Assumed Identity(15)

“He did.”

“—I’ve got no clue where he disappeared to. There’s no car, no footprints, no sign of him anywhere.”

Spencer Montgomery nodded. “His sudden departure might mean he has reason to avoid talking to the police.”

The need to defend the man who’d saved her life charged Robin’s weary body with renewed energy. “And it might mean he had to get to work at an early morning job. Or go home to his family.”

As soon as she said the words, Robin wondered if there was any truth to them. There was something about Mr. No-Name Lonergan—his reluctance to hold Emma, his gruff demeanor and brute strength, that odd comment he’d made about not knowing if there were any children in his life—that made Robin think he was a man without any familial connections to civilize him. What kind of man roamed a downtown neighborhood in the middle of the night during a storm without benefit of umbrella, raincoat or even a cap? Where had he come from? Why had he disappeared? Where had he learned that choke-hold thing he’d done to her attacker? He’d never given her his first name, and she’d been too out of it to even think to ask. What if Lonergan was a criminal? He certainly looked the part of a TV or movie villain with that scarred face and misshapen nose that indicated he’d seen more than one fight in his lifetime.

But something about the sense of isolation that had fit him as tightly as the T-shirt he’d worn tugged at her compassion. She didn’t suppose he owed her anything, not even the courtesy of a proper goodbye. But she owed him everything. Bad guy or not, he’d been her hero. Robin swore to herself, not for the first time that night, that she would track down her mysterious savior and thank him properly for being there when she and Emma had needed him.

“Maybe.” The detective seemed to consider her reasoning and then dismissed any option but his own. Lonergan was still a person of interest, if not a viable suspect, on his list. Spencer Montgomery glanced up at the K-9 officer and gave his orders. “Keep an eye on things until the CSI’s are done processing the scene. And keep those damn reporters out of everyone’s way. We’ll debrief later this morning.”

“Yes, sir.” After he’d been dismissed, and the lead detective had returned to his conversation with his partner in her office, the brawny K-9 officer looked down at Hope, still frozen in place beside Robin, and winked. “Hans won’t hurt you, ma’am. Not unless I tell him to.” The officer’s teasing grin vanished when Hope’s eyes widened like circles rippling across a lake. He quickly raised a gloved hand. “But I would never give him that order. I just meant he only does what I tell him to. Ma’am?”

“Hope?” Robin reached for her friend. “He was teasing you.”

“I know.” But the tight press of her lips and ashy skin indicated that what she knew and what she believed weren’t the same thing. “He’s a cop. He’s a good guy.”

“Maybe Officer Taylor could walk you and Emma home,” Robin suggested.

“No!” Her friend’s answer was too fast and too succinct to be polite and her cheeks instantly flooded with embarrassment.

“I don’t mind,” the big man offered. “Security is what Hans and I do best.”

“No.” Hope’s gaze darted up to meet Pike Taylor’s, but then settled, almost deliberately, at the middle of his chest. “I mean, no, thank you. Officer Wheeler’s outside. She’s a friend. I’ll ask her.”

Robin’s concern shifted from defending Lonergan to the situation at hand. The Hope she knew was a gentle, patient soul—not this skittish woman who was visibly shaking in her soggy slippers.

“Hope?” She put a hand beneath Emma before touching her friend’s shoulder.

Hope snapped her gaze to Robin. “I’ve got her,” Hope reassured her, hugging the infant in her arms. And though she sounded more like the friend Robin relied on, Hope’s gaze was darting from the officer’s chest down to the dog, where he lay on the floor, panting, while his tongue lolled out of the side of his long black muzzle. The shepherd looked completely relaxed and disinterested in the people coming and going around him. Her friend, however, seemed ready to bolt. “I’ll go find Maggie Wheeler. You still have the spare key I gave you?”

“Yes. I’ll let myself in.”

Hope forced a smile and flattened her back against the wall to scoot around the police officer and his dog. “Emma and I will be at home when you’re done. Good luck.”