He scooped her into his arms and held her. Danni couldn’t breathe, he was holding her so tightly. “Walker, you’re about to break a rib, honey.”
Walker released her a bit, so he could look in Danni’s face. “What did he want?” He asked her.
She chuckled at him. “He wanted me on his side, so I could help persuade you to help him.”
He stood and lifted her into his arms then sat down with her holding her close. Then her fath
er and brother came inside the cabin. “The area is clear. No one else is here,” her father told them. He sat in the chair across from the sofa where Walker held Danni. Her brother sat opposite their father.
“I could have told you that, Daddy.”
Simon rolled his eyes at her.
“Been napping Danni?” He asked.
“I was.” Walker tugged her tighter into his embrace, grateful he had her back.
“So, what the hell was Jesse thinking and where is he now?” Walker asked.
She told them about Damon Kane’s visit. “He left with him,” Danni told Walker. Soon, he would be going overseas. She didn’t know where Damon was sending him, but he was leaving the states freeing them of the danger that came with Jesse.
Danni told them about the Lieutenant Governor murder and how Jesse was witness to it. Walker shook his head. “What exactly was I supposed to do?”
She laid her head on Walker’s shoulder just wanting him to calm himself and feel secure that she was fine. “I don’t know, Walker. He was desperate. I think he hoped that you could help him get himself out of this mess before someone hurt you or your mother.”
“And he hurt Mom instead.”
Danni raised her head and gazed at Walker. “He is filled with so much regret that your mother was hurt that night at the bar,” she said. “And he had nothing to do with Laura and Danielle’s death.”
Walker snorted. “He told you that?”
“He told me that he and Danielle found Laura. Then he dropped Danielle at the diner where her car was. He didn’t know how old she was. He wanted to protect her not see her get killed too.” She knew that Walker still felt that Jesse was responsible. “Can I go home now?”
Her dad laughed at her. “For someone who was kidnapped, you’re in pretty good shape right now.”
“I was terrified until he started talking to me,” Dannie informed them. “Jesse is like a big kid who doesn’t know right from wrong. Today, he just wanted to make amends for everything.”
Walker wouldn’t meet her eyes. She knew that it would take a long time before he would forgive his brother for everything that he had done to him. Jesse leaving with Damon, she hoped would relieve Walker’s mind.
Hawk entered the cabin. “Everything okay in here?”
“Just fine,” Danni responded. “We’re going home.”
She slipped off Walker’s lap and picked up her shoes. She was just going to carry them. He hadn’t gotten up yet. Danni turned and extended her hand to him.
“He’s been hiding out here?” He asked her.
“I guess so,” she replied. “He had a mess of fast food bags that indicated he’d been here a while.”
“Did you see Damon?” He asked.
“He sent me outside until they left together. He must have tracked him here.”
Walker took her hand and got off the sofa. She led him outside to Matt’s truck. “Hawk sit up front,” Walker informed him. “I’m in the back this time with my girl.”
“Whatever you want Walker,” the sheriff replied slipping into the passenger seat.
He climbed in after her and slipped his arm around her shoulders. “I feel like this such a letdown,” he whispered in her ear.