Thea shrugged. “It took months, but he never gave up, and when he finally made the arrest, it was like…I don’t know how to explain it. It was like I owed him something. I convinced myself I was in love with him, and we got married before we ever really got to know each other.
“He came from a big family. A family of cops.” She paused, glancing at John. A frown flickered across his forehead. She suspected he was remembering a conversation they’d had days ago. Days? It seemed like years. “They were…very close. I didn’t realize how close until one of his brothers was brought up on charges of police brutality. He was accused of beating a teenage boy to death after a concert one night. The whole family just went berserk. They were like…wild animals, protecting their pack. I’d never seen anything like it.” She shuddered. “When the charges were dropped a few days later, I always suspected they’d done something to the boy’s family, threatened them somehow.”
“What did you do?” John asked her.
“I left him. I couldn’t deal with all that anger, that violence. We’d only been married a few months, but I’d known almost from the start that it had been a mistake. When I moved out he…reacted badly. At first he begged me to come back. He sent me flowers, candy, everything. Then he became angry. He started threatening me.”
John muttered a curse under his breath. Thea had never heard him use such a word.
“It might have all blown over if he hadn’t found out I was pregnant. Then his mother started coming to see me. She was…unreasonable. She threatened to take my baby away from me if I didn’t reconcile with her son. But there was no way, by this time, that I was going to go back. I knew I’d have to fight them for custody, but I never dreamed the extent to which they’d go.”
A muscle worked in John’s cheek. “What did they do?”
“He always had someone following me, one of his brothers or one of his friends on the force. They harassed me continually, slit my tires, made obscene phone calls in the middle of the night. But the worst happened at the custody hearing. He got his brothers and friends to swear they’d…been with me. That I had come on to them. And his mother told the jury I was an unfit mother, that I neglected Nikki and…worse. I almost lost my daughter, and I couldn’t stand the thought of that family raising her.”
John still wasn’t touching her, but Thea could feel the warmth of his gaze, the heat of his anger—not at her, but at a man he’d never met. Would never meet.
“So that’s it,” he said. “You lost custody of Nikki, so you kidnapped her. You’ve been on the run with her ever since.”
Thea closed her eyes briefly. “No, I got custody.”
She stood up to move over by the fire, letting the warmth penetrate her chill for a moment before she turned back to face John. “I got custody, but my ex-husband got visitation rights. I couldn’t leave the state. Every other weekend, Nikki had to go stay with him and his family, and she always came back…different. It’s difficult to explain, but she has always been a very sensitive child. She feels things deeply. That’s one of the things that makes her so special, but her father despised her sensitivity.
“He berated her, tried to make her do things she didn’t want to do—like forcing her down a slide that terrified her.” Thea paused. “I dreaded those weekends. It tore me apart, watching her go off with him, knowing that every time she came back, a part of her was always missing…”
John rose and went to stand beside her. He took her in his arms and held her close, smoothing his hand down her hair. “I wish I’d been there,” he said, and the coldness in his voice, the latent quiver of rage made Thea tremble.
She pushed herself away from him. “That went on for two years. And when he didn’t have Nikki, he and his family continued to terrorize me, stalking me, threatening me. The phone calls continued. It was like living in hell, but there was nothing I could do legally. I couldn’t prove anything. And I’d already seen how they would lie for one another in court, what they would do to someone who threatened them.”
Her hand shook as she reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “His…obsession with me just kept getting stronger. I was terrified he’d do something to me, and then he would get Nikki. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being with him, being raised by that family…” She paused again, taking a deep breath. “I knew there might come a time when I would have to take Nikki away to protect her. I began making preparations, keeping a packed suitcase ready and a lot of cash on hand. I even had one of my father’s associates get us sets of false IDs and papers. I was prepared for the worst.”
“What happened?” John asked.
“He broke into our house one night. He was drunk, out of control, and he started hitting me. I tried to fight back, but he was too strong. When he thought he’d knocked me out, he started for Nikki’s room. That’s when I lost control. I kept a gun my father had given me years ago locked in my nightstand drawer. I got the gun and I shot him.”
John was totally silent. When the fire crackled, Thea jumped. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, but the chill that had come over her wouldn’t be abated now. Whether John believed her or not, she didn’t know, and at the moment, she was too drained to even care.
“I killed him,” she said numbly. “There was blood everywhere. Nikki came running in and saw him lying there. Saw the gun in my hand…” Thea dropped her head. “I’ll never forget her scream that night. She hasn’t uttered a word since.”
And with that, Thea turned and walked out of the room, leaving John’s awful silence behind her.
A HOT SHOWER did little to relax her. Or to warm her. Thea huddled beneath the covers in John’s bed, agonizing over whether she’d done the right thing. She hadn’t mentioned any names. By the time John was able to figure out the rest, she and Nikki could be long gone.
But the thought of running for the rest of her life, never having a real home for her daughter, never having anyone to share their lives with. Never again knowing love…
The bedroom door was open, and light from the hallway spilled in. Thea’s heart started to pound when John moved into the room to stand at the foot of the bed.
He said nothing for the longest moment, just stood looking at her. His eyes in the dim light looked fierce, almost savage.
“If you hadn’t killed him, I would have.”
She almost didn’t recognize his voice. The darkness in his tone should have frightened her but somehow didn’t. Slowly he moved around to the side of the bed. “I don’t want you and Nikki to leave here tomorrow. I want you to stay. I want you to let me help you—”
“John—”
“Don’t say it.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, not touching her, but making her ache for his touch. “You can’t do this alone, Thea. Not anymore. You have to trust me.”
“I don’t know if I can. What happens if someone else finds out about me? What happens to your career?”
“To hell with that.”
“That’s what you say now, but what about tomorrow? Next week? Next year? I won’t let you sacrifice everything for us.”
“I don’t think I have a choice,” he said quietly. He stroked a finger down her arm, and Thea trembled, closing her eyes.
“You said we all have choices. We may not like the ones we have.”
“I was wrong. I don’t think either of us has a choice. Thea, look at me.”
She did, then glanced away before she could see the longing, passion smoldering in his eyes. She wanted him, too, but this couldn’t happen. It would make it all that much harder to leave.
He put his knuckles under her chin and turned her to him. The moment their gazes met, Thea’s heart started to race. He was only inches away, touching her with his eyes and not his hands. As if mesmerized, Thea rose to her knees before him, threading her hands through his hair, bending to kiss him with an intensity she never knew she possessed.
His arms were instantly around her, drawing her across his lap, twisting her so that her breasts were crushed to h
is chest. The kiss was overwhelming, the emotions between them so powerful Thea was completely breathless when he broke away. He rose long enough to close the bedroom door, and then he was back, reaching for her again, pressing her back against the pillows as he joined their mouths once more.
He ripped at the buttons on her pajamas, she tore at his pants. The clothes scattered until there was nothing between them but the heat of their passion, the warmth of their need.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered against her ear when a flash of reality might have intruded. “I’ll protect you. I’ll take care of everything,” he murmured, reaching for the nightstand drawer.
WHEN IT WAS OVER, he rolled onto his back and they lay side by side, staring at the ceiling. Thea’s heart still pounded, but second thoughts had almost immediately began to assail her. What had she done?
Beside her, John’s breathing was as ragged as her own. “Don’t have regrets,” he said as if reading her mind.
“It’s difficult not to.” She started to get up, but he reached over and grasped her hand, pulling her back down to him.
Very gently he smoothed the dark curls from her forehead. “I meant what I said, Thea. I’ll protect you. I’ll take care of everything.”
She closed her eyes against a wave of terrible yearning. If only he could.
THEA AWAKENED from a dream with the sound of Nikki’s sweet voice lingering in her ears. “Mommy! Mommy!”
Thea bolted upright in bed. It wasn’t a dream! Nikki was calling her. She bounded out of bed, grabbing for her robe.
John was awake, too, and reaching for his pants, but Thea said quickly, “No, I’ll go.”
She raced down the hallway to Nikki’s room, throwing the door wide open. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but Nikki was sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes with her fists.
Thea hurried over to the bed and sat down on the edge. “What is it, sweetheart? Did you have a bad dream?”
Nikki pulled away from Thea, then lay back down and snuggled beneath the covers. Within moments she was sound asleep again.
Thea sat with her for a long time, but then, when she was sure Nikki wouldn’t awaken again, she got up and tiptoed from the room.
John was standing in the hallway, and Thea knew he’d been watching her and Nikki from the doorway. She found she didn’t mind.
She leaned against the wall, a flood of emotions rushing through her. “She called out to me, John. My baby called me.”
“I heard her,” he said gruffly, and then he pulled Thea into his arms, letting her weep against his chest.
WHEN JOHN GOT to the station the next morning, Roy Cox informed him that his uncle had been looking for him earlier. “He’s on the warpath,” Roy warned.
John grimaced. Evidently his visit to Annette Dawson yesterday had already been reported, and now it was time to face the music. Which was fine, he thought grimly. He had a few questions for his uncle, as well.
Liam’s office door was closed, and through the frosted-glass window, John could see that his uncle had at least two visitors. The first thing he thought was that they were from Internal Affairs. Someone—Mrs. Dawson or even the superintendent—had lodged a formal complaint against him, which meant his investigation would be halted while he, himself, was investigated.
He started to back away from the door when everyone inside rose. Whoever was in there was about to leave, and John decided he’d just hang around for a few minutes, see who came out. He backed down the corridor, keeping out of sight in the watercooler niche.
The door to Liam’s office opened, and John heard voices—his uncle’s, another man’s and one that sounded like his mother.
He glanced up from the watercooler to see Maggie Gallagher and Superintendent Dawson standing in the corridor outside Liam’s office. Liam stood in the doorway, and the three of them spoke in low urgent tones. Then Liam went back inside and closed the door, leaving John’s mother and Dawson alone in the hallway. She put her hand on the man’s sleeve as she spoke to him again, and then Dawson turned and headed toward the exit.
Maggie Gallagher started down the hallway in John’s direction. When John stepped out of the alcove, she saw him, and her hand flew to her heart. “Johnny! I…was just coming to see you.”
He lifted a brow. “What brings you down here?” She hadn’t been to the station in years, and there was something a little troubling about her presence, about her meeting with Liam and the superintendent, about the way she’d touched Dawson’s arm.
The word “intimate” sprang to John’s mind, but he tried to dismiss it. His mother had never even looked at another man since his father’s disappearance. Besides which, Ed Dawson was still a married man, and his wife was Maggie’s friend.
She looked different today, John noticed with a frown. The dark green tailored suit she wore made her look younger and slimmer, and she had on makeup, too, a subtle color on her eyelids and a vivid red on her lips. John had never seen his mother look this way before.
She took his arm and started walking down the hall toward his office. “I was just talking to Liam and Ed about Mac’s retirement party tonight. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
“Uh, no,” John said, but of course he had. He’d had a lot on his mind lately, not the least of which was the night he’d just spent with Thea.
He’d never known a woman like her before, never thought to feel this way again. Maybe he’d never felt this way.
“Have you seen your brothers lately?” his mother asked.
“I saw Tony a couple of weeks ago.” He’d looked like hell, too, but John didn’t think he’d pass that detail along to their mother. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with him the last day or so, but he’s playing hard to get.”
“That sounds like Tony.” She smiled, but her eyes looked worried. “Johnny…you’re not going to ask him about Ashley, are you? You’re not going to drag all that up now, are you?”
“You’ve been talking to Liam about more than just a retirement party,” John said dryly. So they’d enlisted his own mother against him. What the hell were they all trying to cover up?
His mother sighed. “I know you can’t walk away from an investigation, no matter who might get hurt. You’re so much like your father…” Her words trailed off and she glanced away. “But Tony doesn’t need to be reminded about Ashley’s death. He’s never gotten over it.”
“I know that, Mom. I don’t want to hurt Tony. I don’t want to hurt anyone. But if someone killed Gail Waters, I can’t pick and choose my leads. The truth is, she was investigating Dad’s disappearance when she died. And Dad’s disappearance and Ashley’s murder are irrevocably linked. You can’t investigate one without the other. If Gail Waters was murdered because of something she found out—”
His mother’s grip tightened on his arm. “You can’t really believe that. Ashley’s murder was solved, and your father’s disappearance—”
“Wasn’t.” He paused, then said, “Look, for whatever it’s worth, I’m not altogether convinced Gail Waters’s death had anything to do with seven years ago. That could be a false lead.” He wondered if his mother knew or suspected that Ed Dawson had been having an affair with Gail Waters at the time of her death. For some reason John didn’t want to be the one to tell her.
They both fell silent for a moment, then his mother glanced over her shoulder, as if concerned they might be overheard. She leaned toward him. “Promise me you’ll be careful, Johnny.”
He gazed down at her in surprise. “I’m always careful. You know that.”
“I know you think you are, but you’re not invincible, even though you sometimes feel you have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
John frowned. “Now you sound like Nick.”
Her gaze clouded. “You two boys break my heart, you know that, don’t you?”
“Sibling rivalry,” John said lightly. “Don’t take it so seriously.”
“I wish that’s all it was.” She sighed
deeply, but then apparently forced herself to brighten. “At least we can all be together tonight. I’m expecting you to be there, Johnny, so don’t let me down. Mac will be very disappointed if you don’t show.”
Mac McCormick had been one of John’s father’s closest friends. He was throwing in his papers after forty years, and John’s mother was giving him the requisite party. “I’ll try to make it then.”
“Come early and help with the drinks.”
Drinks? What had happened to coolers of beer on the patio?
John gazed down at his mother again, this time noticing how shiny her hair looked today. The streaks of gray were missing and the style was different. Maggie Gallagher had undergone a transformation since the last time he’d seen her. What he wanted to know, but wouldn’t ask, was why.
When Roy Cox saw them at the door of the office, he swung his legs off his desk and stubbed out his cigar, waving the smoke away with one hand. “Maggie! What brings you down here?”
Maggie? Since when had his mother and his partner been on a first-name basis? They barely knew each other.
“Now, Roy,” Maggie said, “you’re coming to Mac’s party tonight, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Roy drawled.
“Oh, good.” The two exchanged a smile, a man-woman kind of smile, and John thought, What the hell…?
His mother turned back to him, her cheeks tinged an attractive pink, and for the first time since he’d been a kid, John realized how pretty she was. She’d had him when she was eighteen, so that made her fifty-six, still a relatively young woman. And Roy was what? Forty-five, fifty?
With something of a shock John realized his mother was more a contemporary of his partner’s than he himself was. But obviously the revelation had occurred to Roy some time ago, and John couldn’t help remembering the feminine voice he’d heard in the background when Roy had called night before last.
That hadn’t been…No way in hell could that have been…
“What time do you want me, Maggie?” Roy asked her.
She gave a little flip of her wrist. “Oh, around seven. Bring your appetite.”
The Littlest Witness Page 18
