Page 4 of Deadly Past

The past washed over her like a tidal wave. Wynona bit down on her bottom lip to keep from sobbing as she fought back tears. She’d loved him so much. If she were honest, she still loved him. Always would. Yet they had been about as compatible as oil and vinegar. And she’d done her fair share of withholding herself from him. Letting the past and what happened to Lacey become an obsession Declan couldn’t compete with.

“Wynona?”

She blinked several times. No, she wouldn’t cry. As painful as the past was, she wouldn’t cry over it again. She’d shed enough tears to fill a swimming pool.

“Sorry, sort of. There was another girl who went missing not too far from our old home.”

“Same age as Lacey?”

“Not really. She was ten. Lacey was four.” Through the years, the police had kept an eye out for any other girls who had gone missing matching the same MO as Lacey. There had been some who came close, but they were in another part of the county, or the perp had taken the girls from a different location than their homes. They’d even looked into the more famous cases across the country, yet none of the perps had spoken as Lacey’s had.

“Why is he back now? Where’s he been for so long?”

Wynona wished she knew. “I need your help, Declan. I’m scared.” She hated admitting being afraid.

Declan took her hands in his, and she tried her best not to pull away. She couldn’t let him close again. Not if she wanted to survive.

“Whatever you need, I’ll do it. I know our past has been. . .rocky, but I don’t want anything to happen to you. I-I still care about you.”

Those words threatened to shatter the small amount of control she had over her emotions. Wynona pulled her hands free and rose. She had to put as much distance as possible between herself and the man who would always hold her heart.

He slowly rose to his feet. “I don’t think you should go home. Let me reach out to my team. We can dig into Lacey’s case and what’s been happening recently. Hopefully, we can find the answers you need to bring this guy to justice.”

Wynona let go of a relieved breath and faced him. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you. I can pay.”

No sooner were the words out than his reaction to them became clear. His jaw tightened and that wintry look returned to his eyes.

“That’s not necessary,” he said, his voice reflecting the same coldness. “I want to help, and we have some of the best people around on our team.”

While she and Declan were a long way from being comfortable around each other, she knew he would do everything in his power to find out who the person coming after her was and what his connection was to Lacey’s disappearance.

“Thank you,” she said again and glanced around at the quaint New England home. “Is there someplace on the island where I can stay?” She’d left her home soon after answering the police’s questions. With the officers standing guard, she’d thrown a few things into a bag and fled. She couldn’t imagine returning there again.

Wynona had driven straight through and hadn’t even considered what she’d do once she arrived. What if Declan refused to help? Or worse—what if he’d moved on and remarried? He could be seeing someone.

“You can stay here,” he said softly.

Wynona rejected the idea immediately. “No. . .I couldn’t put you out.”

A distracting smile played at the corners of his full lips. “You aren’t putting me out, Wynona. It’s just me and Simone.”

“Simone?” she latched onto the feminine name. So, there was someone else.

“My cat. Simone is my cat.” He looked around. “She’s here somewhere. Simone normally stations herself at the bottom of my bed, but I think she heard you coming before I did and hid.”

“Oh.” Wynona actually smiled for the first time in longer than she could remember. “Well, I’m sorry that I scared her, but I really don’t think--” Whatever else she’d been about to say died in her throat as Declan closed the space between them.

“Stay,” he said so softly she almost didn’t hear. She slowly nodded. “Good. I’ll give the team a call first thing in the morning, and we can get started. Do you still have the files on Lacey’s case?”

She’d packed them into the back of the car. Wynona guarded those files as if they were precious because they were. The few details contained in those folders were all she had to find her sister. “I do. They’re in my car.”

She started for the door, but he stopped her. “Let me. I’ll grab your bag and the files. Stay here where it’s warm.”

He was protecting her. In the past, she’d always asserted her independence. After all, she’d survived a war and seen terrible things, but this time—after what happened so far—she was happy to have his protective care.

Wynona handed him her keys. “Everything’s in the trunk.”

He held her gaze a second longer before he grabbed his jacket and stepped out into the darkness. The second the door closed, Wynona blew out a breath. Declan had a way of getting to her even when he was just being a nice person. She’d known coming here would be hard, but she hadn’t expected every moment of their lives together would come flashing back, reminding her of the good times and pushing out those final months.

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