Page 27 of The Secrets She Keeps

Cara and Powell headed over toward the fireplace, Cara telling Powell something Gunnar didn’t catch. He stayed where he was. Looked at Heather. “Are you okay? Seriously? I’ve been worried about you this week.”

Heather hesitated, then looked at her niece as she shifted the baby carrier in her hand. “I…don’t really know, honestly. I’ve been focused on Hope. I had to answer questions from IA two days ago. About Steve. And what I supposedlyknewhe was involved in. Some of the guys from Wichita Falls crashed the interview. I reported Steve for harassment, stalking, assault at least eight times, other than when he physically attacked me—four times. Those reports are mostly gone now. But Hope found copies. We still have them. And I know Kimball had the originals. Somehow. I want copies of what Kimball had, but Daniel Asshole McKellen won’t give them to me. Those copies Hope found were all that got Fort Worth’s IA to back down. Ithinkthey believed me, but I’m just not sure. They may have just…retreated.”

Gunnar knew the computer forensics team at Finley Creek had foundfourreports. So where were the others? It surprised him that she was telling him so freely. “I’m sorry, Heather. Thatnever should have happened. What he did. I wish I had known, had been able to help.”

“Should and do—two opposite ends of the world.” She looked at him, then. This beautiful woman with pain and memories written on her face. “I really don’t have anyone else I can trust. I have some things, Gun. Things Hope found. ThingsIfound about Steve and some of his friends. I didn’t put them together until…I’ve been delving into Jarrod’s theory in myofftime, but—I don’t know. I know you are friends with the governor. I know he’s got his own game in the making with all of what’s happening in the TSP. He doesn’t really care aboutus.Definitely not about my family, except how he can use us to his advantage. But he’s the only one I know who has enough clout behind him to maybe do something with what Hope and I have found. I know someone is yanking me around right now. I don’t think it’s McKellen, not really, but I’m just not sure.”

“Daniel wouldn’t do that. I know he wouldn’t.”

But the truth was right there for him to see. She didn’t trust Daniel one damned bit. But she was trusting Gunnar. That mattered. And he suspected just how hard that was for her.

He didn’t take her trust lightly.

“I don’t have the faith in McKellen that you do. I’d give what we have to Mig, but I don’t want him caught in the middle of this any more than he already is. Not with his three kids solely dependent on him. And he doesn’t know the governor but in passing.”

And she thought Gunnar was the only one she could trust.

The weight of that was hard to miss.

“Get me what you have, Heath. We’ll go over it tonight. I’ll help however I can. You don’t have to do this alone.”

She nodded. Stared at him for a moment. “You really are one of the good ones, Gunnar Erickson. That matters. More than you can ever know.”

18

Plans changed,apparently. Powell was good with that tonight. She wanted to stay close to where the action was—something was definitely going on with Gunnar and Heather. They were tense and agitated and very obviously sharing secrets.

She had studied them as they’d spoken.

She didn’t see any physical attraction between them. She was almost sure of that. Gunnar did not look at Heather the way he looked at Powell. She could see that for herself—and she would just ignore how the idea of himlookingat her heated her insides, thank you very much.

But Heather seemed to trust Gunnar.

And possibly Alex. Maybe. Somewhat.

Heather had instinctively tensed when she’d seen Mac and Brandt, but she seemed okay with Alex. She treated Alex just the same as she did Gunnar, in a lot of ways.

No, Heather was far more open with Alex than Gunnar.

Powell just couldn’t figure out why that was. Her brother was kind of curmudgeony, not exactly the most personable Barratt out there. But Heather seemed okay with him.

Because Alex was Heather’s neighbor and not a cop maybe?

But the bodyguards—Powell suspected Heather was very afraid of the bodyguards. The woman just wasn’t letting it show that much. It took her a few minutes, but Powell put it together. Finally.

Heather feltsaferwith Gunnar and Alex. Period.

Heather didn’t feel safe with Mac or Brandt, and definitely not with the bodyguards at all.

Alex wasn’t about to let Cara out of his sight for even two minutes until Heather returned. Heather had checked her family in, then rushed out with one of the bodyguards after admonishing Cara to stay put in the lobby until she came back. To stay visible at all times.

Alex had reassured Heather that he wasn’t going anywhere, that he wasn’t leaving Cara. Powell had seconded that. She wasn’t about to leave Cara in the lobby either.

Powell thought it reassured the other woman to seePowellthere too.

Gunnar had told Heather the same thing—he wasn’t leaving the girls until Heather was back. It had been enough—Heather had finally left. With Charlotte offering to show her how to get to the secondhand store up the road. It wasn’t that hard to find—Powell suspected Charlotte had just sensed the same fear Powell had.

That meant dinner was going to be delayed. Powell was good with that—she didn’t exactly like the idea of Heather and Cara eating alone. Both women looked exhausted. She doubted the last week or so had been easy for any of the Colesons at all. Hope had almost died. Because of evil. There was no other way to describe what had happened to Hope, Haldyn, and Madison.

---