by E L Irwin
Taking a deep breath, I waved at her as I carried my bag inside, getting into line for check-in. My flight was scheduled to land in Seattle at eleven this morning. I’d let Chief know the plans and when I’d be home.
I’d left my car in long-term parking, so when I landed, I didn’t have any extra wait time, other than just dealing with basic traffic. Glancing at the clock on the dash, I decided to do a little shopping and maybe some sightseeing. As my route would take me on the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry, I decided to stop in Edmonds. The quaint little waterfront town had a historic old-town feel to it.
It was nice to just walk along the shops and sip from my coffee or eat at one of the little cafés and not think about Ryler or Mrs. Carson or my crazy fan. I found a wrought iron bench beneath a tall maple tree and sat watching the ferries as they loaded and unloaded the passengers. It was a clear day. The sun was bright in the blue sky, the winds mild. Seagulls flew about, calling and looking for an easy meal.
Finally, after a couple hours, I got back in my car and boarded the ferry. The crossing to Kingston wasn’t long, just a half hour or so, and then I was on my way. On a whim, I decided to head to the Dungeness River Bridge, at the Railroad Bridge Park. The historic bridge was a part of the Olympic Discovery Trail. The trees were beginning to change colors, just a hint of coral, pink, orange, and red. It was beautiful. I realized, as I walked along the bridge taking in my surroundings, that I really missed hiking. I missed the long walks I used to take around Coronado and along the beach.
I decided right then and there that I was going to start hiking again. I had boots; I’d bought them a while ago, just had never used them. And there was no reason not to go. Besides, it’d probably do me some good — both physical and mental. I knew there were trails on Jake’s property, Kerry had highlighted them for me. So, when I got back to the house, I’d pull that map out and check out those trails. Finishing my walk at a leisurely pace, I headed for home.
Ryler’s phone chirped, making him jump. He’d been clearing brush on the ridge behind his place. Even though everything was still pretty lush and green, Ryler tried to keep a fire barrier cleared just in case. Lightning could strike at any time, and when it did, it could have horrific results. When the text came in, he quickly pulled off his gloves with his teeth. “She’ll be back sometime after noon today,” Chief’s text read.
Shiv stretched as he climbed to his feet and arched his back. And then he lumbered in the direction of Jake’s place. “Yeah, buddy, she’ll be back today.”
Shiv trotted a few paces away, rumbling deep in his throat, before turning back to Ryler. “She’s not back yet. Later. We’ll go see her later,” Ryler told the dog. “And I’ll find out just why she’s been ignoring me and didn’t bother to let me know she was all right.”
Shiv whined, then with a sigh, returned to his place in the shade he’d found.
Ryler stared into the distance, looking toward Jake’s place, imagining AJ there. Imagining what he would say to her when he saw her.
His phone buzzed again. “Give her space, Rye. She’ll talk to you when she’s good and ready.”
“The heck?” he growled as he read Chief’s text.
“Trust me,” Chief texted again.
Ryler muttered under his breath in frustration before shoving the phone back in his pocket. “Whatever.”
He’d give her a day, a whole twenty-four hours before he sought her out. But that was it.
I found Kerry’s maps. There were two trails: one that wound down below the house and off toward the west, and the other that went eastward, winding up the mountain behind Ryler’s place. I checked in with Chief, letting him know I was back, and thanked him again for watching over Josephine for me. Speaking of my cat, she’d been winding herself around my legs nearly nonstop, making it difficult for me to move about the house.
Rather than trip over her, I decided to pick her up and just carry her around with me as I put things away and did laundry. That lasted for an hour or so until Josephine wanted her space once again. I decided to take today to just relax and hang out at home, especially as it was already in the afternoon, and I definitely didn’t want a repeat of the last time I’d tried walking home after dark.
Tomorrow, I’d need to go into town and pick up some groceries, but for tonight, I was fine. Digging through the freezer, I found a personal-sized gourmet frozen pizza that I know I didn’t buy. I assumed that Chief had bought it and placed it there for me. That was thoughtful of him. I texted him, thanking him for it.
Chief responded. “Sure thing. Heads up, Rye’s chomping at the bit.”
“Yeah,” I breathed to myself. “Yeah, I know.” Then texted back. “Got it. Thanks, Chief. For everything.”
It occurred to me in the morning as I walked around the house with my new hiking boots on, that I might not want to attempt a long trail to start with. That maybe it’d be better to break in these boots before I took on any serious trails. With that thought in mind, I pulled the boots off again and set them aside. I’d run to town, get my groceries, locate some other, easier trails, drop the groceries off at home, then head out for some mild hiking. Walking. Basically, I’d do some serious walking. I’d build up to actual hiking, making sure these boots were good and broken in first.
I swung into Charlie’s and gave Chief a hug. While there, I asked him about any trails he might know of in the area. Chief grabbed a scratch piece of paper and jotted down about a half-dozen locations that he thought might interest me. “You seen Rye yet?”
“No, not yet. I’m not sure just what to say to him. I guess I don’t know how to maintain a distance with him, ya know?”
Chief bobbed his head thoughtfully. “You’ll figure things out. Being a romance writer, you’re bound to have some idea as to how to handle things.”
I chuckled at that. “Yeah, you’d think so, wouldn’t you?”
“How’d things go down there? Anything get solved?”
Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. “I wish they had, but no. The police aren’t any closer to knowing who murdered Mrs. Carson. The only thing they seem pretty sure of is that the murder was directed at me.”
Chief became still; his eyes grew colder. “What does that mean? Are you in some kind of danger, kid?”
“I don’t know, Chief.” I swallowed. “I could be, I guess.”
“What are the police doing about that?”
“Not much they can do. The detective encouraged me to be cautious and to let him know if I could think of anyone who might want to hurt me.”
“Ryler needs to know this. Don’t screw around, AJ. You make sure he knows.”
“What can he do? I mean, yeah, I’ll tell him, but there isn’t much he can do. Not really.”
“You’d be surprised. Just make sure you tell him.”
“All right, I will. I promise.” I left shortly after that, list of locations in hand, and headed to the grocery store.
CHAPTER TEN
Long Live the Rebel
It occurred to me the following morning that Ryler was not the only rebel I knew. Because as I looked at my phone to see that he was once more calling, I found myself sending his call to voicemail. And not just that, I grabbed my hiking boots and keys, and quickly slunk out of my house like some sort of deviant trying to avoid authority and detection. Long live the rebel, I silently derided as I climbed into my car and headed down the driveway.
More like, long live the coward. Because after the fourth day of being home and avoiding Ryler, that was how I was feeling. That was what I was. A coward. Instead of just talking with him, I’d avoided him. Like, I had literally hidden in the house when he’d come to the door and knocked last night. And obviously, I still wasn’t accepting his phone calls yet either. I knew my actions were idiotic and borderline insane, but once I’d started down this path, I was completely unsure as to how to alter it.
I’d been on edge, understandably, this week. So far, Amber had not responded to my blog post. And h
er lack of response was irritating me. I’d been toying, again, with the idea of challenging the killer, whether it was truly her or someone else, and calling them out. Maybe after my hike today, I’d call Detective Whitaker and see if he’d learned anything new. And maybe I’d run my idea by him again, see if he’d had a change of heart.
I’d hiked, so far, three of the six locations that Chief had given me. The first two were rather easy. Each about three miles round trip, and the trails themselves were well cared for and maintained. The third was a little harder, including more hills, and several creek crossings. It had been longer also, being closer to five miles in length.
Today, I’d decided to hike that same trail, but I took it in reverse, starting from where I’d ended yesterday, just to offer a different perspective on it. I didn’t rush it, just took my time, stopping to take pictures of the lush scenery. By the time I’d finished, I was good and tired. My body ached as I climbed back into my car. I sat there for several minutes, allowing my heartrate to drop back to normal. My clothes were damp with sweat, and I wanted a shower, so I started the car and headed for home. It occurred to me on the drive back, that my fatigue was probably more emotional than it was physical.
As I came back into cell service, my phone buzzed, indicating a missed call and a message. Assuming it was from Ryler again, I — you guessed it — ignored the call. You know what they say about assuming, right? Yeah. I should have answered the call, or at least checked the voicemail, because, after I’d pulled the car into the garage, shut it off, and gone inside the house, I got the surprise of my life.
I tossed the keys on the counter and stumbled to the fridge for a bottle of water. Just as I pulled one out, I heard a deep whine come from behind me. Shrieking in fright, I spun around to see Shiv ambling toward me, his big tail swinging back and forth in excitement. Ryler stood from where he’d been sitting, half in the shadows of the living room. The look in his eye said murder, and it wouldn’t be pretty.
You’d think, especially after all I’d been through, that I’d have been more frightened. Instead, my heart clenched in my chest, emotion, strong and potent, entangling me in its grasp. Heat pooled and boiled inside me as I looked at him. And I could have sworn that the earth shifted beneath my feet.
I wanted to go to him; I wanted him to come to me. I wanted the distance between us gone. I just didn’t know how to get there, how to bridge the divide. Ryler was simmering. I could almost see the heatwaves coming off him. But what I wondered was if it was anger or something warmer, something far more dangerous to me that was burning him. Whatever it was, I wanted to answer it.
With trembling lips, I took a breath, about to speak, to break the deep silence, when my phone rang again. The noise startled me, bringing with it, a much-needed clarity.
“Your phone seems to be working,” Ryler growled low. “I’d wondered.”
Flushing, not knowing what to say to that, I jerked my gaze from him and looked to see who was calling. Recognizing the detective’s number, I quickly answered. “Hello?”
“Ms. McAdams?”
“Yes, this is she. Hello, Detective. Do you have any more news?”
“I just might. Amber responded to your post. We’re trying to get a trace on her.”
My heart thudded, “What did she say?”
“You haven’t read it yet?”
“No, I’ve… no.” Dimly, I noted Ryler drifting closer to me. His presence both comforted and disturbed me at once.
“Here, I’ll read it to you then. She said, ‘You shouldn’t have pushed me; this is all your fault. And you can’t hide from me. You should have stayed put.’ End quote.”
“So… oh my gosh… that means she did it, then. Doesn’t it?”
“It certainly sounds that way. Now we just need to find her.”
“Can you? I mean, can’t you trace her IP address, or something?”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that, Ms. McAdams. But we are working on it. Please keep your phone close in case I need to reach you.”
“Okay,” I agreed, “I will. And thank you for letting me know, Detective.”
“Yeah. Of course. Hey, are you with anyone up there?”
I looked at Ryler. “What do you mean?”
“Is there someone there that you can trust? That you know you can trust? Just in case?”
“Do you… do you think she could come here? To Washington?”
“I hope not, but I think you should be careful. She definitely knows more about you than a stranger might. I just want you to be careful.”
Ryler held out his hand, indicating I give him the phone. The look he gave me was commanding. “Detective? Hold on, someone… someone wants to talk with you.”
“Are you authorizing me to speak with this person about your case, Ms. McAdams?”
“Yes, yes, I am.” I handed Ryler the phone.
“Detective?” Ryler said, his voice cold and sure. It was sharp, like ice, like the edge of a knife. “This is Ryler Dean. I’m… a friend of AJ’s. Just to let you know, for your information and peace of mind, I’ve had thorough military training, so I’m fully prepared. Now what’s going on?”
Ryler held my gaze as the detective filled him in on what had happened. I saw the fire that built and raged behind his eyes and found it hard to breathe. He asked one or two questions in a low, controlled voice, nodding his head as he listened to the reply. His gaze never shifted from mine. “Here’s my number. You take this down, and if anything, and I mean anything comes up, and you can’t reach AJ, you call me. I’ll give you Chief’s number as well. He’s also former military. You can consider us AJ’s first and last line of defense. No one is getting to her. That’s a promise.”
After several more moments, Ryler handed the phone back to me. “Ms. McAdams?” the detective said. “It sounds like you’re in good hands there. Just keep me posted if anything happens at your end, and I’ll do the same here.”
“All right. Should I… should I respond to her, to Amber?”
“Yeah, see if you can get her to slip up in some way to indicate who she is, or where she is, for that matter.”
“Okay, I will.”
We hung up and I set the phone on the counter. Ryler held out the bottle of water I’d pulled from the fridge. The one I’d dropped when Shiv had startled me. He must have picked it up at some point. “Thanks,” I said, taking it from him.
Ryler just looked at me in silence. His gaze shifted, leaving my face and traveling in slow movements over me. Each spot his icy eyes skimmed over was like a physical touch. I’d cooled down somewhat from my earlier hike, but now with his eyes caressing me, I felt heated again, flushed.
After a moment or two, he said, “Go shower, AJ.”
“What?” That wasn’t at all what I’d expected from him.
“Go take a shower.” His tone was even, controlled. Nothing forceful about it, but still, I found my hackles rising at the instruction, the order I heard there.
“I’m good, thanks.”
“AJ, I’m trying to be courteous.”
“Well, thanks, but I think I can decide for myself whether I need a shower or not.”
“Fair enough. But you should know that I plan to kiss you in a moment.”
“Oh.” I swallowed. “Um…”
“I’m going to kiss you, AJ,” he said again, making sure I’d heard him clearly.
“Um, what… why… I mean, what?” While my ears heard him just fine, and my mouth wanted to get on with the kissing, but my mind kept going back to his declaration that he just couldn’t do this now. So, I hoped he could forgive my confusion. “What are you trying to say?”
“It means I’m going to spend some time kissing you, and I figure you’d prefer to be showered. It doesn’t matter to me really, but I thought maybe it might matter to you.”
It occurred to me then that if this was a Regency novel, I’d be the innocent, but not-so-innocent miss, and he’d be the rake who knew precisely which lines
he could cross and which lines could be blurred. I’d be entirely under his thrall, clay in his capable hands. Because that’s how I felt right now. Just hearing him speak those words had my knees so weak I honestly wasn’t sure how I was still standing.
“Last chance, AJ,” he growled.
Something clicked inside my brain then. Maybe it was the tone of his voice, maybe it was the look in his eye, but I moved. Not toward him, but toward the stairs. He was right. I did want that shower. And I took my time with it, too. Letting the heat ease me. I washed my hair twice, and while I shaved, I let a deep conditioner soak into each follicle. Not that my short locks needed it really, but as I was using this time to gather my wits, I figured it wouldn’t hurt.
When I was done, the bathroom was full of steam. I toweled off and grabbed my favorite body lotion, one that smelled of coconuts and tropical islands. After I worked that into my skin, I pulled on a pair of knit lounge pants and an oversized, off-the-shoulder sweatshirt. I ran a comb through my hair, took a deep breath, and headed back downstairs.
Ryler leaned against the open doorframe at the back patio, watching Shiv as the dog moved around the yard, snuffing at various scents he discovered. Ryler’s eyes were on the hound, but his thoughts were elsewhere. His thoughts were upstairs in the bedroom, in that shower. And he was fighting with himself. One half of him was curled up, rocking back and forth in the corner of his mind, unwilling to open that door to a relationship, to emotional closeness again. The other half was raging against that door, demanding to be let inside.
He wanted to go upstairs, and he wanted to leave. He wanted her under him, against him. He wanted to taste her, but he also wanted to run from her. Ryler didn’t want to go too far down that dangerous road but, he argued back, he’d already gone too far. Too far to turn back now. He was already involved. His heart was already open, already claimed. And he wanted her; he needed her. He’d just have to ride this one out and see where it went. See what would happen.
