Chapter Twenty-One
Ethan awoke at dawn. He’d always been an early riser, looked forward to getting things done in the quiet hours of the morning.
Lying beneath a comforter in the big king-size bed, he shifted, realized something was different today.
It took a moment to remember last night and the soft curves of the woman whose naked bottom pressed intimately into his groin.
His morning erection stirred. He remembered he had broken the rules, remembered the hot night he and Val had shared. He heard her soft purr, felt her hips nudging, caught the flirty glance she tossed him over a pale shoulder covered by a fall of long honey-gold hair.
Reaching for the bedside table, he grabbed a condom and sheathed himself. Gripping her hips, he slid into her waiting warmth, taking what he wanted. Her moan was low and throaty, thick with pleasure as he moved. It didn’t take long before both of them were sated.
Rolling onto his back, he listened to Val’s deep breathing, knew she had drifted back to sleep.
She’d been amazing last night, giving and taking, pleading and demanding.
It occurred to him that the depth of sexual gratification they’d shared was new to her.
If he were honest, the emotional attachment he felt made it new to him, too.
He refused to consider what that meant. He wanted her; she wanted him.
One thing he knew: Val had deep sexual needs and he was just the man to satisfy those needs. For now that was all that mattered. In the meantime, there were other things more important than pleasure.
There were murders to solve and people to protect. It was his job. That job wouldn’t end until this was over, no matter what Matthew Carlyle said.
He kissed Val’s temple and rolled from the bed, padded naked into the bathroom and turned on the shower.
It was Saturday, a well-deserved day off, at least for Val.
Once he was dressed, he would check his e-mail, see if he’d gotten a reply to the message he’d sent Sadie.
He’d get his work done and let Val sleep.
At least for a while.
Dressed once more in jeans and a T-shirt, he sat down in front of the sofa, opened his laptop, and pulled up his mail. Sadie’s reply popped up, along with an attachment.
Thursday night, as he’d worked through possible leads and tried to keep his mind off Val, he’d had an idea.
During his cop days in Dallas, he’d stumbled across a group of local psychologists who conducted an interactive online forum once a month.
They gathered to discuss unusual cases, get feedback between group members, though no patient names were ever disclosed.
He’d discovered the group when a female doctor named Helen Burk had helped him track down a dangerous schizophrenic who had murdered his parents.
In the beginning, Helen had been reluctant to break doctor/patient confidentiality, but as the evidence mounted, along with fear the guy might kill someone else, she finally came forward.
Ethan had no suspect this time. Helen Burk wouldn’t give him squat. Which was the reason he had e-mailed Sadie.
He opened her message.
Morning, hotshot. Did a little digging. (Find docs attached.) As you conned me—as usual—into doing, I went back through the chat sessions of the shrinks’ monthly meetings for the past two years.
I condensed them down so even a slow learner like you could get through them.
They ought to keep you busy and out of trouble at least for a while.
His mouth edged up. He thought of the beautiful naked woman in the bedroom and arousal slid through him. Too late, Sadie. I’m already in major-league trouble.
He looked down at his e-mail. He had also given Sadie a profile of the man he believed he was looking for: a loner, someone off the grid, a guy who had probably been raised out of the city. Home-schooled. No vaccinations. Parents likely never took him to a doctor.
He read the words on the screen.
Oh, did I mention, I can probably save you the trouble of reading all that crap? I think I found your guy. Or at least where to start looking for him. When you get this, call me.
Sadie was such a smart-ass. Probably why he liked her so much.
He took out his cell. On Saturday, the fifty-year-old grandma, world’s most unlikely computer genius, was usually working in the office. He punched in the number, then her extension.
She answered on the second ring. “Hey, hotshot. Figured I’d hear from you earlier. Bet I don’t have to ask if you had a female keeping you company last night.”
He smiled. “It’s none of your business, Sadie. Now tell me what you found.”
He heard her rustling around, probably putting on her reading glasses.
“Okay . . . on a group chat six months ago, a doctor named Carl Weatherby mentioned a patient, a twenty-five-year-old male he’d been treating for a couple of weeks.
He wasn’t schizophrenic, according to Weatherby.
But during the group chats, the doctor talked about the guy’s violent tendencies, his wild mood swings, his fantasies about killing women—sinful, lustful women—those were the patient’s words, according to Weatherby. ”
“I’m listening.”
“The man only showed up at Weatherby’s office a couple of times before he quit coming, but here’s the kicker: The guy’s Amish, Ethan. Or was. Left the community when he was fifteen. Weatherby figured his folks threw him out. Shunning, they call it.”
“I’ve heard of it. As I recall, the Amish live mostly in Pennsylvania.”
“Well, see, that’s the interesting part. You’ve got a couple of small Amish communities right there in Texas. One about a hundred miles southwest of Dallas, the other down near Beeville. You can Google their locations.”
He felt a familiar rush. All the pieces clicking into place, the certainty he was on the right track. “Sadie, you’re a gem.”
“Don’t forget those two tickets.”
“I haven’t forgotten. This lead pans out, I’m also buying your dinner.”
She chuckled. “Take care, Ethan. Give the lady my best.” Sadie disconnected and Ethan shoved the phone back into his jeans.
He Googled the Amish communities in Texas and found their locations. Sadie was right. The one near Beeville was over three hundred miles away, but the one out by Stephenville was a fairly easy drive. He’d head there first.
Pulling up a map on his iPhone, he bookmarked the directions, then went back to work on the Internet, digging up as much information as he could on the Amish in general and particularly those in Texas.
When he finished, he checked his watch.
He hadn’t talked to Hannah in days. His daughter would be home today instead of in preschool. Seattle time was two hours earlier, but she would be up by now. He wanted to hear her voice, hear her call him Daddy. He wanted to absorb the sweet sound of her little-girl laughter.
Taking a deep breath and praying his ex would be reasonable for a change, he punched in Ally’s number.
Val rolled out of bed, sleepy-eyed, hair mussed, body pleasantly battered and delightfully sore in places that hadn’t been sore in years. She felt wonderful.
Smiling, she walked into the bathroom, washed her face and brushed her teeth. Since Ethan needed to work, she left the apricot satin robe on a chair in the bedroom, grabbed the white terry and shrugged it on, then headed toward the living room for a badly needed cup of coffee.
Dressed in dark blue jeans, a burgundy T-shirt, and low-topped boots, Ethan was on his cell when she opened the door.
His angry scowl and the rigid muscles across his shoulders had her pausing on the threshold.
She could only hear half the conversation, but it was enough for her to know what was going on.
“I just want to talk to her, Ally. I’m her father. That isn’t asking too much.”
His ex made some reply.
“Look, this has been going on for years. You’re dating someone.
Haven’t you gotten your revenge by now? I was a lousy boyfriend, okay?
I would have been a lousy husband. But I’m a good father.
I want the chance to be even better. What’ll it take to get you to put the past aside and go forward, for Hannah’s sake? ”
Her reply made Ethan’s eyes close in frustration.
He came to his feet, gripping the phone so tight Val was afraid the plastic would shatter.
“This is all just a game to you, isn’t it?
Well, I’m tired of playing, Ally. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer—again.
And this time I won’t hold anything back.
Unless you want your past sins spread all over the courtroom, I’d suggest you make some concessions. ” Ethan hung up the phone.
Val’s heart went out to him. Clearly, he loved his little girl.
So far she hadn’t seen any reason he shouldn’t be allowed to spend time with her.
Val crossed the living room and slid her arms around his waist. Ethan pulled her close and pressed his face into the tangled curls at the side of her neck.
“That was Allison,” he said when he looked at her.
“I know. I’m sorry, Ethan.”
He pulled out of her arms and walked over to the window. The cloudless blue sky outside wouldn’t do a thing to dull the heat.
“Ally was spoiled when I met her,” he said.
“Used to having everything her way. Her dad’s loaded; the whole family’s rich.
I couldn’t see past those gorgeous auburn curls and that sexy little body.
I was a fool. Now Hannah is paying the price.
” When he turned, his eyes were hard. “I won’t make the same mistake again. ”
It was a warning. He wouldn’t allow himself to be sucked into another painful relationship. Did he really think she was like Allison Winfield?
The thought cut deep.
She met his dark-eyed stare. “I get it, Ethan. I get that you don’t trust women. That you don’t trust me. I need to know . . . last night? Was I just a conquest? A notch on your bedpost? Because the way you make love tells me you’ve known a lot of women. Was I just one more?”
Something wild and unsettling moved over his features. He was in front of her in a few long strides, pulling her into his arms, holding her tightly against him.
“I’m sorry. Jesus, that woman makes me crazy. You weren’t a conquest. I’ve never thought of you that way.” He tipped her chin up, returning her gaze to his. “I swear it, Valerie.”
Her eyes burned. She read the truth in his face and she believed him. She almost wished she didn’t. It would be easier to pretend last night had meant nothing to either one of them. That she was in no emotional danger, that her heart would be safe from Ethan.
He kissed her very softly, sinking in for a moment, letting her feel the heat, before he eased away. “Allison Winfield had nothing to do with what happened between us last night. She never will.”
Relief and something deeper filled her chest. She managed to nod. “Okay.”
Ethan ran a finger down her cheek. “God, I’d like to take you back to bed and show you how much you mean to me. But I can’t. I’ve got a lead on the case. Until you and the other girls are safe, I’ve got to stay on it.”
She shoved aside a memory of the rightness she’d felt when he was inside her and focused on what else he had said. “You got a lead? What is it?”
“There’s a chance the guy who murdered Mandy Gee is Amish—or was.
I need to find him. I need to locate someone who knows his name, see if I can get them to tell me where this guy is.
I’ve got two possible locations in Texas, small Amish communities.
One’s only a couple of hours away from the city. I’m driving out there this morning.”
“Take me with you. I’m off work today and I’d love to get away from the hotel. Let me go with you.”
He hesitated a moment, clearly assessing the danger. Then he smiled; relieved, perhaps, that she had decided to forgive him, that she still wanted to be with him. But the truth was, his determination to be a real father only made her think more highly of him.
“I don’t see any reason you can’t come. The guy won’t be there. He was ousted when he was a teen. And I might get more cooperation if I have a woman with me.”
“Great. I’d better get dressed.”
Ethan’s mouth edged up, reminding her of last night, of his hot, wet kisses. Everywhere. Her stomach clenched.
“I had other ideas about how we’d be spending the morning,” he said with a look that made her stomach tighten again. “Unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen now.”
Val just smiled. “I’ll get dressed, but I need coffee first.” She headed for the coffeemaker on the wet bar, poured herself a cup, and headed for the bedroom.
At least she wasn’t just a conquest. She wasn’t sure if that made things better or worse.