Page 5 of Harmless Secrets

And now he was in Seattle. Bloody hell.

Staring at the screen, she continued to wrap her hair around her finger. This was not a good development. Something was tickling the back of her throat. Panic. It was bloody panic. She did not panic. She was a Hughes.

Buck up, Ali girl.

“Easy for you to say, old man,” she murmured, a small smile curving her lips. She could almost hear her father chuckle at the familiar banter.

Her smile faded. Alicia had grown fond of Seattle. Her house in the woods had become a sanctuary. Safety. Even her cousin Millicent had no idea where she lived, and she was the one person Alicia trusted. It was better for both their sakes that Alicia kept her in the dark.

With a sigh, she closed her laptop. There was only so much she could find out in any one sitting. If she lingered in her search, it would raise red flags. A man like Devon Stryker would have some kind of security to cover his name.

After brushing her teeth, she slipped back into bed with Bridget. Her daughter rolled over and snuggled against Alicia. All those years ago when she had found out about her pregnancy, she had been shattered. Her father had just died and Alicia had barely escaped an attempt on her life. Then, realizing she was three months late and pregnant had almost broken her.

She brushed a strand of Bridget’s golden hair away from her face. She would do anything to keep her daughter safe…anything.

Alicia just hoped she could keep her safe from the man who helped create her.

Devon shoved his hand through his hair and blinked trying to focus on the screen. He stretched up and little sharp pricks of pain filtered out from his spine. When he moved his head from side to side, his neck cracked. Damn, he was getting old.

“You’re not still up, are you?” Dee said.

He scowled but didn’t look away from his laptop. “I’m sitting here, aren’t I?”

She looked at the clock, then at Devon. “Have you even been to bed yet?”

“No,” he said, as he continued to go through the security footage from Pike Place. It had taken a few hacks and a call to an old friend to get it, but he had the footage now and he wasn’t giving up. He knew he would find Ali.

“Devon.”

He didn’t look away from the screen. He knew if he did, there was a chance he would miss her. After spending all night looking for her in the footage, Devon refused to give up now.

“Devon.” This time she yelled it.

He tore his attention away from the screen to frown at her. She was still wearing her pajamas and her long hair was all messed up—like she’d just got out of bed.

“What?” he asked, equally as loud.

“Oh, the sound of sibling love in the morning,” Micah said, as he came into the kitchen with Alana in his arms. Micah looked at his daughter. “Promise you’ll be nicer to your brother or sister when he or she finally arrives.”

“It’s not my fault. Devon’s staring at the screen stalking a woman he says he met four years ago.” She slapped him on the back of the head.

“Dammit, Dee.”

“Dammit,” his niece repeated with a huge toothy grin.

“Oh, nice going, Uncle Dev,” Dee said, settling her hands on her hips.

“Sorry,” he mumbled as he turned his attention back to the screen. He had no sleep and his temper was always dangerous when he was tired. “Don’t hit me again.”

“You need help. You’re starting to act like Crazy Uncle Shane Noah. Pretty soon, you’ll be wandering around the town in your bathrobe.”

Devon scowled at his sister, then grabbed his coffee cup. He brought it to his lips before he realized it was empty.

“I don’t need help. I don’t even own a bathrobe.”

She walked over to stand beside him and looked at the screen. “So, it’s normal to illegally hack into the security cameras at Pike Place?”

“You said I need help. I don’t. Both of us left normal a long time ago.”

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