Page 6 of Deadly Past

Her breath lodged in her throat when he looked her way. Wynona dropped her gaze from the reminder of the past and everything she’d once hoped for.

“Let’s talk about the man at your old house.” Was it her imagination or was there just the slightest of a catch in his voice? The man who had been like a rock during some of the fiercest battles during the war had slowly crumbled around her, and she still couldn’t associate any weakness with him. “How tall was he? What was his build like?”

She swallowed several times. “He was less than six feet—probably around five-eight or nine and maybe one-eighty or ninety. It was hard to say about his hair color, but it appeared dark.” She shrugged. “Not much, I know.”

His expression softened as he looked at her, and Wynona struggled not to fall apart. “I know it’s silly to keep the house after so long, but I promised Mom I wouldn’t sell the place.”

Declan shook his head. “It’s not silly at all. What about the truck he was driving?”

“It was old and kind of rusty.” She rubbed her forehead. “But it was getting dark so I could be wrong. As soon as he spotted me, he ran back to the truck and sped away.”

It seemed as if every time she got close to finding out something new about Lacey’s case, it didn’t pan out.

And now the man who took Lacey wanted her, too.

???

He sensed she’d been fighting back tears since she’d arrived on his doorstep. Declan reached for her hand and was relieved when she didn’t pull away. “It’s late and you’re exhausted. Get some rest—” The sentence was interrupted by another squeak of a board out on his porch.

Wynona jumped to her feet, her frightened eyes finding his. “What if it’s him?”

“We don’t know that.” Declan rose and retrieved his weapon. “Stay here and lock the door behind me.”

She grabbed for his arm before he could leave. “No, Declan. If this is the same man who broke into my house, he’s dangerous.”

He stared at her hand and then at her while his heart broke for everything she’d gone through with losing Lacey and then her father. “I’ll be okay. Keep the door locked, okay?” Declan slipped into his jacket and picked up his phone. He unlocked the door and turned to her. “Remember to lock the door.”

She nodded and he stepped out into the wintery night and waited for the door to close and the locks to engage. The snow that had been predicted for days had begun right before sunset. It didn’t appear to show any sign of letting up.

Declan stood on the porch and listened. The wind whipped around the corner of his house with growing fierceness. Over the noise it made…was that someone running away?

He shoved the phone into his jacket pocket and ran after the sound. The person was at the back of the house facing the beach. Once he rounded the corner, a figure sprinted toward JT’s house down the beach, so Declan followed. He pulled out his phone and hit JT’s contact number. It took five rings before a sleepy-sounding JT picked up.

“What’s going on?”

Declan explained about the man at his house while giving pursuit. “He’s almost to your house.”

“I’ll see if I can intercept him.” The call ended. Declan kept going. The figure changed paths and headed away from JT’s toward the trees that separated the beach from the road. The guy was probably heading to his vehicle.

Declan lost visual when the perp hit the trees. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted JT racing after him. Declan entered the woods where the figure had gone in and slowed immediately. This would be the perfect place for an ambush. If this guy somehow managed to take Declan and JT out, he’d go after Wynona. Declan couldn’t let that happen.

JT caught up with him. Declan pointed straight ahead, and JT confirmed he understood. The two eased through the thick woods toward the road.

Before they reached it, a vehicle’s engine fired.

“He’s getting away.” Declan raced ahead with JT at his six. He shot out of the woods and into the road as a set of taillights sped away. Declan doubled over. So close, and yet the perp had gotten away.

“Did you get the license plate number?” JT asked, coming up behind him.

Declan shook his head. “No. . .in fact, I don’t think I saw anything back where the plate should be.” Whoever this person was, he’d followed Wynona here for a reason, and he was doing his best to disguise his identity by removing the license plate and using a stolen one before.

“What’s going on, Declan?” JT asked the obvious question considering Declan’s brief explanation hadn’t shed much light on the truth.

“Do you mind walking with me back to my house? I don’t want to leave Wynona alone for too long.”

JT stopped walking. “Wait—what?”

Declan knew the questions he didn’t want to answer were coming, but he owed the man who had taken him in and helped him pick up the pieces of his life. “Wynona’s here.” He explained why his ex-wife had showed up on his doorstep.

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