Official Duty

by Doreen Roberts

  “I was looking for you. I couldn’t hear you moving around and I thought you might be lying on the floor down there.”

  “Yeah, well, sometimes you think too much.” He leaned down to rub his sore shin.

  He’d hit a button and she bristled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Groaning, he straightened. “Aw, come on, Ginny. I didn’t mean anything.”

  “Yes, you did.” She stepped closer to him, shaking with the raw emotions that had suddenly rushed to the surface. Maybe it was the reaction after everything she’d gone through the past few months, maybe it was the effort of having to hold back so much anger, fear and frustration. Whatever it was, it was as if a seawall had collapsed, letting out a tide of uncontrollable passion. “I know what you meant! You think this is all my fault. If I hadn’t left Gold Peak, Mabel and Jim would still be alive. You think I have something to do with all this, isn’t that what you’re thinking?”

  His voice was a roar, sending her back a step or two. “No, dammit, it’s not what I’m thinking! Right now I don’t know what to think. I do know that you’re possibly in danger and it’s up to me to protect you. I can’t do that if you don’t do what you’re told.”

  “Really! Well, this might surprise you, Sheriff Black, but I’m quite capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need your precious protection.”

  “The hell you don’t.” He reached her, grabbed her arms and gave her a little shake. “I’m tired of listening to you brag about how self-sufficient you are. Seems to me you haven’t exactly done a good job of it so far. You need protecting from yourself, Ginny Matthews. You always have.”

  Furious, she tried to break free. “Get your hands off me, Cully, or I’ll—”

  “You’ll what?” His dark eyes blazed at her, filled with such a strange mixture of fury, pain and longing that she was momentarily silenced. She could see the faint lines now, fanning away from the corners of his eyes, creasing his forehead, gouging his cheeks.

  His warm hands held her in a strong grip that was more exciting than painful. His face was so close she could feel his warm breath brush her forehead. He smelled of soap and spicy musk, a heady fragrance that seemed to draw her closer, seeking the warmth of his body.

  She forgot where they were and why they were there. She forgot everything that had happened since she’d left Gold Peak. The past came flooding back to engulf her and in that moment he seemed more powerful, more formidable, more masculine than she’d ever known him. And infinitely more desirable.

  He must have seen something in her eyes, as his expression changed. For a breathtaking second their gazes clashed. Then his mouth was on hers and his powerful arms crushed her to him as if he were afraid she’d disappear if he let her go.

  Closing her eyes, she returned his kiss, submerging herself in the sensual pressure of his hard body, the rough scrape of his jaw against hers, the electric thrill of his hands roaming her back, her waist, her midriff.

  He buried his mouth in her neck and she shivered with the sheer pleasure of it. It had been so long, so very long. She turned her face, her lips searching for his. She could feel his breath, hot and fast on her cheek. She wanted him. Oh, God how she wanted him. His hand slid slowly up toward her breast and every nerve in her body begged him to touch her, ached for him to touch her.

  Then the bubble burst as a sharp thud from outside broke them apart. Dazed, she stared at him, aware of his chest heaving with the effort to curb his weighted breath.

  His head was tilted on one side, his expression sharp and wary. His hands held her, but now they were still and even as she registered that he let her go and drew back. “Sounded like a car door,” he muttered then brushed past her and headed for the front door.

  Trembling, she took a moment to compose herself. Her tank top was crumpled and pulled out of her jeans. Quickly, she tucked it back into the waistband and started to follow him to the door.

  Cully paused as he opened it and looked back at her. “Wait here,” he said, all traces of passion gone from his voice. “Wait here and do not come out until I tell you. Got that?”

  She nodded and leaned back against the wall, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Where had all that passion come from? When had she ever felt so completely consumed by the longing that she couldn’t even think straight? What the hell was the matter with her? Hadn’t she learned anything from the past?

  So caught up in the confusion boiling in her mind, it was some time before she realized that all was silent outside. Now the apprehension came creeping back. Cully had said it sounded as if someone had closed the door of a car. His car? Or someone else’s car?

  Burning with curiosity now, she hurried down to the front door. It wouldn’t hurt to peek outside and try to see what was going on. She had almost reached the door when it flew open, startling her.

  Cully stepped inside and she could tell right away that he wasn’t happy. He’d jammed his hat down low on his forehead, shadowing his eyes but she could see his fierce scowl.

  She moved closer to him. “Who was it?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t see anyone out there.”

  “Maybe it was Old Man Wetherby, snooping around your car.”

  “Maybe.” His tone was clipped, guarded. “In any case, we’d better get that stuff for Paul. I left it all upstairs. Wait here and I’ll get it.”

  She watched him take the stairs two at a time. Her stomach felt as if she’d swallowed stones. He was just going to ignore what had happened between them. That much was obvious. Well, she’d be damned if she’d mention it, either. If that kiss had meant so little to him, she’d make sure it never happened again. Ever.

  The urge to feel the clean, fresh air on her face sent her outside. It was the same sun in the sky, the same pines circling the house, the same breeze shifting their branches. Yet everything seemed different somehow. The world had changed. She’d thought she was over Cully Black. But she wasn’t. She was still in love with a man who liked her well enough to share his bed but not enough to share his life.

  The door behind her slammed closed and Cully’s boots scrunched on the hard ground behind her. “I put everything in here,” he said, holding up her canvas bag. “I’ll drop it off at Paul’s office and empty it and then you can have it back.”

  She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He sent her a brief glance, his face carefully neutral, then he opened the car door for her to climb in.

  Without looking at him again she settled herself on the seat and stared stonily ahead as he pulled out in a wide circle then headed back down the rutted trail.

  She was prepared to make the entire trip back to town in silence but as they turned onto the mountain road he fished something out of his shirt pocket and handed it to her. “Ever seen that before?”

  She turned the plastic envelope over in her hand. It contained a thick gold earring. Examining it closer, she realized the design was made up of two snakes plaited together. “It looks familiar…” she paused, wondering where she’d seen it before. “Where did you find it?”

  “On the floor in the basement.” He flicked her a glance. “I went down there to check it out before I went upstairs.”

  “Oh.” She concentrated on the earring.

  “I was in the master bedroom when I heard you crashing around downstairs.”

  He’d sounded accusing. Annoyed, she said stiffly, “Well, excuse me for worrying about you. If you hadn’t—” She broke off, her eyes widening. “I know where I’ve seen this before. At the Red Steer. The guy who waited on us was wearing one just like this.”

  “Luke Sorensen. Yeah, I thought so.” He held out his hand for the envelope and she passed it back to him. “It couldn’t have been there when the crime lab went over the place, or they would have found it.”

  “Which means he must have gone back later.” She stared at Cully’s rugged profile. “He could have been in the basement when I went back there. Maybe it was his voice I heard.”

/>   Cully gave her a sharp look. “You heard his voice?”

  She nodded. “At the time I thought I’d imagined it. Then I thought it might have been Old Man Wetherby down there. But if Luke Sorensen went back there it could have been him.”

  “What did he say?”

  “It was a whisper, that was all.” She shivered. “He said I couldn’t escape. That I was going to die.”

  Cully swore under his breath. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

  “I told you. I thought I’d imagined it.”

  “Well, it’s time you sorted out what’s in your imagination and what’s real. From now on you tell me everything, whether you think you imagined it or not. Got that?”

  “Got that,” she said, without bothering to hide her resentment. “But what I don’t understand is why Luke Sorensen would threaten me. As far as I know, we’ve never met.”

  “Most likely he was just trying to frighten you so you’d leave the house.”

  “Well, he succeeded in that.” She frowned. “I wonder what he was doing there. Do you think he set the fire at the motel?”

  “I don’t know,” Cully said grimly. “But I sure intend to find out.” He was silent for a moment, staring hard at the road ahead, then he added quietly, “Look, I’m sorry about what happened back there at the house.”

  Her pulse skipped a beat. She knew instantly what he meant and waited until she was sure she could sound indifferent.

  “There’s no need to apologize.”

  “Yes, there is. You were…we were…upset. I guess I took advantage of that. I—”

  Suddenly angry again, she said swiftly, “Just forget it, Cully. It didn’t mean anything. It’s like you said, we were upset, that’s all. It was just one of those stupid things.”

  Her heart beat so hard in the silence that followed she was sure he could hear it. Then, with just a trace of bitterness he said, “Yeah, you’re right. It was stupid.”

  She felt like crying. She seemed to do a lot of that lately. And that was stupid, too. She’d wasted far too many tears over Cully Black. It was time she quit, once and for all.

  Cully drove fast through the mountain curves but she paid little attention to where they were going. A vague feeling that she had forgotten to tell Cully something important kept niggling at her but she was too miserable to care what it was.

  Slumped in her seat, she failed to notice the vehicle creeping up on them, until Cully swore and a second or two later a sharp bump sent them swerving to the right.

  She yelped with fear as the wheels of the Jeep slid dangerously close to the side of the road. Less than three feet of gravel separated them from the edge of the mountain, beyond which the ground fell away in a steep drop.

  Cursing, Cully wrestled the wheel and straightened the lurching Jeep. Ginny peered over her shoulder, just in time to see the vehicle draw level with them. Its tinted windows wouldn’t allow her a clear view of the driver but there was no mistaking the gray minivan. Now there was no doubt left in her mind. She hadn’t imagined anything. The van was real.

  Her relief was short-lived as the van swerved into them again and once more Cully had to fight the wheel. He braked hard, swinging them around in a crazy circle, kicking up dust and pebbles as the Jeep bucked and skidded across the road.

  They hit the mountainside and bounced off and the back of the Jeep fishtailed as they came out of yet another skid. Ginny uttered a hoarse cry as the edge of the mountain came up fast. She shut her eyes, hung onto her seat and prayed.

  The Jeep’s tires squealed in protest, then she was thrown forward as they came to an abrupt stop. The engine died and the silence that followed seemed overpowering.

  She waited until she could get her lungs working again then cautiously opened her eyes. They were on the very edge of the mountain.

  Ahead of them the taillights of the minivan were just disappearing around a curve in the road. Cully reached for his radio and started talking rapidly into it. She heard Jed’s answering voice but was too shaken to take much notice of what he said.

  Finally Cully turned to her and now she could see the strain etched on his face. “They should be able to pick him up on the highway.”

  She nodded and looked down at her hands. They were locked together and she pulled them apart. “I—” Her voice cracked and she tried again. “I wasn’t imagining things after all.”

  “No,” Cully said, his voice hard-edged. “I guess you weren’t.”

  “Are we…how close are we?”

  He glanced out of his window. “About an inch or two from the edge. Thank God for four-wheel drive.”

  “Amen.” She pulled in a deep breath. It was time to voice the fear that had been intensifying ever since last night. “I guess it’s true. Someone is trying to kill me.”

  He avoided her gaze. “Looks that way.”

  “You think it’s the same person who killed the Corbetts.”

  “I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet.”

  “Do you think it was Luke Sorensen?”

  “It could be, I guess.”

  She stared out at the road ahead. “I just wish I knew why.”

  After a pause, Cully cleared his throat. “Well, if Jed and Cory do their job, we should soon find out.” He started the engine. “Let’s get out of here.”

  She held her breath while he slowly backed away from the edge of the road, her tension mounting again as they rounded the first curve. “You don’t think he’s waiting for us, do you? I mean, he could block the road or something. He could shoot us.”

  “I think if he wanted to shoot you he would have done it by now. Or at least tried. I’d say he’s trying to make it look like an accident.”

  “He’s not being very subtle about it.” She leaned forward to get a better look at the road as they rounded another bend. “First he ransacks my room, then sets fire to the motel, then tries to run us off the road. Surely he must know that if he’d succeeded, no one is going to accept that it was an accident?”

  “Exactly. Which means we’re dealing with an irrational person.” Cully frowned. “He’s acting on impulse. Taking advantage whenever he can.”

  Ginny breathed a sigh of relief as the highway came into view without any sign of the minivan. “Isn’t every murderer irrational?”

  “It depends. Most of them are controlled and devious. They plan everything down to the last detail. The irrational ones are the toughest to figure out. There’s no pattern to follow. I guess you could—”

  He broke off as his radio chattered. After listening to Jed’s voice again for a while he said, “All right. I’m coming in. I’ll see you in the office in a few minutes.” He replaced the radio, while Ginny anxiously watched his face.

  When he said nothing, she said impatiently, “Well? What did he say? Did they catch him?”

  Cully sighed. “It looks like he gave them the slip. He must have turned off somewhere before he hit the highway.”

  Ginny stared at him in dismay. “But where would he go? There’s only one road off this mountain. Unless he…”

  “Doubled back,” Cully finished for her. “He must have pulled behind a rock until we passed and then headed back up. He could be anywhere on the mountain by now.”

  The fear was now full-blown, drying out her mouth, chilling her body, muddling her mind. Helplessly she looked at Cully’s grim face. “So now what do we do?”

  “I guess,” Cully said slowly, “we go back to square one.”

  Chapter Ten

  “First,” Cully said, as he eased the Jeep back onto the road, “I’m going to check out a few things. I’ll drop you off at the Red Steer and you can catch up with Sally. You should be safe there.”

  Startled, Ginny stared at him. “But what if Luke is there? What if he tries to—”

  “If Luke tried to run us off the road, he’ll most likely be skulking around on the mountain somewhere. If not, he’ll be working out at the quarry on his day job. Even if he was driving the minivan, he�
��s not going to try anything in front of everyone. He’s been taking too much trouble to try and make it look like an accident.”

  She did her best to feel reassured by that. “So what will you be checking out?”

  He seemed reluctant to answer but after a long pause he said, “Among other things, I’m going to find out more about the accident that killed your husband.”

  Her fingers curled in her lap. “You still think someone sabotaged his plane?”

  “Like I said, anything’s possible. I still think there could be some connection, though I can’t figure out what it could be. I want to talk to Luke, if I can find him and Ben Wetherby, as well, though I don’t think that old man had anything to do with all this.”

  After all the excitement, her head ached too much to struggle with the puzzle right then. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat. All this stress was taking a toll on her.

  She wished now that she’d stayed in Philadelphia and had never come back to Gold Peak. Right now she’d be in her office, going over brochures and samples of the spring line with nothing more to worry about than the rapidly changing tastes of the buying public.

  She wouldn’t be running scared, afraid for her life and she wouldn’t be going through all this agony over a man who didn’t appear to have a clue about love and commitment. She’d be safe, both physically and emotionally.

  The thought was so appealing she was tempted to drive her rented car to the airport and leave this town behind her forever.

  Except she couldn’t do that. Not now. Someone had killed her beloved foster parents and was trying to kill her, too. She couldn’t leave until she knew why. She had to trust Cully to solve the puzzle and give her back her peace of mind. Even if she had to spend another ten or so years trying to forget him again.

  Several minutes later Cully pulled into the parking lot of the Red Steer and let her out. “I shouldn’t be more than an hour or two. I want you to stay put until I get back. Can you promise me that?”