Colton's Lethal Reunion (The Coltons 0f Mustang Valley Book 2)

by Tara Taylor Quinn

  She put the Jeep in Park.

  “Can you do that? Without his permission?” It wasn’t like she had a warrant. And Ace Colton wasn’t likely to let her paw through his stuff. But that Rafe would do that... For her...

  “He’ll give his permission,” Rafe said. “But yes, I can. The board has voted to actively search for who switched Ace at birth, to find the biological Colton, by any means available to us. Those trunks are accessible to all of us...”

  Us. The word hit her hard. As did the fact that she’d just done what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do. She’d taken hope, for a second there, that Rafe was choosing to help her at the risk of alienating another Colton.

  “Do you have a trunk, too?” She heard the hint of emotion in her voice, the lack of professionalism in the question, wished she could take it back as she looked at him, waiting for his answer.

  “I do.” The blue in those eyes darkened, as though he was pleading with her. But for what? He had it all.

  “Okay, well...” She didn’t look away. She did push her personal feelings aside. “Things to look for... A baby book, or the hospital bracelet he’d had on...some mothers save those, hers and the baby’s, and they could have doctor’s names on them. They used to, sometimes, before the digital age. Baby books also typically have a line to name the delivery doctor...”

  “Kerry...”

  She shook her head. “I’m heading in to see if the autopsy report is back on Grant Alvin. If we can establish the ranger’s cause of death as a homicide, I think I can get an order to have Tyler’s body exhumed and reexamined. The way they both were lying...the similarities in landing...can’t be a coincidence. It has to have something to do with how they went over the side. Like, the same guy pushing them both in the same way...”

  She was rambling but stopped. He didn’t need to know that she’d be spending her evening at home, on her law enforcement databases, searching for Nan Gelman. That wasn’t pertinent to their association. “Please keep me posted,” she said, putting the still-running Jeep back in Drive.

  Rafe got the hint. She read the resignation in the long look he gave her. Saying he’d call her if he found anything in the trunk, he told her to take care and vacated her space.

  She told herself it didn’t hurt.

  * * *

  Colton Oil finance business kept Rafe at the office longer than he’d have liked. As eager as he was to get up in the attic and go through Ace’s trunk to see if he could find anything that would help with discovering who’d switched his adopted brother at birth, Rafe was more driven to having a reason to call Kerry. The completed trunk search would offer that.

  It was like he had to be in constant contact with her.

  He also had to spend time at the hospital with Payne. He’d changed back into dress pants and shirt and tie upon arrival at the office and was wearing the same as he walked into the hospital room. Genevieve was there, but welcomed a chance to have dinner with Marlowe, Bowie and Callum, Marlowe’s fraternal twin, and after she left, Rafe ended up sitting with Ace for an hour, watching Payne lying unconscious.

  Marlowe and Callum were going to be heading up to the hospital after dinner and then Genevieve would take the night shift.

  Rafe told Ace about wanting to go through his trunk.

  “Fine,” Ace said, throwing up his hand. “It’s not like I have much say in anything these days.”

  Rafe understood the other man’s frustration. Probably more than Ace knew.

  “You want to be there?” he asked. “We could do it tonight, when we’re done here.”

  Ace’s headshake wasn’t a total surprise. Who’d want to go look through childhood memorabilia right after finding out that his childhood had been based on a lie? At least Rafe had always known who he was, where he came from.

  “I’m staying at the condo,” Ace said, referring to his loft in the industrial section of town. “I saw a reporter lurking around at the mansion yesterday and I’m not dealing with that,” Ace continued.

  Rafe didn’t blame him.

  They talked about Colton Oil business for a minute or two, mostly awkward conversation since Ace was no longer on the board and privy to the confidential board minutes, which were taking up a lot of Rafe’s office time at the moment. A lot of people outside of Mustang Valley and even Arizona lived off the success of Colton Oil.

  Rafe turned to study the monitors hooked up to Payne. The rise and fall of every heartbeat was designated with a green line in teepee-shaped formations. The oxygen levels and blood pressure readings turned up on the same screen. He’d asked enough questions that first day to know normal ranges for all of Payne’s vital statistics and was glad to see them all completely on track. That had to be good.

  “I get it now,” Ace said, elbows on his knees, his hands clasped, as he glanced between Payne and Rafe.

  “Get what?”

  “How it must have felt...you moving in with us...there, not really one of us, but one of us...”

  Uncomfortable, unsure where Ace was going, and pretty sure he didn’t want to tag along, Rafe said, “What you’re getting at is how hard it was, not having a say in how my life was going to go,” he told the other man. That he could talk about.

  He was still paying the price for having to do what a Colton would do, rather than following his own dictates.

  Ace looked at him. Nodded. And shut up.

  Rafe left soon after that, not wanting to be there when everyone got back from dinner. He’d be forced to stay longer and visit. Callum, an elite bodyguard, wasn’t home much, so he had a lot of catching up to do. Rafe had to get home and uncover whatever of Ace’s past was stashed away in the attic.

  Thinking about his plans, he kept a light foot on the gas pedal as he made his way down Mustang Boulevard, noting Kerry’s Jeep still parked outside the police station, and then sped out of town. There’d be food for dinner in the kitchen at the mansion. He could grab something and take it upstairs with him.

  And hopefully have an answer for the beautiful detective before too much longer. Thinking of giving Kerry answers, he pushed the hands-free calling button on his steering wheel, and asked to call Jason. So far all the man had to report was that Odin Rogers was surface clean. Just as Kerry had said, there was nothing jumping out that would enable authorities even to bring him in for questioning.

  “I’m not saying he’s clean,” Jason told him. “Only that he’s not making it easy for anyone to find anything on him. From what I can see, his money comes from investments, but I haven’t been able to trace the source of the capital. It’s all run through several accounts, at least one of them offshore, which doesn’t necessarily make it illegal. It just makes it harder to tell.”

  Investments, anything to do with money, were Rafe’s forte and he passed several miles’ worth of dark, deserted roadway discussing the various accounts, trying to decipher what he was being told. He ended up asking Jason to forward all of the documents to him. Since the information hadn’t been obtained with a warrant, it probably wouldn’t be admissible in court or actionable in terms of Kerry’s investigation, but it could lead them to something separate and apart from the money laundering he suspected was going on. Like Jason had always said, follow the money trails and eventually you find the truth.

  He’d noticed headlights coming up behind him as he was finishing his call, maybe even one of the siblings heading home. It wasn’t like they all checked in with each other. He hadn’t noticed how fast the vehicle was traveling or he might not have hung up. It gained at least a quarter of a mile on him in the time it took him to glance down at the end call button, check the road in front of him, and then glance in his rearview mirror.

  The vehicle, an old four-wheel drive SUV from before they were officially called that, wasn’t carrying any Coltons, of that he was sure. The beat-up front bumper, and primer on the front hood told him that m
uch. And the speed at which the guy was traveling... Rafe watched closely, looking for signs of swerving or other erratic behavior. Was the driver drunk?

  When he saw the guy maintaining control of his vehicle, he slowed down, figuring he’d let him pass. And then, once he could get a license plate number, which was only required on backs of cars in Arizona, he’d call state patrol and report him.

  The plan was still in the forming stages as the grayish vehicle caught up to him. Rafe moved as much to the side of the road as he could, flirting with the shoulder, to give the other driver as much room as possible to pass. But rather than going by him, the guy seemed to bear down on him like he was going to hit him. Both hands on the wheel, Rafe quickly floored the gas pedal and got his truck back on the road. The other vehicle kept up with him, moving over to the opposite lane as though to pass, but then coming back over heading for a sideswipe of Rafe’s truck. Swerving to the shoulder, Rafe kept his truck steady, bumping along on gravel and hard dirt; he drove along the side of the lane, watching the other vehicle as much as the land in front of him. Half a mile up ahead a sign loomed. He was headed straight for it.

  He had no choice but to slam on his brakes. And then, swerving, he drove back onto the road, heading in the opposite direction. Flooring the pedal again, he continued on toward town. Suddenly hearing a loud crack, he was not sure what had happened. The sound came one more time. He glanced in the rearview mirror, looking to see if the old, beat-up vehicle had turned and was still on him and noticed instead that the guy’s taillights were speeding off into the distance.

  Heart pounding in his chest, he saw the flash just outside the driver’s side window. And heard one more crack.

  That’s when he figured out that he’d just been fired upon.

  Chapter 15

  Kerry was waiting outside in the parking lot of the police department when Rafe pulled up. The second he’d called, she had a patrol car heading out to escort him in, and state police were looking for the vehicle he’d described in great detail.

  When she caught herself practically running to open his truck door for him, she slowed down. Focused on the job. And stood there waiting for him to step down out of the truck.

  Yeah, she looked him over carefully, noting everything from the good, healthy color of his skin, to the slightly frenetic energy about him. His hair wasn’t mussed and the knot on his tie was neatly in place.

  He’d changed back into business clothes after she’d left him that afternoon. Why that mattered she didn’t know, but there it was. She’d been expecting him in the jeans she’d left him in.

  “You’re okay?” she asked, when she’d determined for herself that he’d been telling her the truth. He wasn’t hurt.

  “I am. I’m not so sure about my truck.” He was walking toward the tailgate and she followed him.

  Damn. He was right. Someone had shot at him. “There are three distinct bullet holes,” she said, shaking all over again. She went down on her haunches, studying the marks, but didn’t think there was any trace evidence in them. Still, “I’ll get someone out here to check this,” she said. And then looked up at Lizzie and James, the two officers who’d seen Rafe in safely. “Head out there and see if you can find any casings,” she said, naming the approximate mile markers that should be their starting and stopping points. “I’m afraid that if we wait until morning, traffic will have ruined our chances of finding them.”

  And then, hoping she had her emotions in check, she looked up at Rafe again. “Dane’s here,” she told him, “waiting to speak with you.”

  His nod was appropriate. The warm, sweet look in his gaze was not.

  “I’m fine, Ker.”

  She nodded, and led him inside.

  * * *

  Kerry listened with a sense of pride as Rafe described to Dane, in clear detail, exactly what he’d told her on the phone. There was nothing duplicitous about the man. His stories never changed.

  His reliability had been one of the things she’d loved about him. Rafe Kay had been the one aspect of her life she could count on.

  “I didn’t get a good look at the guy,” he said. “But it could have been the same guy up on the mountain, without the beard. I hit him pretty hard. If it is the same man, he’ll have bruises. This guy was broad shouldered, too. Dark hair, from what I could tell. And unless someone was lying down in the vehicle, he was alone.”

  “Are you sure enough to risk your life on that?” Dane asked.

  Frowning, Rafe shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

  The lines on Dane’s slightly weathered face deepened with concern as he looked from one to the other of them at the round table they were sharing. “I think it’s clear that you and Kerry are both much safer in town,” he said, but talking mostly to Rafe, who looked as put together as always, like no matter what happened to him, he just took it and moved on. Not even his tie was askew.

  Dane was wearing a tie, too, but his knots were always loose, leaving room for an open top button. “I want you under protection, at least for tonight,” he said to Rafe. “Here in town, if at all possible. You tell me where you’ll be and I’ll send a car.”

  Rafe shook his head. He was a free man. He’d done nothing wrong. He had a choice. And...

  “He can stay at my place,” Kerry blurted. “He’s already been with me the past two nights...”

  She’d promised herself when he left her home that morning he wouldn’t step back inside, but that was before someone had tried to shoot him.

  Not them. Him. Not up on the mountain. But on his way home. It was getting personal.

  “I don’t know, Kerry,” Dane said. “If he’s going to bunk with someone, James might be better...”

  “Why, because he’s a guy and I’m a woman?” she asked, quick to anger. Quick to everything these days, apparently. “Like no one ever has guys sitting in a safe house guarding women in jeopardy?”

  “Excuse me,” Rafe interrupted. “I’m sitting right here. I think I can decide what protection I need and how to keep myself safe.”

  Right. Her point to begin with. Before she’d gone and tried to control the situation. He was the one in charge of his welfare.

  “I agree with Dane. You need the protection, Rafe,” she said before he could refuse, before her feelings could be hurt that it seemed like he didn’t want to be at her house as badly as she wanted him there. “At this point we have no idea what’s going on. Until now, the only real danger has been when we’ve been up on the mountain. This...following you out of town, or worse, sitting in wait for you to head out to the ranch...we can’t be sure this is even related to Tyler’s death, Odin Rogers, any of it. For all we know, it could have something to do with whoever shot Payne. You really need to stay in town. And you need protection.”

  “I can pay for my own protection,” he said, and she let out a breath, glad to know he wasn’t arguing his need for it. And hurt that he didn’t want her services.

  Hurt, because she was a confused mess where he was concerned.

  And then she remembered. “You already told me once that you’d hire your own protection,” she said. “If you did, they’ve failed miserably...”

  “I didn’t. But I will.”

  “Now? Tonight?” Why was she fighting so hard to have him at her house? She knew what would happen. And knew that she was only creating more heartache for the future.

  “Probably,” he said, bowed his head and then glanced at both of them. “I’d rather wait until morning,” he said. “I have a guy who has people on call, but I just told him this morning I didn’t need anyone. And I’m hoping by morning we’ll realize it’s not necessary. None of my other siblings have watchdogs on them at the moment.”

  “None of your other siblings have been warned away or shot at recently. But you’re right, we’ll probably know more in the morning,” Dane allowed. They had the ranger’s autopsy r
esults. His death had been ruled a homicide. There’d been very clear pressure applied to his throat at or about the time of death, pressure, not a blunt force blow sustained in a fall. But enough to render him incapable of calling out or fighting much if he was being backed up to a mountain ledge. These were all things she had to tell Rafe.

  Because he was helping her investigate Tyler’s death.

  Because her brother had most likely suffered the same fate.

  “We got a partial fingerprint that we’ve sent for identification and to be run through databases,” was all Dane said about it.

  If they knew who’d pushed the ranger, they could bring him in. And maybe it could all just be over if the print came back belonging to Odin Rogers. Or whoever it came back to rolled on Odin Rogers. Or if the criminal was just plain guilty and Odin was no more than the greasy snake many of them thought him to be.

  “And they might find the guy who took a shot at you. There aren’t that many ways off that road, and the state police know the area. If nothing else, we might get something on the bullets that will link us to the shots fired at you two on the mountain,” Dane added. “So definitely, for tonight at least, it’s best that you stay in town.”

  “I was going to say that I’d like to accept Detective Wilder’s invitation to stay at her place,” Rafe said, glancing at her, briefly, and then looked back at Dane. “We’ve been at this a few days already and it would be less awkward,” he said.

  “As long as you’re sure you don’t mind a guest for one more night?” He looked at her fully then, and there was nothing at all untoward in the glance; nothing that Dane could ever intercept or interpret in any way inappropriate.

  But as she assured both men that she was just doing her job and happy to be able to help, she knew what Rafe had been asking.

  And what she’d just agreed to.

  He’d given his word that he wouldn’t ask her to make love with him again. But if she invited him home, all bets were off.