When Darkness Falls(67)

Haley stepped in. A half hour later she was settled on the couch and Wendy had gone off to bed. Haley set the alarm on her cell phone so she could start watching for Devon at four-thirty. She put her head down and drifted to sleep.

? ? ?

Devon stood in the center of the motel room, watching the clock, trying not to think. He’d called Enterprise to bring a rental car for him at four-forty-five, but he didn’t know if he could wait that long. He wanted to. If he got out of control near sunrise, Haley could run out of the house and he wouldn’t follow her.

He imagined what Lydia would say. Out of control how, darling? So you do think you’ll hurt her, don’t you?

Devon pushed away thoughts of Lydia. His plan made sense. It would have made more sense to call Haley and tell her to meet him at the airport. But he needed to be alone with her, to apologize, hold her, make love to her if she’d let him after seeing him with Lydia. He might not get a chance to be with her again for a long time, if the worst happened when they got back to Chicago. He had to tell her he loved her and he was sorry and that they would work it all out. He would not hurt her. He would never hurt her.

All the same, he would try to get there as close to sunrise as possible.

? ? ?

Haley awoke, eyes wide in the darkness, startled by the buzzing and not sure at first where she was. Her legs felt cramped, and her feet pressed against a sofa arm. Then she remembered. She felt for and clicked on the lamp. It was four-thirty. She reset the phone alarm for five. With the lamp off again, Haley looked out the front window. A few cars were parked on the road, but they were the same ones she’d seen before. Joe and Diana’s driveway was still deserted. She planned to go to the house shortly after five whether Devon had arrived or not. Lydia also wasn’t here so far as Haley could tell. She didn’t see a Camry. But she’d need to be cautious. Lydia might follow Devon.

Haley sat cross-legged on the floor, rested her chin on the windowsill, and watched the street, determined to keep her eyes open.

? ? ?

The traffic was light, for L.A., and the rental car glided along the road through the mountains. Devon had entertained the strange idea he could walk to Redondo Beach, but that was ridiculous. It was nearly thirty miles from his motel. The idea seemed connected with events from the night before that Devon couldn’t bring himself to think about. What he did remember clearly was his conversation with Lydia outside the church, in which she’d supposedly explained what she’d done to him and had threatened Haley. But her explanation was impossible.

Hypnosis, he thought. That could explain a lot. Maybe Lydia had hypnotized him somehow, causing him to do and believe things he otherwise wouldn’t.

The farther he got from the city, the calmer Devon felt, and the easier it was to block out all the events of the night before. When he buzzed the windows down after exiting the freeway, the air felt still and cool on his face.

He was doing the right thing. He would tell Haley everything, even about the night/dream of sex with Lydia in their bedroom. He’d let her know how sorry he was for not going home with her sooner, for making her go through all of this, and for all the pain he’d be causing her in the future. God knew how long it would take for him to get better. Or simply to find out what was wrong. At least he’d accepted that he needed help. That had to count for something.

Devon pressed down on the accelerator. Haley was always there for him, she always listened, took him seriously. He thought of her gray eyes, how clear and calm they were, and her mouth, with its lips so full beneath his. He imagined his hands in her long dark hair, her thin body against him.

A few minutes later, he realized he’d missed a turn and had to go back. He made himself slow the car, watch street signs, check addresses. Finally, he pulled into the driveway of a plain one-story stucco house that looked like the three or four other houses he’d passed on the same street. He raced up the front walk and rang the bell. He longed to be with Haley again, to tell her everything, but, more important, to touch her again.

“Come in.”

Devon’s eyes adjusted immediately to the dark entryway. It led to an open plan living and dining room. A figure sat on the couch. As he entered, she stood.

“So you made it,” Lydia said.





Chapter Thirty-Three


In an instant, Devon was in the center of the living room. He grabbed Lydia’s arm. “Where is she? Where’s Haley?”

Lydia laughed.

“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

“Do I have to go through this all with you again?” Lydia said. “You can’t kill me. And Haley’s not here.”

Devon raced through the house, yanking closet doors open, peering anywhere that could possibly fit Haley. That could fit a body, but he didn’t allow himself to dwell on that. Lydia followed, a half-smile on her face.

“Told you,” she said, once he’d searched the house room by room.

He shoved her against the wall near the fireplace. “What did you do with her?”

Lydia slid her arms around his neck. “You’re getting me excited.”

Her lips were on his. Her body was warm. Despite himself, Devon locked his hands around her waist.

Lydia unbuttoned his shirt and kissed his neck. “I thought you’d see it my way.”

Devon grabbed her arms as if to pin them against the wall, but instead spun her sideways, throwing her off balance. Before she could catch her breath, he wrenched the glass door to the back patio open and ran outside. Lydia didn’t try to stop him.