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Lukus nodded, quickly adding, “Of course. That’s why you’ll be wired.”
Hannah hesitated before adding, “Fine, but if…” Could she even say the words? She had to, or she couldn’t agree to go undercover. “If anything happens to me, you have to promise me you’ll take care of Connor. I won’t go in without knowing he’ll be taken care of if something happens to me.”
"I’ll protect Connor with my life, but honestly… don't do this, Hannah. We'll find another way." Dylan kneeled in front of her, taking her wringing hands in his own.
"Why do you care so much?" She wasn't used to anyone caring about her safety.
He seemed confused by her question. "I just do. I wish you'd reconsider. I have a bad feeling about this."
Hannah shuddered, worried that his words were a premonition of things to come.
Chapter Eight
Dylan
Dylan paced the small apartment like a caged animal. The investigation was moving from bad to worse. The only positive thing that had happened that day was that he'd finally got to talk with Hannah. Unfortunately, he felt worse instead of better, knowing he had completely failed to keep her safe and that, if his boss got his way, he would have to stand by and watch her go into danger yet again.
Hannah had been so upset after watching the video of Lucy and the live feed from the warehouse, they'd sent her to take a hot shower. Lukus had gone out to make calls from the car. Derek was still next door, leaving Dylan to wrestle with his guilt alone.
He spent the time doing the only action he could think of to help. He paced around Hannah's apartment, collecting up photo albums and frames, knick-knacks that looked important—anything he thought she might want to take with her if she had to leave in a hurry.
I'm going to help her be ready to leave at a moment's notice if things go wrong inside that warehouse.
He was just wrapping some frames in newspaper when Derek came through the connector door looking serious.
"I got the little guy to take a nap."
Dylan was in no mood to talk, so he kept at his task, stomping through the apartment.
"What the hell bug is up your ass?" Derek asked.
His brother's words were the final straw. Swinging around, Dylan let him have it. "Are you fucking kidding me? I can't believe you're going along with this idiotic plan of Mitchell's. You wouldn't let Rachel go into that warehouse and you know it. So why the hell are you going to send Hannah in there?"
"I wish there were some other way, Dylan, but what is it? You tell me. I'll go to Lukus with it." They stared daggers at each other until Derek spat, "I didn't think so."
Frustration boiled inside Dylan at the situation they were in. Every fiber of his being told him to throw Hannah over his shoulder and carry her out to his rental car and drive away, never to look back. Even as he dreamed it, he saw the flaws in his plan. Where would they go? Why would Hannah trust him? How would they take care of a toddler on the lam? Finding out she was a mother had been a surprise.
Dylan slumped into a kitchen chair, defeated. Derek grabbed a couple of sodas from the fridge, placing one in front of him and taking the seat next to his brother.
"You have feelings for her. Has anything happened between you two?" Derek asked.
Wishful thinking.
"No, but I'd hoped... you know. There's something about her I can't put my finger on. I want to protect her. Like I'm responsible for her in some way. It's hard to explain." He felt Derek's stare as he answered.
"I get that. It's how I feel around Rachel every minute of every day. I'm confused why you feel that way about a woman you barely know, but I can see you want to baby her, too."
Anger flared up in Dylan. "Don't compare what I feel for Hannah with what you and Rachel do. I don't understand the whole diaper and spanking thing. It's too damn close to what's happening in that warehouse. Why does she put up with it? Explain it to me." He hadn't meant to have his words sound as accusing as they had come out.
His brother leaned forward, biting his response out. "Rachel doesn'tput upwith anything, asshole. She craves my dominance... my guidance. She was floundering when I met her, a hot mess, unable to make the simplest of decisions on her own. She lacked confidence and carried a lot of guilt for her unconventional sexual urges. She even suffered panic attacks whenever life's stresses overwhelmed her. It took me a long time to break down that wall of hers and convince her she was the center of my universe."
As mad as he was, Dylan didn't want to fight with his brother. He didn't doubt Derek's feelings for his wife, only his methods.
Derek glanced down at his phone. "Listen, Lukus texted me. We have to run back to the townhouse for some supplies. We'll be gone an hour. Maybe two. You stay here with Hannah. Keep her calm." His brother didn't wait for a reply before taking his soda and leaving through the front door.
Unable to relax, Dylan returned to packing. He was looking at an 8x10 photo of a teenage Hannah and a young woman who had to be her sister when Hannah came out of the bathroom, her long, sandy brown hair dripping halfway down her back from her recent shower.
Even with no make-up on, she was beautiful. She looked younger than she ever had before, with faint freckles sprinkled across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She couldn't hide her fear as his gaze met her grey eyes.
