Page 37 of Edge of Danger

“I’m sorry to tell you this,” Weston continued, “but she isn’t who she says she is. You need to be careful.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Weston? I think you should know you’re on speaker.” Brax looked to Tessa for some sign. Some surprise or shock. Something.

She sat still, staring straight ahead. The only thing to give away the strain she was under was the way she clenched her fists in her lap.

“Do you want me to call back later? When you’re alone?”

“Don’t bother.” Tessa’s voice was heavy with...defeat? Fatigue? “Go ahead.”

“What’s going on?” Brax demanded. It didn’t matter which of them thought the question was directed their way.

Weston sighed heavily. “I found Walker’s birth certificate. According to this, his mother’s name is Theresa Mahoney.”

It was a good thing Brax was pulling down the road, just in front of the house. He might’ve gotten them in an accident otherwise. As it was, he felt like he’d just been run over by an eighteen-wheeler.

Walker’s mother wasn’t dead.Tessawas his mother.

He pulled to a stop and put the Jeep into Park but didn’t bother opening the door. Neither did she. Walker slept in the back, blissfully unaware.

“Tessa’s parental rights were stripped,” Weston continued. “Due to drug use. And, of course, she’s never worked for a nanny service. She tricked us.”

It got worse with every passing second.

Brax looked to her for something, anything. Explanation. Anger. Instead, there she was, slumped against the door like she wanted to melt into it. If that wasn’t an admission of guilt, he didn’t know what was.

“I’m sorry to break it to you like this. But I thought you needed to know.”

It took a second for Brax to find his voice. “Thanks. I’ll call you later.”

The silence was unbearable. Heavy, thick, making it hard to breathe. For someone who’d been able to come up with quick responses and charming phrases all his life, being left with nothing to say was a new experience.

“Is there a reason I didn’t hear about this from you?” he finally asked.

“I didn’t know if you’d want to listen.” She ran a hand under both eyes.

“You’d better believe I want to hear your side of this after you’ve lied all these weeks.”

“What was I supposed to do?” She whirled on him. Instead of screaming, her voice fell into a hissing whisper, which was somehow more effective than the shrillest shriek.

“Yes, I’m Walker’s mother. And the reason I came to you was because I had nowhere else to go. The day you called about Walker, that first day, I got home from work and found my apartment ransacked. They stole my money and threatened to beat me up. All because they were looking for Robert and figured I knew where to find him.”

“Did you?”

“He took our son away from me because he’s a spiteful, hateful monster. Why would he tell me anything about his plans?” She snorted. “He dropped me the minute he got what he wanted.”

So far that sounded like Robert.

She looked into the back seat, and her gaze softened a little. “I had nowhere else to go. I didn’t even know you had Walker until you called. Robert took him away.”

“You had nothing to do with that?”

Her head snapped around again, and he wished he hadn’t said it. “You know your brother. Do you think he’s beyond setting me up?”

“Did he?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’ve lived with you for more than two weeks. Have I ever given you even the slightest indication I had a drug problem?”

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