Page 48 of Dark Roads

“The motel was hot. I needed to get out.” The bartender brought Vaughn a beer from the tap, and after Beth held up her empty glass, he poured her another wine.

“You’re staying at the motel?” Vaughn gave her another assessing look. She focused on bringing the drink to her mouth without spilling it.

“For now.” The words came out asForshnow, and she fought back a giggle. It wasn’t funny. Nothing had been funny in her life for a very long time.

“You got some troubles back home? I seem to remember your parents saying you were going to school to be a lawyer.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She frowned at her glass, wiped her thumb over the condensation, realized she was spelling Amber’s name, and wiped it clean again.

“Okay. We can just sit.”

“You don’t have to babysit me.”

“This town isn’t a good place for a young woman to be alone. I’m not just talking about the highway.”

Beth frowned. “I’m fine.”

“I know these local boys can seem harmless, but some of them… Take Jonny, for instance. I saw you two at the diner this morning. You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“I’m not gettingintoanything.” Beth hadn’t even spoken to Jonny, and Vaughn was making it seem as though she’d thrown herself in his lap.

“I suggest you keep it that way.”

She didn’t like how he made it sound like an order. Joke was on him. Hadn’t he heard that if you tell a girl to stay away from a boy, it just made her want him more?

“How long do you intend to stay in Cold Creek?” There was something in his voice, some sort of tone that slipped away from her.

“Until I’m ready to move on. Is that breaking a law? Was I supposed to fill out a form?” She drained half of her wine in one gulp.

His eyebrows lowered, shadowing his eyes. “I’m sure you city girls are used to a different sort of life, but in the North, we look after each other. And I like to know what’s what.”

“You small-town cops don’t have a lot else going on, I guess.”

“You’ve got a smart mouth.” Vaughn was looking at her like he was waiting for her to apologize, but she figured she didn’t owe him anything. She hadn’t invited him to sit down. Hisexpression shifted, turned calculating almost, and she felt a jolt. What had he read in her?

“Do your parents know you’re in Cold Creek?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Dodge, deflect. She was getting good at that, and felt proud for a moment, until his gazed pinned her back down.

“I can tell when someone needs help.”

“I’m fine, but I should get back to the motel.” She looked away from him and cleared her throat. What was it with cops? Instead of worrying about her mental health, he should be finding the killer. Seemed to her that would be a pretty good antidepressant.

He skimmed his hand across the back of her neck, rested it on her upper shoulder, as though holding her in place. She shivered, and he murmured, “Let me buy you another drink.”

CHAPTER 19

Beth had been sitting on the bed for an hour, cell in one hand, gun in the other, staring at the locked door. Her face was hot from crying, her eyes bloodshot. Water had made her stomach heave. Coffee hadn’t helped either. She’d gotten so dizzy in the shower she had to sit with her head bowed while she prayed that she wouldn’t pass out across the stained tiles.

Her father picked up after two rings. “Beth? What’s wrong?” He was whispering, but her mother would never hear him. She slept until noon these days.

“Sorry to wake you.”

“No, no,” he said. “Call whenever you need.”

“I’m having a tough morning.”

Silence. Then, “Have you eaten? If you skip meals, your blood sugar will drop.”