No One Left to Tell (45 page)

‘Of course you did. You were
seven
,’ Paige repeated protectively. ‘Most adults would have run and hid.’

He’d always known that, but it never helped. ‘My mother came looking for me, found me in my closet. I kept stammering about the hole in the stone wall. I couldn’t say more, couldn’t find the words, but she knew something was terribly wrong. She found the girl, but she was dead by then.’ He swallowed hard, remembering the guilt. The nightmares. ‘I hid too long. If I’d found my mother, told her . . . the girl might have lived.’

‘That she didn’t live isn’t on your head,’ she said. ‘But knowing that doesn’t help, does it? I feel responsible for Thea’s death, even though her husband was to blame.’ She sighed. ‘What did your mother do?’

‘She called the police. They found knives with fingerprints.’ He swallowed again. ‘Semen on the body. In the body. He’d assaulted her. Repeatedly. It was the eighties – before DNA profiling. But the prints matched my father’s. The semen matched his blood type. And, he kept souvenirs. Jewelry. He gave some of it to my mother.’

‘Monster,’ she whispered, and his mouth twisted bitterly.

‘I remember her wearing it. He’d make a big production about getting a bonus at work and spending it on his “beloved”. My mother couldn’t get past having worn the girls’ jewelry for a long time. Some people thought she knew, that she’d helped him.’

‘Some people are stupid,’ Paige declared fiercely.

‘The woman I’d found was identified as a college girl missing from University of Florida. The police found evidence there’d been others in the room where he’d tortured her. They arrested him and started digging around the barn. They found his burial ground not far away. Thirteen more bodies.’

‘Why did you and your mother disappear?’

‘Because we feared for our lives. My father was furious that my mother had discovered his secret, that she’d called the police. So he made her pay. His defense was that he was a loving family man. He could never have done such a thing, he said. He had a son of his own, after all. Later, when the evidence began to mount and he knew he was truly caught, he claimed that my mother knew. That she’d helped.’

‘Surely the police didn’t believe him, did they?’

‘The police didn’t, but enough other people did to make our lives hell. One of the fathers of the victims went off the deep end. He was one of the ones convinced that my mother had known. He came after us, me and my mother. He was going to kill Mom for her involvement. He was going to kill me as an “eye for an eye”, because my father still insisted he loved me. He came damn close to succeeding.’

‘The police didn’t help you?’

‘At first, yes. We’d had to move. Our house and the old neighbor’s property were crime scenes for months while they searched for bodies. The police put a protective detail on the house my mother rented and she got a restraining order on the victim’s father. But a few weeks passed and they decided we were safe and left us on our own.

‘There were constant picketers protesting that my mother hadn’t been arrested. She got death threats from multiple sources. This went on for weeks. The reporters had swarmed too, microphones and cameras every time we left the house. It was a circus, but ironically they’d protected us. One night some other news happened and the reporters left us alone for a few hours. The victim’s father broke into the house and grabbed me out of my bed, stuck a gun to my head, and started to drag me away.’

She tensed. ‘What happened?’

‘My mother grabbed a baseball bat and slammed him with it. Knocked the guy out.’

‘Good for her. I like her even more now.’

‘He was going to kill us. She knew he would never stop until we were dead. Or he was. I remember her standing over his body, his gun in her hands, pointing at his head. She stood that way for a long, long time. Her hands shook and she cried.’

‘But she couldn’t kill him,’ she murmured.

‘No. That’s not who she was. Is. He’d tried to hurt me, but my father had brutalized the man’s child. My mother had . . . compassion. And fear. She could have called the cops, but she’d done that before. They would have arrested the victim’s father, but there were so many others who hated us. So she took all the cash she had left, filled the tank with gas and we headed north. We left everything behind.’

‘Except for one picture,’ she said softly.

‘I hid it,’ he confessed. ‘My mother told me to bring nothing, but I couldn’t leave the picture behind. It was my favorite of her.’

‘She was happy in the picture. She wasn’t scared yet. You could look at it at night and pretend that you were still a little boy in Miami and that none of this had happened.’

That Paige understood didn’t surprise him. ‘She’ll be unhappy that I kept it.’

‘She already knows.’

That surprised him. ‘You told her?’

‘She wanted to know how I’d found out. She told me if I ever used the truth to hurt you that she’d make me pay. I believed her before you told me that she could wield a ball bat.’ There was a dry smile in her voice. ‘Now I’m doubly afraid.’

‘My mother is tough.’

‘And so proud of you.’ She pressed a kiss to his chest. ‘How did you end up here?’

‘The car broke down and Mom was running out of money. We lived in a cheap hotel for a few weeks while she tried to find work. We were desperate when she answered an ad for that nanny position with the Carters.’ He thought of the story Paige had told, earlier that evening. It seemed like a million years ago. ‘But she never left me. Somehow she got us new IDs and kept me fed. I don’t know how. I’ve never asked.’

‘Your mom said you were telling them tonight – the Carters. What did they say?’

‘They already knew.’ It had shocked him then. Now, he was wondering how many people knew the secret he thought he and his mother had kept so well. ‘Jack and Katherine Carter had known from the very beginning.’

Paige was quiet a moment. ‘Your mother didn’t know that. She was worried about what they’d say. Well, not really worried. More . . . sad, I think.’

‘She hated lying to them.’

‘She did what she had to do to protect you. If the Carters are as wonderful as you’ve said, they will understand.’

‘They did. They protected us.’

‘I like them even more now.’ Paige hesitated. ‘Your mother also said your boss had threatened to expose all of this if you didn’t back off the Muñoz case.’

‘Yes, he did,’ Grayson said.

‘Is that why you told me?’

‘No. That’s why I told the Carters. But not why I told you. I needed you to understand who I really was because I knew that you . . .’ He let the thought trail.

She lifted her head, her dark eyes intense. ‘When your mother told me about your boss, I wanted to tear his head off. And then I saw you in my mind, standing at Rex’s door, knocking. Even though you knew the cost. That’s when I knew.’

His heart stumbled. ‘Knew what?’

‘That the secret you kept didn’t matter. What mattered was the man you’d become. That’s who I wanted. I don’t care who you were. I don’t care who your father is. I care about
you
. I want
you
.’

He stared at her, at the face that had entranced him from the moment she’d run toward a bullet-riddled minivan when any sane person would have run away. His heart squeezed in his chest, so hard it hurt. ‘Say it again,’ he whispered.

She traced his lips with her fingertips. ‘I want
you
.’ She kissed him sweetly, then nipped at his lower lip. ‘I want you,’ she murmured, the words turned sultry. Sensual.

His body sprang to life. He cupped the back of her head and brought her close, taking her mouth with all the emotion churning inside him. She lifted her head again, this time her eyes hot. Greedy. She swiveled her hips against him, making him groan.

He rolled, trapping her under him while he searched his nightstand drawer for another condom.

She grabbed it from his hand. ‘Does it hurt to lie on your back?’

‘Depends. What will I get?’

Her lips curved. ‘On your back,’ she ordered. ‘It’s my turn.’

He obeyed, ignoring the bruises as she straddled him. He watched, mesmerized as she made quick work of the condom wrapper and covered him. Silently he cursed the condom, remembering how it had felt to come inside her. How hot and slick she’d been and how her muscles had squeezed him.

Later. When they’d sorted everything out he’d throw that box away and feel her skin to skin again. For now . . . He gritted his teeth as she teased him, lowering herself onto him, but only an inch. ‘Paige.’

She smiled, a cat-in-cream smile that had him lifting his hips, trying to grind himself into her. ‘It’s my turn,’ she repeated. ‘I get to do what I want.’

What she wanted was to torture him. She took him in an inch at a time, wriggling her hips, her swaying breasts driving him insane. Finally he broke, pulling her down, filling her. She gasped, then laughed, the sound full of joy. Then she began to move.

She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She leaned over him, one hand on either side of his head, meeting his eyes in the darkness. ‘You made me beg.’

‘Twice,’ he panted and she licked at his lip.

‘Can I make you beg?’ she whispered against his mouth.

‘You can make me do damn near anything. Just don’t ever stop.’

‘I can’t.’ She was moving faster. He could feel his release coming, a dull throb at the base of his spine, but he controlled it. He needed to see her. Needed her to get there first. Abruptly she pushed herself back so that she sat upright, driving him deeper into her. She cried out, her face . . . unforgettable.

His control snapped and he rolled her beneath him, his hips hammering hard as she looked up at him, dazed. He hooked one arm under her knee, sending him even deeper into all that hot, wet heat. His body went rigid. His vision grayed. And he fell.

He wasn’t sure how long they lay there, panting. He buried his face in the curve of her shoulder, let out a quiet breath. ‘I never told her,’ he whispered.

She stroked his hair. ‘Told who what, Grayson?’

‘My mother. I never told her that the girl was alive when I found her.’

She went still. ‘Do you want her to know?’

‘No.’ He looked up at her, desperate. ‘I never want her to know.’

Her mouth bent sadly. ‘Do you really think she’d love you any less?’

‘No. But it would hurt her. Knowing that it’s been eating me up, all these years.’

‘Then why tell me?’

‘I needed you to know it all. So you could decide.’ He hesitated. ‘If I’d be yours.’

Her eyes softened. ‘You were a child. If I held that against you, I wouldn’t be worth your time. Let little Antonio keep his secret. He did nothing wrong. He was a victim, too.’

‘Not Antonio.’ The words came out harsh and angry. ‘My mother called me Tony.’

She caressed his cheek. ‘Grayson, you could have taken your past out on anyone weaker than you. But you didn’t. You stand for the victims. You are an honorable man, whatever name you choose to call yourself. Your mother is proud of you. And so am I.’

His throat closed. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome. Now go to sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow. I want this over so we can walk my dog without worrying about you being shot.’

Chapter Seventeen

Thursday, April 7, 3.00
A.M
.

S
tevie exited the Peabody Hotel’s elevator, planning to check on Grayson and Paige before heading home to catch a few hours’ sleep. Just to make sure they got here okay. It was paranoid, she knew. And a lot overprotective. But Grayson was her friend and seeing his car smoking like that had left her more shaken than she cared to admit.

Stevie put her ear to the door of the suite he’d gotten for Paige. Either they were asleep or not there. She heard a TV in the adjoining room, so somebody was awake.

She knocked lightly. Then had to stop herself from taking a step back when the door opened. It wasn’t Grayson Smith. And she wasn’t prepared.

Stevie looked up, face to face with the man she hadn’t seen in almost a year, but had not forgotten. He’d lied to her, hampered her investigation. He’d falsified federal documents and probably done ten times worse, but they’d caught a killer with his help.

He’d unwittingly put her daughter in danger, but had done the right thing as soon as he’d known. And her daughter was safe today.

Clay Maynard had intrigued her then. And now, here he was. Again.

‘Mr Maynard,’ she said softly. ‘I didn’t expect you to be here.’

He frowned, but she barely noticed. His chest was bare and the sweats he wore rode low on his hips. She wasn’t in the market, but looking was free.
Oh my
.

‘Detective Mazzetti,’ he said. ‘I didn’t expect you either. Where is Paige?’

Her eyes shot up to his, focused again. ‘I thought she was here.’

‘She’s not. Smith wasn’t going to stay with her, so she asked me to. But she hasn’t shown up. She hasn’t called and she’s not answering any of her phones.’

‘Well, her phones aren’t exactly working at the moment.’

‘Why the hell not?’ he demanded.

‘She and Grayson Smith were involved in an incident tonight. Grayson’s car was blown up. Her phone was blown up with it.’

Clay started, his jaw dropping. ‘What the hell?’

‘I don’t want to have this conversation out here. May I?’ She gestured to the room.

Immediately he stepped back, opening the door wider. ‘Of course. Come in.’

Four handguns lay on the kitchen counter. He’d been cleaning his weapons, an oily rag folded in precise quarters.

Stevie respected a man who took care of his things.

His brows lifted impatiently as she took in the room, his arms folded tightly over his chest. He had a tattoo on his left biceps.
Semper Fi
.

‘It was a car bomb,’ she said, cutting to the chase. ‘We don’t know who planted it. Yet. We did recover some pieces of the device and are working to identify the bomber. Grayson’s car was destroyed. They got out just in time.’