Liam turned for the parking lot. The van was parked in one of the spaces farthest from the resort and the rear doors opened as he approached.
“Come on in,” said Wyatt.
The van was completely outfitted as a mobile HQ. Monitors and keyboards lined one wall and an arsenal of weapons was on the other. A low table, with four chairs, sat in front of the monitors. Marcus Jones sat in one seat and Liam dropped down into another. Wyatt took the seat at the end, leaving Liam with the sense that he was trapped.
“Do you have anything to report?” Marcus asked, without a greeting or any preamble.
“Someone broke into the infirmary,” said Liam. It was weak intel but all he had.
“Once you get into the room with the server, we can access the video,” said Wyatt.
“Was anything taken?” Marcus asked.
Liam shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Without video we can’t really do anything. We might be able to fix that problem, though,” said Marcus. He held up a canvas bag emblazoned with the White Wind logo. From it, he withdrew a plastic disk, thin as a dime and no bigger than a pencil’s eraser. Liam’s face appeared on one of the monitors. “Install this camera in the hallway outside the infirmary. The feed will come to the van.”
“There are a dozen cameras in the bag. It took Katarina all night to get them ready,” Wyatt added while handing over a sheet of paper. “This is a schematic of the building. I’ve marked the spots where cameras should be placed, including in here.” He pointed to a building that was well away from the main resort. “That’s where the resident staff lives. The cameras are easy to set up. There’s adhesive on the backside and they’re wireless.”
“And here’s a copy of the master key, to get you into almost every place in the resort,” said Marcus, while holding up a small, white card.
“Gaining access to the security room is our main mission. You have a fifteen-minute window when the room will be empty,” said Wyatt. “According to the footage we’ve collected, there are two guards assigned to the resort from midnight to five o’clock in the morning. They spend most of the time in the security room, except when they do rounds at two thirty-five.”
“Will this key get me into the room with the server?” he asked, waving the white card.
Wyatt said, “That has a different code. Katarina’s working from her end. Hopefully, you’ll be good to go by tonight. If we’re lucky, you can leave in the morning.”
Leave in the morning? Sure, Liam should be excited to get home to Sophie a day early. And mostly, he was. It was just that as soon as he left the White Wind, his time with Holly would be over. Hell, within a few days, she might even be leaving town. For good.
Then again, Liam learned long ago that there were some things he couldn’t change—like what Holly wanted. And there were things that he could change—like placing all of the cameras around the resort.
After looking over the printout Wyatt had given him, Liam knew that it would take more than an hour to place all the cameras. He quickly formed a plan. He should take Holly with him—for the sake of his undercover persona, at least.
Placing the camera back in the bag, he changed the subject. “I showed Holly the case file. She thought that she might be able to find something useful.”
“Did she?” Wyatt asked.
Liam shook his head. “The file’s pretty thin, but if you had more information, you could pass it on to her.”
“Sure,” said Wyatt. “Why not. I’ll get something to her soon.”
“Anything else?” Liam asked.
“Keep sending us as many images as you can,” said Marcus. “With you in the resort and these cameras, we have the technology to find whoever is helping Darcy. I’m sure of it.”
Liam said nothing, but he was sure of it, too. In the woods, he’d heard the whisper of a single word: Murder.
* * *
Liam returned to the room and told Holly the plan to place remote cameras throughout the property. Her role was simple. She need only accompany him—providing him with cover and serving as a lookout.
As he had done before, Liam slipped his fingertips into Holly’s open palm. She liked the feel of his hand in hers. She liked being close to him, the heat of his body, the scent that surrounded him. Perhaps Darcy Owens wasn’t the real danger that Holly would face. Pretending to be Liam’s wife was forcing Holly to confront a future that she wanted but had been too afraid to hope for.
“Let’s start with the staff quarters,” he said. “And work our way back to the resort.”
“Makes sense,” said Holly. “Lead the way.”
Liam kept her hand in his, even after they’d wandered away from the resort. The scent of pine filled the air and an undercurrent of warmth was carried on the breeze. Liam seemed fine to walk in silence, which suited Holly, as well. She really didn’t know what to say.
It was moments like this that Holly could no longer believe the lies she’d been telling herself for years. She wanted a husband and children of her own. The busyness of her job and the laser focus she used in running the day-care center were just cheap substitutes for her desires.
True, she was at the resort trying to earn the money she needed to keep the school. Yet for the first time Holly wondered if that was really what she wanted after all.
“This is it,” said Liam, letting go of her hand to point to a three-story rectangular building that had been painted the color of mint ice cream. He reached into the tote bag he carried and removed three silver disks. “One for each floor.”
Holly’s pulse began to race. Was she excited? Nervous? Both?
Before she could decide, her phone began to ring. She fished it from the pocket of her polar fleece jacket. Incoming call. University of Findlay.
In all the excitement of working for RMJ, Holly had almost forgotten about the job her agent had mentioned.
“Do you need to take that call?” Liam asked.
“I really should. Do you mind?”
“Just keep an eye out for anyone coming into the building,” he said, slipping out a key card and swiping it over a lock. “Text me if it looks like I need to get out.”
Holly connected the call and said, “Hello,” at the same moment Liam slipped through the door.
“Holly? This is Louise Nelson. I believe your agent, Franklin, told you I’d be calling? I can’t tell you how excited we are to hear that you might join our community in Ohio.”
Of course. She should have remembered that Franklin had told her to expect a call from the University of Findlay rep. Scrambling to watch the building and sound intrigued, she replied, “Oh, hello! Yes, he did say to expect to hear from you.” She leaned against the building—casually, she hoped—and furtively glanced around. “Can you tell me more about the position?”
“Well, sure.” Louise certainly sounded friendly enough. “It’s a tenured position. You’d receive a full salary. The university contributes to a personal retirement account for all employees. Plus, there’s full medical and dental insurance. I know you’ve only had a short time to think about this, but we’d love to know if you’d be able to start by the end of the month.”
Holly felt light-headed. She’d imagined the potential job in Ohio as a safety net, a place to land if her plan to keep Saplings failed. More than that, she had spoken to Franklin before striking a deal with Rocky Mountain Justice, at a time when she felt certain that she had run out of options. She’d never thought an offer with such steady pay and benefits—such security—would come through at all, let alone with such immediacy.
“Holly?” Louise asked. “Are you there?”
In truth, Holly wasn’t ready to accept the job offer. She also wasn’t prepared to turn it down, either. What she needed was time to think. “Louise, your offer is so very generous, but I know I’ll have some questions, and I’d just like to think it
over before I give you my final answer. Can I contact you later?”
“Call me anytime,” said Louise. “I’d love to have you join my staff. At the same time, if you can’t commit, then I need to find someone who will.”
“I understand,” said Holly. After a pause, she ended the call.
Holly still felt woozy. She turned her face to the sun and inhaled. The air smelled of pine and the new growth of spring. There was no easy answer. In truth, she didn’t want to leave Pleasant Pines. Yet she was too practical to become sentimental about a town, even if that town was her home.
* * *
Darcy shared a small apartment with two other female staff members. It was provided by the White Wind as a perk to their employees. The space wasn’t much—a bedroom with three separate beds, a chest of drawers for each person, a small living room/kitchen combo and a smaller bathroom.
Lying on her bed, Darcy was thankful for a moment alone. She found her cheerful roommates to be maddening. Their constant chatter was like an ice pick being shoved into her ear.
After she’d taken the antibiotic, Darcy’s fever had abated. Rolling to her back, she closed her eyes.
A hot tear snaked down the side of her face and settled in her ear. She turned, letting the tear run onto the pillow. How was it that some people were blessed while others were cursed? What had Darcy done to deserve her fate?
“That man came to you, remember that,” the Darkness whispered, its tone seductive and insistent. The Darkness hadn’t forgotten about Kevin Carpenter’s invitation to meet for a drink.
“No. I can’t. I won’t,” she said inside her mind. “Leave me alone.”
Yet she was taken away by the moments when she’d had complete power and life slipped away from her victims.
Moments when she would have it again.
No.
She was strong enough to ignore the urge. Darcy could let this victim go. Kevin was nothing to her and his death was not worth the sacrifice. Besides, once his body was found, she’d be forced to run again.
“Stay tonight,” said the Darkness once more. “Settle the score. There’s no reason to deny yourself the power, especially after so much has been taken from you.”
The Darkness was right—in that truth, she found peace. It was like the calm after a storm. Her limbs became heavy as her eyes began to close. Lulled by the sound of her own heart beating, she drifted toward sleep. Slipping down, down, down, the Darkness whispered once more in her ear, “You are mine. And I will never let you go.”
From the hallway came the echoes of footfalls on the concrete and she sat up, holding her breath. The steps stopped and she stared at the door, ready for one of her roommates to enter.
They didn’t.
Who was outside?
On silent feet, she crossed the room and pressed her eye to the peephole. A man stood in the corridor.
His shoulders tensed and he looked over his shoulder. Darcy gasped and stepped back.
Had he seen her?
Had he known?
She waited a moment and stepped back to the door.
The man was still there. He glanced left and his gaze swept slowly to the right. Thinking he was alone, he reached into his pocket and removed—what? From her vantage point, she couldn’t see. He turned to the wall. Reaching above his head, he pressed a finger into the seam between the wall and the thick, rubberized trim.
She stared at the spot. There was a winking of glass reflecting light.
What in the...?
Was it a camera?
Was she being spied on?
No, nobody knew she was here. If they did, she would’ve been caught by now, for sure.
Maybe it was just a security precaution on behalf of the resort. Something done by the management without the staff’s knowledge. The fact that she didn’t recognize the guy didn’t mean a thing. There were dozens and dozens of employees. In fact, the vastness of the resort suited her. It provided the perfect place for Darcy to hide—in plain sight.
* * *
It was Wednesday evening. Liam wore a pressed dress shirt and sat in the bar adjacent to the restaurant. He sipped from a bottle of beer. Several hours remained before his scheduled break-in of the security office.
Shaking his head, he wondered what his grandfather would think of him now. Or, with a pang of guilt, Charlie?
Was Liam a thief, for stealing the privacy that people expected? Or was he a soldier, fighting for good against evil?
In the woods, Liam had only gotten a fleeting glimpse of Darcy. And he was certain of one thing. She was evil. He thought back to the briefing he’d received on the killer his first morning with RMJ. The cramped conference room with photographs on the walls was as clear to him as the room in which he now sat.
In most of the pictures, Darcy had had blond hair. In some, she was a brunette. The slight change in hair color hadn’t been much of a disguise, but it was enough to change her look.
Where was she now?
Turning back to his beer, Liam took a long swallow. A large mirror was affixed to the wall behind the bar. His gaze passed over the reflection and he lowered the bottle from his lips.
Swiveling in his chair, he stared.
Holly stood at the door of the restaurant. A light pink dress skimmed her lithe figure. The neckline dipped low. An image of his mouth on her chest came to mind. He finished the beer in a single swallow. Did Holly really have to look that good if she was just pretending?
It also meant that she hadn’t dressed up for him. She was playing a role. For her, this escapade was all work, and if not for the money, she’d be in Pleasant Pines.
A burning began in Liam’s middle, filling him with an emotion he couldn’t name. Wasn’t sure he wanted to name.
He met Holly at the door to the restaurant.
His chest tightened. Just looking at her was an exquisite torture. Get it together, Alexander. She’s not for you. Still, his heart didn’t agree with his head, and he said, “You look amazing.”
The compliment hung in the air.
Color rose in Holly’s cheeks. “Thank you.”
“Table for two?” the hostess asked.
“Please,” he said, following the young woman through the restaurant. The tables were covered with pristine white cloths. A large fireplace sat at the back of the room; the flames cast a glow throughout the restaurant. A bank of windows overlooked a valley filled with evergreens. The predicted storm had arrived, and a cold rain fell, darkening the sky.
They were seated at a table near the window. A server filled glasses with water and left a plate of lemon slices.
“If this weather doesn’t stop,” said Liam as he pulled out Holly’s seat, “we could get stuck.”
“Oh?”
“It’s just that the river will rise quickly with all the rain and the snow runoff from the higher elevations. Then the bridge will wash out. Or it used to. Maybe the state fixed the bridge now that a resort sits on the land.”
Then again, Liam suspected that being trapped with Holly was just what he wanted. Was there any way that he could make his desire a reality?
Chapter 12
Darcy needed an outfit.
She had half an hour left before meeting Kevin in the hotel bar, and she could hardly go in there in her housekeeping uniform. But she had nothing else to wear.
Her eyes were drawn to the three dressers, all standing in a line at the back wall. Darcy’s chest of drawers was practically empty. However, the other two were not. Certainly, her roommates owned some clothes Darcy could borrow, even if she never gave them back.
It took only a moment to find a pair of jeans and a tight-fitting black sweater. A pair of loafers, half a size too large, completed the ensemble. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror. For the first time in weeks, Darcy felt like her old self.
&n
bsp; In control.
She strode through the corridors and entered the bar with ten minutes to spare, only to find Kevin Carpenter sitting on a bar stool. He held up a champagne flute as she approached. “It’s French,” he said. “I thought you’d like something special.”
Darcy accepted her drink and took a sip. “How thoughtful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Kevin said. He lifted a brown bottle of beer to his lips and took a swallow.
Beer? Oh no. Kevin needed to drink something stronger than beer. For Darcy, it was a game and now she needed to outmaneuver her opponent.
“This is a celebration,” Darcy said, finishing her drink. “Bartender, two shots of vodka.”
Kevin laughed as the bartender filled two small glasses. Darcy gulped her drink. It landed in her stomach like a liquid bomb. Kevin drank the vodka in a single swallow.
“Another,” said Darcy.
The glasses were quickly refilled. Kevin drank his shot. Darcy left hers untouched.
“One more,” she said.
“You’re getting me drunk,” said Kevin. “Are you trying to take advantage of me?”
“Maybe,” she said. She lifted her drink to her lips. “You need another drink.”
Kevin took a third shot, as Darcy quickly dumped her drink into the sink just behind the bar. Her victim looked at Darcy, his expression glazed. Now, all she needed was to get Kevin alone.
“I have an idea,” she said. “Let’s get our own bottle of vodka and go somewhere more—” she paused “—intimate.”
“Wow,” he said, no doubt marveling at how easy his latest conquest had been. “I mean, what the hell,” said Kevin. “You only live once, right?”
Darcy smiled. “It’s exactly what I was thinking.”
* * *
For security reasons, the RMJ team had left the White Wind resort and now sat in the van at the back of the parking lot of a nearby twenty-four-hour big-box store. Four screens were illuminated. A continual reel of faces, picked up from the cameras hidden around the White Wind, filled each monitor. Each was scanned by their facial-recognition software. Within seconds, databases from around the world were searched and a verified match was listed.
Agent’s Mountain Rescue Page 12
