heard Garrett Holbrook’s voice again.
“She keeps saying that – she won’t go back to the shelter. But I’ve got an idea. One of my sisters, Bonnie, is thinking of adopting. I’m sure that she and her husband would love to have Jilly. That is, if Jilly – ”
He was interrupted by squeals of delight from Jilly, who kept yelling, “Yes, yes, yes!” over and over again.
Riley smiled. It was just the kind of moment she needed right now.
“Sounds like a plan, Garrett,” she said. “Let me know how it works out. Thanks so much for all your help.”
“Any time,” Garrett said.
They ended the phone call. Riley stepped back into the doorway and saw that Ryan and April were now carrying on what seemed to be a carefree conversation. Things suddenly seemed so much better. For all of her failings, and Ryan’s too, they’d given April a much better life than many other kids had.
Just then she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard a voice.
“Riley.”
She turned and saw Bill’s friendly face. As she stepped away from the doorway to talk with him, Riley couldn’t help glancing back and forth from her longtime partner to her ex-husband. Even in his current state of distress, Ryan looked like the successful lawyer that he was. His blond good looks and smooth manners opened doors for him everywhere. Bill, as she had often realized, looked more like she did. His dark hair showed touches of gray and he was more solid and much more rumpled than Ryan. But Bill was competent in his own areas of expertise and he had been much more dependable in her life.
“How’s she doing?” Bill asked.
“Better. What’s going on with Joel Lambert?”
Bill shook his head.
“That little thug really is a piece of work,” he said. “He’s talking, anyway. He says he knows some guys who made a lot of money off of young girls, and he thought he’d give it a try himself. No signs of remorse, he’s a sociopath to the bone. Anyway, he’ll definitely be convicted and get jail time. He’ll probably do a plea deal, though.”
Riley frowned. She hated plea deals. And this one was especially upsetting.
“I know how you feel about that,” Bill said. “But my guess is he’ll talk up a storm, and we’ll be able to put a lot of bastards away. That’s a good thing.”
Riley nodded. It helped to know that some good was going to come out of this terrible ordeal. But there was something she needed to talk about with Bill, and she wasn’t sure how to say it.
“Bill, about my coming back to work …”
Bill patted her on the shoulder.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he said. “You can’t work cases for a while. You need to take some time off. Don’t worry, I understand. So will everybody at Quantico. Take as much time as you need.”
He looked at his watch.
“I’m sorry to rush off, but – ”
“Go,” Riley said. “And thanks for everything.”
She hugged Bill, and he left. Riley stood in the hallway, thinking about the near future.
“Take as much time as you need,” Bill had said.
That might not be easy. What had just happened to April was a reminder of all the evil that was out there. It was her job to stop as much of it as she could. And if she’d learned one thing in life, it was that the evil never rested.
CHAPTER TWO
Seven weeks later
When Riley arrived at the psychologist’s office, she found Ryan sitting alone in the waiting room.
“Where’s April?” she asked.
Ryan nodded toward a closed door.
“She’s with Dr. Sloat,” he said, sounding uneasy. “They had something they needed to talk about alone. Then we’re supposed to go in and join them.”
Riley sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. She, Ryan, and April had spent many emotionally demanding hours here during recent weeks. This would be their last session with the psychologist before they all took a break for the Christmas holidays.
Dr. Sloat had insisted that the whole family participate in April’s recovery. It had been hard work for all of them. But to Riley’s relief, Ryan had taken part wholeheartedly in the process. He’d come to all the sessions that he could fit into his schedule, and he’d even scaled back his work to make more time for this. Today he’d driven April here from her school.
Riley studied her ex-husband’s face as he stared at the office door. In many ways, he seemed like a changed man. Not long ago, he’d been inattentive to the point of serious delinquency as a parent. He’d always insisted that all of April’s problems were Riley’s fault.
But April’s drug use and her much-too-close brush with forced prostitution had changed something in Ryan. After her stay in the rehab clinic, April had been home with Riley for six weeks now. Ryan had visited often and had joined them for Thanksgiving. At times, they seemed almost like a functional family.
But Riley kept reminding herself that they had never really been a functional family.
Could that change now? she wondered. Do I want it to change?
Riley felt torn, even a little guilty. She’d long tried to accept that her own future probably didn’t have Ryan in it. Perhaps there might even be another man in her life.
There had always been some kind of attraction between her and Bill. But they’d also fought and quarreled from time to time. Besides, their professional relationship was demanding enough without throwing romance into the mix.
Her kind and attractive next door neighbor, Blaine, seemed a better prospect, especially since his daughter, Crystal, was April’s best friend.
Still, at times like now, Ryan almost seemed to be the same man she’d fallen in love with so many years ago. Where were things headed? She really didn’t know.
The office door opened and Dr. Lesley Sloat stepped out.
“We’d like to see you now,” she said with a smile.
Riley had long since taken a liking to the short, stocky, good-natured psychologist, and April was clearly fond of her too.
Riley and Ryan both went into the office and sat down in a couple of comfortable upholstered chairs. They were facing April, who sat on a couch beside Dr. Sloat. April was smiling weakly. Dr. Sloat nodded for her to start talking.
“Something happened this week,” April said. “It’s kind of hard to talk about …”
Riley’s breathing quickened and she felt her heart beating faster.
“It’s got to do with Gabriela,” April said. “Maybe she should be here today to talk about this too, but she’s
