Lost Together

by Cynthia Knoble

  In the deep silence, she could hear the rush of blood in her ears. This couldn’t be happening, but it was, it truly was. She’d fallen in love with her stalker, the man who’d been terrorizing her. No, it can’t be him, it can’t. He didn’t kill Lucy. You’ve seen him with the alpacas, seen how much he loves them. Just like you. He loves you, and he couldn’t have done this to you. Say something. Tell him you know he didn’t do it. But she didn’t know, not for sure, and uncertainty glued her lips.

  Rory snorted angrily before turning to Myles. “I expect you’re going to arrest me now.”

  “Sure am. Hope you have your fancy city lawyer on speed-dial, you’re going to need him.”

  She stood perfectly still as Myles pulled Rory’s hands behind his back. Silence enveloped the room again and, when the clink of the handcuffs Myles snapped around Rory’s wrist sounded, she flinched. Yet she couldn’t say a word. When Rory’s head bowed with the indignity of being arrested in front of her, she stood in place and watched, her heart withering.

  As Myles led Rory up the stairs, his voice floated down to her. “You know the drill, Bukowski. I am placing you under arrest for possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, arson, criminal harassment, animal cruelty, mischief, and trespass. For now. I’m sure the Crown Attorney will add a few more. You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay. You also have the right to free and immediate legal advice from duty counsel …”

  His voice faded away, as surely as her future did. The future that included Rory by her side, the pair growing the ranch, building a life together. Frozen in place, she knew she’d have to deal with Myles further, but couldn’t move. How could Rory have been so cruel to her?

  Chapter 41

  After spending a sleepless few hours in bed, Saffron gave up around four in the morning, and started her day early. She sat at the kitchen table, alone, and sipped a coffee. When the sun peaked over the horizon, she let the alpacas out into paddocks, filled their food and water containers, and supplied piles of timothy grass for them. That duty was performed alone. She should clean the pens now, but didn’t feel like it. Trudging back to the house, she decided she should try to eat something. The sun was higher now, laying golden streaks across the landscape, bathing it in rising warmth and glorious hints of amber and honey. Its beauty was lost on her. Nothing was the same without Rory.

  Entering the kitchen, she headed for her ringing cellphone, sighing when she saw Ethan was the caller. Activating the call, she put it on speaker, knowing he’d be angry. “Hi, Ethan.”

  “What the hell happened last night?” Ethan demanded loudly. “Explain to me how Rory’s been arrested for drug trafficking!”

  She outlined the events, and Ethan interrupted her frequently for more detail. It hurt to relate the story, but she was glad it was Ethan on the end of the line, and not Zandra. When she finished up with the arrest, and listed off the numerous charges she’d heard Myles say, there was a lengthy pause on the line.

  “Rory didn’t do any of that.” When she didn’t answer him, he sighed loudly. “Boone is flying in to deal with Myles.”

  Unsure how to respond to that, she didn’t, and Ethan disconnected the call. He hadn’t said goodbye. Supposing she shouldn’t be surprised at his anger, she knew she was in for more. Zandra, for starters. Saffron hadn’t met Boone yet, but after hearing he was on his way to town, she supposed he might come by to have a go at her. There would undoubtedly be a lengthy line of unpleasant encounters, and she’d have to face them alone.

  A knock on her kitchen door had her heart thumping. Dreading it being Zandra, she turned to see Zoë behind the glass insert, and waved her in. Surprisingly, Zoë delivered a firm hug, and then proceeded to make them coffee.

  Sitting at the table with Zoë, mugs of coffee before them, Saffron hoped her friend wouldn’t unload on her. “How are you doing?” Zoë asked softly and, with great relief, Saffron couldn’t detect any anger in her voice.

  “I’m a wreck,” she admitted. “I can’t believe Rory did that to me, set me up like that. Ethan said he didn’t, and I want to believe that, but Myles is so sure he did. I don’t want to believe he did it, but the evidence is so damning.”

  When Zoë smiled, she found it a strange reaction, and frowned in return. “Saffron, some day I’ll tell you the story behind me coming to Bison Bluffs, but for right now, I’ll just tell you about the beginning of my relationship with Ethan. I was hiding something from him, something I never should have. I loved him from early on, but wouldn’t confide in him, and it was a huge mistake. I caused trust issues because of it, and could’ve avoided so much heartbreak if I’d just trusted him more.”

  “So you’re telling me that Rory didn’t trust me enough to tell me he was involved in this?”

  “No, what the hell?” Zoë’s face scrunched up as she shook her head. “I totally fucked that up. No, what I was trying to say was to trust your heart. I didn’t, and should have. You need to do that. Do you love Rory? If you do, then you support him through anything—and I mean anything—that comes your way.”

  Saffron sat back in the chair, and sighed deeply. “Ugh. I’m so confused.”

  “Then you have your answer,” Zoë replied. With a raised brow, she picked up her mug and took a sip from it.

  “What do you mean?” Saffron asked.

  “Love isn’t confusing, it’s the one thing that’s so clear.” Zoë shrugged at what was undoubtedly a muddled look on Saffron’s face. “Look, I have to get going. I’ll check in on you again later. With Ethan in the state he is, I might not be able to pop by again today, but I will try.” She got to her feet. “Hey, you’ll be okay. Call me if you need me.” With that, Zoë left.

  Saffron sat holding her mug for a long time, feeling like a total bitch. Pushing aside Myles’s damning assessment of Rory’s actions, and even her love of Rory, she ran through each moment she’d spent with Rory, recalling every movement he’d made, each word he’d said, trying to view those times with impartial eyes, looking for his true intention. After some time, she threw her arms on the table, her head upon them, and wept. Rory had done nothing to hurt her. He’d only acted with love, and she knew it. Her own insecurities had allowed her to believe Myles was right, and that Rory had used her. She didn’t understand how he loved her, but he did. He’d proven it time and again. He’d done nothing but encourage, support, and love her. And what had she done in return? She’d betrayed him in the one moment he’d most needed her.

  Chapter 42

  Boone tore into the police detachment, about to rush to the counter and demand to see Myles, who didn’t answer the half-dozen calls Boone had placed to him. Then he spotted Myles and Chase entering the foyer. Rushing to the pair, he glared at Myles. “Thanks for answering my calls, asshole. What the fuck were you thinking? Arresting Rory for drugs? You must have lost your fucking mind!”

  Chase stepped forward, shaking his head. “Boone, you have to calm down. This isn’t going to help Rory. Myles had cause to arrest him.”

  Boone turned his harsh stare on Chase. “What happened to the lawyer you referred Rory to?”

  Chase grabbed his upper arm, and led him a short distance from Myles to speak to him in a hushed tone. “Don’t discuss Rory’s defence in front of law enforcement. That lawyer won’t represent him on this charge.”

  Taking Chase’s lead, Boone dropped the volume of his voice. “Why?”

  “Fentanyl is a huge political issue right now. He won’t take the case, and I doubt anyone else will either, not without being forced to, through legal aid.”

  “But you will, right? You’ll help Rory. Tell me you’ll help him.”

  “I will,” Chase assured him, “I’ll do whatever I can to help him, but you know I’m not a defence attorney.”

  “What are you saying?”

  With a glance around, undoubtedly to ensure that Myles couldn’t hear him, Chase then looked back with a stern expression. “I’m saying Rory’s be
st bet is for the actual perpetrator to be arrested. With the amount of fentanyl recovered, even if that person was arrested, he’d not be likely to admit to his involvement. This isn’t possession, Boone, it’s trafficking. With his record, Rory’s looking at a life sentence if convicted.”

  Stepping back under the weight of Chase’s words, Boone’s stomach attempted to fall right out of his body. This couldn’t be happening. His brother was being falsely accused, and might not be able to prove his innocence.

  Chase moved closer to him again, and whispered his next words. “I’ve convinced Myles to wait before processing the charges against Rory, so don’t attack him over this. If he changes his mind, Rory will be transferred to the remand centre, and no one wants to see that. The real drug dealer needs to be apprehended, and persuaded to confess, if you catch my drift. Again, I’ll do what I can for Rory. You do what you can. Quietly. We never had this discussion.”

  Boone nodded and then, rather loudly, ensuring Myles heard, addressed Chase. “I’ll have the first payment in your hands today. Charge whatever you want, I’ll pay it. I don’t care how hopeless this looks, just do your damn job. Represent my brother, and get him out of here.”

  The look in Chase’s eyes told him he grasped Boone’s posturing in front of Myles. With a furious parting glance at the cop, Boone then stormed out of the building. He didn’t know how but he’d have to find the bastard responsible for this mess. It was time to put his experience to use, call in favours, bully his way into receiving information, anything at all he needed to do to help Rory. After everything his little brother had been through, the thought of him spending any further time in a cell horrified Boone.

  Chapter 43

  Rory stared at the food a constable, Nick, had brought him. He couldn’t eat, although he knew he should. Myles would undoubtedly question him again soon, and he should have a clear head. He hadn’t been able to sleep last night, even with the exhausting effect of the stress that consumed him. His only comfort was he’d been placed in the holding cell he figured was normally reserved as the drunk tank. It was large enough to not feel too confining, bars on two sides of it helping the illusion along. But he was confined again. He was behind bars. Again.

  He’d met with Chase early this morning, who’d told him to cooperate fully with Myles. Apparently, Chase had talked Myles into holding Rory for as long as possible before filing charges against him. It would allow Rory to remain in the holding cell here, and not be transported to the remand centre in Medicine Hat. Myles had also agreed to allow Rory family visits. Knowing Chase had gone to bat for him, Rory was as grateful for it as he was for Myles’s actions. The cop certainly didn’t need to comply with any of Chase’s requests, ones made solely in Rory’s best interest. Yet Rory couldn’t stop hopelessness from taking root. Charges would eventually be levied against him, and he didn’t stand a chance when facing a jury. His record would ensure a guilty verdict, despite the fact he was truly innocent.

  Sipping from the takeout coffee cup, he ran through the past few weeks in his mind, wondering if he possessed any iron-clad alibis for when trouble had taken place on Saffron’s ranch. He doubted it. Even if he did have an alibi, it would be because he was with Zandra. Well, the last jury hadn’t taken Zandra at her word, had they?

  Chase had also told Rory that Boone was coming back to town to help, and his heart had dropped at the announcement. For starters, Boone would be furious, and probably unleash that rage on Myles, something that wouldn’t help Rory. What truly bothered him though, was that Boone had to take time off work, and fly in to address this. His big brother was acting on his behalf, as he had too many times in the past. Boone would hire a defence attorney for Rory, as he had all those years ago. Just when Rory believed he was being his own man, he was back where he’d started, at the mercy of the court system, and existing on the generosity of his brother.

  While he expected to see Boone soon, who’d undoubtedly demand to see him, regardless of the fact Myles had already agreed to family visits, Rory knew he’d see Zandra first. Those days were supposed to be behind him, family visits with him shackled, seeing the pain in Zandra’s eyes each time she saw him like that. Everything had come full circle. He was back behind bars, and this time he knew he wasn’t getting out. He’d be railroaded, blamed for actions committed by someone else, and he’d go down for them. After all, who believed an ex-con?

  Saffron had, but, apparently, not enough. She’d believed Myles’s concocted scenario more, the one in which Rory committed those crimes against her. How could she? After everything they’d shared, the love and trust they’d built, she believed he was guilty. He’d loved her selflessly, trusted her emphatically, bared his very soul to her, and she, well, she’d believed the shit Myles had said. How could she?

  Chapter 44

  Saffron rang the doorbell, and then bit her lip nervously. Standing on the front door of the Bukowski residence, she feared Boone and Zandra’s reaction to her appearance, but she needed to speak to one of them. After a minute or so, the door swung open, and Boone, holding a cellphone to his ear, scowled deeply at her.

  “Hang on a sec,” he said into the phone, and then covered it with a huge hand. His eyes narrowed dramatically. “What are you doing here?”

  She swallowed hard, her fears realized. They blamed her for Rory’s arrest. Seeing as she blamed herself, she held Boone’s harsh stare, but took a small step back under its intensity. His towering height already made him formidable, but the look he trained on her had him almost appearing monstrous.

  “I want to talk about what happened,” she replied, her voice sounding small.

  After staring a moment longer, during which she was certain he was scrutinizing her, attempting to deduce her motives for wanting to do so, he held the door open as he stepped to the side, leaving a small space for her to enter. Drawing on what little nerve remained in her, she passed him, holding her breath, well aware he wouldn’t actually do anything to her, but still scared being so close to him. He closed the door, and then motioned to the hallway with his head.

  “Zandra’s in the kitchen.”

  Without waiting for an answer, he turned his back to her, and resumed his phone conversation. His tone with the person on the other end was just as cold as the tone he’d used with her, and, not knowing who he spoke to, she felt sorry for the person. Slowly making her way down the short hall, anxiety gripped her thinking what Zandra’s reaction to her appearance would be, but she forced herself forward, concentrating on putting one foot before the next. Spotting Zandra sitting at the kitchen table, a mug before her, her head bowed, she knocked on the open door. Zandra looked to her and Saffron’s heart clenched with how red Zandra’s eyes and nose were. After wiping her nose with a tissue she held, Zandra waved her in. Moving cautiously, Saffron joined her at the table, and sat across from her. She couldn’t stand the sight of Zandra’s tear-stained face, nor the devastation she saw in the woman’s eyes.

  “I’m so sorry, Zandra, I am. This is all my fault.”

  “What do you mean? Myles arrested Rory.” Zandra looked confused, and Saffron could only assume that Boone hadn’t related the conversation she’d had with Ethan this morning, the one she was certain Boone had heard all about, judging by his reaction to her just now.

  “Well, yes, but—” She sighed deeply. “I want to tell you everything that happened. You’re probably going to hate me, but I have to tell you. I spoke with Myles this morning, and he won’t let me see Rory, though he did say he’s allowing you a visit this afternoon.”

  “He is.”

  “Well then, I need to tell you exactly what happened, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll agree to pass on a message from me to Rory.”

  While she related the entire event from her viewpoint, from finding Rory in the basement, to when Myles drove away with Rory in the backseat of his cruiser, Zandra’s expression changed dramatically. Angry now, she glared at Saffron.

  “You just let Myles arrest him, and you didn
’t say anything?”

  “I was confused by … what Myles said made so much sense … I know I should have …” She sighed deeply. “I know it isn’t true, but at the time—”

  “You believed it,” Zandra interrupted, her tone accusatory. “You actually believed Rory could be a drug dealer?” Her finger shot out in the direction of the doorway. “Leave, now!”

  Shakily, Saffron rose to her feet. “I’m sorry. I don’t believe that about Rory, I don’t. Please, just let me try to explain where my head was at last night.”

  “I believe my sister told you to get out of our house,” Boone’s voice rang out from the doorway.

  Saffron turned to him, and tears flooded her eyes at his damning look. They wouldn’t listen to her, and wouldn’t relate her message to Rory. Her acts of last night devastated her, and all she wanted to do was apologize for them. An apology wasn’t enough, she knew that, but without knowing what else to do, it was all she could offer them. And Rory.

  Hanging her head, she moved to the doorway, her heart heavy, guilty tears burning her eyes. They seared her cheeks. Of course Rory’s siblings didn’t want her in their house. Her mere presence must infuriate them, there was no way it couldn’t.

  “Hang on,” Boone said, stilling her. When she reluctantly met his eyes, he seemed calmer. “I just thought of something. Whoever actually planted those drugs might not know they were discovered. In which case, they’ll probably try to get them again, especially if they see Rory’s not there.” She waited to see where he was going with what he’d said. He nodded, and she could almost picture wheels turning in his head. “That’s it. That’s how I’ll get him.” He stepped directly in front of her, and bent his head to be eye-level with her, engaging her with a determined look. “Do you really want to make this right?”