Concealed

  That got her attention. “No. What about her?”

  With a slow exhale, Luke set down the menu. “I talked to her this morning. More like she called me around four A.M., drunk.” Sydney didn’t say a word but her eyebrows shot up toward her hairline. “Yeah. Basically she admitted to smashing your windows and slashing your tires. After that run in she had with you at Murray’s, she saw your car parked at the diner and decided to take a few whacks at it.”

  “Classy.”

  Luke laughed. “Now that’s the one thing I don’t think that woman’s ever been called.”

  “Well, at least we know the truth about my car.” It should have relieved some of her anxiety to know it was Tara and not Ronald who smashed her car, but it didn’t. Maybe she was the one responsible for the phone calls too. And if that was the case, what about the footprints by her car and outside her window? Was it Ronald following her around, or was it all Tara? She voiced her thoughts to Luke and he shook his head.

  “Wade doesn’t think it was all Tara. She might have done the damage, but he still thinks Ronald was there, surveying the situation and lying in wait for you to come back to the car.”

  “Great,” Sydney growled, her fears renewed.

  “I’ll pay for the damages to your car,” Luke offered.

  “You’ll do no such thing.”

  His face fell. “Are you going to press charges against her?”

  “No. I want nothing to do with her. I already have one psycho after me, I really don’t need another.” Luke didn’t so much as crack a smile at her little joke, because it was true. And not funny. “If I did, it would only give her another reason to come back into Wade’s life, and yours. I think it’s best to let her stay away.”

  Luke nodded. “I’ll pay her parents a visit and let them know how generous you’re being in not pursuing this legally. Hopefully they can encourage her to finally leave us all alone.”

  “I honestly have no idea what you and Wade saw in her.”

  He paused as if to think of a way to explain it to her. Finally he shrugged. “If she was happy, she’d make you happy. She knew how to have a good time. But if the smallest thing didn’t go her way, she’d make everyone within a five mile radius miserable. She was spoiled rotten by her parents and she expected men to do the same.”

  It was impossible for Sydney to imagine either one of those men putting up with Tara’s brand of crazy for as long as they had. Luke seemed to be taking her off the pedestal and was seeing her for more of who she was, not who he wanted her to be. “She sounds charming.”

  “She was exciting, annoying, aggravating and fun all rolled into one tiny person. The problem was, I only paid attention to the fun, and overlooked the rest of it. For a while.”

  “And now?” It was none of her business, but she needed to know where Luke stood on Tara, if there was any hope of he and Wade moving past this anger they shared for one another.

  “Now I know she’s not who I made her out to be in my head. And since I’m making life altering realizations I have one more to lay on you.” He leaned across the counter and whispered, “Wade isn’t really all that bad. But if you ever repeat that, I’ll deny it until the day I die.”

  “You’re a nice guy, Luke Rollins. You deserve to find a girl who will treat you right.”

  “Since you turned me down, by any chance do you have a sister?” he asked hopefully, causing Sydney to smack him in the shoulder and laugh.

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  With a big toothy smile, he put his hand over his heart. “Guilty as charged.” It was in that moment that she knew Luke and Wade would be all right. They would get past this thing with Tara and find a way to be, if not friends, then polite acquaintances. The animosity was gone and Luke looked like he felt twenty pounds lighter for it. It was the first thing that had made her feel hopeful about the future days.

  She treated Luke to lunch and sent him on his way, well-fed and with a smile on his face. She really did hope he’d find someone special. He deserved to be happy.

  When Luke left, things slowed at the diner and she had more time to herself to think, and the fact that she still hadn’t seen Wade all day wasn’t helping. He was her anchor, the one getting her through the endless days while they waited for Ronald to make his next move. Today, however, Sydney had been left to wallow in her fears and already with hang ups for the day she was convinced it was Ronald taunting her at work. Or maybe it was still Tara.

  “Hey, Sydney?” Billy, one of Wade’s deputies and her current babysitter waved her down.

  “What’s up? You want more coffee?”

  “No, I just got a call about a tractor trailer accident a few miles away. They need some backup so I have to run.”

  Sydney waved her hand to send him on his way. “Go then. I’ll be fine.”

  He tossed a few bills onto the table to settle his check. “You sure? Wade knows I’m leaving so I expect he’ll be over here soon.”

  “I’m a big girl, Billy. I can take care of myself.” She hoped he didn’t hear the way her voice wavered. He headed out, and Sydney went back to busying herself with cleaning.

  Cara accidentally dropped a plate and Sydney nearly jumped on the counter.

  “Syd, why don’t you head home? You’re a mess today. I’ll cover for you.” Sydney was already stripping off her apron before Cara had finished talking. “I’ll call Wade and let him know you’re leaving.”

  Wade had warned her this morning he’d be tied up most of the day. The federal agents were back and had hinted they had found evidence, something new about Samantha’s murder, but there were still no clear leads on Angie’s murder. That ate at Wade, night and day. While their fancy lab in St. Louis ran countless tests, all they could do in Elton was wait.

  Sydney looked around the diner, which was empty except for a lone customer who was getting ready to pay. All in all, it was a slow night. If she left a little early, Cara and Pete wouldn’t be swamped with work. As a matter of fact, they might close up early for a change. Feeling less guilty, Sydney hastily made her exit.

  “Thanks, Cara.” She placed a peck to the woman’s cheek. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight.” She quickly said her goodbyes to Pete then gathered up her purse. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

  “Wait for Pete. He’ll walk you out.”

  “Bye, Cara,” Sydney called over her shoulder without stopping. She needed to feel comfortable in her own skin again. If she couldn’t walk to her car—an ugly rental the insurance company had dropped off—by herself she was going to be useless to Faith if trouble did come knocking. She needed to suck it up and take care of herself for a while.

  It was dark outside when Sydney stepped out the back door, the late fall sun setting much earlier now that it had even a few days before. The air was crisp and she could smell the slightest hint of snow in the breeze. All the sounds of night serenaded her on the way to the car, the rustle of the dried up field grasses blew in the wind as she crossed the parking lot.

  A parking lot where a dead woman was dumped. The thought slipped into her mind before she could stop it, sending a shiver down her spine.

  Sydney paused as if the night air would bring encouragement and tell her everything would be fine, but the silence she was met with only saddened her more.

  There was a strange crackling noise that came from the field beside the diner. Around her, everything went silent. Sydney’s heart slammed in her chest as she fished wildly around in her purse trying to find her car keys. Wade had told her a million times to have them out and ready when she walked to her car, especially at night. Yet here she was, alone, and searching for them in the dark.

  Her feet shuffled to the side of the car, using the steel frame of the vehicle to hold her shaking body upright. Another rustle came from the same direction and Sydney was two seconds from screaming when her fingertip brushed against a metal loop at the bottom of her purse. She yanked out the keys and jabbed them into the lock,
freeing the door and allowing herself to climb safely inside just as Pete ducked out the back door of the diner, calling her name.

  Too scared to wait, Sydney threw on her headlights and started her car, roaring out of the parking space and nearly running over the orange and white cat that leisurely strolled out of the field in front of her. She shook her head and laughed at herself.

  “Move, you stupid cat. You nearly gave me a heart attack!” With a quick beep of the horn goodbye to Pete, she scared the cat back into the field and she was able to pull out of the parking lot and head home.

  It had been days since she drove home alone at night. Wade typically followed her from the diner, his headlights being that extra sense of security that would calm her nerves and make her feel safe.

  Sydney turned onto the long stretch country road that ran the length of the Cooper’s farm. There were no streetlights so she kept her attention on the road, not knowing what other kind of wildlife was planning on jumping in front of her car tonight. She had gone about a hundred yards when a pair of headlights flashed in the rearview mirror behind her. For a second she panicked and worried she hadn’t backtracked as much as she typically did, but she wanted to get home tonight for some reason. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel for a few moments until it dawned on her who it was.

  Wade.

  When Cara called him, he must have jumped in the car to follow her home. A smile spread across her face at his thoughtfulness.

  The car came up behind her quickly, holding at about three car lengths behind as she crept down the dark, hilly road. A minute later, flashing lights signaled from behind her. She looked at the speedometer and knew she wasn’t speeding. Then a slow smile spread across her face at the thought of Wade stopping her. He probably wanted to check on her and see how she held up today. Sydney found a small patch of gravel and pulled off to the side of the road. She glanced back in her mirror to quickly check her makeup and adjusted her sadly disheveled ponytail. The next thing she knew, she was startled by a loud tapping on her window.

  She was laughing as she lowered the window. “Thanks for the heart attack, Wade.” But immediately she could tell it wasn’t him. From the build of the officer standing outside the window, to the flashlight shining directly into her eyes, she knew whoever this was had a much smaller frame than Wade. The uniform was nearly hanging off them. When the light dipped, she caught sight of a dark braid hanging over the shoulder of the officer.

  I didn’t know there were any female officers in Elton, she thought to herself as her anxiety rushed back, full force.

  “License and registration,” the female officer said sharply, the bright light making Sydney’s eyes water.

  “Um.” She reached for her purse which was sitting on the front seat, stunned and even more confused as to why she’d been pulled over if it wasn’t Wade. And the stern way the woman was speaking to her was unexpected. There was no professional tone to her voice only a harsh edge that rattled Sydney’s nerves. “Here.” As she handed the officer her identification, she tried to get a look at her badge, but the handle of the flashlight was in the way. “Was I speeding?”

  The officer ignored her question, only snapping, “Turn off the car.” When Sydney didn’t immediately comply, the woman raised her voice and barked, “Now!”

  “S-Sorry.” Sydney’s internal alarms were sounding, but before she did anything, she needed to get an idea of who this woman was. Maybe she was new and didn’t know about Sydney’s situation, so she dropped Wade’s name in the hope that the woman would take the hint, and back off a little. All she wanted to do was get home to Faith. “I-I didn’t know there were any female officers on the Elton police force. Wade, Sheriff Jenkins, hadn’t mentioned it.”

  “I’m sure there’s lots of things Wade doesn’t tell you.” With that, the female officer strode back to her car, with Sydney’s identification in hand.

  “Think,” she growled. Wade had never really checked her license but this woman seemed like she was very serious about it, and if she looked hard enough, she might discover it was a fake and that would be a disaster. She didn’t dare drive off or create a huge issue for Wade at the station. Instead, she tried to get a hold of him and see if he could talk down his overzealous officer.

  With her phone hidden in her lap she texted, “Did you hire a female officer? She pulled me over and…” before she could type any more, she saw the light of the officer’s flashlight approaching the car again. She cursed and hit send, hoping it would get to him soon enough.

  “Come on, Wade,” she whispered as she rolled her window back down. “Is there a problem, officer? I wasn’t speeding. Are the plates expired? It’s a rental. I’m sorry for all the questions. I’m just confused as to why you pulled me over.”

  “Get out of the car.”

  “What?”

  She knows.

  Sydney was horrified at the thought of being put into the back of a police cruiser and driven to the station in handcuffs where her secrets were going to be spilled in front of so many people she knew and cared about it.

  “Get out of the car, now.”

  “Can’t you call Sheriff Jenkins? He knows me. Can you talk to him? He’s your boss, right?” She stopped talking the second she saw a gun muzzle pointed at her face.

  “I’m not asking again. Get out of the car, or I’m going to shoot you.” The matter of fact way she said it made Sydney’s blood run cold.

  On the outside, Sydney somehow managed to stay calm, but inside, she was screaming. Something wasn’t right, she could feel it. She was on a deserted strip of road with one of two evils. The woman pointing a gun at her was either an officer who knew, after checking her identification, that she was a fraud with no past beyond eighteen months ago and wanted to lock her up, or this officer wasn’t who she seemed and intended to do her serious harm. Either way, she had to be very careful if she ever wanted to see Faith again. She glanced to the passenger seat where her phone sat, just out of reach.

  “Ok,” Sydney said softly, raising her hands for the officer to see and slowly reaching to release her seatbelt. “I’ll get out of the car. Could you put the gun away, please?” There was no way to get away from her from inside the car, but outside, she could run and get lost in the fields, if she was lucky.

  All she wanted to do was get to Wade.

  “Move it,” the woman all but screamed at her, the hysteria in her voice telling Sydney she was in serious trouble.

  Sydney stretched all her movements out, hoping and praying that another set of headlights would come up over one of the hills and send this woman running for cover, but as she shut the door behind her, there were no other cars in sight.

  Without a thought, Sydney swung her arm out toward the woman’s face, landing a crushing blow to her nose. The flashlight dropped to the ground as the woman screamed in fury. Sydney ran as fast as she could to the officer’s car, desperate to put as much distance between herself and this woman as possible. If she made it home quickly enough, she could grab Faith and they would disappear before anyone found the woman.

  The click of a gun being readied to fire froze Sydney in her tracks.

  “Touch the car and you’re dead.”

  “Why are you doing this to me?” Sydney pleaded as the woman approached.

  With the flashlight gone, Sydney’s eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness and she could begin to make out the woman’s features. When she realized who was standing in front of her, she did the only thing she could do.

  She screamed and everything went black.

  THE NEXT THING SYDNEY knew, she found herself in a moving car, her head throbbing from the fall she must have taken. She was in so much pain, she squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the nausea to pass. Then she heard the woman beside her mumbling.

  “Dammit, Charles, what have you done now?”

  She kept her eyes closed, trying to piece together what had happened. Sydney’s head made a dull thud as it bange
d repeatedly against the window of Wade’s cruiser. She could smell his cologne in the leather. There was no sound to be heard except the soft mutterings of her captor. The blow to her head still had her feeling disoriented. She had no idea how close or far from Elton they were. Part of her was afraid to open her eyes and find out.

  Her shoulders burned as her arms began to cramp. Little bits of rock and grass covered her clothes, new aches and pains reminding her of her earlier ordeal on the side of the road. At some point, her hands had been tied behind her back, her wrists pinched so tight she couldn’t even feel her fingers. There was warm, sticky blood trickling down the side of her face from where a ghost from her past had hit her with the butt of her gun. Not a ghost really, but a woman she long assumed dead.

  Marcy.

  Seeing her face had been a shock. All these years Sydney had been so certain she was dead. There was no way she could have survived that incident with Ronald. She’d lost so much blood and when he raised the bat over her head, Sydney couldn’t imagine anyone surviving that. But she had.

  Marcy was back, but why?

  She had looked very much the same, just older. Wade had asked her to describe Ronald once and she couldn’t, but Marcy’s face was seared into her brain. Probably because Faith resembled her mother so much, the image never truly left her. But the anger and the violence, that was something she never expected from this woman, the woman who sacrificed herself so her daughter could live. Or so Sydney had thought.

  It must have taken superhuman strength for Marcy to haul Sydney’s limp body into the car. She was definitely taller than Sydney but their builds were similar. Something she hadn’t noticed all those years ago. The car bounced wildly as they drove down the country road. Sydney braved a look out the window to get an idea of where they were, but her vision was so blurred it made her nauseous. Probably a concussion, she told herself. In an effort to save her energy, she slammed her eyes shut. And prayed.

  “I know you’re awake.” Marcy cranked the wheel hard to the left, the tires screeching under the force.