A Colton Target

by Beverly Long

  “Just in time,” Tilda said.

  She’d been a half-step ahead of him. If he hadn’t been able to grab her and pull her back, it could have gone so differently. The terrifying vision of her lying three stories below, limp and bleeding, flashed in the back of his head. She would likely not have survived the fall. If she had, the lifelong ramifications might have been significant.

  He wanted to hurt whoever had done this. Badly.

  “Clearly, after Tilda’s arrival,” Decker said, “somebody disabled the elevator and slapped a sign on it so that nobody would report it and provoke an inquiry to the maintenance staff. We have cameras almost everywhere in the public areas of The Lodge. That certainly includes the area around the elevator.” Shoving a hand through his hair, he said, “My most senior security person has verified that, sure enough, there is footage of someone, dressed in a maintenance uniform with a baseball cap pulled low on his forehead, placing the sign. Unfortunately, this person doesn’t appear to be on staff.”

  “Davis James?” Liam asked.

  “Impossible to know. Camera angle didn’t pick up his face,” Decker said. “We don’t have any cameras on the door to the mechanical room. It’s controlled by badge access. Security had already verified that it was accessed by an employee at the right time. Unfortunately, said employee was nowhere near the mechanical room. He was in another area of The Lodge. That’s been verified by two other employees and a camera.” Decker paused, looking unhappy. “The employee had noticed that he’d misplaced his badge earlier this morning. He did not report it. Said he was confident that it would turn up. That is being dealt with separately.”

  “It has to be someone with some mechanical knowledge,” Blaine added. “Locking some doors and putting up a sign could have been done by a monkey, but getting to the elevator controls and hitting the right buttons takes some knowledge.”

  “I keep wondering who the intended victim was,” Tilda said, her voice soft, as if she might be afraid to say the words out loud. “Me. You. Or the both of us.”

  “It’s a crazy thing. I can’t remember anything like this ever happening before,” Decker muttered, barely looking at Tilda.

  Blaine knew his brother was still distrustful of Tilda. “None of this is her fault,” Blaine said sharply.

  “I didn’t say it was,” Decker retorted.

  Blaine kept his mouth shut. Officer McDonald was looking too interested, and Liam was clearly uncomfortable. Tilda simply looked confused.

  “Decker, we’re going to need the sign that was on the elevator,” Liam said. “And copies of any security footage that you have. We’ll dust the maintenance door for fingerprints but will have to rule out anybody who has a legitimate reason to be in that space.”

  What he was nicely saying was that there was no way to conduct the investigation without people realizing that it likely hadn’t been as simple as a workplace incident. It would be more bad publicity for The Lodge. He and Decker exchanged a glance.

  “Do what you need to do,” Decker said. “We need answers. And you should probably know something else. We’ve had some minor thefts and vandalism around the property. That happens from time to time, and we generally treat it as an internal matter, without police involvement. But, honestly, the illegal activity seemed to pick up in the last week. Now I’m wondering if it has something to do with this, so I want to be absolutely transparent.”

  “We’ll get the details of that after we take a look at the maintenance room. Will you be in your office?” Liam asked, looking at Decker.

  “I will. I’ll have my security guy go with you.”

  They waited while Decker got that sorted out. Ten minutes later, it was just Decker, Blaine and Tilda on the third floor. Blaine turned to Tilda. “We’ll figure out who did this. They’ll pay.”

  “I really don’t want Josh to know,” Tilda admitted. “It will scare him.”

  The first call Tilda had made had been to Isaac’s mom. Without giving her any explanation, she’d arranged for Josh to stay at Isaac’s house after the boys were picked up from band practice. Blaine had been relieved to hear that. Somebody was attacking him or his family. Until he found out who, they all needed to be on high alert.

  Which was why he’d made a decision. He wasn’t sure how Tilda was going to feel about it, but he didn’t really feel as if he could give her a choice. And having Decker there to witness the conversation might just help him.

  “We’ll need to tell him enough that he’s not blindsided by the news if he hears it from somebody else,” Blaine said.

  “Okay. Bare bones,” Tilda conceded.

  “I’m glad Dad wasn’t here to see this,” Decker said.

  Russ was traveling for business. He’d left early this morning and would be gone for a couple nights. “Agree,” Blaine said simply.

  “He’ll need to be told,” Decker said. “Not only because you’re his son. This is also his business.”

  “Agree,” Blaine repeated. “Can you take care of that?”

  “Yeah. I’ll get to both Mom and Dad. And I’ll stop by Molly’s office and make sure she knows how to respond to any guest inquiries about the incident. Probably should tell Seth Harris, too.”

  Blaine wasn’t crazy about widening the circle of those having knowledge but knew that Decker would be discreet with the details. And Seth was a likely contact for questions, maybe even from the press.

  Blaine looked at Tilda. “I don’t want you and Josh alone in your house.”

  She looked at him blindly.

  “We can get you a room here,” Decker offered. “Or I’m sure Mom has space at The Chateau. Definitely at Colton Manor.”

  “That will be pretty disruptive for Josh,” Blaine said. “I’ll move into your house instead.”

  Tilda opened her mouth, but no words came out.

  Decker looked at his brother. “You think that’s a good plan?”

  “I do,” Blaine said.

  “But...” Tilda said, her voice trailing off. She was staring in the direction of the freight elevator. “What will I tell Josh?”

  “Tell him that I needed to give up my room here at The Lodge for somebody else. He’s not going to know the difference,” Blaine said.

  “He’ll be so excited he probably won’t question it,” she admitted.

  Tilda didn’t seem as excited. But he didn’t care. He could keep the two of them safe. That was all that mattered.

  Chapter 17

  Blaine was moving in. She couldn’t very well admit that, years ago, when she’d been carrying Josh and even after, she’d fantasized that he’d left the army and come home to live with her. Because he loved her. And after finding out about Josh, he’d been even more committed to her, to their family.

  Now it was happening because somebody had tried to kill her or him or both of them.

  They’d left The Lodge just before six. She’d waited in Blaine’s locked office while he’d gone back to his room to grab clothes and other essentials. Since she had her car, and he was going to need his own vehicle, he was now following her down the mountain road. She was grateful to have the twenty minutes alone to collect her thoughts.

  She had a third bedroom. And he could share the second bath with Josh. There was really no reason that his presence in her home needed to affect her that much.

  She gripped the steering wheel. It was better than pounding her head against it. Who was she trying to kid? Having Blaine in the house would change everything.

  She pulled into Isaac’s driveway and got out. Blaine stayed in his vehicle, which was now idling at the curb. She walked up the front sidewalk and knocked. And, then, somehow, managed to make polite conversation with Isaac’s mom while Josh gathered up his things.

  What she had said, however, she could not remember three minutes later when she and Josh were back in her SUV. “How was your day?�
�� she asked.

  “Okay. Science was cool. Dry-ice day.”

  “Lucky you,” she said. “And band practice?”

  “Good,” he replied. He was looking in his side mirror. “Is that Blaine behind us?”

  Her son was observant. Much like his father. “It is,” she said.

  “Why is he following us?”

  Josh was essentially the same as her, she realized. Ever since he’d been a little kid, he’d reacted better to things if he understood the why behind the request. She and Blaine needed to find a way to tell him the truth without scaring him to death. “Because we have something we want to talk to you about.”

  He gave her a long look. “That doesn’t sound so good.”

  “It’s not bad,” she assured him. For you, she added silently. She was another story.

  “Can I have a hint?”

  “We’re six minutes from home,” she said. “Patience is a virtue.”

  He said nothing for a minute. Then, “Maybe you’ll remember that the next time you’re waiting for me to clean my room.”

  She laughed. Despite everything, her kid always had the ability to make her laugh. “I love you, Josh.”

  “Uh-huh,” he said, as if he wasn’t sure.

  Tilda turned into her driveway, opened the garage door and pulled in. After switching off the engine, she heard a car door slam behind her and knew that Blaine was already out of his vehicle. She pasted a smile on her face. She could do this. She could invite the only man she’d ever loved into her home, into her life, only to have him leave. Again.

  She’d survived it once.

  But then again, at eighteen, she hadn’t maybe realized all that she’d lost. This was one of those times that the wisdom gained through years of living wasn’t necessarily a blessing.

  She opened her door.

  “Hey, sport,” Blaine said to Josh.

  “I saw you behind us,” their son admitted. “But Mom is being pretty sketchy about why.”

  Blaine looked at Tilda. “You doing okay?” he asked, his voice concerned.

  “Great. I’m thinking that pizza sounds good for dinner. We could get it delivered.”

  “Sold,” said Blaine.

  They walked in through the garage door. Josh dumped his backpack on the kitchen table and slung his coat over the back of a chair. Then he plopped down onto the couch. “Out with it,” he said.

  “Blaine is going to be staying in our guest room for a little while,” Tilda told him.

  Josh looked at both her and Blaine. “That’s cool, I guess. But why?”

  Sometimes he seemed much older than thirteen. And because of that, she wasn’t exactly sure what she should tell him. But thankfully, Blaine didn’t seem to have the same problem, because he jumped in.

  “Your mom and I are concerned about a couple things that have recently happened. You remember that I told you about Honor Shayne?”

  Josh nodded.

  “Well, her ex-husband is in Roaring Springs. I saw him at The Lodge yesterday. And, today, your mom and I encountered a situation where somebody faked a call to your mom’s school, pretending to be me, to get her up to The Lodge. We believe this was an attempt to cause us some problems.”

  Blaine was telling the truth, just not the whole truth.

  “Is he the one who slashed Mom’s tires?” Josh asked.

  “He could be. The police have been advised to watch for him. But I just talked to them on my way down the mountain, and they don’t know where he is. No activity on his credit cards nor any record of him staying at any of the local motels.”

  “He could be using another name,” Josh said.

  They’d checked everything under Jim Park, but that had also been a waste of time. “Actually, we believe he has been. Jim Park. So be aware of both Davis James or Jim Park. Until he’s located, I’m going to be sticking close. And your mom and I need your cooperation. We may need to limit our activities for a few days, and we’d appreciate you going along with it.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t go to school,” Josh said, his tone very serious.

  Blaine smiled and shook his head. “Good try, sport, but no. You’ll be fine at school. Either your mom or I will drive you and pick you up. We’ll keep to our routines. The one very important thing, however, is that I don’t want you telling anybody—and that includes Isaac—what’s going on. Or posting anything on social media that indicates that I’m staying in the house.”

  He was their secret weapon. Willing to put himself at risk for them.

  She stood up so fast that she almost got dizzy. “Let me show you to your room,” she said.

  Josh gave her a look, like she might have been rude. She did not care. It had been a harrowing day, and in truth, her nerves were hanging on by a thread. The what ifs were plaguing her. What if Blaine hadn’t pulled her back from the open shaft? What if he’d followed her in and they’d both tumbled downward?

  What if they’d both died before she’d gotten a chance to tell him that she was sorry that she’d deceived him? Sorry that she hadn’t been better equipped to stand up to Russ Colton?

  “You want me to call in the pizza?” Josh asked.

  “Sure. Anything you want,” she replied.

  “That means mozzarella sticks, too,” he said, picking up his cell phone.

  “Fine,” Tilda conceded. She couldn’t worry about something as mundane as a dinner order. Motioning for Blaine to follow her down the short hallway, she opened the door of the spare bedroom. “Here you go. I... I hope the bed is comfortable. I haven’t slept in it.”

  “It’ll be fine,” he said. He followed her into the room and shut the door behind him. “Hey,” he murmured, his voice soft. “Are you okay with this?”

  “Of course,” she said. “You’re the one who is being inconvenienced.”

  “Not an inconvenience. The two of you are the most important people to me.”

  Was it horrible of her that she wanted to be more than important? Being important wasn’t the same as loved. “I need to set the table.”

  She practically ran to the kitchen. She pulled plates out of the cupboard and silverware out of the drawer. Josh was just ending his call.

  “Twenty minutes,” he said. “Want to start a movie?”

  “Sure.” She finished setting the table and sat down on the couch next to Josh. Blaine joined them in just a few minutes, but she focused on the screen, as if it was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen. When the doorbell rang, she moved, but Blaine was faster. He got the door and paid for the pizza.

  They devoured most of an extra-large pie and ate every one of the six cheese sticks. Blaine had just thrown away the box and put their plates in the dishwasher when her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “This is Officer McDonald.”

  “Hello, Officer,” she said.

  Blaine motioned for her to come to the kitchen. “Put it on speaker,” he mouthed.

  She did. “What can I do for you?”

  “I wanted to give you an update,” he said. “We’ve been unsuccessful in getting any good camera footage that allows us to identify who might have slashed your tires.”

  She was disappointed but not surprised. If it had been Davis James, he seemed pretty good at covering his tracks. While it was frustrating that it couldn’t be pinned on the stranger, she was oddly grateful that they weren’t calling to tell her that it had been Toby Turner. She didn’t want that to have been the case.

  “We’ll keep our eyes open and ears to the ground but wanted you to know where we’re at with this,” he said.

  She appreciated that and knew that, if she lived anywhere else but Roaring Springs, she probably wouldn’t have gotten this phone call. Even here, it likely had something to do with the family relationsh
ip between Liam Kastor and Blaine and the...well...quasifamilial relationship between her and Blaine. She suspected it might also have something to do with the crazy things that had been happening in Roaring Springs over the past few months. The police were likely on high alert and attempting to be super responsive to their citizenry.

  “I appreciate the update,” she said. They ended the call, and she looked at Blaine. “Well, I guess that’s that.”

  “I’m worried about you chaperoning the prom this weekend,” he said. “I’d prefer that you back out.”

  “I can’t, Blaine. A few years ago, they were having trouble getting teachers to do it, so they put it in our contract. I’d have to be dead or near death, as substantiated by a physician, to get out of it.” She said the last part lightly: it was the standard joke the teachers used when they talked about the obligation. “Besides, I won’t be doing it alone.”

  He cocked his head. “Is Chuck Pearce going with you?”

  What? “No, of course not.” She’d not heard from Chuck after their last date. His reaction to learning that Josh’s real dad was a Colton had been telling. Plus, she’d never considered inviting him to go with her. She didn’t mix her professional and her personal lives. “I meant that there would be other teachers. My best friend Raeann Johnson will be there.”

  “Oh,” he said, having the grace to look a little embarrassed that he’d jumped to the conclusion that she had a date.

  “I’ll be fine there. I guess I don’t want to assume,” she said, “but you’re okay being here with Josh that night? I should be home by midnight.”

  “Sure. No problem.”

  They stood awkwardly in the kitchen. “I guess I’ll finish the movie,” she said finally. She wasn’t sure what they were even watching.

  “Great.” He followed her back to the family room.

  When the movie ended, she turned to Josh. “Bedtime. No video games.”

  He groaned and then rolled off the couch. Stood and stretched. His T-shirt pulled up, and she could see his ribs. He was too thin, but he ate like a horse. The empty pizza box was proof. “Good night,” he said.