Never Let Me Go (Welcome To Redemption) (3 page)

You’ve known her since she was born, dude. Some might consider that shit creepy.

“You look like you’re on the verge of bolting out of here. I know guys don’t normally care for chit-chat, but I was hoping you’d indulge me tonight after...”

When her words trailed off, it dawned on him that she was more upset about the robbery than she’d earlier let on. Which he should have realized—damn, could he be thick, or what?

He put the recliner down and leaned forward, noticing for the first time the slight shaking of her hands as she took another sip of her wine.

“It’s finally hitting you, isn’t it?”

Staring down into her wine glass, she gave a quick nod. “I’m just glad everyone is all right.”

“You were very brave tonight. You held it together and did everything you were supposed to, so don’t beat yourself up.”

She looked up suddenly, as if surprised by his assessment. “I don’t feel like I did everything I was supposed to.” She dropped her gaze and regarded her wine glass, growing oddly quiet considering it had been her idea to talk.

“Now, why would you say such a thing?” When she hesitated, he added, “You can tell me anything, Dimples, you know that.”

She stared at her hands for nearly a minute before looking up to meet his gaze. “One of the thieves, the one with the gun, threatened me. Said he knew where I lived and I’d better keep quiet or he’d pay me a late night visit.”

“Son of a bitch!” Chase shot to his feet and started pacing. “Why didn’t you tell me right away? I could have—”

“You couldn’t have done anything; they were already long gone. And the reason I didn’t tell you is because I knew you’d react exactly like this.”

Chase stopped and faced her. The thought of anyone threatening to harm a hair on this woman’s head made him crazy. He sat back down and blew out a hard breath. Figuring it might be best for the time being, Chase changed the subject.

“So, how come you’re not staying at Lindy’s house while they’re gone? Drew mentioned she made the offer, but you declined. I think it would be kind of a kick to stay there.”

Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know. If they’d have left Bo and Bianca home, I probably would have. Bo’s bark is loud enough to scare off anyone, and Binks is quite the ferocious kitty.” She gave a brief smile. “I wasn’t super keen on staying there alone after…well, you know.”

“Yeah…I do. Though it’s probably safer than Fort Knox with the ridiculously high tech security system she had installed. You’d have to be a fool to try and break into that place now.”

She swallowed down the rest of her wine and refilled her glass. “True, but…still. Hey, that reminds me—you guys any closer to finding out who attacked her? Drew said the DNA samples should be back from the lab soon. I really hope you’re able to catch those two before they hurt anyone else.”

“Like tonight, you mean?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he gave himself a mental head slap.
Idiot. As if she isn’t scared enough?

“What are you saying?” Hannah went pale. “You don’t think it could be the same two men who…?” She took another quick gulp of her wine, her face a mask of pure terror.

Chase shot to his feet and rushed over to her side. He wanted to take her in his arms, but knew he shouldn’t. Not again. “It’s doubtful. And I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. But if it
was
the same two guys, they were smart enough not to lay a hand on you. I’d have hunted them down like the animals they are if they’d harmed one hair on your head. In fact, finding them will be my main priority from this moment on.”

“I…thanks. That’s good to know.”

She did her best to offer a reassuring smile, but Chase wasn’t fooled. He refilled his own glass, then scooted over to the opposite end of the couch. “Listen, I think the best thing for you right now is to get your mind off it completely. Why don’t we watch a movie?” He checked out some of the titles in the DVD tower. “Something mindlessly funny like
Liar Liar
or
Shrek
.”

She leaned back and cocked her head. “
Shrek
? Really? So much for not thinking I’m a little girl.”

Chase feigned a look of outrage. “I happen to like
Shrek
. Besides, it’s in
your
DVD collection, and I can’t imagine Drew or your dad bought it for themselves.”

She rolled her eyes. “Remember when I used to babysit the Brolsky twins? They were complete terrors, and the only way I could get them to settle down was to put
Shrek
on. When they moved away, they left the movie behind.”

“Okay, so no
Shrek
. Anything in particular you’d like to watch?”

“What I’d like to do is talk.”

“About…?”

“Well…”

She took several small sips of her wine, taking her time as if she were about to broach a difficult subject. Normally, he’d comment on how fast she was sucking down the wine, but today was a far from normal day, so he kept his opinion to himself. When she looked up at him again, a mischievous smile curved those luscious lips. “Are you seeing anyone?”

Chase barely held back a sigh of resignation. He definitely hadn’t seen that coming. “I think you should pick another subject.”

“Why? Have you suddenly gone shy on me?”

“No. There’s just…nothing to talk about, that’s all.”

“So you’re not seeing anyone?”

“Are you seeing anyone?” he countered, becoming a little uncomfortable.

“Nope. Now your turn to answer the question.” The little wiseass had the nerve to grin.

God, how he’d love to kiss that smug look off her face. “No, I’m not seeing anyone. Happy?”

“Are you interested in anyone?”

He laughed. “What is this sudden interest in my love life?”

“Why are you dodging such a simple question? We’re friends, aren’t we? I need to get my mind off of what happened tonight, you said so yourself. So indulge me. Are you interested in anyone?”

Chase tried to hold her gaze, but as if his eyes had a mind of their own, they dropped to her lips.

She licked them as if she knew exactly what she was doing to him.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Oh. Well, awesome. Who is it? Details, please.”

Was it his imagination or did she seem less than enthused by his answer? “Sorry, but that’s not something I care to discuss.”

“With me?”

“With anyone. Look, it’s been a long day, for both of us. Maybe we should call it a night and get some sleep. I’ll even take you out for breakfast in the morning…unless you’re too hung-over to roll out of bed before they start serving lunch.” He smiled in an effort to ease the tension.

Hannah playfully pursed her lips, but then her eyes widened, and she set her glass down with a thunk. “Crap, I just thought of something—I’m going to have to open the diner tomorrow! Hutch usually does the cooking on the weekends…I’ll have to see if I can get Jason or Miles to come in and cover for him.”

“I’m sure Hutch would understand if you closed the diner for a few days. No one would expect you to work the day after such a traumatic incident.”

Hannah hurried into the kitchen as if she hadn’t heard him. She ran back into the living room with her purse, tossed it on the table and rummaged inside until she pulled out a little booklet. A quick glance at the clock produced a frown. “Think it’s too late to give them a call? It’s not quite eleven, and—”

“Hannah, it’s too late.”

Frustration etched her brow. “It’s Friday night. I doubt either one of them are sleeping.”

Chase got up and stood before her. He wanted to take her in his arms as he had earlier and breathe in her intoxicating scent. Instead, he propped his hands on his hips. “Probably not, though that’s not really the point. The last thing you should be worried about is opening the diner tomorrow.”

She matched his hands on hips stance, only she stuck out a hip. “Those assholes already got away with a whole day’s earnings from Hutch. I’m not going to let them take anything else from him. I’m opening the diner tomorrow.”

He stared at her, a little surprised by her vehemence. “You’re as stubborn as that brother of yours.”

She let out a delicate snort. “As if you have room to talk.”

They stared at each other until Chase finally blew out a hard breath. “Fine. If you’re that damn determined, I’ll drive you in tomorrow and give you a hand until you can get someone else to come in.”

She gave his chest a playful thump. “My hero. And on that note, I’m going to take a quick shower before climbing into bed. Set Drew’s alarm for five, just in case mine doesn’t go off, okay? Night.”

Chase watched the graceful sway of her hips as she climbed the stairs to the second floor and disappeared around the corner. Visions of her emerging from the bathroom with that silky pink robe he’d seen her wear a time or two clinging to her damp skin had him rushing into Drew’s room and shutting the door behind him as if the hounds of hell were on his heels.

Damn, it was going to be a long night.

Chapter 3

Nothing could have prepared Hannah for the sight of Chase with an apron wrapped around his waist and a baseball cap perched backwards on his head. Visions of Luke Danes from Gilmore Girls brought a huge smile to her face. Both men managed to make pouring a cup of coffee look manly and sexy as hell.

She ended up doing all the cooking for both the breakfast and lunch rushes—which were considerable after news of last night’s incident had spread through town. Since Hannah loved to cook and rarely had the opportunity to do so at the diner, she’d enjoyed herself immensely. And she had to give Chase a lot of credit. He’d been on his feet taking orders and waiting tables without complaint for nearly nine hours, and that’s after working an extra half-shift at the station last night. With the realization he was mostly doing this for her, she would definitely have to find a way to repay him.

Miles finally called to let her know he’d gone up to the UP of Michigan with his father and brothers for a fishing trip and wouldn’t be back until Sunday. But thankfully, Jason stopped in around two to find out what had happened, then agreed to stay and close up with the new waitress, Kelly, so that Hutch didn’t lose anymore income than he already had. They all cared fiercely for the old guy.

Chase strode up and set another order on the counter. “I also need a cheeseburger and fries to go, no mustard on the burger.”

Hannah picked up the order and smiled at him. “You’ve been great. I have no idea what I would have done without you today.”

“You wouldn’t have come in. No way would I have let you work the diner alone after last night.”

Her smile faded. “Well, you sure know how to ruin the mood.”

He laughed. “Sorry, but you know I couldn’t have let you come alone after—”

“I know, I know, after what happened. Good Lord, at some point, you’re going to have to get over it.”

He gave her a considering look. “And at some point, you’re going to have to deal with it and quit acting like such a tough girl. The place was robbed, you were threatened, people you care about were hurt; are still in the hospital, in fact, and you act as if—”

“Is Max still in the hospital?”
My God, how could that have slipped my mind?
The thought of what Lauren must be going through…Hannah felt like the world’s worst friend. “I meant to give Lauren a call this morning and ask how he’s doing, but it’s been so busy I completely forgot.”

Chase’s expression softened. “It’s almost three, and it’s slowed down a lot, so Kelly will be fine for the few hours until close. Why don’t we head on over to the hospital to check on Hutch; you can give Lauren a call on the way.”

She gave a quick nod, afraid if she opened her mouth a choked sob would escape. It’s not as if she weren’t affected by what happened. It’s all she could frickin’ think about, truth be told. It’s just…if she thought about it
too
much she’d drive herself crazy worrying about the thief and the threats he’d made.

For all her brave talk after the robbery, Hannah was grateful Chase had insisted on staying at the house with her until Drew, Lindy, and her dad got back from L.A.

Chase called the station and assigned one of his officers to escort Miles to the bank after closing time, and for that, Hannah was grateful. She was also more than ready to go see her dear friend and assure him they had everything under control.

She pulled out her cell phone on the way to Chase’s truck and dialed Lauren’s number. After being assured that Max was fine and already home from the hospital, Hannah breathed a deep sigh of relief. She disconnected the call, leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes.

“He’s a tough kid,” Chase observed as he eased into traffic. “Just like his mother.”

Hannah agreed; she turned to gaze up at him. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am. They clocked him so hard…he went down like a ton of bricks.”

Without taking his eyes from the road, Chase reach over and gave her hand a squeeze. “He’s fine, and that’s all that matters. And I swear to you, Hannah, I
will
find those sons of bitches. They’re going to pay for what they did.”

Of that Hannah had no doubt. Chase was the best cop on the force, which is why he’d climbed the ranks so fast. As fair and impartial as the day was long, he simply cared about everyone. He’d been serving the town of Redemption for over a decade now, and the man was easily one of the most liked people in town. Everyone loved Chase. Everyone—