by Marion Myles
“Well, yes. I guess I did. I’m sorry about your friend. Brooke tells me you live in Nashville.”
“That’s right. I got a job straight out of college, and I’ve been there ever since. It’s perfect because it’s not far to come back to Dalton and visit my parents.”
Roman walked over and all but picked up Ashley. “I didn’t realize you were here,” he said as he held her to his chest in a hug. “It’s good to see you, even under the circumstances.” Putting her down he stepped back and flashed a smile. “If you’re sticking around, we should all get together and catch up. It’s been awhile. I have a couple of things to do at the station, but I could probably get away early.”
Mia could have sworn someone had punched her in the stomach at the same time a giant fist closed down hard over her heart. Her face felt stiff, and it was an effort of will to force her expression into pleasant lines. Taking what she hoped was a subtle step to the side, she started inching away. Brooke’s hand snaked out and grabbed her elbow.
“Mia should come too,” Brooke said.
“Thank you but no. I need to get back to work. Besides, I’m sure you guys want to catch up on old times and talk about Anita. I’ll find Kevin and have him take me home.”
Roman fished his phone out from inside his sport coat and held up a hand. “Hang on. I’m getting a text from him right now. He’s looking for you.”
“Tell him I’ll meet him at his car.”
When she turned to leave, once again her arm was restrained. “Wait. I can take you back if you want,” Roman said.
She made a shooing motion with her hand. “No, that’s not necessary. You go and be with your family and friends.”
His eyes zeroed in on hers. “Or you could join us like Brooke suggested.”
For a nanosecond, she wanted to stay with him, but with the feeling came a spurt of panic, and she ruthlessly pushed it away. “I really can’t. The service was beautiful.”
His hand fell away from her arm. “Thank you for coming. I appreciate it. I’ll see you later?”
“You know, I think I’ll be fine for one night. Why don’t you stay in town?”
Ashley sidled up to him. “Would you mind swinging by my parents’ to pick me up? I didn’t rent a car, and I don’t want to leave them without.”
With Ashley momentarily distracting Roman, Mia took the opportunity to turn and walk away.
“Hey, hang on,” he said.
“I’ve got to go. Kevin is waiting,” she called over her shoulder without looking back.
Chapter Twenty-two
Back at home, Mia couldn’t work. Couldn’t eat. Couldn’t concentrate on anything but the image of Roman hugging Ashley and the way he’d smiled down at her. The dogs picked up on her restlessness and paced around the house after her. She needed to move, burn off some of this anxiety. Finally, she motioned the dogs out the front door.
She had her cell phone. The house was locked up tight. If psycho killer came back and ruined more of the property, it could always be fixed. From now on, she refused to be a prisoner in her own home. Maybe she should move after all. Change her identity. This time though it wouldn’t be her past she was escaping, but the attention of a serial killer.
It felt good imagining a new her in a new life. Except you wouldn’t have Roman, a sneaky voice whispered in her mind.
Dragging her feet through the long grass, she whistled to the dogs. “Come on boys and girls, we’d better head back. My allotted brooding time is officially over.”
Not surprisingly, Roman texted to say he would be late and Mia would have to forgo her walk this one time. She didn’t bother telling him she’d already had a solo outing that afternoon. Instead, she texted back, again suggesting he not come and surely she and the dogs would be fine for one night. He didn’t respond.
When he did arrive a little after ten o’clock, she said, “You’ve had quite a day. Are you all right?”
He kicked off his shoes and nudged them onto the boot tray by the front door. “I’m fine. Glad it’s all over. The memorial was hard, but I have to say it was good spending time with family and friends.”
“Ashley seemed…nice,” she couldn’t help saying.
Hit with a sudden flash of insight, he paused before picking up his knapsack. Clearing his mind, he focused on Ashley…picturing her long, mocha hair and dark eyes. He remembered how she’d taken his hand while they walked back to his car after dinner and for an added bonus, he imagined kissing her. There you go, Mia, he thought, that’ll give you something to chew on. It’d be really interesting to see how Miss No-Strings-Attached would deal with a little competition.
“She is nice. Plus, she’s always been a looker. She’s even hotter now than she was in high school. I have to admit I have a weakness for brunettes,” he said.
Mia didn’t say anything for several seconds. Instead, she stepped back and wandered across the hall, finally leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. Roman hid his smile while he stowed his keys in the side pocket of the knapsack.
“I sensed Tony was in a better place. More accepting. Do you think he would ever be interested in Brooke?” she said, breaking her silence.
Now Roman straightened and gazing at her, cocked his head to the side. “I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“Just a feeling I have. I think Brooke would be open to it.”
“Is that so? Can’t say I’ve ever seen Tony show much interest in her beyond being friendly. He mostly dates city girls, if you know what I mean. So far he hasn’t kept any of them for long. I think he’s still in the process of finding himself. Maybe now, with Anita’s memorial behind us, he’ll be able to move on.
“Roman…”
“Yeah?”
“The memorial was beautiful and incredibly moving and more than ever, I wish I’d known your sister.”
He sighed. “I wish you had too. See you in the morning.”
For the first time since he’d started staying at her house, Mia wished she hadn’t insisted they sleep in separate rooms.
* * *
Mia found the night tortuous. Her mind would not move away from the image of Roman and Ashley walking hand in hand to his car, of them kissing. She’d seen it clear as day when she’d pushed into his head. It was distressingly easy to imagine them as a couple with their similarly dark coloring and outstanding looks.
She shouldn’t have gone poking around in his head. It wasn’t right. Hadn’t she promised herself she’d be better than that? Sometimes old habits die hard though. She sighed as she walked down the stairs. It seemed she had a lot more work to do in the area of personal integrity. Maybe what she was feeling now was a sort of punishment to keep her on the straight and narrow. An instant karma deal.
She hated that the idea of Ashley and Roman bothered her. He was just a casual fling, wasn’t he? She’d made that plain as plain could be. If he had the hots for some sexy brunette from high school, it was no skin off her nose. She could easily say goodbye and never look back.
Except she didn’t want to say goodbye. She liked having him around. Liked talking to him. The sex was outstanding, and now that he was with the program, she didn’t have to deal with intrusive personal questions. As far as she was concerned, it was the best of everything.
He won’t be satisfied with this for long, a voice in her mind whispered. He’s a serious guy looking for a serious relationship. Maybe, then, this is exactly the wakeup call she needed because she hadn’t realized she was getting attached.
No, attached wasn’t the right word. Used to. That was better. She was used to him now, that was all. Like a…what? Her mind searched and finally came up with house cleaning. Okay, sure, he was like a cleaner. He was in her house, and he did things for her. Though she could hardly count sex as an odd job, plus, it was not as if she paid him.
“You’re analyzing this thing to death. Get a grip,” she said aloud, then realized the dogs were looking at her expectantly. “Okay, you’re right. It’s breakfast t
ime. Let’s get you guys some food.”
Once she’d dealt with filling dog bowls and letting the canines out for their morning meander around the dog run, she sat on the back deck with a cup of coffee and gave herself a stern talking to.
This was not like her. She didn’t ever get seriously involved with men. Certainly didn’t spend time brooding about them. She thought about the bet she’d made with Roman and couldn’t help wondering if he had some kind of sixth sense himself. Either way, it was turning out to be prophetic because she, Mia Reeves, was having trouble maintaining an emotional distance.
She felt stupid even thinking about this. She was a champ at maintaining emotional distance and always had been. It was simply a matter of letting her usual instincts take over. And the best time to start was right away.
When Roman came down to the kitchen an hour later looking sexy with his morning stubble and sleep-rumpled hair, she told herself she didn’t find him attractive anymore. Getting up from the breakfast nook, she poured him a cup of coffee and handed it over with the briefest of smiles before pointing at her laptop on the table.
“I’ve been doing some research on cameras. There’s a company not far from here, so if you don’t mind watching the house, I thought I’d go in and get the ball rolling. You’re not working, right?”
“What?” He took a sip of coffee and rubbed his eyes.
“You stay. I’ll go. Got it?”
Glancing down at the laptop, he slid onto the chair and studied the screen. “You’re getting security cameras? Don’t you want me to look at them and maybe talk to the guys?”
“Pretty sure I’ve got this. It’s not exactly complicated.”
“Jeez Louise, these things are expensive.”
“Yeah. It’s going to hurt, that’s for sure. It’ll be worth it though. Even when this psycho killer is caught, I don’t think I’ll ever feel okay about leaving the dogs alone. The cameras will at least give me some peace of mind. I’m hoping to get them installed this weekend and then you won’t have to babysit anymore. I’m sure you’re more than ready to go back to your own life.”
He frowned at the laptop screen. “This seems kinda sudden. Don’t you want to shop around, compare prices?”
She studied his profile, pushing away the ripple of longing rising up from her belly. “No, I want to get it done. I need my space, and you surely must need yours.”
Shifting his eyes up to meet hers, he blinked several times. “So this is really about getting me out of your house? Interesting.”
Mia shut the lid on the laptop and gathered the computer under her arm before stepping away. “There’s nothing interesting about it. The cameras make sense. And with them, I won’t need someone here at night.”
“Really? What if, despite the amazing cameras, the guy breaks into your house while you’re sleeping? How are you going to protect yourself?”
“I have four dogs and a baseball bat under my bed. I have a cell phone. The security alarm will wake me before he gets in the house.”
“Seconds before,” Romans said, getting to his feet and crossing his arms over his chest. “You’ll barely be out of bed, and he’ll already be in the house, coming up the stairs. Sure, you’ve got the dogs, but I’d put money on them rushing out to confront the guy. All he’d have to do is shoot them. It wouldn’t be hard if he hid in the spare room and picked them off. Or he could stay by the front door and blast at them when they came down the stairs. You might call nine-one-one, but he’ll have you out of the house and in his car before they even have a chance to dispatch the first vehicle. Then you’re gone. Until we find your grave in some out of the way wooded area. Do you really want to be number ten?”
“If you’re trying to scare me, you’ll find I’m not that skittish.” Her focus leveled on his.
“I never said you were. What you are is stupid.”
She laughed. “Nice try. I’m not going to let you bait me into a fight. This is my life. I get to decide how I’m going to live it. Us having sex doesn’t give you license to have a say in the matter.”
“Fair enough. How about this? You go get your cameras. Sign up with a security company if you want. I don’t give a rat’s ass what you do. But get this through your thick skull—as long as Anita’s killer is out there, I’m going to be here every night whether you want me to or not. I’ll sleep in my car if need be, but I’m not letting anything happen to you.”
She whirled away clutching the laptop to her chest. “I’m not Anita. You don’t need to protect me.”
Grabbing her elbow, he spun her back to face him. “I do need to protect you. It’s my job, and on top of that, I care about you. A whole lot. If this guy snatched you…if he hurt you…” He shook his head. His hand lifted to her face, and the backs of his fingers stroked her cheek as gentle as a whisper. “It’s not going to happen, that’s all. What’s this really about?”
“What do you mean?” She jerked her head back, and his hand fell away.
“I mean, why did you get up this morning with a bug up your ass about getting me out of here? It seems kind of sudden.” When she said nothing, merely meeting his gaze with icy eyes his face broke into a smile. “Oh, I get it. You’re upset about Ashley, and it put you in a mood.”
With some effort, she smoothed out her expression and wandered back to the table to put down the laptop. “Ashley?” she said, keeping her voice light. “Why would she have anything to do with this? I don’t care who you kiss.”
“Really? Because it seems like you do. And for the record, Ashley and I didn’t kiss last night or any night in recent memory. Maybe way back in high school, there might have been some lip action at a dance, but that’s about it. Funny, for someone who’s supposed to be all about keeping it casual, you seem to have your nose out of joint over the mistaken idea that I kissed someone besides you.”
“Why are you lying? Not that I care, but I know you kissed her. As far as I’m concerned, you can kiss her a thousand times, and it won’t bother me.”
“Good to know, but I didn’t kiss her.”
“I saw it. You totally kissed her in some parking lot. It was right there in…I mean…you did, that’s all.”
He walked up to her and tapped his finger against her nose. “Were you looking around in my head? You’re a bad, bad girl.”
“It’s not like that…I didn’t…okay, I did look. I’m sorry, but I had to know. I don’t understand why you’re lying about this.”
Rubbing his hands together, he laughed. “God, this is good. You may have this amazing gift, but I now know how to get around it. I knew you were bent out of shape about Ashley and figured you might go snooping, so I imagined the whole thing and it totally worked.”
“You imagined kissing Ashley?” she sputtered. “But…”
“That’s right. I got you good. Now onto the best part of all this. You were a hundred percent bothered about the idea of Ashley and me. The only reason you’d be upset is because you’re developing feelings for me. The trouble is you don’t want to admit it to yourself, so you’re trying to push me out with the cameras. It’s okay, Mia. I promise I’m a good guy. I may hurt you because anyone in a serious relationship hurts the other person from time to time, but I won’t do it on purpose. We’re great together. Surely even you can see that?”
Head down, she backed away. “I can’t. It’d never work anyway.”
The sting hit him deep in the gut. “So you won’t even try? Wow, talk about being a coward.”
Now her head snapped up, and she met his eyes. “It’s not fear for me. I won’t get hurt. You will. I’m not built for serious relationships.”
His chuckle was harsh in his ears. “Wow. How altruistic of you. Thanks for looking out for me, but sort of like what you were saying earlier, this is my life, and I get to decide how I’m gonna live it. I’m not afraid of being hurt…so bring it on.”
“You don’t even know me. You know weeks, a couple of months. You know what I show you and most of that�
�s a lie anyway.”
“You don’t know me either. That’s the whole point of this. We spend time together. Learn about one another. It’s what relationships are all about, Mia.”
“That’s not even my name,” she blurted out before slapping a hand over her mouth. A red flush raced up her neck and spread across her face.
“I know,” he said quietly. Mutinous eyes met him, and he shrugged. “I’ve known for a while now.”
“You know I’m committing identity fraud and haven’t done anything about it?” she said slowly, not even aware she was inching away from him.
“Yeah, since we found nothing in the woods at Carlton Park. I ran a deep background on Mia Reeves and eventually discovered she was dead. Your identity is good. Real good. It must have cost a lot.”
“It did,” she mumbled, sinking to a chair at the table. Her heart hammered in her head, every beat sounding like a warning. “What are you going to do?”
He cocked his head. “I’m not going to do anything. Eventually, I’m hoping you’ll tell me what you’re running from, but I won’t threaten it out of you. And when you do, we’ll deal with it.”
Looking down, she realized the dogs had gathered around her. Her family. Her heart. As always…right there for her. She couldn’t risk it no matter how much she might like Roman. She’d have to leave. Move on. Change her name again. God, the thought of all that entailed made her feel exhausted.
Forcing a smile, she lifted her face to meet his again. “You’re so patient with me. Thank you for not pushing. Maybe we could work. I need to think about it.”
“Come here.”
He walked to her and offered his hand. With barely any hesitation, she accepted, and he pulled her to her feet. His fingers cupped her jaw, and dark liquid eyes searched hers. Whatever he saw in her satisfied him, for he smiled and leaned down, kissing her with soft lips. No demands. No urgency. Just simple sweet contact. Her heart pinched painfully, and she rubbed a hand between her breasts.
