Alone in Forrester Rock

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eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 512 Forest Lake Drive Warner Robins, Georgia 31093 Alone in Forrester Rock Copyright © 2007 by Amy Mistretta Cover by Dawn Seewer ISBN: 1-59998-480-6 www.samhainpublishing.com All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: March 2007

Alone in Forrester Rock Amy Mistretta

Dedication

For those who have ever felt lost, you’re not alone…

Amy Mistretta

Chapter One Being forced onto a plane and flown six hundred miles into the nearly forsaken town of Forrester Rock, West Virginia, was by far the most terrifying thing Tori had ever had to endure—besides surviving the situation that had led to this unwanted, devastating twist in her life. Here she was, alone and afraid of her unfamiliar surroundings, with only a simple handbag to her name. When she first arrived in the town, it was as if its townspeople had waited their whole lives to see her walk through the streets of Forrester Rock. As she walked up the road, small groups of people, young and old, stood back, avoiding eye contact, as if unsure if she should be welcomed or ignored. When it came down to it, they chose to do the latter, without a single person coming forward with an extended hand or a friendly hello. All the same, Tori had no choice but to brave forward, walking past them with a nervous smile on her face. As she walked toward the crowd, they took two steps back. Tori continued even though she wanted to turn around and run for her life. Her life? It was no longer her life. She didn’t know what kind of life this town would bring, but one thing was certain—she had no choice. She had to adjust to her new surroundings whether she liked them or not or else she’d be looking over her shoulder day in and day out for the rest of her lonely life. And that tendency alone was going to be hard enough to break. The cab that had driven her into this hidden town appeared to have been swallowed up by enormous mountains as it vanished into the

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distance in a cloud of dust. There was nowhere to run, nobody to turn to. What had become of Victoria Valentino was suddenly all too real. Tori headed across the dirt road to the local post office in search of her new address—an address she had taken no part in obtaining. All she had been instructed to do was follow the details that would be given to her and to make the best out of what she now had. As far as Tori was concerned, she had nothing to go on. The old woman behind the counter appeared friendly enough and her motherly appearance gave Tori the comfort she had hoped for. She placed the new carry-on bag down on the dirty tiled floor, taking the first of many steps to fit into this place she was now forced to call home. “Hello there, girly,” the old woman said, a beam in her eye. “You must be our newcomer.” “I guess that’s me.” Tori extended a shaky hand. “Tori Russo.” Why they hadn’t picked a less Italian last name to go with her birthgiven first, she’d never know. “Now, that’s a fancy name if I’ve ever heard one. My name’s Mabel, and welcome to our little town, Miss Tori Russo.” The woman moved around the counter in order to give Tori a thorough look-over. “And such a pretty girl, too. You’re gonna make the womenfolk around here think twice about lettin’ their husbands go out fishin’, but I reckon you have a husband of your own.” Oh, that’s just great. The last thing she needed was people disliking her before she’d even had the opportunity to personally meet them. And as for a man—any man—she definitely didn’t need that hassle in her life. “Nope, it’s just me, and you can reassure them I’m not in the market for a husband.” Boy, was that an understatement. She was still in shock over the situation her so-called loving fiancé had put her in. It was as if she were wandering around in someone else’s nightmare. “I suppose you’re here for the keys to your new place, although I wouldn’t call it ‘new’.” Mabel raised her eyebrows. “That old shack’s been

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next to the creek for years with no more than a stranger or a few critters livin’ in it.” Tori had not expected a brand-new home, but something a little more tamed would have been nice. However, it wasn’t the clerk’s description of the place that caught her off guard. “What do you mean, a stranger has been living there?” “We had a drifter come through our town a while back. Word has it, he’s been usin’ the place as a refuge.” Mabel dangled the “Out to Lunch” sign on a rusty nail. “I’m sure he’s gone now with word goin’ around that you’re movin’ in.” “You don’t know who he is?” “The shack was left to the town after its owner passed away. The drifter never bothered anyone, so we’ve found it better not to ask any questions. Besides, he helps people around here. I guess you might call him a ‘jack-of-all-trades’.” Tori’s look of panic, without doubt, let Mabel know how uncomfortable she had made Tori. What kind of situation were they putting her in? No matter what, she needed to act as though she’d stayed in these types of places before, during her research with wildlife preservation. The house by the creek apparently contained the right scenery for the job the US Marshals office had fabricated. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you half to death. It’s not as bad as I joked, just needs some work, that’s all.” Mabel went to fetch the keys from the back room then reappeared with her coat. “Come on, I’ll drive you out there.” Why couldn’t Tori have been “lost” in some over-populated city instead of in Hicksville? She’d known this would take some adjustment, but it was going to be a lot harder than she’d ever imagined. She was far out of her element, and she already missed the big city. At least she had made a friend in Mabel, even if she did seem to be the town gossip. That, in itself, was going to make Tori’s job a lot harder. She was going to have to make this imaginary work of hers seem as real 7


as possible. If she didn’t, Mabel would be sure to detect something wasn’t right. After that, the whole town would know it, too. They climbed into Mabel’s old Buick and headed south along the dirt road away from town. It was a beautiful place—Tori had to admit that much. The trees were the same green as the grass to either side of the road. The sun glistened off the dew-moistened flowers. The air entering her lungs was the cleanest she’d ever inhaled. Mabel talked of all the townspeople from the newest born to the eldest resident, who wasn’t too much older than Mabel herself. She rambled on and on, her words unable to pique Tori’s interest. Without meaning to, Tori drifted six hundred miles away. She’d spent her entire life in New York City, perfectly happy living there amongst her family and friends, until that unexpected day when her whole world changed dramatically… She would never forget the chill in the air that morning. The rain had been coming down at a steady pace, and the fierce winds only made it feel that much cooler. Tori remembered running across the busy street with a cappuccino in hand and into the famous museum that occupied most of her time. The voices coming from the main office above had echoed down the winding stairway, causing Tori to be leery even before she reached the door. Inside, stood Brock—her fiancé—and two other men, absorbed in a heated conversation. The words “art smuggling ring” filled Tori’s head with astounding confusion. Tori and Brock had always had the finer things in life, but she’d thought they had worked hard to get them. At least, she had. From the sounds of it though, the illegal operation was being run right out of the museum—from her office—and Brock was involved in the whole thing. Tori quietly moved toward the door, as close as she could get without being seen. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The man she had loved and lived with for the past three years was pointing a gun toward one of the men, while the other encouraged Brock.

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“That shipment isn’t coming. Is it?” Brock screamed, then ripped out the wire beneath the man’s shirt and knocked him on the side of the head. Tori couldn’t move. This was Brock, the man who had made love to her with a gentle touch. Her legs were frozen to the creaky platform on the second floor of the museum, outside her office. Like a shot in the night, everything happened fast. One minute she was invisible to them, standing just outside the door. The next, she was staring into the eyes of her lover. “Victoria,” Brock blurted out, fear in his eyes, before he turned back into a man she didn’t recognize. “Get in here.” Brock lifted the gun, pointing it directly at her face. She bolted back down the stairs, dropping the cappuccino, as gunshots sounded both in front and behind her fleeing body. Without warning, a canvas bag was yanked over her head. She was carried down the stairs and thrown into what seemed to be a van. She heard the sound of the heavy metal door sliding shut. Tori was trembling, her palms were sweaty, and she was too terrified to even ask where the people responsible for her abduction were taking her. When the bag was at last removed from her head, never in a million years had she expected to be in an interrogation room at the Federal Investigation Bureau. The FBI surrounded her, calling out questions from every angle of the room. Tori desperately tried to tell them she hadn’t known about any of the wrongdoings at the museum. They wouldn’t listen, so she sat there without saying another single word. That got their attention. “If you’ll let me speak without being interrupted, I’ll answer all your questions,” Tori assured them. “I’m telling you right now, though, I had no idea any of this was going on.” She tried her best to be calm, yet she was sure they picked up on the tension in her voice. She explained about her job as the art appraiser at

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the museum and the nature of her relationship to Brock. She told them of the conversation she had overheard—for the first time—about the art smuggling ring. Tori wasn’t sure if it was the good instincts of law enforcement officers or her extremely convincing explanation that made them listen to her. “You believe me now?” "Let me introduce myself. I'm Agent Chris McBain. We never thought you were involved to begin with,” the dark-haired agent with the five o’clock shadow admitted. “Why all the questions then?” “We’re making sure we didn’t miss anything.” “I’m confused.” “Do you realize what kind of danger you’re in, overhearing that conversation?” he asked. “And you’ll always be connected to Brock Montgomery.” “I thought you said they were in custody?” Tori looked around at the many faces studying her in the congested room. “Two of them are. We’ve been investigating this case for fourteen months. Your fiancé isn’t the top dog. Not by a long shot.” The agent casually sat down on the corner of the table, tapping a pack of menthol cigarettes on his knee. Tori felt as though she were in some crazy movie. “Are you saying the Mafia is involved?” “I’m not at liberty to give you that information. I’ll tell you this much, though.” He leaned forward, enabling Tori to see the seriousness in his eyes. “You’re in real danger, but we’re going to help you. If you cooperate.” “I can’t believe this is happening to me.” Tori let out a forced laugh. “How are you going to help me? By posting a guard at my door?” “I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” “I don’t understand. What’re you getting at?”

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By the look on the agent’s face, Tori knew—right there and then— there wasn’t going to be an easy way out of this. What she hadn’t anticipated was that the solution would be so severe. “You have to leave New York.” “Leave New York?” “Tonight.” “What?” “Ever heard of the Witness Protection Program?” He handed her a cup of black coffee. Tori stared at them in silence. She could never go back to her apartment, never contact her friends and family, never see her faithful cat again. Victoria Valentino had been shot that morning by a stray bullet, discharged from the gun of the accomplice of her loving fiancé. If Tori wanted to live another day, Victoria Valentino had to be dead to the whole world… So, here she was riding with this stranger down the dusty dirt road, when just yesterday, she had walked up the stairs to the museum, a French vanilla cappuccino in hand, expecting it would be another ordinary day at work. That routine journey up the stairs had altered her life—whatever she had left of it—forever. It didn’t make a difference that they had given her enough money, in a prudent bank account, to make a new start. Things could never be the same again. No family. No friends. No beloved cat. Tori was completely alone. “What kinds of things are you lookin’ for down here?” Mabel broke the silence within the vehicle. “Huh?” The sound of Mabel’s voice forced Tori to blink her mind back to reality. “Aren’t you takin’ pictures or somethin’, doin’ some research on our wild animals?”

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“Oh, yes, I am.” Tori tried to convert herself into her new identity. “There aren’t any particular animals I’m looking for. Anything wild and how they live will fill up my camera and logbooks nicely.” “Interesting. If you have any questions, I know a thing or two about the animals around these parts.” Mabel drove over a small, weatherbeaten bridge, then stopped the truck. “Here we are.” Tori looked around at her new home. The cabin was bigger and less of a dump than Mabel had made it out to be. At least the townspeople had had the decency to make it look presentable, even if it was still noticeably rundown. Had the US Marshal paid someone to do this? She glanced over at Mabel, and the old woman gave her a wink. Did this postal worker know who Tori really was? How was she ever going to be sure of anything in her life from this point on? She opened the car door and met Mabel at the edge of the grass. From the look on Mabel’s face, she was as stunned as Tori at the lawn’s freshly cut appearance. “I bet I know who’s behind this,” Mabel said. “Looks like the work of that fellow I was tellin’ you about.” “What do you mean?” “Nothin’ for you to worry your pretty little self with. I’ll let you get settled in.” Mabel looked at the only bag Tori held. “Or maybe not.” “This?” Tori managed to laugh as she held up the bag. “My things are being sent to me. Would you be so kind as to let me know when they reach the post office?” “I sure will. The phone’s been turned on in there,” Mabel said, nodding toward the house. “Then again, you already knew that, seein’ as you called ahead of time to have it hooked up.” “Right.” Tori made a quick recovery from her initial confusion. Without further interaction, the friendly old woman was off again, driving back down the road toward the middle of the little town called Forrester Rock,

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a place where Mabel had probably spent her whole life, a place where everybody knew everybody else. Everybody except Tori. Tori surveyed her surroundings. The area would definitely be the perfect spot to observe the wildlife, if that’s what someone really wanted to do. And she would learn to do it. She had to. Though she needed to make everyone think this was her profession, it would be nothing more than a hobby to her, something to keep herself occupied. It could be worse. They could have set her up as the new waitress in the local diner. The tapered stream was flowing at a steady pace, a miniature waterfall at the end closest to her cabin. Tori knelt down and ran her fingers through the cool water. Things had been mind draining the past twenty-four hours. Tori finally allowed herself to relax with the help of the sights and sounds of her new home. That’s what she was trying to do anyway, until an unexpected male voice came from over her shoulder. “Watch out for the crayfish. They might mistake your fingers for a decaying worm.”

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Chapter Two Tori jumped up, startled that she wasn’t alone. Mabel had told her the drifter had moved on, and Tori had taken her word for it. “Walker Garrison,” he said, extending a green-stained hand to hers. “Sorry if I frightened you.” “Tori Russo.” She wiped her wet hand on her jeans before returning his greeting, then looked around to see if he was alone. It appeared to be the case. She wasn’t quite sure if she should feel uncomfortable or at ease that someone besides the town gossip had given her some friendliness. “When I got word you were coming into town, I made sure this old place was livable again,” he said, noticing her wavering glance. “So, that explains it,” Tori mumbled under her breath, thinking back to Mabel’s comment. “Explains what?” “Never mind.” Since Tori didn’t want to appear uneasy, she looked around the place, trying to act as if she already felt at home there. “It took a little doing on my part.” He looked down at his overworked hands. “But I think you’ll be pleased.” Tori picked up her bag and walked away from the stranger, moving in the direction of the cabin. The front porch was small, with just enough room for the beat-up wicker chair and a matching side table, placed to the left of the steps. She turned around to see if this Walker fellow had followed her back to the cabin. He hadn’t. He stood by the creek, facing the water. It

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seemed as though he was trying to give her some space by not invading the first moment when she would lay eyes on her new home. She hoped that was the case, anyway. Reaching for the doorknob, Tori turned it, then stepped inside the cabin. Instead of cobweb-covered rooms, she was surprised to see a fully furnished, clean cabin with a pleasant feel about it. Suddenly, she stopped. Why hadn’t she given the US Marshals more credit? She’d thought they had just sent her here, with nothing but a bag, to this abandoned place in the middle of nowhere. It had been silly of her to assume such things. Yet it was strange that this man was here to make sure she was comfortable. It didn’t make any sense, especially when Mabel had acted as shocked as Tori to see the extra care taken. Was Walker Garrison somehow connected to all of this? Did he know her secret? No. He couldn’t. They would have told her if an undercover agent were being placed in the same town for her protection. Wouldn’t they? A different, more paralyzing thought came to mind. What if he wasn’t with the FBI? What if he was an insider from the mob family the Feds were trying to protect her from in the first place? Had he somehow found out they were sending her here? No. It wasn’t possible. Stop it! You’re letting your fears get the best of you, her good sense screamed over her paranoia. She needed to compose herself. Regardless of how curious she was, it wasn’t as though she could walk out there and ask him. She set down her bag on the navy blue sofa, then returned to the front porch. Walker Garrison stood facing the cool stream. What to do now? Should she run back inside and lock the door safely behind her? No, that wouldn’t accomplish anything. If this man wanted to get to her, he would be able to kick that door in with no trouble.

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Even though she had her doubts about who had put him up to doing all of this—if, indeed, anyone had at all—Tori couldn’t let him know how terrified she really was. If he were out to harm her, he would only thrive on her insecurities. Tori mustered up all her strength and went to thank the stranger for his hospitality. “Mr. Garrison?” “Walker.” “Walker. Thank you for cleaning up this place.” Tori rocked back and forth on her heels—one of her nervous habits. “It must’ve been pretty bad.” “Why would you say that?” He turned around to face her. Tori smiled. “Mabel made it sound as if the three bears had taken up residence in this place.” “Mabel.” He shook his head. “The woman from the post office. She was kind enough to give me a ride out here.” “Between you and me…” he took a step closer to her, “…I think she tends to exaggerate a bit. It would be just like her to have tried scaring you about this place.” “Who said I was scared?” “I just assumed—being in a new town and all—you’d be a little wary.” Not giving Tori the opportunity to respond, he started walking to the cabin, then vanished around the back. Shortly after, she heard the rumbling of a motor. He reappeared on top of an old Harley Davidson motorcycle. “Take care, Miss Russo, and welcome to Forrester Rock,” he hollered over the loud exhaust pipes. As quickly as he had materialized, he was gone. Tori found herself envying his freedom. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of this stranger named Walker Garrison. He seemed nice, yet there was darkness in his eyes, and something about the way he stared at her made Tori wonder if there

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hadn’t been a bigger reason for his being at the cabin other than to welcome her to Forrester Rock. Whatever the case, she was relieved he was gone. *** Tori was accustomed to horns beeping and sirens sounding, but the many different echoes of her new surroundings were a little intimidating. It would definitely take some getting used to, and the lack of curtains and locks on the cabin’s windows made it even harder for her to get any sleep. If she was ever going to feel safe here, there were certain things that needed to be done. Window locks were at the top of her list. At least if she had some curtains to separate her from the darkness beyond, maybe, just maybe, she would be able to sleep through the many nights to come. Tomorrow she would go into town and buy the supplies to make that possible. But that wasn’t going to help her tonight. A sudden disturbing thought entered her head. Tori sat up in the unfamiliar bed. What if that Walker guy still had the keys to this place? What if she woke up to find him standing over her? He’d been staying in this cabin for God knows how long, and she had taken the roof over his head. He hadn’t shown Tori any signs of being distraught over the whole deal, but who was to say, underneath his gracious demeanor, he wasn’t angry as hell? “Stop it, stop it, stop it!” Tori pulled back the covers, and placed her bare feet on the dusty, wooden floor. She hadn’t noticed if there had been any food in the refrigerator when she’d arrived. The last time she’d eaten was on the plane down here. Now her stomach was reminding her. When she opened the old fifties-style fridge, she was taken aback by what she saw. Eggs lined the top shelf, with butter and the usual condiments occupying the rest of the door space. There were milk and

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juice, lunchmeats and cheese, and enough fresh fruits and vegetables to keep her fed for a month. Tori closed the fridge and opened the cupboards. They, too, were filled with many different nonperishable canned foods. Pots and pans took up the space in the cabinets below; even a teakettle rested in its place on the aged gas stove. How could she have possibly overlooked all of this? The extent of her exhaustion was the only rational explanation she could come up with. Still, her mind started to spin out of control with questions. Who had done all this? It was one thing for Walker Garrison to tend to the outside of the cabin. But to stock the kitchen with all its necessities was entirely another. In fact, it went above and beyond your normal “Welcome to our neighborhood” greeting. Tori didn’t know how she would go about finding out who had been so thoughtful, but she couldn’t ignore that someone had. If this was anything other than the US Marshal trying to make her feel at home, someone needed to be thanked for doing such a good deed out of the kindness of their heart. Tori had thought close-knit, small towns, such as Forrester Rock, only existed in the movies. With everything that had ensued the past twenty-four hours, she was beginning to think she had lost touch with reality altogether. Taking a ripe red apple from the fridge, Tori went to retrieve the folder from her bag. It contained everything she needed to know about researching the wildlife. From photography to recording her findings, it was all there. “Might as well sort all of this out now because I sure can’t get any sleep.” She took a generous bite of the apple then sat down on the couch. Pulling out the camera and its many gadgets, Tori began to study and become familiar with the equipment. Working at the museum had given her knowledge of good photographic skills. Nonetheless, this wasn’t her personal camera.

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The tough thing about her situation was the money she’d been given would only last her a couple of years. After that, it was up to her to find the means of making a suitable income. Not that there were many opportunities in this town for photographers, but maybe, with the help of this camera, she could find a way to employ herself. “How could this be happening to me?” she sighed, setting the apple on the coffee table then lightly massaging her temples. She still didn’t understand why Brock had felt the need to get involved with illegal activities. An art smuggling ring and the Mob? How long had this been going on? What in God’s name had he been thinking? Could it have been greed? That was the only reason Tori could think of. Evidently, she hadn’t been enough to keep him happy, or he would’ve never risked what they’d built together… And they had had so much. All the years she’d invested in what she thought was going to be her future had been for nothing. All she could do now was put one foot in front of the other and try to build a new life. She had no choice if she wanted to stay out of harm’s way. It wasn’t fair that everything had been taken away from her overnight. Tori rummaged through the rest of her belongings and found her wallet. It contained a new driver’s license, social security card, credit cards and enough cash to help settle her in. They had confiscated all her other possessions before replacing them with these. She hadn’t even been allowed to hold on to any of the keepsakes and pictures. She was still amazed at how quickly they’d been able to conjure up this new identity for her. But wasn’t that what the government did for people in her situation—serve and protect? Except in her case, they had also destroyed her. In the lonely cabin, Tori’s thoughts returned to the mysterious man who had approached her by the edge of the creek. Walker. He was somewhat taller than Tori, with the build of a man who had spent most of his life doing heavy labor.

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He seemed to have been unsure of himself when she’d rejoined him at the creek. As though he had been under pressure with what action to take next. Their conversation had started and ended quickly, with Walker ultimately leaving her alone as he rode off on his black motorcycle. You were happy that he had left, weren’t you? Yes, she was. That still didn’t stop her from wondering who he was or why he’d been there in the first place. Whether it was to guard her or hurt her, or just out of pure humanity, the possibilities weren’t putting her mind at ease. She was probably reading too much into the situation. The US Marshal had assured Tori she’d be safe. Safe in the cabin and safe to walk the roads into town. They’d also told her the sooner she adjusted, the better off she’d be. There weren’t many people in this town, reminding her of stories of how country folks always helped each other out when in need. “But all this?” she said, glancing briefly at each corner of the cabin until her gaze rested on the kitchen. There was so much food and many different supplies stored in there. “Just get it out of your head. Nothing in your life’s ever going to be the same,” Tori admitted to the empty room. Still unable to sleep, she walked through the cabin. The square footage couldn’t have been any more than five hundred feet throughout, nothing compared to her spacious New York loft. Tori backtracked her footsteps to where she had first entered the place. From the front door, she immediately came upon a good-sized living/dining room area. The kitchen was off to the right, along the back corner of the open space. At the end of a short hallway, there was a bathroom containing a makeshift shower, an old porcelain sink and a washing machine. “I suppose I have to hang my laundry outside on some clothesline.” She rolled her eyes at the empty space next to the washer. Tori had chosen the bedroom to the right without even looking through the door to the left. Since she had gotten there, she had done 20

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little more than stare off in a trance while sitting on the couch. Looking around as if to make sure she wasn’t intruding by walking through the door, Tori slowly pushed it open and flipped on the light switch. Just like the rest of the place, this room was furnished, with a twinsize bed and a matching scuffed-up dresser. The bed was neatly made with the same colored bedding as the one in her room. Tori approached the bed and sat down, testing the mattress to make sure she hadn’t chosen the wrong sleeping quarters. There was no noticeable difference other than hers had squeaked a tad more with the weight of her body. If she ever had a guest, she would have a place for them to stay. “What a joke. I have no friends.” The words came out with a laugh but finished with her curled up on the strange bed, unable to control the tears and sobs. She finally fell into a deep slumber.

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Chapter Three The rays of the scorching sun woke Tori from a deep sleep. Sitting up in the strange bed, she looked around the empty room, hoping to find herself back in New York, waking up from an awful nightmare. Yet here she was, still in the cedar cabin. After rubbing the tiredness from her eyes, Tori wandered into the main living quarters. She would have loved a cup of coffee, but the only thing at her disposal was the somewhat rusted teakettle on the stove. She hoped there was some tea available to go along with it. She filled the kettle with water after finding three teabags in the upper cupboard then turned on the front burner. At least the people in New York had thought enough to call and have the utilities turned on. One less thing she would have to deal with today. She had to stop and wonder if there were any other lost souls in this town. Was Forrester Rock a common place where they sent their markedfor-death citizens? Either that or the government had its own personal realty company within the walls of their compound—moving couldn’t have been made any easier. The whistling of the kettle interrupted the thoughts floating through her head. She took a shiny metal mug from the cupboard, dropped in a teabag and filled the cup with boiling water. The last time she had seen a mug like that was when, at nine years old, she had gone on a camping trip with her Girl Scout troop. At first glance, Tori had thought the supplies in the cabin were new, but now she realized they weren’t. Some of the pans were discolored and

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rusted in spots. Even a few of the canned foods looked as if they’d been stored over a long period of time. “Where did these things come from?” Tori gave up trying to figure it out and went to the front porch. Outside it proved to be a beautiful day. She sat down in the wicker chair, closing her eyes to the sunlight, letting it warm her cheeks. Breathing in the country air, Tori almost felt lightheaded. She wanted to stay like this all day. And if she kept her eyes closed long enough, she could almost imagine being anywhere she wanted in the world. She knew the minute she opened them the feeling would wear off, and she wouldn’t feel any better than she had before. She was stranded in Forrester Rock, West Virginia. What must everyone back home be going through? Tori couldn’t bear the thought. By now her friends and family had been told of her ill-fated death. She wasn’t certain how the FBI was going to pass it off. For starters, there was no body. How would they explain that? Surely, her family wouldn’t settle for a quick funeral without being able to pay their last respects to their fallen daughter. There was no use trying to make sense of it. It was out of her hands completely. Giving the details further thought would only drive her nuts, and she had done enough of that the night before. She would have to accept if she was going to stay safe, this was the way things had to be. Tori opened her eyes in time to catch sight of a doe and her fawn, grazing some berries off a nearby tree. Trying not to make too much movement, she carefully got up and went inside to load the film into her camera. When she returned, they were too far off to capture a picture. No big disappointment. There would be plenty of opportunity to catch them again. She had planned to call the post office to check if anything had been shipped to her yet, but didn’t. She needed to go into town later to pick up a few things—she’d check then.

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The trip was going to be a chore with no vehicle. Perhaps someone would be willing to sell her something with four wheels. Anything would do to get her from here to there. Tori gathered her bag and proceeded to go into the bathroom to clean up. The smell of dampness and rusty pipes didn’t give her much encouragement to jump into the old claw-footed tub. The water was clear; therefore she was able to at least wash the dried tears from her face. After she got dressed, Tori jotted down a list of supplies that needed to be purchased at the general store. She grabbed her purse and courageously headed out the door and over the bridge in the direction of town. Looking over her shoulder periodically as she walked along the dirt road, she tried to familiarize herself with the adjacent land. It was very peaceful. Songbirds filled the air with a musical tune, which comforted her as she set out. While looking about the wooded area, Tori noticed smoke circling up through the air. Had she misunderstood when Mabel told her there hadn’t been any cabins close to hers? While she couldn’t be sure of anyone in this town, Tori welcomed the idea of having a neighbor. That was one thing she’d been accustomed to, living in the big city her whole life. All she had to do was open her apartment door and she’d had a million people to talk to. As she continued down the road, she tried to think if there was anything she’d forgotten to put on her list. Some bathroom cleaner would come in handy and so would a coffee maker. She would’ve preferred a cappuccino machine, but that would be about as available around here as a masseuse. Another luxury she would definitely miss. She calculated her cabin was about a mile out of town, which wasn’t all that bad. If she intended to purchase the number of things on her list, looking for a car would be the smart thing to do. If she didn’t, she would

24

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probably be found as roadkill amongst her packages somewhere along the way home. There weren’t many people roaming the main street—the only street—in town this morning. One look toward the jammed parking lot of the diner explained why. Tori threw around the idea of stopping in and getting some breakfast, but she wasn’t sure if she was prepared to face the curious stares of the townspeople. She took a minute to give the town a closer look. She hadn’t been able to do so when she first arrived since all eyes had been on her from the moment she’d stepped out of the cab. Now she allowed herself some time to familiarize herself with this place called Forrester Rock. The scene before her was depressing, the desolation almost too much to bear. She had half expected to find some great attraction. Something, anything, that represented a more modern era. There was nothing. In fact, she felt as if she had jumped through the television screen into an old Western show—afraid at any moment a group of outlaws would ride into town and steal her away. Actually, right about now, that would be a blessing. Knowing it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, Tori again examined her surroundings. It was almost a ghost town compared to what she was used to. A general store, a beat-up tavern, a feed mill, an auto repair garage, a diner, a small church and the post office. That about summed it up. Tori swatted away a fly, shaking her head. Not in a million years would she ever get used to this way of living. She pushed forward in the direction of the only familiar building. It was a safe bet Mabel was at the post office. She had told Tori all about the many years she’d spent there, day in and day out, serving the residents of Forrester Rock as postmaster. A friendly face was exactly what Tori needed right now. However, before Tori turned to go up the steps, she spotted the Harley Davidson parked between two cars on the side of the diner. If she

25


hadn’t seen the stranger ride off yesterday from her cabin, she wouldn’t have given the bike a second glance. Gratitude propelled her to seek out Walker Garrison. If it was, in fact, Walker who had left her with such ample supplies back at the cabin, she wanted to thank him. And the diner was a public place, what harm would it do? Putting all earlier thoughts of intimidation aside, Tori walked in the opposite direction of the post office in search of the stranger in the diner. The bell, purposely placed around the handle of the door, alerted everyone to her presence. Tori didn’t want to just stand there, scanning the place. She took a table farthest from the door, waiting for the waitress to approach. Inquiring whispers filled the air, making Tori’s ears burn with the need to know what they were saying. The women, as Mabel had warned, were very leery of her. Most of the men seemed friendly enough, giving her a nod hello as she made eye contact with the many new faces. Tori returned their gestures, trying to keep a pleasant smile on her face. In reality, she was scared to death. “What can I get for you?” the waitress asked, snapping her gum and scratching her head with the help of a pen. Realizing she hadn’t taken the time to look at a menu, Tori replied, “I’ll have a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin, please.” “Coming right up.” She started to walk away but stopped and turned to face Tori. “You’re new around here.” “How can you tell?” Tori joked. “I haven’t seen you around these parts before.” “I guess I can’t fool you.” Tori smiled, extending her hand. “Tori Russo, I’m staying at the cabin by the creek.” “With…um…oh, it’s nice to meet you.” The waitress looked around the diner with confusion. “I’ll be right back with your order.”

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Tori wasn’t sure what the waitress had been about to say, but something had definitely been on her mind. Tori scanned the restaurant in search of Walker. She didn’t see any trace of him. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Two men appeared next to her. One sat down at her table, the other remained standing. They appeared to be around her age, a couple of country boys. Although Tori had been accustomed to contact with strangers, these two were making her uneasy with eyes traveling wildly from her head to her toes. “Excuse me?” Tori was trying to be as polite as possible. “We heard you were quite the looker. Don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye out for you, make sure no one bothers you,” said the man who was still standing. “It wouldn’t hurt having a new friend or two, you being new and all,” said the heavier man seated next to her with the stained teeth. “Thank you…I guess.” Tori was relieved when the waitress returned with her breakfast. “You know something…” The man closest to her leaned in far enough that Tori could smell his rancid breath. “If you ever get lonely out at that cabin, we’d be mighty happy to come out and keep you company.” Tori could feel the goose bumps emerging on her body. Just the words coming out of their mouths were enough to make her skin crawl— not to mention the unwanted attention they were bringing to her table. Thoughts of her living situation again flooded Tori’s mind. She definitely needed to get locks put on the cabin windows. And the lock on the cabin door…would it be strong enough to keep out intruders such as these two? Wouldn’t she have been safer in New York? “Thanks for your kindness. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to eat my breakfast.” Tori picked up the local newspaper, which was folded in half on the corner of her table.

27


“I think that’s the lady’s way of saying ‘beat it’. Not very friendly if you ask me. Hey, while we’re here, why don’t you let us fill you in on the area?” Tori looked from one to the other. They still showed no signs of leaving her alone. The sound of the voice behind her came just in time to relieve her of their company. “You can leave now,” Walker said, pulling out the chair across from her. “Sorry I’m late, Miss Russo.” He had come to her rescue. A grateful smile came over her face. She even thought she’d seen him wink at her when he first sat down at the table. If it took playing along with his charade to get these two annoying locals to leave her alone, Tori was all for it. “It’s okay, Walker.” Tori picked up her hot black coffee. “I haven’t been here long.” “You weren’t giving Miss Russo a hard time, were you?” Walker asked the men. “I’m sure we’ll see you again.” The heavier of the obnoxious hoodlums disregarded Walker’s question as he got up from the table. “Yeah, don’t be a stranger,” said the second man, the hanger-on of the two, before they finally left her table. “Thank you.” Tori looked out at the many wondering eyes in the diner. “Don’t let them bother you. One day their smart mouths are going to get the best of them.” “They seemed harmless enough, just a little irritating.” Tori didn’t want Walker to realize the two men had been starting to make her very uncomfortable. “I see you’ve found the specialty of the house.” Walker looked at her blueberry muffin. “They make the best damn muffins around.” “Here…” Tori split the muffin in half. “It’s the least I can do after what you’ve done for me back at the cabin.”

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“I haven’t done anything besides mow a patch of grass.” Walker nodded to the muffin, which Tori held in her outstretched hand. “I already ate. Thanks.” “Are you sure?” Tori didn’t mean for her words to come out quite so accusingly, but it was too late. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “You didn’t have to get me all the food and supplies. I just want you to know how grateful I am.” “Like I said before, I didn’t do anything except cut the grass.” He gave the diner a complete look-over before getting up from his chair. “I don’t think anyone here will bother you any further…” He paused for a moment, fixing Tori with a hard stare. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to keep one eye open.” Then he was gone. Chills uncontrollably crept up her spine. What the hell was a statement like that supposed to mean? Tori’s insides screamed with terror. And his need for such sudden exits only made her doubt his motives even more. Now wasn’t the time to try to figure him out. If she allowed her mind to travel down that road, there was no way she’d have the courage to walk back to her cabin alone. And she had way too much to deal with this morning to let these thoughts take over as she had the night before. However, no matter how hard she tried to remain indifferent and relaxed, the words “keep one eye open” continued haunting her. She finished part of the muffin, drank the rest of the coffee, then went to the counter to pay her bill. A few of the customers said hello on her way out, which did wonders for her self-esteem, making her feel as though there was hope of her fitting in with this town after all. Instead of going over to the post office, Tori went straight to the general store to pick up the supplies. The clerk greeted Tori with overwhelming friendliness, helping her to find everything she needed. Tori felt like the luckiest woman in the world when she spotted the simple coffeemaker on a shelf toward the back of the store. Just when 29


she thought things were going her way, the reality of the small town way of life hit her over the head yet again. “No curtains?” “We have many colorful fabrics to choose from. Just let me know how much you need, and I’ll cut them from the roll.” The clerk went back to the counter. “Wait a minute.” Tori stopped him. “You don’t sell curtains?” “Sorry.” And away the clerk went with a shrug of his shoulders. “I can do this.” Tori pepped herself up, looking toward the rolls in front of her. Trying to picture the windows of the cabin, positioning her hands in the air, Tori figured them to be about thirty by thirty inches. If she remembered correctly, there were eight windows in the cabin. “Okay, that wasn’t so hard.” Tori wrote down the dimensions on the back of her list. “Now for the color.” With the couch navy blue, Tori decided on a deep burgundy for the curtains, a color dark enough to shield her from the eeriness of the Virginia night. She gave the clerk the sizes she had come up with then gathered her cleaning supplies, along with a sewing kit, and waited at the counter to pay for her purchase. “I’m glad I could be of assistance today.” He folded the material and placed it neatly in a brown paper bag. “You don’t happen to know if anyone has a used vehicle for sale, do you?” Tori asked, remembering one of the main reasons she had come into town. “Offhand, no. Give me a couple of days, and I should be able to come up with something for you.” Tori thanked him, promising to get back in touch within the week. Her last stop was the post office. She hoped Mabel could help with her dilemma. If there was a car for sale within fifty miles of Forrester Rock, Tori would bet the old woman knew where to find it.

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“How nice to see you this fine morning,” Mabel said, wiping the drippings of a sweet roll from her mouth. “Hi, Mabel. Do you have anything for me?” “Can’t say I do, not right now, anyway.” Mabel shrugged, looking down at Tori’s bags. “I see you’ve been shopping at our mall.” “Mall?” The word excited Tori. Could it be possible she had overlooked something as big as a mall? “Isn’t that what you call a place that sells all sorts of different things?” Mabel stopped for a moment as if rethinking her vocabulary. “Why, sure it is. Used to be you could only buy the necessities down there.” She nodded across the street at the general store, then back at Tori. “Look at that, you even found a coffeemaker. Amazing how times have changed.” Yeah, real amazing. If Mabel could only see the stores Tori regularly shopped at in New York, it would be enough to make the old woman’s head spin. Tori wasn’t about to explain the difference between the two places, since Mabel would never be able to comprehend what treasures the world around them held. “Even though I was surprised to find the cabin stocked, I still needed to pick up some things.” Tori set the bag down—her arm would need all the rest it could get for the walk home. “I’d imagine the cabin was full. I guess I never realized just how much that Walker fellow had made it his home.” Mabel nodded, clearly having found the proof she’d needed to explain the looks of the old place. “So, you think everything I found in the cabin belonged to Walker, too?” Tori’s initial gut feeling had still been worth trusting. “Seems that way,” Mabel agreed. “I guess no one realized how much he had turned the old place into a real home.” She had thought it was Walker who had been responsible for having the cabin completely prepared for her arrival. In fact, he was actually the drifter who’d lived there.

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“If he lived there, why’d he move out?” Along with everything else she was going through, Tori didn’t need this guilt resting on her shoulders. “I’m sure there were other places where I could’ve stayed.” “To tell you the truth, most everyone around here have built their homes. We don’t have apartments or things of that nature. The cabin was the only place available at the time, and it contained the right scenery for your job, too.” “Even so, it was never really ‘available’.” Tori felt terrible that her illfated situation had disrupted another person’s life. “It’s not right.” “When the call came in from your company, Walker was more than willing to turn it over to you. Like I said, he’s a drifter. He’ll manage.” Mabel went to answer the ringing telephone. How had the US Marshal gone about finding the cabin in the first place—and so quickly? Earlier Walker hadn’t wanted to get further into the conversation when she tried to thank him, and now Tori knew why. If there weren’t any other available living quarters for her, where was he staying? Until she found out, Tori wouldn’t feel right about being in the cabin. It seemed Walker was more involved in this mess than he’d like her to believe. At that moment, it disturbed Tori more than it frightened her. She waved goodbye to Mabel, not wanting to interrupt her phone call, and headed back out the door. At least the paper bags had handles on them—not that they were guaranteed to hold up the whole way home. For the time being, the handles helped. Tori had made it a little more than half way home before she heard the distinctive sound of the motorcycle coming from across the field where earlier she had seen the smoke rising up through the jade green ceiling of the forest. Curiosity weighing her down, Tori turned off the road and walked through the path in the field. The sound of the motorcycle had faded by the time she approached the edge of the forest, she stopped before taking a step further.

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Are you out of your damn mind? Tori’s inner voice tried reasoning with her more reckless side, a side that wanted to find out why this man was camping so close to her cabin. Only, what if it wasn’t Walker’s motorcycle I heard? “I’ll take that risk,” she whispered under her breath, feeling confident enough it had been the stranger’s bike. With her heart practically beating out of her chest, Tori placed her body flat against the trunk of a large tree and peeked into the forest. Sure enough, there sat Walker next to a makeshift fire pit. She allowed her lungs to release the pent-up air. Suddenly, she felt as though she had no right being here, and a panic she should have felt before entering the field now came crashing down upon her. He looked in her direction. “What’re you doing?” His voice caught Tori off guard, causing her to stumble backward. Though the look on his face was unsettling, she couldn’t tell if he was pleased he’d frightened her or furious she’d dared to discover his whereabouts. “I heard your bike and saw the smoke.” “That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing in the woods.” Walker lifted a mug to his lips, staring deep into the forest. Tori set down her bags. “Not that you owe me an explanation, but can I ask you something? Why didn’t you tell me you’d been staying at the cabin? From the looks of things, you left half of your belongings there. Don’t bother denying it. Mabel told me that you moved out when word came that I was coming to town.” “It was never mine to begin with. Not legally, anyway,” he said under his breath, then exhaled loudly through his nose. “So, you’re camping out here?” Tori looked at the haunting dark forest in disbelief. “That cabin was in worse shape than this when I found it.”

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Without further word, now becoming more than a little nervous, Tori bent to retrieve her bags. “I’m going to find a new place to live.” She was almost halfway to the road when she felt a strong hold on her arm. Tori turned. Walker clearly had something on his mind, and the frightening thoughts resurfaced. Maybe he wasn’t with the government after all, and now she’d given him the perfect opportunity to drag her back to the isolation of the woods to do away with her. She glanced down at his hand in hopes he would withdraw from her arm. He did. Something a killer wouldn’t do. Once more she had let her imagination get the best of her. “If you go around asking for another place to stay, you’ll be causing me a world of grief.” Walker put both hands in the front pockets of his dirtied jeans. “I am not going to continue staying there, knowing you’re sleeping out here.” “I advise you mind your business, go back to that cabin and lock your doors.” “I don’t know who you are or what you’re trying to pull—” Tori grabbed her things and headed back in the direction of the dirt road, knowing if she kept talking, she’d give herself away. *** Walker didn’t try to stop her. It had been a long time since he’d come across such a lively female as Tori Russo. But she didn’t fool him one bit. Tori didn’t belong in Forrester Rock. Walker had seen that from the first moment he laid eyes on her. She had “big city girl” written all over her. However, he had to give her credit—she had brass. Walker prayed she would think better of involving the people of this town in his circumstances. He didn’t need the problems that would result if anyone were to figure out who he really was.

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*** Despite the half-ripped bag holding the coffee maker, Tori made it home—anger steaming out her ears and tears streaming down her face. Who did he think he was, threatening her? Lock her doors from whom? Him? None of it made sense. Things kept getting more confusing with each hour that passed, but most of the anger she harbored was for the idiots who had put her in this situation to begin with. First, Brock for bringing such danger to their lives, more for the police and their heavy hand in destroying hers, which had inadvertently landed a man in the woods with nothing more than a sleeping bag. Having dealt with so much, Tori began to feel numb—she couldn’t harbor the emotional stress any longer. As much as Tori hated to admit it, she didn’t care anymore. Maybe that’s why she suddenly wasn’t feeling threatened by her surroundings. All the dark corners and creepy sounds couldn’t touch her—not when she had already lost everything else and was now living in her own personal hell. And the last thing she wanted to do was create problems for someone else. She went into the house and threw her things on the small kitchen counter. If he was happy sleeping on the cold ground at night, why should she care? But damn it, she did because somehow, some way, this man was connected to what had happened to her in New York. She was more convinced of that than ever. For the time being, though, she needed to put it out of her mind. The Susie Homemaker she’d been turned into had curtains to make and locks to install, and she knew the tasks would keep her busy well into the night. She took the coffeepot out of its box and put it to work. The caffeine fix would be the only help she was going to get today. After unpacking the contents of the bag, Tori stood back, looking at the scattered mess of fabric, scissors, thread, and needles. She remembered back to the earlier days when she had rented her first

35


apartment in New York. The curtains had been half-ripped and hanging from the rods. She hadn’t had the money to replace them, so she had sewn them up until they were as good as new. Making curtains from scratch couldn’t be much harder to do. It would take a little extra stitching, that’s all. At least there were still rods on the windows, even if they were practically rusted through. Tori poured a cup of strong coffee and planned to start installing the locks, but realized she didn’t have a screwdriver. “Damn it. I guess I didn’t think that far ahead.” For now, she would have to rely on the old latch locks, which were nearly falling out of every window frame in the cabin. Then there was the inside latch on the front door. A lot of good that would do as a backup for the ancient skeleton lock, which was—unfortunately—her main means of defense. So much for heightening the security around the place. The curtains turned out to be easier than she’d anticipated. They weren’t very thick, nothing too fancy, and she managed to double stitch the seams and fit them to the windows. She had only gotten through three pairs of curtains when she heard a vehicle coming across the bridge. She pulled back the newly hung curtain from the living room window to see who it was. At first, she thought it was Mabel, for the bed of the truck was loaded with boxes. There’s only one problem. Mabel doesn’t own a truck. Two men emerged from the gray vehicle, the same two men from the diner. Tori wished Mabel had called, giving Tori the chance to make her own arrangements to pick up her belongings. They were here now. What was she to do? Tori opened the door, hoping their earlier manners had improved a bit. It wouldn’t have been the first time she’d had to deal with a couple of mouthy guys. Except being on their turf put her at a huge disadvantage. “Hi, there, Miss Russo. Lucky for us, we were at the post office today when your stuff arrived.” “Yeah, we told sweet Mabel we wouldn’t mind bringing it out to you,” said the shorter man. 36

Amy Mistretta

“I really appreciate it,” Tori said as she warily approached the truck. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your names this morning.” “Seems to me, you never asked.” “I guess you’re right.” Tori tried not to show fear. “I’m David.” The taller man pointed a thumb to his right. “And this here’s Chuck.” They began to unload the many boxes from the bed of the truck. So far, so good. “It was nice to meet you. And thanks for bringing these all the way out here.” Tori took a couple of steps backward, putting her closer to the cabin. “You can just leave the boxes where they are.” “Now, that wouldn’t be very neighborly of us.” Chuck nudged his friend. “I was kind of hoping…” “Oh, of course. You did me a huge favor by bringing these boxes out. I’ll be right back.” As Tori started to go get her purse, the uninvited guests were right on her heels. “There’s no need for money.” Chuck stopped her. “Yeah, how ‘bout a couple of beers,” said David. “There were an awful lot of boxes on that truck and with the weather being so hot and all… “ “Will you put a lid on it.” Chuck stepped forward. Tori was beginning to get scared, and she didn’t think her composure would get her out of this one. She backed away from Chuck’s hand as he twisted her hair around his finger. “Come on, you said how much you appreciated it.” He smiled, exposing cigarette-stained teeth. “Now, just relax and let us properly welcome you to our neck of the woods.” “I’m thinking your best bet would be to leave right now before this gets out of hand.” Walker stood between the two men and Tori. Tori was about to scream, not that it would have helped since she was out in the middle of nowhere, but the sight of Walker rounding the corner of the cabin, along with his intimidating voice, prevented the sound from leaving her mouth.

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“We were just having a little fun,” Chuck said, still smiling down at Tori. Walker reached in his pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. He looked from the boxes to the open tailgate of Chuck’s truck. “Here, take this.” He handed the money to David. “And if either of you has any brains, you’ll never come back.” The two men took the warning for what it was and drove away over the bridge. Walker appeared to be a man who kept to himself, yet there was an air about him that made people uncomfortable. Including Tori. And from what she could tell, he wasn’t a man to be second-guessed. “We have to stop meeting like this.” Walker took a seat in the wicker chair on the porch. “Thank you. Again.” Tori was grateful, but Walker and this situation still made her madder than hell. She went to the pile of boxes, reading the colored labels on each, trying to ignore the man who sat on the porch. It was hard to do. The look in his eyes seemed to sear right through her skin, reawakening her fears. Still, he had yet to hurt her, and he’d had many opportunities to do so. Walker Garrison was a man to be reckoned with. And the sooner Tori dealt with him and his living arrangements, the sooner she could move on with her new life without the added guilt of disturbing his.

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Chapter Four After the scene with the locals, images of what could have happened if Walker hadn’t shown up flashed through Tori’s mind. Their mentality alone was enough for her to assume they used intimidation to have their way with women and, as much as the thought made her sick, being a newcomer made her easy prey. Was she any safer around Walker? She didn’t have many options in regard to protecting herself. She couldn’t rely on the safety of the old, rundown cabin as a means of secure shelter. However, he showed no signs of hurting her. Not yet. Although Walker had prevented one situation from possibly turning into a woman’s worst nightmare, who was to say he himself wouldn’t be the creator of the next? She had to take a defensive, solid stance with this man if she was going to protect herself, find out who he was and what he wanted with her. Here he still stood, in the cabin, with no apparent signs of leaving. What did he want? That was the question she needed answers to. What the hell am I getting into? *** “I’ve been thinking,” Walker said, setting the last of the boxes in the doorway of the cabin. “I’m afraid to even ask,” she mumbled.

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Walker bit his tongue. He couldn’t let himself forget why he had come to Forrester Rock. His control was too important to everything he had accomplished up until now. “I thought you weren’t afraid?” he asked, testing her, wanting to know how far she’d let him continue without showing any signs of anxiety. She was playing the tough card with him. Pretty brave on her part, being in a new town and all. Walker scratched the nape of his neck and exhaled. There was nothing worse than a woman with a mouth on her. “You said you’d been thinking?” Tori asked. “About what?” “What are your plans for the second bedroom?” “What do you mean?” she asked. The tone of her voice was timid. Not so brave after all. He changed his stance, wondering if she realized exactly what he was asking. “Never mind.” Tori started to open a box then seemed to think better of it. He was sure she didn’t know what was in that particular box and probably wanted to go through her belongings in private. He couldn’t help being curious—curious as to how she would go about fitting into this small country town. Staying in the second bedroom could work to his advantage. He needed to find a way to bring up the subject again without being too obvious. Walker remembered the sass he had heard in her voice a bit ago and found he could very well play on that. Let’s face it, giving a little attitude was much better than receiving it, and he had a feeling it would be a great way to turn the tables to his benefit. “Don’t be so uptight,” he said, sitting down and placing his dirty boots on top of the coffee table. “I’m uptight?” She gave him a steady glare, hands defiantly placed on her hips. “There’s something obviously on your mind, Miss Russo.”

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“First of all, quit calling me that, Mr. Garrison. It’s just Tori.” “I’m listening.” “As I recall, you were questioning my intentions for the second bedroom…” Tori paused for a moment, apparently as a tactic for getting his attention. “Why?” “I think it’d be a good idea for me to take it.” Walker looked at Tori and wondered if she knew what she would be subjecting herself to if she agreed to his proposal. Regardless, he now had her attention, which was playing right into his hands. He knew this was where he needed to be. Besides the fact that she was so damn beautiful, he knew Tori Russo was going to get herself into trouble. Was going to be nothing but trouble. Still, it was imperative he continue playing it cool. “My being here could work to both our advantage.” Walker looked around the cabin. “I’m fine with the way things are.” “I think I’d be doing you a favor,” he persisted. The second altercation with the local boys clearly had had an impact on Tori’s usual independence. That was why, at some point during this conversation, she would see his point of view. “Like a bodyguard or something?” She crossed her arms as if in thought. “Look…” Walker watched as Tori sat down in the worn chair across from him. “This is your home. Not too long ago, it was mine. I’d like to come back to it if there’s a way we could work something out.” It was the disturbing look in her eyes that made Walker get up from the couch and head for the door. Scaring her to death hadn’t been his intent. He stopped and turned back to Tori. “I assume you don’t know much about this town. About how the people around here do what they want, take what they want.” “I don’t see what that has to do with—”

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“People keep to themselves. They tend not to go against one of their own.” “I’m still not following you.” “If something were to happen, I’m not so sure they’d believe your side of things.” “If you’re referring to those two creeps coming out here, they were just pushing my buttons. Surely, you don’t think—” “Yes, that’s exactly what I think.” Walker pushed the issue to further his own purposes. “I could’ve handled them,” she said. “Really? Both of them? At the same time? Tori glanced toward the door of the second bedroom. “How do I know you can be trusted?” “I guess you’ll have to trust this is in your best interest.” “You can stay here.” Walker could tell by the small quiver of her lower lip those words had been hard to speak. “But not because I’m afraid of being alone or because I can’t take care of myself.” Walker couldn’t contain his surprise by her honesty. It would appear she was reverting back to the confident, composed woman he had witnessed earlier. So be it, he thought. In spite of everything, it wasn’t as though he wanted her to be petrified, now was it? “What’s that smirk for?” she asked. “Nothing.” He preferred to leave the conversation at that. The last thing he wanted was to let Tori get the upper hand in this relationship. He walked out onto the front porch and, sure enough, she followed, stopping him. “Will you be back tonight?” “For someone who doesn’t mind being alone, you don’t seem to want me to waste any time, do you?” “All that darkness looking in on me at night is a little unnerving.” “Not used to this country living?” He wanted to see how much she’d be willing to divulge. 42

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“Can’t say I’ve ever lived this far out.” Tori fidgeted with the front of her shirt, glancing back inside the cabin. “So, I guess we have an arrangement?” She turned, bringing her attention again to Walker. She had quickly changed the subject. Walker had predicted she’d do as much, which only meant she was no fool. This woman wasn’t about to give him any more information than she had to. And that was the smart thing to do, on her part, being in a new town and all… “Even though I have no objections to my present accommodations,” Walker reminded her. “I thought you said—” “Will you let me finish?” He waited for Tori’s go-ahead. “But, I think it’ll make you feel safer if I take the room.” “I don’t know about ‘safer’ but I guess it will assuage my guilt for having put you out.” He observed as she lightly bit down on her lower lip. Maybe she was already regretting having agreed to let him come back. *** It was dusk, and Walker still hadn’t returned to the cabin. Tori kept reminding herself that allowing him to stay here was the right thing to do, that keeping an eye on him was better than not knowing when an unfriendly eye might be watching her. But it had been a good five hours since he’d left her unpacking the many boxes. Maybe he’d changed his mind and decided to stay out in the woods awhile longer amongst the animals and the trees. Whatever the reason, she was thankful for the privacy while going through her new belongings. They had shipped clothes—many, many boxes of clothes. From jeans to dresses, it was all there in the correct sizes. But none of the clothes were too classy since Forrester Rock wasn’t a classy town. Their main goal was for her to blend in with the locals.

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The U.S Marshals office had also sent her every type of cosmetic she could have imagined. She had never been one to wear a lot of makeup, with the exception of a touch of eye shadow and liner. Toiletries, towels and that sort of thing filled most of the space in the last two boxes. Tori couldn’t help letting out a laugh when she saw the modern, programmable coffeepot in the final package. Whoever had purchased these things seemed to know her inside and out. Then again, that was their job. To her surprise, there wasn’t any sort of note, nothing at all. She’d half expected them to send along a copy of her death certificate. That’s how much of a joke the whole situation had become. Well, this was it, her last tie to New York. It was too bad they couldn’t have sent along her cat. Nobody would have missed him, anyway. Everyone she knew hated cats. Her poor tabby was probably in an animal shelter by now, on his way to being adopted by some little kid who would only torture him. Tori quickly dismissed the thought, concentrating on putting everything away before Walker returned to the cabin. After she had accomplished that in record time, she set off for the dingy bathroom, determined to give it a thorough cleaning. Although Walker must have been content with these quarters, she wasn’t. She was a neat freak and would definitely have all the time in the world to clean now that she was, for the moment, domesticated. The bathroom turned out to be a real chore, but nothing a little elbow grease didn’t take care of. Tori stood back, admiring the room. The walls were no longer off-white. Now they sparkled as much as the stainless steel fixtures. To make the room complete, she applied the final touch by hanging the homemade curtain in the small window above the tub. The familiar sound of Walker’s motorcycle became louder as he approached the bridge. Walker would never be able to sneak up on her as long as he was riding that Harley, which was a good thing. She had always loved motorcycles. In high school she had dated a guy with a

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bike, but that had been the last time she’d had the pleasure of riding on one. Opening the front door, she wasn’t surprised to see that all he had was a sleeping bag and backpack to his name. What more could she have expected when he’d left everything else to her after being forced to vacate the cabin yesterday? An act she still found very puzzling. “I was starting to think you’d changed your mind,” Tori said as she held the door open for Walker, moving aside to let him enter the cabin. “I almost did,” he said, which didn’t make sense since this had been his idea. He set his things in the doorway of the second bedroom. “I’ll stay out of your way if you’ll stay out of mine.” Tori started feeling more at ease with the idea of having him there and getting some answers, if there were any to be found. “You won’t even know I’m here.” “I’ll still know you’re here,” Walker replied, then disappeared into his room. Just knowing Walker Garrison was close, across the cabin, was enough to make Tori shiver with many different emotions, too many to try to analyze in her current state of mind. She hadn’t even been able to grieve and was still hurting beyond words because of what her fiancé—ex-fiancé—had done. Would anybody have blamed her for being paranoid, doubting every little sound, every voice, every person in this town? Not to mention the man in the other bedroom. On the other hand, what if Brock got out of jail and came looking for her, or what if the boys from town came back wanting to slap their filthy hands on her again? At least Walker would be there to ward them off. But who was Walker? Stop it, she warned herself. She could do this. She took a deep breath, reminding herself of how horrible she had felt when she found out he’d slept in the woods. Though she hadn’t been keen on his moving in here, it would ease her guilt knowing that he had

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a roof over his head rather than sleeping on the hard, damp ground. More importantly, he hadn’t once, besides grabbing her by the arm in the woods, seemed to be any type of threat. “Goodnight, Miss Russo.” The voice from behind the partially closed bedroom door startled her. “’Night,” she managed to reply, shutting her own door, disappointed in its lack of a lock. She looked around the depressing room. Sleep wouldn’t come easily, which meant this was going to be another long, exhausting night. She glanced back at the door, half-wishing she’d brought in a chair from the kitchen to place under its handle. Trying to keep the nightmares from getting the best of her, Tori thought back to something Walker had said when she had confronted him at his campfire. He’d said the cabin wasn’t his “legally”. Even though he had spoken the words in a low grumble, Tori was almost positive that’s what he had said. Why had he emphasized the word “legally”? Could it be that she’d been hearing things? Possibly. As of late, she wasn’t too sure of anything in her life. Lying in bed, Tori made a pact with herself to not be so afraid. Her life had been snatched away, and she intended—as hard as it would be—to move on and make do with whatever life she now had on her own. *** Tori awoke in the middle of the night, covered in a cold sweat. She’d been dreaming of the men she’d seen in the museum that dreadful day. Except this time, they really had shot her. She flipped on the light, looking at the four walls in desperation. The clock on the nightstand read four twenty a.m. Would this ever get any better, any easier? If she could only forget, like everyone back in New York had been forced to do. She needed to do the same because, by all accounts, she was dead to the world outside this town.

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Yes, people grieve. But in the end, life goes on. Except she couldn’t imagine being able to move on, knowing what she knew. The mental images alone were enough to drive her to the nearest psychiatric hospital. They had given her anxiety medicine before shipping her out of New York, but it was very rare that she even took an aspirin—she was reluctant to start drugging herself now. Tori couldn’t get back to sleep, not that she wanted to if nightmares awaited her. In silence, she climbed out of bed. The coldness of the wooden floor led her in search of a pair of socks. What the heck, she was up now. She might as well get dressed. The squeaking of her bedroom door caused her to flinch as she attempted to emerge into the living room without being heard. Walker’s door was still closed, no sounds coming from within. She went to the kitchen counter to start a pot of coffee. Yesterday, at the sight of the newly shipped coffeepot, Tori had put the one she had bought back in its box and stored it away in the closet. The programmable pot was all ready to go, although she hadn’t programmed it to brew this early. She pressed the top button, waiting for the glow of the little red light to shine through the dark room. Grabbing her sweater from the hook on the back of the front door, she headed out into the peace of the open air. She lit the old kerosene lantern that adorned the small wicker table and courageously walked out onto the bridge. Tori hadn’t been comfortable being all the way out in the middle of nowhere. Breathing in the fresh, country air and relaxing to the mystery of it all, she was now grateful for the freedoms and sounds of the countryside. They did wonders for the mind. She had to question if having Walker there was what made it easier. Although she couldn’t allow herself to let her guard down. He was within yelling distance if need be, but who would hear her if she needed protection from him? She rested her head on a beam of the bridge, watching in the reflection of the moonlight as a spider spun its web from log to log. She

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had never had the chance in her past to appreciate the simpler things in life, like being at one with the many creatures of the world. This wasn’t the career path she had chosen, but she knew observing the animals would turn out to be every bit as gratifying as appraising art. “I see you’re beginning to feel at home?” Walker approached the bridge with two cups of freshly brewed coffee. “You really know how to startle someone.” Tori couldn’t help notice Walker looked lost himself. “Your coffee’s done…just thought I’d save you a trip.” He handed Tori one of the mugs, then stared off in the distance. “I hope I didn’t wake you.” She dared a glance in his direction. “I always get up before dawn.” He nodded toward the slice of sun, just starting to rise from the tranquil sky in the east. “I didn’t realize I’d been out here that long.” She sipped the warm liquid. “Thanks for the coffee.” Walker lifted his mug and turned to head back to the house. “Walker?” Tori said on a whim, thinking, while they were being civil, maybe Walker would shed some light on who he really was. “Yeah?” “Will you sit out here with me?” She suddenly found herself craving any type of human interaction even more than uncovering the truth. Without a word, he sat down. For the longest time, they sat in silence, their feet dangling over the edge of the bridge. Tori watched as the sun rose over the mountains beyond, ornamenting them with many shades of red, orange, and yellow. She glanced over to see if she could read Walker’s face, but his lost expression hadn’t changed since he’d taken the seat next to her. However, his troubled look was very intriguing to her. It confirmed she hadn’t been wrong to think he was hiding something. She had intended not to ask any questions so soon, only to observe him when in his presence. She had a feeling there was much more to

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Walker Garrison than he was willing to admit. She wanted to know it all, had to know if he was somehow connected to the mess she was in. Although he had an intimidating air about him, Tori could see right through his facade just by the way he was almost allowing himself to relax and breathe easy there on the edge of the bridge. Her mind started to wander a bit further—was Walker relaxing because he knew he was doing his job? Because he was, in fact, sent here to secretly protect her? Or was he relaxing because he knew she was now under his thumb, right where he wanted her? She warned herself to turn away before he caught her with his intense stare. His eyes were almost haunting, making Tori feel as if he could see right through her every thought. But it was too late. She’d given herself away. “Is there something you want to say?” he questioned. She blinked. “I thought maybe there was a squirrel perched on my head. You’ve been staring at me ever since I sat down.” There was no point in trying to explain why she’d been engaged in that stare. And she sure as heck couldn’t come out and ask him to give her the real reason why he seemed to appear every place she had since the moment she came to town. It would be too risky to her new identity. “I must’ve fallen into a trance from the lack of sleep last night.” She regretted the words the second they left her lips. “I slept just fine.” I’m sure you did, she thought, adjusting her eyes to the trickling water below. Walker stood up. “More coffee?” Tori was surprised when he put his hand out to her. From what she had observed of him so far, even the simplest gesture of helping Tori up seemed hard for him to do. She was scared to give him even the slightest bit of advantage over her because she knew nothing of this man’s motives.

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But her inner voice pleaded, Take his hand. Don’t show fear. It was a good thing she did. The second she began to stand up, an old, rotted board gave way, breaking from the edge of the bridge. Tori gasped, yet no sound came out of her mouth. Was it the threat of toppling over the edge of the bridge? The shock of being pulled so close to him? The air broke free from her lungs. She would have fallen had Walker not been there to crouch down and pull her into his arms. His arms weren’t threatening as she might have thought, but comforting and gentle, protecting her from the broken floorboards of the bridge. Though they had both regained their balance, he didn’t let her go. Tears filled Tori’s eyes as she held on to him, thinking of what she had lost, her fiancé and the life they had built upon a mountain of lies. For the briefest moment, she felt safe and not so alone. But as quickly as the bridge had given way, Walker let her go, backing away to assess the remaining boards. “Are you okay?” he asked from over his shoulder. “Yeah.” She moved away from the bridge. Once her back was turned to him, she swept away a lone tear, which had escaped and fallen to her cheek. “Looks like I have a lot of work cut out for me today, if we’re going to drive across this bridge anytime soon.” Walker kicked at the loose boards. “I can help,” Tori offered out of appreciation for his saving her from the fall. “Don’t you have animals to study?” “Well…I…” “I don’t think you can fix a bridge.” Was it her imagination or had Walker’s mood done a complete turnaround?

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Figuring she’d already braved way too much where Walker was concerned, Tori stomped her way toward the cabin. “Don’t say I didn’t offer,” she remarked, although not loud enough for him to hear. “Wait a minute.” Tori stopped, whipping around. “Where are you going?” he asked. “I was hoping to get a little more familiar with the area before I started working, but as you pointed out I have animals to study.” Why was he making her whereabouts his business? “I’m going to get my camera and take a walk in the woods. I’m sure I’m bound to stumble across something with four legs out there.” “If I were you, I’d be careful.” “Of what?” His words almost sounded like a threat. “The coyotes. What’d you think I meant?” This was going to be harder than she imagined. Tori had been so worried about mobsters being after her she hadn’t considered the many dangers of nature. The thought of coming face-to-face with a couple of wild dogs was not her idea of a good time. Nevertheless, she had to act as though she’d dealt with all types of wildlife throughout her career. Coyotes included. “Thanks for the warning.” She walked up the front steps in search of the correct attire for her hike. Tori managed to convince herself she was ready for this. The reality of what she was about to embark on began to intimidate the hell out of her. Now one question remained. How was she going to get up the nerve to walk through the back field and enter the darkness of the forest? Alone?

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Chapter Five She was going to be the end of him. For a very long time, Walker hadn’t had to be responsible for anyone else’s life but his own. He liked it that way. Now circumstances had changed, and it wasn’t going to be easy taking on Tori Russo. She definitely didn’t blend in with the women around these parts. No matter how much she was trying to play the country girl, Walker knew different. Just the way she walked left a trail of sophistication a mile long. Things as obvious as that were going to get her in trouble. Walker went back into the house to fetch the toolbox. Daylight had taken over the skies now, and he didn’t want to put off fixing the loose boards on the bridge. It bothered him to think if he hadn’t been out there, she might have fallen through and hit her head on one of the rocks below. What bothered him more was that he cared at all. That was a big mistake, one he would pay for dearly if he didn’t get his priorities in check. Tori wasn’t in the center of the cabin when he entered and wasn’t anywhere to be found after he’d collected the tools from his bedroom. It wasn’t until Walker went to the kitchen to retrieve another cup of coffee that he realized the water was running in the bathroom. Against his prior warnings to himself, Walker took a step toward the bathroom. The wood of the door appeared to have expanded and cracked from the change in weather over the years, leaving enough space for him to see inside the room. He went the rest of the way to the door. He knew he should have turned and walked away the minute he realized he was able to see her.

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But he didn’t. Steam filled the room, preventing him from seeing Tori fully unclothed. The image of her silhouette was enough to obliterate his commonsense regarding this woman, this situation. He exhaled louder than intended, irritated for not being more in control. But irritation alone wasn’t strong enough to make him pull his gaze from the image on the opposite side of the door. Then again, hearing Tori’s voice did make him snap back to the task at hand quicker than he’d have thought possible. “Walker, is that you?” Tori dropped the washcloth. “Is everything all right?” “Yeah, I misplaced my tools.” Walker smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand after the lame excuse left his mouth. “I bought some window locks yesterday,” Tori hollered. He stood back to the side, still watching as she shut off the water and grabbed her towel from the holder. “Maybe you could install them?” “Yeah, sure, I’ll get right on it,” Walker grumbled with aggravation. Who did she think he was? Her twenty-four-hour repairman? *** Tori took comfort in Walker’s willingness to help her out. Maybe he only agreed because he didn’t like the idea of her putting locks on his doors herself. Or maybe he didn’t think she was capable after what he’d said out by the bridge. Or maybe he was too flustered to know what to say. While she should have been alarmed, Tori couldn’t help but smile, satisfied this man had finally slipped up. She had noticed the open area left by the warped door when she had entered the bathroom to take a shower before heading out into the woods. What could she have done about it? Nail a towel over the crack? Walker must’ve seen her, though he couldn’t have seen much. She was sick of being afraid. She wanted her independence back. She wasn’t going to be scared anymore. She’d had worse things to face 53


walking the streets of New York every day, and she would be damned if she was going to let this backwoods town or Walker Garrison put her life in remission any longer. She threw on a pair of jean shorts and combed her long hair before going out into the living room. She opened the closet door, then pulled out the new camera and all the supplies that had come with it. Holding the equipment in her hand caused a twinge of excitement to arise within her. She was about to set out on something she’d never done before, and what better time than now to get started on her new assignment? She had to get going fast before all the newfound confidence reverted to paranoia. Glancing out the window, she saw Walker had found his missing tools. There he was, working hard to hammer down the remaining planks of the bridge. He wiped his brow, as sweat soaked through his white pocket tee shirt. Bet he didn’t plan on having to do this sort of work so early in the day, Tori thought, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. At least this would keep him occupied, giving her the time she needed to take off. She went to her purse, taking out the mace, which had been the only thing sent to her from her own belongings. How generous of them to have left her with some sort of protection. The pistol she had always carried, with a permit, had been confiscated, along with all her other identifiable possessions. That gun would’ve come in real handy out here in the sticks of West Virginia. But the mace would do. If anything, it would scare off any unwanted animals if they came too close for her liking. Closing the front door behind her, Tori debated if she should go over to see if Walker had changed his mind about allowing her to help. Who knows, he might surprise her and accept the previous offer. But from where she stood, he seemed to be covering the damaged area with no need of another hand. Let alone hers. 54

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“I’m going for that walk now,” she hollered to him instead. The only response she got was an exasperated shake of his head. She hadn’t planned on going too far into the woods, so his earlier warnings were nothing to be warranted. And—by some chance—if something did try to attack her, he would be able to hear her when she screamed. As Tori came upon the edge of the forest, she looked for any type of path she could start out on. There were areas where she could tell someone had driven through the outer brush, but there were no manmade trails. Looking deeper into the forest, she spotted a clearing where the sun’s rays poured down and the stream ran through. She decided it would be best to go no further than there to snap some pictures. That way, she wouldn’t be walking too far away from the cabin. She took her red flannel shirt and tied it to a branch on the nearest pine tree, which lined the edge of the woods. She didn’t think it would be hard to find her way back, but, just in case, the color of the shirt would point her in the right direction. She walked along a soft ground of moss, looking around at the many beautiful features the forest had to offer, trying not to concentrate on being alone in the woods. Besides the small twigs snapping under her feet, the sounds of birds and chipmunks echoed cheerfully throughout the trees. Tori stopped, straining to locate any one of the little creatures. She knelt down and focused her camera lens in on a family of skunks, traipsing through the fallen leaves. She certainly had no intention of bothering them. She knew better than that. Walker would have a good laugh if she came home smelling like a skunk, and she was not going to give him that satisfaction. She was an independent woman, doing her job as a wildlife photographer. She could handle this. After capturing a few pictures, she continued until she reached the clearing by the stream. It wasn’t a very big area, but it promised to provide some beautiful snapshots. She sat down by the creek, then took 55


a picture of the brook. After that, she closed her eyes, allowing the sound of the flowing water to put her in another one of her daydreams. Tori felt as though she were back in her New York apartment, submerged in her jacuzzi. She already missed the luxuries she had become accustomed to. Instead of having the many lights of the city to look out upon, she now had to settle for the lightning bugs, which swirled outside her cabin window each night. “Stop it. You’re not going anywhere, so get used to it,” she said aloud, opening her eyes to the empty area around her. That’s when she saw them again. The mother deer and her young fawn were by the stream, not ten feet away. The closest she had ever come to a deer was while on a trip outside the city. She’d also had the unfortunate experience of hitting one with her car that same day. As Tori slowly lifted the camera, the two animals paid her no attention. Yet she was sure they had seen her sitting on the grass. She snapped as many pictures as she could until they turned from the water, darting away in the opposite direction. She noticed movement from the mucky bank of the stream. There slid the biggest turtle she had ever seen. No matter what her new job description said, she wasn’t at all familiar with the different species of wildlife in Forrester Rock—or anywhere else, for that matter. If she had to guess, she would bet from the size of the turtle and the hook in its beak, that it was of the snapping type. It didn’t take her long to turn the situation into something of an adventure, like a child on a treasure hunt. She sat snapping picture after picture at anything that caught her eye, until she used up the roll of film. She quickly reloaded the camera with no intention of leaving just yet. Not when this interesting little spot promised to be a gathering place for many creatures. ***

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Walker sat in the deepest grass of the clearing. He felt as if he were spying on Tori. In reality, he was where he needed to be. These woods were home to many creatures and not all of them friendly. Even though she appeared sure of herself, Walker knew Tori wasn’t experienced in this environment. If any other woman had told him she was going off gallivanting in the forest, Walker would have told her to enjoy herself. After the altercation with the town drunks, however, he couldn’t let Tori out of his sight. When she had set off for her walk, he couldn’t manage to pound another nail in the old bridge without looking back at the trees every couple of seconds, checking to see if she had entered the dense woods yet. Now, here he sat, hiding behind a tree like some sort of peeping Tom, watching every move she made as she snapped picture after picture of the nature around them. He still wasn’t quite sure whom she professed to work for. He hadn’t seen a fax machine or any other equipment to assist her in that job of hers. He had watched a few wildlife shows in his day, and he would have thought there was a lot more involved in the profession than just snapping such simple pictures here and there. But what did he know? He had to give her an “A” for effort. She seemed to be handling herself just fine. In fact, she’d come a long way from the woman he’d observed yesterday. Though he couldn’t articulate it, something was definitely different about Tori. Not wanting to draw any attention to himself, he carefully leaned back against a tree and sank deeper into the tall grass. He gave Tori a final glance before pulling the baseball cap over his eyes, giving in to fatigue. Between the night he’d spent sleeping in the woods and last night in the cabin, he hadn’t gotten a whole lot of sleep—she was only a mere twenty feet away, it wouldn’t hurt to rest his eyes.

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He had known his life was bound to change after coming to Forrester Rock. He just hadn’t realized how much. He’d had a job to do, one like no other, and for the sake of a dead woman, he would do it. The cabin had been abandoned and hardly visible amongst the overgrown foliage of the property. Though it hadn’t been part of the plan, he had cleaned the place up in order to make it livable. He was surprised no one had ever had a problem with his taking up residence in the cabin. Not one person had questioned Walker’s being in Forrester Rock. That’s not to say he didn’t have his story straight, just in case. When word had come that a woman needed the cabin as a means for some out-of-town work study, he had vacated immediately. The important thing was everything had worked out. Not exactly how he had planned before coming here, but all the same, he had a roof back over his head. He wished the woman he was sharing the cabin with wasn’t so damn beautiful. Being around Tori Russo wouldn’t be easy. Walker anticipated problems. He needed to remain alert at all times. If that meant changing how he dealt with her, so be it. Too bad he hadn’t applied that way of thinking to his current situation because when he opened his eyes and brought himself back to the present, he found Tori was gone.

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Chapter Six Tori sat crouched behind a large tree, hoping the intruder had retreated. She first heard the rustling in the grass when she was taking the pictures of a small, green water snake. From where she’d been standing, she hadn’t been able to tell who it was. The situation had caught her by surprise. She had hoped if it were Walker looking out at her through the grass, he wouldn’t have kept quiet. But to think that way would be too trusting. That’s when she had snuck off, pretending to walk farther into the woods, then hid behind the tree. It had been ten minutes, and she hadn’t heard any more noise from the direction where the person had been sitting. Was it safe to assume he’d taken off? At this point, all she could do was pray someone hadn’t followed her. Just in case, she placed her camera around her neck, freeing her hands to take out the tiny tube from her pocket. Very slowly, she peeked around the tree to see if anyone was lurking in the vicinity. She tried to convince herself she was indeed alone, but she still wasn’t able to breathe easily. As much as she had tried earlier to conjure up a safe image of her surroundings, here she was in this very unfamiliar town, alone in the woods, and now it was time to take her fear into consideration and get back to the cabin as fast as she could. The sound of leaves crunching beneath heavy feet stopped her from moving. Tori sat there, holding the only means of defense in her sweaty palm. Next came the sound of a man clearing his throat. He was so close

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behind her Tori could have sworn she felt the heat of his breath on her neck. She spun around, aiming the pepper spray directly into the eyes of her stalker. It wasn’t until the liquid escaped the aerosol tube that she realized who it was. “Damn it, Tori! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Walker held his hands mere inches from his face, trying not to rub his burning eyes. “Oh, my God, Walker.” She grabbed his arm in an effort to lead him to the stream, but he pulled free from her fingers and went to try and cleanse the spray from his eyes on his own, running into a tree on the way. “Let me help you.” Tori bent down at his side, cupping the cool water in her hand, only to have Walker knock it back out. “I think you’ve done enough,” he snapped. “It was an accident.” Tori felt horrible for having taken such extreme measures, but someone could’ve really been out to harm her. Walker himself had warned her of the dangers in the woods. “Accident, my ass! You knew exactly what you were doing.” Walker faced her and attempted to open his eyes, except he still couldn’t. Suddenly, the fact she had sprayed him in the eyes with a very potent chemical didn’t matter anymore. Walker had no right talking to her like that—he was the one who had been invading her privacy without warning her of his approach. “Why’d you sneak up on me?” Tori surprised herself by smacking Walker on the arm. “For all I knew, you could’ve been those creeps from the diner.” No longer caring Walker would again most likely knock away the water, Tori dipped her cupped hands in the stream. She brought them to his eyes, careful not to make contact. The longer he could manage not touching them, the quicker the burning would subside. By the way Walker was handling this he knew that, too.

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Tori had learned how to deal with the effects of pepper spray in a selfdefense class she had taken in New York. She wasn’t sure about West Virginia, but back home pepper spray was illegal. Although Walker was mad, Tori didn’t think he would be contacting the local authorities any time soon. “Is that better?” she asked, noticing he was able to open his eyes just the slightest bit. “What do you think?” “I said I was sorry. You’ll be back to normal before you know it.” “Oh, really, Miss Fix-it? That’s reassuring coming from you.” “Go to hell.” Tori slapped her hands on her thighs in disgust. “That sounds inviting.” “I’m glad you find this funny.” Tori let her fingers glide across the water’s surface, then splashed Walker directly in the face. “Now I don’t feel bad.” “You have some nerve.” Walker blinked his eyes as if the surroundings were becoming visible to him. “Maybe you’ll think twice before you sneak up on me again.” “I guess it’s not totally your fault, given your situation.” A twinge of suspicion raked through Tori’s nerves. “My situation?” “This isn’t your neck of the woods. Must be frightening for a woman to adjust to these surroundings.” “I do it all the time.” Tori turned her head, taking a deep breath, not at all satisfied with his analysis, trying to maintain the characteristics of being a wildlife photographer. “Whatever you say.” “Here, let me help you.” She interlocked her arm with his as he stood. The sooner she got out of these woods, the better. “How do I know I can trust you?” Walker tried looking at Tori through bloodshot, swollen eyes. “How do I know you won’t lead me right into a tree on the way out of here?” “If you keep talking like that, I just might.” 61


Tori led Walker through the woods, taking extra caution not to travel over the rougher parts of the barely visible path. Nevertheless, her efforts to keep him out of harm’s way didn’t prevent him from tripping on an overgrown exposed root of a tree. He fell to the ground, pulling Tori on top of him. Although Walker didn’t seem to have been affected by the fall, Tori certainly was. Even landing on the hard ground would have been better than the place she found herself now. Looking down into Walker’s eyes, Tori couldn’t mistake the perplexity gazing back at her. She tried to get up and regain her balance, but Walker wasn’t releasing her from his strong grip. She wanted to scream for help, for someone from the US Marshals office to magically scurry out from the brush and protect her, because she couldn’t seem to manage on her own. Why was she paralyzed by Walker’s touch, by the way his eyes held hers, almost as if he knew her every fear? Her body started to go numb…numb from the detection of his arousal pressed against her abs. That’s when Tori realized this was all too real—and too much—for her to deal with. Could it be possible that this man with whom she had slept under the same roof was going to rape her? “If you want my help, you better let me go,” she said, starting to wonder if he was in need of her assistance at all or if it was part of some master plan. “Do you really think I need your help?” Walker asked. “I know these woods like the back of my hand.” “Maybe so…but you can’t ignore the fact we’re lying here on the ground because you fell.” She tried to remain calm, keeping her fear locked. Walker lay there, staring up at her, clearly not feeling the effects of the pepper spray any longer. “Where did you come from?” He loosened his hold on her arms. “A beautiful woman like yourself just doesn’t fall into a man’s lap.” 62

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Was he asking her the question as a cover-up because he already knew where she’d come from and who she was, or was he just being curious? Tori wasn’t sure if she could believe he was a stranger who was as lost in Forrester Rock as she was. “Obviously, I didn’t fall into your lap.” “You didn’t answer my question.” “Did you fall on purpose?” Walker brought his hand to her face and ran it alongside her cheek. “Calm down, I’m not going to hurt you.” Even if she had wanted to, Tori couldn’t move. What troubled her most was that underneath all the fears and uncertainties a feeling, something buried deep inside her, was beginning to stir. She wondered if this feeling of desire had emerged out of some sense of wanting to be protected, wanting to have someone take care of her like Brock used to. Look where her faith in him had gotten her. Literally on top of a man she knew nothing about, in a place that masked her biggest secrets, a place where she would always be forced to be someone else, someone she didn’t even know. No, this man would have to kill her before she allowed herself to trust him easily just because he claimed to do her no harm. Tori brushed Walker’s hand away. She tried to roll off, but his hands quickly grabbed onto her thighs, which only allowed her to pull herself up to a sitting position. In addition to that, the look on his face told her he knew exactly what her mind was struggling to overcome. “Let go of my legs!” Tori glared at him. “I don’t feel sorry for you anymore.” Walker continued to irritate her as he held up both hands in surrender. She stood up and started back through the woods toward the cabin, leaving him on the ground. She was beginning to think it had been a big mistake agreeing to let Walker move into the cabin with her. The last thing she would allow in her life was a man who would, in time, run all over her emotions like Brock had. No. She would never permit that to happen. 63


Never, never again. When Tori got back to the cabin, she was surprised to see a woman sitting on the front porch. Even though Tori was new to town, the woman looked vaguely familiar. As she got closer, Tori remembered where she had seen her before. The waitress from the diner. “Tori, right?” The woman stood. “Yes.” Tori walked up the porch steps. “I don’t think I got your name the other day.” “No, you didn’t.” The woman eyed the dirt on Tori’s jeans. “It’s Kate.” Tori brushed at the loose dirt. “What can I do for you?” “I was looking for Walker. From what I hear, he’s living with you.” Anyone would’ve been a fool not to notice the scorn in Kate’s eyes or the resentful tone in her voice. Her first nasty encounter with a woman was just one more thing Tori hadn’t counted on happening so soon after getting dumped off in Forrester Rock. After what Walker had pulled in the woods, he wasn’t worth the argument Kate was looking for. “He’s not here right now,” Tori said, not wanting to inform Kate that Walker was really across the field, lying in the woods recuperating. Kate lifted her eyebrows at Tori. “Sure he is.” “Excuse me?” “Hi, Walker.” Kate gave Tori a cynical look as she walked past her. “And Tori here said you weren’t home. Now why would she say a thing like that?” “Until now I wasn’t.” Walker practically ignored Kate’s presence and went to sit on the top step of the porch. Kate stood, looking back and forth at the two of them. They were both covered in dirt, and Walker looked as if he’d gone up against a storm of acid rain. “Looks like the two of you just came back from a romp in the woods. Didn’t take you long to get comfortable here, now did it?” Kate questioned Tori and at the same time shot Walker a look. “You wait one minute.” Tori took a step off the porch. 64

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“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?” “If you’re insinuating Walker and I—” “Don’t tell me you’re going to deny it. Talk about an animal watcher… Isn’t that what you’re supposed to be? I think you have it all backward. Everybody around here better watch out for your claws.” “That’s it!” Tori lunged toward Kate. It was bad enough the United States government had changed her identity, but Tori would be damned if she was going to let this woman make her out to be some tramp. “Now, now, ladies…” Walker grabbed Tori around the waist. “The last time I checked, a romp in the woods wasn’t considered a felony.” She couldn’t believe her ears. Why was he playing these games? She jabbed him in the ribs, having had enough of his comments, and focused her attention back on Kate. “He’s all yours.” “How kind of you to share.” Tori didn’t respond for fear she would jump off the porch and rip Kate’s head off. She went into the cabin and headed straight for the shower. Why did Walker give that woman the impression they had returned from some sexual encounter? How dare he! She should have known people would talk now that he was staying at the cabin. Maybe it was time she sent him back to wherever he came from. But how? She turned on the water for a second time today, as hot as it would get, and removed her soiled clothes. She didn’t want to think about why the waitress was there looking for him. From the way Mabel had described him, and from knowing that he’d slept in the woods rather than seeking other shelter, Tori hadn’t taken into consideration Walker might have had relationships here. Tori hoped the water would wash away the shame and embarrassment she felt for allowing Kate’s comments to turn her into

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such a raving lunatic. Her own reaction made Tori more aware she had become a stranger to herself. When she had first met Walker, he had seemed reserved. That wasn’t the case now, and she wasn’t going to tolerate the snide remarks that came from his mouth. You have to, her inner voice echoed inside her head, if you’re ever going to find out who he is. There was one thing she had to be careful of. Letting herself become vulnerable to him for a second time. She stepped out of the old porcelain tub, watching as a black spider scurried across the floor. It didn’t bother her much—she had dealt with worse pests living in the city. She stood in front of the rusted, framed mirror and combed her long, wavy hair. It struck her that she’d been in such a hurry to get in the shower that she’d forgotten to get a clean set of clothes. She looked to the crumpled up mess on the floor. There was no way she would put those dirty things back on. She peered through the crack in the door. Walker was standing outside the living room window on the front porch. She stepped out of the bathroom and made a run for her bedroom. As she got halfway to her room, the front door flew open and there he stood. He didn’t hide his reaction at seeing her half-naked in his cabin. His gaze traveled the full length of her damp body. The look in his eyes, still reddened from the spray, made her feel anything but comfortable. The way they seemed to sear through the towel caused gooseflesh to erupt over her skin. “I didn’t know you were in there.” Walker nodded toward the opened bathroom door. Not bothering with a response, Tori continued to walk to her bedroom. Wouldn’t it have served him right, after what he had pulled in the woods, if she had had the nerve to drop her towel and act as though it were no big deal he had entered the cabin at that precise moment? 66

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Especially since Walker had, for once, used some manners and kept his mouth shut. Oh, it would have been sweet to see the look on his face if she had done that. Except she hadn’t had the nerve. Maybe it was time to change her ways, now she was supposed to be a new person and all. Living with a man like Walker Garrison, she needed to gain an advantage over him more than ever. Tori went to her closet, looking through the array of clothes she had received the day before. It had warmed up since morning. She took out a blue tank top and a pair of cut-off jean shorts. Had someone actually taken the time to cut these jeans into shorts, or had they been bought that way? It was easy to dwell on even the smallest of things every time she looked at her new belongings. When she left the sanctuary of her room, Tori found Walker at the bathroom sink, splashing water on his eyes. She had hoped the morning could be forgotten, wished he had never followed her out there to begin with. Why had he gone after her? Tori realized she hadn’t taken the time to find out. But she would. Walker Garrison was going to tell her why he’d been hiding in the grass, invading her privacy, spying on her. “Do they still hurt?” she asked. “It stings a little.” He grabbed the towel, blotting his eyes. “I feel awful for spraying you.” Tori went back and took a seat on the couch, still facing the bathroom where Walker stood. “Although I shouldn’t,” she whispered. It didn’t take him long to join her. He put his boots up on the coffee table, which he always did when sitting in that particular spot, then crossed his arms over his chest. “I shouldn’t have startled you.” “I’m glad you can admit it,” Tori couldn’t help pointing out. “Now that we have that straight, why don’t you tell me what you were doing out there to begin with?”

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“Let’s forget about it.” “No. I want to know why you were following me.” “I wasn’t following you.” “Then what the hell would you call—” “I was protecting you,” Walker admitted through clenched teeth. Okay, now they were getting somewhere. “Why is it you think I need protecting?” “Do you always make such a big deal of things?” Walker got up and went to the fridge. He returned with two beers in hand. “Look, you’re new around here. I was done with the bridge, so I just thought I’d make sure you were okay. That’s all.” Tori took the bottle he extended to her. She wanted to believe him, but she also wished there was a way she could find out if he had been sent there to protect her. “Are you sure that’s all there was to it?” “Yes, now can we change the subject?” Walker took a deep swallow of his beer. “What’s with you and the waitress?” Tori asked. Walker turned to her, letting his gaze drop to her lips. “Forget I asked. It’s none of my business.” Tori stood, but Walker pulled her back to the couch. She wanted to run from this man, yet she couldn’t. Though she wasn’t sure what he expected from her, Tori couldn’t pull away. His touch was gentle, unlike that of a man who intended her harm. Slowly, he ran a finger up the length of her bare arm. She wondered if he could feel her shivering beneath his fingertips, wondered if he could tell how scared she was. She wasn’t afraid of Walker. She was afraid of the way he made her feel. Surprisingly, she found herself closing her eyes, leaning into his touch. This could very well be the biggest mistake of her life, but she just wanted to forget. And if Walker Garrison could do that for her, even for a few moments, who was she to stop him… 68

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Chapter Seven On an impulse, Walker pulled her close. Tori’s breasts barely touched his chest, and her sharp intake of breath told him she hadn’t missed the sensation. He inched her closer, burying his face in her hair, which still retained the aroma of her shampoo. His nose lingered there for a second longer, savoring it. He let his arms drop, but she tightened hers around his waist. What he had told her was true. He had wanted to protect her, to make sure nothing happened while she was alone in the forest. Everything had turned bad so fast. He had been furious when she had sprayed him with that damn pepper spray. But could he blame her? She had been scared. It was the fear constantly looming over her that had forced Walker to calm down and try to make her more comfortable. Then they had fallen. Never in all his life had a woman had such an effect on him. He knew Tori had been madder than hell at the time, but whether she felt it or not, something about her had relaxed back in the woods. He thought he could control it, thought if only he made a joke out of it, as he had in front of Kate, the feelings would go away. Yet here they were… He should’ve never sat next to her, never dared to steal a touch. This would do nothing but complicate today, tomorrow, every day from this moment on… Yet here they were. Walker peered down at her upturned lips. Her eyes had been closed, but when she sensed his hesitation, she opened them. Walker bent, letting his lips brush over hers, feeling the slight bit of pressure that said she was ready, knowing if he continued, she wouldn’t resist.

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Could he do it? He liked his life the way it was. What did he have to offer this woman? His protection? Would that be enough? He let her go and immediately she fell back onto the couch. He stood up and retreated to his bedroom. He was beginning to have feelings for Tori, feelings he couldn’t let develop beyond this moment. He would only complicate her life right along with his own. That’s why he needed to stop this from happening. And fast. Was it too late? Instead of continuing through his bedroom doorway, he looked back. He wanted to tell her why he’d stopped so abruptly, but knew it wouldn’t make a difference. He left her there on the couch. Walker sat on his bed, his head in his hands, knowing it had been the right thing to do. If he hadn’t opened his eyes he wouldn’t have seen her shadow approaching the doorway. Tori had gotten up and followed him, entering his room. Walker stood up from the bed as she moved in closer, little by little, until she was touching his lips with hers. He could tell by the way her body trembled against his it hadn’t been easy for her to make such a move. Walker drew his face away from hers, ever so slightly, wanting to give Tori the chance to retreat. She remained there. He leaned in, welcoming the way her kiss seemed to draw strength from his, with her showing no signs of wanting him to stop. Not a word was shared between them. Walker knew she would realize what a huge mistake they were about to make and walk straight out of his bedroom. His need for her was too strong to take that chance. He reached out, waiting for Tori to place her hands in his. When she did, he pulled her close, enough to feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. The warmth from her fingertips radiated through the fabric as she took hold of his shirt, with confidence, slowly pulling it over his head. Her hands rested on his chest and Walker was aware their trembling had subsided. 70

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Their clothes disappeared, piece by piece, as if they had gradually melted off their bodies. He stood back, only for a moment, taking in Tori’s beauty before bringing his lips back to hers. Her body responded to his kiss, his touch, as her nails lightly grazed his back. Up until this second, he hadn’t realized how much he had wanted her. He felt as though he would die if this moment were taken from him. With each brush of his lips, low moans escaped her as he felt the first quiver of her pleasure erupt around him. He already felt as though he had been making love to her for hours. She was relaxed, no longer carrying the sadness he had seen in her eyes from the first moment she had arrived at the cabin. He pushed aside her hair, spreading it loosely across his pillow. He wanted to imbed her image in his mind and take away any despair she had endured throughout her lifetime. Walker pulled his lips away from hers as he gazed deep into the comfort of her eyes, tracing his thumb along her lower lip, kissing each side of her mouth. That’s when he felt it… The deadness he’d carried around inside for so many years lifted. Part of him felt freed. Another part felt captive. He had never believed in love. Yet one time in this woman’s arms was all it had taken to cause his emotions to erupt from within. Walker held Tori in his arms until they both fell into a deep slumber, totally spent from the passionate lovemaking, lost somewhere beyond the four walls of his room. *** When Tori awoke, she looked at the bedroom window, trying to get a sense of what time it was. The rain had stopped and darkness enveloped the pale blue sky. Before escaping the confines of his bedroom, Tori glanced over at the man who had held her in his arms. If he hadn’t been lying there next to

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her, she would have sworn she had fallen into another one of her daydreams. But it had been real—as real as the hairs now standing on end on her skin as she acknowledged she had spent the afternoon in Walker’s bed. What had ensued between them, still fresh in her mind, was difficult to comprehend. Those few short steps to his bedroom had been the hardest, yet the most effortless thing Tori had ever done. The way Walker had made her feel was beyond words. No man, not even Brock, had attempted to explore and know her body and every need like Walker had. Although her ex-fiancé hadn’t thought of her or the outcome of his actions when creating this mess, Tori couldn’t help feeling as if she had somehow betrayed him by being with Walker. The combination of his masculine scent on her skin and the aching between her legs reminded Tori of what she had done. When Walker rolled over, releasing Tori from his embrace, she waited, only briefly, to see if he was waking. The sound of his subdued breathing told her otherwise. She was tempted to press her body against the length of his and go back to sleep, but something screamed for her to get out of that room. Fast. It wasn’t until she slid out of the bed that she noticed the engraved letters on the headboard…W.G. At first, they made sense. It was his bed after all. She didn’t take the time to wonder why, or when, the initials had been put there. She walked around to the other side of the bed, looking down upon the man she’d slept with, then sought her clothes, strewn on the dusty wooden floor. It took all her strength she had to fight the temptation to kneel next to the bed and touch him, to make sure their passion had been real, but her good sense warned her. Get out. Tori reached down, pulling her things together in one big ball of fabric, then quietly retreated from his room to the haven of her own.

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Later, after she’d woken again, Tori got up from her bed and walked to the window. Dear God, how could she have been so careless, so stupid! How could she have let herself sleep with Walker? She knew next to nothing about this man who she was living with…sleeping with. Maybe that’s why she had been able to let go, to be free to experience the moment without being trapped within her body. Tori opened her door and peered beyond. Walker’s bedroom door was closed. Putting on a robe, she grabbed the same ball of clothes she had removed from his floor and headed to the bathroom. She permitted the water to cleanse her body, soothe her tender muscles. There was no turning back. No turning back…it seemed to be her motto in life these days. When she went to get dressed, she realized her bra wasn’t with the clothes she had recovered from Walker’s floor. And that could only mean one thing. It was still in his room, probably under the bed—or in it, for that matter. She wasn’t going back in there to get it. Suddenly, the thought of facing Walker terrified her. What would they say to each other? Was casual sex something he engaged in on a regular basis? No matter what Kate had accused, Tori had never found herself in such a predicament before. Not with a total stranger. Tori had gotten through worse situations than this, and this, too, would be resolved. She would make sure of it. Now, if only she could forget the way Walker had made her feel and be more alert to the dangers of her actions, she would be able to face the night to come with her sanity intact.

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Chapter Eight Walker awoke in his darkened room to an empty bed. He was somewhat relieved Tori wasn’t next to him. He had no idea what he was going to say to her. He had vowed a long time ago not to be drawn into the clutches of a woman. Yet here he was allowing just that. On the other hand, why had she left? She must have done her damnedest to sneak out without being heard because he couldn’t remember her leaving. One minute she was there, then she was gone. He should have stopped himself, should’ve told Tori he’d had a damn good reason for walking away and going into his bedroom. But he hadn’t. Would he take it all back if it were possible? He shrugged. He wasn’t certain he would. Things would definitely be different between them, and he didn’t know how in the hell he was going to handle it. He’d given in to temptation once, but he wouldn’t let it happen again. Tori could never know how he really felt. He rolled over onto his back, stretching his arms behind his head. The material under his hands was not the cotton of his pillowcase. He brought the lacy bra to his nose and closed his eyes, taking in her sweet smell… It didn’t change a thing. He cursed as he wadded up the bra and threw it across the room. ***

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Tori was at the sink when Walker came out of his room, heading in the direction of the bathroom. She didn’t look at him. For fear of what? She wasn’t sure. He wasn’t making any attempt to come to her either. After hearing the bathroom door close behind him, Tori went back to her bedroom and the loneliness of her empty bed. There she sat on top of the comforter, listening for any clue as to what to do next. The only noise she heard from the other side of her bedroom wall was the sound of the front door opening and closing, then, shortly after, the rumble of Walker’s motorcycle. She was scared of who Walker Garrison was and why he was so conveniently in her life. Maybe he had come to help. Even though she had washed the remnants of her evening with him from her body, Tori suddenly felt dirty—dirty and used. Her initial intuitions had been correct. She meant nothing to him. That’s the least of your problems! her commonsense shouted. She had only been in Forrester Rock a couple of days, and already she had complicated her new life. One thing kept pulling at her mind, making it difficult to surrender to the harsh feelings she was having toward this man. The sex hadn’t been unfeeling or rough. Not at all. Walker had been gentle, passionate, strong. “He’s a man. That’s how men are.” She’d be damned if she was going to sit there, in the darkness of her room, sulking like some virginal princess. If Walker was going to act this casually about what happened, so would she. She would never let another Brock take advantage of her again. Ignoring Walker was going to be a challenge. She wasn’t good at keeping things inside. With everything else she’d been forced to keep hidden lately, there was absolutely no room for new secrets. She would love to tell him to leave, to go back to his fire pit in the forest. But it was imperative she find a way to deal with him if she was going to uncover his true motives. 75


She walked out onto the front porch to light the kerosene lantern. If she’d had a vehicle, she would have driven into town to clear her head. But nobody had gotten back to her yet about an available car. Whether she liked it or not, she was stuck here at the cabin—unlike Walker—on this humid summer night. *** The tavern was full. Walker sat at the bar, consuming whiskey on the rocks—something he rarely put to his lips. Whiskey turned him into a different man, but tonight, his usual draft beer wasn’t going to be enough for him. Tonight he needed something much stronger. He had wanted to go to Tori and take her in his arms when he’d seen her standing at the kitchen sink. His own emotions had stopped him from doing it. Bottom line, he hadn’t known what the hell to do. She was so beautiful. Somehow even more than before they had made love. While she was standing at the sink, he had seen her tense posture, her tense movements. Yet he had still left… Now here he sat. What an asshole she must think he was. Damn her and this town for turning his life upside down. Walker slammed his glass down on the bar. It wasn’t fair to blame Tori for the way he felt. He admitted it was his own ego bothering him, wondering if she, too, was now plagued by these same feelings. She had been at his mercy in his bed, but what if there’d been more to her surrender? What did she want from him? Who did she think he was? He wished he could forget what happened, even if it was the best sex of his life, but he knew, as long as she was around, he’d never be able to convince himself their relationship was only physical. Not accomplishing anything, expect maybe contributing to one hell of a morning hangover, Walker stood up, tipping his head back to empty the glass, then started for the door. As he walked out of the congested bar, he realized he had company waiting for him next to his motorcycle.

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“Drinkin’ alone, are ya?” Chuck asked, his sidekick drooping beside him. If they had caught him at any other time, Walker would have sauntered right past them, climbed onto his bike, and sped off in the opposite direction. Tonight wasn’t just any other night. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to the garbage spewing from their mouths. He threw Chuck a look of warning, hoping the two would leave. They started to, but then Chuck turned around to taunt Walker. “By the way, where’s that fine piece of ass you’re shacking up with?” He elbowed his buddy in the arm. “Boy, what I wouldn’t do with a woman like that…” Walker grabbed Chuck by the front of his stained tee shirt and shoved him against the outside wall of the tavern. “You keep your damn mouth shut, you hear me?” “Yeah, man, take it easy. I was only giving the lady a compliment.” Walker increased the pressure of his fists against Chuck’s chest as he looked to his friend for help. “Let it be the last time you refer to her that way, got it?” “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Just get your hands off me.” Walker gave Chuck one last slam into the brick wall, letting him know he was not playing games. As a precaution, Walker looked at the other man standing next to the door. Smart enough not to get involved, he put both hands in the air and walked into the bar. As Walker rode his bike down the long, dirt road, he tried to figure out how he was going to handle the situation with Tori. He would’ve liked to stay away from the cabin tonight, drinking himself into oblivion, but Tori Russo wasn’t going anywhere. He’d have to face her sooner or later, if only to show her a little respect. Rounding the bend in the road leading to the overpass, Walker noticed the cabin was dark. He shut off his bike and coasted over the bridge, trying to be quiet in case she was already in bed. When the bike would go no further on its own, he pushed it the remainder of the way, around to the back of the cabin, then headed toward the front porch. 77


Climbing up the four short steps, he smelled kerosene in the air. Tori must have been out here with the lantern lit, probably wondering where the hell he had gone. He mulled over what he was going to say. His mind was a complete blank. He could apologize for leaving—he could say he’d had an appointment. No, that would sound like an excuse. Maybe his best bet was to tell her the truth. Tori Russo, how could a couple of days in your presence turn my life upside down and inside out? Reaching the last step, he shook his head over the mess he’d made of his life. If only life were that simple. He walked into the dark cabin to an emptiness he had become accustomed to. It couldn’t compare to the emptiness he felt deep inside. The fragrance of lilac perfume filled his nose, reminding him he wasn’t alone. Against his better judgment, he quietly turned the knob on Tori’s door, entering the stillness of her bedroom. There she lay, on the bed, peacefully asleep. Or so he hoped. How could he have been so thoughtless as to walk out on her after the afternoon they’d spent in each other’s arms? After the way she’d entrusted herself to him? Seeing Tori now, so beautiful, was all it took for Walker to decide no matter what the price, he needed to make it right with her. He owed her that much. Out of the corner of his eye, Walker noticed the drawer of the nightstand was partly open. Whether it was the alcohol in his system daring him to move forward and look inside to see what, if anything, was written on the sheet of white paper visible in the moonlight, or his own uncontrolled curiosity, he took a step closer. If it weren’t for the alcohol, he would have remembered that pulling the old drawer open, even slightly, caused it to screech through the entire room. Not bothering to push it back, Walker quickly abandoned Tori’s bedroom before she caught him. ***

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Tori got up before dawn. Though it was still dark, the birds were already singing with anticipation for the new day ahead. She prepared coffee, then took a cup out to the bridge as she had the morning before. She stood there, admiring the new repairs. Walker had done a great job changing the old, battered planks of the bridge. The only evidence of replacement was the way the grains in the new wood compared to the greenish color of the aged lumber. Trusting Walker’s repairs, Tori grasped the railing while sitting down to contemplate her next move. The railing rocked. How could Walker not have noticed the loose railing? After witnessing her practically falling through the floor of the bridge, why wouldn’t he have taken the time to fix the railing, too? Sitting on the bridge, Tori wiggled the old lumber back and forth. She hadn’t noticed it before, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized Walker knew the railing was in this poor condition. He had leaned against it himself the same day he’d been there to protect her from the fall. He’d been startled when her foot had first slipped through the board, obviously not realizing its flaws. Could it be she had been meant to fall, maybe not at that particular moment or through the floor of the bridge, but rather through the age-weakened railing? Tori shuddered, shaking her head vigorously. No, I’m not going to do this. I’ll mention it to Walker to make sure he fixes it so there’s no chance of anyone getting hurt. Soon she would go back in the house, make some breakfast, then head back to the secluded spot in the woods. If she happened to run into Walker, she would talk to him about the condition of the railing. No more sitting around wondering what he thought of what had happened between them. She’d done enough of that the night before. If she was honest with herself, she already knew what he was going to say. Tori had been awake the previous night when Walker returned home and came into her bedroom. He had stood near the bed, close enough for

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her to smell the alcohol on his breath, while she pretended to be asleep. He must have had something to say or he would’ve never entered her room in the middle of the night. At least, that’s what she’d thought. It wasn’t until she had heard the drawer open that she’d realized he was in her room for other reasons. What had he been looking for? Why did he think there had been something significant in that drawer? She had almost turned over in her bed, ready to confront him. She thought it might give her more leverage to let him believe he’d left the room undetected. So she had let him go. Sitting on the porch, during the hours of darkness, she had prayed for him to come back over the bridge so she could talk to him. Today, she refused to let him know how upset she had been. Not only for leaving, but for probing into her personal belongings. If there was one thing she knew, it was that men liked a challenge. She had the suspicion Walker Garrison wanted more than that from her. But if he did want a challenge, oh, would she give him one! She walked back to the house. The area around her was serene, unlike the hustle and bustle of the big-city life she was accustomed to. Tori opened the front door as Walker, wearing his socks but no shoes, came out. For a split second their eyes searched the other’s face. She remembered the way it had felt to be close and connected. He seemed to want to move in closer, but she stood back, out of his way, giving him an unobstructed path to the outdoors. “Morning,” she said as he came out onto the porch with a cup of coffee. “I didn’t realize you were awake.” “I want to talk to you.” “I have a lot of work to do today.” She walked past him and went to the closet to grab her camera bag. “I’m sure you could spare a couple of minutes?” Walker said, clearly surprised. Tori had to bite her tongue, literally, and bite it hard—she wanted to remind Walker who had run out of there last night without talking. 80

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Instead, she turned around, managing to put a sympathetic look on her face. “I have a few more pictures to take before I can put this report together, which is due to be called in by the end of the day.” Tori threw the bag over her shoulder and grabbed her notebook. “If you want, we can catch up later tonight.” “Yeah, whatever,” Walker mumbled. Tori walked out of the cabin and down the front steps, grazing his arm with hers along the way as a hidden, self-satisfied smile threatened to escape her lips. “Oh, by the way, did you know the railing of the bridge is ready to give way? I almost fell through it this morning.” “Yeah, I still need to fix it.” “Why didn’t you do it yesterday?” “I only had enough wood to fix the floorboards. Besides, I didn’t think you’d be out there again so soon after almost falling through.” “I like the bridge. I guess I’ll have to be more careful,” Tori mused. “Right.” “I’ll see you later.” Tori gave him a slight wave over her shoulder as she took off out through the field. Ha! She had done it. The look on Walker’s face proved it. There wasn’t a doubt she had had the upper hand in that conversation. For a minute there, she hadn’t thought she’d be able to keep her composure. She’d surprised herself. Walker had surprised her. His explanation about the railing seemed innocent as long as he knew she was aware of the dangers of going near it. If he were trying to hurt her, he’d have to find another way to do it. Now, for all she cared, he could stew in his own thoughts, like he had forced her to do the night before. What in the hell was she going to do in the woods all day? She could snap more pictures, but that wouldn’t take more than an hour. As for this so-called report she had conjured up, how would she go about making it such an important project?

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Taking on the character of the ever-so-diligent photographer, Tori set off for her biggest game of role-playing. Her new life was nothing but make-believe. So, her little jaunt in the woods today was just another lie in her not-so-fairytale world. *** Walker felt like a complete fool. To think he’d actually felt bad for leaving her last night. Not only had Tori turned him into someone he didn’t know, worse yet, she had made him look like an ass. He paced back and forth across the porch, making the normal years of wear even more visible. The last thing he’d expected from Tori was for her to treat him like some old dog. Wasn’t it usually the other way around? Kind of like what he’d done to her last night? “Damn it!” Walker kicked the porch post, causing the warped wood to crack. One minute, he thought she was a sensitive and caring woman. The next, he thought he’d dreamed up last night. Hadn’t that been what he had wished for when he sat drinking shot after shot of whiskey? Looking out where Tori had entered the woods, Walker scratched the top of his head, mulling over what to do next. He had two options. He could play along with her game and act as though they were nothing more than two people in an awkward situation, sharing the same roof. Or, he could run after Tori and demand they talk about what had happened. They were both stuck in this town. Who knew for how long? When Walker had first found himself in this mess, he’d had a pretty good idea how he was going to handle things. Now his plan was a wreck. Walker knew he should’ve let it go. It would’ve saved him a lot of grief. Instead, he threw on his boots and headed out toward the woods. No woman was going to ignore him when there was something on his mind—especially not Tori Russo.

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*** When Tori reached the clearing, she took out the notebook and set down her bag. Along the way she had made a decision. She needed to look at her current job description in a different light. She wasn’t going to be able to pull this photographer thing off if she didn’t enjoy what she was doing. One way she might be able to do it was to use the pictures she took, along with the words she wrote down in the notebook, and make them into a journal. She had always wanted to start one but never found the time to get around to it. Her life in New York had been so busy. However, now she had the time to document everything in her life and, at the same time, make it look as though she were doing her job. Tori went to the other side of the stream, where the wildflowers grew tall in the midst of the jade green grass, and lay down on her stomach with her pen and paper in hand. She began her “journey”. It wasn’t until she had filled the whole page and re-read it that she realized, with alarm, what she’d written: It was the scariest, most painful day of my entire life. When the gun was pointed directly at my face, I couldn’t move, couldn’t think. I’d never seen such evil in Brock’s eyes, never knew it existed. Not only did he destroy my love for him by aiming that gun at me, but he stole my life away. No more Victoria Valentino. No more dream job. No more fiancé. No more anything. Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t let them send me here. Would I really have been in as much danger as they said? Could I have been killed just by walking down the street? I don’t know… I feel so alone living this lie. I miss my family and friends so much it hurts. I don’t want to be here in this town where all I can see is tree after tree. I want to go home…home to all the exciting lights and sounds of the city—home to my family. I’m a fake. I’m an art appraiser, not some wildlife photographer. I miss my work at The Vista. At least there, I was worth something. I was respected. I had responsibilities, and I was paid well for 83


fulfilling them. God, writing this is a mistake. Just remembering it all makes me want to scream and run back home. To my home. My world. In the city. Tori ripped the sheet of paper from the notebook and crumpled it. She dropped it next to her bag in the grass, not feeling any better after emptying out her sorrows in writing. She shouldn’t be putting such things on paper. They had warned her about that. As she sat up, she noticed the figure coming toward her, walking through the tall grass. It was Walker, obviously looking for her so they could talk. Why else would he have come out there? She quickly shoved the paper in her pocket, bent down to put her notebook in the bag, then zipped it shut. Feeling the wetness of the tears she hadn’t realized were trickling down her cheeks, she wiped them away. She didn’t want Walker thinking she was crying over him. “I’m glad I found you. Are you all right?” he asked as he reached the area by the stream. “Why wouldn’t I be?” “You don’t look like yourself.” “Since when did you become an expert on how I look?” Tori didn’t give him a chance to answer as she trudged back to the cabin.

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Chapter Nine “Wait up,” Walker yelled from behind her. “I want to talk to you.” Tori stopped, turned around, and marched back to stand in front of him. “Oh, now you want to talk, and I’m just supposed to let you do whatever you want whenever you want?” Tori asked. “What about what I want? When I want it?” That morning Tori had thought she could push Walker aside. Since the day she had arrived in town, something had started to boil up inside of her, and it was beginning to erupt. “So, you’re mad?” he stated, irritating her more. “I only meant…” “What reason would I have to be mad?” “I just thought…” “Oh, so you do think?” She was trying to keep control of the conversation, but she could tell Walker was quickly getting tired of her attitude. She wasn’t sure how far she could push this man before he pushed back. “Listen…” He shot her a stern look. “When I came home last night, I thought you would be furious. Then, this morning, you made it seem as if nothing ever happened.” “I was following your lead.” “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” “Okay, Walker, let me spell it out for you. With no warning, we fell into your bed yesterday and shared something…” Tori looked up to the

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sky, then back at Walker. “I don’t even know the words to use to explain it. Yes, I got out of your bed before you woke up…” “Yeah, why? “ She wanted to scream at him. Here he was, his male confidence bruised because she had left his bed. If anyone should be mad, it should be her. After all, wouldn’t he have been furious had he caught her snooping through his belongings? “Maybe I shouldn’t have climbed out of your bed, leaving you to think you did something wrong,” Tori said. By the way he glared at her she could tell she’d pissed him off. “I can’t believe you took off for the night without so much as a word to me.” “About last night…” “Before you say any more, I came up with a word to describe last night. Sex. That’s all it was. Sex. And I was wrong to think you owed me any explanation.” Tori started to walk back to the cabin. She could leave Walker standing in the woods. However, Walker took her by the shoulders, stopping her, making her once again aware that she knew nothing about him or what he was really after. “I’ve listened to you, now you’re going to listen to what I have to say.” “I don’t have time for this,” she said, even though she found herself surrendering to the weight of his large hands pushing down on her shoulders, until she was sitting on a moss-covered log. She had to bend her neck back in order to see him. She didn’t like him looking down on her as though she were being scolded. As if reading her mind, Walker finally sat on the ground before her, looking up at her. “I’m sorry I walked out on you. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Tori rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, sighing loudly. “Listen, while I was sitting at the tavern, drowning myself in booze, I realized how selfish it’d been for me to leave.” “If you had wanted to stay, you would’ve,” Tori retorted.

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“I didn’t know what the hell I wanted.” Walker looked off in the distance. “We’re both adults. What happened, happened. Why don’t we leave it at that?” Tori stood up, hoping their conversation was over. “We could do that.” Walker rose along with Tori. “Is that what you really want?” “I’m not sure.” Tori felt dizzy as she tried focusing on the ground below. “I’m sure.” “Of what?” She brought her eyes back to meet his. “I’ve had plenty of sex, Tori. But what we shared last night… That wasn’t just sex.” Walker brought his hand up to her face, and she reacted to his touch, closing her eyes, letting him cradle her cheek in his hand. We’re both stuck here, why not? He moved in closer, massaging the tension from the back of her neck, then he lifted her chin. She had to look at him. “If I’m wrong, tell me now,” he said. Her next words would determine their relationship and either encourage or stifle the emotions stirring between them. “I can’t do this.” Tori tried to back away, but Walker wouldn’t let her. “All you have to do is tell me it honestly didn’t mean anything to you.” “How could it have? I don’t even know you!” Tori screamed. “That doesn’t make any difference.” “All right. Let’s say I tell you it didn’t mean anything. Then what?” “We’ll leave it at that. Forget it ever happened.” “Could you do that?” Tori asked. “I asked you a question. Did it mean anything to you or not?” “It was nice.” “Nice? Nice? Well, I’m glad it was nice for you.”

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With all her might, Tori grabbed hold of Walker’s arm. “All right. It was unbelievable. It was passionate. Sexy. What else do you want me to say? Does your ego need to hear more?” “Please, go on, by all means.” A smile fluttered across Walker’s lips. “My ego can handle plenty.” There he went again with his smart-ass comebacks, though they didn’t irritate her nearly as much as they had the previous day. This kind of interaction was good for Tori. Maybe it was just what she needed. Had she been crazy to think Walker wanted to hurt her? Perhaps she should forget everything and try to be happy. Why live in misery any longer. Was this too good to be true? Could her past really be pushed aside without threatening her once her guard was down? The fact was Walker Garrison was nothing more than a stranger to her. But describing what it had felt like being with him had brought it all rushing back. That had to mean something. If she closed her eyes, she could feel his breath on her body, could feel the way he had filled her with hunger for his touch. She couldn’t forget what had pushed her to take that first step into his bedroom to begin with, her need to feel “normal” again. But what about his sneaking into the room, opening the drawer? And the railing—what about the loose railing? Even with that looming over her, Tori realized something else, something she didn’t want to admit. She yearned for more, more of the same—and then some—but she wasn’t going to tell Walker that. Not while he remained a mystery. “At least you didn’t say I was terrible in bed.” Walker gave into laughter. “You’re a real riot, Walker.” Tori sat back down on the log. “Now, what about my question?” “What was that?” “Come on, can you forget last night happened, or is that exactly what you want to do?” “Do you really want to know the truth?” 88

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“Yes.” “Exactly what I want?” he asked. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” Walker knelt down in front of Tori, taking her hands in his. She let him. “I want nothing more than to take you, right here in these woods, like you’ve never imagined. But there’s one problem.” Walker had a devilish grin on his face. “What would that be?” Tori became more turned on by the sound of his voice. “Anyone—Kate for instance—could walk up on us.” Just when she thought he was going to say something serious, Walker continued to puzzle her. He had never told her who Kate was or what she was to him. A girlfriend maybe? No, she couldn’t be, could she? “Speaking of Kate…” “Forget I even brought up Kate.” He leaned in, teasing her bottom lip, then whispered, “Tell me you want me.” Mesmerized by the touch of his hands roaming over her body, his lips upon hers, she would have obediently obliged him and done anything he asked. She knew it wasn’t wise giving him such control, but she was sick to death of all the worry suffocating her. Somehow being with Walker felt right, too good to pass on the moment. “I want you,” she admitted. “I want you more.” “Then what’s stopping you?” It was more of an invitation than a question. That’s why the words had left her mouth so carelessly. If having him now was anything like the night before, she wanted Walker. Desperately. The hopeless need for each other at that moment had nothing to do with the loneliness that had landed them in Walker’s bed the night before. That had been spontaneous. Today it was pure desire that lowered their bodies upon the pine-needled floor of the woods. A desire 89


that took them to a place where they were on fire, never wanting the flames to be put out.

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Chapter Ten The past few days, he had taken great satisfaction in observing Tori Russo as she snapped picture after picture of the different beauties within the forest. It had taken all the self-control he had had not to pounce on her from day one, not to pull the trigger of the high-powered rifle after gauging her in his sights. But this… Watching the two of them maul each other uninhibitedly was enough to make anyone sick. To think, the day before, that woman had drenched Walker Garrison dead on with pepper spray, and now he was rewarding her with sex? What a fool he was to let her have such control, to let himself get out of control. She was beautiful, that much was evident enough, and he rather enjoyed watching her body move and quiver from the pleasure Walker Garrison was giving her. But it revolted him to see the gentleness of the act. This was not supposed to be happening. Garrison was putting a damper on his plans before he even got started. If he were to get his hands on Tori Russo, things would be different. That was for sure. A woman needed to be put in her place, not left to run all over a man the way she seemed accustomed to doing. For now, he would let Garrison play the fool, let him think he could be the tough guy out to protect Tori Russo. Rest assured, before long, he would teach her a thing or two about what a man really wanted. No one, not even Walker Garrison, would be able to keep her from his grasp.

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Chapter Eleven The night was upon them now, and Tori and Walker were getting ready to share their first dinner together at the small table in the kitchen. After their morning in the woods, they had become famished. Tori had almost forgotten what it felt like to sit down and eat a normal meal with a man. The last time she’d had dinner with Brock had only been a week before. It felt like a decade…a lifetime ago. Tori had wanted to cook the meal as a way of repaying Walker for everything he had done since she’d come to this forsaken town, but when she offered, he insisted he make their dinner. “While I’m doing this, it’ll give you time to finish up your report,” Walker said, opening the fridge, and retrieving a large tomato for the salads. “Oh, right, the report.” She had forgotten she had told him about the made-up deadline she had to meet by the end of the day. They had spent the majority of the sunlight hours basking in the woods by the creek—she couldn’t very well tell him she had already finished it. “Go ahead,” he encouraged her. “Do you think you’ll be done in an hour or so?” “That’ll work.” Tori took her bag and headed toward the privacy of her own bedroom. “How do you communicate with your boss? You do have a boss, don’t you?” Tori looked around the cabin before entering her room, letting her eyes rest on the back wall. 92

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“The phone,” she said, closing the door behind her. She sat behind the closed door for an hour, pretending to jot down her last minute findings and comparisons of the many pictures she had taken. Which reminded her, she needed to go into town tomorrow to get the film developed. If Walker hadn’t moved back in, she could have set up a darkroom in the extra bedroom. But she was glad he was there, especially now. The way Walker managed to make her feel was unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life. She couldn’t quite find the words to describe their sex but admitted it was more than “nice”. With his hands on her body, she’d had a hard time refusing his touch. It had already happened twice. How many more times in the coming days would they share a bed, the floor or any other place for such passionate lovemaking? Or was it still sex? Her doubts sprang back into overdrive. The knock on her bedroom door collapsed her thoughts. Walker was letting her know dinner was done. She opened the door, walking past him to grab the cordless telephone. “I have to call this in, then I’m all yours.” She felt silly even saying such things, yet she still needed to act as if this was a routine part of her job. “You do realize I could take that in so many different ways right now?” Walker lifted one inquiring brow, having completely lost the guarded attitude he had once possessed. “Let me make this call, then you can take it any way you want.” Tori smiled. “But I don’t think you’ll want to let that food go to waste. It smells delicious.” “You’re delicious.” He bent down, swiping a kiss to her cheek, as she walked back into her room with the telephone. Tori stayed in the bedroom a little more than five minutes—for sake of show—before reemerging into the kitchen. The table was covered with a reasonably sized dinner for two. He had made southern fried chicken with homemade mashed potatoes and a large salad containing many of 93


her favorite ingredients. He certainly knew how to find his way around a kitchen, unlike Tori who had spent most evenings wined and dined at the finest restaurants in New York. “I’m impressed.” She took the bowl of potatoes from Walker. “All this food is making my mouth water.” “Did you get everything done?” “Huh?” “Your report. Were you able to finish it and call your headquarters?” he inquired, his eyes curious. “Oh, yeah, everything’s done.” Hoping to change the direction of his thoughts, Tori looked at Walker with desire. “No thanks to you.” “Good. Next time you’ll be lucky if I let you go long enough to get a drink of water, let alone finish some damn report.” He reached beneath the table, caressing her inner thigh. Next time…Tori smiled. So there would be a next time. A number of questions entered her mind. Would she sleep in her bed tonight or Walker’s? They were sharing dinner, but would he stay home long enough to share anything else? Who was to say he wouldn’t get in another one of his moods and take off, escaping to the local tavern to drown his sorrows in some cheap bottle of whiskey? “So, what do you think?” Walker broke the thick silence. “Is something wrong?” “The food’s great. Why would you think otherwise?” He was probably trying to figure out what she was thinking. She was sure the look on her face was enough for anyone to see that her mind was lost in troublesome thoughts. “Because you’re just sitting there, chewing and chewing. From the look in your eyes, it doesn’t seem as though you’re enjoying the chicken.” “The chicken’s great. I was just thinking,” Tori said, hoping he would let it go at that. “I could tell that much.” Walker took a second helping of mashed potatoes from the glass casserole. “So, what’s on your mind?”

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“Nothing for you to worry about.” “You shouldn’t worry either.” Walker set his fork down, making her feel as though he knew what was on her mind. “How do you know that I’m worried?” “If I take a stab at it, you’ll let me know if I’m wrong?” “I will.” “I had no doubt you would.” Walker got up to retrieve the pitcher of iced tea from the counter. “You were wondering if I’m going to take off tonight, leave you here by yourself again. Am I right?” “The thought did cross my mind.” “I figured as much.” “You’re not obligated to stay here and entertain me just because we had sex earlier. I told you that this morning in the woods. I should’ve never let myself get irate…” “You’re rambling.” Walker held up his hands in a halting motion. “There you go with that word again. I thought I made it clear to you it’s more than just ‘sex’ to me?” “You did, and you had your shot at guessing what was on my mind. Can we drop it and get back to our dinner?” “As long as you agree to take a walk with me after we’re done eating. This cabin is too damn stuffy. If we happen to reach the middle of town, we’ll have a beer together.” “That sounds nice.” “Nice.” Walker shook his head. “That’s another word of yours that bugs the hell out of me.” They continued to clear their plates in silence before Tori went to the sink to wash the dishes. Walker left to take a quick shower, leaving her alone with more empty thoughts. With each minute she spent with him, Tori realized more and more how much she was betraying him. Being in his presence, sharing his conversations, was such a lie, and she didn’t know how much longer she could stand it. 95


But wasn’t he keeping something from her, too? Her only mistake had been allowing herself to get too close. There was no turning back now. She had thrown the idea around in her head about letting Walker in on her little secret. Trouble was she hardly knew him. Just because they’d slept together a couple of times still didn’t mean she could completely trust him. Not yet. She shouldn’t feel bad about not opening up with Walker. He hadn’t asked her any personal questions, and hadn’t offered her any information about himself either. It was better this way. She wasn’t a good liar. She was a complete fraud. The running water in the bathroom had stopped. Walker would be out soon. She finished the dishes and went to put on a pair of jeans for their walk. Whether it was the time of year or the effect of the summer nights, the weather got quite chilly in West Virginia after the sun went down. The bathroom door opened and out came Walker dressed in a flannel shirt and faded blue jeans. His hair was still damp, which caused a few strays of dirty-blond waves to fall onto his forehead. He was too fine for his own good. Tori eyes traveled the full length of his body. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t had a wife or any kids. She didn’t know for sure, but he had to be close to thirty-five. “Ready?” he asked. “Are you sure you want to take that walk?” “Why? Don’t you?” “I don’t want you to feel as though you have to amuse me,” Tori said, turning her back on him. He walked up, wrapping his arms around her waist, nestling his face into the curve of her neck. Tori could smell the freshness of the soap from his shower and the toothpaste on his breath. It filled her senses, almost relaxed them enough to lock away the fears. If only she could find a means to bury the key…

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“I want to be here with you.” Walker kissed her neck, then went to the closet for his jacket. “I did last night, too, but I was being bullheaded.” “You? Bullheaded? That’s a big shocker.” “You’re a smart-ass, now go grab a sweater and let’s go for a hike.” “Who am I to argue?” They walked without so much hers, the air was talk about except up.

alongside each other for what seemed like a mile, as a word. Though Walker intertwined his fingers in thick between them. In the end, they had nothing to for the one thing she had hoped he would never bring

“So, where are you from? What town was forced to give you up?” Feeling the gentle squeeze of his hand did nothing but make Tori feel guiltier for having to lie to him. “I’m from a lot of places. That’s the downside of my job.” Here it all came…all the lies and deceit, flowing past her lips to Walker’s ears. There was nothing she could do to stop it. She could change the subject, but that would only make him more suspicious. No matter what she made up, it wasn’t as if Walker were going to find out the truth, anyway. Unless he already knew… She was stuck in Forrester Rock as Tori Russo, a made-up name with a made-up life. She had been given a new identity and told to run with it, to make the best out of today and tomorrow. That’s the only way Tori was able to look at Walker and push forward. “Where’d you live before here?” “New York.” Tori felt confident that she hadn’t given away her secret—New York was a big place. “Like in the city?” “Yeah, the city.” She laughed at his shocked expression. “I knew it!” Walker spun around, walking backward in front of her. “Knew what?” Tori started to tremble, feeling as though she’d been found out. 97


“I could tell you weren’t a country girl from the first time I laid eyes on you.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Oh, I don’t know.” Walker stopped, causing Tori to practically run into him. “Maybe the fact that you almost blinded me with mace. No one carries that stuff around here, just loaded shotguns.” If only Walker knew she, too, had owned a gun once, would he have been surprised? It’s a good thing she hadn’t had the gun the day he snuck up on her. Having been paranoid, she probably would have blown his head off. The thought caused chills to shudder up Tori’s spine. “The mace is also to ward off wild animals, not that you’re too far off from that description.” “To think I was supposed to be the one with the smart mouth,” Walker said. “If the shoe fits.” She shrugged. “I suppose it does, but it fits you pretty well, too.” “I’ll give you that.” “I like my women feisty.” “Yeah, Kate seemed to be able to handle her own the other day.” “Kate,” Walker repeated. “That’s all you’re going to say?” “What do you want me to say?” he asked. “Not to push the issue, but what’s the deal with her?” “She’s just someone I know, that’s all. Now, back to you… Do you have family in New York?” “I don’t have any family.” Tori dropped her head in her own personal sorrow. “My parents were taken from me unexpectedly.” It wasn’t a total lie because they had been. She had to make that clear to Walker. There was no way she could stand there ranting and raving about parents whom she could no longer be with. It was an unbearable feeling, and she couldn’t pretend anything was any different.

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“I’m sorry.” Tori felt terrible that he felt terrible for her. She wanted badly to tell Walker the truth. To make matters worse, Walker picked that particular moment to start revealing his own childhood, wanting her to know he could relate to having a parent swiped away. He told her, in depth, about his mother and a man named Lloyd Trask. *** Back when he was a boy, Walker had thought Mr. Trask and his wife were close friends of his mother’s. They’d go there on Sundays to share a home-cooked meal with the couple. When Mrs. Trask died, Walker found himself being pushed by his mother to go to the cabin more and more throughout the week to help Mr. Trask with chores around the house. Before long, Walker began to dread the time he would have to spend with the man. There were things he couldn’t make sense of—like when Mrs. Trask was alive, they had all gotten along fine, yet Walker could tell there had been a sort of tension amongst the adults. After the death of his wife, Walker told Tori, it was as if Mr. Trask resented him and his mother. Instead of going there for Sunday dinners, they would go to his cabin to clean and cook, any chore that entailed the skills of your common maid. “Then things changed,” he said, barely allowing Tori to see what was behind the distress in his eyes. All the obvious animosity brewing between his mother and Mr. Trask made Walker’s mom feel the need to take him away from the cabin, with no intentions to ever return. They continued living their lives in a similar town in the backwoods of West Virginia. It wasn’t until his mother was on her deathbed that Walker had found out the truth about who he really was.

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His father hadn’t been the hero he’d conjured up in his mind from the make-believe stories his mom had told him as a child. In fact, his father was a much older man whom Walker had grown to detest. Tori was at a loss for words by what he had told her. He didn’t stop there. He started recounting a conversation he’d had with his mother on her deathbed, one where she hadn’t held back a single detail of the story of Walker’s coming to be… “Your father. You need to know your father. When I was just a girl, I did a dreadful thing. Now I’m afraid you’ll be paying the ultimate price.” Walker would always remember the desperation in her eyes. “I was young and naïve. I used to spend many summers with the Trasks, as they were longtime friends of my mother’s. Mrs. Trask was sick at the time, fighting an unknown virus, and Lloyd was beside himself with grief. I wanted to help him, more than anything, as a way of thanking him and his wife for all the kindness they had shown me. Walker, you must believe me, I never set out to seduce the man. It just happened. I felt so horrible for betraying Mrs. Trask I ran away. But Lloyd found me. He made me feel so loved. I had never seen him act toward his wife the way he did with me. I’m still not sure how it all started, but the affair went on for months. Until one day, we couldn’t hide the truth any longer. “When I became pregnant, he told his wife. They took me in for good. I stayed in that cabin for nine months. They kept me in there, away from the townspeople and the gossip which was sure to spew from their mouths if any one of them had gotten wind of the disgrace.” Walker sat there, speechless by what his mother had told him, not able to stop her from finishing the confession. “Shortly after your birth, it became too hard to have us living there. Mrs. Trask couldn’t look at us without being reminded of the betrayal of her husband, so I took you to a neighboring town, before people started to talk, and raised you on my own.” “But I remember going there to visit them every week,” Walker said.

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“We did, but it was hard to be around Lloyd after his wife died. He blamed me, Walker. Blamed me for getting pregnant and destroying his relationship with his wife. I tried to stay there so you could know him, but I couldn’t take it any longer. That’s when we stopped going to the cabin altogether, and now it’s too late.” Walker didn’t know how he felt at that moment, but he wasn’t able to show any dismay toward his mother. Those were her dying words, and he wanted to make sure she died knowing that he loved her more than anything. He forgave her, promised to make everything right. Then the shocking truth came to a head… “He’s dead, Walker. Because I withheld this from you, it’s too late. No matter how resentful toward us he was, you’ll never get the chance to know your father. I hope you can forgive me. I’ve always tried to do what was best for you.” Right there before his eyes, she stopped breathing. “I felt so empty back then.” He finally looked at Tori. “I’ve done nothing but drift from town to town, trying to get up the courage to come back to Forrester Rock to learn more about the man I never knew as a father… No one in this town knows I’m the illegitimate child of a man who never wanted me.“ “W.G.” “What?” Walker asked. “Your initials. Now I know why they’re on your bed.” “Yeah, well, I was a kid…a bored one at that.” “I’m so sorry.” Tori couldn’t believe he had confided such an unbelievable story to her, something so personal. She felt like a total hypocrite. Here she was, lying to his face while he was willingly allowing her a glimpse into what his life had become. She wanted to believe things were all beginning to make sense now. Walker hadn’t been a drifter who just happened to shack up in the cabin.

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In truth, it was his, although not “legally”. That’s what his comment had meant. The reason he hadn’t wanted her to go find a new place to live— well, she could see how the town would have made trouble for him, possibly even put two and two together. All this time, Walker had been able to keep this secret. It was an amazing story. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, my mother raised me well.” Walker kicked at the loose stone beneath his feet. “He wouldn’t have been a good father, anyway… He was nothing but a drunk.” “I don’t know what to say. I couldn’t imagine not wanting a child of my own,” Tori said in disbelief. “Is that something you want?” “What, kids?” “Yeah.” “Sure, how about you?” “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve told myself if I had a son or a daughter I would never turn my back on them. At this point in my life, I don’t see kids in my future.” “It’s not because you don’t want them, right?” Walker stopped, causing Tori to slow her pace. They had almost made it to town, but now they found themselves just staring into each other’s eyes. The sounds of an owl stirring in the night filled the air. He pulled her close and Tori immediately felt a true safety only he had been able to provide. “Yes, I’d like to have someone to call my own.” He ran his hand along her jaw-line. “Who knows… If the right woman came my way, I guess anything would be possible.” He didn’t wait for her to comment, didn’t even notice the startled look in her eyes. Walker took Tori’s mouth in his. She savored the sweet taste only he could provide.

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Chapter Twelve The intimidating sound of the judge’s gavel slamming against the wooden block echoed off the walls within the New York City courtroom. To the district attorney’s dismay, Brock Montgomery had been granted bail. It was at a high price, but nonetheless, he was being released. Free to walk through the heavy doors to the streets of New York, until the day when he would be tried for embezzlement, conspiracy, racketeering, attempted murder and whatever else the FBI could find to pin on him. Brock’s accomplice would’ve been tried for the same if he hadn’t been plugged in the chest by a bullet, killing him instantly. When the ballistics report came back, Brock had been able to breathe again. It proved the dead man’s bullet was to blame for Victoria’s death. Thank God it hadn’t been his gun that killed her. He was a free man for the time being, but where did he go from here? Home to the apartment he had shared with his dead fiancée? He wouldn’t be able to stand it. It was bad enough she died because of him. For all he’d known, at the time, his gun had killed her. The important thing was, he reminded himself again, it hadn’t. He was thankful for that. Brock knew he was going to spend years behind bars, and he didn’t need a murder rap on top of all the other charges. The look on her face when he had lifted the gun in the air would haunt him forever. They hadn’t even let Brock leave the jail to pay his last respects to the woman he’d loved more than anything. Although apparently not more than greed.

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Being a part of the illegal operation had taken over his soul. The money had clouded his judgment and his relevance in life. Now he was paying the ultimate price. Victoria was dead and buried, and he would never be given the chance to tell her how sorry he was for dragging her into his mess. Even though he didn’t want to go home, he knew he had to. At least to salvage the important things. The police had probably ransacked the place by now, but they couldn’t have found anything. He was sure of that. He had never brought any of his crooked business into their apartment. Not a single phone number. If Victoria had ever found out he’d been involved in numerous dirty deeds with half the Mob in New York City, she’d have left him. A part of him wished she had found out and done just that. Her leaving would’ve been better than her being dead. He’d known when he first became involved in the smuggling ring— having been warned repeatedly—that Victoria would be killed if he let any of their business dealings slip to her ears. But it was too late—the minute you climb into bed with the Mafia, the only way out is in a coffin. Deep in his mind, he’d always known there was a possibility of her getting hurt, but he’d thought he had it under control, thought he could keep her out of it and safe at the same time. Now he knew better. He should’ve known when dealing with criminals neither of them would be safe. Now he was forced to come to terms with her death. He didn’t think he could do it. When Brock reached the top of the empty stairwell, he found his apartment door open. The place was in shambles. Bookcases were overturned, the furniture was cut to shreds and all of Victoria’s papers and files were everywhere. Despite the mess, Brock could still hear her laughter as it had once sounded within these walls. It wasn’t until he walked past the living room archway that the man at his kitchen table brought Brock back to his personal grueling reality.

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It was the FBI agent he had talked to when they first brought him in. The man was after Brock to give him the names of everyone involved in the smuggling ring, but Brock was no fool. Giving up the Mob would lessen his jail time, making it easier for him to deal with this hell he had gotten himself into, but he wasn’t ready for that one-way ticket to death. “How’s it feel to be free?” The agent lit a cigarette. “Are you ready to talk, Montgomery?” “Talk to my lawyer.” Brock walked past him. “Knowing what you’re up against, I thought you might be willing to cut a deal…take a few years off that hefty jail sentence you’re facing.” “What is it you want from me?” Brock took a bottle out of the fridge and swigged down half of the beer. “Same as before, a couple of names.” “I’ve already told you all I know. If you don’t mind, I have a lot to do,” Brock said, waving his arms around the battered rooms. Knowing he wasn’t getting anywhere with Brock, the FBI agent started to leave. Before he walked through the splintered apartment door, he turned back with one more piece of advice. “These business associates of yours are the reason your fiancée is six feet under. If you think by keeping your mouth shut it’s going to keep you alive, you’re dead wrong.” Then he was gone. The detective’s disturbing words were all too true, and Brock knew it was only a matter of time before the Mob dealt with him, too. There was only one person who could help him out of this damn mess for good. Brock had a confidant at the museum to whom he had told his utmost secrets to, details about the smuggling operation. The fact that he had known about Brock’s dirty laundry and had helped Brock out a time or two was enough to make the man owe Brock for not telling the police of his involvement, as small as it was. Brock looked at the disaster of what used to be a place he loved to return to after a long day at work. A place where Victoria had often

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waited for him in sexy lingerie—on the couch, the dining room table or wherever her imagination had taken her at the time. He knew he didn’t have much time before the trial. He picked up the phone, ready to arrange a private meeting with the one person he knew wouldn’t be keen on hearing from him. If his loyal sounding board wanted to keep his name out of this mess, he would help Brock to get the hell out of New York City—and if possible, the country.

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Chapter Thirteen Hanging around the woods while Tori Russo and Walker Garrison acted like a couple of sex-starved fools produced a horrible taste of stomach bile, which lingered in his mouth. Though she hadn’t been there alone for long, he had watched. She’d been writing. During the whole time he had been watching, waiting for the two of them to leave, the curiosity had driven him out of his mind. So much that he’d even contemplated doing away with the two of them right there, just so he could rip through her backpack and read the desperate words of Victoria Valentino on the run. He’d had his finger on the trigger, had it ready to pull, to blow their heads off. Garrison first, then Tori Russo. She’d suddenly looked up toward the vicinity where he sat. That’s when he’d realized the metal edge of the scope on his rifle had been glistening in the sun. He had crouched down further in the brush, waiting as every inch of his body fell asleep from the position he’d forced it into. He smiled, a wicked, grim smile, knowing that to kill them at that moment wouldn’t have been to his advantage. Their time would come. After they had finally left, he looked through binoculars to be positive they were gone. He got up and started for where Tori Russo had been when Garrison had first joined her. A rustle from the bushes alerted him. He turned in time to see another man—he’d obviously been watching Tori and Walker as well. His finger curled around the trigger. But no, that would cause him more problems.

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He thought about shooting him, but knew that would be a mistake. It would cause him more problems, and he already had one too many with Garrison screwing up his plans. He approached the man, leaving his rifle behind, resting his sweaty palm on the nine-millimeter handgun nestled in the holster beneath his coat, never forgetting about the other gun secured around his ankle. He reached the man as he started reading what Tori Russo had written on the crinkled up paper. The man was ignorant, easy to persuade. All it took was a little green, enough for him to give up the paper. Before he allowed the man to leave, unharmed, he moved aside his coat, displaying to him that he meant business. Business…it always came back to business. He told the man there would be more money for him soon, told him he would find him, told him never to come looking for him. After the man left, he set up the perfect stage to put a scare back into Tori Russo’s otherwise well-adapted new life. He found a pile of beer cans where the pervert had been standing back, watching Garrison fuck the bitch. He retraced Tori Russo’s steps out of the woods, stopping at a tree that stood in plain sight. Taking a hunting knife from his back pocket, he stabbed it through the paper, holding it to the tree for everyone to see. Whether found by Tori Russo or Walker Garrison, it didn’t matter. One way or another, he would get what was coming to him. Little did Tori or Walker know, one of them was going to help him.

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Chapter Fourteen It had been a couple lonely days since the night Walker had opened up to Tori, taking him all of four hours after that to close back up again. They hadn’t gone any further into town that night. Tori thought she’d protected herself quite well with the fabricated answers she had given to Walker’s questions. She had tried not to lie any more than she had to, being as vague as possible. Still, she was sure he knew she wasn’t giving him the whole truth. Walker had continued pressing Tori for more intimate details of her life prior to moving. Tori could have gone on and on with many different scenarios of the story, but she had refused to create further deception. Not when he had entrusted her with such an unbelievable glimpse into his own past. Refusing to let him in was all it took. Walker hadn’t spoken a word to Tori during the walk home. When they arrived at the cabin, they had tried having a normal conversation over a bottle of cheap wine, but found there was nothing to talk about. After Walker had confided in her, Tori had become more curious as to how he had arrived back at the cabin after all these years. His story didn’t make things any clearer. Was he with the Mob or with the US Marshals office? Or was he a simple man looking for his roots? If Walker was after her, he wasn’t showing any signs of attack, other than the loose railing on the bridge. Which he still hadn’t fixed. If Walker was an agent having a tie to Forrester Rock, having the advantage of knowing where she’d been relocated, that would explain why events since her arrival had fallen into place easily.

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It was pretty farfetched, and Tori hadn’t wanted to risk pushing him further about his past in order to sort through this new theory of hers. Especially when she had been adamant about keeping her own personal life just that. So that night they had gone their separate ways, to their own bedrooms. Things hadn’t been any different since. The last two days had seemed to go on forever. Tori made toast for breakfast, trying her hardest to avoid his questions, then headed back to her spot in the woods. She had gotten into her role as the new local wildlife observer. She had planned on going into town to get her film developed, but figured she’d wait until she used up all the rolls supplied to her. When she reached the area across the creek, she noticed that someone else had been there since the day she had been with Walker. The grass where she had lain, translating her thoughts to her journal, had been trampled, with traces of beer cans strewn everywhere. The scene caused Tori to shiver, knowing someone had been watching her while she enjoyed this tranquil place. She kicked at the trash. When were these feelings going to end? After seeing the disturbance of her spot—as she had come to call it— Tori turned cautiously around to head back to the cabin. Something silver, glistening from the sun’s rays, caught her eye. Tori walked toward the reflection. A knife had been stuck into the large maple, holding something white to its bark. As she drew closer, the sick feeling in her stomach grew stronger at the sight before her. She looked around the forest for any sign of the person, or persons, who would’ve done this, but she was alone. Without removing the knife, she ripped the paper from the hold of its sharp blade. It must’ve fallen out of my pocket. It had been her stupidity, her first careless mistake. With Walker’s sudden appearance that day, Tori had totally forgotten that—in haste—she’d shoved the paper in her pocket without giving it a second thought.

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Instead of confronting her, someone had wanted to get across that they knew her secret. Who would have taken the time to stick the paper to the tree? It had to be someone who had known Tori would be back, someone who wanted her to know she had been found out. Could it have been Walker? It would explain the way he’d been acting toward her the past couple of days, distant, troubled. Every time Tori caught Walker looking at her, she had expected him to look away, to hide his scrutiny, but he had held his stare as if trying to read deeper into something she was concealing. That had troubled Tori. She’d questioned him about it. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she had asked Walker as he sat, tapping a heavy foot on the floor. “Just curious.” “About?” “Why don’t you tell me?” He had patiently waited for an answer to his vague question. When none came, he elaborated, “I want to know your whole story.” He proceeded to ask her all of the questions Tori dreaded. At the time, she figured he was trying to get her to open up again. If there was one thing she knew about Walker, it was that he didn’t give up easily when there was something on his mind. She had tried rationalizing that if he was an agent maybe this was his way of pushing her to trust him, to divulge her secret so they could discuss the situation. Perhaps his superiors had forbidden him to be the first to disclose his true identity? She had to wonder if he had been telling her the truth about himself and was pushing to see if she would ’fess up to what he had read on her journal page. The more Tori stressed on the possibility, the more the words of a conversation they’d had that morning troubled her. “How long have you been working for the Wildlife Preservation?” he had asked. “Ten years.” It seemed a reasonable amount of time to have been employed with her current job, plenty of time to get a college degree along with a 111


traveling position. Walker had cast her a suspicious look, like an adult would give a lying child. “Can I ask you something?” “Could I stop you?” “What animals were you studying in New York City? Rats, cockroaches?” “You’re funny.” Tori turned her attention back to the laundry she had been trying to fold, her hands shaking. “You didn’t answer my question.” “Of course not. I traveled a lot, but New York was always my home.” God help her, she wasn’t good at this game of make-believe. “What’s so special about this place? You didn’t come down here for a couple of months. You moved here permanently. Am I right?” “Are you mad I took over your cabin? Because like I said before, I can find a new place to live.” Tori became very irritated with all his questions. After the intimacy they had shared, she was beginning to resent Walker’s attitude. “I’m trying to figure you out. That’s all.” Walker had gotten up from the couch and trudged out of the house, slamming the door, once again leaving Tori alone. Now, here she stood by the tree with proof someone knew about her past. Not everything, but the page from her journal had enough information on it for a person to read between the lines. What was she going to do about it? If cornered, how could she deny what was written on that piece of paper? She had no idea who had stabbed this paper to the tree. No one else knew she visited this particular spot on a regular basis. Besides Walker and Mabel, Tori hadn’t put herself out there, hadn’t given anyone else the chance to embrace her with friendship. Mabel…if Tori was careful of how she approached the subject, perhaps Mabel could help corroborate Walker’s story. No matter what

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Walker had said, as small as this town was, Tori found it hard to believe a secret like his mother’s could have been kept quiet. Taking a few minutes to contemplate the situation, Tori realized there was only one way for her to handle Walker. She needed to keep acting as though nothing had happened. As though she had never found the paper pinned to the tree. She knew eventually he would burst with frustration and confront her with his findings, if, in fact, he was who he said he was. Then, Tori would deal with it. Not a moment sooner. Tori thought about removing the knife, but she didn’t want it to look as if someone had taken the paper. She wanted it to appear the paper had blown away from the knife’s hold or had been washed away in the rain that frequented the area. If she took the knife, Walker would know she had seen it. She was not going to let Walker Garrison get the best of her. On the way back to the cabin, trying to stay calm, Tori finished up the rest of the film by snapping far-off shots of the beautiful backdrop of the countryside. The golden sea of oats swayed, mesmerizing her with its motion. She looked on the horizon at the mountains to her right. If only she could climb the enormous rocks to the very top and touch the deep blue sky like the image appeared to allow, to climb up on a cloud and watch the world go by… That would be something to live for. Letting the dream dwindle from her imagination, Tori took another picture, then went home. Walker was sitting on the front porch, watching intently as she approached, questions in his eyes. She was bound and determined not to let him make her feel guilty for keeping the truth from him. “What’re you up to now?” He took a sip from the steaming cup of coffee.

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“I’m going into town to drop off this film.” She stopped, almost took a seat on the top step, but decided against it. “There is somewhere I can get these developed, isn’t there?” “A little town like this, you’ll probably have to pay big bucks for a request like that,” he said with his usual derisive tone. “Shouldn’t be a problem, though, this job of yours must pay big bucks, or you never would’ve moved to this town, now would you?” Tori walked past him and went to get the rest of her film, totally disregarding his inquisitive but unnerving comment. When she returned outside, he was no longer on the porch. He was nowhere to be seen. Which was fine with her. The less time she had to spend with Walker, the better. If Tori was honest with herself, she had to admit she missed how wonderful it felt to have his arms around her, his lips on hers. With a man like Walker Garrison, one time was plenty for any woman to want— desperately—more of him. Tori started over the bridge on her way to town. The air was extremely hot and humid, making it hard to breathe, and she regretted only having the one piece of toast for breakfast. She felt weak, and the walk ahead became longer and more excruciating by the minute. She turned to look at the cabin, debating whether or not to go back. Seeing Walker standing by the shed next to his motorcycle, she knew the grueling journey would be better than going back to deal with his bothersome attitude. As she wandered along the dirt road, Tori became acutely aware of Walker’s bike. The loud rumble traveled from the cabin, over the bridge and right up behind her quicker than it had taken her to manage five, undersized strides. She had half a mind to carry on when Walker pulled up next to her. Out of curiosity she stopped. “Hop on,” he said, looking straight ahead. “Unless you’re intent on being stubborn.” “Excuse me?” 114

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He turned off his bike, facing her, speaking unusually slowly. “I said…hop on.” “With you?” Walker glanced over his shoulder. “I don’t see anyone else offering you a ride, and there’s no way I’m going to let you take my bike.” “That’s not what I meant.” “What did you mean?” Tori didn’t feel like asking him why he was trying, all of a sudden, to show her affection after pounding her with questions all morning. “I don’t see another helmet.” “You don’t see one on my head either, do you?” “Isn’t it the law? Not to mention, you’re risking having your brains smashed to smithereens.” “You’re not in New York anymore. Since you’ve been here, have you seen any cops driving down this road or through town for that matter?” “No, but…” “But nothing. Do you want a ride or not?” Giving one last look at the long road ahead of her, Tori shrugged her shoulders. What did she have to lose? Walker moved forward, giving her the room she needed to get on. She secured the backpack fully on her back instead of on one shoulder, then swung her leg over the seat of Walker’s bike. It didn’t have a backrest—she was forced to hold on to him as he stormed off toward the center of town. Tori had forgotten what it felt like to be on the back of a motorcycle, free and exhilarating. The initial feeling of unease in her stomach faded away with the breeze flowing through her hair. She permitted her fingers to let go of Walker’s tee shirt. Slowly, she found herself wrapping her arms around his stomach, resting the side of her face on his sun-warmed back. It was as if she had surrendered to the moment, on the back of the bike with this gorgeous man. Walker let one hand drop from the

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handlebars to rest on her hand, entangling his fingers with hers. The bike jerked forward, its speed increasing to a rapid rate and Tori was flung back, practically falling off. She pounded a fist on his thigh, screaming in his ear, “What the hell are you doing!” Walker slowed, but didn’t stop. “Hang on. We wouldn’t want you to fall off and smash your pretty brains to smithereens, now would we?” His comment unnerved her. Nothing about it was funny. She could have very well fallen off had his hand not held hers. He’d placed it there right before pulling his little stunt. Tori shivered. She could’ve fallen off. The powerful machine swept through the landscape like a bird soaring through the sky. She wanted to let herself enjoy the surroundings instead of allowing them to swallow her up. She held on tight, taking a mental note of every passing tree—the color of its leaves, how tall it was compared to its neighbors. She watched as the birds flew right along with them as if they were in an urgent, competitive race against time. Forrester Rock was upon them now, causing Walker to slow down and pull into the vacant spot in front of the post office. Frankly, it surprised Tori they had made it there so quickly—she had been looking up into the sky, wishing she were anywhere but here. Walker shut off the motor, motioning that it was safe for Tori to climb off. She tried running her fingers through her windblown hair but came in contact with nothing but snarls. It was a small price to pay for such a mind-blowing ride. At least all her limbs were intact. Tori wished she could have enjoyed the ride, instead of worrying for her safety the next time he tried unexpectedly revving up the motor. If only they could leave all the doubts about one another behind. She hated to think Walker would harm her. Tori waited for his next move, wondering if he was going to come into the post office with her. From the impatient look on his face, he had no intentions of doing so.

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“Do what you need to do.” Walker turned the ignition key, started the engine and loudly revved up the motorcycle. “Try not to get lost.” He took off in the opposite direction of where they had entered town, not bothering to inquire if she wanted a ride home. Tori walked up the steps to the post office, expecting nothing more out of Walker than the ride. Although, it might have been nice to have him tag along. Then again, she needed this time alone to search out some answers from Mabel. “Tori Russo, where’ve you been keepin’ yourself?” Mabel peered up from the tabloid she had been skimming through. “I bet you’ve been keepin’ busy, haven’t you?” “Yes…yes, I have.” Tori’s nerves made her wonder what Mabel’s comment meant, yet she didn’t dare ask. “Is there any mail for me?” “Nope.” Mabel leaned her arms forward on the countertop. “I find that strange.” “How so?” Tori tiptoed around the subject. “I figured you’d have somethin’ from that company you work for.” “We do most of our correspondence over the phone. Don’t worry. There’ll be a time when I’ll be bugging you to send some envelopes out for me.” Tori managed a laugh, directing it at the bored postal worker’s expression. “I’m gonna hold you to that.” “There is something you can help me with, though.” Tori reached into her bag. “What do you need, dear?” “Where can I get these developed?” Tori laid five sealed bags of film on the counter. Mabel let out a boisterous laugh then slapped the countertop. “Here I thought I’d be readin’ this all day.” She pushed aside the magazine. “Are you serious?” Tori was surprised. “You develop film?”

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“For about twenty years. It started out as a hobby, but the locals seem to think I have a real knack for it.” Mabel nodded toward an unmarked door. “I can have these ready for you by tomorrow afternoon.” “If you say so.” Tori placed the film in Mabel’s eager hands, still amazed at how things were managed in this town. “Can I ask you something, Mabel?” Tori trod carefully. “Ask away.” “What do you know about the man who lived in the cabin?” “Walker?” “No, the man who owned it,” Tori clarified. “Oh, old man Trask.” “Yes.” “He was a strange man.” Mabel’s head shifted from side to side. “Strange how?” “That man had more money than he knew what to do with. It never showed, though.” “He was wealthy?” “Oh, yes. Came from the big city. I always thought he was messed up in one thing or another, but no one knew for sure. Didn’t ask any questions. You should’ve seen the fancy cars that came through these parts, visitin’ him over the years.” Mabel pointed out the window. “Yep, they’d come strollin’ along that road, although it was more like a patch of grass back then.” “Big city?” The words slowly slipped past Tori’s lips. “New York. Ever been there?” New York…no, it couldn’t be. “He wasn’t from Forrester Rock?” Tori disregarded Mabel’s enquiry, praying Mabel couldn’t see her body shaking beneath her clothes. “Nope, not originally. He was a young chap back then. Oh, we were all so young. This here town is where he met his wife.” “It’s not often that someone leaves their cabin to a town?"

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“Well, his wife died years before him, God rest her soul. What a wonderful woman she was. How he ever fooled her, I’ll never know.” “Fooled her?” Tori was beginning to think she was on her way to finding more than she bargained for. She already had. “He convinced her to marry him. He wasn’t the best lookin’ man, if you know what I mean, and she was so beautiful, so thoughtful. That woman would’ve done anythin’ for anyone. Maybe she felt sorry for him. The money never seemed to matter to her.” “They never had any kids, any family living with them?” Tori dared to ask but knew to go any further would cause suspicion. “Nope, not together anyway." "There was a child? A son?" Tori blurted out. "A son? Heavens no, but he did have a daughter." Mabel looked out the window. "An illegitimate daughter." A daughter? Walker had never mentioned anything about a daughter. “What happened to Mr. Trask?” “Besides getting old and crabby, he was found shot to death. Right through the head.” “Shot in the head!” Tori almost screamed at Mabel’s calm description. “It’s not what you may think, no murder or nothin’ like that. It was most likely a hunting accident,” Mabel said. “They never knew for sure?” “Nope.” Mabel shook her head, her eyes full of warning. “In a small town like this, these things happen.” “Oh my God.” “You’re a curious little one, aren’t you?” Mabel pointed an arthritiswithered finger at Tori. “Being out in the middle of nowhere leaves me with a lot of time on my hands,” Tori countered her question, still baffled by the information, troubled by Mabel’s tone.

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“From the looks of all this film, I’d say you’ve managed just fine.” Mabel headed toward the unmarked door. “I’d better get to work. Don’t be such a stranger, you hear?” “Thanks.” “I’ll give you a call when these are ready.” Mabel waved the bags of film over her head as she disappeared into the other room. Tori walked out the door into the bright sunlight, totally stunned by her conversation with Mabel. It hadn’t clarified anything, only added a hell of a lot more confusion, not at all matching up with the story Walker had told her. Mabel hadn’t known of anyone other than the Trasks living in the cabin. Walker had told Tori as much, said that no one in town had known of him and his mother. Did he know who the real man behind Lloyd Trask was? Tori found it hard to believe that he didn’t. How he had died… Walker never told her how he had died. Shot in the head. Out by the cabin. The very cabin she found herself living in. Lloyd Trask’s ties to New York… How can all of this be a coincidence? Mabel did say something that coincided with Walker’s story. Mrs. Trask would’ve done anything for anyone. Could it be that she had done just that, taking in Walker’s mother even though she had been carrying her husband’s child? Could it be that Walker didn’t know the whole truth, or maybe he’d withheld that part from Tori, not wanting to scare her? That had to explain it. Tori had to believe she hadn’t been sleeping with the son of some New York City mobster who had lost himself in Forrester Rock years and years ago. Tori exhaled, her head throbbing from all the unanswered questions. She caught herself looking around for Walker, wanting to run to him, to question him about his past. Except she couldn’t. Even if he walked up to her this very moment. Before her eyes could scan any farther, they landed upon the two people she most detested in this town. They were coming right at her.

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“Hello, Miss Russo. Fine day we’re having here in our little corner of the world, wouldn’t you say?” Chuck asked, in a voice unlike his normal belligerent tone. “Yes, it is.” Tori walked right by the two country hoodlums, not wanting to pursue the conversation. “Oh, Miss Russo?” Chuck whistled, running up alongside Tori. “You be sure to have a good day now, you hear?” “Thank you, Chuck. I’ll do that.” That was weird. Walker’s threats must have really put fear into the two of them. For the first time, Chuck’s pal had stood there speechless. It made Tori breathe easier. She couldn’t take being harassed on a daily basis. Tori decided to head home. It was a beautiful day. This time, she had no heavy bags to carry back. Besides, what other choice did she have but to walk…and walk and walk and walk? Walker wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Back to the cabin she went. The lonely trek home was anything but relaxing, giving her the uncomfortable space to once again rehash the recent events in her life— and some newly added ones. She wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to walk down this road without looking back to the first day when she had been dumped in front of the townspeople. It had been an uncommon occurrence for this place to gain a new resident. Yet Tori was still as friendless as the first day she arrived. From behind her, the rustle like a leaf under one’s foot caused Tori to stop. When she turned around to look, she was as alone as the noisy blackbird in the tree above. Alone… She wondered if she was the only one at that moment to feel so alone in this world. Did Brock feel the same way, sitting in his jail cell, waiting to meet his fate? Did he feel any type of remorse for ending her life? Or maybe Brock in no way had ever loved her to begin with. She would

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never get the answers to the questions that would haunt her for the rest of her life. She'd been abandoned. She would give anything to go back in time. It was sad it had taken something so dramatic to make her realize she should’ve done things differently. Tori had never suspected Brock’s dirty handedness, but she should have questioned him more all those nights when he was always preoccupied at work, well into the early morning hours. She had thought she was being an understanding partner, but that had been her problem all along. She had been too damned understanding. Who was to say what would’ve happened had she discovered the truth sooner? Would things have been different? Or would she already be six feet under for real? All she had left to look forward to were the hopes of another lifetime and hopes of seeing her parents again in another place, another world. All the “if only’s” were no good to her now. They would rest dormant in her heart until a time when she could look back on her life and say “So that was the purpose for what happened to me.” She knew no one could guarantee what was to happen after death or what awaited one out there. A person could only hope for what was yet to come. She heard it again, the rustle of leaves underfoot. Not only was she sure her ears hadn’t been playing tricks on her, she could feel it, too. Feel the unmistakable eeriness of eyes watching her from somewhere beyond the forest and the fields. A movement in the field caught her eye. Slowly, little by little, something was matting down the tall oats with each step closer. Tori backed away from the edge of the pasture and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The cabin was far away. Tori’s heart thumped, the sound of her footsteps thundering around her as if she were running down a compressed tunnel. Sweat dripped down her brow, chills spread throughout her body. She chanced a glance back, but the path being created in the field was now to the side of her. Large enough, for all Tori knew, to be a mountain lion getting ready to pounce.

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The closer it got, the harder Tori ran, until it caught up to her fleeing body. She veered to the right, trying to get away. Before she knew what was happening, she had been run down, cut off and tackled hard to the ground… “Blah!” “Oh my God!” Tori screamed. “Get off of me!” She struggled as Chuck tussled her on the ground. “Ah, come on. I’m only playing. Can’t you take a joke?” Chuck moved back, still on all fours. Tori nervously looked around. She couldn’t believe a grown man would go to such lengths to scare a woman half to death, although, she didn’t consider Chuck to be a grown man—rather a child in an over-sized body. He got up, not bothering to wipe off his knees. Tori got to her feet and continued in the direction of the cabin. “Hey, where’s your bodyguard? Not very smart for him to let a pretty little thing like yourself walk way out here all by your lonesome.” Chuck had caught up and was walking backward in front of Tori. “What the hell do you want?” Tori tried not to let Chuck see the fear flooding her insides, wanting to run from this lunatic but knowing it would do no good. If there had ever been a time when she really needed the pepper spray, it was now. He brought his hand to Tori’s cheek, stopping her from taking another step. “I can think of a few things I could do to you.” “Get your filthy hands off me.” Tori knocked his arm away. “Walker will be coming down this way any minute now. You better get out of here.” “Let’s get one thing straight.” Chuck moved in closer, dropping one hand to his belt. “I’m not afraid of Walker Garrison. If you aren’t careful…” Tori let her eyes drop to Chuck’s belt. Not only was there a Zippo lighter enclosed in its case, hooked to the leather strap, but also what

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appeared to be a knife holder—a very large knife holder—with the handle of a knife visible through the fingers he had clenched around it. “Go on now, you have a good day, Miss Russo.” Chuck smiled, satisfied with the reaction he was getting out of Tori. “Don’t be eager to throw threats around these parts. It’ll only get you in trouble.” Tori knew she should run the rest of the way home. Yet she stood frozen to the ground, watching as Chuck sauntered down the road toward town, whistling a sinister tune. All the unknowns previously clogging her mind now made sense. The knife that had been stabbed through her journal page and into the tree could have belonged to Chuck. How could she be sure? Chuck’s knife had been hidden in its case. She hadn’t been able to get a good look at it. He certainly had the audacity to do something like that. But the brains? She didn’t think so. She didn’t imagine a guy with Chuck’s mentality would be able to keep such information about her a secret. By now, he would have blabbed to half the town. Or maybe not… Oh, God, what if it was Chuck? What if he was smarter than he appeared and planned to blackmail her with the information? There was no telling what he would force her to do in order to keep her secret. What if he wasn’t whom everyone thought? Could it be that Chuck, that idiot, was a member of the New York Mob family? No, no way. Her world spun out of control, spinning with bits and pieces of her conversation with Mabel, mixed with every other crazy detail that had entered her mind since coming to this town. Tori felt her body go limp, as her mind spun—so fast she feared for her mental state. As quick as the sun had come up that morning, everything around her now went pitch-black.

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Chapter Fifteen Opening her eyes, she couldn’t be sure how much time had gone by since her disturbing confrontation with Chuck. There were other things Tori couldn’t explain. Had she fallen? She was sitting down, her back against a tree, looking up through an umbrella of leaves. Someone was there with her. She tried to focus. It was Walker, kneeling next to her, lifting his hand, wiping away the tears from her face. She could see his lips moving, but heard no words. How could this have happened? A blackout? Not to her. She had always been strong. What had become of her? In the midst of steady tears, she finally realized where she was. Tori stared deep into Walker’s startled eyes. Though that wouldn’t have taken much for the normal person to do, it took every bit of energy Tori had left, causing her to collapse helplessly into his arms. Walker looked around the vicinity for any explanation as to why Tori had passed out. Or had she been knocked out? As far as he could tell, giving the area one last look, nothing was out of the ordinary. “What the hell happened?” he demanded, frantic at the thought of what—of who—could have put her in such a state. “Why in God’s name didn’t you wait for me! Don’t you realize what could happen to you, walking out in the middle of nowhere? You could’ve been killed!” Sobs escaped her mouth as Tori reeled from the emotional trauma. Walker threw Tori’s bag over his shoulder and helped her to regain balance. She was shaky, too unstable to walk on her own.

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When they reached the bridge, he glanced down at her, searching her face, hoping she would come out of this state of mind. Unfortunately, she looked as distraught as when he had found her. He held back the urgency to shake her and demand an explanation for why she was acting this way. He helped to get her inside and put her on the couch while he ran to the bathroom for a cool washcloth. Soaking the cloth with cold water, Walker kept his eyes fixed on Tori. She was shaking. He couldn’t see anything physically wrong with her. She wasn’t bruised or scraped, but something had definitely rattled her, putting her in semiconsciousness. “Tori?” With a slight shake of her shoulders, followed by a light tap to her cheek, Walker tried getting a reaction out of her, then wiped the damp rag across her forehead. It helped. She began blinking the wetness from her eyes. Afraid he would lose her attention again, Walker continued to wipe the cloth down the side of her face as she looked at him with confusion. He wasn’t sure what to do next. Should I call the town doctor? Tori finally spoke in an almost inaudible voice. “Walker.” She looked around the room as though for the first time. “I’m right here. Please tell me what happened.” “I don’t know.” As gently as possible, Walker pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms securely around her quivering body. She rested there, as he tried to comfort her in his embrace, until the sun ran away, replaced by the oncoming moonlight. For the longest time, he didn’t push her for any reasoning, for fear of putting her back into the silence that had made him feel helpless. If only he knew what had happened to her, he would’ve been able to handle her better. Damn it! Why hadn’t he waited for her while she ran her errands?

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Moving aside the wet hair plastered to her face, Walker tried soothing the emotional pain from her features. Tori pulled away. She looked around the cabin. Next, she stood up, went to the kitchen for a glass of water, then slowly walked to the bathroom. Before she entered, she turned to face him. “I am so sorry if I scared you.” He went to her. “You need to understand, right here and now, you could’ve been killed!” “Why would you say something like that to me? Why do you keep saying that to me!” Tori screamed. Racking sobs began to escape her as she clung to the bathroom doorway. “Calm down. The last thing I want to do is upset you again, but…you could’ve been shot.” That seemed to get her attention. “Shot?” “Tori, listen. I don’t care how much you think you know these types of areas; you don’t realize how careless people around these parts are. Hunting accidents alone have killed innocent people.” No response. She closed the door behind her, leaving him alone in the room. An hour passed and Walker was still seated at the couch, drumming his fingers on his knee. Out of aggravation, he smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. He couldn’t take it anymore. As hard as he had tried, he couldn’t take the emptiness between them. He wanted answers. He wanted them now. He had given Tori space to recuperate from whatever it was she was going through. Enough was enough. He looked at the bathroom door, but couldn’t wait any longer. He needed to know what the hell was going on. He was not a patient man. Before knocking, he put his ear to the door and listened. The shower wasn’t running, and the only sound he could hear was the swishing of water as if she was sitting in the tub, soaking her fears away. To be on the safe side, he couldn’t help inquiring to see if she was all right. 127


“Tori? Please come out.” “I can’t,” she breathed from inside the door. “You’ve been in there a long time.” While he had her talking again, Walker wanted to get Tori out of the bathroom so she could explain to him what had happened. “Just come out, I’ll fix you something to eat.” “I’m not hungry.” “How about something to drink then?” He stood by the door, hoping to convince her to come out. “I’ll be out soon.” Walker left the brief exchange at that. What he wanted to do was break through the door and drag Tori back into the living room immediately, but he didn’t. Instead, he glanced through the crack in the door, making sure she was okay. She was immersed in the tub. Walker went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. He wanted to cook dinner for her, but she had made it clear she wasn’t hungry. Adding an extra scoop of coffee in the filter, knowing it was going to be a long night, Walker switched the power on, then went into his bedroom to change out of his grease-covered jeans. After dropping Tori off at the post office, his bike had started acting up. He had thought it had overheated like many times before, but it had turned out to be only one of the problems. From there he had brought the bike to the local garage with the intention of buying new parts. Since the mechanic owed Walker a favor, he had offered to replace the two sparkplugs for him later that day. That’s why he had headed home on foot and found Tori along the way, slouched by a tree, unconscious, not aware of what was going on around her. He’d had to repeat her name several times before he’d finally gotten a response from her. He wasn’t sure how he was going to handle this. He had asked her what had happened, and she hadn’t divulged to him the answers. He hadn’t pushed her about her past, but now he had no choice. If she expected him to forget he had found her in such a disturbing state, she was sadly mistaken. 128

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The circumstances that had brought him to Forrester Rock weren’t strong enough to keep him there. It wasn’t about a mission anymore. His emotional ties to this town had everything to do with the woman in his bathtub, and Walker knew he could never walk away as long as Tori Russo lived in Forrester Rock. As he pushed the dirty clothes into the pile of laundry, he heard the bathroom door open. When he came out of his bedroom, Tori was at the kitchen counter, pouring herself a cup of coffee. In only a towel. Walker stood there, watching her every move. Tori would have noticed him if she hadn’t gone to the kitchen window. If she was staring at anything in particular, he couldn’t tell. With his worries for her now clouded by her beauty, Walker let his gaze fall upon the length of her body. Her hair was damp, causing the extra water to turn into miniature streams, drizzling past her shoulders and down her back until it was absorbed in the towel. Tori turned and faced him, as though having felt his wandering gaze. The expression on her face changed from a scared child to a sensual woman, ready to surrender to every possible pleasure her body could offer. Her body was a portrait. One he wanted to imagine himself in forever. Unfortunately, things weren’t that simple. Walker crossed the room until he stood no more than five inches before her. He tried to read her mood, to get a feel for how she was going to react to his inquiries. She seemed calm, standing in the middle of his cabin, half-naked and as alluring as ever. She lifted her hand to his face, resting it against his cheek, lightly letting her thumb graze the roughness of unshaven skin. He wanted to remove the towel from her body, press her hard against him, but he held back. Whether she knew it or not, right now Tori needed him to be there for her, to listen and to understand whatever was going on inside her head. “We need to talk,” he said, removing her hand from his face, then taking her by the shoulders. “I don’t want to talk.” 129


“That’s not an option.” He loosened his grip, trying to sooth her with comforting words. “I don’t know what happened to turn you into such a mess, but we’re going to discuss…” Tori put her fingertips to his lips, and Walker stopped mid-sentence as she traced his lower lip. Not only with her finger, but more seductively with her gaze. He didn’t have the willpower to stop her. The sweet smell of her skin intoxicated him, making everything around them, even their problems, seem far away. But he knew this was not what she needed right now, and he came to his senses. “I can’t forget how I found you today,” he said, still concerned for her mental well-being. “I want to help you.” “Then hold me. That’s what I need right now.” She pushed herself on him with the urgency of a woman who was trying to railroad the inevitable. Though he didn’t appreciate being used to defer the situation at hand, the look in her eyes shot his rational thoughts straight to hell. He found himself stepping back, but she took two steps closer, and he wasn’t sure he could hold his ground. During his moment of weakness, Walker reached for the knot in the towel. He pulled it loose. With one hand holding each corner, he opened it fully and took in every inch of her beauty. He could feel himself growing hard with anticipation even as his mind continued to scream for him to stop. Yet he dropped the towel, then started to remove his own clothing, never once allowing Tori’s gaze to waver. Through the trance their eyes were locked in, he wanted her to know she would never be free of him, to tell her she’d never be alone again. With the last of his clothes shed, the uncertainties of the early hours of the day were shuffled amongst his jeans on the floor. Her scent, her body and the graceful way she moved were all he could manage to think about now. ***

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Walker and Tori dressed and went out to the bridge, overlooking the trickling water below. After making love, like the other times before, words hadn’t come easy. Tonight, Tori knew things would be different. She was scared. Walker was sitting close to her, and she could tell what was on his mind. It wasn’t the aftereffects of the unbelievable passion they had just experienced, rather it was his need to know what happened to cause the breakdown by the road. Little did he know, she, too, wanted answers. Did he want to hurt her? Was he affiliated with the Mob? If only she had more time, time to get her own story straight, time to come up with something believable without revealing her secrets. After being stalked by Chuck that morning, Tori was pretty sure it had been him—not Walker—who had attached the paper to the tree with his knife. Yet there was still a chance it hadn’t been Chuck at all. Tori’s mind was exhausted with confusion. What if he already knew the truth? If he didn't, she would have to tell him the whole sordid story of her previous life in New York. If he was working for the US Marshals, then maybe he would confide in her too. As for now, Tori thought it best not to tell him anything. Not unless he gave her some solid proof that he, without a doubt, knew. That proof could be any one of the details she had written on the first page of her journal. She still had a hard time believing Walker would have been so drastic as to use a weapon to hold the paper to the tree. The man she knew would have come back to the cabin and thrown the paper in her face, demanding answers. Do I really know him at all? Maybe this was his way of letting her know he knew, catching her while she was already emotionally down. What about Chuck and the knife she had seen on his belt? What about Lloyd Trask’s ties to New York? Did Walker have those same ties? He had to have known his father had been shot to death. The remark

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about the careless hunters had given away as much. Maybe Trask really had met an accidental death, exactly how Mabel had described it. Too many things were going through her mind, and Tori couldn’t be sure of any of them. If only she could run to the edge of the woods to see if the knife was still there. If it was, it couldn’t have been Chuck. If it wasn’t, well, then Tori was right back at square one with her theory about Walker. She didn’t know what to think. All she could do was take the heat off herself, try to make him understand no matter what excuses came out of her mouth, assuring Walker she would never lose control like that again. She couldn’t. She needed to get her emotions in check. Her life and her sanity depended on it. Tori looked up from the water under the bridge, looking toward the loose railing, meeting Walker’s steady gaze. He didn’t look mad, yet there were traces of impatience on his facial features. His hands were clenched around his coffee mug, which at any second looked as though it would shatter from his tight grip. “Why haven’t you fixed it?” “I haven’t had time with all that’s gone on with you.” He turned to her, placing a strong hand on her shoulder, causing her nerves to turn to ice. “Tell me what happened. I need to know. Now.” She knew this couldn’t be put off. If she made him wait any longer, she had a feeling it would make things ten times harder for her to worm her way out of the mess she’d gotten herself into. She had sidetracked Walker once when he’d wanted answers, and she couldn’t do it again. The key was to keep him wanting her, in every way that counted, sexually or otherwise. None of this is my fault! She ached inside. I didn’t ask to be shipped here, to be made to lie about who I am, where I’m from… She wanted to scream those words to the world. Instead, easing herself into the situation, she asked Walker, “Where’s your motorcycle? I don’t remember hearing it when you found me.”

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“It’s in the shop. Although, I’m not sure you would’ve heard it anyway.” He held her with eyes full of suspicion. “You were pretty messed up.” “I don’t know what came over me.” “The hell you don’t, Tori!” “Walker…” “I find you crying your eyes out, and you have no idea what came over you?” He placed his mug on the platform of the bridge, using his hands to accent every word. “Did those two punks do something to you?” “Who?” Tori had no intention of telling Walker about Chuck, prowling through the field, pouncing on her, scaring her half to death with his threats. He'd be apt to go after Chuck, which would only make Chuck harass her more. “You know damn well who! If they touched you, you better tell me right now! Why the hell do you always feel the need to go gallivanting out on your own when you know you’re asking for nothing but trouble!” “Calm down. Do you honestly think some hunter would’ve accidentally shot me right out in the open?” Tori knew the statement was risky, but if Walker had nothing to hide, he wouldn’t pick up on her antics. “I’m sure you’re aware of stranger things happening.” He knew. He had to know. Why was he taunting her with all these open-ended statements? If he didn’t want to hurt her, why not just come out with it! “I’m sorry I scared you, but it was nothing like that.” Tori placed a hand on his thigh, desperately needing to get control. “Do you mind explaining to me what it was that had you so hysterical?” he asked, very eager to get to the bottom of this big mystery. Tori took a deep breath. Here goes nothing… “I remember walking and, all of a sudden, I buckled over in pain.” She glanced down at the water, hating having to lie to his face. “Maybe it was something I ate, I’m not sure.”

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“You’re not serious, are you?” Walker asked, still angry. Tori nodded. “You were completely dazed when I found you.” “I know it looked bad, but, really, that’s all it was.” Tori almost convinced herself. “I guess it was my body’s way of dealing with the pain. I’ve never felt anything like it before.” “Fine.” Walker lifted the mug to his lips and drank. “Fine?” Tori asked in surprise, knowing this interrogation was far from over. “You don’t believe me?” “I didn’t say that, but I’ll tell you one thing.” Walker took Tori’s coffee mug and stood up. “I’m taking you into town tomorrow, and you’re going to see the doctor.” “What?” Tori got up, and Walker reached out, moving her away from the railing, holding her arm longer than needed, briefly glancing back toward the railing. “You heard me. I’ll be right back.” He lifted the mugs to indicate a refill, leaving Tori speechless. “You’d be smart to stay away from that railing.” Forget the damn railing, she thought, not content with the way this was turning out. Couldn’t she have come up with a better excuse for her actions? She hated lying about her health for fear something would really happen, but it had been the first thing to come to mind. Why hadn’t she claimed one of the coyotes he had warned her about had chased her down and scared the life out of her? The only problem with that was it was a bit off the wall, and he would have never let Tori live it down. Especially with her being some big animal expert. It could have been worse. At least he had seemed to believe her. What could a trip to the doctor hurt? Relief began to wash over her body. Yes, she’d lied, but it couldn’t have been helped. Something deep inside still made her feel uneasy, as though Walker knew the truth but was just going along with her for the time being.

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Playing a game with her, seeing how long it would take her to tell him what he already knew. If only there was a way for her to get in contact with the FBI agent or the US Marshal who had been in charge of transferring her here. She needed to know what was going on back home. In time, would she be able to tell Walker the truth? Would he be able to keep her secret—and live with it? They had told her to never call, never look back and by no means ever return to New York. They had assured Tori she was being watched, monitored, but never gave her details as to how. If ever she could go back home, they would be the ones to contact her. If that was true, and Walker was really out to get her, surely they would know. She would have to use her judgment if and when she decided to confide in Walker. That was her only choice. Things would’ve been so much easier if she hadn’t come across Walker Garrison. If only that damn cabin hadn’t held all the demons of Walker’s past, then he would have never had a reason to come back here and take up residence. Or so he said. She saw the light in the kitchen go off then Walker coming out the front door. He didn’t have coffee mugs in his hands, but rather two bottles of beer. A drink sounded refreshing in the humid night’s air, and it would be sure to take the edge off their conversation. “Join me?” He lifted up an amber-colored bottle. “Or would you rather have more coffee?” “A beer sounds great.” She went to take the bottle from his hand, but he pulled it back. “Promise me you’ll go to the doctor’s tomorrow?” “I promise,” she said, not wanting to argue with him any further. “Good.” He handed her the beer, then took a seat next to her on the tattered old bridge. “Because I’m going with you. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

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Chapter Sixteen Morning came quicker than Tori would have liked, but her night hadn’t been anything to complain about. After they had spent another hour outside, Walker had led her back into the cabin and eagerly into his bed, taking extra precautions to be gentle. He must have believed her story because he had asked, more than once, if the pain had returned. Since coming to town, despite the recent information about Lloyd Trask, Tori hadn’t slept as soundly as she had the previous night with her head resting on Walker’s chest, the sound of his heartbeat comforting her during sleep. She couldn’t say for sure when she’d drifted off, but it was some time before he had. The last thing she remembered was closing her eyes, enjoying the way his hands felt as they caressed her bare back. When she awoke that morning, he was already up. She pulled the wrinkled sheet from his bed, wrapping it around her flushed body. Entering the living room, Tori found Walker on the telephone. He held up a finger, letting her know he’d be finished momentarily, then turned his back on her. She was about to head for the bathroom when he replaced the phone in its receiver. “You’re up.” “What’re you doing?” “I made an appointment for you.” “You didn’t,” Tori said, knowing darn well he had. “You bet I did.” Walker went to the kitchen. “You promised, remember?” “That doesn’t mean I think it’s necessary.”

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“Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s all about humoring me. You have to admit it wasn’t normal for you to be totally oblivious like you were yesterday.” “I thought I told you—” “Yeah, yeah, the pain,” Walker called out over his shoulder, rinsing out his mug in the kitchen sink. “That’s why you’re seeing a doctor.” “I said I’d go, didn’t I?” Defeated, Tori went to her room to take out a fresh set of clothes. She’d said she would go, but it didn’t mean Walker was going to be in the room when she saw the doctor. She knew the doctor was going to request to have her medical records transferred to his office. That wasn’t possible. Tori didn’t need Walker breathing down her neck in front of the doctor, demanding to know why there was a problem with such a simple request. Walker wasn’t the only one who would have questions. The doctor would want to know the same thing. Like everything else these days, Tori would get through this. She had to. Through the living room, on her way to the bathroom, she looked at Walker. He was fixing something greasy for breakfast. Probably his usual bacon and eggs he’d eaten everyday since he’d moved in. Tori didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but she wasn’t in the mood to eat a big meal this morning. A piece of toast coated with peanut butter would do, maybe a scrambled egg to go with it. As she let the cool water cascade over her body, she began to get nervous about the doctor’s visit. She didn’t like the idea of bringing another outsider into her business. Only one more hurdle to jump, she kept telling herself. Agreeing to this was the only way to appease Walker’s concerns. She would go, get it over with, and be back home before lunch. Tori hoped this country doctor had the patient-doctor ethics he should. Nobody needed to know her business, definitely not the whole damn town.

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When she emerged from the bathroom, Walker was already sitting down, enjoying the food he had prepared. She went to the counter, poured herself a cup of coffee, then joined him at the table. As if reading her mind, Walker had made a big stack of toast and a plate of eggs. Just the way she liked them. “Eat up.” He spooned a large portion of eggs on her plate, then passed the toast. “You need to get something in you. You’re withering away to nothing.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “You look as if you’ve lost more than your mind since you’ve been here.” “Oh, I see, now I’m losing my mind?” She wondered if he knew just how much she had lost. “I shouldn’t have put it that way.” “You’re damn right,” she snapped. “I’m sorry.” He held up his hands in defeat. “You know something, Walker? I don’t want you going into town with me.” Tori pushed her plate forward, suddenly losing what little appetite she’d had. “I have to pick up my bike from the shop, so it’s not debatable,” he said, paying no attention to her appeal. “Suit yourself.” “I will. Now eat.” Never had she met a man who could make her feel so good, almost safe, yet piss her off so fast, betraying her trust with all his clouded mystery. Tori had a mind to throw the plate of eggs in his face. It wouldn’t be a smart move. She ate a piece of toast and nibbled on some of the eggs, allowing herself a second cup of coffee. She really could have gone for a New York cup of java or cappuccino, anything but this mud he’d made so damn thick. Maybe she needed to get out the other coffeepot so she could make it herself. With a man as

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critical as Walker, she didn’t dare be forward, wanting him to still feel as though this was his place, his territory. She went to the sink and succeeded in cleaning the kitchen without any more of Walker’s comments. He didn’t stay quiet for long. “Almost done?” “Yeah, why?” “We have to get going. Don’t want to be late for your appointment.” “When is it?” “Half hour from now,” he said, looking at his watch. “Did you have to make it so early?” Tori placed the dishrag on the sink. “What if I wouldn’t have gotten up when I did?” “I would’ve pushed you out of bed.” “Imagine that.” “I should think, by now, you know I’d do it.” “I wouldn’t put anything past you.” That was the truth. With her hands in her front pockets, Tori felt anything but protected walking alongside Walker, down the road she had become accustomed to. Fear of getting lost—or being spooked by some idiot jumping out of the field—still weighed heavily on her mind. When they approached the tree where he had found her yesterday, Tori couldn’t help but notice the look on his face, followed by the end of his silence. “Are you sure you haven’t had any more pains?” he asked, as if daring her to lie to him. “I’m fine. Let’s not rehash this.” Tori tried to think of something quick to change the issue. “What do you say after the appointment, you take me for a ride on your bike?” She knew Walker would demand she ride home with him once he picked up his bike. If she got him to take her for a ride, it would avoid her having to spend more time talking about the whole ordeal. Did she have the courage to get back on that motorcycle? Too late, she had already brought it up. 139


“Didn’t you get enough the first time?” “You call that a ride?” she challenged him. “I’d like to see more of this beautiful countryside.” “I don’t think you’re up for that.” He gave her rear end a swat. “It’ll be numb by the time we ride ten miles down the road.” “I’ve suffered worse.” “I bet you have. You may be sorry you said that.” “I’m already sorry,” Tori whispered. She wasn’t too sure if he had picked up on the hidden confession within her statement, but the look he wore told Tori, strangely enough, the feeling was mutual, as though on some level he could sympathize. That confused her more. Her breakdown by the tree had brought the two of them together more intimately. The fact that he’d wanted her in his bed the night before was a step up from the last time they’d had sex. Except who’s to say it would be safe to accompany him there tonight. One day at a time, Tori, one day at a time. When they arrived in town, she wasn’t surprised to see the doctor’s office consisted of two rooms within his permanent residence. She tried to get Walker to leave and go pick up his bike, but he wasn’t budging from the disinfectant-scented reception area. “Fine, but you’re staying out here,” Tori insisted. “Why?” He smirked. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before.” “I’m not getting naked for the doctor!” Tori screeched through gritted teeth, embarrassed that Walker had spoken out loud with an old man sitting in the chair closest to the door. “You’d be surprised at what the doc might make you do.” “You drive me nuts sometimes, but I’m beginning to like this side of you much better than the other one,” Tori said, noticing he was letting his guard down more and more. “I can easily reverse my mood.”

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″I know you can.” Tori turned as a short, round woman appeared through the inside door and called her name. Before she followed, Tori had one thing to say to Walker. “Stay put!″ “Nothing like a woman bossing you around, is there?” Walker said to the man sitting next to him. Tori found it annoying that everybody in the room—Walker, the nurse and the old man—found his remarks to be humorous…everybody except her. Didn’t Walker realize she was a private person? No, how could he. Before grabbing a magazine from the end table, one that looked to be about a hundred years old, Walker motioned for Tori to enter the desolate area of the examining room, giving her a thumbs-up. She proceeded. The nurse, though Tori thought she looked unlike a normal nurse with her blue jeans and checkered shirt, handed her a paper gown. Was this really necessary? She wasn’t here for a full physical and would make that clear to the doctor when he came in. “Dr. Rainer will be right with you,” the nurse informed Tori as she headed for the door. “Don’t be nervous. He’s a very nice man.” Nice or not, Tori didn’t want to be there. Yet she sat, on the edge of the examining table, trying to get her chain of events straight. She would tell him about the pain in her stomach that had caused her to buckle over. That’s all. The doctor would push and prod her abdomen a bit, then she would be on her way home. From the looks of the room, that was all he was equipped to do anyway. Dr. Rainer materialized in the room. He was charming and dressed in the customary white lab coat accessorized with a stethoscope around his lengthy neck. The grayness of his hair complemented the ashen specks in his hazel brown eyes, visible through wire-rimmed glasses. His appearance made Tori feel a little more at ease. Just a little. Maybe it was because he resembled her father. She smiled. “Tori Russo, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, even though it’s under these circumstances.” He extended a vein-riddled hand. “We’re proud to 141


have such an educated woman in this town, but don’t let my wife know I said that.” “Or the other women in town, I’m sure.” She rolled the hem of the paper gown between thumb and forefinger. “I can tell you’re a girl after my own heart.” He reached for the mobile stool, then took a seat back from the table. “Shall we get down to business?” “I guess that’s why I’m here.” He chuckled. “Walker mentioned you’ve had some unexplained pains and by the looks of you… Why don’t you let me give you something.” She watched as he leaned back, retrieving a syringe from the drawer. “What’re you doing?” Tori jumped down from the table. “There’s no need to be frightened. It’s just a little something to calm the nerves.” He flicked the tip of the syringe, causing a clear droplet to escape the needle. “Get that away from me!” At the sound of her paranoia, Walker plowed through the office door. “What the hell’s the matter in here?” “I didn’t agree to any shots,” Tori spat, pushing herself further against the wall. “I don’t know what you two are up to but—” “Miss Russo.” The doctor held up a small bottle. “It’s Demerol, nothing that would hurt you.” He handed the bottle to Walker. “Look, it is.” Walker brought it to Tori. “What’s gotten into you?” he whispered. “Nothing.” She went back to the table. “I’m sorry, Doctor.” “Mr. Garrison, would you like to stay?” “Yes.” “No!” Tori screeched. “Let’s just get this over with.” The doctor led Walker out of the room, then came back to sit in front of Tori. “Why don’t you tell me what happened.”

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Tori took herself back to the time, years ago, when she’d suffered from appendicitis. That past ordeal gave her the leverage to try to describe what had supposedly happened yesterday. She went on to explain how badly it had hurt and how she’d buckled down by the tree in pain. “I had my appendix removed years ago.” She made that clear to the doctor before he brought up the possibility of it being the cause. “What about your unawareness of your surroundings?” he asked gently. “Huh?” Tori was stunned, not realizing Dr. Rainer had known all the details. “Walker said he found you in quite a state.” He adjusted his glasses. “Those were his words.” I’m sure they were. Damn it, Walker, Tori cursed to herself. “Like I told Walker, I think my body somehow was trying to shield me from the horrific pain.” “Has it reoccurred?” Dr. Rainer questioned. “Please be honest.” “No.” Tori shook her head. “Not at all.” “All right then, let’s take a look at you.” Tori rested back on the cold metal table while the doctor did exactly what she thought he would do. She assured him, as he pushed down on various spots of her midsection, that she felt no pain. She tried to give him no reason, or sign, that the pain would come back for that matter. After the initial examination Tori dressed and filled out the appropriate forms. Twice, she almost wrote Victoria Valentino but caught herself before the ink touched the paper. This was the first time she had ever written her new name and address on anything. Setting the completed forms next to her, Tori took a deep, cleansing breath. It was almost over. Or so she thought. She hoped her panic wasn’t too obvious when the doctor returned with a plastic carrier full of cotton balls, alcohol swabs and syringes. “You’re not going to try to give me more drugs, are you?”

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“No, I assure you these are empty.” He stirred his fingers in the midst of the syringes. “I thought everything was okay?” “From what I can tell, it is. Sometimes it’s the things we can’t see that are at the root of the problem.” Dr. Rainer tied the thick rubber band at her upper arm, holding Tori by the wrist as he tapped the vein at the inner fold of her elbow. “I’m going to run a few blood tests to be certain you’re in good health.” “If you think it’s necessary,” Tori said, not wanting to argue and make him more suspicious. If they only knew how unnecessary this was… “I do.” As he injected the needle into her vein, Tori remembered a concern she’d had before coming here. She felt it needed to be addressed. “Doctor, I need to be clear about something.” “Yes?” “I know Walker was kind enough to worry and make this appointment for me. But from this point on, can I assume this is totally confidential, and you will not discuss my medical records with anyone? Not even the persuasive Mr. Garrison?” “Tori…may I call you Tori?” He waited until receiving her nod of approval. “It’s true that everyone pretty much knows everyone else’s business around here. You have my word—I’m a professional with the same values as any New York doctor.” Tori gasped for air, then jerked her arm free at his reference to New York. Before she could call him on it, Dr. Rainer responded to her obvious apprehension. “Like I said, word gets around fast in Forrester Rock.” He put a BandAid on her arm and labeled the vials. “I’ll call you when we have your results.” “If Walker answers the—”

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“If Walker should answer…” he paused to give her his reassurance, “…he will only be given a message to have you call us.” “Thank you.” Tori forced a smile. She walked out of the room with mixed feelings. After giving the doctor her phone number and paying the fee, with cash rather than insurance, she replayed his comparison to New York over and over again. The only person who knew she was from the big city was Walker. She had a hard time believing he would have spread that fact about her around this town. There weren’t too many people with whom he was particularly friendly. Maybe it had slipped during some meaningless conversation he’d had with the man at the garage. Tori hoped when the news she was from New York had hit Dr. Rainer’s ears, it hadn’t left his lips. He had assured her that her privacy was between patient and doctor only. Did he mean it? How could she be certain who this doctor was? She didn’t know how long it would be, if ever, before she stopped judging everyone with whom she came in contact. Tori looked over her shoulder into the doctor’s examining room. The smile on Dr. Rainer’s face left her with an awful, unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.

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Chapter Seventeen Walker wasn’t in the waiting room when Tori came out. He was sitting in the hot sun on the cement steps, blocking the exit. Probably so she wouldn’t have the chance to leave without going past him and his impatient questions. “What did he say? Are you going to be all right?” He stood up and was in her face before she could answer. “Come on. Let’s go straight to the pharmacy.” “Will you calm down!” she said, rather annoyed. “Damn it, Tori, don’t play games with me.” “Why do you always think I’m playing games with you?” “Are you going to tell me what happened in there?” Walker nodded at the entrance of the doctor’s office. “Or do I have to go find out for myself?” “I’m in perfect health with no need of medication." “Are you sure?” “Yes, I’m sure!” She looked up at him, squinting against the sun’s bright rays. “That’s a relief.” He rubbed at his forehead as if easing away a lifetime full of tension. “I didn’t know you cared so much.” “I didn’t realize I did either,” he said. “At least you’re not denying it.” She smiled. “Don’t push it, Tori.”

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Though going to the doctor’s today had almost put her mind completely over the edge, Tori was glad she’d gone. It was worth it just to hear Walker finally acknowledge he did care about her. She’d pretty much suspected it, but it was better hearing it from him. Seeing him attentive made it easier for her to set aside the crazier suspicions she had about him. For now. Walking down the road, Walker told her he needed to pick up his bike. He motioned that the garage was around the corner from the diner. Before they headed over, he asked if she wanted to stop in for a cup of coffee. Tori didn’t think caffeine was something he needed after being on edge this morning. A trip to the local tavern would have seemed more productive for his nerves, but it was too early for that. She agreed and, after entering the restaurant, accepted the chair he pulled out for her at the small, two-person table. “Want something to eat?” He glanced at the menu. “You can’t possibly be hungry after that breakfast you ate this morning, are you?” “I asked if you were hungry.” “No, but coffee sounds good,” Tori said. “Coffee it is.” Walker motioned to the waitress behind the counter, who, to Tori’s dismay, turned out to be Kate. This time Tori was determined not to let Kate get under her skin. That’s not to say she was prepared for Kate’s smug remarks. When Kate approached the table, coffeepot in hand, something about her manner told Tori to keep her eyes open, her senses aware. Kate greeted Tori in a contemptuous manner. “Is this what you wanted?” Kate asked Walker, lifting the coffeepot above his cup. “If it’s fresh,” he said.

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“That’s the only way I serve it,” Kate winked at Walker, filling his cup, then turned her attention to Tori. “Sorry, I guess I ran out.” “Kate,” Walker said as she turned to leave their table. “When you get a fresh pot, be sure to bring a cup for Tori.” “Can I get you a sandwich or something while I’m at it?” Kate smiled at Walker, then lost all self-control when she glared down at Tori, arrogance on her face. “No, just the coffee.” Walker dismissed her with his tone. “Guess you haven’t worked up an appetite yet today.” The other woman gazed down close to Tori. “It’s always fun witnessing Walker work up an appetite, isn’t it?” Kate nudged Tori’s arm. Walker hit Kate with a hard stare. “I’m sure there are other customers you can harass. Just bring the coffee.” “Nice to see you again, Tori.” “I’m sure,” Tori said. Tori looked around the place, trying to avoid eye contact with Walker. She felt foolish for letting Kate get to her, and the last thing she wanted was Walker seeing how much she despised the woman—who was taking a fresh pot of coffee around to everyone in the place with no plans of filling Tori’s cup. Walker had noticed, too, and pushed his cup toward her. “Thanks.” Tori took a small sip. “I didn’t want it anyway.” It was apparent that the two of them knew each other, yet Walker hadn’t let on how well. What was with that? Kate was acting as though Tori had interfered with some big love affair. Had he been sleeping with Kate before Tori had come to town? She had so many questions but didn’t dare ask again—she had several secrets of her own. She couldn’t help noticing all the stares that still followed her when she set foot in this place. She had a feeling it would take a long time before she would be accepted as a member of this community. At least

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there was one person who had given her a chance. She looked at Walker. Even if he wasn’t being totally honest with her. “Here’s the plan.” Walker leaned in, taking her hands in his. “Since everything turned out to be okay, let’s pick up my bike and go for that ride.” “That’s the best thing you’ve said all day.” She would have said anything to get out of the diner. Walker threw a couple of bills on the table, then led Tori out of the diner with a few goodbyes nodded their way. When they reached the garage, they found Walker’s bike fixed and the chrome polished to the hilt. Tori waited by the bike while he went inside, she presumed, to talk to the mechanic. Even from where she stood, she would have been blind if she hadn’t detected the two men waving to her from across the street. It was that lunatic Chuck and his loser friend. Why did these guys feel the need to torment her all the time? She didn’t want fear to overcome her again—she lifted her arm, waving as if the two men were her closest friends. From their reactions, she had surprised the hell out of them, even irritated them a bit. Walker returned. “Ready?” “Only if you promise to take it easy this time.” Tori was dead serious and refused to get on the bike until he realized it. He nodded. “I don’t want to do anything to make that pain come back. Just remember, I warned you.” He threw one leg over the leather seat of the motorcycle. “About?” “Don’t hold it against me if you can’t handle the ride.” He put a hand on his upper thigh as if waiting for her to get on. “One more thing…we have to stay on the back roads.” “Why?” Walker pointed to his head. “No helmets, remember?” “Don’t make me regret this. I’m too young to die.”

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“We both are.” Walker turned the key and revved up the engine. “You need to loosen up and live a little.” If only I could. This time, she’d be smart enough to hold on tight as they traveled the open roads. Tori jumped on his bike with no fears for tomorrow—she didn’t dare look any further than this very moment. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Walker was the one good thing in her life. She had only known him for a brief time, but he was something solid to hold on to, someone to keep her mind alert to the people in this town, its surroundings, even him. The humidity in the air no longer affected her the way it had as she’d walked down the road to town. Now it felt as if a warm hairdryer were blowing in her face. It was funny how the air cooled when Walker rode the bike through an area in the woods. There was no time for her body to adapt because as quick as it had turned cold, it evolved back to warm the second they resurfaced onto the openness of the road between the two golden fields. Tori hadn’t felt more at peace than she did right now. She didn’t care where the two tires of the bike were taking them. She just wanted to get out of this town. Walker turned onto a tar-riddled road that led up a steep hill. Unlike the road they had been traveling on. When they arrived at the top, he turned the key to shut down his bike, then patted Tori’s leg, letting her know it was okay to get off. Taking her by the hand, Walker led her further up the hill until they reached the very top. When they did, Tori was awed by her surroundings. She could see for miles and miles. If she looked out far enough, she could see where the sky appeared to come together with the terrain. Walker took her by the shoulders, slightly turning her to the right, pointing down. Looks hadn’t been deceiving when she had first arrived in town. Forrester Rock was indeed the smallest town she had ever seen.

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“Bet you wish you would’ve brought your camera.” Walker stood next to Tori, hands in his jean pockets, rocking back and forth on the soles of his black leather boots. “It’s absolutely breathtaking up here.” “I used to come here as a kid. I’d get on my bicycle and pedal till I was exhausted.” He stopped for a moment as if remembering back to the very day. “I was so young, and don’t ask me how I came upon this place because I’m still not sure.” Walker was still professing to be from here, to have grown up here. “I’ve never seen so much land all at once.” “Come on, I want to show you something.” It wasn’t possible to walk up the hill any higher. Tori followed Walker on a narrow path through the forest. The sunlight farther down the path let her know they were almost to the end. What came into view next was so spectacular she felt like a kid in an amusement park. It was a huge, very old railroad bridge running for what appeared to be miles across the deepest of canyons. She continued on as Walker stepped up onto the rotted railroad ties, following him to the edge of the bridge. He held her from behind as she took a closer look over the railing. Tori could feel his hands getting tighter on her shoulders, which was why she started to move back. He whispered in her ear, “Afraid of heights?” Then jerked her forward, in one quick snap. Tori screamed, throwing her body back on him as hard as she could, landing them both on the ground. Quickly, she retreated from the bridge, scared to death at what could’ve happened. Walker was right at her side. “What’re you trying to do, kill me!” she shouted. “Me and my friends used to joke around like this all time when we were kids. If I would’ve thought you’d freak out, I would’ve never done that. Don’t you trust me, Tori?”

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“Damn you, Walker!” Tori tried recovering from the vision of falling over the railing or through the gaps within the floor of the structure, down, down to her death as though falling from the sky. “Come on,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m sorry I scared you.” “Are you?” “I’m only going to say it once. Now give me your hand.” She did. “Oh, no, you don’t.” she said, as Walker tried pulling her back toward the bridge. “Don’t you want to see it?” “I think I saw enough of it, thank you.” Tori brushed off the back of her jeans. “If you think I’d go near there with you again, you’re out of your mind.” “Don’t you think if I really wanted to kill you I would’ve done it a long time ago?” He had a point. “I guess a girl can never be too sure.” Walker turned his back on Tori, staring across the massive structure. “It’s the oldest bridge in the state.” “Really?” Without going any closer, Tori was able to see the whole bridge. “Yeah, it’s pretty amazing, huh.” There was something different about Walker. Almost serene as he looked out at the countryside, as though he had finally let go of some inner demon of his past. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this side of you.” “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Walker came off the bridge and sat atop a large boulder. “You’re right, but I’d like to know.” He was right. There was so much about Walker Garrison she didn’t know…so much she wanted to know.

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“What is it you want to know?” Walker asked, as if reading her private thoughts. “Everything you’re willing to tell me.” “Would you mind being more specific?” “What do you do for a living?” Walker hadn’t left the cabin for an extended period of time, which still left Tori puzzled. “You mean how do I live?” “I’m sorry.” Tori bowed her head in embarrassment but hoped he would tell her. “There’s no need to be sorry.” He smiled. “I’m not all that mysterious.” No matter what she proclaimed, Tori really wasn’t sorry. She had wanted to ask Walker that question since the first time Mabel had referred to him as a drifter and again after what Mabel had said about his father. With everything going on in her own nightmare, she wanted to be sure of him once and for all. Would it ever be likely? “I’m sure you’ve heard about me being a drifter.” “That’s what I heard.” “It’s mostly true. I inherited a small sum of money when my mother passed away, sold the family home and went from place to place with only a sack on my back, running away from the truth of the past.” He plucked a blade of grass from the overgrowth and put it between his teeth. “When I finally decided to come back to this ghost town, I still had enough money to live on, and I got away with living in the cabin for free. The people of this town aren’t all that bad. They could’ve thrown me out on my ass.” “But they didn’t.” “Nope. I do odd jobs here and there for the locals, but I only do it because I enjoy the work. Not because I need the money.” Did the money he inherited inadvertently come from his father, seeing as he had been wealthy? So Mabel had said, anyway.

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“Did you ever find what you were looking for in Forrester Rock?” she asked. “Only verification of everything I already knew.” Tori was saddened to see the evident pain in Walker’s eyes. It wasn’t so much for the man who had turned his back on him as a boy, but for what his mother had gone through to raise Walker to be the man he was today. Secretly, inhaling a deep, cleansing breath, she wanted more than anything not to be plagued with the what-ifs. She wished they didn’t have such a hold on her life. “Are you at peace here now?” “I wasn’t really sure.” Walker turned to face her. “Then one day, this beautiful, feisty woman moved to town and changed my life.” He leaned in, cupping her face in one hand, pulling her to meet his lips. The kiss was different from all the others. There was something boyish about it. When it ended, Tori sat unable to open her eyes for fear Walker would no longer be there. His taste, his touch, still remained with her long after. He was becoming like an addiction to her, a dangerous, possibly deadly addiction. At that moment, something became very clear. Everything had been stolen from her life. Although she'd been leery of him for quite some time, now she couldn’t imagine being in this foreign place without Walker. Walker leaned down and pulled a wildflower from the soil. He popped the bud from the long green stem and placed it behind her ear. It was a beautiful blue, almost the same color as his eyes. “How long do you plan on being here?” he abruptly asked, not bothering to look at her but rather at a hawk soaring high above. “Permanently.” “What if your job takes you away from here as it did from New York?” “I didn’t have to move here,” Tori lied. “Why did you?”

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“I needed a change of scenery.” There was much truth in that, and Tori wondered why she hadn’t realized it before her life had taken such a sudden, emotional turn. “Let’s face it. New York is no place for a nature lover like me.” “But you did,” he countered. “I mean, you must’ve liked the city, or you wouldn’t have lived there to begin with.” “True, but when you start to look forward to going out on a job in the country and hate returning home, something has to be mixed up. That’s why I chose to move here.” She hated lying like this, especially since there was still a chance Walker had already found out the truth through words she had written herself. Yet the explanation flowed freely from her lips. So freely she was almost starting to believe her story. “I guess that makes sense,” he said. “I want you to be honest with me about something.” “Sure.” “I know I was pushed on you, taking over your cabin, and all. Are you sorry?” “You’re right. You were.” Walker smiled as he ran his hand through his hair. “Your presence hit me like a tornado, but I’ve gotten used to you being around.” “Is that your way of saying you don’t want me to leave?” Tori tried to hide the longing in her voice. “You’re a very perceptive woman, Miss Tori Russo.” “If you call me that again, I swear, I’ll have to rethink my agreeing to stay with you.” “So you’re only agreeing to stay. It has nothing to do with the way I touch you here.” Walker placed a skilled hand on the first button of her blouse. “Or maybe, the way I touch you here.” He slipped his hand beneath the lacy bra, caressing her breast, spreading a comforting warmth throughout Tori’s entire being.

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“I hate to agree with you, but I can’t deny there’s some truth to what you’re saying,” Tori said, closing her eyes, becoming conscious for the first time that she felt as though she belonged here in Forrester Rock, as if there were nothing or no one in this world who could touch her.

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Chapter Eighteen Days went by and the heavy rains weren’t kind to their little nook by the forest. For three days straight, constant showers within heavy thunderstorms pummeled them, causing the creek to flood. It was like a dream, being locked up in the cabin with nothing to occupy them but their own desires. With the rain came disappointment that their relaxing on the bridge, which they both had grown to enjoy very much, was not something they could do in such horrendous weather. Tori kept busy, adding more of her womanly touches to the ordinary looking interior of the cabin. With paint Walker found in the shed, she rejuvenated the discolored walls of the bedrooms with a fresh coat of antique lace. Not only did it achieve a more pleasant tone for the walls, it also made them look twice the size. Walker laughed at the sight of Tori after she completed the task. She had insisted on doing it without his help, and her inexperience showed when she appeared, exhausted, from his room. “What’s so funny?” she asked, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “You’ll need to look in the mirror to get the full effect.” Tori went to the bathroom, took one look at her reflection and saw the racing strip smeared across her forehead. She joined in with his laughter. “I said I could paint, but I never guaranteed to come out of this whole task clean,” she said with a hopeless expression on her face.

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Walker got up from the couch and followed her as she tried washing the paint from her hands in the bathroom sink. He swiped aside her hair, running his fingers along the exposed softness of her neck. His lips touched the nape of her neck, replacing his fingers, enabling them to move around to the front. Tori jumped out of his grasp, almost certain she had felt his hands start to tighten. “Are you okay?” Walker seemed startled. “I’m fine. You gave me the chills. That’s all.” Tori rubbed the back of her neck. Had she imagined Walker had been about to choke her? She looked into his eyes, searching them for some hidden evil. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Why are you looking at me like that?” She must have imagined it. She took a deep breath, accepting his arms from behind, lacing his fingers in the soapiness of hers, closing her eyes to the sensation. Please let me be wrong… The floor was now covered with more than its fair share of water from the overspill the two were creating in the sink. All that mattered was the simple closeness Tori felt as Walker’s hands slipped in hers within the bowl of white porcelain. From there they stepped into the newly hung shower, which Walker had installed the previous morning. The longer they stayed in there, the colder the water got, and Tori silently admitted it was the way Walker’s hands felt on her skin that made her savor every minute, forgetting all about the water’s loss in temperature. They were so close Tori swore she could distinctly hear Walker’s heart beating rhythmically against hers. Nothing outside that room could have gained their immediate attention, for the goings-on within the midst of the shower curtain were too strong—too breathtaking—to allow for any type of distraction… ***

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The steady sound of dripping water was coming from what used to be Tori’s bedroom. Fresh out of the shower, she followed as Walker went to investigate the evident problem. From outside the room, she could see the roof had somewhat given in to the torrential rains of the South. It was a good thing Tori no longer needed the bedroom, for the mattress was soaked with water from the leaky roof. It was beyond saving. Walker needed to get it out of the cabin before the scent of mildew started setting in. Tori panicked at the sight of the drenched bedroom. Walker, on the other hand, seemed to have been through this a time or two before. She tried to help him carry the mattress out, but Walker was so mad about the leak, he insisted, with the energy from his anger, lifting it off the frame and dragging it out himself. While he finished with that, Tori went into the laundry room to retrieve a large bucket in order to catch the constant stream of water pouring through the cracked roof. “So much for the shower,” Walker said, stepping back inside, clearly soaked with mud splashed on his jeans and bare chest. “How I see it is…” she said with confidence, wanting nothing more than to pull him back to the bathroom and into the confines of the shower, “…we could look at it as a positive thing.” She wanted to forget everything dreadful going on around her. “I don’t really see anything positive coming from this.” He motioned down his front, then to the bedroom on the right. All it took was one look at him, standing in the doorway soaked and wet, and Tori thanked God for bringing Walker into her life when she needed someone the most. She walked over to the open front door where he stood. She could feel the cool spray from the rain hitting her bare legs as it bounced off the porch. She placed her hands on his chest, running her fingertips down the length of his body. The low groan deep within his throat almost escaped his lips. Looking into the bedroom and hearing the large rain droplets hitting the bottom of the bucket alerted Tori to Walker’s urgency to make the repairs as soon as possible. 159


“You do realize, between this door being open and that leak in there, we’re going to have a flood if I don’t fix it?” Tori knew he wasn’t trying to deliberately push her away. “Don’t be so dramatic.” Tori nestled her mouth on his neck. “I’m serious. Look at it in there.” Tori turned and assessed the room. “All right, what can I do to help?” “I’m going to go out to the shed and grab a tarp to cover that part of the roof until the rain stops.” Walker went to the closet and took out his hooded raincoat. “Just stay here and keep dry.” He kissed Tori on the tip of her nose, then headed back out into the rainy night. With the mattress removed, she went in the spare room and started to take apart the empty frame of the bed. There was no sense in having it there in Walker’s way while he was making the repairs. The sound of the telephone reached Tori’s ears. She thought about ignoring it, but her curiosity got the best of her. Jumping up out of the center of the metal frame, she was able to pick up the phone on the third ring. “Hello?” “Tori Russo, please,” inquired a female voice on the other end of the line. “Speaking.” “Hi, Tori, this is Dr. Rainer’s office. I wanted to let you know we have your test results in.” “And?” Tori’s heart seemed to skip a beat. “The doctor would like you to come in.” “Now?” Tori asked, looking out the window at the steady rainstorm. “We wouldn’t think of having you come out tonight but sometime in the morning, if possible.” “You can’t tell me anything over the phone?” “The doctor’s not here. He’s the one you need to speak with. We’ll see you tomorrow. Then?” the receptionist asked. “I’ll get there as early as I can.” 160

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Tori dropped into the old recliner, still holding the phone, trying to take in the conversation. What could they have possibly found? The nurse hadn’t said for sure they had found anything at all. He probably just wanted to let her know that if the pain came back, she was to see him immediately. That had to be the only explanation because, in all reality, there never had been anything wrong with Tori to begin with. *** After a lot of convincing on her part, Tori was able to leave Walker, on the roof, to his job of replacing the old shingles. When he had come in last night to find her hanging up the phone, he had asked who had called. Tori told Walker the doctor wanted her to come in to go over her history and set up a permanent file. Another lie. That morning she had insisted he stay home and fix the roof before the rain came back. Even though he clearly didn’t like the idea of her going into town alone, he knew she was right. The weather was calling for more storms by evening, and he admitted he’d have more of a mess on his hands if he didn’t get it fixed. As promised, Tori got to the doctor’s office bright and early, having left the cabin by seven forty-five a.m. There hadn’t been any problems on the way to town. No sounds of twigs snapping behind her, no crazy men jumping out of the fields and definitely no reoccurrence of any type of pain. This time, she had brought along the pepper spray just in case. There weren’t many people on the streets of Forrester Rock this early. However, the diner parking lot was packed full. The clicking of the door lock as she climbed the stairs to Dr. Rainer’s office made Tori aware she was his first patient. The nurse, whom Tori found out to be none other than Mrs. Rainer herself, greeted her on the way in. Tori took a seat, the same one Walker had used the other day when waiting for her. She couldn’t wait until this episode was behind her. She hated having to go along with these madeup symptoms. The sooner this was over the better.

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“Morning, Tori, come on in,” Dr. Rainer said after opening the examining room door. “Is everything okay?” “Have a seat and I’ll get your file.” The doctor went to a small counter and pulled out a manila folder. He stood, leafing through its contents with a concerned look in his eyes. A look that had Tori dreading whatever was typed on those papers. “Doctor, surely you didn’t find anything wrong, did you?” She was starting to feel smothered in the small room—not to mention very nervous. “I’m going to assume this will come as a shock to you…or maybe it won’t.” He looked at her over the rim of his wire glasses. “I guess I’ll just come out and tell—” “What is it?” Tori almost jumped off the metal table. “You’re pregnant.” “What!” she screeched. “The pains you were having are common, but we’ll need to keep an eye on it.” “Are you sure I’m pregnant?” she asked, although his look was enough to let her know this was no joke. “I don’t want to get too personal, but is there someone back at home responsible for you?” He was an old-fashioned man. “No,” Tori said, still in utter disbelief. That could have been a possibility if she had been with anyone else besides Brock. Tori had always wanted children, a long time ago, but she had accepted she would never experience the joy of being a mother as long as she was with Brock. He couldn’t give her kids because he was sterile. Tori, the naïve idiot she’d been, had accepted it and loved him enough to deny herself a child. Tori looked up at the doctor who was being kind enough to give her sufficient time to absorb the news. She hadn’t thought twice about the fact that Walker and she had never used any type of birth control. For

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the past few years, she had never needed to. With all that had gone on in her life these last weeks, besides being paranoid every step of the way, she hadn’t thought of ordinary things like contraceptives. “Tori?” She forced herself to blink her mind back to reality. “I’m sorry. I’m a little shocked.” That’s all she could give him. “Are you absolutely sure there hasn’t been a mistake?” “Positive. I had my nurse run the test twice.” He cleared his throat. “Because of your situation and all.” What exactly does he know about my situation? Was she imagining things again, or did he know more about her than he was letting on? “My situation?” “I only meant you haven’t been living here long. I’m sorry if that offends you.” Tori excused his comment with a flick of her hand. “Should I call Walker?” Dr. Rainer picked up the nearby phone. “Have him come down here to get you?” Walker…what would he say? It was so soon. How in the world was she going to go home and tell him she was pregnant? Just when she had thought maybe, just maybe, she would be able to survive and be happy in Forrester Rock, life became more complicated. “No, I’ll tell him myself when I get home.” Tori stepped down off the table before he finished dialing the number. “Can I trust this information is not going to leave this room?” “You have my word.” Dr. Rainer took her hand in a would-becomforting hold, one that made Tori feel anything but comfortable. “I’ll want you back here soon for an examination. We’ll go from there.” “Thank you, Doctor.” She pulled her hand back. “I don’t want anybody getting wind of this.” “They won’t hear it from me. Here, take these.” He handed Tori a large bottle of pills. “Prenatal vitamins. Take one a day and be sure to call for an appointment.”

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“I will,” she said, then left the room. The nurse hollered to Tori as she was walking out the door. “Walker wanted me to tell you to meet him at the diner.” She bore a kind, gentle smile. “Thanks,” Tori barely whispered, walking out the door, sure the nurse had also been aware of the results from her blood work.

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Chapter Nineteen Tori didn’t think she could face Walker. Even more so, lie to his face when he asked about the test results. Why couldn’t he have stayed home where she’d left him? Tori slowed her pace, contemplating an alternative. She could walk back to the cabin, pretending to have never received his message. Knowing Walker, he would probably storm into Dr. Rainer’s office, demanding to know why she hadn’t been notified that he was in town. She couldn’t take the chance of Walker pressuring the doctor into giving him the results. There was no way she would let him find out like that. As Tori approached the diner, she noticed his motorcycle parked on the side of the building by the partly opened kitchen door. If she wasn’t mistaken, she’d heard his voice coming from that vicinity. When Tori drew near the door, she was surprised to see Walker talking to Kate. He was leaning up against a medium-sized freezer chest with Kate standing before him—practically between his legs. Tori didn’t want to eavesdrop; however, she wasn’t in the state of mind to interrupt them either. She couldn’t deal with Kate’s remarks. Not now. Straining to hear, Tori listened to see if she could tell where their conversation was going. They were being very suspicious, periodically looking around the room, whispering. They would’ve seen Tori if she hadn’t been positioned behind the door, looking in on them through the crack. Then Walker said something. Something about knowing what he was getting into.

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His words could be read any number of ways. She risked a closer peek through the crack, and then something happened, something she would have been blind to not see.

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Walker stood away from the freezer chest, taking what appeared to be a rolled up wad of money from Kate. She also handed him a piece of paper, small enough that it could have been from a Post-it pad. Why Walker was taking money from Kate, of all people, Tori couldn’t fathom. He hadn’t admitted it, but from the few times she had been in their company, she could tell there was something between them. Tori had let the issue drop, without further questioning Walker, just like she had always done with the closest people in her life. Just like she’d done with Brock. Tori had thought Kate might have been an old girlfriend of Walker’s. She could’ve wrapped her mind around that. But this? What the hell was this about? Having gone unnoticed, Tori turned and started for the road to the cabin. Her stomach had suddenly begun to turn and she couldn’t get the sight of them out of her mind. She was sure that’s what was making her ill, although she couldn’t forget her unsuspected pregnancy probably had something to do with it, too. “Damn him!” Tori knew she was far enough away for no one else to hear. Tori and Walker’s relationship had started off on rocky terms. Walker’s moods were like night and day, and Tori never knew when she would be hit with his wrath. After finding her by the tree the previous day, Walker had made his feelings clear to her. Tori had finally tried putting her suspicions of him to rest. However, now, not only had she found out she was pregnant with his child, she’d found him exchanging money with a woman who has caused Tori nothing but grief. Wait a minute…could Kate’s connection to Walker somehow have something to do with his connection to me? Tori’s mind went off on another destructive tangent. She put her hand to her stomach, the exact spot where her unborn child now rested inside her, wondering where to go from here. She couldn’t very well run to Walker with the news. She knew it was the right

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thing to do, but she didn’t have the strength to do it. Not after what she had seen at the diner. It was too late. He had already been caught, and she was not going to let him get away with it. For once, Tori was going to confront Walker Garrison. Amongst the whistling of the wind through the trees and the sounds of birds echoing each other’s calls, Tori heard Walker’s motorcycle, then his footsteps, getting closer and closer with each stride. She didn’t stop. Her feet kept moving, one foot in front of the other, but Walker still managed to reach her with no trouble. “Didn’t you hear me calling you?” he barked, taking a hold of Tori’s arm, twisting her around to face him. “I guess not.” Should she play it cool, wait and see if he had any intentions of telling her about Kate? “I waited for you at the diner. When you didn’t show, I went back to the doctor’s office. Why didn’t you meet me there?” “How do you know I didn’t?” Tori challenged, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of him. “I’d think that’s obvious. I didn’t see you.” “Maybe it’s because you always seem to be involved in bullshit up to your ears,” Tori mumbled under her breath. “What’d you say?” “Nothing.” She turned, continuing to walk down the road. “Wait a minute!” Walker caught up with her. “What the hell did you mean by that?” “What do you think I meant?” Tori refused to slow her pace. “I don’t know what your problem is, but isn’t this a little childish even for you?” That was it! She had had enough of his righteous mouth. “I am sick and tired of you referring to me as if I were some spoiled child! Let’s face it, Walker, you don’t know a damn thing about me!” 168

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“Is it something the doctor said to you? Is that why you’re acting so irate?” “Have you stopped to think maybe you could be the reason why I’m acting this way?” “What the hell did I do?” “You tell me.” Tori asked with her hands on her hips and a fire stirring deep inside. “Why were you taking money from Kate?” “What! Are you spying on me now?” “That’s real rich for you to say,” she snapped. “I don’t hear you denying it.” Tori waited for him to give her an excuse for his actions. He didn’t. He looked at the ground as if debating how to play his hand. Tori watched, waited. “It’s none of your business, and I don’t appreciate you insinuating there’s something shady going on just because Kate gave me a little money.” “Damn you, Walker! Why can’t you be straight with me?" “Calm down.” “Go to hell.” Tori turned her back on him as she proceeded on her way to the cabin and to the sanctuary of her own bedroom. “I can’t tell you.” Walker waited for her to stop and face him before going any further. Tori felt as though she was going to throw up. Never in her life had she wanted to trust someone as much as she wanted to trust Walker now. She was always thinking the worst, one way or another, presuming she was the center of some big master scheme against her well-being. “Are you in some kind of trouble?” she asked in confusion. “Please, don’t push me on this.” “How can you ask that of me after what I saw?” “Because it’s none of your business.” Walker moved in closer, lifting her chin. She had no choice but to look at him. “Would you want people prying into your personal business?” 169


Tori shook her head but couldn’t find the words to answer him, remembering how it had felt when he had attempted to look in her drawer. “It’s understandable you’re curious but drop it.” Walker headed back to his motorcycle. “Damn it, Walker…” She almost lost it right there and then. Tori could feel the tears swelling up inside, but she couldn’t speak. That was about as close to an admission of guilt as any. She found it hard to believe he was out to hurt her, but couldn’t forget she had been wrong before, especially when it came to judging a man’s character. “I’m sorry.” He came back to her, taking her hands in his. “For keeping things from you. If you have to know, she’s my sister.” She turned and faced him. “You heard me—Kate’s my sister.” Her chest tightened. His sister? The thought had never crossed her mind. Instead, she had been a hothead, only thinking the worst. Now she felt like a fool. “Your sister?” she repeated. “If you promise not to keep walking away from me, I’ll explain.” She nodded but couldn’t find the words to answer him. “When I came back to the cabin, after all these years, I found Kate there. Of course, I had no idea who she was, but she knew me.” “How is that possible?” she interrupted. “Shortly after my mother took me away for good, my father had torn another woman’s life to shreds. Kate’s mom. The same kind of story played out with our father and her mother, except he chose to acknowledge Kate.” He went and sat in the shade, under the same tree where he had found her the day before. She followed. “Kate took care of him until the day he died. If it weren’t for her, he would have died alone. Yet that bastard still ended up leaving his property to this damn town.”

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“Even after what Kate did for him?” “He didn’t deserve her kindness.” “How did she know who you were?” “Old man Trask told her about me, which was hard for me to believe. When I introduced myself to Kate, you should’ve seen her face.” He smiled. “She just came out and told you everything?” “Yep, right there and then, laid it all out on the table as if we were talking about the weather.” “Wow.” She grinned. “Why didn’t you tell me?” “No one knows. We thought it would be better that way. Kate took a lot of flack from this community for our father’s immoral mistakes, and we didn’t want to stir up the old pot again. As for the money, it was a loan. Plain and simple. ” “That’s understandable.” Tori nervously bit her nails. “Look—” “Come on, let’s go home.” Walker put his arm around Tori’s shoulders, leading her to his motorcycle. It wasn’t until they reached the cabin that he asked how she had made out at the doctor’s. Tori couldn’t find the words to tell him. Enough had already been said, and she didn’t think it was the right time to tell Walker he was going to be a father. It wasn’t that she planned to keep the truth from him—she wanted the moment to be perfect. For a man who had never known his own father, Walker would be a wonderful dad. Tori was sure of that. In bed that night, even though she was secured tightly in Walker’s arms, the nightmare came to her. Thoughts of a past life that now seemed to be light-years away. But not forgotten. This dream was unlike any other she had ever had. She wasn’t exactly in the dream but looking down upon the heart-wrenching affair. The scene was at a funeral home, the same place where Tori had viewed her dead grandfather. The most disturbing part of this dream was

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seeing herself lying in a casket as friends and family gathered around her corpse with aching hearts. She tried hard to scream, to touch them, to let them know she was there, right behind them, alive. Her words went unheard. They didn’t see or hear Tori Russo. All they grieved for was Victoria Valentino, their daughter, their friend, their biggest loss… Not only did Tori feel her own pain over and over again throughout this vision, but, for the first time, she also felt the pain her loved ones must have endured. Just one phone call and she could make it better for them. It would be enough for her to make it all go away. She couldn’t imagine staying silent for the rest of her life. Suddenly, Tori felt wetness. She slipped out of bed, then rushed to the bathroom and locked the door. She was bleeding. Why was she bleeding? It wasn’t as though there was a lot of blood but enough for her to be worried. She went to her room to get a fresh set of underwear, careful not to wake Walker. While going through her drawer, she found the bottle of prenatal vitamins Dr. Rainer had given her. Maybe he had been wrong; maybe she wasn’t pregnant after all. It would make things much easier on her if that were the case. All of the stress she was dealing with wasn’t good for her—let alone an unborn child. She went back to the bathroom, taking the vitamins along with her. She cleaned up, changed clothes, flushed the whole bottle of pills down the toilet, then returned to the shelter of Walker’s warm embrace. Even his security still left her feeling more alone than she had ever felt in her whole life. *** The sun came up sooner than she would have liked and so did the nausea. Tori tried to be calm, but she couldn’t help bolting out of bed. She ran into the bathroom with a bad case of the dry heaves.

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The squeaking of the bedroom door told her she had woken Walker. He was heading for the bathroom. “Are you okay?” he asked through a series of yawns—it was still quite early. “Yeah.” Once more, Tori couldn’t muffle the sounds from the stomach spasms which were causing her to gag. “You don’t sound okay.” “I think I have a stomach flu,” she lied once again to the only person who would have given a damn. “Can I get you anything?” “Maybe some tea. Do we have any?” She didn’t remember if she’d used the last bag the first night she had spent in the cabin. “I’ll find some.” Walker’s heavy footsteps faded. Tori got up and went to the sink, feeling better even though nothing had been produced. She splashed some cold water on her face, then looked in the mirror. The reflection staring back at her was pale. The morning's events made one thing clear. The doctor’s test results had been correct after all. Tori sat on the toilet. Nothing. The bleeding had stopped. She must have been spotting. That wasn’t uncommon during a pregnancy. Quickly she sprang off the toilet, fighting back another bout of dry heaves. At the rate she was going, she wouldn’t be able to keep this from Walker for long. A couple of days like this, yes, but she wouldn’t be able to disguise the pregnancy as the flu for nine months. When she emerged from the bathroom, Tori went straight for the sink, thirsting to ease the dryness of her throat. Opening the cupboard door for a glass, Tori was surprised to see the single teabag, the only one that had been left. She looked at Walker as he stirred the contents of the mug on the kitchen counter. “Tea?” He nodded.

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“When did you buy more tea?” Tori discreetly removed the bag from the cupboard. “I didn’t.” “This is the only bag left.” She held it up. “If you didn’t use it, how did you make that?” “It’s a special herbal blend of mine. It’ll make you feel better.” Walker handed her the cup. “Drink it.” Tori was surprised he hadn’t spilled the hot liquid down her front. He brought the mug to her lips fast, almost pouring it down her throat himself. Tori put her lips to the rim, only pretending to drink the tea. There was no way she was going to put some unknown liquid into her body, mainly because of Walker’s sudden persistence. Damn it if the wariness wasn’t still there—she exhausted herself with new thoughts. “Good?” Walker asked. “Thank you.” “Why don’t you go lie down on the couch and I’ll get you a blanket.” “You don’t have to do that, I’m fine. Really.” Walker was already in the bedroom, getting her the thermal blanket that lay at the end of his bed. Tori swiftly poured the tea down the drain, filled the black mug halfway with hot water from the teakettle, then hurried to the couch before he noticed. When he came from his room, Tori sipped the contents of the mug, then set it on the end table. Luckily, Walker didn’t question it. “You look tired.” “I am.” Tori eased back on the couch. The nausea had woken her up before she was ready, and Tori felt as though she could easily go back to sleep right in this very spot. Walker covered her up, then sat on the floor beside the couch, resting his head next to hers as he smoothed the wild strands of hair away from her clammy face. “Are you feeling better?” 174

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“Yes.” She smiled as her eyelids started to gradually drop. “You sleep,” Walker said, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be right here.” Tori dozed off into sweet dreams of the sun’s bright light shining down on her and Walker as he held their newborn child in his arms.

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Chapter Twenty “Will you slow down damn it!” Brock yelled into the phone. “How the hell do you expect me to understand what you’re saying? Start over. Slowly.” After Lewis, Brock’s confidant from the Vista Museum, had helped to get Brock out of New York, Brock had told him it would be in their best interest to never make contact again. Yet, here he was, screaming like a raving lunatic in Brock’s ear since the second he picked up the phone. “You’re not going to believe this shit! I received a phone call last week from a man, asking if a Tori Russo had ever worked at the museum!” “So what?" “So what?” Lewis yelled into the phone. “Who the fuck is Tori Russo? I’ve never heard of her. Even if I had, why are you—” “That was my first thought, too. I’ve never heard of the woman before in my life. The man kept insisting she must have worked at the museum at some point, something about a page from a diary he had found,” said Lewis. “Where are you going with this, and why are you calling me here?” Brock almost hung up on him, but he needed to make sure Lewis hadn’t blown his cover. “How can you be so damn careless! You know the phone lines are probably still tapped at the museum.” Lewis had made it possible for Brock to take refuge in another large city on the West Coast, and there was no way he was going to risk being caught over some insignificant phone call. Brock had vowed, no matter

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what, he was not going to prison. He would rather take his chances of being found by the Mob. “You can bet they are. That’s why I’m calling you from a payphone.” Lewis went silent for a moment, as if waiting for Brock’s interest to pique. “What about when this guy called you at the museum? You didn’t bring up my name, did you?” Brock couldn’t imagine why Lewis would have mentioned him, but obviously the phone call was somehow connected to Brock. Otherwise, Lewis wouldn’t have felt the need to call him. “You weren’t brought up,” Lewis stressed. “Don’t worry. I transferred him to my personal line. No one even knows I have it.” “What the fuck does this have to do with me?” Brock wanted this conversation to be over. “This man was adamant I should know this woman. I asked him to describe her, but his portrayal was vague. He did say he had snapped a few pictures of her. Get this, he didn’t even know what a damn fax machine was when I asked him to fax me the pictures.” “Are you going to get to the point any time soon?” “Brock, he mailed me her picture,” Lewis said. “And?” “You’re not going to believe this.” “What’s the big mystery? Did this woman work for us or not?” “Yes, but not under the name Tori Russo.” Lewis paused, and something about his brief moment of silence made Brock shiver. “The woman in the picture was Victoria.” Brock dropped the phone and it crashed to the ceramic-tiled floor below. He found it hard to breathe, let alone speak. His mind spun uncontrollably, causing him to almost pass out from the disbelief. Victoria was alive? It couldn’t be possible. It just couldn’t be. He had seen the obituary in the paper, and he had read all the articles that had followed his case. It couldn’t have been clearer that she had suffered a gunshot wound. 177


They told me she was dead. He’d believed them. Brock remembered the gunfire flying through the air in the office that day. His body went limp. He looked at the phone on the floor, hearing Lewis’s voice shattering through from the other end. “Brock!” Lewis yelled. “Are you still there?” In slow motion, Brock lifted the phone to his ear. “I’m here,” he said, his words filled with distress. “Did you hear what I said?” “You’re absolutely sure it was Victoria in that picture?” “I’m positive,” Lewis assured him. “I would’ve never risked calling you if I wasn’t.” “This is fucking unbelievable,” Brock said more to himself than to his messenger. “There’s more—” “Tell me!” Brock screamed into the phone. “She arrived there right after you were incarcerated.” “Where?” “Some hick town in West Virginia.” “Does this town have a name?” Brock was getting irritated with this guessing game. “Forrester Rock. Have you ever heard of it?” “Never.” “She’s posing as a photographer for wildlife preservation. This man had become suspicious of her and decided to do a little investigating of his own.” “Investigating?” “He found a crumpled up page from a diary Victoria had been keeping. That’s where she messed up.” “How?” Brock wanted to know every detail of this amazing turn of events.

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“Would you believe she wrote the name of the museum on the piece of paper? The man called information for our number, and lucky for us, I just happened to answer the phone.” “Holy shit…I should’ve known there was a cover-up. Now that I think about it, it was all too perfect.” “Now do you understand why I called you?” “Yeah, yeah.” Brock’s mind was moving in overdrive with questions that needed answers. He was damn well going to get them. “What do you want to do?” “I have to see her.” “You know the risks of getting caught are high,” Lewis said, almost as if rehearsed. Brock knew he’d try to talk him out of it. “I’ll be careful.” “Brock, you do realize what this could mean for you?” Brock didn’t say a word. “Not only are you risking going to jail. The Mob…if they get wind of this, they’ll kill you. And Victoria.” Everything Lewis had warned was the truth. Up until now, since the day he had relocated to California, Brock had been careful. He’d kept to himself, lost himself within the giant city. Was he happy? No. Victoria’s memory had haunted him from morning till night, of every waking hour. Yes, he was free. Free to do what? This kind of living was like dying a slow and dreadful death. Even if it meant getting killed, he had to find Victoria. He knew it was stupid, but being stupid was what had gotten him in this mess to begin with. What did he have to lose? “If Victoria’s alive…” “She is.” “I have to tell her how sorry I am. She has to know I never meant to ruin her life.” “If you do this, you’ll be ruining what’s left of yours,” Lewis stated. “You can’t expect she’ll forgive you and settle for a life on the run.” 179


“I don’t care.” Brock shrugged in misery. “She may never forgive me, and I mean her no harm. I have to do this if I’m going to have any kind of life at all. Even if it’s as a fugitive.” “Despite everything, I know how much you loved her. I can remember what an inseparable pair the two of you were.” “That’s why, again, my friend, I need your help.” “I had a feeling this was how you’d want to handle the situation.” Lewis exhaled. “The arrangements have already been made.” *** The package came overnight express the following day. It arrived equipped with all the necessities: a plane ticket under his new identity, directions to Forrester Rock, West Virginia, the name of the man who had contacted Lewis, where he would meet Brock when he arrived and a key to an airport locker where he would find a discreetly wrapped revolver. Just in case… There was no way Brock was going back to jail. The most important part of the package was the bundle of onehundred-dollar bills promised to the man for keeping his mouth shut— keeping it shut so Brock would have the benefit of arriving unexpectedly with no chance of the cops finding out. Lewis had made it very clear to this man that his life depended on his bribed silence. If he gave him any trouble at all—Brock would shut him up for good. Brock arrived at the airport in time to catch his plane. He had changed his appearance and moved across the country, but that didn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be noticed. He was very careful getting through security with no problems. He’d done it once before. After boarding the aircraft, Brock pulled the rim of his ball cap over his eyes so he could think. How would he find the words to tell Victoria how sorry he was? That woman had given him the world. If only it had been enough for him.

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It hadn’t been. From the time the unbelievable amount of money had started to flow to his bank account, Brock had found his greed had exceeded any type of human relationship. Thinking back on it, Brock would have given every last penny back if only he could have one more chance with Victoria. As the plane soared into the sky, he tried to figure out what it was he expected from her. Was it forgiveness? Definitely. More importantly, he wanted her to look into his heart, to see he still loved her, to believe he had never meant to turn her whole world into shambles. Brock knew, if nothing else, Victoria couldn’t deny the love they had shared during the three wonderful years they’d spent together. Could she? When the plane arrived in West Virginia, Brock still didn’t know how he was going to handle this. He was merely going to have to count on the idea that the words would come when he once again set eyes on her beautiful face. Lewis had told him to wear a blue-and-white-striped shirt so the man would be able to pick him out of the crowd. After retrieving the gun from the locker, Brock calmly walked through the airport behind smoked lenses. As he walked past the luggage pickup, a foul-smelling, loudmouthed country bumpkin approached him. This must be Chuck. Lewis had warned Brock about his ignorant manner. “You the one looking for Tori Russo,” Chuck shouted, giving Brock a half-assed punch on his arm. Brock stopped, lowered his sunglasses and spoke very clearly and to the point. “If you want to get paid, you’d better shut that loud fucking mouth of yours and lead me to your car.” Brock pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. Before moving forward, he said, “Quit making a spectacle of yourself.” “You’d better have the money, boy.” Brock halted, turning to face Chuck. “One more thing…don’t you ever call me boy.”

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On the drive there, Chuck did all the talking. Brock already knew the circumstances as to how Victoria—or Tori as Chuck had called her—had found herself in West Virginia. For the most part, he paid no attention to the grating sound of Chuck’s voice. The name of a man, Walker somebody or another, awoke Brock to the one-sided conversation. Something about Victoria shacking up with this man, giving him everything every other man in town wanted from her. This didn’t sound like his fiancée. Brock couldn’t imagine her being with anyone but him. He realized he had another hurdle to cross in order to speak with Victoria. Walker Garrison. Brock stared out the passenger side window as tree after tree fogged his vision. The cops had really done their job by hiding her here. Finally the countryside opened into a clearing. This clearing, he presumed, was Forrester Rock. “This is it?” he questioned to be sure. “Humph.” That and a chuckle was all that came from the man driving the truck. Brock was utterly amazed such a destitute, old-fashioned place still existed. He couldn’t help but notice the small buildings were the extent of this town. As quick as they had come upon it, it took Chuck even less time to drive right past it. Looking out the dirty windshield, Brock couldn’t see anything further than the long, dirt road over which they were hitting bump after bump. There was no sign of any more buildings, houses or people. Brock assumed Chuck knew where he was going, but he wanted to make sure this idiot wasn’t going to dump him off at Victoria’s front door. “Where are we going?” “All I have to do is make sure you can find Tori Russo, right?” “Yes,” Brock said. “You give me my money, and we’re through? I don’t have to bring you back to the airport or anything?” Chuck stopped the truck, scratched his head as if deep in thought, then looked at Brock. “Nope, I was told to get you here. That’s it.” 182

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“One thing’s for sure.” Brock turned in his seat, taking off his sunglasses for the first time. “You’re not getting a fucking dime until I see Victoria with my own eyes.” “Victoria. Oh, I get it, long for Tori,” Chuck rambled like a drunken fool. “That’s got a nice ring to it.” “You’d better make sure we stay out of sight” was Brock’s final demand. “For five thousand dollars, I’ll make you invisible myself.” “Five thousand?” Brock questioned, knowing the money in the duffle bag had to exceed that amount. Lewis had come through for him again. “That’s what we agreed on.” “We didn’t agree on anything.” “Whatever.” Chuck continued down the road. “As long as I get what’s coming to me, you’ll get what you’re after.” The further they drove out, the more the land seemed to open up. The fields went on for miles, outlined with the forest beyond them. The first important detail Brock noticed was the small bridge above the creek. He was sure Lewis had mentioned something about a bridge. When he looked a little further, he saw the cabin. The very place she had spent her days since leaving New York. “Why don’t you pull out a fucking bullhorn and announce I’m here!” Brock hissed, fearing they were getting way too close. “I thought you didn’t want her to see you.” “I don’t, you idiot!” Could the man really be this ignorant? “Oh…I get it.” Chuck snorted. He took a left, driving down into the nearby field until he reached another dirt road by the edge of the forest. He shut off the ignition and got out of the truck, looking around without purpose. Brock hesitated, his nerves getting the best of him, but then soon followed. “What’re we doing?” “Everyday, around this time, she comes out of that cabin and walks in these woods to take pictures. I’ll take you to the spot, so we can wait

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for her. What’re we gonna do to her when she shows up?” Chuck had a sick gleam in his eye. Brock walked up to the taller man, grabbing him by his stained shirt. “Listen, pal, we aren’t going to do anything. Once I see Victoria, you’ll be paid to get the hell out of here with your mouth zipped. Do we have an understanding?” “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” Chuck put up his hands in surrender. “I don’t know why all you men have to be so damned protective of that woman. She’s good looking and all, but to pay this kind of money for her?” “When there’s an asshole like you around, I have a feeling all the women in this town would welcome the protection.” Brock removed the ball cap, running his fingers through his hair. “About the money…you better be smart. Don’t go flashing it around this town, making people question where it came from.” “What do you think I am, stupid?” Chuck walked over to the truck and pulled the front seat forward. “Hey, I got some camouflage here if you really want to sneak up on her.” “I’ll pass,” Brock said, shaking his head at the ignorance of this overgrown child. “Enough of the bullshit! Take me to that spot, then I want you to wait for me back at the truck. If I miss Victoria, you miss out on the easiest money of your pathetic life.” Chuck didn’t argue. He started walking and Brock followed. Through the field, along the core of the forest, Chuck pointed to the very spot where Tori had hid in the grass and written the words that had created the suspicion, which led to her unexpected resurrection—and Brock’s unexpected fate.

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Chapter Twenty-One He had seen the two pull in, and now he waited with utmost patience for the man to return to his vehicle. Initially, he had been instructed to find and kill Victoria Valentino. Finding her had been easy. From the first moment he laid eyes on her, he knew there was more to gain than just the woman’s blood on his hands. Since coming to Forrester Rock, he hadn’t made contact with any of his people. He wanted to do this job by himself, on his own terms. By not letting them know he had already found her, he could do just that. Take his time. He was the only one to know where Victoria Valentino was and it gave him a great deal of leverage. Luck had been on his side the day he’d seen her writing in that journal. He hadn’t thought so at the time, but seeing that Chuck guy picking it up had played into his plan perfectly. Fifty bucks later, when he’d found out what she’d written, he had put his plan into action. Not only did he want to return to the boss in New York with the reassurance his job had been completed, but he wanted to bring them Brock Montgomery in the flesh. Of course, it hadn’t been Chuck who’d made all the arrangements with the man at the museum. The country hooligan never could’ve pulled it off. With suspicion that Brock still had people back in New York working for him, he had made the call, being extra careful to talk and act as if he were from Forrester Rock himself. Thinking back to the day when he’d spoken to Tori Russo filled him full of excitement. To think how easily everything had fallen into his lap

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made his job much more rewarding. After the scenario in Forrester Rock played out, he was sure to be given the recognition he had been waiting five long years for. Oh, yes, he could see it now… Victoria Valentino buried in a shallow grave within the woods of Forrester Rock, West Virginia, and Brock Montgomery traveling back to New York with him, giving the boss of the most notorious Mob family on the East Coast what he had wanted all along—Brock dead. He knew way too much information to be running around free—fugitive or not. This was his ticket to the good life.

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Chapter Twenty-Two “Are you sure you should go out walking around?” As she was fixing to leave, Walker reached out, turning Tori to face him. “I think you should give it another day.” “I’m fine. It was just a twenty-four-hour bug. Besides, the fresh air will do me good.” ″I’m going with you.” “Be my guest.” Tori swiped her lips across his. “You’ve proven to be very entertaining in the woods.” He leaned in close, his sexy voice whispering softly in her ear. “Why don’t you put that camera away and climb back in bed with me?” He kissed his way up her neck. “As tempting as that sounds, I need to get out of here.” What she really wanted to say was she needed time alone to think. “I got close to that doe and her fawn the other day. I bet I can get even closer today, and I highly doubt you have the patience to sit there and wait for them.” “You wouldn’t be trying to get rid of me, are you?” He tilted up her chin. “Of course not,” she lied, steadying her footing, catching her breath. “Then let’s go, but not out there.” Walker pointed to the area of the woods where she always went. “I want to show you something.” “The last time you wanted to show me something I was nearly pushed off a bridge.” She smirked. “I’d say you’re exaggerating a bit.” He went to the fridge and came back with two bottles of water. “Come on, follow me. I promise. You won’t regret it.” 187


“Where have I heard that before?" Tori pulled on her hiking boots and was out the door, trailing close behind Walker. The ground was a complete mess, still soggy from all the rain they had gotten. Tori’s shoes sunk down into the soil. She caught up to Walker and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The two of them had become close. No more arguing one minute, trying to cover up hidden feelings, then in the next, giving up the fight and falling with dire need into his bed. Things had been normal. They had shared every meal together, along with walks in the moonlight and rides in the afternoon sun. They were a perfect fit, each completing the other. Different, but the same in many ways. Tori wanted to believe he needed her as much as she needed him. Though her life, not too long ago, had taken a turn for the worse, it was finally on track. Maybe better than it had ever been. If only she could talk to her family, her life would be complete. Somehow she had come to terms with her fate and moved forward. When they reached the edge of the forest, Tori dared a glance at the tree. It no longer held the knife. Someone had come back and removed it, checking to see if their trick had worked. But who? “Something bothering you?” Walker’s voice made Tori aware she had stopped right there and was staring at the tree. “No, nothing.” She started walking again. “I thought I saw the doe and her fawn.” “I’ll show you something better.” They passed the clearing by the stream and continued to the left for another quarter of a mile. “Look.” Walker pointed. “There they are.” Following the direction of his finger, she saw the deer. Tori and Walker weren’t close enough to scare them off. She could relate with the doe, for she already felt protectiveness for her own child. The bleeding hadn’t reoccurred and, regardless of what she had told Walker, the sickness hadn’t subsided. She had managed to deal with it.

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Tonight would be the night. The night when she would tell Walker he was going to be a father. He’d be shocked at first, or maybe not, but Tori was sure it would make him the happiest man on earth. The unfortunate sadness of being neglected by his own father would only make Walker a better one. “What is that?” The distinct sound of running water alerted her senses. “Take a look for yourself.” When Tori pushed aside the brush, she couldn’t believe her eyes. It was stunning. How could such a beautiful waterfall be hidden in these woods? It wasn’t forceful, but it cascaded all the way down from the top of the highest cliff. “What do you think?” Walker pulled her through the brush to the edge of the small pool below. “It’s breathtaking.” Tori took out her camera, preparing to capture the amazing scene. Walker, on the other hand, sat with his back up against a tree. “Shoot,” Tori said, taking a closer look at the little window in the back of the camera. “What?” “I’m almost out of film.” She rummaged around in her bag, then threw it back to the ground in disgust. “I left the extra roll in my other bag.” “I’ll go back and get it.” Walker stood up. “It won’t take long.” “You wouldn’t mind?” “Not at all.” He bent down, kissing her lightly on the head. “Are you sure you feel okay?” “I’m fine.” Tori stood, watching as Walker made his way back to the cabin. From that moment on, things were about to change for the both of them. The past would resurface, lies would be exposed and deception would be the ultimate end to Tori being alone in Forrester Rock.

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*** Brock sat staring at a ghost who had appeared only in his nightmares. He was livid when she hadn’t stopped in the clearing by the stream, but rather walked past the area where he was hidden behind a fallen log. He was angrier when he realized she wasn’t alone. He didn’t move a muscle from where he hid behind the log. He watched intently as the couple conversed and cringed with jealousy when the man bent down to taste the sweetness of her mouth, which had been impossible for him to forget. Although their backs were facing Brock, he could see her face. She seemed happy with Walker Garrison, but it made Brock hate the man. Or was he envious? He eyed the two until Victoria disappeared into the brush. That’s when Walker almost spotted him, looking back out at the forest before going through the opening himself. Almost. He cautiously moved forward. He didn’t think he was going to get the chance to talk to Victoria. His heart both pounded and ached at the notion of losing this opportunity to set things straight. To be able to again see the face of the woman he loved, only to never speak a single word. That would have been worse than any sentence the court could have given him, and it would have put Brock right over the edge of hell. Suddenly, it was as if his voice had been heard. As if a higher power had granted him a small sympathetic favor, the man with Victoria finally reappeared, walking past Brock in the direction from which they had approached the woods. Brock placed a sweaty palm on the gun. Once Garrison was out of sight, Brock inched up, making sure she was there. First things first. Keeping his promise, he ran back to the truck, paid Chuck the money, then told him to get the hell out of there.

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Brock didn’t know how long he had before Garrison came back, but he was sure he needed to act fast. He stood like a disciplined hunter, slowly circling around the tree, and began walking toward his prey. The pine-needled ground made it easy for Brock not to be heard, not until he was ready to let her know he was only a couple of feet away. Once he reached a comfortable distance, his mouth became dry. He thought the words would never come. After several times of opening and shutting his mouth, Brock took another step toward her.

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Chapter Twenty-Three He watched, anticipation taking over him. The high-powered rifle felt cool against his cheek, his finger close to the trigger. His cover had almost been blown when Brock Montgomery went back to the truck just as he had been heading out to take his position in the woods. It was no surprise to him that the couple’s path had changed, leading to this new place. Not wanting to risk losing everything he had prepared for, he had lunged beneath the truck before any damage to his plan had been done. Montgomery had paid the town idiot, then retreated back to the forest. Shortly after, he had followed suit. He sat there. Eyes moving from Tori to Brock, then to Walker Garrison, wondering if the man realized he was going to die along with his beloved beauty. He smiled. Garrison didn’t have a clue. It hadn’t been something he’d predicted. He had only planned on killing Tori, but he wouldn’t hesitate to take out anyone who got in his way. Even Brock Montgomery if he didn’t play his cards right. Killing him here was just as good as bringing him back to New York to die. At that moment, his plans changed again. Garrison left, and Tori didn’t show any signs of going with him as he walked back through the woods. Something to the right caught his eye. It was Montgomery, moving toward his former fiancée. Perfect. All he had to do was bide his time. Feeling gracious, he decided to let Brock make his peace with the woman he had thought to be dead.

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He better talk fast and not pull any shit because time was running out. As he twisted the custom-made silencer on the rifle, he watched the game unravel. Victoria Valentino was about to face her worst nightmare yet.

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Chapter Twenty-Four “Victoria.” Tori thought her mind was playing tricks on her. She didn’t move. She could barely register the voice, the sound. Yet she knew who had spoken her name, her real name. When she slowly turned around, she was face to face with a stranger who possessed a familiar face, a phantom from her past. “Brock.” The word, along with the air, escaped her lungs. “Don’t scream, don’t run. I just want to talk to you.” He took a few steps further. “When I found out you were alive, I had to come.” “How did you…” “It doesn’t matter. I’m here now.” Brock stepped in close, putting his hands out to touch her. Tori pulled back. “Don’t you dare touch me,” she said, more angry than scared. “Do you realize what I’ve been forced to do?” “I never meant for you to get involved in this. If I would’ve known this was going to happen…I swear. I would’ve never risked it,” Brock pleaded. “It’s too late for that.” Tori shook with panic, feeling as though she would fall apart at any moment. “How did you find me?” “Victoria…” “Answer me, you son of a bitch!” “All right, all right, keep it down,” he agreed through gritted teeth, slightly pulling back his jacket to expose the gun, hoping it would be enough to ensure her silence. “Some moron named Chuck. He found something you’d written. I’m not sure what it said, only that you

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mentioned the museum’s name. He called, asking a bunch of weird questions about some woman named Tori Russo. Lewis put the pieces together, and the rest doesn’t matter.” Walker hadn’t been the one who’d stuck that paper to the tree. It all became clear. Chuck…she knew he had been acting out of character, polite even though it was more smugness, overly friendly at times. The knife she’d seen on his belt…it must have been the same one he had stuck in the tree, only to remove it later. Trying to absorb the details, as if this were a dreadful dream, Tori almost didn’t recognize the hand on her bare arm. All it took was one look into Brock’s eyes and her body awoke with fury. “Why aren’t you in prison?” she asked. “You know I’d never survive in that hellhole.” “You’d rather run from the law for the rest of your life?” “I don’t care what happens to me anymore. I need you to know how much I love you and how sorry I am.” “Is it my forgiveness you’re looking for?” How could he imagine such things after the way he had aimed the gun toward her at the museum with no regard for her safety. “Yes, even though I don’t have the right to ask for it.” Tori was terrified—she wanted to scream but feared Brock wouldn’t think twice about turning the gun on her again. This man ruined her life—almost got her killed for real—and she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in her if need be. Even if he didn’t hurt her, Brock had the means to ruin her life one last time. When Walker returned, there would be nothing she could do to hide the truth. To protect him. Tori couldn’t move. She quickly glanced in the direction where Walker had left her. He should have been back by now, and she couldn’t imagine what would be keeping him. Had Brock done something to him? She thought about what Brock was requesting of her. Forgiveness.

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“You can’t imagine what it’s been like for me to be uprooted from my home and shipped off to this town with nothing more than a bag in my hand.” Tori paused for a mere moment. “I think what hurt the most was having my family, my friends, think I’m dead and buried. As for you loving me…you never loved me.” “Yes, I do.” “I thought I loved you, but it wasn’t love,” she said, not acknowledging his interruption. “I’m still not sure what it was.” Hearing voices coming from the vicinity of the cabin, Tori turned to go. “Don’t say that!” Brock grabbed her by the arm, pressing her hard against his body, pulling her with him as he ran back out of the woods. His gun shoved in her ribs. “We’re not finished.” But they were. Those would be the last words Tori would ever hear from Brock again as the disturbance in the brush took over. Tori wasn’t sure which frightened her more, the chilling awareness of Brock’s gun digging into her skin or the sound of the bullet whizzing millimeters from her head. The only reason she knew for sure it was a bullet was the sight of the man, standing yards away, with a rifle aimed at both of them. Then Tori felt the pain, felt Brock release her as he fell lifeless to the ground. She took cover behind a tree, tears blurring her vision, wondering how her life had been turned upside down, yet again in an instant, forgetting all about the blood seeping down her arm. Another bullet—and another—shot her way. She felt as though she were going through the motions of the past all over again. Abruptly, someone bum-rushed her, knocking her hard to the ground. Warm blood dripped from her arm. As she turned to identify the person who had pulled her free from Brock’s clutches, more loud shots fired, preventing her awareness from leaving the man in the bushes. The man who had tried to kill her crashed to the ground. Her gaze quickly moved from the bushes to Brock. Tori couldn’t explain the emotions going through her mind. This man, that body, had 196

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once been such an important part of her life. After what he’d put her through, Tori shouldn’t have felt sorry for him. Yet in some diminutive way, she did. “Are you okay?” It was the FBI agent from New York, Agent Chris McBain. The scurrying of men disguised in black, emerging from the trees, took Tori’s attention away from him. “Stay down,” a deep male voice ordered from over their shoulders. Agent McBain waited for a sign from the other officer, letting him know the situation was under control. He pulled Tori to her feet and back through the woods. Her eyes scanned the area, looking for Walker. He must’ve been going out of his mind hearing all the gunshots. Had he witnessed any of it? Walker might not have been out to hurt her. Was he doing his part, doing what his job entailed him to do, staying back on the sidelines? Had Walker Garrison been in Forrester Rock to protect her? After hearing the story of his past, the doubt of its truthfulness had always remained dormant in the back of Tori’s mind. Now she knew better. “What’s going on?” Tori demanded. “Who was that man shooting at us?” “He was working for Mob boss, Salvatore Miceli,” Agent McBain replied. “He’s known your every move since you came here.” Shivers crept up her spine. To think she had truly been in jeopardy the whole time she was in Forrester Rock was too much to absorb. This mobster from New York had been here all along, waiting to put a bullet in her. She rubbed her arm, blood covering her hand. The bullet… Tori didn’t feel as though she were in excruciating pain, yet she glanced down at her arm, seeing the tear in her shirt. The agent stopped for a moment, examining the area in question. “It’s just a graze. We have to get you out of here.” “I don’t understand.” Tori started to cry, quivering in disbelief.

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As they exited the woods, she saw it. The cabin. It was engulfed in flames. Walker… “Where’s Walker?” Tori commanded the detective to tell her, stopping him from pulling her any further. “Let’s get you to the car.” He nodded toward a black Suburban. “Then I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” Tori managed to keep up with him, reaching the vehicle in record time. He opened the door, urged her in, then followed behind. She looked at the seat next to her. Empty. She had half expected Walker to be sitting there, waiting for her to be safe. He wasn’t. He was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Walker?” “Miss Valentino…calm down and let me bandage your—” “Damn it, tell me where the hell he is. Now.” “He’s dead.” “Dead…” Tori looked out the window at the cabin. “My men tried stopping him before he went in the cabin. They heard gunshots from inside, but it was too late. Before they could reach him a massive explosion ripped through the place.” “How could they have let that happen?” “I’m not following you.” “Walker…he seemed to know so much.” Tori turned to Agent McBain. “From the first day I met him, he seemed to know every little detail I had buried inside of me.” “He told you that?” “No. There was just something about the way he looked at me, like he knew. Then there were all these little things that didn’t make sense, like his childhood, his father. Did you know his father was from New York?” “Yes.” His admission shocked Tori. “In order to put you in that cabin to begin with, we had to investigate everything thoroughly. The area, the previous owner…and yes, Walker. We found everything to be completely safe.” 198

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“Walker wasn’t working for you?” “No.” The agent shook his head from side to side. “Walker Garrison was just a simple man who apparently returned to Forrester Rock in search of his roots. I’m sorry he got caught in the crossfire.” He pointed toward the woods. “But it could’ve been you who died out there today.” So Walker had been telling her the truth about himself all along… She could feel her insides tearing apart, as though a knife were slicing repeatedly through her soul, confusing her, making her numb to everything she had heard thus far. “How did you know Brock was here?” She stared out the window, seeing nothing but blank space. “We put a tail on Lewis Randolph the minute the phone call from Forrester Rock came through to the museum. We still had the phones tapped.” “Chuck.” Tori remembered what Brock had told her. “We’re holding him at the state barracks for questioning.” “How could this have happened?" She quickly turned to Agent McBain, causing pain to burst beneath the bandage of her arm. “As much as we try to stay clean, someone from our department was being paid plenty for information of your whereabouts.” The agent lit a cigarette, taking a long drag. “Miss Valentino, I take it you never told Walker Garrison the truth.” “No.” Tori rested her face on the glass. That’s when she realized they were no longer in Forrester Rock. “Why are we at the airport? Are you taking me back to New York?” She sat up straight, looking from the agent to the plane, situated outside the gate they were now driving through. “There’s a few things we need to discuss.” Tori nodded. “You do realize we have to move you again, don’t you?” “Back to New York, right?” “No.” 199


“I let you people pick me up and dump me off here as if I were some animal being let back into the wild. You say it was for my safety? Look what’s happened!” Her screams bounced off the walls within the vehicle. “There’s no way I’m leaving again.” “Besides Salvatore Miceli, we haven’t been able to arrest anyone else in this case. You’re still in danger.” “He could’ve killed me the second I got here, but he didn’t.” “That’s not to say someone else won’t.” “Does this mean I can’t ever go back to New York?” “I’m sorry.” Tori wanted, more than anything, to regain control of her life. From his words, she knew there was no chance of that happening. Never, ever again. Oh dear God, Walker. Tori placed a hand to her belly, tears overflowing from her eyes. “We’ve already arranged everything for you. You are no longer Tori Russo. There will be…” Her look of amazement stopped him in midsentence. “There will be an envelope on the plane. The stewardess will bring it to you. Everything you need to know will be in that envelope.” “Who am I?” Her body went weak. “Livvie Ramsey.” “Where am I going?” “Everything’s in the envelope.” Then he was gone. A marshal walked her through a door, which led into the loading tunnel to the plane. Like the professional he was, he touched the microphone in his ear, then nodded for her to move forward, blending her in with the many passengers who were already making their way to the plane.

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Chapter Twenty-Five She sat, the moisture on the window of the plane merging with her tears, staring out into the countryside of West Virginia. Nothing around her seemed real, the seatbelt around her middle, the empty seat next to her, the other people in the plane. A female voice sounded through the intercom, warning the stewardess to hold the door, that there was another passenger coming to board the plane. Tori stiffened in her seat, turning her head to look, her fears taking over, wondering who the person was. Another mobster perhaps? The woman coming through the passage, scurrying to her seat with a laptop in hand and papers under her chin, didn’t pose her any harm. Again she pressed her cheek to the window as the plane prepared for takeoff. Visions of Walker filled her mind. She could envision him now, all the questions that must have been in his eyes after the first shot had fired, his body blown away by the explosion in the cabin. She dropped her head, praying she could come to terms with everything she had cost him…his life. She didn’t think she would ever recover. She thought back to the first day she had arrived in Forrester Rock, scared and alone. She had been convinced it was the worst time in her life. It hadn’t been. Nothing could compare to the way she felt now. Walker had been a little rough around the edges, but without realizing it, she had grown to love him very deeply. He had become a part of her. If only he had known how much of a part of her…

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For comfort, she cradled her stomach with both arms, the only thing left of Walker…his baby. She slipped in and out of sleep, not able to distinguish reality from her own grueling thoughts. She heard footsteps becoming louder, stopping as they approached her aisle. With her eyes still closed, she felt the weight of the person as they took the seat next to hers. She didn’t look, didn’t want to deal with anyone. The arm brushing hers was distinctive, causing her to slightly open her eyes. Sure enough there was a hand extended directly in front of her body. “Michael Roth, and you are?” That voice…she knew that voice. Slowly, she lifted and turned her head. “Michael,” he said again. “Pleased to meet you.” “Walker?” She blinked in bewilderment, practically jumping out of her seat, looking around the plane, making sure she hadn’t been dreaming, making sure the relief, the trust, the safety, the love, everything that was reviving her soul was real. “Shhh.” He put his finger to his lips, then repeated, “And you are?” “Livvie Ramsey…” Before she could say another word, a stewardess drew near with an envelope in her hand. “Will you be taking this seat for the rest of the flight, Mr. Roth?” “Yes.” “That’s perfectly fine.” She held out two envelopes. “These are for you.” These? She watched as the stewardess handed the first envelope to him, the second to her. She hadn’t realized there were two envelopes. After the stewardess left, he opened his envelope, removing the folded paper. “I’m heading to Montana…and you?” He nodded toward the envelope she held in shaking hands. 202

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She opened it, looking down at the typewritten paper before her, glancing at the paper he held in his hands. “Well?” he asked. Tori looked out at the vastness of the sky beyond the window, the clouds barely below the plane, Forrester Rock a forgotten place. She felt his hand on her thigh. Meeting his gaze, savoring the sound of his voice, the touch of his hand, every emotion, a smile took over the sadness in her heart. She whispered in one breath, “Montana.”

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About the Author To learn more about Amy Mistretta and her writing career, please visit her website at www.AmyMistretta.com. Send an email to Amy at [email protected].

Look for these titles by Amy Mistretta Now Available: Secrets Within

Coming Soon: Undying Passions

Is it safe for a woman to trust a man who has already been convicted?

Secrets Within © 2006 Amy Mistretta Now Available Reese Abbot is content living in Massachusetts away from her prominent family. The last thing she wants to do is give up her dream job as an architect at one of Cape Cod’s most distinguished firms. But the death of her great-aunt forces her to return to Wild Ridge to stake claim on the Victorian mansion that has been in the Abbot family for centuries. If she doesn’t, her family’s greed will allow it to go to the highest bidder. However, the man Reese hires to help her bring the old place back to life has a disturbing past. Years ago, he was accused and convicted in one of the biggest controversies to hit their small town. Back then, Reese had always believed in Evan Payne’s innocence. Now spending every day alongside him, unable to deny the passion stirring between them, she’s convinced there was more to his case than anyone in the town — or Evan — is willing to admit. Will Reese find more than she bargains for when she seeks out the truth about Evan’s past? Or will her instincts only wrap her more deeply into the Secrets Within… Enjoy the following excerpt for Secrets Within: Reese had just set a kettle of water on the stove when she heard a knock at her backdoor. After going upstairs to slip into a silk negligee, she’d decided a cup of herbal tea would help her unwind. She’d had a busy day and an eventful night, but now Evan was shutting her out, forcing her to go to bed alone. Although against her wishes, that was precisely what she was preparing to do. He had insisted on spending the night in the carriage house, even though it was filthy, and he hadn’t listened to any of her protests.

She went to the door, then smiled. Through the nine-paneled window, Reese could see that it was Evan knocking, despite his earlier adamance about keeping his distance. Why was he acting that way? she wondered, her gaze locked by his mysterious eyes through the glass. What was he so afraid of? One thing Reese was certain of was her connection with this man. It was unexplainable yet evidently there. Until Evan Payne told her otherwise, or—God forbid―hurt her, she wasn’t willing to let it go. Because up until now, Reese hadn’t been very optimistic that she would ever feel this way. “Now, to find out what he’s really after,” she whispered on her way to unlock and open the door. “I see you’ve changed your mind?” “No.” Evan’s eyes flickered from her breasts back to her face as though trying to regain some sort of internal stability. “I locked myself out of the carriage house.” “How’d you manage that? You’ve only been over there for fifteen minutes.” Evan was clearly dejected that he had permitted Reese’s choice of clothing to distract him. “Yesterday when we were in there, I locked up when I left.” “I see.” Reese struggled not to laugh out loud in triumph. Way to go, Evan, now you have no choice. “Cut the games and get me the key.” “I can’t do that,” she said, walking back to the stove. “I thought I made it clear to you that―” “You might as well come in and get comfortable.” Reese poured water from the steaming kettle into two mugs. “I’d rather not. It’s late and I have to rearrange some things over there before I can think about getting any sleep.” “The rearranging will have to wait.” She handed Evan a warm cup of tea, then sat down at the table. “Looks like you’ll be staying here after all.”

“No, I’m not.” “Yes, you are.” “Damn it, Reese, just hand over the key already and quit trying to be cute with me.” Evan put the cup back on the counter, removed the teabag from the water, then dropped it back in. “Tea’s for women.” “Oh, so sorry, I forgot. Not only do I have too many roses speckled throughout my bedroom, I’m a princess who drinks tea, too.” Aggravated, Reese went to the fridge to knock his chauvinistic attitude down a couple of pegs. “Is this more a manly drink?” “I don’t want a damn beer. I came over here to get the key to that house and that’s it!” “I have no idea where the key is. I assume it’s been unlocked all these years because that’s how I found it the other day.” Reese sat down and crossed her legs, waiting for Evan’s gaze to falter as he followed her movement. He was putting on a good show, but Reese could see, deep inside, the personal battle he was having. If only he would quit trying to be so adamant about pushing her away and let go like he had the night before. Reese knew exactly what he was looking at, craving for, and she felt his pain. Desperately. The second Evan realized that she had caught his mind indulging in the prospects of such pleasures, he ended her own desperate thoughts by turning his back on her, heading out into the night. “Where’re you going now?” “To jimmy the door open or to get a room at the local motel. Anywhere but here.” “Will you stop being so childish and admit that you’re afraid to be in the same room with me?” Reese called, following him outside. She wanted answers, and he was going to give them to her. Evan stopped.

For a moment, he was frozen there, not making any attempt to turn around. From his body language, Reese knew she had made him furious. Whether Evan liked it or not, she knew that there was something going on with him. When he turned to face her, Reese wasn’t prepared for his next move. She expected him to either ignore her and keep walking toward the other house or give her one of his disgusted looks and end the conversation before continuing on his way. Instead Evan slowly turned, prowled back to within two inches of her face and glared down at Reese. First his eyes went from the top of her head all the way down to her bare feet, visible from beneath the silky garment that clung tightly to her body but gave her no sense of protection. Evan let his fingers trail under one of the spaghetti straps on her shoulder to a spot between her breasts. Reese wondered if he could feel her trembling beneath his touch. As if giving her a silent answer, the corners of his mouth turned upward, his eyes squinting to a penetrating stare. She had been stunned that he would take such a position, such a bold move. It was so unlike the man he had been portraying himself to be. Now Reese had to face the facts. She was getting what she had asked for, and there was no turning back now. “You’re right,” he said. “I don’t want to be in the same room with you. I realized that the minute I first laid eyes on you.” “Why is that?” Reese asked, determined not to let him intimidate her. He leaned in close, breathing the words in her ear, his hot breath causing the hairs on her neck to stand on end. “Because every time I am, all I want to do is taste every inch of you.” Reese didn’t know what to say. There was no question that she had wanted Evan. To some extent, she had enjoyed the challenge of him trying so hard to ignore her. She had thought it meant he cared.

But now…now she was becoming scared. His actions were only reminding her of who everyone said he was, of what he had been convicted of doing, and of her own suspicions and doubts. It was time for it all to stop. His body was stiff, his emotions very different from any she had sensed from him before. Reese took a small step back and looked away, only to have Evan creep in closer, placing a finger beneath her chin, giving her no choice but to look into his eyes. “Nothing to say?” he asked. “I…I just…” she began. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” Evan let the silk strap fall down her shoulder, taking her breast in his hand. “Not like this.” His thumb teased her nipple, which had become erect despite her fears welling up inside. “Like what? What’re you afraid of?” He continued touching her. “The truth, Reese. Are you afraid of me?” Surprisingly, she found herself moving in closer, forcing Evan to put more pressure on her body. If she pretended not to be afraid, maybe she would have a chance of getting out of this unscathed. When he showed no inclination of pulling away, she held her stance, took a deep breath, then pressed her mouth to his. He accepted her kiss. Never in her life had she been as unsure of anything as she was at that moment, not knowing if he would turn into the monster the town had alleged him to be or into the man who had touched her with nothing but tenderness the night before. Reese silently pleaded, for her sake, that her instincts about him hadn’t been wrong. This was her chance, once and for all, to find out who Evan Payne really was.

When an explosion rocks the Devlin Group, two agents must risk everything to save them all.

On the Edge © 2007 Shannon Stacey Tony Casavetti emerges from an undercover assignment only to be summoned to NYC by Charlotte, the Devlin Group’s executive administrator. When he arrives, he finds out she may be ruthlessly efficient, but his assumption about her being matronly was dead wrong. Charlotte Rhames has it all—looks, wealth and the respect she craved. But an attack on the Devlin Group throws her back into the pit of sex, money, and murder she’d crawled out of. With Tony’s life at stake, how far is she willing to fall? Book 2 of the Devlin Group series Enjoy the following excerpt for On the Edge: Charlotte turned and walked back to the car. She put a little extra swing in her stride, knowing the man's eyes would follow her ass like it was a hypnotist's watch. So this was Tony Casavetti in the flesh—lean, tan and nicely muscular flesh. Despite having a starring role in many of her XXX mental movies, his file photo did not do justice to the man himself. He was tall—just the right height to dance with while wearing killer stilettos. Well-broken-in jeans hugged a really fine ass, and even more broken-in leather boots and jacket gave him a decidedly bad-ass cowboy look.

Charlotte had a lifelong thing for bad-ass cowboys. The world could keep Tom Cruise and Orlando Bloom. She’d take her Sam Elliott, Clint Eastwood, James Arness. She’d play Miss Kitty to Tony Casavetti’s Marshall Dillon any day. And the thing about Tony was his delicious physique wasn’t even the best part of him. She’d been on the comm system with him during the good times and the downright horrific, and she liked the man he was. Decent, intense, smart. He wasn’t as coolly detached as Alex Rossi and Gallagher when an operation got interesting. Tony’s emotions fueled his temper and he tended to go balls-to-the-wall toward his objective. In the eight years she’d known Tony, she’d come to see him as the complete package. And now she finally had the opportunity to maybe take him home and unwrap him. After popping the Mustang’s trunk, she stepped back to let him dump his suitcase. He dropped the carry-on bag next to it, then stripped off the leather jacket. Charlotte admired the smooth rippling of his biceps as Tony unzipped the suitcase and removed a lockbox. He pulled a key from his pocket and a moment later was strapping on a holster. Unfortunately, his next step was slipping the jacket back on. Tony closed the trunk and rolled his shoulders. “Much better.” Once they were buckled in and navigating through the city as slowly as she could get away with without being obvious, Charlotte glanced over at her passenger’s rugged profile. It was no accident she’d been free to meet Tony Casavetti’s plane. She’d been waiting a long time to spend a few minutes with this agent, and the tall, dark and silent thing wasn’t cutting it. “How was your flight?” “Commercial.” “Sorry, but we’ve only got the one jet. We did spring for first class, though.” “I’d have felt better about the extra helping of shitty peanuts if I’d been armed.” There was a relaxed, almost amused tone in his voice that she found encouraging.

“That’s one of the key bullet points of new and improved Homeland Security—not giving shitty peanuts to armed airline passengers.” He laughed—a husky baritone—and Charlotte realized it was the first time she’d heard it. She’d heard Tony’s calm, slightly southern-accented voice give status reports. She’d heard him hissing live surveillance into the comm, and screaming orders into it when the shit really hit the fan. But she’d never heard him laugh. She wanted to hear it more often. “We would have given you a weapon, you know,” she said. He shook his head. “I prefer my own.” “A Smith & Wesson M&P .40’s not exactly a unique piece.” “Like I said, I prefer my own. And she’s the best when it comes to ambidextrous firing.” Charlotte mentally scanned the info sheets she had on Tony. “You’re right-handed.” Through the corner of her eye, she saw his sharp look. “Anything you don’t know?” “Sweetheart, I even know you had your wisdom teeth out when you were seventeen and had a bad reaction to Demerol. There’s very little about you…uh—all of you guys—I don’t know.” “You don’t know why I shoot the S&W M&P .40.” “True. So why don’t you tell me?” “When I was ten, I jumped into a really bad brawl. Kid managed to break two of the fingers on my right hand and I was screwed—couldn’t hit a damn thing with my left. Bastard beat the living shit out of me. There was no way I was letting that happen again.” “So you actually trained yourself to be ambidextrous?” “Yeah. It’s a secret, though.” She grinned at him. “I’m pretty good at keeping secrets. Although, on the grand scale of secrets I keep, that’s not a very juicy one.” “Not to you, but the guys in the black hats not knowing I can kill them as well with my left hand as my right could save my ass someday.

Hell, it has saved my ass.” He paused, then said, “So you know everything, huh?” His tone had changed, and Charlotte had an idea of what he was thinking. Childhood hadn’t been particularly kind to Tony Casavetti, and young adulthood wasn’t much better. “The lives of the Devlin Group agents are open books to me. But only to me.” Tony only looked out the window, and she didn’t press the issue. It wasn’t an easy thing having a person know every nook and cranny of your past, as Alex Rossi knew hers. But Tony’s…she couldn’t imagine suffering through what the court transcript attached to his psych file had detailed. A hard-ass Texas judge looking down at an eleven-year-old Tony and asking, “Well, son, how does it feel to know you’re such a worthless pile of refuse, ain’t nobody in the whole world who wants you?” Charlotte forced herself to stop squeezing the life out of the steering wheel. This visit—the DG meeting being the exception—was supposed to be about her fulfilling an ongoing little fantasy. Flirtation, fun, and— hopefully—a weekend of smoking hot sex. Getting to know Tony Casavetti a little better. Or a lot better. “So what’s this little shindig about?” the star of said fantasy asked after a few minutes. “Just an announcement we only want to make once, with the opportunity to hash any resulting issues out face to face.” “Sounds interesting.” Tony turned to face her, one eyebrow raised. “The Group isn’t downsizing, is it? Because unemployment forms don’t have check boxes for my particular occupational skills.” It was her turn to laugh. “No. Nothing like that.” “Good. And thanks for having my back when the Chavez job went to shit. Thought I was heading for a pine box that time. And there at the end…” The thought made Charlotte shudder. She was no stranger to violence, but she hated being reminded of how often the agents found themselves—or put themselves—in the line of fire. Especially the “core” of

the Group—Alex Rossi, Gallagher, Carmen Olivera, Grace Nolan before she left the Group. And Tony Casavetti. She really didn’t like when Tony was in the line of fire. “The girl he took as a hostage? Her name is Rosa, and she’s been reunited with her family in Mexico. I just thought you might like to know.” He closed his eyes for a moment, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. She forced her attention back to the road. “That makes it all worthwhile,” he said. “I’m glad we happened to be on open comm when it went bad.” She felt his gaze on her, but resisted the urge to turn and meet it. Let him look. “You know, you don’t look anything like I expected you to.” “Let me guess,” she said. “Stout. Gray hair. Clipboard?” “Metal ruler, actually.” “Too Catholic school,” Charlotte replied, then shot him a sexy smile. He missed it, since his focus was on her legs. “I’m not a very parochial kind of girl.” Tony’s eyes returned to her face and he gave a sexy smile of his own. “Maybe not, but I bet you’d look hot as hell in the skirt and knee socks.” Was he hitting on her? Flirting to be polite? During down time they tended to be flirtatious over the comm, but she wasn’t sure how he’d react in person. She’d been told her looks could be intimidating. She didn’t care—he was in her sights for a very limited time and she intended to make the most of it. “Hmm…I have a cute little schoolgirl outfit left over from a Halloween party a few years back. I’ll model it for you after the meeting.” There. The ball was in Casavetti’s court, and she waited to see how he’d play it. Laugh it off? Launch into a lecture on how sex would undermine their professional relationship? Throw himself out of a moving vehicle?

“A naughty schoolgirl, huh?” Tony said in a low voice. “I’ll have to remember to wear a belt.” And dammit, just when things were getting good and hot, they pulled up to her townhouse. A townhouse currently containing fourteen agents and seven support personnel, none of whom factored into her personal plans for Tony Casavetti. She calculated quickly in her head. Meeting in a half-hour. Should take an hour or so, then more mingling and what-not. A meal. If she were lucky, in about four hours she’d be playing giddy-up with her favorite cowboy.

When Jared Romero gets shot the only person he can turn to is Macayla Sullivan, but will she risk her heart—and her life—to help him?

Take Your Medicine © 2006 Arianna Hart After escaping from an abusive relationship, Macayla has no interest in tying herself to another man, even if he is drop dead gorgeous. Unfortunately, Jared doesn’t understand the meaning of the word no and breaks down her defenses as fast as she can put them up. When Macayla saves Jared’s life, little does she know that she’s putting her life—and her heart—in danger. Sequel to Surprise Enjoy the following excerpt for Take Your Medicine: Should she go down to clear the air with Jared? Maybe a little space would be best for both of them. She wasn’t the type to hold a grudge, but there was a time and place for every discussion. The fact that she was still feeling a little overheated from Jared’s kiss, and he was downstairs working out, possibly with his shirt off, didn’t bode well for an intelligent conversation. She had never seen a man as good looking as Jared, even Connor wasn’t as ruggedly handsome, and he was no slouch. Thoughts like those weren’t going to help clear her mind any. Macayla went into the kitchen and started a meatloaf for supper. She wasn’t sure if her stomach was up to that yet so she put in an extra potato to bake just in case. She cleaned up the kitchen and puttered around the house, straightening little things, cleaning the bathroom, making the beds. When she had run out of things to do and Jared was still downstairs, she figured she had better stop him from hurting himself. Idiot man, he’s going to overdo it just like I said. Why is it men think they are so much smarter than women? Macayla muttered to herself as she headed for the stairs leading to the home gym. As she stomped her

way down, she was blasted by the music Jared had blaring from the speakers. His face was turned away from her as his arms pumped the free weights. He had his shirt off, just as she had expected, and his torso was beaded in sweat. The muscles in his arms rippled with the effort he made to lift the weights over and over again. Macayla paused, speechless as she watched him work out. He was definitely eye candy. Forget eye candy, he was eye chocolate. The overhead lights emphasized his every asset—the glints in his midnight black hair were almost blue, his hairy chest was pumping up and down with exertion. His sweatpants sagged on his narrow frame and revealed the upper curve of his pelvis, a sight Macayla found irrationally erotic. Her mouth hung open as she stood staring at him, wondering how to take her eyes off him long enough to form a coherent thought in her head. She had completely forgotten the reason she had come downstairs in the first place. Jared dropped the weight and pressed his hand to his side. When he looked up and saw her, he lowered his hand guiltily. He stood and walked over to her, drying himself on the towel as he went. His chest moved up and down with his heavy breath from his workout. She said nothing as he came within inches of her. He stopped, waiting for her to make the next move. Macayla stared at Jared, watching him as he ran the towel over his body. She wanted to be that towel, wrapped around that gorgeous chest, feeling his heartbeat, touching his body. She licked her lips as though she could already taste the salt from his skin. The rational part of her brain yelled at her to say something, to break the spell, but her body wasn’t listening. It was too busy watching him. Slowly, almost against her will, she moved closer to him. She reached him, just a breath away from all that glorious skin, but he didn’t make a move to touch her. She almost whimpered. She wanted to be pressed against his chest, to feel the fire spread and burn. She waited breathless seconds for him to move, but when he

did nothing more than grip the towel and stare at her; she knew it was up to her to decide what was going to happen. She watched a bead of sweat work its way from the hollow of his throat, down his chest, over his stomach, and stop at the waistband of his sweats. She could feel her control snap as she saw the evidence of his desire directly below the devious drop of sweat. Struggling to find courage, she stood on tiptoe and placed her mouth against his throat. She delicately licked her way from his throat to the oasis of his chest. What a dilemma. She had dreamed about these acres of muscles for days now and, like a kid in a candy store, didn’t know where to begin. She wanted to touch and taste everything at once, yet wanted to linger over it as well. She kissed a path between his nipples, and brought her hands up to run her fingers through the hair on his chest, grabbing his pectorals gently and rubbing his flat nipples between her fingers. Jared remained silent, his hands gripping the towel. He held on for dear life, afraid to make a move and break the spell. Macayla devoured his chest—and his control. Her hands explored his torso like a blind person reading Braille. Fire exploded in his gut as her mouth trailed kisses over every inch, and worked lower second by agonizing second. When she reached the waistband of his pants, Jared pulled her up to him. “Macayla, you have about five seconds to decide if this is what you want, because if it isn’t, you had better run for your life.” “You talk pretty tough, but I don’t believe a word of it.” Macayla ran her hands over his chest. It was like now that she had finally given in, she never wanted to stop touching him.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd. It’s all about the story… Action/Adventure Fantasy Historical Horror Mainstream Mystery/Suspense Non-Fiction Paranormal Red Hots! Romance Science Fiction Western Young Adult www.samhainpublishing.com

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