Lasting Shadows: Shadows Landing #3

by Kathleen Brooks

  “I’m not going anywhere until Ridge is able to leave with me.” Savannah crossed her arms and sat back in the chair. When Granger opened the door, Savannah was accosted by the sounds of people filling the front entrance and yelling for Granger.

  Granger groaned as the entire Faulkner family looked pissed off. Gavin had clearly told them what had happened.

  “Oh, Savannah,” Tinsley gasped, catching sight of her looking down the hall at them. “You poor thing. What can I do?” Sweet Tinsley then narrowed her gaze on Granger and pointed at him. “You better unlock this door right now or I swear I will jump the desk and take you down.”

  Granger pressed a button and the door unlocked. “No need for threats, Tins. I was coming to let you in. You can see Savannah, but I have to talk to Ridge without you all.”

  “There’s no way I am letting you near my brother without a lawyer.” Tinsley marched up to him and poked him in the chest. The top of her head barely reached his chest, but she was fierce.

  “Ryker brought Olivia Townsend.”

  “Oh,” Tinsley said as her finger froze in midair. “Good. Then things are in hand.” She pushed past Granger and headed straight for Savannah, her face filled with worry. Tinsley didn’t say anything. She just wrapped her arms around Savannah and Savannah felt all the love this small person had packed in her.

  “It’s okay, Savannah. I have you,” she whispered and Savannah felt her body go weak as the strength she had finally wore out. Giant sobs that hurt her bruised throat escaped as tears ran down her face. More arms were around her as Savannah smelled Ellery’s light floral perfume.

  Savannah wasn’t sure how long she stood there being held by Tinsley and Ellery as she cried. But finally the fear, the realization she had almost died, and the anger finally escaped through her tears. She sniffled and opened her eyes to find boots standing behind Tinsley.

  “I don’t do crying. I do this. Drink.” Harper handed her a bottle of vodka and Savannah laughed as Ellery and Tinsley released their hold on her. “I got you the fruity flavored stuff.”

  Savannah sniffed and then smiled. It was hard not to laugh at Harper’s obvious discomfort. She looked like Trent and Gavin, who stood just inside the door with pained expressions.

  “Thank you. You got the right stuff.” Savannah took a sip and any remaining tears dried as the vodka burned on the way down and then warmed her belly. The men approached cautiously and Trent pulled out chairs for everyone.

  Savannah took another drink from the bottle and felt herself calming. She sat with Tinsley on one side and Ellery on the other. Trent awkwardly patted her shoulder. “I’m not good at this, but it’ll be okay. You’re not alone in this.”

  No matter how hard Savannah tried to stop them, the tears started again.

  “You have my client’s statement, Sheriff. Are you going to arrest him or let him go?” Olivia demanded.

  “I’d like to measure your client’s height for the record,” Granger told them stone-faced. His face had been a mask of indifference since he walked into the room. Ridge wanted to beg and plead with him to know how Savannah was. Ridge wanted to know Granger believed him when he said he’d never hurt Savannah or any woman. Just the thought of harming a woman went against everything in him.

  “For what purpose?” Olivia asked.

  “A lineup of sorts,” Granger said, not giving anything away.

  Olivia leaned forward and placed her hand next to his ear so Granger and the video camera recording the interrogation couldn’t see her lips moving. “One last time, do you have anything to hide?”

  Ridge barely shook his head and Olivia leaned back. “On the condition that it’s off the record,” she said, glancing at the camera.

  “No,” Granger said simply, but then he turned his eyes to Ridge. The look he gave practically begged Ridge to do it. The camera was to Granger’s back so his face couldn’t be seen. But Ridge saw it.

  “I’ll do it,” Ridge said, pushing back from his chair and standing up.

  “Mr. Faulkner, I strongly urge you not to comply unless it’s off the record,” Olivia said with so much disapproval he almost sat down. But there was just something in Granger’s look that prompted him to continue.

  “I understand, Miss Townsend. I’m going to do it anyway.”

  Granger stood up and pulled a tape measure from his pocket. “Please stand against the far wall so that I can mark it for the camera.”

  Ridge followed the instructions. He felt as if he were a child having his height measured to see how much he’d grown in the last year. Only this time it mattered a whole lot more for a reason Ridge didn’t know yet.

  Granger used a green sticky note to mark the top of Ridge’s head and had Ridge go sit down. He measured to the top of the sticky note and wrote in a black marker 6’ 2”.

  “Mr. Faulkner, you said you were attacked in the park and that is how you sustained these injuries. Could you tell me, how tall was your alleged attacker?”

  Ridge blinked, wondering why he would ask and then it hit him. He was systematically working to clear Ridge’s name. Ridge took a deep breath and shook his head. “He was shorter than me by several inches.”

  “Did you stand face to face with him?” Granger asked, his cool professional tone still in place.

  “Yes, and he came up to here,” Ridge said, holding out his hand to indicate the height of his attacker.

  “Can you take this sticky note and put it on the wall to represent the height of your attacker?” Granger handed him a blank blue sticky note.

  Ridge took it and slowly walked to the wall. He stood and reached out with his hands, remembering where he punched. When he had a clear mental picture of his attacker, he placed the sticky note on the wall and sat back down.

  “What is this all about?” Olivia demanded, needing to know.

  “I’ll show you,” Granger said as he measured the height and marked the blue sticky note with 5’ 9 ½ “. Ridge watched as Granger walked back to the table and opened up the file that had been sitting there. Inside was a pink sticky note with 5’ 9”. Granger walked back to the wall and measured out the height and stuck the pink sticky note right next to Ridge’s blue one before going back to his chair.

  “It appears it’s impossible that your client attacked Miss Ambrose. In fact, I now believe they are both victims of the same attacker. The pink sticky note is the height of the man who tried to kill Miss Ambrose. It is a nearly identical match to your client’s description of his attacker,” Granger stood up then. “You’re free to go, Mr. Faulkner. I have your report of the attacker and will add it into Miss Ambrose’s report as I believe you’re both victims of assault. No charges will be filed against you at this time.” Granger turned to Olivia and held out his hand to shake hers. “I’ll call your office if I have any more questions for your client.”

  “Thank you,” Olivia said as if the interview hadn’t just done a one-eighty.

  Granger turned off the camera and let out a deep breath.

  “What the hell was that about?” Ridge asked with the full anger of having just been interrogated.

  “I had to prove you couldn’t have done it or a good defense attorney would have created reasonable doubt,” Granger said, running his hand through his hair, showing just how stressed he was, too.

  “I’m impressed,” Olivia told Granger as he nodded. “You accomplished just that.”

  “Can I see Savannah now?” Ridge was tired and impatient to see her. He wouldn’t feel better until he had her in his arms.

  “Go ahead.”

  Ridge was out the door in a heartbeat. Savannah was sitting among his family members, but as soon as she saw him she let out a little sob and jumped up from her chair. His arms came around her—he could finally breathe again.

  “Are you okay? What did that bastard do to you?”

  “He tried to kill me. I think he only left because I hit my head and blacked out momentarily. He must have thought I was dead and didn’t check w
hen my neighbor came running in with a shotgun.”

  “And then he found me in the park and attacked me,” Ridge told them. “It wouldn’t have taken him long to get to me. Especially if he had a car nearby.”

  “But why?” Tinsley asked, clearly upset.

  “Because he thought he killed Savannah, and he wanted to blame Ridge for it. Make it look like a domestic violence incident. After all, you two put on a very public fight just before,” Granger said as he joined them with Olivia and Ryker.

  “I don’t understand,” Savannah said, feeling frustrated.

  “I don’t either, except all of these incidents were made to look like accidents. Right? The towel left on the stove. The car wreck. A fight gone too far,” Ridge explained.

  “So, someone is trying to kill me,” Savannah said as Ridge pulled her tightly against his side as if he could protect her from the answer.

  “Maybe. Or they’re trying to punish Ridge. Making him sit in jail for arson or a murder he didn’t commit seems rather evil,” Granger replied.

  “Surely this is beyond Bunny wanting to get back together with me.” Ridge was positive Bunny couldn’t pull this off. But if it wasn’t her, who was it?

  “I’m getting a court order tomorrow to track her down through her credit cards and phone,” Granger said, clearly upset about the matter. “I’m just relieved Savannah noticed so much about her attacker so we could clear you.”

  “You did a good job, Sheriff,” Olivia told him as she briefly rested her hand on his arm.

  “I did a good job too, right?” Kord asked, sending her a wink.

  Olivia laughed and Ridge rolled his eyes. Kord was so infatuated, and it was clear Olivia enjoyed it, but she didn’t feel the same. For that matter, Ridge wasn’t all the way sure Kord cared one way or the other.

  “Let me walk you to your helicopter.” Kord held out his arm for her to take and Olivia linked her arm through before turning back to the group. “Please keep me updated and let me know if I can help in any way. Ryker, are you coming back to the city tonight?”

  “I’ll be right there. I’ll call the pilot.” Ryker sent a text as Kord escorted Olivia outside. “She’ll eat him alive,” Ryker told them as he watched Kord and Olivia head outside.

  “How old is Kord?” Savannah whispered to Ridge.

  “Not that age matters, but she’s in her early thirties and he’s twenty-seven.”

  Savannah nodded. “It seems as if they’re in two different places in their lives. The timing is all wrong for them.” She paused and looked at him with sadness. “I’m afraid it’s all wrong for us too.”

  Ridge felt as much fear as he had when he’d heard Savannah was hurt. “Don’t say that. Nothing has ever felt so right.”

  He could see the sheen in her eyes as if Savannah was battling back tears. “Someone it trying to hurt us to keep us apart. That doesn’t sound like good timing to me.”

  “The only thing that matters to me is if you want to be with me. If you don’t, I’ll step back. I’ll never step away from you unless that’s what you want.”

  Savannah threw her arms around his waist and squeezed. “I already know what I want, and it’s to be with you.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do. Screw pretending to break up. Someone call Reverend Winston and tell him what’s going on. He’ll spread the word and everyone will be on the lookout for Bunny. Instead of hiding, it’s time to face this together,” Ridge said before kissing the top of her head as she hugged him.

  “As a family,” Tinsley said, stepping up to join them.

  “And friends,” Granger added. “Go home. I’ll get the word out.”

  “I’ll get my security team out here as soon as possible. They’re at my office in China right now, so it’ll be two days tops. I’ll have them set up both houses with state-of-the-art security,” Ryker told them as he patted Ridge’s shoulder. “I’ll call you when I talk to them and give you a better time frame. In the meantime, you can use my house if you need.”

  “Thank you, Ryker,” Ridge said, shaking his cousin’s hand. “For everything. For flying your attorney out here for me, for setting up security, for just being there for me.”

  Ridge almost laughed at Ryker’s expression of extreme discomfort. “That’s what family does. I’ll let you know when the security team will be here.” And then Ryker practically ran from the room.

  “Ridge?” Savannah asked in Ryker’s wake.

  “Yes?”

  “Take me home.”

  16

  Ridge was torn as to what to do. Savannah had gone upstairs to get ready for bed after they had eaten some sandwiches and cuddled on the couch. It had been peaceful, intimate, and wonderful.

  It felt as if they were a couple. Ridge loved it. If only Bunny could be caught, then he wouldn’t be torn in the least. Right now there was nothing he’d rather do than spend as much time as possible with Savannah. He wanted to pick her up for dates. He wanted to take her to his favorite places. He wanted to discover all the things that made her happy. He wanted to find out her favorite foods, her hobbies, and her interests. He wanted to talk to her, hear her opinions, hear her thoughts, and then there was the constant need to touch her. To feel Savannah’s lips on his. To feel the heat of her body under his hands.

  However, he wasn’t free to follow his desires. Not yet. Now he was stuck in some kind of relationship purgatory. To move forward would distract him from keeping her safe from Bunny. To move back would risk losing her forever. What Ridge needed was a sign. Preferably one that said Savannah is safe now. Then he could put his whole heart into showing her the love she deserved.

  “Ridge?”

  Savannah’s quiet, unsure voice had him turning to look up the stairs. She stood at the railing to the open second floor looking down at him. Her face was free of makeup. Her hair was brushed and hanging around her shoulders, and she was in a nightgown that made him instantly hard.

  Ridge had to take several deep breaths to calm down. It wasn’t like he was a teenager, but seeing her so fresh and at home and wearing that little strappy, thigh-length white nightie had scrambled his brain cells.

  “Yes, sweetheart?” The term of endearment slipped out and Ridge hoped Savannah didn’t notice, but by the way she sucked in her breath she did. Ridge practically groaned because when she breathed deeply it did amazing things to that nightgown.

  “Will you sleep with me tonight?”

  Ridge knew it wasn’t in a sexual way. And he knew by the way she shifted from foot to foot she was nervous to ask him and that saddened him. She should never feel bad for asking him for anything. Especially something that made her feel safe.

  “Of course. I’ll be up in just a minute.”

  Savannah began to turn from the railing, but turned back and gave him an embarrassed smile. “Thank you.”

  Savannah then headed into her room. Ridge got up from the couch and made the rounds to close all the blinds, lock all the doors, and make sure no one was lurking in the yard before heading upstairs and into his room. He went through the motions of getting ready for bed and at the last minute stopped and pulled a heavy metal case from his nightstand. Inside was a handgun he’d gotten years ago when he and his cousins had taken up target practice.

  He put his shirt over it and carried it into Savannah’s room. She was in bed with the television news on low volume. Ridge set the gun case next to his side of the bed and climbed under the covers. He sat up with his back against the fabric covered headboard and began listening to the latest news out of Charleston.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind staying with me tonight?” Savannah asked quietly during a commercial.

  Ridge turned to her and realized Penn probably would have minded. He was the kind of dick to put only his needs first and not recognize anyone else’s. “I never mind spending time with you. In fact, I look forward to every moment we have together. Always know you can ask me anything. It’ll never bother me. I want to make you happy, Savannah. To
do that I need to know what you think, what you want, and what you need.”

  Savannah slid closer to him and took a deep breath. “Then will you hold me?”

  Ridge smiled and opened his arm for her. “There is nothing else I’d rather do.”

  “Nothing?” Savannah asked in such a way he knew she’d just taken things there.

  “Well, there’s nothing I’d rather do that doesn’t involve you naked and underneath me. Or on top.” Ridge paused as if he were thinking. “Or sitting, bent over, standing up.”

  “Okay, okay,” Savannah giggled. “I get it.”

  “Are you sure?” Ridge asked sincerely. “I could draw diagrams if you aren’t sure.”

  Savannah’s giggles turned into laughter, and she playfully slapped her hand against his bare chest. Then she stopped laughing as she ran her hand over his muscles. Ridge felt his heart beating under her hand, and he wasn’t laughing anymore either. Especially not when Savannah leaned forward and placed a kiss right over his heart.

  “Where were you all my life?” she whispered.

  “Right here, waiting for you.”

  “You don’t have to wait anymore,” Savannah said, lowering her head and placing another kiss on his chest. She kissed her way up his neck and across his jaw. Ridge had the sheets fisted in his hands as he allowed Savannah to take the lead. Her kisses set him on fire, but he felt the nervous flutter of her fingertips on his shoulder as she moved to face him more fully.

  Ridge finally let go of the sheet and ran his hand gently through her hair. He’d show her what she meant to them, but he wasn’t going to make love to her tonight. Not when they were beaten and sore. Not when they were still in danger. But he’d show her love.

  Savannah woke to the feel of her stomach growling as the smell of sausage and biscuits entered her room. She didn’t bother putting on clothes or brushing her hair. While they hadn’t had sex last night, they were certainly on intimate terms now. If he saw her during those intimate moments, he could see her like this.