Nora Roberts Land(71)

Tanner hit the off button and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Jesus. This was bad. Here he was back in the U.S. with a security situation, and he wasn’t even sure he could call the police.

He pulled into a parking place in front of Ray’s, praying the kid would come back. Over an hour later his phone rang. He jumped a foot. It was Ray’s number, he realized, his heart stopping. Thank God. He clicked on.

“Stay out of our way,” the muffled voice said. “This is your only warning.”

Tanner threw the phone aside when it went dead. Pounding the steering wheel wasn’t enough of an outlet for his rage. He got out of the car and pounded the hood until he cracked his skin. Fuck. Shit. Damn.

When he got back in the car, he called Meredith. “I didn’t find him,” he said gruffly. “I’m heading home.”

“Do you think he’s all right?”

“Let’s hope so.” He knew he was lying. He couldn’t bear to tell her about the warning call now. He’d failed to protect another source. A fucking twenty-year-old kid. He’d tell her tomorrow.

He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t risk her safety.

“Why don’t you come over here? I’ll make you some coffee.”

Her invitation made him grip the steering wheel. “No thanks,” he managed to say over the roaring in his ears. “I need to get some sleep.” The lie flowed smoothly off his lips. “I’ll see you at the pool tomorrow.”

He clicked off before she could say more. When he drove past the road to her house, he turned the corner. The front light was still on.

Part of him wanted to make sure she was safe. The other part wanted to accept her invitation. He could give a flying fuck about coffee. He wanted to wrap his arms around her. He wanted to take comfort in her.

He parked the car and sat in the silence for a moment, fighting the urge to go in. When the house finally went dark, he pulled away. He could not allow himself to need her.

He was only going to lose her in the long run anyway. No reason to add to his growing list of sins. She deserved better.

She deserved someone who hadn’t been sent to crush her to pieces by her ex-husband.

Someone who could protect a scared college kid.

Someone other than him.





Chapter 29

Meredith arrived at the pool at their usual time only to find Tanner already slicing through the water like he was chasing Olympic gold. He didn’t pause when she jumped in after pulling on her swim cap and goggles. He made his turn and kicked off, water frothing at his ankles.

Her stomach quivered. Did he know anything more about his source? She pushed off the wall and searched for the peace swimming always brought her. She didn’t race him today. Challenging him didn’t seem like a good idea. He was fighting his own demons. Well, so was she.

Somehow, he’d snuck under her armor.

She liked him.

She respected him.

She wanted him.

And she was so scared of everything he churned up in her.

Her hands cupped the water, her legs frog-kicking. She hated to see him hurting, and she knew beyond a doubt he was hurting this morning.

She wanted to comfort him.

She turned at the wall and pushed off. An hour later, she swam down the lane and saw Tanner’s body from the waist down. So, he was finally stopping. And without a cool down. She halted when she reached him, surfacing too. Pulling off her goggles, she studied his tense face. He stretched his hamstrings, breathing hard, his muscles corded with tension.

“Any word?”

His dripping jaw ticked. “No.”

She took a deep breath to calm her heart rate. “Let’s get some coffee.” Then she’d tell him about her decision.

After pulling herself out of the pool, she held out a hand to him. He didn’t take it.

“I don’t want to take you down.”

The words seemed to hold greater meaning. She headed to the locker room with them reverberating in her mind. She showered quickly and dressed in the blue sweater and gray skirt she’d brought, not putting it past him to leave. He didn’t want company right now.

When she emerged from the locker room, he was waiting for her in his standard black fleece, jeans, and boots, fingering his phone. “I got a warning last night,” he said without looking up at her. “From my source’s phone. Someone told me to back off. I don’t think we should go for coffee.”

“But I decided…” Her hands clutched her bag, and she inhaled jaggedly. “We’ll be quick, and then we can talk at your house.” She moved toward the exit.

He grabbed her arm. “Didn’t you hear me? It’s too dangerous for us to be together right now.”

Shrugging free, she decided to joke. “You don’t break up with a girl—even if it’s pretend—when her hair’s wet.”