Thirteen

Vale

I watched from across the street, heart in my throat, ready to snap a picture of the man, Dutch Pritchard, leaving Dayton's house. Why had he broken into over there? Five years ago, he'd been after Melonie and killed her. Did he think he'd find evidence at the house? How many times had he looked? I wanted to be sick when I considered him invading Dayton and Brennan's sanctuary.

There was proof stashed away, but I doubted anyone would ever find it, if they hadn't by now. Melonie had hidden it well, though she hadn't known her stalker was Dutch, her husband's partner.

It didn't escape me that I was thinking of my previous self as another person. She was another person to me now. The same. Yet different. I didn't try to work out those knots. It was too tangled and convoluted. I was Vale now, with the spark of Melonie inside me, with all her memories, hopes, dreams and recollections of who she'd loved.

But in the past five years, I'd become more. Grown. Evolved. Changed. Much like someone who'd entered witness protection might shift into a new existence, missing my old life, but daily morphing further into someone new. Possibly someone unrecognizable as who I'd been.

I was my constant fear. That I'd changed too much for Dayton to love. It was second only to the primal terror that Dutch would somehow figure out I knew what he'd done.

Why he'd done it was a constant mystery, though.

"What are you doing?" Kale asked, coming out of the kitchen behind me. In the window's reflection, I could see he had a plate in his hand, with a partially eaten piece of cake on it. My brother… He was as bad as the rest of his club.

"Someone broke into Dayton's house. I sent him a text."

"What the fuck?" Kale set the cake on the coffee table and joined me at the window. "I thought it was safe here."

"It is. Mostly."

"You should get away from the window." He wasn't looking at me as he typed into his phone.

"What are you doing?" I didn't move from my post, watching for Dutch to emerge. He was still inside when two police cruisers and Dayton's SUV skidded to the sidewalk in from of Dayton's house.

I watched the uniforms, Day and a woman, who must be his new partner, hightail it to the house. The uniforms waited, guns drawn at the ready, for Dayton to unlock the door, before they stormed inside, Dayton and his partner on their heels.

My heart raced, my throat tight while I remained riveted to the action across the street. Blood rushed past my ears, nearly drowning out Kale's response.

"Texting Biter and Prick."

"Kale…"

"Don't argue, sis. If you're gonna be here, you need more security."

I made an annoyed sound at the idea of a further invasion of my privacy. "I have a cop across the street."

"Who just had his home broken into," he scoffed.

I scowled at him. It wasn't that I'd shun iron-strong protection. I mean, I was absolutely terrified of Dutch. But I didn't want Kale and his club all up in my business, because knowing Kale and his tech man, Planny, there would be cameras, alarms and sensors in every room.

Movement in my peripheral vision drew my gaze back to the tableau across the way. Dayton fairly hauled Dutch out of his house, his new partner on his heels and the cops trailing behind her. Dutch and Dayton stopped on the sidewalk, where Dayton appeared to be yelling at the other man, his finger jabbing toward him while Dutch crossed his arm, looking annoyed and almost bored.

My fingers curled into palms. I knew what Dutch was capable of. If he hurt Dayton…

"Which one is your man?" Kale asked.

"The angry one."

"Hmm. You know who the other guy is? Doesn't look like a rando BE."

I shrugged. I couldn't exactly tell him I knew exactly who the other guy was.

Kale's phone rang, and he walked off, answering it with, "Biter."

My arms around my middle, hands still fisted, I kept my attention on the arguing men. I wasn't sure what Dayton said, but suddenly, Dutch's gaze turned to me, his face bland but his malevolent stare pinned me.

Dayton shoved his shoulder, regaining his attention, and Dutch took a step back, hands wide, his lips seeming to bite out some reply. With another glare at me that sent ice down my spine, he spun away, the four uniforms following him. The ex-partner's hand flew into the air, spouting off more frustration, his anger clear, even from where I stood. Dayton's partner stood with Day on the sidewalk while they spoke together.

She patted his arm, and a growl rolled up my throat. I didn't like her touching him, not at all. From last night's conversation, I knew there hadn't been anyone else for him over the past five years, but this was the first I'd seen a woman with him, and it triggered something inside me. Maybe because he wasn't officially mine again. I didn't know.

The pair watched Dutch peal away then spoke with the uniforms before heading my way. My eyes widened. Wait. They were coming over? Spinning from the window, I ran my hands over my clothes and hair in a useless bid to make sure I looked okay. Didn't matter. They'd already seen me. Still…

The ring of the doorbell pierced my panic, though my heart still raced and my body had a slight tremor from my agitation. Trying to gather myself, I scurried over to answer.

"Hi," I breathed.

"Hey," Day returned. "Just wanted to check on you."

"Check on me? No one broke into my house," I replied, with a forced laugh.

"He's someone I used to know," Dayton hedged. "You okay?"

Apparently, I looked more freaked out than I'd thought. I nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad it wasn't a big deal. What was he doing there?"

The woman next to Day huffed a laugh. "He claimed he was looking for some tool he lent Windsor." She pointed with her thumb. "This guy? Build something?"

"My partner, Amber Anderson," Dayton said to me, introducing the blonde woman with a frown darkening his expression.

"He put together my grill last night," I defended.

"Oh, did he? Hmm… You must be the new girl, then. Nice to meet you," Amber effused.

I shook her hand by rote, returning the sentiment.

"I've never seen his so taken—" the woman went on.

"Anderson," he warned through his teeth.

She ignored him. "When Dutch looked over at you, Windsor about lost his shit. So possessive, so soon. This'll be fun to watch."

"That's what happened?" I asked, startled both by Amber's words and her amused, speculative demeanor. None of it led me to believe she was a hard-ass detective. But last night, Dayton had claimed she was.

"Yeah. Apparently, he ‘doesn't get to make snide—'" She made air quotes, but she cut off, her hands dropping as I heard Kale behind me, apparently catching her attention. "Oh, hello," she said. "And who is this?"

I turned toward Kale, and this time, it was Dayton growling. Seemed as if we had the same affliction.

"That's Kale."

"Her brother," Kale added. "Twin brother. Protector. You know…"

Dayton thrust out his hand. "Dayton Windsor. Boyfriend."

"So I've heard."

I narrowed my eyes at Kale. "I didn't say boyfriend."

God knew, I didn't want Dayton to think I'd made assumptions. But he'd just said…

"Well, I am. Are we still on for dinner?"

Somehow, in the next moment, I ended up reeled in against his chest, and he kissed the top of my head. So nice. I could stay right there forever, breathing in his woodsy Dayton scent and absorbing his warmth. I'd missed the feel of his embrace so much.

"Yeah," I breathed, straightening away from him and forcing myself to step back. It took all my fortitude, though.

"You sure you're okay?" he confirmed.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Kale was here with me the whole time."

Dayton hummed a soft noise, and I didn't think he believed my answer. Smart man. He'd always been intuitive. After Seeing Dutch, having him glare at me like that, I definitely wasn't ‘okay'. And from the way Day watched me, I wondered how long it would be before he figured out I was keeping more secrets than I let on.