Page 66 of Shiver

The weight of a hundred worlds rested on Riley’s shoulders. “I need to make a few calls.”

Chapter 24

Devra staredat herself in the bathroom mirror of the Rosemont Police Department and splashed cold water on her face, trying to fight back the nausea rising in her throat. Chief Marshall was going to send her back to the sanitarium. He was obsessed with her, and he wouldn’t stop until she was locked up for good.

Tears filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. Even Riley was beginning to doubt her. She could see it in his eyes, and that, more than anything else, was breaking her heart. How could she live through the abandonment again? Through the loneliness and pain of realizing there was no one out there who cared about her? How could they? She was a monster. But it wasn’t her. Why couldn’t they see that?

The chief’s words played over and over in her mind.Nobirth certificate on file anywhere in King County.Her parents had always lived in Rosemont—at least, that’s what she’d been led to believe. Apparently, she’d been wrong.

They’re not your parents. That’s why they gave you up. That’s why they don’t care.The thought ran through her mind, twisting, turning, torturing her until she thought she’d scream. Who was she?

She wasn’t a killer, she knew that. And nothing could convince her she had killed Tommy or anyone else. Her parents, or whoever they were, had a lot of questions to answer and this time she wouldn’t let them off so easy.

She stepped into the hall and glanced into the chief’s office. No one was there. Where had they gone?To prepare her a padded cell?Not this time. Not ever again.

She spotted Riley’s jacket and holster hanging inside the door. She grabbed his keys out of his pocket and, after a second’s hesitation, took his gun. She could no longer count on him to protect her. He had his doubts, she could read them clearly in his eyes, and those doubts could get them killed. From here on out, she was on her own.

She slipped the gun into the pocket of her skirt, then shifted the waistband so it wouldn’t show as the gun’s weight pulled on the loose fabric. She heard the chief’s voice down the hall, turned, and quickly walked toward the reception area.

“Are you leaving, Miss Miller?” Mandy asked from behind the counter of the receptionist’s station.

Devra forced a wide, friendly smile onto her face. “Just for a minute, I left something back at the hotel I’d like the chief to see. I’ll be right back.”

Mandy nodded, picked up her coffee cup, and waved it at her. “All righty then, see you soon,” she said and headed down the hall.

Expelling a relieved sigh, Devra forced herself to act casual and walk slowly out the door.

* * *

Riley satin the conference room and stared at his phone. How much of a coincidence was it that all the victims had their pinkies interlaced and Devra had had hers broken? Where was his gut instinct? Why didn’t he just know what the truth was? He turned on his phone and called Mac, wanting to check in at home to see if anything else had happened while he’d been gone.

“Where have you been?” his brother, Mac, asked after answering the phone. He still sounded mad and Riley supposed he would be for a long time.

“I’ve been out of town, dealing with a few things.”

“You missed Michelle’s funeral.”

Pain and dread squeezed Riley’s heart, making him gasp. “Oh, no. I’m sorry. I…” What could he possibly say? That he’d forgotten? It had slipped his mind? He’d been too busy chasing phantom demons and falling in love?

“I thought Michelle meant something to you,” Mac said, emotion straining his voice.

Riley rubbed his face. “I know you want to blame me. Do it, blame me if it will make you feel better. I should have paid more attention. I should have watched her better. If only I’d been more—”

“Protective?”

Riley gave a bitter laugh. “Yes, protective. She needed it, Mom needed it, and now Devra needs it, and I seem to be letting them all down. And for that, we’ve all been paying the price.”

“Do you think you could be any more arrogant? My happiness, Michelle’s happiness, did not weigh on your shoulders. We would have been perfectly fine, perfectly happy without you. In fact—”

“If I weren’t around, Mom wouldn’t have gone looking for me at the park and got killed, and I wouldn’t have become a cop, and Michelle wouldn’t have followed me onto the force…” Riley couldn’t say another word as emotion filled his throat.

“I was going to say, we are all responsible for the decisions we make, good or bad. Don’t takethataway from us, too. And if you still don’t get it, then there really isn’t anything that can be said.” Mac paused. “Why is there a drawing of Don Miller in your kitchen?”

Riley tightened his grasp on the phone. “The police sketch? You know him?”

“He’s a friend from work. Michelle and I had him over for dinner a few weeks ago. What’s this all about?”

Did he know about me? About Mom?

---