Her Detective's Secret Intent

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“No. No. Don’t you be sorry,” he said in return. “You being there, what you’re doing, you’ll never know how much it means. I just need you to be patient, Detective. Give me insights into her current situation. Give me a little time to get to know her again, through you. To figure out a way to approach this. But if she finds out I’ve got you looking out for her, it could ruin everything. Unless she understands that in the past, I wasn’t butting in or trying to control her, but to save her life. And that now, I just want to give her life back to her. To see her again. To love her and Jeffrey and do everything I can to help them be happy. Keep doing what you’re doing. When the time is right, I’ll know.”

“Okay.”

The last thing he wanted was to screw up Miranda’s life further. He’d read a ton, witnessed a small fraction firsthand, but he had no real experience with how either Miranda or her father would be feeling.

He was superimposing his own feelings onto theirs, colored by his own experiences.

He didn’t like feeling he was spying on her. But there was no way he was leaving her, either. Whether he worked for her father or not. He had to know for certain that her ex was dead. That all the danger from her past was gone. That she had a chance to know real freedom, and to have her father in her life again.

He could quit working for the chief. But then O’Connor would find someone else. Someone who might not care about Ethan and Miranda as much as Tad did. Be as respectful of them. Someone who might tip her off and send her running again as her father feared.

He hadn’t learned enough yet. So he was trapped.

“She told me Jeffrey’s father was killed in a car accident,” he said aloud. “Do you have any idea if that’s true? Do you know how the guy really died?”

She’d also told him she’d never been married.

“He died of an overdose,” O’Connor said. “And I’m not sure anymore that they were ever legally married. She told me they were. That they’d flown to Vegas, did it at one of those wedding chapels.”

He could never, in a million years, see Miranda doing that.

But he’d never known Dana.

“Problem is, I haven’t been able to find any record of the marriage.”

Even in Vegas you had to apply for a marriage license.

Clearly there was more investigating to do. And he wasn’t in a position to do it. O’Connor had been right on that score. If by chance a search was noted, if it was somehow traced back to Santa Raquel, someone could come looking. He’d done a lot more reading on identity change over the past week—including the risks.

And if Miranda and Ethan’s father really hadn’t been married, did it mean other things weren’t the way they seemed, either? Like the man’s death?

“Another concern has been brought to my attention,” O’Connor said. “There could be others, besides the brother

in prison, who know that Dana’s the mother of this guy’s son, and who aren’t the most upstanding citizens, if you get my drift. Maybe this guy owed someone drug money. Anyone could be out there, knowing that she’s my daughter, knowing the position I’ve reached, that I’ve amassed a substantial amount of money, and try to get to that money through her or Jeffrey. We just don’t know enough yet.”

O’Connor clearly had someone good on the case. Looking at every angle. Out to protect Miranda and Ethan, Dana and Jeffrey. And the money—Chief O’Connor had been left a huge inheritance by a man whose family O’Connor had once saved. It had been all over the news. Anyone who knew Miranda was his daughter would know he’d be able to pay a tidy sum for her return...

The chief might not have told Tad the full details of his and Dana’s personal situation, but he hadn’t lied to Tad, either. Tad had understood all along that he got information on a need-to-know basis. Chief O’Connor was absolutely certain his daughter’s ex was dead. Tad had to go with that. Deal with feeling uneasy.

O’Connor didn’t get where he was without having to prove himself, again and again. He’d climbed the ranks based on his deeds, not on who he happened to know. He was a fireman, a lifesaver. He wasn’t going to risk his own daughter’s life or that of his grandson. On the contrary, he’d do everything possible to protect them.

“I’ve got your back, sir.”

He made the promise before ringing off.

“And your daughter’s, too,” he added after he disconnected the call.

Chapter 14

Ethan had a surprising request for Miranda when he came out of school on Friday. She’d spent the past two days, since hearing that Marie and Danny were home and fine, alternating between wanting to hold her son, never letting go—and needing to push both of them out into the world to live. Fear and paranoia versus strength and mental health.

“Can I spend the night at Jimmy’s tomorrow?” her son asked as he climbed into the car, shoving his backpack on the floor at his feet.

Spend the night away from her?

It was as if the universe was testing her. Ethan with Jimmy.