Harlequin Romantic Suspense March 2016 Box Set

by Carla Cassidy

  * * *

  “Where have you been?”

  Darcy froze halfway up the stairs, her muscles tensing automatically at the sound of her mother’s voice. She turned around slowly, willing herself to relax. She was a grown woman—she didn’t owe anyone an explanation of her whereabouts.

  But she was staying with her parents while she was in town, and she did want to try to smooth things over with them. Snapping at her mother wasn’t going to help her do that.

  So she pasted on a smile and met her mother’s icy gaze. “I got tied up with a case,” she said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. “So I bunked at the hospital.”

  Cindy Marrow narrowed her eyes. “Is that so?” Suspicion dripped from every word.

  Darcy nodded, refusing to cower in the face of her mother’s reaction. “The storm messed up a lot of the roads. I didn’t want to risk driving in that weather.”

  “I see.” When her mother didn’t respond, Darcy turned back to continue up the stairs. After everything that had happened at Ridge’s cabin, she desperately wanted a shower and a nap.

  “You know, it’s funny you say that,” Cindy remarked, walking forward until she hit the base of the stairs. She stared up at Darcy, her blue eyes cold. “Your father had to stop by the hospital last night. He didn’t mention seeing you there.”

  “I didn’t realize he was my babysitter,” Darcy said evenly.

  Her mother opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment, her father walked into the foyer. “Darcy? Is that you?” He moved to stand next to her mother. “I thought I heard your voice.”

  Darcy nodded. “Hello.” Great. Now it’s two against one.

  “Your mother and I have been worried about you,” he said, his tone scolding. “Where have you been?”

  Darcy closed her eyes and sighed silently, digging deep for patience. “As I was explaining, I got tied up at the hospital and didn’t want to drive in the storm.”

  Clint Marrow shook his head as if he was disappointed in her. “I know you weren’t there last night. Why don’t you tell us where you really were?”

  Ignoring her mother’s triumphant glance, Darcy leaned against the banister. They weren’t going to drop the subject, so she might as well tell them something. “I stayed with a friend last night,” she said, hoping they would accept her answer and leave it at that.

  She should have known better. “Who?” her mother asked. “You don’t have any friends here.”

  Ouch. The truth hurt, but Darcy refused to let it show on her face. She wasn’t about to give her mother the satisfaction of knowing one of her barbs had sunk in. “I didn’t realize you kept such close tabs on my social life,” she said.

  Cindy narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think I like your tone.”

  “There’s a shock,” Darcy muttered.

  “That’s enough,” her father said sharply. “Young lady, you are a guest in this home and we have a right to know where you were last night. Now, stop dancing around the question and give us a straight answer.”

  For a moment, Darcy considered sticking to a half-truth for the sake of convenience. The sooner this conversation was over, the better. But part of her wanted to see how they would react when she mentioned Ridge. She’d been thinking about how things had ended between them for most of last night, and she couldn’t shake the suspicion that Cindy and Clint had something to do with their breakup.

  “To be honest, I stayed with Ridge last night.”

  There was a moment of silence as her parents digested her words. Then her mother’s eyes widened comically. “You what?”

  Her father closed his jaw and shook his head. “You slept at Ridge Colton’s house? I thought we’d raised you better than that.”

  Darcy bristled, offended on Ridge’s behalf. “What’s that supposed to mean? What’s wrong with Ridge?”

  “Well, for starters—” her father began. Her mother cut him off, her composure sufficiently recovered to allow her to jump in.

  “You know very well how we feel about that boy,” she said, venom dripping from every word.

  “He’s not a boy any longer,” Darcy replied, feeling her face heat. What was wrong with her family? It had been years since her parents had seen Ridge, and yet their hatred of him was as potent as ever.

  “That’s not the point and you know it,” Cindy shot back. “Do you not remember the kind of people he comes from? What his father did?”

  “He’s not his father,” Darcy said. She knew her protests fell on deaf ears, but she couldn’t help but try to defend Ridge. She had thought over the years the prejudices of the town would fade, especially in light of the fact that Ridge and most of his siblings had gone into law enforcement. How could anyone judge them for dedicating their lives to helping others? But it seemed old habits die hard, and if her parents were representative of how the rest of the town treated Ridge and his siblings, she could see why he chose to live in such a relatively remote spot.

  “How do you know?” Cindy asked. “His father didn’t start killing people until he was older than Ridge. He carries that trait within him—it’s only a matter of time until something sets him off and he snaps.”

  Darcy shook her head, at a loss for words. “I can’t believe you think that,” she said finally.

  “Be reasonable, darling,” her father said, his tone conciliatory. “Your mother is just worried about you.”

  “No, she isn’t,” Darcy said. “She’s worried about how my behavior reflects on her social standing. Just like she always has.” She turned back to face her mother. “Isn’t that right, Cindy?” she asked coldly.

  Her mother’s face turned an ugly shade of red. “How dare you,” she sputtered. “Everything I have done has been in service to this family.”

  Darcy couldn’t hold back her scoff. “Is that really what you think?”

  “You have no idea of the sacrifices I’ve made for you! I worked hard to make sure this family had a good social standing in the community, and it wasn’t always easy. You certainly weren’t any help.”

  “I will not apologize for dating Ridge Colton,” Darcy said, clenching her teeth. Even after all these years, it was the same argument. Were they doomed to fight about this issue for the rest of their lives? Why couldn’t her parents just let it go?

  “No, of course not. You never apologize for anything,” Cindy said snidely.

  Darcy frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Ladies, can we just—” her father said, trying to make peace. But it was too late for that. Cindy was too angry to stop now, and Darcy was too tired to fake a smile and pretend as if everything was okay.

  “You have no idea how difficult it was for us when you started stepping out with that boy. Our friends turned away from us. Your father lost some of his patients. It was a very trying time, but you didn’t care. We asked you to stop, but you refused to listen. Then you started flaunting it to us—going out in public with him, making sure people saw you two together.” Cindy shook her head, her mouth set in a thin line. “It was disgraceful. I just thank God you didn’t get pregnant by him.”

  Her mother’s words were like a slap to the face. Darcy could only stare down at her, too stunned by the depths of her mother’s hatred to think of anything to say. Cindy Marrow had never tried to hide her dislike of Ridge Colton, but Darcy had never realized how all-consuming her malice and bitterness actually were. To hear her spew such poison now was disturbing, to say the least. After all, she and Ridge weren’t together anymore. Why, then, did her mother still despise him so intently?

  “Your father and I worked so hard to make you see reason,” she went on, warming to her subject. “It took forever, but we finally figured out how to fix things.”

  “You fixed it?” Darcy interrupted. “What does that mean?” The fine hairs
on the back of Darcy’s neck stood on end as the implications of her mother’s words sank in. Had they somehow orchestrated her breakup with Ridge? Had he been framed after all?

  Cindy seemed to realize she’d said too much. She clamped her mouth shut and glanced at Darcy’s father, her expression panicked.

  “What did you do?” Darcy descended a step and her mother backed up, confirming Darcy’s suspicions that something was off. “Did you frame Ridge?”

  Cindy didn’t respond, but her pale face and guilty look said it all.

  “I can’t believe it.” Darcy’s throat tightened and she struggled to get the words out. “Even for you, that’s low.”

  “That’s enough,” her father said, his voice harsh. “Both of you. Stop arguing—the housekeeper can hear you.”

  Darcy rolled her eyes. Of course he was worried only about how their fight would appear to someone outside the family. Heaven forbid they have an actual conversation that included a display of emotions. The Marrow family did not believe in emotions—they were such messy, inconvenient things.

  “Forget I said anything,” Darcy muttered.

  Her parents merely glared at her. “Don’t you have something you’d like to say to your mother?” Clint asked. It was clear he expected her to apologize, but Darcy wasn’t having any of it.

  “No, I don’t.” She turned and marched up the stairs without a second look. She knew she was being petty, but she was too upset to care.

  Ten years, she thought. I lost ten years with Ridge. Even though her parents hadn’t actually confirmed their involvement in her breakup, her mother’s guilty reaction was enough to convince Darcy of the truth. It broke her heart all over again to think of how much time she’d missed with Ridge. What kind of life would they have had, if she hadn’t fallen into her parents’ trap? Would they have had their own family by now? She could picture it clearly—two little ones with Ridge’s dark hair and eyes, playing with Penny on the floor of the cabin. And her, opening up her own practice on Main Street, welcoming the people of Granite Gulch into her little clinic. That could have been her life...

  It was a beautiful dream, one she couldn’t shake. A sense of longing for what might have been hit her so hard it made her heart skip a beat, and she realized with a sharp shock that her imagined future with Ridge was the one she had really wanted all along. She’d spent the past few years convincing herself that she needed to practice in a big city, some place far away from here. When the offer from New York had come along, she’d jumped at the chance to get away from her parents. But it was clear to her now she’d taken a job halfway across the country to get away from Granite Gulch and the constant reminders of Ridge and what they could have had together.

  Darcy walked into the bathroom, her vision blurring with tears as her emotions spilled over. Damn her parents for interfering! And damn her for not trusting Ridge! A wave of guilt slammed into her and she leaned against the bathroom counter to steady herself. She could blame Cindy and Clint all day long, but really, this was her fault. If she had truly trusted Ridge she would have never believed their lies in the first place.

  “I never should have doubted you,” she whispered, the memory of his face haunting her. How could he even stand to look at her now? “I’ve got to make this right,” she said, stepping into the shower and dunking her head under the hot spray. The heat felt good against her sore muscles, and she rested her head against the cool shower tiles with a sigh. Obviously, she’d start with an apology. But what could she even say to make Ridge realize how very sorry she was? More importantly, would he even listen? Maybe he just wanted to leave the past behind and move on. After all, he hadn’t brought it up and they’d spent plenty of time together. If he was still bothered by how things had ended between them, surely he would have said something?

  I have to try, she thought. Maybe Ridge would listen to her and maybe he wouldn’t. But either way, Darcy couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t at least attempt to repair the damage she’d done.

  If only her parents felt the same way. Her mood darkened as she thought of them. It would be a cold day in hell before Cindy and Clint Marrow apologized to Ridge Colton. Or herself, for that matter. Even if she could somehow make them understand how wrong they had been to interfere, they would still never acknowledge their mistake. Marrows didn’t apologize, and certainly not to anyone they thought was beneath them socially.

  Disgust and shame mingled in her chest, making her feel dirty even as she washed the soap suds off her body. For the life of her, she would never understand why her parents were such snobs. Neither one of them came from money or had grown up with the finer things in life. And it was not as if Granite Gulch had a high society to speak of. But Darcy wasn’t going to waste any more time thinking about it—people didn’t change, and her parents certainly weren’t going to wake up with a sudden change of heart. Now Darcy had a choice to make: cut them out of her life as punishment for what they’d done, or find a way to forgive them and move on.

  She turned off the water and stood in the shower, staring at the faucet until she began to shiver. On the face of it, the choice should be an easy one. But no matter what her parents had done, they were still her parents. Could she live with herself if she walked away from them completely?

  Fatigue pulled at her as she stepped out of the shower and dried off. Her arms felt heavy and it took almost all her energy to brush out her hair. The logical part of her realized she was too exhausted to think straight and she should forget about everything until she’d had some sleep. But her emotions wouldn’t let go—they demanded she do something, anything, to repair the damage that had been done.

  Her phone sat on the table, tempting her. She could call Ridge and tell him what she’d learned today. Obviously she needed to apologize in person, but it would be a start. She picked up the phone and started to dial, but stopped herself before she completed the call. He had his hands full with the baby—the last thing he needed was a distraction, especially one concerning a matter that had been settled long ago.

  She climbed into bed, her heart heavy and her eyes burning. Part of her understood she needed to gather her composure and move forward. But she wasn’t ready to do that yet. The argument with her parents had left her feeling robbed, as if they had stolen a part of her life from her. But she was a Marrow, well schooled in the art of suppressing her emotions and putting on a brave face. And she would. Eventually.

  For now, she was going to take the time to mourn what might have been.

  CHAPTER 9

  The phone rang just as Ridge set Sara down for a nap. He crossed the room to put some distance between himself and the crib and dug the cell out of his pocket.

  “Hello,” he said, keeping his voice down so as not to disturb the baby.

  “It’s Trevor,” his brother replied.

  “What’s up?” Had the FBI already made progress on their investigation of the killer? That was fast. But then again, Annabel’s theory had been a good one—maybe it was just what they’d needed to crack the case wide open...

  “It’s about dad,” Trevor said, dispensing with any pleasantries.

  Ridge’s stomach tightened into knots. “What about him?”

  “He’s received another letter from the Alphabet Killer.”

  “Oh?” That sounded like good news. Why, then, did his brother not seem more excited?

  “Yeah. And you’re not going to believe this—the return address on the envelope is a PO box here in Granite Gulch.”

  “Do you think it’s legitimate?”

  “I’m not sure,” Trevor admitted.

  “Kind of tough to believe the killer would use their actual address. She’s been pretty savvy so far,” Ridge commented.

  “I agree,” Trevor said. “But we have to check it out. I’m at the post office with Annabel and Sam now. We’re canvassing
the workers. So far, we know the woman renting the box matches our suspect description, but she used a phony ID to set things up.”

  “That’s not a surprise,” Ridge said. “Are you going to assign someone to watch the place, in case she shows up?”

  “Already arranged,” Trevor said. “In the meantime...” He trailed off and Ridge realized two things; his brother was going to ask him for a favor, and he wasn’t going to like it.

  “What?” Ridge said, feeling suddenly reluctant to continue this conversation. Maybe he could fake bad cell service, or claim the baby needed him.

  “I may need you to visit him early.”

  Him meant only one person—Matthew Colton. The dying man had manipulated his kids into monthly visits—one person per month. But it wasn’t a sense of nostalgia or paternal tenderness that made him want to see his children. A con man to the end, Matthew had hit upon the one thing they wanted: closure for their mother’s death. Matthew used these visits to provide clues as to where he’d buried their mother’s body.

  He hadn’t given them much to go on so far. Sam and Ethan had already been to see him, and Matthew’s clues had been maddeningly vague. It was Ridge’s turn, and he was dreading it. He hadn’t seen his father since the trial, and had no desire to now.

  “Why?”

  Trevor sighed, and Ridge realized his brother hated having to bring up the possibility. “The letter he got was pretty similar to ones the killer has sent him before. On the face of it, we haven’t really found any new information, aside from the return address. Makes me wonder why the killer keeps sending variations of the same message.”

  “Unless she’s not,” Ridge said, seeing where Trevor was going. “Maybe she’s sending him some kind of code.”

  “Exactly,” Trevor finished. “And if our leads start to dry up here, I may have to ask you to go in and chat him up about it. See if you can shake anything out of him that could help.”

  “I see.” And he did. If there was a possibility he could help catch a killer by visiting his monster of a father, he’d do it. He would hate every minute of it, but he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t do everything in his power to help.