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Okabe’s voice was smooth with a hint of well-practiced authority. If Mere didn’t have someone to protect, she would surely spill her guts.
“Let me think.” God, she wasn’t good at this. What other documents had people requested lately? “A couple of wills, a deed or two, a few blueprints, and a DD214.”
They were unusual but not suspicious requests. She hoped that would quell their curiosity for the moment. Mere was just a librarian-archivist doing her job. She threw them a bone.
“If I have time, I’ll gather the records for when you return later with the proper documentation.”
Okabe smiled and even Gaudin’s cheerless expression lightened slightly.
“We appreciate that.”
“My pleasure.”
Mere stood until they exited the building and then slumped into her chair. Holy moly, this was bad. Even worse, she had no way of informing Anders the US government was looking for him. She still didn’t have his phone number or email. She could look them up on the system, but it would be unethical, and it would be logged. If the agents requested those records, it would point a flashing neon arrow straight at Anders. For all she knew, even if she had his contact information, they could have already put a tap on her phone and email servers.
She could drive over to the Reed house. But if she went right now, it would look suspicious. It might look suspicious no matter when she did it, but now would be worse. Maybe at lunch. And maybe she needed to do an internet search on how to look for a tail. Wait, if she was now on the government’s radar, could they see her searches? She would have to rely on her memory of spy thrillers.
Hell, this was the last thing she needed. Then why did the idea of seeing Anders, even under these dire circumstances, bring a smile to her face and heat to other places on her body?
12
TOO MUCH COFFEE THIS MORNING
Mere spent the morning on edge. She jumped at every noise and her heart raced every time the front door opened.
“Too much coffee this morning?” Dee asked with kindness.
“Yeah,” Mere replied, grateful she didn’t have to come up with a lie. “I should go somewhere for lunch today, see if I can work off the jitters. Mind holding down the fort?”
“Sure, Mere. We’ve got it covered.”
Relief flowed through her. Of course, Dee had her back. The sooner she could tell Anders and return, the happier she would be. Mere had spent a few minutes flipping through an old spy thriller she knew had a great example of evading authorities. She was screwed. They made it look so easy in cop shows, but it took practice. The last time she had needed to make sure no one followed her was when Tyson returned from his trip after she left his sorry ass, but the shelter had kept her safe. Then she moved in with her parents, and the whole town had sheltered her.
Now that was an idea. Would the town help her protect Anders and give him a chance to go home? She’d talk to Nadine. If anyone could convince the town to protect a stranger, it was her great-aunt.
Mere drove in the general direction of the Reed place. She kept to the speed limit and checked her mirrors way more often than usual. As best she could tell, no one followed her. To add another layer of protection, on the very good chance her skills at ditching a tail were not up to snuff, she parked at the convenience store about a half mile away and turned off her phone. Mere ran through the scrub and ended up breathless on Anders’s front porch.
She rang the bell, but silence greeted her. She pounded on the front door and didn’t stop until it opened.
Anders blinked rapidly at her, his body tense. “Meretta, what are you doing here?”
Mere pushed past him and slammed the door behind her. “Some special agents came to the library today. They might be looking for you.”
The color drained from his face, and for an instant, she was afraid she’d have to catch six feet of muscly man—alien—whatever.
“Were you followed?” His voice was low and harsh but not angry.
She wrung her hands. “I don’t think so, but I’m a librarian, not some super spy. I parked over by the BobStop and ran the back way.”
A corner of his mouth twitched. “You are one of the most intelligent people I know. Thank you for taking the precaution. Come in. Let me get you some water.”
“I can’t stay. I’m on my lunch break, and they’ll return to the library soon with a warrant.”
He regarded her with longing. His hand twitched at his side, as though he wished to touch her. She grasped it, a calm warmth radiating from this simple gesture.
“If they have a warrant or court order, I have to give them what they want. I will do what I can to delay them. Any luck on the doohickies?”
This caused a fleeting grin and he squeezed her hand. He tugged her toward the room in back. Several neatly cut rectangles of drywall rested on the floor, none bigger than a foot across.
