Page 134 of The Quiet Witness

Ethan was ready to leave the institution, face lit up like a Christmas tree’s lights. He stepped through the snow right into his grandparents car without any lingering hesitation. So different to when she’d first seen him, scared of making the wrong move but now…

He had found his home.

Lucien’s voice pulled her attention away from the car with Ethan in it, who was still waving excitedly at them as the reunited family turned down the road, quickly disappearing from view.

“I know you’ve been dealing with a lot since we first met.” He settled down in the swing next to hers, feet resting on the sandy floor.

Kate opened her mouth to respond but he beat her to it.

“Just… hear me out for a bit, okay?” Following her surprised nod, he continued. “My work wouldn’t exactly be easy on anyone, much less the girl who miraculously survived. It’s the reason I wanted to show you this.” Lucien waved a hand at the lone building, encompassing all that had transpired inside. “What did you see?”

“A life changed. Ethan’s life changed.” She corrected herself. “But how did you do it? I mean the risk of it all is… well.” It could literally lead to him being discovered, and he might have the Montana Big Sky police in his pocket, but that couldn’t be true for all cops.

The swing creaked under his weight when he said. “Turns out his grandparents had filed a complaint against the father. They knew something was off about the man, but they were never heard by the justice system.” A sly grin slipped past his resolve, showing the side of him that enjoyed the hunt, the kill, and the escape, what it took to remain below the radar. “And let’s just say… hiding in plain sight is an actual method.”

It unnerved her: both the fact that the justice system failed victims over and over, and that even though Lucien tried to hide it at times, he loved what he did. It wasn’t just about serving justice, he enjoyed every second of it.

She watched him push off the swing, legs outstretched like a child’s while he continued. “Hearing that, I decided to pull on a couple of strings.” His playful grin faltered when he turned to look at the building. “Witnessing that in there? I know what I did was the right thing.” Lucien tore his eyes away from the foster home to catch hers. “Money, capabilities, it can make a difference.”

Capabilities. Those capabilities of his had given a boy his shot at life. And… had nearly taken hers.

“I know that it can, but, Lucien… you nearly took my life too. What you do, it’s not only the people who deserve it. You know that, deep inside.”

He tilted his head at her, looking for a second as if he thought she was being naive.

“It’s not about what I know, sweetheart. And no, not everything I’ve done has been for the right reasons.” His hand clenched around the chains of the swing. “I know that scares you, Kate. But I won’t ever change, that alter ego as you call it? It is a part of me. And I’m not asking you to like it, in fact I don’t need you to.” His tone grew deeper, firmer. “But perhaps you should know it’s what gets things done.” He stopped, glancing around to make sure they were still alone before continuing. “What made me snap the arms of that trafficker, what made me start the sanctuary in the first place. The good… it goes hand in hand with the bad.”

“Black and white, duality.” She didn’t know she’d whispered the words out loud until his eyes snapped up in surprise, but he bobbed his head in confirmation.

A gust of wind tore through the playground, sending the snow swirling around them. Kate pulled her jacket tighter around herself, watching the tiny crystals float up to the sky.

Lucien jerked a thumb at the house. “No one, not even you, can tell me what I did here was wrong. I realize how that makes me look, like someone with a God complex. Thing is, I don’t particularly care.”

With that he pushed off of the floor, mirroring his swing’s rhythm to hers. So childlike, even though he’d just spoken about life and death as easily as one ordered breakfast in a restaurant.

Kate’s shoulders dropped, hands clenched around the metal chains of the swings, the ice on it burning her fingers. “I can’t tell you if it’s right or wrong, because no one can. We’re all out here winging it, hoping that what we do matters.” She trailed off, the next words heavy on her tongue. “What we saw here today… It mattered.”

Silence fell between them, crackling in its stillness. But the wind roared louder and louder, caught in the pine trees and gushing straight through a traffic sign, spreading its haunting song over the deserted landscape.

Out of nowhere her swing bolted sideways, sending her off course. Kate bounced right back into Lucien with a spooked laugh. The devilish little asshole was already grinning from ear to ear, swinging his hips over to hers again. “Stop it, you insufferable bastard!” she shouted. But the move made her smirk nonetheless.

He frowned at her. “Even though the last few days have been… challenging.”

Understatement of the century.

“You look different, lighter. Even after this conversation of ours, and whatever happened inside. Because I saw you… struggling with those flashes of the past.”

Her smirk widened, throwing a glance at the building so like the one from her past.

“I have changed, and what you’ve shown me here today. I am not a killer Lucien, no matter what you say. But I also remember how I used to wish for help, so I get it, a part of it. And today I feel like celebrating the good.”

And Ethan, maybe if he visited her in her dreams now, it would be with a wide smile on his face.

She held out her hand in invitation, wiggling her fingers. Getting the hint, he dropped the keys into her hands. “We just…” She stopped, saving the mental picture of him jumping off the swing with a flourish. “Need to see where life takes us next, huh?” With that she pushed up to walk to the Volvo, shoulders the tiniest bit lighter than they had been before.

Chapter 57

Whose Lazy Ass