Vow To Protect. Ann Voss Peterson

He couldn’t do anything but drag Ethan and Mel down.

      But he couldn’t walk away—not quite yet.

      He might not be able to be part of the family, but neither was he going to sit by and let anyone hurt Ethan or Mel.

      Especially not a sick bastard like Dryden Kane.

      MELANIE WATCHED ETHAN cross the pool deck and jump cannonball style into the swimming pool. A splash of chlorine-scented water hit the deck in front of her and spattered her legs.

      The water felt nice on her skin, cool, and for a moment she wished she were wearing her swimming suit instead of the T-shirt and shorts she’d changed into. The prospect of slipping into the pool, lounging in the hot tub that bubbled under fake palm trees or taking her son’s challenge and trying out the slide that curled around the circumference of the indoor water park beckoned on the edge of her mind like a seductive dream.

      She rolled her shoulders, trying to relieve the tension aching in her back and arms. Her shirt stuck to her skin, damp with sweat.

      If only this really were a vacation, a time to relax with her son instead of just a way to take Ethan’s mind off the fact that they were hiding from a serial killer. If only she could dial back time to yesterday, when she and Ethan had a normal life, a good life, filled with neither hair-raising excitement nor tragedy. But if-onlys accomplished nothing. The only real avenue she had was to pray the police would catch Dryden Kane, pray Ethan would never find out the monster was his grandfather, and pray that Cord would stay out of their lives.

      She glanced at the police officer standing a few yards from her at the edge of the pool area. Reed McCaskey had assured her that an officer would stay with them until Kane was back behind bars or dead. She should feel safe. Secure. But the vague dread that had started with Cord’s appearance at her house continued to build.

      She had to get her mind off Kane and off Cord if she was going to hold on to her sanity. She focused on Ethan, on the unbridled fun he and the other children were having. On the far side of the dome, kids crawled over a wrecked pirate ship and zipped down slides springing from the hull.

      And beyond them, through the window, something moved. A face peered through the glass.

      A gasp caught in Melanie’s throat. She stepped closer to get a better look.

      A woman stared through the window, scanning the pools and water slides. A bright light turned on behind her, illuminating a van parked along the curb. A van with a cable-news logo emblazoned on the side.

      The media?

      She glanced back at the warehouse-size room. Ethan perched on top of the longest waterslide, getting into position to take its winding ride into the pool.

      Could the media have found out Ethan was Dryden Kane’s grandson? Could they be planning to tell the world?

      She inhaled a breath of humid, chlorinated air. She couldn’t let herself panic. If they knew, there wasn’t anything she could do to change it. But she’d be damned if they were going to get footage of her son to go along with the story.

      She crossed the pebbled surface of the pool deck to where the cop was keeping watch. “A cable-news crew is outside.”

      The cop gave her a surprised look and glanced around the pool area. “News crew? Where?”

      She pointed at the news crew just as the reporter peered through the window.

      He shrugged a shoulder. “They’re probably covering some event or something. Don’t worry.”

      “An event? Do you see an event going on in here?”

      “You think they’re taping you?”

      “No, I think they’re taping my son.”

      Pushing out his lower lip, he nodded in a glib way, as if the whole situation was nothing more than an interesting joke.

      Didn’t he know what kind of monster he was protecting her and Ethan from? “You aren’t taking this seriously.”

      “I’m taking it plenty seriously. You need to calm down, ma’am.”

      Calm down? Not until she knew her son was safe. Not until this damn mess was over and her life and Ethan’s were back to normal. “Tell them to leave.”

      “I can’t do that.”

      “Why not? I thought you were here to protect us. If you aren’t, I want an officer who will.”

      “I’ll talk to hotel management. They can ask the reporters to leave the property.”

      “Do that.”

      He gave her a sideways smirk. He clearly thought she was overreacting.

      Fine. Let him think what he wanted. As far as she was concerned, nothing she could do was overreacting if it meant keeping Ethan safe. She turned back to the pool to find Ethan.

      “Where are you going?”

      So suddenly he’s concerned? She looked back at him. “Why? Are you worried about protecting us now?”

      “You don’t have reason to be so hostile.”

      “By disregarding the danger my son is in—danger that news exposure will make worse—you’ve given me plenty of reason.”

      The cop’s good humor slid from his lips. “I didn’t disregard anything. And if you really wanted to keep him safe, maybe you shouldn’t have hooked up with Dryden Kane’s son in the first place.”

      He thought she brought this on herself? On Ethan? He thought they deserved this? Her legs shook. Her hands balled into fists.

      She tried to breathe, tried to control herself. “I want those cameras out of here. I’m going to get Ethan.” She’d call Detective McCaskey the moment she and Ethan got to their room.

      She turned back to the pool, expecting to see Ethan at the bottom of the slide.

      He wasn’t there.

      A jolt of panic raced along her nerves. Ridiculous. She’d seen him just a second ago. She’d only taken her eyes from him for a moment. He had to be here.

      She scanned the wet heads and slick bodies of kids splashing, scampering and sliding.

      No Ethan.

      Her heartbeat grew faster, thumping in her ears. She ducked around concrete palm trees. She raced across the deck of the pool, dodging children, circling tables. She had to stay calm. Had to find her son.

      A pair of black swim shorts with orange flames licking up the sides caught her attention.

      Ethan. He stood on the other side of the pirate ship, just behind one of the smaller slides.

      Her knees flagged with relief. Willing her trembling legs to carry her, she started across the pool area toward him. “Ethan?”

      He was too far away and the pool area was too loud. He would never be able to hear her. He stepped away from the slide, toward a group of tables and chairs gathered around the entrance to the hotel lobby and atrium. Nodding his head, he seemed deep in conversation with a redheaded man.

      A man who looked strangely familiar.

      Panic rose in her throat like bile. She tried to control herself, tried to get a grip. The man talking to Ethan had red hair and a beard. There was no reason for her to be afraid. No reason for her to panic.

      “Ethan!” Her shriek mixed in with the laughs and yells of children and disappeared in the constant roar of fountains. She started running, dodging scampering children, circling the first pool.

      The man looked up, focusing on her with blue eyes. Eyes so much like Ethan’s. Eyes so much like Cord’s. Yet eyes that glinted cold and hard and emotionless.

      Dryden Kane put his hand on Ethan’s arm.

      A scream rose in her throat.