Chapter Twenty-nine
“Mr. Alexander! Mr. Alexander!” The reporter shoved a mic toward his face as he reached the top of the stairs leading up from the beach. “What was it like being tied to a tree, believing you were about to die?”
“What do you think it was like?” Ryan held tight to the leash as Barney growled at the man. “This is private property, and you’re trespassing. Back off.”
“Are you aware Crossroads’ stock has plummeted since word broke you were involved in the situation with the satanic cult operating out of your hometown?”
“I don’t have any comment.” As the dog strained forward, Ryan practically sprinted the final few yards to Leah’s porch and ran up the steps. When the front door opened, he shot through behind Barney and turned to slam it shut.
“Wow, you’re a whole lot braver than I would be.”
He leaned against the door as Nina unhooked the leash from the dog’s collar. “More like stupid. I thought I’d be safe going for a walk on the beach. Turns out I underestimated the persistence of the press.”
“When I was at the grocery store, I ran into a TV crew out of Portland who somehow learned I was friends with you and Leah. Talk about piranhas scenting blood . . .”
Ryan followed her into the living room where Paige stood beside the window, peaking out through the blinds. Leah sat on the couch with her phone clamped to her ear. She gave him a quick smile before returning to her conversation.
“Yeah, one of them is on my property now. If you could . . . okay. Thanks, Chris.” She laid her cell on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch cushions. “How’d the walk go?”
“Barney seemed to enjoy himself. I think he likes barking at reporters.” Ryan took a seat beside her and picked up her hand.
Leah looked worn to the bone. Dark circles marred the skin beneath her eyes, and her hand shook as she hooked a strand of hair behind her ear. He knew she hadn’t slept well the last few nights, probably because he’d been awake, too. In the dark, they’d clung to each other in an effort to hold back the nightmares.
“Besides promising to chase off the reporter out there, Chris also gave me an update.”
“Do tell.” Nina sat opposite them.
Paige left her post at the window to drop down onto the rug beside Barney. “I’m almost hoping for some kind of natural disaster to distract the media’s interest away from Siren Cove.”
Leah’s grip on his hand tightened. “I know what you mean. Every time I turn on the news, they’re replaying footage of some of our most esteemed citizens being loaded into patrol cars in handcuffs. While I have no trouble believing Waylon and Pete Brewster were part of that sick cult, it still kills me to think Doctor Carlton was a member, that for years he condoned—”
“Try not to think about it.” Ryan bent to press a kiss to the top of her head.
“The whole town is in shock. I heard Dr. Carlton’s wife packed her bags and left to go live with their daughter in California,” Nina said.
Paige stroked Barney’s ears when he laid his head in her lap. “Is it any wonder the rest of the men involved are currently divorced? Even if their wives didn’t know the specifics, they must have felt something was seriously wrong.”
“Except for Rodney Long. The guilt of what they’d done probably contributed to his stroke. If he hadn’t turned on his ‘brothers’ and confessed to his son when he did . . .” Leah broke off, and her whole body quivered as Ryan let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her.
“Seems like Chris was the only male offspring the group didn’t try to indoctrinate.”
Leah met Nina’s thoughtful gaze and nodded. “Probably because the man’s morals were evident from an early age. I’ve never been more thankful than I was when he and Chief Stackhouse and the rest of the department ran out of the woods to save us along with that poor woman.”
Ryan held Leah a little tighter as another tremor shook her. “You mentioned you had new information?”
“I do. Chris said Yvonne Ames is scheduled to be released from the hospital tomorrow and is expected to make a full recovery from her injuries.”
“That’s good news, at least.”
“She was the lucky one, unlike the others they killed over the years.” Paige’s tone was somber.
“Knowing they buried their sacrifices up there makes me ill just thinking about it, but at least those families will have closure once the remains are identified.” Leah let out a long sigh. “Merry Bright was one of them. I guess Leonard Wilkinson, the manager from the bank, went a little crazy and started shooting his mouth off before his lawyer shut him up. He ratted out Arnold Dorsey, who was behind the attacks on me.”
“I wonder what’s going to happen to them.” Nina spoke quietly. “The manager closed the Poseidon Grill after the police arrested George Dorsey at the airport, so who knows when the restaurant will reopen. Is there any news yet on recovering your grandma’s money from that scumbag?”
“Earlier, I talked to the attorney Magnus hired for Gram. Once the warrant finally came through, the bank froze George’s account. What with all the elderly victims he’s fleeced over the last couple of years, her lawyer expects her share will be about half of what he originally stole.”
Ryan frowned. “That sucks.”
“Yeah, it does, but we discussed the situation, and she and Magnus are both happy to be cohabiting. They moved the last of Gram’s stuff into his apartment yesterday.”
“Go, Evie!” Paige pushed up off the floor. “Seems like she made the best of a bad situation. I hate to take off, but I need to get back to my shop. If that idiot reporter is still out there, I intend to give him a piece of my mind. Haven’t you both been through enough without all the added media harassment?”
“You’d think.” Pressing down on Ryan’s thigh, Leah rose to her feet. “Thanks for coming over to keep me company.”
“You bet.”
Nina followed them into the entry. “I should go, too.”
Ryan stayed where he was, figuring Leah could use a few minutes alone with her friends. Both Nina and Paige had been solid bulwarks of support since the minute he and Leah had emerged from the woods, shaken and more than a little traumatized.
Has it only been three days? It seemed like a lifetime.
The women’s voices carried from the entry, breaking through his thoughts. Or maybe it was a single name that had caught his attention. He mouthed an obscenity.
“Have you heard from Brock?” Paige’s voice was hesitant.
“He actually called me and broke down crying. He said he didn’t know what Pete and George were getting him into. They were drunk and all hopped up on something when he agreed to join their sick cult. Then he was afraid to back out once he sobered up.”
“Didn’t the police arrest him?” Nina asked.
“Of course, but he hasn’t been charged with murder or kidnapping like the others since he had no part in abducting Yvonne Ames, and this was his first time up in the woods with those freaks.” Leah’s voice broke. “I’m sure he’ll still do jail time, but at least he tried to talk the group out of killing me and Ryan. Not that I’ll ever forgive him for his part in the whole nightmare.”
“I hope they lock them all up and throw away the keys. None of them deserve to live.”
Ryan clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides. He agreed with Nina. Their perverted cult had contaminated the whole town, and it would take a long time for the residents to recover.
“Are you going to be okay?” Paige’s soft question penetrated his anger.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t for Ryan, I don’t know if I would be. I feel like such an idiot. I hate that I once loved a man who’s so messed up. What does that say about me?”
“That you look only for the best in people. Don’t beat yourself up over someone else’s failings. Anyway, you dumped him years ago, so you saw the light,” Paige answered.
Leah’s voice was tearful. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I still feel like a fool.”
“What does Ryan have to say about it?” Nina asked.
“Nothing. He just supports me, lets me cry, and holds me when I wake up in a cold sweat.”
“That’s all you need right now. Look, I can stay if—”
“No, I’ll be fine. Go back to your shop. You, too, Nina. Ryan will be here if I start to lose it again.”
“If you’re sure . . .”
“I’m sure. I have Ryan.”
The door opened, and their voices faded as they walked out onto the porch. Ryan hoped the reporter had left. If not, he’d be tempted to punch the jerk. He closed his eyes and willed himself to calm the hell down. Leah needed his patience right now, not his anger.
When the door shut, he opened his eyes again and met her gaze head-on when she stopped in the doorway.
“Did you hear all that?” At his nod, she continued, “I should have told you I talked to Brock.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation if you choose to speak to someone. Even an asshole like your ex.”
Leah returned to the couch and sat down beside him. “Since Brock used his one call from jail to contact me, I felt like I should take it. I guess it’s something that he was horrified they intended to kill the two of us.”
“Not much, but something.”
“Knowing he was a part of that group makes me sick.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “Actually physically ill.”
She wasn’t exaggerating. She’d run to the bathroom more than once when he’d tried to persuade her to eat something. But the fact that she cared about Brock’s actions at all killed him.
“If you still have feelings for your ex-husband . . .”
“What!” Leah jerked upright and stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“This whole situation is turning you inside out. If you didn’t care—”
“Care!” She rose to her feet and faced him with fists clenched. “I care that I married that man. I care that I was capable of being fooled into thinking he was a decent human being. My stomach is in knots wondering what other horrible decisions I’ve made in my life. How can I ever trust my own judgment again?”
“Am I a mistake? Do you question loving me?”
“No, of course not.” Tears slid down her face. “You—your love—is the only thing holding me together. You’re the one bright spot of hope I have.”
Ryan stood and walked around the coffee table to take her into his arms. Pressing her face against his chest, he simply held her. “Stop torturing yourself. Don’t think about the past. Look toward the future. Our future.”
“I’ll try. I really will.”
“That’s all I ask.” He held her far enough away to look into her troubled eyes. “Right now, I think we both could use a little time to recover.”
“At least the school board was nice about giving me the rest of the week off. I have to pull my act together by Monday, though. The kids in my class will be worried about me. After everything that’s happened, they need normalcy in their lives.”
“We all do.”
* * *
Leah held Ryan’s hand as they strolled down the beach. Ahead of them, Barney chased a flock of seagulls that squawked in indignation and flew away long before her dog reached them. With a cold wind blowing off the ocean, they had the entire strip of sand to themselves. She stopped and turned to face the three Sirens out in the cove, then leaned against Ryan’s chest when he wrapped his arms around her.
As it did all too often, her mind turned to the horrific night when they’d both nearly died. Dreams of hooded figures still plagued her sleep, but the times she woke up shaking and gasping for breath came fewer and farther between. She was finally beginning to heal.
“I’ll never take this for granted again.” Ryan turned her in his arms and brushed strands of blowing hair off her cheek with a gentle finger, obviously picking up on her thoughts, as he so often did. “If there’s one positive to take away from what happened last month, it’s an appreciation of each moment we have together.”
“Many, many moments.” She smiled up at him. “Hopefully, years and years.” Looping her arms around his neck, she stood on her toes to kiss him. “I’ll never leave you, Ryan. In those petrifying minutes when I thought we both might die, I knew with complete certainty living without you wasn’t an option. That’s the positive I gained from the whole nightmare.”
“Nothing and no one will come between us again. Of that, I’m certain.”
“I love you so much. Thank you for standing by me this last month. I know it wasn’t easy because I was a complete basket case for quite a while, and you had work problems to deal with, just to make matters worse.”
“You’ll always be my top priority. Never doubt that. Anyway, now that my shareholders have been reassured I wasn’t part of the cult as was first reported, stock in Crossroads has bounced back.” His grip on her tightened. “I’d like to know which moron reported that version of events.”
“I guess it sold more papers than the retraction they printed on page ten.”
“You think?”
“I think.” She stroked the back of his neck with her thumb. “I also think you have amazing fortitude to have faced all the crap thrown at you, plus my insecurities, and not put your fist through a wall. You deserve a medal.”
“How about if I give you something instead.” Releasing her, he slid his hand into his pocket. After pulling it out, he turned his palm upward. On it rested a twisted gold band with an inset ruby. “It’s a promise ring with your birthstone. I bought it our senior year before . . .”
“Before we broke up?” Tears burned her eyes
“I kept it all these years and have been carrying it around since I came back home to you. I want you to have it as a token of what we’ve always meant to each other.”
She touched the shiny band with a shaking finger. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Before you say anything, there’s something else I need to tell you.” His eyes were full of promises as he smiled at her. “I love you, Leah. I want to be the person you turn to for support when you need it most. The one you run to when you’re happy. I want to be your everything, now and always.”
He reached into his other pocket, pulled out a small black box, and flipped open the lid. “Maybe you’d like to wear this one, too. Will you marry me and make me happier than I ever believed possible?”
She stared down at the diamond solitaire glinting in a ray of sunlight. Her heart swelled with pure joy as she met his gaze. Speechless, she nodded.
He slid both rings onto her finger with shaking hands. “My heart is yours to keep.”
“And mine belongs to you.” She reached up and kissed him. “This is where I belong, where I’ve always belonged. In your arms and by your side. It’s the only place I ever want to be. Loving you, Ryan. Forever.”