Saving Thea

by Melissa Schroeder

  She glanced at Duncan. His face was void of emotion. She’d known he shut himself down, he had to. Chris had been a surrogate father to both the Perry boys, someone he had always looked up to. He had a job to do, that she understood. But even knowing that didn’t stop the pain from slicing open another wound.

  She shook her head but didn’t say another word. Jed slung his arm around her shoulders, and walked her to his truck. Tomorrow, she’d talk to Duncan and sort everything out.

  “You’re screwing up something good there, buddy,” Rusty said from behind Duncan.

  “Mind your own business, Rusty.” He didn’t turn around. He continued to watch Jed’s taillights until they disappeared around the curve. Nothing hurt like the pain in Thea’s eyes but there hadn’t been a damn thing he could do about it. He’d wanted to pull her into his arms, kiss away the pain. He wanted to drag her home and make love to her.

  He had an investigation to complete. He had to stay focused.

  He turned around and Rusty stood, his arms crossed, and an angry expression on his face.

  “I can’t believe you called her brother. Man, she’s the best thing to happen to you. You know we don’t need you here.”

  “I said to mind your own business.” Anger and pain were battling in him and anger was coming out ahead. He wasn’t sure he wouldn’t take a swing at the next person who pissed him off.

  “What, don’t like the criticism?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice. “You really are a bastard if you can stand there and tell me that you didn’t see how you hurt her.”

  Duncan spun away afraid he’d knock Rusty senseless. Damn fool didn’t learn though because he followed him.

  “Duncan, I don’t need you here. Go to Gwen’s. Take her home.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Everything is wrapped up here.”

  He sighed. “No. I can’t. I have to tell Mom.”

  Duncan placed his hands on the hood of his truck. He still had no idea what to say to his mother and Chase. The pain of knowing what Chris did all these years while practically living under their roof. He shook his head. It was going to be hard to tell them.

  “Oh.” Rusty walked closer and leaned against his truck. “But, Duncan, I think you are going to screw this up and you’re going to regret it. Thea strikes me as the type who will only be so patient with a man.”

  He closed his eyes knowing that was true. But there was no way he could deal with that, or just what he did wrong. His mother…his whole family, the news he had to tell them would hurt and shame them. Hell, he just hoped his mother could bear it. She’d been through a lot the last few years, and the worst was yet to come.

  But the thing he hated most was that he had put Thea at risk. If he had taken his head out of his ass and paid attention, he would have noticed. But instead, he’d been screwing around with Thea, ignoring the clues, not diving deep enough.

  “I should’ve known.”

  Rusty slapped him on the back. “Son, there is no way you could’ve known. Hell, he’d fooled the whole town. I would’ve never guessed and I’ve known him my entire life.”

  Duncan opened his eyes and looked at his friend. “But you didn’t live with him. And you didn’t put a woman’s life in danger thanks to your stupidity.”

  “Duncan…”

  But he said nothing as he rounded the hood of his truck and slipped inside. He had to tell his mother that her brother-in-law had been a killer. And then he had to learn to live with himself.

  After a lot of tears and hugs, Jed wanted answers. But thankfully, Gwen was there to step between the two of them and convince Jed that Thea needed a break.

  She stepped in the shower, hoping to wash away some of the grime and a lot of the memories of the night. Alone for the first time in hours, the terror she’d held at bay crept up on her. The idea that she had almost lost Duncan, that she had been the reason for so much pain crashed down on her. Before she could stop it, grief racked her body and sobs tore from her throat. She cried for the loss of her parents, for Chris’ family and even for Chris. Somewhere inside him had been a good man before a mad obsession had twisted him.

  The stark memory of the night her mother was killed would not leave her. She had lost so much that night. A mother, a normal life, her piece of mind. So much pain, so much loss…all those women. She sank down onto the floor of the tub as the water slashed over her, hugging her knees to her chest. Eventually, she found she hadn’t the strength left to cry. She stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. Within minutes, she collapsed in bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.

  She awoke late the next morning, the physical effects of stress still pounding in her head.

  After brushing her teeth, she headed downstairs. The scent of fresh-brewed coffee filled her senses. She reached the kitchen and found Jed and Gwen deep in conversation. Their heads were bent close to each other’s. Gwen’s hand rested on the tabletop, Jed’s was on top of it. She must have made a sound because the two of them pulled apart as if they were guilty of something. Frowning, she grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup of coffee. When she turned back around, they were studying her with matching concerned expressions. Silently, she groaned. Knowing they would want a full report, she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down.

  Thea told them everything, from the night of her mother’s murder to the letters she started receiving, to the investigation she and Duncan had conducted. With each tidbit of information, Jed’s anger heightened. Twenty minutes later, Jed sat back in his chair, a nasty frown on his face.

  “Let me get this straight. Duncan’s been staying with you? You told him and you didn’t tell me?”

  “Good Lord, Jed. Get a grip,” said Gwen. “What the hell is wrong with you? Out of all that, you want to talk about Duncan?”

  “I could have protected her better than Duncan.”

  Gwen rolled her eyes. “No, you couldn’t. You’re way too emotional, as usual.”

  He looked like he wanted to argue with Gwen, but he shook his head. “Okay. Okay, a little stupid of me, but she’s my baby sister.” He turned to face Thea. “Why didn’t you tell me, and just what the hell do you and Duncan think you’re doing?”

  She studied her brother and realized this was more than just brotherly worry. He was genuinely hurt that she didn’t go to him. “I love you, but I know you. You never forgave yourself for being gone that night.” The flush that mottled his face told her she was right. “I didn’t want you going off half-cocked. You’re a good cop, but I am not sure you could have been in this situation. Now, I want to get dressed and head home.”

  A look passed between Jed and Gwen that Thea couldn’t interrupt. Then they both looked at her.

  “Thea, I think you should stay here,” Gwen reasoned.

  “No. I want to go home. There’s no reason to stay here. Chris is caught.”

  “The kids might come around,” Jed said.

  Thea shook her head. “No. They’ll go to Mom and Dad’s. Besides, all my clothes are over there.”

  She stood and headed to her room before they could come up with another argument.

  Ten minutes later, they were heading down the road to her house. Jed pulled into her driveway and Thea had to hide her disappointment. Duncan wasn’t there. Granted, she knew he had a lot more important things to deal with, and his family had been dealt a blow so painful, it could shatter them. The image of his blank expression when Jed had taken her away rose up. She pushed it aside, needing to concentrate on the here and now.

  Slipping out of the truck, she walked up to the porch. Jed silently followed her up the stairs to the front porch. She unlocked the door and turned to tell him to leave but the serious look on his face stopped her. She headed through the living room to the kitchen, his reluctant footsteps following her.

  “Uh, Thea.” The worry in Jed’s voice caused worry to creep up her spine. “Duncan dropped off the key this morning while you were still sleeping.”

  Keeping her back
to Jed, she closed her eyes to the pain almost blinding her. In the time since her separation, since finding out her husband was nothing but a cheating bastard, she’d thought she knew pain. But nothing compared to this. She refused to break down in front of Jed. Last night seemed to have aged him ten years and he didn’t need his sister sobbing all over him about a guy.

  She plastered a smile on her face, hoping it wouldn’t look too fake.

  “Well, at least I don’t have to go hunt him down for it.”

  “Thea, I didn’t know when he stopped by he’d been staying out here.”

  “What did you think the key was for?”

  “Well, I thought maybe he needed it for…oh hell, I don’t know.”

  She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry. I didn’t expect anything. Jed, I really didn’t. I just divorced, for goodness sakes. And although you like to pretend I’m twelve, I’m a woman grown. I wanted some fun. That’s all.”

  Yeah and she had some oceanfront property in west Texas. But she couldn’t let Jed know how much those words hurt. “You need a place to stay?”

  He looked like he didn’t want to talk about that, but he apparently he thought better of it. “Yeah.”

  “Then you can have the spare room. Also, I am going to need your help looking at some real estate this week.”

  “Real estate?”

  She nodded. “I’m contemplating opening a café.”

  He cocked his head to the side and smiled. “You aren’t thinking, you’ve decided.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, I have.” Thea’s mind drifted back to the night before, to the moment that Chris had shown up and her smile faded. “I am going to need to talk to someone, and unfortunately, it will probably have to be Duncan.”

  Jed frowned. “He’s on administrative leave.”

  With a sigh, she nodded. “Who is in charge?”

  “Deputy Fredrickson.”

  “Call, tell him I want to lodge a complaint against one of their officers.”

  “Uh, Thea…you can’t do this to Duncan.”

  She made a face. “Good Lord, Jed. I’m talking about Richard. He threatened me last night.”

  His expression changed from worry to outrage in the blink of an eye. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  She explained about Richard, his connection to the case, what might have happened at Texas Tech. Each tidbit of information had him cussing.

  “I want to lodge a complaint. A bastard like that should not have a badge.”

  Jed nodded and took out his cell phone. “You might have to go in and make a statement.”

  She straightened her shoulders. “I can do it.”

  He smiled and then pulled her into a giant bear hug. “I love you, Althea.”

  Tears prickled the back of her eyes and she blinked to fight them off. When she pulled out of the hug, she said, “I love you too.”

  Pausing in the act of dialing, he said, “Maybe I should go in, talk to Fredrickson first. I want this kept low until we get everything in order.”

  She thought it odd, but she shrugged it off. “Okay. I’m going to do some cooking.”

  He leaned in, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “If I see Duncan, do you have a message you want me to give him?”

  At the mention of Duncan’s name, a shaft of pain sliced through her. She almost said no, but the ache was too raw to ignore. She knew he wasn’t thinking right now, that his mind was tangled, messed up from everything that happened, but it didn’t matter. She wanted him to hurt as much as she was hurting. And if she pissed him off, he might stop being such a jackass.

  “Yeah. Tell him that it was no big deal and not to worry. Now that Chris is gone, I don’t need him.”

  Jed’s face went blank, then he grinned. “You do know him.”

  She offered him an innocent smile but said nothing.

  Moments later she watched Jed back out of drive and mentally rubbed her hands together. Thea regretted she couldn’t be there to see the expression on Duncan’s face when Jed told him her message. She knew it would irritate him. And, sooner or later, he’d come looking for her.

  She didn’t care. She was ready to fight him for all he had. Including his heart.

  Chapter Twenty

  Wednesday morning, Duncan sat in his office, filling out forms on the investigation. After telling his mother and Chase, he’d went home and collapsed in bed for most of the day. When he awoke at four in the afternoon, the first thing he thought of was calling Thea.

  But reality had crashed around him. Thea could never really be his. He knew it as well as he knew his last name. How could a woman actually love a man who was blood related to her parents’ killer? Besides, he knew she wouldn’t be sticking around Crocker for much longer. She’d probably move to Dallas or somewhere big like that. Someone with her talent couldn’t make money in a town the size of Crocker.

  The weight of failure once again sat on his shoulders, in his very soul. He had failed Jessica, all those years ago, and he had almost done it again. The door to the station house opened and Jed walked in. Another punch to the gut. Regretfully, Duncan stood, knowing he was probably about to lose his best friend. Not only had he bedded the man’s sister, but his uncle had killed Jed’s parents.

  Jed smiled, and waved to a couple of the deputies and Rangers still lingering, finishing up the investigation. The closer he got, the more visible the stress was on his face. His smiles weren’t real, the circles beneath his eyes darker than Duncan had ever seen them. He looked used and worn out and Duncan knew just how he felt.

  Jed stepped into his office and shut the door behind him.

  “You here to kick my ass?” Duncan asked.

  A look of surprise flashed in his eyes and a rusty chuckle escaped. “No. I wanted to…well hell, I wanted to thank you.”

  “Thank me?”

  “Yeah. If it weren’t for you, Thea would have been running around the county, putting herself in danger. Hell, who knows what would have happened if you hadn’t moved in and taken over? You know how she is.”

  He nodded, still waiting for the accusations. When Jed didn’t say anything else, Duncan decided to bring up the subject.

  “I failed again.”

  Jed studied him for a moment, then said, “What happened with Jessica, hell, you know what she was like. That whole situation was a clusterfuck from the beginning until the end. You made a mistake, but she was a cop too, and she made them. She put you in danger.”

  Duncan shook his head in denial but Jed plowed ahead.

  “Man, you have one helluva God complex.”

  “What the hell do you mean?” Duncan asked, irritation marching down his spine.

  “You made a mistake, a major fuckup, but you are only human.”

  “I almost cost Thea her life.”

  “I told you, she was intent on putting herself in danger. You made sure she was safe. And thank God Richard is suspended. That bastard should never have let her go.”

  Another failure, he should have seen Richard’s problems.

  “Oh, for the love of God. I can read your mind right now. I knew Richard and would never have thought he would try to assault my sister. And, if you suspected, you couldn’t do anything until you investigated. You would have been slapped with a lawsuit.” Jed rubbed his hand over his face. “Lord, I’m tired.”

  “I thought you might want to ‘discuss’ my involvement with your sister.”

  Jed’s eyes widened a bit and then he smiled. “Well, she did tell me to thank you for everything you did.”

  “She did?”

  “Yeah, in fact she’d wanted me to tell you to tell Chase and Rusty she needed to have them out at the house for dinner to thank them. Especially Chase. She feels guilty about putting him at risk.”

  “She feels guilty? What about me?”

  “Oh, that’s your job. I mean, it’s expected of you.”

  Rage and jealousy pumped through him. He had no right to feel them, but
he did.

  “And Thea explained everything to me.”

  He settled his hands on his hips. Jed was grinning at him as if he was privy to some joke.

  “And just what did she explain to you?”

  “Well, that you both understood there were no strings attached. That you were both just fooling around.”

  “And that doesn’t bother you? As her big brother, you should be more protective.” Sarcasm dripped from his voice. He couldn’t believe he had to stand there and explain just what Jed should be doing. Hell, if she’d been his sister, and the situation had been reversed, he’d be kicking the crap out of Jed.

  “Well, as she explained yesterday, she’s almost thirty, not thirteen. She’s a woman who has to make her own decisions. She said it was no big deal.”

  Oh, anger boiled his blood. “No big deal?”

  “Yeah, said it wasn’t like you two were in love, or anything.”

  He grabbed his coat and headed to the door. Without a word to Jed, his deputies, or Gina, he rushed to his truck. He’d just see about no big deal. That woman had a thing or two to learn about him, and he was ready to teach her.

  Thea watched Chase gobble down the last of the pasta she’d made him. He stopped by, unannounced, giving her the little hungry puppy look so she’d invited him to lunch.

  “I guess I should wonder where you put all of that food,” she said then let out with a laugh.

  “Well, Perry men have always had high metabolisms. We’re stallions.”

  “Yeah, I can tell you have a way with Fiona.”

  He scowled and her heart caught. It was the same little-boy-denied-a-treat look that Duncan had. “I have no idea what that woman is thinking most of the time.”

  “And, for you, that’s a first?”

  “Yeah. I mean she puts off all these vibes, but…” He stopped as if afraid he’d said too much. He cleared his throat. “Mom wanted to come by but she didn’t know what to say.”

  “You tell her that she can stop by anytime. I want you and your mother to know that I don’t blame either one of you. How could you have known?”