Page 24 of Critical Doubt

"He thought you were a dancer? This story gets more and more interesting." Abby sipped her coffee. "Why would he think that?"

"We met at a hotel bar in Doha. He was on leave and I was on a layover on my way back to the States. There was a group of Texas cheerleaders staying in the same hotel. They had done a show for the troops in Kuwait. He assumed I was one of them."

"Why didn't you tell him you weren't?"

"It was easier to just be a dancer."

Abby gave her a knowing look. "I thought you got over trying to please people by turning yourself into someone you aren't."

"That night was actually the turning point for that decision. I was so conflicted about whether I wanted to stay in the army or get out, and after that night, I knew. It was so clear. I couldn't be a dancer for Ryker or a soldier for my father or a beauty queen for my aunt. I had to find out who I was."

"That was one of your better decisions. I've hated watching you push the real parts of yourself away. But, wow, I can't believe you had a one-night stand with Ryker. He's…well, he's really good-looking, but Paul said Ryker could also be very cold. He could completely detach from the emotion in any situation."

"I didn't see any sign of coldness that night. In fact, he was pretty irresistible when we met. He was confident and rugged, sexy and charming. He had wit and a killer smile."

"And how was he in bed?"

"Amazing," she admitted. "Hotter than hot. But I have to say he's changed a lot since that night. He's dark and haunted now. He has an uncertainty that wasn't there before, an isolated feeling about him. And maybe now I do see the coldness."

"That ambush changed them all. Only two died that night, but it seems like the rest of them have been dying slowly ever since then." Abby's gaze turned bleak.

"I wish you'd told me how bad things were."

"I kept thinking Paul would get better. I really did love him, Savannah. I just didn't know how to help him, how to reach him. We used to be best friends, but this past year, it felt like we were strangers. It seemed almost deliberate at times, as if he was trying to put a wall between us. He wasn't even that angry when I asked him to leave. He almost seemed relieved, like the other shoe had finally dropped. I thought he would get better when he knew our marriage and our family were on the line. But I was just lying to myself."

She didn't know what to say. No words could change what had happened. "It's not your fault, Abby. You know that. Even if he hadn't left the house, he still could have died. He was over at Todd's all the time. He was drinking all the time."

"I keep telling myself that, but it's so difficult not to feel guilty. I want a do-over, but I'm not going to get one. I have to find a way to move on. I have to be strong for Tyler. I can't let his life be forever ruined by this tragedy. I want him to remember Paul as the good man he was."

"You'll make sure that Tyler knows how good Paul was."

"But I can't begin moving on until we find Todd. I care about him, too, Savannah. He was trying to help me. He was taking care of Paul, even when he was dealing with his own problems."

"Don't give up hope, Abby. Todd is a strong guy."

"It's hard not to give up. I feel like whatever happened to the team nine months ago set off a terrible chain of events, and I'm afraid there's more coming."

"I don't know what more could come."

"I hope we don't have to find out." Abby paused, her lips tightening. "I want to get the elephant out of the room, Savannah."

She gave her friend a commiserating smile. "You don't have to say anything."

"Some people think Paul jumped off the roof, and I'm pretty sure some people believe that Todd drove into that river. You might even be one of those people."

"I might have had that thought," she admitted. "But Ryker doesn't believe either one of them did that—if that makes you feel better. He knew both of them as well as anyone."

"I hope Ryker is right. I also hope he doesn't end up like them, because I saw the changes in him, too, and it felt like the same changes I'd seen in Paul and Todd. I wish he'd come back here tonight instead of staying at Todd's."

Fear ran through her at Abby's foreboding words. She might not ever get back together with Ryker, but she definitely did not want to see him hurt or worse… "It's just for the night," she said. "Hopefully, the morning will bring good news."

"I want to believe that."

"So do I." But she had a bad feeling, and she couldn't seem to shake it.

Chapter Six

Ryker tossedand turned on the couch in Todd's living room as the chimes on the grandfather clock rang four times, which meant he'd been trying to sleep for almost five hours. But every hour, just as he managed to drift off, the bells would ring, and trigger his own private ride of noise and terror.

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