Chapter 10
Nervous energy combined with the pizza and beer, souring Eve’s stomach.
She’d known someone was watching her earlier, had felt eyes on her skin.
She shouldn’t have brushed away her intuition, because not only had her attacker stalked her, he’d forced his way into her private space—violated her yet again.
The wooden carving no longer sat on the coffee table, but she still visualized it where Reid had placed it thirty minutes before.
He’d insisted they call the sheriff’s department to fill them in on the newest development. Deputy Silver had come by to take her statement as well as the creepy flower for evidence. Madden had arrived—Lily by his side—shorty after to discuss how to move forward.
Lily sat to her right on the overstuffed, cream-colored chair while Madden settled on the attached ottoman. Concern rippled across Lily’s smooth brow. “How do you feel?”
Eve sank deeper into the sofa cushion and wrapped the bright red throw blanket around her shoulders.
How could she possibly answer such a loaded question?
Her mind was stuffed to the brim with possibilities of what could have happened as well as horrible memories of what already had.
Her body shook, and the desire to drive right out of town and hide until the man terrorizing her was caught coiled every muscle tight, ready to spring into action.
“Eve?” Reid asked, his voice so close even though she wished his big, strong body was closer.
She glanced to her left. His presence steadied her, but she’d give anything for him to wrap her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right. That she was safe and he wouldn’t let anyone near her.
“Are you okay?” he asked, dipping his chin so their eyes locked.
Clearing her throat, she forced herself back to the moment.
“Sorry. I got lost in my thoughts, which isn’t the best place for me to be right now.
How do I feel?” She repeated Lily’s question and struggled to pull forward the right response.
“Scared, unsettled, creeped out that someone was in my house, in my personal space, and I didn’t even realize it.
I’m agonizing over every detail of the past twenty-four hours, searching for anything that stands out to give me some answers on how to move forward, but I’m coming up blank. I’m…overwhelmed.”
“I know what you’re going through is different than what I experienced after my father was attacked and someone came after me, but I understand those emotions plus about a hundred more,” Lily said.
“Nothing anyone says will make you feel better, so all I’ll say is that I’m really sorry this is happening. ”
Eve tried to offer a smile but was afraid it came out more of a grimace.
“Are you all right to stay here?” Madden asked. “Reid has this place locked up tight and the security system is top-of-the-line, but that still doesn’t mean you’ll feel comfortable. You can always stay with me and Lily.”
Reid stiffened beside her. “She’s safe with me.”
“I have no doubt,” Madden said. “I just want Eve to have zero doubts as well.”
She drew in a large breath, considering her options. “I won’t feel like I’m out of harm’s way until this guy is caught. Until then, I’d rather be in my own home—with Reid.”
Madden nodded then stood. “All right. We’ll get out of your hair. You’ve had a long day, and it’s getting late. Call if you need anything at all. Both of you.”
“I’ll see you out.” Reid stood and waited for Lily to give Eve a quick hug before walking them to the door.
The sound of the security system being armed was like nails on a chalkboard. She cringed, hating how each new ping was another weight placed on her chest, caging her inside her own home.
Reid strolled back into the living room and plunged his hands deep in the front pockets of his jeans. “Madden was right. It’s getting late.”
She sighed and stared up at him. She should take his lead and head to bed, but only nightmares waited to haunt her there.
Frowning, he took a step forward. “Not tired?”
“I am, but I’m not sure I can sleep.”
“Okay,” he said, crossing to sit back down beside her.
“I get that. You’ve had a lot thrown at you, and your head’s probably spinning.
When I get like that, I like to write down everything clogging up my brain.
Make a list of things to do the next day.
Anything to help me feel like I’m being proactive. ”
She twisted on the couch to face him. “How would being proactive help me sleep? Wouldn’t it just keep repeating everything in my mind?”
“Maybe, maybe not. For me, seeing everything written down helps me process. Helps me know exactly what I have to do, which takes away some of my anxiety. That helps me sleep. It’s worth a shot.”
She wanted to tell him that what would help her sleep was him holding her close until her eyelids finally snapped shut. Instead, she rummaged through the drawer of the end table and found a notepad and pen. She tapped the tip of the pen on the paper.
“Either you have a lot of thoughts or none at all.”
She glanced up to find Reid’s amused smirk. “Fine, smart-ass,” she mumbled and scribbled the only thought that was sure to keep her from getting any rest.
He reached for the pad, and his fingertips brushed against hers.
Sucking in a breath, she stilled, afraid any movement would cause him to take back the soothing feel of his skin on hers.
He lingered for a few more beats before sliding the notepad onto his lap, leaving her deflated. He let out a low whistle. “You led with the big dog, huh?”
She looked down at the words she’d written.
Find my attacker. “That’s the only thing I want to do, and the last thing I know how to do.
I know what this guy looks like, what he smells like, even the way a creepy light shines in his eyes when he sees my fear, but none of that helps me pinpoint who he is or where he’s hiding. ”
“That’s why sheriff’s deputies are scouring the county right now. They’re going to find him. He can’t hide forever.”
“And if they can’t find him? Or it takes days, weeks?
Then what? I want to do something to find this creep now.
Will you help me?” She might have hired Reid to protect her, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t do more.
Sitting in the house for hours, waiting for answers, wasn’t an option.
At least not for her. If he wanted her to be proactive, she would be.
But she’d do a whole hell of a lot more than writing ideas down on a piece of paper.
Reid pressed his mouth in a firm line, gaze fixed on her messy handwriting. “Are you sure you want to jump down this rabbit hole? It might be safer to lay low and let the professionals do their job.”
“You’re a professional,” she shot back.
A small smile poked through his gruff expression. “I guess I am. And if you want my help to figure out who this guy is so we can take him down, you’ve got it.”
A sliver of excitement wedged itself through her fear. “Where do we start?”
Frowning, he scratched his chin. “Back to the first place your attacker was spotted. Tomorrow morning, we head to the rodeo.”
Sleep eluded Reid as he lay on the bed in the guest room. The bright light of his phone screen intensified the ache in the middle of his forehead. He rubbed his eyes then refocused on the words he’d typed in his notes app.
Talk to Madden about finding Eve’s attacker.
Get more information on the murdered woman.
Secure bar for Eve’s event.
He paused with his thumb hovering above the keyboard.
He wished he had more ideas of what to do tomorrow, but this was a start.
He might not have a ton of investigative experience—hell, he’d thought Madden crazy when he’d suggested adding PI services to their business—but he’d learned one thing over the last few months.
He didn’t have to reinvent the wheel.
If he wanted to uncover more information, he needed to go to the person who had the information. In this instance, that person was the witness who’d seen the man fitting Eve’s attacker’s description leaving the murdered woman’s trailer. Hopefully she’d be easy enough to find and willing to talk.
Then he’d uncover as much as he could about the woman who was killed.
The light of his phone dimmed, and he swiped his thumb over the screen to bring it back to life. He had one more item left to write, but as much as he dreaded it, he couldn’t put it off until the morning. He had to call his sister now.
Before he changed his mind, he found Tara’s number and pressed Call. The line rang in his ear, and he sent up a silent prayer for her voice message to click over, before she finally answered.
“Hey,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you tonight.”
The heaviness in her usually upbeat voice had him sitting up in the unfamiliar bed. “Yeah, sorry. I was busy when you texted and I’m just getting a chance to reach out.”
“New case?”
He rubbed a palm over his normally smooth face and thought back on the last twenty-four hours with Eve.
This assignment was way different than just another job, but he didn’t want to dive into that with his baby sister.
“I’m keeping a local woman safe while some things get sorted. How you holdin’ up?”
A beat of silence stretched into seconds, followed by the sound of Tara sniffing. “I’m okay. It’s rough, you know?”
He bit back his frustration, knowing anything he said against their father would immediately raise his sister’s hackles. “I’m sorry you’re going through this again. You don’t deserve to be treated this way.”
“I don’t know where Dad is,” Tara continued.
“I’ve called all his usual spots, searched the last shithole he stayed at and spoken with the degenerates he calls friends.
He’s nowhere. And now Richard is pissed he stole the money we’ve been saving for vacation.
Just swept right into the house when no one was home and took it.
Richard’s threatening to leave me—claims he’s over the drama—but what am I supposed to do?
I can’t abandon Dad and leave him for certain death like everyone else. ”
Reid’s blood heated. He and Tara had argued over their respective positions on their father countless times.
She claimed Reid was coldhearted and not willing to be there for family.
He countered he’d learned how to have healthy boundaries and she needed to do the same or their father would ruin her life like he did everyone else’s.
Neither could ever see the other’s perspective, leaving them in an endless loop of resentment and frustration.
“Well, are you going to say anything?” Tara asked, cutting into his thoughts.
Sighing, he sat up and prepared for battle. “Do you want to hear what I really think?”
“Yes.” The word came out clipped and defensive, all but guaranteeing another fight.
He chewed over how to lay out the same logic he spouted weekly, praying this time she’d finally hear him.
“Dad doesn’t want help. He wants a handout.
He wants to live life on his terms. He wants to drink.
Until that changes, nothing you do will help.
He’ll keep pushing you away until he shoves you over a cliff, just like he did with Mom. Just like he tried to do with me.”
More sniffles sounded through the phone and tore at his heart.
“Tara, I love you. I don’t want to see you hurt over and over again. Mom tried to fix him for years, and she was rewarded by him smashing their car into a tree, stealing the best years of her life. If she couldn’t get through to him, no one can.”
“I don’t know how to say no to him. Mom would want me to stay. To keep trying.”
The smallness of her voice reminded him of Tara as a little girl. Big blue eyes and dark curls, always wanting to please everyone.
But that was the problem. Tara lived her life to please others, to help others over helping herself. If she couldn’t figure out how to escape their father’s unhealthy clutches, she’d never be happy.
“Mom would hate for you to be stuck in the same pattern she was in for years. Hate to see you stuck catering to a man who loved booze more than anything else in this world—more than his family. The difference is Mom stayed for us. To try and protect us and provide us with stability the only way she knew how. You have a choice. A future away from him. But just like Dad’s the only one who can choose sobriety, you’re the only one who can decide when you’ve taken enough abuse and walk away. ”
“But what if I leave and he needs me?”
Reid tightened his grip on the phone and gritted his teeth. He hated the position Tara found herself in, and he hated himself for leaving her back in their small-ass town where she felt as though she was the only thing standing between Stan Sommers and death.
But he’d made the choice Tara faced daily. He’d walked out of his father’s life and never looked back. He might share blood with that man, but he wouldn’t sacrifice himself for the sake of someone who didn’t deserve it.
“He’s a grown man. If he needs help, he knows how to get it,” he said. “Maybe he needs to fall on his face a few times before he can finally pick himself back up.”
More silence. More crying. More guilt crushing down on Reid’s chest, making it hard to breathe.
But at least Tara wasn’t fighting him, wasn’t hurling insults or making excuse after excuse for the horrible way their father treated her. Maybe she was finally ready to see reason.
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “Something has to change. I can’t keep living like this.”
She disconnected the call before he had a chance to respond, and he slumped back onto the comfortable bed in Eve’s guest room. The sadness in her voice hit a familiar note he’d heard all his life. First from his mother and now his sister.
He fisted the cool blue sheets in his hand. A part of him wanted to drive back to Indiana, hunt down his dad and kick his ass for being such a jerk. For destroying the lives of everyone who loved him.
But the other part—the part he fought to listen to daily—told him if he ever went back, he’d fall into the same trap that ensnared every Sommers man. He’d become the person he hated most—he’d become just like his father.