His words echoed her thoughts, sending a feeling of fatalism bearing down on her. It was true. There was nothing she could do. Nowhere she could go. But at least he won’t hurt you, too.
“Let me help you.” His dark brown eyes pleaded with her.
“What do you suggest?”
“That you’re the one who needs protecting. Don’t leave. Trust me.”
She wished she could.
“Stay.”
As his eyes met hers, she turned away, afraid she was folding, afraid she’d give in. If she did, then what? Then her nightmares would finally catch up with them both. “I thought you weren’t in the protection business.”
“I’m not.” He grabbed her, refusing to let her turn away from him and pulled her roughly against him, his strong arms banding around her as if he’d never let her go. “But for you, I will be.”
The warmth of his embrace, the utter feeling of safety almost undid her. “Why would you do that for me? I was running out on you. You never would have heard from me again.”
Regret flashed through his eyes, then disappeared so quickly she wasn’t sure it had ever been there. “Good question. I guess I’m not ready for you to run off and leave me yet.”
Was it possible? Could she really trust him?
“But I need something from you first.”
Her balloon of hope filled with lead and dropped to the pit of her stomach. “What?”
“I need you to come into the house, fix me a cup of coffee, and tell me exactly what’s been going on. Especially about Tommy Marshall. Everything. Got it?”
She looked into his face and wondered if she could tell him everything. Could she trust him that much?
Chapter 19
As Devra stared at Riley, she knew she couldn’t take the chance. She couldn’t tell him everything, but she could tell him about Tommy. She just wasn’t sure if she was ready to unearth and relive all the memories.
He led her into the kitchen, where she poured them both cups of coffee, then sat next to him at the table.
“It’s really okay,” he said encouraging her. “I’m not here to judge.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Let’s start at the beginning. Start with Tommy Marshall.”
She nodded; it was inevitable that he’d find out. She couldn’t hide from what happened, but still, she was reluctant to let her mind go back to that day fifteen years ago. “As far back as I can remember I’d had a normal life. Some would even say an ideal life. I grew up in a small town in Washington State.” She took a long sip from her cup. “Every free moment I had I played in the forest.”
He nodded, encouraging her to continue.
“That particular day was one of those rare sunshine-filled days when the big leaf maples with their thick undergrowth of ferns and ivy came to life in a sea of green.” The memories started filtering back. “Tommy was my best friend and closest neighbor.” A small smile touched her lips. “He had stepped out of the bushes, joining me on a rock beside the river with a large bowl of wild raspberries in his hand.”
She remembered he’d handed her the bowl and she’d taken a bite of the soft fruit, all the while wondering if he’d noticed her chest had begun to develop. She closed her eyes as the memories of that long-ago day washed over her and suddenly she was thirteen years old again, and Tommy was the light of her life.
Wanna go for a swim? he asked, a wicked grin splitting his face.
You crazy? That water’s freezing.
I’ll keep you warm.
He waggled his eyebrows and she imagined him holding her tight, the way they do in the movies, causing a rush of embarrassment to streak across her cheeks.
Don’t be silly, Tommy Marshall, she said and, laughing, threw a handful of river pebbles at him.
Come on, Devra. You’re thirteen years old now. Don’t you think it’s time you stop acting like a kid? He reached out and touched the daisy she had tucked behind her ear.
A strange rush of excitement quickened her blood, making her almost dizzy. W-what do you mean? she stammered. How was she still acting like a kid?
We could…um. I mean, how about if we kissed?
Shock washed over her and her heart started to pound. Tommy had never talked to her that way before. Though she had to admit she liked it, just a little. She did want to kiss him, had even dreamed about kissing him. He must have read the look on her face, for he pushed the raspberry bowl nestled between them to the side and leaned forward, his lips inches from hers.
She stared into the green depths of his eyes, afraid to move.
Close your eyes, he whispered.
Obediently, she did, as anticipation rushed through her. His soft lips falling tenderly across her own sent her heart soaring.
A twig broke.
The blood rushed to her head, making it swim.
A shadow fell across her face.
Laughter bubbled inside her. She was so deliriously happy.
A sharp thud.
Tommy fell to the side, his shoulder knocking into her.
Devra opened her eyes.
“I can’t,” she said to Riley. “I can’t go back there.” Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely breathe.
“You can. He can’t hurt you. I’m here.” He hesitated a moment then pulled her onto his lap and wrapped her in his arms. “I’m right here. Tell me what happened.”
Her first instinct was to pull away. But he was so warm and comforting, and she felt safe in his arms, safer than she ever remembered feeling. She took a deep breath and continued. “Tommy and I were…talking by the river. He gave me my first kiss. My eyes were closed, and the next thing I knew he was laying on the rocks in the shallow water. Blood was oozing from the side of his head and running down his cheek.”
She shuddered as the images barraged her. “His wide, unblinking eyes were staring at me. I screamed and tried to back away from him, but I couldn’t move. My hand had landed in the bowl of raspberries, squishing the berries. I tried to wipe them off on my blouse, but there was blood all over me. Tommy’s blood.” She swiped at the tears running down her cheeks and nestled deeper into Riley’s lap.
He held her and murmured in her ear. “It’s okay.”
But it wasn’t okay, it would never be okay. She knew that now. “Stones crunched behind me. I scrambled to my feet and there he was watching me.”
“The man in the sketch?”
She nodded. “The look of the devil Papa had always preached about glowing in his eyes. A large rock covered with blood was clutched in his hand and his lips were curved in a triumphant smile.” She stiffened. “Oh, God!”
“What?” he clutched her tighter.
“I remember what he said to me.” She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, just kept hearing his voice whispering in her mind.
“Peekaboo.”
Suddenly, she was a child again and, like the proverbial spilled milk, the images wouldn’t stop flowing. She’d turned and ran up the bank of the river and into the northwestern woods she knew like the back of her hand. “No matter how fast I ran, every time I’d turn he was still behind me. After a while, I was so tired. I stopped to lean against a tree and slid down its trunk.”
She took a deep breath. “Then I saw him. He was still holding the bloody rock in his hand, still smiling. He wasn’t even breathing hard. I remember being so scared, I remember freezing as his eyes met mine. ‘You can run little girl, but you can’t hide. Not from me.’ Those are the words he said to me. The words I keep hearing again and again.”
Just like last night.
She clenched her fists and forced herself to continue when all she really wanted to do was get into her car and drive far, far away. “I ran in so many directions, I was no longer sure where I was, or which way was which. I remember the river looming ahead of me. I remember thinking if I could just reach the river’s path, I could follow it back home. Back to Papa. But I slipped on a patch of wet pine needles. The pain in my lef
t ankle almost brought me down, but I knew I couldn’t fall. I knew if I did, I wouldn’t be able to get back up. So I kept running, no longer caring about the path or the pain.”
She hesitated.
“Go, on,” he encouraged. “You’re doing fine.”
“As I reached the river, a large hand grasped my shoulder and pulled me backward. I fell to the ground. The impact knocked the air from my chest. Pain sliced through my head. Something wet and sticky ran down the side of my face.”
She touched her cheek. “I begged him not to hurt me. He leaned over me, his face coming closer. Then blackness swallowed the light. The last image I saw before succumbing to the darkness was a glint of red laughter shining through obsidian eyes.”
The eyes of the devil.
“Those are the eyes I saw depicted in the sketch of Michelle’s killer. It’s him. He killed Tommy.”
Riley stared at her, unblinking.
“I know it sounds crazy, it is crazy. This whole situation is crazy. What’s worse is that’s all I can remember of that day. They said they found me in the forest with the murder weapon in my hand. But I can’t remember what happened. I don’t know why he let me go. I don’t know why he didn’t kill me, too.” She let out a deep breath, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to overwhelm her.
“Why have you kept running? Why haven’t you let somebody help you?”
“Who? The police? I can’t take that risk again.”
“What risk?”
“That they’d lock me up.” She clung to shoulders that felt strong enough to hold up the world, but were they strong enough for her and for what the future may hold? “I can’t go through that again,” she insisted. “I can’t have everyone calling me a killer.”
“They won’t.”
“Tommy’s parents believed I killed him, and so did mine. The police just wanted the case solved. They took the easy way. They didn’t care whose life they were ruining or whose dreams they destroyed. Chief Marshall was so certain it was me.”
Riley cringed at her words.
“Please, Riley. Don’t make me go through that again. Let me leave. I’ll be more careful. I won’t let him find me.”
Her eyes pleaded with him and as much as he wanted to help her, he couldn’t stand the idea of her out there on her own with a madman on her heels. “I can’t. I’m sorry.” Tears spilling onto her cheeks broke his heart. “You can’t keep running and hiding,” he said. “You deserve more, you deserve a life.”
“I can’t stay. He almost killed you last night. He’ll be back again.”
“Bah,” he scoffed. “He didn’t even come close.” He pulled her tight and breathed deep her vanilla scent. “I want you to stay.”
Her eyes locked on his. “You’re what I’ll miss most about New Orleans.”
“If you want me as much as I want you, if you want your freedom, then take it. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you. Not even your fear.”
“But how? What can I do?”
“Fight back.”
She shook her head. “I’ve never been a fighter. I wouldn’t know where to begin. I’m not that strong.”
Riley stared at her. Was that really what she thought? “Don’t kid yourself, Devra. How many people could have dealt with what you’ve been running from all these years?”
She didn’t answer him, just ran her fingers across his collarbone, studying it as if it held the answers to all life’s secrets.
“Not many,” he continued. “They would have ended up in the loony bin blabbering to the padded walls.”
She dropped her head as another tear escaped out the corner of her eye. “Maybe that’s where I belong,” she said softly, so softly he almost didn’t hear her.
“Maybe,” he challenged.
She looked up at him, afraid and confused.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
“How’s that?” she asked warily.
“Go back to where it all started and do the research the cops never did. You’re a grown woman now, not some kid to be discounted. Find out what really happened to Tommy. Stop running and fight for the truth.”
Her eyes widened at his words. “I couldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m afraid,” she admitted.
“Of what? The killer? Or that you may find out everyone was right, that you killed Tommy.”
Misery chased across her face and he knew his words had hit a sore spot. He knew what he’d just verbalized was exactly what she’d been afraid of all these years. He took her hands into his own and gave them a squeeze. “These hands are connected to a heart, which beats in time to a special soul. Your soul. I know you’re not capable of that kind of evil. You didn’t kill Tommy, Michelle or anyone else. I believe that with everything I am.”
Tears were flowing again, filling big blue eyes full of gratitude. “Please come with me,” she said softly. “I can’t face them alone.”
“Your fears?”
“My parents.”
“Oh.” He nodded understanding, knowing exactly how it felt to face a parent whose disappointment shone through his eyes like beacons in the night. “You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
She shook her head. “I’m not. I can’t do it on my own. I need you.”
No one had ever said those words to him before. The warmth they inspired was totally unexpected. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her warmth, her softness, her sweet breath on his neck as she clung to him had him considering her request. It would be disastrous for his career and he could lose his job, his reputation. And he knew that what little respect his father had left for him would be gone if they didn’t find the answers they were searching for.
But his father would also never forgive him if he let Michelle’s killer go free. Devra—and her past—held the key to that killer. And that past was in Washington.
He’d given Tony his word he’d go to the station. With Devra. “My captain wants to ask me a few questions. Tony found out about Tommy. You should come in and tell the captain the truth. It will sound better coming from you. Trust me.”
She sat back, her eyes widening. “The charges were dropped. There wasn’t enough evidence against me. How did he get his hands on juvenile records?”
“Chief Marshall’s still carrying a grudge. A big one.”
She stared at him for a minute. “Riley, I can’t go anywhere near the station. If I do, they won’t let me leave. I won’t be able to go back and discover the truth.”
“I don’t have a choice, Devra.”
She walked over to the window. After a moment, she turned back to him. “I know. I guess we’ll just have to take our chances with your captain.”
But Riley knew she had a point. Once she went into the station and told her story, everything would change. If the captain believed her, especially after the incident last night, then she would be put in protective custody. If the captain didn’t believe her, then she would be watched day and night. Either way, Riley was certain he wouldn’t be the one allowed near her. “All right,” he relented. “I’ll go in and see the captain alone.”
She blew out a sigh of relief then smiled. “I knew I could trust you.”
“Really?” he asked amused. “When did you come to that realization?”
“Just now.”
He pulled her into his arms. “You better.” His lips brushed hers, sparking something within him. He held her closer, his mouth moving hungrily over hers. She responded by clinging to him as if this were the last time they’d be together. A twinge of panic tightened his gut. “You’ll be here when I get back?” He pulled back so he could read the truth in her eyes.
She touched her swollen lips, tempting him to pull her into his arms once more, and stared up at him with melting blue eyes. “Yes, I’ll be here.”
And he believed her. He didn’t know why, but they seemed to have crossed some line and he didn’t think that she would lie to him. He relaxed an
d gave her a gentle smile. “Good, pack only what you need. No reason to let anyone think you fled town. We’ll take my car.”
She nodded. He left to face the captain, hoping it wouldn’t be for the last time. An hour later he returned from the station. The captain had been tough, but Riley held his ground and got through their meeting with his job intact, and without bringing up Tommy Marshall.
Hopefully, he’d even managed to buy them the few days they needed to uncover whatever secrets were buried in the small town of Rosemont, Washington, before anyone back at the station discovered he’d absconded with their number one suspect.
With Felix tucked in his carry cage and a couple overnight bags stowed in the back, they piled into Riley’s Expedition and drove out of the Garden District. Devra leaned her head against the window and sighed. “I hope I make it back here someday.”
“You will,” Riley assured her. But as New Orleans fell farther and farther behind them, he couldn’t help wondering if he’d made the right decision. Was he following his gut or was something else driving him? He wasn’t sure, but somewhere along the way, he’d begun to care about this lost woman. Worse, he felt a need to protect her.
As the sun caught a golden curl, enticing him to touch it, he turned away and hoped he wasn’t making the biggest mistake of his life.
Chapter 20
They drove all day and most of the night, each taking turns while the other napped. Around three in the morning, Devra pulled into a rest stop and slept because her vision had become too blurry to continue driving safely. Three hours later, Riley woke and started them on their journey again. By the end of the second day, they couldn’t take the long hours in the car and pulled into a motel parking lot for a much needed night of sleep. As soon as her head hit the pillow, Devra was out.
She was running again. Dwarfed by the large trees, she ran pushing her way through the green leaves, wincing as the branches whipped across her face. Somewhere in the darkness behind her, she could hear his breathing echoing through the trees. Footsteps thumped against the forest floor.
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