Safe From the Dark (4 page)

“You
will stay and help this young woman, Colin Daniels. This community is going to
welcome her with open arms or so help me God, you’re all going to answer to
me.”

Colin
was shocked by her vehemence. Jocelyn could be stern, but she almost never lost
her cool.

“What
happened to her?”

“The
gunshots? I have no idea, and she doesn’t seem to be the type to share. What I
do know is that after what happened with her mother, she deserves all the goodwill
we can muster.”

She
rolled her eyes impatiently at Colin’s blank look.

“You
were away from Bright’s Ferry too long. Do you remember Fran’s daughter,
Laura?”

“Not
really.”

“You
were barely a teenager when it all happened. Years ago, after Frannie’s husband
passed away, Laura married Phil McCann and moved to Boston. She never liked it
here, and they only brought Evie back to visit Fran once a year or so, under
duress. Phil was an alcoholic and from what Fran said, Laura was miserable from
day one, but too proud to admit she’d made a mistake. So she started popping
pills to cope, and it just got worse from there – paranoia, rages. I remember
seeing Evie when she was about five – underfed, scared of her own shadow. What
a travesty.”

“So
then what happened?”

“When
Evie was seven, Laura brought her to stay with Fran, and said that she wanted
to get into rehab. Phil was cheating on her, and she wanted to make a new life
for the two of them. Frannie was so relieved.”

Jocelyn
wiped away a tear, and Colin started forward, but stopped as Jocelyn held up a
hand.

“Laura
left Evie with Fran to go take care of some things and the rest – well, it was
all in the papers. She caught Phil and his mistress in that crappy motel across
the bay and put a couple of bullets in them before turning the gun on herself. Phil
survived, that bastard, and came back for Evie. And Frannie never saw her
again. She sent money and letters, but who knows if Evie ever got them, or what
kind of a life she had after that. Fran even consulted a lawyer, but there was
nothing she could do. She never really forgave herself.”

Colin
ignored her sputtering and wrapped the doctor in a hug. She caved and patted
him on the back.

“Your
charms don’t work on me, Colin Daniels,” she said, watery, “Save it for the
pretty young things.”

She
pulled back, but narrowed her eyes at him.

“Be
nice to Evie Asher, but keep your hands to yourself, got it? She doesn’t need
to be added to your list of playthings. That girl deserves more than a quick
fuck in the front of your pickup.”

Colin
could feel the heat rising in his cheeks, but nodded. No matter how delicious
and lickable Evie looked in or out of her clothes, she clearly was not
easygoing or casual, eager and/or grateful for a roll in the sheets. She came
with epic amounts of baggage, and it only took one afternoon for him to see
that he would be smart to keep far, far away. Evie Asher was trouble.

THE
EARLY MORNING SUNLIGHT streaming through the window was a surprise, and Evie
squinted at the unfamiliar surroundings for a moment before memory came
flooding back – the storm, the doctor, and the too-attractive-for-his-own-good
mayor who had lifted her like she weighed nothing and tucked her into bed with
strong, warm hands.

None
of that,
she
reminded herself.

Evie
pushed back the quilt and carefully sat up, taking stock of her injuries. Her
shoulder was stiff, but not terrible, and her side throbbed, but the pain
wasn’t unmanageable. She found that someone had thoughtfully set a bottle of
ibuprofen next to the bed with a glass of water, and gratefully gulped two as
she looked around the room – heartlessly bare save for the night stand and the
bed, the guest room was still pretty, with blue patterned wallpaper dappled
with lovely morning light. Through the windows, a magnificent view of the bay
stretched out far below. Evie pulled herself to her feet, clutching the iron
bedpost until her balance reasserted herself.

Her
suitcase and laptop sat by the door, along with a pile of towels – another
pleasant surprise. Evie felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn’t been at her best
yesterday, and while she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, she
had to admit that her night would have been worse without Colin’s take-charge
attitude. If she was planning to live here, she had to make friends. She
shouldn’t let herself become irked by the mayor’s high-handedness or his
annoyingly sexy smile.

I’ll
call and thank him. Later. Shower first.

The
thought of hot water pushed Evie to gather clean clothes and towels and make
her way into the connecting bathroom. Ten minutes later she was standing half
under the hot spray, blissfully rinsing shampoo from her hair while she
carefully kept her bandages dry. The water did wonders for her stiff muscles,
and while Evie pulled on jeans and a soft cream-colored sweater, she was amazed
at how much better she felt after a good night’s sleep. Squeezing the excess
water from her hair, she ran a quick brush through it, her mind on breakfast.

She
stepped into the living room and stopped short.

Colin
Daniels was sitting at her kitchen table, drinking tea and reading the
newspaper like he belonged there. He was still in the same clothes from
yesterday, but he’d obviously showered, his dark hair still damp. Evie tried to
ignore the idea of Colin in the upstairs shower, soapy and hot, but a quick,
shocking pulse of interest had her clenching her thighs.

“Hey,
you’re up!” He smiled and set the paper down.

“I
thought you’d be gone by now.” Okay, that wasn’t the best thing to blurt out
when trying to make a fresh start. Clearly Colin didn’t think so either, as one
eyebrow went up and the smile vanished. Evie took a fortifying breath and tried
again.

“Sorry,
I’m not quite awake yet. Thank you for getting my things. And for calling the
doctor. I didn’t realize that I’d pushed myself so hard. I was in a hurry to
get up here.”

Colin
considered her for a long moment, and then smoothly got to his feet, the easy
smile returning to his face.

“Anytime.
I polished off the Thai, so there’s nothing left to eat unless you like baking
soda or rat poison. I can run into town and pick up a few things.”

“Don’t
worry, I’ll be fine. I just need to get my car – ”

But
Colin was shaking his head.

“You’re
going to need a tow truck to pull it out, and Pete’s not going to be able to
make it up until this afternoon.”

Evie
blew out a frustrated breath, and Colin grinned.

“You’ve
been in the city too long. Things up here take time.”

“It’s
going to take a while to get used to that,” Evie admitted.

“Jocelyn
said to take it easy, so why don’t you just hang out – ”

 “Look,
I can’t just sit around all day – it’s not me. But you don’t need to babysit. I’ve
got a bunch of errands to run. If you wouldn’t mind dropping me in town, I can
find my own way back.”

Colin
shook his head, laughing.

“How
about a compromise? Let’s go to Mary’s and get some breakfast, and then you can
run your errands and stock up. When you’re ready to go, I’ll give you a ride
and make sure you don’t collapse on the way back up the hill. It’s close to
home anyway. Deal?”

Evie
only hesitated a moment before shaking his hand, and wondered if he felt the
tingle where their skin touched.

“Sure.
Thanks.”

She
started to pull her hand back, but he held on, tugging her a little closer.

“Evie,”
he said softly, “I don’t know what happened to you, but it’s a small community.
We look out for each other. I hope that someday you’ll feel at home here.”

He
let her go and started for the door, leaving her to follow, sudden tears
pricking behind her eyes.

 
I’m
a mess,
she thought as she grabbed a jacket and hurried after him. She was
so used to judgment and condemnation that she had no idea how to react to
simple kindness anymore. Everyone had an agenda. Everyone wanted something from
her, ready to pounce on the slightest hint of vulnerability or weakness. So she
didn’t show any. She didn’t rely on anyone if she could help it, but Colin’s
gentle voice and warm hands made her wonder if she could move past her
hang-ups, maybe start learning to trust people again. The thought was too
scary, so she pushed it aside and followed Colin out to the car.

The
road down to town was muddy, but a million times better than the day before,
and Evie drank in the sight of the little town below. Bright’s Ferry was
squashed between its own little bay and a generous hill that the townies
affectionately called their “mountain.” Many of the newer residents lived in
town, but the families that had been here for generations had settled in the
hills, the winding roads still mostly unpaved. A hundred years ago, this had
been a fishing town, and a few trawlers and small fisheries remained, though,
like much of the area, the town relied on B&Bs and passing tourists in
search of cute little weekend getaways.

Evie
ignored Colin’s surreptitious glances at her from behind the wheel and
permitted herself a tiny moment of self-congratulation.
She’d done it.
She’d
left her old life behind – the scandal and pain, the humiliation and lack of
professionalism. And the betrayal. That was the worst. The shimmering bay and
the town faded from view as she thought back to New York and the night that
changed everything.

She’d
been three weeks away from the detective’s exam. After years of struggle,
holding down two jobs to survive long enough to get through school and the
academy, never relying on anyone for anything, her goal was in sight. She’d
stubbornly cared for her father as his alcoholism progressed – the angry,
abusive man who once ground her self-esteem into the dirt now reduced to a
feeble addict in hospice care – and finally buried him without a tear. Evie
couldn’t celebrate, though Jack had urged her to, insisting that the burden of
her childhood was behind her now that the bastard was dead.

Intelligent
and self-assured, protective and flattering, handsome Captain Jack Forrest
seemed to offer everything that her shattered family never gave her, and for
two months she’d had a heady, secret affair with the soon-to-be-divorced police
captain. It was hot. It was intense. It was so incredibly against the rules. Evie
didn’t care, reveling in the kind of connection she had denied herself for so
long.

The
night she buried her father, Evie felt numb and off-center. Annoyed, Jack
reminded her that had snuck away from the Governor’s charity ball to find her
before her shift for a quick fuck in her tiny apartment. Evie remembered that
last time – he hadn’t bothered to take off his tux, and the light gleamed off
his wedding ring as he thrust into her, not bothering to make sure came, like
he usually did. When they were done, unsatisfied and uncertain, Evie made the
mistake of wondering out loud how the divorce was proceeding – he and his wife
did a good job of keeping up appearances in public. For the sake of his career,
of course.

I’ve
got it under control, Evie. Quit hounding me.

Jack
won the argument – he always did – reminding her that if she loved him, she’d
be patient, and she headed off to work, hoping to put the latest tiff behind
them. She loved him. He loved her, despite her family history. Everything would
be fine.

It
was in the precinct bullpen, as Evie checked her gear, that her world imploded.
In a blue satin gown, Brianne Forrest stormed in, diamonds gleaming at her
wrists and throat, and demanded to know why Evie, a lowly patrol cop, was
fucking her husband, who was out of her league in more ways than one. Evie,
shocked, turned to Jack, in tow like a chastened puppy. Trying to ignore the
disapproval of her fellow officers, she waited for Jack to defend her, to step
up and tell the truth.

He
looked away.

And
she knew. Blinded by her emotions and longing for the care she’d missed since
she was a girl, she’d let herself be used, let herself believe that he really
wanted her, wanted a life with her. She’d believed that the marriage was over,
that he was a sad man keeping up appearances, and fallen for the whole thing,
hook, line, and sinker. The sudden clarity left her breathless, but she managed
to pull herself together and make it out to her black and white, the silent
condemnation from her partner, Simone Behr, worse than the official punishment
that was sure to come – fraternizing with a superior officer was strictly
prohibited.

Heartbroken
and shaky, Evie was distracted, and it nearly cost her her life as they chased
two scumbag drug dealers through Central Park later that night. She tackled one
to the ground, securing his piece, but missed the backup in his ankle holster,
and he struggled, freeing one hand, and then –

Bang!
Bang!

Evie
woke in the hospital, in agony. The wounds would heal, but her reputation would
not. With his connections, Jack would get a slap on the wrist, but Evie’s
career with the NYPD was over. She was suspended, pending an investigation into
the allegations. Her coworkers stopped speaking to her, Simone wouldn’t answer
the phone. Lying in the hospital bed, she thought back to the last time she’d
been truly happy, and remembered Gram – her soft hands, the peace and quiet of
the cabin, and the wide ocean stretched out below.