Page 75 of Nora
Angelo’s brow dipped. “Yes, he and my wife are my life.” He took another step toward her, and she considered her options even as she kept talking.
“Then stay alive to tell them your story,” she said. He raised a foot to take another step, then set it down.
“I don’t understand.”
“I tried to cover the noise, but I know you heard it. You know that Lucian and at least one other person and their dog is right outside that cave opening.” The curious but not surprised way he peeked a look told her he had, in fact, heard the same noise. “If you make a move toward me, the dog will be on you in an instant. Or worse, if it’s Jonah or Craig out there, they both have permits to carry weapons. I think it’s safe to assume they would have brought them to Massachusetts.”
Angelo’s gaze lingered on the cave opening.
“If you come after me, you could die tonight, Angelo. And if you do, what are the stories your son will hear about you? That you were nothing but a serial killer who went after innocent people? Is that what you want him to know about his father?”
He turned his attention back to her. “I want him to know the truth,” he said.
Nora remained seated but held her hand out to the man. It was a risk, but she had faith that whoever was outside the cave would be prepared to step in.
“Come, Angelo. I’m not going to pretend to know the pain you suffered as a child. But if you come sit with me, if you let them take you without hurting me, you will live to tell people. You will live to tell them about your pain, about your abuse, about your desire to protect your child. What would you rather your son know? Stories spoken about you by people who only read the news? Or your own words? Your own love?” Nora didn’t fool herself that it would be so easy. Or that his son would grow up understanding the depth of his father’s suffering and the strength of his desire to protect him. But unless she wanted a well-trained attack dog in the cave in less time than it took to blink, she needed to reason with Angelo in a way that he understood.
Angelo sank to his knees. “I don’t want to die,” he whispered.
Once again, Nora’s heart broke. It broke for the child he’d been, for Angelo’s wife and their son. For the families of those he’d killed.
Holding her arms out to him, she spoke, “You don’t have to, Angelo. Not today.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY
“You want a family?”Lucian heard Angelo ask. He, Craig, and Miles stood with their backs against the mountainside, a cave opening to their right. A cave the two men would have missed if it hadn’t been for Miles nosing the foliage that hung over the entrance. Willa had followed Hagen off on another trail. Lucian assumed that after bringing Nora here, Angelo must have doubled back and created a second or maybe even a third track.
“I do,” she answered. “I always have.”
“Perhaps with Lucian?” Angelo asked. Lucian felt Craig’s attention turn to him, but he tuned the man out. He wanted to know the answer, but more importantly, he wanted Nora safe and far away from the murderer. He doubted Angelo was armed with a gun, but he’d proven himself adept with a knife and his hands.
“Perhaps,” Nora said.
It wasn’t the time or the place, but the image of him and Nora coddling a newborn filled his mind.
“Do we go in?” Craig asked. Miles was sitting obediently beside him, waiting for his next order. Snow had started falling in fits and spurts, and any tracks were quickly being obscured. He wasn’t worried about the others finding them. And it wasn’t their lack of backup that had him hesitating. It was the conversation happening inside the cave. They hadn’t heard everything, but what hehadheard painted a grim picture of what Angelo’s life must have been like after his parents died. It was no wonder the boy had acted out.
“Not yet,” he said. Those two words were some of the hardest he’d ever spoken. But Nora was talking Angelo down, and he needed to give her the opportunity to do just that. He’d protect her with his life, but he also knew that she wouldn’t want that. She wouldn’t want violence or death—either Angelo’s or his—if there was another way.
His phone vibrated in his pocket with a message from Ben Miller that he was at the parking lot with four deputies. Jonah had texted earlier to let Lucian know that Ingrid and James had just turned their ringers off. In response, Lucian had shared his location and requested that Jonah call the detective and fill him in. Lucian texted the detective back letting him know that Nora was talking Angelo down. He also requested that he and his deputies come in quiet. He didn’t know much about American law enforcement, but he hoped like hell the real ones weren’t anything like the ones on TV.
“Roger, ten minutes out,”Miller replied.
He turned back to the conversation in time to hear Nora say, “If you come after me, you could die tonight, Angelo. And if you do, what are the stories your son will hear about you? That you were nothing but a serial killer who went after innocent people? Is that what you want him to know about his father?”
Lucian gestured toward the cave opening, and they inched closer, Miles glued to Craig’s side. The snow wasn’t usually Lucian’s friend, but tonight it muffled their movements, and he was grateful for it.
“I want him to know the truth,” Angelo answered.
Nora didn’t respond right away, then she spoke again, her voice gentle. “Come, Angelo. I’m not going to pretend to know the pain you suffered as a child. But if you come sit with me, if you let them take you without hurting me, you will live to tell people. You will live to tell them about your pain, about your abuse, about your desire to protect your child. What would you rather your son know? Stories spoken about you by people who only read the news? Or your own words? Your own love?”
There was a shuffle and everyone, including Miles, tensed.
“I don’t want to die,” Angelo whispered so quietly that it was hard to hear the words.
“You don’t have to, Angelo,” Nora said. “Not today.”
There was more shuffling, but no sounds of a struggle or fight. Still, Lucian decided he’d give her one more minute. The problem—one of many—was that they didn’t know what was going on in the cave. Was Nora bound? Did Angelo have his knife? Were they twenty feet inside the cave or fifty? The last thing he wanted to do was walk in, startle Angelo, and then have him go after Nora. Especially if she was too far away for him to help.
