Mean Streak

He stroked the side of her neck with his thumb, then quickly withdrew his hand and took a step back. He removed his outerwear and piled the garments on the small dining table.

“A dangerous business, Doc. Trusting me.”

“You talk about dangerous? There were two armed men just downstairs, either of whom would gladly have taken you into custody. You took a huge risk to get me out of there.”

“I had to get you away from him.”

“Jeff.”

“Your husband,” he said with palpable disgust. From his jeans pocket, he fished out the silver trinket. When he’d showed it to her on the balcony, there had been no question as to whether she would stay with Jeff or flee with Hayes.

She took the charm from him and rubbed it between her fingers. “You had it all the time I was with you?”

“Found it underneath you when I picked you up off the trail.”

“Why didn’t you ever ask me about it? I could have identified it immediately.”

“I was afraid you’d want it back.” He seemed embarrassed to have admitted that and made a defensive rolling motion of his shoulders.

“You wanted a keepsake of me? Very sentimental. And very unlike yesterday when you opened the door of the truck and said a terse good-bye. You seemed eager to get rid of me.”

“I was. Short of killing the Floyds, I’d settled my score with them. I should have left yesterday as soon as I delivered Lisa to her relatives. Driven away and not looked back.”

“Instead…,” she said.

“Instead I joined the crowd outside the hospital.”

That astonished her. “You were there?”

“Making myself as inconspicuous as possible. You were escorted inside. Jeff was detained by reporters seeking a sound bite. Didn’t look to me like he minded the attention. All pumped up and full of himself, he walked right past me. Close enough for me to get a good view of the zipper on his slick ski jacket.”

“You noticed it was missing the pull.”

“And I realized what I had.” He let that settle. “I don’t know one designer’s emblem from another’s. At first I assumed it had come off the zipper of your running jacket. Yesterday, I knew otherwise. It fell off Jeff’s jacket when he attacked you.”

“And left me for dead.” Even though she’d come to suspect that Jeff was somehow involved, it was dismaying and painful to accept he could have been so cold-blooded, heartless, and deceiving. By contrast, Hayes had risked everything to protect her.

Looking into his eyes, she said, “You came after me.”

“I couldn’t leave you to him. It was hard enough taking you back before I knew he meant to kill you.”

Jack Connell might just as well have saved his breath. What he’d told her about Hayes Bannock had no effect on her yearning for him to pull her against him and steal the very breath from her with one of his kisses. She took a step toward him, but he staved her off.

“You and me, it still can’t happen.” A second elapsed before he added, “If it could, I’d already be on you.” He spoke in a low rumble that was rich with carnal implications.

Her own voice was heavy with emotion. “Connell asked me if you had mentioned leaving.”

“He knows me. Nothing’s changed. I’ll disappear again. But not until I’m sure this murderous bastard is nailed.” He motioned for her to sit. “Let’s talk.”

She backed up to the built-in sofa and sat down on the edge of the cushion. He pulled a chair from beneath the dining table, positioned it in front of her, and straddled it backward.

“Must say, you didn’t seem a bit surprised to learn that Jeff is the culprit.”

“He tipped his own hand. Last night, he asked me who had repaired my sunglasses.” She told him about her panic attack and the conversation she’d had with Alice. “I had retold the story several times. I began to doubt my recollection. Alice reasonably pointed out that I was exhausted, on medication, and she swore Jeff couldn’t have harmed me. But it continued to nag me. Tonight I confronted him with it. His explanation for knowing the glasses had been broken was plausible, but he became defensive.”

“Defensive how?”

“I’ve long suspected that he is involved with someone else. I asked him point blank if he was having an affair, and he admitted it. He also confessed to resenting me. Not without some basis,” she added. “But to a much greater degree than I realized.”