Sadie was coming. The Sadie. The one Lucky thought himself in love with—or had. Annie knew he didn’t love the woman who had once been his partner, but did he think it was true?
Yes. He did.
She never should’ve slept with Lucky. Since that final, heart-stopping moment when they’d come together, it was as if she could slip into his mind at will, and with amazing ease. In the past, seeing into another’s mind had always been jarring and uncomfortable and even frightening. But this was very natural and comforting. It made a kind of sense, she supposed. He’d suggested that physical proximity played a part in her ability. What closer physical proximity was possible than what she and Lucky had shared?
This hadn’t happened with Seth, though. Not even close. She hadn’t had a clue that he would bolt when she began to dream of the murder in Nashville. But of course, he hadn’t touched her after the ability kicked into gear so…
It was just too complicated. Making hats and handbags was easier, and she did her best to lose herself in that activity.
After a while, the silence got to be too much. “I could call Kristie and cancel dinner tonight, if you think it’s best.”
“No,” Lucky said, giving her half of his attention—if that much. “Sadie and Truman McCain will be long gone by suppertime. She won’t leave the kids with her mother-in-law overnight.”
“Doesn’t trust her?”
“I don’t know,” Lucky grumbled. “It’s some mother thing, I guess.”
Some mother thing. He growled the words as if he didn’t understand them at all. And in truth, he didn’t. Annie tried very hard not to peek where she shouldn’t, but when it came to Lucky’s own mother, it was difficult not to see. No wonder he was so messed up where women were concerned. Not hopelessly messed up, she was coming to understand, but still…definitely off-kilter.
“I don’t suppose you’ve started on my order yet,” he asked without looking at her.
“The diaper bag with the built-in holster?” She laughed. “No.”
“Don’t wait until the kid’s out of diapers.”
Annie set her work aside and watched Lucky. He was sorting out some kind of file on his laptop, and his eyes were glued to the computer screen. “I can’t believe you’re serious about that.”
“I’m serious.”
“A diaper bag with a place for a gun….”
“Did you question the woman who ordered that hat I saw you wearing last week the way you’re questioning me?” he asked sharply, lifting his head to look at her for a brief moment.
“No, but…I tell you what. We’ll ask Sadie what she thinks, when she gets here. If she thinks it’s a great idea, I’ll get to work on the bag immediately and I won’t charge you a dime. If she thinks it’s as ridiculous an idea as I do, then you have to order something else. Something very expensive and not at all related to firearms.”
“Fine,” he said absently. “I wanted to surprise her, but if that’s the way you want to play this, you’d better get busy. Once she knows about the plan, I’m sure she’ll want the bag right away.”
The day passed too slowly, in that way they did when anticipation filled the air. Since she had already decided that there was nothing of substance between her and Lucky, she shouldn’t be anxious about meeting the woman he had once thought himself in love with. And still, she wondered how she compared to the fabulous Sadie.
Thanks to her newfound insight, she knew Lucky wanted her. Physically, at least. What did that mean? Not much. She’d reached him in an entirely sexual way, but what about his heart? Would she, or anyone else, ever reach that deeply inside him?
The alarm that had been installed at the foot of the long driveway sounded, and Lucky finished what he was doing and closed his laptop. He glanced at the monitor near his computer, saw a familiar vehicle making the approach and nodded. “It’s them.”
Annie put away her supplies. Her heart beat hard. Sadie was here. The Sadie who had touched Lucky’s heart in a way no other woman ever had. Perfect Sadie, with whom she could not hope to compete.
Car doors slammed shut, and from outside the cabin they heard a man’s voice. And then in answer a child’s voice.
Lucky snapped a curse word and snatched up his laptop. “Truman said they were leaving the kids with his mother, but there must’ve been a change of plans. Hide anything breakable.” He moved the monitors and alarms, along with his laptop, to the top of her bookshelf. He pointed to the sofa. “Scissors. Get those out of here if you value anything you own.”
Annie smiled as she picked up the scissors and stuck them high on the bookshelf. “It can’t be that bad.”
“You’ve never met Grant.”
A few moments later, she did. The McCains didn’t enter the cabin, they exploded into it. Grant rushed to Lucky and threw himself at the man he called Unca Lucky. The baby spit up on her father as they walked through the front door, and no one seemed concerned or surprised. Sadie and her husband were both explaining—simultaneously—why they’d had to bring the kids with them. Apparently Grandma had awakened with all the signs of a cold, and they didn’t want to take the chance that the germs might spread to the kids. The only thing worse than taking care of two kids was taking care of two sick kids.
Lucky made quick introductions amidst the pandemonium. Sadie and Truman both nodded and smiled, and Grant tossed her a very enthusiastic “Hello!” Reagan just cooed, and then she spit up again. When that was done, Annie stepped back and observed. Her usually serene cabin was in chaos, noisy and crowded and practically shaking—especially when Grant vaulted from Lucky’s arms onto the couch and then to the floor.
Sadie got a hug from her old partner; Truman got a handshake. And then Sadie handed the baby to a horrified Lucky.
Annie smiled as she watched the reunion. Of course Lucky loved Sadie. She was his family. She and her husband and their kids were the closest thing he’d ever known to true, loving kin, but he didn’t recognize it as such. He just knew he needed them, and he didn’t like even that.
What Lucky felt for Sadie wasn’t romantic love and never had been, but she had become a big part of the loving family he had never known.
So many pieces of the puzzle fell together as she watched, and she wanted to wrap her arms around Lucky’s neck, hold him close and tell him that she understood. She wanted to be in his bed again, or invite him into hers. She wanted to love him without restraint or worry about what tomorrow might bring.
Lucky Santana did have a heart, but he protected it so staunchly it was almost unreachable. Almost.
Truman McCain had a minor limp, and Annie knew without reaching that it wasn’t a sprained ankle or such but an old injury that pained him. He didn’t think surgery could help, but in a few years—a very few—a procedure to repair the damage there would all but end that telling limp and the pain that still visited too often. It was so obvious that the sheriff and his wife loved one another, that Annie felt an envy that had nothing to do with Lucky. What they had was rare and beautiful. At least they had the good sense to appreciate what they’d found.
Within twenty minutes of their arrival, an exhausted Grant fell asleep on the sofa. Reagan fell asleep in the crook of her father’s arm. Sadie and Lucky retrieved two suitcases, which they said Murphy had delivered at the crack of dawn after finding out via Sadie’s e-mail that they were making the trip to Tennessee.
The suitcases were stored in Lucky’s room, and with the kids asleep and the cabin relatively quiet once again, Sadie spread a large map of the southeastern United States across the dining room table. Someone had made several markings across the state of Georgia and into Tennessee.
“First of all, this isn’t complete,” Truman said. “I have inquiries out and it might be weeks before I hear back from everyone. It would be impossible to investigate the entire country, so I limited my inquiries to the Southeast, at least for now. What I’ve found so far is enough to get me here.” He glanced at Annie with suspicion. “I have to tell you,
I’m not a believer in things I can’t see, but I do agree that the Huffs’ deaths are suspicious and warrant a decent investigation. Now that I’ve seen the facts, I can’t let it go.”
“I appreciate your honesty.”
He pointed to the map, one finger landing on a red mark south of Atlanta. “These might not all be related, but they’re all suspicious. The odds are most of these are exactly what they appear to be. Accidents, domestic crimes, robberies that ended in violence.”
Annie studied the red-dotted map, and her stomach flipped unpleasantly. “All of these dots represent death?”
“Every one represents a couple who died in a way that someone thought was suspicious. Home invasion,” Sadie said, pointing to another small red dot. “Even though the house was small and there was nothing of value to take.” Her finger moved up. “A couple killed coming out of a movie theater. The killer took their wedding rings. Nothing else.”
Truman pointed to a small town in north Georgia. “Murder/suicide, much like the one that took place here. This is going to take time, but all I can do is look at the facts of each case and see if anything jumps out at me. If we can come up with another murder and tie it to the one here, then we can get the FBI involved. We might also be able to come up with a time line which will help us assemble a list of suspects. If he was here two years ago—” one finger found a random red dot on the map “—then he wasn’t in Mercerville.”
Sadie looked at Annie. “It’s been nearly three months since the Huffs were killed, and according to Lucky he’s already chosen his next set of victims.”
“I know.” Annie’s knees went weak, and even though she tried very hard to hide that reaction, Lucky was soon there. He placed an arm around her waist and supported her, in a way that would look casual to Sadie and Truman, but which offered Annie real support.
“Odds are, that means he’s new to the area. If he moves from victim to victim so quickly, then it’s likely he hasn’t been a resident of Mercerville very long. Considering the MO, I’d say he killed once or twice, likely in different ways each time, and then, before things get too hot, he moves on to another town and another couple.”
“I guess you called Larkin with this,” Lucky said. He didn’t sound happy about the prospect.
“Not yet,” Sadie answered. “Until we actually have a list of suspicious crimes that we can link to this one, what’s he going to do? Max is too fond of overkill. He’d send a dozen federal agents in and the killer would bolt. Unless you have an objection, we thought maybe we’d wait until we have more concrete evidence.”
“We?” Lucky grinned. “I thought you were retired.”
“Semiretired,” Sadie argued. “As long as I do my part on the computer or over the phone, Truman doesn’t mind.”
It looked to Annie as if Truman did mind, but he knew his wife well enough to know she’d never be the Suzy Homemaker type.
“This information could’ve been shared by e-mail or phone,” Lucky said. “Why the in-person visit?”
“Complaining?” Sadie asked.
“No. Just curious.”
Her eyes cut away from him and she pretended to study the cabin’s furnishings. “It’s a pretty time of year up this way. We thought we’d take in the changing leaves.”
Lucky snorted. “I don’t get the whole leaf obsession.”
“Besides, I heard from Murphy late last night, and he said you’d asked him to send up some stuff.”
“Hasn’t he ever heard of FedEx?”
Sadie glanced at Annie. The mother of two had been just as curious about the woman Lucky was working for as Annie had been about her. What had Murphy said to make her so curious?
“Lucky has placed a special order for you and the new baby,” Annie said, anxious to change to subject—even if just for a moment. “He wants me to make a pink diaper bag with a special compartment for a gun.”
She waited for laughter and shouts of horror. Sadie’s mouth opened slightly, and then she looked at Lucky and grinned. Truman shook his head and grumbled. Annie grinned, glad of the win—however small.
And then Sadie laughed out loud. “Lucky, that’s perfect!”
Truman had vetoed the diaper bag idea, so after the McCains left, Lucky and Annie declared a draw where Reagan’s gift was concerned, and set the subject aside. They had bigger concerns, now that Truman and Sadie had suggested that there might be an experienced serial killer in their midst. Once a few more facts were in place it would be easy to get the sheriff’s department, the state and the federal government involved. All afternoon Sadie had been working on a list of the newest residents of the area. Not only Mercerville, but out in the county, as well. She didn’t know everyone, but it was a start.
The new postman. The guy who’d bought the fudge shop in late spring. A plumber who’d joined a local company just four months back. A carpenter who did odd jobs. There were others who had been in the area less than a year, but most of them had come with wives, or larger families. Annie wasn’t sure, but she suspected the killer was a solitary man. She’d sensed a deep loneliness in him, a longing for loving connections that he didn’t have.
Kristie and Stu Bentley were also newer to Mercerville than Lucky had suspected. They’d bought the bed-and-breakfast five months ago, and according to what they’d told Annie, they’d been married less than a year. Was it possible they were looking for a duo of killers, or that Stu had not only his neighbors but his wife fooled?
Lucky was tempted to cancel supper with the Bentleys, even though Sadie and Truman had been gone for a couple of hours and time was not an issue. Three reasons spurred him onward. He and Annie had an appearance to maintain, even though with any luck the end of the investigation was near. Secondly, a few more hours alone in this cabin with Annie and he was going to explode.
And lastly, in his mind the Bentleys were now suspects. Annie dismissed the idea as ludicrous, but until he knew better, Lucky wasn’t about to strike them from the list. They’d been in the park that afternoon when Annie had felt the killer was near.
No matter how nice and normal the Bentleys appeared to be, anything was possible. Anything at all.
Annie grinned at him when he stepped into the main room of her cabin. “Nice,” she said. “Where’d you get the duds?”
“They’re undercover duds.” Faded black jeans, motorcycle boots, a Harley T-shirt. He did own more than nicely tailored and expensive suits, and much of it was stored at Benning’s main offices—just in case. What she couldn’t see was the perfectly fitted ankle holster that had been made for these boots, and the small revolver that was housed there.
Annie’s grin faded slowly. “I never would’ve thought it, but I miss the suit. As nice as this look is, it just isn’t…you.”
She, of course, was dressed in her usual off-the-wall garb. The skirt was full and colorful and hung well below her knees, where they met a dark brown pair of boots not all that different from his black ones. Her T-shirt was decorated with sparkly things; the bracelet and dangly earrings she wore looked as if they’d been made to match. Given her profession, that was entirely possible.
Lucky leaned against the doorway and studied her from head to toe. “Why on earth would a beautiful woman get all dressed up and finish off the outfit with clunky boots?”
Annie rocked back on her heels. “If I ever see a beautiful woman wearing clunky boots, I’ll ask her.”
She wasn’t teasing him, he could tell. She was putting him in his place. Telling him not to bullshit her. Drawing a line and daring him to cross it. How could she not know she was beautiful? There had been a time when he’d thought her pretty, not gorgeous, but that had changed in the past few days. If Annie walked into a room packed with women, he’d notice her to the exclusion of all others.
Crap. He still wanted her, and at the moment no other woman would do. He suspected that feeling would vanish as soon as the job was done, but right now it was unexpectedly powerful.
He crossed the room slowl
y, the heels of his boots thudding against the wooden floor. He went directly to Annie, tipped her chin up and said it again, in a low, steady voice. “Why would a beautiful woman like you wear such clunky boots?”
There was no smile, now. Annie swallowed, nervous to have him so close even though he’d been closer—and would be again, he suspected, in spite of his insistence that whatever relationship they had was over. He felt Annie’s gentle tremble in the fingers that remained at her chin. Yes, he would definitely be close to her again.
“I’m not beautiful,” she argued. “When I work at it, I can be cute, and I’m always fashionable, but that’s about as far as it goes. I know my limitations, Lucky. You’ve spent your entire adult life in the company of gorgeous women who could be models or movie stars. I’m ordinary. Not ugly, but certainly not beautiful.”
“Since you’ve just declared me an expert, shouldn’t that be up to me to decide?”
“No,” she argued weakly.
He kissed her, because she was so close and because he could. Because her lips were full and inviting and right there. Because he wanted her.
This was going to be the longest night of his life. Why hadn’t he called off dinner and arranged surveillance of the B and B down the hill? He could have any number of Benning agents here within a few hours, and they could take over the investigation while he looked out for Annie. Besides, he had no desire to spend time with perky Kristie and her too-quiet husband.
“Don’t be silly,” Annie said as she ended the kiss. “You’ll like Kristie and Stu once you get to know them. Everything will be fine.” All of a sudden, she went very still. Her body stiffened. “You didn’t say that out loud, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.” Dammit, Annie was peeking into his head again, and he didn’t like it. He also didn’t like the fact that it came so easily to her, that it had taken her a moment to realize that he hadn’t actually voiced his thoughts aloud.
“Well, I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but that’s just the way it is,” she said defensively. “If you don’t want me peeking into your head, then…think of baseball.”
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