Harlequin Intrigue March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2

by Nichole Severn

  He was going to hate her for her lies, and then if he did his job, he would have to place her under arrest. Dear God, how had it all come down to this?

  “Peter came from money. His father was not only rich, but also influential. After I got medical treatment for the stab wounds I’d received, I took Melinda to a motel to wait to see what happened next.”

  “So, what happened next?”

  There was curiosity in his voice, but she also felt a touch of coolness from him. The dream she’d had of building a future with him was now shattered. As she looked at him and saw that his beautiful green eyes were guarded, she knew the truth. Peter had won. She felt as if she was already dead.

  “Peter was out of jail the next morning with no charges levied against him. He’d tried to kill me and he walked away free as a bird.”

  “Was this in Nevada?” Hunter asked.

  “No, I lied about being from Nevada. I’m actually from Portland, Maine. My mother lives there along with my older sister. My name isn’t really Ainsley Meadows, it’s Colette Waverly.”

  He winced, as if she’d physically slapped him. “So, he got no charges and you ran,” he said flatly.

  She nodded. “While I was running for my life, he divorced me and won full custody of Melinda. Apparently, he told the judge that I was dangerous and deranged. A warrant was issued for my arrest and I was charged with parental alienation, among other things. But there was no way I was going to allow my daughter to live with that madman, so for the past three years I’ve been on the run. I have fake ID and I’ve broken all kinds of laws to stay one step ahead of the monster. So, I understand if you have to arrest me.”

  The words burst out of her on a rush, and when there was nothing else left to say, she put her hands up to her face and began to weep.

  She was utterly exhausted. Her body hurt from the beating she’d received the night before. Her heart ached with the distance she now felt from Hunter, with the damage she had done to their relationship.

  All she could think about now was if he didn’t arrest her, then she needed to get out of here and return to her life on the run. She would never, ever allow herself to get close to anyone again, but she couldn’t take back the love she felt for Hunter.

  She wished he would take her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay. She wanted to be in his embrace, where she’d always felt so loved and protected. She stopped crying and dropped her hands back into her lap.

  “Are you going to arrest me?” she finally asked. She met his gaze once again.

  “I’m betting that if I don’t arrest you then you’re going to take off again. Aren’t you tired of running?” His eyes were dark, unfathomable.

  “Yes,” she replied as tears blurred her vision. “Oh God, I’m exhausted. I’m sick of the lying and the looking over my shoulder. I don’t want this kind of life for Melinda. I know it’s not good for her, but I didn’t feel like I had any other options. I was really hoping this would be our forever home.”

  “Then stop running. Stay here and let us do our jobs. We’ll deal with your other legal issues once we get Peter behind bars.” A knock on the door interrupted whatever else he was going to say.

  He got up to answer the door and returned a moment later with Nick. “Hey, Ainsley, how are you doing?” Nick asked her.

  “Okay,” she replied even though she was anything but okay. At the moment her physical pain was second to the pain that stabbed in her heart.

  She wasn’t sure what Hunter was going to do, but she was pretty sure any love he’d had for her was gone. Thoughts of that squeezed her heart so hard it made her ribs scream in pain.

  “I just wanted to let the two of you know where we’re at in the investigation.” Nick sat in the chair facing the sofa, and Hunter eased back down beside Colette. “I’ve got men up in the attic at the café dealing with all the surveillance equipment.” He looked at Hunter. “This guy spent a ton of money on this, and we have no idea where the location is on the other end. We also don’t know how he managed to get everything up there.”

  “Maybe the person who has that answer is Ted Johnson, who’s nowhere to be found.”

  “If he had anything to do with Peter, then he’s probably dead,” Colette said. If the man was dead, then she was partially responsible for his death. If she’d never come to Dusty Gulch, then Peter wouldn’t have killed Ted. “Peter would consider Ted a loose end. I can’t emphasize enough to you both what a dangerous, evil human being he is.”

  She fell silent as Hunter filled Nick in on her real name, the reasons for her lying to everyone in town and about her abusive life with her ex-husband.

  Nick listened carefully to everything. “Thankfully we now have his picture being circulated by all the deputies in town. If he’s here in town, then somebody will have seen him,” Nick said. “It’s just a matter of time before we have him arrested.”

  “I hope so,” she replied. And then what? Peter would go to jail, and if it was like the last time, he’d manage to get out of it. He’d be out and she’d be arrested and he’d have full access to Melinda. He would discipline Melinda the same way he had her...with his fists and with his hurtful, damaging words. This thought once again brought tears to her eyes.

  “Is there anything else you can tell us about Peter that might help us in locating him and making an arrest?” Nick asked her.

  “Nothing. I could never predict what Peter might do,” she replied tiredly. Had it only been hours ago that she’d left the hospital? It already felt like it had been months.

  “Of course we all know it’s possible he’s changed his hair color or grown some facial hair,” Nick said and then stood. “I’m heading back to the café to check in on the men there. Ainsley...er...Colette, I’ll be in touch. Hunter...walk me out?”

  She watched as the man she loved disappeared out the front door with Nick. She had found the town she’d wanted to be her forever home and the man she’d hoped would be her forever man. And now it had all been destroyed.

  She never should have tried to be happy. When Hunter had first asked her out, she should have turned him down. She never should have allowed herself to care about or to be cared for by another human being.

  Right now, even if she got the opportunity, she didn’t have the strength to even think about running again. She felt utterly hopeless. If Peter didn’t kill her this time, then he would just wait for the next opportunity he got.

  She had little hope that they would find him. He was incredibly smart, and it was quite possible he’d already left town. He had to have known she’d heard his voice in the apartment. He had to have seen Hunter going up into the attic and known they would now be looking for him.

  She wasn’t afraid of dying. What she was afraid of was leaving Melinda in Peter’s care. She would willingly give her own life if it would stop that from happening.

  She looked up when Hunter returned. He stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. “Why don’t you get unpacked now and I’ll see about making us something to eat?”

  There was nothing warm or supportive in his eyes at the moment, and an exquisite pain of bereavement shot through her. Without saying a word, she got up and went into his bedroom to unpack some of her things.

  Before she even got started, she sank down on the bed and was struck by a deep exhaustion. It was an exhaustion created by both mental and physical pain...one of utter despair.

  Her body hurt, and at least she could help that. She dug in her purse, grabbed one of her pain pills and dry swallowed it. Maybe she’d just rest for a few minutes before unloading her suitcase. She stretched out on the bed and was instantly enveloped by Hunter’s scent.

  She closed her eyes, breathing in the essence of him. It was a smell that had always signified love and protection. She began to cry quietly—from the pain, from the fear and finally for everything s
he had lost.

  She drew in several deep breaths to staunch her tears. When she stopped weeping, her eyelids felt too heavy to lift. Her last conscious thought was that it was just a matter of time before all her nightmares where Peter was concerned came true and all her dreams of Hunter would shatter.

  * * *

  HUNTER THOUGHT MAYBE a bowl of soup with some crackers might taste good to her. He had both chicken noodle and tomato. Since he had no clue which one she might like, he pulled them both out of his pantry along with a box of saltines.

  He then sat at the table to await her return. Her...not Ainsley, but Colette. He was still trying to wrap his head around everything he’d learned about her.

  His thoughts were disjointed and his emotions were all over the place. Anger battled with disappointment and created an enormous sense of loss inside him.

  If she’d lied to him about her name and where she was from, what else had she lied about? Had her kisses been a lie? When she told him that she cared about him, had that been a fabrication?

  Had she gone out with him in the first place thinking that dating a deputy was smart given her circumstances? Was it a case of keeping her friends close and her enemies closer? Had she gone out with him simply because she thought he would keep her safe?

  He couldn’t figure out what was real and what wasn’t where she—Colette, not Ainsley—was concerned.

  She should have returned to the kitchen by now. She’d had plenty of time to unpack. A small bell of alarm rang in his head. He got up and walked through the living room and then paused and listened.

  There was no sound coming from his bedroom. Had she opened a window and taken off? Had she decided that running was better than trusting him? He hurried down the hallway and stopped short in the doorway, relief flooding through him. She hadn’t run—she’d fallen asleep.

  She was on her back, her dark hair fanned out against his pillow. She looked beautiful in sleep. All the worry and stress lines were gone from her face.

  It had all seemed so real with her. He’d really believed he’d tasted her desire for him in her kisses. When they’d made love, he’d truly believed she was falling in love with him.

  Had it all been an act? Had she just been using him all along? He couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets she might have, although the ones he’d already learned were devastating enough.

  The doubts about her and her actions since coming to town created a pool of deep disappointment and loss inside him. He was so deeply in love with her, and now he didn’t know what to do with that love.

  There was no reason to wake her. No matter how confused he was about everything, the beating she’d taken the night before had been real. The deep-purple bruise on her chin was very real, and it ticked him off that apparently her ex-husband had gotten to her, had beaten her and would have probably killed her if Ben hadn’t intervened.

  At least she should be safe here. He hated like hell that he had to work the next day, but three deputies were out with the flu, leaving the department too shorthanded for him to take the day off. Still, his locks were good and sturdy. He’d tell all of his fellow officers to do frequent drive-bys, but he also wanted them to be working on finding Peter Waverly. That was the only way she would be completely safe.

  He turned away from the bedroom and returned to the living room. He sat in his recliner, and Zeus immediately jumped into his lap.

  He stroked Zeus’s fur. “I know you like her, buddy, but I don’t see how this ends.” He was so confused and his emotions were still all over the place where she was concerned. If they wound up catching Peter and getting him behind bars, then Colette would be free to pursue her life anywhere with anyone she wanted.

  What he feared was that when this was all over, it would once again just be him and Zeus alone again.

  * * *

  PETER SAT ACROSS from Sheila in the busy café. It was dinnertime, and the place was packed. Word had gotten out that Ainsley Meadows had been beaten up the night before by her ex-husband, and all the conversations around him seemed to be about that.

  “That’s terrible about that poor woman getting beat up,” Sheila said as they waited for their orders to be delivered.

  “Isn’t it though,” he said with a straight face.

  “Thank God you aren’t that kind of man,” Sheila said. “All the other men I’ve been with have beat the hell out of me, but you’re nice to me.”

  Peter forced a smile to his lips. “You’re easy to be nice to, Sheila.”

  “Are you going to score me a little dessert later tonight?” she asked coyly. She looked at him with eyes that begged and burned with need.

  He knew “a little dessert” meant drugs. “I’ll have to see what’s available.” Once again he thought of what a pig she was...driven by her addictions and with no desire to change. She disgusted him. She was weak, and he had no understanding or compassion for weak people.

  “I’m falling for you, Hank. I’ve got to say I’m really falling for you.” She smiled at him.

  Even her smile was a huge turn-off, displaying bad and missing teeth. How could she really believe that a man like him would be remotely interested in a woman like her?

  Their food arrived, and they’d only been eating for a few minutes when two of the deputies from the sheriff’s department walked in.

  They each had a photo in their hands and they were going from each booth to each table and questioning each and every diner. As one of them, Deputy Nick Marshall, approached his table, Peter felt no tension whatsoever.

  He was so much smarter than the law enforcement in this one-pony town. He was smarter than most people. “Evening, folks.” Deputy Marshall stepped up next to their table.

  “Evening,” Peter replied. “What’s going on?”

  “We’re checking with people to see if anyone has seen this man.” Deputy Marshall showed Peter a picture of himself. Peter frowned. “No, I haven’t seen him.”

  Sheila looked at the picture and slowly shook her head. “I haven’t ever seen him before. Is that the man who beat up the waitress who worked here?”

  Deputy Marshall nodded and then looked at Peter once again. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

  Peter half rose in his seat and held out his hand. The deputy took his hand and the two men shook. “I’m Hank Bridges. I bought the old pig farm just outside the city limits.”

  Marshall nodded his head. “I know the place. How long have you been there?”

  “Maybe three months or so,” he replied. “The place needs a lot of cleanup, and I’m working on it.”

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you and welcome to town,” the deputy said and then moved on to the next table.

  Peter went back to eating his meal. Oh yes, he was smart enough to know how to get his revenge against the woman who had left him.

  He knew where his daughter was, and he knew where Colette was located. He was going to get her. He was going to make her pay. It was just a matter of time. A sweet rush of pleasure shot through him.

  “Are you going to eat those French fries?” Sheila asked and gestured to the potatoes left on his plate.

  “No, help yourself,” he replied and pushed his plate closer to her. Eat up, he thought. It would just make the pigs happier. Sheila first...and then Colette.

  Oink. Oink.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Colette awoke to semidarkness in the room. For a moment she was confused as to where she was and what was going on. Then it all slammed back into her.

  Peter was someplace in town. She was in Hunter’s bed, and Hunter knew all her secrets. She rolled over and sat up and tried to ignore the sharp pain in her wounded ribs. Right now the wound in her heart hurt just as badly.

  She got up, and her stomach growled with hunger. She had no idea what time it was, but she hadn’t eaten anything all day. While she’d just
like to sleep all night to escape her depressing emotions, she was wide-awake now and needed something to eat.

  What she really needed was Hunter’s arms around her. She needed him to hold her tight against his warm, strong body. She wanted him to whisper in her ear that he loved her and everything was going to be all right. But she knew that wasn’t going to happen. He probably hated her now.

  She left the bedroom and went into the living room, where the lights were on in anticipation of nightfall. Hunter wasn’t in the living room.

  She found him in the kitchen, seated at the table with a cup of coffee before him. As she entered the room, Zeus danced at her feet. She bent down and gave him a quick scratch behind his ears.

  “I was wondering how long you might sleep,” Hunter said. He got up from the table and walked over to open the back door and let Zeus outside. He then returned to the table.

  She stood by the table but didn’t sit. “I took a pain pill and only intended to lie down for a few minutes, but I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

  “You must be starving,” he said. She felt his distance in his tone, in the blankness of his eyes. She supposed she should have expected it.

  “I am hungry,” she replied.

  “I thought maybe soup and crackers might sound good to you,” he said and got up from the table.

  “Actually, that sounds perfect.”

  “Why don’t you sit and I’ll get it for you.” He pointed to the chair across from where he had been seated.

  “You don’t have to wait on me,” she protested.

  “I don’t mind. All I need to know is if you want chicken noodle or tomato soup. I’m afraid those are the only kinds I have.”

  “Tomato sounds good. Thank you.” She sat at the table and watched him as he got the can of soup, fixed it in a soup bowl and then put it in the microwave to warm.

  As the microwave hummed, Hunter opened a package of crackers and placed a handful of them on a saucer. As he worked, he made no eye contact with her, and a heavy silence hung between them.