Page 13 of Flynn

He wasn’t positive about that either, but he kept his tone light. “Call me when you’re close.”

“Will do. See you soon.” With that, Cass ended the call.

He stared down at his phone for a moment, glad to know that Rhy and the rest of the team was unwavering in their support. Then he set the device aside to log into the police database. He knew how to perform a basic search, so he did so now, pulling up all males with black or brown beards in the age range of twenty to forty-five.

“Everyone knows all about this now, huh?”

Taylor’s voice broke into his thoughts. He turned to catch her watching him. “Yes. But it’s okay, as they’re more than willing to help me keep you safe.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “I appreciate that; it just seems so surreal. Like something out of a movie. Hearing you explain what happened is a stark reminder that I didn’t dream it. That it really happened.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” He rose and stepped forward, closing the gap between them. He took her hand. “You don’t have to be afraid.”

“I know.” Her smile was lopsided. “Who would have thought that being a nanny would put me in danger?”

Flynn winced, knowing he’d made his feelings known when they’d first met. He honestly hadn’t been impressed with Taylor’s role as a live-in nanny. It seemed rather old-fashioned to him that a young woman would give up her independence to live with a strange family to care for their children.

A rich family, as most people couldn’t afford to pay for that luxury.

But he had come to appreciate how much Taylor loved taking care of kids. Who was he to look down on her decision?

“I’m sorry if I made you feel as if your career wasn’t worthwhile,” he said. “That wasn’t my intention. If I’m being honest, you’re the first live-in nanny I’ve ever met.”

She arched a brow. “I kind of figured that much. But thanks. I might not be as brave and dedicated as a cop, but kids hold the key to the future of our country.”

“That’s true,” he said. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

She grimaced. “Yeah, well, this might be the end of my nanny career. It’s probably safer to be a teacher or work at a day care center.”

He wasn’t sure what to say to that. It wasn’t logical that those occupations she’d mentioned seemed more noble than being a nanny. He told himself he was letting his own past color his opinion. Just because his mother had scraped by as a waitress to provide for him and his younger sister, Fiona, didn’t mean Taylor shouldn’t make a decent living being a nanny to rich people’s kids.

“I think you should do what makes you happy,” he finally said. “Your opinion is the only one that matters.”

She shrugged without saying anything more. He released her hand and gestured to the computer. “When you’re ready to look at mug shots again let me know.”

“I’m almost finished here.” She turned back to the sink. “I’ll rinse these and let them air dry.”

“I can dry them,” he said. “Just because I don’t clean as often as I should doesn’t mean I don’t know how.”

She shook her head ruefully. “I can’t imagine driving around in a messy car.”

It didn’t bother him, but he didn’t voice the thought. His teammates teased him mercilessly about being a slob, and he hadn’t really cared.

Until now.

“I’ll do better.” He gently nudged her from the sink. “Go check the computer. I set up the search parameters for you to continue looking through mug shots.”

She turned and dropped into the closest chair at the kitchen table. “Is there a way to narrow down the search to those mug shots I haven’t already seen?”

“Yes, we did the search by name, and you had already made it through the first six letters of the alphabet. You can start with the letterG.”

“I see that now, thanks.” As she worked, he finished rinsing the dishes in the sink, then began toweling them dry.

He watched her, thinking not for the first time how beautiful she was. Too young and pretty for him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t interested.

Flynn was not the chick magnet some of his teammates were. Quite the opposite. Most of the time women barely gave him a second glance. Growing up, he’d thought it was because they were poor or because he was cursed with red hair thanks to his Irish roots.

But now that he was older, he understood his features were plain, his red hair making him look younger than he really was. And he wasn’t considered handsome in the classical sense.

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