Stop. Breathe. Think. It wasnt necessarily what it looked like.
Maybe Sloane had some sort of high-tech security system installed in her house.
Or was that camera something more sinister?
Surely, he was being paranoid. After all, he was bored to death being a police detective in a quiet little town where the occasional bicycle theft was about as exciting as police work got.
Until that murder last month out at the Crooked C ranch, of course. A high-end call girl whod been seen up at the resort had been killed by a client. Initially, there were two possible suspectsWyatt Colton as well as European millionaire George Stratton, whod brought the girl in from Vegas. But upon further investigation, the sheriffs department figured out that a disturbed man whod later killed himself had done the deed.
Liam forced himself not to look up at the camera lens as he randomly opened drawers in search of clothes for Sloane. His mind raced as he found socks, T-shirts and sweaters.
Why would anybody covertly surveil a young mother in Roaring Springs? Who had Sloane made an enemy of? A criminal shed been involved with in her work? The ex-husband? Either way, a random stranger going to all the trouble to set up surveillance on her was not likely.
He retreated to the closet, where he spied jeans and sweatshirts folded on shelves and grabbed one of each.
He moved to the shoe rack and was bemused to discover that it rotated. How many pairs of shoes did one woman need, anyway?
He grabbed a pair of gym shoes made of a knit fabric that looked comfortable and headed for her bathroom. There had better not be a camera in there, or there would be hell to pay. He took a surreptitious look at each of the corners and spied nothing but paint. Then he did a thorough search of the walls as well to assure himself there were no hidden surveillance devices in the vicinity.
Not a sicko Peeping Tom, then. Which left somethingor someonemore sinister behind that camera in her bedroom. He swore under his breath and grabbed a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste out of the cup by her sink.
Taking a moment to look at the duffel bag, he forced himself to think about what hed forgotten to pack for her.
Goop. Fox always used to complain that Sloane was a world-class goop collector and hogged the bathroom theyd shared to smear it all over herself.
Liam warily eyed the neat rows of bottles and tubes on the counter.
Did Sloane even wear makeup? He honestly didnt remember. Hed been so shocked by the girl hed had a giant crush on all through high school slamming into him out of the blue at the hospital that he hadnt registered any of the details he usually would as an observant detective.
What was he missing?
Of course. Underwear.
His gut jumped a little at the idea of handling Sloane Coltons unmentionables. Which was absurd. He was a decent-looking man in his thirties and had been around plenty of lingerie, and the women in it. But his very first fantasies of a skimpily clad female, all the way back in junior high, had involved Sloane Colton. Hed never admitted it to Fox and had pretended to have a crush on another girl. But it had been Sloane hed dreamed of and woke up in hot sweats over.
He went to the dresser in her bedroom and opened a long, shallow drawer.
He inhaled sharply as a spill of brightly colored lace assaulted his eyes. Prim and proper Sloane Colton wore this sexy stuff? Wow. Uh, good to know. Of course, he was never going to look at her again without imagining which jewel-toned ensemble of silk and lace she had on under her clothes.
Swearing under his breath, he grabbed the first pair of skimpy bikinis and bra that matcheda scarlet ensemble with pert little bows strategically placed. Dammit, that was not sweat breaking out on his forehead.
He left the bedroom light on and headed back to the living area. Under the guise of poking around in the toy box for a stuffed animal to take to Chloe, he inspected the walls.
There. Over the front door. Tucked high in the corner under the crown molding. Another tiny, circular hole. From that vantage point, a surveillance camera would have a view of the entire living-dining-kitchen area.
Sonofa
He ducked into Chloes bedroom and grabbed the well-worn stuffed elephant off her bed. A telltale circular shadow lurked in the far corner of Chloes bedroom as well. Now, why would a bad guy watch a toddler? The ex-husband climbed to the top of Liams suspect list for being the creepo stalker.
He forced himself to keep his rampant cop suspicions in check. After all, he still wasnt positive Sloane was being watched nefariously. She could have hired a security company to monitor her, or perhaps there was some other legitimate reason for the cameras being there. But his gut was dead certain the explanation wasnt so innocent. Which was weird. He was usually the soul of logic, relying completely on facts and careful analysis. Intuitions were for amateurs. Real detectives used their minds to uncover the truth.
Assuming Sloane herself wasnt the source of the cameras, she faced a choice. Rip the cameras out of her walls and have a security firm sweep her house for any more surveillance devices. Or, she could let the cameras ride, pretend she didnt know they existed, and let him investigate who was behind the surveillance without tipping off the perpetrator.
Fury bubbled up in his gut. When he caught whoever was behind the surveillance, he was going to
Slow down, there, buddy. He was going to hand the bastard over to the district attorney with an ironclad file of evidence so the perpetrator got put away for a good long time. He was a law enforcement professional and didnt indulge in gratuitous violence, no matter how angry he might be.
Still. This case was personal. Sloane was his best friends little sister. Theyd grown up together, for crying out loud.
On his way out, Liam left on lights and turned on the TV. He doubted whoever had been lurking behind her house would come back tonight, but on the off chance that the guy was a burglar, Liam might as well make the house look occupied.
He didnt recall seeing Sloane carry a coat in the hospital, so he stopped at the cast iron coat tree just inside the front door. He grabbed a neon-pink ski jacket, pink mittens and a matching hat with a jaunty pompom. There. That should keep her warm.
He might not have noticed whether she had makeup on or not, but hed noticed that shed been wearing flannel pajamas without much on underneath when shed banged into him at the hospital. Her body had been soft in all the right places with more curves than he remembered from back in the day, although she was still not much bigger than a whisper.
Of course, hed put on about forty pounds of muscle when he took up lacrosse in college. It was the universes karmic joke that he finally became a buff athlete type after having to go all the way through high school as a beanpole.
He took a hard look up and down the street as he pulled out of the driveway but didnt spot any movement. He made a mental note to ask police cruisers to roll past her house for the next few weeks.
* * *
When he got back to the hospital, he headed for the nurses station outside Chloes room to drop off the duffel. As he turned to leave, Sloane stepped out into the hallway.
What are you doing awake? he asked, startled.
You obviously arent a parent, or you wouldnt have to ask. Im too worried about Chloe to sleep.
You obviously arent a parent, or you wouldnt have to ask. Im too worried about Chloe to sleep.
A nurse piped up from behind him, That and were going in and out of Chloes room every ten minutes to check her temperature, and naturally mommy wants to know how its doing every time we take it.
How is it doing? Liam echoed.
Sloane glanced over her shoulder toward her daughter. High but steady at 104 degrees. Theyve wrapped her head in refrigerated blankets to cool her down.
That didnt sound good. But he wasnt about to voice the concern aloud. Sloane already had dark shadows under her eyes and looked on the verge of losing control. As much as he wanted to ask about the cameras in her house, that could wait until tomorrow.
You should sleep, he suggested.
Not happening.
Maybe you should take a walk, then, the nurse suggested. Movement helps burn stress. Your boyfriend brought you clothes, too.
Liam opened his mouth to correct her, but Sloane beat him to it. Im single. Hes
He glanced at her, one eyebrow cocked with interest to see just how she classified him.
an old family friend.
He could live with that. Although handfuls of sexy red lace and her chest mashed against his flashed through his head.
Get a grip, man. Shes your best friends little sister. How much more cliché could that be? The friend code was clear on the subject: sisters were strictly off-limits. Of course, Liam didnt have any siblings, so hed had nothing to worry about over the years. But Fox had always been fiercely protective of his sister. It probably hadnt helped matters that Fox and Sloane had lost their parents in a car accident when they were little kids. Had their aunt, Mara Colton, and her husband, Russ, not taken them in, theyd have been alone in the world.
Would you like to finish our hospital tour from earlier? he offered.
Sloane frowned. Its 2:00 a.m. Surely youd rather be home in bed.
Yeah. With her
Strike that. Old. Family. Friend. He added for good measure, Worried mom with sick kid.
Im not tired. Do you want to get dressed or go for a walk like that?
She glanced down at her flannel pajamas. What? Dont you like my granny jammies?
He grinned. My grandmother had much less frumpy taste than that.
Sloane stuck her tongue out at him briefly and then whirled and disappeared into Chloes room. She still moved like a gazelle, quick and graceful. He watched her through the window until she ducked into the bathroom and closed the door.
He was not thinking about that sassy red underwear. Nope. It would not look smoking hot against her pale skin and dark brown hair. Nothing to imagine there. Move along, you old horndog.
He turned to the nurse. How sick is Sloanes daughter?
Im not authorized to release any information to a non-family member
Im asking as a police officer. I have some news to share with the mother that may be upsetting. If the child is gravely ill, I can hold off telling it for a while.
The nurse met his gaze candidly and said grimly, Hold off.
His stomach dropped with a sickening thud.
How bad is it? he murmured low.
Childrens Hospital in Denver has treated a dozen kids with this virus. Two of them didnt make it.
His jaw sagged. As in they died?
The nurse nodded soberly.
He whirled and stared through the window at the toddler curled up in the stainless steel crib. He hadnt been in touch with Sloane since high school, but it didnt take more than two seconds of being in the same room with her to see that she adored her daughter. If anything happened to Chloe, it would kill Sloane.
The nurse added, It gets worse before it gets better. And shes a very young child. This little girls got a fight ahead of her. Several dozen children have died around the country from it.
Sweet baby Jesus.
Sloane stepped out into the hallway, fully dressed, and smiled hopefully at him. Undoubtedly she didnt know how bad Chloes illness was, or she wouldnt be able to smile at all. His belly felt like glass that had been hit by a stone and shattered into a million razor-sharp shards.
It was hard as hell to do, but he forced a fake smile for Sloanes sake and held out his forearm gallantly. Shall we take a stroll along the promenade, madam?
You really dont have to do this, Liam.
Im working the night shift tonight.
Then shouldnt you be out solving crimes?
He was. He wanted to know why someone was watching her and had been lurking around her house. Were the two related?
Tell me about where you live here in town, he said casually.
You saw it. Pretty street. Quiet. Lots of young families. Chloe will have plenty of kids her age to play with.
Fox was disappointed when you left the Crooked C. He liked having you and Chloe out there.
She shrugged. It was sweet of the gang out there to let us crash with them while I got my bearings and made some decisions. But Fox is a bachelor. He didnt need Chloe and me hanging around getting in the way.
Why did you choose not to live with your parents? Goodness knows, theyve got plenty of room in that house of theirs.
You mean the mausoleum?
Its not that bad.
You didnt live there, she retorted.
I spent a lot of time there with Fox.
Then you know that Russ and Mara were never at home. She rolled her eyes. I swear they had an ongoing contest going to see who could be more of a workaholic.
What about you? Did you grow up into a workaholic like them? You were one in high school, as I recall.
I just wanted to get into a good college so I could get away and be on my own.
Did you escape whatever you were running from? he asked quietly.
She glanced up at him, her big hazel eyes dark and troubled. You must be a heck of an interrogator, Liam. You cut right to the heart of the matter. Youre like a laser.
Thats me. Laser Man, he quipped. I cut away the lies and obfuscations to expose the naked truth. Its my superpower. Whats yours?
These days, its making grilled cheese sandwiches and knowing the lyrics to every single princess musical ever made.
What about before Chloe came along?
There was life before Chloe? she asked wryly.
He laughed. I dont know. You tell me.
Dont get me wrong. Shes the light of my life. I didnt know it was possible to love anyone the way I love her.
Thats obvious at a single glance. The way you look at her... He searched for words. Its magical.
Sloane shrugged. Im just a mom.
Youre a great mom.
Sloane snorted. And yet, my baby is in a hospital room fighting some awful illness that I should have seen coming. I had to have missed something
You cant control every situation every time. Sometimes life sneaks up on you.
She snorted like a prizefighter whod just been told she couldnt use her fists in a fight.