Sinner's Saint by Leighann Hart

Author:Leighann Hart [Hart, Leighann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crooked Hart Press, LLC
Published: 2022-11-29T18:30:00+00:00

19

EUGENE

Dayton breathed a sigh of relief when Wednesday morning rolled around and he stood on the mat outside Kenna’s apartment. Reynolds had not sought him out for further follow-up questions. No phone call or impromptu visit. It made him hopeful that he and Kenna could, eventually, move on from this.

Sure, it would take some time for her to get over—what she referred to as negligence on his part—the loss of Lacey when they had a small window to intervene.

But Kenna hadn’t pulled back enough to see all of the details. That window was in disrepair. Smudged fingerprints on the interior. The girl tried to let herself out, for how long? There were splinters in the glass, shards missing in some places from the many people who’d wanted to help her escape. She had been a prisoner to that cycle: wanting to free herself, the doubt that ensued, seeking help from others but then realizing it was only the concept of being rescued that she liked.

Kenna may not have recognized it, but he did.

The silent tug-of-war in Lacey’s eyes before she stormed out of his university office.

He rapped once on the door and footsteps approached from within. It was soon opened by her roommate.

“Hello, boyfriend.” Liza smiled but it didn’t come as easily as the one she’d displayed during their first meeting.

There was something guarded about her friendliness. Or perhaps that was her resting expression in which case there was nothing unusual about it. Dayton wondered if he was overdue for his own psychiatric evaluation.

A tic came over his jaw as he registered the shower running in the background.

“Would you let her know I’m downstairs?”

“Sure thing.”

He retreated down the steps and waited in the car, contemplating whether she was having second thoughts or if she simply had no regard for punctuality. No, that wasn’t it. More often than not, she was early rather than late.

Twenty minutes later, Kenna crouched and peered at him through the passenger side window, pulling the handle to no avail as her speech echoed through the glass.

“Let me in.”

With a flick of his index finger, he unlocked the car and she collapsed in the passenger seat, bag in her lap. He promptly grabbed it and discarded it on the rear floorboard.

“You’re late,” he clipped, already in reverse.

Her wet hair framed her face as she angled her head to buckle the seatbelt and it triggered a fluttering in his chest. The visual reminded him of the days she’d spent by his hospital bed.

“I overslept.”

“That doesn’t seem like you.”

“Don’t presume to know me solely based on our working relationship.” Tucking a damp lock of hair behind her ear, she went on. “We hardly know each other.”

“I’m hopeful this trip will change that.”

Dayton understood all that was amiss between them couldn’t be solved in a two-day trip, but he hoped it would set them on the right course; and, somewhere in the back of his mind, he hoped it gave Reynolds time to figure out where the Sanders boy had gone.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.