Fair Lakes Series Box Set - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,307

holds out his hand, and I reach for the note. “I was being followed, so I had to sound menacing. When you’re undercover, you never know who is lurking in the shadows. You never know who you can and can’t trust. That note was the only way for us to let you know that you were safe. He didn’t see you that night, Hollis. It was only me,” Tom says reassuringly.

“Here.” I hand Hollis the note, but she shakes her head.

“You read it.” She places a kiss on Milo’s head, making my heart leap out of my chest. I love how she loves my son.

Nodding, I unfold the small piece of paper and begin to read.

Hollis,

My name is Tom Lane. I am an undercover cop. You ran into me and my partner,

Hannah, a few weeks ago. You’re safe. They didn’t see you. If you have any questions,

call this number and ask for my partner, Hannah. She can explain everything.

Tom

“There’s a number for you to call.” I hold it up to show it to Hollis.

“So, this all could have been avoided. I was afraid, so I ran. I’m so sorry,” she says, her voice cracking.

“You did what anyone would do in your situation,” Nancy tells her.

“What about the messages from her website? Nothing you’ve told us this far explains those,” I tell them.

Nancy nods. “We mentioned an unidentified woman in the police report. That wasn’t good enough for them. They wanted to find her. We had to prove we were working on it.”

“A few times I’d been working on my computer, and they would walk in. I was on your website looking for clues as to how to find you, so I flipped over to your contact page and sent the message. Luckily, I scrolled so that the name of your business wasn’t showing, just the contact form. Me sending those messages, they kept him from looking for you himself.”

“So, why didn’t you just send her a message explaining all of this?” Chase asks.

“We couldn’t do anything that might compromise the bust. We were close to getting the other guy, and him running was the last thing we needed,” Nancy explains.

“You put her at risk.” I stare him down. “You were careless. They could have easily got your computer and tracked her down. How do we know she’s safe? How do we know there are not others coming after her?” Hollis makes a sound but quickly disguises it, hiding her face in the top of my son’s head.

“My computer never left my side. We have tracking software on it just in case. We know that my files were not compromised.”

“So, this is what? All over?” Chase asks as his phone rings. “My wife,” he says, leaving and going to the kitchen to talk to Gabby.

“Is it over?” Hollis asks.

“It’s over,” Nancy assures her. “You can come home.”

“She is home.” My voice is stern and leaves no room for discussion, but then it hits me that this wasn’t her home. She’s been hiding out, and now there is nothing that can keep her here. My shoulders sag as I think about the possibility of losing her. I glance over at her, holding my son, and I know that if she goes back and she’s open to it, Milo and I will go with her. I’ll miss my parents and my brother, but fuck if I can lose her.

I can’t. I won’t.

“What did I miss?” Chase asks.

He must not have heard my heart cracking at the thought of losing Hollis. “It’s over. She’s safe. We’re all safe.” The words are thick in my throat.

“You good?” he asks me.

“Yeah. We’re good here. Thanks for the ride. Let me know when you make it home safe. Tell Gabs I’m sorry for holding you up.”

“Not a hold up, brother,” he assures me.

I watch as he gives Hollis’s shoulder a gentle squeeze and waves at Tom and Nancy before leaving.

“We’re sorry for all that you went through,” Nancy tells Hollis. “We have statements here from the LAPD. It ensures your safety. There are numbers there that you can call if you ever need us or feel unsafe in any way.”

I want to tell them she’ll never need them because she’s never going back there, but I can’t do that. I don’t know what she’s going to do.

“Thank you,” Hollis says.

“I can take him,” I tell her, reaching for my son.

“No. He’s fine. He’s sleeping peacefully.” She glances down at my son in her arms.

“What now?” I ask