Page 63 of Bound By Truth (An Island Bound Novel)

“Yes,” Reed said. “He told us where they’re buried. But I’m going to spare you all the details of their deaths, at least for today.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “Now, those poor families finally have some kind of answers. Even if it’s not the ones they were hoping for.”

“Yes. But let me tell you the rest. So, Damien took another job and moved to a police unit in Adelaide shortly after Port Pirie, and he continued to lay low. But then one night, eight-year-old Marley went missing. Her mother admitted at the time Marley was a handful of a child. She had ADD and other learning difficulties, and had even run away a few months earlier, but was found at her grandmother’s house. Damien knew about the girl’s problems; he was one of the cops originally called in when she first ran away. Knew her schedule, knew where she’d be each day. And pounced on her as she waited for her mother to pick her up from a swimming lesson one afternoon. He told us he tried to stop after Marley, but he couldn’t. After three abductions, he’d had a taste by then, and that’s when he started planning the next one. Six-year-old Kasey had been walking home from school with her older brother. But he’d got sick of waiting for her, said she was always so slow, and had rushed on ahead with two of his other mates. They were almost home by then, in sight of their house, and the brother thought she would be okay. Damien had been casing the street for days, and he was finally in the right place at the right time. That poor little girl.” Reed shook his head as he thought about just how easy it’d seemed for Damien to do his evil deeds.

“Jen tried to tell me the cases in Adelaide were linked to the Port Pirie ones, but at first I didn’t believe her. Or perhaps I couldn’t be bothered. It takes a lot of time, effort and research to delve into these things. I think perhaps I just got lazy.” Surprisingly, Sierra still had her hand wrapped around his. The connection helped. Calmed him, soothed him. But her touch also heated his insides. “So, the bones of the child we found at the Glossies nesting area?” she asked.

“Yes, they belonged to Kasey. Believe it or not, she was alive when he first brought her here on his own private boat. He gave some garbled explanation as to how he thought they could start a new life together out here, where no one knew him. But things obviously didn’t work out, because he killed her after only a day or so. Again, I won’t go into the details, because they’re just too grisly and sad. I will say that he knew about the Glossies’ nesting site because of his stalking you. He knew everything about you, spent hours and hours researching everything he could about you online. And that’s how he found out about the Friends of the Glossies.”

Sierra shook her head and let out a sigh. “I did wonder about that, because Evan was never a member of the Friends.”

“Anyway,” Reed continued. “Afterwards, he decided to quit the police force and move out to the island for good. He changed his name and identity, grew a beard as a disguise. Perhaps law enforcement started getting a little too close for comfort. Damien is not a dumb man, he knew it was time to disappear, or risk getting caught. He also kept in touch with a mate of his over in his old Adelaide unit. Which is also how he knew you’d started digging around for more information on the Adelaide girls.”

“God, how horrible. That he was here, and we never knew.” Sierra sighed and finally removed her hand as her gaze drifted out over the ocean. He wished she’d bring it back to his.

“I believe there was more to his motivation than that, however,” Reed continued. “I think you were part of the pull he felt towards the island. He knew you were here, and he has some kind of strange fixation on you. It probably started with his letter writing. He was trying to scare you off at first, nervous you would discover the truth. But I think the stalker side of him grew, until he found he was inextricably linked to you somehow.”

“Yes. Perhaps if I paid more attention to his letters, instead of dismissing him as some kind of crackpot…”

There she went again, blaming herself for something she had absolutely no control over. It sounded like the story of her life. She had a bad habit of shouldering the blame.

“It seems he had the perfect spot to watch you from, as well. His newsstand faces the ferry dock. That’s how he knew your movements the night he broke in and stole your computer. He watched you drive onto the ferry in the morning and when you didn’t disembark that night, he knew you must’ve been staying on the mainland.”

Sierra shook her head as she pieced his words together.

“What about Tom Hubbard? I assume he’s no longer a suspect?” she asked.

“Not in this case,” he confirmed. “But he will still go to jail for that child porn on his computer.”

“Strange, isn’t it, how you think you know the people around you. But really, you don’t have a clue,” she mused.

“If you hadn’t seen that candy wrapper …” The rest of his sentence remained unsaid. But the sentiment hung in the air anyway. They might never have found him. “It’s his weapon of choice. Those caramels. They’re his calling card. He used them to entice every child he lured away.”

“That’s so disgusting. I’m never going to eat one of those ever again.”

He couldn’t help it, he laughed. She was so determined, so resolute. And so beautiful in her unwavering view of the world.

But it was time to change the subject.

“Talking about being enticing, you’re a sight for sore eyes. I’ve missed you over the last few days, Sierra. I wanted to come earlier, but work has been crazy, as you can imagine.”

She drew back from him, her mouth puckered in surprise. The displeased cat shot off her lap at her sudden movement and went to hide under the table.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me.” He moved in closer, so their knees were touching. And locked his gaze with hers. She arched a fine, dark eyebrow at him. God, she was beautiful. Those sexy lips pursed in an expression of disbelief. Those slim shoulders pulled up in affront at the audacity of him. It all made him want her more. Want to discover more about her, how she worked, both inside and out.

He’d come to a decision over the past few days. In between all the long hours of work and travel and question after question, he made one, earth-shattering resolution.

He wanted Sierra Goldstein. And he wasn’t going to let their past come between them. He’d spent enough time feeling guilty. It was time to get over it and move on. Start living again. And she was the one woman he thought he could do that with.

It wasn’t just the searing attraction that boiled between them, although that was definitely part of it, he would never get tired of looking into that alluring face, those voluptuous lips. It was the way she stared at him, through him. She could see into his soul. Touch his soul. The way she shared herself with him so totally and utterly. How fearless she was, even though she was damaged and broken. She’d still picked herself up and carried on. How she was determined to tell the truth, especially back in her journalist days. What had she said on one of her newspaper articles? She was bound by truth.

And so was he. Now he was bound to tell her the truth. Of how he felt about her. Of how they might be together. Make each other stronger.

He grabbed her fingers, which had been tapping nervously on the tabletop and trapped them between his palms. It did the trick, she turned her gaze towards him, but he waited until he knew he had her full focus.

“We’ll always have scars from that accident. Both physical and mental.” He lifted the corner of his pantleg, revealing the marks on his calf. Then he reached up and gently touched the faint scar running along her hairline, practically hidden now behind all the bruising.

“But these aren’t something to be afraid of. Or ashamed of. These scars draw us together. They’re a connection, a bond that shouldn’t be broken. Shared scars. We shared in a disaster and both of us came out with a truckload of guilt afterwards.”

“You got that bit right,” Sierra sad so softly he almost missed it. “I think I win on the guilt stakes.” She gave a wry, humorless grin.

But he wasn’t giving up. “I know you lost the most precious thing a mother could ever lose that day. And I will never take that away from you. You deserved to be allowed to wallow in your grief, to withdraw from the world, if that was your way of coping. I know you will always feel like a part of you is missing. But we can help each other through this, together. Move on and be better, together. I know we can.”

Sierra stared at him, not speaking. What was going on behind those deep pools? Was she listening to him? Or was she going to refute him? Send him away without a second glance?

On instinct, Reed swept his chair out of the way and got down on his knees in front of her. Reaching for her hand, he took it up in his again. Now that he was level with her face and he came in as close as he dared, so he could see the tiny flecks of red and gold hidden in the depths of her irises. He wasn’t going to beg, but he wanted her to know how serious he was. This might be his only chance to get through.

“Sierra, can you find it in your heart to forgive me? To forgive yourself? Because I want to be with you. To give this thing between us a chance to grow, discover where it might lead us. So, please think about it. Think about moving on from all that hurt and anger and guilt. And choose me.”

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