Extreme Measures (13 page)

Her smile came across the line. “I know you won’t let him hurt me. Besides that, I’ve become pretty adept at protecting myself these last couple of years.”

His shoulders relaxed slightly. “Yeah. How so? You taking self-defense classes and all that?” He thought he managed to keep the disbelief out of his voice, but Erin’s response told him otherwise.

“Don’t sound so surprised. I was actually top of my class.”

“I’m sure you were, but there’s a big difference between beating up a dummy and taking down a real two hundred pound man.” Just the thought of her going one on one with Stuart had his blood icing. No amount of self-defense lessons could top the skills learned in a maximum security prison.

“Really? I didn’t know that.” The softness had melted from her voice, replaced by a hard edge.

Matt winced. Damn. He hadn’t meant to piss her off. Of course, that had always been easy for him to do, especially during the last year of their marriage. Just a look could manage that. Apparently, he hadn’t lost his touch.

“I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. I just don’t want you to get too close to Stuart.”

“That’s disappointing. Here I was thinking I was going to throw him a welcome home party.”

“Okay. I said I’m sorry. I got your point.” He propped his elbow on the edge of the window. “You have to understand…” He broke off, let it drop. No, she didn’t have to understand. Eight years of marriage hadn’t made her get his job.

Silence so thick Matt could feel it tightening around his throat stretched across the line. Then the officer’s voice picked up where Erin’s had left off. “Was there anything else you needed, Agent Giles?”

Damn. Damn. Damn. When was he ever going to learn to keep his mouth shut? Erin knew she was in danger, and she’d only been trying to assert some independence, remind herself and him that she still had a semblance of control over her life. And he’d just stripped that away from her.

“Agent Giles?” The police officer sounded annoyed.

Matt cleared his throat. “No. Thanks.” He ended the call and tossed his cell onto the passenger seat. Erin wouldn’t be in any hurry to see him, but he couldn’t let things go, not this time. That was what had caused their marriage to implode before. They’d just stopped talking.

Now that he’d been with Erin again, seen her, talked to her, he didn’t want to walk away, at least not without seeing if something still remained of the marriage that had crumbled. The heated words she’d flung at him earlier hadn’t come from a woman who no longer cared.

He winced at the remembered sound of her voice. She’d been hurt, and knowing he was responsible for that pain tore at his heart. He’d never intentionally hurt her, but she was right. He hadn’t wanted her to feel anything for her brother, not after he’d brutally murdered her parents. A man like that didn’t deserve anything but what he got in an eight by twelve cell.

Matt had never thought for one second Erin might actually miss Stuart. When he’d gotten into drugs their relationship had changed, and she’d rarely seen him in the weeks leading up to the murder.

And then he’d knocked on their door, and Matt knew now a part of Erin wanted to believe he’d come for help to get clean. But he’d seen the blood on his brother-in-law’s hands, and the husband had taken a back seat to the FBI agent. It had been his job, his duty to arrest Stuart.

He couldn’t count the number of times he’d wished he’d kept to the sidelines, had called the local police department and had them arrest Stuart. Maybe his marriage would have survived if he hadn’t put the suit above his wife.

“Can I get you something to eat, Miss Prescott?”

Erin bit her tongue to keep from snapping, instead, managing a polite, negative response, just like her mother had taught her. No, she didn’t want food, a magazine, or something else to drink besides water. No, she wasn’t too cold or too hot. She didn’t need anything from the front desk, and yes, she had aspirin in case she needed it.

Each time one of the officers asked, she always replied kindly while the need for an acidic tone gnawed at her insides. What she wanted, they couldn’t give her. Peace of mind.

She’d dialed Hal’s number and hadn’t gotten a response. Had even tried his mother’s cell phone which she rarely used but always kept charged and with her. When that call didn’t elicit a reply, Erin had gotten really nervous.

Hal wasn’t safe. She knew it. The knot in the pit of her stomach grew in size, but all she could do was pace the room and pray, hoping for a call, a sign, anything to let her know Hal was still alive. She had to know his friendship with her hadn’t gotten him killed.

She heard murmured voices outside the door, recognized Matt’s deep tones and drew in a shaky breath. She wished he’d given her more time. The embers of her anger still burned low, though she didn’t have the energy for another fight.

Matt opened the door, closed it quickly behind him. He didn’t move any further into the room. “I’m sorry.”

She gave him a nod in response and turned away. Not now. She couldn’t see him now. Not like this.

“Erin, please look at me.”

“I don’t want to talk about anything, Matt. There is nothing to talk about anyway. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset about a self-defense course. You apologized, and that’s the end of it.”

“You think I apologized because of that?”

She turned, confusion swirling inside. “You didn’t?”

“No.” He walked toward her, closing in, pulling her thoughts away from the fear of the unknown. They centered on him, the look in his eyes, the expression on his face. Everything.

Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her blouse. “Then why?”

He palmed her faced, and she instinctively leaned in to the warmth. “Because I didn’t know how to help you after Stuart’s arrest. I couldn’t understand why you wanted to grieve for a relationship that had been toxic for the past year. Maybe it’s because I’m an only child. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. I hurt you, and for that, I’m sorry.”

That she hadn’t been expecting. Her eyes stung, and she looked down at the floor.
Don’t cry.
The internal instruction served little purpose. The tears took on a will of their own, gliding one behind the other down her cheeks, dampening Matt’s hand.

“Erin. I’m so sorry,” Matt muttered before he drew her into his arms, into an embrace she’d missed for so long.

She touched her forehead to his, holding onto him, afraid the moment would pass too soon. “I’m sorry, too,” she whispered. “I blamed you for arresting Stuart. It was your job, but he was still my brother. And I’m sorry. So sorry.”

He drew back, cupping her face with both hands. “Shhhh. It’s okay.” His lips brushed hers. Once. Twice. Then he buried his face in her hair. “We have a lot to talk about.”

Erin drank in his fresh scent. He still smelled the same, felt the same, the muscles in his arms contracting around her waist. He held her so tightly, so completely. She slid her hands up his back and grasped his shirt.

It had been over four years since she’d been held like she was cherished. Long before their marriage ended because she’d pushed Matt away. Things were so different now, their lives in separate cities. She couldn’t allow herself to think this hug was anything more than that.

A hard knock interrupted them, and Matt stepped out of her arms and headed to the door. Erin couldn’t hear the conversation, but the tone said all she needed to hear. Her shoulders drooped. Whatever conversation Matt wanted to have would have to wait.

He closed the door and returned to her, sliding one palm alongside her cheek again. “I have to go.”

“What’s wrong?” She wanted answers, but the look in his eyes gave clear indication she wouldn’t get them from him. A part of her wanted to argue, but right at that moment, she wanted to concentrate on his hand touching her face, the closeness of his body to hers.

Matt kissed her again, just a soft brushing of his lips across hers. Not nearly enough to be fulfilling. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Call me if you need me.” After another kiss on the top of her head, he walked away.

“Matt, I…” She almost rushed the words out, but he turned and shook his head.

“Don’t, Erin. Not now. Not like this. We’ll talk as soon as this is over.” He gave her a wink then opened the door. When it clicked shut behind him, it took all the effort she had not to run after him.

Something told her they wouldn’t get the chance to have that conversation. Terror brought the tears back. A small knot of hysteria built within her chest and grew to epic proportions, threatening to smother her.

Putting feet to her fears, she did run then, yanking open the door and calling his name, but he was already gone. And she knew with unyielding certainty she’d never see him again.

Chapter Ten

Charleston, South Carolina. God, he hadn’t been there in twenty plus years at least. He hadn’t missed it. The historical charm had never done a thing for him, though his parents had thought it was one of the best places on earth to vacation. Apparently, his sister had fallen in love with it just as much.

Stuart’s lip curled. His shoulder brushed that of an elegantly attired woman with upswept hair. Her own lip curled in response, making him wish he had a little more time. He had something that would wipe that condescension off her face.

Billy hadn’t answered when he’d called, and he was more than a little on edge. If he couldn’t find Billy, the bastard might get to his sister first, and that would be unacceptable.

The coffee shop Erin owned had been closed up tighter than a clergy’s offering box. No one nearby had any information, at least none they were handing out freely, and since he was down to two bullets, he couldn’t afford to waste them on people who might not really have information.

He bumped into someone else, a man this time, dressed in a dark suit and snowy white shirt. A look of irritation passed over the man’s face, but he didn’t slow down. Stuart smiled as his hand expertly slipped into the pocket of the fine material, coming out with a cell phone and a set of keys. He couldn’t do much with those, but the phone, well, Billy wouldn’t recognize that number, and maybe, just maybe he’d think Arlin was calling this time.

Slipping away from the crowds, he turned down a side alley in between a restaurant and a collectibles store. The cemented street smelled of horse piss and onions. Another one of the things he hated about Charleston, all the damned horses toting stuck-up out-of-towners around in carriages. Yeah, he couldn’t wait to get out of this city. Maybe he’d go somewhere out west after this.

He dialed Billy’s number, and his breath left his lungs in a rush of air when the guy answered.

“Yeah?”

“Billy, Stuart O’Malley.” Stuart waited to see if the guy would panic, but Billy replied easily enough.

“Where’s Arlin? He was supposed to call me not you.” The gruff tone of Billy’s voice set Stuart on edge. The last thing he wanted to do was piss this guy off before he could get to him.

“He got hung up, gave me your number. You got my sister’s address?” Stuart didn’t want to give the dumb bastard any more time to think.

Surprisingly, Billy rattled it off. “But she ain’t there. I was just at her neighbor’s house. We called her, but then some guy took the phone away from her.”

Stuart’s palms began to sweat. “What guy? A cop?” Did Erin already know he was in town? That might make finding her a little more difficult.

“Didn’t ask. He just wanted to know if I was a friend of yours.”

Temper rising, Stuart’s hand clenched around the phone. He couldn’t lose it with Billy, not until he found the guy anyway. There was no way he was leaving this guy alive and giving him a chance to get to Erin first.

“Did the neighbor know where she might be?”

“Nope, but said there was some big guy with her a few nights ago. Dressed in a dark suit, looked like he could kick the crap out of Superman.”

No. It couldn’t be. His ex-brother-in-law couldn’t be here, although, if the bastard still worked for the FBI, he’d know where to find his ex-wife easily enough. Sweat stung the back of his skin. It hadn’t been so long ago that he couldn’t remember how easily Matt had taken him down the night of the kill.

Stuart had been so high, feeling like he was on top of the world and could take on anything or anyone. Until he’d killed his parents. Then he’d freaked, hadn’t been able to think about anything but getting to Erin.

He hadn’t even considered Matt. Didn’t think for a second his own brother-in-law would arrest him. So when Matt had told him he was under arrest and whipped out the handcuffs, Stuart had lost his temper a little.

His eyes scrunched nearly shut, he replayed the memories over in his head. Erin screaming. Matt ordering him to get down on the ground. Him telling Matt to go to hell. He’d thought he could make it back out the door, but Matt had been faster, had tackled him right next to an antique table Erin kept in the entryway.

There hadn’t been much of a battle. Matt was built like an armored truck. Son-of-bitch hit like a sledgehammer, too. Stuart massaged his jaw as though he could still feel the pain.

Within seconds, Matt had the handcuffs on him, and Stuart was on his knees waiting for a police cruiser to get there. And Erin was still screaming.

Stuart’s throat tightened at the memories. He forced distraction by returning to the conversation. “There ain’t no need for you to stay in Charleston now. I’ll handle things from here.”

“You know that guy? You got real quiet like. Makes me think you do.”

“If he’s who I think he is, it’s my ex-brother-in-law. He’s FBI.”

“Well, look at your sister, calling in the heavy hitters to protect her.” Billy’s voice wobbled a little.

Stuart figured the guy almost wet himself at the mention of the FBI. “Yeah, well, you don’t have to worry about him because you’re going to be out of town long before I find him or he finds me.”

“I don’t know.” Billy’s drawl raked down Stuart’s spine like three inch nails. “I kind of like it here. Your sister sure is a pretty little thing.”

“She isn’t any of your concern.”