by Jo McNally
Cassie scrolled through Nick’s messages for the who-knows-how-many-eth time. It was Sunday afternoon, and she hadn’t heard from him since Friday night. His final message said they weren’t done, but it sure felt that way from the silence. On Friday, silence was exactly what she’d wanted. He’d been driving her crazy with all the texts and messages. Just like he’d driven her crazy trying to run her life.
She stared out the window of the apartment—the love shack—as cars passed below on Main Street. She wasn’t being fair. He said they’d talk when she was ready. He was giving her control. He wasn’t intentionally trying to run her life. Or maybe he was. She dropped her head back against the overstuffed chair. The whole thing was such a confusing mess!
On one of their hikes a few weeks ago, Nick had pointed out a small whirlpool in a mountain stream. A maple leaf was swirling around and around in the water, unable to break free. That’s what she and Nick were like. Neither could break free from their individual whirlpools.
Whoa. That was deep.
She grinned to herself as she reached for her wineglass. Teatime had ended yesterday when she declared it sadly ineffective. Last night’s bubble bath was equally unrewarding, since it only reminded her of Nick standing in a tub full of bubbles. Not productive at all.
Wine was doing a much better job of freeing her mind to drift, as well as dulling the pain when she bumped up against a painful memory. Every kiss. Every moment between the sheets. Against the wall. In the tub. On the sofa. In the Jeep. On the mountain. In the gym. She took a sip of wine. Okay, maybe a gulp of wine. It was more effective than tea, but not effective enough.
She was going to have to go to work tomorrow, and Nick would be there. Nick, who hadn’t reached out since Friday. Amanda said he was a mess then. Was he still a mess? Awash in guilt and regret? Anger? Or was he tucking it all inside, as he so loved to do, ignoring the truth? Would he pretend everything was fine, the way they tried to do after their first kiss? Would he confront her and defend his controlling ways?
She frowned. Not fair again. And it had been especially not fair for her to compare him to Don. Those mysterious hang-up calls had put her on edge Friday. Then she saw Tristan and Daynette, and Cassie just flipped. And it felt good.
It felt good to help someone instead of being the victim. It felt good to see Tristan back down. Yes, he was just a kid, but she’d been drunk with power at that moment, and she wasn’t seeing Tristan anymore. She’d been seeing Don. She’d been imagining making him back down. Making him stop hurting her. Following her. Stalking her. Frightening her. Having power over her.
And then Nick robbed her of all of that by swooping in to the rescue. And she was so damned angry that he took her power away. Except... He hadn’t. Not really. Not on purpose. Don worked at making her powerless. Nick did the exact opposite. He wanted her to be strong. Did she really expect a man, especially an ex-cop, to not rush to help if he thought the woman he... Cassie closed her eyes. She was so sure he loved her. Just as sure as she knew she loved him. Of course he’d leaped to the rescue.
And what had she given him in return? All that rage that she’d been holding on to for Don. She’d just spewed it all at Nick. He hadn’t deserved it. Yeah, he was overprotective. But he’d watched his best friend die in his arms. He’d convinced himself that Jada’s death was his fault. It made sense that he’d react by wanting to protect the people he cared about from any chance of harm.
Cassie stared at her wineglass. Damn, this stuff was making her pretty smart today. Maybe after she had another she’d have the courage to call Nick and tell him to come over so they could work it out. Better tonight than tomorrow in the office, with Blake and Amanda watching them and playing matchmaker.
But that third glass of wine only made her sleepy. Or perhaps it was the fact that she’d hardly slept in two nights that made her fall asleep in the big chair. The apartment was dark when she heard her phone ringing on the counter. By the time she woke up and got to it, the ringing stopped. Her heart jumped. Was it Nick? She didn’t recognize the number, but she knew the area code. Milwaukee. She ignored it and checked the time. Almost eleven.
She and Nick would have to figure things out tomorrow after all. It was too late and she was too tired to do it now. Her phone chirped with an incoming text. It was from the same mystery number that had just called. That was new—she hadn’t received any texts since leaving Cleveland.
Cute little place you found there.
No. It couldn’t be. A dagger of ice hit her heart.
She didn’t touch the phone, willing it to stay silent on the counter. It chirped again.
Nice little waterfront tourist town.
Don couldn’t have found her. Not now. The comments were vague, though. Maybe he was just fishing for information. She picked up the phone, hoping he was done. Several minutes passed before the final chirp.
Gallant Lake sure looks pretty in the moonlight.
Cassie dropped the phone onto the counter. Don was here. In Gallant Lake. He didn’t mention her apartment, but if he was in town, it wouldn’t take long for him to find her. She glanced at the go-bag by the door. She didn’t want to run. But if she didn’t, Don would ruin everything. Again. And he might hurt the people she cared about. Aunt Cathy. Nora. Amanda. Blake. A chill swept over her. Don would kill Nick. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind of that. There was only one way to keep everyone safe. She grabbed a jacket, leaving her phone in the kitchen. If he was tracking her with it, she had to leave it behind. She’d buy a burner phone and call everyone tomorrow, once she was safe. Once they were safe.
She went to the door, picked up the duffel bag and flipped off the lights. It looked like she’d be making that fresh start in a new place after all. But this time she would go there unafraid of the shadows. She wasn’t the same person anymore. She’d found her strength. She’d found her heart. She blinked back tears as she locked the door behind her. That heart wouldn’t be coming with her, though. Because she’d given that heart away.
* * *
Nick knew walking into the office on Monday morning that the day would be tough. Cassie was probably still angry with him. After all, she’d never responded to his final text. Maybe he really had ended things, simply by being an idiot. He stood outside his car and gave himself a stern lecture.
He loved her, and he’d do whatever it took to make sure she understood that. He’d earn her love in return if it took him the rest of his days to do it. He’d make sure she knew how much he respected her. How strong he knew she was. How willing he was to let her stand on her own without him hovering around like a bodyguard. Although that last one would be tough. But he’d do it for Cassie. She said he’d taken her strength away, and he needed to give it back.
It wasn’t until he started walking toward the resort that he noticed her car wasn’t there. He stopped behind her parking spot and frowned. It hadn’t occurred to him that she wouldn’t show up. Blake would have let him know, wouldn’t he? Nick checked the time. His sleepless night had him up and moving earlier than usual. It was barely seven o’clock. She’d be here. And when she arrived, he was going to bring her into his office, close the door and kiss her senseless. Then they’d talk. It was going to be fine.
But three hours later, Cassie still hadn’t arrived. Wasn’t answering her phone. Wasn’t answering anyone on her phone. Amanda and Blake were in his office, looking as worried as he was. Amanda called Nora, who said Cassie’s car was gone. Blake didn’t wait for Nick to ask.
“Go. I’ll call Dan Adams and see if he’s heard...anything.”
He didn’t want to think about what the deputy sheriff might have heard. Maybe there’d been an accident. Or maybe she’d had car trouble somewhere. Maybe she was at the auto shop out on the highway. Maybe she’d broken down on the way to work.
“Nick?” Blake was holding the phone, staring at him. He’d been frozen in place as his brain
tried to solve the mystery of Cassie’s disappearance. Nick gave Blake a quick nod and left.
Cathy and Nora were already in the apartment when he arrived. The police-detective part of his brain was annoyed that people were traipsing around, possibly destroying evidence of what happened. Where Cassie went. But then Nora motioned to the phone sitting on the kitchen island.
“We didn’t touch anything, Nick. I knew you’d want to see everything the way we found it. She left her phone. And...she took her bag.”
He spun to look by the door. Her go-bag was gone.
“That doesn’t make sense.” He refused to believe she’d go without a goodbye to anyone. To him. “That was her panic bag. Why would she take that instead of packing her stuff and talking to someone?”
Cathy folded her arms. “You know why.”
Thinking she was referring to Friday’s argument, he held his hands up in innocence. “It was just an argument. We’d have worked it out. She wouldn’t have run away because of a fight.”
Cathy’s eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t talking about any argument, but I’d definitely like to hear more about that. I was talking about that crazy ex-husband of hers.”
“He’s in Milwaukee,” Nick said.
“Is he?” Cathy walked over to the phone.
“He’s on probation. A restraining order...”
“And those always work, right?” She twirled the phone and slid it across to him. “Her pass code is 1111.”
Nick grimaced. “Original.”
“It’s her birthday.”
“It’s four ones. Not a very secure passcode.”
Nora threw her hands in the air. “Oh, my God. Stop debating cybersecurity and unlock the phone!”
It opened to Cassie’s text screen. It was a number he didn’t recognize, and the words chilled him to the marrow of his bones.
Gallant Lake looks nice in the moonlight.
Innocent words on their own, but on Cassie’s phone, from a Milwaukee area code, they dripped with danger.
Don had found Cassie somehow. And he’d managed to convince her he was in Gallant Lake. And she left. Nick walked to the windows and looked down to the street. If someone had been out there watching, she would have been an obvious and vulnerable target fleeing in the middle of the night. Although she’d certainly give Don a better fight now than a few months ago.
But something didn’t feel right. His instincts told him Don was still in Milwaukee. That the bastard was playing head games with Cassie for his own amusement. He could have an accomplice, of course, but that didn’t feel right, either. Don was in it for the game. He wouldn’t want someone else to have the fun. Abusive husbands didn’t hire out their dirty work. Like Earl Washington, they wanted their victory all to themselves.
Cathy walked up beside him. “She said if she ever had to use the bag, she’d buy a throwaway phone the next day and call to let us know she was okay.”
“She promised she wouldn’t leave without me.”
“I know, Nick, but we don’t know what happened. All we can do now is wait.”
He nodded mutely. Waiting wasn’t his thing. But he had no idea where she’d go. Farther east? North to Canada? Catch a flight to the West Coast? None of that felt right. And she would have left in the middle of the night, so how far could she have gone? As a detective, he’d always trusted his gut. And his gut was telling him she wasn’t far away. He turned and strode to the door.
“I’m going to drive around and see what I can find.”
Cathy’s hand rested over her heart. “What you can find? You think Don...?”
Nick shook his head, but it was Amanda who answered, walking through the door with her phone in her hand and looking ticked off.
“Don’s not in New York,” she said. “I just talked to the sheriff. He called and talked to Don’s probation officer in Milwaukee. The probation officer went to Don’s place with the police. He was at home. They found three burner phones he was making calls from. The idiot had them sitting right there next to his chair, along with a bottle of scotch. They’re charging him with violating his probation, among other things.”
“So Cassie’s not in danger? Thank God.” Cathy sat at the kitchen island. “Maybe my heart can start beating again.”
Cassie might be safe from Don, but she didn’t know that. She was on the run.
He headed for the door. “I’ve got to find her.”
Amanda turned to walk with him. “I’ll pick up Blake and we’ll head west if you want to go east.”
Nora walked over and gave Nick’s hand a squeeze. “I have to get back down to the shop, but my husband, Asher, knows the area really well. I’ll have him head north toward Hunter. We’ll find her, Nick.”
Nick hadn’t prayed in a very long time, but he did his best to plead his case with whoever might be listening as he drove out of Gallant Lake. He was desperate for some clue of where she might be. He passed the mountain road that led to the walking trail up Gallant Mountain. It didn’t make sense that she’d hike up the mountain alone at night. But he couldn’t ignore the nagging thought that he’d find her there. After driving less than a mile farther down the highway, he pulled a U-turn and headed up the winding road. He turned onto the rutted track that led to the base of the Kissing Rock trail.
His head told him her little car probably wouldn’t have made it up here, but his heart told him he was getting closer to her. Sure enough, when he pulled into the clearing by the gate, her compact car was there, covered with mud. It was empty. He smiled and looked up the trail. She was on Gallant Mountain.
He took his phone out of his pocket as he grabbed his small pack from the back seat, texting Blake. No sense in everyone else searching. Even if he didn’t have eyes on her yet, he knew Cassie was here.
Got her.
As he went through the gate, he thought of her going up the trail in the dark. It was a decent path, but steep, and through dense woods. She might be here, but was she okay? He’d just picked up his pace when Blake’s response came.
I’ll let the others know. Amanda says make sure you KEEP her this time.
Nick shook his head. He deserved whatever Amanda threw at him. And whatever Cassie threw at him once he found her. He’d been an idiot, and he’d almost lost her. But that would never happen again. He tapped a quick reply as he hurried up the trail.
Tell her to count on it.
Chapter Nineteen
Cassie had watched the sunrise from the top of the Kissing Rock. Actually, she watched the effects of the sunrise, since it came up behind her. It cast the shadow of Gallant Mountain on the lake and the smaller mountain on the opposite side, but that shadow receded slowly as the sun climbed higher. Pretty soon she’d be warmed by its light, and she wouldn’t mind that one bit.
In her panic, she’d left everything in the car before climbing up here in the silver predawn light, including the go-bag with her jacket in it. It was amazing she’d made it here in one piece, but someone must have been watching over her as she did her best to remember the trail and not walk smack into a tree.
She stretched her legs in front of her. There was water and granola bars in the bag, too. The bag that was in her car. She really should have thought this through a little bit better. She didn’t dare go back, in case Don somehow found the car. Highly improbable, but even if he did, he’d have no idea where she’d gone. Unlike Nick, Don hated the outdoors. She’d left the apartment in such a mad blur of panic after Don’s texts. Then heartbreak took over as she drove out of Gallant Lake and away from Nick. She couldn’t leave him. She couldn’t bring herself to go to him, either. She’d said some awful things to him. His last text said they weren’t done, but... What if they were?
Her flight out of town had been horrible. The road out of Gallant Lake led past the resort and the large estate called Halcyon, both on the lake. She’d slowed by
the resort, filled with regret that she wasn’t going to be able to say goodbye. At two in the morning, the lake had been black as ink beyond it. She didn’t want to wake Blake and Amanda at that hour. What would she say?
Hello, I’m an idiot who chased off the only man I’ve ever loved and I don’t know how to fix it. I thought I was tougher now, but I freaked out when my ex tried to scare me. So clearly I’m not tough. I’m just stupid and I don’t know what to do... Help!
She could imagine the expression on their faces if she woke them up with that little pity party in the middle of the night. Amanda would do her best to make her feel better, but...no.
Cassie was so afraid Don would find her that she panicked every time she saw headlights. She’d finally turned off the main highway and started on the twisting mountain roads. It wasn’t long before she was hopelessly lost, with no cell phone to call for help. By some miracle, she’d recognized the road Nick used to get to the Kissing Rock trail. She slowed until she found the opening in the trees to the dirt road leading up the mountain. Up to the place where she and Nick had kissed for the first time. Where they’d made love under the stars just last week. Where she’d felt like she was on top of the world. Invincible. If there was any place on this earth where she could figure out what to do next, this was it. And Don would never find her here.
The first hint that she wasn’t alone made her pulse jump. She heard footsteps. Rustling branches. Was it Don? Maybe a hiker? A bear? She glanced up the rock wall behind her. She had no idea how to climb it, but if a bear strolled out of those trees, she might just give it a try. She scooted across the rock, wishing there was more cover, and knowing if she stood she’d be even more visible. She caught a glimpse of blue in the trees. Not a bear.
Nick stepped out from the shadows and stopped, looking straight at her as if he wasn’t the least bit surprised to see her. She rolled her eyes at herself—duh, he’d seen her car, of course. But how had he known where to look? And what was that expression on his face? Anger? Relief?
