by Laura Scott
“You know an awful lot about babies,” she remarked.
A lump rose to his throat. For years, he’d kept his personal life, and his personal loss, private. But for some reason, he was tempted to tell Helena what had happened three years ago.
How he’d lost his wife and young son in the blink of an eye.
Then the moment was gone.
“Isn’t that Arch, the park ranger?” Helena asked as they passed a ranger SUV headed in the opposite direction. “They’re going to call us when they finish testing the cigarette butt for fingerprints and DNA as soon as possible, right? It would be nice to get a hit through CODIS.”
Aware she was referring to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, he nodded. “They are.” Lost in the painful memories of the past, he’d missed seeing the park ranger’s vehicle.
He needed to stay focused.
“Tell me why you’re so convinced Zoe is guilty of working for the organized crime ring.”
Everett glanced at her. “I received a tip from my informant.”
“Tip about what?” Helena demanded. “And why is this informant of yours so credible?”
“I know informants can’t always be trusted, but this particular guy is a petty criminal I picked up over a week ago. He claims to have seen Zoe handing off a large diamond ring and gold jewelry to a man wearing a baseball cap low over his face. And the reason we believed him was that a diamond ring and gold jewelry were stolen during an anniversary party. We didn’t broadcast the information about exactly what was taken, so how else would this guy have known if he hadn’t seen the hand-off for himself?”
“He could have heard about it from someone else, but I guess that would still implicate Zoe.” She hesitated then asked, “What’s the name of the informant?”
He hesitated, as this was information he wouldn’t normally share. But she was his partner in this and he needed her to find Zoe. “Norbert Monroe.” He watched her expression carefully. “Do you know him?”
“No.” Helena looked disappointed. “I wish I did. And you’re sure he didn’t recognize the guy with the baseball cap?”
“I tried to get a name, without success.” He shrugged. “Was Norbert lying? Maybe. But my gut says no. I think Norbert’s the kind of guy who would give the name up if he had it. He’s always looking for extra cash.”
“Diamond ring and gold jewelry,” Helena murmured. He could tell the information bothered her.
“We’ll find her,” he reassured her.
She nodded but didn’t say anything else until they arrived at the new cabin.
“The key should be tucked beneath a loose board,” Helena said, gazing at the side of the cabin with a frown.
“Stay here, I’ll find it.” He pulled his weapon and slid out of the passenger seat. With a quick glance at Christine, who was looking around curiously, he walked quickly up to the front door.
He glanced over his shoulder when Will Stryker’s SUV pulled up behind Helena’s. Then he turned back toward the cabin and found a spot near the front porch light where the board was raised. Sure enough, the key was tucked underneath. After unlocking the door, he went inside to check the place out.
It was similar to the cabin he’d rented, maybe a little more rustic, but it would work fine for what they needed.
Everett went back outside to find Helena trying to remove Christine’s car seat from the back. He went over to help. “I’ll get this, you take care of Luna.”
“Thanks.” Helena released the rear hatch and the K-9 jumped out, eagerly heading over to meet up with Scout. Luna was much larger, but Scout was scrappy enough to hold his own as they played.
Will offered his assistance in hauling their things inside. It didn’t take long to put the food away and have everything else placed neatly in the two bedrooms located off the living room. Helena noticed Everett had forgotten her state trooper hat, but decided there would be time to get it later.
Once the danger was over.
“I think you’re set,” Will said.
“Thanks for your help.” Helena smiled. “I guess it was a good thing you ended up staying nearby to ride out the storm.”
“Yes, thanks,” Everett added. “It’s always good to have backup.” A simple thing he hadn’t done three years ago.
And had the emotional scars to prove it.
“No problem.” Will glanced at Helena. “You need me to stick around awhile?”
“It’s getting late,” Helena said. “Might be better for you to get some rest and head out in the morning.”
“Not like it’s dark out,” Will countered, gesturing to the brightness through the windows. “Sun doesn’t set until midnight these days.”
“I know, makes it hard to keep track of the time.” Everett glanced at the kitchen. “If you’re hungry, we can pull out some snacks.”
“Nah, I’m fine. Helena, maybe we should scout the area with our K-9s.”
“Not a bad idea.” She glanced at Everett. “Will you watch Christine for a while?”
“Sure.” It wasn’t as if he had a choice. As much as he wanted to assist in checking their surroundings, he couldn’t deny the added value of having a K-9 along to perform the task.
Will and Helena left, leaving him alone with the baby. When Christine began to fuss, he realized she was hungry again and thought maybe she’d fall sleep for the rest of the night if he fed her now.
He prepared the bottle then began to feed the baby, thinking of all the times he’d missed feeding his own son. Not that he hadn’t tried to do his share, but he’d been working a lot of hours back then, which had left most of the work to Sheila.
It wouldn’t be easy working the case while caring for a baby. He thought about handing Christine over to the department of health and human services, but everything inside him recoiled at the idea.
If by some remote possibility Zoe was an innocent pawn in this, she shouldn’t be punished for leaving her baby someplace safe. And once Christine was in the system, it would be difficult to get her out.
They’d just have to find a way to make it work.
Helena and Will returned by the time he’d finished feeding and changing Christine. A cell phone dinged with an incoming message, and each instinctively reached for their respective phones. Will frowned. “This is a text from Sean West,” he said slowly.
“What happened?” Helena asked.
Will’s expression turned serious. “We have a break in the missing bride case. Sean says they received a tip about Lance Wells and his best man, Jared Dennis, being spotted in downtown Anchorage.”
Everett’s interest peaked. That was his jurisdiction.
“Were they captured?” Helena’s expression radiated hope.
“No, and it sounds like they are both to be considered armed and dangerous.” Will hesitated then put the phone away. “Scout and I need to head back to assist in tracking them down.”
Everett didn’t like the idea of these guys being armed and dangerous in his city. “Good idea.”
Helena nodded. “Absolutely, Will. We’re safe here.”
“Thanks. Come, Scout.” Will called the dog away from Luna.
“Let me know how it goes,” she added.
Will nodded and raised a hand as he left the cabin.
Everett found himself slightly envious about the camaraderie Helena had with the members of the Alaska K-9 Unit. Or maybe he’d just been knocked off balance at how Helena and Will had looked so chummy as they’d worked together.
Jealous? No way.
He wasn’t interested in falling in love or in having a family of his own again.
Not now, not ever.
FIVE
Sending Will and Scout back to Anchorage to help locate Lance and Jared was the right thing to do. And, truthfully, Helena felt safe in their new cabin, especially with Lun
a on guard. No one outside the K-9 team members knew their location, which would give them time to come up with another plan to track Zoe.
But spending so much time with Everett and Christine was messing with her head. Obviously, he had experience caring for babies. He knew far more about them than she did. But each time she’d asked about it, he hadn’t responded.
Despite her innate curiosity, it was none of her business. Everett Brand was one puzzle she’d have to ignore.
“What do you think?” Everett said, breaking into her thoughts. “Did Lance Wells only propose to Violet because of her father’s money?”
She nodded slowly. “That’s my belief, yes. Who has the most to lose in all of this? Lance does. Plus, I interviewed her best friend and bridesmaid, Ariel. She insists Lance and Jared are lying.” She hesitated before adding, “I’m not sure if you’re aware of the fact that Violet wrote a note proclaiming her innocence.” She met his dark brown gaze. “Based on Ariel’s testimony and the note, I believe Violet is a victim in this. There’s no reason for her to murder anyone.”
“I hadn’t heard about the letter, but I have to agree with you.” He eyed her thoughtfully. “How’s your head?”
She shrugged, downplaying the injury. Luna came over to sit at her side. “Not bad.”
“I can tell you have a headache, Helena,” he said softly. “Get some sleep. I have no idea if Christine will sleep through the night or wake up for a feeding, but I can take care of her if she does.”
She glanced at the sleeping baby. “It’s okay for her to stay in the carrier?”
“Sure, she’s not old enough to roll over yet.”
There it was again, the calm voice of experience. He’d refused to answer her twice now, but she felt the need to ask one more time.
“I know it’s none of my business, Everett, but I can tell you’ve taken care of a child in the past.” She smiled gently and stroked Luna’s soft fur. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. But I’m here if you want to.”
He didn’t answer for so long, she figured she’d just go into the bedroom to get some rest. As she rose, he said, “I lost my wife and infant son three years ago.”
He had? Her knees went weak and she sank back onto the sofa. “Oh, Everett. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“That’s what everyone says.” He looked past her, his gaze focusing on something far in the distance. “But no one really understands. Losing them was the most awful thing I’ve lived through. There are no words to describe it.”
Her heart squeezed in her chest. She couldn’t imagine losing her spouse and infant son. Just thinking of something bad happening to Christine was enough for her to break into a cold sweat. “I agree there are no words. No offer of condolence that will make a difference. I’m sorry you had to live through that terrible tragedy.”
“A tragedy? Their deaths were my fault.” The words were spoken in a low, harsh tone. “I made a rookie mistake that will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
She wanted to ask more, but sensed he was hanging on by a thread. “I don’t believe that.”
His dark gaze was tortured. “It’s true.”
Helena held her breath, waiting—hoping—he’d explain. She knew she could likely search the internet to learn what had happened, but she didn’t want to do that.
“A drug addict broke into the house.” The words were halting, as if his voice was rusty. “I tried to talk to him, to get him to surrender his weapon. He was so young, barely old enough to drive.”
She had a bad feeling she knew where this was going. “But he didn’t give up his weapon.”
“No. I should have called for backup right away—that was my second big mistake. As I was talking to him, Sheila came into the room holding Colin. I tried to wave them back, but Sheila must not have noticed. Unfortunately, her presence startled the kid and he fired several shots before I could return fire.” He lifted his tortured gaze to hers. “The kid survived, but my wife and son, didn’t.”
His story was worse than she’d imagined, and she couldn’t help wondering if being forced to return fire on the young man had only added to the trauma of losing his family. “It’s terrible, Everett, but I don’t think trying to talk a kid down is a mistake. And it doesn’t sound as if backup would have gotten there in time, either.”
“Then why is he alive when my family isn’t?” Everett’s voice held a note of bitterness. “Why would God do that, huh? Take a beautiful woman and an infant boy’s life and spare that of a drug addict?”
“I know it’s not easy to understand God’s will,” she acknowledged. “It’s not up to us to question Him.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t believe God was watching over us that night. Or any night.” He stood. “I need to get some sleep.”
Everett disappeared into one of the bedrooms where he’d left his duffel bag.
Helena sat in silence, looking out at the eerily bright sky as she considered his words.
The story of how he’d lost his wife and son was troubling enough. But hearing his view on God and faith was nearly as disheartening.
And she completely understood where he was coming from. Suffering a dual loss like that was heartbreaking. There was no logic in the world to explain the series of events.
But she didn’t understand why Everett blamed himself. Given the same set of circumstances, she’d have done the same thing.
Any good cop would try to talk a sixteen-year-old kid into giving up his weapon. It wasn’t always easy to understand God’s plan. To understand why Everett had lost his family while the young man had survived.
Helena did know, that hearing about Everett’s loss made it impossible to keep her distance from him. He was still the cop who wanted to arrest her sister, but he was also so much more.
He was sweet and protective. Gentle yet strong. For some reason, she felt a strange kinship with him.
Everett Brand might try to arrest her twin, but she also knew with a deep sense of certainty that he’d do anything possible to keep Zoe and her baby safe from harm.
She stood, bent to press a soft kiss on the top of Christine’s head and then took Luna outside one last time before heading into her own room.
Exhausted, with a nagging headache, Helena had thought she’d fall asleep instantly. But her deep concern over Everett’s pain and lack of faith nagged at her. It wasn’t until darkness finally cloaked the sky that she was able to sleep.
* * *
Everett heard Christine making soft blathering sounds and skyrocketed out of bed to get her a bottle before the cuteness turned into full-blown wailing.
The sky was bright when he stumbled into the kitchen. Not that a light sky meant anything, sunrise at this time of the year was as early as four o’clock in the morning.
After making the bottle, he went over to pick the baby up from her carrier. She squirmed and failed her fists, rapping him gently against the chin.
“You’re going to need a better fist than that once the boys come calling,” he whispered. He finished changing her and gave her a bottle. With one hand, he checked his phone for messages. Nothing from the rangers on the fingerprint or DNA testing.
Helena was still sleeping, which was likely the best thing for her head injury. Gazing down into Christine’s wide green eyes, mirror images of Helena’s, he couldn’t believe he’d spilled his guts about losing his wife and son.
What on earth had he been thinking?
He should have known, especially when Helena had prayed before eating, that she’d talk about God’s plan. It was something Sheila would have said, as well.
But he knew differently. There was no such thing as God’s plan. Bad stuff happened. People suffered.
End of story.
A strange sound from somewhere outside the cabin caught his attention. He set the baby in her infant seat and grabbed
his weapon. Easing outside, he swept a gaze over the area.
He didn’t see anyone and walked the perimeter of the cabin just in case. He relaxed when his search came up empty. Probably, just an animal. When he went back inside, he found Helena standing there with Luna.
“I heard you leave. Is something wrong?” She asked with a frown.
“False alarm.”
“Luna will let us know for sure.” Helena quickly put the dog on a leash and headed outside.
While waiting for her to return, Everett made eggs and toast, hoping Helena liked them scrambled.
“Everything is clear,” Helena said as she entered the kitchen and unhooked Luna’s leash. “Something smells great. Is there anything I can do?”
“You can make coffee, if you don’t mind?” He wondered if she felt awkward around him now that she knew how badly he’d failed his family.
“Coffee is definitely a priority.” Helena joined him in the kitchen. “I never heard Christine. Sorry if she woke you.”
“I didn’t give her time to work into a full-blown crying jag.” He continued making the eggs and toast. “She’s all fed and changed.”
“Thanks for doing that.” Helena rested against the counter as the coffee began to brew. “We should probably talk about what our next steps should be in our efforts to locate Zoe.”
“Yeah.” He was grateful to have the conversation turned toward work. All this domestication was a bit too much to handle. “I was thinking I could go to the hotels to see if she’s been recently hired on in any type of maid or server role.”
“That’s one option,” Helena agreed, although the furrow was back in her brow. “But I was thinking of using Luna to help track Zoe, see if my partner can pick up her scent. I guess I could do that near the hotels. It might be a way to narrow our focus.”
He was forced to admit her plan had merit. “Okay, that’s a good idea.” He filled two plates with eggs and toast then carried them over to the table. “The only other thought I had was to call Norbert again.”
“Your informant?” Helena looked intrigued by the idea. She poured two mugs of coffee and joined him at the table. “Can’t hurt, although I’m not convinced he’s as honest as you believe him to be.”