She seemed to contemplate that, before nodding. “I’m relieved that she’s not bawling her head off. For a minute there, I thought I might.”
“You did good.” He reached across the table and squeezed her hands. “I’m proud of you for holding it together. I know this is all happening really fast.”
She didn’t argue with that.
“Now that that’s over, I need to talk to you about something.” He let go of her hands and sat up straight. Digging into his pocket, he pulled the plastic baggie out and dug through it until he found her rings. “I think these belong to you.”
Kate looked shocked as he reached for her hand and slid the rings onto her ring finger. “God, where did you get these?”
He let go of her hand. “I bailed Karen McPherson out of jail today.” He avoided her gaze. “We had a little chat and she dug into her bag and pulled out your rings.”
“But I—”
“She told me she took them from you, Kate. She said she’d planned to pawn them and then changed her mind.”
“Where is she now?” Kate asked. He could tell she was upset again—maybe at the fact that Karen had been the one to take her rings from her and not Louis, as she’d thought.
“I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t care.” He got up and walked over to the coffee pot, setting it to percolate. He’d probably regret the jolt of caffeine later, but right now he needed it.
“She has nowhere to go, Luke. No family. No money.”
“I gave her money.”
Now she really looked stunned.
“If she’s smart she’ll high tale it to Timbuktu or something.”
“Thank you.” Apparently, she couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“You’re welcome. She’s not. She’d better not show her face here again. It cost me nearly two thousand dollars to get rid of her.”
She winced. “I’m sorry.”
“I told you not to apologize anymore. It’s done. I don’t want you wasting your time feeling sorry for her anymore. She doesn’t deserve your pity.” He leaned back against the counter. “I’m sorry you ever felt sorry for her in the first place.”
“I don’t know why I did.” She looked down at her ring finger. “I don’t remember her taking them from me.”
“Who knows, you were probably unconscious.” He hated to be brutal with his words but it was time she realized that Karen McPherson was nothing but white trash—white trash that had gotten very lucky today.
“What about Louis? Have the police found him yet?”
“No. He is apparently real good at blending in.”
She stiffened visibly.
“I will keep you safe,” he told her, knowing he was repeating himself. “I just want you to worry about getting well again.”
“He won’t give up, Luke. Not if he thinks I know where the money is hidden.”
“If he wants to try, he can try. I’ll be ready this time.”
Kate tensed and for a moment he regretted being so brutal with her. “Baby, I have a gun and I know how to shoot it. I know how to take care of myself and I know how to take care of my family. If he attempts to come here and hurt someone I love, I will do what I have to do. I don’t want to hurt anyone. But I won’t let anyone hurt my family again either.”
“What if he catches us off guard again?”
“He won’t. Not again.”
She was thoughtful. “I was thinking that maybe I should contact Michelle.”
This was a surprise. Kate and her sister had never been close. Her sister hadn’t even bothered to come to their wedding. She’d lived somewhere in Idaho with her husband—number one, two, three or possibly ten, for all he knew. When they’d thought Kate dead, her sister had done nothing but send a card of condolence. He’d never heard from her again.
“Maybe she’d want to see me now.”
“Don’t you think you’re rushing things a little? You’ve been back two days, Kate.” He poured himself some coffee. “Maybe we should think about the one day at a time thing we talked about.”
“She’s my sister.”
“I realize that. I just don’t want you to get hurt. She was never interested in having a relationship with you before.”
“Maybe she’s changed her mind. I didn’t want a relationship with her before either. She was a lot older than me and we were never really close.I always thought she abandoned me by leaving me behind when she took off.” She was thoughtful for a moment. “This whole thing has changed my priorities somewhat.” She met his gaze solemnly. “If you don’t have your family, what have you got? Besides, maybe she knows about the money Louis has been looking for. Maybe she knows what kind of shady business deals my father was into.”
“She hadn’t seen your parents in years when they died. How would she know anything about any money they had?” Luke sipped his coffee. “Besides, she’s probably moved. Three years is a long time.”
“Maybe. Do you still have the phone number?”
“I have your address book in my office. I’ll find it later if you really want me to.”
“I need to do this. She’s the only family I have left.”
He guessed he understood that. He couldn’t imagine life without his brothers and sister, his parents. They were the only thing that had kept him going the past three years.
“I’d like to get to know her better, Luke. What should I do?” She indicated the other room where Hallie sat in front of the television happily watching her show.
“It’s all about time, Kate. Just give her a little and let her come to you. I can tell by the way she’s acting that she’s not really sure what to think of all this yet. She’s accepting it though. So give her some time.”
SIXTEEN
Not on time. Karen glowered at the woman behind the counter. The Grey Hound bus terminal was full of people, most milling about or calmly reading magazines as they waited for their buses to load. She had been sitting there for three hours now, biting her nails and praying they would hurry up and fix whatever mechanical problem was holding up her bus’s departure.
“I need to get to Chicago.”
“I understand that.” The woman gave her a forced smile that said, I don’t give a shit. “We apologize for the inconvenience. The bus had some mechanical issues that are being handled as we speak. It shouldn’t be more than another hour.” Reaching into a side-drawer, the woman pulled out a coupon and thrust it at her. “Feel free to take this over to the restaurant and have a complimentary cup of coffee.”
Karen took the coupon, glaring at her. “Thanks a heap.” Rolling her eyes, she picked up her shoulder bag and headed across the bus depot. She was nervous as hell, her eyes scanning the area from one end of the depot to the other. Every face made her squint, every deep voice made her head turn. She knew he was out there and she knew he was going to find her soon. Louis was resourceful. When he was angry, he was even more cunning. She had to get out of this godforsaken town—and soon.
Earlier that day when Luke Garrison had bailed her out of jail, she had been shocked and then terrified. After all, in her jail cell, as unappealing as her sleeping arrangements had been, she’d been safe. Louis couldn’t get to her there. Suddenly, a guard had come in and informed her she’d been released—that her debts had been settled. Surprised, she’d had no choice but to collect her belongings and leave.
Her conversation with Garrison had been less than cordial, but along with the insults, he’d given her eight hundred dollars and some hope. She had the means to get out of town now. Leaving her car behind along with the trail it would give Louis, she’d high tailed it for the bus depot, determined to catch the first bus to Chicago. She wasn’t quite sure why she’d chosen to go there specifically. Only that she figured it was a big enough city to get lost in and as far as she knew, Louis had no ties there.
Things would look up soon, she told herself, finding a small table in the back of the restaurant and sitting down. She would wait here, out of the line of
view, until she heard the boarding call for her bus.
Her thoughts turned to Kate. She felt a sense of relief as she reminded herself that Kate was now home with her family. At the same time, she felt a sense of shame that it had taken her so long to defy Louis and get her there. Three years had done a lot of damage to Kate’s life—and to her husband’s. Karen wished the best to them. She hoped all their dreams would come true and they could re-build the life that she and Louis had so selfishly torn apart. As angry and intimidating as Luke Garrison had been, Karen had seen the obvious love for his wife in his eyes. In a way, Karen hoped Louis did go after Kate again, because she had a very good feeling that if he did Luke Garrison would kill him. And then her problem would be solved.
Sighing, she wished for a cigarette but knew there was no smoking in the depot. She would have to stand outside for that and if she went outside she would be visible. The shaking in her hands made her grind her teeth. She hadn’t smoked in hours, not since leaving the police station. She was getting jittery. She hadn’t taken nicotine withdrawal into account when she’d devised this plan. She’d basically figured she’d hop on a bus to Illinois and at the first stop, a few hours away, she would be able to freely smoke outside and not worry about it. She hadn’t figured a broken down bus into the situation. Cursing again, she got up and headed for the nearest exit. One little cigarette wouldn’t hurt. She would make it fast, just a couple of drags. That would get her through until she was safely out of this freakin’ place.
Stepping out into the early evening breeze, Karen dug through her purse for a cigarette. She found one and quickly lit it up. She inhaled, relishing in the rush that went through her body. A calm began to set in and she relaxed a little, carefully taking in her environment. Several other people stood around doing the same thing as she. A man several yards away smiled at her and nodded his head. She gave him a small smile back. His eyes roamed over her from head to foot and her smile faded. He obviously had an idea of what she did for a living. Clearly, he was checking out the merchandise. Would she ever be standing somewhere and not have that happen?
“Once a whore, always a whore.”
The words ate into her soul like acid. The voice was low, menacing. The hand that grasped her arm was strong, its beefy fingers clenching her skin like a vice. She shut her eyes, at that moment feeling the hopelessness settle back in.
“Don’t let me interrupt your smoke break. I know you waited a long time to have one.” Louis came to stand in front of her, his gray eyes glaring down into her face. He had a baseball cap on his bald head and several days growth of beard on his face, but it was still him. And he was angry. No, furious was more like it.
“Aren’t you going to say anything, sugar? After all, I haven’t seen you in a week.”
“I was coming home,” she said, thinking quickly. “I’m waiting for a bus to Vancouver right now. I was going to wait for you there,” she stammered, desperate for a story he would believe. She could see immediately that he wasn’t buying it, but she still kept babbling. “Kate got away, Louis. She got away and I chased her here. She knows about her husband and daughter. I couldn‘t stop her—”
“If you’re going to Vancouver, why does your ticket say Chicago?” He looked down at the ticket she’d been clenching tightly between her fingers. “You were running from me, Karen. And you’re lying to me now.”
“I’m not.” Fear shocked her body into shaking again.
“I know you brought her here. I know you helped her find her family. I’m very upset by this.”
“Louis, you have to believe me, I would never betray you like that.”
“That’s exactly what you’ve done, betray me.”
Karen sucked in more nicotine, needing it now more than ever.
“You’re going to follow me now. I don’t want you to so much as blink at anyone else, do you understand me?”
She wanted to scream. If she did, maybe he would take off and at least she would have a little more time to try and get away.
“If you scream, you’ll be very sorry,” he sneered in her ear. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk.”
She dropped the butt of her cigarette onto the ground. Louis never wanted to just talk. And if he did, it was usually with his fists. She allowed him to lead her down the sidewalk anyway, cursing herself for being so stupid—cursing the damned smoking habit that would eventually kill her anyway.
As they walked past the bus terminal, her heart broke. She’d been close—so close to starting a new life—so close to finally finding a way out of the nightmare she’d been living for so long. It was devastating to be suddenly thrust backward.
“You shouldn’t have been so soft.” Louis clenched her arm tighter. “She was nothing to you. Just a means for making some cash.”
“She was a person,” she heard herself say and then wanted the words back. Louis only snickered.
“You’ve caused me a lot of trouble now, Karen. After all I’ve done for you, you’ve stabbed me in the back.”
“I didn’t feel right about this,” she relented, trying to tug her arm free. “She doesn’t know where the money is, Louis. She never did.”
“I think she did. I think she probably told you, which is why you suddenly got the balls to take off for greener pastures. She gave you the money to get a fresh start, didn’t she?”
“No, Louis. She doesn’t even think there is any money.”
Louis jerked her forward and reached into her shoulder bag. He grabbed the wad of dollar bills Luke Garrison had given her earlier. His glare penetrated her soul as she stared at the cash.
“I suppose you made this whoring yourself in jail?”
“Luke Garrison gave it to me. I swear it.”
Now Louis looked interested. “Is that right? Why would he give you anything? You were part of the plot that nearly killed him and his daughter and cost him his wife for three long years.”
“I don’t know why he did it. For Kate, I guess.”
Louis shoved the shoulder bag back at her, pocketing the money and furthering her feeling of desperation. Now she was broke again.
“I want to know where the rest of the fucking money is. You’d better damn well tell me now. I’m very angry with you.”
“There is no money!” She raised her voice and then sighed when several heads turned. Louis grabbed her arm in a painful grip again and tugged her down the street quickly.
“You’re making a big mistake here, Karen. I’m warning you…..”
Karen knew he was serious. She could tell by the look in his eyes that things were different this time. He wasn’t going to just beat her. He was going to kill her.
“I can get her to tell me,” she said quickly, desperate to save her pathetic life from complete destruction.
Louis shook his head. “I don’t trust you anymore. You’ve broken that trust very completely.”
“I can! She trusts me.”
Louis took an abrupt left turn and suddenly they were in an alley that was far too empty and dark for Karen’s piece of mind. Roughly, he slammed her against a brick building, his fingers biting into her neck. “You can’t run from me, Karen. No matter where you go or what you do I will find you. Do you understand that? You’re mine. You always have been and you always will be.”
The evil in those eyes of his almost made her wet her pants. How had she ever let herself get involved with him to begin with? His fingers began to squeeze tighter and her air supply was cut off. She struggled against him but it was no use, he was too strong.
“I’m going to tell you this one last time. I own you, do you understand me?”
She forced herself to nod, beginning to get light headed.
“I could kill you right now and no one in this world would give a shit. You’re worthless and weak and even your own fucking parents don’t give a crap about you. All you have is me.”
Karen nodded again, knowing that was what he wanted. Submission. She was seeing spots now, terrif
ied that her life was nearing its end.
Suddenly he let her go, cracking her across the face and knocking her to the ground. She felt her lip split but made no move to touch it. Instead, she stared back up at him, her eyes full of the fear she’d prayed she would never feel again. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t kill me.”
After a moment, he smiled. “Now that’s more like it.”
SEVENTEEN
Kate watched from the doorway as Luke tucked their daughter into bed. The evening been awkward for her. They had watched a couple of shows on television with Hallie and then had a bowl of ice-cream. At bedtime Luke had given Hallie a bath and then had her say her goodnights to Bentley. The child had trudged up the stairs, obviously in no hurry to go to bed, and eventually climbed beneath the covers of her pretty, pink canopy.
“God Bless Daddy and Bentley, Sara, Christie and Uncle Nate and the twins and Aunt Suz too,” Hallie was saying, her little hands folded.
“How about Mommy,” Luke said, not looking Kate’s way.
Hallie’s big eyes turned to the doorway and she looked her mother over. “She doesn’t look like the mommy in my picture.”
Luke straightened and she knew he hadn’t expected that. She had figured it was coming. She didn’t look like the mommy in the picture Hallie kept on her dresser. That Kate had been cute and vibrant and happy. She was only a small portion of those things right now.
“Mommy’s had a hard time, baby. But she’s still the same person.” He looked over his shoulder and motioned for Kate to come into the room. She just stayed in the doorway, not wanting to upset the child by interrupting her bedtime ritual with Luke.
Luke turned back to Hallie. “What Mommy needs now is for us to help her get well.”
“She’s sick?” Hallie asked, her eyes scrunched in curiosity. She looked at Kate again. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s been through some hard things. She missed you and me a lot while she was gone and it hurt her.”
“Maybe making peanut butter cookies will cheer her up,” Hallie said, yawning.
“Maybe,” Luke said, smiling halfway. He kissed Hallie goodnight, then walked over and flipped her light off, careful to make sure her tiny mermaid nightlight was plugged into its spot in the wall, near her bed.
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