Falling for the Brother

And even though he didn’t know she knew he was without Miriam at the moment, he probably figured that his brother suspected him of abusing their grandmother.

And if he did know how much she knew…he was playing a very dangerous game with her.

Something Undercover Bruce might do.

So what was his endgame? To get to Miriam? To convince Harper that he hadn’t hurt his grandmother? Press her for information?

“Harper?” He was waiting for her response. “I’m about a mile from the part of town where you said you work. Give me an exact address and I’ll meet you outside.”

“I’m…actually…not there right now,” she said, heart pounding again as she lied to him. She was about to invent some kind of professional meeting, until she realized that he’d want her to have someone bring Brianna out to him.

Not that she was going to give him the address of the Stand.

With his police resources, he probably already knew it. She’d assumed that years ago, although he’d never attempted a visit before. As far as she knew he never came to Santa Raquel at all.

“Give me a second and I’ll see what I can arrange,” she told him. “I’ll call you right back.” She wasn’t handing Brianna over to him. Not without backup. And not without Mason’s knowledge.

She still wasn’t sure she should risk taking the little girl away from Miriam. It wasn’t like she was going to tell Miriam that Bruce was there.

She wasn’t afraid for herself. She could handle whatever came her way in the danger department. But the case wasn’t hers, which meant the right to make the decision wasn’t hers, either.

Hanging up, she called Mason and prayed that he’d answer.

* * *

IN THE MIDDLE of a conversation with a friend of Miriam’s, Mason felt his phone vibrate against his thigh. When he saw the caller’s name, he excused himself from her living room and stepped outside. Five minutes later, after a second quick call, he’d said his goodbyes to Miriam’s friend and was in his car, calling Harper back.

He’d asked her to stay put. To give him five. He hoped to God she had.

And breathed a sigh of relief when she answered immediately.

“Go ahead and call him back,” he instructed her. “Arrange a meeting someplace away from the Stand. Tell him you’ll bring Brianna to him.”

“You want me to meet him?” She sounded incredulous.

“Of course not. I just want you to tell him you will. If he suspects you’re helping me, he’s going to do what he can to get to you—mentally if nothing else. If these were normal circumstances, you’d do what you could to accommodate him, which is why I’m asking you to call him back and say you’ll meet him.”

He had more to say. But he needed her to make that call first.

“I’m on my way to Santa Raquel now,” he said. “I’ll talk to you when I get there.”

“You’re coming back? I hardly think this is worth another trip down. I’m a cop, Mason, and I’m living in a town with a top-notch police department. We can keep Miriam safe. I just didn’t know how you wanted me to play it. If I want Bruce to think everything’s normal, I’d take Brie to him. But then I’d have to go get her from Miriam right after I agreed to let Miriam have her every afternoon. I’m sure you don’t want me telling her that Bruce is in town. And then we have to consider that if Brianna does see her father this afternoon, she’s going to mention it to Miriam tomorrow. And will tell Bruce that her grandma is staying at mommy’s work.”

“Bruce is going to be getting a summons from O’Brien in another ten minutes or so, calling him back to work. Which is why I wanted you to call Bruce now. You won’t have to see him, but it’ll look like you were willing to.”

“I still don’t get why you’re coming here, but I’ll call him now.”

Mason wasn’t going to relax until he knew his brother was in Albina. And probably not even then. But he took an easier breath at Harper’s compliance. He liked the idea that they were on the same team, working side by side.

Maybe he liked it a bit too much.