Page 67 of Mine to Keep

But that was stupid.

Or, she could call the police.

She lifted her cell and dialed 9-1-1. If anyone knew that she was alive and had been lurking in the shadows even for a day, she wouldn’t be sitting in the comforts of her home.

“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”

“I think there’s someone in my yard, watching me.”

“Who am I speaking with, and what is your address?”

“Bryn Tinsley,” she said before rattling off her address. She gasped as whoever was out there darted across the yard. “The person is now hiding in my side bushes.”

“Are all your doors and windows locked, ma’am?”

“Yes,” Bryn said. She thought about checking on Zadie, but then she wouldn’t know what this asshole was doing. But what they were after her little girl?

“A patrol car is five minutes away. Stay on the line with me, okay?”

“I can do that.” Bryn shifted in her seat so she wasn’t a sitting duck by the window, but she also wanted a bird’s-eye view. “I can’t see them anymore.” Oh, God. What if they’d dropped to the ground like a snake and slithered across the ground toward the backyard? On shaky legs, she stood.

“Stay inside, ma’am. The police will be there shortly. Don’t open the door for anyone but an officer or another first responder. We’ve had two other calls from your neighborhood in the last five minutes, and one a half hour ago when someone broke into a car.”

She blew out a puff of air. Not that she was relieved, because she wasn’t. It still creeped her out and concerned her that someone was out there, wandering the neighborhood, casing out her house, along with others, even if they had no idea who she had been in her past life.

Or maybe that was all some sort of distraction so the culprit could get their hands on her precious little girl.

“I see headlights,” she whispered as if whoever was outside might be able to hear her. No sooner did she say that than the lights cut out. “Wait. Maybe not.” She swallowed. Maybe Timothy’s family had found her, after all.

“The police don’t want to scare him away. Please, stay put and stay on the line with me.”

“Okay.” Bryn stood on the side of the sofa and peered out the window. Whoever was in the bushes popped up and took off running. Away from the house. But what if they ran into the backyard and came in through the sliding glass doors?

Red lights flashed from the vehicle that had parked on the corner. Another police car came barreling down the street and stopped right in front of her house. A man jumped from the driver’s side, weapon at the ready, and hauled ass.

Bryn clutched her chest. Her heart pounded. “Two police officers are chasing whoever was hiding in my bushes.” She needed to check on Zadie, so she padded back to her bedroom as fast as she could and let out a sigh of relief when she saw her precious little girl sleeping blissfully in her bassinet. She scooped her up into her arms, not caring if she woke her up or not and cradled her against her chest.

“Let’s wait until one of them comes knocking on your door before we hang up. Does that sound good to you?”

Bryn breathed deeply, letting oxygen fill her lungs until there was no room left. She hurried back to the front of the house and peered out the window. She blinked, doing a double-take and making sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her and that what she saw was indeed a man wearing a police uniform headed toward her front door. “I see an officer walking up my path.”

“You’re sure it’s one of ours?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Okay, then. Take care, Bryn.”

Bryn tapped her screen, yanked open her door, and gasped. She held her daughter tightly.

“Are you okay?” Nathan asked.

She’d met him briefly at Nancy’s party since he’d been on duty that day. She nodded. “I guess I should have expected to see someone with the last name of Kirby when calling the police.”

“It’s a pretty good chance that one of us will be on duty.”

“Did you catch whoever was out there?”

“Another officer is cuffing him and getting ready to take him to the station,” Nathan said. “But I need to ask you a few questions.”

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