by Stacey Wilk
“You’ve got to get back in the saddle. The past is the past. You were cleared. You are the best shot, and the best team leader I know, man. Don’t let one dumb mistake take your life from you.” Max tossed his cards on the table and scratched at his buzz cut hair.
“Max, shut the fuck up.” Deke glared at him.
Max slid his gaze away. “Sorry. I’m just speaking the truth.”
“It’s all right. I’m happy here. I like my life. Simple. Quiet. The way I want it.”
Max turned his attention back to the table. “You deserve more than this.”
“I don’t want anything else. I got burnt out, and that means mistakes. What if the next time something happened to either one of you because I fuck up again? I won’t have that on my conscience.” His voice rumbled into the room. He pushed back from the table and shoved open the back door.
The cold air hit him like a hammer. Maybe that’s what he needed to knock some sense into him. Max picked at the scab he tried to pretend didn’t exist, and Deke kept inviting him back hoping he’d finally say yes. He stole a glance in the direction of Raine’s house. What would she say if he told her who he really was?
The door clicked closed behind him. He didn’t turn, but Deke handed him another beer. “I tied Max to a chair and wrapped duct tape around his head.”
In spite of himself, he laughed. “Thanks.”
“He means well. He misses you. So do I.” Deke’s voice was a whisper in the wind.
He swigged the beer feeling the cold draft run down his throat and into his stomach. If only it could freeze his emotions. “Yeah, me too.” He hated to admit it out loud because then missing the job, and missing his teammates was real.
“I haven’t told Max yet, but I resigned from Omega Team two days ago.”
“What?” He nearly dropped the beer.
“I’m starting my own private security firm and I want you to come work with me. If I can talk that butt head into it, I want him too. What do you think of this piece of shit town for a headquarters?”
“Are you serious?”
“Never more. I’m ready to move on. Have something of my own. Omega Team is great, and it’s been good to me, but I want something else. Maybe your quiet life rubbed off on me. I don’t know.”
“I can’t get my head around this. You leaving Omega never seemed possible.”
“No, bro, you leaving never seemed possible, but here you are still standing. I know you hate cooking in that joint no matter what you say. When you’re ready, come work with me.”
“Deke, I can’t carry.”
“You won’t carry. Not the same thing. Don’t decide tonight. Just agree to the birthday party gig. It’s so easy and stupid it’s almost a joke, but it’s great for my business having a client like that.”
He took a deep breath and another swig of the beer. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Excellent. We’ll leave from your place next Saturday afternoon. One more thing, I ran that check on Raine Kennedy.”
“And?” A small shiver ran down the back of his neck.
“I found something.”
“Are you two ass hats done hugging it out and coming back inside? Christ, it’s freezing out here.” Max slammed the door.
The beer sloshed around in his stomach. Once he heard what Deke had to say, there was no going back. He could tell him to forget it. He didn’t need to know more than she was willing to share. Not after last night and this morning. “What did you find?”
“I couldn’t believe it at first. I thought what are the odds this Raine Kennedy would be connected to one of my cases.”
His heart picked up speed, and the beer went sour in his mouth. “Tell me what you found.”
Deke narrowed his eyes. “Kennedy is her grandmother’s maiden name. Her real name is Raine Garcia. She’s married to Mateo Garcia.”
The bottle slipped from his icy fingers and bounced off the deck somewhere in the dark grass. Blood roared in his ears. He heard wrong. He had to have heard Deke wrong. “Are you sure?”
“I triple checked based on the description and age range you gave me. I included a son in the search too assuming your missing person you asked about first was her and her boy. Mateo Garcia’s wife and son disappeared two months ago. Her Lexus was found in a bus terminal. He never reported them missing. The story he’s telling is they’re having some marriage problems and she’s gone to stay with her parents in Florida for the winter. Her parents died in an accident when she was ten.”
He should’ve listened to his gut and stayed away from her. He should’ve insisted Badger drag her off the property the minute he laid eyes on her. He shouldn’t have slept with her. He wiped his face with his hands.
“What made you want that search? Why this woman? Because after what happened six months ago I thought the last thing you’d want was to get anywhere near another drug cartel.”
Chapter Twelve
Landon prattled on about his video game when Raine’s phone rang. She cleaned up their late breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes. Landon had woken her after she’d managed only a few hours of sleep to say that he was hungry. She’d hopped out of bed with more energy than she’d had in a long time. Good sex would do that for a lady, not that she’d ever mention why she was in such a good mood to her nine-year-old. For the first time in a long time, she felt as if she had something to smile about. She and Landon might just be okay in Silent Water.
She grabbed the receiver ready to hit the talk button but stopped. The screen read unknown caller.
She stared as the call continued to ring in her hand. Her throat dried up. Only Chase, Jim, Mr. Badger, and Landon’s new school had this number. Could be a mistake. A wrong number. That happened all the time. People still misdialed once in a while, didn’t they? Not everyone had their contacts programmed into their phones, right? Impossible to be on a solicitor list. She would believe wrong number and went back to wiping the table. Only she didn’t believe it, and the tightness in her chest told her not to believe someone who didn’t want to be identified had dialed the wrong number by mistake.
Should she call Chase? And say what? After last night, she could never tell him the truth about who she was or what she was running from. He’d be too afraid to stay involved with her, and he’d hate her for putting him at risk. Because she had. She’d been so selfish, but she’d wanted him in a way she’d never wanted another man. The way he looked at her while they were in bed. She needed more of that in her life. Didn’t she deserve some happiness even temporarily? If they did stay in Silent Water, Chase would become a causality if Matt ever found out about him. Could she really do that to him? Not if she cared about him, which she did.
She wiped her hands on her legs. That call was just a wrong number. If she continued to tell herself that it would be true. “Landon, get your coat. We’re going out.”
Wet, gray clouds filled the sky. Even though it was early afternoon, the day seemed about to end. The damp air clung to her and seeped into her bones despite the warmth of her coat as she helped Landon buckle into the backseat.
Chase’s truck was parked by the garage alongside another car she didn’t recognize. Was that the poker buddies? She hadn’t bothered to ask, but assumed his buddies were guys. She hoped that assumption was correct. A little disappointment tugged at her belly as she realized he was home but hadn’t called her for their afternoon date.
She headed into town, what little town there was, and ran some errands. She pulled into the gas station on Main Street and parked alongside the pump. She loved she didn’t have to pump her own gas in New Jersey, but out of habit she hopped out of the car.
“Mom, can I get a drink?” Landon asked from the backseat.
“Sure.” She grabbed a five out of her wallet. In any other town, she’d have to go with him inside the convenience store, but in Silent Water, the small store that serviced the gas station was owned by Sue and Mike Cutter. They knew everyone in town, including she and Landon. Sue and M
ike had taken a liking to them, since she’d brought Landon there several times after school. And Mike kept a tight watch on all that happened in his store.
“Be sure to say hello to Miss Sue, okay. And only one drink. Come right back out.”
Landon darted into the store shouting hello to Mike.
“Do you know how to use this?” A male voice called out.
She turned toward the only other pump at the station. A man with long hair, and the top half pulled back in some kind of a bun looked in her direction. “Are you talking to me?”
“I didn’t mean to startle you. The pump isn’t working.”
“Someone will be out in a second to pump the gas.” She craned her neck to see Landon inside the store.
“I can pump my own.” The man held up the nozzle and smiled.
“You’re not supposed to pump your own gas in New Jersey.” She shoved her hands in her pockets and gripped her keys.
“I’ve heard. I think that’s kind of stupid. I’m wasting a lot of time waiting for someone. If I could just figure out the pump. It’s not even digital.”
“Hey, mister, step away from the pump.” Ian said in his English accent and hurried from the back of the building. He had on his signature black hoodie complete with the hood up over his bald head. She didn’t know how he stayed warm in just a zip-up sweatshirt in the cold.
After Ian helped the man with the hair, he came over to pump her gas. “Out of towners drive me crazy,” he said in his cute accent.
“I’m not from town.”
“I didn’t mean you. Says he’s going camping at the base of the mountain. I saw him coming out of the General the other day. Guess he’s back for supplies or something.”
“Aren’t extra people in Silent Water good for the economy?” She stole a glance at the stranger. He watched them but turned when their gaze met.
“Well, something is different about this guy. I don’t know. Maybe I’ve been around Mike too long. He’s suspicious about everyone.”
She handed Ian the cash for the gas. Landon skipped out of the store, and they headed over to By The Sea Liquors for a bottle of wine on the off chance she had a date tonight.
She smiled at the thought of Chase in her bed again with his perfect body all chiseled from chopping wood and whatever else he did to stay in shape. She’d have to ask him. Maybe he’d like to box with her. She could use a sparring partner. He certainly made a good bedroom partner.
She and Landon had to leave the safety of Silent Water to find a bigger grocery store than anything in town. They played games going up and down the aisles, laughed, and shared a bag of chips as they tossed store-named items into the cart. She never let him graze on snacks when they shopped, worried she’d create a bad habit. Matt frowned on bad habits. Too damn bad for Matt. He was dead to her, and if her luck held, he’d finally think she and Landon were dead too. Enough thoughts of her ex. He was ruining her fun.
“Mom, where to next?” Landon asked as they pushed the cart out the automatic doors into the gray day and through the parking lot.
She shivered against the chill in the air. “How about if we go home, light a fire, and make some hot chocolate? And we could pop in a DVD. Any of your favorites.” She’d managed over the months of her planning to leave, to purchase copies of all his favorite movies, and packed them for the time when they disappeared.
“Could we download something new?” Her sweet boy looked up at her with his dark eyes, and his black hair falling on his forehead. She wanted so much to give him what he asked for.
“Nope. Can’t. Sorry.” She jerked the shopping cart to a halt.
“What?” Landon said.
The rear right tire of the Camry was flat. Damn. She hoped there was a spare in the trunk. “You’re about to learn how to change a flat.”
“You know how to do that?”
“Nope. But how hard can it be?” She found a safe place for the shopping cart full of groceries and squatted to check out the tire. Sometimes these things could be plugged up. That would save her buying a new tire.
Her breath came in short, uneven bursts. She hadn’t run over a nail like she hoped. The tire had been slashed straight through, but from the underside so anyone walking by wouldn’t notice the gash.
The unknown caller. The man at the gas station who didn’t belong to Silent Water. The slashed tire. Matt had found her, and he was coming.
****
She’d managed to change the tire while sweating in the January frost, and shaking from adrenaline fear can cause. She wanted to call Chase, but she wanted to be out of the open parking lot more. What if this tire slasher was still around? Were they lurking behind the trees that bordered the lot? Were they poised and waiting on the top of the building? And why wait to kill her?
Matt wanted her to suffer the way she had made him suffer. Matt would take Landon from her and keep her alive so she could witness the destruction of her son’s love for her. Matt would poison Landon against her. Matt would make himself the best parent, and her some crazed, drug using, whore. It wouldn’t matter that she wasn’t any of those things. Matt could make her look like she was, and she’d never have a normal life again. She’d be forced to give up her son or die destitute and alone on the side of the road.
She needed to get a gun. New Jersey had too many laws in place, good laws, that probably saved people, but she was in a hurry. Or she could leave in the cover of darkness and drive until she was certain she’d put enough space between her and Matt’s guys.
But would they ever stop looking? Would they ever be safe? Maybe it would be better to face Matt head on. Kill whoever tried to come for them even if it was Matt.
She pulled into the shared driveway. Chase’s truck was still parked alongside the extra car. “Landon, help me bring the bags inside.”
Was someone inside waiting for her? She hadn’t been followed, but that didn’t mean they didn’t already know where she lived. Suddenly, having a next-door neighbor proved a good idea in more ways than one. Had she been living here on the fifteen acres secluded from everything and everyone, Matt would be waiting on the front porch. Now, the possibility of getting caught by watching eyes would stop them. She was safe for now.
Landon set himself up on the couch with a movie and a hot chocolate. The time to make a move was now or never. “Landon, I have to run next door to Chase’s. I’ll be a minute okay? Stay inside. Don’t answer the door for anyone.”
“Is someone coming over?”
“No, but just in case the bell rings. Don’t answer it.”
“Okay.”
She kissed the top of his head, locked the door behind her, and crossed the yard to Chase’s front porch. What would she say? And why hadn’t he called? Everything seemed fine when he left her house. Did that other car belong to his ex-wife?
Her hand shook as she rang the bell and waited. Heavy footsteps made their way to the door which swung open allowing her to let out the breath she was holding. “Hi,” she managed.
The sight of Chase stole her breath. His solid frame filled out the doorway, and his blue sweater stretched across his chest. A smile tugged at the side of his lip but didn’t stay there.
“Are you okay?” His intense stare searched her face. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
The man didn’t miss a trick. Not a cop, my ass. “Um, I had a weird day. My tire was slashed earlier at the grocery store in the next town over. I can’t remember the name of it at the moment, but you probably know the one. Anyway, are you busy?”
“Slashed? Are you sure?”
“I think I know a slashed tire when I see one.”
“Probably some kids pulling a prank. Do you need me to change it? I’ve got a jack and my friend Deke is here. I can put his muscle to work.”
“What I need is to talk to you.” Telling the truth was harder than she thought. The words were getting tied around her tongue and firing wrong in her brain. “Do you have a few minutes? Landon is watching a movie, so
I don’t have to worry about him. But if now is wrong, I can come back later.”
She turned to go not sure what she was actually doing on his front porch. He grabbed her wrist. “Let me get my coat.” He closed the front door leaving her alone on the porch.
Large, white flakes drifted down from the sky. She pulled her coat closer around her middle. Chase stepped onto the porch and shoved his arms into his parka.
“I’m sorry I haven’t called,” he said. “Deke and Max have been here. I thought they’d be gone by now.”
“Old college buddies?” At least he didn’t have a woman in the house.
“Something like that.”
“Are they staying long?” Guess she’d have to save that bottle of wine for another time.
“Through the week. What’s up, Raine? Why did you come over?” His words bit into the air and scratched at her heart.
“Are you sure now is a good time?”
“You’re answering a question with a question.”
“You seemed kind of put off by my presence. Did something change since you left my house yesterday morning?” Okay, not what she planned on saying at all. This wasn’t supposed to be about them because there was no them officially, and she was going to have to let him go. The tire proved that more than anything else. Even if she did want him to come over and have that wine with her, he could never. She wouldn’t allow him to be hurt.
He ran a hand over his face. “Why did you come over here looking as if you’d been scared to within an inch of your life? Do you know who slashed your tire?”
She took a deep breath. “I need your help, and I need a gun.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned his gaze toward the trees. “And why would you need a gun?” He turned back to her with ice in his eyes. She couldn’t look away. “Would it be to protect yourself from Mateo Garcia?”
Chapter Thirteen
Chase watched as the realization of what he said washed over her. She shook her head then leaned against the railing as if for support. “How long have you known?”
