Safe by the Marshal's Side

She pulled cheese out of the refrigerator, broke it into a few small pieces and put them on a plate. There was a package of crackers on the counter. She put a couple on the plate. Not much of a lunch, but Sophia tended to graze more than eat.

“Here you go, Sophia.” She set the plate in front of her daughter, trying hard not to eavesdrop on the conversation Burke was having. It was hard not to, though. Especially since the conversation seemed to be about her.

“Okay,” he said, meeting her eyes and smiling. “I’ll let her know.” He shoved the phone in his pocket, took a couple of crackers from the open package. “Your meeting with Antonio has been pushed forward. Hunter will be here in twenty minutes to pick you up.”

Twenty minutes would have been plenty of time if she’d had clean clothes for herself and Sophia. A brush would have been nice, too.

“I’m not exactly dressed for a meeting,” she said, glancing down at the sweatshirt and jeans she’d been wearing for the better part of two days.

“Did you check the drawers and closet in your room? Usually, we keep a few things stocked. Just in case we have an emergency like this.”

“I’ll check, but Sophia needs some things, too. All her clothes are back at the house.”

“I’ll have Serena pick them up on her way back here tonight. At least, I’ll ask her to. Knowing her, she already has that on her schedule for the day.”

“Thanks, Burke. Let’s get ready to go,” she said, ready to scoop Sophia into her arms.

“Actually—” Burke put a hand on her arm “—Hunter thinks it would be best if she stays here.”

“I don’t really care what Hunter thinks.” At least, she didn’t care much what he thought when it came to raising her daughter.

“He’s worried about what happened last night, Annie.”

“He’s been worried since the day I met him, and he was probably worried long before that,” she pointed out.

“That’s what makes him good at his job. He takes it seriously. He thinks about every detail, and he plans for every eventuality. If he’s worried about Sophia being out today, you’d be wise to be worried, too.” There was an edge to his voice that Annie hadn’t heard before, a seriousness to his eyes that she couldn’t ignore.

“I’ll...” She glanced at Sophia. She was happily munching on a cracker and smashing a piece of cheese between her fingers. Annie hated to go anywhere without her. Usually, Hunter was happy to accommodate that. The fact that he wasn’t this time made her uneasy. “...talk to Hunter when he gets here.”

“You can talk all you want, but the plans are set. I’m going to stay here with Sophia. Hunter and Serena are going to escort you to the attorney’s office.”

“I really don’t feel comfortable leaving her here, Burke,” she tried to protest.

“You don’t trust me to watch your daughter?”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I just don’t really like leaving her when I go out.” Mostly because no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t forget the feeling of returning home to a wounded husband and a missing baby. She didn’t want to ever have to live through that again. “Besides, the apartment isn’t toddler-proof. She could get into all kinds of trouble while I’m gone.”

“You know that fifty years ago people didn’t believe in childproofing, right? I mean, they didn’t have all the little gadgets to keep kids from putting their fingers into sockets or pulling furniture over on themselves.”

“And?”

“Most kids lived,” he said drily. “And I’m pretty sure that if I can watch my brother’s identical twins for an entire weekend, I can watch Sophia for a couple of hours.”

“But—”

“Look, Annie,” he cut in. “We try to be accommodating, but when it comes to the safety of the people we’re protecting, we don’t believe in taking chances. If you don’t hurry and get ready, you’re going to be late for your appointment.”