Alone (Bone Secrets, #4)(67)

“I’m in the process of moving to the Oregon office,” answered Seth.

She handed back his identification. “I don’t know nothing about that name you said. You figure out who killed all those women back then?”

“Not yet.” Victoria found her voice.

Isabel sniffed. “Some psycho *, probably. People are crazy.” She took a puff on her cigarette and blew it to the side.

Victoria wanted to leave. She wanted to run away and forget she’d ever seen this woman.

“Whole world is full of crazy jerks. Men who take advantage of young women. Those women probably trusted the man who killed them.” Isabel glared at Seth.

“Maybe it’ll turn out to be a woman who did it,” Seth suggested.

“Maybe. I’ll put my money on a man. Those poor women got screwed over, and he walked away scot free for decades, because no one gives a rip.”

“That’s not true,” Victoria interjected. “You don’t know how hard the police are working to figure this out. Even decades ago they struggled to find the killer.”

Isabel gave a condescending sneer. “Aren’t you the optimist? Men rule this world, honey. That’s how it’s always been. You may have some big position, but who’s your boss? A man, right?”

“Well, yes. But—”

“Proves my point.” Isabel turned her focus back to Seth, Victoria written off. “Stay away from my house,” she ordered. She spun and headed back to her home.

Victoria couldn’t move. What just happened?

“The police will probably be in touch,” Seth said to the retreating back.

“I got nothin’ for them,” Isabel tossed over her shoulder.

You have nothing for me.

Victoria’s numb feet tripped on her way to the car. She slammed her door closed and started to shake uncontrollably. Seth started the motor and cranked up the heat, pointing all the vents at her. She buried her fisted hands between her legs and fought down the nausea. Bile burned the back of her throat. That wasn’t her mother. The woman sauntered back across the street and vanished in her palace.

Not my mother.

I help people. I don’t have that anger in me.

Possibly Isabel was her mother by blood, but she would never be her mother in spirit. Victoria fought to recall the memories of her adoptive parents. Their beautiful faces danced through her memory and tears burned down her cheeks.

“I did not like her,” Seth stated. His hands gripped the wheel as he drove straight ahead. “If that was your birth mother, you inherited nothing from her. Nothing at all.” He pounded his palm on the steering wheel in time with his last three words. “Damn it! I knew this wasn’t a good idea.”

“No, I’m glad we came,” Victoria said. “I had to know.”

“You didn’t find out anything. Without testing, you don’t know if that’s your mother.”

She breathed deep, seeking calm. “I know who my mother is.”

“No! You can’t say—”

“My mother died when I was in my twenties. She and my father loved me and brought me up to love the people around me.” She looked at Seth. His profile was hard and angry. He brushed at an eye with the back of his hand, and her heart swelled.

He hurt for her.

She loved him for it. And for a dozen other reasons. She didn’t need to know who gave birth to her, for her to feel like a complete person. Seth had made her feel whole.

He abruptly pulled to the curb and stopped, throwing the car in park. He turned and faced her, grabbing her hands and looking her directly in the eye. “You are nothing like that woman, Tori. You are all that is good in people. You help and you care. Look at how you’ve touched Trinity’s life. Look how you’ve touched my life. I’ve been empty for the last eighteen years, but a week with you has made me feel alive again.”

“I know! You don’t have to convince me. You bring out a side of me that I’ve stifled for nearly two decades.” She smiled through her tears.

“I made a mistake letting you do this.”

“No, this wasn’t a mistake. I’ve lost nothing. I still have the parents I had. For an hour today, I knew there was a chance I would find a birth mother I’d hardly ever wondered about. I just met a person who can add nothing to my life.” She breathed deep and looked at him. “But I’ve found the person who adds everything. Knowing you’re here makes what happened this morning not matter.”

She held his gaze. The inside of the car was silent. She wanted nothing more than to climb inside of him and lose herself.

“I don’t want to go back to the office,” she heard herself whisper.

He held her gaze a second longer. “My place?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.” She needed him to hold her.

He shifted the car back into drive.


Fifteen minutes later, they’d parked in the city center, catching a lucky spot on the street.

He reached out and took her hand as they walked down the wet sidewalk. Victoria tensed, unused to the sensation of hand-holding in public. She cast a few nervous glances at passersby, who ignored them. She slowly relaxed. His hand was warm and strong. Something about having a man reach out and claim her in such a casual yet powerful way gave her goose bumps. It hadn’t been like this when they were younger. Perhaps she’d taken too much for granted. They’d almost been kids. Romance at her age was a whole new experience.