Young, Allyson - Broken [Running to Love 2] (Siren Publishing Allure) by Allyson Young Page A

PI. It was his beautiful Tabitha. Her ebony hair was pulled back in a braid, small wisps escaping the stricture to curl about her face. Kyle saw fine strands of silver streak back from her temples, and he frowned. Tabi wasn’t yet thirty. It was as if her hair had aged overnight. He could make out the ice blue of her eyes above the slash of her cheekbones, and his glance lingered on the full paleness of her mouth. She stood on the porch of a small frame house, staring off slightly to the left of the photographer, clearly unaware of being watched. A light cotton sundress, spotted with what looked like paint spatters, fell over her frame, full breasts evident, but the rest of her body was painfully thin. Kyle instinctively knew Tabi wasn’t remembering to eat, that she had probably gotten getting lost in her painting, something she had enjoyed in moderation while with him. He had carefully encouraged but monitored her hobby, just as he monitored the rest of her life. But that life was again out of balance, and he thought maybe he might have found her just in time.
    Another attached file profiled the beautiful setting Tara Larson’s home occupied. Why Tabi changed her name wasn’t clear. He doubted she had done it to hide from him because she had to know tracing her through public documents would be easy for someone with his resources. He zoomed in on two figures descending the meadow and saw two huge dogs, nondescript breeds, but likely the ones keeping people off the property. Kyle loved animals and wondered why he and Tabi had never gotten a pet, something for her to have as company when he had to be away from her even for such short periods of time. He wondered if he had ever truly totally accepted that he wanted Tabitha to be in his life forever until she had run from him, and getting a pet might have made his commitment more real. He never told her he loved her. That thought kept haunting him and making him question ulterior motives.
    Kyle booked a flight to Portland for the next day, arranging for an SUV at the airport, then went to his bedroom and began to pack. He had no plan, packed none of the tools of his trade, just decided to present himself to Tabi and fix things. He was optimistic and confident, ignoring the tiny voice in the back of his head that suggested he wouldn’t be enough.

Chapter Eleven

    Tara Larson lay beneath the pumping figure of Roger Bend and thought about where she might walk to paint tomorrow. She believed that in the time she had left, she would never run out of places on her property to explore and try to capture the illusive object her watercolors hinted at and her oils fairly screamed about. Roger bucked to completion and collapsed on top of her before rolling off.
    He pulled off the condom and said, “Well, now, precious, you needed that, I can tell. Next time you come into town, I’ll maybe have you meet my cousin. I know you suck as good as you fuck.”
    Tara Larson murmured something and rolled up to her feet, pulling her dress over her head and toeing into her shoes.
    “Not much for après sex, are you?” commented Roger. He got up and opened the door for her in grotesque courtesy, patting her buttocks as she passed. His office backed onto an alley surrounded by windowless walls, and thus, there was no fear of discovery by Roger’s tyrant of a wife. It served Tara Larson’s purpose to keep his use of her under wraps as well. For the time being.
    Tara Larson continued to the grocery store where she picked up the items on her list, adding more cat food. She had hauled all the females to Portland and had them spayed and given their shots before bringing them back home the same day. There were no kittens, but the cats were either eating more or additional ones had wandered in. She was running out of creative names. That trip to Portland had been a long, onerous day, but she couldn’t leave her home overnight. It was her sanctuary, and her biweekly trip into the village was