Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 #1

by Margaret Daley

  “I thought we wanted to protect the town.”

  Chief Winters crossed his arms and eyed David. “You want to run the police department, then you can get a job and work your way up. You’ll have to go through me every step of the way.”

  David ground his molars. “Why are we arguing? We both want the same thing. To catch this guy and protect the town. There’s a killer out there, whether you know it yet or not. We know Tracy is in danger. Others, as well. Why are you being so stubborn? Let’s protect Tracy and catch this guy.”

  Winters relaxed his jaw.

  David saw that as his chance to press the man. “I want to know what you’ve found in your investigation. Why is it taking so long?”

  Maybe he shouldn’t have made those demands or added that last part. He’d probably sent the man over the edge and would get kicked out of his office. But they’d known each other long enough that Winters respected David as much as David respected him, though tempers were too high to really demonstrate that respect right now.

  To David’s surprise, Winters dropped his arms and took a seat. He blew out a breath, obviously regaining his composure. “Sit down.”

  David did as he was asked and welcomed the chance at a civil conversation.

  “I know what this is. I know what you’re trying to do.”

  David stiffened, not liking where he suspected this was going.

  “You’re turning this into a way for you to make up for the past.”

  Was he that obvious to others? He hoped not. But his throat grew thick all the same. “What are you talking about?”

  Tapping his fingers on his desk, Chief Winters studied him. “Never mind. Look, Warren, it is summer, and we’ve got lots of visitors coming through town with the cruises or to hunt and fish, using the cabins spread out in the woods and on the nearby islands. I’m in a precarious position here. I can’t incite panic and scare all the tourists off until I have solid evidence. That said, there’s only a couple of ways in and out of this town, and my department is on full alert. We’re all looking for this guy who fits Jay’s description. According to Tracy, this man might be after her, but she can’t give a description.”

  “The tattoo. That’s description enough. And there is no ‘might’ about it. Someone tried to get at her from the alley at the grocery store.”

  Winters arched a brow. David realized he might not have been informed of that incident. They hadn’t called the police then.

  “Then it burned down the next day.” David knew they were still waiting to hear back from the fire marshal’s investigation to find out if it was arson. “And then she saw someone at the mine last night before it collapsed.”

  Was Winters even listening?

  “Again, circumstantial. Seeing someone there just before the collapse doesn’t mean they caused it. Though I’ll admit, it does look suspicious. We’re investigating how it collapsed, and then we can tell you if it was intentional. But it could just as easily have been an accident. The mine was clearly marked as dangerous.” He sent David an accusing look.

  David had no response to that and shifted in his seat.

  Winters deepened his frown. “By the way, how’s your head?”

  “It hurts, but I’ll live.”

  “I hope you’re not driving around town. You need to rest. That’ll give you clarity, too, so you can be sure you’re really thinking this through and not just reacting emotionally.”

  Frustration boiled in David’s gut. “You know me better than that. And Tracy is not some paranoid woman.”

  “But do you admit she has a reason to be distrustful? Maybe even fixated on the idea that someone is trying to kill her?”

  Standing again, David pressed his knuckles into the desk and leaned forward. “You go too far, Winters.”

  Winters held his palms up. “I don’t blame her. If I’d lived through her experience in California, I would probably be looking over my shoulder, too. But I can’t ask every person coming in and out of Mountain Cove to show their tattoos, and some of them have many.”

  “Then what can you do?”

  “We can look for this man like we’re doing, even though we don’t have much to go on.”

  “And what about Tracy’s protection? And Jewel and her guests?”

  “I only have twelve officers, which isn’t enough when the population explodes in the summer months. But…I’ll concede on that point. Jewel and her guests at the B and B need a police presence if Tracy is staying there.”

  David wasn’t 100 percent sure he liked the way Winters had worded that, as though Tracy wasn’t his first concern. David had always trusted the man to do his job well before. But he couldn’t help but think he was conceding because he had a thing for Jewel. Everyone knew that except Winters and Jewel.

  “The Warren brothers will help you keep watch, then, too.”

  “No deadly use of force. Got it? Call the police if you see anything suspicious. And be careful. I understand how you think. You’d rather die trying to save someone than lose them, but the citizens of Mountain Cove don’t want to lose you.” Winters pinned him with his glare and David saw the truth in his eyes.

  Satisfied that he was getting the police response he wanted, he said, “Then let’s get this guy.”

  Winters stood and thrust out his hand. “You should have applied to the police force instead of becoming a fireman.”

  David took Winters’s strong grip and shook, feeling better about their conversation by the minute. “You’re a good man, Colin.”

  Winters offered him an amused smile. “You had your doubts?”

  “I knew you’d come through with some prodding.”

  David left the chief’s office and exited the building.

  Mountain Cove was small enough that most of the locals knew each other. Add to that the residents were made up of rugged men and women who could live through a harsh winter environment and who mostly packed weapons. Knew how to handle themselves. The threat came when someone was off their guard because they didn’t know they were in danger. Someone like an innocent store clerk working at the grocery store.

  But word had spread fast enough and people knew now to keep an eye out. He just hoped they didn’t blame Tracy for Veronica’s death. He hoped no one suggested she leave town. Most people he knew here would quickly come to her defense, but there was always one or two who stood apart.

  What David had to do was figure out how to do his own job and keep Tracy safe at the same time. He had taken too much time off as it was.

  David approached his truck, thinking back to the moment when it had arrived in Juneau. His shiny new truck had been meant to somehow fill that emptiness inside, and it had worked temporarily. Or at least he’d lied to himself that he was happy. Somehow when facing life and death, when trying to protect a woman he cared too deeply about, he wondered why he’d bothered spending the money on a new toy with all the bells and whistles, when there were plenty of other more important places to put his money. He already gave to plenty of charities and missionaries abroad. Local needs, as well. All more important and less selfish. But maybe he could give more and spend less on himself. He could have bought a used and older-model vehicle and it would have done the job. Still, as he climbed inside and ran his hand over the newness of the leather interior and started the ignition, he smiled. He was only human, after all, and though he hated his shallowness, he couldn’t help but take joy in this small pleasure.

  His cell rang and David dug it out of his pocket. It was the fire chief. They’d heard from the fire marshal. He’d determined the origin and cause of the fire. That had gone much quicker than David had expected.

  “I’m on my way.” David headed over to the burned-out hull of a grocery store. He’d already made up his mind—based on Tracy’s reaction and what she’d told him—that this had been arson, though he hadn’t wanted to admit that to Tracy. The fire marshal had sent debris to be analyzed for chemical accelerants, but ultimately it would be Winters’s responsib
ility to investigate criminal activity if the fire marshal determined evidence of that.

  Had he found something?

  Or had David jumped to a lot of conclusions without any facts based on Tracy’s story? What if he’d been wrong?

  TWELVE

  “Where is it?” Tracy grumbled to herself.

  There wasn’t anyone in the cottage to hear her complaining besides her. On her knees, she fumbled under the desk, searching for Jennifer’s business card. It had been a couple of days since the grocery store burned down and the mine had collapsed, nearly killing her and David. And even two days since she’d seen David last. He had a job, after all, and had to work his twenty-four-hour shift at the fire station.

  At least there hadn’t been another fire in town.

  For some crazy reason she’d almost started to believe he would never leave her side. She’d almost started to count on that when she knew good and well she shouldn’t. And her heart ached a little, when it shouldn’t. But between the Warren brothers and the police department standing guard at the B and B, Tracy was almost convinced she was safe.

  And she was all the more confused. How long could they go on like this? Certainly not indefinitely. Tracy was trapped between someone who wanted to kill her and people who wanted to protect her, and she couldn’t breathe. She needed to talk to Jennifer.

  Behind her, Solomon barked, startling Tracy.

  She bumped her head on the desk. “Ouch.”

  At least she recognized it as a friendly bark.

  “What. Are. You. Doing?”

  And the familiar masculine voice.

  David.

  Even the sound of his voice sent warm tingles through her. She crawled out of the confining space under the desk where the chair had been and rested on her knees. “I’m looking for something.”

  “You shouldn’t be in the cottage. You shouldn’t be alone. What’s so important?”

  “I’m not alone. Officer What’s-His-Name is out there.”

  “No, he’s not.”

  “What? He was sitting in his cruiser not five minutes ago.”

  His rugged face shifted into a deep scowl. “He must have gotten called away. Glad I showed up when I did.”

  “And you didn’t pass him on your way in?” Tracy frowned. That meant that he’d been gone awhile and that Tracy had been here longer than she’d intended. Alone.

  So much for having guard dogs of the human variety—they weren’t reliable.

  David held his hand out to her. Tracy took it and allowed him to assist her up. On her feet, she stood and realized she was in his personal space. Or he was in hers? Either way, his masculine scent wrapped around her and she took a step back.

  Into the desk.

  He was close. Much too close. And she’d missed him more than she wanted to admit. Her heart pounded, and unfortunately, her breathing gave her away.

  The smallest of grins broke through his frown. Did he realize the effect he had on her? Not good. Still, he kept her pinned and stared down at her, his hands at his sides. “What am I going to do with you?”

  Excuse me? You don’t own me.

  Tracy thought of a few more unpleasant retorts, but she calmed herself. David meant well. “I’m sorry. I can’t find my cell phone anywhere. I think I lost it in the chaos in the mine. So I don’t have my contact list or numbers. And now I can’t find her card.”

  “Whose card?”

  “Marshal Hanes.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of going into WITSEC.”

  Tracy slipped around him, putting space between them. He looked too good for his own good. Or rather, for Tracy’s good. Tongue hanging out, Solomon lumbered toward David as if taking Tracy’s place and wagged his tail. David reached down and rubbed the dog behind the ears.

  “I’m not sure what to do.” She needed some advice and had hoped that the marshal could give her that. She was still mulling over Jewel’s words, as well.

  If she thought he was going to try to talk her into staying, though, she was disappointed. David said nothing. Instead he studied her long and hard until she grew uncomfortable. She shouldn’t care if David wanted her to stay or not. That shouldn’t matter.

  She finally averted her gaze. “So…um…I’m sure you didn’t come here for idle chitchat.” Oh, man. She could have said something much nicer.

  It’s good to see you. How are you doing? Something. Why couldn’t she tell him that? Instead she sounded rude, and she hadn’t meant it that way. She lifted her hand to reach out, squeeze his arm—she was far too demonstrative—and apologize for her tone.

  “You’re right. I didn’t.”

  Tracy dropped her hand before making contact. So much for good intentions. Not wanting to meet his eyes, she searched the cottage for anything else she might have left inside.

  “We’ve finished investigating the grocery-store fire.”

  That got her attention. She jerked her eyes back to him. “And?”

  “The fire marshal and Chief Winters agree that it was arson. To tell you the truth, I was hoping for something else. I was hoping that you were wrong.”

  Tracy sagged where she stood. “You were hoping I was delusional, that’s what you hoped.”

  “No. Not that. But I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around any of this. As I’m sure you are. You already told me about Santino and his gang and the fires. But is there anything, any details that would help us, that you left out?”

  His question knocked the wind from her. Tracy reached for the sofa and made her way around, easing down into the soft cushion. Yes, there were details that she’d left out. She’d told him that she’d witnessed Santino burning a house, but she hadn’t shared she’d been a target long before she’d been a witness. And she should tell him everything now, but she wasn’t sure she could talk about it. Not yet.

  David looked stricken at her reaction. “Maybe I shouldn’t have asked you. Maybe I can get that information from the police if they’re willing to share. I didn’t think… I thought you’d be able to talk about it by now.”

  David approached her then sat on the edge of the sofa at the opposite end. Why did he keep getting closer to her?

  “No, it’s okay. It’s just that when you asked me, I realized that I was running from that night in more ways than one. I wanted to forget everything that happened. I can’t believe it followed me here. That he found me here.”

  “Then let’s end this here and now. Let’s catch this guy in Mountain Cove so he can never harm you again.”

  She shook her head. “Santino is still in jail. It’s only one of his minions in his gang following his orders from inside prison. It will never end. There will always be the next guy until Santino moves on to another target.”

  “There has to be something we can do.” David jumped up and paced the cottage, his presence and sturdy form once again making the cozy place seem much smaller.

  “Santino would have to die first, and even then I don’t know if his gang would stop targeting me. And that’s why I can’t know if staying here is the right thing to do. Jewel had a lot of brave words to say, and I’m privileged to know a community filled with such loyal people who have welcomed me as if I’m one of their own.”

  “But…”

  “But I don’t know, David.” Tracy stood and blocked his path. She knew she should steer clear of him, but when he was this close, protectiveness and concern pouring off him, she couldn’t help herself. She wanted to be near him.

  In his arms.

  Maybe she wanted him to convince her to stay in this hopeless situation. He made her think crazy thoughts, unreasonable thoughts. She shouldn’t stay here.

  Oh, God, please don’t let him read my mind. Please don’t let him see what has to be obvious.

  But when he stopped and looked at her, his eyes were warm and soft, and she knew he’d done just that.

  “I’m not usually so indecisive,” she whispered.

  He took one slow step forward and
then another, forcing her breath to hitch again.

  “I don’t want to run again. I don’t want to hide anymore. But I can’t stay here knowing I’m putting everyone in danger.”

  David stood close again, and this time his hands didn’t stay at his sides. He lifted his fingers and wrapped them in the tendril that had fallen into her face. She heard him swallow and understood he felt the attraction, too. But this thing with David that she couldn’t let herself have went so much deeper than attraction. How had some gorgeous woman not snagged this man already? He was a prize worth fighting for.

  She didn’t want to leave Mountain Cove or the friends she’d made here, but David had quickly become her biggest reason to stay.

  And he couldn’t be.

  “Then don’t,” he finally said. “Don’t run and hide. Let your friends in Mountain Cove protect you, and at the same time the police can take this guy down, and then everyone will be safe. Including you.”

  Did David really believe what he was saying? “I don’t think you truly know what you’re up against.”

  He twirled her hair and stepped even closer. “Maybe not. But you’re worth whatever the cost, Tracy. Don’t go.”

  Then his lips made contact with hers and lingered, igniting something deep inside both her body and soul. Tracy breathed in the essence that was David and lost herself in his sweet, tender kiss that conveyed how much he cared, more than words ever could.

  She didn’t want this to end—this feeling of being cherished that David’s simple kiss had ignited. But Tracy stepped away, breaking the spell. “I’m no good for you. I can’t do this.”

  Anguish spread over his expression, regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Look, it’s okay. I felt it, too. I kissed you back. But this can’t go anywhere, so maybe we should keep our distance.”

  “You’re right. It can’t go anywhere.”

  The look of complete resolution on his face wasn’t what she’d expected, and for a brief, selfish second she wished she could take her own words back.

  Tracy frowned and looked at the floor. It needed sweeping. “I should get back to help Jewel.”