He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not

from him all their lives.
    The room quickly emptied and at last Logan saw Amanda. She was lying on the couch, holding an ice pack to the side of her head while an EMT cleaned blood off her face.
    She was all right. That’s what he kept telling himself as he took a shaky breath. He tried to calm his raging emotions before he did something stupid, like pick her up and haul her out of here, lock her up and keep her prisoner until the killer was found.
    “Y ou’re all right?” Logan asked after the EMT left. He held Amanda’s hand as he sat beside her on the couch.
    She looked into his eyes, comforted by the concern she saw. “I’m fine. It’s stupid, really. I panicked and slipped. Just a bump, nothing serious.”
    “What happened?” Logan asked, as Pierce slid the coffee table back a couple of feet and perched on its edge to face her. Riley took one of the recliners next to the couch.
    Glancing uncomfortably at Pierce, Amanda turned back to Logan and spoke to him in a hushed voice. “After this morning, I decided there was no reason for me to stay at your house anymore. I wanted to get as far away as I could, but first I needed to get more clothes and my passport. So I asked Riley—”
    “ Tricked Riley,” Logan corrected.
    She frowned. “Yes. I tricked him. I told him I needed some more clothes, and asked if he could pick them up for me and bring them to your house. I made it sound like no big deal, nothing to bother you about, and he was nice enough to come over here.”
    “And instead of you staying at my house,” Logan interrupted, “like you promised him, you came here. My God, Amanda. What if you had gotten here earlier, when the killer was still inside? You could have been killed. And Riley.”
    She felt the blood drain from her face. “I’m sorry, Riley. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.”
    “And you didn’t,” Pierce assured her. He leaned toward Logan. “Can I speak to you for a minute?”
    Logan clenched his jaw. “This isn’t over,” he whispered. He stood and left the room with Pierce.
    Amanda shivered at the cold anger that had radiated in those three little words. She looked up and met Riley’s concerned brown eyes. “I really am sorry, Riley. I shouldn’t have lied to you.”
    He smiled and sat beside her on the couch. “Look at the bright side.”
    “Bright side? What’s that?”
    “If you hadn’t conned me into coming out here to begin with, we wouldn’t have found the presents the killer left in your bedroom. And honestly, the way the case is going, we need all the evidence and clues we can get, so I’m glad you got me over here.”
    “I’m not sure I agree with all of that, but thanks for trying to make me feel better. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
    “Sure.”
    “It’s just that, well, when we entered the house and you disappeared down the hall, you were gone so long. And then, when you ran around the corner . . .”
    “Yes?”
    “The look on your face. You looked . . . scary.”
    He laughed awkwardly. “Don’t you mean I looked scared? When I saw what the killer left in your bedroom, I have to admit it scared the shit out of me.” His face turned red. “Sorry. Anyway, I’ve never seen anything like that and I sort of zoned out. I’m sorry I scared you when I ran around the corner. I was expecting to find the killer.”
    “I’m the one who’s sorry. If it weren’t for me you wouldn’t be in the middle of this mess.”
    He smiled again, a boyish, youthful smile that made her wonder how she could have ever been afraid of him, even for a second.
    “I’ll forgive you, on one condition.”
    “Anything.”
    “Next time, call Logan instead.”
    L ogan still smarted from the argument outside with Pierce. Pierce had read him the riot act on preserving crime scenes, and tried to get him to leave the scene to those less emotionally involved. Although he knew Pierce was right, he wasn’t leaving without Amanda. But he did give his men orders and organized the scene. If it was anyone else talking to him the way Pierce had, he’d have knocked them on their ass. But he respected Pierce and he knew he was right.
    When Logan walked back into Amanda’s living room with Pierce at his side, he nodded at Riley standing by the fireplace and joined Amanda on the couch. Pierce sat on the recliner to her right, having as much trouble as Logan had over a week ago when he’d had to squeeze his body into the slim chair.
    “Amanda,” Pierce said.