by Desiree Holt
Then he turned and walked away. In the next moment, he climbed into his car and drove off toward the road as she watched, her jaw dropping. It took several seconds to pull herself together, the weird encounter dancing in her brain. Shaking her head, she pulled her luggage from the trunk, stacked it together the way it was made to fit, and rolled the whole thing to the front door. Another dilemma. Ring the doorbell? Just open the door which she was sure was unlocked? While she stood there, hesitating, unable to take a step forward, the door opened, and her mother smiled at her.
“I heard your car pull up. Actually…” She smiled although the expression was a little stiff. “Actually, I was watching for it. Darling, I am so glad to see you. I was so afraid you’d decided not to come.”
I almost did.
Dana Schroeder reached for her, and Micki hugged her mother back, the feel of the embrace still so familiar to her. Dana Schroeder was all soft skin, delicate perfume, and welcoming love. Micki still regretted how what she mentally referred to as the incident had affected their relationship. Was it too late after all these years to tell the woman what had happened, in her very own home? About the disastrous impact it had had on her life? Too many times, as she sat in her condo in Florida, she wished someone could turn the clock back and wipe everything away. Too damn bad it wasn’t possible.
“You could have left your luggage for one of the hands to get,” Dana told her.
“It’s okay.” Micki waved a hand. “I’m used to it.”
“Well, all right, then.” Her mother stepped back. “Come in, come in.”
It always amazed her how little the house changed from one visit to the next. Oh, the walls were painted as needed, appliances replaced, furniture changed, but there was a sameness to the place that both comforted and repelled her.
“Was that your father I saw talking to you? I thought he’d already left to do an errand.”
If you could call it talking.
“Yes. He, uh, stopped to say hello to me.”
“Weird.” She frowned. “I thought he’d left already. He has a meeting in town. He’s been acting so strange lately. Preoccupied, more than usual. Getting up in the middle of the night and sitting in his den, staring out the big window. Something’s bothering him, but I can’t get him to tell me what. Did he say anything special to you?”
“No. Just he was glad I was here.” Which in itself was strange.
Her mother lifted one delicate shoulder. “Oh, well. I had your room cleaned and freshened first thing this morning,” Dana continued, “so it’s all ready and waiting for you. Let’s get your stuff upstairs and then maybe we can have a nice glass of wine on the patio. I swear, this party has me so on edge. You’d think it was the first one I ever hosted.”
Ready and waiting for her.
The day after it happened, she’d washed all the bedding and scrubbed everything down with industrial cleaner she found where they kept the ranch equipment. She gave thanks her mother had left early for a day out with her friends, so she wasn’t there to ask questions. But sleeping there was still a problem. Had her mother ever wondered why she suddenly demanded things in her room be changed, like the quilt and throw pillows and some other items?
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Micki assured her, a sight headache forming at the base of her skull. “It always is.”
Liar.
But when she took a closer look, Micki saw faint worry lines bracketing her mother’s eyes, and her hands had the tiniest tremble to them. What the hell was that about? For an unreal moment, she wondered if any more of the rapes had occurred at parties here in this house where hers had taken place. How viciously ironic would that be? Had her parents known? No, her mother would never have been able to keep a secret like that. But something was going on, that much was obvious.
She forced a smile. “Sure. That would be nice.”
“Here.” A familiar male voice broke into her thoughts. “Let me get that luggage for you.” Her brother, Jason, who materialized from someplace, grinned at her.
A tiny wave of relief washed through Micki. Thank god. At least she’d have someone to chill with if things got too strange. But then she realized he could read her better than her parents and wondered how she’d keep everything hidden from him for five long days. But she also knew if, god forbid, she needed a protector, he was it.
“I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am you are here.” She hugged him. “You make things unweird.”
“Unweird?” He chuckled. “Is that a real word?”
“If it isn’t, it should be.”
“Come on. Let’s get you settled.”
“Don’t forget about the wine,” her mother reminded her as she followed Jason up the stairs.
“Looking forward to it,” she tossed over her shoulder. But once they were in her room, she closed the door carefully and turned to her brother. “Okay, what’s the deal with Mom?”
“So you noticed it, too?”
Micki nodded. “She’s strung tight as a wire, and her hands are shaking a little. What’s going on?”
Jason raked his fingers through his hair. “I got here two days ago because Mom sounded nutsy on the phone. She said you wouldn’t be here till today, and she really needed help with this party.”
Micki stared at him. “Mom needed party help? Our mom? The queen of the hostesses?”
“Uh huh. I thought it was strange, too. Especially since she’s got that caterer she always uses running the whole show. Dad’s been busy with meetings and is leaving everything to her, as usual.” He paused, “But, you know…”
“Know what?” she prompted, and her stomach muscles clenched in a sudden knot. “Jason, what aren’t you telling me?”
“Did you know that after a year with nothing happening, the body of another young girl was found just a few days ago?”
Nausea bubbled up in her throat. Another one, after all this time? Oh god.
“Do you know if…I mean…”
Jason nodded. “I’m guessing the answer to your question is yes, she’d reported the rape, and probably not at the sheriff’s office so she could stay under the radar. I’d like to know how the person who killed her knew about that.”
“Maybe the new sheriff is no different than the old one. What do we even know about him?”
“As much as we need to” he told her. “Alex Rossi comes with impeccable credentials and references, and I can promise you it’s not him.”
“Really?” She lifted an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure?”
“I ran into Sadie and Hank Patterson in town the night I got here, and they told me about him. You know that no one has better creds than Hank does.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “That’s true.”
Everyone in the county knew about Hank and his Brotherhood Protectors. In fact, people quietly wondered how whoever this was had gotten away with it for so long with Hank and his agency here. But Micki knew how easily the men in her father’s social and business circles could put on a mask and hide resident evil beneath it.
Jason blew out a breath. “Dad really doesn’t seem like himself. He’s almost as edgy as Mom. And sometimes…sometimes I catch them exchanging a glance when they think I’m not looking. As if they’re hiding some big secret.”
Micki swallowed back the nausea that bubbled up in her throat. “You don’t think…I mean, this is way farfetched, but…I mean, do you suppose…I know there hasn’t been the murder of a young girl in a long time, but…” She stopped, afraid she might end up saying too much.
“What, Micki?” he stared at her. Then his face paled as he realized what she wasn’t saying. “Are you asking me if I think Dad is one of the men who… Jesus! I mean, holy fucking shit.”
“Well?” she persisted. “Do you?”
“No. He’d never do anything like that. I mean, I just can’t see it. Raping young teenage girls? Killing them? Never in a million years. Anyway, it was Sheriff Bartell who was doing the killing, remember? And some o
f the raping, too.” He shook his head. “No, you’re wrong about that. About him.” He sighed. “I used to wonder if it all really happened, but when the reports Bartell had hidden away were revealed, along with the motive for the murders, it was hard to deny it.”
“The girls who finally broke down and told their parents? I’ll bet those parents are killing themselves for insisting they report it.” Micki nibbled her lower lip. “The most devastating part of it is knowing it happened right inside someone’s home, with a party going on around them, the girls hurting and terrified. Going into their rooms and hiding in the dark, praying it had only been a nightmare.”
Even after all these years, the memory of the assault was as sharp as ever. Which was why thinking about the upcoming party made her physically ill. Her skin turned clammy and cold, and her heartbeat thundered in her chest. She was so lost in thought she didn’t even realize Jason had stopped in front of her.
“Micki?” When she didn’t answer, he crouched down in front of her and wrapped his fingers around her hands. “Micki? Honey, look at me.”
She looked up, desperately trying to bank the fear that the memory always brought.
“What?”
“It happened to you, didn’t it”?” He bowed his head. “Oh sweet Jesus. Micki, honey, tell me. It happened to you, right?”
She nodded, biting her lip to hold back the tears that always flooded when she remembered. All these years she’d been so successful at submerging it, crushing it so it didn’t take over her mind
“Yes.” She whispered the word so softly she wondered if he even heard it. God. When she thought of all the relationships that had died because she couldn’t get past that memory…
Jason wrapped his arms around her, and she pressed her head to his shoulder.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell someone?” he asked. “If not Mom and Dad, then why not come to me? Fuck. I’d have found out who it was and beat the shit out of him.”
“There was no way to find out who it was,” she told him. “Did you read any of the interviews with the parents of the murdered girls? The attacks were carried out in such a way that the girls were unable to make an identification.”
“No wonder you always hated coming back here. I don’t know how you’ve done it.” He tilted her face so she had to look directly at him. “I promise you this. We’re going to get to the bottom of this. It keeps hanging over your life. I know it, and I want you to be free of it at last. Micki, I just can’t believe…”
She held up her hand. “Leave it alone. Please. I’m so sorry I gave it away. I’ve done my best to bury it in the past. I’ll get through these next few days and go home to Florida again and put it out of my mind. Live my life.”
“But are you really living it?” he persisted.
“I’m fine. Leave it alone. I’d rather find out what’s wrong with our parents.”
“Okay. For the moment. But I really think you need to talk this out with someone.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it any more. I just want to forget it, so please, please, please don’t bring it up again.”
Jason stood up. “I can’t imagine the way Mom and Dad are acting would have anything to do with this. Maybe they’ve got financial problems.”
Micki’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? Dad’s the proverbial ‘“squeeze a nickel until the buffalo shits’” person. I haven’t ridden around the ranch, but when I drove down the driveway, I could see a huge herd of cattle in the distance and a bunch of cowboys working them. And I’m sure that’s the tip of the iceberg. Plus, from the emails I get from Mom, they haven’t cut back on their lifestyle at all.”
“They sure aren’t stinting on the arrangements for the party,” he agreed. “But something is wrong, and we need to find out what.”
“Jason? Michaela?” Dana Schroeder’s voice floated up the stairway.
Micki cringed. “I hate that damn name. Whose idea was it, anyway? I think they wanted a boy, and this was as close as they could come to Michael.”
“Did you hear me, you two?” The voice was a little more strident.
“We’d better get down there and see what’s got her on fire.” Micki pushed herself off the bed. “I’ll unpack later.”
She finger-combed her hair as she moved out into the hallway, ignoring the fact that her makeup was probably nonexistent at this point and wondering why she even cared. Until she got to the top of the stairs and spotted the man standing in the foyer beside her mother. Like a bolt of lightning, feelings she’d only read about, heard about, swamped her body. Every one of her hormones, all the ones she was sure had died the night of the attack, woke up and began tap dancing like a chorus line. Even the pulse between her legs, the one she usually had to coax out of hiding, was thumping away with an insistent beat.
The man standing beside Dana Schroeder was well over six feet of lean, rugged alpha male. As she slowly descended the stairs, Micki could see the very masculine square-jawed face with its high cheekbones framed by thick, dark-brown hair the color of chocolate.
A tan shirt, adorned with a badge of some sort, stretched over broad shoulders. Knife-creased pants covered the longest legs she’d ever seen, and a holstered gun rode on one lean hip. But what really got her was the eyes. Fierce blue with a mixture of anger and pain swirling in them. What was that all about?
If she was a woman who drooled, she’d be slipping on it by now. All these years, she’d believed her sex drive, her ability to respond, had been destroyed by the brutal attack. Intimacy had hardly appealed to her, in fact often frightened her and always ended badly. But every hormone in her body, every molecule, everything that might as well have been cryogenically frozen, vibrated in response.
Oh. My. God.
What would her life be like if she’d met this man before her disappointing sexual experiments? There was something so warm about him, so honest. She knew she’d never have to be afraid with him. Ever.
Well, holy hell.
“This is Sheriff Alex Rossi. A former SEAL, by the way. Sheriff, meet my daughter Michaela and my son Jason.”
Before she realized what she was doing, Micki held out her hand.
“Micki. Please. Nice to meet you.”
He enfolded her slender hand in his large one, warm with a calloused palm, and gently squeezed. Heat traveled up her arm straight to her nipples. Now she knew what authors meant in the romance novels she tried to read when they described a woman’s nipples as hardening with need. The feeling was so unfamiliar, it shocked her, and she clung a little longer than necessary to Alex Rossi’s hand. His only response was a slight narrowing of his eyes, but she extricated her hand as soon as she realized what she was doing.
“Nice to meet you,” Jason told the man. “I’ve heard good things about you from Hank Patterson.”
Alex’s mouth turned up in a wry grin. “Yeah, I guess he thinks he’s my press agent. Don’t believe everything you hear.”
“Oh, with Hank I pretty much think I can. Anyway, welcome to the Crazies.”
“He means the mountains, not the people,” Micki joked. Then she looked at her mother. “Is there a problem we don’t know about that brought the sheriff here?”
Dana Schroeder shook her head, although there was a definite air of tension vibrating around her. “Your father just thought, with everything going on and the large crowd we’re expecting, he’d feel a lot safer having Sheriff Alex here as a guest.”
“Everything going on?” Micki repeated. “Like what?”
“Well.” Dana twisted her hands together. “You know, it’s only been a few days since that poor young girl’s body was found.”
“For god’s sake, Mom,” Jason spit out. “Surely you don’t think someone’s going to come into the party and start attacking guests, do you?”
“No, no, of course not. It’s only that—”
Alex held up a hand. “It’s okay, Mrs. Schroeder.” He looked at Micki. “I’m happy to help in any wa
y I can. Jeff Bartell never publicized the fact that all the attacks took place at private parties where the guest list pretty much resembled the one we have here. Better all around to be safe.”
Micki shuddered. “Mom? Please tell me you don’t expect one to happen at this event.”
“Of course not,” she snapped. “The sheriff always used to attend these parties. Just because—"She bit her lip. “Anyway, I’m telling anyone who asks that your father and I thought it would be a nice way to introduce our new sheriff to people in the area.” She glanced from Jason to Micki. “Don’t you agree?”
“You don’t think anyone would be bold enough to try something with Holly Martino’s death still fresh in their minds, do you?” Jason asked.
Alex shook his head. “No, but it will be interesting to study each of the guests. And I’m happy to do it. Besides, you’d be surprised what people can give away without even realizing they’re doing it.”
Cold swept over Micki at the thought. Would he be here? The faceless man who ruled her nightmares and had fucked up her life? Would she be able to tell it was him? She was damn glad to have the sheriff on the premises, for his assessment alone.
But then, what did she do with her physical reaction to him? A reaction so unfamiliar she had no idea how to handle it. She had to be the most sexually inexperienced woman in her age group, unaware even of the subtleties of flirting. She’d bet any money the most Alex would do was treat her with reserved courtesy before seeking out a woman he’d feel more comfortable with. That, she figured, would be any woman but her.
In that moment, she hated the man who’d attacked her., hated him with a viciousness that almost made her tremble.
Jason nodded. “We’re glad to have you.”
“Perhaps you and Micki could show Sheriff Rossi around the ranch house and the immediate area,” her mother said. “Get him familiar with the place.”
“No problem,” Jason told her, although he slid a quick glance at Micki that said, What the hell? Why doesn’t she do it?
