by Sharon Kay
“Hey, those ladies were the nicest drivers services workers I‘ve ever seen. Back home they all yell at you to go stand in this line or that line.” He opened her door and she hopped in. He joined her a second later. “And that’s another thing. No line? Never see that before.”
“And your picture is good!” she exclaimed, still not believing it. “Everyone else’s looks like a mug shot.”
He jerked his head around to stare at her. All humor dropped from his face. He didn’t seem angry, exactly, but a fierce light flared in his eyes.
“What?” She fought the urge to peek over her shoulder to see if something was behind her. Because he suddenly threw off darkness. “What’s wrong?”
He blinked, then shook his head. “Nothing. Sorry. I thought…thought I left something inside. But uh, I’m good.”
She scanned their seats and the dashboard. “You didn’t bring much in, just some papers—you got those?”
“Yeah. You’re right.” He steered out of the tiny strip mall parking lot where the DMV was located and got onto the two lane road that would take them to the unmarked route. “Just retrace our steps, right?”
“Right.” What just happened? But his face was back to its casual sexiness and he had one hand draped over the wheel, looking perfectly at home in his truck on these country roads. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to dwell on it. Everyone had their quirks. Everyone had their secrets.
They drove back to Sundown, through endless green fields lit with the bright afternoon sun. Rosie relaxed into the leather seat as the time and miles flew by. She could rattle off who owned every patch of land they passed, and could identify each type of crop in the fields. And she felt like she was seeing it all through new eyes. How different this must be for Cruz. She snuck a glance at him. So handsome…and lord, she wanted to drag out this time with him. Would she be too bold if she asked him to get together sometime?
In no time they were back at Marvin’s gas station. Cruz pulled up next to her car and twisted to face her. “Thanks again for showing me that route. It was a nicer way to spend the afternoon than I’d planned.”
“You’re welcome. And yeah.” She smiled and giddiness built as slate blue eyes locked onto her like she was the only thing to see. “It was way more fun than the laundry I had on my schedule.”
He chuckled. “More fun than laundry. Now that’s a compliment.”
She giggled. “Stop it.”
He stretched one muscled arm across the back of the seats. “I really did have a good time. I’d like to see you again.”
Yes, yes, yes, yes! Rosie’s heart flipped. “Sure. That’d be great.”
He grinned and that dimple popped into view. God, that was cute, and he wasn’t exactly the cute type. More like devastatingly hot and dangerous. But then his smile faded. “Though you may have to suggest where we go. Got no clue where to hang out.”
“Hmm, okay. There’s—” She sucked in a breath. “I know! The county fair is next weekend!”
His brows knit. “County fair? Like with rides?”
“Yeah, there’s some rides…wait. Don’t you have fairs up in Chicago?”
His eyes twinkled. “That’d be a no.”
“What? You’ve been missing out!”
He ran a hand over his hair. “Maybe some of the suburbs have them, I don’t know. The city has a lot of street festivals, but I don’t know about a fair. Maybe there is and I just never heard about it.”
“Well, let me tell you, it is the place to be in Redemption County. That’s it. It’s settled. We’re going.” She folded her arms.
“Do they have people trying to grow giant vegetables?”
“They sure do. And a demolition derby.”
He laughed, a rich baritone sound that warmed her insides. “Then I’m there. Now that, I have to see.”
“Demolition derby is what’ll snag you, huh? Got it.”
“And, you know, the present company helps.” He drew out the words, letting them linger in the air. Full of promise.
Oh. She unfolded her arms, lost as to what to say. Cruz was different than anyone she’d met, and something about him screamed that there was so much more to him. Things hidden deep under the tattoos and don’t mess with me shell. She ought to be careful. But gosh. She was drawn to him like he’d snared her tightly and she wasn’t afraid, not one bit.
“Can I get your number? You already have mine.”
“Sure, of course.” She pulled out her phone and sent her contact info to his cell. “Will Saturday night work? I’m off.”
“Saturday it is.” A slow smile tilted his lips. Lips that looked like they could do a hundred naughty things to her. “See you then.”
“Okay.” She hopped out and crossed the few feet to her car. Catching Marvin’s eye through the window, she gave him a wave and got in to her car.
Leaving the station, she turned right to head to her little house, and Cruz continued driving straight. She glanced at his truck in her rearview mirror, still amazed at how the last twenty-four hours had gone.
Her house was just a mile outside town, surrounded by the fields she had told Cruz about. The property had been in her family for years. It was a little square brick two story, with windows on all sides and a front porch with a swing, and she loved it. She’d be there in five minutes—
Her phone trilled from the cup holder where she always kept it. Shane. According to new cell phone laws, she should put him on speaker, but she hated that and he knew it. She slid her finger across the screen to accept the call. “Hi, Shane.”
“Rosie. Where are you?” Her brother’s voice bordered on alarm, which in turn, scared the crap out of her.
“I’m almost home. I’m on Route Forty-five. Why—what’s wrong?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Uh-oh. Had he somehow heard about the three guys who’d harassed her last night? She hadn’t told anyone. She planned to tell Shane, just hadn’t had a chance yet. Crap, had those jerks filed a report—
“Are you still with that new guy?”
“What?” She couldn’t contain her shock. “First of all, no, I’m alone. And second, how did you know I was with him?”
“I stopped in at Marvin’s when I saw your car parked there. Listen, I need to talk to you right now. I’m coming over.”
“Shane what’s going on? You’re worrying me.”
“I have to explain in person. Be right there.” He ended the call.
“What the hell…” she murmured to herself. Shane was never like this. He was calm and controlled, like the former Army sergeant he was. It took a lot to rattle him.
She cruised down the road and turned into her quarter-mile-long driveway. At the halfway point, it turned ninety degrees and continued to the detached garage. She got out and already could see Shane’s car back at the turn off point, following her. Nerves and worry fired along her skin.
He sped toward her and hopped out, papers clutched in his hand. He didn’t even close his door. Didn’t open the passenger door like he usually did for his canine partner. “Denver.” He gave a foreign command, and his massive German shepherd leaped fluidly out after him.
Shane jogged toward Rosie, scrutinizing her. “Thank god. You’re okay.” He folded her into a hug.
She hugged him back, because she sensed he needed reassurance like he needed oxygen. “Of course I am.” She pulled away. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“That new guy? Tattoos, from the city?”
“Yeah. What about him?”
“What do you know about him?” Shane’s eyes, a blue that matched her own, fired with anger.
“He just moved here from Chicago. Um, he works on Palmer’s crew. His name is Christian Zaffino but he goes by Cruz.” She shook her head. “What’s the problem?”
“
Did he tell you where he’s been?”
“What do mean? He lived in the city—“
“Not for the last ten goddamn years.” Shane drew a breath and let it out slowly. She recognized that habit. He was forcing himself to be calm. “Rosie, he was just released from prison.”
Chapter 6
“Wh—?” Rosie’s heart, so recently filled with excitement, dropped like a stone. She couldn’t even form a word, let alone a sentence. Prison? Her breath came in short bursts.
Shane cast a dark glance at the sky. “Guessing Cruz didn’t mention that.”
She shook her head as thoughts jumbled together in her brain. Prison. Oh god. But he was released. That meant he was done? And what had he done…
“I know I sound like a broken record, but are you really okay? He didn’t hurt you?”
“No. He was completely nice. So polite.” Prison? The word repeated in her head like rifle shots that weren’t hitting their target. Over and over, bouncing around with no clear direction.
Shane just stared at her, a mix of compassion, frustration, and anger crossing his face.
No, no, no. Cruz wasn’t a bad man. She knew it. Shane needed to know it too. “You should have seen him at the DMV, he even killed a wasp for those ladies. Shane, oh my god…” She wrapped her arms around her waist. Breathe.
Shane heaved a sigh. “That’s nice, but it doesn’t make me feel better.”
“Wh-what did he do?” she asked, torn between needing to know and disbelief at her brother’s revelations.
“That’s the thing.” Shane glanced down at the papers he held. “Turns out, a judge reversed the conviction.”
Lightning may as well have hit her in the chest. Her jaw dropped and the breaths she had just fought to regulate nearly stopped all over again. “I have to sit down.” She turned and walked to her porch, where she slumped on the swing. “He-he didn’t do the thing he was accused of?”
Shane joined her, leaving Denver to his current interest of inspecting each flower and shrub in her front yard. “Nope. Up in the city they have so many of these wrongful convictions. It’s a mess. In Zaffino’s case, a witness recanted his testimony.”
Rosie couldn’t stop the hurt shock that slammed her full force. Unbidden tears sprang to her eyes. “Ten years later? Someone changed their story?”
Shane nodded.
“He served all that time…and he shouldn’t have? That’s ten years of his life, gone?” Bile rose in her throat. No, no, no. This happened to people in movies. Not in her life. Even though she’d barely met him, the injustice ripped through her with crippling force.
“I printed out an article for you, in case you wanted it…”
“How did you find all this out?” Though she knew he had his ways, he usually didn’t research guys she talked to. She and Cruz hadn’t even had a date yet. Then again, Shane already knew everyone she knew in their tiny town.
He sighed. “When Marvin told me you went off alone with this new tatted up dude, I pulled his plate off the security cameras and ran it.”
She wiped a tear. “Why ever for?”
“I was worried. Didn’t know how you knew him and all.”
“I’m gonna be spitting mad at you later, Shane Marlow. I’m twenty-six and I’m not an idiot. But right now I can’t handle…” She jabbed a finger at the papers. “How can this happen? We’re not a third world country, throwing people in jail.”
“Corrupt witnesses, crooked cops, DNA evidence that’s messed up…it happens. It’s shitty.”
“It’s more than shitty. It’s criminal.”
“I agree.”
“If you agree, and you know he was wrongfully imprisoned, then why are you here all worried about me? He was a perfect gentleman.” Rosie glared.
“That’s a good start.”
“He wouldn’t hurt me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes I do.” She sniffed. “He could have, and he didn’t.”
His eyes drifted over her yard, to his four-legged partner who was intently focused on a squirrel scampering above in a tree. “Rosie, a man can get dropped into hell. Maybe he did something to deserve it or maybe it just happens to him. But when he comes out, he doesn’t come out the same.”
“Shane...” Her whispered word died, because there was no point in continuing her thought. She’d nearly lost him to Iraqi terrorists, and she could tell his mind had snapped back to that awful day.
“You get stuck in an extreme situation, and it changes you. And maybe he was a good guy. I don’t know how he ended up taking the fall.”
Denver, done with the squirrel, trotted to the porch and set his big head on Rosie’s knee. She kept quiet and gave the dog’s ears a scratch, knowing her brother had to get these words out.
“But he spent a decade with guys who really did murder and rape and beat people. And there’s no way he’s the same as when he went in.”
She looked him in the eyes. “You can go through hell and be changed for the better. The whole trial by fire thing.”
He studied her for a second before breaking into a rueful grin. “I love you for that sunny attitude. But ten years doing hard time? I’m not trying to be an ass, but that sets off all kind of red flags.”
Sunny attitude? Not always. Maybe she was full of shit and lies today. She was the one whose trial by fire had ruined her. Because she wasn’t strong like Shane. But he never needed to know. He, like the rest of the town, figured her demons were behind her.
Instead, they’d live with her every day for the rest of her life.
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” he went on.
“Well, like I said, he isn’t going to hurt me. I’m one hundred percent certain.” She caught her brother’s gaze. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you this yet…but I had some trouble after work last night.”
Shane’s face morphed from gentle concern to alertness. “What kind of trouble?”
“These three guys came in. I’m guessing they were college kids. They sat at the bar all night demanding stuff every five minutes. And Brenda had gone home, and Livvie called in sick. I was doing everything. Cruz was there too. He came in with his friends from work, and he ended up at the bar for a bit. That’s where I met him.” She went on to detail the rest of the night, leaving out her own sappy thoughts about Cruz and the banter between them. What mattered was what Cruz had done for her.
“Fucking shit!” Shane clenched a fist when she finished. “You carded them, right? Do you remember their names?”
“Yes, I carded them, but there’s no way I remember who they are because we had a huge crowd.”
He stood and paced the porch, which ran the length of the house. “I’m gonna talk to Owen about not walking you outside. That’s bullshit.”
“I didn’t ask him to. He’s in his own hell right now with this audit.”
“Don’t care about a bunch of numbers when we’re talking about your safety.”
“This has never happened before. And I promise I’ll never walk outside alone again.” That was the truth. She’d been lucky. Cruz had no reason to stick around, and she still couldn’t quite believe he had. But next time, things could be a thousand percent worse. “Just to remind you, I’m here safe and sound because of Cruz. Maybe you should talk to him.”
Shane paused and leaned a shoulder on one of the support posts. “Yeah, I reckon I should.” He turned to her. “I may’ve had a knee-jerk reaction today.”
“I understand.” She and Shane had always been close, and the twists their lives had taken only tightened that bond. “Just try to see the good in him. He’s tryin’ for a fresh start.”
Her brother nodded. “Guess that’s the least any of us can ask for.”
After Shane left, Rosie pulled up a search engine on her phone and typed in Cruz’s name. The
article Shane had left with her was at the top of the page, but there were dozens more. Almost all were the same Associated Press story.
Disbelief draped her like a suffocating blanket. He’d been convicted at age eighteen, tried as an adult. The story said he acted alone. Undisputed witness testimony placed him at a murder scene. A young man in a gang had been fatally shot, and Cruz had been armed.
Sexy, intense Cruz. Cruz with a dimple that shouldn’t be cute but was. Cruz killing a wasp for the ladies at the drivers’ license place. Cruz politely asking to see her again…
She rubbed her eyes, not even questioning why he hadn’t told her this huge detail. He’d said he wanted to move somewhere new and different. Well, who the hell could blame him? And saying you’d just been released from prison probably wasn’t tops on the list of things you’d share about yourself with new folks.
But her stomach was tied in knots of indignation, and she had to talk to him. Though telling him her over-protective deputy brother ran his plate and researched him might not go over well.
She had to do this in person. And she had to talk to him soon. She wouldn’t sleep well until she did. She scrolled through the contacts on her phone until she got his number, then hit the call symbol.
He picked up on the second ring. “Hey, Rosie.” His voice drawled her name in a way that made her want to keep him talking. Want to keep that deep rumble in her ear.
“Hi,” she said, and gulped. How could she even start this conversation? Should have thought this one through before she dialed.
“What’s going on? You get home okay?”
“Um, yeah. Yep. Just sitting on my front porch.” Shit. She needed to make up a reason to see him before next Saturday.
“Sounds nice.”
“Yeah. You’ll have to see it sometime.” Crap, she had to think of something. “So, um, I was wondering if um…If ah, you might want to do something tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? Yeah. Sure thing. My schedule is wide open.” A smile cut through his voice, easing some of her jitters. “What’d you have in mind?”