Chapter Forty-One SCARLETT

Chapter Forty-One

S CARLETT

Friday, July 19, 2024

11:45 p.m.

The walls of the box were tight. The air inside stale. My muscles ached, cramped. Clumps of dirt hit the outside of the box. Thump. Thump. Thump. Tanner was doing what he’d always threatened to do. He was killing me slowly.

I woke suddenly, my heart racing. My hands trembled as I ran them through my hair and stared into the darkness of the strange room. A hand came to my back and lightly rubbed my naked skin. I flinched.

“Are you all right?”

It took a moment to recognize Luke’s voice and for the pieces to fall into place. “Yes.”

He sat up, and in the shadows, I could feel his frown. “Nightmare?”

“Yeah.” I struggled to steady my hands. “It happens sometimes.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“I’m not sure words change much. It’s a past I can’t always shake.”

He laid a gentle hand on my back, running his fingers up my spine. “Words can change everything.”

“You don’t need to carry my baggage.”

“Try me.”

I tipped my head back. “Dawson. He’s investigating a death that might have been related to Tanner.”

Luke clicked on his bedside light. I winced as my eyes adjusted. “Dawson?”

“He was asking about Sandra Taylor. She went missing months before me, and we might have been imprisoned at the same time.”

He smoothed his hand down my arm. “What do you think?”

I tried to draw comfort from his touch but could find none. “Della mentioned another girl, but I never saw her.”

“Did Della ever mention Sandra Taylor by name?”

He spoke about Della as if she were real. That was touching. “No. She always called her the Other Girl .” I shook my head. “I know, I know. There was no proof of Della. Just my made-up cellmate.”

“I never said that.”

“Every cop in the city did. Does.”

He touched my cheek. “My money is on you.”

I smiled. “I’m not sure I’d bet on me right now. Remember Tiffany Patterson, the girl I tried to lure all those years ago?”

“Yes.”

“She was found dead. Dawson said it was murder.”

He frowned. “When?”

“She stayed at my place a couple of days ago. Then I dropped her off at her car. It happened shortly after that.”

“Dawson has interviewed you?”

“Yes.” A slight smile tugged my lips. “Don’t bet on me.”

He drew in a deep breath. “I’m paid to sum people up. If I had to defend you, I could do it with a clear conscience.”

“Thanks. At the rate it’s all going, I might need to get bailed out one day.”

“Is it that serious?”

“Dawson has wondered out loud if I’d been willingly working with Tanner. I did try to lure Tiffany to the van, and after my release I got into a lot of trouble.”

“But you waved off Tiffany, and the rest amounted to a traumatized girl acting out. Once you got the proper help, that behavior ended.”

“Boy, you’re good.”

He grinned. “Like to think so.”

I drew in a breath. “There’s a new cop in the department. Margo Larsen. She reminds me so much of Della. She doesn’t exactly look like her, but I can’t shake the feeling they’re the same person.”

He kissed me on my shoulder. Soft. Delicate. Like Della had kissed me when I was upset. He turned my face toward his. “What about Margo reminds you of Della?”

“Her eyes. Her confidence. And I think she and Dawson are sleeping together.”

“Really?”

“I said as much to Dawson. He didn’t deny it.”

“Not a good idea for his career, especially given what happened with his ex-wife.”

“Can you tell me more?”

He smiled. “No.”

“Okay.” I cupped his face and kissed him. “I’m glad you’re where you are.”

“Me too.” He traced the lines on my forehead. “Now tell me the rest about Della.”

“If Margo is Della, she’s hard to resist. I could see her spinning her magic on Dawson.”

I stared deep into his eyes, looking for doubts. If they were there, I didn’t see them. I pressed my lips to his, closed my eyes, and deepened the kiss. Sexual desire was becoming a favorite distraction.

“What’s the advantage?” Luke drew back reluctantly. “She’s a cop. She’s on the case.”

“She also found Sandra Taylor’s body.”

“Doesn’t mean she’s Della.”

I didn’t want to chase him away with my obsession with Della. I liked him. And he was the first normal relationship in my life. But Della would have used adoration from a lonely cop. And inside knowledge of this case would have been hard to resist.

“Don’t pay attention to me,” I said. “There’s something about the night that churns up all kinds of crazy thoughts.”

“Who called in the location of Taylor’s body?” he said more to himself.

“It came from a burner phone placed near a drug dealer’s house. I was on the premises at the time of the call trying to pull Tiffany away from the party.”

“Did you notice anyone at the party who didn’t fit?”

“Me.”

“Other than you.”

“I wasn’t there long and was focused on Tiffany.”

“Dawson knows this?”

“Yes.”

“Be careful what you say to him. If he presses, insist he call me.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.”

I wrapped my arms around Luke’s neck and pulled him toward me. He moved on top of me, kissing me softly on my lips and then my breasts. Tension radiated in his body, but he still moved with deliberate care. I arched, opened my legs, remembering how Tanner had liked my surrender. When Luke pushed slowly inside me, I embraced the sensations, and for a little while, there was nothing but this.