Her Hometown Redemption

by Rachel Brimble

  “Then hurry... I’m with Tanya.”

  Cat’s second curse reverberated in his ear before the line buzzed dead. He pulled Tanya into his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “She’s on her way. He’s going down. All the way down.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  TANYA TREMBLED. By her estimation, it should take the police no longer than fifteen minutes to reach the fair. Seven minutes had passed already. As she peered through the tarpaulin, she prayed DI Garrett acted quickly enough that Davidson didn’t finish his conversation and walk away.

  She narrowed her eyes. He wouldn’t get far.

  Liam smoothed his hand over her back in circles, a gesture she assumed meant to be comforting, yet even the heat of his kiss wouldn’t have eased her stretched nerves. Her mind raced and her heart beat hard. One wrong move and there was every possibility Davidson could slip through the net a second time.

  For the entirety of the time she and Liam had been forced to keep out of view, Tanya had barely had a lucid thought. Instead, her mind scrambled with myriad questions and scenarios she could not make disappear. The risk of something happening to Sasha again. Tanya’s past with Liam. The possibility she might flee Templeton again one day. Her emotions ran at a hundred miles an hour...and the combination terrified her. Was she losing the battle again? Was Templeton and everything about it evoking her need to turn her back once more? Hosting a rebirth to her anxiety and panic attacks?

  She gripped the edge of the tarpaulin as if it were a safety line that could stop her falling back into the dark abyss. Weight pressed down on her chest and her blood pulsed in her head. She was losing control, overwhelmed and unsure of her decisions. Tears pricked her eyes as Tanya fought back, shoving at the panic threatening to erupt.

  No. I will not do this. I belong here. This is my home. I want to be with Liam. Start over...

  A thought struck dread into Tanya’s heart, obliterating her panic attack and catapulting her focus to Davidson. She pulled back sharply.

  Liam frowned. “What is it?”

  “What if the police pull up at the fair with their sirens blaring?” Tanya flitted her gaze over his face. “If Davidson gets one whiff of what’s happening, he could be out of here before we stand any chance of catching him.”

  “Hey.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Cat knows what she’s doing.”

  “I only have your word on that.”

  He gripped her upper arms. “And if you trusted me, my word would be enough.”

  Tanya stared for a moment longer before squeezing her eyes shut. She shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s just...”

  “I know.” His hands smoothed up and down her arms. “I know.”

  She opened her eyes, forced a small smile before peering back through the gap. Davidson, Russ and the stranger were still there.

  Then the stranger turned.

  Tanya’s heart lurched with shock. “You bastard.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “You slimy bastard.” She straightened and turned to Liam. “That other guy with Russ and Davidson? That’s Mike Ellison.”

  “What?” Liam’s eyes flashed with anger and his cheeks reddened. “The guy who asked you out?”

  “Yes.” Tanya glared. “And I bet Russ was sent to my opening on purpose, too. Davidson must know I’m looking for him. Why else would the two people he’s talking with both come to my office?”

  Liam stepped back and shoved his hand into his hair, his gaze boring into hers. “You shouldn’t be here. If they know you’re onto him, you’re in more danger than I thought.”

  Tanya shook her head. “Don’t even think about me leaving. I’m staying right here whether you like it or not.”

  Their eyes locked just as a barrage of noise and shouting came from outside. Liam grabbed her hand and they ripped back the tarpaulin. Davidson, Russ and Mike Ellison were shoved roughly to the ground by a team of five or six police officers, and relief pushed the air from Tanya’s lungs. DI Garrett looked on, her hands planted on her hips.

  Pulling her hand from Liam’s, Tanya rushed forward. The men were dragged to their feet just as Tanya reached DI Garrett’s side. The inspector turned and gripped Tanya’s wrist. “Miss Todd, no.”

  Tanya shook in the inspector’s grasp as Liam came to Tanya’s side and held her other wrist. Shackled by their hands and unable to escape, she stared directly into Matt Davidson’s eyes.

  He smiled.

  She struggled against her human restraints, but the inspector and Liam held her back. “Tanya, he’s not worth it.” Liam’s voice was a growl. “Leave everything to the police now. The police and then me.”

  Frustration, revulsion, anger and a violence Tanya didn’t know she was capable of twisted inside. “You keep smiling, you son of a bitch,” she yelled. “Do you know who I am? Do you?”

  Davidson continued to stare, his lips stretched into a tormenting grin.

  Tanya trembled. “You’ll pay for what you did to my sister. You’ll pay for what you’ve done to other young girls. If it takes every last breath in my body, you’ll pay for ruining their lives.”

  Inspector Garrett raised her hand. “Get them in the cars and back to the station. I’ll be there shortly. Constable Archer, you wait here for me.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Tanya watched helplessly as Davidson and the others were led away. Once they were out of sight, her whole body slumped, exhausted. Tears slipped down her cheeks. She eased from the inspector’s and Liam’s grasps. “Let me go. I’m all right.”

  Slowly they released her and Tanya swiped at her cheeks with trembling fingers. Taking a deep breath, she looked at DI Garrett. “Is that it? You’ll make him pay?”

  The inspector smiled, her eyes soft despite the underlying determination that lingered in their dark green depths. “We have a long way to go, but I promise you, I won’t be done until Matt Davidson and whoever else he’s been working with are locked up.” She turned to Liam. “How did you know Davidson would be here? And why didn’t you call me instead of coming here and putting yourselves in danger?”

  “We didn’t know he was here.” He glanced behind him. “There’s someone else who needs arresting, too.”

  The inspector frowned. “Right now?”

  “Yes. Abe Hall. We’ll take you to him with pleasure.”

  Tanya stood stock-still, and it wasn’t until Liam’s arm came reassuringly around her shoulders that she found the strength to move forward through the fair with him, DI Garrett and her constable. Tanya drew her lips tightly closed. She could not tell Liam that now Matt Davidson was in custody, the feeling of suffocation, of not belonging in the Cove, loomed large and real in her mind.

  How could she tell him her suspicion Templeton was not the place it seemed had come back stronger than ever? Maybe it was being in such proximity to Davidson’s poison, of letting Russ Harwell and Mike Ellison so easily violate her space, but she was once again afraid of everything and everyone.

  How could she bear to see the hurt or disappointment in Liam’s eyes when she confessed her uncertainty that Templeton wasn’t where she should be, after all?

  Tanya fought the overwhelming panic. She lifted her chin. No, she would not run. She could handle whatever came next...knew the drill, knew how to calm herself. She was stronger now, more aware of the feelings inside her and how to control them.

  She slipped her arm around Liam’s waist and he looked down at her. She forced a smile and he tipped her a wink. Together, they strode back into the screaming chaos of Funland to find Abe Hall.

  * * *

  LIAM WOKE TO bright sunlight streaming through his bedroom window. He smiled and closed his eyes. Drawing the curtains had been the last thing on his and Tanya’s minds after they’d rushed upstairs, completely naked and laughing like loons. They’d already m
ade love in the living room, again in the hallway, before they finally made it to the bedroom for round three. Memories of their lovemaking flooded his brain, and his body stirred fully awake.

  Ready to ease Tanya from her peaceful slumber, Liam smiled. How he’d rouse her was still up for grabs, each plan of action sweeping through his mind more sexually explicit than the one before.

  He turned his head on the pillow—and his smile promptly vanished.

  Tanya’s beautiful face, with her dark hair spread over the pillow, was what he’d been prepared for. Instead, nothing but empty white cotton lay before him. His libido vanished and he leaped from the bed, straining his ears for any sound, however small, confirming Tanya hadn’t left the house. He shoved his legs into a pair of jogging shorts.

  Why would she just leave without waking him? They were together again—the way she’d kissed him, moaned and writhed beneath him could not have been misinterpreted. No one was that good an actress.

  Yet...

  Liam strode from the room. Memories of the way Tanya had looked on the drive back from Funland poked and prodded at his consciousness. Her smile had been just a little too quick, a little too wide; her hands clenching and unclenching in her lap. He’d chosen to dismiss those telltale signs that all was not well in her mind, not wanting to risk her saying something he didn’t want to hear.

  Instead, he’d embraced the far more welcome reality of her slamming his front door and pinning him against the hallway wall. Her hands had slid under his shirt and ripped it over his head. She’d tossed it over her shoulder, oblivious to it landing squarely on his collie’s face. She’d devoured him, her hot kisses trailing along his jaw, to his collarbone, lower until she teased each of his nipples with her teeth.

  Christ, he’d been so bloody stupid.

  He pounded down the stairs, mentally punching himself for not asking her what she’d been thinking. Was the passion they shared last night her final goodbye? Was she backing away from him with a kiss laced with regret?

  Pushing open the kitchen door, his relieved breath rushed from his mouth.

  Her back was turned to him. He roamed his gaze over the gorgeous, lush blanket of her dark brown, almost waist-length hair, to the curve of her ass concealed beneath one of his work shirts...lower, to her tanned and sexy thighs.

  “Tanya.”

  She turned from the stove, a spatula in her hand, her smile soft. “Good morning.”

  Liam smiled and rounded the island in the center of the kitchen, his hands itching to hold her. “Good morning.” He slid his hands to her waist and kissed her neck.

  She stiffened, before easing him back with her hand to his chest. Her smile was once again too wide, her eyes far, far too sad. “I made breakfast. Take a seat and I’ll make you a plate. I hope you’re hungry. I made eggs, bacon, mushrooms—”

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” His smile dissolved. “What’s happened?”

  Her smile faltered and she briefly closed her eyes. “Just sit down. We need to talk.”

  Liam stared. “We need to talk” only ever meant something bad was coming.

  He slid onto a stool at the island and picked up a jug of juice, filled one of the two glasses neatly laid out in front of two sets of cutlery. He drank deep before putting down the glass and gripping it tightly.

  He would do anything to go to her, snatch the plates from her hands and kiss her hard, swallowing the words he predicted would soon come from between her lips. Yet he sensed that would be the very worst thing he could do.

  She abruptly turned, flashed a tentative smile and slid an overflowing plate in front of him. He flicked his gaze to the slice of toast and single poached egg on her plate. He lifted an eyebrow. “Not hungry? Or do you need to get out of here as soon as possible?”

  She flinched.

  Liam tipped his head back and glared at the ceiling. Asshole. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.”

  He dropped his chin.

  She stared at him, her back ramrod straight. “The night after my office opening, when we made love and I told you about my anxiety, I also told you I needed to fix myself, not have you try to do it for me.”

  He frowned and pushed his untouched plate to the side. “And you think that’s what I’ve been doing? Trying to fix you? You think that was what I was doing when I watched you sleep last night? When I fell asleep with my arms around you feeling like the luckiest man alive?”

  Her cheeks flushed a soft pink and she dropped her gaze to her plate. “All I know is, I’m still scared of not being enough for you.” She lifted her eyes to his. “I have to figure out who I am and what makes me happy on my own before we rush headlong into this and I end up hurting you. I can’t risk that happening, Liam. Not again.”

  He clenched his jaw. “You won’t. I won’t let you.”

  “And how do you propose you will stop me? You can’t control me any more than I can you. And you shouldn’t want to.” She shook her head and gestured around the kitchen with a wave of her hand. “Look at this house. Your garden. Your life is ordered, careful and organized and it’s fantastic, but it also makes me worry I’m not the right person to share it with you.” She dropped her hand. “I don’t know that I’ll ever live up to the standard you deserve.”

  “Isn’t that for me to decide?”

  “Not if I think my actions could hurt you, no.”

  Frustration rippled through him, along with a hefty dose of panic. He glared to hide the tumult of heartbreak at the mere thought of her giving up on them before they’d really even begun. “Where has this come from? Last night we caught Davidson, tossed Ellison, Russ Harwell and Abe Hall into the slammer as added extras. We came back here. We made love like our lives depended on it and then this morning, you want out?” No matter how displaced or unfair, anger toward her bubbled beneath the surface of his skin. “What the hell is that?”

  The color at her cheeks darkened and irritation flashed hot in her gaze. “I’m trying to explain—”

  “What, Tanya? What are you trying to explain? Because right now I’m not understanding you. At all.”

  She gripped the island’s granite top and pushed to her feet, snatching up her plate and dumping the contents into the bin. She turned, her jaw tight. “Maybe that’s just it. You still don’t understand that I didn’t come back to the Cove solely for Davidson. He’s been arrested, great. Cat Garrett has him in custody, great. Yet the whole thing is far from over. I have to see it through after raking everything back up again. I have to call Sasha and tell her Davidson has been caught. I have to do all that because I did this, Liam. I brought Davidson back into her life. I don’t know that I’m strong enough to cope with what could happen next for Sasha, along with the extra worry of hurting you.”

  He studied her. “Isn’t catching Davidson what you needed to move on? God, Tanya, I have asked you over and over about your motivations. Are you saying I was right to accuse you of going after Davidson for the wrong reasons? Is there any possibility you’ve been lying to yourself all along and this was about you rather than Sasha?”

  Tears glinted in her eyes. “Maybe. I don’t know. All I know is, whatever my motivation, I know finding him was the right thing to do. He deserves to pay for what he did, but there’s still every chance I could lose Sasha all over again if catching him destroys what she has with John. How do we know if they’re strong enough to handle a court case? Davidson could still get away with what he’s done.”

  She tossed her plate into the sink with a crash. She spun around and whipped her purse from the counter, hitching it onto her shoulder. “My life is still a mess, Liam, and it scares the life out of me that I might bring you down with me. Let me go. Let me do what I have to do to fix myself and be there for my sister.”

  “And if I do, then what?” A physical pain clutched and burned behind his rib cage. “You c
ome back to me when you’re done? Or do I have to endure seeing you every day through my office window and know you’ll never be mine?”

  Tears slipped over her cheeks and she swiped at them. “I don’t know. Don’t make me say something I can’t promise.”

  His heart twisted and his anger overflowed, pushing venomous words from his throat. “Then I was right.”

  “About what?”

  “I was right not to trust humankind... I was right not to trust you. You’ve let me down. You’re damn well hurting me right now.”

  The room filled with instantaneous and unbearable tension. Liam closed his eyes against the hurt in hers. There was no other sound except the tap of her shoes against his tiled kitchen floor, then the softened tread against the hardwood of his hallway until the stairs creaked as she fled upstairs.

  Liam opened his eyes and stared ahead, cursing the burning in his eyes and wondering why the hell the woman he’d loved for so damn long couldn’t be his. Why, even after everything he knew about her, and she about him, they’d still failed so spectacularly.

  Minutes passed before her hurried steps sounded on the stairs...followed by the final, heartbreaking sound of his front door slamming. She’d gone. Once more out of his life, leaving him reeling. He needed her, wanted her... Liam pushed to his feet. And so help him, he swore he’d find a way to make her his.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  TANYA CUT THE engine of her rental car and stared at the closed front door of Sasha and John’s house. The ferry crossing and subsequent drive to Bridgewater had given her ample time to work out what to say to her sister...and how to say it. She needed to explain the guilt and remorse she carried for letting Sasha down in the past and how much she’d grown as a person. How she was stronger, more confident...yet desperately scared she’d never conquer her anxiety or the risk she might mess up in the future.