by Robin Caroll
Oh, she was armed and aware all right. And tired of running and hiding and lying to people she loved. Tired of losing people she loved.
She wanted her life back. Now was her chance.
Bella reached for the hiding place’s handle again. The metal was cold and clammy against her palm.
Rafe’s gut cinched as he sat in the front seat beside Simpson, racing to Bella Miller’s cabin. The strobe light atop the cruiser sliced the darkness of the night. Rafe’s heart beat in time to the flashing.
Simpson’s call to Bella had gone unanswered. To which he swore was highly unusual.
Simpson’s white knuckles were stark against the black of the steering wheel. He flexed, then tightened his grip. Over and over again.
“Surely she gets intruders quite often, right? She’s out in the middle of the swamp.” Rafe considered Simpson’s expression—pure worry.
“It’s a bayou, and no.”
“It’s probably somebody out hunting.”
Simpson spared him a glare. “In the dark? Game and Fish frown upon spotlighting down here.”
“Right.” He was just trying not to panic. “Fishing? Frog hunting?”
Simpson shook his head. “No and no.” He gunned the engine. “It’s your buddies Hartlock and Devane.”
“Whoa! Where’d that come from?” Although, he didn’t know where the agents were and they’d been acting suspiciously. “Why would they be in Bella Miller’s backyard?”
“Did you tell them about the photograph in Daniel’s office? The one you’re positive Bella took?”
“No.”
Simpson glanced at him before returning his focus to the road. “Why not?”
“I didn’t have a chance.” Actually, he did, but he hadn’t wanted to share with them. He still wasn’t quite sure why he had such a strange gut instinct about those two agents. But he’d learned a long time ago not to ignore his instincts.
“Is that the only reason?”
“Where are you going with this? If you have a solid reason for accusing two FBI agents, one of whom is an Assistant Special Agent in Charge, then by all means, tell me.” Maybe Simpson had picked up on something he’d missed.
“You’ve gone over the case. Hartlock and Devane missed my birth announcement.” Simpson jerked the wheel. The cruiser flew down the dirt road, dipping and bobbing as potholes pounded at the tires. “I read the notes. Looked to me like they weren’t really trying to solve the case.”
Rafe didn’t think they tried really hard either. “So what are you saying?”
“Why is that? Such a high-profile case . . . why didn’t they pull out all the stops to solve it?”
Maybe that was the thing that bugged Rafe the most. “Because there was an attempt on the Arkansas governor right after Tate was murdered. Hartlock and Devane were reassigned to that case.”
“And that was solved, I assume?”
“Yeah.”
“So why didn’t they come back to Daniel’s murder and give it their full attention? They didn’t, did they?”
No, but—
Simpson turned into Bella’s driveway. Her truck sat alone outside the cabin. Hayden jumped from the car, gun and flashlight in hand. Rafe drew his own gun and raced behind the police commissioner.
They charged up the steps to the porch only to find the front door busted in.
No hunter or fisherman could be responsible for this. Rafe’s mind tripped over possible scenarios . . . not a single one was good. His insides turned into spaghetti.
He followed Simpson into the house, his service handgun comfortable in his right hand and his flashlight held tight in his left.
In the piercing light from their flashlights, Rafe could make out the chaos of the living room. Couch overturned. Chairs on their sides. Television broken on the floor. Popcorn crunched under his steps.
Not daring to think about what could be waiting for them, Rafe kept on Simpson’s back as his cover man and ignored the urge to rush through the house until he found Bella.
Rafe nodded at Simpson’s silent direction to check the kitchen. He crossed-stepped into the kitchen, gun in firing position. Pots and pans littered the floor. Ceramic shards coated the counters. But not a sign of an intruder. All clear.
He pushed open the pantry door and flashed his beam of light inside. A creak was the only response. All clear.
A woman’s quiet sobbing reached him. His heart jumped in response, and he rushed from the kitchen, down the hall, and into the master bedroom. He skidded to a stop in the doorway and holstered his gun and flashlight, taking in the scene.
The room had a single lamp burning, casting odd shadows on the wall as wind seeped into the room from a hole in the wall where a window had once been. Simpson paced the bedroom with a cell stuck against his ear.
Bella Miller sat on the floor, her dog’s head in her lap, with tears streaking down her face as she stroked the dog’s head with a trembling hand. She sniffed and wiped her face on her shirt sleeve, then went back to holding a T-shirt on the dog’s torso.
Never before had the urge to run to a woman and hold her taken hold of Rafe. He nearly acted on the impulse until she glanced up at him. “What is he doing here?” She barked the question at Simpson but glared at him.
Rafe couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt a woman’s wrath with just a single look. No mistaking this, Bella Miller would rip his head off if she could.
Simpson slipped his cell into his pocket. “The vet’s on his way. So is a crime-scene unit.” He squatted in front of her, withdrawing his notebook. “Bella, Agent Baxter was in my office with me when your text came in.”
Rafe would have to be stupid to have missed the emphasis Simpson placed on his second sentence to Bella. A world of discussion passed between the two of them as they held a silent conversation in his presence.
It made him uncomfortable. And more than a little jealous. But more than that, it piqued his curiosity. Why did she have such animosity toward him?
“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” Simpson asked.
“I was watching a movie in the living room when Chubbers let me know someone was out back. I came to check it out, then they started shooting at me. They hit him when they shot the window out. Where is that vet?” She kept running her fingers through the dog’s fur with one hand and readjusting the bloody shirt on the dog’s wound with the other.
“On his way. Then what happened?” Simpson spoke softly.
“I grabbed my gun and fired back.”
Feisty. Rafe took in the empty casings scattered over the floor. She did more than just fire back. There were at least five or six rounds spent. She’d meant business. He knelt and inspected the casings. The little lady packed a 9mm. Interesting.
“How many were there?” Hayden asked as he held a pencil over his notebook.
“Two.” She was sure. Confident.
“What happened next?”
“Then it got really quiet. I hid in the closet. They busted down the door and I could hear them wrecking the house.” Bella sniffled, then she jutted out her chin and squared her shoulders. She kept her hands on the dog. “Why isn’t the vet here yet?”
“He’s on his way. About the two men . . . did you see them?”
She paused, then nodded. “From the closet.”
Rafe clenched and unclenched his fists.
“Can you recognize them?”
“They wore masks.”
The cowards. Rafe ground his teeth.
“Okay, Bella, then what?”
“I heard them looking for me, then I heard you coming in.”
Hayden finished scribbling on his notebook and slipped it back into his pocket. “The crime scene unit will try to get some forensic evidence. I’ll have a unit out ba
ck to collect as well.”
Bella glared at Rafe. “So, again, why is he with you?”
“He was with me the whole time.” Hayden leaned to her until his mouth was at her ear. His breath was hot against her neck. “No way could he have been involved.”
Rafe paced, staring at her as if she were a bug under a microscope. She didn’t miss the frown he wore, either.
Energy zipped through her, making her muscles tense and bounce. She turned her mouth to Hayden’s ear. “It was Hartlock and Devane. I recognized their voices.” Again. The memory of hearing them when they shot Daniel sent little tremors throughout her body.
Hayden plopped onto the floor beside her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her into him. “He was with me, not here. I told you, he’s one of the good guys.”
The agent looked like anything but a good guy at the moment. Dark and brooding, yes. Good guy? No.
“Maybe his assignment was to distract you while Hartlock and Devane took me out.” She kept stroking Chubbers’s head. The poor dog was unconscious. Probably for the best. If the vet didn’t hurry up . . .
Hayden glanced at the agent, then back at her. “Do you really think that?” he whispered.
She shrugged.
Rafe continued to pace and frown.
Sirens shattered the silence.
“Agent Baxter, would you please go meet backup and fill them in on the situation?”
He hesitated, then nodded at Hayden and left the room.
“Where’s the stupid vet?” She buried her fingers in Chubbers’s thick fur. The T-shirt over his wound was nearly saturated. Her heart broke all over again as she fought against the tears.
“He’ll be here as soon as he can.” Hayden stood. “Why don’t you let me take you to Mom’s for the night? She’d love to have you, and I’d feel better knowing you were safe.”
And put Ardy in danger? No way. “This is my home. I’m not letting them chase me out.” She shook her head, which made her a bit dizzy, but she wouldn’t let Hayden know. “They won’t run me out of my home again.”
“Then I’ll camp out on your couch.”
“No.” She was a big girl, and she would do this on her own. She’d been in charge of her own safety for over three years now, and she’d keep looking out for herself. “I’ll be fine by myself.”
“Come on . . . don’t be so ornery.”
She tugged at her sleeves. “I don’t need a babysitter.” She turned the shirt on Chubbers’s wound. “And you shouldn’t have brought him here. You’re getting awfully chummy with the good agent.”
“You’ll have to make a decision about trusting him sooner rather than later, Bella.”
“Why’s that?” Her energy waned.
“Because in the crime-scene photos, he recognized the picture on Daniel’s wall as one you took.”
The picture . . . oh, no. How could she have been so stupid? Her blood went cold.
“So he deduced it was possible you might have known Daniel before you moved here, so he started doing a little digging into your background.”
Adrenaline crash was the least of her worries at the moment. She tightened her hold on the dog. “What’d he find out?” she whispered.
Hayden crossed his arms over his chest. “I’d be amused if there hadn’t just been an attempt on your life.”
“What?” She could grab her bag and just disappear into the night. Hayden wouldn’t turn her in. He wouldn’t tell them who she was.
“It seems, Ms. Miller, that you are a widow, having lost your husband in a fire.”
Oh no. “I had to tell a landlady that so she’d rent me a cottage.”
“And apparently, she remembers you quite well. Poor, young widow, living off insurance money.”
This was too much at the moment. Suddenly, just lifting her hand to stroke Chubbers’s head took more energy than she had. “Help me up.”
Hayden gave her his hand, then jerked her to her feet. She wobbled until he wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She planted her feet and held on to Hayden’s arm until she didn’t feel quite so dizzy. “I can deal with that. How much more did he learn? Did he get anything beyond Lake Charles?”
“I don’t know. That’s all that he shared with me.” Hayden shook his head as voices from the porch rose. “But you need to make up your mind what you’re going to do soon.”
Shuffling against the floors rang out.
“I think you can trust him,” Hayden whispered.
But could she?
Chapter Twenty-Four
“All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.”
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Hayden froze. Something must be seriously wrong for Bella to show up at his house on a Sunday morning before eight. He should have ignored her arguments last night that she would be okay at her house alone, but she was one determined woman. She’d even threatened him if he didn’t leave.
He practically begged her to go stay with his mom, but she refused. Adamantly. When Bella made up her mind, there was no changing it. She hadn’t budged on the issue, assuring both he and Rafe that she had a firearm and knew how to use it. Hard to argue with a woman toting a gun.
The hint of freshly turned dirt carried in the wind. Overcast, the sun hid behind clouds not dark enough to be daunting. He waited on the front porch while Bella parked.
Was it Chubbers? The vet had taken him to his office and performed surgery. Last night the vet said the surgery had been successful. Had Chubbers taken an unexpected turn for the worse?
Bella stepped out of the Jeep and Hayden nearly fell over. She wore a dress. In the three years he’d known her, he had never seen her in a dress. She looked beautiful, but he still found himself speechless as she approached him.
“Good morning.” Her voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
“Morning.” He nodded at her. “Don’t you look pretty. What’s the occasion?”
She stopped at the foot of the stairs. “I thought I’d go to church with you this morning, if that’s okay.”
The boards of the porch became glued to his feet. “Uh, yeah.” Every beat of his heart lifted hope into his chest.
She flashed him a crooked smile as she joined him. “I guess you want to know why, huh?”
“If you want to share with the class, yeah.” He grinned back at her. Pure joy surged through him. Oh, God, I pray You’ve called her back into Your fold.
She leaned against the stair railing, a tinge of blush decorating her face. “Well, last night, I actually talked to God. A little.” She frowned. “Kinda.”
He wanted to laugh but settled on a smile. “And because you kinda talked to God, you’re going to church?”
Her nose wrinkled. “Is that silly?”
“Not at all.” As long as she was open to God’s pulling on her heart. “Sounds logical to me.”
“Don’t think this means I’m not angry with Him anymore. I am. But . . . well, I just thought it’d be a good idea to go to church with you. See if He had something else He wanted to tell me, you know?”
He resisted the impulse to fall on his knees. “Yeah, I know.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “Let’s head out, then.” He pulled the keys from his pocket and nodded toward his Jeep. “Have you checked on Chubbers this morning?”
She followed him to the driveway. “I did. The vet said he had a peaceful night and actually ate a little this morning. I plan to go visit him this afternoon.”
“Glad to hear it. Mom and I are going to visit Emily after church. Want to come?” He pressed the button and both door locks clicked.
Bella slipped into the passenger’s seat. “I think maybe it’d be better for just you and Ardy for
the first visit.”
She was probably right. He started the engine and put it in Reverse. He didn’t want to do anything to offend Bella right now while going back to church, but he still had a job to do and the crime-scene unit would need direction. “I hate to bring this up, but I need to know if you want me to officially question Hartlock and Devane about last night.”
“What good would it do, Hayden? They aren’t going to admit anything. It’d be my word against theirs, and I’d have to give a reason to accuse them, which would reveal who I am.” She fiddled with the seat belt. “As usual.”
“But you can identify them without revealing you’re Remington.”
“How?” She twisted to face him. “Bella has never met them, so how would I recognize their voices? Remember, they wore masks.”
“I forgot.” The fact that they were disguised was in the report he’d taken. He just wanted so desperately to help her. “But I can question them unofficially.”
“And say what?” She shrugged and played with the seat belt again. “If you do, it will only confirm who I am and open me up to even more trouble.”
“Bella, if they were shooting at you last night, they must know who you are already.”
“I know,” she whispered.
He hated that she was in such danger. He turned into the church parking lot. “I think you should just tell Agent Baxter everything.”
“I still don’t know if I can trust him.” She let out a long breath. “I want to, I really do, but I can’t put myself at further risk. Or others I care about.” The way her voice trailed off at the end . . .
“You aren’t thinking about running again, are you?”
Her silence spoke volumes.
“Bella, you can’t keep running from this. They found you. They’ll find you again.” He parked the Jeep, leaned over, and grabbed her shoulder, turning her slightly to face him. “I won’t lose my best friend. We have to figure something out.”
She smiled at him, but there was no happiness in her expression. “Maybe I should ask Rafe out and see if he’s interested in me, or interested in killing me.” She opened the door and slammed it closed.