Amanda picked up on the fifth ring. “I can’t talk right now.”

“It’s important,” said Isabelle.

Amanda sighed. “Hold on.”

The clank of dishes in the background faded, a door squeaked, and when Amanda spoke, her voice had a hollow echo. “Okay. I’m in the bathroom, so make it quick.”

Isabelle gripped the phone hard and kept her tone even, calm, and steady out of a sheer force of will. “Everett’s dead.”

“Oh, God. Isabelle, I’m so sorry. I know you and he were friends.”

Isabelle blinked back tears and swallowed to loosen up her throat. “He was a sweet man. I’m going to miss him.”

“What can I do?” asked Amanda. “Do you need anything?”

“I need to know you’re safe. Come stay with me for a few days. We’ll be safer together, and you’ll have built-in babysitting anytime you want it.”

“I can’t uproot Rachel like that. You know I can’t. She’s too fragile right now.”

“I know it would be hard on her, but she’d be a lot safer here with me than with your neighbor’s kid.”

“How am I supposed to get around? You don’t have any bus stops in your neighborhood, and my car only works about half the time.”

“I’ll drive you to work.” Isabelle still had to deal with her insurance company and get her car replaced, but she’d get a rental or something in the meantime.

“You have to work, too.”

“I’m sure Grant would help,” offered Isabelle out of desperation. “We’ll make it work somehow.”

Amanda was quiet for a moment. “What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

Isabelle knew she wasn’t supposed to say anything; she just didn’t care. Amanda and Rachel’s safety was more important than police secrets. “The killer has been murdering people in the same order they went to live with Lavine. You’re next after Everett. And now he’s gone.”

“Holy shit! You’re serious about all this, aren’t you?”

“Completely. Please come stay with me. Grant’s setting up a security system here. He’ll make sure we’re safe until they find the killer.”

“Are you kidding me? Putting all of us in one spot is like baiting the water to draw a shark. No matter who he wants to come after next, it’s one-stop shopping.”

Isabelle hadn’t thought about it like that, but maybe Amanda was right. “If we’re all together, we can protect each other. The police can concentrate their manpower on fewer places.”

“Screw that. I’m taking my baby and getting out of town.”

Isabelle sagged with relief and felt the sting of grateful tears prick at her eyes. Amanda and Rachel would be out of harm’s way. “Where are you going?”

Amanda was quiet for a long minute. “I have a friend who’s been asking me to visit for a while. I’ll go see her.”

“Are you sure it’ll be safe there?”

“Safer than here. I’ll lose my jobs, but I suppose there are always more crappy waitressing jobs where these came from.”

“If you need money, I can help. I don’t have a lot, but I’ll do what I can.”

“I may have to take you up on that, but not yet.”

“When will you leave?”

“I’m punching out right now. We’ll be on our way out of town within an hour. Assuming my car starts.”

“Don’t tell anyone where you’re going, but call me when you get there so I know you’re safe.”

“I will. Gotta run.”

Amanda hung up, and Isabelle sagged on the headboard, barely able to move against the sluggish feeling of relief that pulled at her. They were leaving town. They’d be safe.

Of course, Everett had been on his way out of town when he’d been killed.

Isabelle wasn’t taking any chances. She found Officer Brooks’s card and dialed the number he’d written. It took a little convincing, but she managed to get him to agree to keep an eye on Amanda as she headed out of town with Rachel.

Now all she could do was wait and pray they’d be safe while she figured out how to do the same for Keith.

She was pretty sure that if she begged enough, Keith would give in and come stay with her for a few days, just until this was all over.

Keith entered Amanda’s house through the back door. The lock took him all of thirty seconds to bypass and he slipped in quietly, unheard.

The TV was droning on in the living room, and the faint glow of bluish light flickered over the worn tile floor. The place was a mess, with dishes piled in the sink and laundry spilling out of the baskets in front of the washer. Mail sat unopened on the kitchen table in sloppy stacks.

Amanda worked long, hard hours. He knew that, but it didn’t excuse the mess she forced her daughter to live in.

Keith shook his head. Such horrible living conditions were a sign of just how much Amanda was suffering. She couldn’t even get her life together enough to keep the dishes done.

Of all the people Keith had helped, he was certain that Amanda was going to be the most grateful one. She would understand what he was trying to do. She would welcome the freedom he offered.

A quick glance at the teenager lying on the couch told him that Rachel’s babysitter was still here, sound asleep.

He slipped by silently and went up the stairs to Rachel’s bedroom. The door was cracked open, and he saw that she’d kicked the covers off. She was curled into a tight ball, as if cold, so Keith eased the door open and went inside.

Her walls were plastered with crayon drawings depicting a life that didn’t exist. Her house was drawn as a bright, happy yellow instead of the dingy gray it really was, and overhead, a sun shone, wearing a smiley face.

Poor, deluded child.

Keith shook his head over the sadness of it all. Maybe Rachel needed his help, too. He knew her home life had been bad before Amanda split up with her husband, but he didn’t know how bad.

Moving slowly, Keith reached down and lifted the thin, torn blanket from the floor. He tucked it around her small body and slid his finger over her cheek.

She was such a pretty thing. He couldn’t let her suffer anymore. She needed his help, and he couldn’t turn his back on an innocent.

Keith was going to save Rachel, too.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Isabelle had only meant to close her eyes for a minute before going to eat dinner, but when she opened them again, the light from outside had faded and the shadows in her bedroom had deepened. A glance at the alarm clock told her it was almost eight and she’d been asleep for an hour.

Grant sat across the room in a kitchen chair, watching her. He was completely still, unblinking. She couldn’t even see his chest moving as he breathed. For a moment, she thought she’d imagined him, but as her head cleared of sleep, he didn’t disappear.

The lean lines of his face were tight with worry, and his golden eyes glittered in the soft glow of the night-light she kept in the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” she asked him as she pushed the mussed hair from her eyes.

“Watching you sleep.”

“Why?”

“You hit your head,” he said as if that explained it. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m a little stiff, but it’s not bad. How’s Dale? Is he okay?”

“I made sure he knew you were okay so he wouldn’t worry. He went to help Angela with her trig homework for a couple of hours. He’ll be back by ten.”

Which left her alone in the house with Grant. Just the thought was enough to make her blood heat.

“Do you want something for the pain?” he asked. “Or maybe some dinner?”

She shook her head, trying to figure out what in the world was going through his. He still hadn’t moved, and his glittering gaze was starting to make her squirm.

“You don’t have to watch me. I’m fine.”

Grant didn’t move. “Go back to sleep, Isabelle. You need your rest.”

“So do you.”

“I’ll sleep tomorrow.”

“You can’t sit there and watch me sleep all night.”

His long fingers tightened around the arms of the chair until his knuckles turned white. “It’s either that or I’m climbing into bed with you, close enough I can feel you breathe. Take your pick.”

A slow, honeyed warmth slid through her limbs, making her shiver. Her heart rate picked up and her breathing sped as he stared at her, waiting for her response. Her body was soft and relaxed from sleep, her mind still hovering in that languid state where life’s problems had yet to intrude. All there was in her world was the pounding of her heart and Grant’s intent stare glittering in the darkness.

Before she could stop herself, Isabelle patted the mattress next to her.

Isabelle felt it then, his shift from protective Grant to something more. She saw it in the way his pupils dilated and the way his throat worked as he swallowed. An easy sort of grace fell over him, as if he was stepping into a comfortable pair of jeans.

A bare hint of a smile tilted his mouth, and his eyes slid over her face, taking in the desire she was sure was as plain as day.

Conquest. Victory. That was the look he wore now—the one that told her he knew he was getting what he wanted and liked it that way.

He rose from the chair and stalked across the carpet, his every move a study in grace. She saw the muscles in his abdomen ripple under his tight T-shirt as he neared her, saw the flex of his thighs as he came toward her.

A shiver raced over her skin, making it tingle with a bubbling hiss of pleasure. She felt a rush of sensation slide through her until it wound around her insides and tightened until it was hard to breathe.

He moved onto the bed, pressing his body close to hers.

“This is good,” he said, staring at her mouth. “This is the way it should be.”

Isabelle couldn’t speak. There wasn’t enough air in her lungs for speech.

Grant’s thumb stroked her mouth carefully, and the need to taste his skin swelled up inside her, taking over. No amount of common sense was going to change that blazing need.

Just one taste. That’s all she needed to prove to herself that Grant held no magic. She could walk away from him whenever she liked.

“Does your mouth hurt?” he asked.

“No,” she whispered.

Grant’s thumb slid over her bottom lip as if testing to be sure.

Before she could stop herself, she licked the salty pad of his thumb and watched as his eyes darkened to hammered bronze.

“Good,” he whispered as he tilted her head back and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

It wasn’t enough to quench her desire, not even close. It was way too soft for that, but even so, that one little kiss made Isabelle’s toes curl. She let out a sigh of need, no longer caring about whatever had bothered her so much a moment ago. After all the pain she’d suffered today, both physically and mentally, the pleasure of Grant’s kiss felt almost too good. She clenched her hands in his hair to make sure he didn’t go away. She needed this too much to let it end.