Page 16 of Edge of Danger

“Of course.”

“I haven’t received any paperwork from the agency, though. Nobody got in contact with me. I don’t know how to set this up.”

Right. The nonexistent agency.

“Well, I’m new in town.” She shrugged. Did she look and sound confident in her lies? She had to. He was sharp. He’d see through lies. “Maybe my bank account hasn’t finished getting set up yet. Why don’t you pay me, then the agency will bill me for their cut?”

He would never go for it. Not when she’d only come up with that idea on the fly. No way.

“Sure. Would cash be okay this week, since your account isn’t set up?”

Whoa.He was either deeply distracted or his powers of perception didn’t extend very far. And she didn’t care which.

“Sure, that would be great.” It might mean buying a little food, some fresh clothes.

“Good. Tomorrow we’ll settle up for the week?”

“That sounds good.” Better than good. Could it be this easy?

He turned away, then pivoted to face her. “I don’t even know where to contact you if I ever need you.”

It was all she could do not to plant her face in her hands. She couldn’t exactly give him the address of the alley.I’m easy to find. Make a right out the front door, then another right when you get to the alley. Third trash can on the left.

He had her phone number, though she’d taken pains to leave the phone off ever since that last day in Eagle Pass. But what about an address?

She scribbled down the first thing that came to mind, completely made up. Was there a Pine Street in San Antonio? Who knew? It was a risk she had to take.

“Great. Thanks.” He slipped the paper into his pocket before running a distracted hand over his head. “Sorry. My mind’s in so many directions right now. Word came in yesterday morning that a low-level drug dealer we helped put away jumped bail. We’re trying to track him down before he gets too far away.”

“Wow. That’s intense.”

He nodded, his jaw twitching. “Yeah. It’s one of those things where we don’t want the police involved since this isn’t exactly a dangerous man. Drug dealer? Absolutely. But he’s not a violent criminal. It’ll be easier if we track him down first and bring him in. Once guns are involved...”

“I understand.” Not only did it give her a clearer picture of the Patterson brothers, but knowing they were distracted by an important case gave her a little breathing room. No wonder he was willing to accept the first excuse about the agency that came to mind.

When closing time rolled around, Tessa prepared herself for another night in the alley. After Brax took Walker out in his car seat, she slid two bottles of water into her bag and followed him. Now that she knew there was pay coming her way, it was easier to let go of what little cash she had left. Maybe later tonight, she’d use the rest of her money to buy bread and peanut butter at the closest grocery store.

“Good night, buddy.” She bit her tongue against the rest of what wanted to come out.I love you. Mama loves you so much.Words she whispered to him whenever they were alone.

But knowing she would lose sight of him for an entire fifteen hours made her want to say them anyway. Just in case.

“You need a ride?” Brax was all smiles, his usual charming self. So charming she wished she could say yes, that she wanted him to drive her home.

Only she couldn’t because her address didn’t exist.

“Oh, uh, no, thank you.” As if someone had flipped a switch, her palms went sweaty. She licked her dry lips and hoped he couldn’t read body language as well as she could. Because if he could, he’d know there was a problem.

“No, thank you,” she repeated. “I like the fresh air. I think I’ll walk.”

“Oh, so you’re not that far from here?”

“Nope.” Did that sound as casual as she’d intended? Her blood froze in her veins when he frowned a little, like he was starting to put the pieces of something together in his head.

“Would you mind if I call you in early tomorrow morning?” he finally asked. “I don’t know exactly how early. This case has us on our toes. There’s no telling when or where we’ll find this guy.”

Her blood thawed. “Sure. I understand.”

“So that’s okay with you? I can pay double for the extra time.”

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