He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not

looking for you before now. Unless he’s independently wealthy, or making his way by stealing, he has a job, like anyone else. Something brought him back to Shadow Falls. Are you willing to bet your life that he didn’t come back to find you?”
    She couldn’t breathe. She had to get out of here. She jumped up from the couch. “Where are my manners? I should have offered you something to drink. Sweet tea, anyone?”
    She rushed out of the room into the foyer without waiting for a response, desperate to escape before she dissolved into a shaking mass of nerves. The kitchen beckoned to her with its bright, sunny picture window that overlooked the front yard. She hurried through the archway into the cozy room, and clutched the edge of the sink, gulping in deep breaths of air as she stared outside at a world she could never really be a part of anymore.
    The little girl who lived two houses away was walking down the sidewalk, her brother following behind on a red tricycle. Their mom shadowed both of them, keeping a close watch, keeping them safe.
    Amanda clutched the countertop harder. She’d always dreamed of having her own family someday, raising a couple of kids. Dana’s killer had destroyed Amanda’s dreams with a quick twist of his knife.
    Now she just wanted to be alone.
    To forget.
    Horrific images from the cabin swam in front of her. Her chest heaved. Troubling memories clouded her mind, turning the world dark around her.
    “It’s okay.” Chief Richards’ deep voice spoke softly next to her ear, pulling her back from the abyss. “You’re in your house, in the kitchen. No one’s going to hurt you.” He clasped her shoulders gently and led her to the table where he guided her into a chair. “Take slow, deep breaths.” His warm hand kneaded the muscles in her neck, soothing and calming her.
    Her breathing evened out. The world stopped spinning crazily around her. The blackness receded. Her heart still raced but she could finally inhale without struggling. His touch hadn’t startled her, as she would have expected. Instead, it had grounded her, pulled her back from a nightmare. She didn’t know what to make of that.
    She shook off his hands and he moved to stand in front of her. He picked up one of the cloth napkins from the table and handed it to her. She gratefully accepted it and blotted her cheeks. Until he’d handed her the napkin, she hadn’t realized she was crying. Embarrassed at the weakness she was displaying, she laid the napkin back on the table.
    “It’s okay. You’re safe,” he reassured her.
    You’re safe . He didn’t ask if she was all right, like most people would after she’d hyperventilated and made a complete fool of herself. No, instead, he said the one thing she needed to hear.
    You’re safe .
    How had he known what she needed? Why did his presence comfort her and his voice reassure her? This man was turning her carefully ordered world upside down.
    Anxious to put some distance between them, she scooted back in her chair. “Thank you,” was all she could manage. With him this close, he could see every detail of the disfiguring scar that ran down the side of her face. She waited for the familiar look of revulsion.
    It never came.
    Instead, his warm gaze traveled over her face and her hair like a soft caress. He sat in the chair across from her and absently stroked his thumb across the napkin that was wet from her tears.
    “Come to the station.” His deep voice touched something inside her, making her ache for the life she’d lost, the life she could never have. “Talk to me about what happened. Help me figure out how to keep this man from hurting you or anyone else ever again.”
    Her gaze hypnotically followed the motion of his thumb across the napkin, imagining the same gentle caress across her cheek. Then his words jerked her back to awareness. Talk to him about what had happened? Didn’t he realize what he was asking? She’d spent years trying to rebuild her life, to forget the past. She would not relive that horrible ordeal again. She couldn’t.
    She jumped up from her chair and crossed to the sink. Opening a cabinet, she grabbed a glass and filled it with water. After a deep sip, she lowered the glass and stared out the window at the bright sunny morning, trying to draw on its warmth and light to chase away the darkness that was never far away.
    “Everything okay in here?” Riley stood in the archway that separated the kitchen from the foyer. He