“If this is the man who stalked me in St. Louis, time won’t keep him away. He’ll keep returning.” Reagan stayed stiff in his arms, as if her mind ran to her fears. What could he do to assure her she was safe? And could he promise that?
Several months ago her nemesis had slashed her tires and sent dead roses to her at home and work. It was the note accompanying the roses that had caused Garrett to threaten yanking her out of town. Pretty flowers for a pretty lady who belongs to me.
Not a threat, but definitely disturbing. Still she’d resisted Garrett’s pleas.
Garrett said Reagan hadn’t seemed really frightened until her cat died. Poisoned, according to the vet. Then she’d packed a bag and shown up on her brother’s doorstep.
What if that maniac had found her here? Colton didn’t want to imagine what Garrett would say. All he knew was that at this moment his condo seemed too far away. She shivered, as if reading his thoughts, and he tightened his hold. A silent promise that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. He couldn’t.
Goose bumps erupted on her arms. He rubbed his hands along her skin, trying to warm her. She shuddered. “Will I be okay?”
“Absolutely. We don’t know it’s him, but we’ll play it safe. And you’ve got two brawny guys here to take care of you and 911 a call away. What could go wrong?”
She tipped up her chin and tried to smile, a weak shadow of its normal glory.
“I promise I won’t let anything happen. Trust me.”
Because he’d never forgive himself if anything happened to the woman in his arms.
Chapter 8
The next morning, Reagan lay in bed wondering where the truck had gone that hit her. After a night spent tossing and turning, she might as well have stayed up. Her thoughts were muddied and slow. Images of bright lights exploding against a midnight sky had disappeared in terror, haunted by masked faces.
They’d slipped off the boat as soon as it tied on to the pier, getting ahead of the crowd. As Colton led her at a fast clip to his car, she’d felt safe with her hand tucked in his. She’d longed to forget about the man behind them and focus on the man with her. To slip back into the easy camaraderie they’d shared. Then reality had hit, as Colton slammed the car into reverse and drove around the lake for an hour before heading home. The problem was they didn’t know the vehicle of the person on the boat, so she couldn’t tell if he waited at the condo. So he haunted her dreams all night, turning them into nightmares. She pulled the comforter under her chin and curled into a ball.
The morning light couldn’t quite penetrate the blinds, leaving odd shadows in the corners of her room. She needed to get up.
Yet she pressed into the mattress.
Safe. She felt safe here in her room with the door closed and the blinds drawn. Her camera and lenses sat on the dresser, reminding her she should get ready for today’s hunt. She’d left St. Louis to abandon the feeling someone watched her every move. Would she let her hard-found freedom evaporate in a moment because someone had looked at her?
She wanted to laugh at the idea, but her lungs locked up. She snuggled lower into her pillow.
Bam bam bam.
“Go away, Garrett.”
“It’s Colton.” Bam bam bam. “Come on, Reagan. I’m not letting you hide in your room.”
What right did he have to disturb her? And why wasn’t he in his condo? Her skin remembered his touch. Still, banging on her door wasn’t the right way to woo her. “Go away.”
“Nope. You have a call to make, and then we have more caches to find.”
Colton and his drive to win. “Have you shot up in the standings?”
“It’s not over until it’s over.” Silence settled for a moment. “I’m giving you one minute to give me audible sounds of movement, or I’m sending Garrett in there.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“Wanna try me?”
Reagan gasped then thrust aside the covers and launched from the bed. She opened and slammed a drawer on the dresser.
“I’m up, I’m up.”
“You’ve got ten minutes to join us for omelets in the kitchen.”
Reagan glared at the door. How dare he? She didn’t like anyone telling her what to do, even after a night like last night. Still, she didn’t dare push him. He seemed pretty intent on getting her moving. She grabbed a pair of shorts and a clean T-shirt and headed into the bathroom.
Eleven minutes later she walked into the kitchen, damp hair pulled back in a ponytail, baseball cap slammed on her head.
“Morning, princess.” Garrett’s eyes hid in shadows as he watched her. “How you feeling?”
“Hunky-dory. Every girl loves being pounded out of bed.” She glared at Colton, but he turned back to the stove. Infuriating man.
“Want the usual?”
How could she stay mad with a man who made delicious breakfasts? She sank into a chair at the small table. “Yes.” Garrett leaned close and whispered, “Sellout.” “Absolutely.”
Colton plated an omelet and walked it to her. “Here.” He sat next to her and started eating his.
“So the plan?” she asked, but he kept eating. “I mean, you must have one since you got me up.”
“Eat.” He gestured at her untouched omelet. “They’re better hot. Then we’ll call the detective, get an update, and get back to what we’re here to do. Win.”
“All right.” Reagan glanced at Garrett, noting his tightened expression. “That your plan?”
“Your stalker shouldn’t be here.”
Reagan sucked in a breath and held it a minute. Imagined the tension leaving as she exhaled. “If I talk to Detective Myers, we’ll know where his suspect is. If he’s in jail, then we were paranoid last night. If he’s not …”
“We stay cautious.” Colton pushed his empty plate back.
“Nobody followed us from the beach, at least not that we could tell. So maybe he doesn’t know where you are. Both condos are in my name, and there’s no way he knows me. Maybe he got lucky and followed us from somewhere else.”
Garrett nodded. “Glad we took that extra step.”
“Me, too.” Reagan studied her fingernails, not wanting to catch the pity in Colton’s expression. She stood and walked away from the table and her niggling doubt. They’d gone to the celebration from the condo. The odds of him stumbling onto her at the crowded Fourth of July events were too small to be possible. “I’ll make that call.”
She returned to her bedroom and left the door open. No sense closing it when Colton would enter anyway. He leaned against the doorway and watched as she pulled out her cell phone and clicked through to the detective’s number. The phone rang until she expected voice mail.
“Myers.”
“Detective, this is Reagan Graham.”
“Graham.” The sound of rustling papers reached her. “Yes, I’ve meant to call.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“Our suspect in your matter alibied out.”
A weight sunk in her stomach. “You’re sure it’s not him.”
“Certain as we can be.” The detective sighed. “The guy’s scum, but not your scum. We’ll get him on something later.”
“He might have found us here.” Reagan explained what happened the prior night.
“Be careful.”
“Yes sir.” Reagan’s hands trembled as she shut the phone. “Bad news?”
“They don’t have a suspect.” She shuddered then pushed to her feet. “Well, let’s get out to that cache.” “You sure?”
“I’m not hiding. If that man was the stalker, he knows where I live. Staying here won’t do me any good. It’s better if I keep moving.” She prayed she was right, because she was tired of shadows. She wanted the freedom to walk in the light.
“Okay, then let’s head to the park.”
“Which one?”
“Where the kickoff rally was. I’m pretty sure that matches the coordinates I downloaded. We’ll stick close today. Maybe pick up another o
ne this afternoon.”
“Okay.” Reagan pulled on some shoes and followed the guys to Colton’s car.
A few minutes later, they pulled into the park’s lot. The sun punched through a thin layer of clouds, the humidity wrapping around them. Even with the heat, she shivered as she exited the car. Colton headed toward the middle of the park then stopped.
“Here we are. There’s not much.” He turned around, taking in the empty field with a few scattered picnic tables. She had to agree. Without all the people and the stage that crowded the park during the rally, the space was wide open. Not many hiding places.
Garrett pulled his cap lower and slouched. “So read the clue already.”
Reagan frowned at his tone but had to acknowledge he had a reason for his off-attitude with the gloom the detective had cast. Well, she for one refused to spend the rest of the summer out of sorts or living in dread. She had these two guys and a beautiful day to enjoy. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and of self-discipline. God had made it clear she wasn’t to live in fear, so she would choose a different approach.
These weeks had been too good to allow anything to destroy it.
She forced the fear from her mind and pivoted, trying to predict where the cache could be hidden. “I’m picking that collection of picnic tables. Garrett?”
Her brother shrugged then pointed toward a stand of trees. “I’ll take that spot.” He sauntered toward it.
“That confident?” Colton chuckled.
“You bet. I feel it.”
Colton shook his head. “I don’t have any clue where this one is. It’s weird. It’s like the GPS can’t get a read on it.”
“We’re ready.” The words were right, but Reagan still looked poised to jump at the least sound. Colton would do anything to erase the tension in her stance, help her relax. She’d brought her camera but hadn’t once brought it to her eye to frame a shot. Instead, she worried the strap with her fingers then stilled them. As if sensing his gaze, she met it and visibly relaxed. She cleared her throat, and he glanced at the GPS.
“It’s an odd one.” He squinted at the screen, trying to make out the words in the glare.
“First day, sat on a gazelle’s perch
Those dimples made his stomach lurch
Spotlight from God framed her face
How long would she make him chase?”
Garrett rolled his eyes. “Sounds like whoever wrote that one needs some serious help. Bet his girl didn’t get all gooey-eyed when she read this.”
“Gooey-eyed?” Reagan laughed, the first real laugh since last night. For that alone he could thank the terrible, lovelorn poet. “I think you need to leave high school behind, Garrett.
Maybe the clue is the writer’s way of trying to let someone special know how he feels. Wonder if it worked?”
Colton shrugged. “We’ll never know. Let’s find the cache.”
“The clue’s too easy, and we were all wrong.” Reagan glanced around the park then pointed at a rock formation. “It’s got to be over there. I can’t see another gazelle perch.”
Garrett pretended to gag. “I’ll wait by the car. This should have come with sugar warnings.”
Reagan grinned at him and headed toward the rocks. “We’ll find it in no time.”
As they walked across the park, Colton glanced at her. “You okay?”
“Yes.” Her voice was firm, and he almost believed her. “God and I had a little talk.” She said it like it was the most natural thing. “I can’t live in fear. Especially when there’s nothing I can do about the shadows. Who knows? Maybe last night wasn’t anything.”
“Maybe. But you can’t pretend the stalker isn’t real.”
“Sure.” She nodded. “But at the same time, I can live smart and trust God. So let’s find this cache and go from there. We have a lot of ground to make up if we’re going to win.”
As he watched her climb on the rocks, he decided he didn’t care if he won, as long as Reagan emerged unscathed.
Chapter 9
The next few days passed in a blur of hunting for more caches. Colton kept watching behind them as they went from place to place. The clues were getting tougher, the hunts more challenging, and the fear more tenuous.
Then one morning, he found a note tucked on Garrett’s car.
Peekaboo. I see you. You can’t hide from me.
He refolded the note and paced next to the car. Should he show it to Reagan? She was living in such a good spot, really shaking off the fear—he hated to reignite it. But if something happened, and he hadn’t shown it to her …
“Whatcha doin’?” Garrett came alongside him.
“I just found this.”
Garrett studied the piece of paper like it might turn into a snake and bite him. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yep. Proof the stalker’s here.” Colton pinched the sheet between two fingers. “What do we do?”
“Call the detective.” Garrett looked ready to pass out. “Let him notify the local police, and then we get Reagan out of here.”
“Do we tell her?”
Garrett ran his hands over his short hair. “What else can we do?”
“You’re right. Make the call, and I’ll tell her.” Reagan took the news better than he expected. “You shouldn’t be surprised. Now we have proof he’s here.” “Garrett’s calling Detective Myers now.” Reagan nodded. “Okay. What next?”
“We’ll take a day off. Go rent a boat. Give the police a chance to work.”
Garrett entered the apartment and held his phone out to Reagan. “Detective Myers wants to talk to you.”
She walked to a corner, put a finger to her ear, and started talking. Colton only caught sporadic phrases. Things like she didn’t have any ideas. That’s what bugged him. He’d peeled his eyes for a week and still had no idea where the stalker hid. Whoever he was, he knew how to hide, stick to the edges, stay out of view.
The waves rocked the boat as it shot across the lake. Garrett seemed to believe speed would protect her. She was glad she’d left the camera behind. The spray could ruin it.
She closed her eyes, grateful for the Dramamine that kept her stomach settled. She tipped her face to the sky, letting the sun kiss her face. Detective Myers had promised to call the Osage Beach police, but the force was too small to spend resources looking for her mystery man. She shuddered, remembering the message. Peekaboo.
God, help me push away the fear.
She let the prayer whisper through her mind over and over until it sank in. When the fear started to lift, she breathed a thanks. God was making it so clear she wasn’t supposed to stay in her fear. She could be alert and on guard without giving in to a paralyzing fear.
Colton had relaxed the second they stepped into the rented boat. They hadn’t gotten skis, but that was okay. With the picnic lunch he’d brought, they could still spend the day on the water, relaxing. She’d sensed the moment he didn’t have to worry who might sneak up behind them.
After awhile, Garrett slowed the boat. They sat in the middle of an expanse of water so blue it almost hurt her eyes. The occasional bird flew overhead, but other than the sound of other boat engines and Jet Skis, peace settled.
“You know what we should try next?”
Reagan startled from her reverie and turned to look at Colton. “What?”
“We haven’t looked for any of the caches near the caves. There are caves all over this area. We can’t leave here in a couple weeks without checking a few out.”
Garrett nodded. “I’d love to go spelunking.”
“I’m not sure how much I’d like tight, dark spaces, but I’m game to at least go look around them.” Reagan would try it if Colton wanted to go. “Do you have any in mind?”
“A couple. There’s one that’s supposed to be near Camdenton. That’s only thirteen or so miles according to the GPS.”
“Want to go now?” Garrett started turning the wheel as if to steer the boat back toward sh
ore.
“Nope, we’ll enjoy today, head back to the condos, and go caving tomorrow.”
Colton turning down a cache? Reagan hadn’t thought that day would come, even if he was trying to keep her safe.
The next morning, the three were in Colton’s car bright and early. If they pushed, they might reach three caves before the end of the day. Reagan looked a bit sunburned after the time on the lake, but relaxed and ready for the next adventure, even after her brief conversation with the police chief in the area. The police hadn’t found anything, and she seemed determined to not worry.
Colton glanced in the rearview mirror and noted her camera in her lap. Yep, his girl was back and ready to capture every moment of the trip. She met his gaze and quirked an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Ready to try out some caves?”
She mock shivered, only making his grin grow. “At the first bat, I’m outta there.”
“Don’t worry, sis. I’ll protect you.” “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
The miles passed quickly, and soon the GPS alerted them to turn into the parking lot at Bridal Cave. Garrett frowned. “This is pretty commercial.”
Colton hadn’t expected that either. “Guess I should have done more homework. Well, we’re here. Shall we go in?”
“Of course.” Reagan placed the camera’s strap around her neck and headed for the entrance before Colton could get the key out of the ignition. When he arrived at the ticket counter, she was telling the agent all about their hunt. “So is there a discount or waived entry fee for the Rainbow’s End hunters?”
“Let me check.” The teenage girl picked up a phone and had a quiet conversation. “The manager says to go on in. The church arranged payment. Enjoy the cave.”
Once they were inside, Reagan held the camera to her eye, framing shots over and over. Too bad she couldn’t take photos and would have to rely on postcards. She eased away from the guys then glanced at Colton.
“I’m not going far.”
“I know.” He wouldn’t let that happen. He pulled the clue up on the GPS. “So here’s the clue:
RAINBOW’S END: FOUR-IN-ONE COLLECTION Page 19
