Page 38 of Defender

“We’re working on a safe house for you and Chloe.Somewhere that’s suitable for her, too.Just for a few days until we get this figured out.”

“Do you know who was in my condo?”

“We think so.But we’re waiting to see if the forensics team can provide us anything concrete.”He crouched down next to her chair.“I will say this.I think those guys were after me.Not you.”

“Why were they after you?”

Ashton blew out a frustrated breath.“It’s someone named Curtis Harper.He’s mad at me because I shot and killed his father—someone who had taken hostages in a jewelry store and already killed one person—four years ago.”

“But you don’t think it’s Harper?”

“I do, but it just doesn’t make a lot of sense that now, four years later, Harper would suddenly decide to become all vengeance-bound.Why not a week after the incident?A month?A year?Butfour yearslater?That seems an excessively long wait.”

“It’s not the anniversary of his dad’s death like it was when Bailey Heath took Chloe and me hostage, is it?”

“No.It’s no special date as far as we can tell.”

Summer just sat looking at him for a long time.

“Thank you,” she finally said.

“For what?”

She rubbed her hands together.This probably wasn’t the time to say any of this, but she wanted to anyway.“I always wanted to thank the person who had gotten Chloe and me out of that fire.I never knew it was you.I should’ve asked Joe, but he just wanted to put the whole situation behind him.”Considering his wife, Laura, had almost died, Summer hadn’t blamed him.She’d just wanted to put it behind her, too.

He smiled at her, eyes soft.“That’s when I knew I couldn’t leave you alone.If you hadn’t mistaken me as the handyman, I would’ve found another way to be around you.”

“You should’ve told me the truth and done that anyway.”

He winced.“I know.”

“When do you think you’ll hear from the forensics team?I’d like to get some stuff.My phone especially so Laura and Joe can call if there’s any problem with Chloe.”

“I need mine, too.So I’ll have them sent over right away.Agents had to go in first to make sure the crime lab team wouldn’t be ambushed.”

“Ashton, can we get your input over here?”One of the two men standing at the large conference table called him over.He kissed her forehead, then jogged to them.

Summer just sat watching him for a long time.Ashton was obviously well respected and liked by his colleagues.Here it was, the middle of the night, or early morning, she wasn’t sure which, and they’d all come in to help him.

She still felt a little silly that she could ever have thought him shy.The way he so easily talked and interacted with everyone here fairly screamed the opposite.

She snuggled farther into the blanket.There were so many things she needed to do but she was so tired.It was probably good that Chloe was still with Laura and Joe.Summer didn’t know if she had the energy right now to keep up with a nineteen-month-old.

“You look pretty deep in thought there.”The SWAT team lady sat down beside Summer.She had a plate of food in her hand.

“You’re Lillian, right?”

The other woman smiled.“Yes, Lillian Muir.I’m on SWAT with Ashton.”

“Thanks for the clothes.”Summer gestured to herself with her hand.“Much better than roaming around in just Ashton’s T-shirt.”

Lillian smiled.“No problem.I’m not used to anything I wear fitting someone else.”

The woman was petite, no doubt, and would be dwarfed by Ashton and some of the other men on the Omega team with her.Small-boned with dark brown hair that fell over her shoulder in a braid.Brown eyes and a darker skin tone that spoke of some sort of Latin or perhaps Asian heritage.

Lillian Muir was lovely.Although she looked like she might punch someone in the face if they gave her any such compliment.

“I brought this for you from the Omega canteen.Ashton said you needed something in your system.”

---