by Mary Eason
“Aaron was my friend, my mentor. My partner. I would do anything to protect him and you. Whatever happened between you and I didn’t take away my feelings for Aaron. I loved him like a brother.”
“Is that why you went after me? Because you loved him? You were jealous of him. You wanted what he had—”
“The only thing I ever wanted of Aaron’s was you. Just you, Anna. Only you.” He was inches away. They both were breathing as if they’d run a marathon. His eyes softened as they slipped over her face, not missing any of the desire, the confusion, the hurt she couldn’t hide from him.
When her life had spiraled out of control, it had been John who was there to comfort her. Make her feel special, needed, desired again.
“John, the agents are here.” Neither of them realized John’s partner had joined them until he spoke. They jumped in unison and turned guiltily toward the younger man.
“We’ll be right there.” John managed an answer. Anna could not. When the door slid back into place, they stood frozen side-by-side watching the man retreat.
That had been John a few years back. Cocky. Confident. In charge. The man standing close to her now was the senior agent, just as Aaron had been. He’d changed. Anna could almost feel the weariness in him. Dealing with death had a way of doing that.
Anna breathed in the ocean and fought for the calm she didn’t feel. “He reminds me a lot of you.”
John turned to get a closer look at her. He suspected she was being sarcastic. After a moment, he nodded. “Yes. Although I can’t remember the person I was before Aaron’s death. The baby’s. Before I lost you.”
While Anna tried to recover from those heartbreaking words, he stepped to the door and waited for her. Cool and professional again. For a second, she believed she’d imagined the whole thing, until their eyes met. The pain she’d glimpsed in him from the moment he walked back into her life again was still there.
The secrets were all over as far as he was concerned.
* * * * *
“John, this is Agents Brady and Hays.” Rick nodded to first one man and then the next, but it was easy to see who the senior agent was.
John was conscious of his partner’s curiosity. But he was more aware of everything Anna did. She’d followed him back inside reluctantly. She hadn’t joined in the introductions. She’d simply disappeared into the belly of the house.
Agent Hays appeared to be somewhere in his mid-forties. He carried his resentment and disappointment like a chip on his shoulder.
“Agent Delaney. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He gave no further insight. John could only imagine.
John shook both agents’ hands. “I take it my partner has brought you up to speed on the case?”
Hays did the answering for the both of them. “Yes, we’re up to speed. It’s my understanding that you and your partner believe this case has something to do with the Rock Creek killings last year. That was your case, wasn’t it, Agent Delaney? I thought they had creep locked up in Petersburg, Virginia?”
John ignored the taunt and the obvious challenge to his authority. “Until we have all the facts, we’re investigating this incident as a separate case. There’s no need in alarming the public until we’re sure. Do I make myself clear?”
“Of course.” Hays waved a careless hand. “But it’s only a matter of time before the press gets wind of this and someone puts two and two together.”
John spotted the rise of Rick’s hackles and decided it was time to put an end to Hays’ pissing match. “That’s why time is of an essence here, Agent Hays. Along with discretion. I need you and your team to go over the grounds outside inch by inch along with the neighborhood…as discreetly as possible,” he inserted when Hays was ready to point out the obvious.
“Focus on the house across the street and have someone check the mailbox for fingerprints. Rick, you’ve contacted the local PD?”
His partner nodded, ignoring the red creeping up Hays’ neck at John’s rebuke. “Yes, they’re on their way. They’ll provide round-the-clock protection. They can help out with the canvassing as well.”
“Good. I expect everyone’s full cooperation on this thing.”
From the doorway, Anna cleared her throat. All four men followed the sound. She was dressed for work. The Anna he’d known in D.C. had pretty much perfected the image the Bureau was going for when it came to female members. Sexy. Smart. He’d always admired the way she made even the “business suit”, as she called it, look desirable. But this new Anna, well, she’d gone for the extreme. The soft pastel-green dress tied snug around her waist was fluid with her body. She’d lost a good twenty pounds she didn’t need to lose. Her tanned legs were bare. The strappy sandals gave just enough protection to be called shoes. She was still angry, defiant, lost. Afraid. And damn beautiful.
It occurred to John that she hadn’t changed because of the company. She intended to make good on her threat to go to work.
“No way, Anna. No today,” John warned, but she ignored his attempt at sounding stern.
“Yes, today. I’m not sitting here all day long going crazy with your people tearing my life apart. I’m going to work. I have orders to fill and Bev’s never seen my shop and she’s on vacation. Your goons can come along if they want, but I’m warning you, they’d better stay out of the way.”
John blew out a sigh. This was the last thing he should be doing. There were too many things depending on solving the case quickly. Important things like Anna’s life. His future with the Bureau.
He blew out a sigh. “Alright. Fill the orders, but that’s it. After that, you’re officially out of the clothing business until further notice.” He knew better than to give in to her this, but he couldn’t help himself. A year was a long time to need someone.
He left Rick in charge of getting the task force organized and keeping Hays under control while he drove Anna, Bev and the rat of a dog Anna called Gemma to work.
It was an unwelcome compromise on both their parts. She forced Bev into the passenger seat next to John while she sat shooting daggers at his back with the dog growling in reaction to her anger.
Chapter Four
Island Breeze, located in an upscale strip mall a few blocks from the ocean, was surrounded by typical tourist shops, a pet store, and a couple of trendy restaurants.
The boutique’s pastel mint green front displayed a rainbow of colorful clothing designed to catch the tourist’s eye.
John waited while she disarmed the alarm. “Stay here,” he ordered, then stepped past her into the store and stopped. The hum of the AC was the only noise in the place. He took his time searching the boutique, the storage area, and the small office space in the back.
Once he was certain they were clear, he nodded to Anna. “How much foot traffic does the store see on a normal day?”
The defiance in her tone answered the question for him. “Why?”
He’d had enough. “Dammit, Anna, I’m trying to help.”
Bev stepped between them as if expecting a battle. “Anna, for once stop being so defensive and listen to him.”
Anna’s focused anger shifted from John to her sister. She closed her eyes. He could see her visibly struggling to let go of it.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just…”
His heart melted at the little lost girl expression in her eyes. He remembered that look too well. “It’s okay.” He wanted to hold her but he forced himself to keep their relationship professional. It was the only way he’d get through this thing.
The longing in Anna’s eyes threatened his resolve and had him ready to break all of the vows he’d just made to himself to protect her at all cost.
“I’ll go make some coffee. I need to go over the books and…” She left Bev and John watching her leave.
Bev made no move to break the silence once Anna was gone. She simply went about the room, turning on the lights.
“I’m sorry.” He wasn’t aware of Beverly standing close until he turned and
found her watching him. “She’s not normally so prickly.”
“It’s okay. She’s been through a lot.” He turned from the sympathy in Bev’s gaze. It wasn’t his place to answer the questions Bev was about to ask.
“John…”
Before he had to dash her curiosity, Anna returned carrying two Styrofoam cups steaming with coffee. She handed them each one. She’d remembered exactly the way he took his coffee.
“There’s not usually a lot of traffic right now.”
He almost lost the sip of coffee he’d just taken. “I beg your pardon?”
“The store. You asked about foot traffic. During this time of the year, there’s not a lot of tourist traffic left. It’s almost Labor Day. Most people are taking one final vacation before the kids go back to school. There are lots of visitors on the island but not here. By the weekend, the beach will be so crowded you can barely see the sand. The locals have learned this is the best time to shop for back-to-school clothes, so most of the customers I’ll have will be local. People I trust.”
He nodded. “You may trust them but I don’t. I can’t afford to. Not until we know what we’re up against. Anna, I don’t have to tell you this is a bad idea. Staying here. He knows where you live now, chances are he knows where you work. You’re vulnerable. He could be anywhere or anyone—”
“I’m not leaving my home. I told you—”
“You can’t go back to D.C., I know. Then let me take you somewhere else. Somewhere he’ll never think to look for you. I know of just such a place. I promise you’ll be safe there.”
* * * * *
You’ll be safe there…
Anna had no idea what safe looked like anymore. Right now, she doubted if she ever would.
She shook her head. “There’s no such place. We both know it’s true. As long as he’s out there, I’ll never be safe.” The truth in those words was reflected in his eyes. She turned away. “I have work to do. If you want to help me, then catch the man responsible for this.”
Anna left John searching for something to say that might change her mind. When she reached her tiny office, she closed the door, drove the lock home hard, then leaned back against it.
Even with John close by, she was afraid. It had nothing to do with the monster who haunted her and everything to do with the man who wouldn’t leave her heart.
“Anna, are you okay?” Bev tapped softly against the door.
Anna rubbed her hand over her eyes to scrub away the pain then unlocked the door. “Sure. I’m fine.” She returned to her desk and pretended to sort through the stacks of orders scattered there.
Bev closed the door quietly then came to Anna's side, seeing too much. “Anna…”
Anna closed her eyes. She didn’t want to have this conversation now. “What?” The word came out angry. Hell, she was angry. With Bev for insisting she confide in her. With John for reminding her of things, she wanted to deny. With Aaron for dying before she could settle the matter of their divorce once and for all in her head.
“He has a point,” Bev told her quietly.
Ann dropped the papers back on the desk and sank to the chair. “I know, but I can’t do it, Bev.”
Her sister saw the fear and the pain. “Okay. But at least let John have his people stay with us. Please, Anna. Do it for me.”
Anna couldn’t let her sister down. “All right. I’ll do as he asks, but you don’t have to stay here—”
“I’m not leaving you alone. I’ve spoken to Ed. He agrees. In fact, he’s coming here as well.”
“Bev, that’s not a good idea. It’s not safe—”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re your family. We’re not leaving you to deal with this alone.”
Anna knew it would be pointless to argue with her sister. Bev had been taking care of her since Anna was a child. She wasn’t about to stop now.
“So what do you need me to help you with here?” Bev glanced around the room at the boxes that had arrived a few days before the nightmare began.
Anna understood her sister's need to keep busy. “Okay. You can help me unpack these boxes so that we can get the orders out.”
Anna and Bev spent the rest of the morning in companionable silence. Opening boxes and sorting through the new fall collection Anna had been so excited about. That had been another lifetime ago. Another person who’d ordered them.
Bev asked the question that had been on Anna's mind since John arrived. “Do you miss it?” Bev had always wondered how Anna could give up a successful career as a profiler so easily.
Anna dropped the sweater she’d been admiring on the pile of ones just like it. Their rich fall colors of golds, greens and browns covered the muted beige carpet of her office.
“Sometimes. Yes, I miss it. But I don’t know if I have it in me to do it anymore.”
“That’s bullshit. You’re very talented, Anna. You can certainly do whatever you want.”
She wasn’t that woman anymore. If she ever existed, she’d died with Aaron’s betrayal. She got to her feet and tried to stretch out some of the kinks from her body. They’d been sorting clothes for three hours and she hadn’t seen Gemma once during that time.
She started for the door when John stepped inside carrying the dog in one hand and a large pizza container in the other. “I thought you two might be hungry.”
He sat Gemma on the floor at his feet. Anna could almost swear the dog was pissed that he’d dared let her go.
“Thank you, John. You’ve read my mind. I’m starving.” Bev patted his arm, eliciting a fraction of a smile. Then he glanced at Anna. The smile still in place took her breath away. Their eyes locked and held. It was just the two of them. And it was as if time had melted away.
His gaze slipped over her body, just as if he'd caressed her with his hands, his lips. Anna's next breath lodged hard in her throat. Some piece of her was aware of all the things she must be confirming in Bev’s mind, but for the life of her, Anna couldn’t look away and it was John who was the strong one again. Just like so many times in the past.
He untangled his gaze from Anna. “I wasn’t sure what you liked so I got a little bit of everything, minus the anchovies. I draw the line on fish and pizza.”
“I-I think I have some paper plates in the kitchen. There are some drinks in the fridge as well.” Anna beat a hasty retreat from the awkward moment.
Bev and John followed her to the tiny room that passed for a kitchen. It was barely big enough for a dorm-sized fridge and a table with four mismatched chairs. A few years before she’d leased the small retail space sandwiched between a bookstore and a pet shop, someone added a sink and a couple of cabinets, thinking it would increase the value of the place.
John glanced around the room. “This is a nice place, Anna. You’ve done well.”
For two people who’d shared their bodies, pieces of their lives, death, it almost hurt to think they couldn’t come up with something more important to say to each other than the sanitized small talk of strangers.
“Thank you. I’ve worked hard to make it mine.”
He nodded, at a loss for words as well. His eyes lingering on hers. A pleading in his that shook her to her core.
For the first time since his return, Anna let go of all the blame and resentment she’d piled on John’s shoulders. He wasn’t any guiltier of causing Aaron’s death than she was. He hadn’t forced the wedge between her and Aaron. Hadn't sanctioned the divorce, Aaron had. John hadn't lured her into his bed. She’d been his willing partner.
Anna stood and began clearing the clutter. Soon, Bev joined her. When Anna glanced back at the table, John was gone. For the rest of the day, he stayed away from her. Choosing to watch the perimeter of the store and question the neighbors.
The drive back to Anna's house was made in silence. She and Bev were just too exhausted from lack of sleep to come up with any stimulating conversation and John drove in brooding silence. Anna wondered what he’d learned that put him in such a foul mood.
&nbs
p; Chapter Five
“You look beat. Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” Bev told her as they finished clearing away the dinner dishes. They hadn’t seen John in hours. Anna suspected he was deliberately keeping his distance.
Sleep would be heaven, but she didn’t believe it possible with John and the past so close.
“Why don’t I bunk with you tonight? It’ll be like old times. We can talk as long as you like.” Bev spotted her reaction. “Or we don’t have to talk. It doesn’t matter.”
The last time she and Bev had a sleepover like this was the days following Aaron’s death.
The house had grown quiet. Gemma lay sleeping at their feet and the silence between Anna and her sister was filled with questions.
“You want to know what happened between John and me,” Anna said into the unbearable stillness.
“I didn’t say a word.”
That typical Bev response made Anna smile. “You didn’t have to.”
Bev turned on her side and faced her. “Anna, whatever happened I’m sure there was a reason. Maybe it’s time you cut yourself some slack. “
Anna closed her eyes. If only it were so simple. She hadn’t told Bev about the last months of her life with Aaron. They'd been divorced only a little while and Anna still didn't have any answers as to why. They'd exchanged angry words, accusations. An accumulation of months of silent standoff. Living separate lives. The times before Aaron’s death had not been easy ones for either of them.
Anna sought absolution from the only person left to give it. “There's something I never told you before. About before Aaron died. We'd been fighting for months before his death. We hadn't really had a meaningful conversation in years."
Anna forced herself to look at her sister. "Bev, Aaron, and I had gotten divorced a few months before his death." The words slipped out. Anna wasn’t sure what she was expecting from her sister. Bev hid her surprise badly.
