Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107766 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Josie nodded again.
“Josie,” he said. “Trust me.”
Her gaze moved over his beautiful face. “I do,” she said honestly. And amazingly, she had from the first moment she’d met Zach. He’d looked her in the eye and had been honest without sugarcoating his words. Yes, he’d been cautious, but rather than belittling her, he’d used discretion and instinct, and she’d appreciated that.
They returned to the cabin where they spent the afternoon making love. She couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t get enough of the way he elicited pleasure from her body—the body she thought was incapable of feeling anything close to that type of bliss ever again. They didn’t have any more condoms, but she was on the pill. There was really no reason for her to be on birth control. She hadn’t slept with anyone in eight years and thought maybe she never would. But she admitted to herself then that being on the pill had represented the control over her own fertility…in case. Being on the pill had represented the fear that something bad could happen to her again. That life was unpredictable, that her safety was always at risk. That’s what a violent crime did to a person, Josie mused. It altered their entire world view. People always said things like, “Everything will work out” or “That won’t happen.” But what about when things didn’t work out? Or when the unthinkable did happen? You had to walk around with the knowledge that life could sweep the rug out from under you at any moment. It could, because it had.
Josie was able to speak openly about her thoughts on the subject with Zach because not only was he a violent crimes detective, but his own family had had the rug swept out from under them with the death of his little brother. She felt understood by him. Known. And it was yet another gift he gave to her.
They finally got out of bed late in the day, famished and in need of sustenance. They stood at the counter, eating sandwiches and laughing. Zach put his arm around her shoulders as he took a mouthful, not seeming to be able to stop touching her either. Her heart felt warm with happiness.
Zach’s phone rang and their eyes met, Zach’s face going serious as he took his arm from around her and put his sandwich down. Josie had the sudden feeling that their happy little bubble had just popped. “Hold on,” he said, walking to the table where his phone was sitting. “Jimmy,” he answered after he’d glanced at the number. He sat on the edge of the wood table, and despite the notion that the real world had just invaded their happy space, she took the moment to admire him. His body was sculpted and trim. Her eyes ran over his smooth brown skin, and down to the waistband of his low-slung jeans where she could see the trail of dark hair. Her mouth had been there only minutes ago, and at the memory, her skin flushed. She looked up at Zach’s face to see him watching her closely, his eyes dark. He knew exactly where her mind had gone.
“Yeah,” he said, obviously responding to something Jimmy had said, his gaze drifting from her as worry altered his features.
“Shit,” he muttered. “Thirteen years? How is that possible?”
A shiver went down her spine, and Josie put her sandwich down, gesturing to Zach that she would be right back. She was suddenly freezing, and she was only wearing one of his T-shirts and a pair of underwear. She went into the bedroom and pulled on her jeans, socks, and a sweatshirt, and used the bathroom.
When she walked back into the kitchen, Zach was just hanging up the phone. He pressed his lips together, his eyes filled with worry.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Professor Merrick finally handed over a list of a couple names of women he’d been with over the years. Apparently, he can’t remember the names of more than that.” His eyes flitted to her and away. Did he wonder if that hurt her? She was long past caring what Vaughn Merrick thought of her though. She’d accepted the fact that he’d only been using her. More so, she’d come to terms with the fact that she’d let him. Taking responsibility for her role in the relationships in her life that had hurt her had made all the difference. She’d made bad choices. Period.
“And?” she prompted after he drifted away for a moment.
His eyes snapped back to hers, and he rubbed at the back of his neck. “The first one on the list moved overseas apparently. She lives there now with her husband and two kids. The second one on the list disappeared without a trace thirteen years ago.”
“Disappeared?” she whispered, dread streaming through her. She swallowed, leaning back against the counter. “Do you think she was the victim of Marshall Landish too?”