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The blood that had seeped through the right back pocket of the Voice of Doom’s jeans jarred Claire’s mind back to Saturday night. Dried blood matting Kendall’s hair. Fear grabbed ahold of her heart and she squeezed her eyes shut. Stark terror rose up, took her back to that night.
“Do you understand these rights as I’ve read them?” The deputy’s voice sounded too loud to her ears.
“I’m not an idiot, of course I understand, Officer Donut.”
His snide tone triggered the memory of the first threatening phone call. Tears pushed against her closed eyelids. A familiar helplessness descended over her. Just like that night, she was scared and unable to protect the people she loved.
She shivered and Jake tightened his arms around her. The heat emanating from his body soaked into her cool skin. She’d almost gotten him killed pretending he was her bodyguard with benefits. How could she have done that? How could she have been so selfish? Gritting her teeth, Claire choked back a sob.
For forty-eight hours she’d lived on the precipice of disaster. Through it all, she’d held on to her anger with an iron grasp and let it guide her actions. She’d refused to show how scared she’d really been.
The click of the handcuffs locking around the killer’s wrists exploded her tough-girl facade.
Claire lost it. Fat tears cascaded down her cheeks and her shoulders shook from her efforts to stifle her sobs.
Jake turned her around in his arms and pressed her cheek to his chest. His hands stroked her hair.
“Let it go, Claire.” His lips brushed the top of her head. “Just let it go.”
It poured out of her. All the fear and frustration ran down her face in hot tears that dripped off her chin. Jake rubbed her back in circular motions. His touch anchored her to him. Somehow she understood that he’d hold her until the tempest insider her ran its course.
For a few minutes the world consisted of Jake and her, the deputies working around them forgotten. She basked in the comfort he provided and snuggled in deeper. His responding sigh set off a fluttering in her stomach.
Everything she needed in life was wrapped around her.
The realization came to her crystal clear and fully formed, as if someone had spoken it aloud. Suddenly, the warmth in her body vanished. Her breathing turned heavy as she sucked air in and out, unable to fill her lungs. Her arms tingled. Fighting off a wave of dizziness, she pushed away from his chest.
She promised herself after Brett that she’d never need someone else that much again. The idea of needing Jake scared her almost as much as the events of the past two days.
“What’s wrong?” Worry lines creased his forehead.
Her line of sight narrowed. Focused on his slate-blue eyes, her peripheral vision turned dark. Her fight-or-flight response surfaced, demanding release. Unable to form words, she jerked away from him and stumbled backward until she smacked up against a barstool.
“Claire, we need to take you down to the station. The investigators can talk to you there so you don’t need to wait around while he’s here.” Hank dipped his head toward the Voice of Doom, whose gaze bored holes into her.
She inhaled several deep, cleansing breaths. Her heart slowed and her surroundings came back into focus. She grabbed Hank’s hand tight in her own.
“Jake, Sgt. Carlyle will take you over in a bit.” Hank ushered her toward the door.
“Claire.” Jake’s voice rang out above the deputies’ chatter and the snapping of the forensics guy’s camera flashes.
She glanced back, unprepared for the determined set to his square jaw. Before she could process what it meant, his face softened. His signature smirk set off fireworks inside her. She fought against the instant buzz of attraction but, her nipples tightened.
“We’ll talk later.” There was no question in his words.
His challenging tone set off a warm flush that heated her chest.
“Promise me, Claire.”
Even if he wasn’t here for the long haul, he wanted him. Needed him. For her, it wasn’t just physical. She yearned for the total package. Her heart skipped a beat. “I promise.”
A relieved sigh escaped as Claire sank back down onto the cheap vinyl couch in Hank’s office. She could sleep tonight without every light in the house on. The sound of her phone ringing wouldn’t set off alarm bells. A giddy excitement buzzed through her body, she couldn’t wait for everything to be normal again.
Absentmindedly, she picked at a one-inch tear in the stiff fabric. A seed of discontent bloomed. It wasn’t really over. Not yet. She had to know why it had all happened. She wasn’t leaving the sheriff’s office until she did.
Beth had told her once that juries didn’t like to convict unless there was a motive. Apprehension squeezed her upper back tight. She rolled her neck and stretched her shoulders, but the muscles remained coiled. If he went free, he’d make good on his promise to hurt her and her family. Dread wormed its way into the recesses of her mind.
She would spend the rest of her life looking
