Nora Roberts Land

by Ava Miles

  Meredith’s head popped out as she cracked open the door to the house. “I told you—”

  The sight of her pale, tear-ravaged face twisted him up like junkyard iron works. “Get inside,” he ordered, hitting the garage door button to close it behind him.

  She slammed the door hard enough to knock the yellow level off the garage wall.

  All for the best, he told himself. If she talked to him, she might see what a raging lunatic he was about her, just like Jill had. It seemed more important than ever to keep her safe now that Barlow and Kenny had upped the stakes. If they went after him, would they go after her?

  Jesus, he hoped not. Men usually had a harder time killing women. He realized how sick it was that he knew something like that.

  He took some deep breaths, and returned his focus to the task at hand. He slid under her car, his back against the concrete floor that could have frozen meat. Pulling out his flashlight, he checked the body. Nothing. He closed his eyes under the tight, dark space.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  He rolled out, thinking through the cluster fuck he had on his hands. Meredith had told Jill for some reason, widening the circle of people in the know. He shoved off the floor and stalked over to the door leading into the house. Rapping on it cracked more skin. His knuckles were bleeding.

  Meredith popped her head out again. “What? Now you want to talk?”

  His jaw ticked. “Tell Jill not to tell anyone.”

  “I already did, you son of a bitch!” She slammed the door in his face.

  He stared at the white frame, counting to ten. Jesus, he wanted to rip it open, shake her, and then ravish her on the floor until the images of her car going over a cliff were erased.

  When the garage door clicked open, he spun around and grabbed the closest weapon. A hammer. The door cruised up, revealing Arthur Hale’s clenched face.

  “You planning on beaning me, son? Didn’t know I’d pissed you off, too.” After stepping inside, he pressed the button on the garage door opener he had in his hand.

  The door sputtered down again.

  Tanner put his hands on his hips. Arthur walked toward him, his hair in swirls on his head, his cardigan sweater buttoned up wrong.

  “Did you find anything wrong with Meredith’s car?”

  Setting aside the hammer, Tanner rubbed his neck. “No. Jesus, Arthur. You shouldn’t have come. I was planning on checking your car next.”

  “You think you’re the only one who can see a cut brake line? Hell, the hardest part was getting back up again. Damn old body.”

  Tanner rolled his tongue around his teeth, seething at the chance the older man had taken.

  “Jill told me what happened between you and Meredith,” Arthur informed him in his take-no-prisoner’s voice.

  “You would be better off chastising Meredith for telling Jill about this whole clusterfuck.”

  “Don’t growl at me, boy. Not when you’ve messed things up so dandily.”

  The door cracked open. “Grandpa?”

  “Get your stuff, Meredith. You’re coming to my house.”

  “I don’t—”

  “You are not staying alone, and this old body would rather sleep in its own bed.”

  “What about Jill?”

  The tears shining in her eyes made his knees lock in place. She was completely ignoring him. Would she ever look at him again? The slice was direct. He could feel himself bleeding out.

  “Jill is going to spend the night with a friend until we figure this out.”

  “Peggy should have the lab results back tomorrow,” Tanner said. “She’s putting a rush on them.”

  Arthur smacked his cane on the concrete. “Well, I’m calling the Attorney General tomorrow! This has gone on for long enough. We need to bring in the law before anyone else gets hurt.”

  Tanner shifted on his feet. “We won’t have much to give them until Peg gets the results.”

  Arthur glared at him. “I don’t care. I’m not endangering my granddaughters. We need to trust the law to do their job now. We have enough threads. Let them pull them. This is beyond a reporter’s purview, even for a hot-shot like you.”

  The menace in Arthur’s voice made Tanner look away.

  “Grandpa’s right,” Meredith finally said, her voice hoarse. “This just isn’t worth it anymore.”

  When she closed the door, Tanner rolled his shoulders, wanting to follow her inside. Hold her. Touch her. Comfort her.

  He should tell her everything right now. He couldn’t bear to see her this way, knowing that he was the cause for her pain. He stepped toward the door. Arthur thrust out his cane like a bar on a train track.

  “You leave her alone!” he ground out.

  He came to his senses. “I will for now.” He hit the garage door button, the cracking and rolling sound pounding in time with his tension headache. “But ask yourself this, Arthur. Why would Richard Sommerville print a nasty article about my brother if I was willingly working for him?”

  As he strode off, he waited for Arthur to stop him, but he didn’t.

  Let the law come. Then he’d tell Meredith the truth.

  And pray it was enough to get her back.

  ***

  Meredith watched Tanner’s car careen out of the driveway. The cold windowpane cooled her flushed face. She’d gone from pale to heated when she’d seen him in the garage. Her heart had burned in her chest with the added accelerant of his presence.

  “Meredith?” her grandpa called.

  She walked into his open arms. They closed around her with a familiarity and gentleness she could always count on.

  “Oh, Grandpa,” she cried, feeling the tears start again.

  “You go ahead and cry, my little mermaid. You deserve it. Then we’ll go home.”

  Where was her home exactly? She didn’t know anymore.

  “I’m sorry, Grandpa.”

  “There’s nothing to be sorry about. We can talk about everything later. All’s not lost.”

  She hoped he was right, but he was likely an old man giving his granddaughter false hope.

  From her point of view, she’d lost everything.

  Chapter 49

  I notified the Attorney General,” her grandpa announced from the doorway of her office. “Anderson doesn’t think we have much evidence without the results from Peggy’s lab, but he agrees that it’s unusual for two young people to die suddenly in such a short timeframe. He wasn’t happy we were using Tanner’s sister to run the tests, but he understood. And he also appreciates why we’re turning this over to the state now.”

  She dropped her pen. So the law would come in and, she hoped, tie up all the loose ends. She would leave. Tanner would too. And she’d try to put her life back together…again.

  “It’s for the best.”

  “Yes.” He set down the file he was carrying and popped in a red hot. “You beat me out the door this morning. I thought we were going to stick together.”

  “I had to get to work. Besides, I can take care of myself.”

  “I’m not disputing that, but it makes an old man worry less. My blood pressure.” He patted his heart.

  “You’re healthy as a horse.” Still, the guilt added another layer to the bedrock of her emotions, and it didn’t sit comfortably.

  “Fine,” he said, “but don’t go anywhere unless it’s with close family and friends. Anderson said he’d send someone tomorrow from Denver. He couldn’t pull anyone today. I told him that was fine since Peggy should be getting the results to us shortly. Maybe we’ll have more to give him by the time he gets here. I want these bastards in a cage.”

  “God, I do too.” Of course, she wanted Tanner to have a cell next to them—with her ex as his roommate.

  “Do you want to update Tanner or should I?”

  She pressed her fingers to her left temple where a headache throbbed. “You call him.”

  “That’s not my Mermaid talking.” He made a basket with his candy wrapper.
>
  “I don’t want to talk about it, gramps. Please.”

  She pressed her hand to her chest out of reflex and winced. She’d intentionally chosen not to wear La Perla or anything else today. Her gray bulky sweater was sufficient camouflage. It was her protest against her alter ego’s impotence.

  She jumped when her grandpa patted her head like he’d always done when she was a kid.

  “Didn’t mean to startle you. I have something you might want to look at.” He pressed a file into her hand and shuffled to the door.

  When she opened it, her brow furrowed, worsening her headache. “An article from Richard’s paper?” She checked the date. It wasn’t today’s edition.

  “Check out the focus of the article.”

  She read the introduction and immediately found flaws with its lead. Talk about slanted. “David McBride?” Her stomach did a flip-flop.

  “Tanner’s brother.” He let his bombshell hover in the air.

  Her palms grew damp. “What? Why?”

  “Exactly.” He popped another candy in his mouth. “Reporter’s questions. Why would Rick-the-Dick print a nasty article about Tanner’s brother when Tanner was working for him?”

  She pressed her palms to her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “Find out,” he said and left.

  After she read the article three times, she lowered her aching head, more confused than she’d been last night. Why would Rick-the-Dick write this about Tanner’s brother? Moreover, why would Tanner keep working for him?

  Who the hell was Tanner McBride?

  She had a sinking feeling he was hiding something else.

  Chapter 50

  Clicking through her emails a few hours later, Meredith paused when she saw one from Gene. She hit the link.

  Meredith, I ran another drug test on Jemma’s blood after we talked and found something. Can you come by the lab today?

  Meredith sat up in her chair. Talk about great news! They could hand the Attorney General’s people more evidence. Leave it to Gene to follow through.

  She grabbed her coat and went to find her grandpa. She sure as hell wasn’t contacting Tanner. Her grandpa wasn’t in his office, and after asking around, she discovered he was interviewing a city council member until noon. She wrote a note and put it on his desk in case he finished early. She didn’t want to worry him.

  Since it was only a few blocks away, she settled for a New York power walk down Main Street to the Justice Center, which housed the police department, the sheriff’s office, the coroner’s office, and the local courts. She had new evidence to collect.

  They were going to take these bastards down.

  ***

  Gene’s lab had a sterile antiseptic smell that tickled her nose. The stainless steel counters gleamed. Her gaze tracked to the small doors in the far wall, and she shuddered. No need to think about the bodies inside.

  “Gene?” She pocketed her gloves in her purse.

  Goosebumps broke out across her arms as she surveyed his tools. Scalpel. Saw. Oh, no need to look anymore. She struggled to find something else to focus on. His Halloween cardboard cutout skeleton in the corner didn’t help. If Jill had been there, she’d have found something to joke about.

  The thought of Jill only made her want to cry. She missed her sister and didn’t know how to make things right between them.

  When the back door opened, she turned with a smile. “Hey, Gene.”

  The man was wearing a sheriff’s uniform. Her lungs seized. Her body locked.

  “Barlow,” she breathed out.

  Her mind screamed, Run. She spun around.

  Knocked into a table. Charged around it.

  She reached for the door, ready to sail out and slam it in Barlow’s face.

  Strong arms grabbed her shoulders from behind, making her sockets scream. “Don’t struggle. It’ll only make it worse.” Rough hands dug into her skin when she tried to wrench free.

  “Where’s Gene?” Oh, God, please don’t let him be hurt too.

  “He’s on vacation today since the weather’s so nice. The IT department has his email password. All I had to do was say he was under investigation. They gave it up instantly.”

  She exhaled sharply, relieved Gene was okay. She didn’t know what Barlow had planned, but it was clear he and Kenny had reached a whole new level of desperation. Hadn’t last night proved that?

  Tanner was right. Desperate people did stupid things.

  She didn’t want to end up like Ray. She wouldn’t.

  “You’re hurting me,” she whined, hoping he’d lower his guard, giving her the chance she needed. The door was only a few yards away.

  His grip loosened. “Behave. Then I won’t have to.”

  “Okay.” Her voice quivered.

  He dropped his hands. She swung her purse in an arc, smacking him in the neck.

  She raced to the door.

  She was nearly there when Barlow clamped his hands around her chest. He squeezed her like a python. She saw stars. “I can’t…breathe.”

  “Stop fighting me! Kenny picked up Jill. We’ll kill her if you try to escape. Do you understand?”

  Her legs turned to rubber. “You have Jill?” she choked out. “Oh, God…I want…to see her.”

  “Not part of the plan. Now, I’m going to let go. Remember, I’ll call Kenny if you make a break again. Nod if you understand.”

  She nodded.

  “Now, I need your phone.”

  Barlow spun her around and yanked her purse away. He riffled through it, his mouth curving when he produced the sleek silver device. He scrolled through it.

  “These are incredible inventions. You don’t even have to call someone to communicate anymore.” His fingers punched the small screen.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, panting.

  “You’ll see.” Barlow slid her phone into his pocket. “Now, we’re going to drive. If you do anything, Jill dies. In an accident, of course.”

  Her ribs tightened, the first warning of a panic attack. She steeled herself. She couldn’t let that happen. Not now. “Where are we going?”

  Barlow took her arm, his hands sweaty. “Shut up. Don’t make a wrong move as we leave.”

  His car was out back. She studied him as he drove east, taking them out of town. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes looked mean. Maintaining control took effort, but she managed to do it. She needed to.

  “How could you do this?” she said after awhile.

  “God! Why do people always want to know? Look. We didn’t plan any of this. What happened to Jemma was shit luck.” He tapped the steering wheel in jerky movements. “If she hadn’t died, we wouldn’t be here. Fucking heart murmur!”

  “And Ray?”

  “Damn kid got nosy. Grew a conscience. It was his fault he went off the road. We just wanted him to leave town.”

  The tap, tap, tap of his fingers continued as he drove, the sound hitting her like a hammer. How could they not see they were to blame? Anger grew into rage. “What could be worth this?”

  He snarled at her. “Money! You wouldn’t get that, would you? Driving your brand-new Audi after a stint in the big city. Do you have any idea how much money we’re getting from the pot Kenny’s buddy sends us from Afghanistan? It’s laced with some strain of opium. I don’t understand the chemical crap, but it’s untraceable in most drug tests. Our sales were up thirty percent!”

  No wonder Gene hadn’t found anything. Her stomach quivered. “I see.”

  “You just had to get Gene curious with your questions, didn’t you?” His tapping continued to beat in time with her racing heart. “Yesterday, I heard Gene had ordered a more advanced drug test. Kenny and I knew we had to move fast.”

  “We didn’t tell Gene anything!”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll switch the drug tests if he finds anything new.”

  Thank God he didn’t know about Peg’s tests. Her hands clenched in her lap. She looked out the window. They were hea
ding into the mountains. Where in the hell he was taking her? Where did they have Jill?

  The car swerved when Barlow took the turn too fast. He braked hard, tires screaming. She breathed slowly, suppressing a panic attack.

  “What did you do with my phone?”

  Barlow gripped the steering wheel and barked out a dark chuckle. “I texted your boyfriend. Told him you’d found something.”

  She gripped the seatbelt, her lungs burning now. “He won’t come.” Oh, please let that be true.

  “Fuck that! He wants to take us down so bad he can smell it.”

  Sweat rolled down her back. “He’ll think it’s odd I texted him.”

  “No, he won’t.” Barlow turned onto a mountain trail coated with packed snow. The four-wheel drive chimed when he hit the button. “You didn’t spend the night at your parent’s house because you’re talking. Of course, your asshole boyfriend had to come save the day. Kenny was going to cut your brake line too.”

  Ice slid down her legs. “He’s a regular Boy Scout,” she agreed in a daze, the sunlight harsh on her eyes.

  “Well, you got a reprieve. But today’s another day.”

  The car bounced as it hit the ruts, snow crunching under the tires. Two gleaming snowmobiles caught her eye. Barlow pulled to the end of the road.

  “Tanner will come. It’s obvious to everyone in town he’s nuts about you. Now get out. And remember what I said about Jill.”

  She opened the car door, scanning the area. Where is she?

  He marched forward. “It’s time for us to take a little ride.”

  “Where are we going?” Ice-cold dread squeezed her throat.

  He pointed. She glanced across the sparkling expanse of the snowy basin at the menacing rock wall that was locally dubbed “The Great Wall.” The towering shadow of Thorn’s Peak pierced the ocean blue sky. She shivered when the wind thundered in from the west, shaking the pines like they were fragile Christmas ornaments.

  Her gut bubbled with fear. “But that’s Killer Pass. Only idiots go up there this time of year.”

  “But Tanner’s an extreme risk taker. He’s mentioned wanting to go. We’ve had some sunny weather, making it the perfect outing for an adventuresome couple like you two. It’s an excellent day for snowmobiling, don’t you think?”