Page 75 of Fallen Creed

“No, but I enjoy looking at it. Anything that’s yellow is usually cheerful. Daffodils, baby ducks, the sun. It’s hard to see yellow and not smile.”

He looked over at her and went quiet again, but now he was smiling. It was a real smile that took over his whole face, including his eyes. She liked making him smile.

—58—

Along the Platte River, Nebraska

Grace jolted in Creed’s arms. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Immediately, he knew two things. Ariel was close by. And it was Ariel who had kicked Grace.

He stopped himself from sneaking a peek out the window. He didn’t want Libby to know right away that Ariel was headed back. He wanted to keep working on her. Making her more comfortable with him. Okay, comfortable wasn’t the correct word. He was wearing her down. She was tired. He was the only one of them who had gotten any sleep, although it felt more like a drug-induced nightmare than sleep. But now, she was upset. So much so, she couldn’t pretend.

“How do you know her?” Creed asked. She’d gasped when he told her about the dead woman’s heart tattoo.

“It’s probably not who I thought it might be.” She shrugged like it didn’t matter, but she wrapped her arms tight across her chest. “I mean, how many women get hearts tattooed on their ankles? It’s probably like the number one thing.”

“Nora was frantic it was you. Why didn’t you at least leave her a note or text her that you were okay?”

Another shoulder shrug. She was good at them. Somewhere she’d learned a shrug would be accepted as a sufficient response.

“She took you in,” Creed pressed on. “Helped you.”

She watched him so intently, Creed felt like he was trapped in close quarters with an unpredictable, wild animal. Libby wasn’t the one who’d attacked and stabbed him, but there was something in her eyes that made him believe she was capable of doing the same, especially if it meant surviving. After all, she had drugged him. For all he knew, she was the one who zip-tied his wrists, then rolled and kicked him into the corner.

“She said I didn’t owe her anything.”

The pronouncement made her sound childish. However, her eyes continued to bore into him, daring him to challenge her. The Tramadol reduced his pain to a dull roar. He was ready to put aside any hesitation he had earlier about using his strength against either of these two women. No one would kick Grace again. He’d make sure of that.

“Nora must have helped you with your miscarriage,” he said.

A flicker of emotion crossed her face, but her eyes remained hard and steady.

“She kept your secret,” he continued. “Even from her husband.”

“I didn’t ask her to do that.”

“It’s actually above and beyond what friends do for each other.”

“Nora’s not my friend.”

“Really? What is she then?”

“She’s a nurse. They feel compelled to save their patients.”

“Sure. But I doubt they feel obligated to invite them into their home and offer their guest bedroom.”

“I didn’t ask her to do any of that.”

“Did she know you were running away from this Ruben guy?”

Her eyes fixed on his, but he couldn’t decipher whether it was anger or fear. The pain made his brain a bit slow.

When it was obvious she wasn’t going to tell him about Ruben, he pressed on. “How do you and Ariel know each other?”

“What?”

She wasn’t ready for the switch, her mind still occupied by the man named Ruben.

“Ariel. How do you two know each other?”