Settling Scores (Piper Anderson Series)

by Danielle Stewart

  “Trust me, if I wanted to it wouldn’t be a matter of try. I can disappear.” Though she meant it more as a joke than a warning, she regretted it as she saw a seriousness fall over Josh’s kind face.

  “Don’t disappear,” he pleaded as he pushed his hair off his forehead and stared straight into her. “Just don’t.”

  “I won’t,” she assured him, even knowing the odds were against that being true.

  They settled themselves into the hotel and Willow found herself antsy to leave. Her nervous energy was practically shooting sparks out of her as she paced around the small hotel room.

  “Ready to go?” Josh asked as he tucked in his shirt.

  “You should change,” Willow suggested, trying to be tactful. “You look like a doctor. Did you bring anything else?”

  “What’s wrong with looking like a doctor?”

  “Doctors are rich. Rich people get robbed,” Willow explained as she grabbed his bag and set it on the bed, quickly unzipping it. She was finding boundary crossing unavoidable. Last night they’d slept in her lumpy too small bed. Their bodies were forced to touch and they woke in each other’s tangled arms. Pawing through his clothes for something better to wear was just another line to cross and it seemed like it would be one of many.

  “Here, what about this?” she asked, tossing him the only T-shirt in the bag. “Just leave it untucked.”

  “Do I look like someone who tucks in his t-shirts? Boy, if so, I need to work on my image.”

  “I wasn’t sure,” Willow laughed, and she wondered if she should leave him alone to change. Before she could decide, he was already reaching over his back and lifting his dress shirt over his head, exposing his well-defined chest and stomach. His tanned skin was smooth and begging to be touched.

  “Shit,” she breathed out before she could catch her words.

  “What?” he asked, grabbing the T-shirt.

  “Do you work out? I didn’t know you had all that under your white coat and stethoscope. You’re in really good shape. Like really good.”

  “So I’m full of surprises today. I’m not the goofy chubby guy who tucks in his T-shirts. I’m glad we’re clearing this up.”

  “I didn’t think you were chubby, I just didn’t realize you had a damn six pack,” Willow retorted as she covered her own midsection self-consciously with her hand. “What’s that?” she asked pointing at the long jagged mark that cut across his lower stomach and trailed below the waist of his pants and out of sight. She couldn’t help but wonder where it ended.

  “It is a scar and someday I’ll tell you how I got it. There are a lot of things you don’t know about me Willow. But you will.”

  “I guess if we’re going to be in this three hundred square foot room we’ll be finding out a lot about each other.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Josh smirked as he opened the door for her. “After you,” he said waving her by him.

  “Where did you learn to do all that?” she asked, hesitating on her way out and turning her body to face his, the small space of the doorframe forcing them close to each other.

  “Opening doors? Well I think they covered operating common door knobs in med school.”

  “Not the actual opening of the door, but all that stuff you do for people, for me. Holding doors, grabbing my bags, making sure I’m good before you worry about yourself. That has to come from somewhere.”

  “I don’t know really. It just always seemed like the right thing to do. I guess my dad must have done a lot of it and I just picked it up. Then as I got older, I kept doing it because I liked the way it made me feel. Maybe it’s the doctor thing, wanting to help people.”

  “You’re like a real gentleman. I don’t know that I’ve met anyone who does that stuff all the time.”

  “Now you have,” Josh retorted, and Willow felt the urge to kiss him. She leaned her face in a few centimeters and felt his hand brush against her shoulder, not seductively but haltingly. “We probably only have a couple hours of sun left, we should head over to the apartment,” he said as he leaned back the equal distance that she had leaned in, sending a loud message.

  “You’re right,” Willow conceded, talking more about the fact that he’d rebuffed her kiss than his comment about the daylight fading. He was indeed right, a kiss now could be catastrophic.

  Chapter Seven

  As Josh’s car rounded the corner to the apartment building where she’d spent the first part of her life, Willow felt weirdly excited. She wasn’t enthusiastic about remembering the horror that had occurred there, but she knew it was the first step in possibly finding these girls.

  “That’s it right there.” Willow pointed as they approached the four-story apartment building with splintered dark brown wood siding. “Holy shit.” She brought her hands up to cover her mouth.

  “You okay?” Josh asked, laying his hand on her leg gently.

  “It looks exactly the same. Just as shitty. I really remember it. I know it doesn’t make any sense but I didn’t really believe this was all real until right now.”

  “I’ll park and we can walk around if that’s what you want.”

  Josh pulled into a spot and before he could cut the engine, Willow was swinging the door open and heading for the front of the apartment.

  “You have a plan here? I’m with you; I just want to know what you’re thinking.” Josh explained, trying to keep pace with her.

  “I’m not thinking,” Willow admitted as she heard Josh trying to catch up. She thought he might grab her arm and try to talk some sense into her but instead, he just met her stride.

  “Can I help you with something?” a man in a beige jumpsuit asked as he stepped between them and the door.

  The words Willow hadn’t taken the time to think through didn’t magically form. She stood with her mouth agape, a look of panic filling her. Josh’s voice and his extended hand toward the man were enough to shake her from it.

  “I’m Doctor Nelson, this is Willow. We’re interested in seeing one of the apartments in this building.”

  “You must be lost,” the man said with a wary tone as he reluctantly shook Josh’s hand. “We don’t have any doctors living in this building, that’s for sure. I’ve been the super here for twenty-one years, I can tell you this ain’t the apartment for you.”

  “We’re not looking to rent it,” Josh began to explain but a spark of recognition ignited in the man’s face as he cut in.

  “I know you,” he said, pointing at Willow who immediately turned her eyes toward the ground. “I saw you on the news. You used to live here. The guy who killed his parents, that’s your brother right?”

  Willow couldn’t speak. The last thing she expected to happen within her first five minutes here was to be recognized. She’d mentally separated herself from everything this place represented. It was a stark reminder that this wasn’t something she hovered above and watched happen, she’d lived all of this.

  “Yes,” Josh cut in, stepping forward between the super and Willow slightly. “You were here then?”

  “I was, I remember it all. I remember you. You were little. All these years I thought your brother was just a psycho but the news said they let him out.”

  “He was protecting me,” Willow mustered, regaining her voice with a shocking fierceness. “They let him out because he didn’t deserve to be in there.”

  “That’s what I heard,” the man said with wide eyes as though he was looking at a ghost. “People were saying your parents were like monsters or something. That they had you tied up in there? If I had known that…” The man’s tiny voice trailed off. His face wrenched with guilt.

  “It’s ok,” Willow assured him, not wanting anyone else to carry the remorse she did every day. “They were monsters, but I don’t think many people knew.”

  “Why do you want to see this place again? I would think you’d never want to come back.”

  “I wasn’t the only one,” Willow started, the words catching in her throat. “There
were others and I want to try to remember. Maybe help them. Find them.”

  “There were other girls kept up there? The news didn’t say anything about that. How did they keep them so quiet? How did we not know?” The man put his hand over his forehead as though his brain was hurting from the shocking news.

  “They were pretty good at scaring the girls into being quiet. They had their ways,” she gulped out, hoping he wouldn’t ask her to elaborate. One of the most terrifying things about talking about her past was the inevitability of someone asking her why she never tried to get away. She could see their faces were filled with the burning question, Why not run? Why not scream? Why not fight? It was hard to explain, even harder to admit.

  “That’s very brave of you to come back and want to help,” the man said, pulling a large ring of keys from his belt loop. “My son lives in the apartment now. It was empty for a long time after. Eventually I rented it to my boy once he was old enough. Come on up. He’s at work and won’t mind if you look around.”

  “Thank you.” Josh smiled as he looked over at Willow and clearly expected her to be smiling too. That was not the case. The fact that she was moments away from stepping back into a hell she’d convinced herself she’d dreamed up was not something she could smile about. The excitement had waned. Evaporated really.

  “No,” she said, her legs cemented to the ground. “I can’t.” Her words felt far away, as if someone else were speaking them.

  “It’s really not a problem. My son won’t mind. He wasn’t much older than you were at the time but he knows what happened. He’ll understand.”

  Willow’s eyes glazed over with the threat of tears as she locked her gaze with Josh, speaking to him without words.

  “I really appreciate your time today. I think she might not be ready to go inside. She needs more time,” Josh explained, stepping sideways and using his body to shield Willow from the building. It was a hollow attempt but Willow took the act to heart.

  “Here,” the man said, fishing in his pocket and pulling a business card out. “You call me. My name is Tony. Anytime you want to see the apartment, I’ll let you in.”

  Josh took the card and flashed a grateful smile. As they turned to head back to the car, Willow looped her arm in his, a necessity to keep from falling. This was the wave Josh had talked about that might bowl her over, and nothing had even happened yet.

  “Willow,” Tony called pulling their attention back toward the building, “you’re tough. You were back then. I remember.”

  A small sniffle escaped from Willow as she sent back a halfhearted wave.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, taking in a raspy breath. “I’m sorry I didn’t go inside. I just need more time.”

  “Don’t apologize to me,” Josh consoled, stopping at the passenger side of the car to let Willow in. “The fact that you didn’t go inside right now is a good sign. It means you’re not recklessly plunging into this as if it doesn’t have repercussions. You have to listen to your heart. You’ll know when you’re ready and if you never are, that’s okay too.”

  “It’s not okay Josh,” Willow shouted, pounding her fist into the car. “Those girls might still be out there. I might be the only person who can find them.”

  “Careful, that’s a rental,” a voice called out sending Willow’s hand shooting to Josh’s bicep, her nails digging in.

  “Bobby?” she heard Josh say and she tried to focus on the people moving toward them.

  “What are you doing here?” Willow demanded with a sharp edge to her voice. Bobby’s voice had rattled her and it made her reaction harsher than she meant it.

  “Willow, please, let us talk to you,” Piper pleaded as she stepped around the car toward them.

  “Did you know they were coming?” Willow asked throwing daggers at Josh with her eyes. She wasn’t meaning to sound so brash but they’d startled her at a moment when she already felt uneasy.

  “I didn’t know,” Josh answered, tossing his hands up in innocence. “I swear.” He looked like he knew the consequences if she didn’t believe him.

  “We’re here to help,” Piper tried again, placing her hand on Willow’s shoulder.

  “I don’t need your help. Didn’t I make that clear in Edenville?”

  “Hold on,” Bobby said, his tone firm. “Do you think it was easy for us to just take off and come up here? Like we don’t have lives of our own?”

  “No one asked you to!” Willow called back, matching his tone. “I am trying to do something here. Something you wouldn’t understand. I don’t need you here.” Having Josh around was one thing. He’d proven he was willing to quietly support her, but she doubted Bobby and Piper could make the same commitment. They’d never agree with what she was trying to do and they’d likely try to get her to give up. She didn’t need that energy around her right now.

  “We’re not here for you,” Piper said, softening her voice and pulling Willow’s eyes back to her and away from Bobby. “We’re here for Jedda. He’s going mad worrying about you. If we didn’t come he would have and he can’t do that right now. You know that.” Piper raised an eyebrow, imploring Willow to agree.

  “He is?” she asked, her voice quiet and childlike. “He wanted to come up here? I thought he was still pissed about the way I left.”

  “He’s not pissed. He was ready to pack his bag. He’s worried and you know how hard it would be for him to come back here. You know, because you’re going through it too. We’re here so he doesn’t have to be. Can you understand that?” Piper asked, her face soft, her voice lulling Willow into an understanding.

  “I guess so, but there isn’t anything you can do. There’s no point in you being here. You aren’t going to convince me to stop this or to go home. I have things to do here.”

  “I get that,” Piper said, trying again to touch Willow’s shoulder, to connect. “I’ve been there. We’re not going to force you to do anything but Bobby and I can help. You just have to let us.”

  The silence between all of them was thick, no one sure where to turn the conversation next. Was Willow’s lack of words a sign of agreement? Bobby, whose body language was screaming impatience, was the first to break the quiet.

  “Did they not let you in the apartment? I can go talk to the guy you were just with, is he the super of the building? I can always flash my badge.”

  “Were you guys standing here the whole time?” Willow grunted, feeling like she was an animal at the zoo being watched for fun.

  “We just pulled up a minute ago and saw you talking to him. We didn’t know you were going to be here. Our plan was to just come check it out before we found you,” Piper explained, though it did little to ease Willow’s jumping nerves.

  “So am I going to talk to that guy or what?” Bobby asked, taking the badge that hung on a chain around his neck out from under his T-shirt.

  “No, he’s nice,” Willow said, averting her eyes. “He’ll let us in. I’m just not going in today.”

  “Why?” Bobby cut back, and Willow saw the look Piper shot to quiet him. A powerful one, reserved only for women who knew a man well.

  “What?” Bobby asked in response to the dirty look. “I’m just asking. You’re here saying you’re on this mission. Well, let’s get on with it then.”

  “It doesn’t work like that Bobby,” Josh said with a steady seriousness that made her grateful he was in her corner. “She’ll do it when she’s ready. Today isn’t the day. There are other things we can do first. We have other leads.”

  “Leads?” Bobby asked with an air of annoyance in his voice. “You sound like you’re the one simplifying things. You might not like what I have to say while I’m here but I’m the only one who’s going to be able to open some doors for you with these leads. I’m here to help, but I don’t have that much time to do this so if we’re not going in that apartment like you planned then what are we doing?”

  Piper rounded on Bobby and planted her hands on his chest, backing him up four or five large ste
ps before whispering something to him. He didn’t respond, just nodded his head as they stepped back toward Josh and Willow.

  Bobby didn’t speak when he rejoined them but the way he was forcefully biting his lip spoke volumes.

  “Willow has one girl she remembers the most. I think it could be enough to get a name if we know where to look. Like a missing persons website or something?” Josh offered, settling his voice from combative to neutral.

  “Let’s go get something to eat,” Piper suggested hopefully. “You can tell Bobby and he can maybe help you find out more about her.” Without a word, as though saying yes was too committal, Willow shook her head in agreement as Josh pulled open her car door.

  “Bobby you grew up close to here, I’m sure you can find a place to eat,” Piper said with a smile that didn’t match the atmosphere of the group, but it was clear she didn’t care. They’d all have their role in this and Piper would be the peacemaker. It was like she was a translator, responsible for standing between Bobby and Willow in order to interpret the conversation for each of them. Her job would be to strip out the tone and the bite of the words and remind each of them the well-meaning and justified intentions of the other. Willow certainly didn’t envy that task, but she was glad someone filled the position.

  Chapter Eight

  To describe the meal they shared as awkward would be an understatement. No matter how much Josh and Piper tried to make it marginally more comfortable, Willow and Bobby kept taking potshots at each other.

  So it came as a surprise when they stepped outside the old Italian restaurant and Bobby touched Willow’s shoulder lightly. “Walk with me?” he asked her as he gestured down the street. Josh and Piper immediately and with little attempt to make it look natural, turned their backs and began chatting about the weather.

  “Sure,” Willow shrugged not even pretending to look like she wanted to go.

  “I’m sorry you think I’m being an ass,” Bobby grumbled, as they headed toward the park across the street.