When Secrets Kill

by Zoe Carter

  Jennifer and the rookie rushed toward the ditch, both pulling on plastic gloves. Mack took off toward the ranch while the rest got back into their cars. Chief Riley turned on the flashing sirens and followed the ambulance, Trevor following him.

  She has to be okay echoed in his head over and over as he drove. Trevor had sent up more than a few prayers over the past four years while in Afghanistan. Half the time, someone was listening.

  Now he sent up one more. He couldn’t lose her.

  * * *

  “Where is my daughter? Where is Lauren Riley?” Chief Riley boomed the second they rushed into the emergency room. “I want information on her condition now.”

  “Chief Riley,” a nurse said. “I understand you’re worried. But you’ll need to give the ER doctors time to fully examine her.”

  The chief nodded and dropped down in one of the padded orange chairs lined against the wall of the waiting room, then stood up and started pacing. “Tell me again what happened,” he said to Trevor, holding out his phone to record the official statement.

  Trevor repeated what he’d said at the scene. Hearing the initial shot and the second and rushing toward the sound, seeing the thugs standing over the ditch. The words he’d never forget: Did you get her?

  “Jesus Christ,” Riley said. “Who the hell is after her? It started with one of the early posts about your sister’s death—the ‘MYOB’ on the rock hurled through the Townsend Report window. Now it’s escalated as the two of you have continued investigating on your own. As I’ve asked you not to. You’re not police, you’re not trained, you don’t have safety measures in place.”

  “Chief, I—” But he had no idea what the hell he was going to say. Riley was right. Trevor hated that he’d continually put Lauren’s life in danger. But as the chief knew, Lauren was not going to back down from investigating. It was either join her or watch her go out there on her own. Trevor would rather be by her side.

  Before he could explain that, a doctor came through the double doors to the ER and headed for them. Trevor read her name tag: Ellen Morgan, MD.

  “She’s going to be fine,” the doctor assured them. “No broken bones and no concussion. She’ll be free to go in about an hour.”

  “Can I see her?” Chief Riley asked.

  The nurse nodded. “She did specifically ask me to send in a Trevor Gallagher first.”

  The chief threw his hands up in the air. “Go,” Riley said, narrowing his gaze at Trevor.

  “I can’t stop her from investigating,” Trevor said. “I’ve tried, believe me. The last thing I want is for anything to happen to Lauren. I can either let her investigate on her own or I can protect her the best I can at her side. I’m choosing to be at her side.”

  The chief’s frown softened, then was back. “Except you can’t be there 24/7, Trevor. Evidenced by what happened today.”

  “With all due respect, chief, neither can you or her sisters. But I can promise you I will not let her out of my sight from here on in.”

  Riley took in a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m not sure that makes me feel better, Gallagher. Go see her,” he added, upping his chin at the door.

  Trevor nodded and headed through the ER door. Lauren was in a small room with a door that shut as opposed to one with curtains separating it from the beds on either side. Trevor supposed it was because she’d been the victim of a crime and would need privacy to give her statement.

  Even lying in a hospital bed with a scratchy white blanket pulled up to her chest, she still managed to look like the fierce hellcat she was. She turned and her face lit up at the sight of him.

  “I’m not even going to think about what could have happened if I hadn’t heard the shots and rushed toward the sound, Lauren.”

  She reached for his hand. “Okay, fine, I admit I was scared there for a second.”

  He sat down in the chair beside the bed. “From now on, you’re by my side. Until we end this thing.”

  “So we’re each other’s bodyguards?” she asked, a smile peeking out.

  “Yes.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You’re moving into the Riley house?”

  “No, you’re moving to the ranch.”

  “Wait—you’re serious,” she said, trying to sit up a bit more. “You want me to move to your ranch?”

  “I’m dead serious. And yes.”

  She stared at him for a moment. “Maybe that makes sense. We’re working together and we can cover each other’s backs. But I think my family of cops will have a problem with that. They’ll think they can protect me better than you could at an isolated farm.”

  “My job will be to protect you. Theirs isn’t. It’s to love you and care about you.”

  She looked at him again for a moment and he had a feeling he knew what she was thinking. And you don’t. Care about me, yeah. But love me? No. And you never will. You said as much.

  Even if Lauren wanted a relationship, which she’d also made clear she didn’t, there was no room in his heart anymore. He’d loved his sister and some creep had squeezed the life out of her. He’d held on to some love for his mother until she’d chosen an afternoon at the pool over her daughter’s funeral. He could have loved Amy if they’d had more of a chance before the goddamned shrapnel had cut her down. He’d loved some of his fellow soldiers like brothers and had watched two of them blown to bits. At this point, a black void had filled the space where love was supposed to be.

  He stood up. “Mack and CJ can handle a lot of the daily chores at the ranch. You and I can stick close together and keep on Carlington until we find some evidence. I don’t know if he’s our guy, Lauren. But he’s all we have right now.”

  “At least we also have the PD’s attention,” she said. “My doctor isn’t letting anyone question me until I’m released. Let’s go over my notes on the Carlingtons, do a little more research and then go in to the THPD tomorrow morning and tell them—my father, Lewton, Paretti, Jennifer—about Carlington and his connection to Tammy. And that maybe he hired those cretins to get rid of me.”

  That ice-cold chill snaked up Trevor’s spine again. Had Carlington? The timing of the attack on Lauren couldn’t be a coincidence.

  “I also want to look into Maris Carlington before we talk to the police,” Lauren said. “Maybe there’s something in her past that will connect her to Tammy or the missing girls. Tammy went to see the Carlingtons for a reason. Why is the key to everything. I really believe that.”

  Trevor nodded. “Me too. I’ll take you back to the ranch, make you a pot of very strong coffee, and my Wi-Fi is yours.”

  She smiled. “It’s a date.”

  There it was again. The hint of romance in the air, on her lips, in her thoughts. Or maybe he was reading too much into it.

  There was a rap on the door and Tom Riley poked his head in, followed by Jennifer and Nova. “Dammit, you scared us,” Chief Riley said. “Stop doing that.”

  “Ditto,” Jennifer said, shaking her head.

  Nova rushed over to the bed and took Lauren’s hand and held it. “Double ditto.”

  Lauren smiled. “Come on in, everyone.”

  Trevor stood up and headed toward the door. “I’ll wait outside.”

  But he didn’t want to leave her.

  * * *

  “Wait, you’re not coming home with us?” Jennifer asked an hour later as Lauren ran a brush through her hair.

  Her sister looked a bit weary, and it was clear to Lauren that the three Rileys had been trying to figure out who’d tried to kill—or at the very least, kidnap—Lauren.

  “Nope. Trevor is taking me back to his ranch. It’ll be easier for us to work together, and we can watch out for each other. We won’t be alone. Mack and CJ are there too. Trevor and I both have three bodyguards that way.”

  Jennifer fro
wned. “At home you have a police chief, a New York City detective on loan to the THPD and a bulldog of an older sister who also wears the THPD uniform. We want you at the house, Lauren.”

  We want. We know what’s best for you. Do as we say. No. In her past life, when she was a notorious screwup, fine. Now Lauren was going to trust herself. Even if no one, except for Trevor, seemed to think she knew what she was talking about.

  “I know,” Lauren said. “And I know you’re all worried about me. But Trevor and I are onto something and we want to do more research before we come in pointing fingers. We’ll come into the station tomorrow morning to tell you what we know.”

  “Lauren, please,” Jennifer said, bracing a hand on her shoulder. “We’re scared for you. I hate to say this but...you’re being reckless.”

  She turned and faced Jennifer full on. “If my father—the police chief—would insist on a full investigation into Tammy Gallagher’s death, I wouldn’t have to. But the case has pretty much been closed. And is anyone investigating the missing girls and women—those photographs I saw on Victor’s computer the day he was killed? What about Abby Blake, Jennifer? Have you forgotten her?”

  “Of course not!” Jennifer snapped. “You know I’m looking into that. She was my best friend!” Jennifer turned away and stared out the window.

  “Where are you in the investigation of her disappearance?” Lauren demanded. “And the other girls too?”

  “Lauren, come on. I can’t talk about it.”

  “Right. Because I’m the press. Yes, you can talk about it. The public deserves to know what’s going on in this town.”

  “I’m asking you as your sister to let me have some space on this right now,” Jennifer said.

  Lauren whirled around. “You have some effing nerve. For twenty years you had all the damned space in the world. Suddenly you’re back and you might as well be in New York since you’re as distant as ever.”

  A nurse came in with Lauren’s release papers. Jennifer walked over to the window and stood with her back to the room. When the nurse left, Jennifer turned around.

  “Lauren, we just want you to be safe. How much does our family have to go through? We love you. I love you. I just got you back.”

  Lauren squeezed her sister’s hand. “I know you care, Jen. But I’m not your kid sister anymore. I’m an investigative reporter for the Townsend Report. Hell, I am the Townsend Report. And if the police won’t demand justice for Tammy Gallagher by investigating her murder and the fallout, which now involves me, I will. And so will Trevor. End of discussion.”

  “Lauren,” Jennifer muttered. “You—”

  “Did you and Paretti find anything where those mouth-breathers shot at me?” Lauren interrupted.

  “God, you’re impossible!” Jennifer said, turning away. She turned back and seemed to be taking a meditative breath, even as she threw her hands up in the air. “Someone just tried to kill you and you want the goddamned facts.”

  “Now you’re getting it,” Lauren said, reaching a hand out. “This is who I am, Jennifer.”

  Her sister made a face but squeezed her hand back. “Fine. This is what I know. We brought out the CSI team to note tire tracks and the type of car. Mack said it was a small black sedan, powerful engine, but he couldn’t see the make. I did find two shell casings at the scene and Ballistics is working on it.”

  “All this quick investigation because I’m your sister. Tammy Gallagher was Trevor’s sister. Can you understand now why this means so much to him?”

  “Of course I can,” Jennifer said, her tone exasperated. “Lauren, you’re twisting this around. I’m talking about your safety.”

  She zipped the toiletry bag that Nova had gone to the house to get for her along with a change of clothes. “I guess you and I both need to do what we need to do,” Lauren said. “Trevor and I will come by the station tomorrow at eleven with more information.”

  With that, she walked out, hating the conflict on Jennifer’s face and the squeezing twist in her own chest. She wanted Jennifer on her side. She wanted her sister back. But they were further apart than ever.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lauren lay on Trevor’s sofa, her head against the plush armrest, an orange chenille throw over her. A mug of coffee and a chocolate-pecan biscotti were on the coffee table in front of her. And Charlie was curled up at the end of the sofa.

  All she was missing was Trevor. She could hear him in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner, which he’d cooked himself. A pretty good pasta carbonara and French bread. Finally, he came in with his own mug of coffee and sat down between her feet and the dog.

  Her phone buzzed with a text. Her dad. Just FYI that I hired two off-duty cops to watch the ranch. White SUVs you can see a mile away. One’s out near where you were ambushed. And another is along the drive to the house.

  Now, this was the kind of family intervention that Lauren appreciated. Her father wanted her safe and took action to make it happen. She shared the text with Trevor.

  “Good. I’m relieved,” he said. “At least it shows that your father gets that someone is trying to kill you. For a reason. And it’s connected to Tammy’s murder. Or the fact that we’re investigating.”

  “Carlington? Is he our guy? What I can’t wrap my mind around is why she’d go to his house alone if he was her stalker. She knew who her stalker was, even if she didn’t know his name.”

  Trevor shifted to face her. “So maybe she was talking to Victor about the missing girls or one of them, and Carlington’s name came up for whatever reason. She says she’ll go talk to him—”

  “Ah, but that tells me Carlington’s name didn’t come up with Victor. There’s no way he would have let her go over there alone to snoop or ask questions if he thought Carlington was a creep.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. Or maybe Tammy made the connection herself and went on her own. We don’t know when and how or why she started talking to Victor about the missing girls—if that’s what she was talking to him about. It’s all speculation, Lauren.”

  “Well somewhere in there—” she pointed to her laptop “—and there—” she pointed at the file folder of notes “—is the smoking gun. I hope anyway.”

  “You know what I hate? What tears me up when I’m trying to sleep? That maybe the cops are right. That I didn’t know my sister, hadn’t seen her for four years and maybe she was involved with drugs. Maybe she did get killed in a drug deal gone bad.” He stood up and walked to the window. “I don’t fucking believe any of that, though.”

  “Good. Because I don’t either, Trevor. And I didn’t know your sister, I’m no relation, and there’s not a shred of evidence pointing to her being involved with drugs. Someone planted that bag of coke.”

  He sat back down and ran a hand through his hair. “Speaking of relations, it’s pretty clear your family cares a lot about you.”

  “I know. I just want them to respect me. I’m not the drunken idiot I used to be, handing myself over to any hot guy and pretending I didn’t care that I never heard from him the next day.” She slapped a hand over her face. “Did I just say that aloud?”

  He smiled. “I like who you are, Lauren Riley.”

  He didn’t judge. He never judged her. “So tell me about your trail of broken hearts.” She suddenly wanted to know his type. Who he’d loved.

  He picked up his mug. Trevor Gallagher for “I don’t want to talk about this.” But he said, “I had a girlfriend before I enlisted. She dumped me right before I went to boot camp. No heartbreak. I never saw myself as a settling-down kind of guy anyway. I’ve never had a father, so I doubt I’d be a good one. I wouldn’t even know what to do with a kid.”

  “I think you just have to show up and love and be committed and responsible,” she said. “The rest you pick up. I mean, no first-time parents have experience, right?” />
  He shrugged. “I guess. I suppose I just never thought I’d have that kind of life.”

  “Lone wolf, huh?”

  He nodded. “That’s me.”

  “It is nice to have family care about you,” she said. “As much as I complain.”

  “I’m fresh out of family. It’s just me, Lauren.” He put the mug back down on the table. “There was someone in my unit. She was a medic.”

  Was. Oh hell. “I’m so sorry.”

  He reached over to scratch Charlie behind the ears, clearly uncomfortable.

  “Did you love her?” she asked, not sure she wanted to know.

  Because you’ll be jealous. You want to be the woman a man like Trevor Gallagher would fall in love with.

  When Lauren used to date asshole after loser asshole, Nova would say, “Find the man that Mom would have wanted you to end up with. Stop settling.”

  Trevor Gallagher was that man.

  “I think I could have if we’d had more time,” he finally said. “I don’t know. I didn’t think I was even capable of feeling as much as I did.”

  “I know exactly what you mean,” she said.

  “The girlfriend who dumped me when I deployed...and then Amy... That’s it. My love life on two fingers.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Really? Two women?”

  “I don’t play games,” he said.

  “I was up to two fingers by the end of eighth grade.” She frowned. Why had she said that? Why did she vomit out every sordid detail about herself to this guy?

  “Like I said, everything you’ve been through has made you who you are, Lauren. And you’re great. You feel everything. Me on the other hand? Not so great. Uncomfortably numb.”

  God, she wanted to grab his face and kiss him, wrap herself around him. He didn’t care that she’d been with more men than she could count even by multiplying fingers. He didn’t judge her. Stay in control, she warned herself. Prove that you are the new Lauren, not the old one. Even if Trevor is so damned gorgeous and sexy.