Chapter Nineteen
Rome kissed her.
Neither sweet nor soft as she’d just been imagining. This was a reclaiming of something he’d lost, something he’d missed. Overwhelming and hard. Lettie sucked in a sharp breath, and her ex-husband—husband?—took full advantage, angling his head to one side for deeper access.
Hints of mint toothpaste cooled in her mouth, and a rush of shivers down her arms followed in its wake. Her insides coiled tighter and tighter with each stroke of his tongue as he backed her into the countertop, sandwiching her between cool quartz and the heat of his body.
Her senses rocketed into overdrive, her hands skimming down his arms, under the hem of his T-shirt.
She needed to touch him. Needed him to touch her.
Everywhere. To remind her he was here. That they’d survived.
Logically, she understood her brain’s need to come down after the adrenaline surge, but this didn’t feel like just some biological need they were giving into.
This was a reawakening. Of everything they’d given up.
And she never wanted it to end.
Rome slid her hips down the length of the counter, never once breaking their kiss.
Her thigh hit the side of her mattress, and before she had a chance to maneuver her clothes and pack out of the way, he’d thrown her onto her back and covered her with the length of his body.
His body heat filtered through the thin scrubs she’d gotten from the hospital.
This. She’d missed this. Missed him and the security he’d provided, the warmth in her bed at night.
Someone to rely on. She’d gone out of her way to detach from everyone around her, only to realize it didn’t fix anything.
It didn’t take the hurt away, and it sure as hell didn’t bring back the one person who’d helped her become more secure in herself.
A whimper escaped her chest as Rome pulled back.
“I’ve got you, sweet one.” He rolled his hips into hers, hitting all those sensitive nerves and lighting her up from the inside as he leveraged his good hand into the mattress.
He kissed her again, this time at the corner of her mouth.
Then the other. Featherlight yet so full of everything she’d been craving since he’d left.
In an instant, the van blurred in her vision as Rome flipped their positions, landing her straddled across his hips.
Threading his fingers through her hair, he tugged her back to him with another sweep of his tongue along her bottom lip. “I’m not going anywhere. Okay?”
Her breath shuddered from the promise. He was a man of his word.
He always had been, but this… Them? Where did this leave them?
Giving their marriage a second chance? He hadn’t asked his lawyer to submit the signed divorce papers to the courts.
In the eyes of the law, they were still a couple, but while they’d admitted their faults and offered their apologies, their issues went past that.
There would still be late nights with her job and his feelings of inadequacy.
There would still be her parents’ attempts to pull them apart and his contracts with the National Park Service.
Who was to say they’d be able to merge the lives they’d built apart these past six months?
“Lettie, look at me.” His voice countered the buzz of nerves shooting through her. And then his hand framed her jaw, lifting her gaze to his. “We don’t have to do this.”
His heart beat out of control beneath her palms. Were his nerves getting the best of him, too?
He was here. They had these moments where none of that mattered, where they could ignore the fact she was potentially responsible for the deaths of four people.
Where a killer couldn’t get to them. She had to remind herself of that. They were safe.
Lettie closed her eyes, setting her forehead against Rome’s.
“Hey. Talk to me.” His good hand traced the ridges along her spine as he sat up, holding her against his chest. To keep her close. She didn’t have any choice other than to follow along unless she wanted to end up on the floor or the van. “What’s going through that big, beautiful brain of yours?”
“Is this what you want?” The words left as little more than a whisper.
His mouth curved into a half smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I thought I made it pretty obvious when I threw you down on the bed and shoved my tongue down your throat.”
“No. This. Us.” She failed to control the hint of desperation in her voice.
“You spent our entire marriage catering to me, to my schedule, to my goals and promotions and family, and you ended up resenting me for it for years. And I appreciate all that you sacrificed. You have no idea how much, but I don’t see how we avoid ending up right back there, signing those papers with our jobs and current living situations. ”
He lost the half-cocked smile.
“I’m contracted to work here in Zion for another six months, and your work takes you all over the country.” Her stomach dipped. “How is that any different than living our separate lives while we were married? So you need to tell me now if us getting back together is what you want.”
Rome seemed to sober in an instant, retracting his touch and running his hand through his hair. “Do we have to decide now? Can’t we just take it one day at a time or wait until the investigation is concluded before making a decision?”
Her heart threatened to shatter into another set of a thousand pieces. How she’d managed to glue the surviving shards back together since coming to Zion, she had no idea, but that small kernel of hope that’d kept her going—kept her pushing to get free of a killer—dimmed.
She shifted one leg off his lap, then the other, putting most of her weight into her good foot.
He hadn’t said no, but he hadn’t said yes either.
And she would have to be okay with the unknown, despite her brain telling her to pick apart every word, every change in his body language, his tone of voice and stillness.
Lettie swallowed the thickness clogging her throat as she added a few feet of distance between them, but the van wasn’t that big, and she could still feel the remnants of his touch through her clothing.
She’d let that kernel grow over the past three days. Despite knowing what might happen when this case was over. Biting back the sting of tears—of rejection—she nodded. “Yeah. Sure. I need to finish packing anyway. I’m sure the law enforcement rangers will be here soon.”
Rome didn’t move, watching her, but she wouldn’t give him any ammunition right now. She’d already bared her anxiety. She couldn’t risk anything else or she might not be able to pull herself back together a second time. “All right. I’ll be outside if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” His arm brushed hers as he navigated the tight space, another shot of heat exploding through her, but she forced herself to reach for the belongings strewn across the bed. “I just need about five minutes.”
“Take your time.” Rome dropped off the side of the van without so much as disturbing the red dirt beneath him.
Her pulse slowed with the deep breaths she utilized to get his scent out of her system.
She shoved the rest of her clothing into her pack without bothering to fold it, thankful for the quiet minutes and distance.
They had bigger issues to worry about than whether their relationship would survive another round.
Four men she’d interacted with over the past six months had ended up torn to shreds by a bear claw and left as carrion by a killer.
A killer that had been stalking her since she’d stepped foot in the park.
A shiver that had nothing to do with her draining desire quaked through her as she grabbed for her toiletries.
What had those men done other than take an interest in her when her entire world had gone up in flames?
They hadn’t deserved the pain and terror they’d surely suffered. None of them.
They’d each made her laugh from their expressions when she’d tried to explain her job as a researcher.
They’d been respectful, some more than others, and never pushed her to do something she wasn’t interested in pursuing.
All of them had asked when they could see her again after she’d explained the divorce hadn’t been finalized, and she’d genuinely been looking forward to a second date with each of them.
Only to never hear back.
Now she knew why.
Knew that a man who felt entitled to her attention, her time and her body had killed them. Gruesomely.
Who was next? That thought froze her in place.
Had the killer seen those four men as a threat because she’d agreed to go out with them or because they’d received her attention?
What did he consider a cutoff point? Was every man in her life at risk?
Or only those with a romantic interest? What about professional?
The people she spent the most time with?
Realization struck. “Oh, no.”
Lettie grabbed her pack and emptied the side pockets.
Her phone bounced off the mattress. Water damage marbled beneath the screen from her tumble into the river, but twelve hours should’ve been enough time for it to dry out.
Right? Testing the power button, she held her breath.
Icons filled the screen, and her chest deflated.
Except there were no notifications. No missed calls or messages.
Dread pooled in her gut. She lunged for the door, her ankle threatening to buckle straight out from under her.
She gritted through the pain as she used the counter for support to get to the door. “Rome.”
He was there in an instant, every muscle in his body tight with battle-ready tension. Scanning the inside of the van, he seemed to search for some invisible threat then refocused on her. “What is it?”
“Shawn.” How hadn’t she thought of him earlier when police had made the connection between her and the four victims?
Confusion etched distinct lines between his eyebrows. “Who?”
“My intern. Shawn.” She turned her phone screen on him. “He hasn’t contacted me in two days.”
Understanding smoothed the rough lines from around Rome’s eyes. “You think the killer may have targeted him.”
“Shawn and I… We aren’t involved. It’s only ever been professional between us, but what if the man who abducted me doesn’t see it that way? What if he went after Shawn as some part of his sick game to get to me?”
Rome was already rounding the front of the van. “Let’s go. I’m driving.”
She handed over the keys and slammed the side door closed before climbing into the passenger seat, knocking take-out bags and empty fry holders to the floor.
In seconds, the van lurched forward, and Lettie slammed her hands on the dashboard to keep from losing her balance. “What about the forensics team?”
“Here. Message Randy. Tell him and the law enforcement rangers to meet us then put the address into the GPS.” After handing off his phone, Rome twisted the steering wheel with one hand, shooting them across the desert landscape.
Cliffs, boulders and fine red sand blurred through the window as she did as he asked, sending the message as her heart rate climbed.
And hoped they got to her intern in time.