Page 41 of Tracking Safety

A moment of silence passed as she tried to figure out what to say next. She appreciated Wes’s words more than she could express, but she still wasn’t sure she believed them.

She frowned before attempting to find the right words. “Things haven’t gone as smoothly since I’ve been back as I hoped. That’s why Luke called you.”

He went still as if anticipating the worst. “I figured something had happened.”

She told him about the gunfire that morning. About the dark sedan she’d seen on more than one occasion. About the footstep at the church and the SUV charging toward them on the sidewalk.

Wes’s face grew tenser and tenser with each update. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“I thought I was safe, Wes. Roderick is dead. The marshals told me the threat was gone. That’s why I came back.” She locked gazes with him. “Was I wrong? What if coming here was a huge mistake?”

“It’s too early to know that.” He said the words without false reassurance, which she appreciated. “I’m afraid the Barone crime organization didn’t die with Roderick, no matter what they may want you to think. People don’t let go of that kind of power and control easily. There are other people who could have stepped up.”

Her chest tightened, even though she’d known he’d say that. “So what does that mean for me?”

He frowned before answering. “Give me a minute, and I’ll make some calls and see where things stand. I still have contacts who might know.”

“Thank you.” She took another sip of her water.

“What about your own people?” Wes set his glass down. “You’ve still got a marshal on paper. Reaching out to your handler is the protocol here, Jenna. You know that.”

“I know.” She’d known he’d ask. She’d been dreading it. “His name’s Deklan. He’s the one who found me at the grocery store when Roderick escaped.”

She turned her water glass a slow quarter-turn.

“He’s also the one who called me and told me it was over. That Roderick was dead, the threat was closed, and I could stop looking over my shoulder. He’s the reason I came back here at all.”

“And now?”

“And now I don’t know what his word is worth.” Her voice stayed low. “Somebody leaked my name to Roderick in prison. Somebody who had access. If the leak came from inside the program, then the first call I make to Deklan is the call that tells them exactly where I am.” She met Wes’s eyes. “I trust you because you’ve got no reason left to be in this. You’re not on anyone’s payroll. Deklan—I can’t be sure of anymore.”

His eyes clouded as if he didn’t like her implications, but he nodded anyway. “Makes sense.”

Her gaze met Wes’s again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“Should I stay here?” She held his gaze. “Or should I go? Because if I’ve brought something dangerous into Blue Ridge Hollow—into Luke’s life, our children’s lives—then maybe the right thing is to disappear again. Let them be safe. Let them⁠—”

“Jenna.” His voice was quiet but firm as his gaze locked onto hers.

She stopped, her heart pounding in her ears as she waited for him to continue. “Yes?”

“You can’t leave Luke again. Not now.”

The weight of his statement settled over her.

Some things, once started, had to be seen through. She’d walked back into Luke’s life and told him the truth.

Disappearing again would be a cruelty she’d never recover from.

It was a cruelty they’d all never recover from.

CHAPTER 16

County inspector Roger Fenn was a precise man.

Luke could tell that by watching him from twenty feet away. He knew by the way Fenn moved between the cottages, methodical and unhurried, making notes with careful deliberateness.