no mention of a search outside Newell. Roadblocks had been set up and a manhunt begun, but the law figured Reece Landry was either on his way out of town and they'd catch him at a roadblock or that he was hiding out in one of his old haunts and a door-to-door search might reveal his whereabouts. The police had no reason to come snooping around Spruce Pine, no reason to connect him with Tracy Burton Stanton's parents or their summer house.
'Lizzie, you shouldn't be here with me. You shouldn't be involved in this.'
'I thought we'd already settled that argument once and for all,' Elizabeth said. 'I'm staying and that's all there is to it.'
'I'm no good, Elizabeth.' Reece kept his back to her, his focus on the fire in front of him. 'If you stay with me, I could get you killed, or at the very least, break your heart.'
Elizabeth refused to acknowledge the possibility that Reece was right. Together they would prove Reece's innocence and come through this nightmare. And she would save Reece, save him from himself. If he broke her heart in the process, she would survive.
'Are you hungry?' she asked. 'I'm starving. I haven't had a bite to eat since I stopped for a hamburger on the way to Newell yesterday.'
Reece slapped his hands against his hips, then rubbed them up and down his thighs. He turned to face her. 'Yeah, sure. I'm hungry.'
'Let's fix lunch. I can open a can of tomato soup and make some grilled cheese sandwiches.'
'I'll do the soup,' Reece said. 'You fix the sandwiches.'
Elizabeth spread out the bread, cheese and margarine on the stainless steel counter. 'Whose place is this, anyway?'
'It belongs to Albert and Edna Burton.' Reece placed the can of soup under the can opener.
'How do you know these people?'
'What difference does it make?'
'Just curious, I guess.' Elizabeth spread margarine on the bread. 'I have a feeling you're hiding something from me.'
Reece jerked a metal pot from a bottom cupboard. 'I know the Burtons' daughter.'
'Is she one of your old girlfriends?'
'No.' Reece poured the soup into the pot, then filled the empty can with water and added it to the mixture.
'Why are you being so secretive?' Elizabeth laid the sliced cheese on the bread.
Reece set the soup pot on the stove, adjusted the heat and turned to face Elizabeth. 'Albert and Edna Burton's daughter married Kenny Stanton.'
'This house belongs to your sister-in-law's parents?'
'Yeah.'
'How did you know about this place? Did Flossie tell you about it?' Elizabeth remembered what Carolyn, the checkout clerk at the minimart, had said about Tracy Stanton accusing Reece of coming on to her hot and heavy. Had Reece had an affair with his brother's wife? Had they shared a secret rendezvous at her parents' summer house?
'Like I told you, Flossie had entertained Albert Burton and some of his friends out here when Mrs. Burton was otherwise occupied.'
Reece handed Elizabeth a frying pan he'd pulled out of the cupboard where the cooking utensils were stored.
'What about you? Obviously you know your way around this kitchen. You've been here before, haven't you? You've been here with Tracy Stanton.'
'I checked the kitchen out while I was waiting for you. As a matter of fact, I gave the whole house a once- over.' Reece placed his hands on Elizabeth's shoulders. She laid the sandwiches in the skillet and placed the skillet on the stove.
'What kind of relationship do you have with your brother's wife?'
'I don't have a relationship with Tracy.'
'Then why did she make the statement at your trial that you were after her, and I quote, 'hot and heavy'?'
'Because she was still angry with me for turning her down.' Reece released Elizabeth's shoulders. 'Tracy was after
'You met her here?'
'Yeah. I was curious. I knew what she wanted, and I have to admit that the idea of cuckolding Kenny tempted me.'
'What happened?'
'We kissed.' Reece closed his eyes, remembering how close he'd come to carrying his brother's wife to bed. 'We both got pretty steamed up, but then I put a stop to things. Tracy Burton Stanton might have money and education and generations of blue-blooded breeding, but I realized that she wasn't any different from the girls who used to work for Flossie.' Reece laughed, the sound a mirthless grunt. 'The only difference was she gave it away for free.'
'You didn't make love to Tracy Stanton?'
'I don't make love to women,' Reece said. 'I have sex with them. But I didn't have sex with Tracy.'
'I'm glad,' Elizabeth said. 'I'm very glad.'
'Yeah? Well, funny thing is, Lizzie, so am I.'
Thirty minutes later Elizabeth and Reece sat at the small kitchen table, an oak antique flanked by four Windsor chairs, and sipped on second cups of coffee and nibbled on oatmeal raisin cookies.
'One of the reasons it took me a while to get here is that I stopped at a pay phone and called Sam.' Elizabeth glanced at Reece. He stared at her, his amber eyes void of any emotion.
'Even when you're on the run with another man, you still have to check in with Dundee?' Reece set down his cup with a resounding thud, warm coffee spilling out onto the tabletop. 'What sort of hold does that guy have over you?'
Elizabeth stared at Reece in disbelief. He was jealous. Reece was jealous of Sam. She suppressed her laughter. 'Sam's family. He's been like a big brother to me most of my life.' She reached across the table, placing her hand atop Reece's fist. 'Sam was a DEA agent for years, then something happened that made him want out, and he formed his own private security agency in Atlanta. He knows a lot about investigating people and protecting them.'
'Sounds like good old Sam is the answer to our prayers.' Huffing, Reece jerked his hand away from Elizabeth.
'Sam's coming to Newell. Today.'
'What the hell for?'
'He's already set things in motion to investigate B. K. Stanton's death and discover other suspects. He'll have his first real report for us this afternoon.'
Tightening his jaw and clenching his teeth, Reece breathed deeply. 'It may have slipped your notice, but we don't have a telephone out here.'
'Sam isn't going to phone me. He's coming out here to the cottage.'
Reece jumped up, knocking his chair backward in the process. 'You told Dundee where we were? You gave him directions to this place?'
'Yes, I did. And I don't see why you're so upset.'
Reece glared down at her. 'You don't see why I'm...' Reece's amber eyes glowed with yellow fire. 'You betrayed me, Lizzie. Surely you aren't stupid enough to think that Dundee wants to help me. All he wants is to get you away from me, to keep you safe. He's probably already called the sheriff.'
Elizabeth scooted back her chair and stood. 'I would never betray you, Reece. Never. Sam won't call the sheriff, and he will help you.'
'Because he loves you!'
'Yes, because he loves me, and he knows my instincts are seldom wrong.'
