Chapter 2 #2
was just walking and I saw my car up ahead. I was thinking about going home and
reading this book,” I continued, knowing I was rambling again. “I heard someone
groaning and it was like I had no control over my feet. I stopped and I looked
to my right. There was an alley and that’s when I saw them.”
Extending an arm, Colton snatched up the file on the table
and flipped it open. His brows burrowed together as he quickly scanned it. “You
said you saw three people.”
“Yes. There was a man just standing there. He had…he had a
scar on his face and bleached blond hair. The other man, the one with the gun,
his head was shaven and he had a huge tattoo on his arm. I couldn’t make out
what it looked like. It was too dark. I’m sorry.”
He glanced up at me, his gaze roaming over my face. “That’s
okay. You told the officer you could recognize them, right?” When I nodded
again, he smiled tightly. Not the big, warm smile I’d seen him throw around
when we were teenagers. Not even a hint of it. “They’re compiling some mug
shots of those who’ve met your description right now. So we’ll go over that in
a few.” There was a pause as he sat back in the chair. “How many times did you
hear the gun fire?”
“Once. No. Twice,” I said. Detective Hart was scribbling
something down on a small notebook he must’ve had hidden somewhere. “He shot…he
shot that man in the alley, and I dropped my keys like a dumbass. Oh!” I
smacked my hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry.”
The blue hue of Colton’s eyes had lightened. “Honey, saying
dumbass around here isn’t going to offend anyone.”
“No truer words ever spoken,” Hart added dryly.
The smile that curved up the corners of my lips felt weak
and brittle. I’d also never in a million years thought I’d hear Colton call me
honey. Hell, never in a million years did I think I’d be sitting in front of
him.
I really needed to focus, but now it was a struggle.
Adrenaline had long since faded and it was way past my normal bedtime of
eleven-thirty. “Um, after I dropped the keys, the man with the gun, he turned
to me. I saw him. He…he saw me.” My fingers tightened around the poor tissue as
a slice of panic cut across my chest. “I turned and ran. He must’ve fired at
me, but missed. The bullet hit a nearby building.” I raised my hand toward my
cheek and then immediately dropped it back to my lap. “I kept running and
that’s when I ran into the man.”
Detective Hart asked a few more questions. Did I notice if
they had gotten in a car? No. Was a name even spoken? Not that I recalled. Did
they say anything to the man they shot? I wasn’t sure. Eventually, he got up
and left the room to retrieve some photos they wanted me to look at.
I was alone with Colton.
Any other time I probably would’ve been beside myself with
nervousness, but at this point, I barely registered his presence. All I wanted
to do was go home and forget this night.
“Abby?”
My gaze slowly lifted at the sound of my name. His voice was
deep and gruff—a morning voice.
He leaned toward me, placing his arms on the table. Short
dark hairs dusted powerful forearms. The few times I’d seen him over the years,
I hadn’t been in close proximity to him, but now I could see the tiny
differences between the Colton I’d admired from afar in high school and the one
sitting in front of me, some ten years later. Fine lines had formed around the
corners of his eyes. His jaw seemed harder, and the five-o’clock shadow was
something new.
Something sexy.
I really needed to stop thinking in general.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Abby?” he asked, and real concern
filled his voice.
I shook my head slowly as a shiver raced down my spine.
“Yes. No? I’m sorry. I’m so tired.”
“I can imagine.” He glanced at the door as he moved his
shoulders, as if working out a kink. “We’ll get you home soon.”
Slouching in the metal chair, I sighed. “Is this…the start
of your shift or…?”
Colton’s cobalt gaze tracked back to me. “I usually get off
around eight, but we work in cycles for homicide calls. It was our weekend.”
“Sorry,” I whispered, and then frowned. “I don’t even know
why I apologized. It’s got to be hard working those kinds of hours, having to
be on call.”
“I imagine it is for some, especially those with a family.”
One side of his lips quirked up, and despite the dire situation, my stomach
dipped a bit. He lifted his left hand. “Obviously, I’m not married. I wouldn’t
know.”
I thought about the beautiful blonde I’d seen him with at
the movies. “No girlfriend?” My eyes widened. Did I seriously just ask that?
That half grin spread, revealing the one dimple he had in
his left cheek. “No. Not really.”
Not really? What in the heck was that supposed to mean? Did
it matter? No. Not at all. I dropped my gaze to the table. A moment passed and
I didn’t think about what I was saying. It just…came out. “I’d never seen
anyone die before. Never saw the exact moment life was snuffed out. I’d lived
through death. With my parents and then with Kevin, but…” I’d seen my husband
after he’d passed away. He’d been a pale, waxy shadow of himself and as
traumatizing as that was, it was nothing compared to witnessing a life end. “I
won’t ever forget tonight.”
“You won’t,” he said, and I lifted my gaze to his. “I’m not
going to lie to you. It’s going to hang with you. Seeing death like that isn’t
easy. It’s a darkness you just can’t explain and can’t understand.”
That was so true. “You see it a lot?”
His head tilted to the side. “I’ve seen enough, Abby.
Enough.”
The need to apologize again rose, but I squelched it now. It
was a terrible habit of mine. Apologizing for things I had no control over.
Without apologizing, I had no idea what to say to him.
“I need to ask you one more time,” he said, all softness
gone from his eyes. They were like chips of blue ice. “Are you positive you
didn’t hear any of their names?”
“The one guy was talking—the one with the scar, but I didn’t
hear what he was saying. I was too…shocked by what I was seeing. I wish I did,
but I couldn’t make any of it out, but I got this impression that he…I don’t
know.”
“What impression?” He leaned forward, gaze sharpening.
Unsure if what I was saying was correct or more of just a
feeling, I squirmed a little in my chair. “I got this feeling that he wasn’t
okay with what was happening. He appeared upset. Like he had his hands in his
hair. Like this.” I raised my hands to my shoulder-length hair and scrubbed my
fingers through it. “He seemed upset. I know that’s not much—”
“No, that’s definitely something. That’s good.”
“How?”
Colton smiled tightly. No dimple. “Because if this guy
didn’t like what was going down, then he could turn against the one who pulled
the trigger.”
“Oh.” I thought that made sense.
He was quiet for a moment. “What a horrible way for you and
I to run into each other again, huh?”
My answering smile didn’t feel as forced as the one before.
“Yeah. Not the greatest circumstances.” I reached up, tucking my hair behind my
ear. I started to yawn, weary with exhaustion, but the stretching of my face
caused me to wince. “Ow.”
Colton had somehow moved closer and before I knew it, I
could catch the scent of his cologne. It was crisp, reminding me of mountain
air. A single finger curved under my chin, startling me. The touch was simply
electrifying, like a jolt of pure caffeine to the nervous system. The grasp was
surprisingly tender. That softness was back in his gaze.
And it had been so long since I’d been touched in what felt
like such an intimate way.
For some god-awful reason, tears started climbing the back
of my throat. Granted, there were currently a lot of reasons to begin sobbing
hysterically, but the last thing I needed to do was cry over Colton.
I knew I should pull away from him because the comfort his
slight touch offered was too much. The wall I had built around the nearly
consuming terror started to crumble. “That man…that murderer? He saw me,” I
repeated in a hushed voice. “If I can describe him, he can describe me.” My
voice caught, cracked a little. “That’s terrifying.”
“I know how scary that is, but trust me, Abby.” The hard
glint was back in his icy eyes as his hand shifted slightly and his thumb
smoothed under the tiny cut along my cheek. “I’m going to make sure you’re
safe.”