Foxfire (16 page)

He reached for her hand. “Thanks for telling
me.” She didn't see disgust clouding his eyes. He smiled at her,
his thumb caressing the back of her hand. “It doesn't change how I
feel about you, but it does make a few things clearer.”

“What things?”

“Why Max is so determined to find you.”

She drew her hand away. “Do you think he
stabbed Tiffany?”

“That's what Jake believes.”

“Jake?”

“Jake Scott. He's head of a department in the
Drug Enforcement Agency.”

“That's who you work for, the DEA?”

He nodded. “Temporarily.” He refilled his
cup. “Natalie introduced us. She was Jake's sister...and my
wife.”

“Wife?” He was married? Hurt gnawed deep in
her chest.

“I worked for Jake to pay my way through
school. Dad was a small town vet, and when Mom developed cancer it
took all their savings to pay the medical bills. After I graduated,
I went to work with dad, but I still worked undercover assignments
for Jake, too. Then Natalie and I got married.”

“And you quit working for your...wife's
brother?”

“No.”

Grace ran a finger around the rim of her mug.
“You worked for your dad and the agency at the same time?”

“Yes. I was part of the team assigned to dig
into Max's businesses.” Tyler leaned forward, capturing her gaze.
“After Max's arrest, I wanted to make sure he was convicted. I
attended the trial.”

“Were you there when I testified?”

“Yes.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You're telling me
you worked with the authorities and you let Max get away?” Was that
guilt she read crossing his face?

He intertwined his fingers and dropped his
hands between his knees before replying. “Natalie called my cell
phone right after we received the announcement that the jury had
reached a verdict. She asked me to come home because she had
something important to tell me that she couldn't share over the
phone.” He swallowed and his Adam's Apple bounced. “I told her I
couldn't come home until after the trial closed.” He tipped his
head back and took a deep breath.

Grace watched emotions chase across his
features. “What does that have to do with Max's escape?”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Natalie
decided not to wait. She arrived at the courtroom when the jury
foreman read the verdict. The whole place erupted in chaos. That's
when Max made his escape. Before they could handcuff him, he
grabbed a woman and used her as a shield.”

Grace knew what he was going to say. She
wanted to stop him, ease the pain radiating from his eyes.

“It was only after they found her body that I
learned the woman was Natalie.”

“My God.” She reached out to him, placing a
hand on his arm.

“She was pregnant. That's the news she wanted
to share.”

She wasn't sure what she felt. Sympathy
certainly. Yet something nibbled at her heart. “I'm sorry, Tyler.”
He'd been in love with another woman. Had planned on having a
family. He'd lost his dream, too, but not of his own doing. His
dream had been snatched away by a horrid senseless murder. Grace
had murdered her own dream by the choices she'd made. Still, her
heart ached for his loss.

He pulled his arm from under her grip. “Max
headed the biggest drug and prostitution ring in Columbus. We had
him and he got away. He disappeared and we weren't able to track
him until three months ago. A body was found in an alley on the
near East side. A woman. She'd been shot in the forehead. The
police added it to a long line of prostitution and drug-related
murders...until another body was pulled out of the Scioto river,
another woman. Same caliber gun. Both of them had testified against
Max.”

Grace said, “He told me he'd get even for my
betrayal. I didn't know he'd come after anyone but me. I ran away.
I stayed in Missouri for a while until I had enough money to make a
new start. Then I came here.”

“We searched for you and Ted Powell since you
were the last two people alive who'd testified at Max's trial. So,
when your picture appeared in the paper—”

Grace leaned forward. “My picture? What do
you mean?”

“You and Connor Thomas.”

“But that was local news.”

“Ever hear of the internet?”

“That's how you found me?” How could that be?
She'd never even given a thought to having her picture in the
paper. Her heart dove toward her stomach. “Then that's how Max
found me, too.”

“And that's why I came to Foxfire. I'd been
talking about leaving the agency and going back into veterinarian
practice. After Natalie...I felt so guilty for letting her down
that I focused all my time on catching Max. But I was getting
burned out. There'd been no sign of Max, and I was sick of spending
all my time dealing with the dregs of the world. And I was sick of
Ohio and all the memories I couldn't shake.”

Tyler tipped his head back against the chair.
“Night and day all I could think about was Max. He stole my life. I
wanted it back. So I told Jake I was going to move away and start
over. He begged me to take one last assignment, and he made it
irresistible with the idea of opening my own clinic, so I decided
this would be as good a place as any to start over.”

“Did you hire me because of Max?” She lifted
her chin and met his gaze full-on.

Tyler jumped to his feet. He raked a hand
through his hair. “No.”

“But you're using me as bait, right?”

“God, no, Grace. How can you think that?”

“How can I not? But, I don't blame you,” she
said.

He knelt in front of her. “I swear the last
thing I want to do is hurt you.”

She stared into his eyes. “It's too
late.”

“I'm not going to use you to get Max.”

“It doesn't matter if you do or not.”

“It matters to me.” His gaze held her in
place.

She slowly shook her head. “How can you
expect me to believe you?”

He touched her cheek with the barest brush of
his fingers. “Grace, I came here expecting to find a woman with a
heart of steel and a ruthless mind. But that's not what I found. I
found a woman with a heart of gold and a compassionate soul.”

Soft shivers raced through her body and
pooled in her abdomen.

He said, “This isn't about catching Max
anymore.”

“What is it about?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Stop looking for things that don't exist.
I'm tarnished, Tyler. I'm to blame, not Max. I made the decision to
believe in him, he didn't force me to care. I closed my eyes to the
truth around me because I wanted what he had to offer. Don't you
see what kind of woman that makes me?”

“Stop putting yourself down. I don't care
what happened in your past. I care about you. The real you.”

Even as her heart swelled with hope, she
denounced herself for being a fool.

“You don't know the real me.”

“I know you make me feel things I have no
right to feel.”

She pushed past him. “That's only lust,” she
said. “It'll go away. Trust me.”

“That's the biggest problem of all. I do
trust you, Grace. And that scares the hell out of me.”

An ache settled in Grace's heart. He'd lost
his wife and child. He'd been hurt by Max even more than she
had.

“When were you planning on telling me?”

“This morning.”

She smirked.

“It's the truth. I swear. Last night I wanted
to tell you, especially after seeing your reaction to the
scarf—”

She turned away and he pulled her back to
face him. “Tell me about the scarf, Grace.”

She shook her head. “It's nothing.”

“It's something. Tell me.”

Grace took a deep breath. “Yesterday I found
an envelope in my mailbox. The scarf was inside with a message from
Max.”

His eyes widened. “What message?”

She shrugged. “Just a note to let me know
he'd found me.”

“Where is it?”

“I threw everything away. Max must have
pulled the scarf out of the trash and put it around Tiffany's neck
as a warning to me.”

“What did the note say?”

“Not much. I was so shocked I can't remember
exactly what he wrote.”

“I need to see it.”

“All right.” She took a deep breath. “Look,
I'll help you find Max. Whatever it takes. I just want my life
back.”

Tyler touched her cheek. “I won't let you put
yourself in danger.”

“I'm already in danger. And it won't stop
until Max is caught.” She smiled. “I'm not worth worrying about.
Let's go check on Tiffany, then we can get the note. And I want to
talk to Brad, too.”

Tyler nodded. “All right.”

“Tyler, Max is the one who left the roses,
not Adam.”

He squeezed her shoulders. “We'll get
him.”

They went to the clinic and Grace touched
Tiffany's silky fur. “Is she still under the sedative?”

“I gave her another shot last night while you
were sleeping, but she'll wake up soon.”

Grace wanted nothing more than to lean
against his chest and forget her doubts, her fears, her pain, but
she couldn't allow herself to trust him—not yet.

“When?” she asked.

“In an hour or so, but we'll have to keep her
confined for a few days.”

He placed a finger beneath her chin, forcing
her to look into his eyes. “Grace, she's going to be fine.”

She nodded. She couldn't speak over the lump
in her throat. She really needed Brad now. He'd always been the
first person she turned to whenever anything good or bad occurred
in her life. She pulled away.

“Let's go. I really need to see Brad.” She
spun to face him. “Does he know?” she asked.

His forehead scrunched into a puzzled frown.
“About Tiffany?”

“No, about you being a...” She waved her
hands. “Whatever you are.”

He touched her face, the look in his eyes
softening. “You say that like I've grown scales or pointed
teeth.”

She swatted his hand. “You deceived me. You
deceived all of us.” She pulled away, wiping a hand across her
forehead and pushing her hair away from her face. “I even let you
kiss me and...God, how could I have been so stupid?”

She wasn't being fair, but she couldn't allow
Tyler to have any illusions about them. Not while a threat of Max
existed. She couldn't bear the thought of Max hurting Tyler. The
last piece of her shattered heart mended as she realized she had
fallen in love with him.

“I wasn't pretending.” He stared at her, his
eyes so intense they smoldered like emerald fire. “I wanted to kiss
you, Grace.”

He took her hand and led her out the
door.

Chapter Ten

Max rubbed the area on his face that, thanks
to a skilled plastic surgeon, no longer sported a long jagged scar.
The surgeon had also restructured his nose, removing the hook he'd
always hated. Why not? He'd never had a problem getting women, but
the scar on his face would have marked him forever—a constant
reminder of what that bitch had done.

He'd taken care of the others, the imbeciles
who thought they'd beaten him by testifying against him. He'd shown
them, hadn't he? He'd escaped right under their noses. Max didn't
lose, nor did he forget. They thought they'd beaten him by freezing
the assets in his accounts. The idiots didn't realize they were up
against a genius. He'd spent the past three years on his fortress
island that no one could penetrate. He'd tossed around the idea of
taking Grace there, using her until he broke her spirit, but he
came up with a better plan. He'd found he liked killing with a
knife even better than using a gun.

Everything was falling into place. These
back-country bumpkins were tripping over their own feet trying to
catch the Knoxville Knifer. He wanted to laugh aloud at their
ignorance. No one could recognize Max with his new face, not even
Grace. She'd come nose to nose with him outside the D.A.'s office
and hadn't blinked an eye.

Footsteps sounded on the path. He fell back,
deeper into cover of the trees. The old man hurried past Max's
hiding place and disappeared around a bend. He supposed Grace's
friends were gathering round to pay respects to the dead dog. Pity
that. He really liked dogs, but he needed to get Grace's
attention.

He had that now. Yes indeed. He felt a grin
lift the corners of his mouth. Time was on his side, and it was
quickly running out for Grace.

****

“There's Brad now.” Grace ran to him.

“Grace! Are you all right?” His lined face
gave voice to his worry. He opened his arms and she stepped into
his comforting embrace.

“Not really,” she said, her words muffled
against his chest.

“What's wrong, honey?” he murmured.

“Tiffany's hurt.” She felt his muscles
tighten. “Somebody stabbed her.”

“What?”

Brad stepped back and looked at Tyler. “Is
she...?” His words trailed off.

“She'll be good as new in a few days,” Tyler
answered.

“So he says,” Grace mumbled.

“I'm sorry, darlin',” Brad said. He laid an
arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “I've been worried about you.
I called several times last night and got your answering machine. I
was just heading down to the clinic to see if you were there.”

“I stayed with Tyler last night.”

Brad's gaze bounced between Tyler and Grace.
“What happened? You say Tiffany was stabbed?”

“I found her on the back deck yesterday.”

Tyler spoke up. “We need to talk, Brad.
Grace, do you mind calling and canceling our appointments for the
day?”

“We don't have any, remember? This is your
day for volunteer work at the shelter.”

“I forgot. I'll call and see if they can do
without me today.”

“Can we talk at my house?” Brad asked.
“Something tells me this is going to take a while and I'm waiting
on a call from Harri.”

“You two go on. I'll join you as soon as I
make a few calls.” Tyler looked at Grace. “Don't forget to get that
envelope and note.”