Free The Devil's Closet by Stacy Dittrich Page B

question, honey. If I were to…”
    “All right,” Eric interrupted sharply. “We’re gonna keep walking. Let me know if anything turns up. By the way, CeeCee, my parents are keeping the girls overnight since I assume we’ll both be late.” He started walking quickly away from us, Jordan in tow.
    I didn’t move. I simply stared at an old rotted tree trunk and continued fuming. Not only was I berserk over Jordan’s behavior, I didn’t like how Eric seemed to come to her defense once I began to attack. He cut me off, walked away, and prevented me from causing her any kind of emotional pain or anxiety whatsoever. It also angered me that Jordan seemed to be aware of the tension between Eric and Michael. How much had he confided in her about the seriousness of our situation?
    Now Michael saw it all laid out, impossible to miss. So much for keeping up the everything’s-hunky-dory-at-CeeCee’s-house front.
    It took all I had to get myself in control. When I did, I was counting on moving along with our search and pretending nothing happened, but Michael wouldn’t let me off that easy. I started to walk again, but he stepped in front of me, his eyes full of concern and knowledge of the truth.
    “Got over the rocky patch, did you? Why do I get the impression the tension in our little meeting wasn’t all about me for once? Who was the rookie?”
    I sat down on a tree stump and let out a sigh. I couldn’t hold it in. There was no reason to pretend or hide from Michael anymore. I told him about Jordan, the rumors, and the strain my relationship with Eric has been under since he, Michael, came back into the picture.
    “Maybe Eric’s trying to get back at me for what we did last year. Or maybe I was the one drumming up all the problems so I wouldn’t have to acknowledge that my feelings for you haven’t faded in the slightest over the past year. Not even a little. Never in my life did I ever think it was possible to be in love with two people,” I said softly, picking up a stick and poking it around in the dirt.
    Michael stood, looking down at me, listening intently. When I was finished, he knelt and took my stick away, tossing it into the woods, before grabbing my hands.
    “Maybe I have the solution. I’ll leave tomorrow, send another agent, and simply never come back. It hurts too much to see you so unhappy, and if I can fix it by leaving, that’s the way it has to be.”
    I looked at Michael’s eyes, his lips, his hair. I didn’t want him to leave, not a second time. And certainly not forever.
    “Unfortunately, whether you leave or not, it doesn’t matter. Things will be the same. Eric will be training Jordan, or sleeping with her for all I know, and he’ll still resent me for the relationship you and I had last year.” I paused and put my hand up to Michael’s cheek. “And most of all, I don’t want you to leave.”
    Michael squeezed my hand tightly before standing up and looking at his watch.
    “I’ll stay. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to hear you say that, but it also scares the shit out of me. Who knows what’s in the cards for any of us, but right now, let’s just see what happens. We can talk more later. Right now, we’ve only got another hour of searching before it gets dark.” He held out a strong, firm hand, pulling me up from my perch on the tree stump.
    He wasn’t careful anymore. It didn’t matter. All the time he had taken to get the lips just right, no smudges or mistakes; the eyes dramatic with big, full lashes; cheeks a deep, glowing red was nothing but a distant memory. He still made the effect as best as he could with what time he had, but it was fine. They had gotten it. He didn’t even curl her hair, just lazily tied the ribbon in, not caring when it slumped and fell to the side. There, there, my beautiful love, he thought, now we’re as one.…
    I didn’t feel guilty, not one bit, for finally telling Michael how I felt. I was relieved that it was out in the