Checking behind the bushes in front of the house first, Adam moved steadily around the perimeter of the house, checking anywhere someone could hide. When he’d circled all the way around the fenced-in backyard and came up on the side of the house by the garage, he found the garbage can with its lid hanging open, tapping against the side of the can every time the breeze passed through.
He tucked his gun into the holster on his belt and lifted the lid to close it. When he was done, he followed the garage wall to the front of the house, checking the ground for unusual prints as he walked. Rounding the corner of the garage, eyes still searching the ground, he ran straight into someone running at him. The impact knocked him to the ground.
His head whacked hard against the driveway, and his world went black. When Adam next opened his eyes, Emma stared down at him, a sleepy smile on her lips and worry in her eyes. Her curls tumbled around her shoulders in wild disarray, and she had a pink line on the side of her face from where it had lain on the pillow. He reached up and toyed with one of the curls.
“So beautiful. I always wondered if your hair felt like silk. It doesn’t. It’s softer.”
“Are you okay?” Emma’s face turned a sweet shade of pink as she smiled down at him. She pressed a palm to his face. “I’m so sorry.”
“My head hurts,” Adam said, reaching to probe his tender scalp with his fingers. “What happened? Did the guy whack me on the head?”
Emma sat back on her heels and gave him a funny look. “What guy? Was someone here again last night?”
Adam pushed himself up into a sitting position, resting his back against the garage door. “I don’t know. I heard a noise, so I came out here to investigate. Next thing I knew I’d walked into someone and then blacked out.”
“You walked into me. When I woke up and you were gone, but your truck was still here and the front door was unlocked, I panicked. Ran outside searching for you. When I ran around the corner, you were looking at something and didn’t even see me.”
“I was looking for shoeprints.”
Emma smiled. “I’m sorry I knocked you over.” She reached behind him and ran her fingers lightly over the back of his head, pausing when they made contact with the sore spot. “Let’s go inside and put something cold on that lump.”
The second her fingers made contact with his head, his pulse rate kicked up several notches. Now he couldn’t tell if the dizziness he felt came from the head wound or the reaction to her touch. Adam wrapped his hand lightly around Emma’s wrist. Her skin felt nearly as soft as her hair. “I just need a second to look at something. You go on inside and I’ll meet you there.”
She looked worried. “Are you sure you don’t need me to help you inside? That was a nasty spill.”
Adam chuckled. “Wasn’t the first time I’ve banged my head, and I am one hundred percent certain it won’t be the last.” He squeezed her hand lightly. “I’ll be fine. I promise. I just have to make sure that the back gate is secure before we leave today. Sawyer won’t be back until tonight and only if I ask for him.”
Emma nodded, but he could see the reluctance to leave him in her expression. He just needed five minutes to pull himself together, as much as from her proximity as his whack to the head.
“Fine. But if you aren’t back in five minutes, I’m coming out after you.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest, assuming the same stance her mother always had when they were kids to show she meant business.
Adam gave her a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am, Ms. Thomas.”
She rolled her eyes at him for about the tenth time in the last twenty-four hours, then looked at an imaginary watch on her wrist. Some things apparently never changed. She tapped her wrist with one finger. “I mean it. Five minutes.”
“Will do.” Using the garage door handle to help, Adam pulled himself to his feet. The ground felt unsteady as he stood there, trying to calm the nausea that had kicked into high gear once he’d moved.
Emma tilted her head slightly and stared straight into his eyes. “Your pupils look fine, but I don’t know, you’re a little green around the gills. You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m sure. Now go on inside. I don’t like you out here so exposed like this. Lock the door again.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll go to the back door after I secure the gate and knock twice, pause, then knock again.”
He knew the second she remembered their secret knock and all those nights she’d slipped out her bedroom window to walk through the woods and talk about their dreams. Her green eyes sparkled, emphasizing the gold flecks buried in the green irises just like the first day they met. Those exotic eyes had always mesmerized him. “Okay.”
Adam watched as Emma disappeared back into the house. Moving cautiously to make sure his balance held out, Adam walked back to the fence gate and stepped inside the yard. Pushing the gate closed, he jammed some rocks into the ground in front of it, then found a couple of thin branches that had fallen from the crepe myrtle trees recently and jammed them into the handle and latch. Finally, he moved a heavy pot with a hibiscus bush in it over in front of the gate. If anyone else tried to come in that way, at least he’d hear them coming.
His head throbbed by the time he finished. “Do you have any headache meds?” he asked Emma when he went back inside.
“In the hallway bathroom.” She pointed in the general direction. “Should be in the medicine cabinet.”
“Thanks.” After he grabbed a couple tablets and a glass of water, Adam sat down at the kitchen table.
“I’m really sorry I knocked you down like that,” Emma said, setting a cup of coffee on the table in front of him and handing him a bag of frozen peas.
“What’s this for?” he asked, nodding at the peas as he accepted them.
“That knot on your head.”
“It’s my own fault for not watching where I was going.” Adam held the peas to his head as he took a sip of the hot, dark liquid. “Good brew. I’ve never been a fan of those fancy single-cup machines. Nothing beats coffee grounds in a drip pot.”
Emma laughed. “I kind of like my fancy single-cup machine. I’d have used it today but it’s packed in a box in Mom and Dad’s garage.”
Adam raised his cup. “I stand corrected. After last night, we really need to get you somewhere safe while I figure out who you saw killed yesterday.”
“I know. Last night, while you were outside, I looked in Mom’s address book and found the name of the kennel she uses. We can bring the dogs in this morning. I explained that I had an unexpected work emergency and they were very understanding.”
“Work emergency?” Adam nodded. “Yeah, I guess that fits. I’d like to take a quick hot shower and get a change of clothes before we leave, if that’s okay?”
“Absolutely. I’ll pack a bag while you do that.” Emma pointed to his head. “Are you sure we don’t need to get that checked out?”
He pretended to rap on his head with his knuckles. “Hard as a rock. I’m good.”
She looked skeptical but she let it drop. “There’s towels in the cabinet under the sink. Toiletries too, if you need them.”
“I’ve got everything I need but the towel. Thanks.” He finished his cup of coffee in one long swallow. “Meet you back here in twenty?”
“Sounds good.” Emma took his empty cup and rinsed it before setting it in the dishwasher. “I didn’t even think to ask—did you want some breakfast? I don’t usually eat until a little later in the morning, so it slipped my mind.”
“The coffee was good for now. We can grab something later when we both get hungry.”
“Okay,” Emma replied.
Adam headed to the living room to grab his go bag. He needed hot water on his aching body right away. Between the night on the couch and the impromptu nap in the driveway, everything felt tight and sore. Not a bit of that had anything to do with Emma, he told himself one more
time. Maybe he’d start to believe it eventually.
His only focus should be on keeping Emma safe and finding out who wanted her dead before they tried to kill her again.
Eight
The extra-hot shower worked out some of the kinks but Adam still felt a little sore as he pulled on his clean clothes. Not exactly prime for a hike up a mountain. Unfortunately, that was exactly what he had to do. It had been too dark the night before to really see anything in the cabin. Once he got Emma settled in a hotel, he’d head on up there.
His phone vibrated on the counter where he’d set it before getting in the shower. Recognizing the number as his lieutenant, Bill Waters, he answered the call. “Hey, boss.”
“Heard you had quite a night, Marshall.”
That was putting it mildly for sure. “Ah, you know. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Oh, so you get shot at regularly while buying produce?” Waters asked, chuckling.
“Keeps the shopping interesting.”
“And what about the other call? The one with the intruder?”
“They’re actually related, sir. Remember the woman that came by the station yesterday to report witnessing a murder? Someone really wants her dead now.”
“She okay?” Waters asked. “How’d she get herself in this kinda hot water?”
“The woman—her name is Emma—is an investigative journalist and she’s been writing a piece on Staunton and the Blue Ridge Parkway.”
“The rumors about the drug transports? Isn’t that your case with the task force?”
“Yeah. A source she won’t divulge—”
“Of course she won’t.” Waters sounded skeptical.
“The source told her about a cabin on a mountain that is supposed to be a drop spot. She hiked up there and just happened to look in the window when some guy shot another one in the head.”
Waters grunted. “She really had no idea what she was walking into?”
Adam tossed his toiletries into his go bag and zipped the bag. “I’m convinced she didn’t.”
“And that somehow turned into a gunfight at the grocery store?”
“The shooter heard Emma and chased her down the mountain, but she managed to get away. He shot out a window in her car but missed Emma. She came straight to the station from there. I was taking her home to her parents’ house when we stopped to get a few things. A minute or so after we entered the building, the guy also showed up at the store. He must have been following us.”
“Are you absolutely certain this Emma isn’t on the take with the cartel?” Waters asked. “I’m sending a team up to the cabin today.”
“Why would they be trying to kill her if she were working with them?” Adam replied. “Besides, I’ve known Emma and her family most of my life.”
“Just because you went to preschool together doesn’t mean she’s one of the good guys,” Waters said. “But if you’re positive, then keep doing what you’re doing. If they are coming after her, we might be able to get to them.”
His boss could be so cynical. “Exactly what I’ve been thinking. Right now, I’m going to get her stashed somewhere safe and then head up to the mountain to do a little looking around. Can we hold off on a team until I get a better look around in the daylight?”
“Sounds good,” Waters replied. “Just keep me in the loop.”
“Will do, sir.” Adam disconnected the call.
Adam ran his hand through his wet hair in an attempt to tame the waves. The action was completely futile. Wet strands curled around his ear and dropped into his collar. He really needed to make time for a haircut in the near future.
He found Emma still in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a coffee mug in her hands. The curtains over the sink had been drawn closed. Smart woman. She looked up when he entered the room and smiled.
“I heard you talking to yourself in the bathroom.”
Adam chuckled. “That was me on the phone with the lieutenant. He heard about the shooting last night.”
“Ah.” Emma took a drink from the mug. “He thinks I’m lying about not knowing anything.”
Adam frowned. “What makes you say that?”
She stood up and walked to the sink where she rinsed her mug. “I would think I was lying. I mean, a guy gets murdered at exactly the same time I happen upon the cabin?”
He walked over to where she stood, turned her around so she faced him, and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “No one thinks you’re lying. If anything, you’ve given us the break we need to infiltrate the group and take them down. I’d have never known about that cabin if not for you.”
“I never expected for us to cross paths again. I stayed away for so long, mostly because I was avoiding you. And now look at where we’re at. I’m not the same person I was when I left.” Emma fiddled with one of the buttons on his shirt; her eyes were filled with a dozen different emotions, none of which he could identify. Suddenly very aware of how close she was, his heart skipped a little beat as his pulse sped up. His nerve endings stood at attention, ready to feel her lips pressed to his. All they needed was a little sprig of mistletoe and it could have been that night all over again.
“I’m sorry you felt you had to stay away.” Adam stepped in a little bit closer. Emma looked up at him again. “But I’m glad you’ve come back.”
She pressed her palms to his chest lightly, as though trying to keep some space between them. “It’s only temporary. I’m just here until my parents are done travelling. There are so many reasons why I can’t stay.” Her eyes glistened with moisture and darkened with the secrets he knew she guarded closely. Something had happened to Emma in the time she’d been gone, something more than witnessing an execution.
“You’re here now. Let’s concentrate on figuring out what you’ve gotten involved in.” The desire to kiss her gripped him tightly, but he held back. He couldn’t totally read Emma, and the last thing he needed to do was mess things up again. She needed him to keep her safe, and that was it. For the moment, at least. He took a reluctant step back. Maybe once he knew no one wanted her dead, he could focus on repairing their friendship. “And we have a murderer to find.”
The flash of relief that lit her green eyes briefly as he moved away from her stabbed at his heart. A reminder that he needed to keep things professional—their friendship as it had been no longer existed.
“I put my bags by the door.” Emma pointed toward the front hall. “I’ll get the dogs on their leashes and meet you out front.”
Adam nodded. “I’ll grab my bag and yours. Make sure you lock up every door and window.”
Emma nodded and disappeared, grasping the dog leashes so tightly, her knuckles turned white.
Going back to the living room, Adam picked up his bag then grabbed Emma’s. His head ached a little still but nothing he couldn’t live with. He’d worked through worse playing high school football.
Now the ache in his chest—that was a completely different story.
Emma’s heart still pounded as she gathered up the pups and attached their leashes. Adam had been about to kiss her, and she’d really wanted him to. Kissing Adam would be a huge mistake, because she didn’t think she could stop with just one, and getting involved with anyone, even her childhood sweetheart, would be a bad idea. She needed to be strong.
Strong enough to survive this life-or-death debacle she’d gotten herself into. After what had happened in Richmond, she had a lot to figure out for herself before she could give anything to anyone else.
“Come on, dogs.” Emma led the little pups around the house as she checked doors and windows. Everything seemed secure, so she grabbed her purse and headed outside.
Adam stood beside the passenger door, looking at his phone. As she and the dogs approached, he glanced up and smiled. “All set?”
Adult Adam had changed in so many ways from teenage Adam, but his smile had stayed exactly the same. War
m, genuine, a tiny bit teasing. It wrapped her in warmth and drew her in, no matter how much her brain said she should resist.
She smiled back. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
He pulled open the back door of the crew cab, and Emma lifted the dogs inside. Adam opened her door and offered her a hand to get up inside. When she placed her hand in his, there was no denying the shock of electricity that shot through her. Adam felt it too. She could see it in his eyes. They stood there, locked in place. Emma tried to form words, say anything to move them forward, but her mouth wouldn’t listen to her brain.
“Be careful of the running board.” Adam broke the tension between them, pointing to the step up. He pressed a hand lightly to her lower back to guide her. “It gives a beast of a shin bruise if you miss it.”
Emma nodded, quickly scrambling into the seat of the truck. Adam closed her door and she watched as he walked around to the driver side, willing her pounding heart to slow down in case Adam could hear it slamming against her chest.
“So, where’re we headed?” Adam slid into the driver seat and closed the door.
Emma gave him the address.
“I know that place. It’s not far from where I live.” He put the truck in gear and backed out of the driveway.
Not far from where I live.
Emma had no idea where Adam lived. In fact, she realized she knew very little about him. Did he have a roommate? He’d had at least one serious relationship but other than that, she had no idea. Did he have any hobbies? A best friend? All the things she knew about Adam were in the past. Maybe he had changed completely. Maybe he lived like a slob, with dirty clothes and fast food wrappers strewn everywhere.
Emma looked over at the man beside her. The inside of his truck was pretty much spotless. So, his home probably would be too. His clothes looked neat and wrinkle free. The wavy hair she’d always loved was on the long side and still a little unruly the way it had been when they were teenagers but the rest of him had become more angular and chiseled. Light stubble lined a jaw she hadn’t remembered being so strong and defined.
Murder on the Mountain: A Marshall Brothers Novel Page 7