Table Of ContentSafe
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Safe
by Rachel Hanna
www.RachelHannaRomance.com
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No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
the written permission of the author.
The scanning, uploading, and/or distribution of this book via the internet or any other means without the
prior written permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law.
All characters are fictitious and not based upon any real person, alive or dead.
Copyright Rachel Hanna 2012
Prologue
November 4, 2010
Carly Davenport-Caine never imagined that she would be here. Sitting in the cold
and stark questioning room at an Atlanta police station was not in her grand plan. The
smell of bitter, burned coffee pervaded her senses as she tapped her foot nervously on
the dingy white tile flooring. Her life had started off so promising, so how in the world
did she end up here?
Waiting for the detective to come question her yet again, Carly knew that they
were probably staring at her through those double mirrors that she had seen on TV
crime shows. Did they think that she had something to do with this? How could anyone
think that she was capable of killing another person in cold blood? How could anyone
believe that she had participated in the sick scheme to take the life of another person?
She had never even had a speeding ticket, so surely they weren’t concocting a scheme
to put her behind bars for a crime she didn’t commit.
She knew who did it. She told them who did it. Did they even believe her? Did
they think she was an accessory? Every episode of Cops that she had ever seen in her
life was running through her head. Every legal show that she had watched with bated
breath seemed to be playing out in her mind as she tried to think through what would
happen next. She had been at the police station for hours now. She felt disgusting, like
she needed to take the world’s longest shower.
Telling the police the whole story had been the most frightening thing she had
ever done. Watching someone get murdered was horrific enough, but knowing that she
was putting her very life in the hands of strangers was just as scary.
She tapped her fingernails on the cold, metal table in front of her. Sighing, she
closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her long blond hair. At thirty years old, she
felt as if her life might be over soon. If anyone knew what she had witnessed, would she
be dead soon too? Even though the killer was now in custody, she felt evil lurking
around every corner.
“Carly?” Detective Cloud appeared behind her. He was an older man, and he
reminded her of her late grandfather who used to take her fishing and camping when
she was very young. His bushy white hair and matching mustache made him
approachable, even if he was wearing a gun on his belt.
“Yes?” she said quietly. Looking in the mirror, she noticed that her mascara had
stained her cheeks, but vanity was not high on her list of priorities at the moment.
“We need to talk a bit more about what happened tonight, okay?” Detective
Cloud’s deep Southern drawl put her at ease, but she still wanted to get the heck out of
there. He slid back into the chair across from her and cleared his throat before taking a
sip of the stale smelling police station coffee.
“Detective, I have told you everything I know. I am exhausted mentally and
physically. I just don’t know what else to say…” She laid her head down on the table
for a moment before looking up at him with her sad blue eyes. Those blue eyes had
gotten her out of some tight jams before, but they didn’t seem to be doing a darn thing
this time.
“Carly, I need you to run through the events one more time with me while I record
our conversation,” he said as he took a digital recorder out of his shirt pocket.
“What? Why? I thought you recorded it earlier.” Carly put her head in her hands.
She got the feeling that they were trying to wear her down - that they were trying to
make her so exhausted that she couldn’t think clearly. She decided that she had better
play along to protect herself. “Fine,” she said sitting back in her chair and crossing her
legs.
“Good. Let’s get started,” Detective Cloud said as he pressed the record button.
“For the record, please state your name.”
“Carly Davenport-Caine.”
“And your age?”
“I am thirty years old.”
“And what is your relationship to the accused murderer, Ethan Caine?”
“He is my husband.”
Chapter 1
May 1997
Carly looked at her alma mater, Tisdale High School, and sighed to herself. Four
long years of torture had finally paid off, and she was leaving this place within the
week. Graduation was coming, and college was quickly approaching right behind it.
Her life was about to change. She could leave this tiny town behind along with all of the
memories that she wanted to forget.
“Girl, can you believe we made it? Finally!” her friend Zinnia said as she hugged
her around the neck. Zinnia had been her constant companion since ninth grade. Her
curly red locks and bubbly personality went along with her quirky name.
“It’s hard to believe, that’s for sure. It’s been a very long year to say the least,”
Carly said with a slight smile. A lot had happened during her senior year, some good
and some bad.
Her parents had divorced early in the school year, so she had to say goodbye to
her former family life. Being an only child, she had always felt a bit lonely. While other
kids spent their Christmases and Thanksgivings with a house full of siblings, Carly
often sat alone in her room with her new toys crying. She had desperately wanted that
closeness that she saw other families having. She wanted the big family dinners, a
brother or sister who had her back, and siblings to share a history with.
Her parents divorced because her father cheated with his best friend’s wife, thus
breaking up two families in one fell swoop. He moved to Sacramento to start over at a
new job with his mistress-girlfriend. Carly hadn’t heard much from him during the
school year, and he wasn’t coming to her graduation. She wondered how a man could
father a child, raise her for almost eighteen years, and then just walk away.
Carly’s mom was a workaholic. She spent most of her time trying to keep up with
the bills. This left Carly feeling alone at home. The only good thing she had to look
forward to each day was the mail that brought letters from Aidan.
She had met Aidan Harrison in her freshman year of high school. Originally from
England, his accent caught her attention immediately. Not many guys in Georgia talked
like Aidan. He was tall, kind of skinny, and funny with his quick British wit that she
didn’t always understand. He had a crooked smile, huge dimples, and the longest
eyelashes she had ever seen. Carly had been immediately attracted to him, but he only
wanted to be friends it seemed. He was a year older than her and didn’t seem to date
much either.
In French class, they had been the cut-ups. She thought of him like an older
brother, and he thought of her like his little sister. They were best friends for three years
until the unthinkable happened.
Something had gone wrong with his visa when he was in his senior year. Before
he was able to graduate, he was deported back to England while the rest of his family
stayed behind. Carly had no idea that he was being sent away because she missed a few
days of school due to strep throat. When she came back at the end of her junior year,
Aidan was gone.
After asking around, she found out what happened. Luckily, he had left his
address with another friend. Carly immediately wrote to him, and he wrote back. As the
year went on, Carly was the only friend of Aidan’s who kept writing. She supported him
and stayed close to him even though he was so far away.
Not having family around her and never having had siblings, she felt close to
Aidan. He appreciated how she kept in touch and started telling her so in letters. She
didn’t think anything of it when he said in his last letter, “You will never know how
much it means to me that you have stuck with me all this time.”
A part of her wondered if Aidan had more than friendship feelings. A part of her
hoped that he did, but that idea scared her. Her father had taught her that men leave, and
she thought it best to have his friendship for life than a dating relationship that would
only end in heartache.
“So what are you doing tonight?” Zinnia asked as she pulled her kinky red locks
up into a ponytail.
“I am staying home. I have one more exam on Monday, and I need to cram for it
this weekend,” Carly said with a smile. She knew that her mother would be out of town
over the weekend. She had a new boyfriend who lives in Alabama, so she was often
away seeing him. Carly hated it because she needed her mother during her senior year.
So much was changing in her life all at once, and the thought of it scared her to death.
“Well, have fun with that! See you next week, girl!” Zinnia said as she jumped
into her yellow VW Bug and peeled out of the parking lot. Carly had no idea what was
about to happen that afternoon.
***
Studying was the last thing on Carly’s mind as she sat in her living room on the
sofa. She felt alone in her house, like no one else lived there but her. Gone were the
days of her mother cooking a big breakfast on Saturday mornings and watching old TV
shows with her on Sunday afternoons.
She slammed her book shut as she leaned back against the sofa. After recently
breaking up with yet another boyfriend, Carly had decided to retire from the dating
scene until she went off to college in a few weeks. While her other friends were
planning to wait until fall to start college, Carly had scheduled summer classes to get a
head start. No reason to stay home alone for the whole summer. She was anxious to get
a fresh start in a new town with new friends. She dreamed of meeting a man who would
sweep her off her feet and make her forget about this dark time in her life.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a random knock at the door. She wondered who
could be there at seven o’clock on a Friday night since all of her friends were out
partying. She felt like such a hermit staying home to study, but she had to do well on
her exams.
“Who is it?” she yelled while simultaneously opening the door. There stood a tall,
handsome guy with brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a devilishly crooked smile.
“Aidan!” she yelled as she threw her arms around his neck.
“Carly!” he yelled back picking her up in the air. “Am I glad to see you!” His
thick English accent bowled her over. She had missed hearing that voice. He held onto
her for what seemed like an awfully long time, burying his head in her strawberry-
scented hair.
“How did you get here? I don’t understand…” she stammered and stuttered,
unable to get the silly grin off her face.
“Can I come in?” he asked with a smile. His eyes hadn’t changed a bit. He was
still as handsome as ever and seemed taller, too.
“Of course. Come on in! Mom is out of town, as usual,” she said pointing for him
to come inside. “I still cannot believe you are back.”
“Me either. It was so long, Carly. I thought I would never make it back home.”
His eyes were almost pleading as if he had been pining for home. “I brought presents!”
he said with a big grin.
“Oh really? For me? Cool!” Carly said jumping up and down on the sofa on her
knees.
“It’s not much,” he said handing her a bag. Inside, she found two small teddy bear
figurines. One was standing beside an English phone booth. The other was holding a
bouquet of flowers.
“These are adorable, Aidan. Thank you,” she said reaching out and hugging his
neck. She felt different hugging him than she used to. He seemed to hold on to her a
little longer, a little tighter. The smell of his cologne floated by her nose, and her insides
started to quiver.
“You cannot imagine how much I have missed you, Carly,” he said looking at her
in a way that she didn’t remember before. His voice was soft and sincere, and oh so
delightfully British.
“Well, I missed you, too. You are my best friend, and it royally stunk not having
my best friend around all the time,” Carly said trying to make sure he understood that
they were still just friends. Right?
“Have you had dinner yet?” he asked.
“Nope. Not yet.”
“How about a basket of chicken fingers at our favorite place?” he asked with a
grin.
“Sounds good. Let’s go. Have you seen your parents yet?” she asked as she
grabbed her purse.
“No. I came here first. They don’t even know I am here yet,” he said opening the
door for her. She thought that was odd for someone who was just her friend. Why
wouldn’t he go see his parents first? What was on his mind?
