Page 6 of Save Me
Emma had the rest of them laughing when she held up a single finger and pet Chester’s fur softly with it.
“You can use your whole hand.” Crissy smiled and Emma instantly complied. Chester, being no fool, knew exactly who was going to give him the most pets and quickly laid down next to Emma and Crissy. “Your parents have been talking about how you will be staying with us for the next month.”
His eyebrows shot up as he looked over at his father. If his dad wanted him to be that close to her, then he must be convinced there was a credible threat.
“Yeah, I hope that’s okay with you and Emma?” he asked.
When he mentioned her daughter’s name, Crissy’s eyebrows rose slightly. Instead of answering, she nodded slightly.
“Good, then it’s all settled.” His mother clapped and then stood back up. “Now, I’ve arranged for all of us to have dinner out on the deck. Brit is in the kitchen preparing some spaghetti, which I’ve been assured is Emma’s favorite meal.” His mother easily walked over and snatched the small child from Crissy’s hands.
The fact that Crissy and Emma were comfortable with his mother doing so told him that it wasn’t the first time.
Brit was another local he’d known all his life. His father had hired the woman as a part-time assistant when his mother had taken a fall off a small stepladder, trying to get something down from the top shelf.
“Shall we go see if dinner is ready?” his mother asked Emma cheerfully. The little girl squealed and held on as they made their way through the house.
His father leaned forward and lowered his tone. “I haven’t filled Brock in on all the details yet, but I assure you, he’s more than capable of guarding you and your daughter until we sort things out.”
“Thank you,” Crissy said as her eyes moved to her balled fists. “The calls are coming closer together.”
“Calls?” Brock jerked slightly and then looked at his father. “You mentioned a call. Not calls.”
His father glanced over at Crissy, who sighed slightly.
“The first one came almost a month ago. I… didn’t want to bother Reggie or Kim. But when they started coming more often… along with…”—she closed her eyes— “more, I knew I needed to do something.”
“More?” he asked, his anger for the situation growing.
Crissy’s eyes met his. “Details. Ones that the police assured me they wouldn’t release.”
Brock glanced at his dad, who quickly nodded. “Which is why Joe agreed to send you to us,” his father said easily. “Now, I’m sure the two of you will hash out everything later. Why don’t we head out and enjoy the rest of the evening? The back deck is the best place in the Keys to watch the sunset.” His father quickly disappeared, leaving the two of them alone.
Brock stood up quickly and noticed Crissy flinch ever so slightly. Damn. Taking a deep breath, he motioned with his chin.
“Ready?” he asked her softly, as one would a spooked animal.
He watched her chin rise ever so slightly before she nodded and stood up.
“More than ready,” she said softly, and he got the hint that there was a double meaning in her words.
CHAPTER THREE
Crissy tried all through dinner not to stare at Brock. Oh, she knew exactly who he was. Knew of the man’s struggles over the past two years.
Even though his struggles were far different than what she’d gone through, the man had suffered. He’d been betrayed too, just as Carl had betrayed her after everything she’d gone through.
So many in the media had pointed a finger at the partner of… she couldn’t say or even think about her captor’s name. How could any good cop, the media had asked, not know what was going on right under his nose?
There was even a time when Brock had been questioned about his involvement. Months later, when he was fully cleared, the media had started calling him a hero when they’d discovered it had been one of his bullets that had killed his partner and, more importantly, that he’d been the one to discover her. Suddenly, the media couldn’t get enough of the sexy cop partner of the crazed serial killer.
Brock Miller’s face had been on every tabloid along the eastern coast of Florida. They were even talks of making a made-for-television movie about his life. Then again, there had been talks about doing one of her, and that of both Emily and Jamie. Her story and Jamie’s were the hottest topics since she was the one who lived, and Jamie was the one who had killed one of the now infamous Miami serial-killer brothers.
Thankfully, the talk of making movies had died down with time.
Brock looked even more handsome in person. She remembered him from that night when he’d rescued her. Remembered hearing his soft tone as he promised her that she was safe. Then she’d woken in the hospital almost a week later.
Watching Brock laugh and joke with his parents had her relaxing around him even more. He was not a serial killer. That she was extremely sure of deep down in her core.
