“Alrighty, then.” Bruce unclipped the small radio from his belt. “I’ll let her know you’re here.”
“Thank you.” Allison rose to her tiptoes and gave him a hug. “It was good seeing you again.”
“Take care of yourself, Allison.” He hugged her back before dropping down into a low squat. With his arms wide open at his sides, Bruce sent a smile to the little girl kicking at a few tiny, nearby pebbles. “And you, too, Miss Maddie.”
Maddie looked up at the sound of her name. Seeing her old friend was waiting, Allison’s daughter ran back over to him for another quick embrace.
Once the hug was over, the friendly guard stood upright and proceeded to get on his radio. While he gave his boss a heads up on their arrival, Liam, Allison, and Maddie made their way across the small, gated lot to the shelter’s main entrance.
As they walked, Liam kept his head and eyes on a constant swivel. His gaze remained sharp, his focus homed in on their immediate surroundings as he searched for the slightest possibility of a threat. Bruce seemed like a nice guy and all, but he wasn’t about to rely on another man to protect those in his care.
Allison took the lead when they reached the door, pulling it open and waiting while he and Maddie entered the building. “Sloane’s office is at the end of the hall down there.” She pointed to Liam’s left. “But we’ll need to check in at the reception desk over here first before we can?—”
“Hey, lady. I heard you were looking for me.”
Liam followed Allison’s gaze to find a smiling woman in jeans and a sweater heading their way with a smile. Sloane Richardson was tall with a long, straight blonde ponytail. Even from here, he could spot the intelligence sparkling within her light blue eyes.
According to the intel he’d found during his initial deep-dive, Sloane was two weeks from turning forty-six. Surprising, since the woman didn’t look a day over forty.
Allison went to her. Without a word having been spoken between them, the two women shared a long embrace. A few seconds later, Maddie’s little hand reached up to give a gentle tug on the hem of Sloane’s knitted sweater.
“Hi, Sloane!”
The tall blonde’s smile grew wide as she released Allison and bent down to greet Maddie. “Hey, Mads.” She gave the child a spirited high-five.
“That was a good one!” Maddie giggled before turning his way. “Liam, did you hear how loud that was?”
“You kiddin’? I’m pretty sure Jagger heard that all the way across the street.”
With a promise to catch up with his detective friend later, teammate had stayed in the SUV to keep watch in case there was trouble.
“I bet he did!” Maddie laughed even harder than before.
Sloane turned her attention his way and held out a hand. “Liam Cutler, I presume.”
“The one and only.”
The two shook.
“When Maddie called to say the three of you were headed this way, she also mentioned something about having a sit-down with Detective Knox.”
Liam nodded. “We’re supposed to meet up with him once we leave here. I take it you know him?”
A slight curve of her lips appeared as she gave her head a nod. “I know Travis well.” Sloane looked down at Maddie. “How would you like to go see Miss Nancy while your mom, Liam, and I talk about some super boring adult stuff?”
“Are you going to talk about my daddy?” Madison asked with a gut-wrenching frown. “Mommy thinks he found us in Chicago. I really hope not. He’s not very nice.”
The rapid-fire comments may have been directed at Sloane, but they were like four sharp daggers carving pieces of Liam’s heart. From what he’d witnessed over their short time together, the sweet little girl behaved like a normal, well-adjusted kid. Still, he’d wondered more than once whether Maddie knew the kind of man her father really was.
Guess I have my answer.
The disheartening scene left his chest tight, but Sloane handled being in the hot seat like a pro.
“Your mom is very smart.” She squatted down, bopping the pad of her index finger against the tip of Maddie’s tiny button nose before adding, “And so are you. In fact, I bet you’re smartenough to remember where we keep all the best toys in the playroom.”
“I do!” Maddie’s blue gaze grew wide with an enthusiastic nod. “’specially the building blocks. They’re my favorite.”
“And you remember where they are?”
