Take Another Look by Rosalind Noonan Read Free Book Online Page A

his face to see if he was kidding, the cold, impassive look in his eyes had been all the answer she needed.
    The hour that followed had been surreal. Jane had been forced to sit at the kitchen table with a cup of bitter coffee while her mother served homemade coffeecake to Frank and doled out relationship advice. Jane had tried to get her message across without getting a rise from Frank. She had said she needed time to think. That she wanted to stay here at home. Frank’s eyes had glowered, but Sandra hadn’t picked up on the cry for help. Sandra Flannery had countered that Jane should appreciate having a man who cared enough to stand up for her. In the end, Mom might as well have wrapped Jane up with a giant bow and presented her as a gift.
    â€œJust tell me what you need,” Luke said, rubbing her shoulder. “We’re going to keep you safe.”
    Jane leaned into him, scared but grateful. Thank God for Luke, her substitute family. Most people assumed her parents were dead when she said she had no family. She had shared some of the truth with Luke, but it wasn’t a conversation topic she enjoyed. It was painful to admit that she’d had to cut her family off. She had sent a few e-mails to let her folks know that she was okay, but she knew her mother couldn’t be trusted with an address or a phone number.
    She had changed her name from Jane Flannery to Jane Ryan. And then, a few months after Harper was born, she had left Seattle. She’d figured any paper trail would stop there. She had closed out her credit cards and opened a few accounts in her new name. She had pretended that she was in the witness protection program and had tried to make a fresh start in a new place. A new person.
    â€œI just wonder,” she said, staring off at a piece of Harper’s artwork on the wall. “Why now, after all this time? It’s been years, and I thought I covered all my tracks.”
    â€œThat’s a good question.” Luke rested his chin on his fingertips. “You’ve moved twice and changed your name. How did he find you?”
    â€œHe’s a cop. Above the law. They can get into databases. The DMV. Phone records. God knows what else. And Frank can be very persuasive.” She raked her toffee hair back with both hands. “I’ve gone soft these past few years. I let myself believe that I had gotten away, that he had moved on to some other obsession.”
    â€œYou deserve to feel safe . . . to have a life. Don’t beat yourself up for trying to live.”
    â€œIt’s not just me.” She picked up the small leather mitt that Phoenix now used as a chewy toy. It had been Harper’s first softball glove. “I’ve got a daughter to take care of—my greatest responsibility—and I can’t put her in jeopardy.”
    Luke squinted, skeptical. “Do you really think Frank would go after a kid?”
    â€œI can’t even imagine what he’d do if he found out about Hoppy. He didn’t want kids. During his rants he used to talk about ending the insanity of the human race. Stopping the madness. He set me up to have an abortion, but I slipped away before it could happen.” She buried her face in her hands. “I can’t let anything happen to her.”
    â€œWe won’t. Count me in on this. I got your back.”
    The shower shut off upstairs, replaced by the blare of the blow dryer. Jane scrambled to her feet. “I’ve got to get Hoppy over to Sydney’s, and then maybe we can spend the night at your place. I feel like a target here.”
    â€œSure. Whatever feels right.” Sitting there cross-legged, Luke radiated confidence and concern. She had never loved him more than in that moment. “You do have an alarm system and a guard dog, but my place is a better bet. I doubt that Frank has tracked you there yet.”
    â€œPlus you’ve got a gun. A big plus.” Despite Oregon’s liberal