BLURB:
After the devastating death of her husband, Dani Ward and her seven-year-old son, Jack, move to Haywood Lake, Florida, for a fresh start on life. She’s escaping not only painful memories but threats to her fragile peace.
Ryker Barlow drifted across the country searching for peace after the untimely death of his wife and best friend. He is introduced to the Brotherhood Alliance, a group of ex-military and Special Forces personnel who provide protection for the most vulnerable. His buddy from the Green Berets thought Ryker might find the peace he is seeking by saving lives instead of taking them.
A chance encounter introduces Ryker to Dani, his reclusive neighbor, and that changes everything.
Trouble follows Dani to her new home—trouble that could mean her running again or her death. Neither is acceptable to Ryker. But he is troubled by his own demons.
Can Dani trust the grumpy neighbor with secrets of his own? Can they work together to find out why someone is targeting her? Will Ryker be able to open his heart to Dani before evil catches up to her?
Chapter 1
“All set.” The twenty-something tow truck operator rubbed the grease from his hands and looked over at Dani. He shook his head. “Third time this month you’ve had a flat, you might want to get that tire replaced.”
Daniela ‘Dani’ Ward had the strangest urge to reach out and brush the crumbs from his sparse beard but stopped before she embarrassed herself. The beard reminded her of husband’s first attempt at growing one.
She sighed and nodded. “I will. Thanks for coming.”
The man got in his truck and drove off. The tire wasn’t losing air. Someone was letting the air out. Just another tactic to scare her. Deep in her bones, Dani felt it was working.
Dani glanced at the horizon. The sky was deep gray with angry storm clouds. She hoped the storm would hold off until they started their trip.
There was little time to relax. She loaded the last of her belongings into the new-to-her Honda CR-V and gazed at the Cape Cod style home she and her husband, Mason, bought just after they married. The house that they could hardly afford and housed their happy little family until a short time ago, now looked abandoned.
But the memories it held! It’s where they brought their son, Jack, home from the hospital. The house had more bedrooms than they needed, but they hoped to have a large family. That dream was gone, but she had Jack, and he was all she needed right now.
They painted the house a sunny yellow, a color that always made her happy when she drove down the driveway. Every morning, she and Mason had their morning coffee on the wide front porch. They’d listen to the birds sing, watched the occasional deer nibbling on grass and discuss their day. The rocking chairs that sat there were gone—sold. She wouldn’t be needing them when she moved. In fact, there wasn’t anything in the house she needed. There would be no moving truck with the furniture and knickknacks she and Mason had picked out together.
In the front garden, the orange and yellow roses were beginning to blossom. Mason had surprised her with her favorite David Austin roses just after they moved in and planted them for her.
Their fruity fragrance brought back so many happy memories and firsts—the first house she ever owned, the first night making love in their new home, first Christmas, first baby steps, and the champagne toast at midnight when Mason got his dream job. Now the house was sold, the good times gone, only memories remained.
Jack came scampering out of the house, holding a stuffed bear. For a moment Dani stared at him and her heart ached. He looked so much like Mason when he was a child. The reddish-brown hair and the big grin were all Mason. The bigger than life personality, again, all Mason. She was the introvert in the family.
“Ready to go, Jack?”
He nodded.
She closed the back gate to the car and brushed her hands together. “Are you excited?”
Her seven-year-old son looked up at her with big blue eyes, the color of a spring sky.
“Mommy, are we going to Disney?”
“No love, not right away.” She smiled and patted his head. “First, we have to get to Haywood Lake and settle into our new house.”
Jack’s eyes clouded with disappointment.
“Haywood Lake is in Florida, so we can go swimming all year.”
“Yay!” He flung his arms upward and jumped. “I love swimming. Can I get a floaty?”
“Oh, sweetheart, we’ll see. I would miss you if you floated away.”
He scrunched his little face, just like Mason used to do. It brought a tear to her eye.
Mason had been dead for eight months. His passing hurt less each day. Dani missed her husband and best friend.
Lucky for her that as a yoga instructor, she could work anywhere. There was no family she would miss here in New York, or anywhere, for that matter,. Some friends, maybe. Mason’s family lived in Chicago, and he had been estranged from them since college. She’d definitely miss the Hudson Valley and its history, the unique small towns, its wineries, the food scene, and the outdoors.
It helped that Dani craved warm weather, palm trees, and the beach. She was tired of long, cold winters and wet springs and there was the house she inherited from her grandmother that was furnished and waiting for them. She hoped it would be a new beginning, a place to make more happy memories.
She swung the car door open. “Hop in, Jack.”
Jack got into the back seat, buckled himself into his booster seat and Dani handed him his stuffed bear, Skippy.
The bear was the first stuffed animal Mason had given his son, telling him it was special, and Jack treasured it. Skippy’s light brown fur had seen better days. She didn’t have the heart to tell Jack that haircuts on stuffed animals never grew back. One ear was half off, its pink heart a little stained and Skippy’s black nose had unraveled a while ago, but it didn’t matter to Jack. He loved the bear.
Dani checked her purse for her wallet and phone. She looked at the time, tapping her foot. Her real estate agent called to say she was running a couple of minutes late. Dani was eager to be on her way. The agent needed the keys to lock up behind her.
The house was sold. Sold for just enough to pay off the mortgage, and the rest of Mason’s funeral expenses. There was a little money left over to start her and Jack’s new life plus some put away in a college fund for him. There had been no life insurance. It was one expense she and Mason put off.
“Mommy, are we leaving?”
“Not yet, Jack. Just a few more minutes.”
A car honked, and Dani looked down the road. Good, the agent was here. After they said goodbye, she and Jack would be on their way to a new life.
***
Hours later, Dani pulled into a motel off the highway. Somehow, it didn’t look as nice as the picture online. The blinking red and yellow neon sign was missing some letters. The Mountain View Motel wasn’t rundown, only tired. It also didn’t overlook any mountains. No matter, it was theirs for the night.
Dani parked in front to register and groaned as she got out of the car. The motel door made a buzzing noise when she opened it. A TV was playing in another room. A bored-looking young woman came out from the back and checked her in. She handed Dani the keys and a brochure of the area. Not that she needed it since they were just passing through. Then the woman yawned and walked back to continue watching TV, she guessed.
She’d reserved a room at the back of the motel. Dani drove around and backed the car into the trees. Safer that way.
The trip to Florida would take two, three, days since she hated long drives and Jack needed to run around and play before bed.
Dani pulled out their overnight bags from the trunk.
“I’ll help, mommy,” said Jack. He grabbed one of the smaller suitcases and dragged it toward the room. Dani smiled as she watched him. Her little man was growing up. She picked up the larger one, her laptop bag, and opened the door to the room.
There was nothing special about the motel except the fast-food restaurant across the parking lot with a small indoor playground, which was why she chose it. They’d go over for breakfast in the morning.
The musty smell hit her nose as soon as she opened the door. She headed for the a/c and turned it on. Hopefully, it would clear the air and the humming would act like white noise.
The light blue space was a no-frills, just the basics, typical motel room.
There were two queen beds covered in faded floral bedspreads. A landscape picture hung over each bed, and deep brown wooden-end tables, each topped with a table lamp, stood next to them. Oh goody, the lamps at least had outlets to recharge her phone and laptop. A bulky TV was on the dresser. Obviously, for what she paid for the room, flat screens were out of the price range. A plaid chair was in the corner by a round table, calling her name.
The patterned carpet looked clean but stained. She hoped it was at least vacuumed.
“Leave your shoes on,” she called out to Jack, who had already claimed the bed closest to the bathroom.
“Can I watch TV? Do we have snacks? I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Okay, little dude, one thing at a time.” Dani laughed. “Yes, you can watch TV. But only one cartoon. I have snacks for later, and please, go potty.”
Jack jumped off the bed and scurried to the bathroom.
As he ran off, she closed the drapes after scrutinizing the parking lot. Her car was parked under a dim light, which created shadows in the lot. Dani noticed there were several other cars parked there also. She let out a heavy breath. No one followed her or knew where she was going. They were just another little family traveling down the highway.
Dani sat in the armchair next to the window and opened her laptop. Stared at it while it loaded up.
She missed Mason. They’d been inseparable since high school, and she always imagined a life with him.
Even though there had been that one incident of infidelity when they hit a rough spot early in their marriage, with therapy, they got on to repairing their relationship. No marriage was perfect.
She hadn’t expected to lose him so early in life. The police thought Mason had fallen asleep while driving on a deserted road. His car went off the road, hitting a tree, killing Mason instantly—she hoped.
Dani suspected foul play. Mason mentioned several times that he felt like someone was tailing him, even though he saw no one.
Mason worked at the large newspaper in town and was following up on a story, so it wasn’t unusual for him to be out late at night. He wouldn’t tell her what he was researching, only that it involved a lot of well-known people and the college. The story was big enough, he hoped it would win a Pulitzer for him. He claimed it was better for everyone if she didn’t know anything until it was published. Even Mason’s editor didn’t know what he was pursuing when she went to his office to turn in the other notes that he left at home.
The night was quiet. Even so, she paused to listen for any unusual sounds outside the motel. She heard nothing and slowly exhaled. Dani tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
Since Mason’s death, she had several unusual events happening which was one reason she and Jack were moving 1200 miles away.
She initially passed off the occurrences as weird but ordinary. Phone calls where someone would hang up, breathe heavily or ask for directions to places that weren’t even close to her house.
It wasn’t until she received a picture of Jack running around his school’s playground, smiling, and laughing with his friends that she became frightened. Then the flat tire incidences happened. The police didn’t believe it had anything to do with Mason’s story and had been no help.
She remembered Mason’s unease and suspected she was being targeted. Why? Dani had no idea, but it had to be connected to Mason’s investigation. She sure as heck wasn’t staying in New York putting herself or Jack in danger. She only hoped trouble didn’t follow them to Florida.
A hand on her shoulder startled Dani awake. Her heart lurched. She glanced around.
“Mommy, you okay?” asked Jack, his forehead furrowed. He stood beside her, already in his spiderman PJs.
“Yes, sweetie. I’m fine. You startled me, that’s all.”
“I went potty. Can I have a snack and watch TV now?”
“Did you wash your hands?”
“Yes.”
“Put the toilet seat down?”
“Yes,” he groaned.
“Okay then. You can get one bag of crackers and watch one cartoon. Then it’ll be time to brush your teeth and go to bed.”
“Yesss!” Jack’s fist shot up in the air. He ran over to her bag, brought back a package of crackers, and snuggled into her lap. Dani turned on the TV, inhaled the sweet bubblegum scent of his shampoo, and hugged him tightly.
Oh, God.
How could she have let her guard down? What if it had been someone other than Jack surprising her? Someone who wanted to harm them. Dani couldn’t let that happen again.
Chapter 2
Ryker ‘Casper’ Barlow got to his house in Haywood Lake, Florida, an hour past dawn. The neighborhood was quiet except for a dog barking in the distance. A few lights were on, and he saw people moving around. Soon, kids would leave for school, men and women who worked would drive away, and only he, the elderly, and the stay-at-home moms or dads would be home.
Behind the houses, the sun was rising and turning the sky a beautiful shade of peach. The air was moist with dew. He inhaled the sweet smell of the flowering shrub that blossomed in front of his neighbor’s house and gazed around his neighborhood with a feeling of satisfaction that he was finally home.
He had spent the last six months moving around, searching. For what? Peace? Knowledge? Truth? Didn’t matter, Ryker hadn’t found any of it but he was more than ready to settle down in one place, at last.
The job he just finished for the Brotherhood Alliance, guarding a sweet older woman from an abusive son, rattled him. Sure, he’d seen worse in battle but come on, a son turning on his mother for money? Disgusting.
The dickwad didn’t think he was getting enough from her estate, not that she had much of an estate. She was still living in her house and wanted to stay in it as long as she could. The son tried to have his mother declared incompetent and committed to a mental facility. His feisty mother showed him. Now the son was entirely out of the will.
After Ryker had a little ‘discussion’ with him about never coming near his mother again, the asswipe hightailed it out of Florida.
He opened the front door, walked through the living room, past the kitchen, and into the guest room to check his security feed. All was good. His house was safe, and the neighborhood was quiet. When Ryker moved into the area a few months ago, he felt instantly at home. It was a middle-class working neighborhood like the one he grew up in.
There was no light on at the small ranch house next door. He wondered if it was still empty. The elderly woman who lived there died just before he moved in. He didn’t know if the house was for sale but hoped whoever moved in would be quiet.
His neighbors on the other side were a working couple with no kids. The rest of the block was comprised of older people, couples with children, two singles, and him. They minded their own business—most of the time. He found out the first day he moved in that there was that nosy neighbor that most people avoided. He caught her peeking out from behind her curtains every time he left the house. However, after several conversations and bonding over an especially good coffeecake and bad coffee, he found Mrs. Bittner to be a lonely and very sweet older lady. The widow of a police officer, it didn’t hurt that she watched out for the neighbors, even if they didn’t appreciate it.
He also discovered that there was an unofficial neighborhood welcoming committee.
Having people deliver food to his house was embarrassing, but he felt welcomed and he still had casseroles and sweets in the freezer to enjoy.
Ryker walked down the hallway and back to the kitchen. It looked like someone had tried to update it years ago and failed. The appliances were basic white but out-of-date. The counter tops were granite. It was something he could work with, but the updates stopped there. There was no rhyme nor reason to the renovation.
Ryker shook his head, then grabbed the orange juice from the fridge and poured himself a glass, and contemplated whether to go to bed or stay up. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d stayed up all night.
Chase Maddox, the director of the Brotherhood Alliance, hadn’t called about another job, and Ryker had to find one.
The pay from the Brotherhood Alliance was generous, but Ryker needed to keep busy during the day and needed a steady income.
He fingered the pocketknife, in his pants. It was a gift from his grandpa when he was young. He considered turning the small outbuilding in the large backyard into a woodworking shop. His father and grandpa had taught him the basics of woodworking. Ryker enjoyed working with his hands. Maybe he could make small pieces of furniture to sell. Hmmm, he’d have to think about that.
There was still plenty of work to do around his house.
When he bought it, the agent called it a fixer upper. She hadn’t lied. The wallpaper had to be stripped, the kitchen renovated, and the bathrooms updated. At some point, he’d paint, but that would be last. He could live with the beige walls and lack of furniture for a while. At least the roof and tile floors were in decent shape. There was plenty of work to keep his body and mind busy.
Ryker sighed. First up, fix the shop, and then the house. Hopefully, Chase would have another job for him soon. He enjoyed protecting people, especially the vulnerable. The ones who had limited funds, the ones no one looked after or even thought about.
It reminded him of his dad and grandpa. After his mother had died, they always went out of their way to help their neighbors, particularly the senior citizens, who had no one to assist them.
As a teenager, he raked leaves in the fall, shoveled driveways in the winter, and mowed lawns in the summer. The grandmas filled his stomach with lemonade and cake and his mind with a feeling of satisfaction. The neighbors were grateful. Everyone looked out for one another.
That was why he joined the Army and trained to be a Green Beret. Ryker hated bullies and terrorists. He lived to serve, protect, and hunt down those who wanted to harm his country and innocent people. It was the reason why, when his friend, Dexter ‘Digger’ Drum, told him about the Brotherhood Alliance, Ryker was eager to join the organization and put down roots. He could use the skills he learned in the military to honor and protect the most vulnerable clients who were without resources to hire protection.
His yawn was long, deep, and unexpected. Okay then. He was exhausted. Maybe a short nap would re-energize him, and then he’d get up and tackle some of those boxes in the guest room—or not.
The boxes contained keepsakes from his life and journals that his wife kept, which he hadn’t read.
He already knew about his wife’s affair with his best friend. He didn’t need to read about it. They were killed two years ago by a drunk driver going the wrong way down the highway.
Ryker rolled his neck and popped the kinks. Maybe he’d put that chore off. Why feed his broken heart and rehash old betrayals?