Unforgivable (Romantic Suspense) Read online

  “Sir? Would you pass these down, please?”

  Fingers snapped in front of Ben’s face. The man sitting in front of him was holding out a stack of papers to be passed on down his row to the other conference attendees.

  He’d been deep in thought, but not about the latest in veterinary instruments. He’d have to catch up by reading the notes. He was a fast learner, so he wasn’t worried about missing anything.

  But he was worried about Katie. He’d called her that morning at the hospital, and she’d sounded down. He sat in the last of the day’s seminars and wondered what he could do to bring back the happy woman he’d know since she was a girl. What could he do to make her his again? Everyone was grateful for his kind deeds, the way an animal repays kindness with its loyalty. Why wasn’t Katie? At least he’d curtailed her insistence on helping with that damn fair. It was mean, but he liked things the way they were. Look what just one person was doing to his wife. Bertrice was poisoning her mind, giving her unsuitable clothing. Seeing Katie in that get-up…it wasn’t right. She wasn’t supposed to look that sexy. He didn’t like feeling jealous of a teenager, of the way she made Katie laugh. Ben hadn’t made her laugh in…well, he couldn’t even remember the last time.

  His gut twisted at that thought. He had to keep her close and away from all the vamps in town. No one could blame him for wanting to keep his wife pure. She was his. She’d always been his. He’d made a perfect life for the two of them.

  Silas was the bigger problem. Katie had sneaked off to see him at least once. She’d sounded weird on the phone the night before too, which might have meant he was there. Could she be that stupid to let a possible killer into her home? The thought knifed him in the gut.

  He got up in the middle of the lecture, gathered his briefcase and notes, and walked out. A few people looked up, but he didn’t meet their eyes.

  Tate picked up his line a few minutes later with a brusque, “Hello, Ben. What’s up?”

  “I’m just checking in on the Silas Koole situation. Katie’s there all by herself, and I’m a little worried about her.” It also bothered him that she’d been rude to Gary. Katie wasn’t rude to anyone, at least she hadn’t been until Silas had returned to town. She’d even tried to keep Gary from investigating him.

  “We haven’t turned up anything conclusive yet. Nothing but a parking ticket and two speeding tickets. The business is his, as is the property. Gary’s taken a personal interest in this whole situation. Glad to see the boy take an initiative, though I think it’s bordering on obsessive. In any case, he’s keeping a close eye on Katie. He’s also been watching Silas.”

  “I don’t understand why he’s not in jail yet. The man’s obviously guilty.”

  “We can’t prove that, Ben. I know you’re uptight about this, but the law is the law. I’ve spent every spare minute checking into the facts of this case. I’ve been talking to law enforcement in every county where a girl has disappeared, trying to tie Silas in with the time of disappearance. Here’s something I have found, though. He has talked to, or tried to talk to, many of these girls’ families after their disappearances. He tells them that he’s researching a book on the case, that he’s a crime writer. We’re checking on that right now. If he’s lying, we’re on to something for sure.”

  “What’s he asking the families?”

  “One woman I spoke with said he walked around her daughter’s room, touched some of her things, and said she definitely wasn’t planning to run away like the authorities suspected.”

  “Did he take anything?”

  “Not that she knew of, but here’s what I’m finding out, reading about serial killers: they like to return to the scene of the crime. And they like to have a souvenir of their victims. If Silas is talking to these parents under false pretenses, he’s probably playing one sick game. And I want him taken out. What we need is a body, something to prove the girls are dead.

  “I want to nail this bastard. That’s what’s going to put Flatlands on the map, not buying Silas’s stupid land and putting in some stupid park. People will flock here to see the town where they finally put an end to a vicious killer.”

  And Tate was going to enjoy being the one who caught him. The pleasure of that prospect oozed from the man’s voice.

  “So you’re keeping an eye on Silas all the time?”

  “When manpower permits. Gary’s even doing it on his own time. There’s something else you ought to know…Silas has also been enjoying a game of cat and mouse. He’s been giving Gary and my other guys the slip now and then. And he’s followed Katie and Harold to work both mornings you’ve been gone.”

  Ben swallowed hard on that. “Has he gone to the hospital to see her?”

  “Not that we know of.”

  “Get rid of him, Tate. Either nail him or run him out of town. He’s got to go.”

  “Now, Ben, we’re doing the best we can. I’m doing this by the book, because when we do nail him—and we will—I want him in jail for a good long time. No more mistakes.”

  “Fry him, Tate. Make sure they fry him.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Katie pushed the door open and effected the kind of stance she’d seen television cops take. The gun was out in front of her. Adrenaline pounded through her, making her vision pulse with it. The empty room was a letdown. She scanned the office, only now able to take a breath. The bi-fold doors were open. The drawer in the metal desk was also open. Ben was meticulous about how he left this office.

  It was more than that, though, that set her on edge and kept her standing in the open doorway: the feeling of someone being inside the room. She could hear nothing but the pounding of her heart. Maybe she was losing her mind. Paranoia did things like that to a person. She certainly had reason enough to be paranoid as of late.

  The feeling persisted, though. She kept looking around the office, taking in the places where someone could be hiding. Inside the closet, maybe. Behind the desk. What would she do if she found someone there?

  Throw up most likely, the way her stomach was jolting around inside her. Why would anyone be in here looking through their files? Logic happily invaded her mind, nearly replacing her instinctual fear. If a killer were on the prowl, he wouldn’t be in here. And from what she’d heard, this killer didn’t grab his victims from their houses.

  Relief poured through her. She lowered the gun, though her fingers were still white where they gripped it. She’d have to pry them off for sure. She backed up to the kitchen area. If Ben could see her tonight, he’d be laughing at her. Her legs were wobbly when she walked to the table to sit down. Even before she’d pulled the chair out to drop into it, she looked at the kitchen door.

  It was unlocked.

  She braced herself with the table, blinking to make sure she wasn’t imagining it. It was definitely unlocked. Her ears perked again for any sounds out of the ordinary. She took a deep breath, lifted the gun again, and walked back to the office.

  Nobody’s here, she told herself. I left the door unlocked. Even as she tried to convince herself of that, she knew it wasn’t true. She always locked the doors when she was alone, even before she had a reason to.

  She stood in the doorway again, waiting it out. In a moment of panic, she looked behind her, realizing she was so focused on the office, she was leaving her back wide open. Her heartbeat had picked up to supersonic speed the moment she’d seen the door unlocked. How did anyone overcome fear when it nearly debilitated you?

  She’d been standing in the doorway for nearly ten minutes, hearing nothing but her waning heart spasms and the ticking clock. If someone were in there, they knew she was still standing there. She had herself nearly talked out of someone being inside again after another five minutes of silence. But she also knew she’d never relax unless she looked in the office just to make sure.

  She took one step in. Nobody’s here, nobody’s here, she chanted with each subsequent step. I’ll laugh about this in just a few minutes, laugh at how scared I was. Over dinner, i
f I can eat, I’ll laugh, and I won’t even tell Ben. I’ll—

  She made a choking sound when she saw the arm. It was real, someone was crouched behind the desk, and he was going to kill her. It was too late to back out now, too late to call for help.

  Silas stood with an annoyed expression on his face. “I didn’t expect you to be home this early.”

  Her knees sagged, and she stumbled back and sank onto the striped loveseat. For a moment she felt all the blood leave her head. He started to walk over, but she gathered herself in a way that amazed her and pointed the gun at him. He paused, then raised his hands in mock surrender.

  She pushed herself to a standing position. “What are you doing in here?” Her voice sounded shrill and on the edge of hysterical.

  He did at least look contrite as he leaned against the edge of the desk with his arms crossed in front of him. His surrender sure hadn’t lasted long. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought I’d be out of here before you got home. This is not my day for breaking and entering, that’s for sure. I’m obviously out of practice.”

  He looked way too relaxed for a man being held at gunpoint. She checked her stance. The gun was pointed right at him, at his stomach to be precise. He was wearing jeans and a brown and green plaid shirt, probably to blend into the woods for his getaway.

  “What do you mean, it’s not a good day for breaking and entering?”

  “Gary nearly caught me in his place, too. It’s a long story, but suffice it to say I’m glad I didn’t let myself get pudgy.”

  She caught herself looking down at that not-at-all-pudgy body of his. Her gaze snapped back to his face. “What are you doing here?” she asked again, this time raising the gun to the vicinity of his chest.

  He shook his head, looking for all the world…disappointed in her? “Katie, I’m glad you have a gun, I really am. But you’ve got to be ready to shoot someone. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Holding a gun on someone is one thing; being willing to use it is something altogether different.” He made a quick move toward her, and she jerked back. “That’s what I’m talking about. If you come home and find a man in your house, you can’t be afraid to shoot him. Even if you know him.”

  His chilling words from the night before slithered through her mind. She raised the gun at his face now. “I’m not afraid to shoot you.”

  “That’s because you have no intention of shooting me. It’s not even loaded, is it?” Her expression must have given her away, because he only shook his head. “If you’re in a bad situation, even with someone you thought you trusted, are you willing to shoot him to save your life? That’s the bottom line, Katie. What if I have a gun, too?”

  He did have a gun. Gary had found it. She glanced down at him again, looking for any telltale bulges. She wasn’t taking any more chances. She advanced closer, her gun still aimed right at him. “It’s loaded, Silas. And I’m willing to use it if necessary.”

  Keeping the gun aimed with one hand, she patted him down with her other hand. He was all muscle beneath the worn, soft cotton of his shirt. She kept darting her gaze to where she was patting and back to his face. He seemed to suffer her ministrations without much trouble. In fact, she was having more trouble than he as she got to his jeans. She had to kneel down, pressing against the thick fabric, avoiding the front section.

  He groaned when she patted his inner thigh, then twisted her right off her feet. It happened so fast, she didn’t have a chance to even react. In a flash, she was lying on the floor, he was straddling her, and she had no idea where her gun had even gone.

  “Katie, for God’s sake, you’ve got to get better at protecting yourself. You left yourself wide open, and look what could have happened.”

  He was lecturing her! This penetrated the haze of her fear first, that and his weight on top of her. He was leaning over her, his hair falling on either side of his face. “This is dangerous.”

  It was very dangerous, because, of all the crazy emotions running through her, desire shouldn’t have been one of them. There was something sick and delicious about being pinned beneath him.

  She pushed at him. “Let me up!”

  His gaze swept over her face and down to where his body fused with hers. He abruptly got up and turned to help her up. She waved away his help and got to her feet on her own. “Is that what this is about? Scaring me?” She picked up the gun that had slid across the carpet.

  “No, Katie, that’s not why I’m here.”

  “I want answers, Silas. No more games. You’re making me crazy, telling me to be afraid, not telling me why, sneaking into my house…” My heart. “I could have shot you! And you wanted me to! Are you crazy like they say?”

  For a few long moments, he just looked at her. She swore he could read every thought in her head. He ran his hand back through his hair and sighed. “Maybe I am, Katie. Maybe I am.”

  “Your books weren’t in the library.”

  “I write under a pseudonym. Johnny Black.”

  She’d seen that name in her search. Relief chased away a tidbit of her fear. The rest mingled in her stomach. “You said you broke into Gary’s place. You think Gary’s the guy taking the women?”

  “Could be.”

  He revealed infuriatingly little information. “But you don’t know.”

  He shook his head.

  “You said someone was after me. That it was someone I know.”

  She saw the shadow of his own fear in his blue eyes. “I’m sure of that much.”

  “You know who it is?”

  “Wish I did.”

  The weight of the gun made her drop her arm to her side. “Why are you here then?” She looked at the desk and saw a folder open to their credit card statements. “You can’t think…”

  “I’m not eliminating anyone until I can prove they’re innocent.”

  She laughed, though it sounded edgy. “You are crazy. Ben’s not a killer. Gary, maybe. He’s been harassing me ever since he discovered you were back in town. He came to the hospital today. You would have been proud of me: I held him off with a scalpel.”

  “But could you have used it on him? That’s what worries me. I’m glad to see some of your feistiness is still in there.” He touched her collarbone, rubbing his finger back and forth. “I can see it in your eyes, too, but it may not be enough.”

  “Is that how you knew I wouldn’t shoot you? You could see it in my eyes?”

  “Part of it. I don’t want to get into that just yet. Not with you already thinking I’m crazy.” He turned toward the file on the desk. “I was looking for dates, matching up the times Ben’s out of town with the disappearances.”

  “He pays in cash. The credit card is only for emergencies and ordering things. That doesn’t mean anything,” she added at the quirk of his mouth.

  “Maybe, maybe not.”

  She took a step closer. “How do you know this killer is after me?” Her voice dropped an octave. “How do you know so much about me, Silas? It’s driving me crazy, wondering how you know…things no one else knows.” She left the room and returned with the sketch. “This, Silas. How did you come to have this?”

  When he looked at the sketch, he had the same expression he’d had when she caught him. “Gary gave that to you, didn’t he?”

  “It doesn’t matter how I got it, but yes, he did. He said you had notes about my life. About…the day I married Ben.”

  He took in the turmoil on her expression and ran his fingers down his face with a sigh. “That’s the part I don’t want to get into just yet. I’ll explain everything when the time is right.”

  “You and Gary, when the time is right. Are you both in this together?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He said there was something inside him when he threw Boots, something he didn’t know was in there. He’s also going to tell me when the time is right.” She wanted to curse when the phone rang. “Don’t you dare go anywhere. I want answers.”

  It was Ben. “Honey, I t
ried you at the hospital before five and you weren’t there. Then I called the house and you didn’t answer. I got worried. What’s going on?”

  A fissure of annoyance went through her. She walked back into the office, and like a ghost, Silas was gone. “I didn’t feel well, that’s all. Gary brought in a dog that he’d hit, and once I had her stabilized, I just felt dragged out. It had been slow up until then, so I closed early and came home. You probably called here when I was on my way.”

  As she talked, she walked through the house checking all the rooms. No sign of Silas. He could have been a figment of her imagination if the file wasn’t still open on the desk. She picked up one of the bills.

  “You sound funny again. Is someone there?”

  “No one’s here but me.” That was apparently true.

  “Has Silas been around? Have you seen him, Katie?”

  She let the bill drift down to the desk. “Just around town.”

  “He followed you to work both mornings. I can’t emphasize enough how dangerous he is, sweetheart. Tate thinks Silas is the guy taking women. Please keep yourself safe until I come home. Okay? Promise?”

  Her hand automatically went to her cross. “I will.” Stupid promise. Silas had been right there, and she’d let him get the upper hand.

  “You know you mean the world to me. If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do. Do you love me, Katie?”

  Her hand squeezed the cross, digging the edges into her palm. “I do love you, Ben. I always have, always will.” What would he do if she ever left him? The one time she’d left her mother…

  “I love you too, Katie. More than anything. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Once she’d hung up, she walked to the kitchen window and searched the woods. It was still light out, but she couldn’t see Silas anywhere. Once again he’d given her the slip and left burning questions unanswered. Spooky Silas. She shivered. He was spooky in more ways than one.

  It was nearly nine o’clock by the time Katie had fixed dinner, returned everything in the office back to normal, and made sure every window in the house was locked tight. She wasn’t sure how Silas had managed to open the kitchen door, which made her completely uneasy.