Page 9 of Harmless Secrets

Ali looked from him to Dee then back to him. “Is she really your sister? The one who died?”

That answered one question. She knew his true identity. That meant she had known who he was all along.

“Yes.”

Dee stepped forward. “I promise I am. You can call my husband if you want an affirmation. He stayed behind to watch my little girl.”

Disbelief moved over her features. “But you came out here pregnant. And he let you?”

“Micah said something about Devon and me needing someone to bail us out after you had us arrested for trespassing.”

Ali’s lips twitched, then she sighed. “Okay, but there are some rules.”

Bridget leaned closer to Dee. “Mummy likes rules.”

“Mind your manners, young lady.” Her words were tinged with a bit of that English accent he loved and the same authoritative tone he’d heard Dee use on many occasions.

Bridget immediately pouted, but Ali paid her no mind. He’d seen his sister do the same thing. Micah and Devon were not immune to Alana’s pouts, but Dee didn’t put up with it.

Ali pulled out her keys and looked from Dee to Devon. “Bridget, go up on the porch. You two, stay here until I have the door unlocked.”

Devon wanted to argue with her, but Dee touched his arm. He looked at her and she shook her head.

“Get rid of the gun, you wanker. You will not bring it into my house,” Ali said as she slipped past him. He nodded.

They turned to watch Ali unlock the door, then stand in front of the security pad as she punched in her code.

“Go in, Bridget,” Ali said. “Mr. Stryker has something he needs to put in his car.”

She never took her gaze from his as she once again ordered him to get rid of his gun. He did her bidding, jogging down the driveway to put the gun in his glove box, then rejoining his sister.

Ali looked from Dee to him. “One wrong word, one thing that sets me off, and you leave.”

They both nodded.

“Come on in.”

They were walking up the path when Dee said, “Behave yourself.”

He frowned but nodded. He would behave if need be so he could find out just what the hell was going on.

Alicia sent Bridget to her room to play while she faced off with her unwanted visitors. Devon sat at her kitchen table, a brooding figure. A very sexy, brooding figure.

Lord, where did that thought come from? She was really going mental if she was thinking about him that way. This was the man responsible for her father’s death. Even as she thought that, her heartbeat ticked up a beat. It wasn’t from fear.

She was a horrible, horrible person. She was surely going to hell. Or at least purgatory.

Dee sat beside him, smiling. Now that she saw them side-by-side, she could see the resemblance. They were twins. She had forgotten that. When she realized she and Devon were in a stare down, she decided to move this along.

Refusing to sit down, Alicia walked across the kitchen floor and leaned against the counter. “I’ve no idea what you think you’re doing, but I’ll not have you scaring my daughter.”

“Our daughter.”

The two words sent a shaft of fear coursing through her blood. “You have no proof.”

“Believe me, I can afford a DNA test, but she has my eyes.”

She crossed her arms. “You’d have to get a court order before I would let you do that.”

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