Hidden in Shadow

by Georgia Florey-Evans

  “I’m taking you out to O’Leary’s tomorrow night. We’re celebrating.” His smile faded and the look that appeared in his eyes weakened Holly’s knees. “I love you very much, Holly.”

  She steadily returned his gaze. “I love you, too.”

  Luke lowered his face to hers and stopped with their lips barely touching. “My love.” He laced his fingers through her hair and kissed her. Really kissed her. Holly could feel the love Luke had been waiting to show her for a long time, and she returned it with joy. The kiss deepened, and his arms slid down and held her tightly for just a brief moment. His lips slowly left hers as he loosened his hold.

  The look on her face had to be mirroring the one on his. It was full of wonder and happiness. Holly had never even imagined any feeling could be this intense.

  “You’d better go.” She reluctantly took a small step backward. Now wasn’t the time to start something they had no intention of following through with. Holly didn’t want anything to mar their relationship.

  His hands trailed down her arms as he released her. “I’ll call Dad to come pick me up. Will you be okay?”

  “Tess will be home anytime.” Her knees still felt weak as she managed to turn and walk away. They shook the entire time she dug her keys out of her purse. “Take my rental car. We can get it all squared away tomorrow.”

  His thumb captured her fingers as she handed him the keys. “Okay.”

  It was all she could do not to step up to him and take up where they’d left off, but she dug deep for strength and lowered her hand beside her.

  His eyes told her he shared her inner struggle. “Goodbye, Holly.”

  “Goodbye, Luke.”

  She walked to the door and waited as he pulled out of the driveway and drove away. Her heart was soaring. God answered her prayers in a much better way than she ever expected.

  The door was barely closed when a knock sounded on it. Luke was probably back; they’d forgotten to make arrangements for Clarence. She still wanted him nights, even though she no longer needed his protection.

  She walked to the door and was smiling brightly as she opened it. She couldn’t stop the strong arms that grabbed her, or the hand that held the sweet-smelling cloth over her nose and mouth. Her world faded.

  Chapter 42

  Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. It was a good thing the scripture didn’t specify it had to be on-key because Luke was slaying his favorite hymn as he walked through the back door of his house. There was an excellent reason Luke had never joined the choir, and the look on Clarence’s face said he would attest to that. The poor dog was liable to start howling in agony any moment.

  He couldn’t remember ever feeling this happy before. Holly was finally safe, and she was in love with him. His prayers were being answered.

  “Before too long, you’ll get to be with Holly as much as you want,” he told Clarence. “We’ll be a family.”

  A family. Holly would marry him, and when they were ready, they would have children. Holly would have his children. That was a blessing he’d never dared to contemplate before. His heart soared.

  Then he thought of Tom Dwer. Luke needed to let go of the anger he felt toward the man and try to forgive him. Tom was obviously disturbed. Something nobody knew about might have happened to him, to cause him to do the things he’d done. No matter what, he would get the help he needed now.

  Did Tom have any family still around here? Luke seemed to remember his parents and sister moving away shortly after graduation. He hadn’t known where Tom went, or what he was going to do. And he hadn’t bothered to find out.

  His ringing phone pulled him out of his musings.

  “Hello?”

  “Luke, are you still with Holly?” Mitch was unusually abrupt.

  “No. I’m at home. Why?”

  “She’s in danger. Tom is not her stalker.”

  Luke couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “But he was there, at her house. And the locker...He was at Holly’s house.”

  Mitch spoke firmly. “He was at Holly’s, trying to tell her who her stalker is.”

  Luke’s heart jumped into his throat. This couldn’t be happening. “Who is he?”

  Chapter 43

  Holly felt like her mouth was full of cotton as she slowly managed to open her eyes. What happened? Had she passed out? No. She had to think. Remember. Luke left. He had come back...It hadn’t been Luke. Somebody grabbed her.

  She quickly sat up, only to be stopped by thick strips pressing painfully against her skin. Terror started to overcome her as she realized she was tied to some sort of chair.

  No. She had to calm down. Panicking would not help. She looked around the room. The Victorian armchair she was sitting on matched the sofa and love seat a few yards away. As her eyes scanned the room, she wondered if maybe this wasn’t some sort of dream after all.

  The room looked like a picture taken from a storybook. There were throw pillows and knickknacks...even magazines spread out made it look like somebody lived there. There were pictures on the wall, including what appeared to be enlarged snapshots and family photographs. One of them caught her eye.

  “What?” she whispered. It was a photograph of Luke and Holly taken after her college graduation. Only it wasn’t Luke’s smile she saw. Another face had been edited in. It was...

  “Ah, my Holly. How are you?” Kevin Tripp walked into the room and sat on the sofa as if nothing were out of the ordinary. “It’s been a long day, hasn’t it?”

  This wasn’t happening. Holly couldn’t process it. Kevin Tripp was sitting with one arm across the back of the sofa and his legs casually crossed, making conversation with her—while she was tied to a chair. Though she tried to stop them, hysterical giggles bubbled up and burst forth.

  They turned into full blown laughter when he sat, unmoving, staring at her with a silly smile on his face. He reminded her of a mannequin. If she weren’t tied up, she’d walk over there and poke him in the stomach to see if he was alive. That thought added to the hilarity, and her hysterics increased. She may never stop laughing. He would be sorry he kidnapped a lunatic. Kidnapped. She’d been kidnapped.

  Slowly, Holly came back to her senses. She wasn’t going to accomplish anything this way. She needed to be rational and use her brain if she were going to get out of this. She took a deep, calming breath.

  “Kevin, you don’t have to do this. I’ll be your friend.”

  He acted as if he hadn’t heard her. “What would you like for dinner this evening? I thought I’d cook something special for our celebration.”

  She had a horrible idea of what they were celebrating. But maybe, if she played along, she could get out of this mess.

  “I’m not hungry, thank you.” Holly tried to smile. “But I’ll help you in the kitchen. If you just untie me, so I can get up.”

  “You know; I knew on the very first day we worked together, how you felt about me.”

  Keep him talking. Maybe help would come. “How did you know?”

  Kevin smiled happily. “You looked at me. I saw the way you looked at me. It was in your eyes, as plain as day.”

  Was he serious? “Do you mean when we were partners on the project in Adult Living? In high school?”

  He chuckled. “Of course, it was our secret, wasn’t it? All those smiles, secret touches, longing looks…It was nearly impossible to contain our feelings, the love was so strong. We were teenagers, though. Now, we’re adults, My Holly, so we can show each other how we really feel.”

  “We were working on assignments. I may have smiled, or even touched your hand when I gave you a paper. But what you’re describing is in your imagination.”

  “You loved me then, and you love me now.” Kevin seemed certain of his claim. “You told me marriage lasts forever, and then you signed it. Now, all we have to do is honor those promises we made to each other.”

  What was he talking about? Since the purpose of the assignment was to show them what it would be like to live as adults,
the teacher had instructed them to complete assignments like real couples would. And had the subject of marriage come up in a discussion, Holly could easily see herself stating it would last forever. But the promises?

  “You’re imagining things. None of that happened—at least, not like you remember. Now, untie me and let me go.”

  “I have a special gown upstairs for you, My Holly. Such a lady, so innocent and pure, saving yourself for me on our wedding night.” Was that really a tear on his face?

  It seemed her tactics were a failure. She only seemed to be feeding into his fantasy.

  “Kevin, listen to me.” It was time to try another approach. “You need help. Let me go, and I’ll find somebody to help you. I promise I’ll get you the help you need.”

  Her heart stopped when he stood. As hard as she willed him to turn around and leave, he slowly walked straight over to her. “You really are beautiful.” He reached out and softly touched her hair.

  Holly’s fingernails dug into her palms as she fought the urge to flinch. “Let me get help for you, Kevin.”

  “My Holly.” Kevin leaned down, and for one horrific moment, Holly was afraid he was going to try to kiss her. Instead, he ran his fingers down the side of her face. “We’re going to be so happy together. We’ll start our family right away.” A look that made her skin crawl appeared in his eyes. “I have our room ready. You’ll like our bed.”

  No! Everything inside of Holly screamed. Somehow, she managed to keep her voice calm and firm. “We will never share a bed, and I’m not having children with you, Kevin. We are not together. You kidnapped me. What you are doing is wrong. Now, let me go.”

  Kevin laughed softly before he turned and walked to the large picture window on the opposite wall. “You’ll like our other home. I know you don’t want me to spoil you, but you deserve our homes. We can stay here when you want to visit your parents.”

  “I’m not going to share even one home with you.” She had a sudden realization. Tom! “Tom Dwer was at my house.” Please, God, don’t let me be wrong. “He knows about you, and he’s with the sheriff. He’ll tell them where we are.”

  He turned and smiled apologetically. “I should have talked to you first, but I invested in a business venture with Tom.” He held up his hand. “I know you’ll say I shouldn’t have, since he used to order me around so much, but now I’ll be the boss. He’ll have to listen to me.” Kevin took a few steps toward her. “Please say you forgive me. Since you’re my wife, Tom works for both of us now, anyway.”

  Tom worked for him? Her hopes plummeted to the ground. She couldn’t give up, though. “I’m not your wife.”

  His smile made her nauseous. “Don’t be silly, my Holly.” He reached into his jean’s pocket and pulled out a ragged looking piece of paper. “You are. See?” He held it down where she could read it.

  It took her a moment to realize what it was. “Kevin, that is the corner of an assignment we did. I only wrote my first name, but you wrote both of yours. Your last name ended up under my first name. Tripp isn’t now or ever was my last name.”

  “Oh, my Holly, this is our wedding day. We’ve waited for this day for a long time.”

  The man was delusional. He had an entire relationship developed in his mind, and something else was wrong—he wasn’t even keeping his fantasy straight. First she was already his wife, and then this was their wedding day. Not that her semi-professional observations made a whit of difference; nothing she said was getting through to him.

  “Please, Kevin. Just let me go.”

  “You know, when you didn’t come home from college right away, I knew why.”

  “Why?” Maybe if she kept him talking, he’d somehow come to his senses, or run out of air and pass out. Either would be fine with her.

  “You wanted to test our love. But, then when you came home that summer, I got your message and followed you back to college.”

  Now, his garden was growing hogweeds “I never gave you any message. I don’t even remember seeing you.”

  “At the pool, my Holly. You told me you didn’t know what you would do without me. I knew you needed me all the time then.” He reverently folded the torn off corner of a ten-year-old school assignment and slid it back into his pocket.

  “What happened before I said that?”

  “I dove in and got your phone.”

  She remembered now. She was showered and dressed, ready to leave, when a boy from another school grabbed her phone and tossed it over the fence. The splash made her feel sick; her parents couldn’t afford to replace it, and she liked the security of having her own phone.

  Then, she saw Kevin dive in, and the next thing she knew he handed her the phone. “Just put some dry rice in with the battery; it’ll be okay.”

  Thank you. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.

  She was going to scream. “Kevin, that was just an expression of gratitude for getting my phone.”

  “And, then, when I saw you with that boy who looked like Luke Walker, I had to let you know I was there to keep you safe. Luke Walker tempts you, my Holly, and so did that boy.”

  “Kevin, please listen and try to understand. This isn’t real. What you think you and I have is not real.”

  He didn’t even seem aware she had said anything.

  “When you graduated, I got the job in China. I told you I would work for a few years and save enough money to keep us in style without having to leave each other to work. But, when I got home, you were gone. And, where do I find you? Back with Luke Walker.”

  He was getting worked up.

  “Kevin—”

  When I saw how Luke Walker stood by and let that man hurt you, I decided he isn’t even worthy of your friendship. And I protected you! I avenged you!”

  Now probably wasn’t the time to announce he hadn’t succeeded; Jack Wallace was still alive. “You murdered a man!” she yelled. “He was in jail and would have paid for his crimes, but you—you’re worse. You’re a murderer, Kevin Tripp! Now, let me go!”

  It was no use; his quartet was shy of four singers. He stepped closer to her. “A love like ours doesn’t come along very often. I’m so happy you love me. We’ll go upstairs soon so you can show me.”

  Holly couldn’t listen to him anymore. She channeled her fear into cold, dark anger. “The only thing I will show you is how hard I’ll fight you off. I have never loved you, and I don’t love you now! I love Luke!”

  Finally, he appeared to process her words. His response was immediate.

  “Luke! Luke Walker is in the way! He’s always in the way, tempting you to stray! He’ll learn you belong to me and realize the truth. And if he doesn’t, I’ll take care of him!”

  Panic struck her. “Don’t hurt Luke. I love him.”

  His returning smile was belied by the anger in his eyes. “We’ll leave for our home in the mountains first thing in the morning, after we enjoy our wedding night. It’s a beautiful house, where nobody will be able to bother us. Once we’re there, you’ll have time to get used to your new life. You’ll be so happy you won’t even want to visit this town again.”

  “Kevin, please.” It was all she could do not to cry. “We aren’t married, and I’m not going anywhere with you. My home is here in Shadow. With Luke.”

  “You’re talking nonsense again, my Holly.” He walked over to the door. “I’ll come back when you’re ready to admit the truth.”

  “If you mean the truth as you see it, you may as well not come back.” Her words were born of desperation.

  He didn’t respond at all as he opened the door.

  Holly had mixed emotions as she watched him leave the room. On one hand, she felt safer with him gone, but on the other, she was alone and defenseless in a strange house, and who knew what he was preparing for her.

  I know I’m asking for a miracle, God, but you perform miracles all the time. Please help me get through to Kevin, or send somebody to save me. Please. I’m so frightened. I know I’m not alone, tho
ugh. You’re with me. You’re with me.

  Holly couldn’t stop the lone tear from trickling down the side of her face. She was totally at the mercy of Kevin, but God was right there with her. She had hope.

  Chapter 44

  “I don’t care how busy you are,” Mitch spoke sternly into the phone. “Pull everything you have on Kevin Tripp. I want to know where he was the last time he sneezed.”

  Luke tried to ignore the desperation he could hear in his friend’s voice because it only added to his own. Instead, he focused on the computer screen. Mitch set him up in his office so Luke could do his own research on Kevin. Of course, other police officers were doing the same thing. But at least Luke wasn’t sitting idly by, waiting.

  They had arrived at Holly’s house to find her front door locked, but when Luke let them in with his key, they discovered a too-quiet, completely empty house.

  “Where are you, Holly?” He couldn’t let himself think of what Kevin Tripp might be doing to her.

  Hank stuck his head in the door. “Sheriff?”

  Mitch and Luke both looked at the young deputy. “Did somebody find something on Tripp?” Mitch asked.

  “Not that I know of,” Hank replied. “But, I’ve finally poured enough coffee down Tom Dwer that he’s making sense.”

  “I’ll be right in to question him.” Mitch stood up. “Hank?” The deputy came back to the door. “Good work.”

  Hank nodded. “I’d hate to see something bad happen to Holly. She’s a special lady.” He smiled grimly at Luke. He turned and walked away.

  Everybody who knew Holly cared about her; she was that kind of person.

  “I know it’s breaking protocol, but please, Mitch. Let me go in there with you.” Luke couldn’t bear the thought of waiting and not knowing what was being said.

  Mitch gave him a measuring look. “Technically, he’s not under arrest. I’ll bend the rules on this one. Come on.”