What had he done? He’d put his hope in himself rather than God. And he hadn’t been enough.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Preston stared at his handcuffs in the interrogation room. Soon his existence would be all over the news. His parents would probably show up at the police station. They’d be elated at his return until they realized he was likely going to be accused of murder. He’d be blamed for the death of Commander Long, not to mention his team in the helicopter. He’d be the most hated man in America. But that wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to him.
The worst thing that could happen was for him to be set free knowing Holly died in his place.
He extended his arms forward and dropped his head to the hard, metal table. If only he hadn’t said such hurtful things to her under the dock. If only he hadn’t tried to be the Lone Ranger again. He’d felt bad about pushing her away like that, which was why he hadn’t been focused on the security vehicle when it showed up in the keys. Which was why he’d been distracted enough to let her get kidnapped.
But even if Caleb would have gotten to her anyway, Preston could have at least told her he loved her. Instead of insinuating that she was shallow enough to replace him the moment he went to jail.
She wasn’t like that. She was the opposite. She’d fought for him so hard that she’d lost her life. While he’d selfishly turned on God for not avenging him of his enemies on his own personal timeline.
He’d wasted the time he had with Holly because he’d convinced himself he was doing the right thing by refusing to connect. Had he known their couple of days together were going to be all she’d have left on Earth, he would have savored every moment. And he would have prayed more.
It was too late for a relationship with Holly, but it wasn’t too late for a relationship with the Lord. “Oh, God.” He spoke aloud, uncaring if his words were recorded. He had nothing to hide anymore. In fact, he hoped the cops were listening. He hoped other people could learn from his mistakes.
“I’m so sorry.” Did the CID investigators watching through the two-way glass assume he was confessing? Well, he was. “I’m sorry Holly died so I could live.” But Holly wasn’t the only one who’d died for him. Jesus had also died so he could live. Though he’d never gotten it before. He’d squandered the gift. “I’m so sorry I thought I could do it on my own. I’m so sorry I didn’t put my hope in You.”
His voice broke. He choked back a sob.
He would choose to believe all things worked together for good now. But that didn’t stop the overwhelming hurt of the moment. The kind of hurt he’d put all his loved ones through. The kind of pain God must have felt when letting His son die on the cross.
Preston didn’t know how others handled the grief, but he’d learned he couldn’t do things on his own. He had to put his hope in the Lord.
“Please help me, God.”
The door clicked open. Shoes slapped cement. Time to answer questions.
Preston took a deep breath through his constricted throat. Drained of energy, his body wanted to sink deeper into the table, but he’d caused the government enough trouble for one day. He’d rise and face his problems, knowing God was still on his side. He couldn’t bring back Holly, but he could fight for justice for her.
He rolled up, the ache in his spine rising one vertebrae at a time until it settled as tension in his shoulders. He lifted his chin to defend himself. “I didn’t kill Holly. I—”
The gray gaze caressed him at the same time it pierced his soul. “I know,” she said.
His breath rushed out as if someone had punched him in the gut. How could it be? How could Holly be standing in front of him on crutches? He’d seen her float away, facedown.
“You—” He stood. He didn’t need to piece it together as much as he needed to hold her.
She tried to wobble his way, but he was faster. He looped his handcuffs over her head and behind her neck, laughing at the situation. So what if he went to prison for life? He’d learned how to love. And that was what really mattered.
She shifted her weight to one foot and grasped both crutches in the opposite hand to wrap a free arm behind his back. Her chin lifted until they were face-to-face. Her heart beat against his chest.
She was so warm. So soft. So alive.
“I thought you drowned.”
She bit her lip. Her eyes searched his. “I played dead.”
There were no words. He shook his head in wonder. Studied each inch of her face to memorize her features. He had to make the most of every moment with her. It was a gift. God had given them a second chance. Or was it a third chance? He wouldn’t squander this one.
The vise around his heart unclamped. He could breathe again. “Promise me you’ll never do that again.”
Her eyes glossed over as if in pain.
Her leg? Or her memory of him playing dead first? He had no way to comfort her but to tilt his forehead against hers. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
The corners of her mouth curved up. That was better. He never wanted to hurt her again.
Preston focused on her smile. Her lips. He still had some making up to do.
The door swooshed open. He wanted to ignore the interruption. To deepen their connection. But he was in police custody.
Officer Shaw cleared his throat.
Preston looked up. Smiled at the old guy. There was nothing the law could do to dampen his mood.
“Tyler, please have a seat.”
Preston looked back down at Holly as he raised his arms over her head to end their embrace. She wobbled backward. He lowered himself to the chair, handcuffs on the table once again. Though he wanted to whoop and holler and jump around.
“Mr. Tyler, it’s been a long couple of days, so I want to make this quick and get home to my wife.”
Preston nodded. He could relate to the sentiment. Even if he had no wife and home to return to. Yet.
“We got a phone call about a boat without lights on and tracked it down to the bridge. We rescued Holly and found you and Caleb fighting.”
Preston slid his gaze her direction and relaxed in contentment. Even when he’d doubted God’s love and run from faith, God had never given up on him.
“The problem is that the story you’re telling us is the same thing Caleb is telling us. You both claim the other hid the sabotage of Operation Desert Storm and has been killing people to cover it up. So we have you both in custody. Neither Denise Amador nor the security guard is willing to testify against him. They’re afraid.”
A wrinkle appeared between Holly’s eyebrows. She would know more about testimonies than he did. But if she represented him in court, she could prove him innocent. She’d seemed pretty sure of herself when she’d found that newspaper article.
“Right now, it’s your word against Caleb’s. We have no evidence. Unless Holly testifies.”
Preston glanced back at Shaw. Why did he seem so serious? So Holly would be a witness instead of his lawyer. That was still okay, wasn’t it?
“I allowed Holly to come in here to say goodbye because she’s agreed to be a witness, and for her own safety against Caleb hiring another hit man, we are going to have to put her in the Witness Security Program.”
Preston leaped to his feet. They had to be kidding. He’d just gotten her back. “What? For how long? She’s been in enough danger, and—”
Holly reached for his arm. The soft touch of her fingers brought little comfort. Because if she went into WitSec he wouldn’t see her again for a long time. That was if he ever saw her again. He raised his hands to his hair and gripped the roots in frustration.
“It’s okay, Preston,” she consoled him. “This is the only way to free you.”
Her goal. But not his. Not anymore. What could he do?
Nothing. He could do nothing. He’d tried to save her and failed. Only a moment ago he’d been promising to put all his hope in God, and already he’d forgotten. Had he learned nothing? Oh, God, save Holly.
If only he
’d prayed this prayer earlier instead of praying for God to avenge his enemies. Wait. That was it. His mind rewound to his desperate plea outside the cave. He’d been comparing himself to David at the time. And he still should.
When David knew King Saul wanted him dead, Jonathan had trouble believing his dad would be so evil. So David told Jonathan to tell Saul that David was still alive and see how he reacted. Saul’s anger revealed his true intentions.
They could do this to Caleb. On camera. The evidence would be hard for Caleb to explain away in court.
Preston lowered his hands. He studied Holly. The woman was willing to give up her life for him, but now she wouldn’t have to.
“Does Caleb think Holly’s dead?”
Holly’s eyes widened. She glanced at Shaw for the response.
The officer shrugged. “Well, yes. We want to let him think she’s dead until his trial gets to discovery and we have to reveal her as a witness. By then, she will be safely hidden, and he will have less time to try to track her down.”
Preston sat up straight. Shaw’s plan was a good one for the case, but not good for Holly. She wasn’t dead. She had a life to live. “What if Holly reveals herself to Caleb the way she just did to me? You’re going to get a whole different reaction.”
Shaw crossed his arms. “That’s not normal procedure.”
Holly rocked forward on her crutches. “Shaw, I’m not your normal witness. I’ve dealt with criminals before as an attorney. If anyone can get him to confess, I can.”
Shaw bit off the tip of his fingernail and spit it into the garbage. “All right. But we will be watching from behind the glass. Caleb has handcuffs on, but after the day I’ve had, I know not to trust them.” His gaze slid toward Preston.
Preston shrugged. What could he say?
“You may feel as if you’re alone with Caleb, but you won’t be.”
Holly peeked Preston’s way. “I know.”
* * *
Holly had dealt with many criminals before, just not any who had previously tried to kill her. She gripped her crutch handles tightly and waited for Shaw to open the door.
Preston had to remain in his handcuffs in the first interrogation room. His freedom depended on her success.
“You ready?” Shaw asked.
Was she? No. But God was. She nodded.
Shaw swung the door open. Holly took a deep breath and poked her crutches through the doorway so she could swing in after them. She planted her good foot.
Caleb’s mouth dropped open. He leaned away.
The door snapped shut behind her. Last time she had been alone with this man, he’d been holding her head below water. But she couldn’t mention that now. She couldn’t lead the witness.
So she stood. She waited on God.
“Holly.” Fear contorted Caleb’s expression between attempts to act natural. He was probably reeling through excuses to find the best one for the occasion. He didn’t sound as thankful she was alive as he had the first time they’d been questioned by police. How had she ever fallen for that act?
“Caleb,” she greeted him in return. “May I join you?”
His eyes narrowed. He pressed his lips together. It had to be killing him that he couldn’t threaten her to keep quiet the way he’d threatened the security guard. He twitched. Rocked. Finally motioned for the seat across from him.
She hobbled forward. “Thank you.”
“What are you doing here?”
She lowered herself to the chair and leaned her crutches on the floor. “I’m getting set up for the Witness Security Program.”
He slammed his hands down on the table. His handcuffs jingled.
Holly tensed. She reached for a crutch to use as a weapon to defend herself. Yes, the police were only a few feet away, but after getting shot and having her femur cracked, she wasn’t going to take any more chances.
Caleb cleared his throat and sat back as if the outburst had never happened. “You think Preston is going to keep trying to kill you?” he asked. “That makes me so angry.”
She exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Caleb was still putting on the show. “That’s why you’re angry?” she challenged him.
“Yes.” He waved his arms with as much melodrama as the handcuffs would allow. This was the Caleb she knew. The one who got away with murder. “I thought he was on your side, but I guess he was jealous you agreed to marry me.”
Her pulse raged at his overt lie, but what had she expected? He’d turned the tables like he always did. She needed to keep cool. She knew the truth no matter what he said.
“Perhaps.”
“Well, I hope you are honest about it when you testify at his court case.”
She wanted to throw her head back and laugh at his outlandish advice. But the joke was on her. If Caleb could keep a straight face through such an act, there was no way she was going to get him to crack.
She rose and situated the crutches beneath her arms. She was exhausted and in pain. No need to waste any more time with the manipulator when Preston was right next door and she’d have to leave him soon. “I can promise you I’ll be honest when I speak to a jury. Whoever tried to kill me will be going to jail for a long, long time.”
Caleb stilled as he watched her hobble a step forward. “How did you survive?”
She stopped. Turned her head to face him. She’d survived a lot of his attacks, but he must have been referring to the attempted drowning. “Did you forget I swam in college?”
His eyes burned with a new awareness. If she beat him here, she could do it again in court. He spoke slowly. “You…played…dead?”
She smiled sweetly. “Make no mistake, I outsmarted the killer.”
He leaped to his feet and lunged for her.
She shifted her weight to lift the crutch as she’d planned to, but she was too unstable and the weapon too long to stop him.
He lifted his hands and brought them down with the cold chain tight around her neck. He pinned her back to his chest.
Her scream caught in her throat. The steel squeezed against her flesh. She reached for it with both hands to open the airway. Crutches dropped to the floor. She stepped down on her bad leg. The shooting pain muddled all sensations. Black spots blurred her vision.
The door slammed open. An array of cop uniforms appeared before her eyes as if she were looking through a kaleidoscope.
Shouting.
The grip on her throat slackened. Handcuffs scraped against her cheekbones and nose as Caleb was forced to release her. His knee bumped her as he tried for one more desperate escape, and then his chest gave way to thin air.
She kept her left leg lifted and reached for anything that might prevent her from tipping over into the commotion. Nothing steady. Then both feet were whisked out from underneath her.
Preston scooped her up and hugged her to his solid chest. “Wanna get out of here, doll?” he asked.
She looked down at the hands that held her, wrists still cuffed together. There was nothing that would keep this man from rescuing her. She twisted to face him and wrap her arms around him in return. “I’ll stay here with you as long as I have to.”
His eyes roamed her face. “Thanks to you, that’s not going to be very long.”
Sure enough, Shaw finished up reading Caleb his rights and turned to face the couple. “It’s been a long two days, but it looks like this little lady’s prayers have been answered. You’ve earned your freedom, Tyler. Not that these things ever stopped you from anything.” He shot Holly a wry smile as he twisted his key to loosen Preston’s bonds.
Holly sighed in satisfaction. Caleb’s attempt to choke her had given Preston the freedom she’d been praying for. And she was finally free to be his doll again.
* * *
Preston carried a sleeping Holly through the front door of his cabin. With as long as they’d had to spend at the police station, the sun was coming up and both sets of their parents were due to arrive at any time. It would be a reun
ion to remember, but if he and Holly were going to pick up where they’d left off four years before, he needed to make things right between them.
He lowered her gently to the couch and brushed hair back from her face. Should he wake her up or let her rest?
He’d let her rest. She’d been through so much. He’d just practice his apology on her sleeping form. “I’m sorry I ever let you think I died, Holly.”
Her eyelids fluttered open. She quietly studied his face.
Practice time was over. He knelt on his knees in front of her. “I realize how wrong that was. When I thought you were dead tonight…” His voice trailed away as tears pooled in his eyes. There were no words for the pain of mourning.
She lifted a palm to his cheek. “It’s okay.”
He leaned into her touch. “It is now, but it wasn’t. You were right about my fear keeping me from loving you the way I should have.”
She bit her lip. “And I’m sorry about agreeing to marry Caleb out of loneliness. If you can forgive me for that, I can forgive you for anything.”
He examined the pink area of her neck where Caleb had choked her. It would probably be sore for a few days. “You saved my life, Holly.”
She reached for his fingers and entwined them with hers. “You saved mine.”
He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. They could argue all night about who’d saved who. Or he could just quote the scripture she’d been trying to pound into his thick skull. “‘Two are better than one.’”
She gave a soft smile. “Though I was never alone, I was lonely without you.”
He kissed her nose. “If I have anything to say about it, you are never going to be lonely again.”
She lifted her chin to catch a second kiss on her lips. “I’m really glad I serve a God who can bring the dead back to life.”
What had she said? The warmth of her lips and softness of the touch momentarily turned his brain to static. Something about how God restored lives? Well, he wasn’t going to waste one more minute of his. He scrambled to his feet and climbed the ladder to the loft.
Presumed Dead (Love Inspired Suspense) Page 18