“Don’t you dare leave this room,” Eve said fiercely. “Something’s wrong. I know it, dammit. Tell me.”

“If there’s something wrong, I can handle it by myself. I can fight my own dragons.” Joe’s words were jerky as he strode toward the door. “I don’t need help.”

“Joe, for God’s sake, talk to me.”

He didn’t answer. She watched the bedroom door shut behind him. He was closing her out, mentally as well as physically.

She felt the pain soaring through her. She had known trouble was on the horizon, but she had thought she’d have time to try to work her way through it. What the hell had happened to escalate the situation?

Her cell phone rang. Jane.

She took a few seconds to pull herself together before she answered the call. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon.”

“They managed to fix the other plane. I’m boarding now. Do you want me to get a rental car?”

“Don’t be silly. I’m on my way. I’ll meet you at baggage claim.”

Jane was silent for a moment. “You sound funny. Are you okay?”

“Sure. I’ll be even better when I see you. Bye.” She hung up.

Trust Jane to read her mood even long-distance. She hesitated as she cast a glance at the closed bedroom door. No, she wouldn’t go in and tell Joe she was leaving for the airport. The closing of that door had been firm and final. She would give him time and hope that those dragons he was talking about would slink away into the darkness.

She left the house and ran down the porch steps to the car. But her eyes were stinging with tears, and she had to wait a moment before she pulled out of the driveway. Her hands clenched on the steering wheel as she stared blindly out into the darkness.

Joe’s pain was all about Bonnie and Eve’s obsession with finding her daughter’s murderer. The hunt that had gone on for years. It was hurting him. She couldn’t expect him to have empathy. He had never had a child. They had taken Jane from foster homes when she was ten, and by that time, Jane had been wise beyond her years. She had become their friend, not their child. Joe had never had the wonderful experiences that Eve had known of raising a little girl. That was why he would never understand why Eve couldn’t let it go.