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But my gut told me this was something more. As I stood in what looked like the aftermath of a tornado, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the pacifier I’d found lying on the floor under the window during my initial search.
It was shiny and new, not worn and half gummed to death like Savannah’s other ones. She was teething and, I’d quickly learned, would gnaw on anything she could get in her mouth, including herself and other people. A “gift” left for the baby only reinforced the most obvious suspect: Elijah Harris. If he’d done this, that meant he was coming after Charlotte now, and holy fuck. I squeezed the pacifier tight in my fist.
She’d brought his name up to the police, then cut me a look like I’d be upset about it. I wasn’t pissed, truthfully, though I wasn’t sure it would do much good. After all, Harris had been wearing a West Virginia State Police uniform when he’d come here that day to talk to Charlotte, and everyone knew that law enforcement guys took care of their own. I understood the sentiment. We did the same in the SEALs.
Except when one of our own was rotten to the core. In that case, we normally dealt with it internally. The Navy had military courts set up for just such situations.
But we weren’t in the military now, and this evil bastard wanted to take Savannah from me. I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t let that happen. The pacifier squeaked as I crushed it in my hand, and I shoved it back into my pocket, then walked down the hall to the living room.
Charlotte had cleared a spot on the couch and taken a seat, cooing to Savannah to keep her calm. Even though she was making nonsense noises for the baby her face looked the way it had the night Elijah Harris had shown up on her doorstep.
Terrified.
How the fuck could I let this happen on my watch?
I didn’t want to tell her about her bedroom, but I had to. She deserved to know. I pulled out the pacifier and handed it to her. “Found this in your room. Is it Savannah’s?”
She shook her head, the color draining from her face. “No.”
“Didn’t think so.” I scrubbed a hand over my face before continuing, rushing the words out before I couldn’t say them anymore. “If this is Harris, we can’t trust the cops to handle it. This, combined with the fact that nothing’s missing, tells me it’s personal. Until I can get a handle on Harris and what he’s up to, I think we need to lay low for a couple of days.” I took a deep breath, wanting to tell Charlotte it would all be okay but knowing I couldn’t. Not yet. Maybe not ever.Concentrate.I cleared my throat, staring the wall instead of her because it was easier. “Can you get someone to cover your shifts at the tavern?”
Charlotte didn’t say anything, just gave a slow nod, like she wasn’t taking it all in yet.
“Good. I don’t want you going anywhere alone right now.” I headed for the door, needing time and space and fresh air to keep from putting my own fist through a wall in frustration. “I’m going to walk the perimeter again. Make sure the officer didn’t miss anything.”
* * *
Lying low for the time being was a good idea, I knew Gabe was right. That didn’t keep me from feeling trapped in my own house after two days, though. Not that I didn’t have enough to keep me busy there.
Between getting all new housewares delivered—up to and including a new mattress and bedding—and having a handyman come to repair the damage to my bedroom walls and then another gal in to paint them, it was a lot to deal with. Those delivery people had to be getting sick of seeing my face. And I didn’t like thinking about the cost of replacing all that stuff.
Even so, I felt like didn’t know what to do with myself during the brief downtimes. I was used to the constant go, go, go of working at the tavern—and, apart from work, to doing what I wanted when I wanted. But none of that was possible right now. Not with Elijah Harris out there somewhere. I called in, sure, but my staff at the bar were too good at their jobs. Turned out they didn’t need me as much as I needed them, dammit.
I never really knew what being cooped up meant until now.
“Come on,” Gabe stepped in front of me to stop my pacing “Let’s take a walk. The air will do us good.”
Walking for pleasure wasn’t something I often did. No time. But now all I had was time, and staying cooped up inside sure wasn’t helping my mental state. Maybe getting out for a little while would help. Couldn’t hurt, honestly. “Okay.”
We got Savannah ready and started walking down the block toward the trail to the river. When I’d first moved into my house, I used to come down here sometimes on Sundays. It was pretty and peaceful. Savannah was content her stroller, as usual, and even though the day was a bit overcast, the air was still warm. The river was beautiful too, all clear and sparkling. We stopped a moment to look at it, and that’s when I noticed the funny look on Gabe’s face. Not sad, exactly, but close to it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“What?” He glanced over at me, like he was just then realizing I was there. “Oh, nothing. I’m fine.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You don’t look fine. You look upset.”
He shrugged.
Then it hit me. He’d been gone for ages and being here must be triggering all sorts of memories. Good and bad.
“I’m sorry.” Without thinking, I reached over and put my hand on his arm to try to get through to him. “It must be hard for you, being back here where your family was. Seeing these places again, remembering how things used to be.”
He shrugged again, then stayed quiet for so long I thought he might not answer. Finally, staring out at the river, he said, “It was hard, at first. But it’s not so bad today. I don’t have that sinking feeling in my chest, like there’s a black hole there or something.”
“Well, that’s a start.”
We walked on, stopping halfway across the bridge to stare down into the water.
