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"Yeah, okay." But it was too late. The past was with them again. She knew she needed to talk to him, to get everything out of the way before she could even begin to focus on this. But now was not the time. "I'm going to go check on Gabby." She forced herself to step away.
She hurried away without looking back.
* * *
Keegan watched Sascha jog away. No. Not Sascha. Sofia.
At first, his instinct had been to call her Sascha, and hers had been as well. To hide in a time when they were teenagers and life was simple. Life hadn't been easy, but it had been simple. Survive. That was it. His only goal. And then, when he'd met this sparkling girl who swept into town and lit up his world, his goal had changed from survive to thrive.
Sascha was an eighteen-year-old siren who blessed a homeless kid with her teenage love, warmth, and fire.
Sascha was a memory and inspiration that had kept him going for a long time.
Sascha was a bird in flight, her wings always open and soaring, never touching down.
And today…The attraction was still there…more, even. But this wasn't the same as when they were teenagers. They were both older, had lived more, and carried more stories with them.
Sofia was a powerful, intoxicating single mom who had kept herself and her daughter safe and thriving for almost seventeen years.
Sofia awoke a protective, domestic instinct in him that felt right all the way to his soul.
Sofia made him want to go deep emotionally with her. Not a seven-day interlude of fun and giddiness. He wanted to go all the way, peel back the layers, awaken her sunshine again, and help her with the stories that still held her captive.
As compelling as Sascha had been, Sofia was a thousand times more.
He grinned. More complicated and more challenging, too, but he was up for it. She was worth it. And so was…Gabby. Something turned over in his gut as he watched his daughter turn around as Sascha…no Sofia approached. Sofia put her arm around her daughter and squeezed, and Gabby leaned into her.
The bond between them was so tight. It reminded him of his mom, his memories before she'd died. He knew Sofia and Gabby were special together, that somehow, Sofia had created an incredible bond and life for her daughter, despite whatever trials she'd been facing.
Trials that were still haunting her.
Whatever that danger was, it was still following them, and he'd be damned if he'd let anything happen to them.
Still watching them, he pulled out his phone and called his brother Dylan, who owned a private investigation firm and was very, very good at it.
Dylan answered on the first ring. "Brody told me the news. She's alive, eh?"
"Yep." Keegan noticed that his trio of females was moving away from the hot chocolate stand, and he eased into the crowd to follow them, to make sure that they were never out of sight, and he was always close enough to intervene. "I haven't had the chance to talk to Sofia yet in detail, but as best I can gather, she faked her death and went underground all this time. There's someone she's hiding from, and she's still concerned they could find her and come after her."
Dylan swore under his breath. "Husband?"
"That would be my first guess, but I don't know. Can you do a little work and see what you can dig up on him and anyone who was in her life at the time?"
"Wouldn't it be easier if you just asked her?"
"I have, but I'm not sure she's going to tell me."
"Have you told her the Harts are a bunch of badass protectors that can keep her and Gabby safe from any threat?"
Keegan laughed. "Not in those words. Trying not to scare her into making a run for it."
"Skittish?"
"She's been burned badly. Doesn't want to trust."
Dylan sighed. "I get that. We all get that."
"Yeah, we do. So, you'll take care of that? Follow up with Brody and get his help, too."
