When I Find You: A Trust No One Novel (16 page)

She bristled and glared angrily before she turned her back and started for the house. “I said it was fine. Now that we’ve got a freezer, I can ice it. Anyway, it’s my problem, not yours.”

He overtook her, anger slowly eroding his good judgment, and jerked her around to face him. “Not my problem? I’m risking my neck to keep you alive and all I’m asking in return is for you to be honest with me. It is my problem because when there’s no one but me between you and a very painful death, I need to know what you can and cannot do.” The fear that sparked in her eyes stabbed through to his conscience and left him with a seriously bad taste in his mouth. Damn it. Surely there was some other way he could have said that.

Stormy green eyes challenged him as she raised her chin and drew herself up straight with a slow inhale of breath. “I didn’t ask you to risk your neck. As you may recall, I suggested you leave before you get hurt because of me, but . . . no . . . you’re going to do whatever it is you think is right—like Johnny, and my father, and every other man I’ve ever known. Well, stop treating me like you think I can’t take care of myself.”

Darcy was yelling by the time she was done, then she brushed at the tears running down her cheeks, whirled, and strode to the house. Walker stared after her, wondering what the hell he’d said to make her so mad. She probably could have done without his smart remark about removing her shirt, but surely she knew he was joking. She had to know he wouldn’t hurt her. Didn’t she? In addition to blowing this whole thing out of proportion, she’d gone and compared him to her father and that bastard Johnny Fontana. That wasn’t setting well.

Nor did he like what Joe had told him this morning. Something wasn’t adding up. The U.S. Marshals Service was being secretive and uncooperative. They said they wanted someone outside the agency to find Darcy. Enter Walker. Now there was no information coming through the marshals. They stonewalled Joe when he requested assistance with Deputy Cooper yesterday, then turned around and called their deputy off. Joe had a bad feeling, and Walker had learned to appreciate his friend’s hunches. Trust no one, Joe had advised. That was fine with Walker since turning his back on Cooper wasn’t in his plans for the foreseeable future.

He unloaded the Walther P22 and carried it back downstairs to the safe room, leaving it on the bedside stand with the box of shells. Moving from one floor to the next, he methodically checked all the windows to make sure they were securely locked. Once he felt certain his temper was firmly under control, he went in search of Darcy.

She held a dust rag in one hand and a can of furniture polish in the other, going to town in the living room. She ignored him until he took the cleaning supplies from her hands.

“Sit down.” He pointed to an ottoman next to the table she’d been working on. For a moment, it looked like she’d blow him off, but he stared her down and she finally dropped onto the stool. He knelt in front of her. “Do you trust me?”

Surprise crossed her face for a moment before she nodded.

“Do you believe I’d never hurt you?”

“Of course.” She tried to turn away, but he cupped her chin in his fingers and turned her so her angry gaze fell on him.

“Do you understand why it’s important you and I be honest with each other?”

“You’re doing it again.” She brushed his hand away and he let her.

“What am I doing?”

“Treating me like a child.” She sat up straighter.

A smile crossed Walker’s face as he studied her, but he wiped it away when he saw her expression harden. “Is that what’s got you so mad at me?”

She looked away as a flush of color worked its way up her throat. He turned her chin so she looked at him again. “If I ever thought of you as a child, I promise I stopped about the time I kissed you this morning.” He grinned at her and her lips twitched the slightest little bit. It was all the encouragement he needed. He leaned toward her and covered her mouth with his in a slow, gentle kiss.

What the hell . . . he’d already crossed the line. Nothing left to do but draw a new line and stay on the right side of it. He could do that—couldn’t he? Walker straightened and pulled her up with him, then wrapped her in his arms and deepened the kiss. When he finally relinquished her lips, she was flushed.

“So, if I treat you like a woman, and not a child, will you promise never to compare me to your father again?” He nibbled on her ear as he whispered.

Darcy laughed lightly and pushed herself back to meet his gaze. “Did that bother you? Aren’t you the one who told me how much older you are than me?” Her eyes teased him, her previous anger apparently already forgotten.

“Keep it up, Darcy, and I’ll show you age doesn’t make the man.” He spoke in a pure down-home Southern drawl just to see her reaction.

She laughed again, then grew serious and regarded him with those deep jade-colored eyes until he was sure she could see clear through to his soul. He suddenly wanted another taste of her but knew he was getting dangerously close to the new line he’d drawn. He let her go and stepped back.

“Would you please let me look at your shoulder now?”

She sat immediately on the ottoman with her back to him, unbuttoned her white cotton shirt, and withdrew her left arm. Walker gave a low whistle when he saw the mass of red, yellow, and purple bruises that covered her shoulder and inched across her back, the mottled skin stretched with swelling.

“Shit, Darcy. Why didn’t you tell me? Oh yeah, I forgot—not my problem.” He gently pulled her arm out to the side, then slowly raised and lowered it, while palpating the muscles of her shoulder and back with his other hand. Her shallow breathing and tense posture indicated how sore it was, but he found no obvious breaks or tears and the swelling was minimal, so chances were it was just a damn good bruise.

“You’re right. Ice will probably help, three or four times a day. Once the swelling goes down, I’ll show you some exercises that will bring the strength back quickly. With a little rest, your arm will be as good as new in no time.”

He walked to the kitchen, returned with a bag of ice wrapped in a towel, and helped her drape it across her shoulder and back. “Ten or fifteen minutes at a time should do it.”

While she held it in place, he moved to the entertainment center, picked some CDs from the rows and rows of music, and fed them into the player. “I have strange tastes in music, so you can pick the next ones.” He walked back toward her. A country ballad, “Little Red Rodeo,” burst from the speakers. Darcy started to laugh.

“Are you making fun of my music? It’s not that bad, is it?” He stopped in front of her, and his gaze roamed over her porcelain skin and lacey bra that peeked from between the edges of her shirt where she’d only drawn it together while she held the ice on her shoulder. The tightening started in his stomach and went south from there. With no small amount of willpower, he dragged his eyes to her face and concentrated on what she was saying.

“I love Collin Raye.”

“Looks like we’ve got something in common after all.” The pure enjoyment in her smile caused his heart to flip-flop, and he couldn’t drag his gaze away from her eyes. That tightening in his gut returned, warning him of danger. Only problem was, this particular danger was about the sexiest thing he’d ever laid eyes on. Aw, hell. He was in so much trouble.

W
ALKER SAT ON
the back of the ottoman, close enough that the heat of his body radiated through her shirt. He took over holding the ice pack in place while kneading the tense muscles of her other shoulder with strong fingers. Darcy enjoyed his hands on her, massaging and flexing until she was totally relaxed. Well, that wasn’t completely true because his presence always seemed to have her in a state of emotional tension.

The ringing of her cell phone made her jump and she fumbled in her back pocket as Walker plucked the ice from her shoulder and went to turn the music down.

“Hello?”

“Darcy? Where are you?” It was Nick’s voice, sounding so grown-up and worried. For the last several hours she hadn’t thought of the boys and suddenly guilt rolled over her.

She’d tried to call them earlier but had gotten voice mail and was only able to leave a message with her new number. “Oh Nick, are you all right? I’m so sorry about your father.” There was silence on the other end for a moment. Nick was only twelve. He was probably angry, confused, and scared. Wasn’t she? Of course he wouldn’t be ready to talk about it. Maybe, if they hadn’t found a body yet, he was still holding out hope his father was alive.

“Yeah. Eddy wants to talk to you.” He handed the phone off before she could protest.

“Darcy, when are you coming to get us?” Eddy’s slightly immature voice rang in her ear.

“I wish I could come right away, but I’ve got something I have to take care of first.”

“Mom says you have to come or we can’t be a family anymore.”

Nick whispered something furiously in the background, but she couldn’t make out the words. Something was wrong.

“We’ll always be family, Eddy. Don’t worry. As soon as I can get away, I’ll come and find you. Okay?”

“I have to hang up now.” The connection went dead.

Darcy stared at her phone. What had just happened?

“Everything all right?” Walker startled her with his closeness.

“I guess. They just sounded so . . . strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think Nick believes Johnny is dead. He was so defensive. Eddy is young, and I’m sure he doesn’t understand. They just didn’t sound like themselves.”

“Whether or not Johnny is dead, their lives have been ripped apart. Those boys have had to grow up a lot in the last couple days. Something like that changes a person, especially kids.”

“You’re right.” She still wasn’t totally convinced. Nick had seemed almost angry with her.

“I’m always right.” He winked, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Now, put that away so we can get back to work. You can call them again tomorrow. They’ll be okay.”

“Thanks, Walker.”

He went to work on her shoulder again, massaging down her arm to her wrist and moved around to sit in front of her.

“Grab on to my wrist and don’t let go.” He held his arm out between them. When she complied, he brought his other hand up and circled her wrist as she’d seen him do to Cooper yesterday. With just a little bit of pressure, her hand went numb and she didn’t feel him pull from her grasp.

“Pressure points, here . . . and here. With a moderate amount of strength, it’ll work every time.” He grabbed her wrist and held it firmly. “Try it.”

Darcy shook her head doubtfully but placed her fingers as he’d instructed and squeezed as hard as she could. His grip loosened right away, and she pulled her hand free.

“That was with your injured arm. Once you get all the strength back, it’ll be easier.”

“How come you know all this stuff?”

“I learned most of it the hard way. For example, after you get your hand away, you probably don’t want to hang out and chitchat with your assailant because he’s not going to be in a very good mood. Tomorrow I’ll show you some other moves, but kicking him in the groin seems to work pretty well most of the time. Don’t mess around—do it fast and hard. And no, you can’t practice that one on me.” The humor was back in his voice.

T
HE SUN DIPPED
toward the horizon as Walker threw back the cover from the gas barbeque grill and fired it up. He disappeared into the house and returned with a glass of wine in each hand. He passed one to her and then leaned on the railing beside her.

“You don’t see that in Chicago.” He nodded his head toward the pink and purple sunset reflected in the water that stretched to the horizon.

“I do miss that. Although I don’t remember it ever being so beautiful in Tillamook.” She didn’t remember anything good about her hometown.

“Ever think about moving back?”

“I don’t suppose there’s any reason to stay in Chicago now.”

“I would say there’s every reason not to.”

“Where will I be safe?” She eyed the gun in the shoulder holster he’d worn all day.

“It won’t always be like this.” He raised an eyebrow as he glanced sideways at her. “Let’s see some of that positive outlook I’ve come to expect.”

“I really am a pain, aren’t I?” She laughed softly.

“I don’t think so . . . but ask me in a couple days.”

“You’re probably no ray of sunshine to live with either.”

“I can almost guarantee that.”

“Have you ever been married?”

“God, no!”

He answered so quickly and adamantly she had to look away so he wouldn’t see the hurt surprise on her face.

“No woman in her right mind would keep me around that long.”

“I find that hard to believe. I think you’re . . . charming.”

She could feel his gaze on her and her face heated as she glanced at him from beneath her lashes. His lips turned up in a half smile. She thought he was going to say something, but then he scowled.

“I’ll put those steaks on the grill. Maybe you could throw a salad together? I’ll pour some more wine in a minute.”

“Not for me. I’ve had enough. I’ve already lost control of my tongue.” It was clear something she’d said angered him and whatever it was had spoiled the mood of their evening. She left him standing there and retreated to the kitchen to make the salad.

Walker came through once to get the steaks and returned a few minutes later, purposefully took her glass from the counter beside her, and filled it to the rim. She glanced at him questioningly as he set it down in front of her.

“You can say anything you want to me. Sometimes your honesty surprises me, and I’m not sure what to do with it. Do you know how rare it is to find someone who will actually say what’s on her mind? Most people worry about how they’ll be perceived, and they keep their real feelings hidden. You’re a breath of fresh air, Darcy Maddox. I know you’ve got this idea in your head you’re not good enough and you want to change into someone else, but . . . please don’t. Don’t change anything. You’re perfect just the way you are.” He tipped his head toward the wineglass in front of her. “Don’t worry. I promise I won’t let you lose control.”