Nora Roberts Land

by Ava Miles

“No, you should have seen Tanner. I even told him I loved him. He told me to get out. Oh, Jillie, he said horrible things. I…can’t breathe.”

  Jill pushed her back into the couch and raised her arms above her head. “Meredith, you are not having a panic attack. People who are sobbing can’t breathe.” She said it so matter-of-factly Meredith nodded.

  She concentrated on the rise and fall of her chest. Soon, she lowered her tingling arms, the needle-like sensation pricking her skin. “Better.”

  Jill’s eyes gleamed with unshed tears as she reached for Meredith’s hand. “Okay, so keep talking. Tanner is working for Richard.”

  “I still can’t believe he did this.”

  Her sister’s hand tightened around hers. “It might have started out that way, but he loves you, Meredith. I know he does.”

  “He said he talked women onto their backs all the time. I don’t know who he is.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “I don’t believe it, Mere. Tanner wouldn’t have brought his sister and nephew here to spend Thanksgiving with us unless he loved you.”

  She sank back into the couch, remembering their snowball fight and how happy they’d looked in the picture at the table. Could Jill be right?

  “No.” A fresh batch of tears washed down her face. “Peggy was only here to get the drugs and the paint sample.” She started crying again, sinking forward.

  “What are you talking about? What drugs?” Jill asked, nudging her shoulder so she’d meet her eyes.

  “For the case.” Her stomach hurt so bad. “Oh, God, it’s true. He didn’t love me. He wanted the job with Richard. He only used the case as an excuse to bring me closer, to make me fall for him.”

  Jill grabbed her shoulders. “What in the world are you talking about?”

  “I can’t think straight!” Meredith sobbed out, rubbing her throbbing temples.

  “What’s this about drugs and paint samples?”

  The pounding in her head increased. “It’s…an article we’re working on. That’s it.” Please, Jill, leave this alone, she almost begged.

  Jill put her hands on her hips. “No, it’s not.”

  She rubbed the back of her neck. Abba drilled into her skull, which felt like it was on the verge of exploding.

  “Why would Tanner have his cop sister take drugs…” Her whole face crumbled. “This is about Jemma, isn’t it? At first I thought about Grandpa asking me about drugs and parties, but when they said she had a heart murmur…” Tears filled her eyes.

  “Jill.”

  “Oh, God!” she said, pressing her hands to her cheeks. “Grandpa was right all along. Something was wrong with the drugs.”

  “Jill, let me—”

  “And Ray was the dealer. He didn’t have a car accident, did he?”

  Meredith’s throat squeezed to a centimeter at the pain in Jill’s voice.

  “Dammit, don’t keep this from me! Jemma was my best friend! Losing her cut a hole in me.” She put her hand to her heart. “You have to tell me. Please!”

  “Jill, I can’t.”

  “How dare you keep this from me?” She grabbed her stomach.

  “Jill, it’s not—”

  “Don’t lie to me!”

  “It’s not safe to tell you any of this.” Meredith thought of what had happened with Peggy and Keith. “I promise I’ll tell you everything once this is over.”

  “No, you’ll fucking tell me now.”

  Her sister rarely used the f-bomb. “I have to talk to Grandpa.”

  “Oh, God, he kept this from me too?”

  “Jill, he didn’t mean—”

  “If you don’t tell me, you’re not my sister anymore.”

  Meredith sucked in a breath. “You don’t mean that.”

  Lifting her chin, eyes gleaming from tears, Jill said, “I do.”

  The utter flatness in her voice made Meredith clench her arms protectively around herself. To lose Tanner had been horrible enough, but Jill? She couldn’t lose her sister.

  “Okay, but you have to keep this quiet.”

  She proceeded to tell her everything they knew. Jill curled forward like a roly poly bug as she spoke.

  “We’re going to get them,” Meredith said, trying to offer her sister some comfort. “I promise.”

  Silence yawned between them. Jill finally sat up and wiped her nose with her sleeve. Her shaking hand grasped a photo—in it, she and Jemma were wrapped around each other at high school graduation, huge smiles on their faces. “How could you have kept this from me? You know what she meant to me!”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Jill stood up and walked into the kitchen without a backwards glance. Meredith followed, the distance between them growing.

  “I want you to stay at Mom and Dad’s or Grandpa’s place for a while,” she uttered in a stranger’s voice.

  “Jill!”

  “I need some time.” She swiped a hand under her nose. “You lied about my best friend’s death. I can forgive a lot of things, but that…”

  Meredith took a step forward. The floor squeaked beneath her feet. “Jill, please.”

  Her sister turned her back to her, reaching for a glass of water. “I mean it, Meredith. Please. I’m going to bawl my eyes out in a minute. I want to be alone.”

  She wasn’t the only one. Sobs clawed at Meredith’s throat, but she forced herself to spin around and walk out of the kitchen. She packed quickly, listening for Jill’s footsteps. Surely she’d change her mind.

  She didn’t.

  Jill was still in the kitchen when she returned. “I’m so sorry, Jillie.” Had she completely destroyed their relationship? “I love you,” she whispered.

  Jill’s back muscles clenched, but she didn’t turn around.

  Meredith cried softly and left. The bitter wind touched her face as her feet moved like leaden pegs, one in front of the other.

  She was alone again.

  She had been betrayed by Tanner, and now she was her sister’s betrayer.

  How could she ever recover?

  She walked to her car with no answers, and broke a nail while trying to open the door. When she collapsed into the driver’s seat, the sobs started.

  You’re stronger than this, Divorcée Woman said sternly.

  Meredith pulled on her hair. Great, she was still hearing voices. Perhaps she should simply check herself into a mental institution. At least they’d keep her medicated.

  God, what was she going to do?

  She put the car in gear and headed to her parent’s house. She needed some time alone, a place to hide where she could cry as loud as she had to. She’d call her grandpa in the morning. He’d be able to think about all of this more clearly. Hell, he could deal with Asshole Tanner.

  She wanted to be angry, but she couldn’t muster the energy. Her tears had smothered the flames.

  Perhaps there was something wrong with her. How else could she explain why the men she loved didn’t love her back?

  As she drove across town, she asked the darkest question of all.

  Was Meredith Hale simply unlovable?

  Chapter 46

  His mind racing too much for sleep, Tanner opened his eyes and stared at the dying fire. Peggy and Keith had made it safely home, thank God. He tried to focus on the one thing that had gone right tonight.

  Hugo stirred on the floor beside him, his ears twitching.

  After stripping the bed upstairs, he’d cocooned himself in the den. Her scent—their scent—permeated his bedroom. Even down here, he caught a whiff of her, something floral and fresh and all Meredith. He rubbed his chest. Guilt, fear, and hurt clamped down on his heart like forceps.

  Hugo jerked up and looked at him, his ears alert.

  “What’s the matter, boy? You missing her too?”

  He raced off. Tanner had no idea what Hugo’s bathroom schedule was like at this time of night. Thank God for the doggie door.

  Hugo suddenly started barking in loud, nonstop bursts. Tanner leaned up on the couch.
Was it an animal? When the barking turned staccato, he tugged on his slippers and walked to the door.

  When he opened it, he saw a dark shape running across the yard, Hugo racing behind it.

  “Hey!” He sprinted after them, ice and gravel crunching beneath his feet. Smart, McBride. Chasing some guy in the dark. Still, he was too amped up to stop.

  He raced down the drive but quickly realized the intruder had too much of a head start. Tanner would be lucky to catch him.

  Who was it? Kenny or Barlow?

  He pumped his arms as he raced through the blackness. The guy must have driven here and parked at the end of the driveway.

  As he neared the sound of Hugo’s barking, he made out a car in the distance. And a male body sliding across the hood.

  “Stop!”

  Hugo uttered a bone-chilling whine, and then his barking ceased. Tanner’s heart squeezed over the pounding.

  “Hugo!”

  He could make out the intruder’s black clothes and stocking cap as the guy jumped into the driver’s side of the car, the overhead light popping on. Tanner couldn’t see his face, but he could see Hugo’s body on the ground, unmoving.

  The door slammed, plunging the man back into darkness, and the car shot off, spewing gravel. He squinted, but couldn’t make out the plates. The intruder hadn’t turned on his lights. Tanner picked up his pace, his lungs burning from the below-zero air.

  “Hugo!”

  The whine assured him Hugo was alive. He skidded to a halt beside the dog and gathered him up in his arms.

  “There’s a good boy,” he crooned between choppy breaths, encouraged when Hugo licked him under the chin. “You’d better not be hurt.”

  Running to the house, he kicked the door closed, flicked the overhead light on, and laid Hugo on the dining room table. Tanner ran his hands along his soft fur. The swelling in his ribs confirmed the bastard had kicked him. Hugo struggled in his hold and tried to stand, woofing three times.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re trying to convince me you’re okay.” He slid into a chair, his legs giving out, and rubbed Hugo under the ears. “Well, I’m not. They can come after me, but not my dog. You’re a brave boy, aren’t you?”

  When he tried to stand again, Tanner let him down. “Okay, you win, but you’re getting a treat.”

  He started toward the kitchen and stopped, realizing his dog hadn’t followed. Hugo barked and nudged at the front door.

  “You want to go out?”

  The second he opened it, the dog trotted outside. Tanner went back to the kitchen for a flashlight, and then followed him. The dog’s gait was slow and stiff as Tanner watched him walk over to his car. Hugo limped around to the driver’s side and barked once. Shining the flashlight in that direction, Tanner caught sight of a red Swiss army knife lying a few inches under the car’s body.

  “Fuckers were trying to cut my brake line,” he whispered, sitting back on his heels. He’d bet money on it.

  He headed back inside for a Ziploc bag to pocket the evidence. Maybe they’d catch a break with a fingerprint.

  Finding out that his sister was a cop must have made them more reckless and desperate. Hell, they must have cased the house enough to know he had a dog, and they’d decided to pull this stunt anyway.

  He’d send the knife to Peg in the morning. Both of the men had prints on file—Barlow because he was a cop, and Kenny because he was former military. Now they just had to sit tight and hope for a match.

  After nudging Hugo back, he deftly drew the knife into the bag. The cold, hard ground dug into his vertebrae when he slid under the car. The flashlight showed that his brake line hadn’t been cut.

  Hugo had stopped it from happening.

  He slid out and hugged Hugo to his chest. “You’re a good dog.”

  He’d been targeted before, but never in the good old U. S. of A. He wanted peace. He wanted to believe in happily ever after—just like Meredith, he realized.

  But instead of backing down, the criminals just kept raising the stakes. First his sister and then him.

  Who was next?

  “Meredith,” he breathed out.

  Shit, they could be going for her car too. He had to check. He’d done his best to make sure she was out of this whole mess, but that didn’t mean the bad guys knew that. He’d planned to spread the news of their breakup far and wide the next morning.

  Fuck.

  Running inside to get dressed, he then grabbed his phone and bundled Hugo into the car.

  He wasn’t letting anyone harm Meredith.

  Chapter 47

  Jill curled up on the couch and watched Clueless, a box of tissues her only companion. The comfort movie wasn’t doing much to remove the horrible pain in her chest, but it had erased the intolerable quiet in the house after Meredith’s departure.

  God, how could her sister have kept something like this from her? Didn’t Meredith know how hard she was taking Jemma’s death? Now she wasn’t sure she could live with herself. She could have stopped it. She should have listened to her grandpa. She shoulda…

  She didn’t know. More tears welled. She brushed them aside.

  When a pounding sounded on the door, she dashed off the couch. Part of her hoped it was Meredith—or Grandpa.

  Checking the peephole, she saw neither. It was only Asshole Tanner.

  She flung open the door. “What do you want?”

  “Where’s Meredith?”

  His commanding voice raised her hackles. “What the hell do you care? You broke her heart.”

  He placed his hands on his hips and stepped closer, menacing in the outdoor light. “This is serious, Jill. Where’s her car?”

  “What do you care?” Tired of asshole men in general, she grabbed the door’s edge. “Get out of here.” She let the door fly.

  He caught it. “Dammit, Jill. Where the fuck is Meredith?”

  His tone froze her insides, just like when she’d learned that her dad had been rushed to the hospital after a heart attack.

  “We, ah,…had a fight. I told her to stay at Mom and Dad’s or Grandpa’s.” The cold turned her bare feet to ice. “Barlow and Kenny don’t have her, do they?” She gripped his fleece.

  “What did she tell you, dammit?”

  Her lip curled. “Everything.”

  “Christ! Call her. Put her on speaker.” He stepped inside and slammed the door behind him.

  Running into the den, she found her phone, and hit Mere’s number. When it went to voicemail, a blanket of worry rolled over Jill like a hurricane cloud.

  Tanner’s body seemed poised to leap or hurl something.

  “When she’s upset, she doesn’t answer. Had it off for five days after the divorce,” she blabbed. “Scared us to death.”

  “Call your grandfather’s landline.” Tanner paced like a caged panther in the Denver Zoo.

  Grandpa Hale picked up on the second ring. “Jillie? Why are you calling so late? What’s wrong?”

  “Grandpa,” she said, the mere sound of his voice reassuring.

  “Arthur, it’s Tanner. Is Meredith with you?”

  “No. Heavens, what’s going on?”

  “Long story. I’ll let Jill explain. Is your car in the garage?”

  “Yes. Tanner, what’s going on?”

  “Is it locked?”

  “No, Dare’s a safe town. Now, tell me what’s going on.”

  “All right, keep watch on it until I get there. Either Barlow or Kenny visited my house and tried to cut my brake line.”

  His story made Jill tremble. My God, how could this be happening?

  “I’m going to your son’s place and see if Meredith’s there. Check her car. Then, I’ll come check yours.”

  “I can take care of myself,” he growled. “Jillie, why isn’t she with you?”

  She swiped her runny nose with her sleeve. “Gramps, we had a big fight. I know about Jemma and Ray, and I’m so scared.”

  Tanner put a calming hand on her arm. “Nothing’s going
to happen, Jill.”

  “Absolutely right,” Arthur muttered and clicked off.

  Jill dialed her parent’s landline, each ring of the phone drilling into her skull.

  “What?” Meredith answered finally, her tone hostile. “You throw me out and then call me?”

  “Meredith,” Tanner immediately said. “Where’s your car?”

  “Tanner?” Her voice cracked.

  “Your car? Is it in the garage?”

  “Yes. Why? What’s happened?”

  “Someone tried to cut my brake line. I’m coming over.”

  There was a long moment of silence. “They wouldn’t know I’m here.” Her voice couldn’t be chillier.

  “I don’t care. You don’t have to see me. I’m not taking any chances.”

  “I don’t think—”

  “Too bad.” He snapped the phone shut. His eyes closed for a moment.

  Jill rubbed her arms, her mind spinning. “Can you tell me how you’re this upset after crushing her to pieces?”

  He pinned her with a stare that could have wilted flowers and stalked over to the door. His cold-reddened hand yanked it open. When he stepped into the harsh porch light, his face turned menacing again. “Just because I broke her heart doesn’t mean I want her dead.”

  Jill followed, cocking a hip. Unbelievable. “Just because you don’t want her dead doesn’t mean you’re not a dick.”

  She slammed the door in his face.

  “Lock the door, Jill.”

  She snapped the deadbolt in place and listened as the sound of his quick steps faded. A dog barked. His car door slammed. She leaned her head against the frame, her imagination running rampant with images of her sister and grandpa ending up like Jemma and Ray.

  Dead.

  Chapter 48

  There were no other cars on her parents’ street since everyone had two-door garages and hated scraping snow off in the morning. Tanner’s gaze flicked to his rear view mirror, checking for a tail, but there wasn’t one. He let out a deep breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding. Meredith’s dark shape moved away from the lamp-lit window as he turned into the driveway. Thank God, she’d parked inside. The garage door puttered up slowly.

  “Hugo. Be good.”

  He ducked under the slowly moving door. His nose twitched at the lingering smell of turpentine.