Page 20 of The Secrets She Keeps

Daniel held up a hand, disgust filling him immediately. It took everything he had not to ram his fist down the old man’s throat. His father had looked at Heather and had wanted her. It was in the man's eyes now. His father was the ultimate dog where women were concerned. Daniel had always known that. "Lieutenant Coleson is a professional, a colleague that I greatly respect, and is very good at her job. Her personnel jacket more than illustrates that. Anything else you are going to say right now is inappropriate. Don’t do that in my office, about one of my people, ever again.”

"When did you become such a stick, boy?" His father smirked at him like he had so many times before. There was condescension in his eyes. Like always. He felt Daniel was weaker because Daniel wasn’t just like him—he had made that clear so many times before. Daniel forced himself not to react. Not to rise to the bait. “Women like that always get talked about.Thoughtabout. Dreamed about.”

This man had lost any relevance to Daniel's life long ago.

His old man was as dirty as mud. Daniel had always known that. He just hadn't been able to prove it. Yet.

It was a lifelong quest.

"About the time you fathered me. What are you really doing here? Stillman send you? You playing errand boy?" Daniel had chased that stupid bastard Stillman out of Major Crimes late lastnight after Daniel had dropped Gunnar off at the airport to head up to Wyoming.

Stillman had been there—with questions. About Heather. He had been looking for Heather. Daniel wasn’t a fool.

Heather knew something they didn’t want getting out there. Daniel just had to get it out of her first.

Daniel couldn't stop them from going to Heather directly. Hell, his father even lived in Hughes Heights, twelve blocks from Heather now. His father could walk Melvin Stillman right up to Heather's front door. And Daniel wouldn’t be able to stop that from happening—or protect Heather and Hope at all.

He wouldn't put it past his father to do that either. Not if it helped his good buddy Stillman achieve his goals. Good old boys patted each others’ backs all the damned time. Regardless of who it hurt.

Never mind that Stillman had had an obligation to take Heather's statements seriously back then. ThatStillmanhad also committed crimes by not thoroughly investigating the charges. They all knew that. They just didn’t give a damn because protecting Heather hadn’t mattered at all then.

Then.

Now that it had been revealed that she was connected to both the governor of Texas and one of the richest damned men in the world—oh yeah. Things had changed fast.

Heather was worth her weight in gold now.

His father and Stillman wanted access to that woman. And they would stop at nothing to get to her.

Daniel grabbed his phone and dialed the chief the instant his father left. They were going to talk. It was time to make some choices.

But for now, Heather.

And what had to happen next.

15

Heather Colesonjust couldn’t believe this. Daniel McKellen—that was a man she was going to despise until her dying day, especially forthis. The man had no clue how difficult flying with a three-year-old, a five-month-old, and aCara Colesoncould be.

She didn’t know who had had the most trouble with the flight—her baby or her twenty-three-year-old niece. Heather was neverflyingwith Cara again. She was reserving judgment on flying with Ember. And Frankie? That child wanted to ride upside down the entire way just to see how itfeltto fly upside down.Then she’d wanted to knowwhyandhowplanes flew and why couldn’t she fly if she flapped her arms fast enough. And she had tried. Over and over again.

Only that it was a small jet with no other passengers—one owned by Houghton Barratt, surprise, surprise—had kept it from being completely horrible. At least no one had been watching them while Cara had struggled. Or when Frankie had attempted to fly—off the back of the seat. Heather had caught her little daredevil at the last possible moment to avoid a head-on collision.

Except Barratt’s bodyguards he’d sent with them for some reason Heather didn’t fully understand. They’d watched every move Heather and Cara had made. Closely.

Cara had some significant sensory issues—no surprise, a great deal of the Coleson brainiacs did, even Heather—and they had made flying difficult for her. Made the wholesuddennessof this little trip more than Cara could process quickly. Heather probably shouldn’t have brought Cara, honestly. One of the other girls would have handled it a bit better—except Crispin.

That niece was as quirky as Cara at times.

But Heather had had no choice.

It was part of her job, she had been told. To do this fetch-and-carry for the TSP.

Damn it, she had beensuspended.

Didn’t McKellen understand what that meant? She had been suspended. That meant no working for the TSP for three whole weeks.

Three wholeweeksof being at home. With her girls. With nothing to reallydobut be with her girls and the rest of her family.

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