Page 73 of Secret Sins

"Is there anyone you can think of who'd ask after you without leaving their name?" Kaylee asked me.

How to answer without being a smartass? "There could be, from back home in Maryland."

Bailey's eyes widened. It was the only time I'd ever told anyone where I'm from besides her.

"But they would just find my apartment, I'd think. It's odd they're looking in places where I've been seen with Bailey, but not at my home."

If they did find me at my home, I feared what would happen—to them. I was capable of terrible things.

Just ask the ADA in Maryland.

Kaylee nodded. "So, for the time being, I would say remain alert. If you see this person, don't engage with them. Call me directly if you want, or the main line. Please don't dial 911 unless the man threatens you or takes action against you."

Remaining alert was the number one strategy in my life. Calling 911 would only be for the other guy's benefit.

"If you wish to install security cameras, that's certainly an option. I'll make sure we patrol the area more often until we identify the subject."

"Thanks, Kay." Bailey stood, looking at me.

I rose, quietly thanking Kaylee.

Once outside, I didn't know what to say. Bailey took my hand, and we walked down to the water's edge. People were everywhere, and I tugged on my own ball cap to hide my face. It was second nature by then, even if it wasn't necessary anymore. Then again, perhaps it was still entirely necessary.

"They'll figure out who it is."

Her words were soft, and I knew she meant to reassure me. But she had no way of knowing what would happen next.

"I'm sure you're right." It was the white kind of lie; the harmless kind meant to bring comfort.

Then why did it feel like such a betrayal to say it?

Chapter 26

Bailey

We had a plan, and that should have been enough for me.

I sure as hell didn't want to break up with Van or leave him to deal with this mess alone. But I couldn't live with knowing he might ditch me at any moment. I would accept the danger he represented any day over the loneliness I was entirely too accustomed to feeling. Being with him these past months had been more freeing, more exciting, than all the years I'd been alive. As someone who ran the streets most of his young adult years, he'd had plenty of excitement, and not the good kind.

Now, all I wanted was for us to have a quiet life together. Working in Port Townsend, going our separate ways during the day, loving each other at night, only to start over again as soon as the sun rose over the water. Companionship, loyalty, someone to bitch with and laugh with and fuck up with . . .

Coming up behind me, Van ran his fingertip along my spine, making my shoulders hunch and my back arch. "What are you thinking about so hard?"

Good fucking God; tingles spread all over my skull, skipping through my veins to settle and pool in a wetness of their own making. "Well, now I'm thinking about what else you can do with those magic fingers."

Tilting my chin up, he left me with a tender kiss. "And before that?"

I bit back my sigh, turning in his arms to snuggle. Though we were in the middle of my store several days after talking to the police, I didn't mind showing him affection. "Everything, I guess."

"That's an awful lot for one person to worry about."

"I know." What an understatement. I worried about it alone because he was the cause for my doubts.

"I want you to be mine, Bailey. Always."

"I know, sweetie."

Why did that bring tears to my eyes? We'd known all along we had the sticking kind of love, the kind that lasted and never waned. It would burn hot and bright, never fizzling out. Not even a force of nature could come between the love we felt. But would he walk away from it if he thought it was the right thing to do? That was the crux. That was the rub, the part I couldn't get past, no matter how hard I worked over it in my mind, twisting it and dissecting it in an effort to find a solution.