She seemed to consider it.
Or at least, she didn’t protest right away.
“It could jog my memory, too, you know.” He hadn’t really thought about that until this moment. “You might remember things that I’ve forgotten, so when we put our stories together, between the two of us, something new could spring to light.”
“So you think us walking down memory lane is going to give you the evidence you need to convict Jeremy Covington?” The look she slanted him told him exactly what she thought of the strategy.
“I have no idea what a walk down memory lane will do, but if there’s a chance it will give me a more complete picture of that summer, why not? I’ve been encouraging more recent victims to come forward. I even went into Crestwood High to talk to the teens about it, but I’m getting a whole lot of blank looks and silence in return. I can’t face this guy in a courtroom and not bring all possible evidence to send his ass to prison.”
A scuttling sound underfoot startled her, and she moved closer to Sam. He regretted that their walk had made her jumpy, but he liked having her in arm’s reach. Liked that her first instinct was to be next to him. He let himself brace her elbow for a solid three seconds.
He slowed his steps as the old cabin came into view through the trees, not ready to let her go until she agreed to see him again. To replay that summer and help him find some clue he’d missed.
Amy turned to face him, leaning against the trunk of a maple as she peered up at him. “One of the reasons I chose to come back to Heartache now is to support my sister whenHeather testifies against this guy.” She drew a deep breath. “So I promise you, I am committed to putting him behind bars, too. I may have been absent from this family for ten years, but I’m still a Finley, and hearing how that creep threw her in the back of a van with another girl that he’d tied up...” She shook her head, unable to finish the thought. “I am here to see justice done, Sam. But I am not here to testify.”
An interesting distinction. Especially considering no one had asked her to testify when she claimed not to know anything. But he didn’t want to pick apart that point right now. All he wanted was the chance to talk to her at length about that summer. About any interaction she might have had with Gabriella. He needed to find out if she remembered anything that could help tie the crime against Zach’s sister to Jeremy Covington.
“So walk me through those last weeks we spent together and help me spur my own memory,” he urged, risking a step closer to press his point. “Give me an afternoon.”
“Does it have to be a formal questioning at the police station?” Her worry was obvious. Because she had normal anxiety about speaking to law enforcement? “Or can we do it here?”
The more she resisted, the more he wanted to record her statement. As a cop, he had a naturally suspicious nature, but his instincts told him she knew more than she was letting on. But those same instincts warned him if he pushed Amy too hard, she would shut down altogether.
“All right, your place it is?” He would ask her permission to record the session, of course, and at least then he would be able to review it at length.
She nodded. “Fine. Not tomorrow, though. I have apermit inspector lined up to come and help me apply for some of the renovation paperwork.”
“The day after, then.” He wasn’t budging from this spot without a commitment.
“I’ll be there.” Her green eyes narrowed as she looked him over. “Are you sure you’re ready to relive that summer? Fourth of July? That night we took the late shift to close up the pizza shop together so we could be alone? Because like it or not, those are the times I remember best, and I don’t think they’re going to shed much light on the case.”
She’d deliberately chosen some of the most heated moments they’d shared. And hell no, he wasn’t sure he was ready to hear them chronicled from her point of view. He couldn’t afford that kind of distraction while he was building his case and trying to figure out how to raise a son on his own.
“Maybe not.” He’d put Amy Finley out of his mind a long time ago, knowing that was best for both of them. Yet with the feel of her hip still imprinted on his skin, he wasn’t sure he could keep her as part of his past. “But I’m glad to know you have some good memories in spite of how it all ended.”
He’d never meant to hurt her, but a whisper of something in her eyes said clearly he had.
Shoving away from the tree, she straightened.
“No sense denying what happened. Especially since it will be a matter of public record soon enough.” She headed toward the cabin, her fine hair gently swaying with her movements. “Thanks for standing between me and the wild boar, Sam,” she called over one shoulder. “It’s been a long time since anyone put himself in harm’s way for me.”
A damn shame, as far as he was concerned.
He watched her walk away, his eyes drawn to her hipsas he remembered what she’d felt like in his arms all those years ago. The attraction hadn’t died. It was still plenty hot. Only now that awareness was tempered with suspicion. Something wasn’t right.
Once she reached the cabin door and retreated inside, he pointed his feet home, wondering why she had tried so hard to avoid this conversation. And why she had goaded him about their past to distract him and throw him off guard. He’d like to think it wasn’t going to work.
But the truth of it was he’d be reliving those nights with her in his dreams anyway. And he already remembered them very, very well.
A WILD BOAR was chasing her.
Amy ran and ran through dark woods. Branches scraped at her face and tore at her clothes as she scrambled down the hill toward the hunting cabin. She was close. So close to safety.
She could almost reach out and touch the familiar rough-hewn logs...
But the grunting pig was faster.
Steaming breath scorched her ear as she struggled. Hairy hooves pawed at her. She wanted to scream. But fear robbed her of sound. Every time she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Tears burned her eyes. Fury fired her insides.
