“God, Hannah, I love you.” He pushed hard. “I really, really love you.”
Pulling her down to lay on top of him, he rocked with her, building the tension to the breaking point. Skin slid against skin as harsh breathing filled the room. When he couldn’t wait a moment longer, Hannah let out a long, low moan. With a shout, he collapsed against the pillows, completely spent.
Dampness touched his neck. With an effort, he lifted his head to look into tear-filled eyes. His heart contracted. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She wiped a hand across her cheeks. “I feel so lucky to be with you. It scares me.”
“Why?” Turning to his side, he pulled her with him and held her tight. “If anyone deserves a whole lot of happiness, it’s you.”
“I don’t want this to end.”
“It doesn’t have to. Ever. Hannah—”
Somewhere on the floor, a phone trilled. She rose up on one elbow to glance over the side of the bed.
“If it’s important, whoever’s calling will leave a message.”
With a nod, she settled against him. The ringing stopped then started up again a few seconds later.
She frowned. “Maybe I’d better answer it, or at least see who’s calling.”
“Maybe you should.”
He flopped onto his back as she scrambled off the bed to pick up her purse. He’d been ready to make a lifetime commitment to this woman. Without a moment’s hesitation. Maybe the damn phone ringing to interrupt him was a good thing. Not that he doubted his feelings for Hannah, but…
She glanced his way, eyes wide. “It’s Sheriff Barnes.” Her gaze dropped. “Hello.”
Tripp sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the mattress.
“You did? That’s great.” Hannah’s smile faded. “Oh. Sure, go ahead and send it to me.” She glanced toward Tripp again. “No, I’m not alone.”
She listened intently to whatever the sheriff was saying. Standing, he dropped a hand onto her shoulder and squeezed before he headed into the bathroom to clean up.
“The name isn’t familiar to me, but Tripp and I will take a look at the photo and call you back to let you know if either of us has seen him.” Her voice held a hint of fear. “Thank you for your concern, Sheriff.”
Tripp washed his hands then ran them across the towel before he headed back into the bedroom. Hannah squatted next to her suitcase. She rose to her feet holding her robe.
“What was that all about?”
“The sheriff believes they found the van we saw in the parking lot at Squaw the day Monica was murdered. They’ve identified the owner.” She stuck her arms through the sleeves then cinched the belt. “Sheriff Barnes is emailing me his photo to see if he’s the guy we caught a glimpse of that night.”
“The one with the beard?” Tripp stepped closer and slid an arm around her waist. “Did they arrest him?”
Her head came to rest against his shoulder. “No, they can’t find him. The sheriff wants to know if we’ve seen this man either here or in Wyoming.”
Her cell phone dinged. Reaching out, she picked it up off the table and pushed a couple of buttons.
Tripp leaned in. “Let’s see this freak up close and personal.”
Hannah drew in a breath. “Oh, my God.”
“Shit.” His hand tightened over hers as he stared at the photo. “The bastard shaved. That’s why I didn’t recognize him right off. I knew he looked familiar.”
She let out a shaky breath. “What do we do?”
“We call Barnes back and tell him we rode in an elevator car with his suspect not more than a half hour ago. He’ll contact the local authorities.”
Hannah glanced toward the door, and the hand holding her phone shook. “Do you think he’ll come after us in here?”
“Doubtful. This guy has been pretty subtle up to now, only striking when no one was around and he could easily get away. Breaking down a hotel room door isn’t his style.”
“I’d better call the sheriff.” She touched the screen then held the phone to her ear. “Sheriff Barnes, this is Hannah Ryder. Yes, I got your email. That man is here in this hotel, or he was a half hour ago. He shaved off his beard, so we didn’t recognize him immediately, but the person we saw is definitely the man in the photo.”
Tripp held her close while she listened for several moments then described the incidents by the pool and in the elevator. Hannah was holding it together, but full body tremors that shook her every now and then told him keeping her voice even took a lot out of her.
She let out a long breath. “He looked familiar to both me and Tripp, and now I remember where I saw him.” She paused. “No, Tripp got a better look at him than I did when we were at Squaw, but I saw him in Jackson Hole. He came into the restaurant where we were eating before our brakes failed on the rental car.” She shook her head. “No, he just glanced around, spoke briefly to the hostess then left. I only saw him for a moment, and I didn’t remember it until just now.”
Tripp’s arm tightened. “Son of a bitch!”
“Yes, we’ll be careful. Do we need to talk to the police here?” She was quiet for several seconds. “All right, we’ll see you when we get home.” Hannah set the phone on the table then crossed her arms over her chest. “He said he’ll contact the local authorities with the photo and case file.”
“Will they want to question us?”
“Sheriff Barnes says they won’t need to unless they find the suspect. His guess is this man, Kyle Murphy, probably left the area by car after we saw him in the elevator. There’s not a flight out of Gunnison until tomorrow morning. Since we’ll be on it, he probably won’t risk flying back to Tahoe from here.”
“I assume they’ll check for this man on all the flights out of nearby airports?”
She nodded then rested her head against his chest. “We’re to report in to the sheriff’s office when we reach Tahoe and keep our eyes open until then.”
He squeezed her tight. “We’ll be fine. I’m not going to let this guy get anywhere near you.”
She turned in his arms. “Why is he coming after us…or me? I didn’t even get a good enough look at him in the Squaw parking lot to identify him. This makes no sense.”
“Don’t forget there was a second man involved.”
“But we didn’t see him.”
“He doesn’t know that.”
Hannah sighed. “My head hurts. I don’t want to think about this anymore tonight.”
“Then we won’t.” He shepherded her toward the bed. “We’ll get some sleep. Maybe Barnes will have some answers for us when we see him tomorrow.”
Her back stiffened. “I sure hope so because I’m tired of being afraid.”
* * * *
Hannah and Tripp stood as Sheriff Barnes walked into the reception area.
“Mr. Wilde, Ms. Ryder, I appreciate you taking the time to come down here.” Shaking Tripp’s hand first then Hannah’s, he stepped back and nodded to the female deputy on duty at the front desk. “If you’ll follow me to my office, we can have that chat.” He waved toward a pair of chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
“We came straight here from the airport.” Tripp reached over to squeeze Hannah’s hand. “Any good news to report?”
She held her breath then let it out when the sheriff shook his head.
His kind brown eyes regarded her with sympathy. “If Kyle Murphy rented a car or a hotel room in the Crested Butte area, he didn’t do it under his own name. The authorities there didn’t turn up any trace of the man. I’m betting he drove to Wyoming from Tahoe and then down to Colorado.”
Tripp frowned. “If you found his van…”
Barnes glanced over at him. “A white Ford van is the only vehicle registered under his name. Murphy probably borrowed a car from a friend.”
Hannah frowned. “Do you mean the man who was with him at Squaw, the one who pushed Monica off the chairlift?”
&n
bsp; “Allegedly pushed her off.” The sheriff’s drooping mustache fluttered on an exhaled breath. “We’ve only your statements to go on at the moment, but since someone obviously wants to shut you up, we’re actively pursuing this lead.”
Tripp leaned forward. “Does Murphy have some connection to Monica Wright? He and his partner must have had a reason for allegedly shoving her off that chair then hiding her body.”
“We’ve been digging into his past, but we haven’t turned up any direct link to Ms. Wright. Which leads me to the reason I wanted to talk to you folks. Are you sure neither of you knows this man? He’s been kicking around Tahoe for the last twenty years, working at a variety of different jobs in restaurants, ski resorts and construction. He currently has a handyman service. There must be a reason why he feared you’d recognize him.”
Tripp glanced over at her then shrugged. “I suppose I could have seen him out on one of the ski hills if he was an employee, but I don’t remember him if I did.”
The sheriff turned his attention to Hannah. “Murphy is quite a few years older than you. Maybe you met him when you were still a child or a teen. He might look different now. The name doesn’t ring any bells?”
“Honestly, it doesn’t. I spent a lot of time thinking about that man last night instead of sleeping.” She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to force a memory that wouldn’t come. “My mother was in real estate. She worked with Monica Wright when I was just a kid, but I can’t connect Kyle Murphy to that time in my mind.”
“Maybe I’ll contact your mother to see if she recognizes him. I did speak with her last week. Do you know if she’s still here in town?”
“The last time I spoke with her was after the car hit me. I know she planned to return home to Palm Springs as soon as Monica’s memorial was over.”
“I have her cell number. I’ll call her.”
“What about possible suspects who had a problem with Monica Wright?” Tripp snorted. “I understand she pissed off plenty of people over the years. Is Murphy friends with any of them?”
The sheriff hesitated for a moment. “We’re looking into that. Ten years ago, Murphy worked on ski patrol with one of the men who found the victim’s body. We learned this guy missed out on buying a house, thanks to Ms. Wright, and was pretty angry about it. Apparently, Murphy also did some handyman work for her ex-husband last summer.”
Hannah straightened. “The man who tried to kill us knows Lewis?”
Sheriff Barnes’s eyes narrowed. “You’re acquainted with Dr. Hamilton?”
She nodded as dread settled in the pit of her stomach. “We…uh met at the hospital and dated for a couple of months.”
“Well, now, isn’t that interesting.” The sheriff crossed his arms over his chest. “Dr. Hamilton has no alibi for the time his ex-wife died, and he hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with our investigation.”
“Lewis wouldn’t…at least I don’t think he would hurt me.”
“Instead he sent his hired thug to do the job.” Tripp gripped the arms of his chair. “I’d like to—”
“Go home and do absolutely nothing.” Barnes cut him off then lowered his voice. “We’ll investigate the connection. You aren’t to say a word about this to anyone. Got it?”
Hannah nodded. “I don’t think Lewis had anything to do with Monica’s death or the attacks on us. He’s too much of a—”
“Wuss? Good point.”
Hannah almost smiled at the derision in Tripp’s tone. “I was going to say pacifist.”
“As I made clear, we’ll look into this.” The sheriff stood. “Again, thank you for coming in.”
Tripp rose to his feet. “You’ll keep us updated?” He put a hand on Hannah’s back when she stepped around her chair. “What about protecting Hannah?”
“I don’t have the manpower for twenty-four hour surveillance. Please continue to be vigilant and use caution when you’re in public. I’d advise you not to stay home alone.”
“I have a new therapy case in Granite Bay beginning tomorrow. I plan to drive down there in the morning.”
“Have you spoken to anyone regarding this job?”
Hannah shook her head. “Other than Tripp, only the patient and his doctor. Oh, I mentioned it to Tripp’s brother when we were out on the ski hill in Colorado.” She glanced between the two men. “Russell Radford’s physician isn’t connected to the hospital up here, so Lewis wouldn’t have any way of learning about it.”
“Maybe getting out of town will be best. As long as you make certain you aren’t followed…”
“She won’t be.” Tripp’s smile was grim. “You can be sure of it because she damn well isn’t going anywhere without me. I won’t let Hannah out of my sight until this nightmare is over.”
Chapter 23
The automatic wrought-iron gates swung open, and Tripp drove between the high brick pillars. “Fancy.”
Hannah peered through the windshield. “It’s certainly private.”
They headed down the long, shrub-lined driveway to pull to a stop in front of a three-story mansion. The place looked like something off the cover of one of the romance novels Hannah left lying around her cabin.
“Obviously, Russell Radford got one hell of a signing bonus.”
She unsnapped her seatbelt and lifted Winnie off her lap as the dog wiggled and yapped to get out. “Seems only fair since he’s the reason the Kings have a winning record this season.”
Tripp turned off the engine then glanced over. “You follow basketball?”
“Nope, but I do read up on my clients so I’ll have something to talk to them about during therapy sessions.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“It does to me.” She lifted a brow.
Probably since his tone was surly at best. At worst, he sounded like a petulant five-year-old. The thought of Hannah rubbing oil—or whatever it was she intended to do—all over Russell Radford’s injured knee and no doubt his thigh along with it, was giving Tripp a complex. This jealous streak wasn’t pretty. If she’d felt half this uncomfortable watching the bachelorette party bimbo bounce on his lap in the hot tub, he didn’t blame her one bit for kicking his ass out of her room. He was damn lucky she’d eventually decided to forgive him.
“Are you planning to come in with me?”
“Just to carry in your gear and make sure Radford’s at home. Then I’ll take off. What time do you want me to pick you up?”
“He assured me he’d be here all morning. I’m not sure how long this initial session will take, so I’ll call you.” She opened the door and slid down from the seat then lifted Winnie to the ground. “She probably needs to take a walk.”
“I’m on it.” Tripp slammed the truck door. “Sounds like I’ll have plenty of time to kill.”
She glanced across the hood of the pickup. “You didn’t have to come with me. I could have stayed here and been perfectly safe since the estate is practically a fortress. I still can if you want to go home.”
“I don’t.” He walked around the front bumper and pulled her into his arms. “Sorry, I don’t mean to sound like a baby who has to share his favorite toy.”
She leaned back and stared up at him. “Really? I thought we settled this. My job is physical therapy. I don’t get personal with clients.”
He snorted. “Oh?”
She rolled her eyes. “One more smart-ass comment out of you, and I won’t be getting personal with you anytime soon, either.”
He held up both hands. “Okay, I’ll shut up now. Let me grab your bag of whips and chains…er, I mean therapy aids, and then I’ll get out of here.”
A giggle slipped out as she stepped away. “Funny.”
At least he’d made her laugh. They were halfway up the flagstone walk to the front porch with Winnie scampering between flower beds bright with a few early spring daffodils when the door swung open. A big man, probably six-four and two hundred pounds, stepped out with the aid of
a pair of crutches.
“You must be Hannah.” His blue-eyed gaze strayed to Tripp. “Come on in.”
Hannah stepped up and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Russell. I’m looking forward to getting you back on your feet.”
“More importantly, back on the court.”
She smiled. “That, too. This is my friend, Tripp Wilde.”
Tripp shifted her bag to his left hand before he shook the one extended toward him. Friend? He controlled the urge to scowl. Friend? Really? Well, she sure as hell wouldn’t introduce me as her lover, would she?
“Hey, I recognize you. I used to ski a lot when I was younger. You’re the Wilde Thing.”
Younger? The guy couldn’t be more than twenty-three or four… “Why’d you quit skiing?”
“My college coach was afraid I’d get injured on the slopes.”
Tripp eyed the elastic bandage wrapped around his knee beneath a pair of athletic shorts. “Ironic, huh?”
Radford grimace. “No kidding. Come on in. Make yourself at home.”
“I’m not staying.” Tripp gave Hannah an encouraging smile. “Call when you need me.”
“Okay.”
He set down her bag just inside the door then whistled for the dog. “Let’s go, Winnie.”
Radford turned on his crutches to limp through the entry. Hannah paused to lay a hand on Tripp’s arm. “Thanks for coming with me. I would have been nervous driving down alone, wondering…”
“No one followed us.” He bent to kiss her. “I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.”
Once at the truck, Tripp lifted the dog into the cab and got in behind her then turned around in the driveway and headed out to the street. The gate swung closed behind him, and he smiled in satisfaction. At least Hannah would be safe. He’d call Barnes to see if they’d made any progress finding Kyle Murphy or the man he was working with. The whole situation sucked. He didn’t like losing control over his life. He wanted an end to the tension straining both his and Hannah’s nerves to the breaking point. Maybe then they could discuss the friend label and changing it to something a little more meaningful.
He glanced at the dog. “Let’s go for a run before we check out the condo I rented. How does that sound?”
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