Texas Witness

Melissa was weary, lonely, and part of her felt like she’d never live a normal life again. At least her father was in protective custody. His health was sketchy but he was in a decent facility in the Pacific Northwest. That’s the only information she’d been given and that’s all she needed to know. She wasn’t ready to forgive her father for what he’d done to ruin both of their lives, but she’d felt the need to protect him. And now, she and Angelina would be Bethany and Claire soon. A new life, a fresh start, shouldn’t feel like such a death sentence. But it would be because they’d be living a life without Colin.

Head pounding, heart aching, she closed her eyes before leaning against the door and then sinking until her bottom hit the hardwood floor. She twisted off her wedding ring, noticing the red marks on her finger it left behind because it had always been a little too tight, and threw it across the room. Relief flooded her at getting that thing off her finger. She’d put it on so no one would question her about it. The only reason she’d held on to the ring was because she figured she could sell it if times got tight. The government had made promises to her, but who really knew if they could be trusted? They’d allowed Richard to slip through their fingers and that wasn’t exactly reassuring.

Seconds turned into minutes and Melissa had no idea how long she’d been sitting there when she finally opened her eyes again.

Her father was safe. The baby was safe. Colin was safe. And she was exhausted.

She blocked out thoughts of how much Colin hated her now. She’d seen it in his eyes as he stalked toward her. The anger was so palpable that she’d had to turn her face away. Right then, she knew that he would never forgive her for leaving. And what had she really expected? For him to tell her everything would be okay? A hug?

Maybe it was good that Melissa Rancic would no longer exist in less than—she checked the clock—an hour. Maybe it was time to turn over a new leaf. Maybe it was time to make a new life for herself and Angelina. The thought of causing Colin any more pain was like a knife to her heart anyway. He deserved so much more.

She pushed up to stand as a knock sounded on the door from behind. She jumped. Her heart leapt to her throat and her chest squeezed. That same old feeling of panic, of the walls closing in and the air thinning, threatened to debilitate her. And that same question burned through her mind...had Richard found her?

No. That was impossible. He was probably in Canada by now.

The knocks sounded again, a little louder, a little more urgent.

Her mind spun. All the anxiety crashed down around her, freezing her limbs and making something as simple as taking a breath hurt.

Hold on a second. Richard wouldn’t knock at her front door nor would anyone he sent. That was way too direct. He would slip in during the night and slit her throat.

She glanced around the room, searching for a purse or jacket. Mrs. Klein most likely forgot something and she was returning to get it. The simple explanation was usually the right one no matter how much her brain protested and fear overtook her.

Melissa flipped the switch to the porch light and checked out the peephole. The light was out. Had it been like that before? Melissa couldn’t remember. This was an old house. It belonged to her cousin’s best friend. It had a lot of quirks.

Yes. It had. She remembered a little while ago when Mrs. Klein had gone home that the porch light hadn’t been working. No way was Melissa opening that door without confirmation.

“Mrs. Klein?” Melissa said softly, and then waited for a response.

A high-pitched murmur of acknowledgment came.

As Melissa opened the door, she said, “What did you—”

And then froze.

She gasped as panic roared through her. She quickly regained her bearings and pushed the door, trying to shut it quickly even though it wouldn’t budge. There was something wedged at the base. She glanced down. The toe of Colin’s boot stared up at her.

“Not so fast, Melissa.” He pushed open the door a little too easily and brushed past her.

* * *

“YOU SHOULDN’T BE HERE,” Melissa said with more panic than anger, and he noticed that she’d positioned her body between him and the stairs. Was she blocking him for a reason? Was someone up there? Richard?

“I almost didn’t come.” Colin had followed Melissa on a whim. And then he’d sat at the end of the street trying to decide if he should knock or not. Seeing her with Richard would knife him, but maybe he needed that reinforcement to be able to finally let go. He’d been stuck in a place between still loving her and the kind of pain he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy for the past year. Seeing her dredged up feelings he thought he’d learned to live with, or live without, depending on how he looked at it.

“Why did you?” she asked.

“Is he here?” Colin motioned toward the base of the staircase, ignoring her question. That old anger from her leaving him for a flash-in-the-pan guy like Richard renewed.

She looked down and then shook her head.

He didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until that moment. Forcing himself to exhale slowly, he also noticed that she wasn’t wearing her ring anymore and she looked completely wrung out. Had the two of them been in a fight?

Colin shouldn’t want to interfere with a married couple’s business, but part of him needed to know that she was okay. “Did he do anything to you? Hurt you in any way?”

“No,” she said quickly. He couldn’t help but notice how her body was trembling.

He made a move toward her and she flinched. Another sign he didn’t like.

“Why did you come to the ranch?” He pinned her with his stare, letting his anger show in his words. He couldn’t afford to let her get inside his head or his heart.

“I wanted to see you,” she said, looking like she’d had to force the words out. She didn’t budge or invite him in, and she kept glancing toward the door like she expected her husband to walk through at any minute.

“Why?” he asked.

“We’re moving out of the country and I guess I got nostalgic for the past.” The corner of her mouth twitched. She was lying.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

She flashed her eyes at him but didn’t speak. Her body trembled as she brought her hand to her chest, signs that she was in a panic.

Nostalgia? This seemed an over-the-top reaction to being a little homesick.

“Everything going okay between the two of you?” Colin asked, a piece of him hoping she would say it wasn’t. There was so much off about her, he noticed. From her reaction to him to the way she talked about her husband, Colin didn’t know where to start with questions.

She nodded that it was. And that should be enough for Colin. He should walk right out the door and never look back. She’d broken his heart once, and this little visit was reopening old wounds that he had no doubt were going to sting for a long while after she left. If his heart was a muscle, it was memory causing his body to have this reaction to seeing her again, the one where he felt like the world was going to tumble down around him as soon as he walked out that door.

None of those feelings were welcomed. He stared at her, trying to read her to see if he could figure out why she’d really shown up at the ranch earlier. There was a time when knowing what was on her mind would’ve been second nature. But she’d changed. Colin might not be able to tell what she was thinking but he knew fear when he saw it. And she was afraid of something. If not her husband, then who? Him?

“So, he’s treating you right?” he asked, unable to stop pushing for the answers he really wanted but his pride wouldn’t allow him to ask. Like why she’d really ditched him for Richard in the first place.

“I said he was,” she said, and her body language changed. She folded her arms and gritted her back teeth in the way that she did when she was shoring her strength.

“You’re the one who came to see me and now you act like you can’t stand to be in the same room,” he said.

“Time for you to go,” she shot back.

Was she there to torture him? To remind him of what he’d lost? Did she really hate him that much?

A piece of him had to know if she’d walked away because she’d really stopped loving him like she’d said. He stalked toward her and she walked backward until she was against the wall. The stairs were to the left and the hallway to the right would take him into the kitchen.

Melissa’s hands came up in defense and she turned her face away, shutting her eyes.

This close, her heart thumped at the base of her throat wildly. The air changed and electricity pinged between them.

Their sexual chemistry hadn’t dimmed. Were her feelings for him really dead?

“You’re not getting away so easy this time.” Colin used his thumb on her chin to guide her face toward him. His other hand wrapped around the base of her neck. Being this close took a toll on him, on his body. He took in a sharp breath and, by accident, breathed in her scent. At least one thing hadn’t changed about her. She still smelled like sunshine after the first spring rain. All flowers and fresh air. “Why’d you take off your ring?”

She kept her eyes shut.

“I’m not leaving until you look at me and give me an answer.” She’d never been able to do that and lie. A piece of him dared to hope she was done with her marriage, that she could admit it had been a mistake and that she’d never stopped loving him. Colin knew it was his bruised ego wishing for that. Because he had enough pride to realize that he would never love her in the same way again no matter what excuses she gave for walking out. That innocence had been shattered into a thousand tiny pieces along with his heart, and he doubted he could ever love anyone in that same way again, especially not her.

Melissa opened her eyes, slowly, and it was like the sun cresting on the horizon. Those violet streaks like rays, bathing darkness with light. His heart clenched and his muscles corded as her hands came up to his chest. He expected a jab or for her to push him away, but instead she double fisted his shirt and tugged him toward her.

All rationale flew out the window as Colin’s pulse kicked up a few notches. He shouldn’t want to dip down and claim her heart-shaped pink lips again. He shouldn’t want to pull her body flush with his. He shouldn’t want to get lost inside her.

And that’s where he stopped.

Because he could never trust her enough to close his eyes again.

He pulled back, a little stunned at how easy it was to get trapped in old habits. How many times had they been in a similar position? Eager to rip each other’s clothes off and let the feelings they had for each other consume them in a splendid, heated flame until they lay gasping for air, their arms and legs tangled. How easy it had been to talk to her, to laugh with her.

And look where that had gotten him. Rejected. Hurt.

Anger flooded him because she was messing with his mind and the future they would never have—a future he shouldn’t want.

All he needed was to regain his sanity because Melissa was bad for him, and he knew that even if his body said otherwise.

She seemed to quickly regain her composure, and then she ducked out of his grasp.

“How did you know where to find me?” she asked.

“You weren’t hard to follow speeding through town,” he said.

“I have somewhere to be,” she said. “You need to leave.”

Colin glanced at his watch. “At eleven forty at night?”

“Yes,” she said with too much conviction. She was either lying or hiding something.

“Seems late for an appointment,” he said.

“I’m meeting up with someone...with him.” Her face morphed for a split second like it did when she felt guilty.

“Why did you come back?” he asked.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not staying,” she responded.

“Carolina said you wanted to talk to me,” he pressed.

“She’s mistaken.”

He shot her a look.

“I’m the one who made a mistake. I shouldn’t have gone to the ranch. Richard will be livid if he finds you here, so you need to go.”

“Fine.” Was she lying to protect Colin because he could see that she wasn’t being truthful? There was no way to shield him now. Not after what she’d done to him. No one could convince him that she cared for his feelings.

“I didn’t see your parents earlier. Would you tell them happy anniversary for me?” she asked, and he’d almost forgotten about that. They would have been married forty-two years next week.

But, wait, she hadn’t heard the news? Sheriff Tommy Johnson had done a great job of keeping the murder investigation out of the papers, but Colin assumed that everyone knew his parents had died. He glanced down and back before shaking his head. He still had a hard time finding the right words to talk about it.

“What?” She searched his gaze as if what he was about to say would be stamped there.

“They’re gone,” he managed to say.

“Oh, no,” she said with a little more alarm than seemed appropriate under the circumstances. She shouldn’t care about him or his family anymore. “What happened?”

“Tommy’s investigating their deaths,” he said, and a curious look overtook her features. Sheriff Johnson was a close friend and grew up with all six of the O’Brien boys. He was more like family and was taking the murder investigation even more personally as a result of how much he cared for the O’Brien family. Colin couldn’t pinpoint what was pinging through her thoughts but he could almost see the wheels churning. What was that all about?

“I’m so sorry,” she said, and she looked stunned. Maybe a little guilty, too.

Colin had every intention of figuring out why.

“Are you telling me that you didn’t know?” he asked, surprised, his curiosity getting the best of him.

“No.” She shook her head as though for emphasis. Did she really hate him so much that she’d completely cut herself off from any news about Bluff? About his folks? She’d cared about them once. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long. This is just a quick stop on my way to—” she paused and he figured she was about to make something up. “Galveston.” She raked her teeth across her bottom lip. “I’m so sorry about your parents.”

She’d been especially close to his mother. His mom had made sure that Melissa was included in all their family celebrations, saying over and over that it was about time there was a little more estrogen at the table. Mom had said that after being surrounded by six boys—boys that she adored—for most of her life that she couldn’t wait to have a girl in the family.

For a minute, she looked shocked and a little frail, which was unlike Melissa. She must’ve figured out what he was thinking because her defenses flared. “I always cared about your parents, you know that. Especially your mother. I would’ve sent something if I’d realized.”

Her voice broke and a look passed behind her eyes that he couldn’t quite pinpoint when she said that last word.

Did she know something about the murders?

No. No way. She didn’t even know his parents were gone before he told her.

Chapter Three

The only things keeping Melissa upright and on her feet were sheer determination and willpower. The second she’d heard the news about Colin’s parents she’d almost buckled. Had her worst fears been realized? Had Richard gotten to them because of some sick need to punish her? So many other questions swirled. If Mr. O’Brien was having an affair, could that be connected to the murders? Melissa quieted her internal thoughts. It was dangerous to give away her reaction to the news. She couldn’t risk Colin having any suspicion about Richard.

The news would spread soon enough that he was a criminal on the run, and Melissa would be long gone. Her handler, Marshal Davis, had been keeping the situation out of the news until Melissa could disappear. Speaking of which, it was almost time to meet him. If she didn’t show at their rendezvous point, he’d start looking for her and she didn’t need him asking around or giving more cause for concern. There were enough red flags in the air and she’d done enough damage on her own coming to Bluff.

An immediate problem of six feet two inches of raw masculinity stood in front of her. Melissa needed to think of a way to get him out of there so she could grab her sleeping infant and run. A wave of guilt assaulted her at thinking how much Colin had missed—how much he would miss—of his daughter’s life. But with Richard on the loose, it was even more important to keep Colin and the baby separate for both of their protection.

If Colin knew about his daughter, it would be impossible to keep him away or stop him from fighting for custody. Once things settled down, the ranch would be an obvious place for Richard to look. As long as he was on the loose, Angelina was in danger.

But it was Colin’s parents. She had to know if there was even a slight possibility that Richard could’ve been involved. “Like I said, I’m truly sorry to hear about your parents, Colin. When did it happen?”

“They were killed September of last year.” His words were a sober reminder of how dangerous Richard could be. A thought struck. Could she leave Angelina with Colin? The ranch was probably safer than the US Treasury.

No. It wouldn’t work. Richard believed Angelina was his daughter. If he heard or saw her with Colin it would be too easy to put the pieces together. Until Richard was safely locked away or dead, she couldn’t risk it. She mumbled an apology under her breath and a prayer for forgiveness.

“What happened to them?” she asked.

“At first, we believed Dad had a heart attack while driving and wrecked with both him and Mom in the car. Something felt off to Tommy so he ran labs. Toxicology report came back with poison in their systems,” he said.

“That’s awful. How on earth could they be poisoned?” Melissa’s heart broke at hearing the details.

“Tommy doesn’t know. It would have to be someone who had access to both of them. Mom had hosted their annual party for local artists earlier that night, so a few people had admission to the ranch,” he said.

“I’m guessing Tommy already checked everyone out at the party, including staff,” she said, still trying to absorb the news. It was selfish to think about the fact that Angelina would never know her grandparents. There was always some small part of Melissa wishing things would magically work out and she and Colin would end up together. It was a crazy notion that had given her the tiniest sliver of hope in what had been the worst year of her life save for the birth of her child.

“He did. All he has so far is the poison. He doesn’t know how it got in their systems or what the motive for murder could be,” Colin said. “There’s a slight chance that they ingested the poison accidentally.”

“Except what are the chances they both ingested the same thing at the same time?” she said out loud, not meaning to. She shouldn’t add fuel to the fire. Colin might find out the truth about his father and that would crush him. She still could scarcely believe that the man would have an affair. She’d argued with Richard, putting up more of a fight than she knew better to, refusing to accept his accusation at first. And that had led to an even bigger fight between them when he’d accused her of defending the O’Briens because she still loved Colin.

In order to survive, she’d had to swallow her emotions and convince Richard that she loved him. Only him. If someone had told her that she’d be able to sell that lie a year ago she would’ve laughed. Finding out she was pregnant had changed her priorities. Nothing mattered more to her than keeping Colin’s baby safe.

As a mother, she’d found a new well of strength to draw from than she had ever known existed inside her. Angelina’s safety took precedence over everyone and everything.

“It’s late, Colin. I need to go,” she said, using all the courage she could muster to speak those words. Being with Colin again was taking a toll on her, body, soul and mind. She was grateful that Angelina was a sound sleeper. Melissa had a prayer of getting out of this situation without doing any more damage.

Coming back to Bluff had been a mistake. Seeing the pain in Colin’s eyes was heartbreaking. And that would be the last image she would have of him to hold on to. She had hoped to see him happy, to see his charismatic smile. His sexy half grin that had been so good at making her pulse race and her body ache in that perfect way. She hadn’t counted on seeing him still so miserable. Or wanting to touch him so much that she physically hurt.

Blocking out the pain, an act she’d mastered in the past twelve months, she pushed past him and then opened the front door wide. She needed to meet her handler so she could disappear. The thought she was running from her problems struck. She pushed it aside.

Yes, the man standing in front of her was an issue. Yes, he deserved to know about Angelina. Yes, his daughter deserved to know about him. Not now. Not if it meant putting their little girl in danger. Even Colin would agree that Angelina had to come first.

She pushed the door open as wide as it would go.

“Please, Colin, don’t make me ask again.” She prayed he didn’t pick up on the desperate note in her tone.

* * *

COLIN SAT IN his vehicle contemplating the conversation he’d just had with Melissa for a good twenty minutes. Something about the way she’d asked him to leave didn’t sit right. Forget the electricity they still shared, sex had always been a whole other experience with her, and it was muscle memory causing the heat between them to sizzle like it was yesterday. He’d felt the chemistry, loud and powerful, when her back had been against the wall and there wasn’t more than a foot of space between her full breasts and his chest.

She was married to someone else and Colin would never act on his impulses. He’d stopped having sex for sex’s sake when he became old enough to fight for his country. He’d done a tour and then returned home. His reputation for dating around might be true, but he was selective when it came to who he spent time with and even more so with women he slept with.

Colin had an ironclad commandment about not messing around with another man’s wife. Even if he and Melissa had belonged to each other at one time, his rule was etched in stone and applied no matter how much his heart tried to protest. Or tell him that she was still his after all this time.

Logic ruled. It was time to move on.

Then there was the reaction she’d had to the news about his parents and the questions that had followed.

What was the point of worrying about it? She’d said that she was about to move and was homesick. Colin needed to accept it and move on. He was just about to start his ignition and drive off when he saw twin headlights exit the alley. Curiosity got the best of him, so he followed Melissa’s car. All he needed was to see her with Richard to imprint the new reality of her being married to someone else into his brain. Colin was visual and he needed that image in order to stamp out all those other thoughts that kept creeping in. Thoughts of how sweet she still smelled, all floral and sunshine. Thoughts of how soft her skin still was when he’d touched her arm. Thoughts of how rapid her breathing had become when they were standing too close. All of which was dangerous for Colin to acknowledge.

Melissa was married to Richard Rancic. The words sat bitter on his tongue as he cut right, allowing enough distance between cars so that she wouldn’t realize she was being followed. She’d made her choice. She was Melissa Rancic now. It was high time his mind caught up.

Cutting right a few seconds after she did, he was flooded with memories—memories he fought to keep from overtaking his thoughts. Letting go of her wasn’t going to be easy but he’d find a way. He had to. Because a little voice, the one that still knew her, said that once she left town she wasn’t coming back this time. Colin’s heart fisted again. He reminded himself that it was a good thing to acknowledge and accept the situation for what it was.