Lover Beware 03 - After Midnight

the videos were discovered, all the facts of the case became clear. Mrs. Dillon had been raped, but it had been by a man she had regularly had sex with—on video—which was the reason she had denied knowing her attacker. She hadn't wanted the police to find out that she and her husband were involved in producing homegrown porn movies for a small, but lucrative, mail-order business at their rural retreat on Linford Road. She'd given the police artist an incorrect descrip-tion of Sooner, adding long hair, specifically so they wouldn't find him, because she'd been frightened that Earl would come back and kill her if she reported what had really happened.
    Apparently Sooner had gotten a little too rough during one session for Aubrey's liking and he'd been fired. Later on that night, Sooner had come back with a twenty-two, shot Aubrey, 234
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    raped Carol Dillon, and loaded his truck with every appliance he could get his hands on. He'd removed all the videos, so he couldn't be linked with the Dillons, and had trashed the house to make it look like a home invasion.
    He then drove onto the back of Jane's property, using a reserve that bordered her land as access, and hid the gear in one of the caves. When Jane became suspicious and started snooping around the caves, he decided he needed to do one more copycat crime.
    BY THE TIME the police were finished gathering evidence, it was near dark. After feeding the hens and checking the sheep, Jane put Jess in the backseat of her station wagon and followed Rider back to his place.
    When she reached the front door, Rider unlocked it, swung Jane into his arms, and carried her across the threshold.
    "You'll have to humour me, I've got a romantic streak."
    He set her down in the middle of a large, roomy lounge with glossy wood floors, rich, patterned rugs, and bifold doors that opened out onto decks bordered by large areas of lawn.
    The sun was sinking fast, but shafts of sunlight found their way through the clouds and filled the room with a warm glow.
    The first, and only, time she'd been in this house, at a party the Riders had thrown to welcome her and Patrick to Tayler's Creek, her world had literally been turned upside down.
    Without warning, tears filled her eyes. Rider's hands framed her face, not allowing her to hide. "I know," he murmured. "The last seven years have been a bitch. You loved Patrick. If I'd ever thought differently, I would have taken you away from him in a second."
    The flat assertion sent a small shiver skimming down her spine, and if she'd had any further doubts, they were abruptly gone. From the first, she'd been overwhelmed. She'd feared the loss of control, but in stark contrast to her fears, she had never felt more female, more empowered, and she had never felt so much.
    She rubbed her palms up over Rider's jaw, threaded her fingers through his hair, and surrendered the last threads that tied her to Patrick. "Did I ever tell you that I fell in love with you seven years ago, and I've been in love with you ever since?"

Epilogue
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    He went still, his expression controlled, remote, reminding her of the way he'd been with her for so long—still and silent.
    She'd thought he was cold; now she knew that he'd just been wary—and she realized how out of character that was for him.
    His gaze searched hers, a glimmer of humour surfacing.
    "That calls for a celebration."
    Without warning, he swept her into his arms and started toward a hallway. He was moving fast enough to make her head spin, and she was feeling giddy anyway.
    She clung to his shoulders, catching glimpses of rooms.
    "Where are you taking me?"
    He grinned, suddenly looking like nothing so much as a pirate. "Where do you think?"
    END