Cricket Cove (11 page)

He pulled in behind her and turned the motor off as she got out. She opened the trunk to get her bags, and he took one without waiting for her permission. “We’ll set these on the porch, then do a walk-around. You have a gun?”

“Of course. Do you?”

In answer, he reached down to his hip and lifted his shirt. In seconds he had a pistol in hand, pointed safely at the ground.

“Guess they taught you how to use that thing in the Army huh, soldier boy?”

Instead of irritating him, the taunt seemed to amuse him. “Among other things. Come on.”

If she hadn’t known he was a cat, watching him secure the area around the trailer would have cued her in. He moved stealthily, fluidly, despite his injuries. Once they’d cleared the outside, Logan had her unlock the door. “I’ll go in first, just in case.” It didn’t take him long to clear the inside of the trailer, and he returned very shortly. “We’re good. Come on in.”

The air inside was cool, as she’d turned the heat down before leaving. With the lamps on in the living room, she went to the thermostat and adjusted it. She watched Logan as he stood in front of her bookcase, head tilted to the side as he read the titles she had on the overstuffed shelves.

“How angry is Archer?”

Logan shrugged. “He’s not happy, but he’s more worried than angry. That outburst today was just stress.”

Amelia crossed her arms and looked away. “I hate this whole situation. Hate that I’ve let Roger do this to me.”

“No. You haven’t
let
him do anything. You shouldn’t even think that.”

“If I had spoken up sooner, told Rick after the first incident with the power switch, maybe he would have backed off.”

Logan stepped closer to her. “How much research have you done on stalkers?”

Her eyes flew to his. “How did you know…?”

“Educated guess based on your reading choices. There’s a lot of nonfiction there. And you’re naturally curious. So all this research you’ve been doing, what does it tell you about stalkers and how they respond to outside threats? Especially guys like Roger?”

She didn’t want to acknowledge that he had a point. She answered reluctantly. “That if they don’t respect or fear the person issuing the threat, it does more harm than good. Most of them see it as a challenge to their authority, their manhood. It’s a big reason why so many women in abusive relationships don’t report the abuse. If nothing effective is done after the warning is given, the perpetrator takes it out on her once he’s released.”

“Then why are you blaming yourself?” he asked quietly.

Amelia couldn’t withstand the intensity of his gaze and looked away. “Because that’s how he’s set it up to make me feel. Damn it.”

“Look, I know you want to stand your ground and fight this guy. I understand the hesitation—if you retreat, what does that mean for Lori? But I think if you have someplace safe to go for a while, that might not be a bad idea. You won’t do her any good by sacrificing yourself.”

She laughed. “I’m starting to wonder if I’m doing her any good to begin with. Something’s going on there… She’s not been home twice now when I’ve been scheduled to show up. I don’t know where she’s going.”

Logan frowned. “I take it that’s unusual?”

“Very.”

He grimaced, and Amelia saw the indecision on his face. “Go ahead. Spit it out.”

“Do you think she could be having an affair?”

She opened her mouth to respond, then shut it. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked down at the carpet and shrugged. “I don’t know. A few weeks ago I would have said no. But now I don’t know what to think about anything. I suppose it’s possible.”

“Have you asked her where she’s been?”

“No. Today was only the second time, and I got sick after the first. It slipped my mind. I’ll try to call her tomorrow and see what she says.” Just the thought wore her out. She was so damned tired of pretending everything was okay when it wasn’t. If he didn’t go soon, she was either going to start crying, lose her temper, or both. So when Logan closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, it sent a wave of shock as well as electricity through her.

“What… what are you doing?” she asked even as her hands went to rest on his sides. She should be pushing him away, she told herself, but her body ignored her mind.

“Giving in to the inevitable,” he murmured as he held her close. “I’m sorry you’re going through this.”

Amelia shamelessly leaned into him, burrowing her face in his sweater. She let the edges of his coat shield her as she tried to swallow back her tears. She couldn’t have spoken right then if her life depended on it.

The house was mostly quiet around them, the sound of the running furnace the only thing breaking the silence. Logan’s hands moved over her shoulders and upper back in a soothing, steady pattern.

After a few minutes she started to relax, and once she felt more in control of herself, she drew back. When she looked up at Logan’s face, the longing she saw there surprised her. Before she could figure out what to say, he kissed her.

As soon as their lips met, the world disappeared in a swirling maelstrom that left her feeling light-headed. The only solid thing in her universe was Logan, and she clung to him. She met every caress hungrily, her anger and frustration transforming into pure lust. The feel of his hands on her bare back jerked her back to reality, and she turned her head. His lips trailed along her jaw to her ear, teasing lightly.

“Oh, God.”

“I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.” But he kept kissing her, his mouth moving down her neck, and he pulled her closer to him.

“This really isn’t a good idea.” She wasn’t sure where she found the strength to push against his chest, but she did.

“I suppose it isn’t. But damn it, sometimes I hate listening to the voice of reason.”

He sounded so frustrated she couldn’t help but laugh. She buried her face in his chest and let amusement roll through her. “Oh, Logan. What are we going to do?”

“That’s a damned good question. I’d better go.”

“Yes.” She pulled back and went to the door. Logan stayed where he was. For a minute she didn’t think he was going to leave, but he finally started moving. He stopped when he drew abreast of her and stared down at her, turmoil plain to read on his face. But he didn’t argue or ask to stay, and Amelia was glad to be able to close and lock the door behind him a few seconds later.

She stood there, her back to the door, for several minutes until she heard his vehicle start up and leave. Only then did she let out a shuddering breath.

“Oh, dear God, that man can kiss. And why the hell did he kiss me again? I just barely got the first one out of my mind.” She tried to block the feel of him, the smell of him, from her thoughts. Going into the kitchen, she got down a glass and poured herself some milk. She hadn’t eaten all day, but her stomach was so tense she knew better than to try. She downed the milk and rinsed the glass out in the sink.

Exhausted mentally and physically, she headed down the hall and went to bed.

Chapter Seventeen

L
ogan didn’t go far when he left Amelia’s, just down the road a little distance to an overgrown driveway that led to an abandoned house. He backed in and let his seat recline a bit as he put a dark hat on. Something told him to not go far from her tonight. It could have been his guilt talking, but he wasn’t willing to take any chances.

As he waited in the dark, he relived the moments he’d held her and the kiss. “You do like to beat your head against a brick wall don’t you, Gibson?” She’d looked so sad, so lost, he hadn’t been able to resist holding her. And that had led to more. If she hadn’t drawn back, he didn’t know if he would have had the strength to stop at a kiss.

Just over two hours after he’d parked, the dark truck Archer had pointed out as being Roger’s the other night came up the road. As soon as it passed his location, Logan sat up fully and turned to watch as it slowed to a stop in front of Amelia’s driveway. He barely dared to breathe as the truck idled for several minutes. When it slowly started moving on down the road, Logan wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

There was no outlet at the head of the hollow, he knew, and he waited for the truck to come back down the road. It slowed again when it reached the foot of Amelia’s driveway, but this time it didn’t stop.

Logan waited a few seconds after Roger had gone back past him before pulling out, headlights off. He hadn’t thought when he bought the SUV that he’d be conducting surveillance, but the dark, almost-black grey was well-suited to the task. He drove very slowly, not wanting to run up on Roger around a curve. When he was sure the other man was far enough ahead, he flipped his lights on and sped up to a more normal rate. He got to the main road in time to see Roger turn right, not the direction that would take him back to Hazard.

“Well, shit. Wonder where the hell he’s going.” Though Logan wasn’t terribly familiar with the area just yet, he knew that the main road led up into the next county. He also knew that the road led past a very popular, very rough bar. Given how often Roger had gone to bars during the last few days when they’d been following him, Logan’s money was on that being his destination.

“And if he’s going to the bar, this close to Amelia? That can’t be good.”

Logan pulled across the road to the empty parking lot of the small country store at the mouth of the hollow. He whipped the SUV around and went straight back up the way he’d come. Whether Amelia liked it or not, she was going to have an armed guard sleeping on her couch tonight.

The persistent, solid knocking on her door woke Amelia. Heart pounding, she sat up and tried to figure out what was going on. According to the clock it wasn’t quite eleven. To her surprise, she’d dropped off to sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. As she came awake, her first thought was of Roger.

She didn’t bother throwing a robe on over her tank top and shorts but grabbed her handgun. With the lights off, she checked to make sure a round was chambered and then padded down the hall on quiet feet. Once in the living room, she crept closer to the front door, listening intently. She wasn’t sure she could hear it thunder over the pounding of her heart, but she had to try.

The knock came again, this time accompanied by Logan’s voice. “Amelia, it’s me. Are you awake?”

“What in the world?” She put the safety back on the gun and hurried to the switch for the porch light. She pushed the curtain back off the small window in the door. Sure enough, there he stood.

“Let me in. Roger’s in the neighborhood.”

She laid the gun on the counter and unlocked the door. He hurried inside and turned the light off, leaving them in near-total darkness.

“What do you mean, Roger’s in the neighborhood? What are you still doing here?”

“I never left. Went down the road a bit and parked. My gut told me to stick close. He showed up, drove past a couple of times then went back out to the main road. Do you know if he likes to drink at that bar a few miles up toward Letcher?”

Still half asleep and running on adrenaline, Amelia pushed her heavy hair back off her face, trying to make sense of his question. “The Goose?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s mentioned it a time or two, yes. You think that’s where he went?”

Logan nodded and moved into the kitchen to look out the windows that faced the road. “I do. So I’ll be sleeping on your couch tonight. Hopefully my car’s presence in your driveway will make him think twice about whatever it is he’s got planned.” He moved around as well in the dark as most people would in light, and Amelia knew part of that was because of his increased night vision from being a shifter.

“Or it could make him do something to your car.”

“He’s welcome to try.” There was a cold steeliness in Logan’s voice that made a shiver chase across her back.

Resigned to having a guest for the night, she turned on the lamp closest to the hall. Logan’s indrawn breath reminded her that she was half naked. Trying to act casual, she headed for the hall.

“I’ll get you a blanket and some pillows.”