Darcy didn’t know, but she knew one thing. She had to leave. Now.
“Stay,” whispered the Darkness.
“No,” said Darcy, while clambering into the front seat. “Something’s going on and I don’t want to wait around and find out what it is.” She started the engine and put the car into Drive.
“I’m with you and I make you invincible. Discover the truth. Vanquish your foes.”
Darcy slowly turned off the ignition. Truly, she didn’t know who the guy was or what he wanted.
But she had the Darkness on her side. And so she decided to return to the apartment and play housekeeper for another day. It was the only way. Because Darcy knew there was something wrong with the dark-haired guy. And she was determined to uncover the truth.
* * *
The back of Liam’s neck itched. He could feel a pair of eyes on him as he walked away from the mobile HQ. But who? And where in the hell were they? He’d scanned the parking lot—barely at quarter capacity—filled only with empty cars. Yet the surrounding woods were vast, and a person could be hidden anywhere.
Keeping his gait slow and steady, he returned to the resort but didn’t enter the main building. Instead, he approached the back, heading toward the woods. Keeping to the tree line, he moved silently and circumvented the building. Liam was in his element. It was predator versus prey.
He moved slowly, examining everything. There were no branches broken by a passing shoulder. No undergrowth turned up by scuffling feet. No signs that anyone had been in the woods—much less watching Liam.
Could it be that working an undercover operation had left him paranoid?
He had to admit it was a possibility.
But no. Liam knew what it was to watch and wait.
He scanned the cars again. This time, from the cover of the woods, he had the ability to look at each one in turn. They were all empty, now at least. Had he missed someone earlier?
It was the same feeling he’d had in the hallway of the staff’s residential building. The sense that he was being watched, even though there was nobody there.
Liam wanted to tell himself that being back on his family’s land was playing with his emotions and imagination. Then again, he knew better.
Someone was out there, somewhere.
Who was it? And what did they want?
Keeping to the trees, he returned to the resort. His stomach grumbled and he realized that he hadn’t eaten breakfast. He checked his watch. It had been almost ninety minutes since he and Holly had gone to the lobby, searching for information about the front desk manager.
What had Holly been doing since then?
And how would she react to Marcus Jones not giving her all the money she’d bargained for?
He entered the lobby and took the elevator to the third floor. Using his key card, he opened the door and stepped into the suite. Holly was at the table. A stack of files sat at her elbow. She looked up as he entered. The sun shone at her from behind, turning her hair the color of coppery fire. His heart squeezed in his chest.
“You look busy,” he said, letting the door swing shut.
“Hey, there’s something we need to talk about,” she said.
“Did you find something else in the case file?” Liam felt pulled to her, his body hardening as he gazed at her, taking her in completely. Then again, what good did it do for him to want her if she didn’t want him in return? He stayed where he was and rested his shoulder against the door.
“I did,” she said. “But it’s not that... It’s...”
Why the hesitation? Maybe now was the time to tell her about his conversation with Marcus. “Ah, listen. Wyatt and Marcus are going to look into Darcy’s connection to the front desk manager. If it turns out that he’s the one she called, or if he has information that leads to her arrest, you’ll get the entire twenty thousand dollars. If not—” he shrugged “—you’ll get the consultant’s fee. Three thousand bucks. That’s not too bad.”
She closed the folder and turned to face him. “I know you feel completely responsible for the bank not working with me on all the debts. But to be honest, the outcome of the meeting would’ve been the same even if I’d been on time. It wasn’t fair of me to blame you. In the moment, I was upset and wanted to lash out at someone. That someone happened to be you. I’m sorry for that. I made the financial mess and it’s my job to clean it up. Still, I sincerely appreciate your help.”
Liam didn’t know that it was possible for him to like Holly Jacobs more than he had before. As it turned out, he could. “You know, you’re damn near perfect.”
She laughed. “Hardly.”
“You’re smart. Funny. Kind. More than that, it’s hard to admit to a mistake and apologize. You’ve done both.”
She opened the folder and looked down at a page. “Besides, the consultant’s fee will be helpful with the move if I take the job.”
Take the job? That was news to him. “What job? Where?”
“I’ve been offered a faculty position at a college in Ohio. If I’m not able to keep the day-care center, I should probably accept.”
“Is that what you want? I thought you liked working with young children.”
“I do like the younger kids. It’s just...” She shook her head. “I have to be honest. I’m not good at running a business and there’s nothing else in Pleasant Pines for someone with a PhD in child psychology to do. Maybe if I moved to Cheyenne, or maybe Laramie, but even there, I’d be working at a university.”
“What would you want to do...if you could do anything?”
“I guess write another book.”
“Why don’t you?”
Holly shook her head. “What would my topic be? All the ways you can fail at business without really trying? Besides, my first book was a success and then...”
“And then, what?”
“Then it wasn’t. For months, I was invited to parties and I was interviewed on the radio. TV. Different mental health podcasts. You name it. When the book quit selling, I was forgotten. It was awful. When the fawning stopped, I came home and swore that I’d never get caught up in being a celebrity again.”
Liam felt her slipping away, like she was almost in Ohio. He knew that he should let her go. But instead he said, “You don’t know if the Robert Carpenter lead will work out or not. Maybe you should give it a day or two before taking the university job.”
“Maybe,” she said, though her tone told Liam that she was far from convinced. She exhaled and lifted a sheet of paper from the pile. “I was thinking about what you said last night—about predators having a hunting ground. I think I found something.”
“You did?” he said, moving toward Holly. Liam stopped himself before he reached her side, knowing that he needed to keep his distance. “What is it?”
She held up a sheet of paper with a pencil drawing. There was a decent likeness of a white farmhouse surrounded by woods. Next to the house was...what? He couldn’t really make sense of it. Some sort of black scribble. A tornado? A storm cloud? “Darcy drew this when she was a freshman in high school,” said Holly. She pointed to the bottom right corner and a penciled-in date.
“I think this is her house,” she continued. “But this,” said Holly, tapping on the scribble, “is what I find interesting.”
“What is it?”
Holly turned to look at Liam. “I think it’s a face.”
Liam reached out for the drawing. Up close he could see it, narrow eyes and jagged mouth set into a wedge of black. A chill ran up his spine. Again, he had to ask, “What is it?”
“I’m not sure, but if this person were one of my clients, I’d be spending a lot of time working on uncovering what this is to them. And why they felt a need to try to hide it.”
Liam handed the picture back to Holly and returned to his post by the door. “You should talk to Wyatt,” sai
d Liam. “Next week, or something.”
“Sure,” said Holly. “If I’m in town.”
If I’m in town. Her words hung in the air between them. What else was there for him to say?
Holly tucked the picture into a file folder. “Not to change the subject, but there’s really something I need to tell you.” She paused. Inhaled. Continued. “I got a call from Tonya this morning.”
Terror gripped Liam’s throat as he imagined a thousand and one things that could’ve gone wrong with Sophie. “Is everything okay? What’s the matter with Sophie?”
“Sophie’s fine. It’s Tonya’s husband. He’s sick and she needs to be home so she can take care of him. But she can’t bring Sophie and risk getting her sick, too.”
The thought of his little girl sick with the flu left Liam queasy himself. “Which means what, exactly?”
“Well, I shouldn’t have made this decision for you, but it seemed like the only thing to do...” Her words trailed off. Before she could pick up her story, there was a knock at the door and Liam could well imagine what Holly was going to say next.
He lifted the handle and pulled the door open.
Before he could say a word, Sophie launched herself into his arms. “Dad-dee.” As she wrapped her arms around his neck, she said, “See, I did get to be on the trip with you and Holly.”
Chapter 14
Holly offered to return to Pleasant Pines with Sophie, giving up her last day of payment. When Liam refused her offer, she agreed to watch Sophie, while he continued to work.
To her, it seemed like the best plan. After Liam left to capture images. Holly suggested a dip in one or—or both—of the pools at the resort. Thankfully, Holly had thought to pack her swimsuit, although Sophie didn’t have anything with her.
It was a problem easily solved by a quick trip to one of the resort’s clothing stores. They quickly purchased a shimmering pink swimsuit and a set of mermaid water wings for the little girl.
“One. Two. Three!” Holly sat near the edge, in the shallow end of the pool. Holding Sophie’s hands, she lifted the child on the last count. “Up and whee!” she said as Sophie jumped into her arms with a splash.
The indoor pool was housed in a room of glass that overlooked the mountain vistas. The warm temperatures Holly had seen on her weather app finally arrived and the sun hung in the sky of robin’s egg blue, but it was still a little too chilly to be in an outdoor pool. For almost ninety minutes, Sophie had been playing in the water. As far as Holly was concerned, it was the best time she’d spent in a long while. Still, she found that her gaze traveled to the grounds, where she kept hoping to catch a glimpse of Liam’s return.
Sophie giggled and slapped the surface of the water. Holly couldn’t help but smile.
“Hey, Dr. Holly?” Sophie asked.
“Yes, sweetie?”
“When’s lunch?”
Shoot. They hadn’t made any concrete plans—Liam only said that he’d come and find them at the pool when he was done. Holly consulted a large clock affixed to the wall of the clubhouse: 12:30 p.m. Definitely lunchtime.
“Why don’t we get dried off? There’s a restaurant. What do you want to eat?”
“Yay! Chicken nuggets, my faaavorite,” Sophie chanted, splashing in time with her words.
Holly laughed. “I’m sure we can find you some chicken nuggets.”
“Yay!” said Sophie. “You’re the best, Dr. Holly.”
Holly glanced over her shoulder, worried that someone had overheard Sophie’s use of the word doctor. But there was no one else at the pool.
If Holly were supposed to be Liam’s pretend wife, then it made her Sophie’s fake stepmother. She could hardly expect a child to understand the need for secrecy, but all the same, they did have a cover to maintain.
“Since we aren’t at school, you don’t have to call me Dr. Holly. You can just call me Holly. Okay?”
Sophie gave a thumbs-up. “O-kay!”
At the edge of the pool, a dark-haired woman in a black-and-white housekeeping uniform hurried past.
“Excuse me,” Holly called to the woman.
The woman strode on.
“Excuse me,” said Holly again, louder this time. “Do you happen to know where we can get towels?”
The woman stopped. “I’m sorry?”
“Hi,” said Holly, stepping from the pool. Sophie was perched on her hip. “Can you get us a towel?”
The woman shook her head. “Ah, of course. I’ll get a towel for you and your daughter. We ran out, but we have more inside.” She disappeared into the clubhouse, returning a moment later with a stack of thick, white towels and held them out. “Here you are.”
Sophie wiggled to the ground as Holly read the woman’s name tag. “Thank you, Claire.”
“It’s my pleasure,” she said as she placed the rest of the towels on the metal rack.
Holly unfolded a towel and held it open. “You ready for chicken nuggets?” she asked Sophie.
“Yes. Yes. Yes,” said the little girl as she skipped to Holly and the open towel.
“All right,” said Holly as she wrapped up the child, ruffling her wet hair with a corner of the towel. “Let’s get some lunch.”
The dark-haired housekeeper smiled. “Your daughter is adorable.”
“Oh, she’s not my daughter,” she said, a little too quickly. “I’m her stepmother.” Holly continued to dry Sophie’s hair, all the while hoping the towel muffled anything Sophie might hear of the conversation—or any comment the little girl might make.
“Still,” said Claire. “She is adorable. You’re a very lucky woman.”
“Thank you,” said Holly as she wrapped the towel around Sophie’s shoulders.
The woman narrowed her blue eyes. It was an accusatory glare, for sure. It left Holly feeling uncomfortable and wondering what she’d done wrong.
The other woman said, “Well, you must excuse me. I have work to do.”
“Of course,” said Holly. “Thanks again for the towels.”
Liam approached the pool from the direction of the golf course. He lifted his hand in greeting. “How are my best girls?” he called out.
“Daddy,” said Sophie. Dropping the towel, she ran toward her father.
“Use your walking feet, please,” said Holly, out of a long-held habit for safety. “The concrete is slippery.”
Sophie slowed her gait. Arms swinging, she moved at a fast walk.
Liam scooped his daughter into his arms for a big hug. “How’s my baby girl?”
Holly watched the two of them together, unable to hold back her smile. Then she noticed that Claire still stood nearby, watching the duo intently, as well. A shiver ran down Holly’s spine and she grabbed another towel, draping it over her shoulders.
“Yes,” said Claire as she turned to face Holly. Her clear blue eyes had inexplicably turned as dark and ominous as a storm cloud. “You are a very lucky woman.”
* * *
During the course of the day, Liam had taken hundreds of pictures. None of the faces he photographed had helped in the search for Darcy Owens. In fact, all Liam had to show for his time and effort was a happy daughter.
Now, they were back in the suite, and as he sent off the latest batch of images to Wyatt and Marcus he noticed it was well past Sophie’s bedtime.
“Good night, baby girl.” Liam had set up Sophie to sleep in one of the twin beds. He placed a kiss on his daughter’s forehead. “I love you.”
“Good night, Daddy,” she said, her voice thick with sleep. “I ’ove you, too.”
He turned off the bedside lamp.
“Daddy, I need a night-light.”
Shoot. He hadn’t known that Sophie was going to be at the resort, too. If he had, he would’ve brought one from home. “What if I turn on the light in the bathroom and leave the door
open a little?”
“Okay,” said Sophie, nodding emphatically.
“Good night,” Liam said again.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, baby girl?”
“Will Holly be here in the morning?”
“She sure will,” he said.
“Good,” said Sophie as she snuggled deeper into the covers. “I like Holly.”
“Me, too,” said Liam.
He slipped out the door, stepping into the adjoining living room. Holly sat on the sofa, with her legs tucked beneath her. She’d donned a long sweater in coral, along with a pair of navy leggings. She was casual, comfortable and sexy as hell.
Looking up as he pulled the door closed, she said, “Hey.”
“Hey yourself.”
“Is Sophie sleeping?” she asked.
He took a seat at the other end of the sofa. “Almost,” he said.
“She’s a good kid,” said Holly. “I like her a lot.”
“Funny,” said Liam. His heart skipped a beat. “She said the same thing about you.”
“I didn’t want to ask you during the day, not in a public place or in front of Sophie,” Holly began, “but have you found any more links to Darcy Owens?”
“I heard from Marcus,” said Liam with a shake of his head. “The front desk manager—the one who might’ve been Darcy’s crush—was questioned. He admits to having attended the same school as Darcy. In fact, their houses aren’t too far away from each other—and by that, I mean there’s a mile of woods between the two properties. He knew who she was but not much more.”
“Was he at the resort Monday morning?”
“According to the cops who talked to him, he had a job interview someplace else. In fact, he had a follow-up interview today. It wasn’t a sick kid that kept him from work.” Liam exhaled. “Marcus wants to give our coworker the justice she deserves. And listen—I was there. I saw what Darcy did to Julia, and I can’t say that I blame him for feeling that way. All the same...” He shook his head.
“All the same, what?” Holly coaxed.
“All the same, this tactic isn’t effective.”
Agent’s Mountain Rescue Page 15
