“Not on my career. On my soul.” Arthur Stanton drew a raspy breath. “And I thought you’d appreciate having the chance to right some old wrongs of your own.”
“I don’t appreciate you putting my son’s life in danger. Or mine. Or Beth’s all over again. She doesn’t deserve this. Hell, an innocent woman has been killed because of what you did.”
“One more on an already crowded list,” Arthur said softly. “Is Bryan safe?”
“I shipped him back to the West Coast yesterday.”
Arthur sighed. “Do you want to move Beth Slocum?”
“Damn straight I want to move her.” He could hear Beth now, upstairs in her bedroom. Hard rock pounded from the clock radio as she moved, no doubt working out yet again. “But I’m not sure I can convince her to go.”
“I’m coming out there.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Yeah, I do, Josh. I’ve screwed up too many times. I’m the one who needs to fix this, and I think you know that. You just keep the woman alive until I get there, huh? I’ll be there tonight, Josh.”
He disconnected, leaving Josh with a dead telephone in his hand and a feeling of betrayal gnawing at his chest. But the anger overwhelmed everything else. He was furious at his old friend for using Beth this way. Furious. Maybe a little more so than made sense; maybe he was buying into his role as her lover a bit too deeply. But knowing it didn’t make the anger go away.
If he’d been face-to-face with Arthur just now, he thought, he would have decked him. The man he admired most in the world. He would have hit him, laid him out.
He was too close to this job. Things were getting confused in his mind; he was letting the act, the role, the job, get all mixed up with his real feelings of guilt and admiration and attraction. It was a dangerous thing to let happen, and he told himself he’d damned well better get a handle on it—and soon.
Chapter Seventeen
Beth slipped out of the house while Josh was on the phone. It probably wasn’t a very nice thing to do, because it would worry him to death should he discover her gone. And with Mordecai in town, it wasn’t a very safe thing to do, either, so she took the derringer with her, tucking it into the back pocket of her jeans.
She slipped out the back door without making a sound, and walked over the back lawn and into the woods. Brilliant sunlight gave way to cooler shadows once inside the trees. The vivid leaves were thinning now, turning to brown and carpeting the trail so that her footsteps crackled.
Beth told herself, as she always had, that she would have to face Mordecai sooner or later. She would far rather that showdown come when she was alone—when Josh wasn’t standing in the cross fire. She told herself that. But she knew it was a lie. She would feel far, far safer if Josh was by her side. But that was selfish, not to mention foolish. She was in no position to let herself become needy or dependent. No one could end this but her. When the time came, she would face Mordecai alone.
But she really hoped this wouldn’t be the time. She had another mission in mind, one far more important.
She’d changed into a pair of well-worn jeans, a T-shirt and a hooded sweater, and traded her shoes for suede hiking boots. It wasn’t a cold day, though the breeze that found its way among the trees to ruffle her hair carried the bite of autumn. By the time she made her way to the narrow winding stream and the path that ran alongside it, she was wishing she had come out here more often. The spot between the path and the stream had been one of Maude’s favorite places. There was a park bench there, a bird bath, a feeder hanging from a tree and a miniature pond, fed by the stream itself. In the summer, she and Maude had their tea out there more often than not. One time a deer had been sniffing along the banks of the stream and come within ten feet of them.
Her heart ached with missing Maude. She hoped with everything in her that the wonderful woman was at peace, maybe with her beloved Sam in some heavenly paradise.
It wasn’t a long walk into town. Long enough, though, that Josh would have plenty of time to realize she was missing and to come looking for her before she reached her destination. It worried her. But she would be quick. What she had to do wouldn’t take long.
She emerged from the woods and onto the road, where a narrow, ancient, one-lane bridge spanned the tiny stream, and picked up her pace as she headed into town, gripping the small envelope she carried in one hand. Finally the town’s storefronts, rows of green-and-white awnings and perfect sidewalks spread out before her. She glanced up and down the road, eyeing every one of the three vehicles that drove past as she walked. She watched the face of every passerby on the sidewalk, jumped every time a shop door opened with a jingling of bells. The town wasn’t too full today. It was a weekday, and the leaves were past their peak. The tourists were beginning to thin out a bit.
Finally she went through the door that read Blackberry Gazette.
The office of the small-town newspaper was tiny. Three reporters and a receptionist occupied the space, and one of the reporters was also the managing editor, a sixty-something widow who had taken over the paper when her husband had passed away years ago. Another was Eric Lewiston, a reporter with a career behind him at far more prestigious papers, who had retired to Blackberry a few years back. The writing bug wouldn’t leave him alone, so he’d taken it up again for the small paper. No rat race. No pressure.
“I’m here to see Mr. Lewiston.”
The receptionist looked up with a smile—one that froze in place as soon as she saw who was standing there. “Aren’t you Beth Slocum?”
“No. I’m not, not really. My real name is Marcum. Elizabeth Marcum. I’d like to talk to Mr. Lewiston about that and a few other things, actually. I have an exclusive for him that’s going to rock the whole town.”
Bryan came awake with a start, only to see Dawn leaning over him, looking sympathetic. “You slept in that chair all night?”
He sat up slowly, looking around the motel room. TV, twin beds, window that was way too big, and only one exit. The back of his neck hurt when he moved it, and his back ached a little. He ran a hand over his nape. “The idea was to stay awake in this chair all night. If I’d planned to sleep, I’d have done it in the bed. I guess I blew it around 4:00 a.m.”
She heaved an expressive sigh. “You didn’t have to do that. He didn’t follow us.”
“How can you be sure of that? And hell, with his…abilities, how do you know he’d even have to follow us to know where we are?”
He watched her face. She averted her eyes, unable to even drum up an argument. Instead she said, “Hell, Bry, if he knew where we were, staying awake all night watching for him wouldn’t do us any good anyway.”
“Oh, that’s reassuring.” He rolled his eyes, got to his feet and stretched, arching his back and pressing his hands to the small of it to work out the kinks. “What the hell are we going to do about this, Dawn?”
“I’ve been thinking about that all night. I think we have to tell someone. I mean, he’s a wanted felon. If the authorities know where he is, they’ll go arrest him, and that will be the end of it.”
He nodded. “So we call the police, just like I wanted to do last night.”
She shook her head firmly. “No. That would be a huge mistake. This is a small town, Bry. They couldn’t handle him by themselves. They’d only tip him off, and he’d end up getting away. That’s why I was against calling them last night.”
Bry paced across the small room, his stomach growling. “He’s one guy.”
“Yeah, and he’s managed to get away from the FBI, the ATF and every other government agency that’s tried to take him in. God, I wish I had Jax’s number.”
“Jax?”
“Lieutenant Jackson. She was one of the cops who helped track him down last time, when he’d kidnapped me. She was really good. I’d rather have her here than the FBI and the ATF.”
“TTB now,” Bryan said.
“Huh?”
“The ATF is the TTB now. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax an
d Trade Bureau.”
She frowned at him. “How do you know that, Bryan?”
He shrugged. “It’s a guy thing. We’re into that stuff. I’m starved. You think it’s safe to venture out for some breakfast?”
“No. But I don’t think it’s any safer not to, so we may as well.”
He nodded. “You want to shower up first?”
“You can take the first one if you want.”
He shook his head. “I took one last night while you were sleeping. Figured that way I could leave the door open so I’d hear if anyone tried to get in.”
She smiled slightly. He didn’t know why. Then she hugged his neck without warning, grabbed her overnight bag and headed into the bathroom.
He spoke to her again through the closed door, trying to keep his voice nonchalant. As if her tender hug hadn’t sent his pulse through the roof. “So if we can’t call the cops and you don’t have your friend Jax’s number, who are we going to call?”
“Beth has a government contact. The guy in charge of keeping her safe. He’s the only one I can think of.”
He nodded slowly. “You mean Arthur Stanton?”
“You know about him?” She sounded shocked.
“He’s the man who hired my father. Actually, contacting him with all this isn’t a bad idea. Do you have his number?”
“No. But Beth does. Hell, she might have Jax’s, too. We’re gonna have to get back inside the house, go through her stuff and find it.”
He heard the water crank on, raised his voice higher. “What stuff? Everything she had went up with her house.”
The door opened, and Dawn peered out. He could only see her from the neck up, and he got a little breathless wondering what she was wearing and guessing it was probably just a towel. “Not her purse. Or cell phone. They’d have been with her wherever she was. Right?”
“I guess so.”
“So if she had the numbers, that’s where they’d probably be. In a little address book in her purse or programmed into her cell.”
“So we’re going back to Maude’s house?”
“We’ll slip in while they’re out running. You have a key, right?”
“Uh, no. Dad replaced the locks just before I left. Probably didn’t see any need to give me one, since I’m not supposed to be here.”
She bit her lower lip. “I’ll figure something out.” She closed the door.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” he muttered.
Two minutes later the bathroom door opened again, and this time, when her head popped out, her hair was dripping. “After we eat, we’ll go stake out the house.”
“Stake out the house?”
She nodded. “We’ll just watch the place until they leave, and then find a way to get in.” Her head vanished, and the door closed again.
Great, he thought. “So while trying to avoid my dad seeing me still in town, I’m going to keep him within sight all day.”
“Speaking of your dad,” she yelled above the shower spray, “you’d better call him, don’t you think?”
He looked at his watch, wondering if his father would believe he’d gotten up before 7:00 a.m. West Coast time. “Okay.”
“Hello?”
“Hey, Dad. It’s Bry. Just wanted to check in.”
Josh smiled at the sound of his son’s voice on the telephone. “I’m glad to hear from you, son. How was the flight?”
“Completely uneventful.”
“Well, boring is a good thing in this case.”
“Yeah.”
“Bet Mickey was glad to see you, huh?”
“That’s an understatement.”
He nodded, missing his son with an ache that gnawed at his chest. It was beyond the way he’d missed Bryan before. Hell, he’d spent most of his life missing the boy. But now it was different. Bigger. Deeper, somehow. He felt as if one of his vital organs were three thousand miles away.
“So how’s the weather there, Bry?”
“Oh, you know California weather. It’s always the same.”
“Yeah. So you have everything you need?”
“Yep. I’m all set.”
“Great. Then I’ll say so long for now. I miss you, Bryan.”
“I miss you, too, Dad.”
“It won’t be for long, I promise.”
“I know.”
Josh sighed. Then, “So can I speak to Mr. Malone?”
“Mr. Malone?”
“Mickey’s dad?”
There was a hesitation. Then Bryan said, “Uh, he’s not here. But you can talk to Mrs. Malone, if you want.”
“Fine. That’ll be fine.”
Josh looked around the house, frowning at how quiet it was. He wondered if Beth had decided to take a nap. Then, finally, a woman’s voice came on the line, though it was raspy and hoarse.
“Hello?”
“Janet? Gosh, you sound terrible.”
“Oh, I’ve picked up a cold. It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
“I should hope not. I, uh—I just wanted to thank you and Mark for taking Bryan for me on such short notice.”
“Don’t be silly. We love having him.”
“I do, too. I hated having to send him to you, Janet, believe me. It’s killing me.”
“You miss him that much, huh?”
He sighed. “It’s like someone pulled out my heart. If this wasn’t absolutely necessary, I swear—”
“We understand.”
“It won’t be for long. A few days, a week at most.”
“That’s fine. Don’t worry about a thing.”
“Can’t help but worry. I’m the farthest thing from father of the year. I’ve probably messed the poor kid up as much as losing his mom did, but I’m trying my best.”
“From where I’m sitting, I’d say you’re doing fine.”
“Thanks, Janet. You know where to reach me?”
“Sure. Take care…Josh.”
“You, too.”
Josh hung up the phone, frowning, focused more on the silence in the house around him than on the oddness of that phone call. He walked slowly up the stairs, expecting to find Beth in her room, but when he peered into her bedroom, she wasn’t there. The bed was made, hadn’t been disturbed. She hadn’t been napping, then.
“Beth?”
He moved from room to room looking for her, growing more afraid with every echoing nonanswer. Nothing. She was not in the house.
Jesus. His heart jumped into his throat, choking him. He ran to the front door and out onto the porch, calling her name. Her car was still in the driveway, right beside his pickup. Hurrying around to the side of the house, he checked the back lawn but again, saw no sign of her.
“Beth!”
He was close to panic. He didn’t get this way, not ever. He was trained to stay calm in any situation. What the hell was the matter with him?
He hurried inside, snatched up the phone and called the Blackberry Police Department. He told the receptionist to put him on with Chief Parker, and she did so without any questions, which he appreciated to no end.
“Frankie Parker here,” she said. “That you, Kendall?”
“Yes. I’ve lost track of Beth. And I’m worried.”
“How long since you’ve seen her?”
He thinned his lips, looked at his watch. “Forty-five minutes.”
“Forty-five—Kendall, you have some reason to think something’s happened to her?”
“I just can’t believe I let that much time go by without—” He broke off at the creak of the screen door, and spun around to see Beth coming inside.
“Never mind, Frankie. She just came in.”
“I still think you need to tell me a little more than you have, Joshua. If the threat to her is so severe that you panic when she’s out of your sight for more than a few minutes—”
“I have to go.”
He hung up the phone while Frankie was still talking, reached Beth in three strides and snapped his arms around her waist, pulling her cl
ose, burying his head in the crook of her neck.
“Josh, what in the world?”
He lifted his head, leaned back just enough so he could look down at her face, and then he was kissing her in a way that probably gave away everything he’d been feeling. He kissed her fiercely, almost desperately, his hands tangling in her hair, his mouth invading and then possessing hers.
When he finally came up for air and stared down into her sparkling, confused eyes, he took a moment to ask himself just what the hell he was doing. This hadn’t been planned, hadn’t been part of any effort to fool her, hadn’t been part of the role he was playing. What was it, then?
Heavoided her probing, questioning eyes. “Where were you?”
She shook her head. “Needed some air, had some thinking to do. So I took a short walk out back.”
He spun to face her. “Do you have any idea what kind of risk you were taking? Going out there alone like that?”
She blinked twice. “No more risk than I’ve been taking every time I’ve left my house for the past year, Josh.”
“A lot more than that, and you know it. Jesus, Beth, do you want him to find you? Alone, defenseless—”
“I’m far from defenseless.”
He had to forcibly restrain himself from barking at her, calling her a fool. He drew a breath first, all too aware that he was in an emotional state he’d rarely experienced. “I know that,” he said, keeping his voice level. Careful. “But I’m here to protect you. I’m one more tool you can use to protect yourself. Slipping away without me is like—like driving without your seat belt. It’s an unnecessary risk.”
She lowered her head. “I don’t think as clearly when I’m with you,” she said softly. “Frankly, I think you could probably get me to believe just about anything you wanted to. You touch me, and my common sense goes to hell.”
“Beth, don’t. I’ve told you the truth, I’ve told you why I’m really here. I’m sorry I lied to you in the beginning, I just—”
“I know. I know, Josh.” She paced away from him. “I needed some space, that’s all. There were things I needed to do.”
He frowned, noticing for the first time the shadows in her eyes. She was keeping something from him. “What kinds of things?”
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