She Can Hide (She Can #4)(29)

“Are you all right?” Brooke settled behind the wheel.

“Yeah.”

She gave Abby a flat-lipped, sad smile. “Mike wanted me to ask you again if you think there’s any chance you were raped.”

“I don’t think so.” Panic, intensified by her flashback, bubbled into Abby’s throat. “There’s really no way to know for sure, is there? It’s been four days. But my instincts and all the facts we do have say no.” She was going to hold onto that for now because at this moment she couldn’t deal with the alternative.

“I’m so sorry.” Brooke reached over and squeezed her hand. “You’re probably right, but you might want to see your doctor.”

Fortunately she was on birth control pills. But what about sexually transmitted diseases? She’d been healthy and hadn’t bothered to find a new doctor since she’d moved. Except for her house and job, she hadn’t done many of the things people did when they were putting down roots. In the back of her mind, had she known this new start was temporary and that eventually she’d have to find another place to hide? Tears burned the corners of her eyes. One escaped, sliding down her cheek.

She buried the thoughts, like so many others. She had to get home. Dig in. Hide from reality. It was what she did best.

Brooke started the engine. “Let’s collect Zeus and some of your things and go back to my house.”

“No.” Abby swiped a thumb under her eye. “I won’t endanger you or your family. Your kids have been through enough.”

“You’re not safe alone. How about I stay with you?”

Abby shook her head. “Your kids need you. I have Zeus. I’ll be fine. The police chief said he’d have someone ride by my house frequently.” Besides, Abby needed time alone.

What was she going to do?

Brooke smiled. “I know Mike and Ethan. They’ll do their best to keep you under surveillance.”

“You have that much faith in them?” Abby leaned her forehead against the cool glass. She had no idea how she’d been poisoned. A patrol car driving by her house wasn’t that reassuring.

“I do. Ethan saved your life.”

“I know.” In her head she knew she should trust him, and her heart agreed. Every time he was with her, it thumped a little faster. But her instincts, honed by a lifetime of betrayal and disappointment, weren’t controlled so rationally.

Brooke turned onto Main Street. “You still want to rent a car?”

“Yes.” Abby didn’t want to be stranded with no way to run should fleeing become necessary. The thought of leaving Westbury filled her with sadness.

They stopped at the shopping center that housed the car rental agency. Abby selected a midsize gray sedan, the kind of car no one noticed.

“I’m going to call you in a couple of hours.” Brooke hugged her good-bye in the parking lot.

Abby got into the sedan. She drove home in silence, her brain too overwhelmed for music. Her eye on the rearview mirror confirmed that Brooke followed her all the way home. Abby turned down her street. A police cruiser already sat at the curb. Ethan was at the wheel. Brooke waved, smiled, and drove off.

“I didn’t expect you here so quickly.” Abby locked the sedan with the fob. Truthfully, she was relieved to see him.

He got out of the vehicle and walked with her to the front door. Zeus barked at the window as Abby opened the door.

Ethan followed her into the foyer. “Do you always leave all the lights on?”

“I don’t like the dark.” Abby tossed her keys in the bowl on the desk. “Not anymore.”

Anger flared in Ethan’s eyes, then softened. “It’s no wonder.”

Zeus rubbed on her legs. “Good boy.” She patted his head and stumbled under the force of a head butt.

Ethan caught her elbow. “The whining is ridiculous.”

“I know.” Abby pushed the dog backward and scratched his head until he settled. “He loves me.”

“Wait here. I’ll check the house.” Ethan walked toward the closet.

Abby hung her jacket on a coat tree by the front door. “OK, but if anyone were here, Zeus would know about it.”

“Humor me.” Ethan checked the first floor and went upstairs. She heard his footsteps overhead, moving from room to room. A few minutes later, his boots clunked back down the steps. “Where’s the door to the garage?”

Abby led him through the kitchen and pointed. She reached for the phone. Even though three years had passed, the number for the prosecutor’s office that had handled her kidnapping case was burned into her brain like a brand. Two minutes later, Abby hung up with an appointment. She dialed the school and left a message that she’d be out for the rest of the week. She never missed work. In fact, she hadn’t used a single sick day the whole year. But there was no way she could focus on teaching until she got some answers, and she’d been on her way home from school when someone had tried to kill her. She could endanger her students.

Someone tried to kill me. The truth hit her with shocking intensity. What were the chances? About the same as being struck by lightning twice? Getting bitten by two sharks?

She’d never be safe. Never.

Hands shaking, she started the teakettle. A knock at the back door startled her. Zeus barked, and the furious wag of his thin tail suggested friend not foe. With one hand pressed to the base of her neck, Abby moved the curtain and peeked out the window. Derek stood on the back stoop, his hands shoved into his pockets, his shoulders hunched in defeat. Bracing her spine and gathering her control, Abby let him in. The dog went through his wagging and whining routine. Derek dropped to a knee. Zeus wiped slobber all over the boy’s jacket.