Book Read Free

Strategically Wed

Page 16

by Pamela Dalton


  She frowned. “This isn’t the quickest route to town.”

  “I want to see if anyone is following us.”

  “The package was postmarked. The mailman delivered it.”

  “And it was addressed to the cabin. We don’t know where our shooter is. He might be trying to draw us out.”

  Maggie took the road Griff indicated. The sun was beginning to set, producing an eye-squinting glare off the back window.

  Griff glanced down at his cell phone. “Pull over. We’re in digital range. I’ll make the call from here.”

  Once they were parked, Maggie stared straight ahead as she listened to Griff give Wylie an update.

  “No, we’re not going to find a motel,” Griff said tersely. “Let this guy come after us. It’s time to draw him out of his hole.”

  Griff had clearly taken charge of the investigation, which was fine with Maggie. She wanted to put this fiasco and Griff behind her as soon as possible.

  Thirty seconds later, Griff snapped shut the phone.

  “Where to?” she asked.

  “The cabin. We’ll take turns sleeping tonight.”

  She slid him a mocking glance. “You sure you trust me to do that?”

  “Is that a subtle jab that I’m bossy?”

  “Not at all. I always enjoy being dictated to.”

  Griff didn’t respond while she pulled the car back onto the highway.

  After they entered the main road, Griff broke the silence. “Only one of us can be in charge.”

  “Right.”

  He sighed. “You want to flip for it?”

  Suspicion made her cautious. “Would you let me take charge if I won?”

  “Only if we used my two-headed coin, and I made the first call.”

  She shook her head. “That’s what I thought.”

  “It’s only fair, you know.”

  She glanced at Griff and saw the amusement on his face. “How’s that?”

  “I’ve let you have your way with me for the past few weeks.”

  “I must have missed something.”

  “You were the one in charge due to my injury.”

  She pursed her lips in disbelief. “Name one thing that you haven’t controlled.”

  “I’ve never let a woman drive me,” he said without emotion. “You’re the first.”

  Her hands flexed against the steering wheel. “You didn’t have a choice with your leg.”

  “I could have insisted Wylie get me a car with hand controls.” He paused and let her assimilate his statement before adding, “I’ve always thought you were a good cop, Maggie.”

  Maggie didn’t know if Griff was feeding her a line or not. “But…?”

  “I don’t think it ever made you happy.”

  She considered that for a moment. “You’re saying that being a cop makes you happy?”

  “No, but it’s safe.”

  His cryptic answer left her momentarily speechless.

  Before she could respond, she spotted a light-colored pickup coming down a hill toward them.

  At the sight of them, it slowed.

  When they drew abreast, he pulled onto the shoulder of the road.

  Griff glanced back. “He’s turning around.”

  “Did you see his face?”

  “No. He had it tucked into his collar.”

  She caught sight of the dusty pickup in her rearview mirror. He’d sped up and was closing in on their bumper. The exit to the cabin loomed a quarter of a mile ahead.

  “Take the service road,” Griff ordered.

  She started to slow down, and then saw the vehicle charge her.

  “Hang on,” she shouted. “He’s going to ram us.”

  She stabbed at the accelerator, making a last-ditch effort to outrun him.

  But just then, a slow moving Buick coasted from the intersection in front of her and turned on to the highway.

  Maggie jammed on her brakes to avoid hitting the car as the pickup hit them from behind.

  The force caused Maggie’s head to hit the side window.

  Griff grabbed the wheel. Bracing for another bump, he pulled hard and headed toward the ditch. He heard rather than saw the truck roar past as he tromped down on the brake pedal with his good foot, bringing them to a sudden stop.

  Griff took a deep breath. “Maggie—”

  The old man, who had been driving in the Buick, tapped on the broken window. “Are you two all right?”

  Griff noticed the dilation of Maggie’s pupils and a jagged cut on her forehead. She was conscious, but just barely. “Don’t move,” he ordered.

  Lucky whimpered in the back seat.

  It took Griff a few seconds to force his car door open. His arm and leg were a bit sore from the sudden jarring, but he didn’t notice any sharp pangs.

  The older man tried to dislodge Maggie’s but couldn’t budge it.

  Griff gently pulled Maggie toward him, lifting her in his arms.

  “We need to get you to a hospital.”

  “No,” Maggie said, her voice husky.

  “Yes. You need to see a doctor.”

  “Do you always have to sound like a cop, Murdock?” she complained.

  Even though he had to strain to hear her low voice, he was relieved to hear her banter. “Too bad that bump didn’t knock out some of your sassiness, Bennington.”

  She winced as Griff set her into the back seat of the older modeled vehicle. He climbed in next to her and lowered her head against his shoulder.

  The old man reclaimed his place behind the wheel, with Lucky riding shotgun.

  “Thanks for stopping, Mr…?” Griff said.

  “Beckwith. We live over that hill. I never saw you coming.”

  “Wasn’t your fault. Did you get a look at the guy in the pickup?”

  “The guy who hit you?” Mr. Beckwith shook his silver-haired head. “He tore past me faster than some of those young kids do on a Saturday night.”

  “Ever seen that vehicle before?”

  “No. Of course, we get a lot of tourists around here over the summer and weekends. Could be a leftover.”

  Griff had to set aside his questions as arrived at the small, one-story hospital on the edge of town.

  For now he was more concerned about Maggie’s injuries than the whereabouts of the guy who’d run them off the road.

  An hour and a half later, Griff sat next to Maggie’s hospital bed after a brief update to Wylie.

  Maggie now sported a bandage over her stitched cut and wore a shapeless hospital gown. The doctor had insisted she spend the night for observation due to her concussion. Griff came out with a few nasty bruises but no further damage to his recovering limbs.

  “When is Wylie arriving?” she asked.

  “He’s already at the cabin and working with the local authorities to track down that pickup. I caught part of the license plate before he hit us.”

  She winced at the memory. “Where’s Lucky?”

  “Our new friend Mr. Beckwith took him home. They seemed to take to each other.”

  “He lives in the country, doesn’t he?”

  “Just a few miles outside the city limits.”

  She tried to nod her head, but the effort was too much.

  “How’s your head?” he asked.

  “If I wasn’t seeing double, I could do a two-step at the local dance hall.”

  “Once your head is healed and my leg is mobile, we’ll make it a date.”

  Her heart pained. “You don’t have to stay with me.”

  “Go to sleep, Maggie. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Even if she’d wanted to, Maggie couldn’t stop her eyelids from closing. There was no question she felt safe and protected with Griff in the room.

  But she couldn’t help but wish it was more than a sense of duty that made him stay.

  Chapter 15

  Wylie showed up at the hospital the next morning as Maggie was finishing breakfast.

  Griff looked disgustingly refreshed for ha
ving slept the night in a hospital chair. She, on the other hand, felt like she’d spent the night downing a keg at the local bar.

  Her godfather deposited a kiss on her forehead. “Nice pair of black eyes you have, kitten.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “I want combat pay for this little assignment.”

  “Because of that itty-bitty bump on your head?”

  “How bad is my car?”

  “It’s got a few dings, but you should be able to drive it.”

  Griff spoke up for the first time. “Did they find that driver yet?”

  Wylie perched on the edge of the bed. “They found the pickup parked in front of a country motel and arrested the owner first thing this morning.”

  Griff leaned forward. “Who is it?”

  “He’s not talking, but the description matches the guy BJ sent to jail for killing his stepson.”

  “Joe Flint?”

  “That’s the guy. They need you to stop down at the police station and see if you can ID him. He had a gun. We’ll run some tests and see if it matches the slugs we took from the church.”

  Griff nodded. “I’ll do it as soon as we drop Maggie back at the cabin. The doctor is letting her check out, on the condition she stays in bed for the rest of the day.”

  “I can stay in the car while you’re in the station,” Maggie said.

  “It’s either here or the cabin,” Griff said.

  Wylie chuckled. “You two sound more married each day.”

  Maggie glowered at them both.

  An hour later, Griff and Wylie deposited Maggie at the cabin.

  As Wylie checked the nearby area for any signs that Flint had been in the area, Griff made sure Maggie had everything she needed while they were gone.

  She glared at him. “I’ll never get any sleep if you keep hovering over me.”

  “There’s a police officer stationed outside. Where’s your weapon?”

  She gestured toward the chair. “Inside my purse.”

  Griff picked it up and moved it next to the bed.

  Maggie closed her eyes, praying he’d leave before she did something stupid. Having him fuss over her was almost more than she could stand. Her emotional reserves were at their lowest state. The tears building in the back of her eyes had nothing to do with her injury.

  A few minutes later she heard Griff leave the small house, quietly shutting the door behind him.

  Another moment or two passed. The muted slam of car doors preceded the hum of the engine.

  Finally, she was truly alone. She could no longer hold the tears at bay. The emotional events over the past few weeks tumbled through her head.

  Soon there would be no reason for her to ever see Griff Murdock again. They could annul the marriage and each go their separate ways.

  Her stomach cramped at the thought, and she had to draw her legs up against her body to stifle the hurt.

  The last person in the world she’d ever wanted to fall in love with was Griff. He was a cop. A man who had learned to divorce himself from any emotions and attachments. She’d known that before she ever agreed to participate in the wedding sting.

  But that was before she had lived under the same roof for three weeks. She’d seen sides of him that she’d never believed existed: his playfulness with Lucky, his sense of humor, his comforting her during the thunderstorm and his vigilance at the hospital.

  She couldn’t forget his tenderness when he’d held her the night before.

  A groan of despair tormented her.

  What woman could resist a man who protected her?

  It wasn’t fair.

  She had to remember that Griff had an overzealous sense of duty. He’d have done it for any person because he would have considered it part of his job. It didn’t matter who she was.

  Had that been the case when they made love?

  Had she just been any face, any woman to him?

  He’d spent a lifetime erecting his own iron bars against women. First his mother, then his wife.

  What woman could leap the hurdles these two women had cemented into place?

  He’d even lost his child.

  How could he forgive such a loss?

  Maggie hadn’t been the one who betrayed him. How could he ever open himself to a second chance?

  She didn’t think she’d be able to.

  Maggie touched her midsection. She’d never allowed herself to want a child. But now there was a steep aching want inside her.

  She wanted Griff’s child.

  She might as well have wished for the moon.

  Chapter 16

  Griff fidgeted in the seat next to Wylie. They came up to a Y-intersection on the county road, and Griff found himself pressing the floor as if he had a brake.

  “You okay?” the older man asked.

  “I don’t like riding.”

  Wylie chuckled. “How did you manage letting Maggie drive?”

  “I got used to it.”

  He’d gotten used to her.

  Griff didn’t like the idea of leaving Maggie unprotected. Another officer didn’t seem like enough protection.

  He only trusted himself.

  Was he starting to let paranoia take control of his senses?

  They had a suspect in custody. Yet his gnawing uneasiness continued to build.

  The blow to her head made her more vulnerable than being in the cabin with only one guard. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he should be with her.

  She hadn’t wanted him to stay. She’d all but pushed him out of the cabin, obviously looking forward to severing any connection between them.

  He gripped the armrest, bracing himself for the fresh onslaught of pain. The agony he experienced had nothing to do with Wylie driving the car or the residual effects from the gunshot wound in his leg.

  What if he never saw Maggie again? She wasn’t planning to stay in Pendleton. With BJ gone, there would be little reason for her to return.

  Why should she want to? She wanted a new life that wouldn’t involve a cop and the memories of her childhood.

  The termination of their so-called marriage could be handled without either of them being present for the final decree.

  Why does it bother you, Murdock?

  The vows were part of the job.

  Were they?

  Then why did he want to yank the steering wheel from Wylie’s hands and turn the car around?

  Because you love her.

  “We need to go back,” Griff tersely broke the silence.

  “What’s the matter?” Wylie asked, but started to slow the car.

  “I shouldn’t have left her.”

  If Wylie thought he’d fallen off his rocker, he didn’t say anything about it, not even a teasing remark.

  Thirty seconds later, they were headed back toward the cabin.

  Back to Maggie.

  Exhaustion claimed Maggie’s battered body. Despite her tired state, she couldn’t erase the pictures in her head. She dreamed of making love to Griff again and again until he fell in love with her. She slid deeper into the fantasy, savoring the vivid illusion.

  Just the memory of Griff’s mouth touching hers brought a smile to her lips. He was firm and hard. She tried to tell him how much he meant to her. But something was stopping her.

  She couldn’t breathe.

  A pillow blocked the air from reaching her lungs.

  She brought her hands up to lift it and discovered another pair pressing the pillow against her face.

  Someone was trying to suffocate her!

  She twisted her body to escape her attacker. But the person on the other end held the advantage, using his body to smother her.

  Dizziness swam through her head. Her lungs screamed for relief.

  She raised her hips and tried to buck off her faceless assailant. For a brief moment, she caught him off-guard. A whiff of air brushed her face.

  Before she could take advantage of his lapse, she was pushed back again. Her struggles became weaker.
r />   She was dying.

  She wished she’d told Griff she’d loved him. It was her only regret.

  Just as consciousness faded, she suddenly found her head free.

  “Maggie!”

  Griff?

  Blackness swam through her head as she dragged air into her aching lungs and tried to make sense of what was happening around her.

  The lamp on the night-stand flew as Griff wrestled her attacker to the bed.

  Wylie charged through the door with his gun posed in front of him.

  “You okay?” Griff kept tight control of his captive as he lifted his head and tracked Maggie’s ragged breathing.

  “Yes,” she rasped, pulling herself off the bed. As much as she hurt, she refused to lie on the bed a moment longer.

  She moved to Griff’s side and watched him tug the hood from his captive.

  Maggie gasped.

  Mrs. Harris. Griff’s landlady.

  “Why?” Maggie asked, although her voice was little more than a rasp.

  “You fool!” the older woman spat at her. “You should be dead. As dead as my son.”

  Griff maneuvered his body to keep the woman from hitting Maggie. “Your son?”

  “Frank Rankin.”

  Wylie shook his head, producing a pair of handcuffs that he handed to Griff. “Rankin died two years ago. He had nothing to do with Maggie.”

  “My Frank is dead because of her father.”

  “Rankin committed suicide,” Griff countered. “BJ didn’t kill your kid. He died by his own hand after the judge sentenced him to ten years in prison.”

  Mrs. Harris’s eyes filled with venom. “Frank was too sensitive to survive in there. He was innocent. It was his word against the almighty BJ Bennington. Every time Frank came up for parole, the cop testified against him saying he was a sexual predator who had killed once and would kill again. Frank couldn’t take it anymore so he killed himself.”

  “BJ is dead, too.”

  “But not his daughter.” The woman tried to make a threatening move toward Maggie, but couldn’t free herself from Griff’s grasp. “Why shouldn’t she have to suffer for all the pain I’ve had to endure?”

  Maggie could almost feel sorry for the woman.

  There was little sympathy in Griff’s face, however.

  “We’ve got Joe Flint in custody and he’s admitted to the shooting outside the church as well as running the station wagon off the road,” Wylie said. “How did you hook up with him?”

 

‹ Prev