“If you’re that pressed for time, we could’ve brought her home,” Betty said. “I thought maybe you’d let me warm you up some dinner.”

Jane was tempted. Especially when Wendy kissed Betty goodbye and headed out the door. Her three children followed, all but the oldest mumbling hello and goodbye. Wendy had managed to poison Rusty against her. The accusation in his eyes sometimes hurt more than having Wendy ignore her.

“You’ve already been a big help,” she told her mother-in-law. “And I really appreciate it.”

Kate must’ve heard her voice because she came down the hall without having to be called. “Hi, Mom! You staying to eat or should I grab my backpack?”

“Unfortunately, we’ve got to go.”

“Okay.”

Jane smiled at Betty and Maurice as she waited. She could tell they had something on their minds, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to discuss anything weighty. She felt too fragile.

“It wasn’t your fault, you know,” Betty murmured.

Jane didn’t need to ask what she was talking about. Betty was referring to what had caused the rift between her and Wendy. “It was my fault,” she said.

Her mother-in-law’s eyes filled with sympathy. “You were going through so much. Can’t you be a little easier on yourself, Jane?”

“I knew it was wrong.” She just hadn’t been able to stop herself. She’d needed to feel loved and protected, which wasn’t bad in itself. It was putting those needs ahead of Noah’s family that had been unforgivable.

“It’s in the past, Jane.”

She gave Betty a slight nod to acknowledge the kindness of that statement but said a silent prayer of relief at Kate’s sudden reappearance. She was feeling guilty again because she hadn’t done any better with Sebastian, even though she’d promised herself she’d keep her desires firmly in check. “You ready, kiddo?”

Kate slung her backpack over her shoulder. “All set.”

“Thanks again,” Jane told her in-laws.

She felt better once they reached the privacy of their own car. As usual, Kate was full of chatter about school, her girlfriends and her teachers-even the cute boy she liked in her second-period class. As Jane embraced their everyday routine, she all but forgot about her uncomfortable run-in with Wendy. But she tensed up again when she pulled into her parking lot and saw Sebastian, leaning against a new rental car-a Pontiac-while talking on his cell phone. She wasn’t sure what he wanted, but she was fairly sure she wouldn’t want to discuss it in front of Kate. She needed to keep her daughter separated from the ugliness that had overtaken her work.

Spotting her immediately, he finished his conversation and hung up. Then he walked over.

Twenty

With long dark hair and clear brown eyes, Kate was almost as pretty as her mother. Sebastian couldn’t help smiling as she looked up at him, her expression tinged with surprise when she realized he wasn’t just a friendly stranger.

Jane seemed less pleased to see him. Sebastian noted the way she stiffened, and understood that she preferred not to allow home and work to mix.

“Go on in, honey,” she said to Kate as soon as he reached them. “I’ll be right there.”

Too curious to do what she’d been told, Kate hovered at her mother’s side. “Can’t I wait for you?”

“I have some business to take care of,” Jane insisted. “Give us a minute.”

Kate’s narrow shoulders slumped in disappointment. “O-kay,” she said and, with an exaggerated sigh, started past him, but Sebastian stuck out his hand.

“You must be Kate.”

Her face brightened. “Yes.”

“I’m Sebastian Costas, a friend of your mother’s.”

“A work associate,” Jane clarified.

Kate placed her small hand in his. “Are you part of The Last Stand?”

“More or less. For the time being,” he hedged.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Impressed by the sweetness she put into a saying that’d become so trite, he winked at her. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” He’d been curious about this part of Jane’s life, the part that meant more to her than anything else. “I can already tell you’re going to be a beauty, like your mother.”

Ducking her head, Kate blushed and mumbled a shy “Thank you.”

“Go on now,” Jane prompted.

Her feet dragging, Kate headed to the condo but threw one last glance over her shoulder.

The caution that lurked in Jane’s eyes eased once her daughter was out of earshot.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked.

“I never said it would be bad. It was just…pointless.”

He folded his arms. “I’ll try not to be offended by that.”

“I don’t want her to know we…we’re anything but what I told her.”

“Work associates.”

“That’s right.”

“Why?” he demanded.

“I told you, I haven’t even been on a date since her father was killed. She might find it-I don’t know-threatening. Frightening.”

The man who’d found Marcie’s body was out walking his dog. Hoping the sight of Jane wouldn’t draw him over, he lowered his voice. “Unless you plan to spend the rest of your life alone, you’ve got to start somewhere.”

“Yeah, well, jumping into bed with someone I barely know isn’t the way to do it,” she said. “I think we’re both conscious of that.”

It was true. Under the circumstances, they had no business getting so intimately involved. So why had he wanted to see her again this soon? “Every relationship begins in a different place,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter where we began. We both know where this will end.”

He scowled. “We don’t know anything. Life isn’t something you can script, Jane. It’s full of surprises, and those surprises can change everything.” Look at what had happened to him. Never in a million years would he have guessed he’d walk away from his lucrative and rewarding career to chase down Emily’s husband for killing her and Colton. Never had he thought he’d crave another child, especially with a woman he hardly knew. “Speaking of surprises that can change everything…would you like me to pick up one of those pregnancy tests?”

“No. I-I’ll deal with it when I’m ready.”

“It might be better to know.”

“And it might not. If I miss my period, then we’ll worry.”

He nodded. “Okay, but I didn’t actually come to talk about pregnancy tests. And, much as I liked getting to see Kate, I didn’t come to meet her, either. I came because the two of you can’t stay here, not by yourselves.”

She shifted her briefcase to her other hand. “What are you talking about? I live here.”

“Malcolm associates this place with me. He’ll come back. And if he thinks I care about you, he’ll…” He didn’t finish. There was no need to spell it out. She knew what Malcolm was capable of. She’d witnessed it this morning.

“He’d be crazy to come back,” she said.

“Why?”

“Because he could get caught!”

“You don’t understand. He’ll take those risks. This thing between him and me-” he shoved a hand through his hair “-it’s become very personal. He’ll do whatever he can to get back at me.”

“And that includes killing me.”

“I’m not positive he even knows about you. You weren’t in the car with me when I came here. But he’ll watch this place, search for whatever he can find that might lead him to me.”

“Why isn’t he scared? Why doesn’t he run, get out of here before he’s arrested?”

She didn’t know Malcolm the way he did. “He beat the system once. I’m sure he believes he can do it again.”

“And you’re relieved instead of worried.”

“Like I said, I want to end this.”

She glanced around the parking lot as if their surroundings had somehow changed, but she’d felt safe here and didn’t want to let go of that. “How can you be so positive that’s what he wants?”

With a sigh, Sebastian pulled out the e-mail message he’d printed an hour ago and handed it to her.

Jane set her briefcase on the pavement and unfolded the paper. “It’s from M.T.”