A Stranger on the Beach(29)

“That’s it?”

“It was one night.”

“I don’t like the sound of that. It sounds like you’re blowing me off.”

“How can I say where this is going at this point? We hardly know each other.”

“Hardly know each other? What the fuck, Caroline.”

He slammed his fist against the passenger window so hard that I jumped.

“Stop that! You’ll break it.”

My heart was pounding. I had plenty of evidence at this point that my first impression of Aidan had been right, and my alcohol-and lust-fueled second impression had been very, very wrong. Aidan had a probation officer. And a gun. And he was in my car, in an alley where no one could see us, on the edge of becoming violent.

“You’re going to see him now, aren’t you?” he said.

“Who?”

“Your husband.”

Had he eavesdropped, back at his apartment complex? It seemed impossible, given that I was sitting in the car when I spoke to Hannah about the dinner, and Aidan was inside.

“I told you, I’m going to visit my daughter,” I said.

“But he’s gonna be there, isn’t he?”

I could lie and tell him he was wrong. But Aidan’s behavior was so possessive, and so over-the-top given the nature of our relationship that I felt like I had to talk some sense into him.

“Aidan, no offense,” I said, trying to sound reasonable, “but if I choose to see my husband, that’s not your business.”

Without warning, he threw himself forward and slammed his head against the dashboard three times in quick succession. I screamed.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”

A smear of deep red stood out on the rich beige leather. I looked at Aidan in horror and saw blood trickling from a cut on his temple.

“You’re bleeding. Oh, my God.”

“You hurt my feelings, Caroline,” he said, his eyes wet with unshed tears.

Every woman likes to be desired. But it was completely bizarre that Aidan would be so into me after one night. Something was off with this guy. At the same time, maybe I bore some responsibility. I thought we were having a no-strings fling, but had I made that sufficiently clear to him? Had I led him on? He was a grown man, but he was so much younger than me. I had the impression he’d been with lots of women, but it was possible he hadn’t had many serious relationships. Maybe he wasn’t a player after all. Maybe he was vulnerable. Maybe he had a tender heart, and I’d bruised it.

Leaning across Aidan, I grabbed a pack of Kleenex from the glove box.

“C’mere and let me fix that,” I said.

The skin around the cut was rapidly purpling. I dabbed at the blood with the tissue, and he flinched.

“I’m sorry, did that hurt?”

“Yes.”

He looked at me with blue eyes that swam with tears. I felt a strange flash of that feeling I’d get when Hannah was little and skinned her knee. Pity and protectiveness at once.

“Restaurants always have first-aid kits,” I said, in a firm, motherly tone. “I want you to go inside and put some disinfectant on this right away. You hear me?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’m sorry I freaked out.”

“It’s okay. We’re both tired. It was a crazy night, right?”

I smiled, and he gave me a sad smile back.

“That it was, Caroline. That it was.”

“You need to take care of yourself. So, do like I said, and get that cut cleaned up. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, sure. When will I see you again?”

“Very soon,” I said. But I was lying, and I suspected he knew that.

I leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. That seemed to mollify him. He got out and ran through the rain to the restaurant’s back door. As he disappeared inside, I exhaled a long breath, then pulled out of that parking lot so fast that my tires squealed.





21


Aidan’s plan when he set out that afternoon was simple reconnaissance. He’d promised Caroline he would protect her, and he intended to keep that promise. The husband was ruthless and abusive. Caroline had told him that much, but he needed to understand the full extent of the threat. How far would the guy go? He’d stolen her money, and that suggested he had no conscience. Would he hurt her physically? Aidan had brought binoculars. He planned to follow the husband, find out where he went, who he met, what he was up to. He had to make sure Caroline was not in any danger. Maybe there was even a way to get some leverage on the guy, to force him to return Caroline’s money. If Aidan could swing that, he’d be her hero. And he wanted that, more than anything.

Caroline had let slip enough information that Aidan was able to figure out the restaurant where they’d be meeting. It was an Italian place not far from the daughter’s college. He got there early to scope it out. The building was fake limestone with a green awning out front, set back from the street in its own parking lot. The lot was brightly lit on this chill, drizzly evening, and mostly empty—a bad combination. He decided not to wait in the parking lot, where his bright red truck might draw attention. He didn’t need anybody asking questions, didn’t need some Good Samaritan deciding he was a threat and calling his probation officer. He drove around for a while, stopped at a convenience store, bought a Red Bull and a pack of Twizzlers to keep focused. He returned an hour later with his senses on high alert and parked behind a tree at the far end of the lot, away from the lights, hunkering down in the front seat to wait.