Page 2 of Colton's Second Chance
Eli’s continued screams shook Will from this fresh wave of disbelief and deep sadness. He wrapped Eli in a firm hug, trying to shield his eyes from the gory and disturbing tableau. When he could muster his nerve, he peeked at his sister again. She’d obviously been posed, her right arm draped around Stevens’s shoulders, her left hand resting on her chest over her heart. Blinking away tears, he squinted when he noticed something on his sister’s hand, winking in the early morning sunlight that peeked through the curtains.
A diamond engagement ring.
But… Caroline wasn’t engaged to anyone, so where—
The answer came to him, and nausea roiled in his gut. The sicko Stevens had put the ring there, part of his delusion that he and Caroline were an item.
A roar of fury that his parents hadn’t taken Jason Stevens’s threat more seriously erupted from him.
Eli stiffened, then sobbed harder. “Daddy, I’m scared! Did that man hurt Aunt Caroline?”
Will lifted his son into his arms and carried him out of the house. “I’m afraid so, son. We… I have to call the police now, and…your mother to come get you.”
“But I thought we were having breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa.”
His son’s innocence, his inability to grasp the magnitude of what had happened broke Will’s heart. Because someday, Eli would realize what he’d seen. Someday the horror would revealitself. And because he and Eli would never have breakfast with his parents or Caroline ever again.
Chapter 1
Twenty-eight years later
Seattle, Washington
Noelle Harris jolted when her phone rang. She’d been so deeply involved with the data on her computer screen, so enthralled by the analysis of her client’s intricate web of finances that she’d shut out everything else. Until the melodic jingle of her ring tone had sliced into her concentration.
With an irritated huff, she glanced at the screen. Her caller ID identified the origin of the call as Shelby, Alaska, and her pulse bumped for the second time.
She aimed her finger at the red disconnect button, fully intending to reject the call. She had no interest in talking to anyone in Alaska. As a Korean-American, she’d always felt like an outsider growing up in Anchorage. Especially within her own white adoptive family. When she’d left for college, she’d put Alaska and all of its bad memories and heartache behind her, thank you very much.
But some odd niggle, a spike of pure curiosity made her shift her finger to the answer icon instead. Her muscles tensed as if bracing for a blow as she reluctantly raised the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
The caller took a beat before saying, “Noelle?”
“Yes.” A tingle of premonition, a familiarity she couldn’t quite place chased down her back in the few seconds it took before the caller continued.
“It’s Eli.” He cleared his throat and added, “Eli Colton,” as if she wouldn’t instantly know who Eli was, wouldn’t know the voice she’d longed—or maybe dreaded—hearing from again.
Her fingers tightened around her phone, and her heartbeat reverberated so loudly in her ears, she could barely hear herself reply, “Eli. What…what in the world do you want?”
Yeah, her tone was a tad steely. But she had to project a coolness to mask the deep ripple of emotion his call triggered. She couldn’t cave to the well of heartache she’d taken years to quash. As she’d asked twelve—no, thirteen years ago—she and Eli had maintained complete radio silence. But now he’d called her? What the actual heck?
Her gut coiled, and her already tight muscles knotted even more. She should just hang up on him. She didn’t want to revive all those bittersweet, painful memories or—
“I’m afraid I’m calling with bad news, Noelle.”
Noelle sat back in her desk chair, startled by his announcement. “Bad news? What do you mean?” Her doorbell chimed at that moment, and she groaned. Talk about bad timing. Ignoring the door, she said, “What kind of bad news?”
“Did I hear your doorbell?”
“Yeah, but I don’t—”
“You need to answer it.” Something about his tone sent a chill through her.
“Why? How would you know who—”
“Just…please let them in.”
Her mind spinning and heart thumping, she made her way from her home office to the front door. Two uniformed Seattle police officers were on her front stoop.
