Rizzoli & Isles 8-Book Set

tired of being in charge,” he said, gazing at that window. “Tired of always having to lead the way. But they expect it. When things don’t go right, Arlo whines about it, yet he never steps up to take the lead. He’d rather just stay on the sidelines and complain.”
    “And Elaine?”
    “You’ve seen how she is. It’s always:
You decide, Doug.
”
    “That’s because she’s in love with you.”
    He shook his head. “I never saw it. We’ve been friends, that’s all.”
    “It’s never been more than that?”
    “Not on my part.”
    “She feels differently. And Arlo knows it.”
    “I never encouraged her, Maura. I’d never do that to him.” He turned to her, his features sharper, starker, in the lantern light. “You’re the one I wanted.” He reached out to touch her arm. It was no more than a brush of his glove across her sleeve, a silent invitation that told her the next move was hers.
    She pulled away, pointedly moving out of his reach. “We should get back to Arlo.”
    “Then there’s nothing between us, is there?”
    “There never was.”
    “Why did you accept my invitation? Why did you come with us?”
    “You caught me at a moment in time, Doug. A moment when I needed to do something wild, something impulsive.” She blinked away tears that blurred the lantern light into a golden haze. “It was a mistake.”
    “So it wasn’t about me at all.”
    “It was about someone else.”
    “The man you spoke of at dinner. The man you can’t have.”
    “Yes.”
    “That situation hasn’t changed, Maura.”
    “But I have,” she said, and walked away.
    When she stepped inside, she found that everyone was still asleep and the fire had calmed to glowing embers. She added a log and stood before the hearth as flames sprang to life, hissing and snapping. She heard Doug walk in behind her and close the door, and the sudden whoosh of fresh air made the flames shudder.
    Arlo opened his eyes and whispered, “Water. Please, water.”
    “Sure thing, buddy,” said Doug. He knelt down and held Arlo’s head as he pressed the cup to his lips. Arlo took greedy gulps, spilling half the water down his chin. Satisfied, he slumped back onto his pillow.
    “What else can I get you? Are you hungry?” asked Doug.
    “Cold. It’s so cold.”
    Doug took a blanket from the couch and gently draped it over him. “We’ll build up that fire. You’ll feel better.”
    “Been having dreams,” Arlo murmured. “Such weird dreams. All these people were in here, looking at me. Standing around, watching. Waiting for something.”
    “Narcotics will give you bad dreams.”
    “They’re not bad, really. Just strange. Maybe they’re angels. Angels in funny clothes, like the man in that picture.” He turned his sunken eyes to Maura, but he did not seem to be looking at her. He was focused past her shoulder, as if a presence lurked right behind her. “Or maybe they’re ghosts,” he whispered.
    Who is he looking at?
She swung around and stared at empty air. Saw the portrait of the man with the coal-dark eyes staring back at her. The same portrait that hung in every house in Kingdom Come. His face glowed with reflected firelight, as though sacred flames burned within him.
    “And he shall gather the righteous,”
Arlo said, quoting from the plaque on the portrait’s frame. “What if it’s true?”
    “What’s true?” asked Doug.
    “Maybe that’s where they all went. He gathered them up and led the way.”
    “Out of the valley, you mean?”
    “No. To heaven.”
    Wood snapped in the hearth, startling as a gunshot. Maura thought of the cross-stitched sampler she had seen hanging in one of the bedrooms. PREPARE FOR ETERNITY .
    “It’s strange, don’t you think?” said Arlo. “How none of the car radios work here. All we get is static. No stations at all. And we can’t get a cell phone signal. Nothing.”
    “We’re in the middle of nowhere,” said Doug. “And we’re in a valley. There’s no reception.”
    “Are you sure that’s all it is?”
    “What else would it be?”
    “What if something really bad happened out in the world? Being stuck here, we wouldn’t hear about it.”
    “Like what? A nuclear war?”
    “Doug, no one’s come looking for us. Don’t you think that’s strange?”
    “They haven’t noticed we’re missing yet.”
    “Or maybe it’s because there’s no one left out there. They’re all gone.” Arlo’s sunken eyes slowly took in the room where shadows flickered. “I