by Susan Stoker
Adriana’s heart cracked as tears filled her eyes. His anguish flowed over her. She wanted to comfort him, but he was pissed at her. Why was he pissed at her again?
“I couldn’t let her go.” His fist came down. “She was my light. All that was good. All that I destroyed by going over for a second tour. I was an idiot.”
“No.” She shook her head. The blame was the drunk driver’s, not his.
His gaze moved to her face at her voice. “I sold everything to keep her alive. I needed her. But she wanted to go and I let her.”
She couldn’t stand there and see him hurt so much. She took a shaky step forward. The ground spun, causing her to lose her balance.
He caught her once again just as her stomach decided it had enough. Instead of dropping her, he kept her steady while she heaved the alcohol that incapacitated her.
Finally, there was nothing left. She straightened, her stomach and throat sore. “I’m sorry.” For so many things. For his wife, his heartbreak, for getting involved with him. He was used to an angel, not someone like her.
Hunter didn’t say anything. He simply walked her to the front door of the truck and helped her inside. He jumped into the driver seat and leaned over to open the glove compartment. Pulling out tiny box of tissues, he handed it to her.
She took it, murmuring a thank you, and wiped her mouth. Didn’t she feel like dog poop now, both inside and out?
Hunter started the truck and headed back to Poker Flat. He didn’t say a single word the whole way.
It gave her a lot of time to think. Her idea of taking off to California now looked like the only solution. Once she was gone, Poker Flat would be safe and Hunter could move on to a better woman.
She’d ignored the feelings she had developed for him, but tonight showed her exactly how much he meant to her. She’d never wanted to help someone so much, especially a man. It looked like her days of meaningless sex were over.
Luckily, he didn’t know her well enough to like her too much. Even though he now “knew” her in the Biblical sense. She smiled inside.
It was for the best for everyone, except maybe her, but she was tough. She would live. She could handle it better than anyone at Poker Flat.
When they arrived, Mac was waiting with a golf cart. “Hey, you look like shit.”
She grinned. “No kidding. You try drinking for five hours then vomiting everything up, and see what you look like.”
“Whoa, I better take you home. Hop in.”
She glanced back at Hunter, who stood outside in the moonlight. He looked at her, but didn’t say anything.
“Thank you.”
He made no response. He didn’t even move, not even the tic in his cheek.
She turned away and climbed into the golf cart. “I feel like crap.”
Mac gave her a nervous look. “Just hold on until I get you home, okay?”
“Okay.”
Chapter Twelve
‡
Adriana slammed her trunk closed and breathed a sigh of relief that it didn’t pop open. It was hard enough deciding what she needed to take with her and what to send, never mind sneaking around in broad daylight.
She’d hitched a ride with the liquor delivery man. His second stop after Poker Flat was always the Black Mustang, so she was able to retrieve her car and settle up with Cutter. He didn’t charge her for at least five shots, so she left him a big tip. Then she closed out her account at the bank. If someone wanted to dump money into her account, she was damn well going to keep it.
Once back at her casita, the fun had begun. Avoiding staff and guests on a busy day had been a challenge, but she’d done it. She could fit one more box on her passenger seat and she’d be ready to leave.
She wouldn’t say goodbye to anyone. It was her fault for growing attached. In the bordello, she’d been good at keeping people at a distance because the girls came and went for various reasons. Some found better jobs, others found love, and some, like herself, just decided to move on.
But Poker Flat and the staff had burrowed under her skin. Hunter had… Refusing to think about him because of the ache in her chest, she strode to her golf cart and drove it to the edge of the ravine where the dirt road sloped downward.
She gazed out at the resort as the sunset splashed an orange-pink glow over the buildings. Most everyone was at dinner. She could see a few people around the outside bar. Kendra was serving. That woman had made a cool retreat for those who preferred to be nude.
She wished her huge success.
Adriana remained at the edge of the ravine, watching and waiting. Finally, Mac came out of the barn and walked to the stable manager building. Clear on that front. This would be her last trip to her casita, so she didn’t want anyone to see her.
Then movement down by casita number one caught her eyes. Hunter. Even from where she was, she recognized his walk. It was predatory, like the mountain lion he’d scared away.
She swallowed hard at the hitch in her heart. Fuck, this was going to hurt like hell. Just another reason not to say goodbye.
It was now or never. She put the golf cart into motion and drove straight to her casita. She parked it on her patio so it wasn’t so noticeable. Of course, Hunter would notice it, but he was so furious, she was confidant she wouldn’t hear from him. She told him she wasn’t good at the connecting thing. She just wasn’t good enough. Her leaving would be better for everyone.
Now all she had to do was wait. Lacey and Andrew had already left. She’d never see them again. Her plan was to leave after Kendra closed the bar. The foursome would walk to their casita and Hunter would keep an eye on them. But he’d see her as she drove up the ravine to the garage. She needed him to be distracted because he was the only thing that could keep her at Poker Flat and it was better she leave, especially for him.
She walked into her casita and kicked off her sneakers, thinking over possible ideas to get Hunter to the other side of the resort. Once she figured out what to do, all she had to do was pack up her food and go. She’d come up with something, but first she’d heat up one last Selma meal that Lacey had dropped by.
*
Hunter heard splashing in the conversation pool and walked over to be sure there was no glass nearby. The guests were pretty good about that, but after drinking all day, sometimes they forgot.
Three people chatted, the signature Poker Flat plastic glasses on the stone table between them. He nodded as they waved and continued his patrol. He’d totally lost it last night when he found Adriana too drunk to even stand on her own.
He couldn’t believe she’d done that. As a bartender, she of all people should know when to stop. What the fuck was wrong with her?
He should also figure out what was wrong with him. He’d thought he’d conquered his aversion to people drinking, but he obviously hadn’t.
Maybe he never would.
“Hunter?”
He turned at the sound of his name. Kendra had walked out from behind the bar and caught up with him.
“Do you need something?”
She had on her poker face, which cued him in that it wasn’t good news. “I wanted to let you know I’m going to let Adriana go. Lacey found deposits to her bank account from the days the photo site was up.” She raised her hand. “No, I still don’t think she did it, but what else is going to happen? I can’t risk the whole resort. If she figures out who is doing this to her and takes care of it, then I’ll be happy to hire her back.”
He wanted to argue with her, but he didn’t blame her.
“I just wanted you to know, so you can decide what you want to do.”
He’d forgotten he’d told her he’d quit too. Adriana was going to be—Wait a minute. “How big were the deposits made to Adriana’s account?”
Kendra sighed. “Some were over a thousand dollars.” She glanced back at the bar and noticed a guest waiting. “We can talk more about this tomorrow.”
He gave her a quick nod as his mind raced. One of the guests was the
regional manager for a bank and he was sure there was a bank in the office complex where the site had been created. The question was, was it Adriana’s bank?
Anyone could deposit money into her account, but if it was someone who worked at her bank, they could ask one of the tellers to come to their office and give the employee the deposit to make. There’d be no video footage of them giving the teller the cash, only of the teller making the deposit. It was more likely someone who worked at a bank would think of doing that than someone who owned a landscaping business, which one of the suspects did.
Heading for the fork in the road, he waved Mac down as she walked across the dirt area in front of the barn.
“What’s up?”
“I need a few minutes to check something. I think I might have a lead on who has been making Adriana look bad. Do you mind watching the resort while I take a half hour to work on it?”
“No, go. I’ve got this.”
He nodded and headed straight for his casita. He was pretty sure it was either Patti from the foursome or Tina from the Dom-Dom-sub relationship who worked at a bank. If it was, they could finally confront her.
Once home, he turned on the laptop and grabbed a water. Pulling up the spread sheet, he glanced across the three highlighted lines. Stud21 was a restaurant owner. Patti was a real estate agent. Tina was a regional manager for a bank.
He pulled up the list of companies in the office complex. There it was. Triumph whipped through him. “I’ve got you now.”
He didn’t know which bank Adriana had. He’d ask her after his shift. But just to be sure, he scanned down the occupations of all the guests who had been at the resort while the judge was.
Tina was the only banker. To be thorough, he double checked the two Doms, John and Gary. John owned a financial advisement firm. That could be where Tina obtained the money from. He may have told her to do it.
Yes! He had motive, means, and opportunity. But he couldn’t jump to conclusions. He had to confirm Adriana’s bank was the one in the complex.
Closing the laptop, he headed directly for the bar. Kendra was slammed with people so he strode down around the guest casitas. When he came back up, she was still busy so he walked through the main building then jogged up to the garage. He walked between the vehicles and noticed the red SUV wasn’t there anymore.
But the memory of it triggered the image of him and his wife buying it together so she’d be safe. Little had they known, nothing could withstand the impact of a semi-truck.
He stilled, waiting for the familiar anger to come to the surface, but it didn’t make it that far. Instead, sadness overwhelmed his anger. He wasn’t sure if it was better. It certainly didn’t feel better. He continued his patrol. As he walked by the staff cars, he noticed Adriana had her car back. She must have picked it up during the day.
She would be pissed when she found out it was Tina. He pictured her reaction. First, she’d swear. Then she’d slap both hands on her hips and spit. That image alone had him smiling and the sadness took a back seat.
He took out his flashlight and looked in her car. Damn, she had boxes in the back seat on top of all her paperwork. He couldn’t see any of it. He flashed his light over the front seat, but there were no bank receipts there.
How could she pack her car with a hangover? She had to have had a bad one. His hands clenched as he remembered her inebriated state. When he’d seen her in the bar, he was pissed because she looked so hot, but when he realized she was drunk, it infuriated him. She should never have put herself in that situation. Any one of the men in that bar could have taken advantage of her.
Maybe they had. He stalked out of the garage. He didn’t want her having sex with anyone else. She may not understand it yet, but she was his.
As he reached the ravine ledge, he scanned the resort. More lights were on in the guest casitas and from the lights above the outside bar, there were only a handful left there. He headed that way.
*
Adriana looked at the clock. The bar should be closed by now. It was time. She looked around the casita that had been her home for over a year. It sucked to have to leave. Quietly, she stepped outside and locked the door.
After loading her box of food on the golf cart, she drove to Hunter’s casita. She picked the lock but the door wouldn’t open. Damn, he’d added a deadbolt. Moving around to the slider, she checked it for a bar. Crap. How was she supposed to create a distraction if she couldn’t break in?
There was one other way in. She looked around the patio and found what she needed. She tugged on one of the pavers that served as a border. Yanking it free, she took it to the window in his door and slammed it hard. The glass cracked but didn’t give.
How the hell had he broken an entire slider? She tried again, not as worried about the sound carrying. The paver burst through the window. She pulled her sleeve down past her hand and stuck her arm through, quickly undoing the deadbolt. She hated broken glass.
Leaving the door open, she turned a light on in each room, knocked a couple items off the dresser and threw a living room pillow on the floor before she ran out. Jumping into her golf cart, she drove around to Kendra’s house, which was at the end of the staff housing and set back quite a way.
She watched for Mac or Hunter to notice something was wrong. It didn’t take long before she heard a shout. She took the opportunity to drive to the fork and head down the path to the bridge at the bottom. By the time the golf cart climbed to the top of the ravine and she glanced back, the lights in Hunter’s casita were out.
He’d be looking for the culprit, so she needed to hurry. She couldn’t bear to see him before she left, or she might not go. Stopping the golf cart outside the garage, she noticed lights heading along the dirt road that led from the highway to the resort. Great, just what she needed, late arriving guests. She carried her box to her car and put it in the passenger seat.
Running around the vehicle, she jumped in and backed out of the garage. She should have turned right, but she couldn’t resist taking one last look. She drove her car around the wooden barrier, following the tracks of the golf carts.
She stopped before the edge. Water filled her eyes and she brushed it away with her arm. It had just been a short stop on her road of life. She’d get over it.
As she looked over the staff casitas, a light flicked on in hers. “Hey, I haven’t even left yet. Have some respect.”
The lights of the guests coming onto the resort shone in her rearview mirror and she shaded her eyes. She’d wait until they turned into the garage then she’d turn around and leave before they left the garage to go down to the resort.
She waited for the vehicle to turn but it didn’t. Crap, did they think this was the way to the resort?
She put her car in reverse when she noticed the vehicle swerve around the barrier. Oh, this wasn’t good. It was there to keep people from driving over the ledge. She backed around so she could face the car with her headlights and flash them, but no sooner had she turned sideways than the car sped up and broadsided her.
*
Hunter tried to still the panic in his heart as he rushed through the three rooms of Adriana’s casita. As he walked out the door, Mac grabbed his arm. “Look.”
He stilled at the car lights sitting at the edge of the ravine. Adriana would never kill herself, which meant she was taking a last look. He had to get up there. He sprinted to the front of the main building and grabbed a golf cart. He’d just reached the fork when he saw the lights move. “Fuck.”
Pressing the pedal to the floor of the golf cart, he sped down to the bridge.
A crash sounded above him and he looked up. “No!”
Adriana’s car teetered on the edge of the ravine, the passenger side over the ridge.
He jumped out of the golf cart and ran up the hill. Just as he crested it, he saw another car stop backing up and head forward again toward Adriana. Pulling his gun from his waist, he dropped to one knee and fired.
The car spun. He f
ired again. Two tires shot out, but it still tried to move forward. It had to be Tina.
With little choice left, he aimed at the windshield and pulled the trigger. The sedan slowed to a stop and he ran for Adriana’s car.
As he approached, he could see she was out cold, the vehicle so old there was no airbag. Her driver side window was busted, probably from her head hitting it. He had to control his breathing. Losing control now wouldn’t help her.
He stepped closer. He only had one shot at this. He looked at her old fashioned door locks and was relieved to see they were unlocked. Luckily, the impact was to the back door, a large dent in the metal bent outward, leaving a sharp edge. The problem was, she wore her seatbelt.
The yellow car rocked back and forth a foot each way. Pulling his knife from his pocket, he held it in his right hand and with his left, opened the door slowly. The car creaked toward him. With his knife he sliced through the seatbelt before the car started to tip the other way.
He grabbed Adriana by her arms and yanked as the vehicle tipped over the ridge, the sharp edge of the bent metal caught the side of his arm and sliced it open. “Argh.”
Between the pain in his arm and her weight, he had to throw himself to the ground to avoid being taken over the side. The crash as the car landed shook the ravine and then the night lit up as it exploded.
He rolled them over, protecting her from the heat when the fireball rose up the canyon wall and dissipated into the night air.
“Adriana?” He pressed two fingers against her neck and breathed a sigh of relief. She had a pulse. She was too full of life to die. He sat up and tried to use his left arm to hold her, but it was numb.
“Shit.” He was losing too much blood. His knife was five feet away so he crawled over to it and lifted it in his right hand. In no time he’d ripped his shirt open. Fuck, he needed a tourniquet and fast.
No one was going to think they were up there. They would assume Adriana was in the car. He tried to reach his phone but the blood on his hand kept him from gripping it. Darkness threatened his vision, but if he passed out, he would bleed to death.