Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Dana Mentink (novels to improve english txt) 📗

phone rang. She answered it, eyes widening before she hung up a few seconds later. “It was Kenny,” she said, cheeks gone pale as moonlight. “He said he’s going to kill me too if I stick around. I’m leaving in the morning. I dropped my car at the shop because it was overheating. It will be ready by ten and then I’m gone.”

“But what did you find?” Laney pleaded, worried that Beckett would lose it completely.

Rita shook her head. “As soon as I’m clear of this town, I’ll call you.”

“And tell us what?” Beckett demanded. “This isn’t fair.”

Laney kept her voice soft and calm. “You’re scared. Tell us now. We can get the police to help you, protect you.”

Rita jammed her fists to her hips. “If I go to the police, Kenny will know. He’s got friends in this town. He will track me down. No, I’m handing this all over to you and you can straighten it out with Kenny. That’s all I’m saying. If you send the police here tonight, I won’t ever tell you what I have from Pauline.”

Then she slammed the door in their faces.

Laney and Beckett walked away a few paces, facing each other in the failing sunlight. When she spoke, Laney was surprised at her eagerness. She took him by the forearms. “Beckett, this might finally be over. She knows something about what happened.”

He looked down where her fingers circled his wrists. “I can’t really believe it.”

“I can. I’ve been praying for it on my knees every night.”

He tilted his head. “You have? Even after I filed for divorce?”

She shrugged. “You don’t deserve to be imprisoned. You’re innocent.”

He was quiet a moment. “And you’ve always believed in me, haven’t you? Even when everyone else was ready to hang me from the highest tree, my cousin Jude included.”

She sighed. “They don’t know you like I do.”

He lifted a hand and stroked her cheek with one finger.

“You were always the best thing that ever happened to me.” Before she knew what was happening, he’d leaned down and kissed her. The connection was so sweet, like she’d remembered, only different. He was the one person on the planet who knew her, deeply and completely, and she’d thought she’d known him too.

But he’d asked for a divorce. That betrayal stung her afresh. Hurt rose to overtake the other rush of feeling and she stepped away.

He looked dazed, staring at her with warmth she could not ignore.

“I want you to have your life back, Beckett.” She cleared her throat and added, “So you can start fresh.”

“Laney…” He stopped and looked at his feet. “Thanks, for believing in me, I mean.”

Her throat felt too raw to speak, so she started back to Aunt Kitty. They helped her to her car and saw her safely on her way. Laney felt a rush of exhaustion strip away her remaining energy. Whatever they had discovered, there would not be any further developments until the morning.

Beckett walked her back to the cabin. Mercifully, he did not say anything further about what had passed between them. When she was safely inside, she closed the curtains and hoisted Admiral onto her bed, letting him curl into the warmth of her stomach. “You understand why I can’t trust Beckett again, right?”

Admiral swiped a tongue under her chin and snuggled closer.

No, Admiral probably couldn’t imagine anything of the kind. But what did the dog know of betrayal? He probably didn’t even remember the family who had abandoned him at the vet clinic. If the dog could speak, would he chastise her for being foolish? She understood on some level why Beckett asked for the divorce.

But the deep-down, soul-crushing ache of it, being turned away when she’d needed him most, would not subside. Is it pride, Lord? On the heels of that prickly thought, she turned out the light and pulled up the quilt.

* * *

She awakened with a start. The bedside clock told her it was just before two in the morning. Why had she woken? Though her muscles still ached from her life-or-death run from Kenny’s uncle, she was not uncomfortable, nor consumed by a craving or a need to visit the restroom. But there was something, just out of reach in her senses.

The porch light she’d left on at Beckett’s insistence created a feeble glow through the front curtains. A shadow crept past the window. Her stomach dropped. It wasn’t Beckett gliding past, too short and too stealthy. As quietly as possible, she slid out of bed, leaving Admiral snoring under the blankets. Grabbing her cell phone, she tiptoed to the window, easing the curtain back enough to peer out. The shadow was gone. Had she imagined it? She was tapping out a text message to Beckett when a realization began to dawn on her, something out of place, something dangerous.

Smoke!

She yanked the drapes fully open, sending Admiral into a panic. Gray puffs drifted across the courtyard. Beckett emerged from his tent at a gallop, still fully clothed.

She shoved her feet into some shoes and opened the door, stepping out on the porch and making sure Admiral did not follow. Beckett ran toward her, skidding to a stop as his senses took in the same message. There was a fire…close.

“I’m calling the fire department.” Even as she dialed, she realized what Beckett was no doubt recognizing also… The fire was coming from the western set of rooms, from the spot where their one-and-only guest was sleeping.

* * *

Beckett sprinted to Rita’s room. Smoke poured out from under the door. He didn’t bother knocking but tried the handle. Locked. He was hammering on the wood and hollering when Herm arrived, barefoot and sleepy eyed, followed by a fully dressed Levi.

“I was out checking on a horse,” Levi said. “Break the window?”

“I’ll get a metal chair.” Herm turned and hustled off.

Beckett didn’t wait. He aimed a massive kick at the spot just below the door handle. It held until the second smash, when the wood splintered and gave,