No Way Out

by Susan Sleeman

  Back in the family room, he went straight to the rock. Glass shards crunched under his feet and the driving rain dampened his clothing. He grabbed the bag and moved out of the rain. He used the hem of his shirt to open the bag. Better to be careful than to destroy any fingerprints that might’ve survived the rain. He pulled out a white piece of paper, then carefully set the bag on the table to process later as evidence.

  The garage door opened. Cole spun, letting the rock fall and putting his free hand on his weapon.

  Derrick entered and wiped his boots on the rug. “Nothing in the garage for boarding the window.”

  “We have plywood at our office for emergencies at our rental properties,” Alyssa said as she joined them, Dani following. They’d both changed into jeans, T-shirts and shoes.

  “I have a key so we can go get it,” Alyssa added.

  Dani met Cole’s gaze. “Alyssa shouldn’t go out. Derrick and I can go.”

  Cole studied his sister to see if this was another attempt at matchmaking, but she was focused on the job and alert. He held up the bag with the note. “Before you go, you might want to read this.”

  Everyone crowded around him, and he unfolded the page by the edges. The white copy paper held colorful letters cut from magazines.

  I’m not playing games, Alyssa. Back off on this investigation or you will surely die.

  Alyssa’s hand shot up to cover her mouth.

  “With all the work that went into cutting and pasting these letters we’re sure to get a good print or even some DNA.” Dani took the paper. “We need to preserve it in something waterproof.”

  “Why not put it back in the bag it came in?” Alyssa asked.

  “The bag will need to be processed for prints and so we need to separate the pieces of evidence.” Dani went into the kitchen.

  “If you’ll get the office key, we’ll get going,” Derrick said to Alyssa.

  They both sounded unfeeling, as if they hadn’t noticed Alyssa’s shock. Just like Cole had done earlier. Which meant they were both worried and didn’t feel able to comfort her. Cole laid a hand on Alyssa’s arm and squeezed. She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes, but soon resolve took over. She squared her shoulders and his hand fell away.

  “I’ll just be a minute,” she said and headed back down the hall.

  Derrick strode to the door and traded his slicker for a warmer waterproof jacket.

  Cole followed him. “We’ll clean up this glass while you’re gone so it’ll be easier to put up the plywood.”

  “Yeah, you will,” Dani joked as she joined them again.

  After all the attempts Dani had made to brighten his mood in the past few years, he knew she had the same goal right now. But he couldn’t seem to let go of the memory of Alyssa’s terrified expression.

  “Come on, bro.” Derrick clapped Cole on the back. “This is good news. If they’re still trying to warn her off they aren’t ready to kill her yet.”

  Alyssa gasped from behind him, and Cole glared at Derrick.

  “Nice one.” Dani socked Derrick in the arm.

  “Let me write down directions to the office and give you the security code.” Alyssa handed the keys to Dani and went into the kitchen.

  Cole leaned closer to his siblings. “Do a little recon on the way out of the area to make certain our visitor is gone.”

  They both nodded and Dani slipped into her jacket.

  Alyssa returned with the directions and gave them to Dani. “The security code is on the top of the page. The keypad is just inside the door and the plywood is in an office in the back. Any questions?”

  After a quick shake of the head, they left and Cole secured the door behind them. “I’ll get started on cleaning this up.”

  Alyssa looked at the window and shuddered.

  “Hey.” Cole stepped closer and rubbed her arms, though he knew the shiver wasn’t from the cold.

  “The phone message was one thing, but seeing this one. Here. Where my kids are...” She shuddered again.

  Cole knew better, but he couldn’t stop himself. He pulled her into his arms and settled her head against his chest. Despite the raging storm and danger lurking all around them, with his arms wrapped around Alyssa he felt more at peace than he’d felt in years.

  * * *

  Cole’s heart beat solidly under Alyssa’s ear. She felt protected. Safe. Secure. Exactly the way she’d imagined it would feel to have his arms around her, and she didn’t want to move away. But nothing had changed. She still didn’t know him and that meant she couldn’t fully trust him.

  She leaned back, and met his gaze. He watched her for long moments, his eyes prying deep inside. The cold barreling in through the open window fell away, and she felt like she was melting into a puddle. He bent down, his breath soft on her cheek.

  “I don’t want you to worry,” he whispered and it felt like a caress. “We’ll resolve this before anyone else gets hurt.”

  He looked like he was going to kiss her, and she knew she should pull herself free before she did something she’d regret, but she couldn’t move. He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His touch was whisper-soft and she shivered. He smiled as if he liked the way she’d responded to him.

  “Mom,” Riley’s sleepy voice came from behind and Alyssa jerked free. “What happened?”

  She hurried over to him before he walked into the room with bare feet. “The window broke in the storm. What’re you doing awake?”

  “I had to go to the bathroom.” He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

  “Let’s get you back to bed so I can help clean up this mess.” She slid the hair off his forehead and led him down the hall.

  “Won’t the rain keep coming inside?”

  “Derrick and Dani are going to board up the window.”

  “Cool! Can I watch?”

  “Sorry, but you need to get some sleep. You have school tomorrow.”

  “Aw,” he said.

  She tucked him into his bed. He was asleep again almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. She pulled his covers up and then turned to Brianna to do the same thing. At the doorway, she paused to look at her precious children.

  How could she even be thinking about starting something romantic with Cole when she didn’t really know him? She wouldn’t ever subject her kids to another man who could betray and hurt them.

  She returned to the family room and found Cole with a push broom, dustpan and large outdoor garbage can. She approached him and the glass ground under her feet. He looked up from scooping a mound into the dustpan. “Everything okay with the little man?”

  “Fine.” She took the broom from him and started sweeping. “I guess this is where you say I told you so.”

  “Told you so?”

  “Yeah. You were right about all these windows making the house hard to defend.”

  “I was right...but wrong, too.” He stood and appraised her for a few moments. “Buying a house isn’t about defending yourself or even those you love. It’s about making a home with them.”

  Her mouth fell open at his sudden reversal.

  He chuckled, his eyes lighting with laughter. “Don’t look so shocked. A guy can change his mind, can’t he?”

  “Yeah, but this is a big change.”

  “Watching you and the twins the past few days reminded me of my family growing up.” He got a faraway look on his face. “Our dad was a cop, but he didn’t spend time or energy worrying about keeping us safe from every possible danger. Not that he was reckless. He taught us how to stay safe, then trusted God to take care of all of us and provide our needs.”

  “Sounds like you want to have a big family yourself.”

  “I did. Once. But now?” He shrugged and went back to picking up glass, ending the conversation, b
ut she wouldn’t let it drop.

  “Now?” she asked firmly.

  “Now it’s time to quit talking about things that might never be and get this mess cleaned up.” He turned his back and kept working, clearly ending the discussion.

  She didn’t know how to feel about his abrupt refusal to answer. Her heart broke for his obvious pain and angst, but after the tender moment they’d shared when they’d hugged, she expected he might actually open up and tell her something about himself.

  But why? her mind screamed. Todd and Nolan both carried deep secrets. What made her think that any man she was attracted to would be any different?

  ELEVEN

  The morning sun poured through the open window as a small crane lifted a large plate of glass into the gaping hole. Alyssa watched Cole chat with the supervisor of the work crew. He smiled and joked like he had with the twins while he’d helped her get them ready for school. He’d even joked with his siblings and with the Astoria police chief when he’d call to say they could come by to talk to him today.

  But that wall Cole erected at the end of their conversation last night stood tall and strong between them, making her upset. Upset with him for being so cool and at herself for hoping he’d be otherwise.

  He shook the supervisor’s hand then turned and caught her watching him. She met his gaze and waited to see if he intended to shut her out again. He crossed the room, running a hand through his hair and drawing in a deep breath as if he felt a need to fortify himself before talking to her.

  “It’s good to see the plywood gone,” she said, hoping small talk would help them break the ice. “Nothing better than watching the waves in the morning sun.”

  “We are so different.” He sat next to her on the sofa. “I like the stormy nights best.”

  “Maybe if you worked through whatever’s eating at you, you could find joy in the morning sun, too.”

  For a long moment, he simply stared ahead. “I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have clammed up on you like that. I’ve kind of gotten used to keeping things to myself.”

  She wanted to assure him that she understood, but she still didn’t get why he felt a need to hide everything from her.

  “C’mon.” He grinned at her, but for once his boyish grin didn’t make her cave. “At least consider accepting my apology.”

  She would forgive him, but she wouldn’t forget the boundaries he’d set. Maybe she shouldn’t keep trying to get him to open up. Maybe the wall he’d erected between them was a good thing. Especially with the hug last night when she’d heard his heart match the thundering of hers. She couldn’t handle falling for the wrong man again.

  “Brianna was so cute this morning,” he said, his tone far more lighthearted. “Actually both of your kids are really something. You’ve done an amazing job in raising them.”

  “If you think you can get in my good graces by complimenting my kids.” She paused and looked into his eyes. Contrite, apologetic eyes begging for forgiveness, she couldn’t withhold. “I guess you can.”

  The devastating smile he’d trained on her that first night stole across his face and her heart melted all over again. But she wouldn’t let him get to her. She’d keep the conversation on the kids. “You’re right. They are amazing. Especially considering all they’ve been through. I only hope it doesn’t scar them permanently.”

  “Kids are resilient. I remember when Derrick first joined our family. He acted a lot like Riley. All grown up. Thinking of Dani first and protecting her.” Cole smiled. She could tell he had fond memories of growing up with his siblings. “He’s still protective of her, but after a little while with us, he relaxed. Riley will, too.”

  “You’re going to make a good dad someday,” she said.

  He frowned. “I only hope I’d be half as good as my adoptive father. Everything I am today is because of him.”

  “It’s great that you had such a strong role model. I wish Todd had been better for the twins. He did his best until he moved out, but then he didn’t stop by to see them at all.”

  Cole’s brow rose. “You weren’t together when he died?”

  “No. We’d taken a break a few weeks before he was killed.”

  “I know it’s none of my business, but if this is related to his murder I’ll need to know why he left.”

  She didn’t want to tell him about Todd. It had nothing to do with his murder. But she also didn’t want to behave the same way Cole had last night and shut him out. “Todd hit me.”

  “He what?”

  “Hit me. Just once. After a particularly bad day on the job.”

  He studied her then, long and hard, before he lifted his hand to cup her face. “I don’t care if he had the worst day of his life. Hitting you is inexcusable.”

  Loving the softness of his touch when she shouldn’t, she sat back before she did something she’d regret and his hand fell.

  “I’m not making excuses for Todd. Just telling you that he let his job get to him and he snapped. He’d wanted to quit his job for a while, but we needed the money.” She shook her head. “Twins are expensive, you know? Anyway, we were in debt and he took a second job to help pay the bills. It got to be too much for him to handle.”

  “Do you think it’s possible he took an easy way out and joined Saunders’s drug operation?”

  “If he did, our finances never reflected that.”

  “Maybe splitting with you put him over the edge, and he was just getting involved with Saunders when he killed him.”

  “I guess it’s possible, but the other night Nolan said he framed Todd.”

  “That doesn’t mean Todd wasn’t involved.”

  “I just don’t think he was.” He opened his mouth, but she raised a hand before he said anything. “I know Todd wasn’t the man I married and I know Nolan isn’t the man I thought he was. So yeah, I’m a horrible judge of men. But for my children’s sake, I need to believe their father didn’t do anything illegal and we’ll be able to clear his name.”

  Cole covered her hand with his. “I’ll do my best to find evidence that clears him.”

  The supervisor approached them. Cole looked bothered by the interruption, but he stood anyway.

  “You shouldn’t have any problems with the glass. If you do, give me a call.” He held out an invoice.

  “Thanks for coming so quickly,” Cole said and walked the man to the door.

  Alyssa had to repair windows at some of her properties in the past and she’d never gotten this kind of rapid response. But then, Cole was a man who was used to getting things done. Strong, powerful, in charge. Everything she found attractive in a man and everything she needed to keep fighting against if she didn’t want to make another mistake.

  * * *

  Cole exited Oregon’s scenic Coastal Highway, leaving behind the roaring ocean for Young’s Bay on the south side of Astoria. For the thirty-minute drive, he’d focused on the road while Alyssa stared past him at waves crashing on the rocky shoreline. The silence between them was uncomfortable and he wanted to find something to talk with her about, but their discussions weren’t often comfortable.

  He glanced at her again. He wanted to leave his past behind more than ever to see if this interest between them could develop into something. He’d made a few baby steps in the right direction. Could he take it even further?

  Not alone, he couldn’t. He needed help. Alyssa’s help? God’s help? Both probably. But with the police station just ahead, he’d have to table his thoughts for now.

  After parking, he checked the mirrors one last time, but there was no real reason to do so. The police station sat on a dead-end street and if a car had taken the exit with him, he would’ve noticed. He escorted Alyssa inside and gave their information to the front desk clerk.

  The chief met them in a few short mi
nutes. An old friend of Cole’s dad, he’d aged since Cole had last seen him at his parents’ funeral. His gray hair had thinned, his stomach paunch was larger and, though he was as tall as Cole, his stooped shoulders made him appear shorter. He’d been a vibrant go-getter when he’d partnered with Cole’s dad on the Portland police force.

  Cole shook his hand. “Good to see you again, Chief.”

  “I was surprised when you called.” Chief gripped his hand and patted him on the shoulder with the other. “But I’m glad you did.” He released Cole. “Come on back to my office and we can talk in private.”

  Cole and Alyssa followed him down a dark hallway to an office that held many souvenirs of his years on the Portland and then the Astoria force.

  “I don’t know how much help I can be, but I’m glad to answer your questions.” Chief sat, locked his hands together and settled them over his belly.

  “In your email, you said Arturo Cruz’s body was found in a landfill,” Cole said. “Can you elaborate on that?”

  Chief nodded. “It was the oddest thing, really. A worker was supervising the unloading of a truck. A suitcase tumbled out and rolled down the trash heap, landing on his foot. It was heavy and he hoped he’d find something valuable inside. Instead, he found the body and called us.”

  Cole saw Alyssa blanch and he wished he could’ve had this conversation without her. “Can you tell me more about the victim?”

  “He was a small Hispanic guy. Bruising on his neck says he was strangled from behind. Medical examiner says the bruising indicates the killer was taller than the vic. Plus he thinks the chokehold is a common defensive move taught to military or law enforcement personnel.”

  Saunders. Cole shared a knowing look with Alyssa. “How tall was the deceased?”

  “Five-seven.”

  Saunders was close to Cole’s height so this fit. “Did you recover any forensic evidence other than the suitcase?”

  Chief scoffed. “You try deciding what’s important and what you should collect at a dump.”

  He had a point. Not an easy crime scene to process. “Did you call in help from the state police or sheriff’s department?”