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Beauty in Battle

By Robin Patchen

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Darkness swallowed Harper's rental home even before Jack navigated his pickup around a corner. She leaned against the cold window and restrained the sigh that wanted out. It was deja vu all over again.
When she’d first navigated the streets of Nutfield, rain and fear and exhaustion had made the little town seem scary, even sinister. Now that she was leaving, she knew better.
She’d like to tell herself she’d see the house again, see this town again, see Red again. But she’d fallen into that trap before.
When she’d hugged her parents good-bye, taken off to Los Angeles to see her name in lights, hadn’t she been sure she’d go back home to Kansas someday? Go back to flaunt her glorious success? What a naive, foolish girl she’d been. She hadn’t been home, and now she’d never go, never have the opportunity to beg her parents for their forgiveness, to rebuild the bridges she’d torched with her own stupid choices.
When she’d left LA to take a job in Vegas, the move should have been temporary. Once she had some stage experience, she’d told herself, she could return to LA and resume the auditions that, she’d been sure, would lead to that big acting job. But somehow the dry landscape of Vegas had sucked her in like quicksand, and she’d never seen LA again.
When she’d realized fame and fortune weren’t in her future, she’d gone to nursing school. She’d quit after receiving her certificate as a nurses’ aid, but she’d been sure she’d go back. As soon as she got her life together, found a better job, and kicked the bad habits she’d picked up, she’d achieve her new dream of becoming a registered nurse.
But she’d never return to that, either.
When she’d left Emmitt and Barry sleeping after discovering she’d unwittingly been part of a robbery—and murder—she’d gone to the police station to tell the truth. She’d been sure she’d return to their shared apartment. After Emmitt and Barry were arrested, she’d foolishly thought she’d have a chance to pack her things and go home to Kansas. She’d long since given up on her dream of fame and adventure. Then, all she’d wanted was freedom.
Instead, she’d landed in prison.
And now she’d found a new home in this little town of Nutfield, New Hampshire. She’d found friends, a job, a life here. She’d found Jack. But the senseless cycle of her life continued.
Red, the man she’d claimed as her grandfather, was in a hospital after a heart attack had almost killed him, and she wasn’t where she should be—by his side.
Beside her, Jack checked the rearview mirror.
Bright November stars twinkled beyond the trees and hills that surrounded this idyllic place. At the junction of the main road, Jack turned toward the highway, not toward town. The farther they moved from Nutfield, the more her anxiety heightened. She clenched her fists and relaxed them, trying to settle her nerves.
“It’s going to be okay,” Jack said.
“Based on what?” Harper hadn’t meant the words to sound so harsh. But really, what did Jack know about anything? He only discovered her true story by digging around and running a background check. Yippee for him, he’d found out about her felony record. Had it really been that very day that he’d led Garrison—former FBI—right to her door?
His hand left the wheel and reached toward hers. She readjusted her position and slipped her fingers beneath her thigh. He’d brought the feds, or the almost feds, into the picture, hadn’t he? Maybe not on purpose, but he’d led them right to her door. If she’d packed and picked up Red, Derrick wouldn’t have gotten to him, nearly suffocated him.
Although, maybe Derrick would have followed Harper. Maybe she and Red would both be Derrick’s victims by now. Maybe Jack had saved their lives.
She didn’t know what to think.
Just thirty minutes before, Jack had calmed her with a kiss, a kiss that had made her feel both secure and loved. But that feeling had flitted away like all the dreams she’d ever carried.
He blew out a long breath. “We’ve talked about this. You don’t want to keep running, do you? Eventually, the police will catch up with you. It’ll be better if you tell them what you know.”
“That’s the problem, Jack. I don’t know anything. I have no idea who killed those men. I have no idea how they ended up in the living room of Red’s house. I have no idea who they were working for. The police should be looking for Derrick. He can tell them a lot more than I can.”
“Be that as it may”—he cut a glance at her on the curvy, tree-lined road—“they’re looking for you.”
“I didn’t do it.”
Another deep sigh. “I know you didn’t.”
They’d been over this, over and over it. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
Jack checked the rearview mirror again.
She swiveled in the passenger seat and looked behind them. Beyond the glow of the taillights, nothing but black. She faced Jack. “What are you looking for back there?”
“Making sure we’re not being followed.”
Acid flooded her stomach, and she looked behind again as if headlights could be conjured from his words. Still, they were alone on the country road.
“And?” she asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“Nobody’s back there.” He glanced at her and offered a quick smile. “We’re safe.”
Safe. What would that feel like? On the other hand, that skin-crawling feeling she’d had off and on since Vegas had vanished. For now.
“It’s too late to drive to Maryland. We should at least wait until tomorrow.” She threw the words out there, though she’d been making the same argument for hours.
“I agree,” Jack said.
Her head snapped to face him. “Since when? You insisted we get on the road.”
“I didn’t want to say so at the house. With Derrick in town, I wasn’t sure… I mean, it’s crazy to think he knows where you live, but he did find your… find Red, so he could have found the house. I was afraid he might be listening. Which is ridiculous, maybe. I’m no spy. I’m no good at all this cloak-and-dagger stuff. I just wanted to get you out of there.”
She nearly smiled, but then the words penetrated. “You think Derrick could have been nearby?”
Jack shrugged. “Seems stupid now. He’s obviously not following us.” He checked the rearview again. “But at the time…”
She shook off the thought of Derrick watching her and focused on the other thing he’d said. “So we’re not going to Maryland?”
They reached the junction to Route 101, and he merged onto the highway toward Manchester, sliding in among the line of cars, trucks, and SUVs. After one more glance in the rearview, he repeated, “We’re safe.”
Wouldn’t safe be nice?
“We are going to Maryland, Harper.” He reached for her hand and squeezed. “But I’m with you. In all of it.”
She didn’t pull away. She couldn’t bring herself to because as afraid as she was of what was coming, she couldn’t imagine doing this without Jack by her side. How had he become so important, so vital to her well-being in the short time they’d known each other? Frustrated as she was at the situation, at least she had Jack believing in her.
“We’re not making the whole drive tonight,” he said. “I wanted to get you out of Nutfield and away from Derrick. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but I wasn’t really sure what the plan was. Garrison’s been in touch with the police department investigating the murders, and we’re meeting with the detective tomorrow at two p.m. I figure if we can get three hours of the drive in tonight, we can take our time tomorrow.”
“Three hours will put us where?”
“About New Haven.”
She and Red had driven through New Haven just a few weeks before, but they hadn’t stopped. She’d been desperate that day to put as much geography between herself and any Maryland cops as possible.
“It’s going to be okay.” How many times had Jack repeated those words? Ten, fifteen, fifty?
She huffed. “It’s not like I have a choice. Now that the cops know where I am.”
“If you’d been honest with me from the get-go—”
“If you hadn’t decided to do a background check on me, none of this would have happened.”
He released her hand and gripped the steering wheel. “You can’t be on the run for the rest of your life. I’m trying to help you get free of it.”
Free. Jack Rossi knew nothing about freedom, nor did he understand the cost when it was taken away.
Harper knew. She’d been in prison once before. Was she about to go back?

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