Philip. Philip was dead.
She’d held his blackened wedding and signet rings in her hands.
She missed a step and had to take a couple of quick strides to keep from falling.
“You okay?” Deidre asked, glancing back.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” She looked back toward the woods; the man with the red hoodie was gone.
“You sure? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Leah smiled, pushing aside the panic that always rose when she allowed herself to think about Philip. “I’m fine. Aren’t you supposed to be keeping up with the fast group?”
“I can hang back.” Deidre’s sharp gaze saw far too much.
It took extra effort to fool her. “Go. I’m good. I won’t be far behind.”
Deidre hesitated. “I’ll wait for you at the cars.”
Even as she wished she would stay, Leah said, “See you soon.”
Deidre tossed her a thumbs-up and kicked her run into a higher gear. Leah would like to have been able to keep pace, but she couldn’t. Another memento of Philip. He’d stabbed her chest and punctured her lung, which had collapsed. It was back functioning, but she didn’t have the aerobic capacity she’d once had.
Her pace slow but steady, Leah kept running, and for the next half hour pushed straining muscles and burning lungs. Though she couldn’t keep pace with the main group, she would continue to progress if she remained patient.
When she arrived back at the car, Deidre and David were talking. He was laughing and she smiling. Breathless, Leah paused, pushed her hand into a side stitch, and then slowly walked toward the couple.
David smiled at Leah. “Looks like you’re running faster.”
“That’s the plan. Though I’m not holding out hope that I’ll get any sports scholarships or make any Olympic teams.”
Deidre smiled. “Use it or lose it. You’re doing fine.”
David chuckled. “Amen.”
Leah dug the key from her pocket. “Well, it would be nice not to be dead last in my age group when I race this spring. Maybe second to last.”
David grinned, and she saw his eyes warm with an appreciation that hinted of sexual desire. She should have been flattered. He was a nice guy, and liked to flirt, but old alarm bells rang.
“You two have a nice day,” Leah said. “I’ve got patients to see today.”
“We’re going to run a few more miles,” Deidre said, “and then call it a day.”
“Great.”
“Want to get coffee this week?” Deidre asked.
“Call me. I’ve got evenings and days this week, but I’m flexible.”
“Great.”
“See you.”
She tossed a glance at David that she hoped looked relaxed and not a deer caught in the headlights and hurried to her car. She glanced in the backseat and, sure it was empty, slid behind the wheel. Locking the doors, she turned the ignition and waited as the heater warmed and began to blow out hot air. As she put the car into reverse, she looked behind her, spotting again a flash of red. The man she’d seen earlier. He wasn’t looking at her, but, instead, leaned against a tree and stared back down the jogging path. Her heart kicked into high gear and her hands tightened on the steering wheel. It’s just a guy, Leah. Let it go.
Fifteen minutes later, she pulled into her town house driveway. Hesitating, she scanned the bushes around the front door. They were taller than she liked. Tall enough to hide a man standing in wait.
Leah shut off the engine and, key in hand, hurried to unlock the door. She quickly opened and closed it behind her, flipping the dead bolt immediately. She twisted the lock open and then closed it again. She tugged on the door handle to confirm it was really locked.
Leaning against the front door, her heart raced as had did four years before. She turned, flipped the dead bolt open. Flipped it closed again. She did it three times before she was satisfied it was locked.
She drew in a breath and hurried to her purse, where she kept her journal. Filled with fresh pages, it would hold so many notes. How long would it take her to fill this one? A month? Six months? She turned to the third page in the book and wrote down the date and time she’d noticed her keys missing, as well as the time she’d spotted the man in the park.
She stared at her precise handwriting and then slowly began to thumb through the older entries. Ten days ago: the nightmare. Eight days ago: saw man at the mall and remembered Philip. Seven days ago: heard a sound outside her window. Neighbor introduced herself as Julia, but she kept her distance.
Absently, she traced the scar that ran along her collarbone. Philip had aimed for her throat, but that strike had missed when she twisted and skimmed off her collarbone. Carefully, she closed the journal and released the breath she’d been holding.
He’s gone. He can’t hurt you. You’re safe.
Alex stood at the edge of the park, watching Deidre’s SUV. He’d arrived an hour before the group and had run the route through the woods, as he’d done hundreds of times before, in the dark. He liked running in the dark. The peace.
Today his gaze had been drawn to Leah. She hadn’t seen his face, of that he was sure, but somehow she sensed him watching. It had rattled her, and she nearly lost her step. Her wild gaze had scanned the woods as she struggled to catch her breath. But she hadn’t given up. She fisted her gloved hands tighter, turned her sights on the path, and kept running.
Her scars weren’t from an accident. She’d been attacked, and those cuts had been defensive wounds. Normally, unless the job demanded it, he didn’t care about a person’s secrets or past. But he cared about hers. Liked her. He could dig up her skeletons, but he wouldn’t. Her secrets were for her to tell when she was ready.
He jogged up the hill to his car and slid behind the wheel. He was parked on the other side of the lot but still had a clear view of the park and Deidre’s car.
Deidre ran daily, sometimes twice, as if her own demons chased her. He understood the need to run. To burn the endless energy that rarely gave his mind a chance to rest. To melt the ice and glimpse life on the other side of detachment.
He sat in his car, the engine running, and reached for the coffee cup. A sip produced only a few cold drops. Irritated, he crushed the cup in his hand and tossed the remains on the floor of the rental car, irritated that he’d run out.
Deidre and the blond guy from the bar last night emerged from the woods, running at a good clip. Clearly, both were very fit. They ran up to her SUV and paused briefly for a few words. He leaned in and kissed her. She smiled and kissed him back before sliding behind the wheel of her car.
As she backed out of her space, she glanced over in Alex’s direction, but he turned his face and backed his car out of the parking spot.
He drove across the lot at a steady pace, glancing toward Deidre in the rearview mirror. She was staring in his direction so he ducked his head, letting the hoodie cover his face. Deidre was a good cop. And he didn’t need her realizing he’d been there.
Alex glanced toward the empty paths that snaked into the woods. So many good places to lurk and hide. But that was for another day. Not today.
Now, it was time to get more coffee, maybe a bagel. The running group would be back here tomorrow, and he’d be ready and waiting.
Chapter Five
Sunday, January 15, 10:00 A.M.
Leah arrived at the Nashville Animal Hospital just after ten. The clinic didn’t have official office hours on Sundays, but boarding patients recovering from surgery had to be checked, fed, and walked. The third Sunday of the month was also the day her boss, Dr. Nelson, donated his time to the animal shelter. On these Sundays, the two doctors spent several hours spaying and neutering strays.
When she’d graduated from vet school, she’d seen the listing for a veterinarian position in Nashville. Though the job had excited her, the move back to her hometown had given her pause. This was where she’d lived with Philip. Where he’d almost killed her. She’d been anxious to put dista
nce between herself, Philip, and their marriage, but the pay was good and this was her hometown, too.
When she closed and locked the front door behind her, Dr. Nelson called out, “Leah, that you?”
“It’s me, Dr. Nelson.” She paused and, before stepping away from the door, rattled the knob a couple of times to make sure it was locked. “Here to help. Does Tracker need to be walked?”
“No. Just took him out.”
“Great.” She moved to the back room, where they held the boarded animals in large, spacious enclosures. Tracker lay on a blue blanket brought from home. When she peeked in, he looked at her, yawned, and went back to sleep.
“We’ve got six cats today,” Dr. Nelson said.
She pulled off her coat as she moved through the reception area into the back. “Male or female?”
“Half and half.”
She slid on a white lab coat and met the doctor in the surgery. He stood over a large, hissing orange male tabby. The feline had a bent ear and an open wound on his right side. Dr. Nelson lifted the tabby by the scruff of the neck. The cat hissed and spit, but with practiced ease, the doctor lifted a syringe.
“That guy looks like he got into a fight.” Leah grabbed a handful of flesh behind the cat’s neck and watched as the doctor injected the sedative. Within seconds, the cat turned to dead weight.
“Judging by the scars, he’s had a rough go of it.”