by Barb Han
“Which could mean that he has a lot to lose if he’s discovered. More so than just his freedom. This might involve preserving reputation and standing,” she said, grateful for the distraction. Focusing on her case gave her a much-needed break from rehashing where their relationship had gone wrong...and it had gone wrong. She didn’t care what her handsome rancher husband said. There was so much he wasn’t telling her. She still felt chemistry burning between them but his face told a different story. His eyes said they had serious problems.
Digging in to work was probably for the best. Austin didn’t seem ready to talk and she desperately needed another focus.
“He could be a high-profile person,” he said. “Someone with a lot to lose in the community if word gets out about his actions.”
“His reputation would be ruined,” she said, nodding agreement.
“Can we look at what you were working on before your attack?” Austin took a sip and some of the dark liquid remained on his bottom lip when he set the cup down.
Maria focused on retrieving her laptop. “I don’t remember much about my recent caseload. I’ve been racking my brain. All I have as a result so far is a headache.”
He shot her a look that sent electricity skittering across her skin. It was a knowing look and she was pretty certain that there wasn’t any sexual intent behind it and yet her arms goose bumped anyway. Austin O’Brien had always had that effect on her. The two of them had always had the kind of off-the-charts chemistry that she’d never experienced with another man.
Maria refocused, shutting down those feelings and putting up a wall.
“What is it?” he asked.
She stared at him blankly.
“I can tell something’s wrong,” he said.
She shrugged. “I can’t pinpoint it.”
“I thought maybe you remembered something,” he said as something dark passed behind his eyes.
“I wish. Maybe digging in to work will stimulate something.” Her fingers danced on the keyboard as she refocused her attention.
“Maria,” he said, and his voice was low.
“Yeah.” She didn’t look up.
“Just remember one thing, will you?” There was a quiet-calm quality to his voice now and it washed over her.
“Promise,” she said.
“No matter what else happens, know that I loved you the best I could.” His voice was heavy as he turned and then walked out the door.
Didn’t that send a chill racing up her back that frosted any warmth still there from earlier. Should she ask her husband to explain what he meant by that? Maybe it would connect the scrambled pieces in her mind and she’d find some peace with the past. As it was, she felt like she was walking defenseless down an unlit street with a dark force trailing behind in the shadows.
Maria had no idea how to process what he’d said. Had she done something before to hurt him? If she couldn’t remember, how could they make it right? She got a brain cramp thinking about it. The doctor had warned against trying to force her memories to come back. There was so much she wanted to know but couldn’t ask. Should she go after Austin and demand that he tell her what was going on?
A dark, helpless feeling came over her, connecting her to a deep and mournful pain. There were no memories along with the ache, just an intensely sad emotion pervading her thoughts.
Her mind flashed to her childhood, to the past, to her mother. That same helpless feeling washed over her. She remembered the argument they’d had the morning her mother had been killed. Maria recalled saying angry words before rushing out the door for school. Halfway there, she remembered leaving the door unlocked. She’d returned, using that as an excuse, but all she really wanted to do was hug her mom and apologize.
Then there was the overwhelmingly bad feeling she’d had when she walked up to their apartment and saw the half-opened front door, the trail of red leading to the kitchen where her mother lay in a pool of blood, lifeless.
It had been Maria’s fault for not locking the door. She’d let the killer in and he’d gotten away with murder. There’d been no justice and certainly no mercy. After the initial pain eased, all Maria could focus on was getting her day in court. She’d wanted to face that monster who’d destroyed her family.
Weeks passed and then months with no leads. The detective on the case seemed to lose hope of finding the murderer. And, with it, interest. Maria never got the answers she so desperately needed. Without them, there’d been no closure, no way to move on.
Taking a deep breath, Maria entered her username and password into the prompt after pulling up the FBI’s intranet. Giving justice to others was the best way to keep the past from consuming her. She couldn’t change what had already happened but she could find out why someone seemed hell-bent on hunting her.
A message flashed across the screen. Access denied?
Maria cursed as she entered her credentials for the third time and was still locked out of the system. Her cell phone rang but she didn’t have to answer to know who was calling. That would be Vic. He’d most likely asked IT to alert him if she tried to log on from home.
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
There had to be something she could do to access her work files...or her memory. Frustration ate at her as she retrieved her cell and scrolled through the contacts, hoping to jar something loose in her infuriating brain.
Her finger hovered over the list. She stopped on a name.
Mitch DeCarlo... Mitch DeCarlo?
The name rang a bell. She racked her brain trying to figure out how she knew him. Mitch DeCarlo.
Nothing.
Why did he sound so familiar? Would Austin know?
* * *
“IT’S REALLY GOOD to see you, man,” Austin greeted his brother the second the driver’s-side door of his pickup truck opened.
Austin needed to be able to talk to someone honestly more than he needed to breathe. Every time he looked at his wife he could see the questions mounting in her eyes and he wanted to give answers, not dance around the topic. He couldn’t without risking her health and he wouldn’t do that no matter how much he needed to say what was on his mind. Being with her brought up too many feelings best buried. They weren’t making any progress. Every time they got close, a wall came up and they stopped talking. They were the same people, making the same mistakes.
“Glad I could be here,” Dallas said after a bear hug. He motioned toward the top of the building. “How’s it going up there?”
“I’m stuck in between doing what’s right for her and setting the record straight,” Austin said honestly. There was something about his brother’s demeanor that gave him pause.
“Meaning she still doesn’t remember anything and you’re doing what’s best for her instead of what’s right for you.” Dallas shook his head slowly in a sign of empathy.
“No, she doesn’t.” He left the other part of the statement alone because his brother would do the same thing and they both knew it. “Did Tommy mention anything to you about what he learned from Deputy Garretson?”
“No, why?” Dallas’s eyebrow severely arched and Austin realized that his brother assumed he was talking about their parents’ murder investigation.
“It’s about Maria,” he clarified. “She’s planning her wedding to someone else.”
Dallas looked as though he’d taken a physical punch. It was the same way Austin had felt when he’d heard the news.
“Sorry to hear that,” his brother said. “I knew you two had been having trouble but I never imagined it would come to this. Can’t be easy to pretend like nothing’s wrong when you’ve been hit with that curveball.”
“Her biggest surprise is that I brought her here. She believes that she still lives at the ranch,” he stated.
Dallas muttered a curse. It was in line with the
one Austin was thinking.
“I can’t imagine what it must be like. You’re one helluva man for putting her needs first under the circumstances, Austin.”
He knew that his brother would’ve done the same thing if the roles were reversed but he appreciated Dallas for saying so.
“Any other calves getting sick?” Austin asked, needing to think about something else besides the problems he was having with Maria.
“Two more were sent to the quarantine pen,” Dallas said, catching on and leaving the topic alone. “Vet’s still baffled. The earlier ones are losing weight.”
“That’s not a good sign. Let’s hope it’s just a virus and nothing more serious,” Austin said. “Keep me in the loop.” He’d been so caught up in Maria’s situation that he hadn’t thought about how much he was letting everyone down back home. “I have a lot of paperwork to fill out. Do you need me—”
Dallas put up a hand to stop him before he could even finish his sentence. “You take care of what you need to and let us worry about what’s going on in Bluff. The ranch will be fine until you’re ready to come back.”
“That’s fair.” Austin glanced at the door. “You want to head up and get a cup of coffee?”
Dallas nodded, the ominous look returning. “If you’re ready. I’m here if you want to talk.”
“Then, let’s head up,” Austin said, brushing past the offer. He’d already said more than he’d planned but his brother needed to know so he didn’t bust the ruse. “She has a stalker and it’ll be best if we talk about it with her.”
Dallas followed Austin inside the building.
Maria glanced up from the laptop as soon as the door opened and Austin walked inside the apartment. An awkward look passed between her and Austin before she settled her gaze on Dallas.
“It’s so good to see you, Dallas,” she said, breaking into a wide smile. Her eyes were red rimmed and Austin could’ve sworn she sniffed back a tear. But then emotions were hard to read on Maria. She wasn’t the type to wear them on her sleeve. After what she’d gone through in her teenage years, he could understand why she’d need to feel in control at all times. He couldn’t help but think it also made it difficult to be in a relationship with her. Not that she’d been the only one to blame. He’d fallen short as a husband. Life hadn’t taught him how to deal with losing a baby and he hadn’t been the man Maria needed. But then she’d been the one to walk away without so much as an angry word or a chance to fight for their relationship.
“Same here,” Dallas said before walking over and giving her a hug.
“How’s everything at the ranch?” she asked, and she must’ve been picking up on Dallas’s tension based on the way her gaze fixed on him.
“I’ll get that cup of coffee,” Austin said to Dallas, figuring he’d leave the two of them to get reacquainted. Maria accepted his offer of refilling hers.
“Is this the little guy?” Dallas asked, walking over to the couch and zeroing in on the spaniel mix.
“Guess he needs a temporary name,” Maria said. “Any ideas?”
A look passed behind Dallas’s eyes as Austin handed him the drink. After setting Maria’s on the table, he turned to his brother and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Dallas motioned for everyone to sit.
They did and Austin’s gut clenched. Whatever was going on wasn’t good.
“It’s Denali,” he started and then stopped long enough to shake his head. He didn’t seem able to make eye contact with Austin and that wasn’t a good sign, either.
“What happened?” Austin asked. “Is he okay?”
“We called the vet the second we found him in the laundry room. Dr. Peters is by his side,” Dallas continued. His gaze seemed intent on the patch of wood floor at his feet. “Far as we can tell, he’s been poisoned.”
Maria gasped. “Oh, no. Will he—” She didn’t seem able to finish her sentence.
“Peters won’t give the odds of him pulling through. He’s letting us spend as much time with him as we want,” Dallas said, shooting a look that twisted Austin’s gut. “I didn’t want to deliver the news over the phone and I know how hard it is for you to go home right now. We’re keeping vigil and we’ll keep you posted on any new developments. He’s critical but stable for now.”
The words bounced around Austin’s head but he had a hard time letting them in. There was no way he could lose Denali, his loyal friend. Austin had already lost so much—Maria’s pregnancy, Maria and then his parents. Raw, angry emotions pushed to the surface. Austin had to work to keep them at bay. Because he also realized the implication. His parents had been poisoned. Whoever did this to Denali was familiar and had access to the ranch.
“Where was he?” Austin asked.
“In the main house, the hallway off the kitchen that goes into the laundry room,” Dallas supplied.
“That makes me think he might’ve been about to expose someone’s presence,” Austin stated, rubbing the scruff on his chin. It had been a few days since he’d shaved and his thoughts hadn’t been on the ranch lately. He’d been too busy focusing on his wife. Almost ex-wife a voice in the back of his head reminded. It was an important cue and one he needed to remember because he could feel himself starting to drown.
“I’m so sorry,” Maria said. And then she gasped and cupped her hand over her mouth. “Ohmygosh, I remember reading about your parents in the newspaper. But why would I read about it? Why wouldn’t I be there personally? I mean, we were married at the time, weren’t we?”
Austin and Dallas exchanged glances before breaking eye contact and staring at the floor.
“A lot has gone on in the past year, Maria,” Austin said. “We should talk about it later.”
She seemed thoroughly confused and Austin felt bad. He thought about the man she shared her secrets with now. It wasn’t Austin anymore. Thinking about the other guy and the divorce papers sitting on his desk went a long way toward easing Austin’s guilt and bringing the rage he’d been burying to the surface.
“Is it safe at the ranch?” he asked Dallas because the admission meant that his parents’ murderer was still around.
“We’re taking every precaution to make sure,” Dallas said. “We’ve cut the staff down to essential employees only to safeguard them and keep them off property for now. We sent them on their way with laptops so they can work from home. Fisher has everything on lockdown.”
Gideon Fisher was head of security at the ranch. “I’m guessing that means he didn’t get anyone on camera.”
“Whoever it was knew the blind spots in the system,” Dallas supplied. “There was a boot print and I already know what you’re going to ask. A deputy paid a visit to Uncle Ezra’s with a warrant. They didn’t find a match.”
“Doesn’t mean he didn’t own one,” Austin stated under his breath. Their uncle had been hauled in a couple of times for questioning but his ironclad alibi held. He’d been at Aunt Bea’s house the entire night of the murders, hassling her about trying to get more of her shares of the ranch.
“Is there any chance you can set that aside for now? I see that the two of you have a lot on your plates already,” Dallas said.
Austin started to argue but held his tongue. He was making sense whereas Austin wanted to point a finger. If there was a crack in Uncle Ezra’s story, Tommy would bust it wide-open soon enough. Austin clenched and released his fists. Instead of heading down an unproductive path, he told Dallas about the snake and then the incident in the park.
“I’m locked out of the system,” Maria added, throwing her hands up in the air.
“Do any of your recent work projects stand out in your mind?” Dallas asked after taking a minute to contemplate everything he’d been told.
“None that I can think of,” Maria said. “There’s always a degree of danger to my job but I can’t think o
f anyone who’d want to outright hurt me because of a case. But then I don’t remember much of anything in the past year right now. I still can’t believe that I forgot about your parents. I’m so sorry.”
“We probably should’ve seen that coming,” Austin said, referring to being locked out and because he couldn’t go there with her right now. Yes, he’d needed her when his parents had been murdered. She’d called but he’d been too stubborn to answer. Part of him still needed her. But he’d survived the past year and he’d figure out a way to do the same until the walls stopped closing in around him when he thought about her and his chest didn’t cave in at the mention of her name.
“The FBI wouldn’t want you to have access while out on medical leave in case you got the bright idea to work,” he said.
“I work in the Crimes Against Children program,” she said to Dallas, nodding to acknowledge Austin’s comment about the lockout. “So, I would imagine there are a lot of people who aren’t thrilled with me. I mean, people who masqueraded as family friends or community leaders whose intent was to hurt children generally have a lot to lose. But I can’t remember anything specific about my recent caseload.”
“What about coworkers?” Austin asked.
“I thought about that. I can’t talk to them without asking them to violate policy and I don’t want to put them in that position because my friends would do it even if it was bad for their careers.”
“That’s understandable,” Austin conceded, wondering just who her friends were now that she’d gotten the promotion she’d wanted. She hadn’t really talked about having friends at work before so mentioning them now struck him as odd.
Maria stroked the young dog’s fur. His eyes were closed and he looked mighty comfortable curled up on the couch beside her. “Which reminds me, do you know Mitch DeCarlo?”
Chapter Eight
Austin stood up and moved to the sink as his tendons tightened to the point he thought they might snap. He knew exactly who DeCarlo was but he had no plans to discuss the man with Maria. They’d need to deal with the name at some point and she’d remember that he was the man she loved now. Austin didn’t want to imagine that she looked at DeCarlo with the same eyes with which she’d once looked at him. Between that and the news about Denali, Austin’s muscles corded tighter. They were already wound up like a spring, ready to launch at any second with the right release mechanism and there would be collateral damage.