The Stranger Next Door

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  Billy Jo stopped walking, taking in the privacy, wondering why it seemed she was in the middle of this game. “Of course he didn’t. I locked it in his bottom drawer. Tell me about what’s in there, because he won’t use it, and I’m afraid he’s going to be blindsided.”

  Gail pulled in a breath. “Everything the council doesn’t want the public here to know. New cars, missing money, a rise in tax dollars redirected to them, and a funding program called Bill 33, which is basically a discretionary fund no one knows about that lines their pockets. There’s a lot more in there, nothing they’ll want to come out.”

  She just stared at Gail and wondered how she knew all this. “Mark won’t use it, and you know the council already sent in those two…”

  “You mean Dwayne and Roberta?” she cut in, and Billy Jo realized she really did have her finger on the pulse of the island.

  “Yeah. Do I dare ask how you knew? Come on, Gail. I feel like I’m pulling teeth here. Help me out. Just tell me what to do, because Mark won’t open the envelope or use it, and you know what? It infuriates me because I couldn’t love him if he did.”

  Gail didn’t look away, and for a moment, Billy Jo wondered if she was going to laugh at her. “Never figured he would, but the council doesn’t need to know that. As far as Dwayne and Roberta, the council can show them the door, pay them off out of their discretionary budget. Roberta is here to take over Mark’s job, but I’m sure you already know that. You make sure Mark hires his picks and stands his ground. About the council, Tolly has been meaning to drop by and catch up. You know, Billy Jo, there’s one thing I know about Mark and his damn integrity, and that’s that if he knows you did something behind his back, it would kill your relationship.”

  She pulled her arms across her chest, staring at the dog. “You really didn’t want to talk inside.”

  Gail glanced back to the house. “You know, you think people are paranoid when they think someone is following them and listening in on their phone calls, saying the walls have ears. But sometimes they do.”

  A shiver ran down her back as she glanced back to the house and then to Gail.

  “Ash Byrd is not a man you want to get on the bad side of,” Gail continued. “Sunday means everything to him. Not sure what fucked-up reasoning her parents had to marry her to the man as young as she was, though. When she’s gone, you make sure Mark stops looking. Ash will call him, but there won’t be a trace of her.”

  “So this lady I called is…”

  “A friend,” she said, cutting Billy Jo off, “who has helped a lot of women who needed to disappear do just that.” Gail pulled a weary breath and glanced away. “Where is she meeting you?”

  Billy Jo lifted her watch and looked at the time. She needed to leave. “My place. I should get going. She didn’t say much, just asked my address and said she’d be there.”

  Gail nodded. “I’ll meet her. It’s better you don’t get involved anymore.”

  Billy Jo stared at her. “You’re serious. Then what?”

  “Then, when Sunday disappears, you can honestly tell Mark that you have no idea what happened to her.” Gail slid a hand over her shoulder. “And when are you going to stop the dancing around you’ve been doing with him, this question about his place, your place? Pick one!” There was the smile.

  She fell in beside Gail as they walked back to the house, and she felt the fear that always came at her out of nowhere, but she kept walking. “You’re telling me to take a leap of faith.”

  “No, I’m telling you to follow your heart. Good guys don’t come along every day, and neither does the guy you know you’ll spend forever with. But he won’t wait forever.”

  Billy Jo nodded as she kept walking. She called out to Lucky, then spotted Tolly walking onto the deck. “In case I didn’t say it,” she said, “thanks for sticking your neck out.”

  Gail nudged her. “You’re welcome.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was dark when Mark pulled in and parked in front of his cottage beside Billy Jo’s Nissan. Light drifted through the windows, and he wanted to shut his eyes after the shitstorm of the day, but he spotted the door open, and there was Billy Jo, gesturing as if to ask what he was doing.

  Damn, he didn’t know if he had it in him to do any more dancing around tonight. They’d eat and then she’d leave. He pulled on his door and stepped out, then started up the deck toward her.

  “Well, was wondering if you were going to sit out there all night,” she said. “I made a meatloaf.” She was barefoot, he realized, and let her gaze linger as she looked up at him. “Please tell me it got better after I left?”

  He touched her cheek as he thought of the mess he’d left, papers scattered, when Dwayne and Roberta both walked out the door at five. He’d have said something, but he was still trying to figure out his next move, because he wasn’t taking this lying down with the council.

  “Well, let’s see. Roberta managed to dig up a history on Sunday’s parents, Desiree and Steve. They live in Pasadena. She dug up a phone number.”

  She was already inside and had walked over to the oven, and he breathed in the aroma of the meatloaf and watched as she lifted the casserole dish out and set it on his stove. Damn, he hadn’t realized he was so hungry.

  “You called them?” she said.

  He wondered what she’d say when she heard the parents thought nothing was wrong with what they had done. “I did, and I asked outright if their sixteen-year-old daughter was married to Ash Byrd. You know what her mother said?”

  Billy Jo didn’t say anything. Mark still couldn’t believe how badly the conversation had gone. “I’m taking it she wasn’t supportive or worried about her daughter.”

  Mark shrugged out of his jean jacket and went to toss it on the sofa, where Harley was lying, his eyes closed, Lucky on the other end. When he glanced back to Billy Jo, she gestured toward him.

  “Well, come on. Tell me, what did they say?”

  He rested his jean jacket on the arm of the sofa and looked back to her. “Other than that she was an amazing storyteller, lied all the time, and thought nothing of hurting others? She told me they pulled her off the street after she started selling herself because she wanted an Xbox and they’d said no. She even went so far as to say that Ash married her as a favor to them.”

  Billy Jo said nothing, only nodded.

  “You know, I can’t help noticing you don’t seem surprised.”

  She took a step toward him, then another, and rested both her palms on his chest. “What do you want me to say? I recognized something about her. I grew up in some really shitty places, and I’ve seen it before and been on the wrong side of that kind of person, the kind you can’t trust with anything, especially your life. She could mess with you and you wouldn’t even see it coming. So does this mean you’ll leave it alone?”

  What was he supposed to say? He was still bothered by the fact that she’d been thirteen when Ash married her. Billy Jo let her hands fall away and stepped back.

  “Not much I can do,” he said. “So I see Harley is here.” He looked at the floor in the kitchen, seeing the cat’s dish beside Lucky’s. “And so is his dish. Does this mean what I think it means?”

  He expected her to pull away, make a face, and get all uncomfortable, but she just looked at the meatloaf. He spotted a pot on the stove and a salad already made.

  “You’ve been pushing me for so long to make a decision, and I’m sorry it took me this long,” she said. “I figure I’ll give my notice to Lesley and Lorne and move my things in here, or we could look for something bigger.”

  It took him a second to realize she was serious. He slid his arms around her, and she settled into him. “You sure about this?”

  She angled her head, freckles dotting her face. Her blue eyes were so different from those of anyone he’d known. He lifted his hand, brushed back her hair, and leaned in and kissed her softly, then pulled back.

  “More sure than anything in my life. But one thing, Mark
.”

  He kissed her again, and she slid her hand over his chest. He pulled back just a bit and took in the seriousness of her gaze. “And that is?”

  She slid her hand over his arm and up his sleeve, then stepped back as she lifted it. “You keep your appointment and get this removed.”

  There she was, his snarky Billy Jo.

  Man, he really did love her.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mark slid his hand down her back as he sat on the sofa. She was straddling his lap, kissing him, feeling those warm lips, his hands sliding under her shirt and over her skin as she was pressed into his solid chest. She slid her hand over his face, feeling the scrape of whiskers, the same that burned her face now, and her other hand slid into his hair, the short unruly waves. She felt the strength of his solid thighs, melting into his touch, when his hand suddenly slid over her arm and he pulled her back abruptly.

  “Okay, stop,” he said.

  Was he serious?

  He was standing up, juggling her awkwardly, and she slid all the way down him, feeling every hard, uncomfortable inch. She swept back her hair, and his expression had the knot only twisting tighter in her stomach as she stood there.

  “What are you doing? Why…?” was all she could get out. She watched in horror as he paced in front of her, as if he realized he’d made a mistake or something.

  “Look, as much as I want you—and let me be clear, I do, but I don’t want to have you under me and then suddenly realizing you’re in over your head or freaking out and backing away. This feels like walking into a trap. I don’t want to complain, but, Billy Jo, we’ve been dancing around this ‘us’ thing for so long, and I’ve had to be patient and not push, and now all of a sudden you’re here, and your cat is here, and you packed a bag and plan to stay over…but then what? Until you freak out again? I’m having a hard time believing you’re suddenly comfortable enough to go all in.”

  She thought he was the one who sounded like he was freaking out. He paced, jammed his hands in his hair, and she didn’t have a clue what to say to convince him.

  “You know how I feel,” he continued, “but you have so many triggers that sometimes I feel as if I’m navigating a minefield. Now you’re suddenly good with everything?”

  She realized he was serious. “I’m choosing not to let myself run and fall back into that terrified black hole of believing you can’t love me. I’m trying here, so why are you suddenly the one pushing me away? I thought you really wanted this. You’re the one who kept saying you wanted me here, and my cat. Did I overstep?”

  His phone had started ringing before she could finish, and he walked over to where it was lit up on the scratched square coffee table beside their empty dinner plates. He grabbed it, letting out a frustrated sigh. “This is Friessen…” He ran his hand over his hair, and when he turned, giving her his back, all she could see was his impressive strength and his faded blue jeans. Everything about him, the way he looked, the way he talked, was just under her skin.

  “What are you talking about, gone?” he said, then turned back toward her and really listened to whoever was on the other end. She thought it was a man, and her stomach knotted, because he had shut his eyes in that way he did when he was frustrated and let out a sigh. “Don’t do anything. I’ll be right there,” he said, then hung up.

  Those vivid blue eyes went right to her as he held up his phone, then shoved it in his pocket. For a second, he didn’t say anything. “That was Ash. Sunday is gone.”

  She stilled and felt her chest tighten. She’d forgotten to breathe. Mark walked around her into the bedroom and then back out, holstering his gun and his badge. He strode over to the sofa, where Harley was curled up, asleep, and reached for his jean jacket. When he pulled it on, she knew he was one step from walking out the door.

  “Mark, wait.”

  Why the hell did she feel so damn guilty? Maybe because the one thing she knew about him was that honesty meant everything. “What are you planning on doing? You know she wanted to leave…”

  She could see the frustration in the way he shook his head, and she wasn’t sure he’d answer her as he gripped the doorknob, about to pull the door open.

  “Nothing to do with it, Billy Jo. There was a call, so I’ll get over there and find out what this is about. I’ll look and see, and if there’s evidence of a crime, I’ll investigate. Being chief here, when a call comes in, I need to handle it whether I want to or not.” He pulled the door open and took a step out. “I don’t know how long I’ll be…”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  He was already shaking his head, facing her as she walked over and reached for her brown cardigan and her purse from a hook at the door. “No, you stay here. I don’t want you involved in this anymore. I don’t want you on Ash Byrd’s radar. In fact, I wish I could go back and undo your coming to his house with me, since now he knows about you.”

  She was already shoving her feet into her flats, and she stared up at Mark. He had to know she wasn’t about to listen. “I’m a big girl, Mark, and have had to deal with worse. I’m not worried.” She slid her hand over his chest and patted it as she slipped past him out the door, but he gripped her hand, holding her so she couldn’t take one step further.

  “I’m serious, Billy Jo. I’m worried. Do you have any idea what Ash is capable of? Because I do, and it’s the kind of thing that would give you nightmares. With his wife missing now, I want him the fuck off my island, because this has shoved in my face just how dire this situation is, and I can’t do anything about it because the law is on his side. How screwed up is that?” he said with passion, something else that drew her to him.

  “I’m very well aware of how screwed up the law is. I spent too many years not being protected because the laws aren’t made for kids like me. I’m well aware of all the antiquated laws still on the books that no one would ever consider enforcing, and I’m well aware that a bill that would have ended child marriage in California, where Sunday was married to Ash, ran into opposition from legislators. And you know what? No one cares. Well, not really. They’re only horrified when it lands in their backyards.”

  She could feel the fury and wondered if he’d still tell her no. She knew he could sideline her now, though he’d never hesitated to take her into anything and everything before.

  “Please, Mark.”

  He gestured and let out a sigh. She could see and feel how this was taking a toll on him. “Well, let’s go. But hear me, Billy Jo. Say nothing. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I have a bad feeling about all of this.”

  It was fully dark when he pulled up in front of the massive house with light spilling from all its windows, as if every light inside was on. Mark parked in front beside a white pickup she knew was Gail’s and a fancy black SUV.

  Mark had said not one word to her on the way over. She just gestured to the truck, and all he did as he turned off the Jeep and stepped out of the vehicle was grunt. She followed him, leaving her purse in the Jeep.

  He looked inside the white pickup and shook his head. He was really moving.

  “You know that’s…”

  “Yeah, I know,” he said, not letting her finish, as he started to the door. She found herself reaching out and gripping his arm because she could feel the secret she’d been keeping from him and the wedge it would drive between them.

  “Before you go in, I need to tell you something.”

  The door opened while he was still looking at her with surprise, shock, and a frown. Then he dragged his gaze to the open door and Ash Byrd.

  “About time you got here,” Ash said as he walked back in, leaving the door open. Mark gave Billy Jo a quick glance as he walked inside, his cowboy boots scraping on the hardwood. He said nothing to her, and Billy Jo followed him, closing the door behind her. When she listened to the voices, she realized it was the chief there, not Gail.

  “Look, just calm down, Ash,” the old chief said in that way of his. “I’m sure there’s an explanati
on here, like I said…”

  When she realized the baby was still there, in a swing, going back and forth, her heart thudded. For a second, she stopped listening to what the chief was saying. The baby started fussing, kicking his legs, and Ash leaned down and lifted him from the swing. She heard her breath loud in her ears along with the thudding of her heart. Sweat beaded down her back.

  “Look, when did you last see her?” Mark had his notes out.

  The chief looked over to her, letting his gaze linger, and she wondered if he knew. She kept her arms crossed and made herself look away.

  “So you’re telling me, Chief Mark, that you have no idea where she is,” Ash said. “I mean, after that gift I gave you, I didn’t expect this. She’s gone. I came home and the kids were alone. Alone!” he shouted. “She left the babies, so that tells me something happened. Did you do this?”

  She actually jumped from the way he shouted. The fire in his eyes reminded her he was not a man to ever cross. The baby wailed, and he walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of formula, which he set in a bottle warmer on the counter. He shushed the baby, which she knew had to be around six months old. It was such a contradiction, going from cold fury to caring for a child.

  “Yeah, don’t go there,” Mark said. “The last time I saw Sunday was here with you. I have my own shitstorm to deal with, so I don’t need anything else added to my plate. What do you mean, the kids were alone? How do you know she left? For all you know, she could be out with friends.”

  Ash reached for the bottle and tested it to see if it was too hot, then slipped it into the baby’s mouth, met with loud sucking noises. “Her closet. She packed her favorite clothes, and her suitcase is gone. All her makeup, her toothbrush, her personal stuff from the bathroom.”