“Anna Luther,” promptly answered Zander. “Retired Yamhill County deputy.”

“Bingo,” Mason breathed. “We’ve got a connection.”

31

Ten years earlier

He held his breath as Lindy passed by his hiding place. It wasn’t exactly a hiding place; he was leaning against a wall and anyone could see him except for the people on the path walking east in front of the campus library. As Lindy had just done. He straightened and casually moved to follow her on the path. The sun had just set and the campus lights illuminated the paths with splotches of brightness that fought to shine through the dense branches of the trees. He started to jog. “Hey, Lindy!”

She whirled around, one hand on her backpack strap, her face instantly wary as she squinted to make him out in the poor light. She registered his identity and her shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Oh, hello.”

Her flat tone slowed him to a walk and he clenched his teeth. What would it take to reach this girl? He forced a smile. “Are you heading home? I’ll walk you. It’s getting late.” He knew which dorm she lived in, but he wouldn’t reveal that fact. As far as Lindy knew, he was just a nice guy in her chem class who said hello occasionally. He knew his scars were visible down the left side of his neck; it looked as if his skin had melted. But they didn’t affect his face—just that little area in front of his ear. A baseball cap made his hair lie correctly on the left instead of slightly askew from the contorted skin.

She took a half step backward. “That’s okay. I’m not heading home yet.”

He waited for her to say where she was going, but she didn’t expand. An uncomfortable silence grew between them. His lips strained to keep his casual smile in place as she started to turn away. “Do you have time to grab a cup of coffee?”

Lindy tucked her dark hair behind her ear as she looked back at him. “I’m sorry. I need to be somewhere.” Her gaze skittered away from his.

She’s lying. He’d watched her walk the same path three days a week for the past four weeks; she was headed home. She took two steps away from him. “Wait!” He lunged forward and caught her arm, not wanting her to leave just yet. If she’d just give him a chance, she’d discover they’d get along perfectly—but first she needed to listen.

She jerked her arm out of his hand. “Don’t grab me!” Her dark eyes flashed.

He held up both his hands. “Sorry about that. I just wasn’t done talking to you.”

“I was done. I need to go.”

“You haven’t given me a chance,” he blurted.

She stopped and looked back at him, an odd expression on her face. “A chance for what?”

“To talk,” he said lamely. This isn’t how this was supposed to go. “Let’s get some coffee,” he tried again. He wasn’t ready to let her walk away.

“Look,” Lindy said firmly. “I need to go home. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

“You just said you weren’t going home,” he argued. Anger rushed through his brain. She lied to him and wouldn’t listen to what he had to say?

Fear touched her eyes, and she took another step back, blinking rapidly. “I need to go.”

“Everything okay here?” asked a female voice. A woman in a police uniform appeared on his right. How long was she standing there?

“Yes, it’s fine,” he automatically replied, forcing his lips to smile at her. She looked unimpressed. The campus had several police officers, but he’d never seen a female one before. She was tall and thin with her hair pulled back in a tight knot at her neck. She could have been attractive if she’d done something with herself instead of trying to look like a man. The campus must not pay well if they have to hire women.

“What do you think?” she asked Lindy. “Do you agree that everything is fine?”

The condescension in her tone made him want to scratch something.

Lindy looked at the cop and didn’t answer. The cop wasn’t very old, but she acted like a mother who’d caught them misbehaving. She looked him up and down, and her scorn torched him through his clothes. “I think you need to back off a bit. She made it pretty clear that she wanted to leave and you weren’t about to let her go.”

Blood pounded in his ears.

How long was she listening?

“This was a private conversation,” he forced out. “Why were you eavesdropping?”

The cop stepped closer, her brows narrowed, and he read the small gold bar on the left side of her chest. SILVA. A glimmer on her lip told him she wore lip gloss, the sole sign that she utilized feminine beauty products. A hint of fake strawberry odor touched his nose. Probably from the lip gloss. “When a woman wants you to leave her alone, you back off,” she said, holding his gaze. “She doesn’t have to do anything simply because you asked. Give her some space.”

His vision tunneled, the trees and paths of the campus disappearing. It was just him and this bitch. “Where do you get off talking to me like that?” he sputtered.

She tapped her badge. “This right here. I asked you nicely to leave the girl alone, and you don’t seem to understand that she owes you nothing. Now move along and don’t talk to her again.”

Shock rocked through him. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

She smiled sweetly, lips sparkling. “I just did. You can choose to accept my advice or go back to the station with me.”