“Nah,” he said, not offering any explanation. I had one secretive person to deal with. I wasn’t going to be baited by another.
“I hired Drew Delacorte’s agency. They’re going to look into her disappearance. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give them much to go on.”
“I hope they find her for you.” Easton’s eyes were full of sympathy, causing a lump to rise in my throat and choke my ability to respond. I merely nodded like the emotional dumb-ass wreck that I was.
Why this woman? What made her so special? I knew zero about her background, her history, her family, her education. Fuck, I didn’t even know what she did for a living. She could be an assassin or a spy or a fugitive from the law. None of that seemed to matter because I knew her. I knew what was inside of her. I’d glimpsed her soul and witnessed her kindness.
So while I didn’t know her, I knew her.
And I had to find her.
Chapter Two
The Less You Know
~~Delaney~~
* * *
Coming to Madrona Island had been a stupid but wonderful idea. The islands were healing my soul, even while my heart remained broken.
I’d changed my appearance once again to be safe. I was now a redhead with green contacts. I wore baggy clothes so my figure wasn’t easily discernable. My second day on the island, I found a job as a maid at the Fiddler’s Cove Bed-and-Breakfast. The owners, Amanda and Brody, were incredible to work for. I had my own little studio on the first floor with a tiny kitchen and attached bathroom. My private sanctuary had a single French door that opened onto a small, private patio. While it didn’t have a water view like many rooms in the B and B, it did have an abundance of flowering bushes in bright colors.
The bushes reminded me of the ones outside my bedroom at the stately home I grew up in outside of Washington, DC. An only child, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t spoiled, but I was also not entitled or mean. My parents fought for justice and spoke out for those who were afraid or unable to speak for themselves. I’d been on my way to continuing their legacy when this mess happened. I missed my dad’s wise counsel and my mom’s common-sense kindness. I missed my job, where I’d just settled in and was gaining a reputation as the go-to person who’d always get the job done. All of that seemed like a lifetime ago. My life’s mission to be an advocate for the underserved seemed like another lifetime ago. Now the only mission I had was to stay alive.
Coming to Madrona might’ve been a mistake, but I hadn’t felt this safe in a very long time.
There was one problem. I’d run to the one place Kaden and I had discussed as a great getaway once the season was over. I didn’t know if I’d fled to this place because I wanted him to find me or if I’d done it because sometimes people wouldn’t look in the most obvious of places.
If he was looking.
And that was a big if.
Guys like Kaden could have any woman they wanted, and surely he’d moved on by now. I’d mistaken awesome sex for something deeper, more emotional, because I was emotionally deprived. I was separated from my family and friends, so Kaden had been the only person I had to lean on. He didn’t really know me, and I didn’t know him, though I knew a hell of a lot more about him than he did me.
I knew he had a mom who was a hairstylist, a dad who worked in a factory, a younger brother playing junior hockey in Canada, and a sister who played college hockey. They were a big-time hockey family, while I’d never seen a game in person. Once I met Kaden, I’d watched his games on TV, but that was the extent of my hockey exposure. He loved to cook, and he’d promised to cook for me. I’d made an excuse every time he’d invited me over to his condo. The fewer people who knew about me, the better, not just for my safety but theirs.
This new life sucked. I wanted my old life back—with the addition of Kaden. My rare rebellious side reared up and dared me to expose myself. Stop hiding. Go home. Contact Kaden. Live my life and let fate take a shot at me. How would that life look now? Where would Kaden fit in if I lived on the other side of the country, both of us working demanding jobs with little time off?
Shaking my head, I yanked myself back to reality. Living a life, any life, was better than no life, and those were the choices I’d been given.
I wondered what Kaden had been up to these past few weeks.
I’d stayed away from the news, which wasn’t hard to do considering I didn’t have a television in my room, and the inn boasted that they were a getaway from electronics. We didn’t even have Wi-Fi.
I was tempted at times to use one of the computers in the small island library, but so far, I’d balked every time I’d walked past there. At the least, I should be checking on the situation back home, but I didn’t want to know. Ignorance was bliss—somewhat.
I was living in a little bubble, but bubbles eventually burst.
Shaking off the melancholy because I was basically a positive person, I picked up the mop and began to clean the hardwood floors in the main living area, which was open to guests. I heard the front door open and close, but I wasn’t on the check-in desk this morning, so I ignored the two sets of footsteps and Brody’s booming voice welcoming them to Fiddler’s Cove. It was before noon, a little early for someone to be checking in, but I’d finished cleaning all the rooms this morning, so they’d be in luck.
I continued my mopping, closer to the opening between this room and the front desk.
“Hi, there. I’m hoping you can help me?” the stranger said. He was young, probably mid-twenties, and in top physical condition. The petite woman with him wandered away to peruse the rack of tourist pamphlets.
“I’ll do my best,” Brody said.
“I’m looking for…” The man lowered his voice until I could no longer make out his words. Everything inside me went still, except my wildly beating heart. I wondered how they couldn’t hear it. I clutched the mop handle to my chest and dragged in a few calming breaths. My body was on full alert, a state all too familiar these past two years.
Stealthily, I crept to the open door, careful to keep myself out of their line of vision. I peeked around the doorframe. The man had his back to me, as did the woman with him. Brody leaned on the front desk counter and studied the image the man handed him. Brody glanced up, catching sight of me. I don’t know if it was the frightened look on my face or if he picked up on something, but he handed the photo back to the man.
“Sorry. Never seen her.” Brody’s tone didn’t invite any further questions, but that didn’t deter the stranger.
“You’re sure?” The man’s voice was tinged with disappointment. “I have reason to believe she’s been living here for a few weeks. I’m trying to find her for a friend.”
“Positive. This is a small island, and we know everybody. She’s not on this island.” Brody’s gaze flicked to mine and back to them. “Tourist season doesn’t start for another month. If she’d been on this island for a few weeks like you said, I would know her.”
I knew by Brody’s glance the photo was of me. I tamped down my panic as my mind raced a hundred miles a minute. They’d found me. I had to pack, get out of here, go somewhere else.
I had to run again.
“Okay, thanks.” The man turned to the woman with him and shrugged. She sighed as if disappointed. She was beautiful, and I couldn’t stop staring at her. She looked familiar.
“Are you—?” Brody’s question brought them both up short. The woman smiled at him, and the man merely waited for him to finish his sentence. “Didn’t you used to play for the Sockeyes? And weren’t you a champion figure skater?”
“Yeah, that’s us.”
My heart rate slowed immediately. They hadn’t found me. This guy was a teammate of Kaden’s. I backed away from the door, needing to calm myself back in my room and consider whether I was safe here or if I should plan another escape.
A few seconds later, I heard a rap on my door. Brody had recognized me in that picture, and now he wanted to know what was going on.
I opened
the door and allowed him inside.
“That was you.” His words were a statement, not a question. He leaned up against my small table and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is there something Mandy and I need to know?”
“No, nothing. I’m sure you’re mistaken about the picture.”
“I don’t make mistakes like that. I know what I saw. Are you in trouble?”
I met his gaze briefly with a guilt-ridden one of my own. “I can’t tell you. I don’t want to involve anyone in my mess.”
Brody assessed me with a shrewd eye. “You’re a good employee, Laina. Mandy and I like you. We’ve known from the beginning you’re hiding from someone or something. Are they the ones you’re hiding from?” Brody and his wife thought my name was Laina Brooks. I didn’t dare use my real name or even the one I’d given Kaden.
“No, but I did date a Sockeye player for a few months. I left without telling him.”
I was saying too much, but Brody was an honorable man. He was medically retired from the military and had his own skeletons in the closet. I wasn’t sure what they were, but I’d heard bits and pieces. I’d seen the pain in his eyes and the faraway look he sometimes got, as if he was somewhere else. I probably did the same thing, only my somewhere else had been wonderful, and most likely his had been a nightmare. We had our secrets. He didn’t ask mine, and I didn’t ask his.
He studied me for a few brief seconds. I squirmed under the scrutiny of his intense stare.
“I should leave. If one person has tracked me this far, I’m putting everyone here in a possible bad situation.”
His slow, almost amused smile surprised me. “I’m experienced at handling bad situations, Laina.”
“You don’t know what you’re getting into.”
His right brow shot upward, and he tilted his head, still barely smiling. “I think I can handle it, if I know what I’m handling.”
“I can’t explain. Please don’t ask me to.”
“Then I’ll ask you something else. Stay. We like you. You do great work. You’re easy to get along with. You’ll be as safe on this island as anywhere else.”
I sighed and wished I were truly safe here, but Kaden’s teammate had found me. If he could find me, what did that mean for others? Or did he merely get lucky because Kaden mentioned I might be here based on the conversations we’d had about this island?
“He’s a hockey player, and he found me,” I argued.
“He’s a PI, no longer a hockey player.”
“He is?” That small fact altered my thinking somewhat. He was professional. He found people for a living.
“Yes, I read all about it. After last season, Drew Delacorte retired from hockey and partnered with a friend in an investigative agency that focuses on finding people who are lost. It was huge news at the time. The team had just won the Cup, and he was in the prime of his career.”
I didn’t follow hockey, so I wouldn’t know any of those details.
“Stay,” he pleaded. Brody was perceptive and sensed I was wavering. “We’ll keep an eye out. Don’t worry, you’re probably safer here than just about anywhere else in this country.”
“I was going to go to Canada.”
“And use your passport? Aren’t those trackable?”
I frowned, realizing I truly was an amateur at this. I’d never considered the passport issue. I’d need to do some digging and get a fake one. Anything was possible on the internet, but a fake ID took time.
“For now, I will.”
“Good.” He patted my arm in a brotherly manner and gave me an encouraging smile. “Try not to worry. I have your back.”
“You don’t know how much that means to me,” I sniffled, suddenly overwhelmed by strong emotions. I’d been alone in this world for so long I’d forgotten how comforting it was to have someone in your corner.
“I think I do. I’m here if you need me. I know how to protect my home and my family, and you’re part of the Fiddler’s Cove family. I’ve been in some pretty tough situations in the military. Whatever you need, I’m here. And so is Mandy.”
“Thank you.”
He paused, as if hoping I’d give him some hint at what was going on, but I wouldn’t. Not now, not ever would I put such caring and generous people in danger.
The less they knew, the less anyone knew, the better.
Chapter Three
The Bro-hood
~~Kaden~~
* * *
A week later, I was cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast when my cell rang. I glanced at the display on my phone. Drew Delacorte. I quickly wiped my hands on a kitchen towel and punched the answer button.
Dispensing with formalities, I got right to the point. “What’d you find out?” I didn’t care how anxious I sounded, nor did I pay attention to my roommate Steele’s concerned expression as he watched me start pacing the floor of the condo we shared with Axel. Not that we ever saw Axel. He was joined at the hip with his girlfriend and never came home much anymore.
“I didn’t find any sign of her,” Drew said. My heart sank to the depths of despair, yet something in his tone gave me pause. I heard hesitation, as if there might be a but in there somewhere.
“You’re sure?”
“No one admitted to knowing her.”
“But?” I pushed, knowing there was more.
“I talked to the owner of a bed-and-breakfast. Look, I don’t want to give you false hope. All I have is a hunch that he wasn’t being straight with me.”
“Are your hunches usually accurate?” I stopped in front of the plate-glass windows and stared out at the waters of Lake Union sparkling in the distance, fully aware Steele was all ears behind me.
“They’re the reason I got into investigating for a career, so, yeah, they are. I’m known for my hunches.”
I hadn’t been on the team with Drew and didn’t have any firsthand knowledge of his investigative abilities. I’d hired him because a couple guys who knew him recommended him. “Maybe I should check it out for myself.”
“I would. I think it’d be worth it.”
We talked a few more minutes as he outlined the details of the islanders he’d questioned, then he suggested I contact Ethan Parker about the cottage he owned on the island. The team owner frequently loaned it to his players.
Deep in thought, I sat on the couch and stared out the window at the clouds in the sky on this overcast day. I knew within seconds what my plan was. I was going to the San Juans. Specifically, Madrona Island. I’d overturn every rock to find Lanie. Nothing would stop me. If she was there, I’d find her.
I rose abruptly, causing Steele to put down his book and shoot me a questioning look. “What’s up?”
“Do you know anything about Madrona Island?”
“Only that Ethan Parker has a mansion on the island and so does Tyler Harris and the Reynolds family.” Tyler Harris was a championship-winning quarterback for the Seattle Steelheads. Now retired, he was an assistant coach for the same team. Brad Reynolds had initially worked for the Sockeyes and was now GM for the Steelheads. Seattle’s football team was partly owned by them.
“I’ve never been there, but I’ve wanted to go,” Steele added.
“I’m going.” I turned toward my bedroom to pack. No time to waste. If Lanie was on the island, she might already be in flight to her next hideout.
Steele stood and followed me down the hallway, stopping in the doorway. He leaned against the doorframe as I pulled a suitcase out of my walk-in closet.
“Where are we staying?”
“We?”
“Yeah, I’m going, too.”
I shrugged. I didn’t mind if he went. Steele wasn’t a problem other than his obsession with cleanliness, but that worked to my advantage at times. I’d make a huge mess in the kitchen, and he’d clean it up. He might be useful. He noticed everything, and I needed a guy like that.
“I’ll find a place, starting with Mr. Parker,” Steele said and left the room. “Are we going to leave this
afternoon?”
“Yeah. I’d like to.”
“I’m on it. I’ll check the ferry schedule, buy road trip snacks, and pack.” Steele strode from the room, a man on a mission.
I shook my head, smiling for the first time in a while at how all in he was. Including him might be a mistake, but I wanted the moral support and someone with a good head on his shoulders. On rare occasions, Steele displayed his ability to party with the worst of us, but mostly he drank a beer or two and served as our designated driver.
I scratched my chin as I realized Steele was almost as much of a mystery to me as Lanie was. I didn’t know anything about him outside of hockey. He never talked about his parents, though from what little he said, his father was dead. He grew up in Chicago, and we played against each other in junior hockey.
Steele was still a little pissed at me for my stupid choices and ruining the team’s chances in the playoffs. I didn’t blame him, and maybe this trip would heal the rift between us. He seemed okay on the surface, but I knew he wasn’t deep down. Steele was dependable and predictable. He followed the rules and took his responsibilities seriously, and he expected the people he let into his sphere to do the same. I’d betrayed his trust. I was determined to prove myself to him. The two of us uniting in a cause near and dear to my heart—finding Lanie—would be good for the bro-hood.
I turned back to packing my clothes, cramming as much stuff as I could into the suitcase, barely folding it. I shut the suitcase, placed it near the front door, and went in search of Steele. He was still packing, everything perfectly folded and tucked neatly into his suitcase in typical Steele fashion.
I pointed at the large cooler sitting in the hallway. “What the fuck is that for?”
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