too weak to take her anywhere and besides, everything she thought was true about her life was a total lie. She didn’t even know where to begin to make any sense out of it.
And now she might be a target.
Shane came back into the living room and placed a tumbler in her hands, wrapping his own around hers to steady them. “Here you go. Just sip it and see if it will stay down.”
With his help, she took a small drink and then a few more, clearing the sour taste from her mouth. “Thank you for taking care of me. You didn’t have to.”
Smoothing her curls back, he gave her a gentle smile. “That’s what friends do.”
She placed her palm over her aching heart and rubbed at the spot, trying to ease the pain that was currently in residence. “I’m glad I’m your friend.”
“We’ll figure this out. I’m going to find your father and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I know.”
She did know. Even if he hated her guts he wouldn’t let anything hurt her. That’s the kind of man he was and always had been. She’d spent her entire adult life comparing other men to Shane and he’d always been head and shoulders above anyone else. He probably always would be.
“You’re going to be okay, honey. You can handle this.”
But it felt good not to have to handle it alone.
* * *
Arden had fallen asleep on the couch, worn out emotionally and physically after being sick and having a good cry. Shane had felt like ten kinds of shit telling her about the contents of the file, but there was really no good way to tell someone they’d been lied to all their life. He’d carried her into his bedroom and laid her on the mattress, covering her with a light blanket.
With her head on his pillow, she looked like she belonged in his bed.
He’d better not get any fantasies or funny ideas just because she showed a little weakness and let him cuddle her for a few minutes. She’d wake rested and ready to be prickly as hell again and he might as well make peace with that. She wasn’t going to suddenly turn to him and say she’d made a mistake all those years ago when she left. He wasn’t one of her regrets.
Now he was sitting at the kitchen table with Wyatt Stone who had agreed to help Shane look for Ben Cavendish. The man worked for Jason’s law enforcement consulting business but he had a real knack for finding people that didn’t want to be found. Not long before, he’d found a fugitive that had tried to frame a friend of Travis’s for murder.
“We don’t have much to go on,” Shane admitted. “He’s not using his credit cards and we have no idea even which direction he may have gone. We don’t even know why he left. I only have suspicions.”
Wyatt scratched his chin as he leafed through the file. At six-foot-three inches and two hundred and thirty pounds, he was a big man that made the chair he was sitting in look tiny. As powerfully built as he was, Stone had a gentle manner about him that was quiet and unassuming. It was an excellent combination for getting people to talk – intimidating and caring all at the same time.
“If he’s on the run I’m guessing he would go somewhere familiar, someplace he’s been before and felt comfortable. I’ll look at his travel history and see what I can find.” Wyatt looked up from the papers. “What’s your gut telling you?”
Shane chuckled at the bald query. “I’m not a cop so I don’t think my gut instinct counts. But if you’re asking then I’ll say that Ben Cavendish is a total asshole who has never been afraid of pissing off anyone. At least not that I’ve been aware of. So running away doesn’t seem in character for him. But he isn’t a man that is filled with courage either. He gets other people to get their hands dirty instead of him. He likes to stay separate from the little people.”
“Little people? Who is he? Napoleon?”
Memories of the day Ben had told him Arden left for the East Coast filled
And now she might be a target.
Shane came back into the living room and placed a tumbler in her hands, wrapping his own around hers to steady them. “Here you go. Just sip it and see if it will stay down.”
With his help, she took a small drink and then a few more, clearing the sour taste from her mouth. “Thank you for taking care of me. You didn’t have to.”
Smoothing her curls back, he gave her a gentle smile. “That’s what friends do.”
She placed her palm over her aching heart and rubbed at the spot, trying to ease the pain that was currently in residence. “I’m glad I’m your friend.”
“We’ll figure this out. I’m going to find your father and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I know.”
She did know. Even if he hated her guts he wouldn’t let anything hurt her. That’s the kind of man he was and always had been. She’d spent her entire adult life comparing other men to Shane and he’d always been head and shoulders above anyone else. He probably always would be.
“You’re going to be okay, honey. You can handle this.”
But it felt good not to have to handle it alone.
* * *
Arden had fallen asleep on the couch, worn out emotionally and physically after being sick and having a good cry. Shane had felt like ten kinds of shit telling her about the contents of the file, but there was really no good way to tell someone they’d been lied to all their life. He’d carried her into his bedroom and laid her on the mattress, covering her with a light blanket.
With her head on his pillow, she looked like she belonged in his bed.
He’d better not get any fantasies or funny ideas just because she showed a little weakness and let him cuddle her for a few minutes. She’d wake rested and ready to be prickly as hell again and he might as well make peace with that. She wasn’t going to suddenly turn to him and say she’d made a mistake all those years ago when she left. He wasn’t one of her regrets.
Now he was sitting at the kitchen table with Wyatt Stone who had agreed to help Shane look for Ben Cavendish. The man worked for Jason’s law enforcement consulting business but he had a real knack for finding people that didn’t want to be found. Not long before, he’d found a fugitive that had tried to frame a friend of Travis’s for murder.
“We don’t have much to go on,” Shane admitted. “He’s not using his credit cards and we have no idea even which direction he may have gone. We don’t even know why he left. I only have suspicions.”
Wyatt scratched his chin as he leafed through the file. At six-foot-three inches and two hundred and thirty pounds, he was a big man that made the chair he was sitting in look tiny. As powerfully built as he was, Stone had a gentle manner about him that was quiet and unassuming. It was an excellent combination for getting people to talk – intimidating and caring all at the same time.
“If he’s on the run I’m guessing he would go somewhere familiar, someplace he’s been before and felt comfortable. I’ll look at his travel history and see what I can find.” Wyatt looked up from the papers. “What’s your gut telling you?”
Shane chuckled at the bald query. “I’m not a cop so I don’t think my gut instinct counts. But if you’re asking then I’ll say that Ben Cavendish is a total asshole who has never been afraid of pissing off anyone. At least not that I’ve been aware of. So running away doesn’t seem in character for him. But he isn’t a man that is filled with courage either. He gets other people to get their hands dirty instead of him. He likes to stay separate from the little people.”
“Little people? Who is he? Napoleon?”
Memories of the day Ben had told him Arden left for the East Coast filled
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