I'll Never Let You Go (Morgans of Nashville 3)

She worried about what to do with Charlie, but after an early morning walk, she decided the dog would be safer in the crate she’d put together in the living room. She lined the crate with one of her blankets and put a chew toy inside before scooting the dog inside.

To Leah’s relief, Charlie settled down in her crate and began to chew on her toy. She left and made the fifteen-minute trip to the park where the group was meeting today. She was glad to see the collection of cars that lined the parking spaces. However, a wave of disappointment washed over her when she didn’t see Alex’s SUV. You would pick today not to show, Agent Morgan. Now I’ll have to hunt you down.

She grabbed her knit hat, pulled it over her ears, and got out of her car. Most mornings she hated these first few minutes. Hated the cold. Hated the tension in her muscles. Today she welcomed it all.

She stretched as the other runners got out of their cars and made their way to the open field that led to the woodland path. She checked her watch, set her timer, and glanced around the field. No place for anyone to hide. Good.

As she was about to start her run, the black SUV pulled up next to her car. About time, Morgan.

Feeling the weight on her shoulders ease again, she began to run slowly. The other runners passed her easily, but she didn’t mind. After a poor night of sleep, it felt good to move, to breathe full, deep breaths.

The steady thud of footsteps sounded behind her, but she didn’t glance back, knowing it was Alex. He came up beside her. She was already breathing hard. He looked almost bored with the pace.

“You doing okay today?”

“I’m hanging in there. I had the locks on my house changed.”

“Smart. You might think about an alarm system.”

“It’s crossed my mind.” More money. More expense. The vacation she’d considered taking in the fall was slowly moving out of financial reach.

“I want to talk to you after practice.”

“Good.” He matched her pace.

“You don’t have to babysit me.” The words puffed out of her as she struggled to talk and run at the same time.

“I’m happy to take it easy today.” He had barely broken a sweat.

“Don’t patronize me, Alex. Run.”

“You’re willing to go the route alone.”

“I’ll be fine. Anniversary isn’t for two more days.” Bravado aside, she was afraid, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin the lives of the people around her.

He nodded, as if accepting she needed to do this. “I’ll be waiting at your car.”

Breathless, she held up a thumb and watched as he easily picked up his pace, his long legs eating up the space as he overtook the other runners. She soon lost sight of him and the others as they dashed down the path.

Workouts could be hard because the exertion chased away the day’s thoughts and made room for memories.

Together always, Leah, Philip whispered against her ear.

Leah missed a step and nearly stumbled as she rounded the last corner. “Get out of my head,” she whispered.

She increased her pace, pushing her muscles and her lungs, which stung from the cold, beyond what she’d managed since she started the group. The trees thickened around her, and once or twice she imagined the snap of a twig and the rustle of branches. Her breathing grew more rapid, but she kept running, fisting fingernails into the scars on her palm.

When she finished, she checked her time and realized it was her fastest to date. The small victory offered a measure of satisfaction.

Alex waited by her car, two water bottles in his hand. He handed her one as she approached. “Great run. Where’re the demons that are chasing you?”

She accepted the water. “It’s the same every day, only today they were nipping at my heels. Did you find out anything from the florist? Get a name?”

“Ever heard of Brian Lawrence?”

“No.”

“We’re tracking him down. The man who bought the flowers used that name.”

“Philip isn’t going to announce himself until he’s ready.”

“We need to talk about what happened to you.”

“It’s more than a five-minute conversation.” She sipped her water. “I brought my journal from the last six months. It chronicles anything out of the ordinary.”

“Really?”

“I’m very detailed. And I do see now that I’ve been obsessed. I know I appear crazy.”

He studied her. “I’ll swing by your town house in a couple of hours and you can show me the journal.”

“Let’s meet at a neutral place. A coffee shop. Somewhere public. No listening devices.”

“You think your house is bugged?”

“I’ve searched it, haven’t found anything, but there are so many hiding places. Until this is over, I’m assuming it is.” She ran a hand over her head. “I know, sounds crazy.”

His frown deepened as he thought about the device in Deidre’s house. “The TBI offices are safe.”

“Okay.”

“Ten o’clock?”

She twisted off the top of the water bottle and then refastened it. “Sure.”

In her car, she turned on the heat, put the water bottle in the drink holder, and drove home. The closer she got, the tenser she became. Until yesterday, it had been a sanctuary. A place away from work and her past. All her own. But yesterday, someone had violated that space. She’d changed the locks, but it was no longer a sanctuary.

Inside the front door, Charlie barked in her crate, jumping up and down. Smiling, Leah let the dog out, fastened her leash, and walked her around the neighborhood. Though she did her best to focus only on the dog and the crisp sky, her gaze roamed constantly for anything out of the ordinary. Cars. People. Nothing jumped out at her, but her nerves remained tied in knots.

Once Charlie had worked out her energy, Leah returned home to shower and dressed for her meeting with Alex. She took time with her hair and makeup, just as she had when things had been so bad with Philip. She’d always thought if she looked pulled together, maybe she could pretend everything would be fine.

Charlie got another walk before she crated her and gave her a chew toy. The dog settled onto her blanket, wagging her tail as Leah promised to be back soon.

The drive to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation took twenty minutes. The closer she got, the tighter her nerves twisted. What had happened yesterday couldn’t be passed off as a fluke or forgetfulness. Philip was stalking her.

The journal in hand, she hurried through the cold toward the large front doors. Inside, a rush of warm air greeted her as she moved toward the security station. She leaned toward an intercom centered on the glass partition separating her from the guard. “I’m Leah Carson. I’m here to see Agent Alex Morgan.”

An older man with a receding hairline and large reading glasses studied her for a beat. “He’s expecting you?”

“Yes.”

With a nod, the guard picked up his phone, dialed, and announced her before hanging up. “He’ll be right here.”

“Thanks.”

She turned away, wishing like hell she didn’t have to do this. One stupid mistake in her life and it seemed fate still expected her to pay more. “When is it going to be enough?”

“Excuse me?”

She glanced at the guard, realizing she’d spoken aloud. “Nothing. Sorry.”

Minutes later, a side door opened and Alex appeared. As always, he wore a dark suit, a white shirt, and a red tie, and his shoes were polished. Always buttoned down, always on guard. If she felt more comfortable with him, she’d joke about being so pulled together. During his runs, he barely seemed to sweat, and if this had been a different time or place, she’d have joked about his lack of sweat glands.

“Right on time.” His gaze flickered over her briefly, taking inventory. A flicker of appreciation warmed his gaze.

“No sense delaying the inevitable.”

“You sound like you’re heading to a firing squad.”

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“It feels like it.”

The glint in his gaze softened just a little. “Come on up to my office.” He reached for her journal. “Would you like me to carry it?”

“No, I have it. I’ve made it this far; I can make it the rest of the way.” She’d been shouldering this burden for over four years, and now releasing it would almost feel awkward. How would she live her life if she weren’t worrying?

In the elevator, she was aware of the smallness of the space. When the doors opened, she followed him down a carpeted hallway. Conversations buzzed behind cubicle walls as the fluorescent lights hummed overhead.

Alex opened the door to a conference room and flipped on the lights. “Can I get you coffee?”

She would have loved a cup but feared, given her nerves, she’d spill it. “No. No, I’m fine.”

He pulled out a chair for her at the long oak table and watched as she carefully placed her journal on it. She shrugged off her coat, laid it on the chair beside her, and took a seat.

Alex pulled out a chair across from her, adjusted his tie, and waited.

She put a hand on the thick journal. “I told you I kept a journal.”

He arched a brow. “That’s the journal?”