Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
dani
My pocketknives sat on the island counter, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the flaking blood scattered on the granite was bothering Kole.
From how his eyes weren’t leaving me, I had a feeling the mess between us was the last thing on his mind.
He rested his palms on the counter, his patience beginning to falter.
“Going to accuse me of something?” I asked quietly, meeting his stare.
“Accuse you?” He looked insulted as a muscle in his jaw flexed. “It’s been six hours since I took these from your pockets. I haven’t said a word. I just want to know what happened.”
After I changed at the clinic, Harry and the two FBI men showed up, demanding to get my statement immediately.
Kole had waited four hours while they questioned me about every little detail.
My story never changed, and by the end of it they seemed satisfied with my version of events.
Seeing as I was the only living witness, my word was everything.
The only things to contradict my story were the two knives sitting in front of me.
And now Kole was twisted into my lies. The question was—could I trust him to keep my secret?
He didn’t ask a single question when we’d driven home from the clinic. I had no idea what to make of it. He knew what he was doing when he’d taken the knives from my pockets. How he was aware that I was hiding something was still a mystery. Maybe after all these years, I was getting rusty.
“So curious,” I murmured, tilting my head. “Yet you demanded I shower and sleep before we talk.”
“You needed it. You should have slept longer.”
“I have things to do today.”
“Things?” he echoed in disbelief. “It’s eight in the morning, Dani. You’ve had a night from hell. What could possibly be so important? You can barely walk without wincing from pain.”
He was right. My ribs were on fire with every move I made, and my face was still throbbing. I’d broken open the cut on my lip twice, forgetting it was there. None of that mattered.
“Are you going to tell Harry about this?” I asked, my eyes dropping to my bloodied knives.
“No.”
His firm answer filled me with shock. “I haven’t even told you what happened.”
He rounded the island, stopping in front of me. Bringing his knuckles under my chin, he tilted my face up, softly running his thumb over my bruised jaw.
“Who did this?” he asked, his voice rough.
“Mostly Tristin… Leon hit me once, I think.”
“Did you kill them?”
My heart leapt into my throat, my mouth growing dry. I wasn’t expecting him to be so outright with it. His knuckles remained under my jaw as if to make sure I couldn’t look away.
“Your silence reveals more than I think you know,” he said, searching my face.
I forced myself to frown as my heart pounded painfully. “Or maybe I’m just in shock you would ask me. You think I’m capable of something so gruesome?”
“I think you’re capable of protecting yourself.
” He paused. “You can read people, Dani. The second Tristin lured you out of my bar, you knew he didn’t just want to ask questions.
He’s already put his hands on you before.
It was kill or be killed. There is nothing wrong with defending yourself—especially when you had sleeping pills in your system. ”
I could deny it. I should deny it. Kole knew more about me than anyone else. This secret was too close to my true personality, my real truths.
“You trust me at your back when you sleep,” he murmured, “when you’re at your most vulnerable.
And I don’t ask why you wake up in cold sweats.
Or when you scream in pure terror. All I know is the small details about how you got those scars.
I’m waiting until you want to tell me what else haunts you.
But this? I want you to trust me enough with this truth. ”
He already knew. The moment he took the knives from my pockets, he’d figured it out. Yet, here he was, asking me about it instead of handing over the murder weapons to Harry.
I swallowed over the lump in my throat, trying to calm my racing heart. What scared me more than him knowing this truth was that I wanted to tell him. To share a burden I didn’t have to keep all to myself.
“I didn’t have a choice,” I choked out, succeeding in sounding remorseful. “They weren’t going to let me live. Tristin didn’t believe that Lucas’s death was an accident. He was going to throw me over the cliff. I had to fight to survive.”
I swallowed my shock when he gently pulled me into a hug. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, keeping me tight to his chest while making sure not to put any pressure on my bruised ribs.
“Don’t be sorry,” he breathed, kissing my hair. “You did what you had to. If I’d been there? I would have done worse to them for hurting you.”
I remained frozen in his hold. He was…comforting me. He believed I was torn up over what I did. How would he react if he found out that I loved every damn second? Tristin and Leon were not innocents. My guilt over what I did was nonexistent.
“Those knives were in your pockets,” he continued, concern in his voice. “Their blood will be on your clothes.”
My heart panged. His worry for me wasn’t something I was used to. For years, I only relied on myself. Letting him in—even just a little—eased the never-ending weight that was on my chest.
“I was all over that bridge,” I said in a shaky voice. “Their blood was everywhere. And I checked to see if they were breathing.”
“Sounds like you’ll sell the story.” He pulled back, meeting my stare again. “But why not just tell the truth? You wouldn’t get in trouble for defending yourself.”
Again, he wasn’t accusing, he seemed only curious. My mind raced as I carefully decided what to say.
“My knives were already used in a murder,” I said slowly. “You and I know I’m not the killer. But I can’t let suspicion fall on me. I can’t risk this internship. I need it.”
He didn’t question why. He only nodded. “Okay.” Okay? That was all? No prodding or questions? His gaze darted back to the counter. “You want me to get rid of them?”
A whirl of emotions smothered me. This man was offering to commit a crime for me. I probably shouldn’t find that as sweet as I did. At the same time, the back of my neck prickled with suspicion. Did he want to keep the knives as insurance on me?
“Or you take them,” he added when I didn’t respond. “I just…” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I want you to trust me. Would you have told me this if I hadn’t found the knives?”
“Probably not,” I answered, being honest for once. “But you did find them. And you covered for me. I do trust you, Kole.”
“No, you don’t.” His response was firm and resigned. “And I don’t blame you. But just so you’re aware, you don’t need to fight your demons alone.”
Tears pricked my eyelids before I could rein them in. Even with all the horrible things happening in this town, I was still happy to be here. Because of Kole.
“Go lay on the couch,” he ordered, turning around and opening a cupboard. “I’ll get you some food. You haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
“I’m not very hungry—”
“Just a snack then. I’ll bring it to you.”
The tone in his voice promised he wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I made my way to the couch, wincing in pain when I sat down.
I stretched my legs across the cushions as music began playing softly from the speakers when Kole turned on an album.
The curtains were closed, and I stared at them, still in a daze from our conversation.
“The murderer was there last night,” I called out, pulling a blanket over me. “I didn’t lie about that. He was at the end of the bridge and disappeared when you called my name.”
Kole stopped making noise in the kitchen. “He’s coming after you.”
I bit my tongue, ice sliding down my spine. “You don’t know that.”
His footsteps came closer before he appeared at the end of the couch. He handed the bowl of chocolate ice cream to me and then moved to the other side. Once he lifted my legs, he sat down, letting my feet rest on his lap. I dug into my favorite ice cream until he spoke again.
“Danielle Hardin.” His voice was quiet as my birth name rolled off his tongue.
I froze, the spoon dropping back into the bowl. “What?”
“The internet might be slow here, but I can still look things up.” He began massaging my feet under the blanket.
“All I searched was the name, Danielle and knife attack. I didn’t read any of the articles.
That’s your past. Your life. But the picture that came up?
Your hair was blonde then and you wore more makeup, but it’s you. ”
My stomach tightened, my breath locked in my chest when he tilted his head to meet my dumbfounded stare. How long had he known?
“Changing your name was smart,” he said, the sympathy in his voice undeniable. “The number of articles showed it got national news. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”
“It wasn’t,” I gritted out. “I haven’t gone by that name in twelve years.”
“Yet the killer knows it. How?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered, my heart beating rapidly. This entire conversation felt surreal. Kole just crashed into secrets he shouldn’t know. So why wasn’t I panicking?
Silence fell over us, the only sound was the music playing in the background. I glanced down at my melting ice cream, stirring it slowly.
“Want more?” he asked, nodding toward my bowl.
“It’s just as good like this,” I mumbled, glad to change the subject. “Did you bring this from your bar?”
He gave me a small grin, but the heaviness in his eyes revealed he was still thinking of our conversation. “I stocked our freezer.”
“You don’t get another shipment until the road opens again,” I reminded him. “You’re not going to have any left when people order it.”
“I took it off the menu a month ago.”
My eyes snapped to his. “I just had it the other night when I was there.”
“Yes. Just you.” He began massaging my other foot. “I wanted to make sure you had enough to last the winter.”