The Escape (US Marshals #1) - Lisa Harris Page 0,21

found his killer.”

A flash of lightning struck close by, lighting up the sky. A second later the door flew open and slammed against the inside wall of the cabin.

Nine

Jonas grabbed his handgun and rushed to the door, managing to slam it shut before too much rain blew in. He looked to where Madison still sat by the fire. He knew what she was thinking. What they’d both been thinking. That despite the storm, Barrick was still out there. And even though it made sense to him that the man would get as far away as possible, there was still a chance Madison was right and he was close by, waiting for an opportunity to strike. They couldn’t afford to let their guard down.

He looked out one of the front windows, but all he could see was dark shadows stirring. “I’m pretty sure that was just the wind.”

She grabbed one of the wooden chairs that sat lopsided across the room and jammed it under the doorknob.

“Good idea,” he said. “That should keep it from flying open again.”

She nodded, before sitting back down in front of the fire.

“You okay?” He sat down beside her, noting a change in her expression he couldn’t quite peg. “You look far away.”

“Yeah.”

She didn’t say anything for a long moment as the fire crackled in front of them. He added a couple more of the logs, feeling guilty over his too personal questions.

“I really don’t mind talking about my husband, it’s just that today’s the anniversary of Luke’s death.”

He hesitated, not sure how to respond. “Wow, I’m sorry. This has been one tough day for you.”

“I thought working would help me forget, but there are some things you just can’t run from.”

“I’ve been told once or twice that I’m a good listener. If that would help.”

He waited silently for her response, while lightning flashed in the distance.

“It was an otherwise normal Tuesday.” The fire cast a yellow glow across her face she stared into the fireplace. “It’s funny how I can remember so many little details, like what day of the week it was. Luke was an ER doctor and had just finished a twelve-hour shift. He called me on his way to the parking garage. Told me he was going to pick up some takeout and meet me at home as soon as I got off work. We’d both had a long day and were anxious for the chance to unplug for a few hours. I got home about an hour after we spoke. There were two officers from my precinct waiting in my driveway with the news. Luke had been shot twice in the chest in the hospital parking garage.”

“I can’t imagine how hard that had to have been.”

“Sometimes it still seems surreal. Like I’m going to wake up and discover it was all nothing more than a bad dream. My father drove up from Portland to stay with me, and my sister was there, making sure I was eating and taking care of myself, but I was numb for weeks. My captain insisted I take some time off from work, which of course, I fought him on. I guess I thought if I just kept moving—if I was too busy to feel the pain—I’d somehow skip to the other side of grief. But I quickly learned that grief wasn’t optional.”

Jonas frowned. Was that what he’d tried to do?

“In the end, they classified his murder as a robbery gone wrong, but they never had any solid leads. His killer stole his wallet, then left him bleeding out next to the car. All for twenty bucks. A woman found him and called 911, but by the time she got to the hospital, he was already gone. I didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

“I really am sorry. I know pain like that doesn’t ever completely disappear.”

“No. I know I’ve healed on so many levels, but when I think I’ve taken another giant step forward, some kind of trigger—like the anniversary of his death—tries to smack me back.”

He tossed another log on the fire, realizing he needed to tread carefully. She was strong, there was no doubt about that. But sometimes the illusion of strength could be used as a veneer to hide the chinks in one’s armor. He’d learned that firsthand.

“You’re trained to track people down for a living,” he said, “so I suppose it’s safe to assume you did your own investigation.”

Madison let out a soft laugh. “I think my sister used the word obsessed. The