And maybe that was the bigger lesson anyway. Maybe it wasn’t about judgment but about helping someone out of a tough spot. One they hadn’t asked to be in, nor actively sought out, but one they’d ended up in despite their best efforts.
Kiely’s phone dinged and she frowned, staring down at it. “I need to go pick up Alfie from day care. He’s got a fever.”
She was out of the chair immediately, her sole focus on leaving. Sadie rose and walked to her sister, quietly excited to see Kiely’s concern and obvious love for her soon-to-be stepson. And, if recent discussions were any indication, actual son once she and Cooper were married and she could adopt Alfie as her own.
Wrapping her in a soft hug, Sadie pressed a kiss to Kiely’s cheek. “Text me and let me know how he’s doing.”
“I will.” Kiely hugged back—hard—before stepping away. “I’m sorry to rush out.”
“Go.” Sadie smiled. “Now.”
In a matter of minutes, Kiely was gone and Pippa was up and readying to leave, too. “I’d rather stay and talk, but I’ve got a judge I still need to see to get a case on the docket before the holidays.”
Sadie hugged Pippa before her sister could talk herself out of leaving. “You get out of here, too.”
With no one left but her twin, Sadie turned to Vikki. “You’re holding out on me.”
“When have I ever done that?”
“A lot the past six months. Before that…” Sadie made a scrunched-up face before lightly scratching her temple in a mock gesture of thinking really hard. “Never.”
“I’m not holding out on you.”
“You are and I’d like to know why.”
Vikki patted the bed, a clear invitation for Sadie to sit. “I’m worried about you.”
“Now? But I’m safe.”
“At this moment, yeah, sure. For good?” Vikki took her hand once Sadie sat. “I’m not so sure.”
“Vik—”
Vikki squeezed her hand, the motion enough to stop Sadie from saying more. “Hear me out.”
“Okay.”
“I love you and I know you’ve been through a lot. Way more than anyone should ever have to go through.”
“I hear a but in there.”
“I told you to hear me out.”
Sadie blew out a harried breath but shut up. Vikki had her “older sister” voice on and she knew she needed to listen.
“I did hold out on you. I did it a lot while you were dating Tate. I never liked him and it’s not because I didn’t want you to be happy.”
“So why are you telling me now?”
“Because I couldn’t say all I wanted to. I know I told you to be careful and I was hesitant about the engagement, but it was more than that. I never liked him. But—” Vikki broke off, her voice choked with tears. “I never thought he’d be such a monster. Or that he’d try to hurt you like this. If I’d had any clue, I’d have said something. Hell, I’d have run him out of town on a rail myself.”
“None of us knew.”
“Yeah, but my twin sense never stopped tingling around him. And I held back on you. I’m sorry.”
Vikki pulled her into a tight hug and Sadie held on just as strong. She’d held back her own tears up to that point but let them fall as the heavy emotion of the moment finally caught up to her.
“I’m sorry, Vik. So sorry I was so blinded by him.”
Vikki squeezed her once more before pulling back. “You really need to stop apologizing for him. For your feelings. For all of it.”
“But—”
“Nope.” Vikki shook her head and wiped away tears. When she finally spoke, her voice rang strong and true. “I’m not holding back now, either. Not now, not anymore, and not about this.”
“Not about what?”
“You didn’t do this, Sadie. You didn’t bring it on yourself and it didn’t happen because you didn’t have a lot of dating experience.”
“But I—”
Vikki shut her down, barreling through the conversation like a GRPD cop hot on a chase. “Experience has nothing to do with a manipulative bastard like Tate Greer. He saw a way into our lives and he took it. I hate to break it to you, but it could have just as easily happened to Pippa or Kiely or me. You were the one he somehow flagged as his mark.”
“I don’t think the three of you would be so stupid to fall for him.”
“Then you sorely overestimate a woman’s power to overlook an attractive man who shows her attention.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? If he was ugly, I’d have ignored him?”
“No, no. What I meant was that I remember those first few weeks the two of you were dating. You talked about your conversations and the way he made you laugh. How kind he was and how much thought he put into each date. I was jealous.”
“Of me?”
Although Sadie had built some level of confidence, she’d always seen Vikki as the glamourous one of the two of them. She had the blond hair and more slender figure, taking after their mother, while Sadie had thicker curves and the less flashy strawberry version of blond.
And until this moment, she’d never had reason to think any other way.
“Yes, of you. So were Pippa and Kiely.”
“What? No way.”
“Yes. We all did.”
“So when did you stop feeling that way?”
“When I saw how he spoke to you. It was like after he’d done the work to get you to fall for him, he’d stopped trying. And the real him began to peek out from the edges.”
“I know.”
And she did know. Hadn’t that been the most puzzling part of the relationship? Those early, halcyon days had been so much fun. Tate had been sweet and attentive, kind and considerate. But the veneer had eventually begun to crack. She’d told herself it was because they’d moved into a new phase of their relationship. One where things weren’t quite so new and where they’d begun to settle into life without the bright, shiny haze of new love.
But it had bothered her all the same.
Only she’d ignored it. She’d convinced herself that it was inexperience. That she had no reason to be discontent. Or to complain.
Or to feel she deserved something more.
“Which is why I like Tripp so much,” Vikki said.
The change in topic was swift and, if Sadie knew her twin, deliberate. “This has nothing to do with Tripp.”
“It does if you let Tate Greer stand in the way of something amazing with Lieutenant Hottie.”
“Stop calling him that.”
Vikki reached out and brushed Sadie’s hair over her ear. “Okay then. I’ll call him something else.”
“What’s that?”
“A shot at happy-ever-after.”
CHAPTER 11
Sadie thought about Vikki’s words long after her sister had left. Long after the afternoon light had faded into a dark winter night. And long after the scent of dinner had drifted up the stairs.
Tripp had left her alone and, somewhere deep down, Sadie knew she needed to be a decent houseguest and go talk to him. Yet still, she’d stayed put in her room.
Part of her felt slightly childish, but a bigger part of her needed the time alone. The discussion with her sisters had been good for her. The time together and the comfort that always came from being with them had given her a chance to see things in a new light.
But with that light, she’d been forced to examine some of the things she would’ve preferred to keep buried. For the past month, every thought of Tate had been equated with personal inexperience. How odd then, to have Vikki suggest something else. A new view Sadie hadn’t considered before.
Up until now, she’d taken the situation fully on herself. And while she suspected she would never be entirely free of the sentiment—and the embarrassment seemingly intertwined wit
hin—her sisters had also helped her look at what had happened with fresh eyes.
Tate had done her wrong. And rather than allow that battering litany to run in her head that she’d somehow allowed it, or somehow asked for it, Vikki and Pippa and Kiely had helped her to see things differently.
The knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts. “Come in.”
Tripp poked his head into the room and as she caught sight of his face—that firm jaw and serious blue gaze—Sadie was surprised to realize she had missed seeing him. Oh sure, they’d talked about him all day, but it wasn’t the same as seeing him again.
That took her right back to the morning and how it had felt to be wrapped in his arms.
To have that firm chest pressed against hers.
To have those lips caress her own.
“I just wanted to check on you. I made some dinner.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry I didn’t come down, but I—”
“It’s okay. I’m glad your sisters were here. That the four of you had a chance to spend some time together.”
“Me, too. Their visit gave me a chance to, um, process a few things.”
“That’s good.” His brow furrowed. “Right?”
“Yes, very good. It also gave me time to work my way up to that apology I owe you.”
Tripp opened the door more fully, leaning a shoulder against the door frame. “I think I’m the one that probably owes you an apology.”
“Nope. I think this one’s all on me. And I need to say a few things.”
He considered her for a moment but said nothing.
Just as she had earlier, Sadie felt so completely seen by him. The way his gaze drifted over her. The way his attention was fully on her. It was heady. And it was real, somehow. But it also reinforced all the reasons why she really did owe him an apology.
“I didn’t want to listen to what you were saying earlier. But you were right.”
“About what?”
“About Tate. About what happened with him, because of him.”
“No, Sadie, I overstepped.”
“For the record, I don’t think you did. But I am curious why you tried to convince me otherwise.”
He never moved off the door frame, but the casual nature of his pose belied the fierce light that leaped into his eyes. “Because I think you’re pretty great. I always have. And it galls me to see how somebody who isn’t worth your time could make you feel so badly.”
“Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome.”
Tripp looked about to say something but held back. Instead of speaking, the two of them continued to stare at each other, the pulsing need that had arced between them in the kitchen this morning filling the air once again.
A part of her wondered if she should turn away, yet another part of her—a much bigger, deeper part—knew she couldn’t.
This was Tripp. A man she had feelings for. And, if their kiss in the kitchen was any indication, feelings that weren’t entirely unreciprocated.
But what to do about it?
With all the other stresses in her life, it would be so easy to simply reach out for it. To take the physical comfort she knew she would find in his arms.
Only, she was scared of what she’d find on the other side. The part that came after they got through this battle with Tate Greer and Wes Matthews and the whole RevitaYou mess. When life went back to normal and he went back to being Lieutenant Tripp McKellar and she went back to being CSI expert Sadie Colton.
When they had to see each other at work and handle cases together and find a way to live a normal life again.
The danger that was so awful right now had also created a fake intimacy. One that hadn’t had a place in the real world before and likely wouldn’t again.
Because how did you make a go of a relationship that started in the midst of a crisis? Sure, her siblings might be walking proof that you could come out the other side happily in love, but she just didn’t see that for herself. She’d known Tripp a long time and it hadn’t happened for them. She’d be a fool to think that would change after the danger died down.
“I do still have dinner downstairs. I can heat up a burger for you. Throw some frozen french fries in the oven.”
“You don’t need to go to any trouble.”
“It’s no trouble. Besides, I have a few things I want to show you. I’ve been digging through files all day, and I want to get your opinion on a few theories I’ve put together.”
She sensed it was a bit of an excuse to get her out of the room, but Sadie didn’t care. A burger and fries and Tripp sounded like a nice way to finish out her evening.
She was strong enough to handle it. More, she could remember that the situation was temporary and enjoy it anyway.
As she got off the bed to follow Tripp downstairs, Sadie decided she would do just that.
* * *
Tate stood in the shadow of Tripp’s house, the cold air that swirled around him sharpening his senses. The scent of gasoline rose from the container by his feet. The night was cold, bitterly so, and the snow that had been predicted on the day before hadn’t disappointed.
He’d likely do better to wait but he was running out of time. He needed to do this now.
It was time to end this.
Everything he had built, worked for, planned for; all of it had vanished in a matter of days. And the bitch sitting inside was at the root of it all.
It was shocking on some level. He’d run his business for a long time. He recruited carefully and he knew how to get around the cops and the Feds in equal measure.
And in a matter of weeks it had unraveled so badly, he’d be lucky to get out of Grand Rapids with nothing more than the money he’d stowed down in the Caymans.
Damn Matthews.
Tate huffed out a harsh breath, the air in front of him steaming with it. The bastard had been so slick and sure of himself. So convinced they’d make a good long go of this RevitaYou crap. And the results had been impressive. Hell, he’d looked at the users himself. Some of them actually looked ten years younger. The transformation had happened quickly and before they were even done with the first bottle, people were lining up for more.
As that line grew, Wes Matthews had spun quite a tale of profit beyond anyone’s wildest imaginings.
Tate had spent most of his life convinced the straight and narrow path wasn’t for him, but even he had thought about going legit on the product. It was too good and too effective not to think about actually putting it out to market and running a business to widely distribute it. The money would print itself.
Until it started killing people.
Because, as it turned out, you can’t turn back time, no matter how hard you try to engineer it.
Now Matthews was gone, Gunther Johnson and Landon Street were in jail, and his traitorous little ex-fiancée was spilling her guts to the cops. And while the Caymans were looking better and better, he wasn’t going anywhere until he dealt with all those damned loose ends.
Tate patted the box of matches safely tucked away in his pocket before he bent to pick up the gasoline can.
It was time to start recouping his investment.
* * *
Tripp knew something had changed, even if he couldn’t fully put his finger on what it was. The tension that had hovered between him and Sadie this morning had vanished. Instead, what had replaced it was a spirit of collaboration from his partner, who seemed to have turned an emotional corner.
It was the only way he could characterize the “something” in his mind.
Even as he had to admit to himself that Sadie wasn’t the only one who’d changed.
Her stormy exit from the kitchen that morning had left him with a lot to think about. More than a lot, if he were honest with himself.
And he didn’t entirel
y care for some of his conclusions.
She’d said many things that made him think, but her parting shot had been the most effective.
In the end, you’ll realize that they’re just words. Safety. Security. Sanctuary. It’s all an illusion anyway.
Was that the case?
He made his life under the working assumption that his job was to keep people safe. Yet her words had made him reconsider that and all he’d believed about himself.
If safety was an illusion, then maybe his job wasn’t about keeping people safe at all. Maybe it was about holding back the dark so they remained just safe enough.
And so the dark remained just far enough away.
The exact opposite of Tate Greer, Capital X and the entire RevitaYou case that had consumed them all for the better part of six months. As the case had grown deeper, its secrets unfurling lead by lead, the dark had crept closer.
The capture of cop Joe McRath.
Followed by the uncovering of Capital X.
And then Sadie’s kidnapping.
He’d believed he was doing his job, but was this all a lesson in dealing with the dark? In learning how to handle it when it inevitably came?
He’d been there before. Lila’s death had decimated him, from the sheer violence of the act, the loss of their unborn child, and the unrelenting knowledge that it had happened because of him. A man he’d put in prison had gotten out and exacted the worst revenge anyone could imagine.
Tripp had borne its consequence every minute of every day since.
Yet even with that experience, he had never seen his role as defender and protector a useless act. He’d always believed in his ability to do his job and keep others safe.
And Sadie had upended that with a few well-placed jabs.
Only they hadn’t been jabs. They’d been the serious assessment of a woman in the midst of a crisis. But they were also the words of someone who’d given her professional vow to serve and protect.
Harlequin Romantic Suspense December 2020 Box Set Page 14
