Never Let Me Go (Welcome To Redemption) (2 page)

“Bastard,” Chase muttered.

Fresh tears stung her eyes as she nodded agreement, recalling the look of pure terror on Hutch’s face at the thought of Emma being harmed.
 
“The thief with the gun told Hutch to put her down, then the shorter thief reached under the counter and grabbed the deposit bag, as if he knew exactly where it would be.”

“They’d probably been casing the place for a while,” Mike offered.

“Did you happen to recognize either of them?” Chase pressed. “Was there anything familiar about them that stuck out in your mind?”

She looked from one to the other. “I’m sorry…it happened so fast. All I can really remember is one was taller than the other.”

Chase stared at her hard, as if weighing her words carefully. “Can you be a little more specific? Approximately how tall was the taller one? Were they wearing gloves? And what about their clothes? I know they wore ski masks, but were they wearing jeans, work pants, etcetera? Jackets, hoodies?
 
Boots, gym shoes? Any detail, no matter how small, could be huge in helping us catch these guys.”

“He was,” she gestured helplessly, “you know, average sized, like Hutch. They both wore black gloves, and I think they had on jeans, but…I’m not sure. I wasn’t really thinking about those things while they were holding a gun on us.”

The bell above the door jingled again, and Hannah flinched. One look at Chase confirmed that he’d witnessed her overreaction.
Crap
. She grappled with telling him about the taller thief’s declaration that he knew where she lived, but decided it would only make things worse at that point.

“You’re fine, my ass. Give Drew a call. Let the choice be theirs whether they stay in L.A. or head home early.”

Hannah let out a soft sigh as she mulled over his words. Heading home to an empty house after what had happened wasn’t exactly something she looked forward to. Particularly knowing that faceless nut could show up on her doorstep to issue another threat—or worse.

On the other hand, because their mother had spent most of Hannah’s formative years in a mental institution, Drew and their father both overcompensated by treating Hannah like a fine piece of china; protecting her from everything they thought might hurt her. More than anything, she wanted them to see her as the strong, confident woman she’d become, not the scared little girl who used to cry herself to sleep begging for her mommy.

“Look, I know you’re just looking out for me, and I love you for it. I’m a little shook up, I already admitted that. But like I said, I’ll be fine once I get home. So, if you’re done with your questions, I’d really like to get the hell out of here.”

She could see in his eyes that Chase had no intention of letting it go. The man was like a dog with a bone when dead set about something.

A trait they had in common.

He looked at his partner. “Do me a favor and let us have a minute alone.”

Mike nodded, then gave her shoulder a squeeze on his way past. Hannah swore the man was doing his best to hide a smile.

“I have no idea why you’re being so stubborn about this,” Chase griped as soon as the door closed. “In the same situation, Drew would make sure my sister was safe, and I have no intention of doing any less for his. I mean…hell, what if those jokers decided to wait for you, follow you home?”

A shiver raced up her spine at the thought, and she made a mental note to check all the windows and lock the deadbolts before heading to bed. Again, she considered telling Chase about the ‘I know where you live’ comment, but knew it would only solidify his insistence on calling Drew and her father. She was a big girl and could certainly take care of herself for a couple of weeks.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit of a stretch? They came here to rob the place, and they got away scot free. What reason could they possibly have to follow me home?”

“You’re beautiful. What if they…”
 

His words trailed off, but Hannah grew warm and tingly as they washed over her. Maybe Chase
did
think of her as more than just his buddy’s little sister.

Not that she had any intention of going down
that
road. Hannah wasn’t the one night stand type, and according to legend, that’s all Chase Lowell was interested in. She’d heard the guys tease him often enough to know he wasn’t exactly the relationship type. Hell, if the gorgeous Serena Hightower couldn’t hold his interest for more than a minute, what chance did Hannah have? Besides, as he’d just made clear a minute ago, she was his best friend’s little sister and he felt obligated to look after her. Period.

Chase stared at her for a moment before giving a reluctant shake of his head. “Since you’re dead set against calling your family, I might have another solution. What if I were to stay at your place, in Drew’s old room, until he and your dad get back from L.A.? Drew’s going to be pissed either way that neither of us called him. Knowing I was there to keep you safe should keep me from getting my ass handed to me.”

Hannah couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Though Drew was a pretty big guy, Chase had a couple of inches and a good twenty pounds on him.

“He’ll be upset with
me
, not you,” she pointed out. “And he’ll just have to get over it. Dad really needed this time away, and with the pregnancy, Lindy’s hormones are all over the place right now. I’d feel terrible if I added to her stress. Maybe if they hadn’t just left yesterday I’d feel differently, but there is no way I’m going to call and worry them needlessly.”

“So, can I take that as a ‘yes’?”

Chase lifted his hat and combed his fingers through his thick mop of dark brown hair. Those sharp, golden-green eyes gazed at her with that same intensity she’d been feeling since he’d rushed in and taken her in his arms.

She gave a resigned roll of her eyes. “Fine. I hate to feel like a burden, but if it’s the only way you’ll agree to keep quiet, I accept your magnanimous offer.”

“Smart girl. Grab your coat and purse. You can follow us to the station, then I’ll—”

“Woman.”

“Pardon me?”

Hannah propped her hands on her hips and lifted her chin a notch. “I’m a woman, not a girl. And I’m a little tired of having to remind people of that.”

“Trust me, Dimples. I’ve been aware of that fact for a long time.”

Chapter 2

I must be freakin’ crazy,
Chase thought as he and Mike pulled away from the diner and headed to the police station, Hannah following behind in her own car. He’d just resigned himself to two weeks of pure torture. What in the world had he been thinking, insisting on playing house with her until Drew and her dad got back from their trip? He needed to have his damn head examined.

That’s not the head you were thinking with when you made the offer, Dumbass. That’s the problem.

Oh, shut the hell up.

Christ, he’d be lucky to still claim his sanity by the time Drew and her dad returned home.

“So, does Hannah have any idea how you feel about her?”

Chase shot a quick glance at his partner. One of Mike’s greatest assets as a cop was his intuitive nature. And right now, it was Chase’s least favorite. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You have it bad for her; why not just admit it, make a move? She isn’t seeing that loser anymore, and you…well, you haven’t dated anyone since I’ve known you. A couple of hookups that I can recall, but that’s about it.”

“Maybe you should concentrate on your own lackluster love life and stay the hell out of mine.”

Mike shrugged and leaned his head back against the headrest. “Hell, mine seems to be a lost cause. Besides, I’m not the one who raced into Hutch’s like my feet were on fire and crushed a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty in my arms. Not to mention you’ve taken care of a couple tickets for her. You want her, but for some unknown reason you won’t make a move.”

Chase cast him a sidelong glance. “I also took care of a parking ticket for your mom a few weeks ago. Suppose that means I want her, too?”

“Now you’re just being a dick.”

Chase hid a grin. “Just trying to get you to drop the subject. Drew’s one of my best friends, and Hannah’s his little sister, who I’ve known forever. I was relieved to see she wasn’t hurt, that’s all.”

Mike seemed to process that before saying, “Then I suppose you’d be all right with it if I asked her out?”

Jealousy ignited in Chase’s gut, and he clenched his jaw. “I don’t give a damn what you do.”

“Really? ‘Cause it kinda sounds like you do.”

“Just surprised, that’s all. Wouldn’t have taken you for the fickle type. Thought you only had eyes for Bernie.”

Bernadette Mitchell and Mike shared a history, though no one in town seemed to know exactly what happened between them. The only thing that did seem clear was Mike wanted Bernie, but she wanted nothing to do with him.

His partner gave a careless shrug. “We can’t always get what we want. Sometimes you gotta settle for second best.”

Chase pulled to a hard stop in front of the police station and turned to glare at the idiot beside him. “Hannah is second best to
no one
, got it? And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut the hell up before you really piss me off.”

Mike held Chase’s gaze for all of five seconds before he burst out laughing. “Just friends, huh?”

With a shake of his head, Chase threw the door open and stepped out of the car.

Hannah drove up beside them and rolled down her window. “So how long till your shift ends? If it’s going to be awhile, I think I’ll just head home, get started on that bottle of wine.” She tossed him a cheeky grin.

“My shift ended hours ago; I’ve been covering for Cooper. His dad got into an accident this morning on highway forty-one.”

Her smile faded as concern etched her brow. “My God…is he okay?”

“He’s stable, but I guess it was pretty bad. Coop said he’d call if there’s any change. I have some paperwork to do, which shouldn’t take long. And I’d feel a whole lot better knowing you’re here than home alone.” Chase turned to Mike. “Unless you wouldn’t mind taking care of—”

“Go,” Mike said, waving him off. “I’ll call if I have any questions.”

“Thanks, man.”

Chase climbed into the passenger’s side of Hannah’s car and buckled up. “Would you mind swinging by my place so I can change out of my uniform and grab a few things?”

“Not at all.”

It took Chase maybe ten minutes to change clothes and pack a bag, and they made it to Hannah’s around ten-thirty. After a quick visual sweep of the attached garage, he escorted her inside and locked the door behind them.

Hannah headed straight to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of merlot, then grabbed two glasses from the cabinet above the sink. She set them on the counter and met his gaze with a questioning lift of her brow. “I guess I should have asked; would you like a glass? I’d offer you a beer, but dad doesn’t drink much anymore, so all I have is a couple bottles of red. Well, and an ancient bottle of peppermint schnapps.”

Chase grimaced, and Hannah chuckled. No doubt they were both remembering the time Chase, Drew, and Charlie shared more than half a bottle of schnapps as young teens and puked their guts up for two straight hours.

“Sure, why not. I could use it.” And it wasn’t like he had to work this weekend. Though, at some point, he did need to stop at the station to follow up on a few things.

After setting his bag on the floor next to the pantry, Chase joined her by the counter. He leaned back, feeling like an awkward teenager, unsure of what to do or say next. “So, you want to watch a little TV?”

That way he could keep his eyes glued to the screen instead of mooning over her like a lovesick puppy. As long as he didn’t have to gaze into those gorgeous baby blues for more than five seconds at a time, he’d be able to hang onto his composure until they headed off to bed.

Which is when a whole new set of problems would occur, but he’d just have to cross that bridge when he came to it.

Hannah poured them each a healthy glass of the reddish-brown liquid before surprising him with, “I was actually hoping we could chat a little. Seems like I haven’t seen you in forever.” She picked up the bottle and one of the glasses and, after quickly meeting his gaze, led the way into the living room.

She wanted to chat…great.
So how have you been? Nice weather we’ve been having…are you seeing anyone? Because if not, I’d love to take you out for dinner, a movie, maybe a stroll down by the pond...

With a silent sigh of resignation, Chase grabbed the second glass and followed in her wake. Of course he’d never be able to act on his feelings. It just…couldn’t happen. And thankfully, no one even knew his feelings for his best friend’s baby sister had blossomed into something much more. Though Mike figured it out in record time. How long before someone else made the connection? Maybe if he’d quit wearing his heart on his damn sleeve…

Hannah set the bottle on the cocktail table, and then curled up in the corner of the couch. More than anything, Chase wanted to sit down next to her, but thought better of it and sprawled out on the leather recliner in the corner. He gulped down half his wine before lifting his gaze to meet hers. Laughter danced in her eyes, and Chase couldn’t hold back a smile of his own. Damn if she wasn’t the prettiest sight he’d ever seen.