Unforgivable (Romantic Suspense) Read online

  UNFORGIVABLE

  by

  Jaime Rush

  (originally published November 2001 under Tina Wainscott, from St. Martin’s Press)

  Copyright © 2001 Tina Wainscott

  For more information, sneak peeks, and contests, go to www.jaimerush.com and www.tinawainscott.com

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or redistributed. If you would like to share this book, please purchase additional copies for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use, please return to www.amazon.com and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the author’s hard work.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I wish to thank my resident medical expert, Jackie Bielowicz, for her continued and generous assistance with things medical.

  I am very grateful for Frank Martorana’s help with the veterinarian research. I’m sure he must have rolled his eyes more than once when he saw yet another email from me. Frank, I wish you all the luck in the world to make your dreams come true.

  Thank you, Lisa Pulitzer, for your inside information on being a crime writer, and for some great reads as well!

  Thanks to Linnea Sinclair for the beautiful covers!

  CHAPTER 1

  For the third day in a row, Katie Malloy made the long walk from Possum Holler into town carrying the cardboard box. This time only one of the kittens was left inside…her favorite, Boots. Mama said not to name them, cause that would only make it harder to give them away. Katie didn’t want to give them away, at least not Boots. How much could one little ole kitten cost, anyway? Porch Kitty having those kittens was the most excitement she’d had in her whole nine years, and what else could a kid do in their stinking, dusty Georgia town except fall in love with kittens?

  She especially hadn’t wanted to leave the house after she’d seen that dead bird in their yard. It was a bad omen, especially since it was a black bird, but Mama had insisted. Like waiting one more day would have done any harm.

  The road stretched on forever, giving off waves of invisible flames. There was nothing around for the longest time other than the gravel driveway that disappeared into the woods to the creepy Koole house, and another driveway leading to weird old lady Babbage’s house. Then she’d pass the abandoned convenience store, cross the old bypass, and go past the ancient cemetery. The town itself was to the left, another twenty minutes before she’d reach the Piggly Wiggly grocery store.

  Orange dust coated her feet and ground between her toes. Mama said it was no use buying a new pair of shoes for the summer when she’d just grow out of ‘em by the time school started.

  Gary Savino’s shiny new bike was parked outside the old store. He was fourteen and his daddy was the D.A., which people said like it was important. Gary always had the best clothes, the best toys, even the best looks. She’d had a tiny crush on him when she was younger, but Mama had set her straight about that. “Don’t you go near Gary or his family. I mean it. Stay away from the whole lot of them. We don’t belong with the likes of them.”

  Now that she’d grown up, she knew Mama was right, but her heart still kinda thrummed whenever she saw him.

  “Hey, Katie,” he said, coming around from the back of the old store zipping up his pants. He always said her name funny, drawing it out. She didn’t know whether he was making fun or just liked her name.

  “Hey,” she said, clutching the box tighter. Boots meowed, slowly blinking his green eyes. That was his way of saying he loved her.

  Gary had dark hair and brown eyes, and he was tall for a boy of his age. “What’cha got there?” he asked, leaning over the box.

  “This is Boots. I’m trying to find him a home.”

  “I’ll take it.” Without even waiting for her to say okay, he picked the kitten out of the box and held him up.

  “Really?”

  She should have been thrilled that Gary Savino was going to take her kitten, give him a nice, rich home. She wasn’t. “You want the box to take him in?”

  He was already walking toward his bike. “Nah. Won’t need it.”

  And then he threw the kitten against the plate glass window.

  She felt her insides drop out of her as Boots fell to the walkway. Her voice sounded shrill when she screamed, “Why’d you do that?” She was already running toward Gary.

  “Stop polluting the world with unwanted cats,” he said, climbing on his bike.

  She could hardly breathe. She wanted to run to Boots, but instead kept her focus on the vicious animal on the bike. She threw herself at him.

  His blasé expression changed to irritation. “What the—”

  “You creep!” She scratched at his face and kneed him in the nuts. She wanted to hurt him bad, she wanted him to never forget what he’d done. “You hurt him! For no reason, you hurt him!” she screamed, horrified to hear tears slipping into her voice.

  “Get off me, you twit!”

  He might be bigger, but he was no match for a furious girl. His face was scratched and bleeding, his shirt was ripped, and his body was contorted to protect himself from her thrusting knees. When he put his mind to it, though, he finally pushed her off him. She skidded across the concrete, but her scratches were nothing compared to the screaming pain inside her. When she started to run at him again, the gleam in his eyes halted her.

  “Don’t mess with me, little girl.”

  “I’m going to tell the sheriff,” she said, backing away toward Boots.

  That always worked to scare the troublemakers in her neighborhood, but it didn’t faze Gary at all. “Yeah, you go tell him. You think they’ll believe some piece of white trash that Sam Savino’s boy hurt some dumb ole cat.” He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t peddle your bastard kittens again, you hear?”

  He didn’t wait for an answer, just started riding away fast. He didn’t look back once.

  She stumbled to the kitten. “Boots,” she whimpered, letting the tears come now. She could see the smudge on the dusty window, and it caved in her heart even more. His head was bleeding where he’d hit the glass. But…he was alive! He was breathing and his mouth quivered. His eyes were all wobbly. He tried to get up, but he swayed and rolled on his side again. What really broke her heart were his mewling sounds.

  He’d trusted her, and she’d let him down.

  She started back to the trailer park hunched over the box to protect Boots from the sun. Then she had a better idea. After making sure Gary wasn’t watching, she tucked him in the shade of a maple tree and ran home.

  Mama wasn’t surprised, and that surprised Katie. “I know his father, honey. I cleaned for his family after school years ago. Meanness runs in the family, though they keep it hidden well. That’s why we pray for their victims every night, victims of mean people.”

  This isn’t meanness,” Katie said, hardly finding the breath to speak. “This is…evil! I’m gonna tell the Sheriff. But first we gotta help Boots.”

  “Honey, don’t do that. The sheriff ain’t gonna believe a word of it. And if he does, he ain’t gonna care anyway.”

  “How do you know?”

  Her face shadowed. “I just know. ‘Sides, we can’t afford to take him to the vet. You know that.”

  “I’m taking him to Dr. Sewell,” Katie said. “And I’m going to talk him into fixing Boots for free.”

  “I don’t want you going to the vet. ‘Member, it’s not Dr. Sewell anymore. It’s that young man that took his place. We don’t even know him.”

  “I don’t care. I’m going to see him anyway.”

  First she had to get to the vet’s office. They didn’t have a car, not since the tranny had
gone on the old Ford. Katie ran to some of the other mobile homes in their area. If they weren’t drunk from the night before, they were either car-less or at work. She’d walk to town if she had to. It was better than sitting there watching her kitty die.

  Once she retrieved Boots from his hiding place, the mid-morning heat pressed down on her like an iron. Not many people drove this far out of town, not much chance of a ride.

  She neared the long driveway that disappeared back into the woods. Silas Koole lived there with his dad. Silas was older than her by at least five years. People said his dad hit him sometimes, but Silas never said a word about it. The kids called him Spooky Silas. Whenever she’d seen him in town, he seemed nice enough. Kids said she was strange too because she had a purple birthmark on her neck, but she couldn’t see anything wrong with Silas.

  A breeze toyed with the leaves of the trees flanking the driveway, giving an eerie feeling to the dark place beyond. Boots needed her to be brave, so she whispered, “Wish me luck,” and started down the shady driveway.

  Country music blared as she neared the home. Silas and his daddy were rich by her standards, living in a house with four huge columns along the front porch that went all the way up to the second floor. The house was run-down, though, and the yard was sprinkled with weeds. Hope washed through her when she saw two long, jean-clad legs sticking out from beneath the old truck. Something metallic clanked, and he swore.

  “Please”—she cleared her throat—“please help me.”

  Silas slid from beneath the truck, his eyes wide with surprise. He was tall and thin, with dark hair, smoky blue eyes, and a lean face. There was something dangerous about him, like a wild animal you couldn’t trust. Like a wolf, she realized, even the way he moved. Mama would kill her if she knew she was here, but Silas might be her last hope to save Boots. He was wearing a gold cross on a chain; that had to count for something.

  Silas rubbed his hands down his grease-smudged jeans and walked up to her. “Is he all right?” he asked as he peered into the box.

  She tried to be cool about it, but the concern in his eyes melted her strength. “I don’t think so. Gary threw him against the store window, and he’s gonna die if I don’t get him to the vet. Please…can you take us there?” She swiped at her tears.

  “I’ve been trying to get the damn thing going. Hold on a minute.” He slid back under the truck slick as a snake. He jerked on something, banged on something else. Three of the longest minutes of her life slid by, and then he pulled himself back out again. “Let’s give it a try.”

  “Will your dad let you take the truck?” she asked.

  He didn’t even glance toward the house. “He won’t say nothing about it.”

  She held her breath as the engine churned a couple of times, and finally started. She felt a hitch in her chest when Silas took the box from her and set it on the bench seat. Then he helped her up into the old truck and shut the door behind her. Boots was trying to sit up, with his paws wide for balance. His eyes were still wobbly, and he was crying again. Nothing really bad had ever happened to her before today. Now she was alone with Silas Koole. Spooky Silas Koole. The bad omen had come true.

  He didn’t say a word as they stopped by the intersection that turned left into downtown where people didn’t know about bad things happening to helpless kittens. A lone shopping strip plaza sat ahead of them, half of the storefronts empty. People were busy shopping at the Dollar Store’s sidewalk sale. They glanced up at her and Silas and the noisy truck, and then looked away just as fast. To the right was the ancient cemetery tucked away in the oaks. Past that was the veterinary hospital.

  “I’ll wait out here,” he said once he’d parked.

  The pinch she felt in her chest made her realize she’d hoped he’d come in with her. Not Silas, she thought, climbing down and taking the box he held out to her. He walked to school alone, returned alone, and never hung out with other kids. But he’d brought her here.

  All-Animals Hospital was small, very white, and smelled like disinfectant. One woman sat in the waiting area with her cat in a carrier. The new doctor’s name was Ben Ferguson, and he was writing on something at the desk when she held up the kitten and pleaded through her tears, “He’s gonna die if you don’t help him.”

  Mr. Ferguson was older, probably in his late twenties, and his eyes were compassionate as he took the kitten into his office. She waited with the other woman, not missing the looks she gave her dirty feet and tear-stained face. Pity and disgust. She hated going into town, hated school, and at the moment, hated just about everybody.

  Except Dr. Ferguson, who told her that Boots was going to live. “But it doesn’t look good, Katie. His brain got hurt.” He put his hand over her head. “The brain is a very complex organ, the most important one in the body. We’ve got to wait and see how bad and where his brain was hurt. I’ve given him some medication to reduce the swelling and bruising and something to keep him from going into shock.”

  She walked to the table where Boots looked so tiny. He was resting just like normal, only his eyes were closed. “Now what happens?”

  “I’m going to put a catheter in him, right here.” He pointed to his leg. “You’ve probably seen catheters on TV with the bag of fluid that drips into the person’s vein. This will give Boots electrolytes. He’s going to stay here for a few days where I can keep an eye on him, watch what he eats and drinks. That will tell me how he’s doing. And you…” He smiled. “You can come visit him.”

  She lifted her chin. “I will, every day.”

  Dr. Ferguson followed her gaze back to the kitten. “Katie, you’re a smart, tough girl. I’m going to be honest with you, because I know that’s what you want. He’s not going to be like normal kittens. Which means it’s going to be real hard to find him a home.”

  She looked at the gray striped kitten on the table. “I’m gonna keep him,” she said in a thick voice. “Nobody’s ever gonna hurt him again.” She couldn’t look at Boots without crying, so she looked at the doctor. “We don’t have a lot of money to pay the bills.”

  “Tell you what: you can work here to help pay the bill. We’re going to make him better together, you and me.”

  “I can work good. I’m strong. I hoe the garden, climb up on the roof and fix the holes, mow the yard…my daddy left when I was little, so Mama and I do everything. Thank you for saving him, Dr. Ferguson.”

  He knelt down to her level. “You’re looking at me like I’m some hero. I just did my job.”

  She shook her head. “You are a hero.”

  A change came over his face, as though her words touched him in some way. “I want to be your hero, Katie. That would make me very happy. And I want you to call me Ben.”

  She nodded, but moved back a few inches. Mama said not to get too close to men. “What about Gary? He did this to my kitten. Shouldn’t he have to pay the bill?”

  Ben looked down for a moment, then said, “Are you sure it was Gary who did this? What you said he did…it’s a horrible thing. And you know, Gary’s father is a pretty important person in town. Accusing him of this, well, it isn’t going to be easy. Maybe it’s better not to raise a stink.”

  He sounded like her mama. Anger and injustice balled up in her throat. “But he did it! I don’t care who his dad is!”

  Ben’s smile wasn’t really a smile at all. It looked sad. “You may not, but a lot of people do. Believe me, I know how towns like this work. Gary is the D.A.’s only child. Everybody’s hoping he’ll go to college and come back smart so he can bring commerce back into town. Nobody’s going to believe he threw a kitten against a window.”

  She blinked back the tears. “But everybody’s gotta pay. When I stole some of Mrs. Granson’s strawberries, I had to weed her yard to pay for ‘em.”

  Lordy, it looked like Ben was gonna cry too, the way his eyes watered up for a second. He touched her cheek. “Sometimes life isn’t fair, hon. But I’m going to make it fair for you. I’m going to be your hero, now an
d always.”

  When she walked outside, she wasn’t sure Silas would still be out there. He was, and that somehow touched her. That he seemed to really care about the kitten touched her more.

  “How is he?” Silas asked as he helped her up into the truck. She only nodded. “It’s okay to cry, Katie. I know you want to.”

  She’d been trying really hard not to cry in front of him or anybody. Her mouth was tight, her chin quivering. Talking made it worse, so she tried not to say anything. But his words released the dam, and she let the tears come.

  He started to reach for her, halted, then touched her hand instead. “You’re just mad. I know how it feels to be helpless, powerless.”

  She rubbed her shirt over her running nose and looked at him. How did he know what she was feeling? Is that why the kids called him Spooky Silas? She didn’t want to ask, because then he’d take away his hand, and it felt so good on hers. He’d go back to being silent like he was when the kids teased him.

  “I wanna tell the sheriff on him. I want him to pay for what he did. Ben said they wouldn’t believe me.”

  “He’s probably right.”

  “He said I shouldn’t raise a stink.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “Raise a stink.”

  Silas removed his hand and started the truck. There was a ghost of a smile on his mouth. He drove to the Sheriff’s office. And he walked inside with her.

  “Little girl, surely you’re mistaken,” Sheriff Tate said when she’d related her story in the waiting area. He was older than Ben, but not by much. All the dark wood on the walls and floors made the area look warm, but it didn’t feel warm. The sunlight pouring in through the front windows was almost blinding. “Gary might raise a ruckus now and again, but he’s no cat killer.” He looked at Silas, who stood behind her. “You see this happen?”

  Silas paused, as though he were considering lying and saying he did. He shook his head. “She isn’t lying.”