Wyatt rubbed his hand over his face. “Not yet. She and her car are missing. I need to put out a BOLO on a new black Hyundai Genesis. Temporary tags.”
“I’ll handle it,” the sergeant said. “But are you sure she is the one behind this? What exactly do you have that ties her to the case?”
Gwen’s stomach sank. She didn’t know much about police procedures. Everything pointed to Alli—even the woman’s sketchy behavior made her seem guilty—but the only real evidence they had was a pair of red boots and a few compromising pictures.
“We’re pretty sure it’s her. She was in the pictures. There were boot prints outside my window. It had to be her. She had the motivation and the opportunity to have been behind all these deaths.”
“But you don’t have a witness. The DA is going to have a field day when they run us through the ringer on this one—even if we do find Alli. And if we don’t...”
A witness. They needed a witness.
Gwen gasped, the sound so sharp that Wyatt stared at her.
“What about my mother?”
“What about her?”
“What if she saw something? What if that’s the reason Alli came after her?”
Wyatt gave her a sexy half grin and lifted the phone higher on his ear. “You send the guys after Alli.”
* * *
CARLA WAS SITTING up in her bed, pale and sweaty, jittery from the effects of detox and coming down off the ample supply of drugs that had been filtered through her system over the last few days.
“How are you feeling?” Gwen asked, walking into the hospital room with Wyatt at her side.
They stopped beside her mother’s bed, and Wyatt shifted his weight from one foot to the other, antsy with the need for answers.
“I feel like I got bucked,” Carla said, her voice hoarse and dry. “I haven’t felt like this since...” She trailed off, not bothering to finish her sentence.
Gwen moved closer and lifted her mother’s hand. “We’ll get through this. We always do.”
Her mother’s smile was drawn and tired, but it was perfect in its authenticity. For the first time in years, the love Gwen held for her mother grew. Maybe it wasn’t wrong to hope for better days.
“How are you doing?” her mother asked.
Gwen smiled. “Better. We’re close to finding the person who tried to hurt you, but we need to ask you some questions. Okay?” She motioned to Wyatt.
Carla nodded, her motion stiff. “I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”
Gwen tried to ignore the way her stomach clenched. Everything depended on this. Wyatt took her hand and made the little circles on her skin she now loved so much. The simple action made some of her nervousness disappear.
He leaned in close so his lips nearly brushed against her ear. “It’ll be okay.” His warm breath cascaded down her skin and, surprisingly, considering their situation, she believed him.
Even if this didn’t work and her mother was of no use, they would spend every last minute going after the person responsible for Bianca’s and Monica’s deaths.
“Mrs. Johansen, do you know Alli Fitzgerald?” Wyatt asked.
“Alli? As in your brother’s ex-wife? Sure. She came to our ranch’s Fourth of July party. Why?”
“Wait.” Wyatt paused. “Don’t be offended...but you’ve made it clear that you don’t like my family. Why would my brother’s ex-wife be invited to your party?”
Carla sighed and she readjusted the pink hospital blanket that was arranged around her. “I don’t hate you, or your family.”
Gwen snorted with derision. “Mom, you don’t have to lie to him. It’s not like you hide the fact very well.”
“I don’t hate them, or you,” Carla said, looking at Wyatt. “And I certainly don’t hate Alli. She wasn’t even around when everything happened. It’s just that, sometimes when I’m drinking...”
“Your true feelings come out?” Wyatt asked with a raised brow.
“Your family, you took the only man I ever loved from me. Your family left me alone to raise two girls and run a ranch. It was all too much. And now with Bianca gone...” A tear slipped down her mother’s face. “I...I just can’t get through this all by myself. It’s why Alli and I became friends. She just listened. You know?”
“You’re friends with Alli?” Wyatt’s voice was filled with surprise.
“Sure. We see each other at the bars all the time.”
Gwen looked over at Wyatt. She’d never heard about her mother’s relationship with Alli, or anyone from the bar, before. Though, admittedly, she hadn’t ever bothered to ask about her mother’s nightlife.
“You hang out with her? How often?” Gwen asked.
Her mother shrugged. “I dunno. I haven’t been seeing her around as much lately.”
“Why not?”
“Well, ever since your sister shacked up with that Poe guy... Alli didn’t take it real well.”
“Alli was seeing Poe for a while,” Gwen said. “Did you know?”
“Yeah, though I was one of the few. I just happened to walk in on them making things happen in the Dog House Bar bathroom one night. She begged me not to tell anyone.”
“You saw them together?” Wyatt asked.
“Oh, yeah, but I ain’t ever told anyone. Alli was real nice. She even gave me a bottle of vodka the other night as a thank-you for staying quiet.”
“A bottle of vodka?” Wyatt’s voice took on a dangerous edge. “You mean the vodka you were drinking the night you were drugged?”
Her mother’s face went slack. “She...she wouldn’t do something like that.”
“No one else touched that bottle of vodka besides you and her,” Gwen said, as a wave of exhilaration coursed through her.
They had the evidence they needed. Together, she and Wyatt could bring Alli down.
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, the police station was nearly empty as they arrived at Wyatt’s sergeant’s office. It had been a surprise when Sergeant Hubbard had called and woken them up, requesting that they come see him. It had been hard to find the willpower to get out of bed after Wyatt had held Gwen in his arms all night. And thanks to everything that had been happening, as they drew nearer to his superior, Wyatt couldn’t help feeling that he may have been a dead man walking.
Hubbard was sitting with his back to them, talking on the phone as they arrived.
“Thanks for coming down.” Hubbard hung up the phone. “Heya, Gwen. How goes it, Wyatt?”
“I don’t know. You tell us,” Wyatt said.
Hubbard looked at Gwen and gave her the soft smile he reserved for people dealing with trauma. “By the way, I’m sorry for your loss. Your sister was a real nice gal. I always liked her,” Sergeant Hubbard said, motioning for them to each take a seat in front of his desk.
“Thank you,” Gwen said. “It will be better once we get Alli behind bars. At least then I can rest easy, knowing she will pay for what she’s done.”
Hubbard looked down at the files on his desk and fiddled around with the corner of one of his manila folders. “Actually, that’s why I called you to my office. I got some news.”
Unless it was that they had Alli in custody deep in the bowels of the county jail, Wyatt wasn’t sure he was ready for anything the man had to say.
“First, Wyatt,” he said, bumping the folders into a neat pile. “I have taken you off the Alaska trip. With everything going on, now isn’t a good time for you to be leaving the area.”
Wyatt couldn’t say he was disappointed about staying. Gwen still needed him. Yet he wasn’t sure he followed Hubbard’s reasoning. “What’s that supposed to mean, Sarge?”
Hubbard sighed. “We found Alli’s car. It was parked about an hour north. It looks like she dropped it and made he
r way over the Canadian border. She’s gone.”
Wyatt slammed his fist down on Hubbard’s desk, sending his neat pile of files scattering over the surface. “Are you kidding me? She just disappeared?”
“We notified the Feds. They’re going to be on the lookout for her. For now, you need to look to your family and stay close. With Christmas just around the corner and everything else going on, Sheriff Stone and I just thought it best. She may try to contact you—especially since her daughter is still in the care of your family. In the meantime, I want you both to go back to your routines. If you can, try to keep your minds off Alli.”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Gwen pressed. “She’s at large. And we’re in danger. What if she comes back?”
Hubbard gave Gwen a soft smile. “Why would she try to come after you now? You aren’t her enemy. Now she’s going to be after only one thing—flying under the radar of law enforcement.”
The thought didn’t comfort Wyatt, but Hubbard was right. They could only concentrate on moving forward.
Without Alli, the only closure she could have would be her budding relationship with Wyatt—and all the possibilities it held. As long as they were together, they would always be safe.
Epilogue
There were moments in life when Gwen would always look back and wonder why she had made the choices she had, and how she had ended up where she was. But right now, lying in the hayloft in Wyatt’s arms, she didn’t regret a single thing. Even in the cool chill of the December night, it felt good. He was hers and she was his...down to the very beating of her heart.
She looked up at the beam where their names were carved into the wood. Time had worn away the harsh, jagged edges, and the scars had faded to marks that were just as much a part of the wood as the grain itself.
Wyatt ran his fingers down the length of her naked body. Reaching her hip, he pulled a piece of hay from her and let it fall from his fingers to the ground.
“Are you okay?”
She wouldn’t get over her loss for a long time, but at least something positive had come out of it—her mother had agreed to go into a rehab facility. And with things heating up with Wyatt she had something to look forward to again.
He motioned between them. “I mean, with all of this?”
She laughed. Not at the question, but at the thought that he would ask if she was okay lying naked in his arms. There were few places she felt at home, where everything was right in the world, but with him there was no question—she was where she was meant to be.
“I’m fine. Just thinking about everything,” she said, rolling onto her back. The hay was scratchy, and she wished they had grabbed a blanket to lie down on before they had fallen into the haystack just like they used to when they were younger.
It was almost surreal to be back in the same place she had been a decade before. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.
She traced her fingertips over the little line of hair that rested just below his navel. It felt good to feel all of him, to take the time to get to know his body. He had all of her heart, and she had his; it was only right that she would have all of his body too.
“I don’t know,” she lied. “I guess I was just thinking about...” She struggled to come up with a plausible thing that didn’t involve his naked body or the love she felt. “I guess I was thinking about the holidays.”
“You were thinking about Christmas? Really?” He cocked his head and gave her a playful grin.
In truth, she hadn’t really been thinking about Christmas. All she could think about was the way it felt to be with him—and how much she loved him.
She nodded. “Sure.”
“Well, you’re coming here,” he said it like it was a statement rather than a request.
“Is that right?” she teased. “If you weren’t aware, I have plans on Christmas.”
He sat up and grabbed his pants, pulling them on over his nakedness. “You can come to my parents’. My brothers will all be there. It will be amazing. You’ll love it. Besides...you’ll have to show everyone the present I got you.”
“The present?” she asked, perching up on her arms. “What present?”
He reached into the pocket of his pants. “This one,” he said, extending his hand. In the center of his palm was a simple gold band. He picked it up and lifted it for her to see. “Gwen Johansen, I’ve loved you since I was sixteen years old. I’ve always loved you. Nothing has ever changed. I don’t want to spend another single day without you. Will you marry me?”
She sat up and wrapped her hands around his neck so violently that he had to grip the ring in his hand to keep from dropping it.
“Yes. I love you too. Yes.” She buried her face in his neck, nearly forgetting about the ring in his hand.
As lovely as the band was, it was nothing compared to the beautiful feeling of being loved by him—the man who had always filled her dreams and who would now become her reality.
No matter what the future would bring, or what would happen with Alli, they would always have each other.
From this Christmas on, she would have the one gift that she’d always wanted—his love.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from FROZEN MEMORIES by Cassie Miles.
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Frozen Memories
by Cassie Miles
Chapter One
Jagged branches clawed the arms of her sweatshirt and tangled with her bare hands as she fought her way to the edge of a clearing in the mountain forest. Falling snow blanketed the open space. Spears of afternoon light cut through the snow and clouds, but she still couldn’t see all the way across, to the wall of pines on the opposite side. She shivered violently. If she tromped straight through the clearing, she’d leave tracks. They’d find her.
Who were they, those men with guns? What did they want from her? She peeked over her shoulder but didn’t see them following. Her ears prickled, but she didn’t hear them coming after her.
They’d left her on the floor in the back of the van. She hadn’t moved, hadn’t opened her eyes. They must have thought she was unconscious. One of them had nudged her with his steel-toed boot, but she hadn’t given any sign of wakefulness. They’d talked about whether or not they should take her into the cabin with them. And they had decided not. They hadn’t wanted to carry her. If she froz
e in the van, they didn’t care.
Glad that they were so stupid, she’d waited until they’d gone inside. Then she ran. Without a parka. Without mittens. Without boots. Wearing only sneakers and a hooded sweatshirt over a flimsy pair of hospital scrubs, she’d staggered into the storm. The cold should have awakened her, but she’d felt lethargic. Her legs were heavy; her feet weighed her down like cement boots. She lurched through the trees, uncoordinated, unable to keep her balance.
As she’d gone farther, her physical abilities had improved. But that didn’t mean she was out of the woods—literally out of the woods. Making an unfunny joke, I messed up the punch line. Still, she chuckled. When she stretched her mouth, her lips cracked. I always wanted to die laughing.
My God, what was wrong with her? She ought to be terrified. Instead, she felt oddly giddy and confused.
The gusting wind threw icy flakes into her teeth. Her clothes were cold and wet. Her shoes soaked through. She’d seen photos of people who were frostbitten, with their fingers and toes turning black and falling off. But she’d also heard that dying of hypothermia was supposed to be peaceful, like drifting into a gentle sleep.
Sleep would be good, maybe just for a minute. Her eyelids closed. She imagined a boat pulled by snow geese with a glittering snow god at the helm. All she needed to do was climb aboard. Looking down, she smoothed the white feathers of her gown. Sleep was so very good. Or not! Delusions were a symptom of hypothermia. Her mind was going. She needed to find warmth as soon as possible. Leaving a track across the clearing was a small price.
She charged forward with the storm beating at her head and shoulders. The accumulated snow was almost up to her knees. When had it started? When would it stop? With the sun blocked out by the snow clouds, she could only guess that it was afternoon.
Reaching the forest on the other side was a relief. She staggered up a hill. Her lungs throbbed. Her thigh muscles ached. She shivered madly.
Then she saw lights.
Ms. Calculation Page 17