She leaned her forehead against his chest. Would hearing about Earl hurt him? He never talked about the officer as if they were friends, but still… They worked together.
“Tell me, Goldilocks.”
“I was in that recessed doorway at the grocery, and I overheard Officer Baumer talking to two women. He told them the influx of tourists would bring in more litter and criminals. Perverts and druggies. That the town would never be the same.”
Under her fingers, Gabe’s back muscles tensed. “Now, that’s very interesting. I wonder how long he’s been spreading surreptitious propaganda. And why?”
“Why is a good question. Creating a hostile environment in town will drive away visitors.” Unable to think while in Gabe’s arms, she walked to the window and back. “But the officer’s job depends on having tourists. Without them, you two aren’t needed.”
“Yep. We’re talking job suicide.” Gabe leaned a hip on the desk, arms folded over his chest.
“What is more important to him than his career?” She stopped in the center of the room. “Is he one of those off-the-gridders?”
“You know, I’m not sure where he lives.” Gabe sat behind the computer and brought up the officer’s file. When he entered Earl’s home address into the map app, his mouth went flat.
“What?” Audrey leaned in to look.
Gabe made a circle with his finger. “This area is the Patriot Zealot compound. He lives inside it.”
“Oh…boy.”
“Baumer being a PZ explains what he finds more important than his job.” Gabe’s expression hardened. “I’ve had concerns about him, but wrote them off.”
That didn’t seem like Gabe. “How come?”
His smile was rueful. “I figured he wanted the chief position and was ticked off when I got brought in. I thought he’d adjust to having someone over him.”
Yes, unless the officer was a danger to the community, she could see Gabe giving Earl a chance to join the team. He’d done the same with Knox and Chevy. “Do you suppose Earl had been promised the chief position? I bet the PZs wanted him to be in charge of the police force.”
“It’s good they didn’t get that choice.” Gabe shut down the program. “Since Reverend Parrish was down on even reopening the station, he wasn’t allowed input into the hiring.”
Thank goodness. “What are you going to do now?”
“Watch and wait. I don’t have grounds to let him go. Yet. Although his work as an officer is growing increasingly slipshod.”
“Um…Chief?”
His mouth twitched. “Yes, Ms. Hamilton.”
She almost grinned at the way he’d answered formality with formality. “I’m good at research and can collect different information than your standard law enforcement background check.
“Can you now?” he asked in a musing voice.
She flushed. “A while back, I did online searches for a PI, and he taught me some tricks.”
“You’re a wellspring of interesting skills.” He ran his finger down her cheek. “I’d be interested in seeing what you come up with. I’ll do the usual, you do your magic, and we’ll compare notes.”
He believed her, wanted her help, valued her skills. The sense of pride that washed through her was headier than any alcoholic drink. “Okay. I’ll get that started right now.”
“Maybe in a minute.” He caught her around the waist and firm lips took hers, softened, and teased.
When he eventually released her, she had to cling to him to keep from falling. Whew. Heat swept in waves over her skin.
But…public place. Behave.
She gave him a severe look. “You shouldn’t kiss people in your station. Bad chief.” With an effort, she managed to walk in a straight line out the door.
And heard him chuckle behind her.
* * *
Standing at his window, Gabe watched Audrey cross the street. Her gorgeous hair swung back and forth, the sun turning it to a bright gold. Rather than the baggy clothes she’d worn when she first arrived, she now wore tight jeans that showcased a world-class ass.
So fucking pretty. He loved how she hadn’t thought twice about offering her assistance. People might scare her, but her need to help won out every time.
He sure wasn’t going to turn her down. The woman was brilliant.
Settling behind his desk, he frowned at the stacks of paperwork, then at the door. Anytime he wasn’t in the station, his office was locked. Still, he’d thought a time or two that the piles weren’t in the same order he’d left them.
Gabe scowled. He’d blown off the feeling, putting it down to being paranoid, to lingering PTSD.
Guess not.
As Mako had always said—just because a man was paranoid, didn’t mean he had no enemies out to get him.
Was this anti-tourist whispering campaign new, or had Baumer been busy for a while?
He had a new thought. Had Baumer spurred Knox and Chevy to their destructive rampage?
The two had been caught because Gabe put up security cameras. Baumer had been ticked off he hadn’t been informed prior to the cameras going in.
Leaning back in his chair, Gabe stared out the window. Considering Rescue’s politics and Parrish’s animosity, Gabe needed to be careful about tossing Baumer out on his ass.
In the meantime, although the vandalism had stopped, female tourists, especially, were getting harassed. None of it was getting caught on camera. Because the instigators apparently knew exactly where the cameras were located.
Well, he could fix that.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A weather front had rolled through during the night and turned Tuesday into a cold, wet mess. Gabe had found it damn difficult to roll out of bed that morning, especially a bed with Audrey in it.
They’d been together every night for a week, since the day she’d told him she wanted to have a fling.
He shook his head. Weren’t flings supposed to be all about the sex? Admittedly, he and Audrey were certainly having sex. They were also waking up together, making breakfast, and teasing each other about eating habits.
He’d visit the coffee shop and library to see her; she’d wander into the station with coffee and donuts—because “isn’t that what police eat?”
He planted tomatoes with her in Lillian’s garden, and she’d helped him weed the Hermitage garden. She’d taken over gathering eggs from the chicken coop.
Last Sunday on Father’s Day, she’d talked him into fishing with her, Tucker, and Zappa. Later, after grilling their catches, he, Caz, and Bull had told her Mako stories that had her laughing, crying, and occasionally so spitting mad she’d have slapped the sarge if he’d been alive.
She’d not only joined them in singing, but also asked him to teach her guitar.
He’d never met anyone who dove into life with such enthusiasm. Having emerged from her Chicago cocoon and been reassured that introverts could win friends, there was no holding her back.
Next step, to get her to move from a fling into a real relationship…with him.
Gabe parked the patrol car by the grocery. He’d do a quick check of the businesses and stop in the coffee shop to collect a kiss from the prettiest woman in the state.
As he got out of the car, a spatter of frigid rain hit his face. No need for a cold shower when living in Alaska.
He glanced at the police station and turned away. The atmosphere there was nearly as chilly since, with no suitable reason to fire Baumer, the two-faced, lying bastard was still working.
Putting the frustration aside, Gabe entered the arts and crafts store.
“Good afternoon, Chief.” Glenda’s loom held some complicated weaving. “Did you come to check on your men?”
“My men?”
“Knox and Chevy.” She motioned toward new shelving that ran up one wall. “After they bought the lumber, Knox sanded and stained it, and Chevy put the shelves up.”
Gabe ran a finger over the wood. Nicely finished. “Looks good.”
&
nbsp; “It does, indeed. We feel the two have more than repaid the graffiti.”
“I’m glad you—”
“Chief. Chief! Where’s the Chief? And the Doc?” The woman’s voice came from the street.
Hearing the desperation, Gabe ran outside.
A whipcord-lean, older woman stood between a pickup truck and his patrol car.
“What’s wrong?” Gabe skidded to a stop beside her.
“Inside.” She opened the pickup’s passenger door.
Head slumped to one side, an unconscious Chevy lay with the seat reclined as far back as it could get. His shirt was in shreds. Blood covered his face and one shoulder.
Hell.
Gabe glanced around and pointed at a teenaged boy. “Run and get Caz from the health clinic. Tell him to bring the stretcher.”
The kid darted across the street.
“Tell me what happened,” Gabe said to the woman before leaning into the vehicle. Rope tied around Chevy’s body was holding bloodstained gauze in place. Gabe took a quick look beneath and winced at the long parallel slashes. Caz’d have a job picking debris out of that mess.
Restoring the dressings, Gabe pressed down to help slow the bleeding. “Looks like he got crosswise of a bear.”
“Must have. He staggered out of the forest, and sweet Jesus, I almost ran over the idiot. I pulled his jacket off, strapped a pressure dressing on him, and managed to get him into the pickup.”
“All extremities moving?” Gabe asked. The head wound had stopped bleeding, but the surrounding swelling and bruising indicated the man had hit something solid.
“Yes. Chief, he said something about his boy. I yelled and yelled before leaving, but the boy never answered.”
Oh…fuck. Gabe’s jaw clenched. Leaning forward, he slapped Chevy lightly. “Wake up, man.”
Chevy moaned. His eyes fluttered.
Caz joined Gabe. “What’s going on?”
“Bear attack. Sounds like the guy’s kid might be out there.”
“With a pissed-off bear? Dios. Ask your questions. I’ll transport him after.”
“Chevy, wake up.”
Chevy’s eyes opened and slowly focused. “MacNair. What the eff?” He moved, groaned, and looked down. “Oh God.”
Reaching out, he tried to grab Gabe. “Niko. My son. Is he here?”
“No, he’s not.” Niko. That was the kid who’d found the pup under a car. Hell. Gabe took Chevy’s hands. “Where did you see him last?”
“We got a mo—” Chevy’s gaze caught on Gabe’s badge for a long second. “Hell. Okay, I shot a moose. We were packing out the meat and walked between a sow and her cubs. A brown.”
Shit. Pretty much what he’d figured. Brown bears could be aggressive, especially the mothers. “She attacked?”
“Yeah. I yelled at Niko to run and tried to get my weapon up, but…” He shrugged.
A bear’s charge was fast. Unless Chevy had already been aiming his rifle that direction, he couldn’t have done anything.
“Did you see Niko afterward?”
Fear was in the man’s eyes. “Bear swatted me good, knocked me into a tree, and then I heard Niko yell. She took off after him. Jesus.” A shudder ran through him. “After my boy.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. The kid couldn’t be more than ten.
Chevy looked at Gabe. “I passed out. Don’t know how long. When I came to, I tried to find Niko, only I kept falling.”
“So, you walked out for help. Good decision, man.” Gabe gave his pen and notepad to the woman who’d brought Chevy in. “Write down directions to where you found him as best you can. Then can you take me to the place?”
“Certainly.” She took the pad and started writing.
Gabe gripped Chevy’s uninjured shoulder in reassurance. “I’ll take a crew out to search. Anything else you can think of?”
“Uh-uh. Please find him.”
“We will.” Gabe remembered the boy’s happy grin when the pup crawled into his lap. His gut tightened. Please, let us find the kid alive.
Caz bumped his shoulder against Gabe’s. “My turn, viejo.”
As Gabe stepped back to let the medical shit begin, he saw townsfolk gathering around the pickup.
“Here you go, Chief.” The woman handed over the pad of directions.
Gabe asked, “Do you want to come with me in the patrol car?”
“No, I want my vehicle. You can follow me.”
“Good enough.” Gabe glanced around at the crowd. “A pissed-off sow with cubs attacked Chevy. Chevy’s son, Niko, is still out there. The kid’s about ten years old. I need volunteers to search for him.”
One person—only one—eased away and left.
Someone’s voice rose. “Get Dante here. He’ll be able to backtrack Chevy and the kid.”
“Yeah, Dante’s good at picking up a trail.”
Dante’s raspy laugh sounded off to the right. “From what I’ve heard, the Chief can leave me in the dust.”
“No one follows a trail better than Gabe,” Bull said.
Gabe saw the skeptical expressions. Looked like he shouldn’t have been so close-mouthed about his past. No time to rectify that now, though. He motioned to Bull. “Organize volunteers. I want them wilderness-experienced and able to help with a carry-out.”
Bull flicked his fingers in a salute and started barking orders to the people around him.
Caz would deal with medical. Bull had the search team. Next—support staff. It was hypothermia weather.
Gabe spotted Sarah and Audrey. “Can you set up a base station on the road? Blankets, warm drinks, and food for the searchers and hopefully the boy?”
“Absolutely,” Sarah took the pad of directions from him and glanced at it before handing it back. “I know the area.”
Beside her, Audrey hesitated as if unsure if she would be of use. A city girl would be used to calling 911 for shit like this. He gave her an encouraging nod.
Her chin lifted. “We’ll get it done.”
Yeah, she would.
“Good. We’ll leave you a place to park.” Spotting Regina, Gabe gave her the pad of directions. “This is where we’re starting the search for those who aren’t joining us right away. Also, get a wildlife trooper out here, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
Caz drafted men to help load Chevy onto the stretcher.
As they carried Chevy across the street, an older woman shook her head. “That idiot. Hunting out of season.” She followed the stretcher.
“Chevy’s aunt,” Dante said.
“Ah.” Looking around, Gabe was pleased by the number of volunteers around Bull. If Gabe couldn’t find the kid’s tracks, the more eyes the better. “All right, people. We’ll park where Chevy left the forest and backtrack him.”
Nods showed their understanding.
“Gear up—cold weather and rain clothing, flashlights, survival packs. If you have bear spray or flares, bring them. Leave your firearms behind—we’ll have too many people around to be shooting.”
“No shit.”
“Got it, Chief.”
“Anyone who can’t follow us out right now, get directions from Regina.” He looked at Dante and Bull. He’d trust them to shoot and hit what they aimed at. “Bring your weapons.”
He motioned to the pickup driver to get into her vehicle, then jumped into the patrol car.
Once they’d gathered supplies, Audrey rode shotgun as Sarah drove out of town and down increasingly narrow gravel roads.
“There.” Audrey pointed to where cars and pickups lined the almost non-existent shoulder, turning the road into a one lane.
As they pulled up, the last of the searchers were disappearing into the forest.
How cool was it that two were women?
Although wishing she could search, too, Audrey knew she’d be more of a hindrance than a help. She’d keep learning, and next time a problem arose, she’d be with the searchers.
“I should learn to shoot, too,” she muttered, getting
a quizzical then understanding glance from Sarah.
Stay focused, Audrey. A line of orange cones caught her eye. “I bet that’s the spot Gabe left for us.”
Audrey slid out of the SUV and moved the cones so Sarah could park. As the cold, drizzling rain dampened her head and shoulders, she shuddered, thinking of the boy. Only ten years old. He’d seen his father attacked by a bear. He’d be terrified. And was lost.
At the back of the SUV, Sarah lifted up the rear hatch. “If you want to learn to shoot, ask the chief. Mako told us Gabe was ranked an expert marksman in the military.”
“Oh, good idea.” Gabe. She should have known. “I can’t believe how quickly he got everything organized.”
As he’d coolly handed out orders, people had jumped to obey. In fact, when he told Dante to fetch something, the old vet had absently saluted.
“The chief has a talent for being in charge.” Sarah attached a tarp to the lifted rear hatch. “I think combat sergeants have an instinctual need to create order from chaos, and Gabe is a lot like Mako.”
“I wish I’d known Mako.” He’d certainly raised strong men. Audrey anchored two six-foot poles to hold up the other end of the canopy. “This is really clever. People can get under here and stay dry.”
“It was Mako who gave us the idea.” Sarah smiled. “He was a wealth of practical knowledge when we got here. Even after a couple of years in Alaska, we were still learning how to manage.”
Audrey eyed her. “New York, right?”
“You can hear the accent, hmm?”
“New York to Rescue is quite a leap, isn’t it?”
“Oh, was it. I blame my husband. He was determined our children would learn skills other than playing video games. It took us a while to find the right place, though. We tried Anchorage. Too many people for Uriah. A cabin without electricity? Not for me.” She made a face. “There are certain skills I don’t need—like doing laundry by hand.”
What a horrible thought. “I’m with you there.”
“So, we settled here in Rescue. It suits us both.”
Audrey set up the oversized coffee and soup dispensers and then wrapped them with insulating blankets. Additional thermoses of hot water for tea or hot chocolate were lined up and insulated under more blankets. In case the search lasted too long, Sarah had a camp stove available to reheat the food and drink.
Not a Hero Page 23
