Just One Kiss (Whisper Lake #4) - Barbara Freethy Page 0,90
ended up here?"
"It's a long story."
"Give me the short version."
"Seven months ago, Tom Washburn, a police officer, moved into the apartment across the hall from me. I thought he was nice. We were friendly neighbors. We had drinks one night at the bar across from our building when Brett was on a play date. I didn't think much about it. I was dating Russ, but he was out of town for a few months, so I was at loose ends. I told Tom I had a boyfriend, and he seemed cool with it. We had a few other casual meals, mostly with Brett, or just grabbing a coffee at the bakery. I had no idea that Tom was getting all kinds of crazy ideas until Russ came back," she said, letting out a tired breath.
As much as Hannah wanted to hear the story, she was a little worried about the pallor of her sister's skin. "We don't have to talk about this now. You should rest."
"No, I want to tell you. I need to tell you. When Russ came back, Tom suddenly seemed to show up wherever we were. Then Russ got stopped for speeding twice, not by Tom but by his friends. I knew Tom was behind it. I told Tom that I wasn't interested in him, that I was actually pregnant with Russ's baby. I started spending most of my nights at Russ's house, so I wouldn't have to see Tom. He seemed to back off for a while. And then last month, I ran into Tom at the market. I was really showing by then, and he started acting weird. He made comments like he wondered what our baby would look like. I went to the police, and the man I spoke to said Tom was one of their finest officers, and I must be imagining things. Then Tom really started to threaten me. He said I'd regret trying to make trouble for him."
"Oh, Kelly, I'm so sorry."
"The tipping point was when Tom went to Brett's school in uniform and picked him up, and the school let Brett go with him, because he was a cop, and he said I'd been in an accident. He wanted me to know that he could get to Brett at any time. When he brought him back to me, he said he wanted us to be a family. That night, Russ and I left town. We went to a campground, but Tom tracked us down."
Kelly's voice filled with anger and pain. "He killed Russ, and I ran. I didn't know where to go, so I came here. I couldn’t take the chance you or Mom would tell me no, so I used a fake ID. I lured you to the cabin and left my necklace so you might realize Brett was my son."
"Why didn't you just say so in the note?"
"I didn't know if you would call the police and show them the note, and then Tom would find out. But I waited until I was sure you were with Brett. I love my son."
"I know you do. I'm so sorry, Kelly."
Tears slipped from Kelly's eyes. "Russ was a good man. His only mistake was to fall in love with me, and now he's dead. The fathers of both my children are dead." She gave a helpless shake of her head. "And Tom is coming for me."
She zeroed in on that piece of information. "You said you hit his car?"
"Yes. He found me near Black Falls, and he tried to run me off the road, but I turned my car into his, and we crashed. His vehicle went off the highway, and I got away. I didn't see what happened to him. But if he's alive, I'm sure he's still tracking me, and I don't know how he found me yesterday. I had switched cars."
She frowned, wondering the same thing. "Maybe he put some kind of tracking device on you or in your purse or something."
Kelly's eyes met hers, and there was a new fear in her gaze. "If he did, he's coming here. What are we going to do?"
Kelly had no sooner asked the question then the front door of the cabin crashed open and footsteps came down the hall.
Hannah desperately wanted to see Jake come through the doorway, but it was another man, a big bear of a man with blood smeared across a jagged cut on his forehead, and two black eyes.