Her Dangerous Promise - Part 3: (Romantic Suspense Serial) (6 page)

“Thank you, Doctor.”

Without a word, Mary crossed to the window. She sucked long draughts of air, struggling to breathe despite the squeezing sensation around her neck.

Thom rested a hand on her shoulder. “You handled yourself really well today. I know I asked a lot of you but you overcame it.”

Mary said, “You have to use me for bait.”

“We still have every available man out looking for Adam and his van. They will pick him up before he even shows up at your house.”

“They might not. He could grab someone else, just like you said and you won’t have a clue where to look for him next time.”

“Mary,” Thom massaged her shoulders. Let someone collect your cat and you both can stay at my house until we catch Adam.”

Up until now, it had been easier to blame herself than to accept that she wasn’t in control. Talking with Nancy gave Mary a completely new perspective. When faced with the same situation, Nancy had fought back. She didn’t blame Mary, or even herself, for provoking the attack. That blame she placed squarely on Adam Fielding.

Even though Nancy’s ordeal had lasted longer than Mary’s, she hadn’t let the experience destroy her. In the same situation, Mary had crumbled almost immediately. Since her escape, Mary hadn’t found a way to reconstruct her sense of self. Maybe that was why she had been so willing to sacrifice herself, so he could finish the job. The old saying about cowards dying a thousand deaths drifted through her mind. It hadn’t been that way with her. She felt she’d died when she’d made that dreadful promise and that she’d been one of the walking dead ever since.

But she hadn’t really died, just been in sort of an emotional cocoon, leaving her numb. Thom had cracked that cocoon and made her feel again. Seeing Nancy’s fortitude just now completely stripped it away. No matter what had happened to her, she had the right to live. No one, least of all herself, could blame her for what Adam had done to her.

More than anything, she wanted to put the whole mess behind her and start to live again. She wanted to wake up without fear. She wanted to love Thom without remembering why they met. She wanted to throw off the mantle of self-loathing and guilt and get back to doing the things she loved with the people she cared about the most. But one obstacle still remained.

Adam Fielding.

Until he was locked up, either in jail or in an institution, neither she nor anyone around her would be safe.

Thom’s hands circling her waist brought Mary back to the moment. Outside she could see normal people walking to and from their cars in the parking lot a few stories below and going about their business as if nothing awful could ever happen to them. She wanted that kind of faith again. She wanted to know that nothing bad could happen and that there was not some disturbed and violent man stalking her.

“My captain would never approve it.”

“I’m going to do this Thom, even if I have to do it alone. I’ll just wait until he shows up, and then dial 9-1-1.”

“I won’t let you face him alone. If we are going to do this, we have to do it my way.” He hugged her.

Mary glanced at their entwined reflection in the window. Together they could make it. “Tell me your plan.”

###

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~A taste of~

Episode 4 of

Her Dangerous Promise

Thom jumped the fences across the backyards back toward Mary’s house. This was Brad’s first stake out and forgetting to make sure his radio was on and turned to the correct frequency was a rookie mistake. He hadn’t been the first on the force to commit that faux pas but he hadn’t expected it of Brad. That’s why he’d tapped him to help—that and the fact he didn’t mind the unofficial nature of the assignment.

Over the wire, Thom heard Mary chatting away. She was doing the dishes, he guessed, from the clatter of the plates. From what he remembered, she hadn’t had any dirty dishes in the sink. She must have pulled them down from the cabinet to give herself something to do. Going stir-crazy in there, he thought, shaking his head.

Thom maneuvered along the back fence of each yard until he reached Mary’s. The detached garage at the back of her yard opened on an alley. Brad was supposed to be holed up in the narrow passageway between the chain link fence along the side of the yard and the garage.

As he jumped over the last fence, Thom whispered Brad’s name.

He could see him lying on his stomach, facing the back of Mary’s house. The deeply shadowed spot offered an excellent hiding place.

“Brad,” he said louder as he crouched down beside his ankles, unable to move further without stepping over him. He shook Brad’s foot but still received no reply. “Oh no.”

Staying down, Thom crept over him as best he could in the narrow space. He was sprawled face down on the dried mat of leaves that had accumulated there. Thom pulled out his flashlight and shone it on his face. A red welt burned on his temple with a thin trickle of blood still dribbling down his face.

He slipped his fingers inside the collar of Brad’s shirt and felt his neck for a pulse. It was there, strong and steady.

Over the headset he heard Mary talking about how badly the litter box needed cleaning. She was still safe, for the moment.

Thom pulled out his cell phone and started dialing. Brad needed an ambulance and he needed back up. Adam was in the area.

A crunching sound drew his attention. Thom raised the beam of his flashlight in time to see Adam Fielding coming down on him with a broken broom handle. Without room enough to maneuver, Thom’s attempt to dodge backward failed.

The blow caught him across the side of his face, knocking him back, leaving him dazed. The sparkles dancing in front of his eyes hadn’t completely cleared when the second strike found its mark.

Thom slumped down on top of Brad. His last thought, to shout a warning to Mary, faded before it could reach his lips.

###

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