Till Justice Is Served (29 page)

He moved the chair closer, leaned his head back, and just watched her breathe. It was a beautiful thing.

****

Erin opened her eyes, staying very still while her surroundings came into focus. Was it really over? Now what? Was she supposed to feel guilty? Experience remorse for taking another human being's life? Lying between the cool clean hospital sheets, she couldn't make herself feel bad.

"Hello, sleepy head."

It was the one voice she wanted to hear. One she'd like to wake up to every morning. "Morning." She turned to face him. Unshaven and disheveled, he looked tired but beautiful. She couldn't imagine waking up to a nicer face. "You spent the night."

"I did." He stood and straightened his shirt, tucking it back into his jeans and making her mouth water. "How do you feel?"

"Safe
. Stiff. Will you hand me the control to the bed?"

"I'll do it." Rafe picked up the remote. "Say when."

"That's perfect. Thank you."

"Are you too stiff for a hug? Because I'd very much like to hold you."

Erin opened her arms. "I thought you'd never ask."

"I see our patient is awake." A nurse entered the room. "Time to take care of the necessities and take a look at your bruises." She glanced at Rafe.

"I'll go check on Linc."

"Are you Rafe Sirilli?" the nurse asked, and Rafe nodded. "There's a detective in the waiting room. He asked me to ask you to stop by."

"Will you call Jeff and Lotty?" Erin asked. "She'll know what to throw into a bag and bring to me."

"No problem. I'll let them know you're awake."

The nurse closed the door behind him and turned to Erin. "Feel like you can walk to the restroom?"

"Absolutely." Erin swung her feet to the floor. A hand on her back startled her. She stiffened and pulled away.

"It's okay. You're safe now. After what you've been through, you may be jumpy for a while."

Erin had washed up and finished breakfast when Rafe stuck his head in the door. "All clear?"

"Yes. Come in," she said.

Rafe and Beckett filed into the room. Each took a chair, one on her left and the other on her right. Wade looked as worn-out as Rafe.

"Did you see Linc?" she asked Rafe.

"No. His family had him transferred to Dallas. They left early this morning. They wanted him closer to home while he recovers."

"I wish him the best. The principal said he should've killed all of you, that Linc's injuries were my fault."

"None of this is your fault. I wish the crazy bastard had come after me." Rafe rested his hand on top of hers.

The detective cleared his throat. "I worried you'd figured out who had her and kill him."

"There was a good chance that would've happened."

Erin's heart squeezed. Rafe cared for her a lot more than he wanted to admit.

"Beckett has promised not to tire you out."

"I'm fine." She turned to face the detective. "I expected you earlier," she said. "You have lots of questions, right?"

"I have a few answers, too. The crime scene unit uncovered a lot of surprising facts about the principal. For one, he wasn't who he claimed to be. Turns out he was a convicted sex predator. He moved here using a stolen identity. We don't know, yet, if he killed the guy or just stole his information."

"So Norman wasn't Norman." Erin's mind filled with questions. "So the fake identity allowed him to get past the school board's background check."

"Also probably why he was here in a smaller school district. We'll keep digging until we learn more."

Something stirred in Erin's memory. "He wanted me to call him Casanova. Said I'd given him that nickname."

"Mrs. Henley referred to him as Casanova," Rafe said. "He must have overheard her and thought it was you."

Erin listened and answered questions. Reliving the few days as a captive was hard, but it had to be done. When they were finished, she had nothing to worry about except getting on with her life. Somewhere in the conversation, Rafe had slipped into FBI mode. His formal tone sent a strong message when he suggested she find somebody to help her work through the trauma. Before they'd finished talking, Erin knew what she had to do.

Beckett stood. "I'll see you around." He placed his hand on her foot and patted her. "Be well."

Rafe got to his feet and shook Beckett's hand. "I'll touch base with you before I leave town."

"You go, too," Erin said. "Get some rest. Jeff and Lotty will be here soon. I'll ask them to stop by your place and get my car and things."

"There's no hurry."

"You and Luke will have an easier time closing out the estate without my stuff there."

Erin searched his face for any sign of disappointment or pain. If he minded being dismissed, he was hiding it well.

"Okay. I'll talk with you soon." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

The pain in her heart was sharp, cutting a corner piece off and sending it out the door with him.

Alone, she stared at the empty doorway. So the horror was over. She was no longer in trouble with the law, meaning Rafe had completed his favor to Jeff. Rafe could return to work, go undercover, and disappear for weeks at a time.

She'd learned something from this experience. Life was too short to sit back and watch from the curb. If Rafe wanted her, he'd have to take the first step.

****

Sweat poured off Rafe. The weather had turned unseasonably hot and humid on the very day he and Luke had picked to load furniture onto a rented trailer. The church he'd attended as a kid still had its small store where people in need could pick up items for free.

"Are you sure you don't want to keep the house?" He and Luke hoisted a chest of drawers onto the bed of the trailer.

"I'm sure."

"You decide what you want to do next?"

"I've given the future a lot of thought. I had no idea Dad had amassed such large investments. According to the attorney, Dad had been investing for years. I'll have more than enough money to pay for any additional schooling I need. I'm not sure what it will take, but someday I'll pin a Texas Ranger badge on my shirt."

Rafe's chest filled with pride. "Figures you'd pick an organization where you could keep the white hat."

"Easy about my hat," Luke joked.

"You've picked an elite group. That's a hard organization to get into. But they'll be damn lucky to have you."

Luke went inside and returned with two cold beers. He passed one over to Rafe. "You still have to take that box of Erin's things to her." He chugged down a big swallow. "You think Jeff left it here on purpose?"

"Hell, yes. He and Dad always thought they knew what was best for us kids."

"Want to know what I think?" Luke dropped his empty can into a large metal trash can.

"Now, why did you ask? You're going to tell me anyway."

"I think you're afraid."

"And what would I be afraid of, little brother?"

"Getting killed."

"If that worried me, I'd already be dead." Rafe set his beer can down and hopped up on the trailer bed. He carried the chest of drawers forward, making room for what was left in the house.

"Not for yourself. For Erin. You finally realize that you're not ten feet tall, bulletproof, and invincible. If you got married, she might wind up a widow. You don't want that on your conscience."

"Okay. Let's say you're right. So what? It is what it is."

Luke stopped dead still and laughed. "Dad used to say that all the time."

"I know."

"Just remember, if you're dead, you won't have to worry about your conscience." Luke laughed again, this time at himself.

"Who are you? Some high school valley-girl?" Rafe couldn't help but join his brother in laughing at his nonsensical wording.

Luke flipped imaginary long hair over his sweaty shoulder and went back in the house for another load.

With Colton back in Dallas, it had given Rafe and Luke a few more days to get reacquainted. Sending their mother's china cabinet to a new home had been tough, but it had reminded Rafe just how fragile a family was. How easily it could fall apart. He and Luke had drifted apart over the past few years. Rafe wouldn't let that happen again.

They made a good team, and soon, only a few pieces of their dad's belongings were left to deal with. The Realtor would get rid of the beds for them.

Luke slid behind the wheel and drove away, headed for the delegation of church members and friends of their father who waited to unload the furniture.

Rafe showered, dressed, all the while pretending to ignore the box of Erin's clothes that Luke must've set in the middle of the living room floor.

Two days ago, she'd dismissed Rafe as if he'd been a pesky student. That in itself had confused and pissed him off. He'd made love with her. Recognized the passion and emotion in her eyes. Heard the soft sigh of relief in the back of that ambulance when he'd held her in his arms. Damn her, she cared for him. She cared a lot. And she was strong. Just how strong was the question.

He scooped up the box and headed for his car. There were things he needed to say before he left for Dallas. If he could keep his own emotions in check and do what was right, maybe this time they'd part as friends.

C
HAPTER 27

Erin checked the peephole. Her heart vaulted to the back of her throat. Rafe was on the other side of her door. She'd vacillated between hoping he'd come and dreading having to put on a charade if he did. Her heart felt physical pain when she thought of him driving away, never to return. But she couldn't make his decisions for him.

She swallowed hard, opened the door, and waved him inside. "Thank you for bringing the box by. Just put it by the coffee table."

He did as instructed then turned to face her. "It's amazing what a couple of days' rest will do. The bruising has already started to fade." He reached over as if to stroke her cheek.

Erin stepped back, stumbling over her own feet. He couldn't touch her. If he did, she'd cave. Confess her feelings. Then where would she be? Alone and right back where she started.

Damn him, he kept coming. She kept backing away. The breakfast bar stopped her.

"Why are you running from me?" His gray eyes bore deep into hers.

"It's better this way."

"What way? Why did my touch just suddenly become repulsive?" His eyes flashed wide. "Oh shit. Of course, you don't want anybody to touch you. I'm an insensitive dick." He moved to the other side of her dining room table.

"It has nothing to do with Mueller or whatever his name was." This wasn't going as well as she wanted. "You know what's going to happen if you touch me." It was her turn to advance on him. "We'll wind up in bed. Afterward, you'll drive away feeling guilty, and I'll regret my moment of weakness."

"I make you weak?" One corner of his mouth lifted into his sexy grin.

"You came to say good-bye." If he'd just be honest, she'd make it through this without making a fool of herself.

He dragged his hand through his hair. Shuffled his feet like a little boy in trouble. He was waging war with himself. Just how much did he care? And could he come to terms with it? "You could ask me to stay."

"No." She begged her heart to stop racing. "I can't."

"Damn it, Erin." He moved two steps toward her. "You moved home to get out of the craziness of the bigger schools, but there are tons of needy kids in Dallas. Lots of smaller districts would jump at the chance to have you on their staff."

"I said that to keep Jeff and Lotty from feeling guilty." Still no declaration. Her heart folded in her chest. "Sorry, but I need more than a job offer."

At his silence, she turned toward the door. She straightened her shoulders and put her hand on the knob.

"I thought I'd lost you," he said. "I've never felt that kind of fear. The paralyzing kind of fear where nothing on the planet makes sense any longer. Is it fair to ask you to live through that?"

"You lived through it. What makes you think I can't?" She swung the door open and waited for him to leave.

His hands landed on her shoulders. He lashed out with his foot and kicked the door shut. "Then marry me, tough guy. Make me the happiest man on earth."

An unexpected laugh burst from her. "That's your idea of a proposal?"

"Tell me what you want. Want me to get down on one knee? Take you on that date we never had?"

"Yes," she whispered as her throat tightened with emotion.

"Yes to which one?"

"The first one." She waited until he'd sorted through all the options. "I love you. And I'll make a great FBI agent's wife."

His lips crashed down on hers. Demanding, needy, pleasing. Finally, Erin was home.

"I love you more," he whispered against her lips.

"So, from now on, if I dial 666—"

"I'll come running."

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR

&
O
THER
T
ITLES...

Author of
Hell or High Water
,
Cold Day in Hell
, and
No Chance in Hell
from the Lost and Found, Inc. series, I live in Texas with my husband and our rescue dog, Buddy. I write alpha males and kick-ass women who weave their way through death and fear to emerge stronger because of, and on occasion in spite of, their love for each other.

The Green-Eyed Doll
,
The Last Execution
, and
Someone to Watch Over Me
are available single titles.
No Greater Hell
, book four of the Lost and Found, Inc. series, is scheduled for a 2015 release.