Disengaged (Terms of Engagement Book 3)

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  Samantha sighed, and turned away.

  ERIK whistled cheerfully, as he briskly crossed the distance between the parking lot of Amber’s apartment building, and the building itself. As he reached out to press the buzzer, the door opened, and Amber stepped outside. Erik’s eyes lit, and he smiled.

  “Good morning,” he greeted her, as they hugged.

  “Good morning,” she returned his greeting. “I hope you brought your appetite.”

  “I left it in the SUV, but I’ll pick it up on the way to your parents’ house,” he replied. She laughed, then gasped, as she slipped on the icy sidewalk.

  “Careful,” Erik said, catching her elbow. “Breaking a leg is only good luck when it comes to theater.”

  “Is it really?” she countered dubiously. She clutched his arm as he led her to safer, and less frozen footing. “It seems like crutches would get tangled up in the props. And other actors.”

  “Good point. That makes no sense at all,” Erik conceded.

  He opened the passenger door for Amber, and saw her safely inside his vehicle. He joined her on the driver’s side, and turned the key in the ignition. Hot air rushed out of the vents, and Amber warmed her hands gratefully. She glanced at Erik’s coat, as he backed out of the parking space.

  “How successful was the surgery?”

  Erik looked down at the mended fabric.

  “Great! I haven’t lost a stitch, not even when I ran it through the wash to get out the cigarette smoke. You did an awesome job.”

  “It’s the least I could do,” she shrugged modestly. “But… that isn’t all I did.”

  “I’m not surprised. What else have you accomplished?”

  “I called five of the companies on the list we came up with last night. The others don’t open until nine or ten.”

  “Nice job, early bird. Find any worms?”

  “I did. All five, have received similar calls over the past few months. Either the caller wants to change an order placed by Davison Construction, wants to know if the order is ready for pickup, or wants to cancel an order. All five businesses thought that was strange, since you never placed any orders with them, to begin with.”

  “Great job, Amber!” Erik praised her. “Now I’m certain none of our guys had anything to do with this.”

  “Whoever has it in for your project, isn’t closely associated with your company,” Amber agreed.

  “I’m glad of that, for all sorts of reasons,” Erik said with feeling.

  “Since the saboteur isn’t targeting all development on Pine Mountain, then we can’t entirely cross ‘personal vendetta’ off our list of possible motives,” Amber considered.

  “True, and there’s the possibility this is about a personal vendetta against Mr. Henry,” Erik contemplated. “But, Mr. Henry received a call, claiming Rob and I were behind. So I don’t think so.”

  “I don’t either,” Amber replied.

  “Since no actual destruction was attempted until now, I feel safe in assuming that this isn’t about preventing the mountain from being developed,” he concluded.

  “They want to discredit Davison Construction. Either they have a grudge against you, or they expect to benefit financially,” Amber said with confidence.

  “You’re right. Since no actual destruction was attempted until now, this isn’t about preventing the mountain from being developed,” Erik added. “And I don’t think this is about a grudge, unless it’s another developer begrudging us the contract.”

  “I also called the railway warehouse’s business office. The woman we need to speak with, is Amanda Beverly. She won’t be in until ten. I left a message, and your number. If she doesn’t call back, we’ll drop by later, and find out who storage bay seventeen is rented to.”

  “You’ve done a day’s work already,” Erik declared. He was impressed. If he was investigating on his own, he wouldn’t have nearly as much information. He wouldn’t have the granite countertops, either.

  “You can park behind my car,” Amber directed, pointing to her parents’ driveway. “I may not be accused of looking before I leap, but I do look behind me, before I back up.”

  Erik laughed.

  “I can honestly say that I learned my lesson, as well as you did yours.”

  Her cheeks paled, as she recalled the night before.

  “Are you sure about that?” she asked doubtfully. “I was so scared. I was afraid you’d be killed.”

  “When I wrecked my brother’s car… so was I,” Erik replied, and Amber couldn’t help laughing. He assumed a serious expression. “My near-death experience is funny, to you?”

  “No, but you are,” she managed to say, and he smiled.

  SAMANTHA rubbed her arms to restore warmth, as she turned away from the window for the umpteenth time. She sorted through the kitchen cabinets absentmindedly, then returned to the window for another look. She checked the weather app on her phone, and was only mildly reassured by the lack of snowflakes actively falling. She was deeply concerned by the prediction of more, within the hour.

  She fidgeted for a moment, then called her mother. She might as well take advantage of the opportunity to talk to Caleb, while she had it.

  “Samantha!” her mom quickly answered. “How are you?”

  “I’m okay. The wind stopped, and it isn’t snowing right now… but it’s supposed to start again,” she replied, with another apprehensive glance at the window.

  “That’s the forecast we’re seeing here,” her mom said in sympathy. “So… how are you, really? How did your talk go?”

  “It didn’t. Rob’s not here, he left during the night. He—”

  “What?” her mom replied, both shocked and surprised. “He just—left?”

  “No,” Samantha said, struggling to keep the note of impatience from her voice. “He didn’t leave, not like that. He’s out gathering the rest of the food from the cabins while there’s a break in the storm.”

  “Oh,” her mom said, her astonishment dissipating.

  “I wasn’t ready to talk last night, so I went straight to bed. Right now Rob isn’t here, and this may be my only chance to talk to Caleb. Without pretending he’s my nephew,” Samantha frowned in irritation.

  “Of course, but—you should know that Erik is here,” her mom informed her.

  “What? Why?” Samantha asked sharply. “Why is he there?”

  “We invited him to breakfast,” her mom explained, a little taken aback. “Your sister is helping him look into who’s trying to sabotage his company. Your father and I both enjoyed visiting with him yesterday, so—we invited him to join us.”

  “Rob said he likes Amber. That Erik does,” she informed her mom.

  “What?” her mom exclaimed. Samantha heard the rattle of the spatula as it hit the counter.

  “That’s what Rob said. Does he?” Samantha demanded to know.

  “I—don’t know, it never occurred to me to wonder,” her mom replied in shock. “He’s incredibly mature. I never even imagined. But… they are spending a lot of time together. He seems to genuinely enjoy being with her… he’d be so good for Amber. And you should see him with Caleb.”

  “I don’t want to see him with Caleb!” Samantha snapped. “Mom, he’s Rob’s brother!”

  Her mom considered that briefly, and sighed. She retrieved the spatula, and added fresh pancakes to the warming plate.

  “Yes, I know. He also thinks Caleb is Amber’s.”

  “Yes! And that’s a problem!”

  “What did Rob say, exactly? Did Erik tell him this?”

  “He said he’s never heard Erik talk about a girl the way he does Amber.”

  Her mom considered that, as she added batter to the griddle. She couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

  “Then I wouldn’t put too much weight in it. Rob may be reading into things. He probably is. If Erik liked your sister, I think I’d see some sign of it. The idea wouldn’t surprise me so much. So… don’t let this worry you.”

 
; “Okay, fine, can I just talk to Caleb?” Samantha sighed, rubbing her forehead. Her aggravation with Amber and Erik, and her concern for Rob, had her on edge. None of it was her mom’s fault. She took a deep breath and released it, and determined to get her mood under control.

  “Yes… he’s playing cars with Erik. Hold on just a minute,” her mom said. She flipped the row of pancakes, then hurried to the living room.

  Amber, her dad, Erik, and Caleb, looked up as she entered.

  “It’s Samantha,” she explained, scooping Caleb off the floor. “She wants to say hi. I’ve got pancakes to tend to, so we’ll be in the kitchen.”

  As she disappeared down the hall, Caleb erupted in cries of “Mama!” and enthusiastic jabbering.

  Amber hoped Erik didn’t hear that.

  “He’s at that stage where he calls every woman ‘mama’,” Amber felt she should explain. “And he misses Samantha.”

  “I’m sure he does,” Erik replied, looking after them sympathetically.

  “We live together, you know,” she added.

  “It’s good you do that. I’m sure raising a baby on your own would be even harder, if your sister wasn’t there.”

  Especially since that baby was her sister’s, and wouldn’t be there at all, otherwise.

  “We do okay. Mom and Dad help out a lot,” Amber said, but she looked concerned. “How much longer can this storm last?”

  “It’s the storm of the century, they’re saying,” her dad answered. The TV volume was off, but the weather forecast was displayed on the screen. The enthusiastic meteorologist stood to one side of the map, charismatically gesturing toward several sets of arrows, centered on Pine Mountain. The storm swirled, and at times lightened in places, but it remained firmly fixed.

  “Why is it concentrating there?” Amber wondered.

  “It has to do with cold fronts, precipitation, winds, temperature, and who knows what else,” her dad answered. “If you want to know more than that, I’ll turn up the volume.”

  “No, never mind,” she replied. “It’s not like it’ll change anything.”

  “Think this will affect people’s interest in moving up there?” her dad wondered.

  “This is far from typical Pine Mountain weather,” Erik considered. “Storms don’t usually come this early, or camp out. In spite of that, it’s extreme enough to be a deterrent for some.”

  “People will forget,” Amber said with certainty. “There’s a dam somewhere nearby, it got put in after a really bad flood. But now, there are houses built on both sides of it.”

  “And by that, she means right next to it,” her dad remembered.

  “People forget,” Amber said again.

  “They do, and this isn’t common,” Erik replied. “Storms are, that’s why the cabins have emergency generators.”

  “I’m thankful for that,” the girls’ dad said with feeling, and Erik nodded in agreement.

  “They won’t run out of power.”

  “What about food?” Amber wondered, her eyebrows knitting as she watched the radar predictor move the storm forward in time, then back. Forward, then back.

  “The cabins are stocked with some food. Enough for a couple of days, probably. I’m sure Rob will watch for a chance to go to the other cabins and replenish. He may be doing that right now,” Erik replied, and wondered at the concern in Amber’s eyes, as she watched the images of the storm on the TV screen. “What is it?”

  She glanced at him, and shook her head a little.

  “I just hope this ends soon,” she said.

  And… because Rob was Erik’s brother, and because it was the right thing to do… she prayed if he wasn’t safe in the cabin, that he’d make it back before it was too late.

  ROB opened the doors of cabin number one’s kitchen cabinet. His eyes were serious, as he took in the empty shelves. He sighed in resignation, then searched the bathroom for toiletries.

  At least this, the cabin had. He added more complimentary soap, shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper, and tissues, to the king-size pillowcase he carried. He put his gloves back on and hoisted it onto his shoulder, then exited the backdoor.

  Rob gave the gray sky a swift glance, then took a moment to check the radar app. If it was correct, he had time. But not much.

  He tucked his phone inside his coat, and stepped off the porch and into the snow.

  Breaking a path to the front of the cabin wasn’t any easier than breaking one to it, in the first place. The way back to number seven, would be. He had his previous trail to follow, for one thing. He did the hard part on the way there, and any drifts to be broken through, were broken already.

  He paused briefly, and looked in the direction of the lodge. It was still too far away, and on the other side of too many trees, to be seen from where he stood. But, if someone sabotaged it the way they did model home F, he’d smell the smoke and maybe see some. He didn’t, and was encouraged.

  As he turned to follow his footsteps back to cabin seven, Rob stopped suddenly. A cold chill crept down his spine as he looked back over his shoulder.

  The SUV-shaped snowdrift, he could explain in any of a number of ways. The twig-like projection, however, was another matter. Because that was no twig.

  It was an antenna.

  Rob stared for a moment, as he absorbed the implications. Either someone left their vehicle behind… or they were still inside.

  His stomach knotted with apprehension. Did all their guys make it out? Why would any of them be down here, anyway? They weren’t scheduled to be. Work on the lodge was complete, and the cabins finished. Aside from those which should’ve been stocked with foodstuffs, and weren’t.

  His eyes were serious and his lips set in a firm line, as he slowly set aside the pillowcase and waded toward the vehicle. He plowed through the drift surrounding it, and dug away the snow to reach the driver’s side. He scrubbed at the window, hoping…

  His heart stalled, then raced, as he stared into the face on the other side of the glass.

  “Hey!” he yelled, and pounded the window. He pounded again, but neither the driver nor the passenger responded. They were as lifeless as their pallor and utter stillness attested.

  Rob forced himself to breathe evenly, and think. Like it or not, he was here. He found these guys, and it was up to him to figure out what to do next.

  He brushed away at the window some more, and gave both of them a long look. From what he could tell, he didn’t think he ever saw them before. They didn’t work for him and Erik, of that he was certain. He felt a sense of relief, but it was short-lived. The two men were dead, whether he knew them or not.

  Why were they here? Were they the guys who sabotaged model F? Two men in a dark SUV, it could be. The storm might be all that prevented them from doing the same to the lodge.

  Rob grimly studied the interior of the vehicle through the ice-marbled window. That, and the dim light, didn’t work in his favor. There was a lot he couldn’t see, but what he could, was that the men weren’t dressed for the current climate. Each wore a light coat, the sort that fit the weather forecast, not the weather. But if they froze to death… wouldn’t they be huddled up? Like Samantha was, when he found her.

  He was sickened by the memory, and forced himself to focus. These guys didn’t look like they froze to death, in spite of being frozen now.

  Rob plowed through the snow to the other side of the vehicle, and the passenger door. Using his hands and feet, he cleared the snow away, then grabbed the handle and pulled. It unlatched.

  He wasn’t sure he was glad, or not. Clenching his jaw in determination, he removed the flashlight from his coat pocket, pressed the button, and swung the door open, filling the inside of the vehicle with light.

  The ignition switch was in the on position. Either the vehicle couldn’t handle the heavy onslaught of snow, or the men stopped due to lack of visibility. They weren’t dressed for the weather, and couldn’t find their way anywhere in a blizzard, anyway. So they sat in their vehicle w
ith the engine running, and the heater blasting. As the snow grew deeper, the tailpipe was blocked, and they died of carbon monoxide poisoning. It was hard to consider them lucky, but at least they never knew what hit them.

  Rob opened the glove compartment, and removed the contents. As he folded the registration and other documents and put them in his coat pocket, the flashlight beam reflected off the screen of the cell phone which lay on the floor of the vehicle. Rob added it to his pocket, as a gust of icy wind lashed at him. He glanced up apprehensively.

  The dark clouds were on the move, and another gust scattered the dry snowflakes like so much sand. Rob closed the door of the SUV, and returned to where he left the pillowcase. He gathered it quickly, then hurried back down the trail of broken snow toward cabin number seven.

  SAMANTHA’S eyes were filled with concern as she looked out the cabin’s window. It was even darker now, than it was the last time she paced by. The already weak light was diminished even further by the arrival of more clouds, thrusting the landscape into shadow.

  The snow was stirred by a sudden burst of wind. It hurled icy pellets at the window, the harsh rattle causing her to shiver.

  She turned on the outside light, then peered through the window again, and into the growing darkness.

  Outside the backdoor there was a crash, and Samantha whirled and clutched her heart. It was followed by the sound of a key in the lock. She hesitated, then hurried forward. It had to be Rob, who else could it possibly be?

  The door flew open, and Rob staggered in, along with a frigid blast of air and icy snowflakes. He slammed the door behind him.

  Samantha’s shivering was caused by relief, as much as it was the cold. She also felt irritable.

  “I was beginning to think you’d never come back,” she scolded.

  “I told you I would,” he replied, breathing hard from the exertion of racing the storm back to the cabin.

  “Well you took forever,” she snapped, but he saw the relief in her eyes, and was glad.

  “I’m sorry I worried you,” he said, as he set the pillowcase bundle on the table. “I got hung up, and I’ve got to call Erik. It’s important. But I’ll bring in the firewood, while I still have my coat on.”