Banner inclined his head and then sat on the couch across from him. “I agree. I just don’t know what more needs to be said. I don’t have contact with Kaylee or… our daughter.”

Interesting, Tank noted. He either didn’t think of Hope as his child or he was purposefully trying to distance himself from her in his mind. Tank decided to go with the direct approach. He was a pretty good judge of character and could usually tell when someone was lying. If Banner had nothing to do with the threats against Kay, hopefully he’d be able to tell so they could move on.

“There have been some developments recently. Someone has been threatening Kay. She received a package recently containing something stolen from her apartment.”

Banner leaned forward. “That’s terrible. Is she all right?”

Tank dipped his head slightly. “She’s fine.”

At Tank’s continued silence, Banner sat back with a knowing smile. “I’m beginning to see why you’re here. I have no reason to hurt Kay. Things ended badly between us and that was entirely my fault. I was going through some things. But I’d never want to hurt her.”

“I understand, Mr. Banner. I’m not here to cause trouble. On the contrary, I’m here to prevent it. All I want is to be assured that you mean Ms. Wilhelm no harm. With your move into politics, you have motive to want her silenced. Especially running as a conservative.”

“What I’m about to tell you isn’t public knowledge.” Banner stood, adjusting the lapels of his jacket. “I’m running as an independent, but my platform is a conservative one. So it’ll be something of a shock to some that I’m running as the first openly gay conservative.”

Tank leaned forward. “Say what now?”

Banner gave him a thin-lipped smile. “I’m not worried about my image. Not in the way you think. I never planned to hide that I’d fathered a child. People who are scandalized by sex outside of marriage aren’t going to vote for me anyway.”

“Huh.” Tank couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Banner took a seat on the couch across from Tank. “Look. I’m sorry for how things ended with Kaylee. But her mother made it clear when I signed away my parental rights that they didn’t want anything from me and would prefer it if I stayed away.”

“I see. That’s all I needed to know. Thank you for your time.” Tank rose and Banner stood, too.

“If you see Kay, would you tell her I’m sorry about the way things ended and that if she needs anything, feel free to call.”

Tank nodded but didn’t make any promises. He wasn’t sure how Eli was going to feel about this visit. It was good to know that Banner wasn’t a threat, but that conversation had just wiped out their best lead.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

KAY WALKED BACK and forth across the floor of the small bedroom for what felt like the hundredth time, Hope whimpering softly in her arms. Tank and Matt had been at the house, clustered around the dining room table with Eli for most of the day. Even Carly had come by with stuff for Eli from the office. Tank had left for a few hours and then come back again. Every time she entered the room they’d stopped talking, so she could only assume they were talking about her case.

She hated being kept in the dark. She had the right to know if she was in danger or if they’d found new leads. But she already knew what Eli would say, that he was just trying to protect her. Ugh!

Save me from alpha males, she thought.

Matt and Tank had finally retreated to their hotel around ten o’clock. Kay had hoped to finally get a little time alone with Eli, but Hope was refusing to settle down for the night.

Hope let out another whimper and rubbed her eyes with her fists.

“You are just determined to stay up so you won’t miss anything, huh?” Kay whispered.

They’d had a house full of people for the first time, and Hope wasn’t used to so much noise. She wasn’t either, come to think of it. She was an only child, and since it was just her and Hope, her apartment was usually quiet after nine o’clock in the evening. She’d assumed the baby was just cranky from being up late and being overexcited.

But the crying hadn’t stopped. Nothing Kay had tried so far had helped, between rocking her back and forth, singing to her, and rubbing her back. Kay wasn’t sure what to think. Each and every one of her daughter’s cries tore at her heart. Wasn’t she supposed to be able to know what was wrong? What if her daughter was ill and she couldn’t tell?

A soft knock sounded on the door before Eli’s head appeared. “Do you need some help?”

Kay wanted to say no. It was on the tip of her tongue. She didn’t really want Eli to see her looking like this, all frazzled and exhausted. But he must have seen something in her face that indicated just how close to the edge she was because he pushed the door open and came in.

Eli crossed the room and put his arms around her, enfolding Hope into the hug as well. Kay let out a sigh and relaxed back against his strong chest.

“You’ve been walking her for a long time. Let me try. You need a break, angel. Your arms have to be tired.” Eli’s lips brushed the shell of her ear.

Her arm muscles gave a slight twinge in agreement. She shifted Hope to the opposite hip. “It’s okay, you don’t have to. I think she’s just cranky from having so many unfamiliar faces around.”

Eli slid a hand between her and Hope, taking the baby into his arms as easily as if he was picking up a book. Hope curled against his chest immediately, snuggling her face into his shoulder.