Torn - Cynthia Eden Page 0,81
that they’ll catch him now.”
“He . . . he stabbed someone else last night,” Connie said. Fear made her voice tremble. “He’s just running around out there, hurting people, and no one is stopping him. What if . . . what if he comes after Lucas next?” Her hand rose to her throat. “He was in my house. In my house. What if he comes back?”
“The police are sending extra patrols to your house,” Wade said. “I talked to Detective Black, and he assured me that the police presence would be stepped up. And you were given a safe house to use—”
Connie shook her head. “That isn’t good enough! We can’t just hide in some police house forever. We need to get out of this town.”
Victoria understood the other woman’s pain.
“He got in before.” Connie’s voice lowered. “I’m so afraid he’ll get to us again.” Her eyes were stark. “I don’t want to end up like Kennedy.”
Kidnapped. Tortured. Killed. Victoria swallowed. Right. She certainly didn’t blame Connie.
“We’re leaving,” Connie announced, lifting her chin. “My mom . . . she has an extra room at her place in Charleston, and we’re heading up there. There are plenty of jobs in Charleston and it’s just . . . it’s time for us both to have a new start. Kennedy’s ghost is always going to be here, and I can’t live with that anymore. I just—I won’t.”
Lucas’s face was stoic. “I asked you to find her. To tell me what happened so I could move on with my life.”
Only they hadn’t found her. Not really. Her killer had just dumped Kennedy’s body because he wanted the world to know what he’d done.
Lucas’s gaze reflected his pain. “Now it’s time for me to focus on my future. I don’t want that sick freak anywhere near me or Connie. I just . . . I can’t go through that again.” His voice broke. “So I came to say that I’m done. Thank you for coming here. Thank you for . . . for what you did.”
We didn’t do anything.
They hadn’t helped. Hadn’t brought Kennedy or Melissa home alive. And the man out there—the killer was still loose.
Wade offered his hand to Lucas. “I understand, and I wish you luck. If you ever need us, you know where we are.”
Lucas shook his hand. “Thank you.” Then he glanced at Victoria. “You . . . you worked on Kennedy.”
She didn’t want him to ever see Kennedy, not as she was now. Because she knew that Lucas had loved her very, very much.
“I want to bury her,” Lucas said. “But her body isn’t being released yet.”
“It’s going to take time,” Victoria told him, her heart hurting for him.
“I don’t want her just . . . left. She deserves a proper funeral. The cops said they’d contact me and let me know when to make arrangements.”
Victoria nodded. She didn’t want to tell him just how long it could be before he got that call from the cops.
Lucas held her gaze. “You found where he took her. You learned . . . what he did to her.”
She wanted to comfort him but she didn’t know how.
“Thank you,” Lucas said with a quick nod. “For letting Kennedy talk one more time.”
She had to glance away from Lucas and blink quickly because his words had pierced straight through to her.
“We should go now,” Connie said. “My mother is waiting in Charleston . . .”
“Right.” Lucas turned back to Connie and gave her a quick smile. “You go back to the car. I’ll be right behind you.”
Connie hesitated but then turned and hurried out.
Don’t blame her for being in a hurry. She just wants to put this nightmare behind her.
Lucas followed her outside. Victoria noticed that he kept his gaze on Connie as she walked toward the car.
Victoria and Wade stood on the narrow porch with him.
“I have this urge,” Lucas said, speaking quietly, “to watch her all the time. To make sure that she’s always safe.” He gave a rough laugh. “I know that’s not normal, but I can’t seem to stop myself. Not while knowing he’s out there.”
“Normal can be overrated,” Wade murmured.
Lucas glanced over at him. “LOST finds the missing.”
“Yes . . .”
“The killer is missing. No one can find him.” Lucas licked his lips. “Could I hire you to do that? To find the bastard and stop him?”
Wade glanced at Victoria, then back at Lucas. “The cops are handling the investigation. They’ve actually . . . the captain told