Valley of Shadows. Shirlee McCoy

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      “It would be difficult to take a train or car to Thailand.” His words were so matter-of-fact they almost didn’t register.

      When they did, Miranda cast a quick glance in Hawke’s direction, saw that he was watching her with a dark, intense gaze.

      “You don’t mean Thailand as in the country?”

      “Do you know of another Thailand?”

      “No, but I’m hoping there is one, because there is no way in the world I can go to Southeast Asia.”

      “Sure you can. Everything is taken care of. We’ll have a passport and paperwork waiting for you.”

      “That’s great, but I won’t be needing them. I can’t go. When you said out of the country I was thinking Mexico or Canada, not halfway around the world.” Miranda’s hands were shaking on the wheel.

      “I told you that the person who betrayed me to Green has to be in Thailand. No one here knew who I was or what I was doing.”

      “There must be people in Thailand who can investigate.”

      “I also told you, I don’t trust anyone.”

      “You go, then. I’ll stay in Lakeview.”

      “And what? The police know who you are. They’ve already issued an APB. It’s only a matter of time before they find you.”

      “I thought….” She shook her head, knowing that she hadn’t thought. If she had, she would have known exactly what Hawke meant when he talked about leaving the country.

      “What did you think?” His words were quiet, his tone more kind than Miranda expected.

      “Nothing. I guess I just hoped this would all be over by tomorrow.”

      “There’s no way that’s going to happen, babe. We’ve got real trouble and real trouble takes time to resolve.” There was sympathy in his voice, the first he’d shown her, and Miranda’s throat tightened in response.

      She swallowed back tears and tried to keep her voice even. “My nephew’s funeral is tomorrow. I need to be there. My sister is counting on it.”

      “I’m sorry for your loss. Sorry you can’t be there for your sister.” He shifted beside her, his palm sliding against her cheek, capturing a tear she hadn’t known was falling. “But allowing yourself to get arrested will only cause your family more sorrow.”

      “I know.” She refused to let more tears fall, refused to allow herself to lean into Hawke’s touch. He was a stranger, after all. A stranger who had more hardness in him than sympathy.

      “Is your nephew the reason you were at the funeral home tonight?”

      “It seems silly now.” She stared out the windshield, the dark night and nearly empty road stretching out before her.

      “Why?”

      “It’s not like Justin needed me there. I just…didn’t want to let him go.”

      “You were close?”

      “I’ve raised him since he was two.” He’d been a son to her, though saying as much would have made her feel disloyal to her sister.

      “His parents are dead?”

      “No. I’m not sure who his father was. My sister is a model. She traveled too much to be his caregiver.”

      “Your sister is a model?” He tensed, and Miranda felt her own muscles tighten.

      “Yes. Why?”

      “Someone the general public is familiar with?”

      “She’s not a supermodel, if that’s what you mean, but she’s been on her fair share of magazine covers. She also does runway modeling.”

      “So, not only do the police know who you are, but the world knows your sister. This isn’t good, babe.”

      “The world knows Lauren, but they don’t know I’m her sister.” Lauren had never allowed the press any information regarding her son. In that way at least, she’d done what was best for Justin.

      “It won’t take long for the press to find out. Once it does, your name and face will be plastered on every news station and newspaper in the country.”

      “Maybe the local news, but I doubt what’s happened will be of much interest anywhere else.” But even as she said it, Miranda had the sinking feeling Hawke was right, that the double tragedy of losing a son and then having a sister turn felon would be enough to make Lauren headline news.

      “I think you know you’re wrong.”

      Miranda nodded, wishing she could believe otherwise. “At least Lauren doesn’t have any recent pictures of me.”

      “Someone else will. The press always finds a way.”

      “They’ll be hard-pressed to find anything that doesn’t show me thirty pounds heavier and ten years younger.” In the years since she’d been caring for Justin, Miranda had had little time to spend in activities that might have involved picture taking. Except for the occasional bridal or baby shower, the past few years had been spent at her bakery, at home or at church.

      “Heavier. Younger. It won’t matter. Your face is one people will notice and remember.”

      “I’m not that memorable.”

      “No?”

      “No.” Miranda could feel Hawke’s gaze as she maneuvered the car around a slow-moving vehicle, and her cheeks heated.

      “Perhaps you just don’t know what people find memorable.”

      “And you do?”

      “I’ve made it my business to know people.” The words seemed almost a threat and Miranda wondered exactly how he used the knowledge he possessed.

      “That makes one of us anyway.”

      “You know enough about people to stick with me. That’s a start.”

      “I just hope I’m not making a mistake.” The words slipped out and Miranda regretted them immediately. Letting Hawke know how scared she really was, letting him see how unsure she felt, could only be a mistake. And she’d made enough of those for one night. “What I mean is—”

      “Exactly what you said. Don’t worry, sticking with me isn’t a mistake. Whether or not you’ll regret it, I can’t say.” He spoke quietly, all gruffness gone from his voice. In its smooth timbre Miranda heard echoes of exotic worlds, hard realities and a loneliness she understood all to well.

      “Hawke—” She wasn’t sure what she meant to say, how she planned to finish. Before she had a chance to figure it out, the high-pitched shriek of sirens rent the air.

      She jumped, her hands tightening СКАЧАТЬ