Page 148 of Obsession

A line forms between Mr. Needham’s bushy brows as he studies me. Then, with a single decisive nod, as though he’s pleased with my response, he faces forward. Another cool breeze makes me shiver, and I tighten my jacket around me.

“Thank you for meeting with me,” I tell him, watching ripples dance across the pond’s surface.

“I can’t tell you where he is.”

Sucking my lip between my teeth, I consider his words, wondering briefly if he’s telling the truth or if Robbie simply doesn’t want me to find him. The latter hurts too much to consider, so I push those thoughts away.

“You don’t know, or you can’t tell me?”

Mr. Needham stays silent.

A part of me respects his loyalty to a man he considers dangerous, a man he’s known for two decades, a man he’ll keep his silence to protect.

“Who are you protecting, Mr. Needham? Me or him?”

“If you find him, he might hurt you.”

“You haven’t given him up to the authorities yet. Correct me if I’m wrong. You’re a respectable man.” I look at him pointedly. “If you thought he was still a danger to women, and if you thought he was out there killing people, you would have seen to it that he was back behind bars. But you haven’t. That speaks louder than words, Mr. Needham.”

“It’s your heart I worry about, Savannah.”

Inhaling sharply, I stare at him.

“I’m only a man and certainly not a professional. In my opinion, Robbie is only a danger to people who harmyouor anyone that stands in his way whereyouare concerned.”

Blushing, I stare out at the pond, but his voice draws me back.

“Don’t get me wrong. He’s a lethal man—a dangerous man,” he empathizes. “But beneath it all, there’s goodness too. And you, ma’am, you bring it out in him. If anyone will ever save Robbie from himself, it’s you.”

“Then tell me where he is,” I plead as tears cling to my lashes and the sun sinks behind the trees. “Tell me so I can find him and convince him that he deserves something good in his life for once. Let me be the voice of reason in his mind when the whispers shout the loudest.”

Mr. Needham slides his hand out from his pocket, reaches for my fingers, and squeezes reassuringly. “Robbie fears himself when he’s around you.”

“And I fear myself when he’s not around,” I reply honestly.

Behind us, a woman walks past, pushing a pram. I wait until her crunching footsteps fade away before clearing my throat and releasing his hand to root through my pocket. I hold out the creased queen card Robbie gave me the first time. “Will you give him this?”

When he doesn’t move, I plead, “Please.”

He takes it from my hand and flicks his gaze down to the playing card, then looks up at me and nods, making me exhale a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Thank you.”

He pockets it. “What will you do now, Miss Campbell?”

A smile finds its way to my lips. “I’m going to catch his attention and give him no choice but to act. If he still doesn’t leave his hiding place, I’ll wave a red flag in front of a bull and wait for him to charge.”

I turn to leave, but Mr. Needham calls out, “You’re playing a dangerous game with a dangerous man.”

A chuckle escapes me, and I look back over my shoulder. “Then tell me where he is. Don’t corner me, because I will lash out.” I turn fully. “Where Robbie is concerned, I have nothing left to lose. Trust me when I tell you this: I will do whatever it takes to evoke a reaction. If he is so scared of himself around me, like you claim, then that means he cares about me. As long as he cares about me, I hold all the cards. I play to win.”

Mr. Needham stays silent, his eyes flicking to a lone man walking past us on the sidewalk with a leashed dog.

As soon as the stranger has passed, he looks back at me, but I speak first. “He either puts his fear aside and comes to me willingly, like a grown man instead of the scared kid he used to be, trusting that I know my own heart, or I enrage him enough to coax him out from the shadows. Either way, I’m going all in.”

When I walk away this time, he calls out, “He’s staying away for your own good. He’s trying to protect you, Savannah.”

Infused with anger, I spin around and throw my arms out. “He doesn’t get to make that choice for me!”