The Surgeon’s Secrets: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance by Michelle Love, Celeste Fall (59)

Now…

 

 

When Sarah closed her eyes, she could still see him. Smell the blood. See his intestines, his organs, his lungs torn out of him, dripping ooze and gore onto the linoleum.

Now, covered in a white sheet, his face “repaired” by the mortician, she stared down at the face of the only father she’d ever known. She volunteered to formally identify George’s body so no-one else would have to see him torn apart like that. She wasn’t allowed to touch him but she bent down and whispered “I’m sorry” into his ear.

She felt Isaac’s big hand warm against her back. “Sweetheart?” she turned and he gathered her against him. She couldn’t cry anymore, her eyes were red raw, her throat tinder-dry but the feeling of Isaac’s arms around her gave her comfort. She felt his lips pressed against her forehead.

“Let’s go home, baby.”

She nodded and soon they were back at his apartment. He made her take a hot bath then go to bed, stretching out beside her, stroking her face until she fell asleep.

 

The Mariners were losing. Finn shifted in his seat, wishing he could concentrate on the game. He and a couple of his colleagues from the city were off getting hot dogs and beer, the Safeco crowd at capacity.

 

Finn pulled his cap over his eyes. He couldn’t stop thinking about Sarah. She had been so hurt, so devastated it twisted in his gut when he thought about it. He’d just wanted to hold her and make it all okay for her, but Isaac had been there, and it hadn’t seemed appropriate. Weird how that worked. Sarah was his sister, his family and now there was someone in her life who filled every role for her. As long as she was happy, Finn shrugged and let out a long breath. Beside, now he had his own family to think of.

 

After he’d gotten home from the long hours of work, after George’s murder, Caroline had been smiling, almost giddy. Pregnant. Jesus, how the hell did that happen? He’d slept with Caroline twice in the last year. Both times, he had too much to drink. Jesus. Finn swore under his breath. He just wasn’t ready for a kid yet, not like this, not with her. Pregnant. Did he believe the baby was his? Not really. And he didn’t care if Caroline was unfaithful – he knew for a fact that she had been many, many times. Still, he couldn’t walk away knowing the child could be his. It wasn’t in his blood to abandon family.

 

Damn it. He leaned forward, trying to stop the bottomless ache in his heart. A copy of the Seattle Times was wedged under the seat in front of him. A photo caught his eye. He yanked it free. A headline. Brutal Slaying of Seattle Undergrad…Finn read the story quickly but his eyes kept being drawn back to the photo. Dark eyes, dark hair. She looked just like Sarah. Finn felt a wave of nausea. You’re losing it, man. But he tore the page from the rest of the newspaper and shoved it into his pocket. The nightmare scene at George’s place, the smeared blood on the walls. You are next. Someone was targeting Sarah and he was damned if he’d let anything happen to her.

“Dude, you sleeping?” Hank, one of the city cops, banged his shoulder. “You’re getting old, man.” Finn gave him a wry smile and took the beer he offered.

 

The whole community turned out for George’s funeral a week later.

Sarah held the wake at the house. Kept busy with the catering and tending to the guests, it wasn’t until late that she managed to get a moment to herself. She snuck out the back door and, kicking off her shoes, sat on the steps of the porch. She leaned against the railing and shut her eyes. The pounding grief made her chest ache. The last few days had been horrific. George’s home had been cordoned off and crime scene investigators were everywhere. The Varsity had been full of customers wanting to know what happened, all well-meaning but wearing. A few times, she had hidden out in the backroom while Molly dealt with some of more emotional ones.

From inside, she heard Isaac asking Molly if she had seen Sarah and smiled.

“Out here, baby.”

He’d been her rock, her protector this last week, through the constant questioning of the homicide detectives. Do you know any reason why someone would want to kill George Madrigal? Would want to kill you? Why didn’t you report the letters?

She thought about that now, staring over at the trees that led down to the cove, the dark boathouse at the edge of the water. So much loss. She brushed a tear away.

Isaac sat down next to her, pulled his tie apart and undid his collar. He winked at her, reaching out and running his hand lightly down the back of her head. She leaned into his touch.

“How are you holding up, darling?”

She nodded again. “Okay. What about you?”

“Same.” He gave her a sad smile. “You did well though, lovely service, nice wake.”

“Least I could do.” Her voice had a catch in it.

Isaac frowned and leaned his face closer to hers. “Hey.” She looked at him. He put his head on the side and smiled. “It’s not your fault.” He slid his hand onto the back of her neck. There were tears in her eyes. She brushed them away as they dropped down her cheeks. Isaac pressed his lips against her temple. “I love you.”

She leaned into him for a moment. “And I, you.” She looked at Isaac, sleek in his dark suit and smiled.

“You look handsome in a suit.”

He grinned, cocky. “Oh, I know.” They both laughed softly then he pressed his lips to hers. “I’m so, so sorry, Sarah. I can’t imagine what this has been like for you. I wish I had gotten to know George a little better.”

Sarah smiled. “He was the sweetest man, the sweetest person I ever met. Honestly, you won’t find anyone with a bad word to say. You would have loved him too, Isaac. There wasn’t anyone he wouldn’t have helped, or tried to make their lives better.”

Her expression turned somber.

 

“I can’t begin to imagine how much you miss him.” Isaac’s hand on her arm.

“I do miss him. Every day.” She turned to him, her eyes serious. “I just wish I had reported the letters but they seemed like such a petty little thing, I didn’t want to make a fuss.”

Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head. “And I hate myself every day for that. It’s just…” – she sighed heavily – “It’s not fair, he should still be here.”

Isaac studied her face for a long moment. “You think you should have been the one to die, instead of him.”

She nodded. Isaac shifted across the step and put his arm around her shoulders. “There’s only one person to blame and that’s the psycho who’s doing this.”

She smiled weakly. “What I don’t get is… why not just kill me? If I’m the one he or she is after, just kill me.”

 

Isaac blanched at her words. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again, Sarah. Ever. Jesus.”

He pulled away from her and got up. She watched as he paced around the porch then looked down at her. “Do you honestly think I could go on without you? You are my love, Sarah, my life. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

He sucked in a deep breath then held out his hands. She took them and he pulled her to her feet. “Promise me,” Isaac said softly, “that we’re in this together. We’ll fight this together.”

She pressed her lips to his. “I promise, Isaac. I love you.”

 

He took her back to the city that night. Sarah had told him she didn’t want to be near the island for a few days and with Molly, they’d agreed the Varsity should close for a week. Sarah had insisted on paying Molly more than double for her enforced vacation but Molly had waved her away.

“No way chuckles. This is family time. We need this.”

As the elevator ascended to Isaac’s penthouse, they kissed, tenderly, gently at first then as they walked into the living room, Sarah began to unbutton his shirt, her breath hitching in her throat. Isaac grabbed her hands to stop them, searching her eyes with his intense gaze.

“Are you sure…?”

Sarah stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips firmly against his. “Make me forget, Isaac, make this night about love, and happiness, and…”

She never finished the sentence. With a groan, Isaac pulled her into his arms, kissing her fiercely as he stripped her before sweeping her up into his arms and into the bedroom.

 

Finn looked up and out of the window. His mood worsened when he saw Caroline walk to their car and get in. Probably off to see one of her playthings. He really, really, didn’t care.

“Go ahead and leave me,” he muttered to himself. “I don’t want anything from you.”

He saw Caroline swing the car around and head across the island.

 

He closed his eyes. The last few weeks had taken its toll on him; worrying about Sarah, grief over George’s murder. Who the hell would do that to another human begin? And why for the love of god would anyone want to hurt Sarah? Sarah who never had an unkind word for anyone (except Caroline, Finn smirked to himself, but his wife’s constant antagonism made her fair game). Sarah, who had finally, finally found someone who was worthy of her love, her good heart. Finn liked Isaac Quinn very much. After Sarah had found George, he and Isaac had worked together to hold her together, get her out of there, home, safe. And now someone wanted to kill her. Why?

 

He pushed a thought away. It’s because she’s beautiful, dumbass. It’s a matter of possession, obsession, and madness. No. No. Something, a scintilla flashed across his mind.

He reached into his jacket and pulled out the newspaper story he’d ripped from the paper He looked at the girl in the picture. Young, pretty Asian American girl, stabbed to death in Seattle. No apparent motive. A thrill kill, the police said, a sex crime. Finn knew he was clutching at straws but he flicked on his computer and started a search. He’d done this so many times since Dan had disappeared, each time finding nothing on the guy but each time hoping there would be something. A lead. A clue to where he was and where he’d been. Had Molly been right? Had he come back? You’re reaching, buddy. Finn gritted his teeth and turned to the screen.

 

He started a nationwide search. Sexual assaults, harassment cases. Finn considered for a moment and added “murders.” He knew he was being unreasonable, that his dislike of Dan was mostly because of the way the man had treated Sarah, but he decided if he was going to search anyway.

 

Victim profile: Female, twenty to thirty-five, petite build, long brown hair, brown eyes. Asian-American.”

He set the search going and reached for the phone. Time to start at the beginning. Dan was from Louisiana – according to what he’d told Sarah, anyway. Tapping out the number, he waited.

“New Orleans Police Department, how may I direct your call?”

 

She felt his fingertips drifted gently down her spine and smiled. She opened her eyes to see Isaac beside her, propped up on his elbow, smiling down at her. She rolled onto her side, stretching her aching limbs before leaning over to kiss him.

“You okay?” His voice was so full of love that she luxuriated in it a second before answering.

“As long as you near, I always will be.”

He traced a line around her lips with his finger. “Sarah, love, can we talk about our future? Seriously? I’m trying to hold back from dragging you to city hall right this minute and marrying you…,” he grinned as he said that and she laughed, “…but I do want us to move forward now. I love you and I would like it if we lived together.”

Sarah smiled and burrowed into the crook of his arm. “I would like that too. Even after this short time, this feels right, doesn’t it?”

Isaac smiled. “Hell yes. So, geography. I obviously have to have a base here but I’m happy to live on the island; really, anywhere is fine.”

They talked for most of the morning without ever deciding anything concrete but that didn’t matter – between exhilarating love making and talking, it was nearly three o’clock before they got dressed.

“How about we go into the city, grab the late editions, and commandeer a table at this bar I know?”

“God, that sounds perfect.”

Isaac high-fived her. “Then, later, we’ll go find some dark alleys and…”

“You are such a dirty boy,” Sarah giggled as he caught her by the waist and spun her around. “Come on, Don Juan, let’s go drink ourselves silly.”

 

The call to New Orleans had yielded nothing but the guy on the phone had promised to ask around. Finn sat down heavily at his desk. Damn it. The screensaver on his computer had activated and he flicked the mouse in irritation. And saw the results of his search.

 

A sense of dread, of certainty, settled over him as he read down the screen. The breath froze in his lungs. San Francisco. Auburn. Wilmington. Colorado Springs. A dozen more places across the country. All of them looked like the dead girl in the city. Like Sarah. Finn could feel his heart beat pounding, the blood roaring in his ears. There was no proof, no logical reason to think Dan would have had anything to do with the killings, that he was any kind of criminal at all. But Finn stared at the crime scene photos of the dead girls. Almond shaped eyes, long dark hair, and luminous golden skin. But even that wasn’t the reason Finn felt his whole body weaken with shock. He’d seen this before, the horror, the savage way these women died. He’d seen it in the home of his good friend, George Madrigal.

 

Finn almost made it to the bathroom before he threw up.

 

Molly was exhausted by the time she’d herded the kids to bed. Mike, her ever reliable husband, had helped out but was now slumped into his armchair, the game on the t.v., but Mike was snoring gently. Molly smiled fondly and closed the door to the living room. For the first time in days, she had time to herself but all she could think of was sleeping. Every bone in her body ached. She got up to make herself hot chocolate and glanced out of the window, across the street to the silent Varsity.

 

“Shoot,” she said softly. One of the windows to the backroom was open – how the hell had they missed that. Molly, muttering to herself, pulled on her sneakers and headed out of the door.

 

At the Varsity, she quickly shut the offending window and turned to go back home when she heard it – or rather, felt it. A rolling, a vibration beneath her feet. Molly frowned. Earthquake? No, she thought, as she glanced again out of the window. She didn’t think anything else was shaking. Something was definitely making the floor tremble. She padded over to the kitchen door, unlocked it and went into the dark coffee house.

 

The espresso machine was juddering and spilling dark brown liquid onto the floor. Molly switched on a lamp and cursed to herself. She pulled the power cord out of the wall and grabbed a cloth, dropping it into the puddle of coffee and soaking it up. How in the hell had coffee machine had been left on? Molly rinsed the cloth and cleaned the floor.

From the other end of the coffee house, the sound of a table scraping across the stone floor made her heart stop.

 

Molly’s head shot up and she stared into the murky darkness. Chest thumping, she squinted towards the sound. Through her fear, she couldn’t tell if she was imagining someone else breathing or whether it was just her own shaky, nervous gasps. Then she heard it. A low laugh. The table moved again and she was running, slamming the door behind her. She darted up the stairs then cursed when she realized her door had locked behind her. She looked back down the stairs. There was no lock between the backroom door and her stairs. She crept back down and unlocked the back door. As she slid out, she thought she heard the backroom door open.

 

She didn’t look behind her as she ran, half slipping in the freezing snow. She ran down the alleyway at the back of the Varsity, skidding to a halt when she saw a shadow pass along the end. Her breath was coming in sobs now as she considered what to do. Turning back along the alley would mean she was out of sight of Main Street for longer as the alley passed along the back of the coffee house and its neighbors. But then, she could see clear space at the end and at least it was well lit. Molly, barefoot and freezing, skittered back along the alley.

 

She was almost at the end when he caught her

 

They’d settled in the little bar on 2nd Avenue. The bar was full, but they’d managed to get a couch in the window. It had started to rain hard outside, a typical Seattle autumn. Inside, the bar buzzed with a low hum, people chatting, laughing. Sarah had directed Isaac rather bossily to the couch then went to the bar to get them some drinks.

Thanking the barman, Sarah sashayed back to a grinning Isaac.

“What you got behind your back there, sexy?”

She winked at him and handed him the bottle. Tiffin. He started to snigger.

“I don’t believe you. “

“My friend Josh over there is gonna make you that cocktail.” She swung away and took the bottle back to the bar.

Finn shook his head, laughing. He couldn’t believe she’d remember his joke from the day they had met. When she returned, he grinned at her.

“How would you remember what was it in?”

Sarah flopped into the couch next to him. “I looked it up.”

Isaac bugged at her. “You looked it up? Why?”

She flushed and grinned. “Because…”

“Ah. Some of that mushy stuff.”

“Yep.”

He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. “Anyone tell you you’re totally adorable?”

 

Josh, a tall, gangly man with long blonde hair and a goatee, grinned at them as he brought over two glasses and set them down in front of Sarah and Isaac.

“Good luck with that,” he shook his head, amused. “There’s a lot of alcohol there.”

Sarah and Isaac picked up their glasses and cast doubtful glances at each other.

“I don’t know, it looks…”

“Gross?”

“Yeah. After three. One, two, three.”

They both took a swig – and both made the same face.

“Jeez,” Isaac swallowed and stuck his tongue out. “That’s fucking disgusting.”

Sarah nodded. “Yeah, where did you get this recipe?”

“Google.”

“Do me a favor? Next time just stick to porn.”

 

Josh brought them some beers, snickering at the half-full cocktail glasses as he bore them away. Sarah snuggled into Isaac’s arms as they sat on the couch, watching the rain. She felt a peace she hadn’t felt since George’s death…not, scratch that, since Dan had gone. It was him, Isaac, his presence in her life was steadying, comforting, and more than that, she trusted him. She stroked her hand over the hard plain of his chest and he turned to smile down at her.

 

“I want to know more about you,” she told him. “I feel like all the drama that’s been going on has over-shadowed my getting to know you.”

He tugged a strand of her hair gently, smiling. “What would you like to know?”

“Anything. How did you start your business? What did you want to be when you were a kid? Your dating history.” She grinned at this last as his eyebrows shot up.

“Oh it’s that stage of our relationship, is it – the “Sex Files”?”

“Like Mulder and Scully but dirtier. Come on, gimme deets, gimme, gimme.”

Isaac tweaked her nose fondly. “Okay but quid pro quo. Who was your first boyfriend?”

She pretended to think. “Jiminy Billy-Bob.”

“No.”

“No.”

“Wise-ass. Okay, to sweeten the deal, my first girlfriend was Becky Mayberg. We went to junior prom together then she left me for a mathlete.”

“Burn.”

“Yup. Your turn.”

 

Sarah grinned. “My first boyfriend was Simon Le Bon. No, really. Not the famous one of course. This one was seven. We went out for a whole afternoon.”

“True love.”

“The truest. After that – and feel free to mock – my next boyfriend was Dan.”

Isaac stared at her. “No way. Have you seen you?”

Sarah shrugged good-naturedly. “Dating just didn’t interest me. I mean I went out on dates before Dan but nothing ever came of them.”

 

“Why was Dan different?”

Sarah was quiet for a while. “You know what? I don’t think I know, it just was.”

He didn’t press the subject. “I was engaged for a while.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Really? What happened?”

Isaac smiled. “She married my brother.” Sarah, who had been sipping her beer, had to cover her mouth as she choked on her drink.

“What? You were engaged to Maika?”

Isaac laughed at her and she scowled at him. “Oh, you’re just teasing me again.”

Isaac shook his head, still grinning. “No, really. I dated Maika in college, got engaged but then we went home for the holidays, to my parents and Saul was there. It was obvious to everyone they were meant for each other.”

Sarah was gaping at him. “And you just…”

Isaac shrugged. “Can you imagine being married to someone who is in love with someone else? Who were so destined for each other? I loved Maika, yes, but until I met you, I didn’t realize what in love meant. Totally different.”

Sarah sighed. “Damn.”

“What?”

“You are perfect. So annoying.”

Isaac laughed out loud at that. “Believe me, I’m not. But I think I’m perfect for you, I want to be perfect for you.”

Sarah pressed her lips to his, hard, fierce, her eyes filled with tears. “I love you.”

He caught her head in his hands and held it, kissing her deeply, totally oblivious to the amused stares of the other people in the bar.

 

Her feet slid out from beneath her and they tumbled to the cold ground. Molly flipped herself around and used her fists, her feet, to pummel her attacker’s body as he tried to grab her wrists. She saw the glint of metal in his hand and her stomach constricted. She caught him squarely in the mouth, felt his teeth grate along her skin of her knuckles and he jerked his head back. She slammed the blade of her hand into his nose and he tumbled away from her. She scrambled to her feet and skidded back along the alley, hearing his roar. As she got to the door of the Varsity, she felt a sharp sting across her back and she cried out in pain. She threw herself into the door as he grabbed at her, pulling at her sweater. She put all her weight against the door as he tried to break it down, throwing his immense bulk against it. Molly gasped with the effort but inside knew it was hopeless. He was far too strong. She yelped in terror as the knife was slammed through the wood of the door, narrowly missing her head.

 

Then the shots rang out. Shouting. The pressure against the door ceased. Molly stepped back, not lowering her guard, waiting for the attack to recommence.

Then a pounding and to her relief a voice she recognized. Steve, one of the island’s police deputies, a friend of Finn.

“Molly? Hey, Molly, it’s Steve, are you okay?”

She pulled open the door and the mere sight of his gentle face made her break down. She fell into his arms.

“He was going to kill me…” her words were barely audible amidst her sobs. Steve patted her back and then exclaimed as his hand met a warm dampness.

“You’re bleeding! Looks, let’s get inside, in the warm. He’s gone now, I promise.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

Finn wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly. He sat up from his prone position on the couch and looked at Caroline. He hadn’t even heard her return from wherever she had gone. After leaving work, he’d come straight home, relieved to be alone.

She was standing in the doorway, the light behind her casting her in shadow. He stared at her blankly. She moved into the room, sat in the armchair across from him, her face serious. She leaned forward, searching his face.

 

“I mean it, I’m sorry. You’ve been having a hard time lately and my… dislike… of Sarah doesn’t help. I’m sorry I ruined our evening with your sister and Mike.”

Finn was taken aback. Caroline, her face free of make-up, her red hair pulled back in a ponytail, seemed genuine in her contrition but Finn knew her too well. His eyes narrowed.

“Thank you,” he said cautiously. She saw his reticence and smiled sheepishly.

“I get it, Finn. Things between us haven’t been good for a while.” Even she had to laugh at her understatement. Finn smiled thinly.

 

“Caroline, I just…I don’t know. How are we going to make this work? We can barely stand to be in the same room.”

Caroline got up and sat next to him. “We weren’t always like this. Not always. In the beginning, we had so much fun, we enjoyed being around each other.”

“You mean we enjoyed screwing each other.”

She winced and he was immediately sorry for his words. Caroline shook herself, took a deep breath in.

 

“That was part of it, yes. But we also had plans, Finn, we planned our family, our future. It was only when she…when Sarah came back to the island with Danny that we started to grow apart.” She put a hand on his arm. “I understand she was your best friend and I know you’ve said over and over that you and she are just friends. Family. But she’s so beautiful and, I hate to admit this, a good, kind person. And I think you think I went with you to spite her.”

She stroked her hand down his face. “I didn’t,” she said softly, “that wasn’t the reason. I wanted you.”

 

Finn didn’t move as she kissed him lightly, closing his eyes as her lips moved against his. He tried to do what he always did when he was intimate with his wife – conjure up the pretense it was Sarah he was kissing – but this time was different. The images would not come. He opened his eyes. Caroline smiled at him.

“Please Finn. Let’s try and get back to what we had. Please, for us, for our child,” she breathed as she kissed him again and this time he kissed her back. She took his hand and pulled him to his feet, leading him to their bedroom. Finn realized how long it had been since he’d sleep in here.

 

Caroline dropped her robe, slid her hands under his t-shirt. He opened his mouth to speak but she shook her head.

“No. Don’t. Not tonight. Tonight is just you and me, Finn, just you and me.”

Someone began banging on the front door just as Finn started to relax.

“Leave it,” Caroline snapped as he pulled his t-shirt back down but he moved away.

“Can’t.”

Finn pulled open the door to see his brother-in-law, pale-faced and shaking. Finn’s stomach dropped. God, no.

“Please come,” said Mike, his voice breaking, “Please come. God, Finn, it’s Molly…it’s Molly.” And he began to sob.

 

Finn burst into the police station to see Molly, shaken, pale, and shivering although she was wrapped in a blanket. Steve was handing her a steaming hot mug of tea. Mike went to her side, wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Molly smiled weakly at her brother, who felt his heart pounding out of his chest. Steve explained he’d heard her scream in the quiet night and had come running from the police station. He’d come around the corner and seen the hooded attacker trying to batter down the door. Steve had shouted, fired warning shots but the guy disappeared into the blackness of the forest behind the Varsity. Steve had hesitated but decided to stay with Molly. He couldn’t risk getting lost in the forest and possibly letting her attacker double back and kill her.

 

Finn raked a hand through his hair, staring at his sister. “Jeez…did you recognize him, Mols?”

Molly shook her head. “I don’t think so…except…”

“What?”

“His build, the way he sounded…” She stared at her brother and he suddenly realized who she was thinking of.

“Dan Bailey.” His voice was flat, dead. Mike and Steve looked shocked.

“What the hell? What are you talking about?”

 

Molly pulled the blanket tighter around her. “A few weeks ago…I thought I saw Dan Bailey in the street. It was less than a second but I could have sworn it was him. Then tonight…” she sighed, slumping down in her chair. “I don’t know, maybe I’m reading too much into this. It could have just been someone breaking into the Varsity.”

She rubbed a hand across her eyes. “I’d really like to go home.” She stood and Mike too her hand. He looked at Finn.

“We’ll talk about this in the morning.” His eyes were fierce, angry and Finn nodded.

“Of course, look, sis…” He went to her, hugged her tightly. “You’re right, it probably was just an intruder. Leave me the keys and I’ll get the crime scenes people out. You can come make a statement tomorrow when you’ve had some rest.”

 

After Mike and Molly had left, Finn sat down at his desk, Steve leaning against it.

“You okay, boss?” At thirty-two, Steve Hannigan had been Finn’s deputy for just over two years, had transferred to the island from the city. He and Finn had gotten along from the first day, enjoyed working together. Steve had never been a man to socialize particularly, and so their friendship was confined to work. Lately, though, he’d watched as his boss had become increasingly depressed. He seemed like a broken man, Steve thought. On an island like this, everyone knew everyone else’s business…with George’s murder and now this, their usually quiet island had become a hub for gossip, for nosey journalists and the island’s police – really just Finn and his two deputies – had become stretched to the limit. And then there was Finn’s wife, Caroline. He’d always disliked the spiteful redhead. He’d not warmed to her the first time Finn had introduced them, her spoiled princess petulance, her inept flirting with him, seemingly designed to humiliate Finn.

 

Finn nodded. “Look. Go home. I’ll tape off the Varsity until the morning.”

Steve hesitated. “You think it could be Dan Bailey?”

Finn shook his head. “I doubt it. I”m beat, I’m going home.”

 

After Steve had left, Finn pulled out his phone, quickly shooting off a text. He laid the phone down on the table and waited.

 

Call me. Don’t tell Sarah. Finn.

 

Isaac squinted at his phone, bemused. He looked up to see Sarah weaving her way back to him from the bathroom. She looked decidedly drunk and as she reached him, she stumbled and almost fell onto him.

“Oops,” she grinned up at him. He laughed and kissed her.

“I think I had better get you home, come on.”

Outside, it was still pouring rain, great big drops hitting the asphalt. Isaac parked Sarah under an awning and tugged the collar of his coat up. “Stay there,” he ordered with a grin, “I’ll go get us a cab.”

 

Sarah leaned back against the wall, letting the pleasant feeling of being drunk wash over her. It felt good to let go, kick back….with my boo, she grinned to herself. She saw Isaac, soaked to the skin, trying to hail a cab, his phone pressed to his ear. A wave of dizziness hit her and she closed her eyes for a long moment. She felt people passing by her then, as in slow motion, she felt someone move too close, too near and a finger being trailed lightly across her stomach. A familiar smell of pine soap. She opened her eyes to see a man, the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head. His face was in shadow, half turned away but her heart dropped into her feet.

 

Dan

 

It was the briefest glance and the man turned away, was gone, and was at the end of the block before she could form the word, say his name out loud. Then Isaac was grabbing her hand, pulling her into the warmth of a cab. Sarah blinked twice. Did that just happen? She twisted around in the cab as it began to pull away from the curb. She could see the guy standing at the end of the block, staring at the cab. From this distance, she couldn’t see his face, just felt the intensity as he stared at the car. Isaac touched her face, his eyes concerned.

 

“Hey…you okay?”

She turned back to him, her mind a whirlwind of emotions, of confusion…of fear. She didn’t want it to be Dan. She truly didn’t. You’re just drunk, woman, seeing ghosts. She smiled at Isaac, a falsely bright smile that she knew he would see through.

“Fine. Just a bit woozy.”

Isaac leaned his forehead against hers. His hair was wet from the rain and the cool water felt good against her skin. “We can get some food when we get home, sober you up. Then something to make your blood pump harder, get the alcohol burned off….wonder what we could do?”

Sarah smiled at him. “I wonder.” But she felt cold inside. The shock of seeing that face, the walk, even, she thought now, the smell of the pine soap, of his skin.

No. She pushed the idea away and burrowed into the warmth of Isaac’s arms. This was what was real, not some drunken projection. She didn’t have to look far to guess the reason for it; ever since she had been with Isaac, she had been waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for something to spoil her happiness. She hated feeling like this. Forget it, just enjoy this wonderful man in your arms. Pushing every other thought away, she tightened her grip on Isaac and thought of nothing else the whole ride home.

 

Later, when Sarah had fallen asleep, Isaac slipped quietly from the bed and went to the living room, grabbing his cell phone from his jacket, discarded earlier with the rest of his clothes as they had stumbled, laughing and kissing, to the bedroom. He checked the time: just after midnight. He sent a text.

You still up?

 

His cell phone buzzed and he pressed the accept button. “Hey, Finn, what’s up?”

“Hey, man…look I’m sorry to disturb you but I figured you’d want to know this. Molly was attacked tonight, in the Varsity.”

Isaac was shocked. “Oh shit, no – is she okay?”

Finn sighed. “Yeah, yeah, she says she’s fine but I figured you should know.”

“And you didn’t want Sarah to know.”

“She needs time, man, this will just… look, I don’t know how much she’s told you about her past…”

“I know about her mom.”

“Okay, good. Well, Sarah’s had some issues – mental health issues, probably stemming from her childhood. Bouts of pretty bad depression. With George’s death and now this…”

Isaac cleared his throat, swallowing the lump of sorrow that had formed there. “I get it and thanks…I appreciate you being honest with me. Although I don’t know how we’re going to keep it from her if….”

 

“Only four of us know. Five including you. I’m not saying don’t tell her ever, just don’t tell her yet. When she’s stronger.”

Isaac shook his head and sighed. “She won’t like it.”

“I know but…Isaac, there’s something else. Molly swears blind that she saw Dan Bailey on the island a few weeks ago. It was just a second but she’s adamant it was him. And the guy tonight. I think she’s convinced it was Dan.”

Isaac was quiet for a long time. “Then definitely don’t tell Sarah.”

“Agreed. Look, man, I’m sorry to bother you with this, but let’s try and figure this out without worrying Sarah any more than she needs to be.”

“Why would Dan attack Molly?”

Finn laughed, a hollow sound. “Why would he leave without saying anything? Why would he leave Sarah? Who knows how that son-of-a-bitch operates?”

Isaac noticed Finn’s attitude to Dan Bailey was all out hatred now. It made his chest tighten with dread. Fear for Sarah’s safety.

 

After ending the call, Isaac went back into the bedroom, laid down next to his love, sleeping so deeply. There was a little crease between her eyes, stress, and worry, even in sleep. He smoothed it out with a finger and she murmured and snuggled into his arms, pressing her lips against his neck.

“Hey, you…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.”

She opened her eyes and smiled such a beautiful, sleep-filled smile at his, his stomach twisted with the ferocity of his love. “You can always wake me. Can’t you sleep?”

“Nah-uh.”

She kissed his mouth. “I’ll help you…” and she moved down his body. He sucked in a deep breath as her lips parted over the crown of his cock and her soft, wet mouth enveloped him. She ran her fingernails lightly over his scrotum, teasing the sensitive flesh as she licked and sucked and traced the veins of his cock with her tongue. It pulsed and swelled under her touch and Isaac shivered and vibrated with pleasure, lost in the sensations in his body. He tried to pull her up the bed, wanted to plunge into that sweet, sweet cunt of hers but she shook her head. “Come in my mouth, Isaac, I want to taste you.”

 

His cock trembled at her words, grew almost painfully rigid and he arched violently as she came, hot jets of semen pumping into her willing mouth. When he was spent, she straddled him, tracing the tip of his semi-hard cock up and down her slick sex.

“You’re so wet,” he said, admiring her breasts as she sat astride him. He molded them in his hands, felt the weight of each one in his hands. “Anyone else tell you that your tits are perfect?”

Sarah grinned and slowly impaled herself on his cock, moaning softly as he filled her. “As long as you think so…”

He stroked her belly with his fingertip. “I love your belly too, so soft, I kinda want to fuck your bellybutton, it’s so deep.” He dipped his thumb into it and she shivered. “You like that?”

 

She nodded, breathless now as she rode him, her hips rotating to thrust hard, take him deep inside of her. With his free hand, he swirled his thumb onto her clit, feeling it pulsing, and swelling underneath the pad of his thumb. Finger-fucking her navel, he gazed up at the beautiful woman above him and knew if he died here, in this moment, it would be okay as long as he was with Sarah…

 

Isaac didn’t know if he was dreaming or if they were still making love but Sarah was above him, fucking him, riding his cock and throwing her head back with pleasure. He smiled up at her and began to touch her, his thumb returning to fuck the deep, round hollow in the center of her belly…then she gasped and looked at him with shock. To his horror, it wasn’t his thumb that was pushing into her navel but a knife – gripped in his own hand. He could not stop it, although he was screaming, as he stabbed her over and over…Sarah, dying, stared at him, a tear dropping down her lovely face. “Why?” she whispered and then, just like that, she was gone and he lay alone, soaked in her blood…

 

“Jesus. H. Fucking. Christ.” He awoke cursing loudly then gulped in some air to calm himself. Sarah lay beside him, stirring, but very much alive and unharmed. Isaac rubbed his face, trying to scrub pout the images that tore through his brain. What the fuck? What a dream to have.

He stroked a hand gently down her back and she mumbled something. He smiled, wanting her to wake up now, wanting to see her vital and alive and… then his heart froze as she mumbled again. A word, a name.

 

Dan.

 

Sarah had been uncomfortable all morning. For lunch, they’d had chowder in one of the little seafood restaurants along the waterfront but Sarah hadn’t been able to keep up her end of the conversation. She’d asked Isaac if he was okay a million times; in the end, he’d almost snapped at her. She felt guilty but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Dan was watching her, even now. She kept thinking back to outside the bar last night, the feeling she had that Dan had moved past her, was playing with her. The dream she’d had didn’t help. Dan, standing in her kitchen. Telling her still loved her but she had to die so they could be together. She kept thinking of the day she’d found George. The look on his face. Terror. Her stomach roiled with unease. “Are you okay?” His voice broke through her reverie.

“Sorry, it’s just,” she coughed, embarrassed, “I had a dream last night and it’s unsettled me.”

“About what?”

She hesitated and he glanced at her. “Sarah?” A nerve twitched in his jaw.

“I can’t really remember it.”

“Try.”

The atmosphere had changed. She felt a ball of tension lodge in her chest as he stared at her, his eyes searching. “I really can’t remember.” She glanced down at her hands, trying to hide the lie. Isaac was mad at her but she didn’t know why.

 

“Did I do something?” She asked him now, feeling tears prickle her eyes. Isaac shook his head but stayed silent. Suddenly she couldn’t stand the tension and pushed back her chair.

“Excuse me,” she choked out and stumbled, half-blind with tears to the restroom. She locked herself in a stall and silently sobbed. It was the first time she’d seen this side of Isaac – brooding, angry. Someone knocked at the stall door. “You okay, miss?”

Sarah gulped back. “I’m fine.” Her voice sounded strangled.

“Okay.” The voice didn’t sound convinced. “Are you Sarah? Your boyfriend asked me to come see if you were okay. He asked me to tell you he’s sorry and he loves you.”

Sarah drew in a shaky breath. “Thank you, please tell him I’ll be out in a minute. Thanks again.”

The voice was warm. “You’re welcome, sweetie.”

Sarah calmed herself down and unlocked the stall door. At the sink, she splashed some water on her face. There was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair waiting outside the door who smiled kindly at her.

 

“Sorry, honey, looks like he left.”

Sarah felt a sharp jolt of pain and stepped into the main restaurant. She relaxed immediately. Isaac was seated at the table; he looked up and smiled, worry creasing his face. She turned to the woman.

“No, it’s okay, he’s there.”

The woman looked at Isaac and shook her head. “No, sweetheart… that’s not the guy who gave me the message. The guy I spoke to was blonde…”

“About six foot, blonde curly hair, blue eyes?” Sarah’s voice was flat, dead. The woman nodded, obviously worried now but Sarah simply moved away and went back to a waiting Isaac.

“I want to get out of here. Now.”

Outside, she stalked in front of him, wanting to get away from the restaurant. He gripped her arm and stopped her. What? What’s wrong?”

She whirled on him. “Oh, now you want to talk? Had enough of giving me the silent treatment?”

Isaac’s shoulder slumped and she could see the shame in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I was…I was upset about something. God… you only said it in your sleep, it could mean anything but…”

“What was it?” Her voice was hard.

“It sounds so ridiculous when I think about it now…but you said “Dan” in your sleep. It upset me, I know, I know, it’s stupid but after everything that’s happened…what? What is it?”

 

Sarah suddenly started to laugh but there was no humor in the sound. “Believe me. If I said Dan’s name in my sleep, it would be because I was having a nightmare. And if that woman in there is to be believed, a nightmare that’s about to come true.”

Isaac shook his head, confused. “I don’t get it.”

She told him about the message. He stared at her. “She must have got the wrong Sarah.”

Sarah’s body sagged. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” But when she looked up, she saw the same uncertainty in his eyes that she felt in her bones.

 

Neither of them spoke on the way home.

 

“Okay, I have to ask,” Isaac said finally, after a long evening where they had both stared at the television without seeing or absorbing anything that was on it. They were on his couch but, for the first time, there was space between them – physical and psychological. Isaac felt it keenly. “If Dan is back…what does it mean for us?”

Sarah looked up, startled and her eyes softened when she saw the hurt in his eyes. “Isaac… you are the love, the absolute, irrevocable love of my life. If Dan does come back. Well, that part of my life is over. As far as I’m concerned, you are my future.”

Isaac visibly relaxed. “That’s all I needed to hear. God,” he lay down and put his head in her lap. She smiled down at him, smoothing his short hair with her hand. “What a wild ride we’ve had.”

Sarah grinned. “Because your life was so boring before.” She looked pointedly around the apartment; high ceilings, perfectly decorated, priceless art on the walls. Isaac laughed and sat up.

 

“They’re just things.” He stroked her cheek. “This is what’s real. I’m not saying I’m not a lucky s.o.b. because clearly, I am.”

“Well, you worked hard for it, and your talent is in being a huge nerd boy. Geekdom is very lucrative,” Sarah was grinning at him. “Everything I’m good at isn’t unless you get very lucky. Not that I’m complaining. You’re right, things are just things.”

“Hey now, come on, you have your own business, that’s a big thing.” He grinned at her.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “What I’m saying is, I may never be on an equal financial footing with you but that kind of thing doesn’t matter to me if it doesn’t to you. I don’t want diamonds and pearls and fur coats – not that I’d wear them. All I want from you is your time. I can match you on that.”

Isaac nodded thoughtfully. “I get it. Can I ask one favor?”

“Go for it.”

 

Isaac gestured around the room. “Look, I can’t pretend I’m not disgustingly rich but I hate flaunting it. You know me by now, I’d still do the same job if it paid peanuts. But let’s be real: I do have a lot of money and just occasionally I’d like to spoil you… no, listen –,” he said hurriedly, seeing the doubtful expression on her face. “I don’t mean with material things. Maybe I could spring for a luxury vacation, maybe I could replace your truck when it finally falls apart – as a present. But more, I’m thinking… our kids could go to college without worrying about debt; you could go back to school if you wanted. We could build schools, or help the community on the island.”

Sarah tangled her fingers in his hair. “Haven’t we already discussed that you being perfect is really irritating?” But she grinned. “Building schools – now that kind of spending spree I can get on board with.” She leaned over and kissed him. “Also, a sex dungeon would be nice.”

Isaac laughed loudly. “You wouldn’t need to ask me twice on that.”

“You like a bit of kink?”

He shrugged. “Who doesn’t?”

She crawled onto his lap. “Well, Mr. Quinn, I’ll try anything once and if I like it, more than once.”

He trailed his fingers across her cheeks. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“I’m counting on it.”

 

Hank’s Bar was full with the Sunday night football crowd. Finn and Mike sat at a corner booth. Hank, an ex-city cop and the owner of both the bar and an oversized mustache that made him look like a walrus, had offered them a free beer and busted their chops for a time before turning his attention to the game. The 49ers were getting a mauling from the Seahawks and the bar was raucous with their support. Finn and Mike stared at the screen blankly for twenty minutes until an ad break afforded them the quiet to talk.

 

“So,” Mike took slug of beer “What’s going on with you and Caroline?” He cleared his throat, embarrassed.

Finn grinned at Mike’s expression. “Dude, relax. That’s not the advice I wanted.”

Mike look relieved. “What then?”

“Dan Bailey. Molly says she saw him, I’m not convinced.”

“Okay. So?”

Finn shifted in his chair. “I checked him out. And came up with nothing.”

Mike waited. Finn held his hands out.

“Don’t you think that’s weird? No tickets, no medical records, nothing?”

Mike shrugged. “Man…I don’t know. Maybe he had a reason to stay under the radar. If you’ve got a gut feeling, do a little digging. Where did he come from?”

“New Orleans. So he said.”

“Well, there must be someone down there who knew him.”

Finn shrugged. Mike rolled his eyes. “Have you talked to the NOLA police department?”

“No.”

“Is that because you’re worried you might find something out – or that you’re worried you won’t?”

Finn sighed. “I honestly couldn’t tell you.”

Mike finished his soda. “Dude, just talk to somebody. Get this, whatever it is, out of your head and move on. At the end of the day, does it matter? Dan Bailey’s long gone. C’mon, bro, I hate leaving Mols alone at night, especially now.”

 

She had been away from the island for days and now, at last, she was back. He watched her get out of Quinn’s car and go into the Varsity, saw Molly exclaim in delight and wrap her arms around her friend.

Sarah looked beautiful, her dark hair pulled up into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, her glorious body in her usual uniform of jeans and tee. Quinn had parked the car across the street and was now walking over to the coffee house. He studied the tall man, the man who was fucking his Sarah, had that honey skin under his touch, and had her lips around his cock. He could see the attraction; Isaac Quinn was an imposing man, athletic, smart and rich beyond belief. The thought of him all over Sarah’s body made his blood heat to boiling point and he clenched his fists, trying to keep control.

 

He was still staring out of the window at them when Caroline arrived. Following his gaze, she made a disgusted sound.

“Christ. That dude can’t keep away from that whore, can he?”

He turned to her and the expression on his face made her blood freeze. He walked away from the window, lit a cigarette and sat down. She followed him and tried to smile.

 

“Did you want something, Caroline?”

Her posture became seductive. “Only what I always want from you, baby.”

His nose turned up in a sneer. “And you call Sarah a whore?”

Caroline flinched but smoothed out her expression and smiled at him. “I just want to make you happy. Baby, you want me to make you feel better?”

He shook his head and she sat down on the bed opposite him. When he had not said anything for a few minutes, she shifted uneasily.

“Look – “

He focused on her for the first time. “Caroline, if you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?”

She thought about it. “You.”

He smirked. “Apart from that.”

She thought about it and her face settled into a grim smile. “I want her gone. For good. Not just someplace else, I want her – “

“Dead.”

Caroline nodded. “In the most painful way you could imagine. Worse than George.”

She got up and walked over to the window. “I wish I had the nerve to do it myself. I should have just put a bullet in her years ago.”

He smirked. “Caroline, I doubt you would even know how to take the safety off.”

She turned to scowl at him. “There are other ways. I could have poisoned her, stuck some acid in one of her fucking cupcakes. Snuck up on her when she was swimming, drowned her.” She laughed to herself. “Is that you were going to do that day? The day you watched her swim then killed her dog?”

He smiled bleakly. “No. I just wanted to watch her.”

Caroline stared at him in disgust. “You still want her?”

He got up then and went to her. “I want her dead as much as you do, Caroline. But I want to make her life a misery first, watch her suffer. You can understand that, right? Sarah Bailey will be slaughtered, eviscerated and she will feel every moment of unimaginable agony before she succumbs.”

He got up and headed towards the bedroom. When she didn’t follow him, he turned to her. She looked at him, wary, nervous. He moved over and put his arms around her.

“Are you frightened of me, Caroline?”

She nodded with tears in her eyes.

“You have no reason to be.” He smiled and kissed her, felt her relax.

“Okay, now?”

She nodded and he kissed her, sliding a hand over her belly. “And then there’s this… our child... Caroline…”

She pulled him down onto the bed with her, kissing him deeply. This was what she had always wanted, real love, a man whose mind matched her own. She had loved him since the first moment she had seen him… and yes, she had disappointed him over the years but now, no more. He would kill that bitch Sarah and then he would finally be free of the obsession.

 

Sarah was already missing Isaac. He’d insisted on taking her back to the island himself before returning to the city, and to work. The coffee house had been busy, so busy she hadn’t yet had a chance to talk to Molly. She’d noticed her friend was subdued and, more concerning, was the faint and fading pattern of bruising on her cheek.

 

She finally got a chance to corral Molly into the kitchen to take a break when Nancy, the part-time barista came to work just after four. Molly protested but Sarah, having already spoken to Nancy, threw her a grateful glance and scooted Molly out of the door before she could protest. Sarah took them around the side of the old movie theater, where they kept several benches, deck chairs, mostly for the smokers. The afternoon was cool, and there was only one man out there now, a regular, reading a book, chewing on a cheroot. He raised the book, a salute, a greeting and Sarah saw he was reading Catch-22. Sarah and Molly chatted with him for a few minutes before grabbing their own table.

 

Having settled, Nancy brought them hamburgers, fries and two Cokes. They sipped their sodas for a few minute in silence before Sarah nodded at her friend.

“So, you going to tell me what’s wrong with you or not? I know there’s something. I saw the bruises, Mols…what’s going on?” Please don’t be Mike, she thought to herself, please, not that.

Molly sighed, running her hand through her hair. “It was really nothing. Someone broke into the Varsity while you were away and…”

“What the fuck?” Sarah’s head shot up and she stared at her friend. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

Molly sighed. “Finn and Isaac said not to, that it was too soon after George and…”

“Isaac knew?” Sarah’s voice rose in disbelief. Angry now, she tugged out her cell phone from her jeans pocket and dialed. Molly held up a hand.

“No, wait, stop – “

“Isaac? Call me back. We need to talk.” Sarah didn’t hide her irritation. Molly shook her head.

“It’s not his fault, really. Damn it, I shouldn’t have said anything,” she fretted, “It’s just with the Dan thing, they thought I was making too much of it and – “

“What “Dan” thing”?” interrupted Sarah, feeling the blood drain from her face, and her heart began to thump uncomfortably against her ribs.

 

Molly looked upset. “A few weeks ago, I could have sworn I saw him. It was just for a second, and it was dark but… and then, the other night, in the Varsity, I went to shut a window we’d left open – or so I thought. Someone was inside and attacked me. I don’t know, Sarah, more than likely it was a petty crook taking a chance, looking to steal from the register. But, there was a moment, I can’t describe it, a feeling. The guy’s build, the way he moved…he smelled of – “

 

“Pine soap,” said Sarah in a flat voice. She bent at the waist, trying to quell the panic, nausea that was rising in her throat. Dan was back. A million thoughts flood through her mind; why was he back? What did he want? And why hadn’t he just approached her instead of playing games?

“Are you okay?” Molly’s voice was small and Sarah shook her head.

“No. I think I’ve seen him too. God, why now?”

Molly looked at her friend with sympathy. “Maybe he knows about Isaac? I just don’t know. What are you going to do?”

“For now, go home, call Isaac and have a discussion with him on what he tells me and what he doesn’t. Then, nothing. If Dan comes back, I’ll hear him out if he wants to explain himself but that’s as far it goes. I don’t want him in my life.”

Molly was quiet for a time then said softly. “What if Dan sees things differently? What if he wants you back?”

 

Sarah looked at her friend evenly. “I’m in love with Isaac. He is my future, Dan is my past. He lost the right to want me when he left without explanation. Molly, I’m going to say this once to you. Dan Bailey is not the guy I married – and I’m not sure he ever was.”

 

A mile from home still, she heard only the spatter of rain against the tree canopy, its beat rhythmic and soothing. Sarah had begun to regret the decision to walk home after her shift at the coffee house. The rain had permeated her clothes, her hair, and was now dripping unpleasantly down the back of her neck. The lichen of the forest floor was slippery, the spike moss that hung from the maples and Sitka spruces were drenched and heavy.

 

Since her conversation with Molly, her mind had been a whirlwind of emotion. Sadness, trepidation…fear. Why was she afraid? That’s what she didn’t get, why the hell she was so afraid of Dan coming back. It wasn’t that she doubted herself, her love for Isaac – it was the nagging feeling that Dan meant her harm. No suspects had been found in George’s murder and no motive. Sarah herself was the recipient of George’s will so if anyone was suspect – and she’d gone through hours of questioning despite Isaac giving her all the alibi she needed. She hadn’t wanted to know about the will and the lawyer had graciously acquiesced to her request to postpone the reading of George’s will. He had no other family and she didn’t want that finality of his death confirmed because of any money or land or whatever. She didn’t want his money and she would give anything just to have him back in her life.

 

The trail led through the old trailer park and Sarah kept to its well-worn path. The mobile home her mom used to own was over to the left side, a shell now, burned out, no longer anything to gawp at for curious eyes. Sarah looked at it as she always had – out of the corner of her eye. She reasoned that counted. She’d only been to it once; with George on his urging. You need closure. She’d needed a paper bag. The panic attack that followed scared even the unflappable George. He hadn’t encouraged any further excursions. Since his death though, she wanted to try, wanted to at least try, for him.

 

She gave the skeleton of the trailer a wide berth and sped up, eager to get home now.  She scooted past the trailer belonging to the island’s shipwright, Buddy Harte, a sour-faced misanthrope who hated everyone – especially people of color. Sarah despised the old man and avoided him but they’d often come to words when Sarah had seen him abusing people in the town square.

 

She walked past then stopped, her heart thudding. She heard a man’s voice, singing, low and discordant. It wasn’t the singing which made her stomach twist, her breath freeze in her lungs. It was the song. The song her mother sang to her when she was attempting to kill her.

 

I got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart…

 

Her breath hitched, her skin aflame with a creeping horror, Sarah turned and stared into the dark window of the trailer. Something banged against the window and she skittered backward. Someone laughed. It was the same laugh she’d heard a few nights ago outside her house.

 

“Run, whore, while you can. Go spread your legs for the billionaire, you fucking slut.”

The horror was replaced by a wild anger, the blood roaring in her ears. She strode up to the door and banged on it.

 

“Get out here now. Now!”

“I got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart…”cos I’m a hooker like ma dear auld maaaaaaaa!” He was singing now, cackling to himself.

Red spots of rage in her eyes, Sarah yanked at the locked door, kicking at it wildly.

“You bastard!” She was screaming now, pummeling the trailer’s door, its walls. “Come out and face me, you asshole.” Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized a switch had been flipped in her. Sarah stopped, breathing heavily, calming herself.

“Buddy Harte…come out here and face me, you coward.”

Something heavy crashed against the inside of the trailer, making her jump.

Suddenly there was silence, stillness. All Sarah could hear was her own breathing. She heard him laugh softly to himself.

 

“Run, run, pretty baby girl, before I stick my knife in your belly. Before I gut you…go now!”

 

At his roar, Sarah skittered back and ran. She ran until she felt her lungs would explode, and then, as she stopped and bent double, dragging air into her lungs. She listened for a pursuer. Silence. Utter silence.

 

A swishing, a crackling of bracken underfoot. Something moving in the trees. With a shock, Sarah stopped, her eyes raking the tree line for movement. She felt every nerve in her body jangle, her limbs felt like formless, without strength. Whatever it was had stopped too, but she felt eyes on her, imagined she could hear breathing. She turned and started to walk again, her ears alert. She heard the sound again and swung around, catching the movement out of the corner of her eye. A flash of something, something that jarred against the woody colors of the forest. A figure in gray. Sarah started to run, trying to catch her breath as she sprinted towards home. Every second she expected hands grabbing her, pulling her down, a knife slicing into her skin. Almost home, she snagged her foot in a tree root and fell, slamming her ear hard against a rock, slicing into it. She could feel the blood pouring down the side of her neck as she pulled herself up.

 

She sobbed with relief as her home came into view. She’d skittered up the porch stairs before she realized her bag was gone. Casting panicked glances around her, she scrambled around to the back of the house, running her hands over the top of the back door. The key she kept there was gone. Sarah rammed her elbow repeatedly into the glass of the window, ignoring the searing pain. The glass shattered finally and, as she let herself in, she could feel blood dripping down her arm. She dragged the heavy oak table over and wedged the door shut, bracing herself back against it as she grabbed her cell phone and called Finn.

 

Finn arrived with Steve and a very worried Molly in tow. She let them in and, still trembling, offered them coffee. Finn made her sit down, his dark eyes concerned. Molly used around Sarah, cleaning up her ear and her elbow.

“Bubba, what happened?”

“Buddy…” She couldn’t breathe.

“Buddy did this?” Molly and Finn exchanged a worried look.

“No,” Sarah said, “I fell. Buddy… he screamed at me, he was insane. He was singing…” her voice trailed off as she met Finn’s gaze. “He was singing “Down in my Heart”.” She quickly told them the rest of the story.

“He threatened you?”

She nodded. “I know he doesn’t like me; he was Dan’s friend but he never liked me. But Steve, he’s never been aggressive or…I cannot believe what just happened.” She looked dazed. Finn turned to Steve, spoke in a soft undertone.

“Buddy’s a nut-job but I doubt he means what he says.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed. “Still, it’s technically assault, in the State’s eyes anyway…” He and Finn followed as Molly took Sarah back to the Varsity. Molly made Sarah sit on one of the couches.

“Don’t move. I’ll get you some ice for that ear.”

Steve sat down next to Sarah. “Sarah, do you want to press charges?”

She shook her head. “No. No, I think…he was probably drunk and I may have riled him up.” She coughed, flushing. “I got pretty mad at him.” She looked at Finn, relaxed at his reassuring smile.

“I don’t blame you, kiddo. Why don’t you let Steve have a word with him, see what his problem was?”

Sarah looked at Steve. “Would you?” He smiled at her.

“Of course.” He nodded at Finn.

“I’ll stay with Sarah,” Molly interrupted, appearing from the back room holding a dishcloth filled with ice. She handed it to Sarah. “I just tried to call him.”

Finn patted Sarah gently on the shoulder. “Feel better, bubba. Don’t worry, we got this.”

 

Isaac Quinn looked up from his laptop when someone knocked on his office door. It was his private detective, Stan. Isaac motioned for him to sit.

“What have you got for me?”

The detective pulled out a bunch of photos from a folder.

“Stills from the restaurant’s CCTV, like you asked. They were surprisingly accommodating when I told them who they were for.”

 

Isaac studied the photos. In a few he saw himself and Sarah at their table; Sarah looked upset and he cursed himself for the way he had behaved that day. In the next photo, he was alone. It was the photo after that that gave him pause. A tall, blond haired male, talking to the waitress. Isaac’s jaw clenched. The photo was fuzzy but he could see who it was; without a doubt, he was looking at the very much alive face of Daniel Bailey. Son-of-a-bitch.

He looked up at Stan. “You get anything else on this joker? Is he following Sarah?”

Stan shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of, anyways. He is screwing some woman. She comes to the city twice a week and they hole up in a motel together. What do you want me to do?”

“Try and find out who the woman is if you can. Apart from that, as long as he’s no threat to Sarah, just keep an eye on him.”

After Stan had left, Isaac couldn’t concentrate on anything, just sat in his office, staring at the photo of Dan Bailey.

What do you want? Was all Isaac could think but he pushed the thought away because he already knew the answer. He already knew the reason Dan Bailey had returned to Seattle.

The woman you love…

 

“Here, let me.” Molly took the tube of antiseptic ointment from Sarah, smoothing some on her battered ear. Her touch was cool and soft and Sarah felt herself relaxing into it. She closed her eyes, her head throbbing with pain.

“All done here. I’ll get you some painkillers. Where…?”

“In the bathroom cabinet upstairs.” Her eyes still closed, she felt the swish of air as Molly passed her, heading for the stairs. She laid her head down onto the cool surface of the table. What the hell is that matter with me? She felt completely out of it.

Molly was back, she heard her fill a glass from the faucet. “Here.” Sarah sat up and took the glass and the pills from her, throwing them back quickly and draining the glass. She smiled wryly at her friend.

“Sorry, I’m not much company, am I?”

Molly looked contrite. “With what you’ve gone through lately, it’s not surprising. Just relax.”

Towering fatigue swept over Sarah and she put her head down on the table again, closing her eyes. She felt Molly’s hand stroke her hair, the smooth, soft rhythm lulling her already tired brain. She found sleep then, unexpectedly. Sweet oblivion.

 

A car door slamming shocked her awake. Molly was up then, heading toward the front door. She tried to gather herself – what was she thinking falling asleep like that? She heard them talking, hushed tones she couldn’t make out. She went over to the sink and cranked the faucet, splashing the cold water on her face.

 

“Bubba?”

She turned to see Steve, ahead of Molly and Finn, coming into the kitchen. His face was drawn, sickened. Her gaze slid to Finn, who looked equally shocked.

“Hey,” she hugged Finn, felt his arms tighten around her. “What happened with Buddy?”

Steve looked at Finn, who cleared his throat, and shifted from foot to foot.

“Sarah… Buddy’s dead.”

For a second it didn’t register then she let out a shaky breath. “I don’t…” She looked at Steve’s stricken face. Of course, she thought, of course. She turned back to Finn, her voice stronger now. “Did he have an accident? Did he kill himself?”

 

There was silence then Finn spoke, his voice harder than she’d heard it before. “No.”

She looked between all three of her friends. “I don’t understand.”

“He was murdered, Sarah. Buddy was stabbed to death.”

She felt her knees give way and sat down hard. “Oh my God… but… it couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes…” She looked at Finn, a horrific idea flooding into the front of her mind. “Finn, you don’t think I did it, do you? I swear he was alive when I ran away. I promise I’ll do whatever you need, DNA evidence, lie-detector…” Her voice, rising, was on the edge of panic and both Finn and Molly reached for her. Finn sat next to her, took her hands in his, Molly sat on the edge of the table, his hand on the back of her neck. Steve’s face softened.

 

Finn hugged her tightly. “Sarah, as police officers, we have to suspect everyone, and I would appreciate if you would come in to answer some questions but at the moment, there is nothing to worry about. We’re just trying to establish what happened. The thing is… your encounter with Buddy this afternoon…. um… well, we’re having trouble…” He looked at Steve, suddenly awkward.

Steve squeezed Sarah’s hand. “Sweet girl, we think you may be confused about what exactly happened.”

 

There was a silence while Sarah digested this. She felt the hot flame of embarrassment redden her face but she shook her head.

“No…no, what I told you is what happened. I don’t understand. Why do you think I’m lying?”

“Not lying, honey, confused.” This was Finn. He kneaded her shoulders. She pulled away and stood.

“I’m not confused. I know what happened, I was there. Why are you saying this?”

She looked between Steve, Molly and Finn, seeing their concern, feeling their pity. Humiliation washed over her. Steve looked at Finn, who nodded. Steve cleared his throat.

“Sarah, it couldn’t have happened the way you said it did. Honey, Buddy’s been dead for at least three days.”

 

Isaac was about to leave the office when Saul stopped him. His brother wore a serious expression as he motioned for Isaac to sit down.

“Isaac, we need to talk. Look, I really like Sarah and, god knows, I owe you but I’m beginning to struggle with the workload – bud, you’ve been letting things slide for a while now. I’m working all hours to catch up but – “

“God, Saul, I’m so sorry.” Horrified, Isaac realized that he’d been so wrapped up in Sarah, he hadn’t even noticed that his brother looked exhausted. The weight of guilt pressed down on him.

“I’m sorry, I am.  Look, it all changes now, I’m here, I’m present.”

 

For the next hour they talked business then Isaac sent his brother home to Maika and the kids. Jesus, how had his life turned into this?

He looked through a stack of notes that his assistant had given him. Invitations to social events. Maybe it would Sarah’s mind off things to go and schmooze with Seattle’s A-list. He smiled to himself. She would be the most beautiful woman in the room. He allowed himself to feel pride at that; the most beautiful woman in the world, at least to him, loved him.

He realized his cell phone was switched off and quickly fired it up.

Seventeen voicemails. The first one made his chest clench. Sarah’s voice, hard, angry.

 

Isaac. Call me back.

We need to talk.

 

Sarah felt drained. After Finn and Steve had left, Molly had stayed a little while longer but she’d desperately wanted to be alone: she needed time, time to process what they had told her, the implications and the insinuation in their voices.

She went upstairs and laid on her bed, pulling her knees up to her chest, plumping the pillow underneath her head to get comfortable.

 

“Okay,” she said out loud, “let’s go through this.” In her head, she recalled every part of the incident, the trailer park, the singing, the threats, the way he’d hissed at her. Had she imagined it? She tried to step back and look at it dispassionately but eventually shook her head. I know what I saw, what I heard. If it wasn’t Buddy threatening her, then it had been someone else.  The person who had been stalking her. You know who it is… The thought made her stomach roil. In the distance, she could hear the discordant song of police sirens, a sound that made her mouth go dry, her heartbeat quicken. Mommy’s screams. Go spread your legs for the deputy, you fucking slut. I got the joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart…

 

Sarah pulled the pillow over her head and began to sob so much so that when the front door bell rang, she didn’t hear it at first. When finally the sound got through to her, she stumbled down the stairs and yanked the door open. Finn was there, his face wan.

“Sweetheart, I need you to come found to the station. We need you to answer some questions.”

 

Isaac almost groaned when the first person he saw as he drew up to the coffee house was Caroline Jewell. She was standing outside, smoking, and when she saw him she pushed away from the wall and came over to him.  Isaac didn’t greet her or smile; he had no time for this wretch of a human. Her smile was unpleasant, mocking as she walked toward him. He sighed and turned to leave.

 

“I just saw your girlfriend.”

Isaac’s shoulders tensed. “So?”

“On her way into the police station. Kind of seemed like she was under arrest.”

Isaac stared at her in disbelief. “Man, you have some imagination.” His talk with Saul had made him feel guilty and stressed out and, now, he could do without Caroline’s spite.

“It’s true. I could have sworn she was cuffed. You don’t believe me, go see for yourself.”

Isaac stopped, stared at her. Caroline grinned widely, knowing she had him.

 

“What you see in that slut is beyond me.”

Isaac’s lip curled in distaste. “You really are a nasty bitch, you know that?”

Caroline mocked curtsied. “Still, you get tired of Asian pussy, you come see me.”

“Yeah, hold your breath,” Isaac muttered as he walked away from the cackling redhead. He made a mental note to ask Finn again why the hell he’d married such an evil woman.

 

He walked the block to the station and into the office. The office was empty but he could one of the two interview rooms was occupied and he slipped into the adjoining room to look through the one-way glass. Sarah was facing him, sitting across the table from Finn and another detective he didn’t recognize. She looked calm but tired and stressed; her elbow was bandaged and he could see her ear was swollen and bloody. He watched as she wiped a tear from her cheek. Isaac cursed and went to bang on the interview room door.

“Jewell! Get out here!”

Finn came to the door immediately and shut it behind him. Isaac caught a glimpse of Sarah’s shocked face before the door closed. Finn pushed him into the other room.

“Keep it down, Isaac.”

“What the fuck is going on, Finn? Why is Sarah in there?”

Finn waited until Isaac had calmed down before speaking. “Buddy Harte was murdered. She was the last person to apparently talk to Buddy Harte. Although we don’t think it was Sarah who killed him, we still have questions for her. You know how it is, Isaac, I don’t need to tell you this.”

Isaac chewed his lip, rocked back on his heels a little. “Is she okay?” he said finally, his voice softer now. “Was she hurt?”

Finn nodded. “But just superficial wounds from falling and from having to break into her house. She’s fine. She’s helping us, answering everything she’s being asked. We’re waiting for a female doctor to come do some swabs.”

Isaac narrowed his eyes. “You cuff her?”

Finn put his hand on his deputy’s shoulder. “No, Isaac. She’s not under arrest, she’s just helping us out. She’s very co-operative, very open. Trust me, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Isaac shook his head. “You can’t honestly think she had anything to do with this? And who is that speaking with her?”

Finn hesitated for a moment. “I think you should go home, Isaac. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Isaac stood up. “I want to see her.”

“Wait. I’ll see what I can do but in the meantime, calm down.” Finn clapped Isaac on the shoulder. “Look, man, she’s fine, she’s good. Just hang on for a few, let us finish up.”

 

Cabot Marin, the detective from the city, studied her. “Sarah, we have reason to believe that Buddy was killed by the same person who is murdered young women in the city. The young Asian-American woman. I’m sorry to have to tell you that the victim resembled you to a undeniable degree.”

Realization dawned – then horror. “Oh God.” She felt sick.

Cabot nodded. “Obviously, we can’t be one hundred percent sure. We’ll have to wait on forensics but if we’re right… we need to take samples.”

A sense of dread, of inevitability, hung over her. “So I am a suspect.”

“It would be irresponsible of us to rule out anyone at this point, you understand? Whilst we’re pretty sure the killer is a male, and a lot taller than yourself, no offense, we can’t afford any missteps.” Cabot smiled kindly at her. “Sarah, do you want to stop for a while? You’re not under arrest, you’re free to go. We can start again in the morning.”

Sarah rubbed her eyes and shook her head. “I’d rather get it all done. Could I have some tea or water though please?”

“Of course.” Cabot got up to leave and Finn opened the door.

“Sarah, Isaac’s here, you want to see him?”

 

She nodded and smiled when Isaac came into the room. He hugged her and kissed her forehead.

“They treating you okay?”

“Of course. You don’t mind waiting? I might be a while, I don’t know.”

He tightened his arms and smiled down at her. “I’d wait all night.”

There was something in his expression she couldn’t read but the comfort of his arms was too soothing for her to consider it.

 

Cabot returned with a cup of tea, and Sarah saw now, the female doctor from the Medical Centre who smiled at her. Isaac winked at her as he went out of the room. Cabot waited while the doctor took her swabs and samples then saw the doctor out. Sarah took a sip of the hot tea, feeling the warmth spread through her body. Her hands felt icy cold, her chest tight. Cabot returned and took a seat across the table from her.

“Mr. Quinn seems like a nice guy. Finn tells me you’ve only just met him?”

Sarah nodded. “Just a few months ago.”

“When did your husband disappear?” Cabot asked as Finn returned. She told him and he exchanged a glance, a nod with Finn. Cabot cleared his throat.

“Sarah, I want to give you a couple of dates over the past couple of years and I’d like you to tell me where you were on the evenings of those dates. If you can’t remember, don’t worry, this is just to follow up a line of investigation.”

“Okay.” She frowned, looking between the two men. Finn passed Cabot a piece of paper, gave Sarah a reassuring smile. Cabot read through the list and nodded.

“Okay then. December thirtieth?”

She relaxed immediately, her shoulders slumping with the relief. “Oh, that’s easy. That’s my birthday, I was here, with Molly having a girl’s night. We started out at Hank’s bar. Nancy and George dropped by as well.” Her chest was loosening up now and she let out a shaky but grateful sigh. Finn smiled back at her.

 

“July third?”

A look of pain crossed her face. “I don’t remember.” She looked away from Finn’s gaze.

“Sarah? What is it?”

There was a long silence. “July third is the anniversary of my mom’s death.”

Cabot cleared his throat. Finn leaned across the table and put his hand over Sarah’s. “One more then I’ll let Isaac take you home.” He looked at Cabot who nodded.

“Okay, Sarah, last one. May sixteenth.”

Sarah shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “I don’t understand, what are these dates?”

Finn reached over and took her hand. “Sarah, honey. There have been other murders of women across the country, starting within the last two years. Sweetheart, they all look like you – not just because they were of Asian background but they actually could almost be your siblings. They were all gutted. Sorry,” he said as Sarah flinched.

Cabot cleared his throat. “Sarah? May sixteenth? Please?”

 

Hot tears dropped down her cheeks. “May sixteenth, eight years ago. I wore a little white dress and Dan wore jeans with a bowtie over a blue button down. May sixteenth was our wedding anniversary.”

 

“So what did the bitch do?  Did she cut Buddy up?  It does run in the family, after all. Slicey dicey Sarah Bailey.”

Finn finally had enough and whirled around.  Ever since he’d gotten home, Caroline had been at him to tell her what happened, not bothering to conceal her enjoyment of Sarah’s pain. He stared now at the redhead in front of him.

“You know what, Caroline? Go fuck yourself. You’ve lived a life of hatred, and spite and malevolence and now all that ugliness has written itself all over your face.  You know why your parents rarely come to see you?  Because they hate you. Your own parents. I know this because I talk to them all the time, on the phone, via email.  You broke their hearts a long time ago. Now, I’m going to sleep – on the couch.  Then I’m moving out as soon as I can find somewhere else.  We are done.”

 

And he walked out of the room, leaving a dumbstruck Caroline to stare after him.

 

Isaac greeted Stan as he arrived at the small diner. Stan, a tall, broad African American smiled at him. “Hey, Mr. Quinn, good to see you.”

Isaac shook his hand. “You too, Stan. You ordered yet?”

“Just coffee.”

As Isaac removed his jacket, a punk waitress came over. Her name tag said “Yo”. Isaac grinned at her.

“Seriously?”

 

She grinned showing very even white teeth – except for one gold incisor. “Nah. It’s just what everyone calls me – the nickname kinda stuck. What can I get you handsome fellas?”

After they ordered, Stan gave him a knowing smile and pulled a file from his briefcase. “You wanted me to check out who Dan Bailey was screwing. Well, I got it and it’s a doozy. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.”

Yo was back with their coffee and for a moment, they chatted easily with her, the file burning a hole in Isaac’s hand.

When, finally, they were alone, Isaac opened the file. He looked through the photos in silence then looked up at an expectant Stan.

“Is it possible to be both astonished and not at all surprised at the same time?”

Stan nodded. “Yep.”

The woman in the pictures, the woman who was sleeping with Daniel Bailey, was Caroline Jewell.

 

The week since Buddy’s body had been found had been a nightmare. She’d gone over and over and over her story with Finn and Isaac, then with Cabot Marin, had been so kind to her. As far as she knew she was in the clear, but there were the stares, the whispers, the secretive nudges. Word had spread across the island and she knew people were looking at her and in her reasonable mind, she knew it was ridiculous, nothing new to her. She’d had that all her life. The daughter with the murderous mother - who’d blame her if she flipped out?

 

But she could feel her peace of mind slipping, her trust and her stability. Everything she’d ever fought for, worked for. Paranoia was creeping in and she didn’t know how to stop it. The dates that corresponded to the murders of the girls in the city. Cabot and Mike had reassured her she wasn’t a suspect, her swabs and prints had come back clean but still a sense of dread remained.

 

Perhaps, they’d suggested, the killer had returned to the scene of the crime and had verbally abused her to evade detection. She’d wanted to believe that, wanted to so much.

 

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart…

Her mommy singing in broken English. So sleepy, seeing her mommy’s tears, feeling the sharp, quick pain in her wrists, her mommy screaming…and the awful sudden silence.

Sarah stopped, trying to not to throw up. No, she thought, I am not insane. I heard the song. Whoever it was in that trailer knew me.

 

She waited for the nausea to pass, forcing her mind to focus on something else. It wasn’t just that. Isaac had been working later and later at the office and she wondered if he’d finally reached his limit of her drama. Sarah didn’t feel worthy of him; she wouldn’t blame him if he walked away.

 

God. She stopped, almost bent double with the pain of the idea of losing Isaac. Whatever happened, she would not let that happen.

But every day, her paranoia had increased, the sense that somehow something malevolent was coming and she couldn’t stop it.

Even here, at home, she didn’t feel safe. Anger raced through her. No. This was her home, her island. Suddenly she remembered something. Scampering up the stairs, she pulled down the ladder from the attic room and climbed up into the dusty room.

She flicked on the overhead light, the bare bulb swinging, disorientating her. So many shadows. She ignored the dark corners; instead, she went to the huge trunks of Dan’s stuff that George had packed up for her when Dan went missing. She opened the first one. It had Dan’s old books, yearbooks and she flicked through them.

 

That was weird. Dan had the yearbook for his senior year in high school – but he was nowhere in it. Sarah frowned. Why would he keep a yearbook like that? She poked deeper in the box and found a few more. All the yearbooks were from the same year but from schools all over the country.

The envelope was at the bottom of the pile, her heart leaped as she read the address. “Mr. Raymond Petersen”…It was their home address. She frowned. Who the hell was Raymond Petersen?

She pulled out the letter and unfolded it. It was a thick, heavy, cream paper, good quality and at the top, the header was in an elaborate cursive: William Corcoran & Associates, Family Attorneys. New Orleans, she noted as she read the note.

 

Raymond,

I have tried to contact you numerous times since we last met. If you don’t call me by Friday, I shall be forced to come to Seattle to see you. I will also place a hold on your father’s estate until such time as you inform that you have contacted me and your brother.

I hope these measures will not necessary.

William

 

Raymond Petersen? Brother? All the breath was knocked from her lungs, her legs trembled and she gripped the wall to steady herself. Surely Dan hadn’t lied about who he was, on top of everything else…no, no, please.

 

She moaned then shook herself. Think. A lawyer. A connection to Danny’s past. Sarah dug in the trunk and found a pen, scribbling the lawyer’s name and number down on her palm. She would call him, get this straightened out.

 

She opened another trunk. More yearbooks and as she pulled them out, a stack of photographs fell into her lap. She looked through them. At first, they seemed to be normal family photos then she realized that Dan wasn’t in any of them. They were all of her – and most of them had obviously been taken without her knowledge.

 

Sarah felt her skin start to prickle. “You fucking creep, Raymond.” At that moment any residual love for Dan left her; all that was left now was a burning hatred. Who the hell was this man that she’d lived and loved and slept with all those years?

 

The last photo was hidden inside a notebook. The notebook was blank except for two words: Sarah – when? She frowned at that then turned her attention to the photo. She was wearing an old t-shirt, jeans, hair was down, flying around her face and she was laughing at something just out of the picture but her face looked a lot younger, fuller. An innocuous shot. Another photo she hadn’t known was being taken. She squinted at it, trying to remember where she had been that day. It wasn’t on the island, she could see that but she shook her head. She squinted at the background. Something so familiar and yet… she sighed in frustration, shoved the picture into her pocket. She didn’t know how long she studied the photos – moments of her life stolen.

Then, a thump from downstairs. She froze. Another thump. Her stomach lurched. It could be a branch, it could be a branch hitting the outside of the house. She steadied her breath, trying to remain calm. She went to the window, peering out into the gloom of the early evening, expecting to see the trees bending and swaying. But the evening was still. Nothing. A door slammed and the house shook with the impact. The fear was a stabbing knife in her gut. She crept to the top of the stairs and paused, listening.

 

Someone was in the house.

 

Isaac stared out of the ferry boats window. The skies were dark, the water choppy. He loved his hometown but damn – he needed to get away. He wondered if he could persuade Sarah to go away with him – it wasn’t like she didn’t need the break too but would she leave Molly again so soon after her attack?  Selfishly, he wished she’d get someone in to run the business for her; then he remonstrated with himself.  What are you, a caveman?

 

He thought about that night after Sarah had called him to say they needed to talk. After he’d brought her home from the police station, they had sat at her kitchen table, drinking scotch from china mugs and talking.

 

“Why did you hide what happened to Molly from me?” Her earlier anger had dissipated and now she was merely curious. Isaac sighed, running a hand through his short dark curls.

“It was a clumsy move at protecting you. Finn had told me that you had some depression after… well... because of what happened when you were a kid. Both he and I thought, especially after George, that this was something that could wait.”

 

Sarah stared out of the window for a long moment. “You know, that wasn’t either yours or Finn’s decision to make.”

Isaac nodded. “I do know and I’m sorry.”

“I need to feel I have agency in my own life,” she said, “no, scratch that, I do have agency in my own life. I spent years thinking I wasn’t able to make my own decisions – Dan was partially responsible for that. So, no, as much as I love you, you don’t get to make those kind of decisions for me.”

Isaac put his hands up. “I’m right there with you.”

 

Sarah visibly relaxed then rubbed her eyes. “Man, what a day. Too many of these kind of days lately.” She got up and went to him and he pulled her onto his lap, burying his face in her hair. She wound her arms around his neck. “We’re good, though, right?”

He bunched her hair in his fist and kissed her deeply. “Always.”

She nuzzled his ear. “Take me to bed, Isaac Quinn…”

 

He had watched them as they slowly stripped each other’s clothes off. Even the dim lighting of the bedroom, he could still see the way she looked up at Quinn as if she could see nothing else, her eyes shining, besotted, almost drunk with desire. Quinn dropped to his knees and buried his face in her belly, lifting her leg over his shoulder as he moved down, kissing down until his mouth found her sex. Sarah’s head fell back as she gasped at his tongue lashing around her clit, sweeping along the soft, peachy cleft.

 

He could Quinn, his large cock ramrod straight against his stomach, sweep her onto the bed, pushing her legs apart. He watched her smiling up at him, spreading her legs for him, begging him to fill her cunt. As Quinn thrust hard into her, she cried out and the sound made the watcher hard, too hard and uncomfortable. He began to jerk off, silently, stifling his cries, never taking his eyes from the beautiful woman on the bed. Soon, she would be dead and he’d never see her like this again.

 

He had come hard, spasming and vibrating, hot, silent tears to rage and desire coursing down his face.

 

Sarah climbed down the ladder to the attic onto the upstairs hallway and stood, listening. In her hand, the tire iron she’d used to open the trunks. Her hand gripped it tightly, but her hands were clammy from fear. For a second, she wondered if she had imagined it but then she heard a chair shift, footsteps into the hallway below her. She peered over the rail. A figure stood beneath her, his large build entirely dressed in black. She backed up, terror screeching through her now. Straining to hear, she realized he was talking to himself and she peeked over the stair rail. He had a hood pulled up over his head.  For long moments, all was silent and still then suddenly the man let out a roar, a scream of such ferocity and rage that the house reverberated with it.

 

Shocked, terrified, Sarah gasped. His head shot up and turned towards the stairs Sarah backed off, turned and ran. She could hear his footsteps behind her, pursuing, hunting. In her panic, she skidded along the wooden floors, desperate for a hiding place. She whimpered with relief as she skittered into the last room – the guest bathroom and locked it. She darted into the room, looking around desperately as he began to slam his body against the door. She shoved up the window but the drop was a long way down, she’d break her legs if she tried to jump.  She left the window open, though, hoping he’d think she’d gone out that way. Thankful for once for her small stature, she climbed into her laundry bin, trying to calm her breathing, terror screeching through her body. If he cornered her in here, alone, unprotected and unobserved, he could kill her, hide her body and get away before anyone found her. If anyone ever found her. She felt the desperate urge to scream but she clamped her hands over her mouth as the door to the bathroom opened.

 

Seconds stretched into years. She could hear him breathing. He came closer.

 

After a minute, she couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, but she couldn’t hear his breathing in the room anymore. She braved opening the lid to the basket a crack and peeking out. The bathroom was empty. Listening, she could hear him moving around along the corridor. He was in the bedroom. She climbed out of the basket and padded carefully along the hallway. She crept down the stairs and was about to open the front door when she heard him burst from the room. “Fucking, fucking bitch!”

 

She wrenched open the door and ran.

 

“Vampire’s here.” Molly nodded over to Caroline. Finn nodded. Caroline sat at a table at the far end of the coffee house.  The rest of the place was empty.  It had been a week since he’d walked out on her and seeing her now, he knew he’d made the right decision.

“So I see. Can you grab me a coffee?”

“Of course, bro. I’ll bring over some fresh blood for the vamp.” Molly stuck her tongue in her cheek and grinned at him.

He walked over and sat down at Caroline’s table. She smirked at him.

“See you’re busy at work, officer.”

Their detente hadn’t lasted. For weeks now they had been sniping at each other and now Finn had reached his limit. He wanted out. For good.

 

He’d spent the last couple of nights sleeping on Molly’s couch, after long talks with his sister, lasting into the night. She’d even brought him coffee past midnight when he was alone, working a night shift at the station.

He’d looked up as his sister came into the office. Molly raised the coffee cup, her expression both irritated and amused.

“Your order, my lord. I hath come as thee summoned…me.” She gave up with a shrug and a smile. “What do you want? I had to sneak out while Mike’s making like a walrus on the couch. It’s quite a sight, his yawns. Sometimes I throw grapes, trying to get them in.”

Finn grinned. “How’d that work out for you?”

 

“Once I hit his eye, the other time I got it in his mouth and nearly choked him. He was pretty pissed but I figure, hey, at least I scored twice.”

“Sounds like your sex life in college.”

“Oh ha ha ha, comedy king, and eww, dude, I’m your sister.” She glanced at his empty desk. “What did you really want?”

 

Finn hesitated. “I gotta tell you, sis, I’m thinking of quitting. No, seriously.” He added as she rolled her eyes.

“I hear this, what, every six months? You’ll never quit.”

“Aren’t you gonna give me the whole It’s in your blood speech?” Finn looked disappointed and she grinned.

“Anyways,” he added. “this time, it’s different.”

His sister raised her eyebrows. “Oh yes? You finally going to make some changes, get divorced, meet someone… human?”

Finn chewed on his lip and didn’t reply. Molly didn’t yet know about the baby. If she did… god, he didn’t want to think about that. He knew how she would react – horror that Caroline had trapped him.

 

She squinted at him. “Well?” He shrugged and she sighed. “Yep, I thought so. Pucarck.”

“What is “pucarck”?”

“It’s a chicken noise.”

“Chickens go “bok bok”. Not “pucarck”. And I’m not a chicken. I’m respectful of the sanctity of marriage.”

Molly snorted. “Firstly, it doesn’t count when you’re married to a Ring Wraith and secondly – that’ll really get the girls hot “Oh Finn, respect me, respect me hard, respect me real good!”“

 

“I’m really not comfortable with those words coming out of your mouth.” He laughed but then sighed and tilted his chair back, leaning against the wall. “I don’t know, sis…”

Molly growled. “For the love of God, Finn, doesn’t this drive you crazy? This constant…God, I don’t even know what to call it. Everything, everything is telling you to leave Caroline. She makes you miserable. That doesn’t even begin to cover it. I want you to be happy, to find the one person who brings you joy. Stop fooling around. Do something. The one thing I will say is this: you won’t find her while you’re still married to, or at least living with, Count Slutula. She’s changed you, written her spite and her hurt all over you. So before anything else, you have to decide what to do. You, no-one else. And soon.”

Finn nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.” He sniggered. “Count Slutula?”

 

Molly grinned wickedly and Finn laughed. He drained his coffee then looked at his sister suspiciously.

“When did you get so smart?”

“Around about the time I was born. They had a lot of brains left over from you.”

“Funny.”

Molly grinned at him but her eyes were serious. “You have nothing to lose, Finn. Nothing.

 

Now he sat opposite his smirking, hateful wife of five years and saw nothing in her he could ever love again. Nothing.

 

Finn stared at her in dislike. “What do you want Caroline?”

“Isn’t this more about what you want, Finn?”

He sighed. “Yes. Let’s not drag this out. I want a divorce. You can’t be surprised.”

“No.” But she was smiling. She lit a cigarette. Molly walked past and snatched it away from her.

“No smoking, are you an idiot?”

Caroline shrugged and sipped her coffee. “Well, one good thing about getting a divorce would be never having to see you again, you bitch.”

“The feeling’s entirely mutual.”

Caroline stood up and reached past Molly to grab a cupcake from the stand. “When are you going to get a life, Molly, instead of acting as pimp-in-chief to my husband?”

Molly groaned. “At some point, this relentless bitchery must surely get exhausting for you.”

 

She brushed past Caroline, a little too hard but Caroline just stayed smiling. “Why are you so happy anyway? I mean, apart from making my brother’s life miserable, that is.”

“Molly.” Finn shook his head at his sister.

Caroline laughed. “I am happy and you know what? Do you sell champagne in this pissant little hole?”

Molly looked confused. “What?”

“Shut up, Caroline.” Finn hissed the words, his gaze locked on his wife.

Caroline looked between the two siblings and started to laugh. “Oh my god, she doesn’t know, does she?”

Molly scowled at her. “Know what? Finn?”

Finn buried his head in his hands as Caroline crowed triumphantly.

“We need to celebrate, my husband and I. We’re going to have a baby.”

 

Sarah didn’t think, she suddenly was sprinting, racing towards her truck. She didn’t make it. He grabbed the back of her neck, smashed her head against the window on the driver’s side. Stunned, Sarah twisted, trying to escape his grip but he was too strong. He flung her to the ground and threw his entire body weight on top of her, pressing her face down into the dirt, his knee on the small of her back.

 

This is it. This is the end. Sarah struggled against him, adrenalin coursing through her veins but she had no chance against his bulk. Her attacker laughed and she felt his fingers on her neck. “Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. You’re a clever girl, you know. I want you to give your fucking billionaire a message, baby girl. Tell him I’m going to teach him about loss. Tell him I’m going to teach him the meaning of pain.” His voice was course, rough, and hands tightened around her throat, his fingernails digging and she choked. His smiled faded, his eyes went blank. “I’m going to kill you, Sarah, you know that now, don’t you? And when I do, I will do it so slowly that you feel every inch of my knife cutting through you, every drop of your blood spilling out, every last breath dragged from your lungs.” She felt the tip of the knife pressed harder into her body as he laughed softly. “Enjoy the time you have left. The only reason I’m not killing you tonight, right now, right here, is that I’m going to make sure your bastard lover is watching when you die. Then I’m going to kill him too. Slowly. So, make the most of the time you have left, baby girl, it isn’t long. Until then…”

 

And he brought the hilt of the knife down hard on her head and everything went dark.

 

Isaac Quinn had back-to-back meetings – his own design – to make up for the work he had handed off to Saul these last three months. To all outward appearances, he seemed engaged, alert but his brain was working overtime. Daniel Bailey, supposedly dead or missing, was screwing Caroline Jewell. Was Caroline the reason he was back in Seattle and hadn’t contacted Sarah? In his mind, Isaac had painted Dan as a menacing force but maybe he was just a coward. Maybe he didn’t want to face the questions. Sarah had told him she suspected Dan was having an affair before he went missing. Caroline was the obvious suspect and Stan’s investigations proved she was indeed Bailey’s mistress. He couldn’t help the feeling of relief he felt.

 

But then who had killed George? Buddy Harte, the shipwright? If the killer was, as the police thought, the same person killing young Asian-American women, why hadn’t he simply murdered Sarah, instead of those around her? Isaac winced at the thought.

When he went back to his office, just after eight, his assistant Maggie told him, to his relief, that his final meeting was canceled.

 

“Maggie, it’s late, go home. You already do more than enough. Take tomorrow off on me.”

Maggie smiled and thanked him. After she’d gone, Isaac called Sarah’s cell. It went to voicemail but he knew she was due to go into work that evening to do a stock take with Molly.

He had no idea whether he should speak to Finn, tell him about Caroline’s infidelity. It would open up a can of worms that was for sure.

And he couldn’t tell Sarah either. She was so fiery, and loathed Caroline and loved Finn in such equal measure that she would undoubtedly go straight to Finn – if she didn’t kill Caroline first.

 

No, I’m sorry, baby. This is one secret I have to keep. Until Dan Bailey made himself known to her – if ever – then he might decide differently. Isaac was satisfied he made the right decision.

He tried to call Sarah again. Voicemail. He smiled. “Hey beautiful, I’m just finishing up, I’ll be home in an hour. I love you, so much. See you soon.”

 

Bracing herself against the cool tiled wall, Molly pulled her knees up to her chest and sobbed quietly.

They sat there for a while in silence then a soft knock at the kitchen door. Molly stood and opened it a crack. Finn. He smiled at his sister.

 

“Can I come in?” His voice was soft.

“It’s okay.” Molly’s voice was gruff. She put her head on her knees, feeling him sit down in front of her. He slid his hand under her chin and lifted her face to his.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered.

“You haven’t got anything to apologize for. I haven’t any right to feel like this. None.” She sighed. There was a silence.

“Yes,” he spoke softly, “you have. You have every right.”

She put her head on her knees again and he stroked her hair, feeling helpless.

“It might not be mine.”

Molly looked up then, the tears flowing again and gave him a sad smile.

 

“Might.” And he knew what she meant. He closed his eyes and rubbed his hands over his face. They looked at each other for the longest time.

“You never stood a chance, did you? The moment she got your ring on her finger, she made your life miserable. And now she’ll do that forever.” She sighed and looked away.

“I don’t have to stay with her.”

“You do, Finn. I know you – you’re not like Pa, you won’t walk away from a child that might be yours. So, stay. At least until your child can understand why their mother is such a succubus.”

 

Finn smiled gently and Molly wiped her eyes. Finn pulled his sister to her feet and then looked around. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing a stock-take with Sarah tonight?”

Molly glanced at the clock. “Jeez, I totally forgot. Where the hell is she?”

She tried to call Sarah and when she got no answer, she shared a look with Finn, an unspoken concern. She quickly dialed Isaac.

“Hey, Isaac. Is Sarah with you?”

The look on his sister’s face told Finn everything he needed to know. He grabbed his car keys. “Let’s go.”

 

Isaac pulled the car off the ferry and sped through the night, breaking every speed limit in his rush to get to Sarah’s house.  When Molly had called and he’d heard the worry in her voice, every nerve ending in his body seemed to flame.  He didn’t even try to talk himself out of the fear.  Not being able to get hold of Sarah when he thought she was with Molly was one thing but…

 

“Please please please, be okay, be okay…” He hissed out the words between gritted teeth.

Halfway to Sarah’s house, he saw brake lights in front of him.  He sped up to see Finn’s police cruiser in front of him.

 

They pulled up to Sarah’s house at the same time and everyone almost fell out of their vehicles.

“Where is she?” Isaac found himself screaming at the pale, terrified faces of Molly and Finn but he didn’t care.  He leaped onto the porch, saw the front door open and burst into the house.

 

“Sarah!  Sarah!”

 

Soon all three of them were screaming through the house, calling her name over and over but they were greeted only by silence and emptiness.

They met back in the hallway.  Molly was openly sobbing now. Finn put his hand on Isaac’s shoulder. Isaac, almost deranged with fear, stared blankly at him.

 

“Isaac, breathe.  Let’s do a sweep outside.  Mols, do you know if Sarah has any flashlights?”

Molly nodded and went to the cupboard under the stairs pulling out two flashlights and handing them to the men.

“Mols, stay inside, turn on the lights.  Call 911 if we’re not back in ten minutes.”

 

The two men plunged into the dark grounds.  Finn scooted immediately the boathouse and searched, whilst Isaac moved toward Sarah’s truck.  He saw the driver’s side door was slightly open, then, with a shock, he saw blood on the cracked window.  He swept his flashlight around the ground.  The dirt was disturbed, signs of a fight, a scuffle then – and his heart began to beat erratically – the obvious signs of a body being dragged into the woods.

 

God, no, please.

 

Isaac followed the tracks, sweeping the light wide over the dense trees.  The trail wasn’t hard to follow, the bracken and plants snapped and broken.  The flashlight shook in his hands, the light bouncing around the trees.

He found her less than a minute later.  She was on her back, her arm thrown above her head.  Her beautiful face was smeared with mud and blood and her eyes were closed.  Isaac, yelling for Finn, dropped to his knees beside her.

“Sarah?  Honey?” He couldn’t breathe, his chest constricted tightly.

She gave a low moan and that sound was like music to him.

“Sarah, sweetheart, open your eyes, darling.

Sarah opened her eyes and stared up at the dark canopy above her.  Her mouth moved, just a little but no sound came out.  As Finn crashed into the wood behind him, Isaac held her face, willing her to focus on him.

 

“Oh God, Isaac…is she okay?”

“Baby? Oh my God…please Sarah, promise me. Stay awake, please, please.”

She looked at him, focused for a second. She reached up and touched his face, gave a small smile then her eyes closed again and her hand fell away, limp.  Isaac panicked, pressed his fingers to her neck.  A pulse, weak, but there.  He slid his hands under her and picked her up, a stunned Finn at his elbow.  He carried Sarah back towards the house, Finn behind them calling for the air ambulance, calling in the emergency. Inside, Isaac wrapped her in a blanket, kept pressure on her wounds, Molly at his side, holding her friend’s cold hand. Isaac checked her for other injuries.  He found her bleeding from a deep cut on the back of her head, multiple cuts and bruises. He took her cold face between his palms.

 

“Sarah?  Honey, can you open your eyes for me?”

But she didn’t and his heart clenched and shuddered.  He wondered what it took to bludgeon a woman like this.

“The fucking, cowardly motherfucker,” he hissed under his breath as he cradled his unconscious lover.  Molly put her arm around his shoulder, her face deathly pale, her eyes red.

“She’ll be okay, Isaac, she has to be.”

Finn came in, looking as wretched as them. “Air ambulance is on its way. Jesus, is she okay?”

There was a silence then, in a broken voice, Isaac shook his head, never taking his eyes off the woman he loved, lying so still in his arms.

“No.  No, Finn, she’s not alright.  Not even one little bit. Oh God, Sarah, please….stay with me…”

 

The hospital was too quiet.  In the small relative’s room, Isaac and Molly waited.  Sarah had been in surgery for seven hours.  When they’d brought her in, the look of concern on the emergency room doctor’s face scared them all.  She was in a bad way, the surgeon had told them, the head injury serious but they were going to do absolutely everything to save her.  They sat in the small room, watching every movement outside.  At one point they saw a doctor run past, his arms full of blood bags and Isaac was terrified they were for Sarah. 

 

He leaned his forehead against the cool window and shut his eyes. He tried to tell himself she might not make it, she might die so that if it did happen, he’d be prepared.  But even the thought of Sarah dying was enough to make him want to scream and scream and never stop.

He heard a quiet knock behind him and turned. Finn.  He’d stayed behind on the island to help the investigation Molly got up and went into his arms.

 

“Hey, sweetheart. You okay?”  He looked over to Isaac. Isaac nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“She’s still in surgery,” Molly said, letting Finn go and sitting back down. “We don’t know if…” Molly’s face crumpled and she let out a sob.  Finn put his hand on her shoulder.

“Look, we have to think that’s she’s going to be okay.” He looked at Isaac. “Dude, I’m here for you. We have officers fine combing around Sarah’s house, inside it.  There’ll be some clue.”

Isaac sighed and stood. “Look, I just found out that Daniel Bailey is back in Seattle.  He has been for a while.”

Molly gave a strangled gasp. “Oh god…he did this, didn’t he?”

“I don’t know for sure…but he’s the only person with any motive.”

Finn’s face was like stone and Isaac turned to him. “Finn, I just found out too that he’s been screwing someone. Someone who knew he was back before any of us.”

 

Finn gave a humorless laugh. “Caroline.”

Isaac nodded.  Finn sighed. “Well, I hate to admit it but it’s kind of a relief. Another reason not to feel guilty about leaving her. I wish you had told us before, though, Isaac.”

Isaac half-smiled. “Another bad decision on my part.” His face clouded over. “I did this.  I got her hurt.”

 

“No,” Molly stood and hugged him, “this is not your fault.  It’s the asshole who did this.  Whether it was Dan or not, I don’t know.”

They all looked up as the surgeon knocked on the door and came in.  He was smiling at them, and the sense of relief was palpable in the room.

“She’ll be fine.  She has a serious concussion and she suffered a small bleed on the brain but we removed the clot.  It’ll take her awhile to get back to normal but we’ll keep her in for a few days for observation.  You can see her in a while.”

 

Finn and Molly crept into Sarah’s room. She was turned onto her side, away from them. Isaac was sitting, holding her hand, his eyes never leaving her face. Finn moved around the bed. Her face, bruised, swollen and crisscrossed with butterfly stitches, was creased with stress. Finn pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down, his hand on her hair. Molly watched them for a while.

 

“Has she woken at all yet?”

Isaac shook his head. “Doc said they had to sedate her for surgery so she’ll be out for a few hours. Her skin tone is better, though, don’t you think?”

Molly couldn’t see it but she nodded to reassure Isaac.  The tall man seemed shattered.  This was one problem all the money in the world wouldn’t touch.

Finn cleared his throat. “Police want to talk to you, Isaac, and to Sarah when she’s up to it.  I told them where to find Dan and they’ve gone to question him.”

Isaac looked at him. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”

“Why?”

Isaac’s face hardened. “Because I wanted to deal with him myself.”

Finn shifted. “Look, man, as your friend, as Sarah’s friend, I feel you.  But as a cop, don’t let me hear you say that out loud again. Please.”

Isaac gave him a half-smile. “Sorry.”

 

Finn moved back into the hallway, Molly following him. He hugged his sister, feeling drained and exhausted.

 

And there was something else in the back of his mind too.  Something he couldn’t tell anyone.  Something he realized when he’d seen Sarah’s broken and bloody body in that wood, seen the bruises on her face, been terrified that she might be dead or dying.  Something he’d denied for nearly his entire life.

 

He was in love with her.

 

Sarah was in a dreamy world of half-formed shapes and images she couldn’t quite access. There was tremendous pain, she knew that, as she began to surface from her deep coma, as she entered R.E.M. sleep and began to feel the effects of her assault.

 

She dreamed of being hit over and over, pummeled and battered until she could bear it no more then suddenly she was in a memory, a lush sensual dream. Isaac, bare-chested, just wearing blue jeans and a beautiful smile came to her, wrapped his arms around her and held her close, whispering that he loved her over and over and over.  Her pain was gone then as his lips moved over every part of her body, his mouth on her nipples, her belly, on her sex, kissing every single part of her before he took her, his cock sliding into her with such a sweet, agonizingly slow pressure that she moaned a long, shuddering cry of absolute pleasure that seemed to go on and on and on…

 

She opened her eyes. Isaac looked exhausted, worn down. The way his eyes lit up when he saw Sarah was awake made her stomach hurt but she couldn’t look away.

 

“Hi.” His voice was gravelly. He leaned forward and smoothed a cool hand over her forehead. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”

“I love you,” she croaked out, suddenly feeling her tinder-dry throat crack. Isaac smiled and she could see the tears in his eyes.

“God, Sarah, I thought I’d lost you.” He helped her take a drink of water then pressed his lips to hers. “I love you, so much. Thank god you’re okay.” His hand was stroking her hair now and she enjoyed the sensation, relaxing.

“I have a good reason to live.” She smiled at him and he bent down to kiss her again. When they broke apart, she sighed happily. “That’s even better than the morphine.”

He grinned. “You got the good stuff, hey?”

Sarah nodded, feeling her head swim a little. She put a hand up to the bandage on her head. “Am I bald?”

 

Isaac laughed then, softly. “No.  They managed to shave under your hair to operate. You won’t even need one of those cones to stop you scratching.”

Sarah grinned, a genuine smile of amusement. “God, I do love you, Isaac Quinn.”

He leaned in again, rubbed his nose against hers. “Marry me,” he whispered and Sarah smiled.

“Hell yes…”

“You will?” Isaac’s eyes lit up.

“Of course I will, you doofus. But do me a favor?  Ask me again when I get out of here, when I’m fully awake.” As soon as she said “awake”, she yawned loudly. Isaac grinned.

“You’ve got a deal. Now, I’m going to find the doctor, tell him you’re awake.”

Before he’d even got to the door, she’d fallen asleep again. 

 

The receptionist looked up at him. “Can I help you?”

The man smiled. “I’m looking for my wife. I was informed she was brought in here a few days ago with a head injury.  Please, I’m very anxious to see her. I’ve been out of the country for quite a while...”

 

Molly could hear Finn’s voice, talking to someone in the coffee shop. She looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and made a face.  She looked worn and exhausted.  Hardly surprising with what had gone on around here, she splashed her face with water then went out to the front. Finn was talking to a regular at the other end of the coffee house.

“Hey, Sis.” Finn smiled at her as he came to the counter, then pulled her into a hug.  He seemed in a strange mood, almost jubilant.

 

“What’s going on? You’re giddy.” Despite herself, Molly smiled, it was good to see Finn happy but on closer inspection, as she looked into his eyes, she saw something else.  Anger.

“Finn.”

Finn leaned over the counter and grabbed the coffee pot. “Just wait a minute, sis, something’s about to happen that I think you might enjoy.”

As if summoned, Caroline walked into the Varsity with Serena, one of her nervous minions, in tow.

“Oh lordy, the Cunt of Monte Christo is here.” Molly pronounced loudly.  The few customers that were in the coffee house choked with laughter and Finn grinned widely.

Caroline’s nose went in the air. “I don’t know why you’re laughing. Your perfect happy little lives are about to fall apart and you don’t even know it.”

Finn sighed. “Is that so, Caroline?”

 

Caroline smirked. “How’s the Chinese whore?  Still breathing? That’s a shame but at least you’ll have someone to jerk off over in the shower.”

To Molly’s astonishment, she saw Finn color, his eyes flare up, and waves of anger roll off him.  Hurriedly, Molly scooted around the counter and put herself between the two of them.

 

“Your jealousy of Sarah is quite something, really very pathetic,” she said, her own eyes burrowing into Caroline’s.

“Well, she’s welcome to him, useless fucking loser. Call yourself a man?” She spat in Finn’s face. “You couldn’t even fucking get me pregnant. This baby isn’t yours, Finn.”

 

Finn wiped his face calmly. “Honey, honestly, I never thought it was.”

Caroline stared at him in disbelief. “You don’t even care why I told you it was?”

Molly rolled her eyes. “Um, to keep Finn locked in your miserable web of crap? To fuck with all of us? Tough one, let me think.”

“Shut up you bitch.”

Molly laughed at her.

She turned on him. “You’re a bastard, Finn and she’s nothing more than a cheap Chinese whore. Are you happy now?”

 

Finn smirked. “Yes, Caroline, if it helps get through to you how unbelievably happy I am, yes, I am over the moon I’ve left you. The thing is, the thing you never realized, is that Sarah isn’t a possession to be passed from person to person. She’s a self-made woman. A beautiful, amazing wonder of a woman and the fact that she chooses to be friends, the very best of friends, with me makes me the luckiest person in the world. I feel sad for you that you were too stupid, too jealous to realize what you had when you had it. We were happy once, we could have been happy forever but you decided to choose jealousy and hatred over love. So you lose, you absolute horror of a human being. You lose.”

Molly looked at him in admiring astonishment. Finn looked straight at Caroline unwavering. Caroline, stunned, tried to save face.

 

“Every day you were here, sniffing around her like a lost dog. I don’t get it. What is it about her that’s so special? That perfect face?”

Finn went very silent then and it seemed to Molly that the whole coffee shop held its breath.

“How long, Caroline?”

Caroline looked confused and Finn smiled.

 

“How long have you been screwing Daniel Bailey – the very much alive Daniel Bailey?”

To Molly’s surprise, Caroline smirked. “Long enough.”

“So you knew he was back?  You talk to him about his intentions?”

She was cocky now. “We are honest with each other.”

“Making plans together?”

Another smirk. “Is it any of your business anymore?”

Finn nodded calmly. Okay, then how about I put it like this.” He grabbed Caroline and slammed her down onto a table, cuffing her and jerking her back up by her arms, not caring if he hurt her.

“Caroline Jewell, I’m arresting you on suspicion of criminal conspiracy in the assault and attempted murder of Sarah Bailey. You have the right to remain silent, anything you do say will be taken down and could be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights I have explained to you, you piece of crap? Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to me now, for instance, tell me everything Daniel Bailey has told you? No? Thought not.” He was mocking her and she started screaming, kicking out at him but he was too strong.

“You’re a fucking joke, Finn. Your precious Sarah is in love with that fucking billionaire. She doesn’t want you.”

 

Her screams faded as Finn dragged her across the street and into the police station. A second later, he walked back to the coffee shop. As he entered the shop, Finn’s face was alive with anger. He turned, closed the door and locked it. As he came toward her, Molly looked at her brother in admiration.

“Dude,” was all she said but Finn nodded gratefully at her.

“I don’t know if the charges will stick but it means we can keep her ass in jail for a few hours.”

Molly sighed. She turned to Serena, who seemed frozen as she stood, looking like a lost little girl, someone who had just lost her queen bee. Molly tried to smile at her, feeling sorry for her. “Serena, go home.  You’re free, you can do what you want. Go tell the rest of your friends they’re free too.” She said this with a smirk and was surprised to see Serena tentatively return her smile.

 

“Yes. Yes,” she said, not without a little relief, “I will.  Thank you, Molly… Finn.”

After she’d gone, Molly and Finn stared at each other for a long moment then burst into laughter.  Wiping her eyes, Molly punched her brother on the shoulder.

“Dude, you might just be a genius, god, she’ll never get over that humiliation. So worth it.” She studied her brother. “So…what now?”

Finn smiled sadly. “I try and get over the woman I never realized I loved.”

 

 

The sound broke through her sleep. Sarah opened her eyes and strained to identify it. A steady stream, of water, someone singing. Someone was in the bathroom. It was a male voice. Isaac? Smiling, she slid from the bed and padded across the room then stopped. She could tell now it wasn’t Isaac’s voice.  She glanced at the clock.  Eleven a.m. No, it couldn’t be.  She’d been in the hospital for over a week and she’d made him promise to go back to work. 

Trembling, she walked slowly towards it and then yelped in shock.

 

The man in her kitchen turned and smiled at her. “Hey sleepyhead, I was wondering when you’d wake up.”

Sarah felt her head swirl, her stomach roil and black spots appear at the corners of her eyes, and in the second before she passed out, she heard him say. “I’ve missed you so much, my darling…”

 

It was Dan.

 

Maggie brought Isaac a steaming cup of coffee and a handful of messages. “The press,” she said, rolling her eyes, “they’ve gotten hold of your and Sarah’s story.  They want to know – and I’m quoting, so don’t shoot the messenger – they want to know “Who tried to kill the Billionaire’s Beauty? I swear to god, five of them said those exact words to me.”

“Shit,” Isaac sighed and sat back in his chair, “Well, it was only a matter of time.  They won’t get anything from me, though except a blanket Thanks for your concern, this matter is private.”

 

Maggie looked skeptical. “Yeah, that’ll calm them down.”

Isaac grinned at her sarcasm. “Haven’t I fired you already today?”

Maggie laughed. “Twice.  But seriously, boss…”

“Isaac leaned back in his chair and gave a frustrated hiss. “Let me talk to Sarah.  For now, if you can, just tell them there’ll be a statement but stress this is a private matter.”

“Gotcha.”

 

When she’d gone back to her desk, Isaac spun his chair and gazed out of the window.  The city was gray with rain, sheets of it falling, a low rumble of thunder.  Thank god he’d paid for a private room for Sarah.  They were well versed in keeping the press out.  He wondered if he should hire security for her room – then pushed the thought away.  She’d be mortified at the fuss and anyway, with any luck, she’d be released from the hospital soon.

 

Later, walking back to the parking garage, he swung past a jeweler’s and looked at the engagement rings. He knew Sarah wouldn’t care about a ring but he did. He wanted something unusual, something as beautiful as she was. He’d bring her here and they’d choose together. Soon, he thought, soon.

 

Finn shifted with irritation. He wanted to get out of this house, away from this woman. He wanted to call Isaac, find out how Sarah was. Caroline took her time reading the divorce papers. She looked up at him in surprise.

 

“You’re admitting adultery?”

He nodded. “Caroline, I don’t care who takes the blame, I just want out. I don’t care that you screwed Dan Bailey.” He added as her head shot up. She composed herself and smirked.

“I was screwing him long before he “disappeared” too.” She muttered.

“Oh, I know.” Finn’s face was set with a grim smile. He leaned down to study her face. “I’ve always known. But the truth is I cheated long before that. Before we even got married. Not physically, no. But emotionally. I realize now I’ve been in love with Sarah since the day I met her and I never stopped. Not for one heartbeat.”

Caroline sneered. “You think I don’t know that? But I don’t believe you didn’t fuck her all those years.”

 

Finn’s face was cold. “Believe what you want. I was too blind to realize it, then too stupid to do anything about it.  This is how adults are supposed to act, Caroline.  Sometimes we don’t get a happy ending – or rather – we get a different one to the one we planned.  Mine will be leaving you and finally being free of your disgusting presence.  Sign the papers.”

Caroline got up and got a cold beer from the fridge. She cracked it open and took a swig. “What if I don’t?”

“You will. Because if you don’t, I’m going to arrest you for criminal conspiracy.”

Caroline blanched and Finn smiled.

“What?”

 

He moved so he could look down on her. She had fear in her eyes as she registered his anger.

“I said, I will spend every waking hour proving that you were a co-conspirator to Sarah’s attack.  That you stole police property when you sold that story to the papers. Until my last breath, Caroline, I will make sure you pay for what you did to her.” Finn managed to control his temper but his voice was low and furious.

 

Caroline swallowed another gulp of beer and moved around him. She was shaking. Sitting down, she scrawled her signature where Finn had indicated. She handed him back the papers. Finn nodded.

“Thank you.” He turned to leave.

Caroline’s eyes filled with tears. “Did you ever love me?” She asked in a whisper.

Finn didn’t hesitate. “No.”

Caroline stared at him for a long minute.

“Finn? What now?”

He didn’t look at her. “We sell the house, split the profit. You get the hell off my island. I never want to see or speak to you again.”

“Finn…” Her voice shook. He looked at her then, disgust, contempt in his eyes.

“Goodbye Caroline.” And he walked out in the afternoon a free man.

 

Sarah backed away from the ex-husband, her breath hitching and catching in her throat.  His smile was friendly enough but his eyes were flat and dead. He looked changed.  Harder.  His once slim face was pudgy and his hair was thinning.

 

He stepped towards her, put his hands her shoulders when she tried to shake him off, his grip tightened.

“Don’t be silly, Sarah, why do you look scared?  It’s me.”

His voice, god, even his voice frightened her, as soft as it was, almost a tender whisper. She could smell his pine soap.

“Dan…what do you want?” Even more than “where the hell have you been?” she wanted to know this.  What did he want?

Dan leaned in and kissed her softly before she could pull away.  He ran a finger down her cheek.

“Isn’t it obvious, my darling baby girl? I want you, Sarah, I want you back”.”

Sarah stared at him in horror and her heart pounded against her ribs. “No…no…”

His eyes went dark, his smile flattened into a thin line. “We are husband and wife, Sarah.”

She yanked herself free and went to press the call button. “We are divorced, Dan.  I divorced you after you faked your own death and left me.  Get out or I’ll have security throw you out.”

He stepped towards her, backing her against the wall, pinning her with the weight of his body; she could feel his body heat, smell his skin.

“Dan…please”

“Sssh baby girl, sssh. You know how this has to be? I’ll forgive spreading your legs for the rich man but now, let’s be honest….” His smile was terrifying. The fear was icy cold in her veins.

“You are mine, Sarah, mine forever...I won’t let anyone else have you, my darling, not ever…”

And he pressed his lips against hers…