Thread of Suspicion

by Susan Sleeman

  “Good point.”

  She moved deeper into the space and felt the warmth of Luke’s body as he stayed close.

  “Oh, no,” Eggleston muttered, and backpedaled toward them. He slammed into Dani, and she could see shock blanching his face.

  She raised her gun and rounded the corner. A man dressed in a raggedy jacket and jeans was propped up against the building. His head fell forward, revealing a gaping hole in the back. She caught a whiff of blood’s sticky, sweet scent and saw it saturating his clothing and pooling on the ground near him.

  Luke brushed past her and checked the pulse of the man she presumed to be Smash. Shaking his head, Luke rose. “We’re too late.”

  Her stomach roiling, Dani eased closer to the body to see if she could locate any clues to the killer’s identity before the police arrived and cordoned off the scene. She squatted by Smash and felt his hand. Still warm. Their killer hadn’t been gone long.

  Smash had been killed execution-style—likely with a silencer to keep anyone from hearing the gun’s retort—then dragged to the wall and propped up. With the extensive damage, she knew it was not only a close-range shot, but if Echo was behind this, he’d used hollow-point bullets for maximum damage.

  The same way Grace had been killed.

  Fresh fear sent a shudder through her body. Was she up to finding Echo and staying safe? Or would he best her as he’d bested Grace?

  She heard Luke moving close to her. He settled a warm hand on her elbow and helped her to her feet. “Let’s call the police. They’re better equipped to find this killer than we are.”

  She dug out her phone and thought for a moment about telling him about Echo, but she needed to find Echo and make him pay for killing Grace.

  The thought of confronting such a worthy foe sent another shiver over her body. Luke took her hand and slid his long fingers between hers. The fit was warm, comforting and felt so right. Like going home for the holidays.

  She moved closer to him, accepting the comfort he offered. He looked down on her, his study intense and probing. He opened his mouth, then closed it again as if he knew words weren’t necessary. She needed to call Mitch, but it wouldn’t hurt to draw from Luke’s strength first. They stood there together for a moment, united in the tragedy.

  A man had been murdered—an innocent man. And the stakes in this case had just been raised. Helping Luke was suddenly far more dangerous than she’d expected, and she might have to do something she’d never entertained—depend on the help of this rock-solid man standing by her side to stay a step ahead of Echo and stay alive.

  * * *

  Luke watched Dani huddle under an awning erected by the police as she answered Mitch Elliot’s questions. The scent of rain clung to the air as twirling lights reflected off wet pavement, but the drizzle had stopped for now. One side of the road was cordoned off with orange cones, and a uniformed officer directed traffic around the blockage. Large lights on tripods illuminated the area, including a crime scene van with its doors flung open.

  Luke’s focus went back to Dani as it had over and over since the discovery of the body. The tough-guy facade that she’d displayed since she’d come into his life had fallen away. Not surprising. Seeing a man with a gaping wound would do that to anyone. Even a strong woman like Dani.

  He hadn’t thought twice but had taken her hand in his as if he could hold on to her and keep her safe. He’d expected her to pull away, but she’d stood by him for a few moments. Then she’d also allowed him to settle his jacket over her shoulders as she’d called Elliot, who’d promptly separated them so they couldn’t compare stories before his questioning.

  Elliott fired his questions at Luke first before crossing the street and surprisingly softening his stance with Dani. As he stood over her now, his face held compassion. Still, she peered up at him looking lost and frightened, and the urge to march over there and take her in his arms hit Luke like a torpedo to the gut.

  Something about her got to him in a way he couldn’t explain. Maybe he didn’t want to explain his feelings but let them take him somewhere he’d been fighting against for a few years. But what good would that do? Dani would cross those well-toned arms and fire off the look that said she’d had her fill of guys like him. Rejection was the last thing he needed with his life crumbling around him.

  Would it do any good, God, to ask for Your help here, or am I truly on my own?

  He waited for that feeling that God was present and watching over him as he’d felt for most of his life, but when it didn’t come, he focused on the scene. The medical examiner and a tech came out of the alley wheeling a squeaky cart holding a black body bag. The sight didn’t shock Luke. He’d had his fill of body bags during his military days. He’d seen death, too. Plenty of it. But death for a cause.

  Not the brutal murder of a man, for what? Money? Greed?

  Just like that, his life had been snuffed out execution-style with bullets that were meant to expand and do the most damage possible. A life had ended in a moment of callous intent, and Luke felt responsible. Not responsible in that he’d ended Smash’s life, but in the same way he felt about his mother and sister Hannah. If he’d been able to take his father’s incessant belittling, he wouldn’t have joined the military and would have been home instead of in Afghanistan when the fire broke out. He could’ve saved them.

  The guilt of not being there for the women he loved ate at him. Constantly. A pain in his gut. Fear in his heart for his living sister, Natalie.

  Would he fail her, too? Or what about Dani?

  He had no business thinking she needed his protection, but after this murder, she was going to get it. The killer could come after both of them now, and he didn’t care how much she argued or how much he stepped on her toes. He’d have to retract his promise for the first time ever. Protecting her was now his number-one mission.

  SIX

  As Luke drove nearer to Dani’s home, she sank deeper into his jacket and inhaled his scent lingering on the collar. She rarely gave in and let others fuss over her, but after the shock of finding Smash’s body, she’d allowed both Mitch and Luke to treat her with kid gloves.

  She glanced at Luke. His jaw was clenched tight as it had been since Mitch had exiled him across the street. He was probably a mass of confusion right now. Wondering why she’d accepted his help tonight after she’d firmly shoved him away until now.

  She wasn’t wondering why she’d melted. She knew the killer’s identity and knew he could be coming for her next. Common sense said to tell Luke about Echo. To let him take over and coddle her. A flash of Paul’s face as he promised to love and care for her popped into her mind. He’d promised to be there for her when she needed him and she’d embraced it, giving fully of herself for the first time since the loss of her adoptive parents.

  I can’t care for you if you don’t do as I say, Paul had said, his voice sounding so warm and inviting, much like an old sweater that she’d wanted to wrap around her shoulders.

  Then the controlling had started.

  He’d had to know where she was at all times. It was for her own good, he’d claimed. If he didn’t know where she was, he couldn’t be there for her. Then he’d nearly strangled her with his possessiveness, and she’d broken up with him. He’d taken her hostage. Threatened her life until her family came to her rescue. She’d only recently come out the other side.

  Luke’s controlling instincts were too big of a risk to take a chance on. She couldn’t give in to the wrong person again.

  He pulled into her driveway and killed the engine. Drizzle had resumed spitting from the sky, and a layer of dense fog hugged the ground just as it had downtown. She didn’t want to get out of the warm vehicle. Didn’t want to leave Luke, but she would. She had to move if she didn’t want to lose herself and become the dependent woman she’d tried so hard to avoid being since
the incident with Paul. She forced her shoulders back and slipped out of Luke’s coat.

  “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you in the morning.” She opened her door.

  He shot out a hand. “You can’t honestly think I’ll leave you alone here after what just happened.”

  She smiled to ease his concern. “I might have melted down a little back there, but I’m fine now.”

  “Regardless of your state of mind, we have a killer on our hands.”

  She couldn’t lie to him and say she doubted it. “Even if that’s the case, I’ll be okay.”

  His jaw firmed for a moment, then he took a deep breath. “This man killed in cold blood. What makes you think if he decides to come for you that you can handle it?”

  What made him think she couldn’t? Her back went up more from habit than from wanting to show her strength. “I’ve been trained by the best law enforcement organization in the world. I have a gun and know how to use it. My home is protected by a state-of-the-art security system. I’ll be fine.” She jumped out of the car and marched up to her house.

  She heard Luke stomping behind her, but by the time he reached her, she’d unlocked the door, stepped inside and was punching her code into the alarm keypad.

  “See,” she said as she spun to face him. “My system is working, and I’ll be fine.”

  He stood on her porch, staring at her, his expression hangdog. An urge to give in and let him take over snaked through her, but she shook it off.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” She started to close the door.

  He planted a foot inside to stop her, his face a mass of iron will like Paul’s the night when he’d abducted her. She jumped back and wrapped her arms around her middle to protect herself.

  Luke ran a hand over his hair, then watched her for a long moment before shaking his head and stepping back. “I’ll wait here until I hear the lock slide into place.”

  She had no idea what had made him back down, but whatever it was, she was thankful. She closed and locked the door, then set the security system. When the lights blinked their readiness, she sighed out a breath. She was too worked up to sleep, but a long soak in the deep, jetted tub would do wonders.

  She heard Luke’s car start as she clicked off the entry light and the room went black. With the skies overcast tonight, a streetlight filtering through the blind slats was the only light keeping the darkness at bay. She made her way down the hall, removed her gun and put it in the nightstand. She grabbed her pajamas and robe, then headed back down the hall. As she passed the spare bedroom, she sensed movement behind her. She slowed to listen but heard nothing.

  “Don’t move,” a distorted voice came from behind as a gun went to her head.

  Despite the warning, she let out a bloodcurdling scream.

  “Stop.” He ground the gun’s cold barrel into her temple and stood breathing hard behind her.

  She froze in place. Her heart felt as if it might thump out of her chest as she fought for calm to analyze her situation.

  Breathe. Just breathe. Nice and easy. In and out.

  Better.

  Now think.

  The man felt a need to disguise his voice for some reason. Maybe he feared she’d escape and could then identify him. Or had she perhaps met Echo and hadn’t known it at the time? The horrible thought of being near him sent a shiver over her body. She needed to memorize everything in case she got away and could bring him to justice.

  Not “in case.” You will get away.

  He fumbled behind her, sucking in deep breaths and rasping them out. He smelled of perspiration and something else she couldn’t identify. She could tell from where his voice originated that he was taller than she was, but only by an inch or so. She had no idea if he was powerfully built, so she didn’t know if she should try to fight. She couldn’t give in to him, though.

  “You don’t want to do this,” she said, starting to turn so she could take a good look at him.

  He clicked the gun’s trigger and ground the cold barrel deeper. She instantly stopped moving. A rigid plastic cable tie looped around one of her wrists, and he jerked it behind her back.

  “Put your other hand in,” he commanded, stepping closer.

  With the trigger cocked, she knew better than to fight, so she put her hand in the loop.

  He yanked the cord tight, slicing the soft flesh of her wrists and binding them tight. She stifled a cry of pain. A cry of panic.

  “Sit,” he barked, his voice cartoonish from the mechanical device.

  She couldn’t sit. If she did, she’d no longer be able to fight back effectively.

  Help me, God. Please help me, she prayed as she ignored the command and remained standing.

  “Fine, have it your way.” He kicked the back of her knees with stiff boots and she dropped to the ground.

  She hit the wooden floor hard but managed to stay upright. He shoved her down with another swift kick. Pain lanced into her shoulder, but she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

  Light spilled from the bathroom window, allowing her to make out a few details. He was dressed in black, a ski mask in place. A hard plastic object was wedged in the mouth hole, keeping his true voice a secret. He was on the slender side, with bulging biceps. She squinted to see if she could make out his eye color, but a shadow covered his face.

  He held his gun on her while he retrieved another cable tie from his pocket.

  Bending forward, he jerked her ankles together. If he managed to secure them with the cable tie, she would never get away from him, and she would die.

  She had to act. Now!

  He bent lower. She brought her foot up and knocked the gun from his hand. It flew down the hallway, hit the wall and slid along the floor.

  The impact triggered the gun. A deafening explosion and blinding flash filled the air. She pushed to her knees, the wood floor biting in and making her cry out. She struggled to stand, but her assailant grabbed her ankles and tugged.

  “No!” she screamed, and toppled like a tree in the forest. She couldn’t use her arms to protect herself, so she landed with a resounding thud on her shoulder. Pain shot down her arm, and she fought her desire to cry. She’d already let this creep know he’d hurt her, and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing it again.

  He cinched the cord at her ankles, cutting off the blood flow to her feet. She struggled to move but could only roll onto her side. He scrambled down the hallway, and she knew he was going to retrieve his gun.

  Father, please don’t let him kill me, she pleaded, knowing her only chance to escape had presented itself and she’d failed. Now this crazed man was going to kill her.

  * * *

  A gunshot?

  One foot on the driveway, the other still in his SUV, Luke paused to listen but caught nothing out of the ordinary.

  Was he imagining things because he was worried for Dani or had a gun gone off in her house?

  Did it matter? Either way, he was breaking down her door if necessary to make sure she was okay. Thankful he’d ignored her demands and planned to camp out in his car tonight, he turned off the engine he’d left running to keep him warm and jogged toward the house. He took the steps to the porch two at a time.

  “Dani.” He pounded on the door. “Are you okay?”

  He listened but heard nothing for a moment, then footsteps thundered his way. The thump, thump, thump was way too heavy to be Dani.

  “Luke,” she screamed from deep inside the house, and his heart ripped in two.

  Don’t let me be too late. Not again, God. Not again.

  “I’m coming in,” he shouted while looking for the best way in. He could put a shoulder to the door, but he’d seen the strength of her dead bolt and it could take time to break through. He grabbed a wrought-iron chair and hurled
it through the porch window. He ripped the blinds from their mount and saw a man dressed in black run for the back of the house.

  Luke scrambled through the window without bothering to remove the remaining shards. “Dani, where are you?”

  “In the hall.” Her voice shook.

  She was alive! Thank you, God, Luke thought, wondering if his prayer had helped this time.

  Ignoring the warm blood sliding down his arm from the glass shards, he ran in the direction from which she’d called. Around the corner, he spotted a light switch and flipped it up. At the end of a narrow hallway, he found her lying on her side, her back to him. Thick white zip ties circled her wrists and ankles. He glanced back, wondering if he should go after her assailant or free her from the restraints.

  She drew in a ragged breath and curled into a fetal position.

  Luke fisted his hands. The creep who did this to her was likely long gone by now, and Luke wouldn’t succeed in capturing him. Besides, he couldn’t leave her alone, and he certainly couldn’t leave her tied up like this.

  As he hurried down the hall, her security alarm gave off a loud whoop and settled into a noisy cycle.

  “Give me your code, and I’ll turn it off,” he said above the din.

  She rattled off the numbers, and he jogged back to the entryway to punch in the digits. He sighed out his relief when silence once again reigned. Back in the hallway, he dropped to his knees next to Dani. Her eyes were glazed with fear as she stared over his shoulder as if watching for her assailant to return. He dug out his pocketknife and reached out to free her hands, but she recoiled, her back pressing against the wall.

  No. No. No. Blinding rage reared up and consumed him. He clamped down on his jaw to gain control of his emotions before he said something to make the situation worse.

  “Dani,” he said as softly as he could, “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to help.”

  She watched him warily, seeming moments from tears. The confident woman he’d come to know was hidden so deeply that he had to believe there was more to the situation than he could see. Sure, being attacked in your home at gunpoint was traumatic, but Dani possessed internal fortitude to overcome that.