Hidden Summit (Virgin River #17)(48)

“Not recommended,” Brie said, shaking her head.

“I wasn’t asking for a recommendation,” Conner said. “I don’t know what you know about me, Brie, so let me fill in some gaps. Our parents died when we were young—both of them were gone when Katie was twenty and I was twenty-three. We took over a family business we didn’t know how to run, and although she thought she was all grown-up by then, I had to be a parent to her. She married a great man, Charlie, when she was twenty-six—he was like a brother to me. Less than a year later, a couple of months before Katie’s twin boys were born, he was killed in Afghanistan. That was five years ago. I took care of her and my nephews right up to the day the D.A. sent her in one direction and me in another.

“Now I talk to Katie every day, and guess where we are? She likes where she is. There’s someone she’s starting to care about there. She’s talking about staying there. She thinks she and the boys might have a future there. She was kind of hoping I’d end up there, near them. But what do you suppose happened? After all these years, after all the crap, I find myself wanting to give a little more time to the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Conner, look, I’m totally sympathetic, but—”

“I don’t know what your concept of family is, Brie, but Katie and I and the boys are tight. We’ve always known we might not live in the same town all our lives—hell, she was married to a military man. She was going to be moving around as an army wife—I can live with that. We can make do on visits. But like I said, we’re tight. The boys don’t get why they haven’t seen Uncle Danny—that’s how they’ve always known me. And before I testify, before I put my life on the line or make another major change in my life, I’m going to do two important things. I’m going to tell Leslie what I’m up against and that I’ll come back here after the trial if she thinks she can handle that. And I’m going to go see my sister to be sure she and the boys are all right. And that they’ll be safe and happy if they stay there.”

Brie looked down. She slapped the effusive blue-inked letter against her thigh. She looked up at him. “Now look—”

“Brie,” Mike said. He didn’t say it loudly or sternly, he just said her name and she looked at him. He lifted his cola can, and on the way to his lips, he gestured toward Conner.

“There are risks. No matter what I do. That son of a bitch could have me capped as I’m walking up the courthouse steps. In fact, that’s the only thing that makes sense. And I bet he’d still get convicted.”

Mike gave a shrug that was nearly a nod.

“I’ll keep the new name, all the new ID, and if the D.A.’s office will help, I’ll sell everything and start over. I’d be willing to sell it all, but it probably makes more sense to put it all in crated storage in Sacramento until we have a destination. The houses…?” Conner shrugged. “We’ll have to sell them. We know we’re not going to live in Sacramento again. Not after what happened there. I’ll pay for the truck I’m using or get a new one, whatever. Katie’s share will give her a fresh start. But that’s it, that’s all I’m doing. I’m not going to run for the rest of my life. If Regis Mathis doesn’t get me before I can help lock him up for life, I find it hard to believe he’s going to go to too much trouble and expense to scour the entire frickin’ United States for me or Katie. Not just for revenge. His money would be better spent on lawyers for his appeal.”

“Think about this,” she said. “Please.”

“Thought about it. I’ve seen you with your brother, your husband, your daughter. There’s no way you’d do what I’m doing. You’d have Mike wearing his pistol to bed every night before you’d go through this.”

“I’m not sure how Max is going to take this,” she said.

“Well, he’s a good man,” Conner said. “He might get a little unhappy with me, but he’s not going to retaliate by giving my current address to Mathis. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Brie took a moment to turn her back on him as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She turned back to him. “You really thought about this. What did it? What changed your mind? Made you put together all these plans? Leslie?”

“Leslie is so awesome,” he said. “But seriously, it’s not like we’re ready to make a commitment or anything—we haven’t known each other too long and we both have some pretty kinky exes to overcome. That’s why I want more time with her—I’m not tossing this away before it’s had a chance. It was your husband,” he said. “Mike.”

“Mike?”

“Decorated police officer. According to Jack, not only a bunch of medals in the Marine Corps but a commendation as a sergeant in the gangs unit. Here’s a guess,” he said, looking at Mike. “You’ve testified against a lot of bad guys. And you didn’t go into hiding.”

Mike gave him a small smile. “A ton of bad guys. And I did keep a very discreet profile. Still do. But I do agree with you about one thing—if Mathis doesn’t stop you before you testify—I think the revenge factor is fairly slim. He might be that kind of criminal, but I’m sure he’ll have bigger things on his mind. Mathis is a businessman, not a psycho. Killing you afterward isn’t going to get him much—just maybe scratch an itch. He might be too busy for that.”