Page 98 of All Along The Watchtower

If I hadn’t found the map…

If we hadn’t given credence to Peyton’s theories and followed it…

I’d been a father for barely more than a month, and I was already facing down my worst nightmare. If I wasn’t fully gray by Christmas, it would be a miracle.

Bree’s fingers flexed against my chest. “Can’t sleep?” Her voice was a quiet rasp in the dark.

“No.” On a sigh, I turned to brush my lips against her temple. “Every time I close my eyes, I think about what could have happened to her. To you.”

I’d seen combat during my years in the Navy. There’d been a few close calls, times I hadn’t been sure I’d come out the other side. But nothing had ever terrified me more than seeing Bree bolt from the cover of the trees, deliberately drawing the focus of two men with guns.

“You could have been shot.”

Her hold tightened on me. “So could you. That’s why I did it. Y’all had no cover. They’d have seen you.”

That didn’t make it any easier to convince my panicked heart to settle back in my chest.

She pressed a kiss to my pec. “It all turned out okay. We got to them in time. Peyton and Madison are both safe.”

For now. As the on-hand doctor, Gabi had checked them out and cleared them both. Other than abrasions on their hands from all the digging and general exhaustion and shock, neither girl had any permanent damage. They hadn’t been assaulted. I was beyond grateful for that. And yet…

“This was a threat we didn’t even know to look out for. There are still the men connected to Northwest Global. Am I gonna have to start keeping my kid under lock and key for her own good?”

Bree was silent for a long moment. “We’re gonna figure it out.”

I made some sound of disagreement.

“We are,” she insisted. But she didn’t follow the assertion by blowing smoke up my ass about how. It was something I’d always appreciated about her.

“I don’t think I can sleep.” Gently detangling myself, I sat up.

“Me neither. Maybe a snack or some tea will help.”

I dragged on a T-shirt as a concession to Peyton. Not that I thought she’d likely wake. She’d been exhausted by the time we’d gotten home and showered. But I was trying to make changes, so she’d feel comfortable.

In the kitchen, Bree turned on the light over the stove and filled a kettle with water. I didn’t actually like tea, but coffee was hardly a good idea at two in the morning. It really wasn’t about the tea, anyway. It was about having something to do with our hands while our minds were too busy.

“Feels weird not to have Keeley to let out.”

It had already been so late by the time we’d gotten home we hadn’t wanted to drive all the way to the north end of the island to get her from Sutter House.

I skimmed my hands down Bree’s arms. “We’ll pick her up tomorrow.”

She smiled a little. “Hungry?”

We hadn’t stopped long enough to have any sort of dinner last night beyond a protein bar during the search.

“I could eat.”

She dragged out the carton of eggs and a bag of shredded cheese. I found the last third of a loaf of sourdough from Panadería de la Isla and cut off a few slices for toast. The oven door groaned as I pulled it open.

A minute later Peyton shuffled in looking hollowed eyed and a little haunted.

“I’m sorry, baby. Did we wake you?”

Her hands knit together. “No. I wasn’t sleeping great.”

I opened my arms without thinking. But she walked straight into them and burrowed in for a hug. I wrapped her tight, feeling something in me settle at the contact.

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