Defender for Hire (11 page)

THIRTEEN

S
eth let Tessa have her silence.

He understood her regrets and her guilt.

He also understood how useless both were. Carrying them around couldn’t change what had happened. It could only keep her from moving forward. He’d told her that. What she did with it was up to her.

“Turn here,” Tessa said, her voice thick and hot. She wasn’t crying, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she did. She’d been through a lot, and it wasn’t over yet. It woudn’t be over until they found the person responsible for her troubles.

He took the turn she’d indicated, the road narrowing, deep forest pressing in on either side. Bits of snow and ice still clung to towering pine trees but the storm had cleared, watery sunlight dappling the dark pavement. A beautiful fall morning, but danger could be hiding around the bend. He had to keep that in mind, and stay focused on keeping Tessa safe.

“I need to call Logan and give him the information you’ve provided,” he said, reluctantly releasing Tessa’s hand.

“I know.”

“He’s a good guy, Tessa. He’ll do everything he can to keep the information from becoming the news story of the week.”

“I hope it’s enough. There are plenty of people who would love to make Andrew a poster child for why Christian organizations can’t be trusted. If one national news syndicate gets wind of it...”

“Don’t borrow trouble. It’ll only make you miserable.”

“I’ve had nothing
but
trouble since I went to Kenya, so, trust me, I’m not even tempted to borrow it.” She sighed. “Amy’s clinic is the next right.”

He made the turn, following a narrow driveway out of the pine forest and into open farmland. Several horses munched hay in one field, a few lamas interspersed among them. Another field held several alpaca and a donkey that brayed loudly as Seth drove by. As far as the eye could see, animals dotted the landscape. Tessa’s friend Amy seemed to be doing well for herself as a veterinarian.

The driveway emptied out into a large parking lot. Beyond it, a one-story brick building stretched across a wide yard. Seth pulled up close to the building and parked the car.

Tessa reached for the door handle, but he grabbed her hand. “I want to call Logan first. The sooner he starts looking into your brother-in-law’s life and death, the better.”

She settled back into her seat, her face pale, her eyes red-rimmed with fatigue. “I don’t know what good it will do to investigate Andrew. He’s been dead for five years.”

“He was killed during the massacre, right?” He dialed Logan’s number as he spoke, scanning the quiet parking lot while he waited.

“Kidnapped. He was killed a few days later.”

“He was—”

Logan picked up, cutting off the rest of Seth’s question.

“Deputy Sheriff Randal,” he said, his voice curt and rushed.

“It’s Seth. I have some more information for you.” He stared into Tessa’s eyes as he spoke. She didn’t flinch, didn’t blink, didn’t give away her feelings, but he could feel her regret and anxiety.

“Go ahead.”

Seth explained briefly, sure that somehow Andrew Camry was the key to everything that was happening. Someone had known about his crimes and had wanted revenge enough to travel halfway around the world to get it.

“Is Tessa there?” Logan asked.

“Yes.”

“Let me speak to her.” It was an order more than a request, but Seth handed her the phone, anyway. He and Logan had been working well together, and he didn’t want to change the dynamics by irritating the guy.

“Hello?” Tessa said reluctantly. She didn’t really want to speak with Logan, but she knew there was no way to avoid it. Pandora’s box had been opened, and all kinds of horrible things were flying out of it.

“How are you doing this morning?” Logan asked.

“I’m still alive,” she said.

Logan didn’t laugh.

“Good. That’s what we want. That’s our goal and our focus. You understand that, right, Tessa?”

“I’m not a child, Logan. You don’t have to pat me on the head and tell me what a good job I’ve done in order to keep me cooperating.”

“That wasn’t my intention,” he said, then sighed. “Okay, maybe it was, but you gave Seth some good information. I need more.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Andrew was kidnapped during the massacre?”

“Yes.”

“His body was found a few days later?”

“No. His body was found two years later.” She’d been in the States by then, already aware of what he’d done. She hadn’t mourned him. “Based on the condition of his remains, the police theorized that he’d been killed within days of the massacre.”

“The medical examiner positively identified the remains?” Logan pressed.

“No. It wasn’t possible. His body had been buried in a shallow grave and dug up by animals. There were only a few bones remaining, but his wallet was there and the shirt he’d been wearing.” Bile filled her throat at the words, and she swallowed it down. She hadn’t mourned Andrew, but she wouldn’t have wished his fate on her worst enemy.

“Convenient,” Seth muttered.

“So,” Logan said, oblivious to the comment, “it’s possible your brother-in-law is alive.”

Her heart jumped at his words, her stomach churning. No way could Andrew be alive.

“Tess?” Logan pressed. “Is it possible?”

“No.

“There is no hard evidence that he’s dead, though, right?

“His wallet—”

“Anyone could have put that with the remains. Even him.”

Could
Andrew have survived?

She didn’t want to think so. Didn’t want to even consider it, but she couldn’t stop wondering, imagining, thinking about what it would be like if he
had
survived.

“Tessa?” Seth touched her hand. “You okay?”

She wasn’t, but she nodded.

“If Andrew survived, he’s the only one who knows it,” she finally managed to say.

“How many other people survived?” Logan asked.

“Ninety villagers. One missionary.”

“Do you know the name?”

“Anna Goodwin. She’d only been there for a couple weeks before the massacre.” The night of the murders, Tessa had found Anna stumbling from her hut and had nearly carried her from the village, darkness pressing around them.

If she let herself, she could still hear Anna’s screams. Hear the sobs of the mothers and fathers and children they passed by. Still smell the coppery scent of blood that had seeped into packed earth and stained the ground.

She gagged, handing the phone to Seth. “I need some air.”

She yanked the truck door open and tumbled out into the cold, her brow beaded with sweat, her face hot.

She heard Seth’s door open and close, knew he was following as she made her way to the clinic.

He snagged the back of her coat before she reached it, tugging her around and into his arms.

He felt warm and strong and so much more familiar than she wanted him to be.

“It’s okay,” he murmured against her hair.

She stood there for a moment, inhaling his scent, absorbing his warmth. It felt good.

Too good.

She stepped away, smoothing her hair, hoping Seth didn’t notice the way her hands trembled. “I need to get Bentley.”

Seth tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers calloused and rough but his touch as warm and light as a summer breeze. “Logan is going to meet us at your place. He needs more information. The best thing you can do is give it to him.”

“I will.”

“Good.” He smiled gently and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Now, let’s go get that giant mutt of yours.”

“He is not a mutt,” she protested, and he chuckled, the sound chasing away some of the horror and sadness that thinking about Kenya always brought.

The clinic door opened, and Amy stepped outside. “Are you two planning to stay out here all day, or are you coming in to get Bentley? Because I’m pretty sure he knows you’re here. He’s been whining and scratching at the kennel door for five minutes.”

“We’re coming,” Tessa replied quickly, breaking away from Seth and going to the door. Bentley she could deal with. Seth she wasn’t so sure about. If she stayed in his arms too long, if she thought too much about how it felt to be there, she might never want to leave.

“I was expecting you earlier,” Amy said in her normal blunt fashion. She’d pulled her dark hair into a bun at the back of her head, and her glasses were perched on the end of her nose. She looked more like a schoolmarm than a veterinarian. “It’s a busy day, so we’ll have to hurry up.”

“I’m sorry about the delay. I’ve been dealing with...trouble.”

Amy glanced at Seth and scowled. “I can see that.”

“Not him!”

“Sure. When there is a man involved it’s always trouble. I learned that the hard way. Come on.” She led them past a receptionist’s desk and into the kennel. “Bentley is doing well. His hip is healing nicely. No running for the next few weeks, and I’ll want to see him the day after tomorrow.”

“That’s fine,” Tessa replied, and a dog howled frantically in reply.

“I think that might be your cherished family member,” Seth offered as they rounded a corner and walked through an aisle lined with kennels.

“He can’t help it that he’s loud. He has a big voice to go with his big body.”

Seth laughed, the sound shivering along her spine and lodging deep in her heart. It filled an empty spot that she hadn’t realized was there, offered more than she’d been looking for. More than she’d thought she would ever have again.

“All right, you beast. You’re free,” Amy said affectionately as she opened Bentley’s kennel.

The dog lunged toward Tessa as if his life depended on getting to her, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, his one good ear perked up with excitement.

Tessa crouched to greet him, rubbing his knobby head, and accepted his slobbery kisses.

“All right. Enough.” She nudged him back and hooked him to the leash that Amy offered. “Thanks for taking care of him, Amy.”

“It’s my job. Besides, I like the big lug. You’ve already paid in full, so I’ll let you three show yourselves out. I have patients waiting.” Amy hurried away, and Seth took Bentley’s leash.

“Let’s get out of here. Logan is probably already waiting at your place.” He pressed his hand to her lower back, and Tessa could feel his palm through her coat and shirt.

They walked out of the clinic that way, and if Tessa hadn’t known better, if she’d been standing on the outside looking in, she’d have thought they were a couple. Two people picking up their beloved family pet together.

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she couldn’t deny how wonderful it was to have someone to lean on. Someone beside her. After so many years of facing her fears and troubles alone, she had someone who wanted to face them with her.

It was a heady feeling. One she could give into completely if she let herself. But she didn’t want to let herself. She didn’t want to be heartbroken again, forced to create something out of the ashes of her dreams again.

“Don’t look so scared, Tessa,” Seth said as he opened the truck door. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“I’m not worried about something happening to me,” she responded, her voice huskier than it should have been.

“You should be,” he responded as he slid his arms under Bentley’s stomach.

“Don’t! You’re going to wreck your shoulder. Let me get him.” She put a hand on his arm, his biceps bulging beneath her fingers as he did exactly what she’d told him not to. “I told you—”

“It’s already done. So how about you climb in and we get moving?” he grumbled, his eyes flashing with irritation, pain or, more likely, both.

“Fine, but as your physical therapist—”

“In case I haven’t made it clear,” he cut in, “I’m not all that interested in having you as a physical therapist.”

“You need rehab,” she protested as she climbed into the truck.

“There are other things I need, too,” he said.

She didn’t plan to ask him what those things were.

She thought she probably already knew.

She grabbed the door handle, planning to pull it shut.

Seth held it open. “Aren’t you going to ask what they are?”

“No.”

“Chicken.”

“I think we’ve already established that.”

“Then, maybe it’s time we establish
this.
” He leaned down, his lips brushing hers so gently, she barely felt them, and yet they were all she
could
feel, all she knew. Just that moment, that brief touch. It made her want to move closer, it made her want more than she should.

Need
more than she thought she could ever have.

It was the path to destruction, but she couldn’t seem to pull away. Not when his hands slid down her arms. Not when they were palm to palm, fingers entwined. Not when Seth tugged her closer, made her forget every reason why she shouldn’t be in his arms.

A car pulled into the parking lot, the roar of the engine cutting through the moment.

Seth broke away, his breathing uneven, his eyes blazing.

“I’m not going to apologize,” he said gruffly, closing the door and rounding the car.

He met her eyes as he slid behind the wheel.

“I won’t the next time, either,” he said.

Next time?

Did he really think there’d be one?

Did she?

Did she want a next time?

Bentley whined, his dark head resting on the backseat.

She turned, murmuring to the dog and hoping that Seth would start the engine, take off and not say another word about the kiss, or his feelings on the subject.

She had enough to deal with.

She didn’t need to throw a relationship on top of it.

Her life had been routine and mundane, exactly the way she liked it. Now, it seemed to be chaos. And right in the middle of it all was Seth. The calm in the midst of the storm. Even with his sweet kisses and his gruff commands.

She clenched her fists, absolutely refusing to meet his eyes.

“Logan is waiting. Shouldn’t we go?” she prodded, but Seth didn’t start the engine.

“You can’t avoid looking at me forever,” he chided.

“I can try,” she muttered, but she met his eyes, her breath catching. “We do have to go.”