“That’s because I’m here,” he countered.
“I’ll call Buck Ranier this afternoon and have him install a security system that rings right into the sheriff’s station. I’ll be safe here alone, and you can go back to your own life and work.”
Josh stared at her in disbelief. “Is this because of what happened between us the other night?”
She looked away from him. “No...yes, partly,” she replied. She released a sigh and looked at him once again. “I know you care about me, Josh.”
“I’m in love with you, Savannah.” He hadn’t meant to tell her like this, not under these circumstances, but now that he’d spoken the words aloud, the depth of his love for her filled his heart.
Her eyes were huge. “I don’t want you to be in love with me.”
He released a dry laugh. “You don’t get to be in charge of how I feel about you. I love you and I want to build a future with you. I want you to have my babies and sleep in my arms every night for the rest of our lives.”
She raised her chin and her lips trembled slightly. “I might not be in charge of what you want, but I get to be in charge of whether you’re welcome here or not, and you’re no longer welcome here.”
“So, you’re kicking me out?” He stared at her in stunned shock.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” she replied.
Josh’s frustration exploded. “Why? So you can crawl back into the hole of darkness you’ve been in for the past two years? So you can wallow in your grief forever instead of accepting that a terrible thing happened to your sister, but you’re still very much alive? You staying miserable and isolated won’t change anything, Savannah. Shelly is dead, and you’ve been her ghost for too long.”
She got up from her chair and stepped back from the table. “Shelly was murdered, and you and all the rest of your buddies didn’t do anything to find her real killer. You pinned it on Bo because it was the easy thing to do, but you didn’t conduct a real investigation.”
Her words pierced through Josh’s very soul. He wanted to deny them, to protest her assessment violently, but he couldn’t. She was right. Dammit, she was right, and he couldn’t do anything to change what had happened two years ago.
“Maybe you don’t love me at all,” she continued. “Maybe you just feel guilty about what you didn’t do for Shelly.”
This brought him up out of his chair. “Trust me, Savannah. I know the difference between guilt and love, and while I will always regret not pursuing the investigation into Shelly’s death more thoroughly at the time, guilt has nothing to do with me loving you.”
He took a step toward her, but she backed away from him. “I don’t want you to love me, and I don’t want to love you,” she replied, her voice louder than usual. “And you’re wrong that I’ve been stuck in grief for the past two years. I’ve been in a safe place where I’ve felt nothing, and that’s the way I like it.”
“What about happiness? Don’t you want to be happy, Savannah? Don’t you want to feel and give love, to have children and build a life of happiness?” He gazed at her and knew his heart was in his eyes for her to see.
She looked away from him. “I’m happy alone, and that’s why it’s time for you to leave. I told you I’d call Buck and arrange for security. That’s all I need.” She looked at him once again, and tears shone in her eyes. “I don’t need you and I don’t want you here anymore. Please just go.”
He stared at her, stunned by what she was saying and unable to do anything except what she asked. He wasn’t here in any legal capacity. Officially he was on vacation, making him just a guest in her home...apparently an unwanted guest.
“Okay, I’ll go,” he finally said, because he couldn’t legally do anything else.
He’d leave for a couple of hours, give her some time to be alone and maybe cool down. Then he’d come back, and hopefully they could have a rational discussion instead of the emotionally charged one that had just taken place.
He already had his gun around his waist, but he refused to go into the bedroom and pack his things. He refused to accept that this was the end of things. He didn’t want to believe that she didn’t love him and that love wouldn’t eventually win.
He left the kitchen and headed for the front door, aware of her following him. When he reached the door he turned to look at her. “Are you positive this is what you want?”
She hesitated a moment and then nodded. “It’s exactly what I want.”
“Shelly’s funeral should have been a double one,” he said. “Because when she was buried, you gave up on life. You’re a dead woman walking.”
He didn’t wait for her response but turned and walked out of the front door. Myriad thoughts flew through his head as he went to his car.
He looked around the neighborhood to see if anything or anyone appeared unusual but saw nothing. It wouldn’t be unusual for Josh’s car to leave Savannah’s driveway in the middle of the day, either. There was no reason for anyone to believe she was in the house alone. Everyone would just assume she was with him in the car someplace in town.
He didn’t even want to think about the ache that resounded in his heart over the heated words they’d exchanged, words in which she’d denied any love for him in her heart.
He believed in his heart that she did love him, but he couldn’t make her admit it, and he certainly couldn’t make her act on it. She was determined to stay in a state of limbo between life and death, and until she decided to make a change, his efforts on her behalf would be fruitless.
He’d give her a couple of hours to cool down. In the meantime, he decided he might do a little tunnel exploration on his own. When he returned, he had to convince her somehow that he could be her bodyguard and nothing more, because the most important thing to him, no matter how she chose to live her life, was that she had a life to live.
* * *
THE MINUTE HE walked out the door, Savannah crumpled on the sofa in tears. Agonizing waves of emotion swept over her, the very emotions she’d spent two years attempting not to feel.
He was in love with her. He wanted to build a future with her, and she’d just told him to get out of her life. She was in love with him, but she was afraid to invite him into her heart.
And for several tormenting moments, she wondered what she truly was afraid of. After Shelly’s death, she had never wanted to feel again, to love or care about anything or anyone again.
But for the last couple of weeks, Josh had pulled her back to life, had forced her to find her laughter and a joy she hadn’t experienced since Shelly’s murder.
She had a feeling it would be impossible for her to go back to the ghost she had been. Josh had breathed life and love into her heart, which was why she had to send him away. She was afraid of everything he held out in a tantalizingly close hand.
She finally wiped away her tears and got up from the sofa. She grabbed her cell phone and looked up the number for Buck’s Security Systems. She hoped he could come right over and get something installed by nightfall.
She knew eventually Josh would be back, if for no other reason than to pick up the clothes he had left behind. But she’d accused him of slacking in Shelly’s murder investigation, which was hitting below the belt.
She couldn’t blame Josh for what she considered a shoddy investigation into Shelly’s murder. He’d had to follow the orders of Trey, and Trey had truly believed Bo guilty.
Still, she had no idea how angry she might have made Josh by blaming him. Maybe it was good if she made him angry. Then he’d want to keep his distance from her.
Thankfully the phone call to Buck resulted in the older man telling her he’d arrive within the hour to get her set up with the most updated security system he installed.
While she waited for Buck to arrive, she threw away her half-eaten sandwich and placed the plate in the dishwasher. She then scrubbed down the countertops and shone the wood of the cabinet fronts, needing the physical activity to keep her from thinking.
She was grateful when Buck finally arrived with his utility truck filled with goodies to keep her safe and sound in the house. She unlocked the doors to the master suite and the extra bedroom that she and Josh had locked up on the first day he’d arrived.
“I’m assuming you want every window and every door covered,” Buck said as he walked around the house to check it out.
“And security cameras at the front and back doors,” she replied.
“Then I’d better get started.” He walked out to his truck, and Savannah sat in a chair in the living room. He returned with all kinds of wire and items Savannah didn’t recognize. She only knew they would keep her safe from harm while she was alone in the house.
She wasn’t really concerned about being safe during the daytime hours. She just wanted the added protection for when night fell. It was in the dark of night when she’d been attacked at the inn and when she’d seen somebody peeking in her window. It was in the darkness that she felt most vulnerable.
By four o’clock, Buck had every window and every door in the house wired not only to sound an alarm that would awaken the entire neighborhood but also to ring dispatch at the sheriff’s station.
He’d also shown her how to monitor her front and back cameras from her computer, allowing her to see about a three-foot radius around both doors.
It was just after four thirty when he left, and Savannah told herself she felt as safe as if Josh was sitting next to her with his gun.
She fixed herself an omelet for dinner and sat at the kitchen table to eat it, pretending to herself that she liked the silence of the house without Josh’s presence.
She’d gotten halfway through the omelet when she saw Trey Walker at her back door. She got up from the table, wondering what the sheriff would be doing here. His updates, what few there had been, had always come through Josh.
Maybe he finally had news for her. Maybe he’d discovered the identity of the attacker and was here to tell her the danger was over.
She punched in the numbers to disarm the security system and then opened the door to allow him inside. “Trey, what’s going on?”
His eyes shone with excitement. “You’ve got to come with me. I think I’ve figured out the answer to everything, but there is something you need to see.”
“What?” she asked eagerly.
“I can’t explain it. I have to show it to you.” He took her by the arm and led her out the door. When she realized they were headed to the bush...to the hole in the ground that led to the tunnel, she dug in her heels.
“Trey, I don’t want to go into the tunnels,” she protested. “Just tell me what you found.”
“It will just be for a minute,” he assured her and pulled her forward at the same time he turned on a flashlight.
“Really, Trey, I never want to go down in the tunnels again.” She yanked her arm free from his grasp.
Trey pulled his gun and pointed it at her. “I’m afraid I must insist, Savannah.”
She stared at the sheriff, her heart pounding with fear. “What are you doing, Trey?”
“I’m taking care of business,” he replied. “And if you get down there and think about running, I’ll shoot you in the back.” There was no hesitation, no emotion in the flatness of his cold eyes. “Now let’s go.” He gestured to the hole.
With her mind reeling and her heart beating so fast she was half breathless, Savannah started down the three stairs that led into the tunnel.
Chapter Thirteen
When Josh left Savannah’s place, he didn’t go home. He called Trey and got his answering message. Josh left a message telling him he was taking a break from Savannah’s house and would be back there before dark.
Instead he drove into town and to Mama Baptiste’s shop. From his trunk he grabbed a flashlight. Once inside the shop, he bought a package of colored chalk.
“I’m using your tunnel entrance,” he said to the older woman as he paid for the chalk. “Where is Eric? I don’t want any surprises when I go in.”
Mama Baptiste’s dark eyes flashed with irritation. “My son would never hurt you or anyone else. But you don’t have to worry about him being down in the tunnels. He’s at home sick today.”
“Do you mind?” Josh pointed toward the back room where the tunnel entrance was located.
“Who am I to mind? I’m just a shopkeeper. You’re the law,” she replied.
Within minutes Josh was in the tunnel and headed for the main passageway Savannah had always used for her ghost walks. He had a mental picture of the latest map Trey had provided him in his head.
Trey and his cohorts had been working from the swamp toward town to map the maze of tunnels, but Josh wanted to check out the last two that were branches from the main path that Savannah had used.
Savannah. His heart ached with thoughts of her. It was obvious his love wasn’t enough to make her want to embrace life once again. He’d seen so many glimmers of vibrancy from her, when her eyes had shone with passion and caring, when her laughter had filled the air. He’d had such hope for her, for them, but now that hope was gone.
There was no way he intended to leave her in the house alone at night even if she did have a security system installed. It had been his experience that it was in the dark of night that bad things happened, when neighbors were asleep and couldn’t witness, when shadows hid the coming and going of criminals.
He felt she’d be safe this afternoon. People would believe she was out with him and not at home. They had established habits over the last two weeks that would make anyone assume that they were together.
He finally reached the main passage and the steps that would lead up to Savannah’s backyard. He turned and passed the first two branches that he knew had been explored and mapped thoroughly.
The third branch was the one where Savannah had been attacked. It had been explored until it forked, and then only the left fork had been followed to the end. When he came to the fork he went right and began to mark his passage with a bright purple piece of chalk.
It appeared to be just another hole in the earth, no secrets, no hidden gold and no reason for somebody to protect this passageway by attacking Savannah.
He hesitated when he reached a second fork. Left or right? If his internal direction was right, the left fork would take him closer to the swamp while the right one would take him more toward the center of town.
He took the right one, continuing to mark his progress with the chalk. The last thing he wanted was to be down here alone and somehow get lost.
Shining the light on his watch, he saw that it was just after four. He wanted to make sure he was up and out of here long before dark. Even if Savannah wanted him out of the house, if necessary he’d stay in his car in her driveway to assure her safety through the days and nights.
He could have sworn she was in love with him. He’d seen it in her eyes, felt it in her touch. But he’d never considered that she might hold such resentment toward him about Shelly’s murder investigation, that maybe her resentment might be bigger, deeper than any love.
He quickened his pace, the only sound the echo of his footsteps. He paused only occasionally to mark his path. What he hoped was that by the time he returned to Savannah’s, she would have cooled down and realized that, with or without a security system, him being there was the best way to keep her safe.
Although it would be difficult for him, he’d promise her bodyguard behavior and nothing more personal. The rage that had been expended the night she’d been in the inn confused him. Normally a person holding on to that kind of rage wouldn’t be able to contain it for over a week.
He was surprised that something else hadn’t happened, that the person had managed to keep control for so long. He wasn’t sure if his presence in her home was thwarting another attack or
if the person was just patiently waiting it out.
Josh couldn’t spend the rest of his life on vacation and protecting Savannah. In fact, the last time he’d spoken to Trey, his boss had asked him when he’d be back on regular duty, and Josh hadn’t had a definitive answer.
As he’d walked, he’d felt the descent of the ground taking him deeper and deeper. His heart began to pound when he came to the end of the passageway and saw a set of wooden steps built to take somebody upside. The stairs looked relatively new and solid.
Somebody had gone to a lot of trouble to make this tunnel entrance easily accessible. At the top of the stairs was an ordinary door.
He pulled his gun, as always wary as to what he might be walking into. He placed his flashlight on the top stair and then grabbed the doorknob, surprised when it turned easily beneath his grip.
The door opened without a groan or a creak, and he grabbed his flashlight once again as he walked into total darkness. A quick sweep of the light made him guess that he was in somebody’s garage, and the utter silence told him he was alone.
He found a light switch on the wall and turned it on. The space felt oddly familiar, with a seed spreader hung on a rack on the wall and a red riding lawnmower parked on one side.
It was only when he looked at the shelves on the opposite side of the space that his breath caught in his throat. Stacks of plastic-wrapped white substance filled the shelves, and next to one of the stacks was a miner’s helmet with a light.
Josh moved closer to inspect the sacks of white. If he had to guess, it was meth. Had Savannah interrupted a drug ring using the tunnels to transport their product? It would appear so.
He frowned and looked around again. Who did this garage belong to? He had a feeling of déjà vu, as if he’d seen this place before, although certainly not with the drugs on the shelves.
He headed for the door that obviously led from the garage into the main house. He held his gun steady in his hand, his heart beating a frantic rhythm.
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