Austin Dent sat on his bed hugging his knees to his chest. His mom would be coming home from her job soon. She worked hard, his mom. He hated the worry he’d put in her eyes.
He hated that he couldn’t forget the fear in Tracey’s eyes when they’d both smelled smoke. Or the look on that guard’s face when he’d been shot, the way he’d crumpled to the ground. But mostly he hated that somewhere out there a killer walked free.
Austin’s hands clenched into fists. I have to do something. But he was afraid.
I owe it to Tracey. I promised I’d protect her. She was there because of me.
But what did he owe his mother? If he told, he’d put both their lives in danger. That man shot that guard in cold blood. He couldn’t lead the guy straight to their lives.
But I can’t do nothing. I can’t live this way, wondering if he’s going to shoot me, too.
If he called from a phone nearby, the cops would trace it. Everybody in town knew he went to school down in Minneapolis. A smart cop would connect the dots in no time.
So he’d have to contact the cops from Minneapolis. Kenny will help me. He’d text Kenny, tell him what to write in the letter and Kenny could mail it from downtown. That way the cops would know about the shooter, but nobody would know he’d told.
It could work. It would have to.
Tuesday, September 21, 5:45 a.m.
Olivia blinked hard as she drove the road to her house. The last forty-eight were catching up to her. She was going to walk Mojo, then fall into bed…
She slowed as her front porch came into view. A familiar form slowly rose from her front steps and her tired brain wanted to scream foul. Carefully she pulled around the red pickup truck he’d parked on her curb and drove into her garage. For a moment she just sat in her car, her forehead resting on the steering wheel.
Then her door opened and she could feel the warmth of his body as he crouched next to her. “Olivia?”
“I’m all right, David,” she said, not looking at him. “You promised not to bother me.”
“I know. I lied.”
“What do you want from me?”
“A chance to explain. Please.” His hand dipped under her braid, closing over her neck. His palm was warm, his fingers strong as they began massaging her skull.
A little whimper escaped her throat. She was so tired and his hand felt so good. Focus, girl. She grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away. “What’s to explain?”
“A lot. Come on.” He urged her from the car, pulling her to her feet. “You’re about to fall flat on your face.”
“I was about to go to sleep.”
“Then I won’t take long.” She let him lead her to her front door, not complaining when he took the keys from her hand and unlocked her front door. Mojo came bounding, crouching into a snarl when he saw David.
“Down,” Olivia commanded and Mojo instantly dropped to his stomach, eyeing David suspiciously. Smart dog. Good dog.
David closed the door behind them, walking around the dog as if he weren’t there. Mojo craned his neck, watching. Cursing her own weakness, Olivia did the same. David looked as good going as coming. She followed him into her kitchen, Mojo at her heels.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Standing in front of her open fridge, he looked over his shoulder. “Making us breakfast. Your eggs are about to expire.”
“Sorry?” she said, shaking her head, then tilting it sideways on a silent sigh when he bent over to check out her vegetable bin. Too nice. Way too nice. And so not fair that all the sexy ones are jerks.
Abruptly he straightened, pointing to the bar stools at her counter. “Sit, please.”
Mojo sat obediently, wagging his tail, looking up at David adoringly.
“Traitor,” she muttered to the dog. “I want you to leave, David.”
He deposited all the cooking materials on her counter, ignoring her.
“I’m not hungry. Stop that,” she snapped when he broke eggs into her mixing bowl with the finesse of a chef. “What the hell are you doing?”
His jaw clenched. “I cook when I’m tense.”
“You’re tense.” She made a scoffing sound. “Please.”
“No, I’m actually scared to death.” He looked up, met her eyes. “I’m not lying.”
He looked utterly serious and she felt her resolve weakening. “Hell of a line,” she said. “I must be the most gullible woman alive. Come on, Mojo.”
Her dog hesitated, staring up at David. Biting back a really vile oath, she tugged on Mojo’s collar. “I said, come.” Finally he followed, looking back over his shoulder as if to ask why the new guy wasn’t coming. Olivia stood on her patio, tapping her foot impatiently. Finally Mojo padded back and she let him into the house. David was still there, inspecting a clear carton of mushrooms with a grimace.
“It’s been a while since you shopped,” he said.
“I’ve been busy.” She slid onto a bar stool. “Say your piece and then leave.”
He dropped his gaze to the cutting board, chopping the few vegetables that hadn’t gone bad. “I said someone else’s name that night. I’m sorry. You don’t know how sorry. But I need to know if I did anything else.”
She frowned at him, Brie’s and Paige’s words coming back. I wonder what he thought he’d said. Or done. “Like what?”
“Like, get rough. Or ask for something you didn’t want to do.”
And? So it really hadn’t been a statement of disregard. “No,” she said softly. “What did you think you did, David?”
He gripped the edge of the counter with both hands, bowing his head. “I didn’t know. At first I thought you were just embarrassed, but you never called and months went by. I wondered if I’d done something to… turn you off.”
“You did. You said another woman’s name when I was giving you a great orgasm.”
He lifted his face, his eyes tense. “Other than that.”
“That was enough. But to set your mind at ease, no, you didn’t push me or try to force me to do anything I didn’t want to do.”
His shoulders sagged. “Good.” He turned from her, pouring the eggs into a pan.
He was still nervous, she realized. Unbelievable, but apparently true. She made coffee, then turned to watch him cook. “Why didn’t you call?”
He shrugged. “I’d go from fear of what I’d done to fear that you had someone else back home to fear that what I had done hadn’t been… good enough.”
“You’re kidding,” she said and thought she saw a glimmer of a smile curve his lips.
“Okay, maybe not that last part. But I did worry.” He did something with his wrist and the omelet in the pan slid and flipped. “And I did try to forget about you.”
“You did?”
“You were here, I was there. Then Evie called, asking for help with her leaky roof.”
Seven months ago. “She said you dropped everything and came to help.”
“She thinks I’m some white knight, so don’t tarnish my armor. The truth is, I dropped everything and came right away because it was what I’d been waiting for.”
She frowned slightly. “What you’d been waiting for? What does that mean?”
He wasn’t looking at her and she suddenly wished he would, that she could see his eyes. “Do you believe in signs, Olivia? Fate? Miracles?”
“Once, I’d have said no. But now, yes, I do.”
His glance was sharp. “What changed your mind?”
Olivia’s answer took no thought at all. She knew the moment she’d begun believing in miracles. “Meeting Mia when I did. I needed her and she needed me. I’d just come out of a bad relationship and a week later found out that our father, the father I’d never known, was dead. Mia was already in love with Reed. I was so jealous. She asked me if I was involved with anyone and I told her no. I didn’t want to admit I was a failure.”
“I can understand that feeling,” he said ruefully.
She thought of the name he’d groaned, knew that Dana was happily married to someone else. If there had ever been a relationship between Dana and David, there wasn’t now. “I guess you can. Anyway, you remember when Mia was shot by that guy?”