When Fall Fades (The Girl Next Door Series Book 1) (11 page)

Her breathing began to even out and the shaking finally started to subside when Agent Hayes’s Suburban whipped into the lot.

She stepped away from the police officer without a word—without a single rational thought in her head—and went toward him. Tumbling out of his car, he crossed the lot to Sadie in two strides before sweeping her up in his arms.

Responding in kind, her arms doubled around his neck, her face tucking into his shoulder as he stood there, holding her a foot off the ground.

She heard his breathless voice utter “Thank you, God” and the emotions of the last few minutes slammed back into her, spilling down her cheeks, bleeding into the starchy cotton of his shirt.

His grip was firm, but tightened more as her face unconsciously sought out the warmth of his neck. She breathed deep, drawing strength from the disillusioning combination of soap and spice. A shockwave rippled through her, neurons firing an array of pyrotechnics to her dangling toes.

He was warm and solid, and she was drunk on the power of his arms holding her together. She wasn’t aware how much time had passed. Every inch of her softness was fitted against his hard body, and any semblance of thought headed south, to the tingling that spread from her belly. Which is probably why she didn’t think about what she did next. On impulse, she brushed her mouth over the heated pulsation on the side of his neck, a whispered touch but enough to leave the taste of his skin on her lips. He stilled, and his sharp intake of breath in her ear warned she’d crossed the line.

Self-conscious of her boldness, she untucked her head from the strong crook of his neck, breathing in his heady scent one last time before coming back down to earth. Figuratively and literally.

She avoided his eyes when she slid down his body, her pulse humming against the sensitized skin he’d just branded with his touch. With his arms still around her back and hers now resting on his powerful chest, she braved a glance, searching his eyes for what? Confirmation? Regret?

Concern.

Another tear crested her cheek. With a sweetness that made her want to cry some more his thumb brushed it away, tracing wet circles on her skin. “Are you all right?”

Not trusting her voice, she nodded.

Someone cleared their throat and the bubble burst, making her suddenly aware of their intimate embrace and the spectacle they were providing for the other authorities on the scene.

His arms retracted, the heat fizzling from where his hands had pressed against her back.

She turned away and wiped at her face as the officer who had been questioning her cleared his throat again. “Sorry to interrupt—I just need to ask you a few more questions.”

Trapped in thought, Sadie questioned how, in the span of ten minutes, she could have her sense of security shaken unlike anything she’d ever experienced, and then right after, in the arms of a man she barely knew, feel safer than she’d ever felt.

“Sure.” She blinked her eyes hard, hoping to clear the fog of foolish emotions.

She recounted her experience to Officer Bryant again.

“What did you say you hit him with?”

Though she’d already said it twice, this part was really throwing the cop for a loop. “I didn’t hit him. I guess I sort of tackled him.”

Agent Hayes’s eyebrows rose, wry amusement tugging at his mouth.

“Did you get a good look at him?” The uniform jotted down information as he spoke.

“Not really. I was hiding, and I only saw him for a split-second. He had a ski mask on. But he looked to be Caucasian, maybe six feet tall, dark eyes … that’s all I got.” She purposefully left out the part about the sexual aggression shown from the attacker. It made her feel sick to even think about it.

As if he could read her thoughts, Captain FBI slipped back behind the wheel of Archer Hayes body, irritation tensing his features and a flash of anger darkening his eyes. “They still haven’t been able to track this guy down? He probably fled on foot, are you searching the surrounding areas, canvassing the neighborhoods looking for suspicious activity or vehicles, traffic cameras, anything?”

The officer sent him an apologetic look. His gracious reaction aimed more for a concerned loved one than an arrogant FBI agent prowling on his turf. “We’re doing everything we can. We’ll let you know if anything turns up.”

Directing his words at Sadie, Officer Bryant warned, “As of now, this is officially a crime scene. You won’t be allowed to enter without a proper law enforcement escort.”

“Yes sir, it’s safe to say I’m good and traumatized now. You won’t need to worry about this happening again.”

The officer left, and Sadie noticed the slightest ease of tension in Agent Hayes’s broad shoulders. And then he looked at her with such tenderness her heart skidded to a stop.

Honestly, had she a heart-rate monitor handy it would have confirmed a momentary flatline.

It was short-lived.

Sinus rhythm resumed within seconds when, with one blink, that heart-melting tenderness morphed into anger. Fury.

This giant mountain of testosterone towered over her, crossed his arms over his taut chest. Bronze eyes blazing. Molars grinding. What the heck? Any moment now he’d throw out a “fee, fi, fo, fum.”

“What were you thinking going over there? There’s a killer on the loose, Sadie. You can’t just do whatever you want, whenever you want. Understand? How could you be so, so careless. So stupid!” His voice, while only raised slightly, landed with the force of a bulldozer. The man was a bully. How had she not seen that before?

Blindsided by his unexpected rant, Sadie went from almost swooning to almost strangling as the tenuous leash on her emotions snapped. “I already told you what I was thinking. Was it the best idea I’ve ever had? No! But after the scare I just had I really don’t need you lecturing me like a child!”

Spinning around, she stormed off to her porch and yanked her purse from the stoop. Was she making the scene worse? Probably, but she was too steamed to care. Chin up, she took on a fitful strut to her car before she left burned rubber as a souvenir for Mr. High-and-Mighty.

That man had some nerve! Scolding her in front of everyone like that? Sadie blew out a frustrated breath, gripping the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity until her joints cramped.

She was mostly calm by the time she arrived at her parents’ house, the traditional brick two-story she’d lived in all her life, but even though she was quite late she stalled in the driveway, buying herself a few more minutes.

Leaning forward, she rested her head against the steering wheel, staring blankly at the grooved, black rubber mat beneath her feet. Her attention snagged on a small sliver of paper peeking out from under the seat. She pulled it out and flipped it over.

Oh
. Her heart stuttered. It was a Polaroid of her and Ryan from sixth-grade camp, both grinning from ear to ear, Sadie’s arm slung over his shoulder in a loose hug.

Ryan, as usual, wore his dirty old Cardinals hat—one that stayed with him from grade school until high school. He’d had this crazy superstition about the amount of dirt the hat could hold correlating with the increased odds of the Cards making it to the playoffs—so naturally, in tenth grade, Sadie “borrowed” it without permission to wash it and test the theory. 

She’d ended up losing the hat, the Cardinals lost the wild card, and she’d never heard the end of it.

The photo tugged her back, and in a mere instant it seemed like only yesterday. They had just finished exploring the cave with the camp counselor and emerged from the darkest crawl space into the brilliant morning sunlight. Ryan fell to the ground in an exaggerated heap, kissing the dirt as Sadie’s laughter echoed back from the cave and bounded off of every ounce of untouched nature.

They were so young, but she remembered him saying something so profound. “It’s always darkest before the dawn. But then the sun rises and gives us a fresh start every day. New mercies. Amazing.” Sadie remembered teasing him, calling him Socrates.

A smile warmed her chest, the picture temporarily filling the broken parts of her lonely heart. She’d taken it with the camera she’d brought to camp, but Ryan seemed to like it so much that she’d given it to him and hadn’t seen it since.

A sudden knock on the window jolted her rear from the seat, her head delivering a hard blow to the low roof of the old Camaro. Wincing, she rubbed against the impending lump and caught sight of her mom beside the car, looking annoyed. She pulled open the driver door.

“What’s going on? You’re late. Are you all right? Why didn’t you answer my call?”

“Yeah, it’s a long story.” Sadie exited the car, and walked arm in arm with her mom into her childhood home.

In the dining room, Finn sighed and gave an exaggerated glance at his nonexistent watch. “Well, nice of you to join us.”

Adopting a serene expression, Sadie primly placed a napkin on her lap. “Once you hear about my evening, you’re gonna feel bad you were so snarky to me, Finnegan.”

He rolled his eyes. “What happened this time?”

By the time she’d finished recounting her experience with Charlie’s intruder, her mother’s face was as white as her pristine table cloth.

“Well, you’re staying here tonight. I won’t have you going back there by yourself in the dark. A pretty girl like you? I don’t even want to think about what could have happened!”

Sadie thought about refusing, but decided against it. Because although she would never admit it out loud, she was pretty shaken up. The vicious grip of the man’s hands on her. The aggressive taunt and the cruel satisfaction in his eyes. Nausea hissed from her stomach. “Okay, Mom, I’ll stay.”

“Where was the Ruger I bought you?” her father said. “You should always carry that gun—never know when you’re going to need it.”

“I’m starting to realize that now. This is the second time this week I wished I’d had it with me.” She realized her faux pas the instant it passed her lips.

“The second time! When was the first time?” Her mother shrieked.

“Mom, the first time was a false alarm. It wasn’t a big deal just a little scare, that’s all.” Without a thought to her spectators, Sadie smiled, remembering the look on Agent Hayes’s face when he’d realized she was the one who’d taken him down. He was probably used to more delicate women. But somehow she could see he respected that she wasn’t some wilting-flower-Scarlett O’Hara type. Maybe not as much now since she’d so pathetically withered in his arms at the first sign of trouble. But perhaps the verbal whiplash that followed helped her save face.

Her parents eyed each other, obviously wondering if their daughter had completely lost it. 

Finn, still slack-jawed, had been rendered speechless.
That’s a first.

“What, nothing to say, Finny?” She elbowed him.

“Sorry, Sadie Cakes.” He was solemn for a brief moment. A very brief moment before he cleared his throat and elbowed her back. “Well it’s a good thing we picked on you so much growing up, toughened you up pretty good.”

“Yeah, thanks a lot.” She slugged him in the arm. Finn laughed, while nonchalantly rubbing his wound.

“All right you two, not at the table. Sadie, you haven’t even touched your lasagna, it’s your favorite.”

The excitement of the evening had knotted her stomach into a queasy mess. The only thing that could make her night worse would be to upchuck her favorite meal. “Sorry Mom, I’m not all that hungry anymore. I’ll probably nuke some later.”

That seemed to satisfy her mother for now, though the woman could seriously benefit from some Valium.

The evening wore down. Finn left and her parents retired for the night, leaving Sadie hunkered down on the couch absently flipping through the channels. Her mind reeling with unanswered questions about Charlie’s intruder: What was he looking for? Had he taken anything? Would they be able to tell if he did? Was he the one who killed Charlie? Might he have killed her, too? Will he try to come back again? Would he target her this time? Could she recognize his eyes if she saw him again?

The whole scenario grew increasingly fuzzy and surreal as it jogged around her drowsy mind on repeat. Except one part that played back with perfect clarity—the feeling of being in Agent Hayes’s arms.

What was
that
all about? The emotions of the moment had been running high, so she conceded that must have been it. His professional concern. Her weak need for comfort. Nothing more. And she hadn’t really
kissed
his neck. More like dragged her mouth over his skin. For one second. An accidental graze really. Another one. He’d probably forgotten all about it.

Clicking off the TV, she leaned back and crossed her arms over her eyes. Thankful this day and her slip up with Agent Hayes were behind her.

Sadie woke to the sound of Millie, her parents’ maltipoo’s high-pitched yipping. Unfolding her arms from her face, a flood of morning sunshine wriggled into the heavy slits of her eyes. “New mercies.” She muttered, craning her stiff neck, grateful for a rare dreamless sleep, however uncomfortable. 

Her mother entered the family room where Sadie had fallen asleep for the night. Handing her a large mug of coffee, she smoothed Sadie’s defiant hair behind her ear like she’d done a million times over the years, and sat beside her on the couch, pulling Sadie’s legs onto her lap.