Right Behind Her (Bree Taggert) Read online

  His smile widened. “I’m a very patient person.”

  “You are.” Bree laughed, then sobered. “My family has a horrible legacy. They suck at being happy. They suck at relationships. I’m trying, Matt, but I guarantee I will mess up. Some days, I wonder if I’m just too damaged to ever have a healthy adult relationship, but I don’t want that. I want to move forward and put my entire past behind me. When I talked to Harley, I realized how much I didn’t want to be trapped in his lonely world. I want to break the Taggert curse. I want those kids to learn how to love. I want it all.” She lowered her voice. “Did I tell you Luke likes a girl?”

  “No.” He grinned.

  “They’re hanging out next week.” The thought of Luke having a normal life made her almost too happy, as if joy could be ripped away at any second. No. She wouldn’t be afraid of the future. She would learn to be an optimist, not an easy feat when one handled crime for a living.

  Her department’s budget would be approved in some way, and she’d live with the funds she received. Greta would become their next K-9. The kids would be all right. They had plenty of people to love and support them. Bree would look forward, not back.

  Matt looped his hands behind her back. “So, you really love me?”

  She leaned into him, content. He was solid and strong, and she knew that she would be able to depend on him no matter what happened. She had complete faith in him, a sentiment she’d never thought she’d feel about another person.

  She looked up into his eyes. “I do.”

  He brushed a knuckle across her cheek. “Then everything else will be OK.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Right Behind Her was written in the time of Covid lockdowns. There were days I didn’t think I would finish this book, but I managed it, with the support and assistance of a whole community of people. Thanks to my family for helping me make the best of everything 2020 threw at us. Special thanks to writer friends Rayna Vause, Kendra Elliot, and Leanne Sparks for various technical details, moral support, and plot advice. I’d also like to thank Kendra, Leanne, Toni Anderson, and Amy Gamet for the virtual happy hours that helped get me through the months of isolation. Cheers, ladies! As always, credit goes to my agent, Jill Marsal, for her continued unwavering support and solid career advice. I’m also grateful for the entire team at Montlake, especially my managing editor, Anh Schluep, and my developmental editor, Charlotte Herscher. As far as teams go, I am lucky to have the best.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © 2016 Jared Gruenwald Photography

  Number one Amazon Charts and number one Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh is a fully recovered banker. Melinda’s debut novel, She Can Run, was nominated for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers. She’s garnered numerous writing awards, including two RITA nominations. Her other books include She Can Tell, She Can Scream, She Can Hide, and She Can Kill in the She Can Series; Midnight Exposure, Midnight Sacrifice, Midnight Betrayal, and Midnight Obsession in the Midnight Novels; Hour of Need, Minutes to Kill, and Seconds to Live in the Scarlet Falls series; Say You’re Sorry, Her Last Goodbye, Bones Don’t Lie, What I’ve Done, Secrets Never Die, and Save Your Breath in the Morgan Dane series; and Cross Her Heart, See Her Die, and Drown Her Sorrows in the Bree Taggert series. She holds a second-degree black belt in Kenpo karate, has taught women’s self-defense, and lives in a messy house with her family and a small herd of rescue pets. For more information, visit www.melindaleigh.com.