“…anyone called the…?”
“What was she doing out there?”
And that last question stuck in his head. An excellent question. What had Ursula Manning been thinking to run onto a live firing range like that? And where had she come from? Had she been running from her husband?
Someone gripped his forearm. He realized it was being shaken hard in an attempt to get his attention. Nancy Bell swam into focus. Her wide, pale eyes looked enormous. She looked from him to the gun still clutched in his hand.
“Oh, my God, Drew. Do you think you killed her?”
Chapter Two
Yesterday, news of the shooting had reached the diner less than half an hour after Brie started her shift. Details had been vague and wildly exaggerated as usual, but Brie couldn’t imagine anyone, let alone the perfectly behaved Andrew Pierce, standing on the gun range with an Uzi submachine gun.
He was back in town to stay. Excitement warred with fear. She tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. In four years he’d only made one halfhearted attempt to contact her after he left town for graduate school. Still, she was extremely thankful she’d left the firing range when she had. What if she’d run into Drew there?
Her heart gave a foolish lurch. Not that it had been likely, given the size of the crowd.
She hadn’t slept much last night as a result of her chaotic thoughts and today she had agreed to pull a double shift. Tiredly, she lifted the laden serving tray. The diner had been filled since she’d come on duty. People stopped by for a quick bite or something to drink or simply to share the news with anyone who hadn’t yet heard about yesterday’s incident at the gun range. The town had seen too much of this sort of excitement lately. Evil seemed to have set up housekeeping in Moriah’s Landing.
Three women had been murdered since the start of the year, their bodies brutally displayed for her friend, Elizabeth Douglas Ryan, to discover. Then, when a stalker went after another of her friends, Katherine “Kat” Ridgemont, people learned that the town’s prodigal son, Jonah Ries, was an undercover FBI investigator looking into the secret society that most of the local scientists were rumored to belong to. And now Jonah and Kat planned to marry. While happy for Kat, Brie couldn’t understand what was happening to their once peaceful town.
She set burgers and fries in front of Dodie and Razz. The local youths delighted in their reputation as the terrors of the neighborhood. Hard to believe Razz was her age. Even harder to believe that she had once accepted a date with him. She hated waiting on him and he knew it.
Normally, the two hung out at the arcade, but occasionally they came in for a sandwich. They were rude, noisy and never tipped. Razz liked to leer at her because he knew it made her angry, but he was careful not to take it any further than that. He hadn’t forgotten how successfully she’d fought him off that night in his car any more than she had. And she’d made it perfectly clear she’d do a lot worse if he bothered her again.
She suspected the pair were behind a lot of the mischief that had been going on here at the waterfront. It defied logic that they hadn’t been caught doing something illegal by now.
“That was a lot of blood, man,” Dodie was saying.
“Arterial blood,” Razz agreed, knowingly. “Bet she didn’t survive the ambulance run.”
“Think they’ll arrest Drew Pierce?”
A chill snaked down her back.
Razz gave his younger friend a hard shove.
“Don’t be stupid,” Razz growled. “Nobody touches the almighty Pierce family. Besides, there were lots of witnesses who can claim it was the woman’s own fault.”
“Including us,” Dodie said smugly.
“Shut up, stupid.” Razz gave him another shove and a kick under the table. Deliberately, he stared hard at Brie. “We didn’t get there until it was all over.”
He was lying, and boldly daring her to contradict him. Brie was tempted. She wouldn’t put much past the pair. Not even an accidental murder.
“Will there be anything else?” she asked politely.
“Yeah. Ketchup,” Razz sneered.
She picked up the bottle sitting inches from his left hand and plopped it in front of him. Without another word she turned away.
What she wouldn’t give to be able to go home and put her feet up. Maybe then her head would stop pounding. Then again, probably not. What she needed was sleep—something she hadn’t been able to achieve after talking with her mother’s doctor yesterday. His confirmation of her worst fears had left her too upset to even cry. Her mother was dying and there wasn’t a thing anyone could do.
Research was being done here in Moriah’s Landing, but clinical trials were a long way off yet. Even if the experimental procedure had been available, Brianna didn’t know how she could possibly pay for anything not covered by her mother’s medical plan. Last semester she’d gone back to college again for the first time since dropping out, determined to complete her degree. But if her mother’s medical bills were about to escalate, Brie didn’t see how she could continue. She’d need to purchase school supplies next month with money she didn’t have yet.
Going home early wasn’t an option today or any other day.
She pushed at another strand of hair drooping moistly against her forehead. A shorter style would be so much easier to manage. Maybe she’d ask her mother to help her chop some of it off tonight. Good haircuts were expensive—another luxury she couldn’t afford.
Rubbing her temple, she walked over to the booth where Rebecca Smith stared vacantly at a menu. A newcomer to town, Becca worked at Threads, the seamstress shop over on Main Street. Brie had been immediately drawn to the quiet woman the moment they met. The attractive blonde appeared to be close to her own age and Brie missed the tight-knit friendship she’d shared with Drew’s sister, Tasha, Elizabeth Ryan, Kat Ridgemont and Claire Cavendish. Even though Elizabeth and Tasha lived on the wealthy side of town, the five women had become close friends over the years. Tasha’s death five years ago, when her fiancé’s boat exploded, had hit them all hard. Especially since it had come on the heels of Claire’s abduction from St. John’s Cemetery the night of their college hazing.
Brie had never forgiven herself for allowing Claire to go inside the haunted mausoleum that night. They had all been scared, but Claire was the sensitive one, the one least able to fend for herself. Brie had always been stronger and street-smart. Maybe she could have fended off the person who kidnapped, then tortured poor Claire. But Claire had drawn the marked piece of paper and had insisted on going through with the ritual. And she had gone insane as a result of what had happened to her. Claire was better now, even living at home once more, but Brie wasn’t sure she would ever fully recover. They may not have seen the legendary Leary’s ghost that night, but he’d cursed them just the same.
While Brie’s friends stopped by the diner periodically, they were all living vastly different lives now. Elizabeth was happily married to Cullen Ryan, and Kat had finally captured the attention of Jonah Ries. Brie was honestly happy for her friends, but she was a bit envious all the same.
“Hey, Brie,” Becca greeted.
Brie smiled back. “Hey, yourself.”
“Is it true? Was someone killed out at the firing range yesterday?”
Brie shrugged unhappily. “That’s what everyone is saying.”
“You didn’t see it happen?”
“No, thank heavens. I wasn’t there very long.”
“I heard Andrew Pierce was involved. Isn’t he the man who’s going to run against Mayor Thane?”
“Yes,” she admitted, reluctant to think, let alone talk about Drew. “What can I get you today?”
Fortunately, as the bell over the door continued to chime, she had little time to chat. The day stretched on, but at least she was busy. Brie collected dirty dishes from a vacated booth, pocketing a generous tip gratefully. People were still waiting to be seated so she hurried. As she turned around her tray struck a passing arm.
She trie
d to steady the load, but a glass tipped, splashing her with the remains of a soda and ice. Hands suddenly steadied the tray from the other side. Dishes clattered together. Total catastrophe was narrowly averted.
She looked up and her words of thanks lodged in her throat. Instead of dishes, it was her world that came crashing down around her feet. People, sounds, even the heat faded away as she stared at the man holding the other side of her tray. Pain splintered the fragile wall she’d erected around her memories.
He wasn’t supposed to be here. Not here in the diner. This was her part of town!
Andrew Pierce’s impossibly brilliant blue eyes stared at her in shock.
“Brie?”
The sound of her name on his lips raised a lump of longing at the back of her throat. Drew stood there and she couldn’t utter a sound.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
His incredulous expression made it a whole lot easier to swallow the emotions churning inside her. She sensed his pity and that steadied her. Conscious of the room full of people, she settled for a terse reply.
“I work here. What are you doing? Out slumming?”
Again fluttered unspoken in the heavy air.
Dusky red climbed his neck.
Good. How dare he come here now? See her like this? In her fantasies they met one day in Salem or Boston or some other big city where she was a respected attorney. She would, of course, be perfectly dressed and not at all troubled by the sight of the only man she had ever loved.
His eyes narrowed. She couldn’t help but notice that his thick black lashes were still tipped with gold—just like her daughter’s.
“I came to see if the diner still carries that incredible blackberry pie,” Drew said bitterly.
If he’d slapped her, she couldn’t have been more hurt. Her hands trembled and the dishes clattered, threatening to fall once more. Memories of sharing blackberry pie and long conversations with Drew were painfully raw.
“I’m sorry,” he said so softly she wouldn’t have heard the words if she hadn’t seen his lips move.
“Andrew?”
Long, slender fingers rested against the skin of his lightly tanned bare arm. Brie felt as though those perfectly manicured nails had stabbed her soul. She hadn’t realized Drew wasn’t alone. She followed the nails up the arm to the face of the lovely woman at his side and discovered there were two curious men at his back, as well.
“Hello,” the woman said in a deep, pleasant contralto. “I’m Nancy Bell, Andrew’s…publicist.”
“Really?” The back of her throat actually ached. “How nice for both of you. Trying to change his image should prove quite a challenge. Have a seat and someone will be with you in a moment.”
“Ouch!” she heard Carey Eldrich exclaim.
“What on earth did you do to her, big brother?” Zachary Pierce demanded.
Brie didn’t hear his reply. She pushed her way clear, the dishes rattling dangerously. Drew’s stare burned a hole in her back all the way out to the hot, noisy kitchen where she nearly collided with Lois, the other waitress on duty.
“Whoa there!”
“Sorry.”
“Hey, kid, you look awful.”
“Thanks.” Just what she wanted to hear.
“You’re supposed to serve that stuff, not shower in it. Let me have the tray. That headache’s really getting to you, isn’t it?”
At the reminder, her headache returned with gleeful malice.
“Would you do me a favor, Lois? Another party just came in and I need to go take something. Would you cover their table for me?”
“Sure, kid. If you’re going to break down and take medication that must be some headache. You want to go home? I can probably manage alone. I think we’ve already fed the town twice over.”
More than anything in the world she wanted to go home.
“Thanks, Lois, but I’ll be fine. If you’d just take the new table…”
“Sure. Why don’t you go to the office and rest for a couple of minutes?”
“I’m okay.”
And she would be. Eventually. It was just the shock of seeing him again like that when she hadn’t expected it. What was he doing here? Why here of all places?
And why did seeing him again still have to hurt so much?
She refused to hide. It wasn’t like she could change into someone other than a tired waitress. But taking a few minutes to wipe off the sticky cola and pull herself together wasn’t hiding. And running a brush through her wild tangle of hair was hardly primping. She didn’t bother replacing the makeup the heat had melted away hours ago.
She’d take a pain reliever and go back out front, hold her head up and do her job. She had nothing to be ashamed of. She wasn’t a lawyer, but she was an excellent waitress.
If only were the saddest words she knew.
She swallowed two pain relievers dry and leaned her head against the cool metal filing cabinet, closing her eyes. But that only sharpened the images from the past.
Drew, laughing down at her.
Drew, flirting with her.
Listening to her.
Hungry for her.
Kisses hotter than any fire. Hands that sought—then found. Incredible sensations. Pleasure and need so explosively raw it trembled on the edge of the world.
The moan startled her.
Her moan. And with it came a longing so poignant it brought the threat of tears even closer.
“What am I doing?”
She straightened away from the filing cabinet. Nearly four years and the memories were still so vivid they could make her moan out loud. Her eyes burned with foolish tears. She would not let him do this to her. Never again. Drew was yesterday. Brie lived in today. Family, work, school—this was her reality.
Squaring her shoulders, she took several deep breaths until she could shut off the past. She had given her word and she wasn’t going to break it now. Andrew Pierce was out of her league and out of her life. While she couldn’t pretend he was just another male, she could go out there and face him without collapsing. Everything would be okay.
As long as Drew never learned that he was the father of her child.
No one must ever learn that secret. She would die before she’d lose her daughter to the mighty Pierce family.
“I’M SORRY, WHAT DID YOU SAY?”
Drew forced his attention back to Nancy and discovered she wasn’t the only one watching him with speculative eyes.
“I asked you if she was an old girlfriend,” Nancy said lightly.
“No. Just a friend.” Girlfriends were women you took to concerts or movies or parties. You did more with a girlfriend than talk with them and walk with them and buy them an ice-cream cone. Sadly, that pretty much summed up his relationship with Brianna. He’d never taken her anywhere—except on the public beach.
That memory still had the power to shame him.
He’d been twenty-four, stifled by his family and all the demands being placed on him. The year after Tasha’s death had been hard for all of them, and being home for an entire month that summer, at loose ends, edgy, angry, frustrated, he’d let Carey drag him to a party. He hadn’t wanted to attend. It had felt wrong to laugh and have fun when his sister was dead. But once he’d seen Brianna standing across the room, he hadn’t wanted to leave.
He’d definitely been a moth to the red-gold flame of her hair. He hadn’t known, then, she was his sister’s gawky, freckled-faced friend. There had been nothing gawky about Brianna that night. As if pulled by an invisible wire, he’d gone forward to cull her from the group, finding a relatively quiet corner where they could talk.
And talk they did. She was like no one he had ever met, laughing up at him with bright green eyes that sparkled with good-humored mischief.
Brianna. So vibrantly alive. The name had rippled in his mind, stirring the ghost of a memory, but he’d been too distracted to concentrate on anything besides her. She teased him over his stuffy manners, then vivaciously argu
ed his family’s more conservative views. She was bright, witty and incredibly easy to talk to. Best of all, she wasn’t the least bit impressed at being in the company of a Pierce.
She had no idea what that alone was worth to him. She made him think, with her uncanny insight into people and actions. And she made him laugh—deep, honest laughter from the heart. And as the hours slipped away, he felt more freely alive than he had in a very long time.
She wouldn’t let him take her home. She wouldn’t give him her telephone number, not even when he used every ounce of his highly reputed charm. Brianna merely smiled. Drew had been convinced men would willingly die for that smile.
Shockingly, he’d wanted her, right there in the midst of that noisy crowd. He’d never had a jealous bone in his body until that night, but he realized he didn’t want her sparkling like that in front of all those other panting males. He cut them off with a look. Especially Carey. His friend’s reputation with women was legendary and Drew wanted Brianna all to himself.
He learned pathetically little about her that night. She was good at deflecting his questions. She was attending Heathrow College, determined to be a lawyer, but by the time she disappeared from the party, he’d wanted to know so much more. Brianna Dudley was a witch and Drew didn’t mind in the least being firmly under her spell.
Until Carey pointed out why her name was familiar. Brianna was Brie, his sister’s young friend! Since he hadn’t spent much time at home over the past several years, there was no reason for him to recognize the gorgeous young woman she’d become. She was a local girl who lived with her mother on the other side of town by the wharf. She was attending the prestigious local college, but only because she’d received a full scholarship.
Somehow, having been Tasha’s friend put Brianna out of bounds. But it didn’t stop his attraction. Despite his resolve, he couldn’t stay away from her. His family’s potential displeasure if they found out about the relationship probably played at least a small part in the fact that he continued to see her—on a purely platonic basis.
He spent lots of time eating pie at the Beachway Diner. Brie flirted lightly and so did he, glad she never took him seriously. That made it a little easier to ignore the enticing curves of her body and the way she always smelled so clean and fresh.
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