Her Other Secret

by Dimon, HelenKay

  “Did you know Judson?”

  Tessa froze in the act of handing the water bottle over. “How would I have known your husband?”

  “You’re with Hansen . . .” Kerrie took the bottle. She turned it around in her hands and picked at the label. “I thought maybe you came from D.C. You look familiar.”

  That was not a topic Tessa wanted to explore. “No.”

  Hansen appeared a second later. He had a blanket and a few pillows in his arms. “All done.”

  “You’re quick.” Which was a good thing because Tessa guessed things were about to get awkward with Kerrie. The sooner they all went to sleep, the better.

  Hansen winked at her as if to apologize for the night’s really sucky turn. Then he looked at Kerrie. “Head up and we’ll talk in the morning.”

  “Thank you both.” Kerrie screwed the bottle cap on and off. Back and forth. “You’ve made a terrible situation tolerable.”

  Going up the ladder, Kerrie looked small and vulnerable. A new wave of guilt smacked into Tessa. The other woman really had experienced the worst. Having some company wasn’t too much to ask.

  Ready to be done with this day, Tessa went over to the couch. She threw the pillows on the floor, then started on the cushions before glancing at Hansen. “Since you’re so quick at making beds, want to do this one?”

  “I want to find another island.” His low voice bordered on a whisper.

  The light clicked off upstairs, so Tessa matched her volume to his. “Next time, get a house with a wall around it.”

  “You read my mind.” He unfolded the bed. “I think the sheets are on here.”

  The idea made Tessa cringe. “Have they been washed this century?”

  “They were clean last time I made up the bed.”

  It was late and she was done, so she accepted that answer and crawled beneath the covers.

  After relocking the front door and switching off the night-light over the stove, Hansen slipped in next to her. The mattress was smaller than the one upstairs. Also, less comfortable. Tessa guessed she’d regret offering the good bed after a night of sleeping with a bar sticking into the middle of her back.

  Hansen wrapped an arm around her and tucked her body close to his. “This isn’t how I intended to spend the rest of tonight.”

  “Me either.” But resting her head on his shoulder wasn’t a hardship.

  “I meant sex. What are you talking about?”

  She smiled against his shirt. “Something sex-ish.”

  “That’s an intriguing answer.”

  “Hmm.”

  Hansen pulled back and looked down at her. “What’s that sound about?”

  “She was with Ruthie in the dining room. Funny she didn’t mention that.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Even in the darkness, Tessa could feel him staring. She debated pretending to be asleep but knew he’d never buy it. “Sylvia gave me this lecture about how some survivors make this connection with their rescuers and the lines can blur.”

  “Ben said the same thing.” Hansen rubbed a soothing hand up and down her back. “You were talking to Sylvia about this situation?”

  “About a woman who can’t see you without touching you? Yeah.”

  Hansen made a hissing sound. “Please tell me you’re not jealous.”

  “No, that’s not it.” It was all mixed up in her head. Kerrie needed security, and Tessa understood that. But Kerrie had skipped from fearing Hansen to emotionally grabbing on to him, and every now and then she’d make a stray comment that didn’t fit with anything else. And where did that leave him? “Some guys like to save. They want a woman who needs them.”

  He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “You think you’re describing me?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “What?” His voice rose on that question.

  “No.” She balanced on her elbow and loomed over him. Skimmed her hand over his chest with the need to comfort both of them. “Look, I’m not good at this sort of thing.”

  “What exactly?”

  “Dating. Opening up.”

  His body seemed to relax again. “I’m rusty, too.”

  She hated this part. Sharing was one thing. Cutting her heart open and peeling back the layers was something completely different. All these insecurities kept bubbling to the surface, and instead of shoving them back down like she usually did, she wanted to confide in Hansen. To make him understand.

  “She makes me feel . . .” Her mind sputtered. She mentally reached for the right word and couldn’t find it. She wasn’t even sure what she was trying to say.

  He rolled over to face her. The light sneaking in from the porch gave the area by the door an eerie glow. It also let her see his expression when they were this close. “Tell me.”

  “Unsettled.” That fit. Not jealous. Not uncomfortable. But not right either. “I feel sorry for her but confused about her. I’m on edge. It’s like an explosion is coming and I don’t know if I should duck or run or what.”

  “You’re not alone.”

  “Really?” For some reason having a partner in all this wallowing was a relief.

  “My life imploded and now Judson is dead. In any given minute I waffle between relief, which makes me feel like a crappy human being, and worry for what’s to come.” He traced a finger over her nose and down to her mouth. “So, yeah. Unsettled. Except with you. Do you know how you make me feel?”

  “Annoyed?”

  He laughed. “Sometimes.”

  “The feeling is mutual.”

  “Lighter.”

  Not the word she expected at all. “Lighter?”

  “With you, all the heavy baggage and problems battering me fade into the distance. You are hot, smart, nosy, and strong. I don’t really know a sexier combination.”

  She slipped a hand over his chest. Let it travel down to his flat stomach. “You’re pretty irresistible yourself.”

  He grew more so every single day. She’d gone from having a little crush to hating the idea of going a half day without seeing him. The cracks had started to form. Little breaks in her defenses that allowed him to move in.

  She refused to think about love or a relationship that stretched past the unreal situation they were in now thanks to Judson. Hansen had a life in a city she despised. Power and money—two things that scared the crap out of her. But those feelings hovered there, in the background. She could feel them sneaking up on her no matter how much she pretended not to.

  Not something she could handle. Not fair to suck him into her family drama. There were so many reasons and excuses floating through her head to justify them being apart that she started to sound like her mom. But she could enjoy some parts of this dating thing while she figured out the others.

  He ran his fingers through her hair, bending her head closer until he placed a light kiss on her forehead. “We need to sleep.”

  She leaned into the touch, loving the dance of his fingers against her skin. “We could cuddle.”

  “I used that word one time and now you’re throwing it back at me.”

  She smiled because the man made her smile. “You’re good at it. One might even say an expert.”

  “Appealing to my ego works every time.” He rolled onto his side, tucking her back against his front. “I like your style.”

  She liked everything about him. It was starting to be a problem. “Remember that when I whine about this mattress tomorrow.”

  “Something to look forward to.”

  Quiet settled around them. His arm fell heavy across her waist, holding her against him. And she loved it. “Thank you.”

  He answered after a few beats of hesitation. “For?”

  “Listening.”

  “That’s what boyfriends do.” He dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “Go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

  Chapter 22

  Hansen stumbled over a piece of driftwood as he got out of Ben’s car the next day. Tripped over the damn
thing in Cliff’s driveway.

  “Is your head in the game?” Ben asked as he closed his door.

  “What?”

  “You’re mumbling under your breath. Looks like you haven’t slept, though that could be a good thing.”

  “Kerrie showed up on our doorstep last night.” Hansen still didn’t believe it. He hated guests and surprises; literally everyone on the island knew that and gave him space. Not Kerrie. Not the one woman legally guaranteed space from him.

  “Why was she there?”

  Ben didn’t seem nearly as shocked as Hansen had been when he opened the door well after midnight to find Kerrie standing there. “She said she was scared to be alone.”

  “You don’t believe her?”

  They walked side by side, marching on the trail Cliff or someone who once lived in this house had laid out. The warm sun beamed down and the wind had all but vanished. The weather still was seasonably cool, maybe in the low sixties, but a stunning day broke through on the other side of the storm. Except for swampy grass and a few downed trees, no one would have known they’d had four solid days of rain and whipping winds.

  “No, I do. She was nervous and . . . off. Like she didn’t know what to say, which makes sense under the circumstances.” He didn’t like being around her. He’d trained himself not to be, to lock away his concerns for her safety because of what happened to Alexis. He’d abandoned his life and family, at least for a short time, in order to move a country away from her and stay out of trouble. Despite all that, she kept popping up. “I just get twitchy when I’m around her.”

  “Understandable.” Ben skidded to a stop. “Wait, you don’t mean you’re attracted to her, right?”

  They were not on the same wavelength at all. “I mean she could sue me. Have me arrested.”

  Ben shook his head. “Not sexy.”

  “There’s only one woman I find sexy right now.” Not a subject he should broach but he found that he wanted to say it out loud. He thought about calling Connor this morning and telling him about Tessa.

  Ben made a humming sound. “Because you love her.”

  “It’s been awhile since you dropped that. You used to say it every day whether it made sense in context or not.”

  Ben laughed as he started them walking again. “I stopped because I think you actually do love her now. Before it was a joke.”

  “Why are we friends?”

  “I ask myself that all the time.” Ben waved his hand as if dismissing that topic. “So, Kerrie. What did you do?”

  “She slept in the bed. Tessa and I took the sofa.”

  Ben threw Hansen a what’s-the-matter-with-you look. “Your personal life is odd.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “But with the sunshine here and the storm gone, the weekly ferry runs should resume tomorrow. I’ve asked for forensic and investigative help. All that might give Kerrie some comfort. It also means, at some point, we can officially clear her and she could go home.”

  “It doesn’t bug you that police might come here and take over, or at least share the workload?”

  “We need the help. That’s why I called in the first place. But I’d like to be able to hand them something other than you, which is why we’re talking to Cliff.”

  “Again.” Cliff had been ornery last time. Hansen couldn’t imagine him taking the double team any better today. “Did you find Maddie?”

  Their shoes crunched on the gravel walk. “She called and apologized. Said something about a family crisis.”

  “Families can be messy.”

  Ben glanced at him. “But I haven’t seen her. Did she somehow get off the island to see them?”

  “Good point.” She rarely interacted with the other people on Whitaker, worked out of her home, and always showed up alone in town, if she showed up at all. She made Hansen look friendly and easy to pin down.

  Ben shook his head. “Something isn’t right.”

  “When was the last time you saw her?” Hansen watched as Ben rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the lawn around him instead of giving eye contact. “And why are you blushing?”

  “I asked her out for coffee. She, uh . . .” Ben shook his head.

  “What?”

  “She walked to the coffee place with me, ordered hers, and left.”

  That didn’t . . . Oh, damn. She went out for coffee with him. Hansen tried hard not to laugh but it took a lot of effort and more energy than he had after his night with Tessa. Even silently making out with her drained him.

  Hansen whistled. “Wow, I thought I sucked at dating.”

  “You probably do.”

  “Tough talk. You might want to remember one of us has a girlfriend.”

  “At least you finally admit it . . .” Ben’s smile faded as they turned the corner of the house. “Oh, shit.”

  He took off on a run. His shoes slipped on the wet grass as he pivoted around the porch and bolted up the steps. He thudded up to the porch without looking back.

  “What are you . . . ?” Then Hansen’s gaze fell on the swing. On Cliff’s body slumped there. “Damn.”

  He followed Ben, taking the steps two at a time. His heartbeat thundered as he took in the mug on the floor and the coffee spill.

  Ben was already moving. He had his cell out and continued scanning the area. “Stay here.”

  Too stunned to answer, Hansen did just that. He reached out to check for a pulse and felt nothing. Cliff’s body was ice-cold. He wore a jacket and thick socks with his slippers. It looked like his stiff body had been there for a while.

  His hands shaking and mind racing with a thousand questions, Hansen crouched down and touched a fingertip to the coffee stain. Also stone-cold. From this position, below Cliff, Hansen could see the blood. It stained Cliff’s side near his armpit. Another slice low on his neck had blood pooling by his shoulder.

  The last of Hansen’s energy drained from his body as he squatted there. “Son of a bitch.”

  Footsteps thumped off to the right of the house, then Ben appeared. He had gone in through the front door. Hansen figured he’d checked the area for any signs of who might have done this and come out the back.

  “Well?” Ben asked with a nod in Cliff’s direction.

  “He’s dead. Stabbed in the stomach and chest multiple times. Just like Judson.” Hansen was no expert, but the blood had congealed and nothing about this looked fresh. “I think he’s been here awhile.”

  Ben bent over the body. Looked around, even sniffed. “No defensive marks on his hands.” He glanced down. “Dropped his mug.”

  “He might have been asleep on the swing or sitting there.” Hansen knew Cliff liked to sit out here. He was aware. A smart-ass. Not an easy person to fool.

  “When did you see him last?”

  Hansen knew Ben had to ask the question, but it still punched through him. “He was alive when we left yesterday afternoon.”

  “And you, Kerrie, and Tessa were all at your cabin last night until early this morning.” Ben made the comment as he walked around the swing. Seemed lost in whatever he was calculating in his head.

  “We drove Kerrie to the lodge around nine, then I swung over to see you.” But when Hansen listened to Ben discuss the sleeping arrangements, Hansen had to admit it sounded weird.

  “The three of you together all night, no one left the place. That’s actually good news because, depending on the timing, it sounds like an alibi for all of you.”

  “Maybe I should thank Kerrie for showing up.” As odd as the situation was, she may have cleared his name in a second murder. Since this one had to be tied to the first, that should take the target off his back. At least for now.

  “Everything looks fine inside. Something could be missing, but I’m not sure how to tell.”

  Hansen hated that the most. A man’s life came down to trying to find one or two people who had been in his house recently. The loss carried a lonely, haunting quality that made him want to kick something. “I guess he real
ly did hear an argument. Looks like someone got scared about what he might know.”

  Ben unlocked his cell phone. “State police are going to move in. I say we have a day before they figure out the jurisdictional details and a swarm starts.”

  “Then we have a day to solve this.” As soon as he finished the sentence, Hansen heard the roar of an engine overhead. “Or maybe I overestimated. A private plane?”

  “Police would come by boat.”

  “Then we have company.” His least favorite thing.

  IT TOOK ANOTHER hour for Hansen to leave Cliff’s house. Lela arrived and the ambulance crew unloaded equipment. Everyone moved in stunned silence. Professionals cordoned off another crime scene on an island that had remained mostly crime free, except for something getting stolen here and there, for decades. Ben took photos and Lela went to work. It was a scene Hansen had hoped he’d only ever see once on Whitaker; now it had been twice in a week.

  Cliff had been a staple on the island. He’d sat on that porch and relayed gossip like a pro. Hansen had watched the older man back down Ellis and Arianna, which was not an easy task since they never stopped talking. He’d made jokes and held his ground. Refused to let anyone suggest that he hadn’t heard a fight that night. It was clear now he had.

  An unsettled feeling rolled over Hansen. So much loss and no real explanation. A horror of sorts unfolded on the island and it connected, at least tangentially, to him. The idea that he brought the danger, that without him Cliff would be alive, ate at him. All he wanted was to see Tessa, take her back home, and shut his eyes for a few hours.

  A wall of noise hit him the second he opened the main door to the lodge. Voices, some loud, and Ruthie’s overriding all of them.

  Fuck. This was not what he needed right now.

  He looked into the dining room. The board members were there spread out among the other tables. Sylvia and a few of her staff served drinks and food. Kerrie and Tessa sat at a table by the window, out of the fray in the center of the room but not saved from the chaos. Even Ellis and Arianna sat at the bar. Those two. Hansen had to clamp down on the urge to go over and question them.