No Way Out

by Susan Sleeman

  Male voices mixed with the wind. They were coming closer. He held his finger to his lips but took the time to search her face for any duplicity. All he saw besides large eyes ringed with long lashes was fear. Raw and fresh. Even if she wasn’t telling him the truth about what had happened, it was clear she was afraid of these men.

  “I don’t see anyone, Gibson,” a deep voice rumbled from below. “We don’t even know if the person came down to the beach. It’s freaking cold out here, and we should call it quits.”

  “Quit being such a baby.” The second man’s voice was higher, more nasal.

  The woman started shivering, and her lips quivered. Cole wore a slicker over a thick parka, but her lightweight jacket was plastered against her body. He wanted to draw her against him for warmth, but he couldn’t risk her decking him and signaling their location to the men below.

  “Maybe Saunders was wrong and no one heard us.”

  “You want to be the one to tell him that?” That high voice went even higher.

  The other guy snorted. “Not if I want to live.”

  “That’s what I figured. C’mon. We’ll keep going. If we don’t find someone in thirty minutes we’ll quit.”

  Cole would give the men time to move out of hearing distance and then he’d ask her for details to see how he could be of assistance.

  She started moving as if she intended to climb over him and down to the beach.

  “Not yet.” Cole laid a restraining hand on her back. “We’ll wait until they’ve put some distance between us.”

  “We?” Her forehead furrowed and her whole body shook from the cold.

  “You need help, and I can provide it.”

  “I don’t even know you.” It took a strong woman to be this chilled and tired and refuse help. Or a foolish one.

  “Then let’s remedy that.” He turned on his side and offered his hand. “Cole Justice. Former U.S. Marshal and Oregon National Guard,” he said, hoping she’d realize he was one of the good guys.

  She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

  “Usually this is when you shake hands and give me your name.” He smiled to try to ease her obvious concern, but it didn’t work. She kept peering at him. “Okay. So you don’t want me to know who you are. Can you at least give me a first name?”

  “Alyssa,” she said between tremors.

  A perfectly elegant name for a woman who he figured would live up to it, if she was dry and not lying on a slimy rock with the winds and rain from the Pacific Ocean pummeling her body.

  “Do you have somewhere safe to go?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “We can go to my house until you figure out what to do.”

  “Not hardly.”

  “Look, I’m the last guy who’d tell a woman to go home with a strange man, but I really am one of the good guys. Plus my sister is staying with me so we won’t be alone.” He could see she was starting to consider it. “You can dry off and warm up then leave as soon as you have a plan.”

  “I’m all for getting off the beach until these guys take off, but I’m not stepping inside the door until I see this sister.” He loved the timbre of her voice, strong and determined as if nothing could best her.

  “Deal,” he said. “Let me make sure they’ve moved far enough up the beach, then we can leave.” He slid on his belly across the rock and, before glancing over the edge, he put his hand on his gun in case he needed to draw. The men were mere shadows moving away from them. He looked back at Alyssa and pushed up to his knees. “Are you good to get down on your own?”

  She sat up and nodded, but she was shivering violently now. He slipped out of his slicker and parka and handed them to her. “These should help.”

  “No, they’re yours.”

  “Take them,” he insisted and dropped them into her hands.

  She reluctantly slipped into jackets twice her size and clutched the excess fabric around her waist.

  “I’ll go first to be sure we’re still alone.” He didn’t wait for her agreement but lowered his body over the edge and descended as quickly as he could without endangering his life.

  She was on her way down before he hit the ground. Hand on his weapon, he quickly checked the other side of the rock to be sure they were alone. He wanted to draw his gun, but he figured Alyssa would run from him if she knew he was armed. Most people didn’t understand that it was normal for law enforcement officers, even former or retired officers, to carry all the time.

  He cleared the side of the rock and a gust of wind hit him full on, soaking him anew. The storm was picking up. They had to get a move on. He ran back to the rocks and waited for Alyssa. About five feet above him, she missed a foothold and fell backward. No scream, no flailing, just a soft free-fall into his arms that strained with his catch.

  Her eyes were wide open with the same fear in the depths but still in control. She was the coolest woman he’d ever met. As if nothing fazed her.

  “Thank you,” she said and pushed out of his hold. “We should go.”

  The wind howled around the rock, spitting seawater and sand. When they stepped into the open she’d have a hard time without support, but he’d wait for her to ask for his help.

  “This way.” He started up the beach, the wet sand packing nicely under his feet and making the going easier. He kept looking back to check on her. She was falling behind. He slowed to let her catch up. “We’d make better time if you’d hold on to me to keep the wind from carrying you off course.”

  She studied him a moment then gave a clipped nod and cautiously approached him. He lifted his arm and she slipped under it. A perfect fit, he couldn’t help but think.

  She was still shivering so he pulled her tighter against his body. She wrapped an arm around his waist and they trudged up the beach.

  As the wind blew harder, he could feel her faltering. He looked down at her, and she seemed fragile and small. It touched him in a place he thought long dead from the ravages of war. He bent and scooped her into his arms. Her mouth formed an O of surprise, but she didn’t protest so he set off again, her head against chest, his head bent against the wind. He climbed the wooden stairs to his deck overlooking the beach and crossed to the door.

  “Your sister,” she said pointedly, strength still in her voice even if it had left her body.

  He smiled at her tenacity and pounded on the door.

  “You can put me down now,” she said.

  “You’ll stay warmer this way.” Surprisingly she didn’t struggle but rested her head on his chest again. He figured she really had to be wiped out to do so.

  The door opened and, though his sister Dani’s mouth dropped open in surprise at the sight of them, she didn’t ask any questions. Not that Cole routinely brought home women in distress, but their family did run a private investigation agency dedicated to helping people who had nowhere else to turn. She was used to seeing people in need.

  “Alyssa, meet Dani.” He turned his attention back to Alyssa. “Can we go in now?”

  When her lips tipped in a charming smile, he had to draw in a breath at the stunning beauty.

  “Get some blankets, Dani.” He crossed the threshold and headed for the sofa. “And lock the door.”

  Dani turned the dead bolt then ran down the hallway. She returned with blankets as Cole gently set Alyssa on the sofa. Dani shook out a blanket and wrapped it around Alyssa’s shaking shoulders.

  “Thank you.” Alyssa smiled again, her lips trembling.

  Dani handed another blanket to Cole but he tossed it on the sofa. She looked up at him, her gaze filled with questions.

  He telegraphed an I’ll-tell-you-later look and went to the lamp. “We need to turn off the lights until I’m sure we’re secure.”

  Dani didn’t question him. He turned off the lamps,
and she went for the wall switch.

  He nodded at the bank of windows on the far side of the room. “Blinds next.”

  He grabbed the remote and set the blinds in motion on the floor-to-ceiling windows facing the ocean. The motor whirred, slowly bringing down the blinds but not before he caught sight of the two men trudging along the beach far too close to the house for comfort.

  Cole glanced at Alyssa sitting wide-eyed on the couch, the blanket doing nothing to stop her shivering. He’d taken on the responsibility of protecting her, but was he up to the task if he couldn’t put behind him the loss of his buddy in Iraq? A loss that was all Cole’s fault.

  Shake it off, he warned himself as he’d done when he needed to finish out his last tour after Mac died.

  “Take Alyssa to the hallway,” he barked at his sister. “If we have a breach, take her out the garage door and evacuate.”

  Dani didn’t hesitate but hurried to Alyssa and lifted her by the arm.

  “What’s happening?” Alyssa’s voice rose in alarm.

  “The men who were following you are heading toward the deck.” Cole didn’t have to say any more. The look on Alyssa’s face said it all.

  If he didn’t somehow stop these men from getting inside and figuring out she was the one who overheard them, her life would be at stake—and his and Dani’s, too.

  TWO

  Once in the long hallway, Alyssa shook off Dani’s arm and peered around the corner. Framed in a shaft of light seeping through the small window from the outdoor security light, Cole stood at the ready. Alyssa could only gape at him.

  He had a gun. A gun, for goodness’ sakes! Apparently, he’d had it with him all this time. While he’d held her. While he’d carried her and she’d rested her head trustingly on his chest, he’d been armed like the men chasing her.

  “Stay here.” Dani shot across the room, surefooted even in the dim lighting, and joined her brother. She swooped down and pulled a weapon from an ankle holster, the grace and ease of the movement proving she’d done so many times before.

  Seriously? Both of them had guns?

  “Who are you people?” Alyssa asked, surprised at how shrill her voice sounded.

  “All you need to know right now is that we’re here to help you.” Cole kept his intense focus on the window in the door.

  Should she have blindly trusted a strange man on the beach? Had she traded one set of killers for another?

  Neither of them looked like killers, and Cole had said he used to be a U.S. Marshal...but then Nolan was a cop and now she had reason to believe he’d murdered Todd.

  Unbelievable!

  How could she ever imagine when she’d set off tonight that the man who’d cared for them since Todd died was the one who’d ended Todd’s life? Now she didn’t know what or who to believe. Who to trust.

  “Looks like they’re moving down the beach,” Cole said, grabbing Alyssa’s attention. “Head upstairs, Dani, and keep an eye on them until they’re out of sight.”

  Dani gave a clipped nod and Alyssa stepped back into the main room. Dani jogged to the open staircase on long legs that took her up the steps in a flash.

  Cole lowered his gun, but kept it gripped between both of his hands and his focus on the door. Silhouetted by the outside light, his long-sleeved shirt clung to his body, molding to muscles she knew were rock hard from when he’d carried her to the house. He was tall—well over six feet she figured. She had to look up at him and she easily cleared five-eleven without shoes. Chestnut-colored hair covered his collar and had a slight wave as it started to dry.

  “We’re clear, Cole.” Dani’s voice came from upstairs, and Alyssa pulled her focus from him to watch Dani run down the stairs. “Go ahead and have a seat, Alyssa.”

  “Now would be a good time to tell me who you are and why you have guns.” Alyssa directed her comment to Dani, who hadn’t asked a single question of Cole. If Alyssa had a brother who brought home a soaked stray, she’d be peppering him with nonstop questions.

  Dani just smiled, lighting up a beautiful face surrounded by natural blond waves. She clicked on a lamp, flooding the room with light. Alyssa blinked until her eyes adjusted; by that time Cole was joining her. His lips tipped in a warm smile. Instead of making Alyssa feel welcome the way Dani’s had, it surprised her when her heart started beating a little bit faster.

  She dropped onto the sofa and adjusted the blanket to hide her surprise.

  “You okay?” He sat on the table facing her and set his weapon next to him.

  “Yes.” She looked into sharp blue eyes that missed nothing yet were kind. She felt a warm connection. Not an earth-shattering, startling sizzle—just a feeling that he was a good and honorable man.

  “Alyssa,” he said, breaking the spell and making her jump, “whatever’s going on with you, we can help work through it. That’s what we do and we’d gladly accept you as a client.”

  She watched him, searching for duplicitous motives. She found only kindness laced with something that resembled sorrow.

  “A client?” she asked.

  “Remember I told you I used to be a marshal?” Cole’s gaze didn’t waver. “Well, all of my brothers and sisters used to work in law enforcement, too. Now we operate a private investigations agency in Portland. We’re a nonprofit agency that specializes in providing free services to people who are in need but can’t afford quality investigators.”

  Private investigators? Maybe they could help her find out if Nolan killed Todd.

  “Wait.” Dani came forward and those questions that hadn’t been asked earlier lingered on her face. “Alyssa’s not a client?”

  “Not yet,” Cole said. “We just met on the beach, but it seems like she’s a good candidate for our help.”

  “No wonder you were freaked out by our guns.” Dani grabbed a laptop from the table and plopped onto the sofa. She typed for a few moments, then swiveled the screen toward Alyssa. “Here’s our company Web site. This tells you a little about our family. Just so you know we’re legit.”

  Thankful Dani seemed to be a mind reader, Alyssa focused on the About Us page on a professional Web site for The Justice Agency. The page contained no photos but held bios for each of them. Five siblings. Three men and two women. She scanned the page, aware that Dani and Cole were both watching her, but she wouldn’t hurry and miss a single word. If she was going to consider letting them help her figure out if Nolan really had killed Todd, she had to be sure they were trustworthy.

  She read the short family bio. Interesting. All of them were adopted, which explained how Dani could be blonde and fair-skinned next to Cole’s swarthy complexion and darker hair. But they all did have law enforcement backgrounds, as Cole mentioned. Dani and Ethan Justice were experienced FBI agents. Kat and Derrick were former Portland police officers. And Cole was a former U.S. Marshal, like he’d said.

  There were testimonials from clients gushing about the Justice family’s ethics, compassion and top-notch abilities. All services were provided for free, assuming the client met their needs assessment.

  Could her luck be changing? Had God heard her prayers and led her to a family who could help her?

  “I’d really like to think you’re good guys.” Alyssa tried to put strength she wasn’t feeling into her tone.

  “But something’s stopping you,” Cole added.

  “It’s just—” She paused to formulate her sentence so she didn’t come off sounding ungrateful for their offer and didn’t share too much about her situation until she was sure she could trust them. “The men chasing me are police officers, and unless I misunderstood what I overheard, they’re drug dealers, too. So the fact that you once worked in law enforcement might be a big selling feature for potential clients, but not for me. Law enforcement backgrounds don’t prove you’re honest or trustworthy. Plus it can�
�t be a good sign that all five of you left that line of work.”

  “We weren’t kicked out, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Cole chuckled, a cute dimple piercing his cheek.

  Dani sat forward, her usual smile missing. “Our parents were murdered a few years ago and the police couldn’t find the killer. We each took a leave of absence to find who was responsible. We discovered we liked working together, so we formed our agency.”

  “I’m so sorry about your parents,” Alyssa said sincerely. She knew how hard it was to lose parents. Hers had died in a car wreck during her last year of college.

  “Turning our focus on helping people in need has made the loss easier to handle.” Dani closed her computer. “I don’t know what’s going on with you yet, Alyssa, but we’d be glad to help if we can.” She squeezed Alyssa’s hand.

  After spending nine years married to a police officer and hanging around others in the profession, Alyssa had developed a discerning ability to weed out the fakes. At least she thought she had before Nolan revealed his secret tonight. Could she trust her instincts anymore?

  Still, these people didn’t appear to be fake. They seemed good, strong—amazing. Starting with Cole, who risked his life to bring her here, and extending to Dani, who let a stranger into the house without question. Tears threatened to flow as a result of their kindness, and she swallowed hard to hold them back.

  She looked at Dani and kept her tone light. “How can I turn down help from a woman who reacted so calmly when her brother dragged in a strange woman off the beach?” Alyssa forced out a chuckle to lighten the mood and glanced at Cole.

  Abruptly he grinned, exposing that dimple in his left cheek again.

  Oh, wow, she thought. Wow.

  He was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous and would have women falling all over him. And that included her. The memory of being carried up the beach flashed into her mind. She’d felt safe and secure, like nothing could harm her. That was even more attractive than his smile.

  How long had it been since she’d felt safe and cared for? Cherished? Had she ever truly felt that way with Todd? Not really. Not even before the night two years ago when in anger he’d hit her and she’d asked him to move out of the house, basically ending their marriage.