A Promise of Roses by Heidi Betts Read Free Book Online Page A

trip, I said. I promised I would lay down my gun just as soon as I brought in Ted Mercury. I'd been after him a while, and it had become kind of personal. He wasn't dangerous, just hard to find.
    "I kissed Annie and Chad good-bye one morning and promised to be back in less than a week. I kept my promise,” he said, as though his honor were in question. “I was back in only five days. I had a bouquet of flowers in my hand for Annie, a hobbyhorse tied to the saddle for Chad. My rifle and pistols were all unloaded, and I'd taken off my gun belt—for good, I thought.
    "I rode up to the porch and called out, but they didn't answer. So I went around back, hoping to surprise them. The kitchen was empty, which was odd, because it seemed Annie always had something in the oven—she loved to bake. I left the flowers and hobbyhorse there and started to search the rest of the house. I wasn't even worried—I just thought they were taking a nap or had gone for a walk or something.
    "And then I opened the door to the dining room."
    Megan saw him flinch, and she steeled herself for the rest of the story. Already she felt tears stinging the backs of her eyes.
    "Annie was slumped over the table. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful. Even when she didn't move, I still thought everything was fine. But the closer I got, the more I realized something was definitely wrong. Her hands were behind her back, tied to the chair. I cut her loose and lifted her face in my hands. Her eyes were still open, just as soft and blue as ever. But the front of her dress was soaked in blood. There was so much, it had run down her body and pooled beneath the chair. There were so many knife wounds, I couldn't count them all.
    "For a long time, I just stood there, staring at her. I don't think it had hit me yet that she was dead. And then I thought of Chad. I tore the house apart looking for him. He wasn't downstairs. He wasn't in our bedroom. I prayed so hard that he was in his room. That Annie had put him down for a nap and he'd slept through everything.
    "He was in his room, all right. Wrapped in his favorite blue blanket. But the blanket and mattress were both covered in blood. His throat had been cut."
    Megan bit down on her hand to keep from uttering a sound. She didn't want to distract Lucas, who seemed to be off in his own world, reliving the happenings of that day. Tears coursed down her face. Her sleeves were already drenched from wiping them across her face. A sob escaped her, and Lucas looked in her direction, as if only now remembering her presence.
    "Why are you crying?” he asked. He sounded perplexed.
    Megan shook her head. “How...” She sniffed. “How do you know who did it?"
    Lucas's face turned to stone. “Scott wanted me to know. He left his wanted poster next to Chad's body. On the back, he wrote that he'd enjoyed spending the afternoon with my wife but that Annie hadn't cared for his choice of entertainment, so they'd put the baby to bed. I don't know if it was just a taunt or if he raped her."
    The muscle in his jaw twitched, as Megan noticed it did whenever Lucas was angry. Right now he was furious, she could tell.
    "I've often wondered if Scott made Annie watch when he killed Chad."
    "Oh, God,” Megan moaned, dropping her face to her knees. “What kind of animal would do something like that?"
    "Silas Scott. He wanted revenge. He figured hurting my family was a good way to get it."
    Megan raised her head and waited for him to continue.
    "I'd put him in jail a few years before. For murder. He broke out of prison and came straight for me. But then I guess he decided it would be just as easy to kill my wife and son as to track me down. Since then he's been having a fine old time crisscrossing the stale with me on his heels."
    "You have to find him,” Megan said, understanding now why tracking this man was so important to him.
    Lucas nodded.
    "And when you do..."
    "I'm going to kill him."

Chapter Five

    Megan dipped the bandanna into