Forgotten Sins (Sin Brothers, #1)(16)
Emotion clogged Josie’s throat. Tom’s friendship had quickly become a rare anchor in her life, and she relied on him. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you.”
“Well, on that note, how about I tell you how much I can’t stand that your soon-to-be ex is sleeping in the next room?”
And that was why she counted on Tom. He told her the truth, sharing his feelings. Both good and bad. He trusted her to be strong enough to deal with anything. She allowed her shoulders to relax. “I know.”
“It’s incredibly difficult for me to make a move with a guy in your house.” Humor and a hint of seriousness echoed in his low tone. Chiefly humor.
Josie smiled. So Tom had been gearing up to make a move. She’d wondered. A tiny part of her was glad for the reprieve—she obviously wasn’t ready to abandon Shane if their kiss in the kitchen was any indication. “I imagine it would be.”
“Well, all things in good time. For now, how about you let me get you out of here? Away from danger and dead bodies?” The sound of leather crackled across the line as she pictured Tom shifting in his favorite chair in what he called his “man cave,” an empty room with new sheetrock he’d taped himself that would someday have a pool table and plasma television. When the economy bounced back. “We can both take off from work until things are safe for you. No pressure, no stress, just away from here until the police get everything figured out. Please.”
The heartfelt entreaty in the last word moved her to close her eyes. Tom couldn’t afford to leave work any more than she could right now. Yet he’d offered. “I appreciate it. But for now, let’s wait and see what the police find.” An odd part of her, deep beneath the fear, truly couldn’t imagine the bad guys wanted her. It just didn’t make sense. “Did you hear about the ninth floor yet?”
“Not yet.” The ninth floor of their office building was being remodeled, and Tom had made a bid for the job. “Josie, don’t change the subject. You need to get out of town—you’re mixed up in something dangerous.”
She stiffened against the stack of pillows in her quiet bedroom. The pillows were a reminder of a happier time and what she thought happy married people had to have on their beds. The best foster parents she’d ever had were named Arthur and Claire. Their bed had had so many pillows it had taken Claire a full five minutes to make the bed. Josie had helped before school each day, telling herself that her grown-up bed would be the same someday.
But sitting there, in her wonderful bed with its multitude of colorful pillows, Josie felt a heaviness in her chest. “I can’t leave.” A hoarseness crackled her voice.
“I get it. If my wife showed up tomorrow and wanted another chance, I don’t know if I could say no. I mean, ex-wife.”
Josie’s chest warmed. “The woman was crazy to leave you.”
Tom sighed. “Thanks. I have to ask, are you safe with Shane? I mean, how well do you really know this guy?”
“Not very well.” She considered allowing Tom to whisk her away to safety, away from the raw need she felt whenever Shane was near. The irony almost made her smile. She’d be seeking shelter from the one man whose entire focus had been to protect her during their marriage. Before he’d left her alone and devastated. A small part of her had always thought Shane would find her again.
She had been right.
Tom took a moment, probably swallowing some beer. He liked Bud out of a bottle. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you kind of remind me of one of those women in movies that get beat up and can’t leave the guy because they love him.”
Her head jerked back. “Shane has never hit me.”
“I know. But he left you high and dry… and now he’s in your guest room.”
“Yeah, and you went to couples counseling after you found your wife doing a guy who touches eyeballs.”
Tom snorted. “You have a great point, my friend. We’re suckers… the both of us.”
“A perfect pair.” She stretched her legs out under the covers. “I need answers. I need to know where Shane has been the last two years. Crap, I need to know who I married. Finally.” Then maybe she’d be able to move on.
Silence came across the line for several heartbeats before Tom spoke. “I understand. But promise me, if you need help, you’ll call me. Immediately.”
“I promise.”
“Fair enough. I’ll try and swing by your office tomorrow to say hi. Night.” Tom hung up.
Josie slid her cell phone onto the night table and turned off the bedside lamp. She yawned. Yet her mind swirled. Was Tom right? Was she some victim caught in domestic disaster? Shane had earned her trust and then deserted her. He’d known all about her past and what abandoning her would do—and yet he’d left anyway. Was she weak in allowing him in her house?
Memories, ideas, possibilities whipped through her brain for an hour. Exhaustion pulled at her, though her mind took half the night to finally wind down. As she slipped into a shallow sleep, odd dreams in which she was lost in unfamiliar forests prodded her into wakefulness around dawn.
A low growl rumbled through the bedroom wall. Josie sat up, her heart pounding. Shane. He was hurt. The man had refused even over-the-counter medication before bed. She reached for the knife on her nightstand.
Her bare feet pattered across the wooden floor as she hurried into his bedroom. He lay on his stomach, tanned arm outstretched, covers pushed to his bare waist. Such a broad, masculine back, showcasing a life of battle. Scars, some quite old, testified he’d seen pain before. The dark tattoo covered his left shoulder, the graceful lines creating a tough-looking Chinese character. Freedom. He moaned low.