by Em Petrova
Anybody could slap a label on a package with a fake return address. She brought up a search on her phone for the address and sure enough, it didn’t exist.
She blinked at the map as she studied the surrounding web of streets.
The place her ‘Aunt’ Geri lived wasn’t far from the false address, though. Coincidence, just like the Ms?
Her hand trembled, and she quickly pocketed her phone.
It was time she shared her questions with someone. Even if nothing came of her suspicions—and she hoped that to be the case—she couldn’t allow more packages to be opened by unsuspecting people.
She and Zack wrapped up, and she felt confident there weren’t more bombs on site. She waited for Broshears to finish his own clean-up. When he had the explosive neutralized and tore down the plastic surround, she stood waiting for him nearby.
“I have to talk to you.”
He looked into her eyes and nodded. “Let me hand this off to the bomb unit first.”
She’d worked with the Xtreme Ops enough to know they were hands-on and preferred to do things their way.
As she waited, she chewed at her lip. Was she really going to tell him about Geri and Billy? She could try to do a little digging on her own…pay Geri a visit and try to snoop around her house, maybe let Zack loose to search on his own.
No. She had to come clean with Broshears, even though her stomach burned with pain at the idea of ratting on people she cared for. The woman continued to send her Christmas cards, for hell’s sake. With Vivian’s father dead and Billy in prison, Geri didn’t have to keep in touch with her, yet she did it because she was a naturally sweet person.
When Broshears joined her, she stood at the vehicle. Zack lay in his crate, tired after all his hard work today.
Broshears focused on her face. “You all right?” His voice pitched lower, sending a thrill through her belly. He used that tone while fucking her, and she heard it in her dreams.
“I…” She steeled her resolve. Turning Geri in might be one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do in her life.
He waited in silence.
“I have a suspicion…”
His gaze sharpened. “I’m listening.”
“I-I think I might know who’s sending the bombs.”
“Jesus Christ. Get in the SUV.”
She shivered at the command dripping from his voice and the solid set of his shoulders. After she dropped to the passenger seat, she faced him.
“What did you find? What makes you think you know who it might be?”
“It was the handwriting on those first two packages. Both had the letter M in the name or address.”
“This is why you’ve been studying forensic handwriting analysis.”
She nodded. “The letter M in both instances is formed very different from the way most people write an M. At first, it caught me as familiar. But then it hit me that I recognize the writing.”
“Fuck, Valentine. You mean you actually know this person?” He looked about to come unhinged, and she expected to hear the knuckles of his fist resting on his thigh to crack.
She nodded. “I know someone who writes Ms like that.”
“Someone you work with? Maybe Hunt?”
“What do you have against Hunt? No, it isn’t him. It’s my…my…” she had to force it past her lips, “my aunt!”
Broshears blinked at her, silent so long she started to wonder if he questioned her sanity. Maybe the connections were all in her head and she was wrong. She prayed she was but some deep unsettled vibration inside her told her otherwise.
It was the same feeling she got when she led Zack in a certain direction, following a gut instinct. This felt the same.
“You think your aunt is the bomber?”
“It sounds insane, I know!” She swiped both hands through her hair, digging her fingertips into her scalp. “I’ve been fighting with myself all morning while you dealt with that bomb, asking myself if I’m reading into things that aren’t really there.” She tugged at her hair, pulling strands from her ponytail.
Broshears reached up and encircled her wrist with his long fingers, gently drawing her hand to her lap. He didn’t let her go.
“Start from the top, Vivian. Tell me everything, even if it seems crazy.”
With a gulp, she began to talk, beginning when she recognized the writing was familiar on the first package.
“That’s why you wanted to look at it closer,” he said.
She nodded. “After the second bomb, I still couldn’t link it together. But then I remembered I received a Christmas card with the M in Merry written in the same way.”
His somber expression and the brackets surrounding his mouth told her he didn’t like hearing that. “From your aunt.”
“She’s not really my aunt. She’s a family friend, a dear friend, who I’ve always called aunt.”
“Give me her name.”
“Geri Anne Riser.”
He gave a single nod, and she knew he’d committed the name to the memory bank of his brain. “How is she connected to your family?”
“Through a man I also call uncle. William Christopher. He’s called Billy.”
A crease appeared between his brows. “Why do I know that name?”
“Because he’s in prison for placing death threats and conspiring to commit murder against two men who run the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.”
Broshears’ brows drew together, creating a deep furrow over his nose. “And you call this person family?”
“It sounds nuts, I know! But he was forced to extreme measures when they ended his job. He worked for the pipeline for twenty-five years. He was making good money—money he needed for Geri’s treatments.”
“Cancer?”
“Multiple sclerosis.”
“Okay, so he had a motive. And she might too, if she’s without his income. Has she stopped her treatments because of money?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head and looked down at her hand in her lap. Broshears’ fingers still encircled her wrist, and with a shock she realized he swished his thumb back and forth over her skin.
Over her pulse point.
She looked up at him and found him looking at their hands too.
He released her and withdrew his hand, clenching it on the hard granite of his thigh again.
“There’s something else.”
He waited for her to continue.
Vivian drew a deep breath and said the worst of it.
“The return address on today’s package doesn’t exist. But if it did, it’s near Geri’s house.”
“I’m right behind you, and the team’s on their way.” Penn’s voice projected into Broshears’ communication device in his ear.
At least he’d have all the backup he’d require to search Geri Anne Riser’s house. But his shoulders couldn’t feel heavier than they did right this second with the burden Vivian was bearing. The entire drive to her house, he questioned whether or not they were both reading into the situation…but couldn’t see anything except a bright lightbulb switched on, illuminating the case.
Everything seemed to fall right into place. In the massive puzzle of the bombings, Geri’s role filled at least half the holes.
Whether or not they fit precisely was a question that still hung in the air. A criminal was innocent until proven guilty…but it didn’t look good for Vivian’s ‘aunt.’
And how the hell did the woman call Billy Christopher her uncle? He’d put into play his plot to murder two men and might have gotten away with it too, if a former coworker hadn’t claimed to be concerned with a letter he’d seen Christopher write.
Damn.
There was no way out of this situation without Vivian’s emotions tangled up.
Broshears never did emotions. If he did, it was a sentiment related to craft beer or a game of ice hockey with the guys.
She sat rigid, arms wrapped across her middle and a mask cloaking her true emotions from him. He could guess one of
those must be self-loathing. It was never easy to turn in a friend or family member, and she’d bear that guilt for a long time.
“You did the right thing,” he said into the silence stretching between them.
“What makes you say that?” She stared at the windshield and the streets of Anchorage. After another heartbeat, she pivoted her head and pierced him in her stare. “What makes you think that I really did the right thing, Alix? I broke up my family, even if we aren’t family by blood. If my father could see this, it’d break his heart. And that breaks mine.”
Her voice cracked, and Broshears’ reaction was to pull off the side of the road and throw the SUV into park. She stared at him with watery eyes.
“Fuck, honey.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for her. She bowed her head, and he pressed his lips to her forehead, holding the pose for a long minute.
He slid an arm around her, and she nestled against his chest. “I know this sucks, and you don’t have to have any part of it.”
“What?” Her voice came muffled.
“Penn’s following us, and he and I will do the sting. You take the SUV home with Zack and let us handle it. You don’t have to be implicated at all—Geri never needs to know where the lead came from. For all she knows, we traced her from another source.”
Vivian remained silent. He continued to hold her, breathing in her scent, feeling her soft hair against his jaw. His body stirred at her nearness, but it was her heart he felt the need to protect.
“Say the word and I’ll get out right now and let you and Zack go home.”
She dragged in a deep breath that hitched on the way into her lungs. “I can’t, Alix. I have to see for myself.”
Her use of his name was a warm caress.
“Let’s make a plan.”
He nodded, and she extracted herself from his arms to lean back in her seat. A look at her face showed a calmer countenance, and he was glad for that much.
“All good?” Penn’s voice permeated his skull again.
“Yeah. When we get there, hang outside. We’re going to try to get the woman to talk.”
Vivian closed her eyes and slowly reopened them. Broshears pulled onto the street again, and minutes later they drove up in front of Geri’s home.
The place was small and in decent shape, though he could guess it was one of the lower cost rentals in town. From his experience, money motivated many to commit crimes. It was possible Geri was trying to extort money from people, possibly even her significant other’s enemies.
He cut the engine and looked to Vivian. Her expression was bleak, but she pushed it off her face and adopted a smile. Maybe only he would know it failed to reach her eyes. As long as they fooled Geri enough to talk, and hopefully, give herself up.
Unable to help himself, he settled his hand over Vivian’s. She met his gaze.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yes.” Her voice came out stronger, and it gave him a boost that together, they could get through this. And if she crumbled, he’d be there to hold her together.
They retrieved Zack from the rear of the SUV and Broshears watched Vivian’s straight spine as she led the way to the front porch.
Looking around, he had to admit this woman had done her best to give the boring tract house a homey feel with a spattering of lawn ornaments in the front landscaping. The small details always served as a reminder that above all, Broshears worked for the people. Even if his job entailed a lot of hardcore military action, his duty was to the people.
And so was Vivian’s.
They had that in common, and her determination to see this through to the end today had his chest welling with affection for her.
She knocked on the door without a hint of hesitation, but he saw the muscles tense all the way down her spine. He started to reach out and flatten his palm to her back but stopped himself.
Nobody answered, so Vivian knocked a second time. The wind fluttered a flag on the front porch.
Vivian turned her head slightly to him and asked, “What if she won’t let us in?”
“She will.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I can be…persuasive.”
At that instant, the door cracked, and a person peeked through. She took one look at Vivian and swung the door wide.
Then she got a good look at him.
“Hi, Aunt Geri! We were in the neighborhood and I couldn’t resist stopping in to see you.” Vivian’s sunny exclamation might be an act, but he heard genuine warmth in her tone.
She waved toward her dog. “You know Zack. And this is Broshears, my partner today.”
“Yes, dear! Oh my, what a surprise this is.” Geri eyed all three of her guests but remained planted in the doorway.
Vivian took charge by throwing her arms around Geri and squeezing her in greeting. “I’m so glad to see you. I don’t know why we don’t spend more time together. We don’t even live that far away.”
“Well, you have quite the busy life, Vivian.” She looked over Vivian’s shoulder at Broshears. He offered his friendliest smile.
When Vivian withdrew, Geri patted Zack’s head. An air of expectation hung between them. Geri was in her late fifties and very thin. He wondered if it was due to her health problems or something else—like a lack of food.
Vivian picked up on the tension and waved toward their vehicle. “We don’t want to impose on you. I only wanted to say hello. Wow, it’s good to see you, Aunt Geri.”
The woman’s face softened a bit at her words. For a moment, he thought she’d let them inside. But she looked at Zack instead.
Broshears was trained in body language. Hell, he knew before a sniper did that he planned to pull the trigger. And Geri definitely wouldn’t want Zack—a dog that could detect explosives—in her home.
“Don’t go yet.” Geri darted a look over her shoulder at her house.
“We were passing by, like I said.” Vivian gave her a wide smile. “I told Broshears that I haven’t seen my aunt Geri in months and months. How’s your health? You look as if you’re holding up well.”
“I’m fine thanks. Doing well. I have my regular checkups.”
“Do you get the infusions at the hospital still?”
“No.” Geri’s face took on a pinched look. “I have some other medicines now. And I’m working at the grocery store, so I’m staying busy.”
“That’s so good to hear.”
The banal conversation made Broshears want to kick in the door and sweep the place, but he held his ground.
“How’s your son Kipp?” Vivian asked.
“He’s doing well for himself. Living in Portland.”
“I didn’t know he moved to the lower forty-eight.”
“Yes, he’s climbing the ranks of his company, and he got a job opportunity so good not even Alaska could hold him here. He’s—” Geri’s shoulders dropped from her tightly bound pose. “Why don’t you all come in and have some coffee? I just made a pot.”
Vivian smiled and nodded, and maybe only Broshears took note of how her fingers whitened from clutching Zack’s leash so hard.
Geri led the way into the house, which looked like any other aunt’s home, with crocheted doilies on the side tables, empty teacups here and there and a collection of glass knickknacks nobody wanted when they finally died.
While the ladies chatted, he turned to the big front window, pretending to look out while he scoped his surroundings. A desk in one corner of the room had his attention, because packing materials lay on the surface. Scissors. Tape. A curled up bit of brown paper.
He could give the woman the benefit of the doubt by saying she sent her son Kipp a care package in Oregon. Or she could be mailing bombs.
Geri gave a nervous laugh. “Come into the kitchen and we’ll have that coffee.”
Vivian gave Broshears a direct look, and he smiled at her to keep up the guise, but he could see that she felt it too—something was off.
They started past the desk and Zack sat.
Vivian’s throat moved in a hard swallow. “C’mon, boy. Maybe Aunt Geri’s got some water for you.”
“I do.” Geri tossed a look over her shoulder but it didn’t land on Vivian or the dog or even Broshears. She looked at the desk.
Vivian tugged on Zack’s leash, but he remained rooted to the spot. He’d been trained to find explosive material and drugs. He wasn’t going to pass up his chance to show off his skill.
“Maybe he has to go outside for a break,” Broshears said. “I’ll take him out.”
“Are you sure?” Vivian asked.
He nodded and smiled. She passed Zack off to him, and he was relieved to see Geri continue into the kitchen with Vivian behind.
He looked down at Zack. As soon as the women were out of sight, Broshears rifled the desk. He opened every drawer and searched the contents. When he spotted boxes beneath the desk, he slowly edged one out.
“Broshears, would you like some—” Geri’s strangled voice broke off as she saw what he was doing. She rushed across the room and the dog leaped up, slammed into her and sent the woman launching sideways.
She started crawling to the desk, scrambling across the carpet, a desperation driving her.
Vivian gasped from the doorway, and Zack circled to the desk to alert his handler of his findings.
“What are you doing in my desk! Get out of my—”
The blast cut her off.
A splintering noise filled Broshears ears as he was knocked to the side. He scrabbled up instantly as he realized something in one of the other boxes had exploded. Black soot and debris littered the living room, Geri was feet away on the floor with her head down and Vivian was weeping.
Wait—why was she weeping?
His ears rang from the explosion, but he could clearly make out her cries.
The dog. Zack had taken a hit.
“Get Geri out! I’ll get Zack!” He scooped up the canine and smelled burned fur. While he rushed to the door, Vivian forced Geri to her feet and they stumbled through the smoke filling the room.
“Get far away!” he called to her.
Zack hung limply in his arms, but the dog stirred as soon as they hit the open air—a good sign. He passed Penn.
“Is anyone else inside?” his captain demanded.
