December 22^nd

 

 

10:23 A.M.

 

Arianna Hood pulled to a stop at a red light, another half an hour or so and she’d be home.

As much as she loved being at college, living in a house with three of her best friends, studying, hanging out, laughing, talking, and having fun in between tests and writing papers, there was nothing like coming home.

Especially at Christmas.

Although it had only been a month since she’d been home to celebrate Thanksgiving with her family, a lot had changed in those few weeks. She had finally found the courage to tell her best friend that she was in love with her brother. She had known Rosie Xander since they were both babies. They’d grown up together, been best friends since they could walk, and she had been in love with Rosie’s older brother Zach since she was twelve.

Best friend or potential boyfriend.

That had been the internal debate she had been having with herself for the last seven years.

It would have been easier if it was just a crush, but it wasn't, she loved Zach, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. It also would have been easier if her feelings weren't reciprocated, but they were. Zach felt the same way about her as she felt about him, and they had decided they should talk to his sister and see what she thought about them dating. They had agreed that if Rosie had a problem with it, they wouldn’t pursue a relationship. She loved Rosie, and she hadn't wanted to lose her best friend to gain a boyfriend, she had wanted them both.

Having that conversation with her friend was one of the hardest things she had ever had to do. But thankfully, it had worked out perfectly. Rosie had been thrilled and told them they better get married because then the two of them wouldn’t just be best friends but sisters too.

So now she was about to celebrate her first holiday with the man she loved as an official couple. She was so excited. As soon as they had talked to Rosie just after Thanksgiving, they had told their families, neither of which seemed particularly surprised at the news, but both of which had been happy for them.

Arianna had to admit she was a little nervous. There was so much pressure on her new relationship. Her mom had known Zach’s dad since before they were born, they’d even dated briefly before her mom met her dad, and then a few years later Zach’s dad reconnected with his childhood sweetheart. She really loved Zach, and she wanted the two of them to still be together and in love like their parents when they were their age.

As nervous as she was, she was equally as excited. This year they wouldn’t have to just sneak looks at one another, wondering if the other felt the same way they did. This Christmas they would be able to hold hands, kiss under the mistletoe, and be like a real couple.

The light changed to green, and she drove off. Arianna turned up the volume, and for the next twenty minutes she sang along—woefully out of tune, but what she lacked in talent she made up for in vigor—to an array of Christmas carols and songs. By the time she pulled into her parents’ street, she was brimming with Christmassy glee. She couldn’t wait to get inside, hug her parents and sister, set her gifts under the tree, have lunch, and catch up on everything that had happened over the last few weeks. Then she was having dinner with Zach, who had driven back from college yesterday.

Pulling to a stop outside her parents’ house, she was filled with nostalgia when she saw the big blow-up Christmas tree surrounded by a family of lighted reindeer in the front yard. She still remembered the year they’d gotten it; she’d been six and Hayley had been eleven. They’d spent ages in the store deciding which of the large blow-up displays to buy. Every Christmas since, they’d set it up in the yard. For many years after they’d bought it, Arianna would sit at her bedroom window at night and stare out at the glowing scene.

Home really was something special, but this house wouldn’t be her home for much longer. It would always be the first real home she’d had, and it would always be a place she could come to when she needed love and support, but soon she would be making a home of her own with Zach.

They’d talked about it. She was only nineteen, and he was only twenty, both of them hoped to follow in their parents’ footsteps—her mother and Zach’s father—and join the police force. It was going to be a busy but stressful time of their lives, and they thought they would face it better together than on their own. So, the summer after they graduated—only two and a half years away—they were going to be married. She’d be twenty-one by then, and Zach would be twenty-two. They’d be young but they’d both been set wonderful examples of how a successful relationship worked by their parents and extended family, so she knew they would be okay.

It was snowing out, so she turned off the engine and shrugged into her coat, wrapped her scarf around her neck a couple of times, pulled a beanie down low so it covered her ears and most of her forehead, then grabbed her suitcase from the front seat and stepped out into the cold.

In her peripheral vision, she saw someone walking down the sidewalk but didn't pay them much attention. She wanted to get inside and start celebrating Christmas.

She was just locking the car when she noticed a shadow looming over her.

Arianna turned around expecting to see someone who needed help, or maybe one of her family or friends.

Instead, it was a man with brown hair and blue eyes.

She’d never seen him before.

“You’re not Hayley,” he growled when he got a look at her face.

Her sister?

Why did he think she was Hayley?

What did he want?

“No, I'm her little sister, Arianna,” she said. The man must be a friend of Hayley’s or maybe he worked with her. Her sister was very dedicated to her job.

“Sister, huh?” He looked thoughtful, and again she wondered who he was and what he was doing here.

“I can pass on a message to her if you like,” she offered.

“Oh, you’re going to pass on a message all right.” He smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile.

Alarm bells went off in her head.

Something was wrong.

Whoever this man was he wasn't here just to see her sister about something innocent like work.

“Excuse me,” she said, trying to walk around him so she could get up the path and to the front door.

“I don’t think so.” The man grabbed her arm as she tried to pass him.

“Let go of me.” She yanked her arm but couldn’t break it free of his iron grip.

“I bet Hayley would do anything to get her little sister back,” the man said, although it seemed more to himself than to her, and he began to drag her toward a van parked across the street.

This wasn't happening.

This man wasn't going to kidnap her.

Especially not to use in some plot to hurt her sister.

The man was much bigger than her, and despite her best efforts to stop him, he was already dragging her further away from her car and her parents’ house. If he got her into his van, she would never come home alive. She was the daughter of a cop and wanted to be one when she graduated. She knew plenty of statistics, just like she knew that her best chance of getting out of this was to scream at the top of her lungs.

Arianna opened her mouth and screamed.

And screamed.

And screamed.

The sound startled the man trying to abduct her and he momentarily loosened his grip on her.

That was all the advantage she needed.

She yanked as hard as she could and flew backward, falling down and landing on her bottom on the road.

The man leaned down to reclaim his grip on her, but she was still screaming, and the street was starting to fill with people.

“Ari?”

She snapped her head sideways at the sound of her mother’s voice and saw both her parents come running out the front door.

Knowing he was beaten, the man ran to the van, jumped in, and tore off down the street.

“Honey? Are you hurt?” Mom asked as she and Dad materialized beside her.

“I’m all right,” she murmured, still struggling to believe what had almost happened.

“Who was that?” her father demanded.

“A man, he thought I was Hayley.”

“Jay Turner,” her mom muttered like this all made sense.

Only to her none of this made any sense at all.

She didn't know who Jay Turner was, she didn't know how he knew her sister or what he wanted with her, and she had no idea why she had very nearly been abducted.

All she knew was that her heart was racing, her pulse pounding, her palms sweating, and her eyes were growing watery. She let her parents wrap their arms around her and lead her inside, but even the warmth of the house and her parents’ embrace couldn’t erase the icy ball of fear that had taken up residence in her stomach. Arianna wasn't sure anything ever could.

 

* * * * *

 

12:13 P.M.

 

“I am so grateful that your uncle had a sewing machine left here for me,” Hayley said. She loved the sound of the whirring needle, and sewing had worked wonders on her frazzled nerves to be able to spend the morning finishing off the last of her Christmas gifts. Even if she wouldn’t be able to spend Christmas Day with her family, she still wanted to know that all the gifts were finished.

“Uncle Ryan knows you well,” Brian said. She’d been tired and distracted last night and hadn't realized until they got up this morning that Ryan and Brady had brought the box with her Christmas gifts and her sewing machine here before she and Brian arrived.

She had spotted them as soon as she came through to the living room at six this morning, and ever since, she had been practically glued to her machine. Brian had coaxed her away to eat a little breakfast and she suspected he would soon be trying to do it again for lunch.

But she wasn't hungry.

It wasn't that she was nauseous, sick, or anything else she was just enjoying this. It kept her distracted, so she didn't have to think about Jay Turner, and she knew that as soon as she stopped all of those fears and anxieties were going to come rushing back.

“He does,” she agreed, beyond grateful for what Ryan and Brady had done for her. They ran a private security firm, they had both been cops, and their natural instinct was to focus on her safety, that was their priority. Yet they had gone out of their way to make sure she was comfortable and as happy as she could be while stuck here.

“You’re really good,” Brian said, watching her with a little bit of awe on his face. He had been watching her all morning. Maybe it should have made her a little uncomfortable, but it didn't, she just loved being with him too much.

“Thanks.”

“I can’t believe you’ve made one of those for everyone in our family in just twelve months.”

“It was a lot of work.” There were her parents, her sister, two sets of grandparents, her aunt and her family, her two uncles and their families, and that was just the relatives.

Then there was Brian’s family, his parents, two sisters, their husbands, and Elise’s baby daughter. There was Sophie and her little brother and parents, and Brian’s Uncle Jack and his wife and three kids, including their eight-year-old daughter Dotty who had Downs Syndrome, and the two foster kids they had living with them at the moment as well as Xavier and Annabelle Montague and their four kids.

She’d made some for Brady, his wife Aurora, their kids, and her friends Sawyer, his family, and Samara. All in all, that made a total of fifty-four Christmas books she’d had to make this year, which evened out to four and a half a month, or a little over one a week. She had been rushed off her feet trying to find every spare second she could to work on them, but she had loved every moment of it. It was her way of expressing her love for the people in her life that were special to her.

“You’re totally amazing, you know that right?” Brian stood and came to join her at the table.

“It’s nothing.” Hayley brushed off his praise.

“It’s not nothing. These are absolutely gorgeous, you put so much work into them.”

“Once I got the pattern going it wasn't so hard. Most of them are pretty similar, except for Dotty’s, she always gets one a little bit special.” She adored Jack and Laura Xander’s youngest daughter. The little girl was just the sweetest thing, and neither she nor anyone in her family ever let her Down’s Syndrome hold her back.

“Dotty deserves it, she’s such a gem. My mom used to sew when we were younger. I don’t think she did much once we all got older though. Although with a grandchild now and a second one on the way, I think she’ll probably start up again. I always thought being able to take bits of material and turn them into something was pretty cool. Maybe you could teach me.”

“You want to learn to sew?” she asked with a laugh.

“Hey, don’t laugh.” Brian pouted, but his blue eyes twinkled. “I’m never going to be as good as you, but it would be fun to be able to sew teddy bears and things for my little niece and soon-to-be niece or nephew.”

“Okay, I can teach you. All I have to do is finish up Dotty’s Christmas book, and then we can try making something with the leftover material. It’s the perfect time to teach you since we’re going to have a ton of extra time on our hands, and we can't leave this apartment.”

“Perfect.” Brian smiled at her, and the look on his face said he was going to say more, but the burner phone that Brady and Ryan had left here in case they needed to contact them in an emergency began to ring.

Their eyes met, anxiety passing between them.

What had happened?

If Jay Turner was in police custody, someone would have driven here to tell them in person.

Since they were calling instead that implied it was bad news.

Had Jay made a move to try to get his daughter back?

Had Kinsley been hurt? Or worse kidnapped?

Sawyer was watching over the little girl. Had he been hurt?

Hayley prayed that everyone was okay.

Brian picked up the phone but crossed to the far side of the room before answering. Her sewing forgotten, Hayley watched his face as he spoke to whoever was on the other end, trying to decipher what was going on by his expression and the look in his eyes. But he was like a statue, betraying nothing of whatever was going on, and so she was forced to sit there, wringing her hands in her lap, and waiting until he hung up.

“Who was it?” she demanded the second Brian set the phone down.

“It was Ryan.”

“What did he want?” Hayley had to force herself not to hold her breath as she waited for his answer.

He hesitated, and that amped up her anxiety.

“Brian, what did Ryan want? I know it wasn't good news. Is it Kinsley? Sawyer? Maria?” Maybe Jay Turner had taken another go at his wife and ended up killing her this time.

“No, it’s not Kinsley, Sawyer, or Maria.”

“Then what?” Had there been an accident maybe? Something unrelated to this case? Arianna had been going to drive back from college today to spend Christmas with their family. Had her sister crashed her car or something?

Brian reached out and took her hands, gently prying them out of the death grip she had them twisted up in. He held onto them, his thumbs brushing absently across her knuckles. “It’s Arianna.”

“What happened?” she asked tightly. She didn't know what she would do if anything had happened to her little sister. They might not be biologically related, but they had been sisters Ari’s entire life, and she loved Arianna so much.

“Jay Turner must have figured out where your parents live, he was waiting outside their house. When Arianna pulled up, he thought she was you and tried to grab her. She told him who she was, but he decided to try to take her anyway. Maybe just to hurt her or maybe to try to force your hand and get you to give yourself over to him.”

Hayley just stared at him.

It was like he was speaking gibberish.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, staring blankly at Brian.

Maybe seconds, maybe minutes, maybe hours for all she knew.

Then she snapped and the next thing she realized she was jumping to her feet and running toward the door.

Brian jumped up after her and caught her before she got outside, wrapping an arm around her, yanking her backward, and holding her tight against his body. “Where do you think you're going?”

“To Ari,” she said, struggling in his grip. She had to see her sister, she had to know that Arianna was okay.

“Your sister is fine. She screamed, spooked Jay, and he ran off. She’s not hurt, just shaken up. She’s with your mom and dad.”

Hayley didn't care.

She needed to see that with her own eyes to believe it.

“Let me go.” She squirmed, but Brian just tightened his hold on her.

“No. Don’t you see that’s exactly what he wants? He wants you to be so scared of what he’s going to do, or who he’s going to threaten to go after that you either just go to him, or you get complacent with your safety, and he can get to you. You’re safe here, and I'm sure your mom will make sure that Ari is safe too. This is where you need to be right now, and I'm not going to let you leave.”

With that, the wind was taken out of her sails.

Hayley still wanted desperately to go and see her sister, but the last time she hadn't listened to Brian and assumed that everything would be okay their car had been run off the road. She wouldn’t do anything to endanger Brian’s safety again. Besides, she suspected that Brian would handcuff her to the table if he had to to prevent her from leaving this apartment.

Tears came next.

In an uncontrollable flood.

Without loosening his hold, Brian turned her around, and Hayley buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

Why was this happening?

Why couldn’t Jay just accept that it was over? They knew he had killed Leah, he wasn't getting Kinsley back, and he was going to prison. Killing her wasn't going to change any of that.

Curling her fingers into Brian’s sweater, Hayley clung to him. She just wanted this to be over.

 

* * * * *

 

1:47 P.M.

 

“Well, we spoke to everyone on the street, and no one got a license plate,” Jessica Spears said dejectedly as she and her partner stood outside the Hood house where a couple of hours ago Arianna Hood had very nearly been abducted.

“And we still haven't managed to find out who this Sarah is that Kinsley Turner told us watched her sometimes,” Adam said.

They had spent the previous day from their visit with Kinsley until they went home to their children trying to find out who the woman was so they could interview her. So far, they hadn't had any luck.

Jessica was worried about the woman. Jay was spinning out of control. He was so obsessed with getting revenge on Hayley for removing his daughter from his home that he couldn’t think of anything else. She wouldn’t put it past the man to be using Sarah’s house as his place to hide out and had at worst already killed the woman, and at best, had just tied her up and kept her prisoner in her home.

They really needed to find out who Sarah was and where she lived.

“He’s fixated on Hayley for now, but we were there that day too. He could change his focus any time and decide to come after either of us,” Adam said.

She’d thought of that.

And it wasn't a pleasant thought.

“Or he could go after Freddie or Claire,” she voiced the worry that had been at the back of her mind ever since they’d taken Kinsley.

“I think we should ask for patrol cars to make regular runs down our streets. When he thinks he’s in danger of being caught he seems backs off, hopefully having increased patrols will deter him from trying to go after either of the kids.”

“Hopefully,” she echoed. She didn't know what she would do if anything ever happened to Freddie. He was her world, her heart, the love she felt for her son she couldn’t even put into words. “We better go in and talk to Arianna. Maybe she knows something that will help.”

“Yeah, hopefully,” Adam said, but it was clear he wasn't going to be holding his breath.

She wasn't much more optimistic than her partner was.

So far this case wasn't moving forward. Jay kept upping the ante and making bolder attempts to get what he wanted, but they weren't having any luck finding where he had squirreled himself away.

They walked up to the front door, which was immediately thrown open by a frazzled-looking Paige. Jessica could empathize. If it was her daughter being stalked by a violent man, and then her other daughter almost abducted by that same man, she would be out of her mind with worry.

“Did anyone see anything useful?” Paige Hood demanded.

“No. A few neighbors came running outside when they heard Arianna screaming, they saw a man pulling her toward a van, but no one got a license plate. A few people thought they got a partial plate, but none of the numbers matched up, they all saw something different,” Jessica explained.

“You’ll run them though, in all the combinations?”

“We will,” she assured the older woman.

“Where’s Arianna?” Adam asked.

“In the living room,” Paige replied, then abruptly turned and headed toward the living room.

She and Adam closed the door and then followed. In the living room they found Arianna sitting on the couch, a steaming mug of hot chocolate clutched so tightly in her hands that her knuckles were white. Elias Hood sat on one side of his daughter, and Paige had taken a seat on the other. Both of them were sitting so close to Ari that they were practically on top of her.

Brady Crowley and Ryan Xander were also here, and she wondered if anyone had called Brian and Hayley to tell them what had happened. Although Jessica didn't know where the two were hiding, she assumed they had an untraceable burner phone, so even if Jay Turner could hack their phones he wouldn’t be able to find Hayley by tracing their calls.

“You want something to drink?” Brady asked.

“Anything hot,” Jessica said, rubbing her hands together as she took a seat on the other couch. Spending the morning outside, standing on people’s front porches as they interviewed the neighbors had chilled her to the bone.

“I’ll go make some coffee,” Brady said, heading for the kitchen.

“How has he been able to do all of this? And stay off the radar for days?” Paige asked, frustrated.

“From what we know of him this seems out of character. He hasn’t ever held a job for more than a couple of months. He spends most of his time drinking and beating his wife and kids, and he dropped out of school when he was fifteen. And yet he found somewhere to hide out after setting Hayley’s house on fire, and was able to contact his wife and get her to come to him. He was able to find out where Kinsley was and knew that eventually Hayley would show up there. He was able to find out where she lived and make an attempt to grab her. And he’s found a place to hide out where we haven’t been able to find him even though the entire police force is looking for him. We have obviously been underestimating him all along,” Ryan said.

“We aren’t underestimating him anymore,” Jessica assured him. “When we spoke to Kinsley, she mentioned a woman named Sarah who sometimes looked after her. We’re trying to track down that woman. We think there’s a possibility that he might be hiding out at her house.”

“What if you can't find this Sarah woman?” Paige asked. “He’s proven he’s determined to kill Hayley and that he won't stop until he succeeds. She can't stay in hiding forever.”

“We’ll find him,” Jessica promised. “Yes, so far it looks like we’ve underestimated him, but he’s so angry it’s clouding his thinking, and sooner rather than later he’s going to slip up, and we’ll get him.”

“We’re hoping Arianna might be able to help us,” Adam said.

“It happened so quickly, I don’t think I can tell you anything helpful,” Arianna immediately told them.

She didn't want Arianna to block any memories she might have by talking herself out of it. “Why don’t we just go through what happened and see what you do remember. No pressure. I know everything probably happened so fast that it all became kind of a blur, but anything at all that you remember could be helpful. So why don’t you just tell us from the beginning what happened?”

Arianna sighed like she had already gone through the attempted abduction several times. “I was driving home for the holidays. I parked in the street. It was snowing so I put on my coat, scarf, beanie, then grabbed my bag and got out of the car.”

So, it was likely that Jay had thought it was Hayley getting out of the car. Both Hayley and Ari had the same long dark hair and were approximately the same height. From a distance it would have been hard to tell them apart.

“How far toward the house had you gotten before he approached you?” Adam asked.

“I didn't move at all. I was just locking the car when I noticed him.”

“What did he say?”

“He was surprised that I wasn't Hayley, and then when I said that I was her sister he looked thoughtful, like even though it wasn't what he was expecting that was good news. I thought he was a friend or colleague and said I'd pass along a message. I didn't know that anything was going on with my sister.” Arianna paused to shoot both her parents an irritated frown.

“We were going to tell you when you got home,” Elias told his daughter.

“We didn't want you to worry,” Paige added.

“He said something to the effect of that’s right I'd pass on a message,” Arianna continued. “When I tried to walk around him, he grabbed my arm and said he bet Hayley would do anything to get me back. He was big, and I knew that he was too strong for me to fight off, so I screamed. That’s what my mom always taught me, if I was ever in danger, just scream, it would startle the attacker and alert people in the area that something is going on. It worked, he loosened his grip, and I was able to get free, then when he heard people coming he ran off.”

“Did you get his license plate?” Adam asked.

“No, I’m sorry.” Arianna dropped her gaze to her lap.

“Is there anything else that you remember?” Jessica asked. “Something about what he was wearing, the sound of his voice, or the way he smelled?”

“No—oh,” she paused, looking thoughtful now. “He did smell odd.”

Jessica couldn’t count the number of times that something a victim had smelled ended up helping them find the perpetrator. “Odd how?”

“Not how I'd expect a man his age to smell.”

“What did he smell like?” Adam asked.

“Lavender and camphor, he smelled like my grandmother.”

Lavender and camphor, grandmother smells. Could this be more proof that Jay Turner was hiding out at Sarah’s house?

 

* * * * *

 

2:02 P.M.

 

It was like fitting all the pieces of a puzzle together.

Now Jay was almost pleased that he didn't have Hayley Hood in his clutches just yet.

Not that he wasn't going to crush her when he got his hands on her.

Because he was.

But he got a certain amount of pleasure from knowing that she must be out of her mind with fear knowing that he was coming for her.

He hoped she knew he’d very nearly succeeded in abducting her sister. When he’d managed to track down her parents’ address—which had been surprisingly easy thanks to a drinking buddy who owed him who worked at the DMV—he had assumed that was where she was hiding out since he set her house on fire.

His hours of sitting and waiting had paid off. When a car had come driving down the street and pulled to a stop outside the Hood house, he had been positive it was Hayley. Then a young woman with long dark hair had gotten out of the car, wearing a scarf and beanie, he hadn't been able to see her face, but he hadn't thought he needed to. He’d been so sure that it was Hayley.

Despite his initial shock when the woman turned around, and he realized that she was much too young to be the social worker he wanted, he quickly realized that it didn't really matter. As soon as the teenager identified herself as Hayley’s sister—which seemed like a stupid thing to do, he was a stranger, and yet she had readily told him who she was without finding out anything about him first—he knew that this was a golden opportunity to get to Hayley.

If he took her sister, he was sure she would have done whatever he said to get him to let the girl go unharmed.

Not that he ever would have let her go completely unharmed.

The sister was a pretty girl, and since it was too risky for him to contact his wife again so soon after last time, he certainly had some built-up needs that she could have attended to.

But he would have let the kid go to get Hayley, she was what he wanted, not the sister. It really was a shame that it hadn't worked out.

Jay tossed his head back and downed the rest of his can of beer in one long swig, then dropped the can on the floor beside him.

He was restless.

He wanted to be out, working on tracking down Hayley, but it was getting riskier.

And he was running out of places to look.

Since he had set her house on fire, he knew she wouldn’t be going back there. Since he had tried to run her and the man off the road on their way back from the group home where his kid was, he knew she wouldn’t be going back there. Since he had nearly abducted her sister at their parents’ house, she wouldn’t be going back there either.

But she was somewhere.

Just because he didn't know where to look next, it didn't mean he wouldn’t figure it out. He had to. Anything else was unacceptable.

Last night he had dreamed about what he would do when he had Hayley. He had beaten, stabbed, drowned, shot, strangled, and set her on fire. It had been a disappointment to wake up after all of that.

Not a complete disappointment.

He wasn't alone here which was definitely a good thing.

For him at least, he thought with a snicker. Not so good for his roommate though. He was pretty sure that right about now she was wishing she was anywhere but here.

Standing, he stretched, enjoying the cracking feeling in his spine. He crunched his knuckles next, they were a little sore from the lesson he had given Maria the other night. When he finally got his hands on Hayley and ended her life, he was going to have to decide what his next move was. There was no way he was walking away without his wife and his kid. He just hadn't figured out yet how he was going to get them.

He was getting sick of thinking.

As entertaining as it had been working this puzzle to find the solutions, he was tired of that now.

He deserved a little break.

Some relaxation time.

Grabbing another beer, he left the kitchen where he had spent the last couple of hours and headed down the hall. He swayed a little as he went, that familiar alcohol buzz flowed through his veins. It was the way he had lived his life since he was twelve and had his very first beer. At twelve, he had snuck one of his dad’s cans once the old man was so drunk he could no longer comprehend his surroundings. When he was big enough that his father no longer tried to beat him up, he didn't bother to hide the fact that he drank his dad’s beer. Instead of sneaking one up to his room and drinking in the early hours of the morning as he looked out at the dark sky and the moon, he would just take one when he felt like it and would even down it in front of his father.

Alcohol wasn't just a drink to him.

It was a way of life.

It was his way of life.

Using the wall to steady himself, Jay swung open the door to the master bedroom, his gaze going immediately to the walk-in wardrobe on the other side of the room. He’d barricaded it by shoving a crowbar between the two door handles, but he could see that his roommate had tried to get out.

Strolling across the carpet, he pressed his ear to the closet door. Inside he could hear soft whimpers. She knew he was here. That turned him on. He liked knowing that she was afraid of him, he liked knowing that his wife was afraid of him, and that his daughters were too.

It was a thrill unlike any other.

Never again was he going to allow another person to control him like his father had tried to. Every time he struck Maria, it was like erasing every strike his father had ever given him.

Taking hold of the crowbar, he pulled it out slowly, each second that ticked by the thrill was growing. He was completely and utterly in control here, and she knew it.

The first thing that hit him was the smell.

A putrid mix of urine, feces, vomit, and fear.

Inside the closet was dark, but he could make out a shape huddled deep in the back corner partially obscured by evening dresses on hangers and a pile of shoes.

“Come out,” he ordered. She couldn’t really think that he wouldn’t see her there. There was nowhere she could hide. This may technically be her house, but while he was here it was his.

She didn't move.

That was not a smart move.

He was already angry with Leah, with Kinsley, with Maria, with Hayley Hood, he didn't need anything else to add to that or it was very likely he would explode.

“I said, come out,” he repeated. He tried to over-enunciate each word, but his alcohol-addled brain slurred the words, which was probably more menacing. She knew what he was going to do to her if she didn't obey, so why was she making things worse for herself?

Still the woman stayed where she was, but he heard her whimper.

Stalking over to her, he reached down and grabbed the first body part his hand connected with. Pulling her out by the elbow, he shook her as hard as he could, her head snapped backward and forward, and she groaned again.

Unfortunately for her, that sound only turned him on more.

“You should have listened,” he told her as he dragged her out of the closet and threw her down on the floor.

Terrified eyes stared up at him, but he didn't meet their gaze for more than a second before it settled on her cheek. The bruise he’d given her earlier when he’d broken down her door, overpowered her, and thrown her in the closet had grown darker. The mottled mix of blacks and blues filled him with memories, some old, some new, but it also filled him with anger.

He wanted more black and blue.

He wanted to see more bruises on her.

The woman hadn't really done anything wrong, but Maria wasn't here, and neither was Hayley Hood, so as the closest and most convenient target she was going to take the brunt of his rage.

And he had a lot of rage.

Jay delivered a swift kick to her ribs, then crouched down. “You should have come out when I told you to,” he whispered.

 

* * * * *

 

5:39 P.M.

 

“Do you want to watch TV?” Brian asked.

“No, thank you.” Hayley shook her head.

“Do you want to wrap Christmas gifts?”

“No, thank you.”

“Do you want to bake gingerbread or something? The kitchen is fully stocked.”

“No, thank you.”

“Do you want to play a board game?”

“No, thank you.”

“Do you want to rent a spaceship and fly to Mars?”

“No, thank you.”

“Hayley,” he said, exasperated. Ever since she’d found out that Jay Turner had tried to kidnap her sister, she had been walking around in a daze. Other than her initial meltdown she hadn't cried again, just flitted around the house if he asked her to help with dinner, set the table, or anything else or sat stiffly in a corner of the couch and stared into space. He wanted to snap her out of it, but he didn't know how.

“What?” She turned her head slowly to look at him.

“You’re not listening to a word I've been saying.”

“I was,” she protested.

“Okay then what was the last thing I suggested we do to hang out tonight?”

“Umm …” She looked at him helplessly. “Okay, maybe I was a little distracted.”

“A little?” he teased, jabbing her in the ribs.

“Okay, more than a little,” she acknowledged with a small smile. “I don’t care what we do tonight, whatever you want is fine with me.”

“What about a game?” His family had been big on board games when he was growing up. They’d had a family fun night at least once a month, even when he was a teenager, and although at the time he would never have admitted it out loud, he had actually enjoyed those nights. Sitting around the kitchen table, laughing, talking, eating snacks, bickering good-naturedly, the competitive levels of those nights were off the charts, put four siblings together and they couldn’t be anything but.

“Sure,” Hayley agreed without a lot of enthusiasm. That was okay he knew just what game to play to finally get a spark out of her.

“Be right back,” he told her as he headed down the hall to his room. When Uncle Ryan and Brady were organizing this place for them to stay in there were a couple of things he’d asked them to pack for him. The sewing machine and the gifts Hayley had been making was one, his Christmas gift for her in case they ended up spending the holidays here was another, and this particular board game was the third.

When he returned to the living room, he saw that Hayley had sunk back into her daze. Her back ramrod straight, her hands clasped tightly in her lap—so tightly he could see her knuckles were white—her gaze blank as she stared at the TV without seeing what was on it.

“Time to play,” he said, forcing some cheer into his voice to push away the worry. He didn't know how Hayley was going to get through this. So far Jay had continued to slip through the cops’ fingers, and he had to proceed under the assumption that that could continue to happen for days or weeks, possibly even months. As her bodyguard—and her friend—it wasn't just his job to keep her alive and in one piece, it was also his job to make sure she made it through this intact psychologically as well. Or at least come out of it as okay as she could be after living through someone’s attempts to kill her.

Brian had expected to repeat himself several times before Hayley realized he was in the room, but she immediately looked over, her eyes falling to the box he held in his hands.

“Is that what I think it is?” she asked, shocked.

“Sure is,” he said, joining her on the couch and setting the game on the coffee table.

“I can't believe you still have it.” Hayley was still staring at the box like she couldn’t believe it existed.

“Of course I do. I wouldn’t throw this away.”

A little color brightened Hayley’s cheeks. “I spent so long choosing that. I second-guessed myself so many times. I thought you probably would have thrown it away the next day, not kept it for ten years.”

“This was the sweetest, most thoughtful gift I've ever been given,” he told her, and he wasn't lying. Hayley had given him this game of Operation as a Christmas gift when she was fourteen, and he was twenty. Their families always did a Secret Santa and that year she had gotten him, the limit was ten dollars because the idea was to be creative and thoughtful, not spend a lot of money.

“You were pre-med. At the time you wanted to be a surgeon like your dad, and I knew how much you loved board games, so I thought you might have liked it. But I was so nervous about giving it to you, I didn't want to look childish or stupid, and I didn't want to give away that …” Hayley trailed off, but he knew what she had been going to say.

“It was a great gift, Hales. This was my favorite game as a kid, I would spend hours playing it.”

“Then let’s play,” she said brightly, a little too brightly, like she was trying to hide something.

He didn't push her on it, and they put all the little white plastic Funatomy pieces into their spots. They shuffled the two sets of cards and dealt out the Specialist ones, setting the Doctor cards beside the Operation board. “You want to go first?”

“Sure.” Hayley picked up a Doctor card. “I got the butterflies in Cavity Sam’s stomach,” she announced. Picking up the tweezers, she positioned them carefully over the butterfly piece and slowly lowered them down into the small hole. She clamped them together, clutching the plastic butterfly between them, then began to bring them up. She almost had it out when she bumped the side, and Cavity Sam buzzed, his nose lighting up. “I didn’t get it.”

“I have the Specialist card for the butterflies,” Brian said, taking the tweezers. In one smooth movement, he pinched them together, lowered them into the hole, picked up the butterfly and pulled it out. “Got it.” He grinned.

“I was never any good at this game,” Hayley said. “My hands aren’t steady enough.”

“Here I’ll help you,” he said. “Take another card.”

“It’s supposed to be your turn.”

Brian grinned. “I think we can bend the rules a little. Here you go.” He picked up another card. “It’s the charley horse. Come sit here.” He patted the edge of the couch in front of him. Hayley gave him a funny look but complied. “Take the tweezers.” Once she did, he put his hand over hers. “You want to move confidently. Don’t second-guess yourself. Just one smooth motion, down, grasp the horse, then back up again.” Guiding her hand with his, he did exactly what he’d just said. The piece came out without setting off the buzzer. “We got it.”

“Yeah, we did,” she agreed, her breath hitching.

“See, just nice and smooth.” His own breath hitched as her hair tickled his nose. Her body was right up against his, her back to his chest, her slender neck right by his mouth and it was all he could do not to trail a line of kisses along it.

“What made you change your mind about going into surgery,” Hayley asked. “You would have been so good at it.”

“I guess the cop genes in me were too strong. I didn't just want to be a cop though, and since I was already pre-med, when my uncle and your mom took over the private security firm it seemed like the perfect compromise. I still got to practice medicine, but I also got to help keep people safe.”

“You do so much more than just keep people safe. You volunteer at the women and children’s center our families run and at a free clinic.”

He shrugged even though she couldn’t see him. “Uncle Ryan and your mom pay me well so that I can be available whenever they need me, but that’s not too often, and I don’t just want to sit around and do nothing. Volunteering keeps me busy and I enjoy it, and I've gotten used to having to drop everything to go to work when they need me.”

“Like with me. With this,” Hayley said quietly.

“No, not like this,” he rebuked gently. “You know this is different. That you're different.”

“Right. Because we’re friends.”

“But we’re not just friends are we. You like me, you’ve had a crush on me since you were a little girl.”

“I … uh … I … umm … not a … well you see … it’s really more of a …” she trailed off helplessly, and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It’s okay, Hayley. I always knew that you liked me, but back then you were just a kid. Now you’re a smart, strong, courageous, beautiful woman.”

“W-what?” she spluttered.

“The last few days, spending all this time together, I know we’re not just friends, and I'm not just physically attracted to you.” Gently he brushed her hair over her shoulders and pulled it to the side, exposing more of her neck. Brian traced his fingertips along her soft, white skin and felt her shiver beneath his touch. Leaning down he whispered his lips across her neck. “I’m falling for you, Hayley.”

 

* * * * *

 

6:04 P.M.

 

Falling for you.

What exactly did that mean?

Did it mean that he just kind of liked her? Did it mean that he was just feeling sorry for her? Did it mean that he realized that she was hopelessly in love with him and he reciprocated her feelings?

Hayley had no idea.

Abruptly, she jerked off the couch and walked to the wall. “What do you mean you always knew that I liked you?” Before waiting for an answer, she began to stalk up and down the room like a caged animal. “I don’t understand. What does that mean? How could you know? I never said anything. The only people that know are Sophie and my mom, and I know neither of them would say anything. So how could you know? And always, what exactly does that mean? How long have you known? I don’t understand. I don’t—”

“Hayley, stop.” Brian appeared beside her, took hold of her shoulders, and physically prevented her from continuing pacing.

“No,” she said, trying to dislodge herself from his grip. This was too much right now. She couldn’t even deal with what was going on with Jay Turner and her sister and knowing someone wanted to kill her. There was no way she could also deal with trying to figure out what Brian meant and what he felt and whether he was trying to tell her that he wanted them to be a couple because he reciprocated her feelings.

“I knew I shouldn’t have said anything right now.” Brian looked upset. “The timing is all wrong. I was going to wait until this thing with Jay Turner was sorted out, but the more I'm around you …” he trailed off.

“What?” she asked. She needed to hear him say it.

“I know you’ve had a crush on me since you were a kid—”

“Nine,” she inserted.

“Since you were nine,” he amended with a small smile.

“If you knew then why didn't you say anything?”

“Why didn't you say anything?” he shot back.

Stumped, she had nothing to say to that.

She didn't know why she’d never confessed her feelings to Brian.

At first, it was because she was too young and he was so much older, but then once they’d both gotten older, she still hadn't been able to bring herself to tell him.

Sensing that she didn't have an answer, Brian continued, “When Paige and Elias first adopted you, you were just this little kid, you were like another little cousin. When you were fifteen and I was twenty-one, it was too big an age gap. I was an adult and I still saw you as a kid. You were a friend, I loved spending time with you, but back then the six years was too big a gap, and while I knew you liked me, I didn't reciprocate those feelings.”

Although she knew he wasn't finished speaking, she couldn’t help but tense at his words.

She’d known that.

At fifteen a relationship with a twenty-one-year-old pre-med college student wouldn’t have been appropriate, but it still hurt to know that he hadn't felt the same way about her as she had about him.

“The other day when I heard that you had been attacked on the job everything changed. I realized that you weren't a kid anymore, you were a woman, a beautiful woman. I knew that I liked you, I knew that I was attracted to you, but I thought that was it. But watching you these last few days, how you’ve dealt with everything, I’m not just attracted to you. I’m falling for you. Fast.”

Hayley just stared.

For so long she had wanted to hear him say those words, but now that he had said them it felt surreal.

She didn't want to believe it because she was afraid of getting her hopes up too high and then having them dashed.

She didn't think that Brian really understood the depth of her feelings. She hadn't ever really dated because she had been in love with Brian since her teens. But it wasn't that way for him, he’d dated a lot over the years, and she knew a lot of those relationships had been serious. His feelings for her were new and no doubt fueled by the drama and high stakes of the last few days.

If they weren't in the same place, then she didn't want to date Brian because if it didn't work out, she could lose someone she had loved since she was a kid.

“Brian,” she started. She had to explain to him just how much she loved him.

“You don’t have to,” he said.

“Don’t have to what?” she asked, confused.

“I get it. I know what you feel.” He lifted a hand and placed it on her chest, right over her heart. Butterflies immediately made themselves known in her stomach. “You love me. I'm sorry I didn't realize that sooner. But I know it now, and you don’t have to worry that I don’t understand or that what I feel isn’t real. It’s real.” He gave a chuckle. “It’s way real. Here.” One of his hands was still over her heart, and with his other, he picked up one of her hands and pressed it to his chest. “Feel it. Feel what's in my heart.”

Her hand warmed.

Her brain wanted to tell her it was simply because of his body heat, but her heart said something else.

Her heart said that the warmth was his feelings for her.

Hayley wanted to believe her heart, but she was a woman who lived in her head and not with her heart. She thought things through, she was sensible and smart, and always making lists to weigh out the pros and cons of each decision she had to make so that she could make a logical and informed choice.

She didn't let her emotions control her, maybe because as a child she had been overly emotional, crying over the smallest of things and clinging to her older sisters because the man who called himself her father terrified her. She had tried so hard to get a grip on her over sensitivity, but maybe she had gone too far. Maybe she had let her head override her heart, and that was why she hadn't told Brian how she felt about him. If she did and he turned her down then she was afraid that over-emotionalness would come back and her heart would be shattered into a million pieces.

But standing here, with Brian’s hand over her heart and hers over his, somehow, she felt like everything would be okay.

Somehow, she just knew that Brian would never hurt her.

They were friends. He’d been there all throughout her childhood—the good part of it anyway—they’d spent vacations and holidays, and just regular rainy weekends together. They knew each other, what they liked and disliked, they knew they had fun together, they knew they made each other laugh, and built each other up.

That was what real love was built on, right?

“You feel it don’t you?” Brian asked, tenderly brushing the back of his knuckles across her cheek, then cupping the back of her head in his hand.

So overcome by emotion, Hayley couldn’t speak, she just nodded. Brian began to shimmer as her eyes grew watery. You couldn’t not cry when your dreams had finally come true.

“You’re crying,” Brian said, dismayed, catching a stray tear with the pad of his thumb as it wound its way down her cheek. “Hayley, you don’t have to worry. Yes, what’s happened the last few days made me realize what was in my heart, but it didn't make me fall for you. Just made me see what was already there. I’ve been falling for you for months now. This just forced me to accept it, to admit that I wasn't just attracted to you because you’re beautiful but that I’m falling in love with you.”

Falling in love.

Even though her head still wanted to fight against what Brian was saying, her heart believed it. Her heart felt it. She was already in love with Brian while he was still moving toward the same place, but he was moving there.

Hayley looked up, her eyes still watery, but they were happy tears not sad ones. Although she wasn't usually forward with men, she reached up, curled her hands around Brian’s cheeks, and drew his face down to meet hers.

The kiss was soft, light, and unassuming as they took that first step out of the friend zone and into the couple one. Just like she could sense Brian’s feelings for her, she could also sense his nervousness. They were both anxious about the changes that were happening in their relationship, but those changes were happening whether they acknowledged them or not. The more time she spent alone with Brian, the more her feelings grew, and she knew it was the same for him. It helped her to know that he was just as nervous as she was. It was reassuring, they were in this together, and if Brian was anxious it was because he wanted this to work out as much as she did.

 

* * * * *

 

6:29 P.M.

 

Brian could do this all day.

Just stand here and kiss Hayley. His hand was still on her heart, feeling it race beneath his touch, his other curled behind her head, drawing her closer as he took the kiss from gentle to deeper, more sensual.

At first, she had been hesitant to believe him when he’d said that he was falling for her. She didn't want to get her hopes up, he got that, but she didn't have anything to worry about. While it was true she had been in love with him a whole lot longer than he’d had feelings for her, he knew what he felt was real. That feeling of panic when he’d realized that if Hayley had died in that fire a part of him would be lost forever had been the wakeup call he’d needed to admit that he no longer saw Hayley as his little friend, but as someone he could see himself having a future with.

Only because his lungs were screaming for air did Brian break the kiss. Breathing heavily, he stared into Hayley’s blue eyes as she stared—also breathing heavily—into his.

“This is odd,” she said with a giggle.

“Good odd, I hope.”

“Very good.” She gave a contented sigh.

“Well, there’s no going back now. After that kiss, I don’t think I could go back to just being your friend.”

“Good because I don’t want you to,” Hayley told him.

She still looked nervous, and he certainly still felt anxious. As much as he wanted to take things to the bedroom, Brian didn't think either of them was ready for that yet.

“Come and sit down.” He took her hand and led her back to the couch. He knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to say it. Brian wasn't used to being nervous around a woman. He’d dated off and on since he was in high school, but it had never gotten super serious because he hadn't been able to envision a future with any of those women.

But with Hayley, he saw it all.

He wanted it all.

He wanted marriage and kids and pets and a home. He wanted to have her by his side as he grew old. He wanted to share every day of the rest of his life with her.

But how could he say that now?

They’d been a couple—which he guessed they were now. That kiss certainly felt like it sealed the deal—for all of ten minutes if that. He couldn’t just say that he wanted all of that. He didn't want to scare her off.

Although she was thinking the same things as he was, right?

She’d said that she’d had a crush on him since she was nine, so it made sense that Hayley wanted those same things as well.

“You look thoughtful,” Hayley said, breaking his concentration.

“Just thinking about us.”

“Are we an us? I mean, that kiss was … amazing … but does it mean that we’re, you know, a couple?”

Since he knew that Hayley needed to hear it said out loud, he didn't beat around the bush. “Yes. As far as I'm concerned it means we’re a couple.”

As soon as he said the words, he felt her relax. “I've waited a really long to hear you say that. I didn't think I ever would.”

There was no point in hashing out why she hadn't said anything about her crush, or he hadn't told her that he knew she had a crush on him, it wasn't important. What was important was that now both their feelings were out in the open, acknowledged, real, and they could start moving forward.

“I guess Jay Turner turned out to be good for something,” he said, tucking her hair behind her ear, trailing his fingers down her slender neck, and settling them on her shoulder. “If he hadn’t decided to blame you for taking Kinsley then I might not have realized just how deep my feelings for you ran.”

“Sometimes things just have a way of working out for the best. Even the bad things.”

As much as he knew Hayley was happy—thrilled—for them to finally be a couple he could feel that she was still tense. One good thing couldn’t erase all the stresses of the last few days.

“Lie down,” he instructed, standing up.

“What?” Hayley’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“You look like you need a massage.”

“A massage?” She arched a brow, her lips quirked up into a smirk.

“Hey, these hands that you were just complimenting aren’t just good at playing Operation,” he said, holding up his hands and grinning at her. This was why he could envision a future with Hayley when he couldn’t with any of the other sweet, pretty, kind women he had dated before. They were friends, real friends, that had fun together, and this awkwardness of crossing out of the friend zone aside, they were comfortable together. That was the kind of foundation he wanted to build a life on.

“Okay,” Hayley agreed, stretching out on her stomach on the couch, her long dark hair fanned out across her back and down over the side of the sofa like a waterfall in the dark.

“Beautiful,” he murmured under his breath as he perched beside her.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing,” he said because he knew Hayley didn't see herself the same way that others did. It wasn't that she was self-conscious about her looks, nor was she vain. She didn't wear a lot of makeup, just enough to highlight her already long lashes and large eyes and accentuate her plump lips, and she didn't spend a lot of time on her hair, usually leaving it hanging loose. She was stunning, but she didn't let it define her. It was one of the things he loved about her, and he knew that she wouldn’t want constant compliments on her appearance.

“Liar.” She giggled.

“I was just saying that you were beautiful, and don’t go disagreeing,” he added when she took a breath and was about to speak. Hayley kept her mouth shut, and he started to knead her shoulders, she was even tenser than he’d thought. Knowing she was sore and bruised from the events of the last few days, Brian kept his touch gentle while still giving her muscles a good working over, getting rid of the tightness and the kinks.

“Ahh, that’s so good,” Hayley sighed contentedly again and settled deeper into the couch cushions.

“I know what would make it better,” he said.

“Oh yeah?” she asked, sounding a little suspicious.

As well she should. “Why don’t you take off your sweater? It’ll give me better access.”

“Better access?” Hayley propped herself up on one elbow, amusement dancing in her eyes. “To what?”

“You. All of you.”

Although her cheeks pinked in that adorable way they always did when she was anxious or embarrassed, she pulled her sweater up over her head and dropped it on the floor beside them, leaving her in just a pair of sweatpants and a simple white cotton bra.

“Brian?”

“Yeah?”

“You're staring.”

“Oh, yeah.”

She laughed, but it was a nervous laugh, and to put her back at ease, Brian leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips, then put his hands on her shoulders and eased her back down so she was lying on her stomach again. Beginning at her shoulders, he massaged his way down her body, working the back of her neck and then down her spine. Skipping her backside and legs, he jumped down to her feet, rubbing them from heel to toe.

“These socks really should go too,” he said, pulling them off her feet and tossing them down to join her sweater.

“Uh-huh,” Hayley mumbled.

Moving on to her calves, he massaged them for a minute before pausing, wondering just how far he could push his luck. “You know …” he said slowly.

“I think I can guess where this is going.”

“These pants are a little in the way,” he teased. “They should probably go as well.”

“So, I’d be in my underwear, and you’d be fully dressed.”

“I can fix that.” Brian pulled his own sweater off and added it to the growing pile of clothes on the floor. Since Hayley hadn't protested the idea, he tugged her sweatpants down her legs, then eased her over onto her back so he could see her properly.

Even though she didn't work out a lot, Hayley’s body was perfectly toned, her legs were long and slim, and her stomach was flat and smooth. Add that to her sky-blue eyes and the very light dusting of freckles across her nose and he could stare at her forever and never get tired of the view.

“This is why you wanted to undress me, to stare at me?” Hayley asked with a grin.

“Nope, I had something else in mind. If you want to,” he added. There would definitely be no going back after this.

“I want to,” she said without hesitation.

Removing the last of his clothes, Brian sat down beside her and took hold of her hips, lifting her onto his lap. Like they had done this a million times before instead of this being their first time, their lips found each other’s, and his hands began to knead her bottom.

The kiss deepened, emotions passed between them, his fingers found their way inside her, and she moaned into his mouth. She began to rock against his hand as he worked her up, teasing her by moving faster then slowing right back down again.

“Brian,” she whimpered. “I don’t want to come until you're inside me.”

Taking pity on her since he wanted their first time to be perfect, he reclaimed his grip on her hips and maneuvered her up and then lowered her down, so he slid inside her, buried deep.

Friendship had cemented their bond, and they moved in sync as they worked each other higher and higher. Hayley’s nails dug into his shoulders and his into her bottom as they continued to move, faster and faster, with more and more urgency until they both toppled over the edge together.

“That was … indescribable,” Hayley panted, resting her forehead against his.

“It was pretty amazing,” he agreed, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling out of her as he turned her around and settled her in his lap.

“We didn't use a condom,” Hayley said as she snuggled closer.

Brian reached for a blanket and tucked it around them. That was sloppy on his part. He’d been too eager to get inside her to stop and think of anything else. “No, we didn't.”

“It’s not really the best time for us to get pregnant. We only just started dating, we don’t even know if we’re going to make a good couple.”

“I love kids, you love kids, we both want kids, we both know that we’re going to make a great couple. If we just made a baby then we’ll deal with it, but usually it takes more than just one time.”

“You really feel that way?”

“With you? Absolutely. I already know we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together, whether we start our family today, or a year from now, or ten years from now, I don’t care. All I want is you.”