“Thanks for talking to us.” She gave Lysandra an encouraging smile. “You were a big help.”
“No problem. I’m happy to help in any way I can. If there’s anything else I can do, anything at all, let me know. I’m afraid I won’t live long enough to atone for my part in this.”
“And you don’t have to.” It was Alan who spoke. “You’re carrying an awful lot of guilt. God’s forgiveness is there for the asking. But you’ll also have to learn to forgive yourself.”
Lysandra gave a brief dip of her head and disappeared inside. As Lexi walked with Alan to his car, an unexpected warmth filled her chest. Alan’s compassion and tenderness were two of the reasons she had fallen in love with him. That, along with his integrity and sense of justice. Those boyish good looks hadn’t hurt him any, either.
Now, at thirty-two, his looks were no longer boyish. Fine lines, visible only when he smiled, fanned out from the corner of each eye, and his dark hair, which had previously been a little on the long side, was cut in a close, layered style that tamed the natural curl.
But the good looks were definitely still there. Enough to turn female heads. Lysandra’s included.
Lexi slid into the passenger seat of the Mustang and waited for Alan to get in. “She ended up being a whole lot more helpful than I anticipated.”
“Yeah. I was pleasantly surprised.”
“I wasn’t sure how things were going to go at first. Sitting at the bar there, I was beginning to think you had acquired a new girlfriend. She acted like she could hardly keep her hands off you.”
He grinned over at her. “You jealous?”
Lexi rolled her eyes. “Not hardly.” She reached for her seat belt and clicked it into place. “But our conversation last night did get me thinking.”
His brows shot up and a cautious hope crept into his eyes. “Oh?”
She laid her head back against the seat and stared through the windshield. “We let her win. She doesn’t deserve that.”
Alan didn’t respond. He would know who she was talking about. She didn’t have to explain.
“For six years, we’ve played right into her hands. But she’s still not happy, because I’m not married to a disgustingly wealthy corporate executive or touring the world, wowing millions with my musical brilliance. But as long as I’m single, I don’t think she’ll ever give up trying.”
Alan started the car but made no move to back from the parking space. “So what do you have in mind?”
Actually, she didn’t know. She certainly wasn’t ready to accept that ring she’d rejected so many years ago.
“Do you still care for me?” His voice was soft.
Lexi could feel his eyes on her, his inquisitive gaze boring into her. “It’s not that simple.”
He leaned back against the seat with a sigh. “Because of Lauren.”
“Lauren is just part of the problem.”
“Lauren was the biggest mistake of my life. She came to me in trouble, pregnant and alone. And I let my kindhearted nature get in the way of good sense. Besides, at the time, I didn’t feel I had anything to lose.” He reached across to cover her hand resting in her lap. “I thought I had already lost what was dearest to me—your love.”
His palm was warm against the back of her hand, his touch comforting. But inside, her mind was whirling. Had she heard him right?
She turned to look at him. “Lauren was pregnant when she came to you?”
“Yes. Otherwise we would have waited and that ill-fated wedding would never have taken place.”
“So the baby wasn’t yours.”
He pulled his hand back suddenly. “Of course not! She was almost two months along when we started seeing each other. I took her out several times, more as a friend offering encouragement and support. But when I told her about your mom’s visit, that was when she really ramped up her pursuit. Next thing I knew, we were shopping for a ring. She instigated it, but I went along with it. And I’ve regretted it ever since. Even more so since working with you.”
“So what happened?”
“A month after marrying, she had a miscarriage. She didn’t need me anymore and took off. As much as I hate to admit it, I was almost relieved when she left. We never loved each other. She was using me, and I still loved you.”
Lexi shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what she had just learned. Lauren was already pregnant. Alan wasn’t sleeping around while she was at school.
His eyes were still on her. “So where do we go from here?”
She took a deep breath and turned to look at him. “How about we start over and take it slow?” She cared for him. Maybe even still loved him. But she had a lot more thinking to do before she was ready to cast aside her independence.
A warm smile crept up his cheeks and her stomach did a little flip.
“All right. I won’t push. We’ll take it slow.” He leaned across the console and pressed his lips to her forehead.
She closed her eyes, relishing the sensation of his warm breath against her face.
Slow was going to be difficult. Because at the moment she wanted nothing more than for him to wrap her in his arms and kiss her fully and deeply.
The way he used to.
*
Alan strolled along the winding walks of Harmony Grove Park, Lexi’s hand in his. Curved beds hugged the edges of the wide concrete path that circled the fountain up ahead. Sometime in the distant past, the ladies of the Harmony Grove Garden Club had taken over responsibility of those beds. Now it seemed their goal each spring was to outdo what they had accomplished the prior year. Lush greenery formed a dramatic backdrop for blooms in every color of the palette, not leaving a single square inch of any bed bare.
He led Lexi around the fountain and toward the lake at the west end of the park. He couldn’t get her to accompany him to church, but she had agreed to meet him for a picnic in the park afterward. And the weather couldn’t have been better if it had been custom ordered. A balmy seventy-eight degrees under a sunny blue sky with just a spattering of fluffy white clouds. Now, with a belly full of chicken and potato salad and a heart overflowing with contentment, life seemed exceptionally sweet.
After walking only one-third of the two-mile perimeter of the lake, Lexi stopped in front of a bench shaded by a huge oak. She smiled up at him, lips touched with some pinkish-colored gloss, reapplied after lunch. Lexi never was one for heavy makeup. She didn’t need it. With her soft features, she possessed a clean, natural beauty.
“Do you know where we are right now?”
He raised his brows. “We’re at the park.”
She sat on the bench, pulling him down with her. “I know, but do you know what’s significant about this exact spot?”
He looked out toward the lake, where a pair of mallard ducks were gliding on the surface a short distance away, and tried to jog his memory. It wasn’t where he’d asked her to marry him. That had happened on the front porch of her house, with the two of them sitting on the swing.
She hadn’t taken the ring. Instead, she’d jumped to her feet and started rambling about how she was leaving for school, and that it wasn’t fair for her to tie him down and expect him to wait for her, and how they both needed to be free to date other people. He had left that evening with a lump in his throat and a hole in his heart.
But he wasn’t going to think about that. Now he was with her, and God was possibly giving them a second chance.
“No, what’s significant about this spot?”
“This is where you kissed me for the first time.”
He grinned down at her. “Are you sure about that?”
“Positive. It was after the Memorial Day cookout. We had just finished watching fireworks and were walking around the lake. And you stopped right here and kissed me.”
“Then you’re right. It is a special place.” He released her hand to wrap his arm around her and pull her to his side. The memory she brought up stirred something in him, carrying him back to those early
days, when love was new and the future was bright with promise. Would it be even sweeter the second time around?
He had promised her he would take it slow. But how slow was slow? He could really use some clarification. Because he was so ready for a replay of that first kiss.
He cleared his throat and reined in his thoughts. His safest bet was to let her set the pace. When she was ready, he would know. At least that was what he hoped.
She sighed and stretched out her legs in front of her, crossing them at the ankles. “You know, after Dad died, I used to come down here a lot. Mom thought I had gone back home, but I was right here, sitting, staring out at the lake, trying to find answers.”
“Did you ever find any?”
“Nope, never did.”
“If the question is why, sometimes the answer doesn’t come until after this life is over. God sees the big picture, and we just have to trust Him to get us through the rough places.”
“I have a hard time serving a God who allows so much evil in the world.”
He smiled over at her, his tone gentle. “You don’t want anyone to try to control you, but you’re expecting God to do just that.”
“What do you mean?”
“He created us with free will. Evil is never part of His plan, but He allows us to make our own choices, even if those choices hurt ourselves and others. God didn’t create us to be a bunch of puppets.”
She heaved a sigh and seemed to sag against him. “I’m just tired of people dying.”
The sadness in her tone stabbed through him and he pulled her closer, longing to somehow soothe away her pain. It wasn’t just Prissy and Kayla and her father. There were countless others she had encountered whose lives had been snuffed out before their time. Being a homicide detective had to wear a person down, especially someone as compassionate as Lexi.
She hiked up her shoulders, then let them fall, as if shaking off the melancholy that had descended on her. Lexi was compassionate, but she was also strong, and she wouldn’t let herself wallow in sadness for long.
She pushed herself to her feet to continue her course around the lake. When they reached his car, he turned to face her. “How about taking in a movie with me?”
She gave him an apologetic smile. “I think I’m going to pass. As much as I’ve enjoyed our outing, I should probably be getting home.”
Disappointment washed over him. “Already?”
“I wanted to run the names Lysandra gave us through the database. If we can talk to her friends, maybe one of them will remember Gary’s full name.”
“Can’t you just goof off this afternoon? Even God took a day off. He spent six days creating the world, then rested on the seventh.”
“I can’t take a day off as long as women are dying.”
Yeah, she would look at things that way. He opened the passenger door for her to slide into the seat. “Anything I can help with?”
“Not tonight. When I get some addresses and phone numbers, I’ll have you help me contact them.”
A few minutes later he braked to a stop in his driveway, right next to the blue Mazda. He had wanted to pick her up, but she had insisted on meeting him, saying she needed to check on her mother anyway.
So now she was getting ready to drive home. Alone.
“How about if I follow you?”
She leaned back against her car and smiled up at him. “That’s not necessary. I’ll be fine.”
He stepped closer. There was more he wanted to say. But he had been putting it off, because he knew it would be a point of contention between them. They could discuss it all day long and probably never agree.
But he had to try to talk some sense into her.
“Lexi, you’re the spitting image of the young Lysandra.”
She tensed. “I know. I saw the photo the same time you did.”
He ignored the annoyance in her tone. “What if the killer has realized that fact, too?”
“I’m being careful.”
“I know you are. But I’m worried about you. Ever since I saw that picture, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.”
Her gaze softened and she reached up to put both of her hands on his cheeks. “My job has its risks. If we’re going to make this work, you’re going to have to accept that and trust me to make the right decisions.”
“All right.” He gave a small nod and she lowered her hands. He should probably step back and give her some space. But he couldn’t get his feet to obey.
And she didn’t seem to be in any more of a hurry to leave than he was to let her leave. She stood staring up at him, gaze warm and lips slightly parted. A fresh, clean fragrance drifted to him, some kind of lavender-scented hand lotion or body wash, the same scent that had teased him off and on at intervals throughout the afternoon.
What would she do if he kissed her? He had refrained all afternoon. Was that slow enough?
Maybe so. Because the next moment she stood on her tiptoes and brushed a soft kiss across his lips. “Look, I’ll call when I get home. I promise.”
He stood frozen, fighting for control, afraid that if he moved he would crush her to him and kiss her back. And it wouldn’t be a sweet, casual peck. Finally he stepped away and forced a smile.
“All right. If I don’t hear from you within thirty minutes, I’m sending out the search parties.”
As he watched her back out of the drive and start up the road, his heart clenched. Somewhere out there was a killer. And Lexi was vulnerable. After six long years, he was so close to winning her back. He couldn’t lose her again.
Lord, please protect her.
Her taillights disappeared from view and he turned to walk into the house. His recliner beckoned, but he didn’t bother to settle into it. There was no way he could sit still. Instead he began to pace the living room. If only she would go stay with her mom. Or take in a roommate. Or let him sleep on the couch.
But he knew Lexi. And she would do none of those things. She was far too independent. There was nothing he could do.
Actually, there was something he could do. He stopped pacing and pulled out his phone. Maybe she wouldn’t let anyone stay with her. But she couldn’t stop people from checking on her.
He punched in a now familiar number. Tomlinson answered on the first ring.
“Hi, Sarge, it’s Alan White.”
“Is Lexi all right?”
“She’s fine right now. But I was wondering if you could have some units drive by her place on a regular basis and check on her. I’m worried about her.”
“Is something going on that I need to know about?” His tone was heavy with suspicion.
“Yeah, we found Lysandra and talked to her. I’ll let Lexi fill you in on the details. But we’re pretty sure that the next victim is going to be someone who looks like Lysandra did ten years ago.”
“What’s that got to do with Lexi?”
“Ask her to show you Lysandra’s picture. She and Lexi could be sisters.”
“Oh, that’s not good.” Tomlinson was concerned. Alan didn’t need to see the worried frown or creased brow. It all came through the phone.
“Lexi isn’t going to back down. And though I don’t agree with her, I understand. She’s determined to find her cousin’s killer and doesn’t want to leave it in someone else’s hands.”
“Kayla Douglas was Lexi’s cousin?”
Uh-oh, he had said too much. “Please don’t tell her I told you. I just wanted to let you know what kind of danger she’s in so everyone can be watching out for her.”
“We’ll do that. Thanks for letting me know, son.”
Alan ended the call and laid his phone on the end table. Conflicting emotions churned in his gut—relief that other deputies would be watching out for her, and fear that she would find out he talked to Tomlinson.
And regret. Because he had no doubt that she would learn of the conversation. And when she did, she would be furious.
Whatever walls had come down over the past two days would go
right back up.
And she would be lost to him all over again.
TEN
Lexi stood at the watercooler, watching the ice-cold water slowly fill her thirty-two-ounce 7-Eleven mug. Ever since that morning’s briefing, she had been holed up in her cubicle, searching databases, poring over names, trying to gather contact information. She was getting closer. She had already made contact with two of Lysandra’s friends. She had the contact information of three others, but hadn’t yet had any luck getting hold of them. The last four were still at large.
She released the lever to stop the flow of water and took a long swig. It wasn’t until she turned that she realized a line had formed behind her. A line of one anyway.
She smiled up at Greg, the newest detective in the unit. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hog the watercooler.” She stepped aside. “Help yourself.”
“No problem. I’m not in that big of a hurry.” He moved his cup to his left hand, then held out his right. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. Greg Morganson.”
She took his extended hand. “Lexi Simmons.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, Lexi. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you. You’re well respected.”
“Thanks.”
She turned and walked back to her cubicle, leaving Greg filling his cup. He was being friendly, and she hoped she came across as being friendly back. But she wasn’t there to socialize, she was there to work. And as long as she held that attitude, it would keep her out of trouble. She wasn’t sure which was worse, office politics or office romance. She avoided both.
She had just settled in at her desk when a large figure filled the opening to her cubicle. Tomlinson might be close to retirement age, but he hadn’t lost any of his bulk.
She smiled up at him. “How’s it going?”
“Can I see you in my office?”
It was phrased as a question, but she had no doubt. It was a command, not a request.
She sprang to her feet and followed him past a stretch of cubicles to one of the offices at the edge of the bay. Whatever he had to say, he wanted more privacy than what the cubicles offered. That by itself didn’t concern her. His stern manner did. A thread of uneasiness slid through her mind.
Love Inspired Suspense June 2014 Bundle 2 of 2: Forced AllianceOut for JusticeNo Place to Run Page 31
