Page 8 of Edge of Danger

Chapter Three

Tessa Mahoney could barely breathe as she ended her call with Brax Patterson. She folded the napkin on which she’d written his address with shaky hands and slipped it into her back pocket.

She couldn’t afford to lose any of her jobs and had irritated her boss at the diner something awful when she’d taken the call, but it had been worth the risk. Even if she got fired.

“Good night!” she called out to the evening crew, waving as she stepped through the door and into the late-afternoon sunshine.

But it wasn’t sunshine or fresh air that hit her awareness. It was the sense of being watched. A prickly feeling on the back of her neck.

Again.

This was the third or fourth day she’d felt it. The certainty that unseen eyes tracked her every move. Unnerving, especially since there was nothing she could do about it.

Including showing awareness. Her brown eyes darted back and forth as she hurried to the corner in hopes of catching the bus to her tiny apartment. At least she’d be indoors, away from the gaze of whoever currently watched her hustle down the street.

She couldn’t let them know she knew. Nobody had to tell her that. It was instinct.

Ignoring her exhaustion, she sprinted toward the corner, waving her arms and begging the last person waiting to board to hold the bus for her.

The driver couldn’t leave without her. She wouldn’t be able to tolerate sitting on a bench out in the open feeling like someone was watching her as she waited for the next bus. She’d go out of her mind.

If she wasn’t already insane.

“Thank you,” she panted after leaping aboard, waving to the person who’d held the bus for her. She sank into a seat and closed her arms around herself in hopes of calming her trembling body.

This was all Robert’s fault. All of it. She knew they were looking for him, which was why they were watching her.

Hilarious. As if he’d come toher. As if she’d let him.

And she was definitely the last person on the planet he’d share his plans with.

That didn’t stop him from ruining her life from a distance, though. He didn’t have many talents, but ruining lives was right up there at the top of the list.

She jumped with a strangled gasp as somebody behind her dropped their keys. Her nerves had reached their breaking point. She was losing it.

Breathe. There were times over the nightmare of the past three months when she’d had to consciously remind herself of that.Breathe. In. Out. Repeat.

She would survive this. She’d survived the unimaginable already. If there was anything she’d learned, it was how strong she was. How much she could withstand without breaking. She’d get through this too.

Eventually, the people watching her would clue in to the fact she had no idea what Robert was doing or where he was.

At least the guy on the phone hadn’t sounded bad—Robert’s half brother, Brax Patterson. Different last name than Robert and Robert had never mentioned having a brother, but that wasn’t a surprise. He had never exactly been forthcoming.

Brax had sounded like he was truly concerned about Walker—had swaddled him and gotten him to stop crying. That was good, right? But why wouldn’t Brax know how to contact his brother if he was taking care of Walker? There were too many questions pounding inside her already aching head.

Arriving at her stop didn’t provide much comfort. It meant exposing herself again since, if it was like the last few days, somebody was probably already watching. Waiting.

Or was she imagining things? Truly going out of her mind?

All questions vanished when Tessa reached her half-open front door. The door she knew she’d locked before leaving for her shift. A cold sweat covered her body, chilling her to the bone. Her stomach turned, threatening to give up everything she’d eaten for lunch.

Should she go inside? What if somebody was still in there? No, they probably would’ve closed the door to trick her into a false sense of security.

She nudged the door open with her foot, then stepped back. Her heart hammered in her chest as she expected somebody to jump out at her, to yank her inside the apartment.

The reality was just as bad. Someone had destroyed her apartment.

Broken dishes. Her plants thrown to the floor, dirt everywhere. The couch cushions and pillows strewn around, slashed open. Drawers emptied. Her clothes torn out of the closet and ripped to shreds. Her mattress on the floor.

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