Jessica R. Patch - Concealed Identity

Nothing seemed out of place.

He cleared each room downstairs and up. Everything appeared to be in order, but his gut screamed someone had been in here. And the culprit might have been in that pickup. If they’d been five minutes earlier...

Holt came outside. Blair and Gigi whispered inside the truck. Possibly keeping secrets and discussing information he desperately needed to find their brother and Agent Livingston. Blair opened the truck door.

“I didn’t see anything out of place, but come in and take a look. See if you notice anything unusual.”

Blair entered her living room first. “It smells like oil and exhaust.”

Holt sniffed. “You’re right.” Definitely wasn’t Blair’s signature scent. She smelled like a bouquet of springtime, which irked him that he’d picked up on it...enjoyed the fragrance. He had one purpose in being here, and it wasn’t to admire Blair Sullivan’s flowery scent.

He walked the house with her and Gigi.

“I don’t see anything missing.” Blair shivered and rubbed her forearms. “I guess we did leave the door cracked.”

Holt didn’t believe that, and the way Blair was nervously rubbing her arms said she didn’t, either. Gigi’s narrowed eyes confirmed what Holt was thinking.

Blair was lying. But why?

Blair walked to the front door and opened it. “We appreciate you checking out the house. We’re safe now. I’ll call if we need you.”

Another invitation to leave. The last thing he wanted to do. Someone had broken in and they could come back. Blair and Gigi could get hurt. Worse. But she was kicking him to the curb.

Shoving down the fight he wanted to give, he nodded and stepped onto the porch. At least he was across the street. “Please call me, Blair. For anything.”

“I will.” Her eyes were wide with fright but she closed the door, leaving a barrier between them. No matter, he’d just go home and set up his surveillance equipment and play professional Peeping Tom. He wasn’t about to let anything happen to her.

TWO

Blair leaned against the kitchen door, knees quaking, throat tight. Someone had been in her home. Her sanctuary. Nothing was out of place. Whoever had been in here had been doing something else. But what?

Blair rubbed her temples and tried to thwart the headache coming on. Neck muscles coiled, she closed the venetian blinds on her windows, double-checked the locks on the doors and stood in the middle of her living room, staring into nothing. Moments later, she peeked through her blinds.

All was quiet.

A movement through Holt’s sheer curtains caught her attention. Was he watching the house—doing as he promised and standing guard? The idea brought a breath of relief, but not enough for her to let down her defenses.

She tiptoed across her hardwood floor, willing the hairs on her neck to stand down.

Stopping in front of Gigi’s room, Blair heard the shower run, full throttle. Good, Blair needed a few moments alone to process the events of the day and pray. Then she’d confess the whole horrible and humiliating story. She climbed the steep staircase to her bedroom.

She opted for a fresh T-shirt and jeans instead of a shower. If she could work up the nerve later, she needed to inventory today’s purchase. She opened her top drawer and froze.

Inside, lying right on top of her T-shirts, was a white gift box; a red bow had been stuck dead center. She swallowed a lump and hesitated, then took it out. The intruder hadn’t been here to steal something but to deliver a gift—a gift Blair was sure she didn’t want.

Forcing herself to calm down and clear her mind, she slowly opened it. Shrieking, she dropped the lid on the floor and covered her mouth to keep from getting sick.

Inside the box lay a dead rat. Underneath, a slip of paper stole her attention. Eeew. She didn’t want to touch the thing. She hurried to the bathroom, grabbed a pair of latex gloves she used for cleaning and psyched herself up to remove the note.

Don’t be a rat. Go to the police or tell anyone about what happened and people you care about die.

With trembling hands, she placed the note back in the drawer, then closed the lid on the rat. She found a trash bag under her bathroom sink and used it to dispose of the box and its contents. She hurried downstairs and took it out to the big garbage can, then came back inside. Gigi stood in the living room, arms crossed, wet hair hanging over her shoulders.

“Time to talk.”

Blair rubbed her brow. “First of all, let me say that everything I’ve done to keep the truth hidden was to protect you. It was all for your own good.”

Gigi narrowed her eyes. “I don’t like where this is going. I need to sit down.”

Blair waited a beat and then balled her fists to her sides as she paced. “The truth is Mateo was a bad man. I didn’t know it at the time, though. Not really. In hindsight, I guess there were some signs, but I ignored them. I was young and in love. But he had dark secrets.”

Gigi’s eyes widened.

Blair pushed back tears. “He smuggled drugs for his brother, Hector.”

“Hector? Mr. Don Juan himself?”

“Good looks doesn’t mean good person. I learned that the hard way. Hector is ruthless. Evil.” Gigi could easily have been smitten by the man. A shiver ran down Blair’s spine.

Gigi shook her head, then snapped it up. “Is that why you paid for that year I spent in Europe? To keep me away?”

Blair nodded.

“Until you said I could come live with you after Mateo died.”

“I thought it would finally be safe.” Blair had been wrong.

“When you found out the truth, why didn’t you leave? Call Dad?”

Blair smoothed Gigi’s wet hair. “Women don’t leave Salvador men. And Dad might be a marine, but he was no match for a powerful drug cartel. I wanted to, though. Believe me.”

Gigi hugged Blair. “I’m so sorry. You must have been terrified.”

“I was,” she whispered.

“Why didn’t Hector...you know...”

“Kill me?” Blair massaged her aching neck. “Hector is complicated. He was angry when I told him I didn’t want to live on his ranch and let him take care of me. But when I explained I wanted to move here to where Grandma and Grandpa had lived, he changed his tune. Gave me his blessing and offered me money to start up the business and buy a house.”

“Did you accept it?”

Blair frowned. “Hardly. I wanted freedom. Hector’s gifts are like chains. I’d never ask him for anything. It’s not worth the future debt.”

Gigi laced her fingers with Blair’s. “He didn’t care you changed your name back to Sullivan?”

“Not after I told him I wanted to move to Hope and start fresh. Stay out of the limelight. Honestly, I believe God gave me favor in Hector’s eyes.” What other reason could there be for Hector extending such grace when he wasn’t a gracious man?

Gigi rubbed her chin. “You think what happened today had anything to do with Hector? Have you crossed him somehow? Would he think you’ve crossed him?”

No. Hector wouldn’t have tried to kill her. At least, she didn’t think he would. Unless he thought she’d stolen something from him, but she hadn’t. Confusion’s web spun fast enough to make her dizzy. “I don’t think so. But we can’t go to the police. You see why now.” And after the note and disgusting gift, she didn’t dare.

“Did Mateo have anything to do with Jeremy’s drug problem?”

“No. Unfortunately, Jeremy got into all that long before Mateo entered the picture. I hid it even from Jeremy. I had to.”

“So what do we do?”

That was the question. “Right now you try to rest. Then we’ll watch an old movie and eat some dinner.” And she’d call Jeremy again. This could still be something he had ties to. “From now on, lock the doors. Don’t be so friendly with strangers. And watch your back.”