Thats how she knew me at the time. But I was working a case. I assure you Im a cop. He wondered if he should offer to let her call in his badge number for verification. Its a long story. Is Melissa here?
Shes at her accounting class tonight. She usually gets home around nine-thirty. Fritzi hugged little Benjamin closer to her leg and dropped her voice to a whisper. Is something wrong? Has something happened to her?
No, maam, Sawyer quickly reassured her. I wouldnt be asking for her here if I thought shed been hurt in any way. Logical words in almost any case. Still, a tremor of uneasy awareness rippled over his shoulders at the idea that Ace Longbow had somehow survived his bloody escape and had already found a way to get to the Kansas City area and track down his ex-wife. Id like to wait and speak to her in person if I could.
The older womans gaze darted down to her grandson. She offered Sawyer an apologetic smile when she looked back up. My daughter doesnt like anyone to come inside when shes not here. Especially at night.
Sawyer glanced over his shoulder at the steady curtain of rain whipping ahead of the wind. A soft drumbeat of thunder mocked him in the distance. But even as he shifted inside his soggy clothes, he had to admire the Teague womens efforts to keep their little family safe. No problem, maam. Ill be out in my truck.
Wait. Fritzi called him back from the edge of the porch. Its not like youre a complete stranger. And since youre the police, well, I just made a pot of decaf coffee. I dont suppose it could hurt if you came inside and warmed yourself up. Just let me get the door.
As she closed the door to unlatch the chain, Sawyer made a mental note to ensure there were secure locks on every entrance to the house. If Fritzi Teague thought that flimsy chain would keep unwelcome visitors out, she was living with a false sense of security. He hated to tell Melissas mother that he could have cut through the screen and busted down the door with little more than a shove. If she didnt keep the dead bolt fastened, the chain and the knob lock would barely slow him down, much less stop him if he wanted to get inside. And they sure as hell wouldnt stop a fanatic like Ace Longbow.
Sawyer fixed a smile on his mouth and, for the moment,
kept his concerns to himself when she reopened
the door and invited him inside.
MELISSA TEAGUE SPOTTED the black-and-white police cruiser parked in front of her house the moment she turned her old Pontiac around the corner.
The ingrained alertness that had become as much a part of her as breathing kicked up to warning levels, speeding her pulse and sharpening her senses. She squeezed the steering wheel in her fists and pressed a little harder on the gas.
She didnt recognize the black truck, either.
Melissa splashed through the lake pooling at the end of her driveway and parked her car up beside the house. She left the bag of groceries tipped over in the passenger seat, grabbed her keys and climbed out into the rain.
Mom? She turned up the collar of her trench coat, blinked the beads of moisture from her eyelashes and spared a glance for the officer in his car. Drinking his coffee. Just sitting. He wasnt on his radio or writing up a report as though the truck was illegally parked or stolen, or if thered been a break-in. Still, surprises had never been a good thing for her. Especially this close to home. Benjamin?
Forcing her lungs to breathe deeply and evenly, she ran across the slick grass to the porch. She quickly unlocked the knob and dead bolt, cursed when she discovered the chain wasnt fastened and pushed her way inside. Mom!
The screen door slammed shut behind her as she hurried toward the light streaming through the archway from the living room. Ben? Mom? Why wont you answer
She turned the corner and froze.
Her mother was sitting on the sofa, cradling a coffee mug between her hands and laughing with rare abandonlaughing at the man wrestling with Melissas precious son on the braided rug.
For one awful moment she thought that Ace But no, Benjamin might be a dead ringer for his father with his black hair and olive skin, but her ex had never claimed him. Hed seen their child as a threatas competition for her love. To Ace, their son was an abomination. A betrayal. Ace had never accepted any other males in her lifenot even his own child.
All the more reason to hold her little boy close and keep him safe.
The mans deep voice cracked as he teased Benjamin with a high-pitched plea for mercy. Aagh! Big Ben got me!
Get me! Get me!
You asked for it. Her four-year-old squealed in delight as the dark-haired man closed him in a scissor hold between his knees and rolled back and forth on the floor.
You asked for it. Melissa blocked out the painful memory the words conjured and found her voice. Mother!
The wrestling ceased in an instant. Her mothers smile vanished. Melissa.
Mommy! Benjamin beamed from one flushed cheek to the other. Tective got me!
Melissa gripped the door frame and retreated half a step as the man sat up and scooted Benjamin onto his lap.
Oh my God.
She wasnt ready for a reunion like this.
Hey. The slightly breathless laugh that lingered in their guests bass voice should have reassured her with its familiarity. His lazy grin should have struck a pang of welcome recognition instead of tensing every muscle with the urge to turn and run from the remembered horrors of her old life.
Melissa Teague didnt run anymore. But standing her ground still didnt come easy.
She knew this man. Not exactly a stranger. Not exactly an old friend, either. His straight, coffee-brown hair was shorter than she remembered, his clothes certainly different. Tom Sawyer. No, that wasnt right. Tom Sawyer Kincaid. Hed said something about his mom being an English teacher whod named all her sons after characters in books. Hed said something about being a copsomething about asking her out and getting to know her better.
What are you doing here? was the only greeting that worked its way past the guarded tension squeezing her throat.
Melissayour manners! her mother chided, setting down her coffee and rising to her feet.
As her initial panic ebbed, an embarrassing self-consciousness took its place. He was looking at her in that way. The way a man who wanted something looked at a woman.
Before she was completely aware of doing it, Melissa combed her fingers through the hair at her left temple, urging a golden wave over her cheek. But just as quickly, hating even that revelation of weakness about herself, she squared her shoulders and marched across the room to pluck her son from the officers arms. Benjamins too small for roughhousing with you.
Mommy, youre wet. I want down.
I didnt hurt him. Boys like to wrestle
Get me again! Benjamin reached for their guest.
See?
The mans lopsided grin was just as innocently boyish as her sons. In another lifetime, she might have succumbed to its charm.
But this was the life she had to deal with. Despite Benjamins squiggles to climb down and resume the game, she wedged him firmly on her hip. Why is there a police car parked in front of my house?