Written with You (The Regret Duet #2)(64)

He propped his elbow on the window and casually leaned in like it was any given Sunday and not the day the entire fucking world had fallen off its axis. “If what you are saying is true, Mr. Hunt, and that is, in fact, your brother in that picture—”

“No ifs,” I snapped. “That is my brother. And he was at my house less than an hour ago. He’s a cop with resources, and we got into a big argument and he left pissed to hell and back. So, if you will kindly back the fuck up, I’ll be happy to come up to the station and tell you everything I know about that damn picture, but not until I have my daughter.”

He arched a dark eyebrow as Willow tried, unsuccessfully, to squeeze around him. “Do you have reason to believe that your daughter could be in danger?”

“I don’t know what to believe at this point!” I roared, slamming my hands on the steering wheel. “I just want to get to my daughter!”

His eyes narrowed, but he slowly stepped far enough from the door to allow Willow to get in.

I had the car in reverse before she shut the door.

He leaned back into the car. “How about I give you an escort to your house? Just to be on the safe side.”

I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the actual safe side or if he thought I might be an emotionally unstable person he needed to keep an eye on. Either way, I didn’t care. I just needed to get home. Fast. “Great. Perfect. Whatever. Just move so I can get the hell out of here.”





WILLOW


My head was a veritable vortex of swirling puzzle pieces—none of which fit together.

Above and beyond the fact that Trent had been at the mall the day of the shooting, I couldn’t seem to make heads or tails of why Aaron White would want that picture from my album. When he’d assaulted me at the grocery store, he’d accused Hadley of stealing a flash drive, not a photo.

It could have all been one big coincidence, but there were too many corner pieces to that puzzle even if the center was a jumbled wreck.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I whispered around the knot in my throat as we drove—entirely too fast—with a cop on our rear.

“I know,” he replied, his voice sounding like it had traveled over a pile of broken glass. “I want you to take Rosalee and head to my beach house in North Carolina. I’ll text you the address and have my property manager meet you there to let you in.”

I gave his thigh a squeeze. “Maybe it won’t come to that. There has to be an explanation for—”

“I want you both out of here!” he snarled, flicking his gaze to mine for only the briefest of seconds, but that was all it took to see the terror in his deep blues.

“Caven,” I breathed.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I have a bad, bad feeling about all of this. There are a million blinking neon signs pointing in different directions, but if even a single one of them is pointing at you or Rosalee, I’m not going to wait to see how that pans out. God willing, I’m overreacting. We’ll all be laughing about this by this time next week. But if I’m not and my gut is right, I don’t want you two anywhere near this mess. I fucked up that day at the mall. I’m not doing it again. I’m going straight to the cops and you’re going straight to the beach. Worst case, you have a fantastic vacation. But I need you to do this. I need you to get out of here and take our girl so that she’s safe while I figure out the rest. Can you please just do that for me?”

My stomach twisted, and I hated the idea of leaving him to deal with whatever the hell was happening all alone. But he was right. If there was even the slightest possibility that Rosalee could be in danger, it was his—our—responsibility to protect her.

“I can do that,” I vowed. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take good care of her. I swear.”

“I know you will.”

He didn’t relax, not even a fraction. He simply punched the accelerator and gunned it toward his house.





CAVEN


A breath I’d been holding for what felt like my entire life flew from my lungs as my house came into view. The gate was still closed, Willow’s car in the driveway, but nothing was out of the ordinary. It was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.

I didn’t know what was going to happen at the police station; there were so many balls in the air, so many secrets untold. But if I could just get them somewhere safe, nothing else mattered.

The police officer pulled in behind me, parking sideways and blocking anyone from coming up or down the driveway. Then he climbed half out of his cruiser. “I’ll keep an eye out here while you get your kid. Don’t take too long. The captain is waiting for you at the station. Seems he’s familiar with your father.”

Of course he was. The majority of the country, especially those in blue, was familiar with the shit Malcom had done that day at the Watersedge Mall.

“In and out. Five minutes max.” I rested my hand on Willow’s back, guiding her up the front steps. After I unlocked the front door, I pushed it open and called, “Rosie!”

“Right here, Daddy!” She laughed and I swear to God muscles I didn’t know I had sagged with relief.

Now to get them out of there.

I passed Willow my keys then typed my code into the beeping alarm. “Take my car. Her car seat’s already installed. There are some DVDs under the console. That should keep her busy on the drive. Alejandra packed her bag, but buy whatever else you need while you’re down there.”