Page 44 of Christmas Homecoming Secrets
“How did he arrange for you to ride with Dylan?”
“He didn’t. I did.”
She frowned. “But why Dylan?”
“Frank had a list of names and gave them to me. He was looking at four cops in particular. I chose Dylan first because I knew him pretty well and figured once things went well with him, the other officers might not mind having me along so much—or suspect anything out of the ordinary. I just told them I was interested in being a cop and wanted to see how a small-town force worked.” Which actually hadn’t been a complete lie. He had been interested, just aware they’d never hire him because of his leg.
“And you’re just now mentioning this?”
“I wouldn’t have mentioned it at all if Frank wasn’t dead,” he said softly.
“Right.”
“Who are the other three names on the list?”
He pulled the paper from his pocket and handed it to her. She glanced at it and the frown deepened. “You’ve got the captain on here,” she said softly. “My boss.”
“I was going to ask to shadow him next.”
“I know all of them and can’t see any of them being involved in cooperating with this drug ring.”
“I’ve done a little background work on all four of them. To be honest, nothing really set off any alarm bells. I will say that the captain is in some pretty heavy debt from that new house he’s building since he hasn’t sold the old one yet.”
She raised a brow. “He’s building a new house?”
“Yes. A nice big one.”
“Great. But a big house and debt don’t automatically put him in the dirty cop role.”
“I know.”
“But it doesn’t look good.” She sighed. “Still, Captain Colson has a spotless reputation in the department. He worked his way up and is a decorated officer. There’s no way I believe he’s involved.”
Bryce rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t know. All I know is those are the names Frank gave me.”
“Now I really don’t know who to trust.”
“I recommend you keep doing what you’re doing. Talking to who you’re talking to. If you change things now, it could make someone suspicious.”
“Right.”
“I’ll keep digging into the background of the others, too.”
“Mommy!” Mia’s call from the kitchen had Jade pursing her lips.
“That child,” she said. “She only has one volume setting. Loud.”
He smiled. “She’s a great kid. All three of them are.”
“Thanks.” She shook her head. “What is it, Little Bear?”
The sheer love in her eyes sent his stomach twisting into knots. She had a child. And the more he watched them together, Bryce would admit, he was envisioning what it might be like to be a part of that family unit. Having met Mia, the thought wasn’t quite as terrifying as it might have been once upon a time. He cleared his throat and stepped back when Mia burst into the room.
“Lolly and Pop are going out for dinner with friends while they can get through the snow. Can we have pizza for dinner and watch a movie? And can Bryce stay?”
Jade hesitated.
“I’m game if you are,” Bryce said. The words tumbled from his lips before he had time to filter them. What was he doing? She was a mother. He never planned to be a father. The last thing he should be doing is spending time with them. But…he wanted to.
