“Lake Loyal?” Risa recognized the name of the small town a stone’s throw from the prison, but for the life of her, she didn’t see how going to the tiny police station was going to do any good. “I don’t have time. He has—”
“Rees. Look at me.”
She forced her eyes to focus on his face. A face full of strength and confidence and purpose. A face that, until a few minutes ago, she had never wanted to set eyes on again.
“The town, the county, law enforcement is on this. And I’ll find Dryden, Rees. I promise.”
Risa closed her eyes, blocking the sight of him. He’d broken promises to her in the past. But those were personal promises. Promises of marriage. Promises of a family. This one had to do with his work. This one was life and death. He would keep this one. He always kept his professional promises.
She opened her eyes and nodded. “You’ll be at the station with me?”
“After the officer gets here, I’ll head to the prison. I want to go through Dryden’s personal things, anything he left behind. Afterward I’ll meet you. The task force will be assembling there.”
“Take me to the prison.”
Familiar shadows crept into the gray of his eyes. He turned away.
“I can help, Trent. You’re not the only one with insights into Dryden that might be useful.”
“Go with the officer. Answer his questions. That’s how you can help.”
“The police will be at the prison too, right? I can answer questions there. I need to go.”
Trent paced the length of the tiny foyer before he spun back to face her. His expression was guarded, his jaw clamped shut like an oyster with an entire pearl necklace to protect.
Risa had seen this look countless times before. Back when they were engaged. Back when he’d withdrawn. Back when he’d shut her out of his life.
She shoved her resentment aside and concentrated on keeping her voice calm, her argument reasonable. “I’ve been heading up a study on criminal psychology. I’ve been to the prison dozens of times in the last year interviewing Dryden. It could be useful if I—”
“It’s out of the question.”
Frustration pulsed at the back of Risa’s eyes, rapidly turning into a throbbing headache. “You’ve used victims’ family members to help in other cases.”
“Not this time. Let the authorities take care of it. Let us do our jobs.” His voice was professional, emotionless, final.
Risa lurched to her feet, her hands in fists. She wanted to pound them against his chest. She wanted to grab the lapels of his suit and shake him. She wanted to scream until she had no breath left in her body.
By some kind of miracle, she kept herself calm. “This isn’t about you. Not everything is.”
His back stiffened, but he didn’t argue with her. He never had. From the night he’d told her he couldn’t go ahead with their vows, he’d taken all the anger she’d thrown at him as if it were his penance for the pain he’d caused. A punishment he knew he deserved.
But she didn’t want to punish him. She wanted him to understand. “I’ve talked to Dryden, interviewed him. And Nikki found my work so fascinating, she married the man. I’m neck deep in this.”
“And I won’t be responsible for you getting in any deeper.”
She bit back a caustic reply. Arguing was a waste of time. “I don’t need you, Trent. I’ll drive myself. If the officer wants to ask me questions, he can meet me at the prison. Or he can arrest me.”
Clutching her robe closed, she ran up the stairs.
Trent
Damn.
Listening to the soft thump of Rees’s footsteps climbing the stairs, Trent ran his gaze over the warm wood and creamy white walls of her foyer. Her collection of teddy bears scattered the staircase and bench and stared down at him from an ornate shelf. Dozens of them. Judging him with their glossy black eyes.
He hated teddy bears.
Of course, it wasn’t the stuffed toys themselves. He knew that. It was what they represented. Innocence. And his failure to protect it.
He turned away from the staircase and crossed the foyer to the front door. That Rees wanted to help save Nikki from Ed Dryden—that she needed to help—didn’t surprise him in the least. But he’d hoped she would be satisfied with going to the police station and answering questions. He should have known better.
Simply answering questions wouldn’t be enough for her. Not Rees. Of course she would try to talk him into including her, and when he refused, she’d go barreling in on her own. He should have done something, anything to head her off before she’d latched on to the idea of going to the prison. Before she’d dug in her heels.
Trent opened the door and stepped out onto the stoop. The gentle glow of the moon caressed an oak tree’s emerging leaves and sparkled off drops of dew in the well-tended lawn. Sweet scents of lilac and honeysuckle mixed with the tang of nearby spruce. Familiar smells of Wisconsin spring that would be embedded in his memory forever.
But in his memory, those sweet scents were impossible to separate from the odor of blood, the stench of decay, and the evil of Ed Dryden. That was the reality of Trent’s life. Death and decay and a killer on the loose. Not spring bushes covered with flowers. Not teddy bears.
And certainly not Risa.
He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the soft, lavender scent of her, the rich, husky quality in her voice, the petite curves even that flour sack of a nightshirt couldn’t hide.
If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have taken the job at the University of Wisconsin. She wouldn’t have gone out of her way to include Dryden in her study, and her sister wouldn’t have married the monster.
This wasn’t her fault. It was his.
But he couldn’t turn his back on the bureau. Not two years ago, and not now. To change the path his career had taken would mean killers he had helped put in prison or on death row would be free. And he couldn’t live with that. Not even for Rees.
Two years ago, Trent had tried to find a way to reconcile his career and his need to protect Rees. But there was no way. He couldn’t have both. He’d had to face that then, and nothing had changed since.
Circumstances had only proved he had been right to leave her. His failure was not leaving sooner.
Trent stepped off the porch and strode across the wet grass toward his rental car. All he could do was try to clean up the mess he’d caused. Find Dryden before he killed Nikki, before he killed someone else.
And he would do his damnedest to protect Rees in the process. Whether she liked it or not.
Risa
Dressed in slacks and a cotton sweater, Risa stepped into the garage and hit the glowing button on the wall. Motor whirring, the automatic door began to rise. A car’s headlights glared from outside, their brightness growing as the door lifted. She held up a hand to shield her eyes from the light.
“Get in the car.” Trent’s voice barked over the drone of the garage door. “I’ll drive you to the prison.”
She gripped her car keys in one fist, the pointed edges digging into her palm. Knowing Trent, the turnaround had less to do with a change of heart than a change of strategy. “I’m going to the prison.”
“I said I’d take you.”
“And when I get there, I’m going to help with the investigation.”
“We’ll see how it goes.”
“Right.” Well, the first step was getting him to take her. Now she had the forty-minute drive there to convince him to let her take a look in Ed Dryden’s cell.
She punched the code into the garage door’s outside keypad. The door humming shut behind her, she climbed into Trent’s sedan.