He couldn’t deny Melissa was an attentive mother. Was she putting on an act for his benefit? He didn’t think so. But just caring about her daughter didn’t necessarily mean she was completely innocent in whatever had caused the two men to follow her through the mall. As much as he wanted to believe she wasn’t a criminal, he knew better than most that power and greed could turn the most innocent to a life of crime.
And he was determined to get to the bottom of whatever she’d got herself involved in.
“Why did you disappear after graduation?” he asked.
Melissa didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I’d rather not talk about this right now, Nate,” she murmured in a low voice, tipping her head toward Hailey.
He drew in a ragged breath, fighting his frustration. He understood that she wanted to protect her daughter from whatever had happened back then. Or from whatever caused her to run away now. Still, he couldn’t help feeling as if she had no intention of cooperating with him, despite the fact that he’d risked his career for her.
Shot two men to keep them safe.
Nate forced himself to finish his burger, which tasted like sawdust on his tongue. He’d find a motel room for Melissa and Hailey to stay in for tonight, but he wasn’t about to let them out of his sight.
Not until he found out who she was running from and why.
* * *
Melissa wasn’t hungry but knew she needed to eat to keep up her strength. The grief of her father’s impending death, which she’d pushed into the background when faced with the threat of danger, returned full force, making her throat swell with repressed tears.
A wave of fury filled her chest, and she had to make herself let go of her anger at the unfairness of it all. Since when was life fair? Right from the beginning, she’d been an innocent bystander. In the wrong place at the wrong time.
Hadn’t she suffered enough? She’d lost her home and her life, not to mention Nate. She’d started over in a new place with a new identity, not just once but twice. Thankfully she’d been able to find enough work to support herself—work she could do primarily at home with a computer. But still, it wasn’t as if designing websites and doing freelance graphic art work would have been her first career choice.
And surely her daughter deserved a better life?
The very idea of going back on the run, starting over and changing their identities again, filled her with despair. Her father had helped finance her new life twelve years ago.
But this time she was on her own.
Melissa closed her eyes, silently praying for strength and for safety. When she opened them, she was disconcerted to find Nate turned in his seat, staring at her.
For a moment her mind flashed back to the last time she’d seen Nate. The night of their graduation, when he’d kissed her beneath the oak tree in her backyard.
The night before her world had turned upside down.
If only she could go back to change the sequence of events. But those kinds of thoughts were useless. Better to concentrate on moving forward. She needed to stay focused on sheltering Hailey by doing what needed to be done.
“Are you ready to go?” Nate asked, breaking the silence.
“Sure. Finish your milk, Hailey,” she said, turning toward her daughter.
“Okay, Mommy.” Hailey drained the last of her milk with a loud slurp through her straw, making Melissa smile. “All done.”
She bagged up the trash and passed it up to Nate. Would he go outside to dispose of their trash? And if so, did she have the guts to steal his car, drive off and leave him behind?
Thankfully, he took the decision out of her hands by simply setting the bag aside and pulling out of the restaurant parking lot.
Melissa didn’t want to steal a car, anyway, especially not Nate’s, but what else could she do? Asking Nate to take her to the bus stop would be futile. He’d already insisted on taking her to a motel, and once Hailey was settled for the night, she wouldn’t be able to continue avoiding his questions.
Nate had had a strong stubborn streak even back when they were dating in high school, and she doubted that trait would have faded over time. Especially now that he was a cop.
She needed to find some way to convince him to let her go without him knowing the details that had the power to hurt him.
Far more than she’d hurt him already.
“Wait. Where are you going?” she asked in alarm when she realized he’d made a U-turn to head back toward the shopping mall. Even from this distance, she could still see the red-and-blue flashing lights from the police cars gathered outside the mall entrance.
No doubt there were officers searching for her. And she didn’t want to think about what would happen if they found her. Hadn’t they already tarnished her reputation? If they used the same tactics again, she could lose custody of her daughter.
Hailey would be the one to suffer, another innocent bystander in a political web of deceit and lies.
“Relax. There’s a motel not far from here called the Forty Winks Motel,” Nate assured her. “We’ll stay there tonight. They have several adjoining rooms.”
Adjoining rooms? She tried to hide her dismay. Did that mean Nate was planning to stay all night, too? If that was his intent, it would be difficult for her and Hailey to sneak away.
Difficult, but hopefully not impossible.
She refused to consider failure an option.
Melissa held her breath as Nate drove past the mall and turned left onto a side street. Her chest was tight with tension, and even after he pulled into the motel parking lot, she couldn’t seem to relax.
They weren’t far enough away from the mall—or the hospital, for that matter—for her peace of mind.
Then again, Melissa was certain she wouldn’t find peace until she left the Milwaukee area forever. And this time, once she left, she wouldn’t look back.
“This doesn’t appear to be the type of place to take cash,” she said, digging into her jeans pocket as he parked near the lobby entrance. “We’d be better off driving out a ways. The smaller motels aren’t as picky about payment.”
Nate turned around in his seat. “One of the reasons I wanted to come here is that they’re cop-friendly. All I need to do is to show them my badge and they’ll take cash.”
She smiled through her trepidation and dug in her pocket for the small wad of bills she’d tucked there. “All right. I have my share.” Now that they were here at the motel, she wondered about his personal life. “So, uh, are you sure your girlfriend won’t mind?”
He lifted a brow. “No wife, no girlfriend,” he said lightly.
The news shouldn’t have been reassuring, yet she couldn’t squash the brief flash of relief.
When she held out the cash, Nate scowled and shook his head. “Keep your money. I’ll take care of this.”
Before she could argue, he pushed open the driver’s side door, letting in a blast of cold air. When he shut the door behind him, she couldn’t help watching him as he walked into the building. Not that she was interested in picking up where they’d left off twelve years ago, but it was surprising to realize just how much taller and broader across the shoulders Nate had become.
Melissa tore her gaze away, glancing over to make sure Hailey was all right. Her daughter’s eyelids were drooping. No doubt she would fall asleep as soon as they were inside their motel room.
Melissa told herself that it was a good thing, since Hailey needed her rest. They’d been on the move for the past two days,