Read Online The Lawman's Legacy (Love Inspired Suspense) by Shirlee McCoy - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Shirlee McCoy
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clock—1:50 p.m. and no sign of Douglas. She’d love to believe he’d forgotten or that he’d decided he didn’t need to question her again, but she knew better. Douglas wasn’t the kind of guy who forgot things. He wasn’t the kind of guy who missed things. He wasn’t the kind of guy who let things go.
She needed to leave. That’s what she needed to do.
Needed to run as fast and as far as she could.
Lila Kensington.
The name echoed through her head as she swallowed a couple aspirin and paced back into the living room.
Lila.
Kensington.
Lila.
Kensington.
Douglas had asked if Olivia had ever mentioned the name, and Merry had told the truth. Olivia had never mentioned the name. No one had. Not in four years.
Now someone had. Not just someone. Douglas. He wouldn’t stop asking questions until he knew who Lila was. Merry knew that and knowing it terrified her.
It wouldn’t take long for Douglas to find people connected to Lila, and once he found them, he’d only have to ask for a picture.
Four years.
It seemed like a lifetime.
In some ways, it was.
But people in Boston would remember. Her friends, her coworkers, her siblings. Douglas would ask, they’d pull out photos, and then he’d realize that Lila Kensington and Merry O’Leary were the same person.
She shuddered, terrified of what that would mean for her and for Tyler.
Everything she’d worked so hard for was falling apart, and she didn’t know how to keep doing what she’d been doing since Nicole had placed Tyler into her arms, didn’t know how to keep up the charade.
Didn’t know how she could stop without losing her son.
She walked to the window, stared out into bright sunlight. Crisp white snow shimmered in the sun, whatever footprints had been in the yard hidden by a fresh layer of powder. Hidden or not, Merry knew they were there. Someone had been creeping around the house, trying to find a way in.
Who?
Why?
The questions had kept her awake long after Tyler finally drifted to sleep.
The questions.
The fear.
The name.
Her entire world coming undone.
Leave town. Don’t come back.
Nicole’s words seemed to fill the room, fill Merry’s heart, and she wanted to do exactly what she’d done all those years ago.
Run.
Douglas’s SUV pulled into the driveway, and her stomach lurched.
She couldn’t run.
Not unless she wanted to be pursued by a man who would never ever give up the chase.
She opened the door before he knocked, stepping aside as he and Keira walked into house.
Two officers?
Merry wasn’t sure what that meant, but she doubted it meant anything good.
“Sorry about the wait, Merry. We’ve been a little busy at the station.” Douglas offered a quick easy smile, his striking blue eyes just warm enough to make her wonder if things would go better than she’d imagined.
“It’s no problem. Ty and I were just hanging around the house.”
“You know my sister? Officer Keira Fitzgerald.”
“Yes. We’ve seen each other at the Reading Nook and at church, and we spoke yesterday. Come in and sit down. I was going to start a fire, but I’m out of wood. I need to buy some, but time keeps getting away from me.” There she went, offering information that no one had asked for. A bad habit she didn’t seem to be able to break, and one that was bound to get her into trouble if she wasn’t careful.
“Actually, Merry—” Douglas grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop “—I think that we’d be better off conducting the interview down at the station.”
“At the station?” She parroted his words, fear such a hard, sharp knot in her stomach she thought she might be sick. Did he know? Had he already discovered the truth? “Am I being arrested?”
“Of course you’re not,” Keira responded, but her reassurance did nothing to ease Merry’s fear.
“Keira will stay here with Tyler. Unless you’d like to bring him along?”
She didn’t want to bring him along.
She didn’t want to bring herself
She needed to leave. That’s what she needed to do.
Needed to run as fast and as far as she could.
Lila Kensington.
The name echoed through her head as she swallowed a couple aspirin and paced back into the living room.
Lila.
Kensington.
Lila.
Kensington.
Douglas had asked if Olivia had ever mentioned the name, and Merry had told the truth. Olivia had never mentioned the name. No one had. Not in four years.
Now someone had. Not just someone. Douglas. He wouldn’t stop asking questions until he knew who Lila was. Merry knew that and knowing it terrified her.
It wouldn’t take long for Douglas to find people connected to Lila, and once he found them, he’d only have to ask for a picture.
Four years.
It seemed like a lifetime.
In some ways, it was.
But people in Boston would remember. Her friends, her coworkers, her siblings. Douglas would ask, they’d pull out photos, and then he’d realize that Lila Kensington and Merry O’Leary were the same person.
She shuddered, terrified of what that would mean for her and for Tyler.
Everything she’d worked so hard for was falling apart, and she didn’t know how to keep doing what she’d been doing since Nicole had placed Tyler into her arms, didn’t know how to keep up the charade.
Didn’t know how she could stop without losing her son.
She walked to the window, stared out into bright sunlight. Crisp white snow shimmered in the sun, whatever footprints had been in the yard hidden by a fresh layer of powder. Hidden or not, Merry knew they were there. Someone had been creeping around the house, trying to find a way in.
Who?
Why?
The questions had kept her awake long after Tyler finally drifted to sleep.
The questions.
The fear.
The name.
Her entire world coming undone.
Leave town. Don’t come back.
Nicole’s words seemed to fill the room, fill Merry’s heart, and she wanted to do exactly what she’d done all those years ago.
Run.
Douglas’s SUV pulled into the driveway, and her stomach lurched.
She couldn’t run.
Not unless she wanted to be pursued by a man who would never ever give up the chase.
She opened the door before he knocked, stepping aside as he and Keira walked into house.
Two officers?
Merry wasn’t sure what that meant, but she doubted it meant anything good.
“Sorry about the wait, Merry. We’ve been a little busy at the station.” Douglas offered a quick easy smile, his striking blue eyes just warm enough to make her wonder if things would go better than she’d imagined.
“It’s no problem. Ty and I were just hanging around the house.”
“You know my sister? Officer Keira Fitzgerald.”
“Yes. We’ve seen each other at the Reading Nook and at church, and we spoke yesterday. Come in and sit down. I was going to start a fire, but I’m out of wood. I need to buy some, but time keeps getting away from me.” There she went, offering information that no one had asked for. A bad habit she didn’t seem to be able to break, and one that was bound to get her into trouble if she wasn’t careful.
“Actually, Merry—” Douglas grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop “—I think that we’d be better off conducting the interview down at the station.”
“At the station?” She parroted his words, fear such a hard, sharp knot in her stomach she thought she might be sick. Did he know? Had he already discovered the truth? “Am I being arrested?”
“Of course you’re not,” Keira responded, but her reassurance did nothing to ease Merry’s fear.
“Keira will stay here with Tyler. Unless you’d like to bring him along?”
She didn’t want to bring him along.
She didn’t want to bring herself
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