My Deadly Valentine (11 page)

Holly thought her brain might rupture through her skull. Never had she been so furious with someone as she was with the man who’d grabbed her.

Or so scared.

When he’d grabbed her arm outside the police station…

Fingers rubbed the bruised area and she vowed to keep her eyes open, including the ones she intended to grow in the back of her head.

Shaking, unsure of the right thing to do, she stared at the wall. The man’s words rang in her ears. “I have a message for you, Holly. Good offers only come along every so often. Wise up and take advantage of the chance to sell your land before someone gets hurt. You never know who might be a victim, especially little old ladies recovering from cancer. Tell anyone about my visit and you’ll regret it.”

After a quick call to her mother to reassure herself that the woman was fine, she bit her lip and pondered her options. Go to Alex and report the assault? It was her word against the man’s and she didn’t even know who he was. She couldn’t ever remember seeing him around before.

God? What’s going on? Why does someone want my property so badly? Sure, it’s worth money, but not that much, is it?

Popping two ibuprofen tablets chased with a swallow of water, she read the document spread out on her desk. Jessica manned the front counter while Holly worked to get herself under control.

Transcross Realty had gone too far this time. Threatening her and her mother was more than just simple harassment. But what should she do? Go to Alex? After their confrontation just a little while ago, she dreaded the thought, but knew she might have to break down and do it.

Transcross had upped their offer another five thousand dollars. She picked up the phone and dialed the number listed at the top of the paper.

“This is Patrick Zimmerman.”

“Mr. Zimmerman, this is Holly Maddox. I’ve got in front of me…”

“Oh, yes, Ms. Maddox. You’re the young lady with the mountain property I’m trying to talk you into selling.”

“That would be me.”

“So, have you called to tell me that I’m being more than generous?”

“No, actually, I’m calling to tell you to stop harassing me about this. Tell your goons I’m not selling my home, my land or anything at any price. You need to tell them I don’t scare easily and to keep their hands off me or I’ll be pressing charges.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t have any goons and I certainly wouldn’t try to scare you into selling. But everything has a price.” A heavy sigh. “Tell me what it would take to get you to sell. Name your price.”

Through gritted teeth, she said, “It’s not for sale.”

With controlled movements, almost as though moving in slow motion, she hung up the phone and replaced it on the base.

Then she put her head in her hands and did her best to muffle her frustrated scream.

The door burst in. “Are you okay?”

Jessica.

Holly hadn’t been as discreet with the scream as she’d tried to be.

She looked up. “Sorry. I think I just have a little too much stress in my life right now.”

“What’s going on?” Concern etched her friend’s face.

Before she had a chance to answer her friend, Eli spoke from behind Jessica as he slipped past her and into the office. “Who was that guy, Holly? The one outside the police station?”

Jessica’s eyes shot wide as they bounced between Holly and him. Agitation oozed from him.

Holly just stared at the tight-lipped man in front of her. His eyes blazed. He must have seen the man outside the sheriff’s office. Bent on escaping, she hadn’t noticed Eli watching. Irritated that he felt that he had the right to butt into her business—never mind the fact that she’d turned to him for help last night—she clipped, “What?”

“The guy who grabbed you. What did he say?”

At a loss for words, Holly stared at the man in front of her for a full ten seconds before saying, “Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t anything I can’t handle.” She hoped.

His eyes narrowed. “You don’t want my help?”

“Not this time. No. I had to learn to deal with stuff all on my own when you left me six years ago. I’ve gotten pretty good at it.”

Jessica slipped out the connecting door into the front of the store. Holly wanted to tell her to stay.

Then Eli said, “So why did you call me last night?”

“The lesser of two evils,” she shot back.

He took a deep breath and she was willing to bet he bit his tongue in the process. Then he said, “Something’s going on with you and I think you’re in more danger than you’re aware of.”

FOUR

S
he didn’t want to hear it. Not from him anyway. A momentary lapse in judgment had had her asking him for help. It wouldn’t happen again.

Holly moved to the back shelf and grabbed an inventory form.

“How’s your mother?” His question came from left field.

“Hanging in there.” She kept her eyes on the form, concentrated on filling in the blanks as she counted items.

“Look, Holly, can we talk for a minute?”

“About what?”

He reached out and took her hand, stilling the pen’s movement across the paper.

She pulled away.

Fair enough. “I’ve missed you.”

Now she went rigid. “Eli…”

“No, let me finish.”

She snapped her lips together. Lips that used to smile and turn his heart to mush. Lips he used to kiss and trace with his finger. Lips that used to tell him how wonderful he was and how much she loved him.

Oh, boy, had he ever messed up.
God, help me make this right.

He swallowed. Hard. “I wanted to say I’m sorry, Holly.”

She wilted like sails on a windless day. The pen clinked on the floor. “Excuse me?”

“I’m…I said I was sorry.”

“For?” Her incredulous, sometimes gray, sometimes blue eyes stared at him.

He cleared his throat. “For treating you the way I did when we were in high school and then after I got home from the academy six years ago.”

Lost for words, she just stared at him, inventory sheet forgotten. “Are you dying or something?”

He choked.

This time it was his turn to stare at her. “No, I’m not dying. Why would you ask that?”

“Because this is just so…” She waved a hand as though she thought she could snatch the words she needed from the air around her.

“So…?”

“So not like you, I guess. I don’t ever remember you apologizing for anything…ever.”

The slap of her words jerked him back. Had he truly been so arrogant and prideful? So full of himself that he never considered her feelings?

Shame filled him. Yes, he had.

This time, it was he who had a hard time meeting her eyes. “I’m truly sorry for that, Holly. I’m a different person today than I was all those years ago.”

Skepticism greeted those words and while it grated, he also understood the source of it.

“What changed you?”

“God.”

Some of the skepticism faded. Shock, then interest flickered. “Why God now? As I recall, you used to indulge me in going to church with me when we were in high school, but you always said you never put much stock in God or religious things.”

“I know. Then I became a cop.”

“Seems to me that might convince you more than ever that God didn’t have much to do with the world and those in it.”

Surprised at her astuteness, he nodded. “At first.”

“Then?”

“Then I got a preacher for a partner.”

A brow lifted. At least he wasn’t boring her.

“He could find God in any situation. Didn’t matter if it was a homicide or a burglary. I’ll never forget. We had a young mother killed by her husband. We got him and the evidence to convict him. But something about that case really got to me and all of the ‘God is still good’ stuff my partner kept spouting bugged me. I finally shouted at him, ‘Where was God when this guy was beating the life out of her?’ He looked like I’d slapped him. Then he said something like, ‘Eli, I don’t understand evil, I don’t understand God’s way all the time. What I do know is that at least the children who were supposed to be home, weren’t. That was an act of God.’ I’ve never forgotten that.”

“Oh.”

“A neighbor had come by to take the kids to play at the park. That’s why they weren’t home.”

“Your partner sounds like an exceptional man. Where is he now?”

“With the God he loved so much.”

She flinched. “I’m so sorry. Was he killed in the line of duty?”

“No. Cancer.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.

His own throat felt too tight so he cleared it, shoved his hands into his pockets and paced the small area between the shelves where she stood and the back door that she now had armed. “I miss him. But his influence…” He shrugged, finding it hard to get the words out. “Watching him die, I was helpless in a way that’s hard to describe. I’ve never lost anyone really close to me. I mean my mom ran off but that was her choice. But losing him…”

Her rapt attention spurred him on.

“Watching Mark go through what he did and his wife standing right by his side through the whole thing…”

“Makes you evaluate your own life, doesn’t it?”

She understood. She’d been through it, was going through it, with her mother. Of course she understood.

“Yes, exactly. One day I woke up and realized I wanted that kind of faith…and that kind of woman by my side. And I wanted to be the kind of man Mark was. I know I have a long way to go, but I hope I’m at least making some progress.”

Holly set the clipboard with the inventory sheet onto her desk. “I’m glad for you, Eli.”

He cocked his head. “Thanks. I think.”

Unsure how to respond, she walked to the large refrigerator on the back wall and opened the door. “I have to make a delivery to Sue Anne at the diner.”

“What is it?”

“A Valentine’s basket.” She pulled it from the refrigerator. Full of fresh fruit, chocolate and a teddy bear, it was pretty heavy. With a grunt, she set it on the table and pulled two balloons from the plastic bin to her left.

Helium squealed as it whooshed into the latex. Two ribbons and a pretty bow around the handle of the basket and she was ready. “Sue Anne’s husband is in Iraq. He knew she’d be visiting her folks in Virginia for Valentine’s and wanted me to deliver it early.”

“Nice. I’ll go with you.”

“It’s not necessary.”

“I’m not doing it out of necessity. And we have a pickup to make, remember?”

Looking at his stiff jaw and narrowed eyes, she wondered if it would be worth the energy arguing with him.

Deciding it wasn’t, she made her way to the front of the store to inform Jessica where she was going.

Two silent minutes later, Eli opened the door to the diner for her.

And she ran smack into Alex.

When he spotted them, he stopped and narrowed his eyes.

Eli shifted and prepared for a confrontation. Alex didn’t like them being together, that was obvious, but then the man’s expression softened, morphed into a sheepish grin. “Holly, Eli.”

“Alex,” Holly said, wariness oozing from her.

He cleared his throat. “Uh. I just wanted to say I’ve been working on the break-in at your store and so far I’ve come up pretty empty, sorry.”

Reading Alex wasn’t easy. And Eli was pretty good at judging whether or not people were sincere. But Alex stumped him.

But Holly offered the man a smile, saying, “I appreciate you spending so much time on it. Maybe something will turn up.”

“Well, you look like you’re busy,” Alex noted.

Eli watched the man walk to a booth and slide in. “Isn’t that Jarrod Parker, your lawyer, with him? I seem to remember him from high school, too.”

She looked. “Yeah, Jarrod’s married to Alex’s sister.”

Then her eyes went wide once more and she whispered, “That’s him.”

“That’s who?”

“The guy that…stopped…me outside the sheriff’s office. In the booth next to Alex and Jarrod.”

Eli tilted his head for a look at the man in khaki slacks, a knit collared shirt and sunglasses. He sat alone in the back booth.

She drew in a breath and grunted. The basket clutched in her left hand seemed to have gained weight since leaving her store. “What is his deal?

“I’ll go ask him,” Eli said.

“No. Leave it be.”

“If he’s following you, I want to ask him about it.”

“And have him say what?” she protested as she shifted the basket to the other hand. “It’s a restaurant, Eli, he’ll say he’s here to eat. That’s not against the law.”

“What did he say to you out there on the sidewalk?”

Should she tell him?

The man’s threat against her mother rang in her mind.
Tell anyone about our little visit and you’ll regret it.

Eli leaned closer. “What are you not telling me, Holly?”

Gulping, Holly looked back at the man in the booth. His gaze drilled her and she swallowed hard. “Nothing, Eli. Just let me deliver this and I’ll be ready to leave.”

Eli looked like he wanted to argue with her. Instead, he said nothing as she hid her quaking fear of the man in the booth and walked over to a short, thin woman in her mid-thirties. When Sue Anne saw the basket, she squealed and threw her arms around Holly. “Thank you so much.”

“Call your husband and thank him. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

In a hurry to escape the watchful eyes of the stranger, Holly didn’t linger and a minute later, she stepped out of the restaurant and headed for her car. She just wanted to get away, far away from the man and his threats. And she wanted to check on her mother.

Eli followed close behind her.

Ignoring the cold cutting through her down coat, she used a shaking hand to grab her phone.

Good offers only come along every once in a while. Take advantage of it before someone gets hurt.

Clenching her fist around the phone, she considered whether or not to tell Eli about the threat. She wanted to, but what if he confronted the guy and the guy hurt her mother?

He opened the door to her truck as she dialed the number. Sliding in the driver’s seat, she cranked it and turned on the heat. Eli climbed in the passenger side just as her mother answered.

“Hi, Mom. Are you doing okay?”

“Fine, darling.” Holly heard the tolerant tone in her mother’s voice. The woman knew Holly worried and put up with her daughter’s frequent calls. “I’m sitting here reading a book. Duster and Sassy are out chasing squirrels and Millie, the pastor’s wife, called to say she’d be here in about thirty minutes to visit awhile.”

“Oh, good. Well, have a nice visit and I’ll give you a call when I’m headed home, all right?”

“Sounds good, dear.”

She hung up the phone.

Blowing out a breath, Holly focused on what she needed to get done. She’d think about telling Eli about the threat, but right now, they had a pickup to make. From the corner of her eye, she caught movement.

The man from the booth was standing in the door of the restaurant, watching. She opened her mouth to tell Eli when the stranger lifted a finger to his lips in warning. Holly snapped her lips together and glanced at Eli. He was punching a text message into his phone.

Her eyes shot back to the man.

Still watching, threatening.

Was her mother really in danger? Would the man really do something if he found out she said something? Did she dare take a chance? Could she afford
not
to?

Oh, Lord, tell me what to do.

Shivering, her eyes followed her watcher as he turned back into the restaurant.

After Eli clicked his seat belt into place and dropped his phone into his shirt pocket, she ignored the little inner voice urging her to share her fears and asked him, “Are you ready to get your ear talked off?”

No, she wouldn’t tell him anything. Elva Sharp had thrown them together for this afternoon. But in a couple of hours, they would go their separate ways and she wouldn’t have anything more to do with Eli and his heartbreaking actions.

Eli raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

She kept her voice neutral, polite. “Mrs. Sharp. She’s a widow who lives alone, but has been so good to Mom. She’s always bringing over food or just stopping by to talk.”

“Ah, yes. She taught me Sunday school about a hundred years ago. I hadn’t realized Mr. Sharp had died.”

“About a year ago. I try to go see her every couple of weeks or so. She’s got a real sweet tooth so I take a box of chocolates with me when I go.” She held up the box she’d snitched from the store yesterday and couldn’t help the smile that tilted her lips. “Don’t worry, she’ll share.” His soft look made her heart stutter. “What?”

“You really have the proverbial heart of gold, don’t you?”

Embarrassed at that pronouncement, she gave a halting chuckle and a small smile. “Well, I don’t know about that, I just know I like the woman and enjoy doing something nice for her.”

A glance in the mirror showed an empty road behind her. No one followed. Relaxing a little, she wasn’t prepared for his next question.

“I really messed up, didn’t I?”

He was serious. Her smile faded and she shot him a grim look. “I sure thought so at the time.” Then she shrugged and sighed. “But who knows, Eli? Maybe you had to travel the path you took in order for you to find God. Or at least be willing to meet Him when you noticed Him.”

He blinked. Then turned to watch the passing scenery. Quiet echoed in the truck cab, then he pulled in a deep breath. “I never thought of that.”

She smiled, compassion—and maybe a little bit of leftover love?—tugged at her. Oh, no, did she want to go down that road? Her heart mocked her.
You still have feelings for him,
it insisted. With a sinking swoop in her stomach, she realized she did. She could easily allow herself to fall for him again. Zipping her lips into a straight line, she vowed to say nothing else on a personal level.

His quiet sigh told her that he sensed her withdrawal.

Holly pulled into Mrs. Sharp’s driveway. The smooth concrete felt good under the tires and she vowed to call someone soon to come out to her home and pave the drive. She almost had enough saved. Maybe next month.

Mrs. Sharp met them at the door of her small well-tended mountain bungalow. A whiff of apple pie followed her out the door. Holly knew what she’d be having for dessert tonight. She looked at the man next to her wishing she dared offer to share. Oh, how she’d missed him.

But her brain sounded alarm signals to her heart.

You don’t know that he’s here to stay. You’ve already let him burn you twice, you won’t survive a third time.

Taking heed of her internal warning, she placed a smile on her lips and greeted the small woman with a gentle hug. The scent of apple pie, cinnamon and mothballs greeted her. Holly pulled in a long breath and said, “We made it.”