And he loved her just the way she was.
She stepped into the hot shower and thought about what life would be like married to Quinn. Fun. Challenging. Exciting. Frustrating. She was stubborn; so was he. But making up was half the fun of arguing, right?
It had taken them years to find their way back to each other, and Miranda didn’t want to waste a single minute. As soon as possible, she wanted to get on with their wedding. When Quinn returned to Seattle, she would go with him. Certainly she could find a job in search and rescue in Washington state. Seattle had rivers and waterways and the Cascade Mountains. Miranda had experience in all kinds of terrain.
And for the first time in more than a decade, she thought about having a child.
With Quinn.
She shut off the water and reached for the towel that hung on the hook outside the shower. She didn’t feel it. Odd. She thought for sure she’d put one there. Must have fallen to the floor. Opening the door fully, she stepped out.
And faced a nine-millimeter semiautomatic.
She looked up into the cold, wild eyes of Delilah Parker, who appeared nothing like the society matron Miranda had known.
“Washing my brother’s blood off your hands?”
When there was no answer at Miranda’s, Quinn used the radio to check in with the deputies stationed at the Lodge.
“I’ve had an APB put out on Delilah Parker,” he said. “She should be considered armed and dangerous. There is strong evidence that she assisted her brother David Larsen in abducting his victims.”
“Good God,” he heard one of the deputies say.
“Check in. Name and location.”
“Jorgensen, main entrance outside and perimeter check every twenty.”
“Zachary, main entrance inside and interior check.”
“Ressler, trails, barns, parking-all clear.”
Silence.
Jorgensen spoke. “Walters, check in.”
Silence.
Quinn’s heart rose into his throat. “Ressler, you and Jorgensen get down to Miranda’s cabin, stat! Zachary, check on Richard Parker and his son immediately. Call all guests and employees into the dining hall and keep them there until you get the all clear. I’m calling in reinforcements. ETA is ten minutes.”
He slammed down the radio. “Goddammit!” Why had he left her? He thought she’d be safe. Four cops protecting the Lodge. Few criminals blatantly took out a cop. They waited for a hole, where they couldn’t be seen.
But Walters was down. Delilah Parker had gotten to Miranda.
Quinn accelerated the truck, taking turns fast and dangerous.
He and Miranda had finally found their way back to each other. He wasn’t about to lose her now.
CHAPTER 38
“If you so much as squeak, I’ll kill you. Slowly. And then I will kill your lover.”
Miranda believed Delilah’s threat. She didn’t want to die. Not now, after she’d finally put her demons to rest. She couldn’t bear thinking of Quinn finding her dead body.
Delilah Parker was a sick woman.
Her hands bound behind her back, goosebumps rose on Miranda’s damp skin. She wore a thin cotton robe and nothing else.
Shaking and barefoot, Miranda stumbled down the path, her leg aching. She had no idea where Delilah was taking her, but she wasn’t dead yet. She would find an opportunity to escape.
“Why are you doing this?” Miranda asked.
“Because I want to,” Delilah said like a recalcitrant child. “Now keep moving.”
Keep her talking. Miranda remembered that from her criminal psychology classes.
“Why did you help your brother kidnap women? You’re a woman. Certainly you would have sympathy.”
Delilah shrugged. “It was interesting.”
Interesting? She thought raping and shooting women in the back was interesting!
“You just handed us over to your brother and walked away? Knowing what he was going to do?”
“Keep your voice down,” Delilah hissed.
Miranda couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She pushed on, though she kept her voice low, mindful of the gun in her back.
“How could you do that? Just walk away?”
“I didn’t walk away. I’m not a coward. Not like Davy.”
Miranda stumbled at her words. Delilah prodded her up. “Keep moving.”
“My leg.”
“Who gives a fuck about your leg? Davy’s dead.”
Miranda bit her tongue, tears springing to her eyes. “You knew? You saw?”
“I wanted to watch. To see what it took to break someone. Davy insisted that if he found the right girl she would want to stay with him forever. I told him he was a fool. I was right.”
How could Delilah ignore the endless screams? She watched her brother rape and torture women and it was interesting? To see what it took to break a human being? Miranda’s stomach twisted and bile rose to the back of her throat. She forced herself to swallow, the burning sensation making her grimace.
Delilah was as twisted as her brother!
She continued. “You know, it’s not my fault. Davy took that first girl without telling me. Can you believe that? He just kidnapped her and raped her. He thought that if she knew how much he loved her,” Delilah said, eyes rolling, “she’d stay with him.”
“Penny,” Miranda said, almost to herself.
“He wasn’t supposed to touch another woman without my permission. But I knew, like a wife knows her husband is cheating, I knew he had another woman. I followed him. And there she was, tied on the stinking floor of some abandoned cabin. I watched Davy through the window. Begging her to say she loved him, blah, blah, blah.
“Davy left an hour later and I let her go. I told her how to get down from the mountain. She begged me to take her with me. Like I wanted to help her? I sent her further into the canyon and caught up with Davy before he got to his truck.” She laughed, a surprisingly light and airy sound considering her words.
“I told him he had to kill her. She would turn him in to the police if he didn’t.” She shook her head. “I waited for him. It didn’t take long.”
She pushed Miranda forward. Miranda stumbled over a tree root and fell to her knees. Her stitches pulled and a thin trickle of blood slid down her leg. Delilah kicked her. “Get up!”
Miranda pushed herself up with her calves, legs spread for balance, her anger rising. She was terrified of what Delilah was capable of doing. She showed a complete and total indifference to the pain and suffering of others.
“You’re sick, Delilah. You. Getting a thrill out of watching your brother rape women.”
Miranda braced for an attack that didn’t come. Delilah remained silent, and Miranda realized then where they were headed. Her field. Her special meadow where she went to think, to relax, to celebrate life.
Had Delilah watched her sit in the middle of the wide, open space? Followed her? Stalked her? What about her sick brother? Had he?
At the far edge of the clearing, Delilah pushed Miranda down. She stumbled and couldn’t avoid her face hitting the ground. Tears sprang to her eyes, more from indignation and fear than pain.
Delilah looked delicate, but she was strong. She pushed Miranda up against a tree and sat her down, the rocks and sharp pine needles stabbing her butt and legs, but Miranda resisted the urge to cry out. She wouldn’t give the bitch the satisfaction. Delilah untied Miranda’s hands.
This was her opportunity.
Miranda swung her arms together toward Delilah. Anticipating the move, Delilah used the grip of her gun against the side of Miranda’s head. Miranda fell to the ground, her breath coming harsh and deep. She ground her teeth against the pain and nausea. Delilah pushed her up against the tree, binding her hands around it. Delilah pulled hard on her arms and Miranda cried out.
“What are you doing?” Miranda managed to ask.
“Waiting.”
“For what?”