27
KYLIE SAT ON THE SIDE OF T.J.’S BED IN THE
curtained-off ER cubicle where he’d been relocated. The teenager
looked so young, his shoulders narrow, his brown eyes big and dark.
She never thought of him as a child when they faced off across the
net, probably because he could be so intimidating, pounding shots
at her that she increasingly had to scramble to return. But that’s
exactly what he was: a child. And right now he looked so miserable
and scared that she had to fight the urge to pull him against her
and hug him. She wasn’t sure how he would respond to that, so
instead, she patted his forearm.
“How’s it going?” she asked.
One side of his mouth quirked up. “Everything’s
aces,” he said, and began to cough.
She reached for the water a nurse had brought and
held the straw for him. His eyes watered while he sucked down half
of the cup’s contents. Then he sat back and swiped at his face, his
cheeks glowing as though the tears embarrassed him. “How about
you?”
She shrugged. “I’ve had better days.”
They both laughed a little, which led to some
synchronized coughing.
When they’d settled down and breathed easier, Kylie
said, “A police detective is going to be here soon to talk to
you.”
“About the fire?”
“And a few other things.” Chase had given her
explicit instructions not to question the boy about her windshield
or the fire.
“Oh.” Fear shadowed his eyes.
“You don’t have to worry, though. He just wants to
help you. I promise.”
When the fear in his expression didn’t fade, she
wondered again what lay in his past that had led to his arrest.
There had to be a logical explanation. She knew this boy, and he
wasn’t a delinquent. “Seriously, as long as you tell the truth,
you’ll be fine, okay?”
He gave her a reluctant nod, blinking back
tears.
She swallowed and suppressed a wince at the rawness
of her throat. Her heart had felt just as raw, guilt a clenched
fist in the pit of her stomach, since Chase had told her what Sam
had learned from T.J.’s neighbors. She’d let this child down, so
wrapped up in her own issues that she hadn’t responded
appropriately when she’d sensed something was off.
“Do you know where your mother is?” she asked
gently.
His gaze shifted away, and he shook his head.
“How long has she been gone?”
He lifted one shoulder and let it drop.
Chase ducked through a gap in the curtains. His
presence seemed to make the close space even closer, and Kylie
resisted the instinctual desire to tense. This was about T.J., not
her and Chase.
“Hi, T.J.,” he said. “I’m Detective Chase Manning,
Kendall Falls Police.”
Kylie watched them shake hands, struck by how
Chase’s large hand engulfed the boy’s.
“I have some questions for you, if you’re up to
it,” Chase said.
T.J. cast an uncertain, panicked glance at Kylie.
She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but then she remembered her
windshield. Maybe he didn’t want her there while he talked to the
police. She started to get up. “How about I let you two talk
alone.”
“No!” T.J. grabbed her hand. “Don’t go.
Please?”
She settled back down, tears stinging her eyes at
his desperation, and gave him a reassuring nod. He smiled with
shaky relief but held tight to her hand.
Chase took out a small notebook and flipped it
open. “Let’s start with the fire, T.J. Do you have any idea why
anyone would want to hurt you?”
T.J.’s grip on her hand tightened. “No.”
Chase watched the boy carefully but without looking
intimidating. “Are you sure?”
T.J. nodded, though Kylie thought it wasn’t very
convincing.
“It’s okay to tell the truth, T.J.,” she
said.
“No one’s going to be mad,” Chase added, his voice
surprisingly gentle.
T.J. looked from her to Chase and back again. “I
don’t know. I don’t.”
“Okay.” Chase flipped to a new page in his
notebook. “Let’s talk about Kylie’s Jeep.”
T.J. stiffened and let go of her hand, but he
didn’t deny anything or pretend he didn’t know what Chase meant.
The fist in her stomach clenched into apprehension.
“Your fingerprints are on the bat used to smash the
windshield,” Chase said, intent on T.J.’s face. “Explain.”
T.J. glanced at Kylie before darting fearful eyes
away. “I . . .”
“Just tell the truth,” she said. “We’ll work it
out.”
“I, um . . .” He trailed off again.
“You’re among friends here,” Chase said. “You know
that, right? No one here wants to hurt you.” Patient yet firm,
authoritative yet kind.
“This guy . . . he tried to give me two hundred
bucks to break it.” Once he started talking, it poured out of him.
“He handed me the bat, but I gave it back to him and said no
way.”
“This was at the health club?” Chase asked.
“No. He was waiting on the path I take home, off
the back parking lot at the club.”
Kylie’s breath stalled as visions of another
deserted path unspooled in her head. She pushed off the bed and
paced away, snugging her arms around her midsection. But, God, it
was more than just painful memories. A mysterious man had
approached a vulnerable child because he wanted to freak her
out. T.J. could have been hurt. Because of her.
“Kylie?”
She turned at the tremor in T.J.’s voice, found him
watching her with wide, dark eyes. “You believe me, don’t
you?”
Oh, God, the poor kid. Giving him a reassuring
smile, she retook her spot on the side of the bed. “Of course, I
believe you.” She captured his cold, clammy hand and clasped it
between both of hers. “Don’t worry, okay? Everything will be
fine.”
She glanced at Chase. He also watched her, and she
could tell by the compassion in his expression that he knew exactly
where her head had just gone. For once, that empathy didn’t make
her want to throw something at his head, though she wasn’t sure
why. Maybe because he understood but said nothing. He just shared a
long, supportive look with her, his slightly curving lips spreading
warmth through her stomach.
He glanced away first and cleared his throat. “Can
you describe the guy?” he asked T.J. “Tall? Short? Young?
Old?”
“Young, I guess, but older than me.” Now that no
one had yelled at him, he regained some confidence. “Tall, like
you. Skinny. He wore a baseball cap. And he had blue eyes. Creepy
blue. Really light.”
Chase jotted notes. “Think you’d recognize a
photo?”
T.J. tensed. “Um . . .”
Chase reached over and patted the boy’s knee.
“You’re safe now. He can’t hurt you. But you need to help me find
him so I can make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. Okay?”
T.J. nodded.
“Do you think you’d recognize him if you saw a
picture?”
“I think so.”
“That’s good. Once you’re released, we’ll go down
to the police station so you can look at some mug-shot books. Okay
with you?”
T.J. glanced at Kylie. “Will you come?”
“Of course.”
“Great,” Chase said. “So can you tell me how you
left things with this man?”
“He got mad because I wouldn’t do what he wanted. I
said I was going to go to the cops, but he said he’d come after me
if I didn’t keep quiet.” His fingers clamped around Kylie’s so hard
she fought back a wince.
“He was in the house,” he blurted at Kylie. “After
I called you from my neighbor’s, I went home and he was there. He
said he couldn’t trust me to keep my mouth shut. I don’t remember
anything after that. I’m sorry. I should have told you before, but
. . . I’m scared. What if he comes back?”
“It’s okay, kiddo,” she said. “You’re safe now. No
one’s going to hurt you again. Chase and I both will make sure of
it.”
When he relaxed back against his pillow, Kylie
stroked his cheek with the back of her hand and smiled. “I’m going
to step outside for just a minute, okay? I’ll be right back,
though. I promise.”
He nodded.
She didn’t look at Chase as she eased through the
gap in the curtains and headed out into the nearest hallway. There,
alone, she braced one hand on the painted concrete wall as the rush
of blood in her ears grew to a roar, and dizzy comprehension spun
through her senses.
T.J. had almost died because of her. He was
in a hospital bed now, suffering from a head injury and smoke
inhalation, scared to death of a man with creepy blue eyes, because
of her.
A shudder rolled through her, accompanied by a cold
sweat, and she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the
cool wall, not sure what her body planned to do next. Throw up?
Pass out? Sink to the floor and shake to pieces?
Hang on, McKay. You’ve got to hang on. For T.J.’s
sake. Don’t be a drama queen.
Feeling a hand on her back, she jerked her head up,
surprised to find that Chase stood beside her. His palm, warm and
reassuring, rested in the center of her back, and as she met his
eyes, deep and dark and green, that strong hand gently stroked
once, twice.
Her balance returned in a rush almost as dizzying
as the horror, and she pulled in a trembling breath. She wanted to
move away from him, away from his touch, but it’d be so easy to
lean against him, to let those strong arms enfold her and ward off
all the demons.
“Okay now?” Chase asked, voice soft and low.
She nodded but didn’t look at him. “Yes. We should
get back to T.J. He shouldn’t be alone.”
“Just give yourself a minute,” he said. “I think
you need it.”
She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat.
He could be so sweet it made her ache down to her bones. She bet he
was a wonderful father. He had the kindest heart she’d ever known.
And she’d pitched it away like it didn’t matter.
Focus on T.J.
Raising her chin, she stepped away from Chase and
nodded. “I’m fine now.”
She heard him sigh as he followed her back into
T.J.’s cubicle. As she took up position next to the bed, Chase
said, “We need to reach your mother, T.J. Do you have any idea how
to do that?”
“I don’t know where she is.” He looked at Kylie
with an intensity she’d seen in him only on the tennis court, and
his chin began to tremble. “I won’t go back to foster care. I
won’t.”
Kylie’s heart broke. The poor kid desperately
needed someone to look out for him. “Don’t worry,” she said, and
offered him sanctuary without a second thought. “You can stay with
me, okay?”
She glanced at Chase just in time to see him
scowl.