeks, the trial would be over. She and Sophia would be free
to move on. Annie would find a new job and a good day-care center. Hopefully, they’d settle into life and finally start really living again.
“Maybe I’ll look into it,” she said as she carried Sophia into the kitchen and set her in one of the chairs. “Are you hungry, peanut?”
“For cookies?” Sophia asked. The child loved sweets just like Joe had.
That was one thing she’d gotten from her father.
“For lunch, silly,” she responded, forcing some cheerfulness into her voice. Sophia deserved more than a mother who constantly bemoaned her fate. “But you can have a cookie when you’re finished.”
“Yay!” Sophia clapped her hands, her little eyes barely above the rim of the table. She needed a booster seat, but Annie didn’t want to ask. It seemed as if all she did was ask for things. Hunter had assured her that it was his team’s job to make her and Sophia comfortable, but she was starting to feel like a bird in a cage. Given everything she needed, but denied the freedom she craved.
“I’ll bring a high chair for her tomorrow,” Burke offered, his attention on the computer monitor set up on the counter.
“That’s okay. We’re only going to be here a few more weeks.”
“A few weeks is a long time for a little girl.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and typed something into it. “There. Sent myself a text, and I sent one to Hunter. Between the two of us, we’ll get it done.”
“Really, Burke—”
His cell phone rang, and he raised a hand.
“It’s Hunter. Hold that thought, okay?” He made it sound as though they’d been having an intimate conversation, a man and a woman in the middle of something more than a discussion about booster seats. Or maybe that was just what she heard because Joe had said the same thing to her so many times.
Hold that thought, sweetie. I need to take this call.
Hang on to that thought for a minute. My boss is calling me.
She’d never doubted that she was being interrupted for a good cause. She’d always waited patiently, and then continued the conversation as if the interruption hadn’t happened.
Her throat felt tight and her eyes burned, but she’d cried every tear she could in the weeks after Joe’s death.
She pulled cheese out of the refrigerator, broke it into a few small pieces and put them on a plate. There was a package of crackers on the counter. She put a couple on the plate. Not much of a lunch, but Sophia tended to graze more than eat.
“Here you go, Sophia.” She set the plate in front of her daughter, trying hard not to eavesdrop on the conversation Burke was having. It was hard not to, though. Especially since the conversation seemed to be about her.
“Okay,” he said, meeting her eyes and smiling. “I’ll let her know.” He shoved the phone in his pocket, took a couple of crackers from the open package. “Your meeting with Antonio has been pushed forward. Hunter will be here in twenty minutes to pick you up.”
Twenty minutes would have been plenty of time if she’d had clean clothes for herself and Sophia. A brush would have been nice, too.
“I’m not exactly dressed for a meeting,” she said, glancing down at the sweatshirt and jeans she’d been wearing for the better part of two days.
“Did you check the drawers and closet in your room? Usually, we keep a few things stocked. Just in case we have an emergency like this.”
“I’ll check, but Sophia needs some things, too. All her clothes are back at the house.”
“I’ll have Serena pick them up on her way back here tonight. At least, I’ll ask her to. Knowing her, she already has that on her schedule for the day.”
“Thanks, Burke. Let’s get ready to go,” she said, ready to scoop Sophia into her arms.
“Actually—” Burke put a hand on her arm “—Hunter thinks it would be best if she stays here.”
“I don’t really care what Hunter thinks.” At least, she didn’t care much what he thought when it came to raising her daughter.
“He’s worried about what happened last night, Annie.”
“He’s been worried since the day I met him, and he was probably worried long before that,” she pointed out.
“That’s what makes him good at his job. He takes it seriously. He thinks about every detail, and he plans for every eventuality. If he’s worried about Sophia being out today, you’d be wise to be worried, too.” There was an edge to his voice that Annie hadn’t heard before, a seriousness to his eyes that she couldn’t ignore.
“I’ll…” She glanced at Sophia. She was happily munching on a cracker and smashing a piece of cheese between her fingers. Annie hated to go anywhere without her. Usually, Hunter was happy to accommodate that. The fact that he wasn’t this time made her uneasy. “…talk to Hunter when he gets here.”
“You can talk all you want, but the plans are set. I’m going to stay here with Sophia. Hunter and Serena are going to escort you to the attorney’s office.”
“I really don’t feel comfortable leaving her here, Burke,” she tried to protest.
“You don’t trust me to watch your daughter?”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“I just don’t really like leaving her when I go out.” Mostly because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t forget the feeling of returning home to a wounded husband and a missing baby. She didn’t want to ever have to live through that again. “Besides, the apartment isn’t toddler-proof. She could get into all kinds of trouble while I’m gone.”
“You know that fifty years ago people didn’t believe in childproofing, right? I mean, they didn’t have all the little gadgets to keep kids from putting their fingers into sockets or pulling furniture over on themselves.”
“And?”
“Most kids lived,” he said drily. “And I’m pretty sure that if I can watch my brother’s identical twins for an entire weekend, I can watch Sophia for a couple of hours.”
“But—”
“Look, Annie,” he cut in. “We try to be accommodating, but when it comes to the safety of the people we’re protecting, we don’t believe in taking chances. If you don’t hurry and get ready, you’re going to be late for your appointment.”
He turned his attention back to the computer monitor. Apparently, he was done with their conversation.
Annie didn’t really want to be done. She didn’t want to go to the meeting dressed in clothes she’d slept in, either. She carried Sophia into the room and set her down. Since Joe died, she’d had to leave Sophia with sitters so that she could work. It had taken a while, but she’d gotten used to that. Still, St. Louis was the city where everything had gone wrong. It was the place where she’d lost every dream she’d ever dreamed, and the place where she’d been forced to grow up, become a stronger person, a better one. That was the good that had come out of the bad.
When she was really feeling down, she tried to remember it.
“Okay, Sophia,” she said. “Mommy has to go out for a while. Want to help me pick something to wear?” She opened a dresser drawer. Jeans in a variety of sizes. Another drawer had Tshirts and sweatshirts. Nothing she’d have chosen for a business meeting.
Not that this was business exactly.
She grabbed what she needed and hurried into the bathroom. She’d perfected the art of quick showers and quick changes when Sophia was younger. There was no blow-dryer, so she toweled her hair dry and brushed it while Sophia sang her version of “Jingle Bells.”
“Christmas is over, sweetie. How about you sing something different?” she suggested as she walked out of the bathroom.
Sophia followed, standing close as Annie eyed herself in the dresser mirror. The jeans were dark, straight and a little loose, the T-shirt tighter than she normally wore. At least it was dark, the hem falling to her hips. She looked almost put together. Even with her hair only half-dry and no makeup on her face.
Voices drifted into the room. Hunter and Serena must have returned.
She had to get g
oing, but she still wasn’t happy about leaving Sophia. There wasn’t much for a two-year-old to do in the apartment. No books. No toys. The few things Sophia had gotten for Christmas had been left behind when they’d run from the former safe house.
“Come on, Sophia. Let’s go.” She walked out into the hall, following the sounds of voices into the kitchen. Four people were there. Hunter. Serena. Burke. Joshua McCall.
Serena didn’t look happy, and the tension in the room was so thick Annie could have cut it with a knife.
“Ready?” Hunter asked. He didn’t seem upset or tense. His hands were relaxed, his expression neutral.
It was what she’d come to expect of him. He never seemed fazed by anything. Calm, cool, efficient. She couldn’t have asked for more from a bodyguard, so she couldn’t complain.
Sometimes, though, she had the absurd urge to rattle his cage just to see what would happen.
Must be boredom rearing its ugly head.
“Yes, but I was thinking that Sophia could come with us. This is a new place and—”
“I’m sorry, Annie. That’s out of the question. After last night, we can’t be too careful. There will be less risk for everyone if we leave Sophia here.”
She could have argued, but she’d known Hunter long enough to know it would be a waste of time. “How long will we be gone?”
“A couple of hours. Burke and I are going to escort you. Josh and Serena will stay here. Sophia will be in good hands.”
“I thought Burke was—” Serena began.
“We’ve already discussed it,” Josh cut in, his words curt, his expression neutral. Whatever they’d discussed, he didn’t seem very happy about the outcome.
Not Annie’s business. All she had to worry about was getting to the attorney’s office and getting back to Sophia. The sooner the better.
“Give Mommy a kiss, Sophia,” she said, crouching down and opening her arms.
Sophia ran into them, her soft hair brushing Annie’s chin. She smelled like baby shampoo and crackers, and Annie’s heart ached with the depth of the love she felt for her.
“Be good for Serena and Josh, okay?” she said.
“No,” Sophia responded.
Burke laughed. “Glad I got voted out of staying with you, then, kid.”
Love Inspired Suspense January 2014 Page 5