by Hope White
“I’ll check into it,” Nate said. “In the meantime, other than personnel files, does anything else seem to be missing?” Nate directed his question to Mr. Anderson, who glanced at his assistant.
“Not that I can tell,” Carol said. “I’ll keep looking.”
“Thanks. When forensics arrives, you and Mr. Anderson should clear out. Do you have another location where you can conduct business?”
“We can work out of one of the empty cabins,” Mr. Anderson said.
“I’ll have a patrol car stay here until you’re finished. Also, Cassie needs a few days off until we sort this out.”
“Nate—”
“Cassie, don’t argue with me on this,” he said.
“We completely understand. We’re pretty slow for the next few weeks, so no worries,” Mr. Anderson said.
“Thanks.” Cassie handed him the manila envelope. “Sorry my paperwork is late.”
“Totally understandable,” Mr. Anderson said. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Nate escorted Cassie outside to her car.
“You didn’t have to apologize for late paperwork, either,” he said.
“I don’t want to lose this job.”
“He seems like an understanding boss.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Why do I get the feeling you’ve only said sorry, what, twice in your entire life?” she teased.
“Maybe three times,” he countered.
She was surprised he’d joked back. “Wow, a whole three times.”
“Hey, you don’t have to point out my faults. I know them intimately.”
Pointing out his shortcomings was not what she’d meant to do. “I wasn’t trying to—”
“So, you’ll head back to the resort now?” he interrupted.
“I’d like to help you find Becca.”
“Cassie, this is a police investigation.”
“At least let me call Blackburn Adventures. I have the number in my phone.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Cassie called Blackburn, a family-owned company founded more than thirty years ago with an excellent reputation.
“Thank you for calling Blackburn Adventures. Sorry we missed your call. Please leave your name—”
Cassie glanced at Nate. “No one’s answering. I don’t like this. I’ll run by her place to see if she’s okay.”
“Cassie—”
“What if she’s in trouble?”
“I need to know you’re safe at all times. That means going back to the resort. I’ll swing by Becca’s apartment.”
“Okay, Chief.” She got behind the wheel of her car and turned the key, but it wouldn’t start. She tried again. Nothing.
She opened the door. “What else could possibly go wrong today?”
“Could be your battery,” he said.
After a few minutes of trying to jump her battery with no success, Nate suggested it might be her alternator, or possibly something more serious.
“Come on,” he said. “I guess you’re with me.”
With him? She liked the sound of that. Cassie walked a little too excitedly beside him but couldn’t help herself. He motioned to a police officer.
“Officer Hough, keep an eye on Mr. Anderson and his assistant until they leave the premises. Get keys so you can give forensics access to the office.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Chief?” Carol said, coming toward them. “The only missing personnel files are Cassie and Becca’s.” She nodded at Cassie’s car. “Is there a problem?”
“It won’t start,” Cassie offered.
“We’ll be here for an hour or so if you want to leave the keys with me and call for a tow.”
“That would be great.” Cassie started to hand Carol her keys and hesitated. The key chain was her touchstone to the future and her glorious travel plans. She removed the car keys and handed them to Carol. “I appreciate it.”
“Of course.” Carol went back into the office.
Cassie made the call to have Ruby towed, and Nate led her to the squad car. “I’ll drop you at the resort and I’ll go check on your friend.”
“Nate, please take me with you. I’m worried about her. I’ve even got a key to her apartment for when I feed the cat if she’s out of town.” Cassie jangled her keys.
“I noticed you wouldn’t part with the key chain. Those charms mean a lot to you, don’t they?”
“Oh yeah. The cross and flower charms represent God and nature, and these three remind me I’m going to England, Australia, and France,” she said, pointing to the respective charms. “Although I keep thinking I should add a charm for Switzerland, but haven’t figured out what that is yet.”
Realizing she was chattering away again, she stopped and glanced at Nate. A half smile curled his lips.
“Hang on, were you trying to change the subject? You were, weren’t you?” she said. “Nate, come on, we need to check on Becca, and the resort is half an hour in the opposite direction of her apartment. That’s a whole hour lost. Let me go with you.”
Nate shook his head in surrender and opened the car door. “Okay, on one condition.”
“What?” She shifted onto the front seat and buckled up.
“Follow my orders. I know you don’t like to be told what to do, but I can’t worry about you and do my job effectively, understand?”
“Of course.”
He shut the door. He was worried about her? Could it be more than just an officer of the law worrying about a witness? It felt like more, but then Cassie didn’t have a lot of experience reading between the lines when it came to men.
When he got behind the wheel of the car, he reached for the radio to call in. “Base, this is Chief Walsh. I’m heading to Becca Edwards’s apartment at...” He glanced at Cassie.
“543 Wilshire.”
“543 Wilshire,” he said into the radio.
“Copy that, Chief.”
He pulled out of the lot and headed toward town.
“Thanks,” she said.
He shot her a quick glance, then refocused on the road. “For what?”
“Listening to me again.”
“What... I don’t understand.”
“You respected my need to make sure my friend is okay.”
“I respect a lot of things about you, Cassie.”
“That’s a first,” she muttered.
“Meaning what?”
“It’ll sound dumb.”
“Try me.”
“I don’t feel like I get a lot of respect from my family.”
“You mean Aiden?”
“And my mom, and Bree. Then again, Bree isn’t too bossy, but my cousin Madeline...” She shook her head.
“What about her?”
“Never mind.” Cassie glanced out the window, wondering why on earth she was exposing herself like this to Nate, of all people.
“I’d like to understand why you’re thanking me, so maybe I can do it again,” he said.
She snapped her gaze left and noticed a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips.
Frustration eased from her chest. She liked it when he smiled. She could almost feel it herself.
“Your cousin?” he prompted.
“Sometimes she makes me feel, I don’t know, small. She’s patronizing, and she teases me, and not always in a good way.”
“Have you talked to her about it?”
“No.”
“Don’t you think you should?”
“I wouldn’t know what to say,” she admitted.
“Finding the right words is the toughest part.”
“Did you ever have an uncomfortable talk with someone you cared about?”
&
nbsp; “I did.”
“What happened?”
“I lost her for a little while, but eventually it strengthened our relationship.”
“Oh.” So there was a woman in Nate’s life. Cassie puzzled over that one, since he lived alone and never seemed to be with a woman during his off-hours.
“My sister,” he clarified.
“Catherine? But she’s so lovely and caring and patient—”
“Too patient. Do you know why she moved to Echo Mountain?”
“To open a restaurant?”
“To distance herself from Dylan’s father, an abusive jerk.”
“I had no idea.”
“It’s not something she’s proud of, and the guy was sneaky about it. He’d scream in her face one night, act like nothing had happened the next morning and then bring her flowers after work. She never told me about it—Dylan did. It was about the time Dylan wanted to defend his mom that I got involved. I went to college with Chief Washburn’s nephew, and we’d come to Echo Mountain to visit family on break. I thought it would be the perfect place for Catherine to get a fresh start.”
“And she stopped talking to you because...?”
“She resented me telling her what to do, not that you can relate to that.” He smiled.
Cassie smiled back and felt herself blush.
“Anyway, she fought me on the move until one day her ex chased Dylan around the house swinging a wooden chair. That was it. She called me and I made arrangements for her to move here. She got a job at a local restaurant, and a few years later the owner sold it to her. Shortly after that I—” he hesitated “—I had a career shift and Chief Washburn offered me a job. I was glad to move near my family. Catherine’s got a wonderful life in Echo Mountain.”
“But why was she upset with you for trying to help her?”
“Months after they’d moved here, she admitted she was ashamed that her little brother had saved her, and she said a part of her felt her husband’s violent behavior was her fault.”
“Nate, no, that’s nonsensical.”
“Human emotions. They don’t always make sense. Like a mother who’s overly protective of her grown daughter because she was sick as a child.”
“But I’m not sick anymore.”
“Emotions don’t have to make sense to be real, Cassie. Your mom’s worry is real.”
“I know.” She hesitated. “But it drives me nuts.”
“Then tell her.”
Cassie shook her head. “I could never hurt her feelings like that.”
“And you won’t hurt her when you take off on one of your trips because you’re trying to get away from her?”
That gave her pause. “I never thought about it like that. What would I say to her?”
“You’ve got a solid relationship with God. Why don’t you pray on it?”
* * *
Nate could hardly believe the words that had come out of his mouth. Pray on it?
Sure, why not? It made sense for a woman like Cassie to pray, a woman who needed to find her voice with her family or risk losing them forever.
And family was everything. Catherine and Dylan were Nate’s family, along with the former chief, Aiden McBride, and a few search-and-rescue friends. Truth was, Nate’s family had grown exponentially since his move to Echo Mountain.
After losing his partner, Nate would never take family for granted again.
A few minutes later, they pulled up to Becca’s place. Nate eyed the building for signs of trouble, yet all seemed quiet in the neighborhood.
Cassie placed a gentle hand on his arm. “Thanks.”
The warmth from her hand drifted up and settled across his shoulders. “For what?”
“Helping me get perspective about my mom.”
“That’s the second time today you’ve thanked me. I’m getting pretty good at this.” He shot her a smile and reached out. “Keys?”
She dropped them into his palm.
“You stay put, got it?” he said.
“Sure.”
But halfway to the apartment building, a nagging sensation told him not to leave her behind.
He turned back and motioned for Cassie to join him. As she opened the door, her blue eyes widened with curiosity. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just want to keep you close.”
A contented smiled eased across her adorable face.
“In order to keep you safe,” he clarified.
Her smile faded. “Of course.”
He refocused on the apartment. Why did he have to say that?
Because he was being professional.
Because he wanted to keep the line firmly drawn between them.
Because you’re a jerk.
They approached the building in silence, Cassie a few inches behind him to the right. The key gave them access to the front door, so they let themselves in and took the stairs to the second floor.
“Her apartment is around the corner,” Cassie said.
“I’m sorry,” he said, wanting to apologize for his rude nature.
“For what?” She led him down the hall and froze.
Becca’s apartment door was cracked open.
“Nate,” she whispered.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. He withdrew his firearm.
Here he thought keeping her close was the safe thing to do. He had no idea what he was walking into, but couldn’t send her back to the squad car alone.
Focus, Nate. Focus.
Senses on high alert, he moved slowly toward Becca’s door, Cassie right behind him, her hand against his back.
A crash echoed down the hall from inside the apartment.
He had no intention of leading Cassie into a dangerous situation. Pointing to the stairs, he leaned close, his lips practically touching her hair.
“Go upstairs and stay out of sight,” he whispered.
She nodded and brushed soft fingertips against his cheek as if to say “be careful.” The warmth gave him an added confidence he couldn’t explain.
Still focused on the partially open door, he waited a good ten seconds until he knew Cassie was safely hidden. He shot a quick glance over his shoulder. Couldn’t see her.
With the toe of his boot, he eased the door open and stepped inside.
EIGHT
Cassie clasped her hands together and prayed. She prayed that Becca was okay, and she prayed for Nate’s safety.
She wasn’t sure why she’d touched his cheek the way she had. It was instinctive. She needed to make that connection before he stormed into whatever was waiting for him in Becca’s apartment.
Squeezing her hands tight, she prayed: Dear Lord, please keep my friends safe in Your loving embrace. Let Your light shine upon us, Your love flow through us, and Your glory protect us.
She realized, and not for the first time, that her stomach twisted into a pretzel-like knot at the thought of Nate being hurt, or worse.
Please God, keep him safe.
Because she wasn’t sure how she would manage if anything happened to him. The image of his disoriented expression last night in his truck flashed through her mind. The look in his eyes, that faraway, confused look, stuck deep in her core. Nate was a tenacious, capable man who’d been broken trying to protect her.
“Cassie?”
Her eyes popped open, and she spied around the corner to the floor below. Nate motioned to her. “It’s clear.”
She released the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. It must have sounded like she gasped for air, because Nate was suddenly beside her.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Who knew praying could be so exhausting?”
He pulled her against his c
hest in a brief hug as if to convince her she was safe. Which was exactly how she felt whenever he held her in his arms. The hug didn’t last nearly long enough.
Not letting go of her hand, he led her to the second floor and into Becca’s apartment.
“I think the cat knocked something over,” he said. “Saw him run into the bedroom.”
“Probably hiding under the bed. You should shut the door to keep him safe.”
Nate released her. “Don’t touch anything. It’s a crime scene.”
“Is Becca...?”
“Not here,” he said as he closed the bedroom door.
She sighed with relief.
“Detective Vaughn is on the way. Could you try Blackburn Adventures again to see if they have any information about Becca?”
“Sure.” Cassie made the call, her eyes scanning the disheveled living room: books strewn about, cushions ripped off the sofa and pillows shredded into pieces. The thought of a man slitting innocuous pillows with a large blade made her cringe. She clung to the hope that Becca wasn’t home when the intruder destroyed her apartment.
“You’ve reached Blackburn Adventures—”
Cassie ended the call. “It’s voice mail again.”
Footsteps pounded up to the second floor. Detective Vaughn rushed into the apartment. “Any sign of Becca Edwards?”
“No,” Nate said. “We’ve been trying to reach her employer, but they’re not answering. Found the premises tossed. I’ll leave you in charge here while I head over to Blackburn Adventures to see if Becca showed up for work.”
“And there’s a cat in the bedroom,” Cassie offered.
Nate motioned Cassie toward the door, but hesitated and turned to Agent Vaughn. “I’m meeting with FBI agent Nance at one o’clock.”
Vaughn snapped her attention to him. “What have the Feds got to do with this?”
“He’s working a case that led him to Echo Mountain Rentals.”
“Led him how?” She narrowed her eyes.
“I’ll find out at lunch and I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Chief.”
Cassie felt like she was missing something; there was subtext to that exchange. The way Detective Vaughn reacted to the mention of FBI involvement ignited a spark of tension.