A Little Harmless Secret by Melissa Schroeder Read Free Book Online Page B

same way. She pulled back the sheets and he placed Bridget there. When they walked back to the kitchen, Micah and Dee were there.
    “I think we need to have a little chat,” Micah said.
    * * * *
    When she saw Devon’s pregnant sister sitting at the table, guilt swamped Alicia. Worse, there was a very stoic, huge Native American god standing behind Dee’s chair. His hair was a long waterfall of black silk, and he had the most amazing red-gold skin. He watched her as if he would tear her heart out if she said one wrong thing to Dee.
    “I’m sorry if we woke you,” Ali said.
    He nodded in acknowledgement. “No worries, as we say back home.”
    “Which is Hawaii.”
    Dee nodded. “Oh, I just realized you haven’t met Micah. Micah, this is Alicia. This is my husband Micah.”
    He nodded in her direction.
    “I’ll make some coffee,” Dee said. “I have decaffeinated, which is what I have to have most of the time now and that sucks.”
    Micah frowned as his wife moved about the kitchen. Ali got the impression that he wanted to tell Dee to sit down, but he didn’t. She could tell he was a man who was accustomed to giving ordered. The fact that he didn’t order her to sit down gave him a few more points in her estimation.
    “So, what happened?” he asked, as he sat at the table.
    “I was keeping an eye on Ali’s house and saw some movement in the back. I went to check it out and found out there were people coming up on her.”
    “Wait, you were sitting out in front of my house?” she asked.
    He looked at her with that cool expression that chilled her to the bone. The Stranger.
    She wanted the Devon she knew in Vegas. That man had flirted with her, teased her…captured her. He had been a charmer. This man would kill her without a second thought.
    “I wasn’t about to give you a chance to run.”
    “I said I would stay.”
    He crossed his arms and his frown turned uglier. “And you never contacted me about my child.”
    Devon thought he could stand there and judge her? No bloody way.
    “You might have known about her if you hadn’t left me with a note the next morning.”
    He opened his mouth and a deep, rich chuckle interrupted him.
    They both looked at Micah. “Oh, give it up, Stryker. You’re going to lose. Let’s not rehash, let’s move forward. You two can fight all you want once we know that we’re all safe.”
    Devon nodded and Micah turned to her. “So, tell me, how often has this happened?”
    “As I told Devon, this is only the third time. And the second time it was more for peace of mind.”
    His eyes flashed with admiration. “That’s pretty good.”
    “I was trained by the best.” She shrugged. “I know how to disappear.”
    “Apparently not that well,” Devon scoffed.
    She looked at him. “Really? Because until you accidently found me—and I stress accidentally—you’d given up. And I will point out that I was fine until you went sniffing around.”
    “That is a good point,” Micah said. “But it could be a coincidence.”
    “In my game, there is no such thing as coincidences,” she muttered
    “So, what’s the plan?” Dee said, as she sat on her husband’s lap. He slipped his hand over her belly, a casual gesture, but it told Ali all she needed to know about the man. She might not completely trust him, but she could probably count on him for certain things. Devon had been right. This man would definitely protect Dee.
    She rubbed her temples. Being compromised meant only one thing. “I need to get a new identity.”
    “And then what? You keep running?” Devon asked.
    “I don’t have a choice. I don’t even know what this is about, especially since you’re not involved.”
    There was a beat of silence and the other three shared a glance.
    “What makes you think Devon was involved?” Micah asked.
    “As I said, I don’t believe in coincidences. Then or now.”
    “You mean you thought I was behind it all.”
    She shrugged. “My father was obsessed with finding