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Marley stood there staring in disbelief at the back door after it slammed shut behind Warwick, unsure whether she wanted to scream or cry. Maybe both.
She sank back onto the couch in a daze, reeling from everything that had just happened. Fighting the instinctive urge to run after him and demand that he come back to explain himself.
He’d wanted to protect her? From fucking what? Nothing would be a good enough reason for him to let her believe he’d died.
Rage began to take over, and it felt a hell of a lot better than the sickening shock and helplessness from before.
She wanted answers. He damn well owed her answers. As well as a lengthy and detailed apology—that she would tell him to shove straight up his lying ass.
She put her head in her hands, struggling to process it all. For sixteen months she’d believed him dead. Had mourned for him all alone. Had grieved his loss every single day since, all without knowing what had happened to him, only that he worked for the UK government and had died in an accident.
An explosion no one had ever bothered explaining. And since they hadn’t been married, she’d had no legal standing to demand anything.
The only reason she’d even found out in the first place was because the police had apparently found her number on a phone with his fingerprints. She’d struggled through her grief, the agonizing sadness and loneliness.
And then ten minutes ago he’d walked through her door—only to take off without an explanation. But the scars on his face made her believe the explosion part might have been real enough.
A sharp knock on the door yanked her out of her thoughts. “Ms. Abrams? Police, ma’am.”
Muttering a curse, she pulled herself together and went to open the door. Her mind was in constant chaos as she talked to the two officers. Explaining what had happened, with the exception of mentioning Warwick. The way he’d taken off when he’d heard the sirens told her something else was going on.
Was he a criminal or something? Because clearly she hadn’t really known him at all.
They took her statement, looked around her property and took pictures of her window and the bullets on the floor.
Bullets that had come way too damn close to hitting her.
She crossed her arms as a shiver rippled through her. She was a former Marine. Could handle herself and didn’t spook easily, but she’d never been in combat and certainly hadn’t expected to be shot at here on her doorstep. Those assholes could have severely wounded or killed her.
“We’re going to have our forensics people come in to document everything,” the older officer told her. “It’ll take a few hours. Is there somewhere else you can go for tonight?”
“Yes.” Everleigh and Grady would put her up for the night. “I’ll just go pack a bag.”
She walked into her bedroom and opened the closet feeling like she was in a fog. A fog so dense that she jumped slightly when her cell phone rang. She snatched it from the bed, some stupid part of her hoping against hope that it might be Warwick.
Of course it wasn’t. It was Decker. He’d been calling repeatedly since she’d hung up on him after the shooting. Wouldn’t stop calling until she reassured him she was okay.
She didn’t feel like talking to anyone, even him, but she needed to let him know she was all right. “Hey. Sorry, I’ve been busy here.” Her voice sounded surprisingly steady. Inside she felt anything but.
“What the hell happened? I heard shots.” His anger and concern vibrated through the line.
“Some idiot did a drive-by and hit my front window when I was at the door.” But that hadn’t shaken her nearly as much as Warwick’s sudden resurrection.
“Did you—”
“The cops are here now. Everything’s fine, I promise.” She didn’t dare mention Warwick. Decker didn’t really know about him and if she told him what had happened, he would probably hunt Warwick down and beat him to within an inch of his life for hurting her.
“You don’t sound fine,” Decker said after a slight pause.
Yeah, well, it had been a hell of a night, and he didn’t know the half of it. “I’ll be okay.” There was no way that shooter could have been targeting her. “Really, but I can’t talk right now.” She pressed her lips together, blinked fast to hold back tears.
God, she was cracking apart inside, her heart breaking all over again. Why had Warwick let her think he was dead all this time? How could he do that to her. And why had he come here tonight in the first place?
“Yeah, okay,” Decker said, softening his tone. “Can I do anything?”
She sucked in a breath. Don’t cry, don’t cry... If she started she might never stop, and she’d already cried enough for him. “No, but I can’t wait to see you Friday. Love you,” she managed to get in before her throat closed up.
“Love you too. Call me anytime if you want to talk, all right?”
She could count on one hand how many times he’d told her he loved her. Hearing it now just about broke her. “I will. Bye.”
Ending the call, she drew in long, unsteady breaths, her vision blurred by a haze of tears. Why had Warwick come to Crimson Point? If he’d wanted to see her, why take off so suddenly without explaining anything? And why didn’t he want to be seen by the police?
Her mind came up with all kinds of crazy ideas. From drug runner to some sort of mob involvement. And none of that was helping matters.
She needed sanity right now. Stability.
When she’d calmed down a bit and the tears had finally receded, she dialed Everleigh.
“Are you checking to make sure I didn’t crack and show Grady the dress?” Everleigh answered in a teasing tone. “Because I didn’t even tell him I’d bought one.”
“No, that’s...not why I’m calling.”
A startled pause met her words. “Mar, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Marley swallowed, pressed her lips together for a long moment until she could speak without choking up. With anyone else she would have lied and said she was fine. But Everleigh was her best friend and she desperately needed her right now. “You know what? No. No, I’m not okay.”
There was a rustling sound in the background. Grady’s low voice murmuring something. “What’s going on?” Everleigh demanded.
Marley told her about the shooting and police. “But there’s...more. A lot more, and the police have asked if I can go somewhere else for the night. Could I—”
“The spare room’s all yours,” Everleigh said. “For as long as you need it.”
Marley exhaled in a rush. She hated being a burden, was uncomfortable leaning on anyone and hated to be the source of drama, but... “Thank you.”
“Sweetie, of course. Do you want me to come get you?”
“No, it’s fine, I can drive myself. See you soon.”
Everleigh and Grady were both waiting at the door when she got there. Her friend took one look at her and pulled her into a hug, holding her tight. It was wonderful and badly needed, but in that moment Marley would have given just about anything for it to be Warwick’s arms around her instead.
“Whatever it is, just tell me,” Everleigh said, drawing her inside.
Marley went over to the couch and curled up on one end, hands knotted in her lap. Everleigh sank down on the other end, watching her with worried eyes.
Grady stood behind her, dark brown gaze steady on Marley, his quiet, capable presence comforting. “You okay?”
“Yes.” Not really, but doing her best to keep her shit together. “Thanks.”
“Then I’ll just...” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Holler if you need anything.”
Marley waited until he’d left the room before saying anything else to Everleigh. “I don’t even know where to start. No, yeah I do.” She paused to rub at her eyes before continuing. “Remember the guy I told you I’d been seeing last year before we met?”
Everleigh frowned. “The British guy who broke your heart? That’s all you ever told me, that he was English and broke your heart. Every time I tried to get you to talk about him, you closed up.”
Because it hurt too damn much. “Warwick. His name’s Warwick.” Pronounced the English way, the second W silent.
Ev tucked her feet under her, gaze sympathetic. “What happened?”
She blew out a breath. “Remember that work conference I was at in Atlanta late last April?”
“That’s where you met him?”
She nodded. “He was in town for meetings. We bumped into each other in the hotel lobby, hit it off and, well, fast forward a few weeks and we met up at a resort in the Bahamas.” Best time of her life. The happiest. And oh my God, the sex. Off the charts. He’d thoroughly ruined her for anyone else.
“How long were you together?”
“A few weeks in total, but we were apart for a lot of it because he kept having to go back to the UK for work.” Legit work? Or criminal shit?
She tipped her head back to rest against the couch cushion and kept going, letting the memories wash over her. “I can’t even describe what it was like with him. I was falling so hard and fast for him, the first time in my life that’s ever happened to me.”
“So what went wrong?” Ev asked, sounding confused.
She wasn’t the only one. “He left again. Got a call one morning in the Bahamas and said he had to go. He was gone within the hour, just like that. No further explanation.”
“And that was it?” Disappointment drenched Ev’s tone.
“No. He called me a few times over the next couple days. Sounded like he sincerely missed me, promised to come see me in Louisville as soon as his upcoming job was done. Some government thing he wouldn’t give me details about.” It was all so suspicious now. She swallowed. “Two weeks later I got a call from the police in London saying he was dead.”
Everleigh gasped. “What? Oh my God, Marley—”
“They told me there’d been an explosion. There was no funeral. No other information because we weren’t related or married. He was just...gone.”
“Why the hell did you never tell me any of this?” Everleigh said, looking stricken. “God, I had no idea, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She shook her head at herself. “It wasn’t because I didn’t trust you. I was in shock, you know? And...well, after everything you’d been through, I thought it seemed stupid and selfish to dump all that on you too.” Everleigh had lost her husband and their baby within the span of three hellish months.
Everleigh’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s not stupid or selfish,” she said, wiping at her eyes, and Marley felt like shit for hiding everything from her. “God, I feel horrible for making you feel like you couldn’t confide in me.”
“No, don’t,” she insisted, sitting up to grab Everleigh’s hands and squeeze them. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I love you to death. This is on me. I’m...not good at leaning on others, I guess.”
Everleigh shot her an annoyed look. “You guess?”
“Okay, I know it. Anyway, that’s why I was kind of withdrawn back then.”
“And no wonder.” She eyed her in concern. “But you’re doing better now?”
“I thought I was. Until he showed up tonight.”
Her friend’s eyes flew wide in disbelief. “What?”
“Five seconds after those shots went off, he came through my front door.”
Ev pulled a hand free and covered her mouth with it, gaping at her in horror. “No.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t believe it. He started asking questions about the shooting, kind of took over. Didn’t say a word about where he’d been or what had happened. Before I knew it the police were coming. As soon as we heard the sirens, for a second he looked at me like his heart was being ripped out, then this eerie kind of mask dropped into place. He said he had to go, then took off.”
“Why? And did you go after him?”
“No goddamn clue. And no, because I felt like I’d been sucker punched and wasn’t going to chase after him if he didn’t want to stay.”
“Oh, Mar.” Everleigh slumped back into the cushions, watching her with a mystified expression Marley felt all the way to her soul. “What the hell.”
“I know. He looks different now. His face is scarred on one side. So maybe he really was wounded in an explosion.”
“Oh, man...”
She pushed out a breath, not wanting to dwell on it anymore. “Anyway, I was losing my mind and then my brother called—he’s coming in on Friday, by the way—and then I called you.” She squeezed the hand she was still holding. “Thanks for letting me stay here tonight. I really didn’t want to be alone.”
Everleigh gave her a sympathetic smile. “Of course. I’m here for you anytime.”
They lapsed into silence after that and she was relieved that Everleigh didn’t press her for more details, didn’t try to change the subject or distract her. Just sat with her while she struggled to process everything that had happened. Trying to make sense of it. Thinking of the tragedies that had shaped her life.
Her heart had already been shattered twice before. She absolutely wouldn’t forgive Warwick James for doing it a third time.
****
She was long gone.
Warwick expelled a breath as he peered through the trees lining the edge of the park behind Marley’s property and into her backyard beyond the fence. It was after midnight. Her car wasn’t parked out front. All the windows were dark. There was crime scene tape across her front door and the window had been boarded up.
The neighborhood was still and quiet. Nothing suspicious happening, and there had been no sign of the shooter or anyone else checking out Marley’s place.
Had she gone to a hotel? A friend’s place?
It made sense that she wouldn’t want to stay here after what had happened, and in all honesty, she might be safer elsewhere for now. He hoped she had someone she trusted to be with. Someone who cared about her to support her after the shock he’d delivered. But dammit, he wished it were him.
Everything in him ached to hold her. To try to explain everything as best he could. He couldn’t leave her in the dark anymore. That would be beyond cruel after suddenly bursting through her door and delivering yet another shock tonight.
But telling her would only make it worse. There was no explanation he could give her that would make up for what she’d suffered already, for him allowing her to think that he was dead for more than a year.
The right thing to do was to stay the hell away from her. Leave town to protect her.
Except dammit, now that he’d seen her again and potentially endangered her, he couldn’t find the will to do it.
Marley was his weakness. Had been from the day he’d met her. She made the rest of the world fall away, made him forget everything but her. One touch from her and his resolve to keep his distance would turn to ash.
He clenched his jaw, remembering the utter shock on her face when he’d walked through that door earlier. The raw pain that continued to claw at his insides.
It was hell being so close to her and not being able to be with her. But then hell was what he deserved.
Ripping his attention from her house, he slipped through the trees and past her fence to survey the darkened, quiet street once more. The shooter wasn’t coming back. But his gut said there was still danger out there somewhere.
A threat to him and anyone who got close to him. He couldn’t let that be Marley.
A wave of loathing washed over him. He never should have come here. He’d known that from the start. Known he should have stayed the hell away. But now he had to stay, watching over her from afar, protecting her without her knowing until he was certain she was safe.
Once he was sure of that, he would leave for good. And hopefully take whatever danger was looming with him.
