by Terri Reed
“Mr. Wells and Mr. Dennis, I’m Colonel Lorenza Gallo of the Alaska K-9 Unit. We are here to help you, but I need you to put down those instruments so we can talk calmly, and no one gets hurt.”
Lance and Jared shared a glance, then a nod, before putting down their weapons.
Will and Gabriel moved then, removing the scalpel and bone saw out of Lance’s and Jared’s reach before searching each man for any additional dangerous items.
Lance’s gaze zeroed in on Ariel. He rushed to her side, his attention jerking to Hunter, then back to Ariel. “Ariel, we’ve got to go someplace safe. Come with us. We’re leaving the hospital right now.”
She pressed closer to Hunter. She didn’t like the wild look in the other man’s eyes.
“Hold on a second,” Hunter said. “You two can’t just leave.”
Lance puffed up his chest. “We can do as we please. Jared and I are not prisoners or under arrest. We’ve stayed in the hospital because we thought we’d be safe. We’re the victims here. My buddy and I are checking ourselves out and going where she won’t find us.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Jared said. “We’ll give you the location and a burner phone number once we’re settled.”
“Gentlemen.” Lorenza held up a hand. “We can provide you a safe house.”
“No offense, lady, but I don’t know you,” Lance said. “And I don’t trust you. I don’t trust any of you.” His gaze settled on Ariel again. “Come with us, Ariel. It’s the only way you’ll be safe.”
His fear was palpable, but there was no way she was going anywhere with him and Jared. Not only wouldn’t she leave her dogs, but she wasn’t going to forgo the safety of the K-9 Unit. “Lance, tell us what happened.”
“I told you. Violet happened, that’s what,” he replied forcefully. “She came into the room with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. She was going to kill us, but we managed to evade her. We barely escaped.”
“That’s right,” Jared said. “Violet kept saying we had to die.”
Ariel had a hard time wrapping her mind around the story the men were telling. Violet with a gun and a knife? No!
“I want my clothes.” Lance spun away and made a sweeping gesture with his arm. “Where are my clothes, my shoes and my house keys?”
“Me, too,” Jared said.
“Your belongings are bagged in your room.” A doctor stepped forward, his forehead creased with a stern frown. “You’ll be leaving against medical advice. We still have tests to run and that gunshot wound needs to be monitored.”
“It’s better than being dead,” Lance retorted. “We’re leaving.”
Ariel didn’t know how to fix this situation. She didn’t believe Lance and Jared’s accusation that Violet attacked them, but they were clearly afraid of someone. But who?
A moment later, K-9 officers Maya Rodriguez and Poppy Walsh joined them.
“We searched the whole building,” Poppy said. Stormy, the Irish wolfhound, lay down at his handler’s feet, but Ariel could tell the dog was on guard by the way his eyes surveyed his surroundings as if searching for a threat. “No sign of Violet James.”
“The hospital security cameras are working fine, all except for the hallway outside of Lance and Jared’s room,” Maya stated. Her Malinois, Sarge, remained standing, his tail high, indicating he was also on guard. “Someone had pulled the cable from the camera.”
“See, I told you, she’s a criminal,” Lance said.
The nurse returned with two large plastic bags filled with Lance’s and Jared’s personal effects.
“Will, escort these two men to their room where they can change,” Lorenza instructed.
Will and his border collie marched Lance and Jared away. Ariel stared after them. Had she just stepped into an old episode of some crime TV show that her father and mother used to love to watch when she was little? This just couldn’t be happening.
“Gabriel, put a tail on Lance and Jared,” Lorenza said. “For their safety.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Gabriel went to make the necessary arrangements.
“Did the hospital’s video surveillance show Violet James in the hospital?” Lorenza asked.
“I had the hospital send the day’s video feed to Eli,” Maya said. “If Violet was in the hospital, he’ll find her with facial recognition software.”
Ariel was confident this Eli person wouldn’t find Violet. She touched Hunter’s arm. “You have to believe me, Hunter, this wasn’t Violet. I don’t know what’s going on or who is after Jared and Lance, but it’s not my best friend.” Anguish tightened her chest. “She’s in trouble. We have to find her.”
Ariel refused to squirm under the scrutiny of Hunter’s team as she held his gaze.
His blue eyes searched her face. “No one’s giving up on finding her,” he said. “There’s nothing more we can do here tonight.”
Not liking that he didn’t believe her, Ariel nodded. She was tired and just wanted to go home.
Hunter urged Ariel toward the elevator and out to the SUV. She shivered as a new blanket of spring snow fell from the sky. As they drove away from the hospital, she leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the passenger side door and closed her eyes. Her head throbbed and heart ached. Nothing made sense. Could she be wrong about her friend?
She shut down the doubt. No, she couldn’t be. The authorities would have to present her with irrefutable proof of Violet’s guilt before Ariel would ever concede that she was capable of such violence.
* * *
Ariel’s hands shook as she applied eyeliner to her eyes. She paused and set the applicator down to shake her hands out. “Come on, you can do this,” she muttered to herself. “It’s no big deal.”
Sasha lay on the bathroom floor near her feet. He lifted his head from the chew toy. She used her bare toe to nuzzle him.
But this night was a big deal. She was going to the awards banquet, where she would be honored for breeding championship dogs. And she would be on the arm of a handsome man.
No, a handsome state trooper.
This was not a date. This was him doing his job, escorting her to the banquet to protect her. Nothing more. And she’d best keep that in mind before she let herself pretend that Hunter might have feelings for her or let herself admit she had growing feelings for him. It was all too much.
Taking a steadying breath, she finished her eye makeup, applied a light coat of pink lip gloss, and checked the mirror one last time to make sure the full-length black dress was okay with the colorful scarf she’d wound around her neck to hide the fading bruises.
Violet should be at her side tonight.
Ariel’s heart clenched.
If her best friend was here, she would have done some fancy updo with Ariel’s hair. Loose and straight was as fancy as Ariel knew how to do. If Violet was here, she’d probably lend Ariel one of her many ball gowns.
But Violet wasn’t here. She was missing, possibly alone and hurt. Definitely afraid.
Ariel sent up a plea to God to keep her friend safe and to bring her home quickly. Ariel had to trust He was watching over Violet and her baby. Without her faith, Ariel didn’t know if she could make it through each day, and she hoped that Violet was turning to God to see her through this ordeal.
Worry nipped Ariel as she picked up her handbag from the foot of her bed, slipped her feet into low-slung beaded heels and headed out to the living room with Sasha trailing behind. Her steps faltered as she caught her first glimpse of Hunter and Juneau. They stood side by side looking out the front window with their backs to her, like two sentries.
Juneau spun and trotted to her, wearing a cute little black bow tie nestled around his neck. Sasha jumped at him, trying to grab the edge of the bow, clearly wanting to play. Ariel scooped up the puppy and cradled him in her arms.
When Hunter turned to face her, hi
s blue eyes flared with appreciation. Their gazes locked. Then her breath caught in her throat as she fully drank him in. His dark hair had been tamed back, his jaw was clean-shaven and his well-tailored tux emphasized the width of his shoulders. She couldn’t help but sigh with delight when he came forward with a small square plastic floral box tied with a ribbon.
“Juneau’s going with us?” Ariel asked in an effort to take the focus off the way her heart pounded in her chest over the fact that Hunter had bought her a corsage for the occasion.
“He is. There are very few places I go without my partner,” Hunter said. “Hold out your left wrist.” She tucked Sasha into her right side and extended her left arm. Hunter slipped the elastic band attached to a beautiful white gardenia over her hand and settled it onto her wrist.
He held her hand, his palm gentle and warm against her own. “You are beautiful.”
Her mouth dried. She couldn’t remember the last time a man, a handsome man at that, had told her she was beautiful. Certainly Jason never had.
Wariness reared in her chest. Could she trust Hunter’s words? Or was he just being nice because it was part of his job?
“And you are quite handsome,” she admitted, because she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was drawn to him. She had to remind herself he was only accompanying her because he was doing his job. To protect her. To keep her safe. Not because he wanted to be with her.
The knowledge was like a drip of ice water down her nape, cooling her attraction and firmly putting her emotions on notice. Do not fall for this man!
Juneau nudged her leg, forcing her to break eye contact with Hunter. The minute she did she could breathe again. She crouched to scrub the Siberian husky behind the ears. Sasha squirmed, wanting to be set free. “You are quite handsome, too,” she told Juneau.
“Are we taking Sasha?” Hunter asked.
She smiled and straightened. “No. I’ll put him in a kennel with the others. Trevor will swing by to feed them later.”
“I’ll let Officer Gorman know,” Hunter said and moved to open the back door for her. “Do you have a coat?”
Her cheeks flamed. “Yes, of course.” She handed him Sasha and went to the hall closet, where she donned a calf-length down winter coat.
After settling Sasha in his mama’s kennel and locking up, she found Hunter waiting for her.
He held out the crook of his arm. “Your chariot awaits.” He led her toward his SUV.
The shrill jingle of the house phone grated on her nerves. Her steps lagged a moment, but she shrugged and kept moving.
Hunter tugged her to a stop. “Shouldn’t you answer?”
“It’s probably a solicitor or wrong number. Very few people have the house landline number. I only have it in case of emergency. Sometimes cell service out here can be spotty when there’s a blizzard.”
“Does Violet have the number?”
Her stomach sank, then bounced up into her throat. She hadn’t considered that. “Yes. Yes, she does.” Ariel hurried back inside the house. She picked up the landline’s receiver, praying with all her might that she would hear Violet on the other end. “Hello?”
“Ariel, we saw you on the news,” came her mother’s worry-laden voice.
Her grip tightened around the phone. “Hi, Mom.”
“I’m here, too, darling,” her father said. “Are you okay? The news report said you were hurt. Should we come there?”
She closed her eyes against the onslaught of emotions pummeling her. “No. There is no need.”
“It is true that Violet is a murderer?” her mother asked.
“No,” Ariel ground out.
“But someone hurt you!” her dad exclaimed.
“Seriously, I’m fine. I have a protection detail keeping me safe.”
“Yes, we read that, too,” her mother said. “An Alaska State Trooper. We saw his picture in the Anchorage Daily News. You two looked very cozy together.”
Ariel grimaced. “Mom, it’s not like that.” Great. She could only imagine how many other people had seen her and Hunter’s photo taken at the hospital and would come to the same conclusion.
“Is the trooper there with you now?” her father asked.
Stomach churning with dread, she said, “Yes, Dad, one of the troopers is here.” No need to mention it was the same one as in the photo.
“I’d like to speak to him.”
“Oh, no. That’s not a good idea.” The last thing she needed was Hunter interacting with her parents. Why would they even be calling? They’d shown little to no concern over her well-being during her childhood and adolescence. Even as the thought tore through her brain, she could hear her therapist telling her that was unfair. That love was shown through actions as well as words. They had fed her, clothed her and put a roof over her head. And they taught her about dogs. She would be nothing without that education.
“Dad, I’m on my way out the door,” she said.
“Oooh,” her mother chimed in. “Hopefully on a date?”
She could just see her mother clasping her hands in front of her in hopeful anticipation. Her parents had been on her for years to marry and have kids. But dating hadn’t turned out so well for her, despite wanting a partner, someone to share her life with. She should resign herself to the fact that she was better off without anyone getting too close.
“No, not a date.” Ariel glanced at Hunter. One of his dark eyebrows rose. Heat infused her cheeks and she looked away.
“Then what is it?” her father asked. “What have you gotten yourself into? You’ve always been a magnet for trouble, even when you were little. You’d wander off and get lost. I don’t know how many times we had to go searching for you.”
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from commenting that she’d wander off because they weren’t paying attention. And she couldn’t remember them searching for her, only her being returned by some kindhearted person who had taken pity on her. Or her finding her own way home.
The only time her father took an interest in her was when she showed an interest in the dogs. Knowing they would badger her until she cracked, she decided to save the time and tell them, “The regional awards banquet.”
“Ah. Good. I want to talk to the trooper,” her father repeated in a voice that brooked no argument.
Ariel’s lip curled. She didn’t like when he used that tone. It brought back memories of her childhood. But whatever else she might think of her parents or how much she resented that she was never their priority, she was still the obedient daughter who loved her mother and father. Best to get this over with. She turned to Hunter and held up the phone. “They want to talk to you. Sorry.”
His eyes were soft with empathy as he took the phone from her. She walked away to go stand in the place where he and Juneau had stood earlier, looking out the front window. The Siberian husky joined her, leaning against the side of her leg. Her fingers tangled in his soft fur, liking the fact that he was tall enough and she was short enough that she could reach him without having to bend down.
Behind her, Hunter’s deep voice filled the room.
“Trooper Hunter McCord. Yes, sir. You don’t have to worry. I’m good at my job, sir. Of course. Yes. Yes, thank you.” Hunter held the phone toward her. “Ariel, your turn again.”
With feet laden down by imaginary sandbags, she walked back to take the phone. “Mom, Dad, I really need to leave.”
“Of course, dear,” her mother said. “Remember we love you and will be with you in spirit.”
“But we can be there in person to fix this mess you’ve gotten yourself into,” her father interjected. “You just give us the word and we will hop on the next plane.”
Confused by the worry in their tones—where was this type of parental involvement when she was a kid?—and curious as well, she asked, “Where are you?”
“Nova Scot
ia,” her father said. “Helping to organize a race team for the next season. We have some really good mushers here. I’m going to train a few and bring them to Alaska next year for the Iditarod.”
“Good for you, Dad. I’ll call you if I need you. And I really do need to sign off now.”
She stood there for a moment after hanging up to collect her emotions. Why did they always have the ability to rattle her? She’d spent many years working with a therapist and her pastor to let go of the hurts of her childhood. Apparently it was time to meet with Pastor Thomas again.
A gentle hand on her shoulder startled her, and she jumped.
Hunter held up his hands in entreaty. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Lost in my own thoughts,” she said, not wanting him to feel bad on her account. “We should go.”
This time as they walked out the door of her house, she was definitely leaning on him and she couldn’t make herself stop. She needed his strength right now because the next few hours were going to take every ounce of bravery she possessed to willingly get up in front of people she knew and give a speech.
* * *
The drive to the banquet hall was quiet. Hunter turned on the radio to soft classical music. He wasn’t sure exactly why Ariel’s parents’ phone call had upset her. But he sensed that she needed this time of quiet to pull herself together before she faced the people in her sphere at the banquet.
Affection for this brave and capable woman crowded his chest, making him dread the day that he had to stop spending time with her. He’d promised her parents he would do everything in his power to keep her safe, and he intended to keep that promise.
He pulled into the parking lot and halted beneath a lamppost. Cutting the engine, he angled toward Ariel. The soft glow of light coming through the front windshield glinted on her blond hair. “I talked with the organizer of the banquet hall, and he tells me there is no video security inside, but he’s hired some extra security guards to man the doors and be on the lookout.”
She blinked at him, a small V appearing between her pretty eyes. “On the lookout for Violet, you mean?”