Page 3 of Deadly Past

Though Hope Island was small—barely a thousand people lived here full time—Declan had never stopped worrying about personal safety after living through the things he had as a Ranger. Protecting himself was always a priority. When he entered a room, he automatically scanned the people there for possible threats and picked out all exits in case he had to leave in a hurry. Some habits wouldn’t go away no matter how far he’d traveled from Afghanistan.

Her shivering snapped him out of his fog. He grabbed a blanket from the living room sofa and placed it around Wynona’s shoulders, not missing the way she froze when his hands brushed her shoulder.

The fire in the fireplace had burned down to embers. “I’ll add some more logs to the fire.” He headed to the pile near the fireplace without waiting for her answer. The awkwardness between them reminded him of the silent standoff they’d endured for months before their marriage ended. All his fault.

It hadn’t always been like this. . .They’d loved each other so much. Wynona had been a nurse at Bagram Air Force Base when they’d first met. They’d fallen in love so easily. Marriage hadn’t been nearly as simple. She’d returned from the war and adjusted to civilian life. He’d signed up for another tour because he didn’t know how to do normal. When he finally returned, the two years they had been married had proved as much.

“Thank you,” she murmured, pulling him away from the past.

Declan stirred the fire and dropped some logs on it before dragging one of the old rockers up close.

Wynona slipped into the seat and clutched her hands tight around the blanket. The lack of a wedding ring on her left hand assured him she hadn’t remarried. A spark of hope ignited that he quickly quashed. He’d ruined things for them. That door was firmly shut.

When he couldn’t think of anything to say but another question as to why she was there, he kept silent. They might not be together, but he knew Wynona. When something was troubling her, it took her time to get it out.

She looked up at him with those huge ice-blue eyes that had been the first thing to grab his attention when they’d met. “Someone broke into my house.” Her voice was shaking so much it was hard to understand, but he heard enough to understand her life was in danger. “I think they were trying to kidnap me.”

Declan squatted in front of her. “Who tried to kidnap you, Wynona? Why?” But he had a feeling he knew. This was about Lacey.

“I think the person who took Lacey is afraid I might know something that will convict him of. . .” She couldn’t finish. Though Wynona held out hope that Lacey was still alive, perhaps brainwashed by her captor, Declan believed after so long if Lacey were alive, there would have been some sighting of her.

“Tell me what happened,” he prompted when she was silent.

She rubbed her palm across her eyes. “I’m not even sure where to start. A few days ago, I went by the old house.” She paused to look at him. He knew the place she spoke of well. First Grace and then Wynona had kept up the house in Bangor from which their youngest daughter had disappeared more than twenty years ago. He’d heard that Grace had passed away a few years back. It didn’t surprise him that Wynona still watched after the place.

Her startled eyes locked with his. “Declan, there was someone at the house. A man.”

This had his full attention.

“The plates on the pickup were stolen from New York.” The significance of the plates was not lost on him. That had been the only lead the police had back when Lacey was taken. A neighbor remembered seeing a car driving slowly down the street with plates from New York.

“Did you get a good look at the man?”

“I did. It was him, Declan. I’m positive this was the man who took Lacey.”

“Are you sure? You were just a kid back then.”

“I’m sure.” She didn’t hesitate.

After so long, why would Lacey’s abductor come after Wynona? “You reported what happened to the police?”

She pinched the bridge of her nose, and he had a sinking feeling. “To the detective handling Lacey’s case. He couldn’t find anyone matching the description in their databases.”

Declan’s jaw tightened. Though Wynona and her family had diligently kept her sister’s case in front of the police, after so long, the original detectives working it had long since retired. One had passed away, as well as the neighbor who spotted the car. Most people’s memories after twenty-years were fuzzy.

“You said he broke into your house and tried to kidnap you?” Wynona wouldn’t have come to him for help otherwise.

“Yes.” She stuttered out the word. “I saw the same truck drive by my house several times.” She snuck a look at him. Declan couldn’t keep from flinching at the way she saidmyhouse. At one time, they’d lived there together. “Anyway, I heard something outside. Then around the back of the house and then—” She gulped in a breath. “He broke in and I ran. I didn’t see him. I called 9-1-1 and ran to my neighbor’s.”

She could have died. This was serious. “Someone’s scared.” He held her gaze. Why—after so long—had Lacey’s abductor returned?

Chapter Two

Getting the story out was next to impossible because the man who was looking at her with so much concern was the one she’d once been madly in love with, until he’d slowly disappeared into his war-torn thoughts.

Same dark hair cut short in military fashion as he’d worn since the day she’d met him. Same deep hazel eyes that seemed to latch on and look right through her as they did right now.

“Has something new come up recently on Lacey’s case?”

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