Sweetest Taboo (SIN 3)

"I know. You're right. And we appreciate the concern, but I promise I'm taking good care of her."

Her laughter was like the trill of bells, and actually made him smile. "Yes, I imagine you are. Well good night, pet. Kiss kiss." She clicked off before he could say goodbye, and he tossed his phone on the table, then reached for his wine, realizing that just talking to Adele had been an emotional workout.

"She okay?" Jane asked, returning from the kitchen.

"Worried about us and Colin. But she's fine."

Jane's frown was mostly hidden behind her wineglass as she took another sip, her hand shaking just enough to make the wine slosh.

"Hey," he said, taking the glass and setting it on the table. "What are you thinking?"

"Everything. Today. Just all of it." She shifted on the couch when he held out his hand for her, then scooted over to settle between his legs, her back to his chest. "I want to cry for that poor dog."

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her hair. "I know." He tightened his grip, unconsciously pulling her closer, keeping her safe against him.

"This day started out so perfect. I kept expecting Joel or Lyle to say something stupid. Or someone to recognize and harass me. But nothing. The day was so smooth. So easy. And I want to kick myself now because I feel like I let my guard down. Like we let our guards down."

"Maybe we did a little, but I don't think either one of us would have expected this."

"No, I don't think so, either. But, Dallas, we shouldn't have to keep our guards up all the time. I don't want to live like that. No, I can't live like that. Feeling like we can never relax. Never just be ourselves."

"Oh, baby." He wanted to tell her she was wrong, but how could he argue with what she was saying when she was so plainly right? They were trapped

, lodged in on one side by a psychopath and on the other by the reality of their own relationship. A relationship that by its nature kept them both in the spotlight and subject to constant criticism and comment.

"He has to tell us." Her words were barely a whisper, so low Dallas wasn't entirely sure he'd heard her right. "Somehow, we have to make him tell us."

His chest tightened. She hadn't once asked about Quince's progress with Colin since they'd left for LA. He closed his eyes, measuring his words, then said slowly, "There are ways. More extreme methods that Quince hasn't turned to yet."

A shiver ripped through her, so intense he felt the ripples in his own body. "Whatever the ways are, you have to use them. Because I think she's been watching you all along--on and off for the last seventeen years."

What she was saying wasn't a revelation. "And now she's gone off the rails because we're back together." It wasn't a question. He knew that was where she was going with this train of thought.

"Exactly. She thought she'd broken you back then. Thought that you were her little toy that she'd played with and put away in the closet. Maybe she didn't like the way you had all those women, but she could handle it. It was detached. A distraction."

"But you're not," he finished. "And she can't stand that."

"Exactly." She sighed. "That's why we need to talk to him. We need to let him know we don't believe his bullshit that she's dead. And honestly, even if he believes it, he still needs to tell us what he knows. Maybe she faked her death. Maybe she let him believe she was gone. But he knows something, and we need to find out what."

She twisted in his arms to look at him. "What?" she asked when she saw that he was smiling.

"I just love you."

Some of the tension faded from her face. "I love you, too. And that's why I'm tired of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Before, it was being discovered. Now, it's maybe being killed. I want to own my life. You're the only one I'm willing to let have power over me. Not this bitch. Not ever again."

"Agreed. I'll tell Quince to push harder."

He watched her throat move as she swallowed, then pushed herself up so that she was sitting, her legs over his on the couch. She took his hand. "And we need to tell Mom."

"She already knows we suspect it's the Woman."

"No. I mean we need to tell her about Colin."

"Baby..."

"She deserves to know."

She was right, of course. He hated it, but she was right. "And you need to ask Bill why he thinks Colin is guilty," he added.