She held his gaze for several long minutes, and he could feel some of the sick energy inside her ease away. “Okay, I’ll try things your way for now.”
“Let’s go back inside.” He pushed his car keys into her hand. “Get you and Melinda packed up and leave the suitcases in your rooms. Then go lock yourselves in my truck. Is there attic access in your apartment?”
Once again she clutched at the front of his shirt. “Don’t go up there. He’ll...he’ll kill you, Hunter. He’s a very sick, dangerous man.”
Hunter touched the handle of his gun in his holster. “You don’t understand. When somebody threatens somebody I love, I become a dangerous man. Now, where’s the attic access?”
“In the bathroom,” she finally said.
“Thank you.” He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Get packed and get in the truck, okay? You have a flashlight?”
“Under the kitchen sink.” Her fingers tightened on the front of his shirt. “Please, Hunter. Don’t let him kill you.”
“I won’t,” he replied firmly.
They went back inside, and within minutes Melinda and Ainsley were packed and locked inside the truck. The moment they left the apartment, Hunter grabbed the flashlight beneath her kitchen sink and then hurried into the bathroom.
He stepped up on the toilet lid and then onto the edge of the sink, where he had to crouch. He reached up to move the piece of ceiling that gave access to the attic. Once it was dislodged, he pulled his gun. He wasn’t about to stand all the way up not knowing if he’d catch a bullet in the head.
“Dusty Gulch Sheriff’s Department. Come down with your hands up.” He waited and listened. Nothing. He repeated the command and again waited to hear something...anything that would let him know where the man was in what he assumed was a very large attic.
Still he heard nothing. Not a rustle, not any movement that would indicate anyone in the immediate space.
His heart pounded fast and furiously. Adrenaline poured through his veins. He finally straightened up, leading the way with his gun and the flashlight.
He pointed the light to the left and then slowly panned to the right. He didn’t see anyone. He stuck the light and his gun in his waistband and then pulled himself up and into the attic. He quickly grabbed the light and his gun once again.
Once again he scanned the area with his light. There didn’t appear to be another person up here. Had the perp already escaped through another access?
He was about to take a couple of careful steps forward when he saw them...a tangle of wires that he knew didn’t belong up there.
Realization struck him. Ainsley and her daughter had been spied on, and there had to be speakers involved so that the man could talk to his daughter. How long had these things been up here? Who in the hell was Ainsley’s ex-husband?
He got down from the attic and went into Melinda’s room. He spied the camera in the ceiling, along with a tiny little speaker, and he knew there were others located around the apartment.
He immediately called Nick. “Hey, man, I was going to catch up with you and Ainsley later today. How’s she doing?”
“She’s sore, but doing okay. I’m moving her into my house right now. You need to get to the café and check out the attic above her rooms. There are cameras and I don’t know what else up here to spy on her.”
“What?” Nick’s voice was filled with stunned surprise.
“Yeah, and we now know who the bad guy is. It’s Ainsley’s ex-husband. I’m hoping she has a picture of him on her phone or someplace so we can find him and get him in jail.” Hunter spoke fast, aware of the two waiting in the car. “I’m leaving her apartment right now. We’ll be at my place in just a little while.”
“Okay, I’ll head to the café right now and touch base with you later.”
The two men hung up, and Hunter hurried into Melinda’s room and grabbed her small, pink-flowered suitcase and then went into Ainsley’s bedroom and picked up her black suitcase. He carried them outside and loaded them into the truck, then got behind the steering wheel with a reassuring smile at Ainsley.
She didn’t smile back. She stared out the passenger window and her trembling fingers twisted into knots in her lap. Once they were alone, he had a lot of questions for her.
She’d already confessed she’d lied to him about her ex-husband. What else might she have lied about? He definitely needed some answers from her.
He also needed any information she had about her ex-husband. If he was the person who had attacked her the night before, then he was in town and hopefully Nick and the other law enforcement officials could find him and get him in jail so that Ainsley and Melinda would be safe.
They took Melinda back to Juanita’s, and during the ride to his house Ainsley remained silent and withdrawn. He was completely and totally in love with her. The utter depth of his love for her hit him out of left field.
He’d known he enjoyed spending time with her. He knew that he liked everything about her. He’d realized he’d been working toward a future with her. He’d told Nick he was thinking about proposing to her. He was definitely in love with her, but he wondered what kind of secrets she was keeping.
He’d been open and honest with her about everything in his life, and he’d believed she was open and honest with him. Now doubts twisted his gut. Why hadn’t she told him her ex-husband was a dangerous man before now?
They arrived at his place, and he carried her suitcase through his front door. “Come on into the bedroom.” He led her into the room and placed her suitcase next to the bed. “You can unpack later. Right now we need to talk.”
She gave a curt nod and then followed him into the living room. She sat on the sofa, her arms wrapped around her middle. She looked so beautiful and yet so small and vulnerable.
He wanted to sit next to her and draw her into his arms. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her and that he wanted a forever future with her, but he didn’t. He had more important things to do.
He got a small notebook and a pen from his kitchen desk drawer and then joined her on the sofa. “What’s your ex-husband’s name?”
“Peter Waverly.” She didn’t meet his gaze.
“Do you have a picture of him?” If they had a photo of him, then they could immediately show it around town. Somewhere somebody had to have seen the guy.
“In my phone,” she replied. “It’s in my purse in the bedroom. I’ll go get it.” She got up and left the living room.
This was the break they had needed. Why hadn’t she told him more about this man before now? If she knew her ex was dangerous, then why hadn’t she shared with him more about the man when inexplicable things had started to happen to her?
She came back in and resumed her position on the sofa next to him. She turned on her phone and flipped through a dozen photos and then stopped.
When she gave him the phone, her hand trembled. “He’s going to kill me. He tried to kill me before.”
Hunter looked at the photo. There was nothing distinctive about the man. His blond hair was cut short and his blue eyes stared straight into the camera. His front teeth overlapped each other, giving him a slightly crooked smile. Hunter didn’t remember seeing the man anywhere around, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t here.
He grabbed his cell phone and once again called Nick. “I’ve got a picture of our perp. It’s on Ainsley’s cell phone. I’m going to send it to you right now,” he said when Nick answered.
“I’ve got it,” Nick said after a moment. “I’ll get copies printed off and we’ll get it circulating. Tell Ainsley we’re going to get him behind bars.”
“I’ll tell her.” Hunter hung up the phone and handed hers back to her. For several long moments, they sat in silence. So many questions whirled around in his head, he didn’t even know where to begin.
“How long have you k
nown it was your ex-husband behind everything?” he finally asked.
“When I heard his voice in Melinda’s room. Before that I just assumed it was somebody here in town who was tormenting me.” Her voice was a dull monotone. “I should have known he would find us. He’s found us no matter where we’ve been. He won’t stop until he kills me.”
She raised her gaze and looked at him, and in the depths of her eyes he saw more secrets—dark secrets he feared might destroy everything they had built between them.
“Why does he want you dead?” he asked.
“Because I left him. I belonged to Peter and he’s a narcissistic psychopath. He tried to kill me before I left him, and he’s been hunting me ever since.”
“So, he was abusive in the marriage?” Anger rose up inside him. He’d never been able to understand how a man could put his hands on a woman...especially a woman he professed to love.
“The physical abuse didn’t really start until the last two years of our marriage. Before that there was definitely mental and emotional abuse.”
She shook her head and once again looked down at her hands in her lap. “It’s a typical story of domestic abuse. First he began to isolate me from my friends and family. I was rarely allowed to go anywhere on my own. I didn’t have a car or a bank account.”
She sighed, sounding impatient. “And then one day he thought I flirted with a stock boy in the grocery store. That night was the first time he beat the hell out of me. I should have left then, but he was so contrite afterward, and I was desperate to stay together for Melinda’s sake.”
“And then he kept beating you,” he said. When he thought of what she’d apparently gone through, he wanted to find her ex and beat him to a bloody pulp.
“He did. When he beat me the last time, I was sure he was going to kill me. There was no car accident to make the scar on my stomach. He stabbed me there and would have stabbed me to death if the neighbors hadn’t heard me screaming and called the police.”
She released a sigh that sounded bone-weary. “He was arrested that night and I packed up what I could, used his bank card, which he’d left behind, to withdraw as much money as I could, and I took Melinda and we left.”
“Why didn’t you tell me all this before now?” He felt lied to—granted, it was a lie by omission, but he didn’t understand why she hadn’t shared this with him before now.
“Oh, Hunter, I didn’t want anyone to know where I’d come from. I have been so afraid for so long, and I’ve told you so many lies I don’t even know where to begin to tell you the truth.”
He stared at her. A woman’s lies had destroyed his life before. He now had a dreadful sense of déjà vu. Was it about to happen all over again?
Chapter Twelve
Ainsley had been terrified since she’d heard Peter’s voice in Melinda’s room. She’d hoped Peter had given up on looking for her and moved on. She’d desperately hoped she and her daughter were finally free of him.
She should have known better. He was totally obsessed. He was a sick man who wanted her dead. She should have known when strange things had begun to happen to her that he was behind it all.
She felt Hunter’s stare on her, and even though this wasn’t the way she’d wanted to come clean to him, she owed him the whole, unvarnished truth.
He was going to hate her for her lies, and then if he did his job, he would have to place her under arrest. Dear God, how had it all come down to this?
“Peter came from money. His father was not only rich, but also influential. After I got medical treatment for the stab wounds I’d received, I took Melinda to a motel to wait to see what happened next.”
“So, what happened next?”
There was curiosity in his voice, but she also felt a touch of coolness from him. The dream she’d had of building a future with him was now shattered. As she looked at him and saw that his beautiful green eyes were guarded, she knew the truth. Peter had won. She felt as if she was already dead.
“Peter was out of jail the next morning with no charges levied against him. He’d tried to kill me and he walked away free as a bird.”
“Was this in Nevada?” Hunter asked.
“No, I lied about being from Nevada. I’m actually from Portland, Maine. My mother lives there along with my older sister. My name isn’t really Ainsley Meadows, it’s Colette Waverly.”
He winced, as if she’d physically slapped him. “So, he got no charges and you ran,” he said flatly.
She nodded. “While I was running for my life, he divorced me and won full custody of Melinda. Apparently, he told the judge that I was dangerous and deranged. A warrant was issued for my arrest and I was charged with parental alienation, among other things. But there was no way I was going to allow my daughter to live with that madman, so for the past three years I’ve been on the run. I have fake ID and I’ve broken all kinds of laws to stay one step ahead of the monster. So, I understand if you have to arrest me.”
The words burst out of her on a rush, and when there was nothing else left to say, she put her hands up to her face and began to weep.
She was utterly exhausted. Her body hurt from the beating she’d received the night before. Her heart ached with the distance she now felt from Hunter, with the damage she had done to their relationship.
All she could think about now was if he didn’t arrest her, then she needed to get out of here and return to her life on the run. She would never, ever allow herself to get close to anyone again, but she couldn’t take back the love she felt for Hunter.
She wished he would take her in his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay. She wanted to be in his embrace, where she’d always felt so loved and protected. She stopped crying and dropped her hands back into her lap.
“Are you going to arrest me?” she finally asked. She met his gaze once again.
“I’m betting that if I don’t arrest you then you’re going to take off again. Aren’t you tired of running?” His eyes were dark, unfathomable.
“Yes,” she replied as tears blurred her vision. “Oh God, I’m exhausted. I’m sick of the lying and the looking over my shoulder. I don’t want this kind of life for Melinda. I know it’s not good for her, but I didn’t feel like I had any other options. I was really hoping this would be our forever home.”
“Then stop running. Stay here and let us do our jobs. We’ll deal with your other legal issues once we get Peter behind bars.” A knock on the door interrupted whatever else he was going to say.
He got up to answer the door and returned a moment later with Nick. “Hey, Ainsley, how are you doing?” Nick asked her.
“Okay,” she replied even though she was anything but okay. At the moment her physical pain was second to the pain that stabbed in her heart.
She wasn’t sure what Hunter was going to do, but she was pretty sure any love he’d had for her was gone. Thoughts of that squeezed her heart so hard it made her ribs scream in pain.
“I just wanted to let the two of you know where we’re at in the investigation.” Nick sat in the chair facing the sofa, and Hunter eased back down beside Colette. “I’ve got men up in the attic at the café dealing with all the surveillance equipment.” He looked at Hunter. “This guy spent a ton of money on this, and we have no idea where the location is on the other end. We also don’t know how he managed to get everything up there.”
“Maybe the person who has that answer is Ted Johnson, who’s nowhere to be found.”
“If he had anything to do with Peter, then he’s probably dead,” Colette said. If the man was dead, then she was partially responsible for his death. If she’d never come to Dusty Gulch, then Peter wouldn’t have killed Ted. “Peter would consider Ted a loose end. I can’t emphasize enough to you both what a dangerous, evil human being he is.”
She fell silent as Hunter filled Nick in on her real name, the reasons for her l
ying to everyone in town and about her abusive life with her ex-husband.
Nick listened carefully to everything. “Thankfully we now have his picture being circulated by all the deputies in town. If he’s here in town, then somebody will have seen him,” Nick said. “It’s just a matter of time before we have him arrested.”
“I hope so,” she replied. And then what? Peter would go to jail, and if it was like the last time, he’d manage to get out of it. He’d be out and she’d be arrested and he’d have full access to Melinda. He would discipline Melinda the same way he had her...with his fists and with his hurtful, damaging words. This thought once again brought tears to her eyes.
“Is there anything else you can tell us about Peter that might help us in locating him and making an arrest?” Nick asked her.
“Nothing. I could never predict what Peter might do,” she replied tiredly. Had it only been hours ago that she’d left the hospital? It already felt like it had been months.
“Of course we all know it’s possible he’s changed his hair color or grown some facial hair,” Nick said and then stood. “I’m heading back to the café to check in on the men there. Ainsley...er...Colette, I’ll be in touch. Hunter...walk me out?”
She watched as the man she loved disappeared out the front door with Nick. She had found the town she’d wanted to be her forever home and the man she’d hoped would be her forever man. And now it had all been destroyed.
She never should have tried to be happy. When Hunter had first asked her out, she should have turned him down. She never should have allowed herself to care about or to be cared for by another human being.
Right now, even if she got the opportunity, she didn’t have the strength to even think about running again. She felt utterly hopeless. If Peter didn’t kill her this time, then he would just wait for the next opportunity he got.
She had little hope that they would find him. He was incredibly smart, and it was quite possible he’d already left town. He had to have known she’d heard his voice in the apartment. He had to have seen Hunter going up into the attic and known they would now be looking for him.
Stalker In the Shadows Page 14