Yet, he’d been the one to put them in danger in the first place.
A car door slammed from the other side of the property, and he turned his attention to the older, white-haired couple headed for the front of the house. Lilly’s parents.
Benning faced the elongated front porch he and his father had built a few years ago, studying Olivia with her notebook and pen in hand as she rocked back and forth in the hanging swing. He used to rock her and Owen to sleep as babies on it. It’d been the three of them, one of them in each arm, and the crickets on that swing when he’d promised to protect them for the rest of their lives. For the first time he could remember, he’d failed.
The brightness in Olivia’s expression gripped his heart in a vise as he climbed the stairs and sat beside her. She was obviously having the time of her life watching real investigators and technicians collect evidence, taking notes on what they did, what they said, how they bagged the evidence. He swiped his uninjured hand down his face. She’d found a human skull in their fireplace and had moved it without hesitation to solve the crime herself. Hell, he had to start watching what kind of stuff she was reading. “Liv, I need you to go spend a couple nights with Grandma and Grandpa while I help the FBI look for your brother. It’ll be safer for you there.”
He and Lilly hadn’t had the greatest relationship. Really, they’d only gotten married to make it easier on the kids as they got older, but he’d always liked and respected her parents, and they loved their grandchildren despite the choices he and Lilly had made. He trusted them to watch over and be there for his daughter in case...he couldn’t. Benning bit the inside of his cheek to counter the sinking sensation in his stomach.
The scribbling on her note pad slowed. “I want to stay with you.”
He moved a piece of long brown hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear as his insides tore bit by bit. He should’ve gone straight to the police after he’d found the skull instead of coming home because Owen had been sick. Should’ve been strong enough to fight off the bastard who’d taken his kids. Should’ve gone after Ana seven years ago when he’d had the chance so there wasn’t this invisible distance between them now. His life was full of wrong choices, but he’d never forgive himself if something happened to Olivia because of his own selfish need to keep her close. “I know, but think of it this way. Grandma has a whole bunch of mystery novels you haven’t read yet.”
Curiosity pulled her attention from the crime scene, and those beautiful blue eyes widened. “How many?”
“She told me she ordered a ton of new ones for you last week.” He settled one elbow on his knee, leveling his shoulder with hers. Nudging her with his arm, he unbalanced her enough to keep her attention on him. “Thirty. Maybe more.”
“And I get to read them all?” she asked.
“I told Grandma you get to read as many of them as you want.” Threading his hand in hers, he helped her off the swing and nodded toward Lilly’s parents. Within two minutes Olivia, her booster seat and the bag he’d packed for her were loaded into the back of his in-laws’ pickup truck. “I’m going to see you in a couple days, okay?”
“Okay.” She hugged her bag tighter. “Don’t forget to call me tonight when I go to bed.”
“I will, baby. See you soon.” He kissed the top of her head, memorized the way the scent of her shampoo tickled the back of his throat, then shut her inside and stepped back. Slush kicked up behind the pickup’s tires as his daughter centered her face in the rear window and stared back at him with a small wave. He waved back, and something inside him cracked. First, Owen had been taken from him. Now he needed Olivia as far from this case as possible.
“You made the right decision.” Ana stepped into his side, her soft, dark hair lifting into his face as wind ripped through the trees, and a shiver raced down his spine. She’d been there nearly every step of the way, protected his daughter from harm, nearly died to ensure he and Olivia had made it to safety at the cabin, and was working tirelessly to locate his son. Where his heart threatened to shred in his chest as his in-laws turned onto the main road back toward Sevierville, Ana was there trying to hold him together. She’d always been there. Because he hadn’t been able to let her go all this time.
“There was nothing to think about. Every second she’s around me is another chance that bastard can get his hands on her.” Warmth spread down his arm as she curled her fingers around his inner elbow. “I should’ve gotten her out of town when I had the chance, but I couldn’t...”
“Stand the thought of losing her, too? I might know a little something about that.” She did. More than he ever would. She buried her nose beneath the high collar of her jacket, then tucked her hands into her pockets, taking the heat she’d generated with her. “I could tell you it gets easier over time to help you feel better, but it’d be a lie.”
“Has anyone ever told you your bedside manner could use some work?” he asked.
“I don’t think anyone but you would have the guts.” Her laugh pierced through the unsettling haze closing in on his thoughts as the pickup dipped below the horizon, and hell,
