She sighed. “That, too. Bailey was having an affair with Garth, but it’s not clear if he knew Manfield and Granville had kidnapped her or not. Like I said, Garth has lawyered up. Luke’s been trying to question him, but so far Garth’s not talking. That’s pretty much it.”

“Suze?”

“She’s still here. She’s been sitting with you and Jane Doe.” When he lifted a brow, she added, “The girl Bailey helped. We don’t know her name. Daniel, I’ve been thinking.”

A wave of dread filled him. Then he brushed it away. She might leave eventually, but she wouldn’t leave him now. Of that he was confident. “About?”

“You. Me. Bailey and Hope. You’re going to be fine when you get out, but Bailey… she’s got a long road to walk. She’ll need help with Hope.”

“Where?” he asked.

“Here. Her friends are here. I’m not going to take her away from all that. I’m going to stay here. I’ll need to find a house for me and Bailey and Hope, but-”

“No,” he rasped. “You stay with me.”

“But I’ll need to watch Hope while Bailey goes into rehab.”

“You stay with me,” he repeated. “Hope stays with us. Bailey can live with us as long as she needs to.” He started to cough and she put a cup of water to his lips.

“Slow,” she ordered when he would have gulped. “Just a little sip.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He lay back and met her eyes. “You stay with me.”

She smiled. “Yes, sir.”

He didn’t drop his gaze. “I meant what I said, back there.”

She didn’t falter. “So did I.”

He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good.”

She pressed her lips to his forehead. “Now you know everything you need to know. Stop talking and go to sleep. I’ll be back later.”

Atlanta, Saturday, February 3, 12:30 p.m.

“Bailey.”

Her eyelids fluttered at the familiar voice and her heart sank. She was back there. Getting away had been just a dream. Then she felt the softness of the bed beneath her back and knew the nightmare was over. One of them anyway. Her addiction nightmare had started up all over again.

“Bailey.”

She forced her eyes open and her heart stuttered. “Beardsley.” He sat in a wheelchair next to her bed. He was clean now. Bruised, with a big gash on the side of his face, but clean. His hair was sandy brown, cut army-short. He had strong cheekbones and a sturdy jaw. His eyes were brown and warm, like she remembered. His lips were cracked, but firm and proportioned. Everything about him was firm and proportioned. “I thought you died,” she whispered.

He smiled. “No. I’m a little tougher than that.”

She could believe that. He was truly wider than three of her. “I saw Alex.”

“Me, too. She’s been making the rounds, checking on us. You have a very strong stepsister, Bailey. And she has a strong stepsister, too.”

His compliment warmed her. “You saved my life. How can I thank you?”

He lifted his sandy brows. “We’ll come back to that later. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been held prisoner for a week.”

Again he smiled. “You did good, Bailey. You should be proud of yourself.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying. You don’t know what I’ve done.”

“I know what I’ve seen you do.”

She swallowed. “I’ve done terrible things.”

“You mean the drugs?”

“And other things.” Her lips curved sadly. “I am not a girl you’d take home to Mother.”

“You mean because you were a prostitute and had affairs?”

She opened her eyes, stunned. “You knew?”

“Yes. Wade told me about you before he died. He was so proud that you’d turned your life around.”

“Thank you.”

“Bailey, you aren’t understanding me. I know. I just don’t care.”

She met his warm eyes, nervous again. “What do you want from me?”

“I don’t know yet. But I want to find out. We weren’t thrown together for no reason and I want you to know that I’m not going to walk away now that that phase is done.”

She didn’t know what to say. “I have to go back into rehab.”

His brown eyes flashed anger. “And for that I’d gladly kill him again.”

“Beardsley, he…” The word stuck in her throat.

He clenched his jaw, but when he spoke, his voice was gentle. “I know that, too. Bailey, you walked through that door today on your own two feet. Don’t look back.”

She closed her eyes and felt the tears seep down her face. “I don’t even know your first name.”

He covered her hand with his. “Ryan. Captain Ryan Beardsley, U.S. Army. Ma’am.”

Her lips quivered up into a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Ryan. Is this where we say it’s the start of a beautiful friendship?”

He smiled back. “Isn’t that the best place to start?” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Now sleep. And don’t worry. As soon as you’re ready, they’re going to bring Hope to see you. I’d like to meet her, too, when you’re comfortable letting me.”

Atlanta, Saturday, February 3, 2:45 p.m.

“How is the girl?”

Susannah didn’t need to look to know Luke Papadopoulos was standing behind her. “She woke up for a little while, but slipped back under. I suppose it’s her way of dodging the pain for a while.”

Luke came into the little ICU room and pulled up the other chair. “Did she say anything when she woke up?”

“No. She just looked at me like I was God or something.”

“You brought her out of the woods.”

“I didn’t do anything.” She swallowed. Truer words had never been spoken.

“Susannah. You did not cause this.”

“I don’t happen to agree.”

“Talk to me.”

She turned to look at him. He had the darkest eyes she’d ever seen, blacker than night. And right now they seethed with turbulent emotion. But the rest of his face was composed. He could have been a statue for all the emotion she saw on his face. “Why?”

“Because…” He lifted a shoulder. “Because I want to know.”

One side of her mouth lifted in what she knew had been labeled a sneer by many. “You want to know what, Agent Papadopoulos?”

“Why you think this is your fault.”

“Because I knew,” she said flatly. “I knew and I said nothing.”

“What did you know?” he asked rationally.

She looked away, fixing her gaze on the girl with no name. Who’d looked at her like she was God. “I knew Simon was a rapist.”

“I thought Simon didn’t do any of the rapes, that he only took the pictures.”

She remembered the picture Simon showed her. “He did at least one.”

She heard Luke’s indrawn breath. “Did you tell Daniel?”

She whipped around to glare at him. “No. And neither will you.”

There was a fury within her. It boiled and bubbled and threatened to escape every day of her life. She knew what she had done, and what she had not. Daniel had seen only a glimpse of pictures in which no rapists were identifiable. She could not say the same. “I only know that if I’d said something, this might have been avoided.” She ran her hand lightly over the rail on the hospital bed. “She might not be here right now in this hospital.”

Luke was quiet for a very long time, and together they sat watching the girl breathe, thinking their own thoughts. Susannah could respect a man who knew when to respect the quiet. Finally he spoke. “I recognized one of the bodies back there.”

She turned to look at him again, stunned. “How?”

“From a case I was working eight months ago.” A muscle twitched in his cheek. “I failed to protect that girl. I failed to bring a sexual sadist that preyed on children to justice. I want another bite at the apple.”

She studied his face, the set of his mouth. She didn’t think she’d ever seen a more serious man. “Granville’s dead.”

“But there’s another. Someone who was pulling the strings. Someone who taught Granville how to be very good at his job. I want him.” He turned to meet her eyes and she nearly backed away from the power that emanated from him. “I want to throw him into hell and throw away the key.”

“Why are you telling me this?”