Flash turned to survey the packed tavern, a favorite hangout for both locals and visitors to the area. “I was more than a little surprised you agreed to meet us tonight, Levi. For the last couple of weeks, you’ve shut us down every time we’ve asked.”
“Raine’s a hell of a lot prettier than you two, and no, she didn’t dump me.” He hunched one shoulder. “But she was busy tonight, so—”
“You made time for us?” Patton’s tone held a hint of amusement. “Hey, no judgement. If I were in your shoes, I’d drop both of you in a hot minute. But since I’m not . . .” He nodded toward a table across the room where two unfamiliar women, probably tourists, occasionally glanced in their direction. “I may try my luck with one of those ladies.”
“I’ll go with you.” Drink in hand, Flash slid off his stool. “Wish us luck.”
“Sure. Have fun.”
Levi barely noticed his friends leave as he read the text from Raine. Her meeting had finished early and had gone well. His earlier annoyance evaporated as he typed rapidly.
Great! Meet me at Bar of America.
A moment later his phone dinged with a new message. ???
Hanging out with a couple of friends. He glanced over at Flash and Patton, who were chatting up the two women, and sent a second text. Want to meet them?
Okay. Be there in ten.
He responded with a thumbs up emoji and stuck his phone in his back pocket, his mood infinitely improved as he sipped his beer.
“It’s been a while, Levi. How are you?”
At the familiar voice, he spun on his stool to face Mona. His ex-girlfriend wore a pair of shorts that showed off long, tanned legs, and a top that revealed quite a bit of cleavage. Her curly, brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her full, red-tinted lips were set in a bit of a pout.
After a moment, he answered her question. “I’m good. You look terrific. But then, you always do.”
She didn’t respond right away, just gave him an up and down look. “Drinking alone?”
“Patton and Flash are around somewhere.”
She stepped a little closer when a couple squeezed past behind her. “I’m meeting friends, but I don’t think they’re here yet. Why don’t you buy me a drink?”
He glanced toward the door, but there was no sign of Raine. “Uh, sure. What’ll you have?”
“My usual.” Mona hiked herself up onto the stool Patton had vacated.
Levi met the bartender’s enquiring gaze. “A vodka martini for the lady.”
“Coming up.” The man moved down the bar to take another order.
Feeling a little awkward, Levi gave her a quick smile. “What’ve you been up to, Mona?”
“Work, mostly. I took a trip to Cabo in May with friends.” She shrugged. “I was dating someone for a while, but that fizzled. How about you?”
She swayed slightly on the stool and touched his knee to steady herself. A flash of the old attraction that had always burned hot between them lit up her eyes.
Dislodging her hand, he realized this probably wasn’t her first drink of the evening. Or her second. He searched for something innocuous to say.
“Uh, this time of year, I stay pretty busy at the lodge. And I’ve been running a lot. The usual.”
When the bartender placed her martini in front of her, Mona murmured her thanks before lifting it to take a sip. “Are you seeing anyone special?”
“Good question, Levi. Are you?”
Turning quickly, he met Raine’s gaze as she stopped behind him. Her expression was neutral, but he guessed from the shadows clouding her eyes that she wasn’t unaffected by Mona’s presence.
“You made it.” Stupid comment, moron. He mentally chastised himself. Pull it together. You haven’t done anything wrong.
She didn’t bother to respond to the inanity, and simply studied Mona. “I’m Raine.”
“Mona. Nice to meet you.” His ex turned to face him as she slid off the stool. “My friends just arrived. Thanks for the drink, Levi.”
“Sure. Take care, Mona.”
After she walked away, Raine took her seat and raised a brow. “You wanted me to meet your ex-girlfriend? I assume that’s who she is.”
“Yes and no. I dated Mona, but I wanted to introduce you to Flash and Patton. Show them the reason I’ve been blowing them off lately. Mona just walked in a couple of minutes before you got here.”
“Interesting. Where’re your friends?”
He turned and pointed. “Over there, trying to pick up women. We can take off if you want. Go somewhere quieter for dinner. This place is a zoo tonight.”
When she nodded, he pulled cash from his wallet to set under his half-full beer. “This should cover my tab,” he called to the bartender.
The guy nodded in response as he poured another round of drinks.
Taking Raine’s arm, he led her in the direction of the door. Over at the table with the two women, Flash waved and gave him an enquiring look.
“I’m taking off,” he yelled.
“Raine?” his friend shouted back.
At his nod, Patton gave him two thumbs up.
“Those were your friends?” Raine glanced over her shoulder as he followed her out of the bar onto the relatively quiet street.
“Yeah. Shortly after you left to meet your potential client, Flash called to see if I wanted to hang out. Since I hadn’t seen either of them in quite a while, I agreed.” Catching sight of her Jeep parked on the other side of the street, he took her hand, and they dashed across during a break in traffic.
“My guess is you said yes since you were pissed that I stood you up.” She leaned against the driver’s door and met his gaze.
“Maybe a little. Stupid, I know.”
“I was disappointed, too, Levi. I was looking forward to actually going out with you instead of simply hanging out at home. But the woman I met with hired me on the spot.” Her eyes lit up. “High Sierra Celebrations officially has its first customer.”
“Congratulations. That’s terrific.”
“I’m excited about getting the job.”
“We should go somewhere nice to toast your success.” He thought for a moment. “Let’s take a drive to Tahoe City where we can sit out on a deck and dine with a lake view. We’ll leave your Jeep in the grocery store lot instead of paying for street parking here. I’ll call to make a reservation and pick you up in a few minutes.”
“Sounds wonderful.” She stood on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. “I’m sorry I had to cancel earlier.”
“And I’m sorry I was kind of a jerk about it.” He kissed her back, enjoying her softness as he held her against his chest before finally releasing her. “We can still make this a night to remember.”
* * * *
Raine parked in the lot in front of the supermarket and turned off her engine. A long day of work placing local ads on the internet and dropping fliers all over town had culminated in the meeting with an extremely picky client who had grilled her about her credentials, leaving her exhausted. She’d been tempted to simply tell Levi she wanted to go home. But she’d already disappointed him once tonight, and she wouldn’t do it again.
Especially after meeting his ex-girlfriend.
Mona was gorgeous, and based on the emotion in her eyes when she’d looked at Levi, the woman would probably take him back in a hot minute. Not that Raine blamed her. Levi was fun, handsome, and had a killer body. She was pretty darn sure he could have his pick of women, and the last thing she intended to do was take him for granted.
But what she needed right now was a shot of adrenalin to wake her up. Maybe a stroll around the parking lot in the cool evening air would invigorate her.
Raine got out of her Jeep and shut the door. Most of the shops in the area were closed, but a scattering of people still came and went through the sliding doors of the grocery store. While she strolled between the parked vehicles, a family exited the nearby Chinese restaurant with bags of food, and a Tesla cruised slowly pa
st her to pull into an empty spot. The purr of the engine cut off, and a door clicked open.
A tall man got out and turned to face her. “Raine, is that you?”
When he stepped into the pool of illumination cast by an overhead security light, she stopped and stared. “Bobby? What are you doing here?”
“I’m meeting friends and spending a long weekend in Tahoe. I stopped to pick up a couple of bottles of wine before heading to the house we rented.” He frowned as he came closer. “What happened to you?”
She lifted her casted arm. “I fractured my wrist.”
“That sucks. I heard through the grapevine you were staying up here with Levi.”
Uneasiness stiffened her spine, but she resisted the temptation to back away when he came closer. Despite the open friendliness in Bobby B’s eyes, she couldn’t help wondering if he was the person who’d sent that maniac to run her down. If he was the one who’d shoved Cooper over the cliff.
She forced a normal tone as she responded to his question. “Actually, I left San Francisco for good and moved to Truckee. I’m starting my own party planning business.”
“Wow. That’s terrific.” He took another step toward her. “Hey, have you heard anything more from the Yosemite Park Police about Cooper? Are they any closer to finding out who killed him?”
“I’m afraid Detective Gilbert hasn’t confided in me. I doubt I know any more than you do.”
“Too bad.” He studied her for a moment. “Were you headed into the store? If so, I’ll walk with you.”
“Actually, I’m meeting Levi. He should be here any minute.”
“Cool. I’ll hang around to say hi, then.” He stuck his hands into the pockets of his khaki shorts. “Seems like you two are pretty serious. Even when we were in college, I thought you guys would have made a great match.”
Her lips curled into a hint of a smile. “Too bad I didn’t figure that out before I started dating Cooper. Right now, Levi and I are both hopeful we can make our relationship work.”
“Good for you.”
In a sudden gust of wind, an empty bag blew out from behind a parked car, and the branches on the trees planted along the edge of the lot rustled. There wasn’t a living soul in sight. The family with the take-out food had departed, and no one was near the grocery store entrance. If Bobby wanted to grab her and shove her into his car, she wouldn’t have the strength to stop him. And even if she screamed—
“Is something wrong, Raine?”
“Huh?” She jerked her head up to meet his gaze before looking quickly away.
“You’re as fidgety as a cat in a yard full of dogs.”
A vehicle turned off the street, and drove toward them. Recognizing Levi’s pickup, Raine let out a relieved breath.
She faced Bobby and grimaced. “Sorry. I had a stressful day and am a little on edge. Levi and I were planning to go out for dinner and drinks to relax.”
“An excellent idea.” Bobby waved when Levi parked his truck and got out. “Hey, man. How are you?”
Levi’s brows shot up as he stopped in front of them. “I’m good. A little surprised to see you here.”
“I’m spending the weekend in Tahoe. Maybe we can get together and hang out if you’re free over the next couple of days.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll give you a call.” Levi slid his arm around her waist. “But tonight, I have a hot date with Raine.”
Bobby flashed a smile. “I need to get going, anyway. Have a nice evening.”
“You, too.” Raine leaned against Levi as the tension drained out of her. “It was good talking to you, Bobby.”
As their old friend walked toward the store, Levi squeezed her waist. “That was kind of odd. Just a coincidence, running into him here? Or something that could have turned dangerous?”
“Believe me—that’s all I could think about while we chatted. He knew I was nervous.” She shivered as another gust of wind blew through the lot, and Levi’s arm tightened. “I was tempted to run away screaming, but if Bobby’s completely innocent . . .”
“You didn’t want to blow up a friendship. I get it.”
She nodded. “At any rate, the parking lot was empty. He had a perfect opportunity to either slit my throat or abduct me, and he didn’t take it. I just can’t believe Bobby would hurt me. Or Cooper, for that matter.”
“I can’t, either. I just wish there was some way to prove he’s not guilty without putting you in the line of fire if we’re wrong.”
When he nudged her in the direction of his pickup, she resisted. “I need to grab my purse and lock my Jeep.”
“Sure.”
A few minutes later, they headed toward Tahoe City. Raine settled back in her seat and stared at the road ahead, squinting when headlights blinded her. “Tell me what you were thinking when you mentioned putting me in the line of fire.”
He glanced her way. “I said I wouldn’t put you in danger.”
“Explain anyway.”
He was quiet for a minute with only the sound of the tires on the asphalt and hum of the engine to disturb the silence. Reaching over, he turned the stereo on low to a classic rock station before answering.
“When you mentioned Bobby B had the opportunity to grab you, it occurred to me we could set him up. Give him a real chance, not just enough time for a split-second decision. But there’s too much room for error, and a mistake could prove deadly.”
“I don’t know. If you were close by . . .”
“If it were me the killer was after, I wouldn’t hesitate. But—”
“Since I’m a woman, I can’t handle myself?” She scowled. “Is that what you’re implying?”
“Not at all. But I won’t put you in harm’s way. I care too much.”
All of the fight drained out of her, and she reached over to lay a hand on his thigh. “Thank you for that, but life is full of risks. Take tonight, for example. I’m alone for five minutes in a parking lot, and Bobby B shows up. We couldn’t have anticipated that. Isn’t it better if we have control over the situation? If there’s even a chance we can end this waiting game for good, shouldn’t we go for it?”
“What if we give him an opportunity and he doesn’t take the bait?”
“Then we’ll know he’s innocent. And we can move on. Maybe try a similar tactic with one of the other three suspects.”
“Hell, no!” Levi gripped the steering wheel, arms rigid. “It would only be a matter of time before you got way too close to the wrong person.”
“You said you’re sick of doing nothing. Well, this would be doing something. We could at least talk to Detective Gilbert. See what he has to say about the idea.”
“Fine. We’ll call him tomorrow. Not that I think he’ll agree to endangering your life.” Levi covered her hand resting on his thigh with his warm palm. “But tonight, let’s just celebrate the fact that you have your first client. You’ve been working non-stop since you left San Francisco, and you deserve to have a little fun.”
“Deal.”
Not long afterward, they ate chicken pasta in a creamy sauce with artichoke hearts and drank chardonnay at an outdoor table with a gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe. The summer sky was bright with stars shining over the water, and the cool night air gave Raine a reason to snuggle up against Levi as they relaxed after their meal.
“This was just what I needed since my stress level was pretty much through the roof.” She squeezed their entwined fingers. “Thank you for dinner.”
“You’re welcome. We should plan a date night more often instead of hanging out at the cabin all the time.”
“Agreed. But right now, I’m fading fast.” She gave him a tired smile. “Maybe I shouldn’t have had a second glass of wine.”
He tilted her chin with one finger and kissed her, taking his time. Tingles touched all her nerve endings when he finally pulled back.
Heat flared in his eyes. “I’m definitely ready to go.”
After paying the bill and thanking their server, they left
the restaurant and walked the short distance to his truck. He hit the remote and then kissed her again before opening the door.
Warmth curled through her as she climbed up onto the seat. Once he’d settled behind the wheel, she turned to face him. “Are you still okay to drive?”
“Yep. Let’s go home.”
During the trip back to Truckee, they didn’t talk much, both focused on their own thoughts. At least Raine knew she couldn’t stop mulling over the possibility of luring out the person who had shoved Cooper over that cliff. And tried to kill her. Twice.
Maybe Levi was resistant to risking her life, but ignoring the situation didn’t mean she was any safer. Just the opposite.
When they reached the parking lot where she’d left her Jeep, he turned to face her. “I’ll follow you home.” Hooking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, he stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You aren’t too tired to drive, are you?”
“Nope.” She unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door, and stepped to the ground. “See you at home.”
The low beam of Levi’s headlights in her rearview mirror was reassuring as she navigated the empty highway north out of town. Realizing how tense she normally was when traveling this lonely stretch of road only steeled her convictions. Despite the risk, she couldn’t continue to live under a dark cloud of fear.
No matter what Levi—or even Detective Gilbert—might say to the contrary, the time to make a move was now.
Chapter Fifteen
“I can’t believe Gilbert agreed.” Propped up against the headboard of the bed, Levi stared at Raine, barely noticing the way the sheet draped across her bare breasts. Barely. “Is he insane? Or maybe he has a death wish for you. I’m amazed you were . . . uh . . . you brought up such a risky idea.”
She set her phone on the nightstand beside the bed. “Don’t hold back, Levi. You’re amazed I was stupid enough to lay out our plan to see if Bobby B will try to kill me, given a proper chance?”
“Stupid is your word, not mine. Although I’m not saying I disagree.”
A frown drew her brows together. “Obviously Detective Gilbert is frustrated with the lack of progress they’ve made on the case if he’s calling me at the crack of dawn to see if I’ve been attacked recently.” She tucked the sheet more firmly beneath her arms. “It seemed like the right time to discuss our idea.”
Midnight Reckoning (Leave No Trace Book 1) Page 16
