Page 67 of Hidden Depths

“You’re hurt.” Her face crumpled. She wanted to fix it but didn’t know how.

He shook his head. “Not too bad.” He wiped some of the blood away, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think it’s broken.”

“It’s my fault.”

“What, that I got punched in the face? I got involved in this with my eyes wide open.”

She looked at the knife again. “I was going to use it. I was ready to stab him.”

“You’ve been ready to defend yourself for years, but I’m glad it didn’t come down to that. If I hadn’t been here—” He took a deep breath. “Well, I’m glad I was.”

A weariness sapped her strength, and she dropped the knife before rushing for Tom and wrapping her arms around him. She was tired of fighting what she felt for him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said with her face buried in his shoulder.

When she noticed he didn’t hold her as tightly, she pulled away. “I’m sorry. I’m probably hurting.”

He smiled stiffly. “Only a little. I’ll be bruised tomorrow, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. Nothing’s broken, so the recovery won’t take long. I’ll be good as new in no time. You’ll see.”

“No, I won’t.”

“You’re right. But I promise I’ll be okay.” He nudged Dutch with his toe. “We’ve got to get out of here. It’s not safe to hang around too long.”

“Should we go to the sheriff? We’ve got a dead body now. He can’t deny something bad is going on. He’ll have to get involved.”

“Uh…That could be a problem.”

“Why?”

“Dutch not only discovered you were here, but he knew where to find you. There’s only one person we told.”

She pressed a hand to her stomach. “Dodd?”

“I left my details, including this address, with him in case he needed to get in touch.”

“That can’t be. He can’t be involved. That’s too much.” She circled the room, but when she turned to walk back toward him, she saw the dead body and stopped. “We have to get out of here.”

“Yeah.”

“But where can we go? What can we do?”

“We’ll figure something out.”

“What about your boss? Can we call him?”

“I will. But not yet.”

“Why not?”

“I’d rather not go against orders, and I want you safely out of here before I bring him in.”

“Why?”

“In case he wants you to stick around.”

“If he thinks that’s best, then shouldn’t you listen to him?”

“Not on this. The first thing we’ll do is head back to the bus station. If there are any buses leaving, you’re going to be on one.”

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