If You Know Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense

by Shiloh Walker

  Just looking at him did bad, bad things to her. And damn, that was a shock.

  It had been a long, long time since she’d felt anything other than grief, or rage. That low-level sexual attraction was a pleasant surprise … for a few seconds anyway.

  Then guilt kicked in. She couldn’t do this—couldn’t feel this.

  She was here for a reason, and even if she was inclined to lose her head for a few minutes, she sure as hell couldn’t do it with him. Definitely not with him.

  She’d made a complete fool of herself with him already, and she wasn’t here to look at him, wasn’t here to repeat those mistakes.

  Definitely wasn’t here to ogle him … but that’s what she was doing.

  Her mouth was dry, she realized. Turning away from him, she tried to find something else to stare at. Something else, anything else. There wasn’t anything else. Just a lousy picnic table.

  Desperate, she settled on it, clutching the edge of it in her hands. It was worn smooth from years of use—damn good thing, too, because the way she was gripping it, she would be lucky if she didn’t have a forest of splinters in her hands.

  “Can’t be easy.”

  The table groaned a little as Law settled down beside her. Shooting him a look from her eyes, she said, “What can’t?”

  “Seeing her … ah, Lena. Ezra mentioned that, she … well, looked like your cousin. I’m sorry. I …”

  She sighed and rested her elbows on her knees. “Stop, okay? I figured out why he didn’t want me going in that café.”

  “So why did you do it?”

  She shrugged. “Couldn’t stop myself.” Closing her eyes, she buried her face in her hands.

  “What was she like … your cousin?”

  Nia lowered her hands. “Joely?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why? Why are you asking?” She turned to look at him, trying to figure out where he was going with this, what he wanted.

  Law shrugged. “Why not? You look pretty shaken. Just sitting here isn’t going to help. Talking might.”

  “And why in the fuck should it matter to you if I’m shaken or not?”

  He watched her, a look of compassion on his face, and Nia felt the knot in her throat swell until it threatened to choke her.

  Shit.

  “Ah, hell,” she muttered. “I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged. “You don’t need to be sorry. Not like you haven’t had a lousy deal lately.” With his weight braced on his hands, he leaned back. “So what was she like?”

  Nia stared at him for a long moment and then abruptly, she sighed. “Joely … she … she was my opposite. Everything I’m not. Cool and calm, where I’m hotheaded and always ready for a fight—I can be as logical as I want, but I’ll still be spoiling for a fight at the end of it all. I looked for the bad shit. She saw the good.”

  “You were close.”

  “Like sisters. She was all the family I had,” she whispered. Tears threatened, but she blinked them back. “Shit, I still can’t believe she’s gone.”

  “I could tell you that it will get better eventually—the pain will start to fade. And it does fade, but not because it gets easier. You just learn to live with it,” he said gruffly. “I know that’s probably not what you want to hear.”

  Nia sniffed. “Actually, that helps a hell of a lot more than somebody telling me that this will get easier. She was raped and murdered—nothing about this should be easy.”

  With shaking hands, she dug into her pocket, desperate for a cigarette only to realize she’d smoked the last one. Shit. Feeling the weight of his gaze, she slid off the picnic table, desperate to put a few feet between them. She needed to say something, anything—needed to stop feeling so fragile, and she needed him to stop looking at her like … hell, what was the look on his face anyway? She couldn’t quite figure it out.

  Scowling, she shoved her hands in her pockets and turned away, staring toward the sheriff’s department and her bike.

  Anywhere but him.

  “I need to apologize to you again for what I did last year,” she said, the words coming out of her so fast, they tumbled over each other. “I was wrong and I’m sorry.”

  “Okay.”

  She turned and stared at him. “Okay? I pull a gun on you and your girlfriend and you say … okay?”

  Law cocked a brow. “Hope’s not my girlfriend. And what do you want me to say? Tell you to take your apology and shove it?” He shrugged. “I know where it came from—I know Deb Sparks. She had it in her head I was guilty and Deb … well …” He stopped, ran his tongue along his teeth and shook his head. “Well, once she gets an idea in her head, there’s nothing that can be done to get that idea out, not until she decides she wants it out. And it’s not like you were exactly in the best state of mind that day.”

  “Gee, thanks,” she muttered.

  Staring at her averted face, Law tried to figure out just what in the hell she wanted him to say—what she wanted him to do. Would she be happier if he just told her to shove her apology?

  Hell. This wasn’t familiar territory.

  Looking away, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, I just …” Her gold eyes cut his way and he blew out a breath, struggling to find something, anything to say. “Would you feel better if I told you to just fuck off?”

  To his surprise a faint smile appeared on her face, tugging up the corners of her mouth for the briefest of seconds before dying. “I don’t know if I’d feel better, but it seems a lot more plausible than you telling me ‘okay.’ I know I sure as hell wouldn’t be saying okay to somebody who pulled the crap I had.”

  “Maybe you’d surprise yourself,” he said softly. If she’d seen the way she looked … And damn it, he needed to quit thinking about that. Like now. Although really, it wasn’t that much better to think about how she looked now, either. Even with that irritated look on her face, there was something so damn appealing about her.

  “I don’t think so.” She shook her head. “I rarely surprise myself.” Then she sighed and flicked her fingers through her hair. “I have to go. I’d say it was a pleasure seeing you but … well.”

  “You’d be lying,” he finished. “How about interesting? I can’t say it’s ever been not interesting.”

  “Well, seeing as how you’ve met me all of twice.” The smile on her face now was a real one, at least.

  He tucked the memory of it inside his mind as he watched her walk away. He also lingered long enough to enjoy the view … hell, he was a guy, and it was too nice of a view to not watch it.

  Her name was Nia Hollister.

  Nia Hollister—Jolene Hollister’s cousin. Jolene’s cousin—explained perfectly why she’d been in town last year, but didn’t explain why she was here now.

  He might not have worried if all he’d heard about her was that she’d been seen in the Circle K picking up some cigarettes—Marlboros, not the cheap stuff for her. But no, she hadn’t gotten her cigarettes and headed out of town.

  After she’d bought her cigarettes, she’d checked into the Ash Hotel. That had him worried. Very worried, and it didn’t make him feel better once he started digging around and finding out more about her. Oh, he had learned some interesting things about her, too.

  When he plugged her name into a search engine, he wasn’t bombarded with Did You Go To School With. No, she actually had information online. A photojournalist. A bit more research revealed where she lived, as well as a variety of links to her work.

  So many things could be learned on the Internet these days. Still, the one thing he needed to know, that eluded him.

  What he didn’t know was why she was here. Why she was back in Ash.

  He’d made another trip back to town, under the guise of being lazy on a day off. Had a late lunch at the café, hit the bookstore, a few other places, chatting people up.

  Yes, she’d been noticed by quite a few people. But nobody knew why she was here. Back in his town.

  Nobody was talking. Not the boys
from the sheriff’s department, not the local gossips, nobody.

  There was speculation. But nobody knew, which meant whatever her business was, she was keeping it close to her chest. He’d learned a long time ago how to separate the facts from the fancy and all there was now—it was just fancy.

  Nobody knew.

  Coming to a stop in front of the hotel, he let his van idle as he peered down the side.

  He could see her bike, but not her. She was already checked in, tucked into her room. She’d have the door locked, probably. Both the chain and the deadbolt in place, her being a city girl.

  Not that it could keep him out, but he couldn’t exactly go and do something that blatant, now could he?

  Still, he needed to know why she was here.

  The small hotel wasn’t much but Nia didn’t need much. It was clean and it was quiet. That was all that mattered.

  It faced away from the street, and the woods that rose at the back provided some extra shade against the bright summer sun. When she pulled the curtains, it darkened the room so that she could barely see her way to the bed. She didn’t need to see—stripping her clothes away, she left them in a trail on her way to the bed and paused only long enough to pull the blankets back.

  She needed sleep, desperately. Sleep, then she’d figure out where to go from here.

  What to do next …

  Sleep …

  Nightmares chased her. Taunted her. Haunted her.

  In the dream, she was no longer herself, but Joely. Running—breathless and terrified—through the trees, no idea where she was going, just certain she had to get away.

  And he followed along behind.

  Nameless.

  Faceless.

  A malicious, dark presence that watched, waited …

  She could feel his eyes, all but crawling along her. All but touching her.

  Waiting … waiting …

  She wanted to scream, but didn’t dare. Keeping it trapped in her throat, she bit her lip almost bloody to keep it locked inside. If she screamed, it made it that much easier for him to find her.

  Not that he wouldn’t find her anyway.

  It was just a matter of time—didn’t matter where she went, where she ran, she couldn’t escape … this was his town …

  She came awake to complete dark.

  As a sob tried to tear its way free, Nia fought loose from the blankets that had wrapped around her like chains. Standing by the bed, nude and shaking, she wrapped her arms around herself.

  Calm down … you have to calm down …

  The dream replayed itself through her head over and over. She saw herself—but it wasn’t her. It was Joely. Running, trying to get away.

  No shocker, there.

  Joely hadn’t been always ready to pick a fight the way Nia would, but she wouldn’t back down from one, either—she would have fought. And fought hard.

  It was disconcerting, though, the way she found herself remembering …

  This was his town …

  Blowing out a breath, she bent over and snagged her shirt from the floor, pulled it over her head. She didn’t give a damn what the official reports said and she didn’t give a damn what so-called evidence had been found when Joe Carson’s body was found.

  She wasn’t buying it. The killer was local.

  In her gut, she knew it.

  Which meant the killer wasn’t Joe Carson … and was still out there. Somewhere. She shivered, rubbing her neck. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, made her feel like somebody was watching, staring at her. Waiting.

  “You’re paranoid,” she muttered even as she shoved upright and went to go check the locks on the hotel door, and the curtains. The curtains were closed up tight, and the door was locked securely, the deadbolt in place. No way somebody could be watching her unless they’d bugged the damn room, and she shouldn’t even be thinking about that, as antsy as she was.

  Throwing a look at the clock, she wondered if it was still possible to get food around here. It was a little after 8:30 on a Monday. Was there any place open?

  Her belly rumbled.

  Only one way to find out.

  She came sauntering into Mac’s Grill and if she realized everybody in there was staring at her, she didn’t pay them any attention. He suspected she noticed. Suspected she’d even noticed him, sitting in a booth and chowing down on wings. She wasn’t one to miss things.

  That bothered him, even as it excited him.

  She’d be a fighter, like her cousin. It was a thought that thrilled him, frustrated him. He wanted her, could already feel that burn—but knew he couldn’t risk this. Not after Jolene. Not only would it throw doubts on everything he’d done when he’d killed Carson, but there was no way he could take somebody like Nia and not expect it to be noticed—very noticed.

  The sort of notice that he would do anything to avoid. So he would keep his distance, and he would content himself with his memories of her cousin … and thoughts of what it might have been like. There wasn’t much physical similarity between the cousins. Next to none.

  But he could see … something.

  Attitude, perhaps. Arrogance. And strength.

  She wasn’t here to leave flowers in her cousin’s memory.

  He watched as she slid onto a bar stool, watched as a few men shot her considering looks. Three of them were married. Two started toward her side anyway. He was considering moving to that empty spot himself. He could be friendly, make small talk. It would be amusing, he thought, talking to her, trying to figure out just why she was here, even though he suspected he already knew.

  But one man beat them all.

  Law Reilly.

  Law had been shooting pool with a couple of the numerous Jennings boys when Nia Hollister came into the Grill.

  Silence fell.

  Even though music still blasted from the jukebox, there was an odd hush. He wasn’t fooled into thinking she didn’t notice. Still, she didn’t seem to pay any attention as she slid onto a bar stool and smiled at Leon, the bartender who had been working behind the counter for as long as Law had lived in Ash. Law didn’t think Leon had aged a day since Law had met him. He was also sure Leon hadn’t smiled once in those ten years.

  “Damn, ya see the ass on her?” Ethan Sheffield muttered. One of the deputies from the sheriff’s department, he was young, happily married, and one of the biggest flirts in the whole damn town.

  And while his wife understood Ethan’s harmless flirting, Law didn’t want the guy anywhere near Nia. Smacking the deputy in the belly with his cue stick, he said, “Play the next round without me.”

  Without waiting for a response, he headed over to the empty stool next to Nia. It wouldn’t stay empty for long, he knew. Even as he settled on it, he saw a few familiar faces hovering close by, almost as if they were waiting to see if he struck out.

  Screw ’em.

  “Didn’t know you were hanging out around town,” he said as Nia’s gaze slid his way.

  “You didn’t ask.”

  “True.” He nodded at Leon and the bartender brought him a beer. “I’ll tell you, if you’re out looking for wild nightlife in Ash, you already found the hot spot.”

  Amused, she glanced around the small bar and grill. With the music blasting from the jukebox, the empty stage, and the booths roughly half-full, it was actually fairly busy for the small place. But he knew what it looked like—dead.

  He liked it.

  “I’ll try to contain my excitement,” she said, leaning in closer.

  He told himself it was so she wouldn’t have to raise her voice over the music. And maybe it was. It also brought her close enough that he could smell the scent of her skin, her hair … nice …

  “You want to get excited, hang around a few weeks. We start our county fair. That gets really exciting.”

  “Hmmm. What’s the highlight … cow-tipping?”

  He chuckled. “Nah. We save that for the yokels who don’t live close to Lexington. We’re classy here.
Something to do with horses. Not entirely sure what, though. Can’t say I’ve ever been.” He tipped his beer back, desperate to wet his throat. It didn’t do much good, though.

  “That’s not very neighborly of you.” She smiled, her lashes low to shield her eyes. “Your own town and you don’t go out there to show your support.”

  “I show my support by coming into town on Mondays and drinking beer, buying hot wings. It’s good for the local merchants.” He grinned and gestured to the menu chalked up over the bar. “Hard to believe, but Leon’s got some of the best wings around here.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “That’s not hard to believe. The only places I’ve seen serving wings are chain joints. Those aren’t good wings.”

  “This being your first night in town, how about I buy you dinner?” He wondered if she had any idea how damned nervous he was, just saying those words. Law didn’t do nervous. Granted, he also hadn’t asked a woman out on a date in … shit. A couple of years? Even then, he didn’t think he’d been this nervous. And this wasn’t even a date. He was just being neighborly, right?

  “Dinner.” The faint smirk on her mouth curled into an all-out smile and she glanced down at herself. “I’m not sure if I’m up to dinner at such a classy place. But what the hell. I think I should buy, though. It’s the least I can do.”

  Law opened his mouth to argue. Then he snapped it shut. Hell, she was sitting there next to him. That was what he wanted, right?

  Sitting there … and waiting for him to take offense. “How about this, you get this one … and let me take you out sometime? Assuming you’ll be in town.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Nia said.

  For some reason, he wasn’t surprised to hear that.

  CHAPTER

  SIX

  SHE SHOULDN’T BE SITTING THERE.

  Nia knew that.

  Not because she wasn’t worried about Law Reilly. She actually worried about Law Reilly a lot, and in a lot of ways.

  She should worry about Law Reilly. She also knew that. Law Reilly was bad for her state of mind—and her hormones. Law Reilly was just plain bad for her. And maybe, later, when she was back in her room and her hormones had cooled off, and her brain had settled and she had a chance to get herself back on course, maybe then she would convince herself that she needed to worry about Law Reilly.