“It’s got your name on it,” David said. “So we didn’t open it.”
“It was in the bag?”
“Yes, mixed in amongst the papers.” He lifted a brow. “You haven’t seen it?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t go through the bag very carefully. I just needed the money and the will. I didn’t care about the other stuff.” She studied the envelope, then slipped her fingernail under the flap. “But I don’t remember seeing this.” How had she missed it? The envelope contained one sheet: a letter. Typed in the same font as her name. She took a deep breath and scanned the words.
The more she read, the more she paled. Adam wondered at the contents and had to refrain from snatching it from her now trembling fingers. “What does it say, Dani?”
Adam exchanged a look with the other three at the table. Each face held concern. And each person didn’t want to butt in until she was finished.
She ignored his question for the next two minutes. Then she handed him the letter. “You can read it out loud. I don’t think I can.”
Adam glanced at the print. “‘My dear Danielle, I hope you never have to read this, but just in case I die, I wanted to let you know that you won’t have to grieve long.’” Adam stopped and glanced up at her. She stared at the table, her expression stoic, blank.
He continued. “‘You know my job is dangerous, it’s never safe. I take risks every day. Risks that ensure I’m making huge deposits in the bank for our future. They’re risks you’ll never know about, of course, but one day those risks might get me killed. Naturally, I’m not planning on it, but you never know. One other thing. You may think I’m not aware of Stuart’s obsession with you, but I am. Let me make myself clear, Dani. Only you hold the key to my heart. There’s no one else for me and there’s no one else for you. He will never have you. Once Stuart finally realizes that, he will understand that I will always win and he will always lose. I’ll see you soon, my darling. Kurt.’”
The silence echoed around the table.
Finally Blake spoke. “Sounds like he didn’t have all of his marbles in the circle.”
Adam placed the letter on the table. “Dani? What are your thoughts?”
She looked up, her face pale, eyes conflicted. “It’s a very oddly worded letter.”
“What do you mean?”
Her frown deepened. “Just the words. They don’t sound like him, his speech pattern, if that makes any sense. For example, he would never say I hold the key to his heart. Why would he write that?”
Adam rubbed a hand down the side of his face, thinking. “There are two lines in there that bother me the most. The ones where he says ‘you won’t have to grieve long.’ And then the last one. ‘I’ll see you soon, my darling.’ Kurt was abusive, we know that.” She flinched and nodded, and his heart ached in a strange way he didn’t have time to examine. “But it sounds like he might have arranged to have someone kill you in the event of his death. Would he do something like that?”
It wasn’t a question he really needed to ask. He already figured he knew the answer to it. But he did wonder what Dani would say.
She raised a hand to rake it through her shortened hair. For a moment she didn’t answer. Then she stood and walked over to the water pitcher on the counter. After filling a glass, she turned. Her pale, pinched features worried him, but she simply took a sip of the water and said, “Yes.”
Adam nodded.
David raised a brow and looked at Summer, who blew out a breath.
“All right, then. Who?” Adam asked.
“I have no idea.” Dani came back to the table and took her chair. “I can’t believe this. I thought … when I heard Kurt was dead, I—” She cut off her words with a shudder. “I didn’t want him to die, I just wanted to be free of him, but when I was told that he’d been killed, I know it was wrong, but the first emotion I felt was—” She bit off the words and her pleading gaze angered Adam.
Not anger with her, of course, but with the whole situation that selfish, arrogant—
He stopped his thoughts and took a deep breath. “Relief, right?”
Agony in her eyes, she nodded.
“You don’t have to explain anything, Dani.” Adam reached over to squeeze her fingers. “He was a monster. And while you might not have wanted him dead, you had every right to want to be free of him.”
“But he is dead and I’m still being held prisoner by him.”
“Then we’ll have to come up with a way to figure out who Kurt would have hired to carry out his wishes,” Summer said. She shot a concerned glance at Dani.
Dani looked back down at the table, then lifted her gaze to meet the eyes of each of them. She said, “He didn’t have many friends. At least not true friends. He had people who were afraid of him and would do things for him because of that. But someone who would kill for him?” She shook her head. “I have no idea. I truly believe Kurt was mentally ill. He wouldn’t admit it, of course, and I couldn’t encourage him to get help without getting a fist in the face. So I stopped trying. Instead, I plotted and planned and scraped together funds that would enable me to leave him. And then he died and Stuart started in with his craziness.” She pulled in a deep breath. “And now my dead husband is still trying to control me from the grave.” She stood and paced from one end of the kitchen to the other. “But why wait six months?”
“Good question,” Blake said.
“So we have more questions than answers right now,” David said. “The letter explains a lot, like the fact that Dani’s truly in danger. We’ll keep her under wraps while we investigate who would be willing to carry out a hit for Kurt.”
“Someone who owes Kurt a favor and would want to follow through with paying him back even if Kurt were dead,” Summer murmured.
Blake said, “I’ll check into that.” He stood and pulled out his phone. “As soon as I’m done with that, I’ll check the perimeter again.”
“Thanks,” Adam said. He looked at Dani. “What about Stuart? Would he be willing to do that for Kurt?”
Dani snorted. “No. They got along all right on the surface for professional reasons, but Kurt hated Stuart and the feeling was mutual. Everything Kurt did, Stuart wanted to do better. It was like there was this constant competition between the two. Kurt became a cop, Stuart became a cop. Kurt joined the FBI and then Stuart joined the next year. Whenever Kurt received a promotion, Stuart busted his tail to get one too. It was exhausting watching the two of them sometimes.”
Adam studied her. “And does Stuart want Kurt’s wife like Kurt indicated in the letter?”
She stilled and stared at him. “Yes. He does.”
Adam nodded. “It’s fairly obvious that Stuart’s been stalking you. He even chased you until you wrecked your car. Not normal behavior by any stretch of the imagination.” He steepled his fingers. “I wanted to meet this guy myself, to get a read on him, so I went and found him tonight and he warned me away from you. Said you and Simon were his.”
Dani paled even further. He wouldn’t have thought it possible. She sank back into the chair. “You saw him? He said that?”
“He did.”
She covered her face with her hands and let out a shuddering breath. “Yes.” She closed her eyes, then opened them. The anguish there cracked the hard walls around his heart. “He wanted—wants—me. I’d have to be blind not to see it. But I ignored it. After Kurt died, Stuart’s stalking intensified. That’s when I turned to Ron.”
“It definitely could have been Stuart who broke into your house last night.”
She swallowed. “Why do you say that?”
“I can’t say for sure, of course. I confronted him about it. You said he showed up during all of the chaos.”
“Yes.”
“He could have run off, ditched his clothes, and circled back very easily.”
“He could have.”
“And I don’t necessarily believe him just because he said it wasn’t him. Stalkers are some of the best liars out t
here.”
She nodded.
Adam leaned forward. “Whoever got in your house knew your alarm code and the combination to the safe. Does Stuart know those?”
“Yes, I’m sure he does.”
“I thought so. So really, Dani, what does your gut say about it being Stuart?”
“I can’t say with a hundred percent certainty one way or the other. I wondered if it was him, but his voice—” She shook her head. “I just don’t know.”
“From what you’ve said, Kurt and Stuart are a lot alike in personality,” Adam said. “Stuart wants people to think well of him, right?”
“Yes. He and Kurt were very much alike in that regard.” She pursed her lips. “But I think Kurt had more people fooled. I think Kurt was able to keep up the façade better than Stuart. Stuart doesn’t have as much control as Kurt.”
“Control?”
“Over his emotions. He’s more easily angered.”
“I don’t know, Dani. If he’s been obsessed with you for a long time, he’s shown remarkable restraint.”
“That’s because Kurt was alive.”
Adam drew in a deep breath. “And Stuart was afraid of Kurt.”
“Very much so. He wouldn’t admit it, of course, and he put up a pretty good front of bravado, but yes, he was.”
“Okay then. As for someone breaking in your house. It could be he didn’t want to get his hands dirty and hired someone to snatch you.”
She pressed both palms to her eyes. “If he just wanted to take me, why open the safe, why kill Janessa?”
“To make it look like a robbery gone wrong?” David said. “And he wasn’t expecting Janessa to be there. She might have taken him by surprise? He may not have even meant to kill her.”
“Maybe.” Adam narrowed his eyes. “Whoever it was, the fact remains that Stuart thinks you’re his and I don’t think he’s used to not getting what he wants.”
“You’re right. He’s not.” Dani stood, grabbed the letter, and stared at it as she paced to the door and back. “Then Stuart’s not out to kill me, he’s just out to get me.”
16
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 9
In a nervous habit he’d thought he’d kicked, Stuart snapped his fingers as he paced his home office. He wasn’t worried about finding Dani. He’d made sure he could find her whenever he wanted, but he didn’t want to move too soon. He had to think things through, figure out who he could trust to help him get Dani to see the light.
He just didn’t understand why she was running from him. He didn’t want to hurt her, he just wanted her to understand her place was with him.
But what if she never understood that? What if she kept pushing him away?
He shuddered. No, that wouldn’t happen. It couldn’t.
But what if it did?
Stuart wanted to shut the taunting inner voice up. Unfortunately, he couldn’t help wondering. He pictured Dani and tried to imagine his life without her, but couldn’t do it. He’d built this house for her, he’d saved almost every penny he could so he could take her to exotic locations and buy her fine jewelry.
But what if she continued to defy him? Reject him? What if she refused to see things his way?
Stunned, he considered the questions. The thought that he wouldn’t eventually wind up with Dani had never crossed his mind. It had never occurred to him that she would refuse him.
A coldness settled around him and he knew exactly what would have to happen if Dani continued to push him away.
A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. He placed Dani’s picture back on the mantel and went to look through the window.
Her.
He opened the door. “Hello, Butterfly.” Not her real name, of course, but it suited her. “You’re early.”
She pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. “I wanted to see you.”
He sighed and let her in. She went straight to his favorite chair and made herself comfortable. “Have you found Dani yet?”
“No, she’s off the grid for now, but I’m watching and will snag her when she comes back on. Are you still setting yourself up to be her hero?”
Stuart frowned. He never should have said anything to her about his plan. “Why do you care?”
Butterfly got up and walked over to him to wind her arms around his neck and place a kiss on his lips. “You know I’m here for you. Why do you insist on chasing a woman who keeps running from you?”
Stuart bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood. He wanted to push her away. Far, far away. But he still needed her, so he reined in his ire. “It’s not your business.”
Butterfly sighed and dropped her arms. “Why did you pull me from the gang, Stuart? Why didn’t you let me be taken in the raid? Why did you warn me if you weren’t going to keep me for your own?”
“Because I couldn’t leave you there.” She needed to hear the words. “Because there was something about you that I just couldn’t bear to see rot in a prison cell.” He gave her the answer she wanted. They both knew he never would have taken her in if she hadn’t been willing to be used by him. He needed her loyalty, her willingness to do whatever he asked. Right now he had that. He also couldn’t afford for her to suddenly turn on him.
“And yet you don’t want me.” She pouted.
He pulled her to him and kissed her. Hard. Then pushed her away. “Of course I do. And I need you.” Needed her to get to Dani. “Now stop this nonsense. We have work to do.”
“So you’re set on this?”
“Of course. And you said you’d help me.”
“And I did! I followed them to that place. I took a picture of the guy she left with. What else do you want me to do?”
“Set up the next thing. And I need it set up so I come out the hero.”
Butterfly scowled at him for a moment. He could see her hurt, her frustration. But she owed him. She’d never refuse him anything.
“What if she never comes around? What if she doesn’t want to be with you? Ever?”
He paused and stared at her. Hadn’t he just asked himself those very same questions minutes before? Only now, the answer was so simple, so clear. He sank into the leather chair and pulled up his favorite picture of Dani that he’d taken with his phone last Christmas. She had a smile on her face and the usual tension around her eyes had disappeared for a brief moment. He couldn’t remember what had made her laugh, but he’d snapped the picture and kept it. Only right now, it made him sad.
Because if Dani continued to defy him, she’d simply have to die.
Dani stared at the ceiling. She knew it was Tuesday and it was morning. And yet she couldn’t bring herself to crawl out of bed. The sheets felt wonderful, but the feeling of safety felt even better.
Then she remembered why she was there and frowned.
She couldn’t believe the turn her life had taken. Yes, she’d been an abused wife. Yes, she’d lived in fear for twelve years. But even then, at some point, the fear had become the norm. Now Kurt was dead and before she could even regain her footing or find some kind of routine, she’d been knocked for another loop.
The letter had been enough to send Dani skating too close to the edge of insanity. She’d crumpled the note on the table and walked to her room, slipped between the sheets, and promptly fallen asleep.
She couldn’t believe she’d actually slept, but supposed her body had said “enough.” Or maybe she just felt safe for the first time in a long time. No Kurt, no Stuart … she didn’t know. But whatever the reason, she was grateful for the rest.
She didn’t want to move but felt the need to check on Simon. He hadn’t disturbed her during the night, so she hoped that meant he’d slept well too.
Dani sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She padded down the hall and stopped when she spotted Simon’s empty bed. Her pulse rate shot up. “Simon?”
He wouldn’t hear her, of course, but saying his name aloud helped for some strange reason. Where was he? The bathroom?
She checked. Empty.
Dani hurried into the kitchen to find Simon munching on a bowl of cereal and laughing in between bites. Her fear drained away and she stared. Laughing? When was the last time she’d seen Simon laugh? Sorrow gripped her and with supreme effort she pushed it away. She wouldn’t dwell on that.
Adam lifted his hand and made another sign. Dani blinked. She didn’t recognize it. Again Simon laughed. He put down his spoon and shook his head. “No, like this.” He shaped his small hand into the letter A. Then D. Then another A. And finally an M.
Adam copied him and did it well this time.
Simon offered a high five. “Good job.” As Simon brought his arm down, his elbow caught the edge of the bowl. Milk and cereal went flying. Simon shot to his feet, face pale, hands trembling. “I … I’m sorry.”
Dani moved farther into the room, ready to rush to her son’s defense. But she stopped, rooted by the look on Adam’s face.
Complete and utter compassion. “It’s okay. It’s fine.” He placed his thumb against his chest, five fingers spread, pointed upward. “Really, it’s not a problem.”
Simon blinked as though shocked Adam wasn’t angry.
Adam saw her watching. “Can you help me let him know it’s all right?”
She glanced between Simon and Adam. “I think he got the message.”
Adam grabbed a hand towel from the counter and handed it to Simon. Simon took it and began to clean up the mess. Adam pulled some paper towels from the roll and went to help him. Dani simply watched.
Watched them clean and watched her son let down his guard a fraction as he shot wondering looks at Adam in between his swipes. Thank you, Lord, for spilled milk.
When they finished cleaning it up, Simon looked at her, then Adam. To Adam, he said, “You didn’t get mad.”
Adam shrugged. “It was an accident.”
“But—” Simon took a deep breath. “Yes. It was. Thanks for helping me clean it up.”
Adam smiled. “Anytime you need help, you just ask, all right?”
Dani signed the words to make sure Simon understood. He nodded, then slipped past her and down the hall.
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