Page 68 of Shadowed Witness

Eric opened his mouth, but Bryce didn’t give him a chance to talk.

“And now you’re accusing her of being a druggie because she took something for a migraine?”

“That’s what shesays. But she also says she’s sick—maybe her symptoms have more to do with drug dependence than a mystery disease.”

Bryce went still. “What do you mean, mystery disease?”

Even as hot as he was, he immediately realized what he’d done. Regret yanked his temper back into line, and he waved a hand. “Forget I said that.”

Bryce stepped closer. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know. She doesn’t even know, and she didn’t want you worrying.” Or did she not want her family to suspect a different sort of problem? His anger started to rise again, but he fought to keep it in check.

“Look. I don’t know what’s going on with her, but I can guarantee you she isn’t on drugs.”

“You didn’t see—”

“I don’t have to. I know my sister, and she doesn’t deserve your accusations.” He started to walk off, then turned and pointed a finger in Eric’s face. “If you’re half the man I thought you were, you’ll make this right. Otherwise, stay away from her.”

Eric stared after him for a second, then jumped in his car and pulled out, narrowly missing a passing minivan. He didn’t know how long he drove, but eventually he found himself parked in a gravel driveway leading to one of the many abandoned barns in the area.

He threw the door open and launched himself down the driveway. Overgrown fields flanked him on either side. Not much chance anyone would interrupt him here. He needed to blow off steam, needed to get his head straight.

He hadn’t told Bryce or Allye that he’d glimpsed her through a slit in the curtains. Seeing her unresponsive in her chair while he banged on the door had terrified him. He’d feared the worst. For a moment, he’d felt like he was reliving one of the worst days of his life. Then when he’d realized her stupor had been drug-induced...

“Gah!” The exclamation startled a flock of birds into flight. He ignored them and kept going. Although he hadn’t verbally acknowledged it, he’d begun to have feelings for Allye. Begun? Yeah, right. His heart was totally involved already.

But he absolutely would not—could not—pursue a relationship with someone who abused drugs. His career aside, he couldn’t handle the heartbreak it would eventually cause. The shattered trust. The pain for her and everyone around her.

He reached the end of the driveway. A log sat near the barn’s door, and he plopped down onto it. Leaning his head back against the side of the barn, he let out another exasperated yell. Silence answered him. He let it engulf him. As he sat there, his anger began to ebb.

“God, why?” he finally croaked out. His hopes for a relationship had been tempered with the knowledge of Allye’s health issues, but they’d still been stronger than he’d realized. No, she wasn’t a picture of health, but if he were the type of guy to make a list of qualities he wanted in a woman, she’d have checked all the boxes—she was a fellow Christian, great with kids, cared deeply about others, witty and sassy, and she didn’t look down on him for his family background. The fact she was a great cook and beautiful too were bonuses.

How had he missed the warning signs? He thought back over their encounters, especially from the last few days. But other than the green glow, there was nothing. Nothing that couldn’t be explained just as well or better by the illness she claimed. And while he couldn’t explain the green glow, he’d been present for last night’s events—they most certainly hadn’t been imagined. Neither had the body found in the woods. None of that proved her innocence, but it sure made a good case for giving her the benefit of the doubt. At the very least, he could have listened to her.

And he would have known if she lied. Though addicts were often good liars, Allye couldn’t believably lie if her life depended on it. Her face broadcasted her thoughts and feelings like an old-fashioned blue light special.

Bryce was right. He did know her better.

Unless he’d lost every bit of intuition and skill he’d ever had, she had been telling the truth about her illness and fears. And about what she’d taken this morning and why.

He groaned and dropped his head in his hands. He’d been a jerk. A royal jerk. Perhaps worse, he’d betrayed her confidence.Maybe she would have told her family about her health issues today anyway, but that should have been her call and done in her way. He was supposed to be her moral support. Instead, he’d not only jumped to conclusions and lost his temper, he’d also refused to listen to her and then left her to deal with a serious situation alone.

Not for the first time in the last year, he wished he could call his mentor and ask for advice. Losing Officer Mike last November was one of the hardest things Eric had ever gone through. Even now, the loss still burned in his gut.

Gramps had done his best once he gained custody of Eric, but he’d struggled to keep up with an angry teen. Still, he’d been a stable force in Eric’s life, and he’d taken Eric to church, quietly shared his deep faith. Officer Mike had done that too. Both men had seen more than an angry teen destined to follow in his drug-addicted parents’ footsteps. And once Gramps was gone, Mike had taken on even more of a father role to Eric. Somehow, between the influence of both men, Eric had turned out all right.

At least, he thought he had. Today, he wasn’t so sure. Yeah, he could come up with plenty of reasons why he’d jumped to the conclusions he had—the fact he’d just come from the scene of yet another overdose, the drug-induced stupors he’d witnessed his parents fall into time and again. He shook his head. None of that excused his actions.

If he’d learned one thing from his father, it was that anything could be justified if you wanted to badly enough. The man had been a master of excuses. Right up until he—

With the memory, something else clicked into place, and he knew the real reason for his overblown reaction. He groaned.

How he wished he could take it all back. But that wasn’t possible.

And he didn’t know how to fix it.

31

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