“Stand right here. After I make sure it’s safe to do so—I don’t want to start a fire—I’m going to turn on the breaker, along with all the lights both outside and inside.” What would have happened to them if he hadn’t shown up? Would the warehouse be burning now? She and Dana trapped inside awaiting their fate?
The fluorescent lighting flickered back to life in the main office, and the back portion of the warehouse lit up as well. Since Willow never turned on those lights, the man could have been hiding back there for who knew how long. They’d locked the doors when they arrived to prevent unwanted guests. Had he been there when they arrived, surprised at their sudden appearance but waiting for his chance to burn the place down and escape? She shuddered.
Austin jogged back to them, then led them through the steel door to the outer foyer. “Watch for the glass in here. I’m sorry I had to destroy so many doors to get inside.”
They carefully picked their way around the shards as they stepped through what remained of the glass door.
Once outside, he gripped Willow’s shoulders. “Let me make sure it’s safe for you. Just stay right here near the doorway. I figure this guy is long gone by now, but I don’t want to take any chances. Stay alert.” He held his gun at low ready as he disappeared around the side of the building.
At least the lights cast away the darkness. Like Austin had said, the guy was probably gone. Who was he?
Next to her, Dana still shook. Willow grabbed Dana’s arm and held her close. “It’s going to be okay. Austin’s here.”
“I hate to say this, but I was glad to see him. I just wonder where my Stan is.” Irritation mingled with worry in her tone. “If he and Phil had been here installing the security system, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Austin returned, giving them a start. “Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?” Willow asked.
“To wait inside my car until the police arrive.” He led them past Dana’s vehicle and across the street to his car, where he helped them get inside.
Austin climbed in as well and locked the doors. He started the car.
“Wait. What about the gasoline? We need to move the files. What if he planted a bomb or something to ignite a fire?”
“They’re not worth your life.” The look in his gray eyes turned dark. “You’re not going back in there. The police will be here soon. And when they get here, you need to tell them everything. I asked for the detective who will be investigating JT’s death. This has to be involved with his death and the house fire. We’ll get the files when they tell us we’re free to do so.”
Dana sighed heavily from the back seat. “Finally, Stan is texting me. I told him what happened. They’re on their way. Phil just had to show him his new boat.”
“Don’t blame him, Dana. We had no idea someone would be so bold as to attack while we were both there. But I’m thinking that we surprised the guy. He was there when we got there. Maybe planned to burn it down, but then we showed up. He was trying to make a silent escape when he knocked something over and we heard it.”
“I don’t get it. If he wanted to destroy the files, why not burn the warehouse down last night on the same night as the house. Why wait?” Dana asked.
“That’s easy.” Austin shifted to peer down the street. Hoping for the police? “He thought he could end the search for Jamie with Willow’s death.”
He looked at Willow, his meaning drilling down into her. She hugged herself, wishing the nightmare would end.
“That makes some kind of sick sense,” Dana said. “It scares me. If you hadn’t shown up tonight, he might have succeeded in burning the warehouse down, with us inside. That brings me to my question. Why were you there, Austin?” Dana asked.
“Willow isn’t safe until this is over. I kept hoping she would call me, but until she did, I planned to watch over her anyway.”
Willow couldn’t have been more grateful. How could she ever thank the guy?
“I was sitting in the car tonight watching and waiting. I didn’t see anyone go inside, so I think Willow is on to something. He was already here when you arrived.”
“We’ll know better next time,” Willow said. “So what happened? What made you come looking for us?”
“The lights went out. Not just the lights but the security light too. When you didn’t come out, I knew something was wrong. I broke through the doors. Whoever was in there came running toward the door. Before he got away, he tried to take me out. I would have gone after him, but I had to find you first. You could have been seriously injured. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you, Willow. You either, Dana.”
“Neither could I.” Dana spoke from the back seat. “That’s why I’m hiring you to protect Willow. You’re doing the work anyway, aren’t you?”
Willow had considered hiring him to assist in the investigation. Coming from Dana, the decision to hire him for protection surprised her. “Don’t I have a say in this?”
“Of course you do.” Austin opened the car door and held her with a look. “The police are coming. Stay here.”
Without waiting for her reply, he got out and shut the door. She remembered he hadn’t wanted to be hired, but, rather, he wanted to help her as a friend. But Willow had made it clear that she would hire him—to keep their relationship purely professional. However, her reaction to him when he’d found them in the warehouse said otherwise.
“Looks like he’s taking the job,” Dana said.
Willow crossed her arms. “First you don’t like him and do everything to nudge him away, and now you want to hire him?”
“Maybe if he’d been with us tonight in the warehouse, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place. It’s obvious he still cares about you, and I’m not sure I trust anyone else to protect you.” Dana chuckled. “I can’t believe I’m saying any of this. But you’re family to me. I care about you. You need someone who cares as much as Austin does and has the skills to protect you. He came through for you tonight. For us, Willow.”
Yes. Yes, he did.
Had JT ever been involved in anything so utterly dangerous before? What would he want her to do? She honestly didn’t know. He might want something different for his granddaughter—like safety and security. But as for JT, if he were still alive, he would see this through to the end. She could think of no better example in life or in this specialty consulting business.
The night before, she’d cowered as flames engulfed the house around her. Tonight, she’d hidden in a closet fearing for her life.
She was done cowering. Done hiding. This experience had messed with her psyche, but she would find the strength to keep going.
Uniformed officers searched the warehouse, both inside and out. Austin stood by a police cruiser and talked with an officer in plain clothes—a detective—as if he’d known the guy for years. Austin had a friendly way about him—just like JT. He gestured back toward his car, and to them. Two more vehicles approached—a fire department patrol truck and a blue Silverado.
“Stan’s here,” Willow said.
“Oh, thank God.” Dana fled the car and rushed to her husband.
Willow squeezed the door handle and mumbled to herself. “It’s time to talk to the police.”
Feeling the weariness of the last forty-eight hours in her bones, she approached Austin and the detective and introduced herself.
He shook her hand. “I’m Detective Murdoch. Can you tell me what happened, Miss Anderson?”
Nodding, Willow composed herself. “Dana and I were here gathering information about a project we’re working on. Downloading information from the computer. We were afraid the same person who burned down my house, who killed JT, might come for the warehouse next.”
Officer Murdoch shared a look with Austin.
She hesitated before continuing.
“It’s okay, Willow. I told him this could be a part of the larger case, and linked to JT’s death. Just tell him what happened here tonight.” Willow appreci
ated Austin talking to him first. She didn’t relish repeating the whole story, and shared her part.
“Let me make sure I understand. You think he was already in the warehouse when you arrived and surprised him. You believe this is part of the FBI cold case your grandfather was working on.” Detective Murdoch wrote in his notepad.
“Yes,” Willow said.
Stan approached with Dana, though they stood back a few feet from Willow, Austin, and the detective.
“But you said it sounded like he was searching for you.”
“He could have wanted to hurt us or tie us up or something and take the files. I don’t know.”
His eyes dark, Austin crossed his arms.
“Okay, thank you, Miss Anderson. I’d like to talk to the woman who was with you.”
“That’s me,” Dana said. “I’m Dana Cooper.”
The detective stepped aside, away from Austin and Willow, to speak with Dana.
Willow tried to catch her breath. Two nights in a row she’d found herself in a precarious situation. Austin remained close, protection emanating from him. What she could really use right now was a good, long hug. But she refused to give in to that desire.
“I keep wondering what would have happened tonight if JT hadn’t called you to begin with. If you hadn’t . . .” She couldn’t say it. Couldn’t finish the sentence. Come back into my life.
“The outcome would be the same.” He kept his voice low.
She lifted her eyes to study his strong jaw. Lips that had called her name tonight, infusing her with hope and something entirely forbidden. She’d kissed those lips before. “What do you mean?”
“Zena Helms texted me about the fire. You worked on a project for her grandmother, remember? I came to check on you in the hospital. That had nothing at all to do with JT’s call. Once I knew you were in danger, well, you couldn’t get rid of me so easily.”
Austin’s strength drew her closer. She couldn’t help herself. She leaned into him, and he wrapped his arms around her as if he’d known what she’d wanted all along. As if he’d wanted the same thing.
“Now we need to get you someplace safe.”
Which meant she couldn’t stay with Dana and her family. Though she’d already put Dana in harm’s way, she wouldn’t put her or her family in more danger. Willow hoped she hadn’t already done just that.
“I’m not sure any place will be safe until we find who’s responsible,” she said.
“Let the police do their jobs.”
“Sure, they can do their jobs, but in the meantime, I’m doing mine and I’m searching for Katelyn’s missing child. I’m going to find her, Austin. I’m going to find Jamie Mason, and I need you to help. It’s what JT would have wanted.”
She saw the question in Austin’s eyes.
But is it what you want, Willow?
That shouldn’t matter to either of them. Maybe she’d always have a thing for Austin. But she’d spent her life uncovering the past, metaphorically digging up dead people and sometimes their secrets too. Austin had gone to great pains to hide his past and secrets, and that had caused conflict between them before. Her digging into his life, her curiosity about his history had only pushed him away.
Chapter fifteen
WEDNESDAY, 12:31 P.M.
AUSTIN’S APARTMENT
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Austin hiked up the steps, lugging the box of files to his second-floor apartment located in a gated community in northeast Seattle. Despite the cool mist of a gray-skied Seattle day, sweat beaded his brow. He’d moved here when he’d taken the position with the FBI as a field agent. A new lease on life, as it were. The only hiccup in that plan happened a year later. He’d gone to see his father, and after a heated argument, the man had died in a car accident. Austin couldn’t even remember what they’d argued about.
At the memory, he nearly stumbled on the steps but caught himself in time.
Willow trudged behind him, carrying one of her own boxes—the last one that contained information regarding their search for Jamie Mason.
The police had finished processing the warehouse scene, looking for prints and other evidence that might lead them to the person who had burned down Willow’s house or driven the car that killed JT. This morning, Willow had been allowed to retrieve the office files for safekeeping. He’d helped her move all the other client files to a secure storage facility while Dana waited with Stan for the security system to finally be installed at the warehouse. Too little too late, if they asked Austin. Security could have prevented last night’s debacle.
They’d spent the morning deep in manual labor because Willow couldn’t bear to part with JT’s forensic genealogy work or allow someone to destroy it. Everything of value was being removed.
He didn’t blame her. Besides, someone might request additional information in the future. Once the police put this criminal behind bars, if Willow chose to move everything back and work from the warehouse office, the security system would be in place.
Exhaustion from the last two grueling days clawed at him as he peered over his shoulder. “Just one more step.”
He took the last one, then hefted the boxed files to his side as he approached the maroon door and opened it for Willow. He stood to the side and waited. She’d pulled her long, dark tangles into a ponytail that swung as she carried the box through the door ahead of him, her hazel eyes sliding to him as she passed. In his apartment, she hefted the box onto the dining table next to a couple of others. Austin closed the door and unloaded his haul next to hers.
He knew that look in her eyes. She was on a mission, albeit a dangerous one. Better that look than the haunted look of defeat he’d seen on her face in the hospital after the fire.
She tried opening the taped box with her fingers. “Got a box cutter?”
“No, but I have Dr Pepper.” Your favorite. How crazy was it that he’d stocked up on it yesterday? He couldn’t have known she would be here with him. His subconscious gave away what he thought he’d buried.
Her eyes brightened with appreciation. That worked for him.
“Let’s take a five-minute break.” He wished they could have two weeks to rest up before diving in, but time was a luxury.
“All right.”
In the rarely used kitchen, he grabbed the scissors in lieu of a box cutter. Took a couple of sodas from the fridge, then opened them, trying not to think about the last time Willow had been here with him in this apartment. So much had happened since then. The memories pricked him. He headed back into the living room, though it was an open floor plan—the kitchen, living, and dining rooms all part of one big space. With her back to him and her hands on her hips, she eyed his unintentionally minimalist apartment.
He paused, taking her in—running shoes and a bright blue hoodie over form-fitting jeans, ready to tackle the world. Where did she get her energy, especially after all she’d been through? Like JT, Willow was a force to be reckoned with. It would take any normal person a week—no, a month or more—to rest and get over what had happened, but not Willow. Her presence, her inner strength, had him wishing for more with her.
Had him reaching for the past.
He’d honed his skills at compartmentalizing everything, including the past, which he slung away to be dealt with never. But being so near Willow, involved in her life like this, could dismantle the carefully placed cubicles.
She yanked the band out of her silky hair, letting it fall to her midback, and weaved her fingers through, then secured it into the ponytail again. His pulse inched up.
Unable to speak, he cleared his throat. She whipped around in surprise and smiled. He held out the Dr. Pepper, which she quickly took from his hand. After a swig, she returned her attention to the paintings he’d snagged from starving artist sales. Grand Teton. Didn’t every dentist office in the country feature that one? Another of the Yellowstone River. Nothing so personal as a family photograph lying around to reveal his past. Yet with those paintings, he’d managed t
o give himself away.
“You never were much for decorating, but I’m glad you finally put something up.”
“Yeah, something. Other than the DP, my refrigerator is empty. If you want lunch, we’ll have to order takeout or grab some fast food.”
“All that work this morning gave me an appetite. Let’s order in. We can dig through the files while we eat.”
He’d hoped to distract her from the paintings, but she lingered. He knew exactly what she was thinking.
Why did Austin pick these paintings?
Studying photographs remained an important part of her work as a genealogist, and somehow after years of it, she might even fancy herself being able to profile people. There was no doubt one could learn a lot about a person from their photographs, but he hadn’t put any on his walls. Certain aspects of his life he wanted to forget or, at the very least, keep private, and yet he’d been drawn to those paintings. Reminders. What had he been thinking? He hadn’t.
Nor had he expected his paintings to bring them full circle, back to their relationship issues. But maybe he was completely wrong and Willow wasn’t thinking about that. After all, she hadn’t asked him about the paintings, and that wasn’t her usual M.O.
“How about Chinese?” he asked.
“Perfect.”
He pulled out his cell to make the call.
She gave up on the paintings and took the scissors he’d found to cut open a box. “The sooner I figure this out, the better.” She blinked up at him. “I mean, the sooner we figure it out, the better.”
Austin called the number for Ming’s Chinese Delivery, one of his staple takeout places. Willow’s box cutting made too much noise, so he moved into the kitchen to place his order, then back to the small dining area.
The box open, she removed files and sat at the table to leaf through pages. “This is like nothing I’ve ever done before.”
He grabbed his laptop and pulled up a chair next to her. “What do you mean?” he asked as he sat down.
“I’m usually either connecting the dead with the living or the living with the dead. But Katelyn is hoping I’ll find her daughter alive. It’s like you said before, what if she’s not? What if she died a long time ago?”
Never Let Go Page 8
