A Twist of Betrayal by Allie Harrison Page B

face any of this.
    He knew he might be haunted someday. He had just hoped Justine would be clear of the storm. The thought of her being hurt or killed touched him like a hot iron in his gut. He blinked, trying to force away memories, wishing like hell he didn’t have to. Their feelings were so new, so fresh. He remembered the way that kiss exploded within him like a stick of dynamite, warming him in the snow. When had that excitement left their kisses? When had they allowed it to leave?
    Was there something different he could have just done to keep her out of the hands of the ghost from his past? That question ate at him, but the answer ate at him even more. Yes, there was something he could have done. At home when she left for the store, he could have called after her, kept her from going in the first place, demanded that the two of them talk right then and there about the pregnancy that could very well tear the two of them apart. He could have kept better track of the bastard he never again hoped to see, but he’d allowed himself to grow comfortable in the life he and Justine built. And he let down his guard.
    Hell, he could have changed any number of things that would have kept her safe, including never going out on a second date with her.
    Regret rushed through him like a tornado even after Steve and the cavalry came riding in.
    Dan refused to be taken to the hospital.
    “At the least, you need a few stitches,” Steve said as an EMT cleaned the wound.
    “They can bandage it here,” Dan insisted.
    Steve gave him a hard look, but had sense enough not to argue.
    While his arm was being bandaged, he told Steve and Chief Watson what had happened. With each word, Dan tried to sound and appear normal. Why shouldn’t he? Everywhere he looked, the rest of the world was normal, as it should be in its rotation around the sun, complete with birds and trees and falling leaves and insects. Yet, Dan’s insides were anything but normal. Inside, he thought he must have been falling apart one piece at a time as he tried to get Justine back without destroying their entire world.
    Dan told them everything he knew while he drank the sweet soda that was forced on him.
    “Which direction did they go?” the chief asked.
    “I don’t know,” Dan said. He wouldn’t admit how not knowing tore at his soul.
    The chief turned away with a huff and put in a call for lab techs to come and check the get-away car.
    Steve sat down beside him while the EMT finished with the bandage. “What are you thinking?” he asked.
    “I’m fighting the urge to climb back into my truck, drive on and keep looking for Justine.”
    “Chief would have your butt in a sling if you did. He’s already mad as hell you drove off like that without your gun and then didn’t radio for help when you first discovered they were here,” Steve said.
    “You don’t have to remind me how I need to follow the rules right now,” Dan snapped. He sucked in a long, deep breath and hoped it would help clear his head of the memory of seeing Justine with a gun pointed at her head and dried blood on her face. He rubbed his eyes.
    Right now, Dan had to be a cop, to think like a cop, but it wasn’t easy. “What do you think he’s doing to her?” he had to ask.
    “I think as long as he’s worried about his escape, he’ll keep her alive and unharmed,” Steve replied.
    “That’s not much of an answer,” Dan said, feeling his gut clench at the idea of Justine being with that madman.
    Steve reached out and touched his shoulder. “We’ll do everything we can to get her back safe and sound. You know that,” he promised.
    When the EMTs finished with his arm, Dan thanked them and got up.
    “Where are you going?” Steve asked.
    “What? Did the chief hire you to babysit me?” he had to ask.
    “Sort of,” Steve replied honestly.
    “Well, don’t worry about me. I’m just too antsy to sit still so I’m going to walk around a bit. I give you my word I won’t get in the