Plagued by the possibility that Rafe might have come to his senses and realized how ridiculous the whole situation was and bolted, Ana bit her lip and wandered over to the window seat. She lowered herself onto the cushion and peered at the reflection peering sadly back at her. It seemed extra dark out there with her bedroom lights on, but she wasn’t brave enough to turn them off. In the distance, she could just make out the solitary glow from the house across the yard and wondered who was up and if that was the reason Rafe hadn’t shown up yet.
Down the hall, the news was abruptly silenced in mid broadcast as the TV in her parent’s room was shut off, signaling her mother’s turn in. She felt an instant sense of abandonment as the house fell into a chilling silence. Both her parents were just down the hall, yet they felt about a million miles away. She was alone, at night, with whatever was haunting her.
“Hurry, Rafe,” she moaned, pressing her forehead into the glass. She closed her eyes and prayed that he hadn’t forgotten, or given up on her. She prayed he would hurry.
Clack.
Ana jumped. Her head came off the cool pane and whipped around at the inexplicable noise behind her. The room was empty, except for Mitzy, who was sprawled shamelessly on top of her bed, belly up. Whatever had made the sound, it hadn’t been him nor had he been disturbed by it.
Ana shuddered. She drew her knees tighter to her chest and turned back to the window. Only she wasn’t the only reflection in the glass this time.
With a choked scream, she lunged off the bench and whirled around to confront the pale silhouette hovering next to her bed. But there was nothing there except Mitzy who had one eye open and was peering accusingly at her upside down. One white and orange striped paw twitched, but he remained immobile while Ana’s heart rampaged wildly in her chest. She faced the window again, searching for some small measure of sanity, something that could be blamed for her hallucination. But she knew there would be nothing there.
“What do you want from me?” she whispered to her terrified reflection.
Crack! The pebble hit the glass and ricocheted back, disappearing into the folds of darkness. Nerves a mess, Ana threw her hands up to her face, mashing sweaty palms over her mouth to stifle the strangled sound housed in her throat. She was shaking all over as she inched closer and peered down.
Rafe waved at her from beneath her window and her heart all but ceased beating in her chest. Relief was a physical fist in the gut as she whirled on her heels and hurried to the door. She paused only briefly to snatch up the small bag she’d packed before slipping from the room and quietly shutting the door behind her.
She was drenched in cold sweat by the time she bolted down her courage and tore down the hall, past the basement and into the dark kitchen. The lock slipped beneath her clammy fingers as she fumbled for it. It gave way with a soft click and she swung the back door open.
He stood like a lost angel on the porch, his hands buried in the pockets of his jeans. Caramel brown eyes rose up and met hers from beneath the fringes draped over his brow.
“Rafe.” Her bag slipped from her fingers. She was in his arms before it hit the floor.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured into the side of her head. His arms tightened around her middle. One hand went up to grasp the back of her skull, holding her face to his shoulder. “What happened?”
Ana closed her eyes, breathing in the crisp scent of autumn laced with his leather and spices scent. “I thought I saw something upstairs.”
“Do you want me to go check?”
She shook her head. “There’s nothing there now.” Carefully, she dislodged herself from him and glanced back through the kitchen into the hallway. She couldn’t see the basement door, but she knew it was there and shuddered.
“Come on.” Rafe took her hand. He scooped her bag up with the other one as she shut the door quietly behind them.
They crept across the yard, stepping carefully on the slabs of stone curving towards the pond. They veered off, going straight. Ana paused only once to glance back at the house. A shiver coursed through her at the sinister sight it made, huddled beneath a darkened sky, draped in velvet blackness. Only the porch light glowed, spilling pale fingers across rickety steps and a firmly closed door. She turned quickly back around.
“I didn’t think you were coming,” she whispered as they climbed the steps onto his porch.
“Why not?”
She didn’t answer until they were safely in his room with the door closed and the lights on and even then, she was momentarily redirected by the drastic change.
“You cleaned your room!”
There was a bed, fully made and a desk with a laptop on top. Papers, pens and books were neatly stacked in piles off to one side and a lamp sat on the other. The shelves on the walls were neatly organized with crime books and action figures Ana didn’t recognize. The floors were vacuumed and void of laundry and dishes. And the whole place smelled like wood polish and a wild meadow.
“You don’t have to sound so amazed,” he said, moving around her to drop down on the bed. He set her bag down next to him.
“I’m sorry, but this is…” She shook her head, awed. “Like night and day.”
“Well.” He flopped back on the bed, folding his arms beneath his head. “Now I won’t have to worry about losing you in here.”
Laughing, she crossed to the desk and perched on the chair. She surveyed the room, a smile still large on her face.
“You’re beautiful when you do that.”
She dropped her gaze to his. “What’s that?”
“Smile.” He swung his legs over the mattress and sat up before she could respond. “So why didn’t you think I would come?”
Taken by surprise at his abrupt change of topic, Ana couldn’t speak for a moment. She pursed her lips and studied the worn patterns on the comforter. She wondered how much she should tell him. Then decided there was really nothing she felt the need to hide.
“I thought maybe you decided to wash your hands of me,” she murmured honestly. “I doubt any other girl comes with nearly as much baggage as I apparently do.”
“True,” he said with a sigh. “But that’s all the fun.” He gave her a grin when she swung her gaze to his. “What else?”
She had no idea how he knew there was anything else, but she swallowed hard before telling him. “I thought you might be in too much pain to come get me.” She bit her lip when the amusement faded from his eyes and he turned his face away from her. “Rafe—”
“Don’t, Ana.”
She rose from her seat and went to sit next to him. “Talk to me, please?” She touched the hand balled tight on his thigh. “You’re always here for me. I want to be there for you.”
If possible, the hand beneath hers bunched even tighter. “There’s nothing you can do.”
She wiggled closer, letting her hip, thigh and shoulder rest against his. “I can listen.”
Carefully, she unfurled his fingers and slipped hers through them. She rested her injured hand on his.
“Jesus, I wish you hadn’t seen that.” He rubbed a hand over his bruised face and back into his hair to scratch brutally at the back of his neck. “I would have given anything…”
She tightened her fingers around his. “That was Dan, wasn’t it?”
He squeezed his eyes closed tight, hesitation tense along his shoulders. “Yeah,” he finally muttered, opening his eyes once more. “That was Dan. He’s my mom’s husband.”
“But not your dad?”
He shook his head. “My dad’s in prison. He was no better than Dan from what I hear.”
“Why is he in prison?”
“Murder.” He looked at her, searching her face for some possible reaction. “He killed my grandfather. My mom’s dad.”
Ana gasped. “That’s horrible!”
He shook his head. “Not really. He was hurting my mom. Dad was protecting her. I can’t hate him for that and I don’t. The sheriff back then didn’t care why he’d done it.
It was a father’s right to beat the devil out of his children. But I would have done the same. I hate him for everything else he’d done.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “Like stealing cars for a living and selling drugs. He wasn’t the best role model.”
Carefully, she squeezed his fingers. “What happened today?”
He inhaled deeply and shrugged. “I came home and Dan was screaming at Mike and Gabby for breaking the coffee table. Mickey’s pretty tough, but only because Gabby isn’t and he tries to be strong for her. That bastard has her so scared she jumps at her own shadow. It doesn’t matter that I would never let anyone hurt her, or Mickey. I know she knows it, but the minute Dan walks into the room you can just see her shut down and it kills me. I just want to pound my fists into his face for what he’s done to her.” He broke off to mash the heel of his hand into his eyelids. “But it would make things worse if I tried to fight back. Dan always said I better kill him because the second he gets up, I’m dead, which I don’t care if it means they’re safe, but he’d go after them when I wasn’t around to protect them. So long as I’m around, Dan has an outlet for his rage and his fists and I’m okay with that.”
“I’m not!” She touched a hand to the side of his face, turning it so she could peer into his eyes. “I’m not okay with that at all. God, Rafe! Why won’t you say something? Tell the police.”
He laughed, jerking his face from her. “You’ve lived here long enough to know what people think of me. I doubt anyone would take me seriously. It’s my word against his and Dan’s a decorated Marine. He just has to tell them I came at him and I’m done.”
Ana frowned. “But your mother—”
“Will never speak against him and I can’t ask her to.”
“That’s ridiculous!” She leapt off the bed and began pacing. “She’s your mother and it’s her job to protect you. To protect Gabby and Michael. Once he’s in jail—”
“He won’t stay in jail.” He rose and took her gently by the shoulders. “They’ll give him bail and he’ll be out in an hour. Then he’ll be back.”
“Then you call the police and send him back!”
He brushed a curl off her cheek, the gesture as tender as the warmth in his eyes as he peered down into her enraged expression.
“Mi Rosa.” He smiled slightly. “You’re beautiful when you’re worked up.”
Despite the anger still choking her, Ana grinned. “I thought I was beautiful when I smiled.”
“You are. You’re also beautiful when you blush and when you laugh and when you look ready to beat me with a stick.” His eyes darkened. His fingertips glided along her cheek to her chin where he tilted her face to his with a gentle nudge. “Te quiero, Rosa.”
Lost in the bottomless depths of his gaze, she had no sense to spot the clever change of topic.
“What?”
“I—”
A soft knock interrupted whatever he was about to tell her. They pulled apart, both turning to the door.
Rafe put a finger to his lips, indicating silence as though it needed to be said. “Yeah?” he said, still watching Ana.
“Rafe?” It was a child’s voice on the brink of tears. “I had an accident.”
Rafe was at the door in a flash. He threw it open and scooped Gabriella up into his arms, all the while murmuring softly to her in Spanish as she wiped away the tears with a tiny, balled fist.
“I’ll be right back,” he told Ana over his shoulder. Then he was out the door.
Left alone, Ana hurried to the door and closed it softly. She returned to the bed and began hurriedly dressing in her flannel pants and t-shirt. She was standing with her knees pressed into the mattress, looking out the window at the house across the expanse when Rafe returned.
“I’m sorry.” He shut the door behind him. “She has nightmares sometimes.”
She turned to him. “Is she okay?”
He nodded, crossing to his desk. “As okay as she’ll be with that asshole in the house.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to rehash her rant from earlier, but the defeated slump in his shoulders was enough for her to swallow it back and cross to him.
“Hey.” She perched on the corner of the bed, her knees nearly brushing his. “So I was thinking we should go somewhere with the kids this weekend.”
He raised his head and peered at her curiously. “Where?”
She shrugged. “This is your town. You tell me. Where do kids like to go?”
His eyebrows drew together as he mulled it over. “There’s a lake about forty minutes from here.”
“That sounds great.”
His brown eyes locked with hers. “You don’t have to do that you know.”
Ana frowned. “Do what?”
He straightened, jerking his shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know. Forget I said anything.” He rose. “Should get some sleep.”
She watched as he went to the closet and drew out the bedding he’d used the night before. He dumped the bundle to the ground and began laying them out on the ground.
“I’m sorry,” she said as he folded one blanket in half as a makeshift mattress.
He glanced up, a patch of dark curls falling into his eyes. “What for?”
She bit her lip. “For making you sleep on the ground.”
He paused in mid-fluffing of his pillow and peered at her, his smirk devious. “Just say the word and I’ll gladly share the bed with you.”
Heat crawled into her cheeks. She dropped her gaze. “You’re horrible.”
With his snicker filling her ears, she pulled back the blankets on the bed and crawled beneath them. She was tucked snugly in his scent when he rose to his feet and padded to the light switch.
“You good?” he asked.
When she nodded, he flicked the lights out, drowning the room in soft darkness. She heard him return to his makeshift bed and climb in. His rustling ceased after a moment and their combined breathing filled the silence. She hadn’t had the chance to enjoy that moment the night before. She’d fallen asleep too quickly, but that wasn’t the problem now. She was awake, painfully so and she was all too aware of him there beside her, taking all her air and thoughts. Part of her wanted to inch towards the edge and peer over, just to see his features, to see if he slept with his mouth open or if he drooled. It was ridiculous, but somehow it would make him more human to her, like he wasn’t this untouchable being too beautiful for her.
Shaking her head at the absurdity, she flopped over onto her other side and squished her eyes closed.
She was dreaming. She knew she was because she was home, and she wasn’t. The house was hers, but the worn, ratty furniture wasn’t. The pictures on the walls definitely weren’t and the boy standing beside her was someone she didn’t know. But then again, she didn’t know any of the kids pushing through the rooms, laughing and dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. None of them looked old enough to be in possession of the cups of alcohol they held.
Orange and black streamers looped across the ceilings and hung from doorways. Paper witches and pumpkins grinned from the walls. People were dressed up like fairies and goblins, devils and princesses. There was a table laden with punch and cookies and bowls of candy, and the place smelled of burned pumpkin guts and sweat. Her mother would have freaked out.
But the boy beside her stood in the sitting room, sipping on something in a red cup. His gaze was locked on the doorway. Ana couldn’t be sure, but she thought he might have been a vampire. He had the slicked back hair and cape. Something red ran down the front of his shirt, but that could have been punch. His face was caked with thick, white makeup. It was cliché and cheesy, but judging from some of the other costumes, his was the most creative.
“Johnny!”
Absently, the boy raised his hand and waved at the boy who called out to him, and Ana’s eyes widened as she turned to get a better look at her companion.
“Johnny?” she said. “Johnny Baits?”
The boy n
ever answered. He didn’t even look at her. He’d gone back to taking small sips of his drink and watching the foyer.
“What are you looking for?” she asked, following his gaze.
There was still no response. She waved a hand in front of his face and still nothing. Resigned that she was an observer, not a participant, she stood back and watched as the night unfolded.
It started out as any other Halloween party. There were no drugs, but there was some sex and underage drinking. No one seemed to mind. They were all too busy having fun, except Johnny. He remained firmly rooted to his spot until Ana wondered if he’d fallen asleep. She was about to poke him when he tensed all over. His blue eyes went round and his cup baring arm lowered. Intrigued, Ana glanced to the doorway and watched as a girl of sixteen stepped through followed by two other girls. She had the biggest, greenest eyes and a smile that could light up an entire room. She wore a short, white dress that flared at the skirt like a tutu and a tight fitting bodice. There were glittery, white wings strapped to her back and dainty white shoes on her feet. Up on top of her riot of long, auburn curls, was a headband with a pipe cleaner circle on top — a halo. Ana had no idea who she was, but her companion looked like he just melted in his shoes.
The girl scanned the room and her gaze met his. Her smile brightened. She raised a hand and wiggled her fingers. Johnny returned her wave, a pathetic smile spreading across his mouth.
“So that’s who you were waiting for,” Ana mused, feeling herself grin.
The room changed. It melted as though the walls were made of chocolate. Everything bled together; faces, voices, smells, until it was one giant blur of darkness. Ana felt the hard blast of ice before everything flooded back into focus with a roar. She cringed at the sudden burst of light. She squinted, trying to make out where she was. The room was unfamiliar, cold and dank and she was closed in from all sides by gray walls of stone. Copper piping ran the length of the ceiling, attached to various cylinders and tubes in the corner. She recognized the outlay for a basement. She wondered if it was her basement, but in a different time. The boxes and crates weren’t hers.
Betraying Innocence Page 22
