Daylight Robbery (An Aspen Falls Novel)

by Melissa Pearl

  Kellan felt a wave of nostalgia as his early days with Carrie washed over him, but they were quickly dissolved by the reality of what they’d truly been—a couple who couldn’t withstand the storm together.

  Losing Raelynn had pulled them apart. She couldn’t be around him without mourning their daughter, and when she left, he didn’t have the strength to follow her…or fight for her.

  It was a lost battle.

  Maybe that was the reason why he’d never pursued romance again.

  Melina’s smile crystalized in his mind and he felt a tug of yearning…like his bank of resistance was nearly dried up. His heart was telling him it was time to move on, to love once again.

  He frowned, finding it odd that all those emotions were coming to the surface on the last day he needed them to.

  His mind should have been focused on tracking down this crew who had hurt and threatened five of his officers.

  Spinning around with a determined glare, he found Nate staring at him.

  “You up for playing detective a little longer?” he asked.

  Nate’s lips pulled into a smirk. “I’m not leaving until Sally does, so even though my work day is officially over, you’re stuck with me until she needs to go home.”

  “Good.” Kellan nodded and made his way to reception, asking to be let through to see Higgs as soon as possible.

  The woman behind the desk went to find out and ushered them through a few minutes later.

  They found Higgs behind a curtain, with Sally on one side of him and a doctor on the other. He was in a pair of pale green scrubs and had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The back of his head was getting stitched up. The gash was just behind his ear, and they’d had to shave a section of hair away to access the wound. It’d look pretty weird for a while, unless he decided to go for a buzz cut.

  Kellan ran a hand over his short hair as he stopped beside the bed.

  The doctor glanced up and quickly clipped, “Nearly done. Give me two minutes.” With swift, efficient movements, he finished the task, then left Sally to bandage the wound. She nodded and stepped in to complete the job.

  “Hey, guys,” Higgs croaked, staying still for Sally to work. “You found those little pricks yet?”

  Kellan winced and shook his head. “The sheriff and his team are out there looking for your squad car.”

  Higgs’s head drooped as soon as Sally finished attaching the bandage.

  She pulled off her gloves and went to wash her hands.

  “Shit, boss. I’m so sorry,” Higgs muttered.

  “What are you apologizing for? It’s not like you asked to get smashed on the back of the head.”

  Higgs grimaced and gingerly touched the bandage.

  “How’s it feeling?” Sally stepped to his side. “The doctor’s prescribed you some painkillers that I can give you before you head home.”

  Higgs was obviously reluctant to give in to the medication, but then sighed and mumbled, “Yeah, I guess I better.”

  Sally rubbed his shoulder, giving them all a sweet smile before slipping away.

  “Can you remember how it went down?” Nate went to pull out his pen and notebook but was stunted by his injured hand. It had a large bandage around the wound, and his arm was in a sling. He grunted in frustration and was cursing under his breath when Kellan stepped up and pulled the notepad out of his pocket for him.

  “I’ll be scribe,” he said, then looked to Higgs. “Anything you can remember will be helpful.”

  The man rubbed his temples and finally looked up with a frown. “I’ve got to admit that it’s a bit fuzzy, but I remember a white van. It was a painting van. On the side of the road.”

  “Do you remember the name of the company?”

  Higgs paused for a moment to think, then shook his head.

  “Do you think it was an independent company or part of a larger fleet?”

  Screwing up his nose, Higgs squeezed his eyes shut and muttered, “I’m guessing small, independent business, but I can’t be sure. I was more focused on the kid.”

  “What kid?” Nate asked.

  “Not really a kid. A teenager. Dark hair, shoulder-length, maybe eighteen. Looked Native American, maybe. He waved me down for help. He seemed panicked and afraid.” He closed his eyes, as if having to drag the memory from the back recesses of his brain. “I pulled up in front of the vehicle because I’d already passed it.”

  “Did you log it or call it in?” Kellan scribbled down notes while he waited for Higgs’s answer.

  The man’s shoulders slumped. “Shit. I don’t think I did. I was worried about the kid. I just went into action mode. I can’t believe I didn’t follow protocol, I just…” He looked about ready to cry over his mistake, so Kellan quickly asked another question.

  “So what happened after you pulled over?”

  “I raced out of the van to see what was wrong. The kid was babbling about his brother not being able to breathe properly. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. I ran around to the other side of the van and…” He winced. “Was he lying on the ground? Yeah, yeah, there was this guy on the ground. I crouched down to check his vitals and then…” He shook his head. “It’s black. I don’t…” He shrugged. “I don’t know… I just… I woke up practically naked and hog-tied next to the river.”

  Nate’s expression flashed with anger as Kellan finished jotting down the details.

  “I’m sorry I can’t tell you more.”

  “Hey, you’ve told us plenty,” Nate assured him.

  Kellan slipped the notebook and pen into his back pocket and quickly agreed with Nate. Placing his hand on Higgs’s shoulder, he made sure the guy was looking at him before he spoke. “It’s gonna be okay. We’ll find these guys.”

  Higgs looked pained, his expression rich with guilt and remorse. “Why’d they need my cop car and uniform, Chief?”

  Kellan didn’t want to tell him. He glanced at Nate, silently shutting the detective up.

  “I’ll update you on everything after a good night’s sleep, okay? Right now, you need to get home and let your wife and kids take care of you.”

  Higgs didn’t like being kept in the dark, but he didn’t need to hear what had been done with his uniform and vehicle. He’d no doubt find out soon enough anyway. The Aspen Falls grapevine was going to be buzzing for the next few days. As much as Kellan hated it, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

  After a final goodbye, he left Higgs just as Sally was returning with his medication.

  He wasn’t ready to leave the hospital until he’d checked in on Mick and Ollie, but he pulled Nate aside when they passed a quiet alcove and handed him the notebook back.

  “We need to get out an APB on a white painting van and let the sheriff know what Higgs told us.”

  Nate nodded and fumbled the phone out of his pocket. “I’ll make the call.”

  Kellan frowned. Nate wasn’t a fumbler. His energy from the day was obviously wearing thin. The fact that it was starting to show spoke volumes. Sally needed to finish up her overtime quick and get Nate home.

  He made a mental note to veer past the nurses’ station on his way up to the wards.

  “How’s the hand? You keeping the pain in check?” Kellan pointed at Nate’s bandaged hand. The fingers sticking out from the end looked red and irritated.

  Nate flexed them, his expression grim. “I’ll be fine. It still hurts pretty damn bad. There’s some ligament damage, so I have to wear this brace for who knows how long, and I’m going to have to do some intensive physical therapy, but the doctor’s confident it’ll come right. I won’t be writing anytime soon, but like hell it’s going to stop me from investigating the shit out of this. We have to find those assholes. We have to find that girl.”

  Kellan appreciated Nate’s fire. They were going to need it. He patted Nate on his good shoulder, a silent affirmation for a job well done, before walking away to check on the rest of his team.

  Find that girl ran through his mind,
his shoulders slumping.

  He hated those words.

  He’d looked for a girl before—his girl—and he’d failed to find her. How the hell was he supposed to find another one?

  24

  Wednesday, September 26th

  8:40pm

  Robin found Leah hiding behind the barn. She was on the ground, her knees tucked against her chest, the cold seeping into her body. She hadn’t cared. Moving somehow seemed impossible.

  “Thought I might find you back here,” he murmured, his large boots stopping next to her sneakers. “It’s your sulking spot.”

  She didn’t respond, keeping her eyes on the ground. Her white tennis shoes seemed so small next to Robin’s work boots. Everything about her felt small next to the towering man.

  Small and vulnerable.

  She didn’t like it.

  “You missed dinner.” His voice was gruff, but quiet.

  She wrapped her arms tighter around her knees. Was she going to get in trouble for that too? Get punished for not eating whatever food Margie had prepared for her.

  Margie—the short, round woman who never left the house. She was the polar opposite to Stella, who looked like a young Asian supermodel. Margie, on the other hand, had weathered farmwoman down pat. Her skin was lined and wrinkled, her hair in a constant state of frizz. She didn’t like the outside, so she spent her days indoors cooking, cleaning, sewing and basically being their mother without any of the affection or laughter.

  She wasn’t stern or grumpy, she was just…emotionless.

  She served them like some robot from the future with realistic flesh covering her body.

  Dee thought she might be a little simple, but no one dared voice anything negative about Robin’s sister.

  “I wasn’t hungry,” Leah finally mumbled.

  Robin let out a heavy sigh then crouched down, his jacket rustling as he picked a blade of grass from the ground and started shredding it. “Look, kid. You screwed up. You got greedy.”

  “Only to please you.” She instantly regretted her argument, turning her head away so that he wouldn’t somehow see the truth…or try to slap her again.

  He didn’t say anything for a long, painful beat, and Leah’s insides squirmed.

  “Don’t you get it?” His whispery voice made him sound like a different person. He wasn’t the punisher from the bunker anymore; he was the kind man who had picked her up off the side of the road. “You will always be more important to me than the haul. If things get dangerous, you cut and run. Always.”

  Leah looked over at him, glad the meager light from the upstairs sleeping rooms was muting her expression. She didn’t want him to see her confusion. The sting of his slap still burned in the back of her mind. It was such a stark contrast to the softness of this moment. She never knew what to do when he treated her like this.

  Anger and terror-inducing wrath followed by sweetness.

  It always felt so inconsistent and confusing.

  “Come on.” He stood, holding out his beefy hand for her to take. “Time to get ready for bed. We all need a good night’s sleep.”

  She didn’t want to take his hand. She didn’t want to see how small her fingers were inside of his, or have his hot digits wrap around her icy skin.

  It felt like defeat for some weird reason.

  “Come on, Leah.” His soft voice sharpened, and she automatically gave in.

  He hauled her up in one easy move. “Tomorrow you can tell me exactly what they did to you at that station.”

  “Nothing really.” Leah shrugged, still perplexed by how wrong Robin had been on the whole police thing.

  They weren’t evil people. They’d shown her kindness.

  Had Robin just made a mistake? And if so, was he wrong about anything else he’d taught her?

  He always said their morning lessons were just like the ones she’d be taking if she were in a public school. He’d taught them how to read, write, and do basic math. Physical fitness was the most important thing, as a healthy body meant a healthy mind.

  That seemed right, but what about everything else?

  The history they’d studied, the books he let them read. Was that all there was? Or was she being sheltered from a world of knowledge? Knowledge Robin didn’t want her to know.

  “I still want to hear all about your experience.” He pulled her into a side hug, his strong arms practically folding her in half. “You know I love you, right? I love all you guys, and I don’t want to lose you. Ever.”

  She couldn’t respond. Couldn’t even look at him.

  For some reason, the softly spoken words felt more like a threat than an endearment.

  Steering her around the edge of the barn, he led her inside and stopped at the base of the stairs. “You go on up and get yourself ready for bed. I’ll be doing the final check in twenty minutes.”

  He kissed the top of her head and ambled away, his boots scuffing the dirt when he stepped out of the barn and crossed toward the house where only the adults were allowed to sleep.

  Crossing her arms around herself, she turned to climb the stairs but was stopped by a quiet hiss.

  “Leah,” JJ whispered. “Under here.”

  She glanced over her shoulder to make sure the coast was clear before ducking into the shadows beneath the staircase.

  She didn’t like the darkness, but as soon as JJ’s hands landed on her shoulders, she felt like she could cope with it.

  “You missed dinner. I wanted to make sure you were alright.” He gazed down at her with those brown eyes of his.

  She couldn’t really see them, but she’d memorized them. For the last year, at least, her heart had fluttered every time she gazed into them, so remembering what they looked like wasn’t hard.

  She looked away and down to the dark patch between their feet.

  Thoughts of John below them in the isolation room made her shudder.

  JJ let out a sigh, his warm breath kissing the side of her face. He lightly tipped her chin with his fingers so he could study her. It wasn’t like he could see much in their dark hiding place, but Leah could still feel him drinking her in.

  “How bad was it? Are you hurting?”

  “Just a slap. Nothing bad.” She shrugged off his sympathy, brushing the back of her fingers down her cheek.

  He softly snickered. “You’ll always be a tough one. I love that about you.” His whisper caressed her skin before he brushed his lips across her cheek.

  She shied away from his touch. “I’m in enough trouble as it is. Don’t get me into more.”

  He harrumphed, tucking a strand of black hair behind his ear and sounding momentarily wounded.

  “You know we’re not allowed, JJ.”

  “I don’t care,” he muttered, pulling her against him. He cupped the back of her head, and she couldn’t resist letting herself rest against his solid chest.

  Just for a moment.

  Just in this quiet patch of darkness.

  “I thought we’d lost you today.” His voice trembled with emotion and he kissed the top of her head.

  She wound her arms around his waist and gave him a light squeeze. “I’m fine.”

  Her breath caught, and she had to fight the sudden urge to cry. Pulling out of his hug, she stepped back and tried to smile.

  But she couldn’t.

  The entire day had unsettled her, and she couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d experienced at that police station.

  It’d been so different to what she’d been taught to believe.

  They’d been kind to her. Even after she stabbed that guy in the hand, they hadn’t beaten her or roughed her up. He’d brought her pizza. Yummy, delicious, stomach-filling pizza.

  Had Chief Marks really been trying to trick information out of her?

  “I guess we better get upstairs.” JJ tugged her hand, quietly leading her to the bunkrooms.

  A huge mezzanine floor had been added to the back half of the barn before Leah had been brought there all those yea
rs ago. Two large bunkrooms separated by a boys’ bathroom and a girls’ bathroom took up the entire space.

  The boys slept in one room and the girls in the other. Robin, John, Stella and Margie slept in the house.

  That was the way it had always been. Although John and Stella hadn’t gotten upgraded to the house until they turned eighteen a few years ago.

  The only exception to Robin’s sleeping rules was Bobby. He was new, twitchy and finding it hard to settle. For some reason, he’d attached himself to Leah, so Robin allowed him to sleep in with the girls. The guys didn’t complain—they were sick of his constant bedwetting and tears in the night. He woke with nightmares often, although it’d been nearly five months now and they were starting to ease a little.

  JJ stopped them at the top of the stairs.

  “We better get ready before Robin does his final check,” Leah warned.

  “I know, I just…” He paused, and traced the side of her face with his finger. “I’m glad you’re okay. I’m glad…you’re here.”

  He was saying so much with his eyes, telling her that he cared more than he’d ever dare to speak.

  Her throat thickened with a mix of emotions—tenderness, affection, yearning…and maybe a touch of fear.

  They’d never be allowed to be together, not as long as they lived under Robin’s roof.

  She swallowed and looked down, “Good night, JJ.”

  Stretching on her tiptoes, she quickly kissed his cheek, then left before he could do anything more. She ran to her room and closed the door before he was able to walk past it.

  Dee was already in bed. She had the top right bunk and it was her territory. She gave Leah a curious look, her eyebrows bunching. “Where have you been?”

  “I just needed a few minutes,” she whispered so as not to disturb the little ones. Daisy and Jenna were already asleep. In spite of having a bed for each of them, the two girls shared the same one every night. They were about eight, Robin thought, and they’d become instant sisters when they met. They did everything they could together and had slotted into life on the farm with total ease. Robin had rescued Jenna from an abusive home, and Daisy was a lost kid like Leah.