One Secret Night (3 page)

Recognizing the car and the man sitting in the driver’s seat, Raith pressed the remote clipped to his sun visor. The fact that he was here didn’t bode well, because it meant Autumn had gotten curious. Too curious.

Mayo Chambers drove ahead of him to the gravel parking area in front of Raith’s six-thousand-square-foot snecked ashlar, gray-stone house. Three spires stood like sentinels. White-trimmed windows and the porch added a fresh touch, but didn’t diminish the old, isolated feel of the place. The same kids who’d T.P.’d his gate had probably started the rumor that his house was haunted. It did have a bit of gothic revival flare.

He got out of his Dodge Ram truck and his boots crunched over the dry gravel.

“Raith.” Mayo extended his hand.

Raith shook it, not looking forward to what news he’d bring.

It had been a little over a week since he’d left Iceland, and Autumn lying partially covered in bed, hair fanned out over the pillow, most of one breast exposed, so beautiful he’d nearly stayed a few more days.

“Just as you asked, I’ve been tailing the Ivy woman,” Mayo said.

An ex-CIA operative, he’d gone private and did a lot of this type of surveillance for Raith. Although, it had never been this personal before.

“I take it she got interested in me,” Raith said.

Mayo didn’t crack a smile at Raith’s humor. “She left Reykjavik when you said she would, but she contacted her brother, Lincoln Ivy, and asked him to run a cell number.” He showed Raith a piece of paper with a familiar number on it. “He’s a bounty hunter.”

Raith didn’t take the paper. “Did he find anything yet?”

“No, but you should expect him to trace the number, and the Ivy woman will know who this number belongs to.”

Wonderful. “All right. I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you come inside and I’ll pay you what I owe.”

“You don’t want me to find out whose cell number this is?”

“I already know whose it is.” He walked toward the front entrance.

Inside the entry, Raith hung his light jacket on an old-fashioned coatrack beside the door. A short, wide hallway ran along the stairway wall. At the end of the hallway, double doors made of thick wood beneath arched trim required a code to unlock them. Flanked by two dark blue wingback chairs, a dainty table along the stairway wall held a vase of fresh flowers, his personal assistant’s touch. The stairs had a cheery strip of white carpet running up the middle and a black metal railing. They curved up to another pair of double doors with a coded entry.

Raith led Mayo to his office, strategically located to the right of the entry at the foot of the stairs. His assistant had done the decorating in here, too. He’d painted the walls a pale yellow and stained the trim a medium brown. The bulky wooden desk had a Tuscan chestnut finish with burnished edges and antique brass cup pulls. Raith went around the desk and unlocked the top right desk drawer to retrieve a cash box. Flipping through the money, he counted out what he owed Mayo.

“Do you mind me asking why you had me tail that woman?” Mayo asked.

Putting the box back into the drawer, Raith looked up. “She got in the way of a job.”

“How so?”

He closed and locked the drawer and then straightened. “In a way that wasn’t planned.”

Mayo nodded and then grinned. “She’s very attractive.”

Raith avoided reacting to that. Mayo had obviously drawn his own conclusion about Autumn and him.

“What are you going to do?” Mayo asked.

“Stop her from getting any more curious than she is right now.”

“Are you going to...”

Kill her? Raith laughed briefly. “No. Does she look like someone I could kill?”

Mayo laughed in return, but it was more of a relieved one. “No.”

Raith had a deadly reputation that included fierce protectiveness over his identity. But Autumn was different. His jobs didn’t involve women he took a romantic interest in. She was a first in that regard.

“How did she get that cell number?” Mayo asked.

“She looked at my phone while I was sleeping.” Raith moved around his desk and handed Mayo a wad of cash.

Mayo took it, meeting Raith’s eyes, getting his meaning. “You slept through that?”

“Hard to fathom, isn’t it?”

“For you? Yeah.” Mayo chuckled. “Must have been some night.”

No, just some woman. An incredible woman. And now he had to stop her from getting herself killed.

“I’ll call you if I need you for anything else.” Raith went to the office door and saw his personal assistant standing just outside the office, under the guise of awaiting a request, no doubt. Desi Hildebrandt frequently put himself nearby so he could overhear discussions. He especially liked the ones that resembled what he’d heard just now.

“Good luck with Autumn,” Mayo said, and then left through the front door.

Raith turned to Desi, who stood straight and tall in perfectly pressed black slacks and a light blue dress shirt. He always dressed up for the job, even though Raith had told him a couple dozen times he didn’t have to.

Desi lifted his hand, palm up, as he often did when he was about to broach a touchy subject with Raith. “Your trip to Iceland wasn’t all business.”

His soft, almost-lilting tone grated on Raith’s patience, but only because he’d broached such a personal subject. Desi’s homosexuality had taken some adjustment, but he respected his assistant’s dedication and, most of all, his trustworthiness.

He started toward the stairs. “I need you to arrange a flight to Denver.”

“Your friend said the woman is attractive.” Desi followed him up the stairs.

Raith didn’t engage.

“Are you going to see her again?” Desi asked.

“My flight?”

“Right away, sir. We can talk about this later.”

“Stop calling me sir.” Raith stopped at the top of the stairs and faced Desi. “Will you also call George and tell him I can’t make it to the barbecue tomorrow night?”

“It would be nice if you gave him a reason.”

Raith turned toward the locked doors. “I have to work.”

“It’s not work if you’re going for the woman you met. What’s her name?”

Raith entered the security code into the keypad next to the doors. “Then tell him whatever you like.” He would, anyway. It had taken him a while to figure out that it was his personal assistant who’d sparked George and Frieda’s interest in him. They’d started by asking questions whenever Desi had to go into town for Raith. As with many here, they’d wondered who the new guy was who’d moved into the gothic mansion. Raith didn’t consider it a mansion, but it was big and, he supposed, imposing. Desi had struck up a friendship with George and Frieda and that had developed into regular status reports about Raith. Sometimes the way they all cared about him drove him nuts. Like now.

Desi trailed him into the main living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows toward the front offered a view of Lander. Toward the back, a sliding door and wall of windows overlooked a balcony and the Tetons in the distance.

“I’ll prepare a room for the woman,” Desi said. And when Raith turned to him, he added, “Just in case.”

How had his personal assistant drawn such a conclusion? Why did he think Raith would bring Autumn here? Never mind. He didn’t need to know. Desi had great insight into people. He was afraid of the insight he had over his night with Autumn.

His cell phone rang. Taking it out of his front shirt pocket, he saw the number and ignored the call. As he stuffed the phone back in his pocket, he noticed Desi watching.

“Your father again?” he asked.

“I like you, Desi. Which is why I’d really hate to have to let you go.” He hadn’t spoken with his father since he left home when he was seventeen, and he wasn’t going to start now.

With a disappointed look, Desi headed for one of the four guest rooms in the house. He knew Raith would never fire him. And Raith would never admit that Desi was like family to him. So were George and Frieda.

Raith left the living room and passed the dining area and parlor to reach the secure doors leading to his office—his real office. Inside the long and spacious room, he went to the large L-shaped desk where all of his computers hummed and blinked. Opening his secure email, he saw there were none from a contact he had in the FBI.

That meant more waiting. Just as well. He’d be delayed dealing with Autumn, anyway.

* * *

A week after she gave Lincoln the number associated with the text she’d read on Raith’s phone, Autumn sat with her sister Savanna on Lincoln’s sofa. His living room had a lot more feminine touches since Arizona had moved in. Much more decorative and colorful. She was away on one of her adventure outings, and Savanna had stopped by for a brief visit with Lincoln. Slightly taller than Autumn, Savanna had darker hair, with only a hint of red, and the most stunning blue eyes. Caribbean-blue and just as clear.

Lincoln was still on the phone with their mother, who’d recently had a run-in with the paparazzi and now it was all over the news how she’d taken one of the photographer’s cameras and bashed it on the pavement in front of a conference center where she was holding a charity event. Lincoln was trying to calm her down.

“What do you mean he held a knife to your throat?” Savanna asked, appalled.

Autumn was in the process of explaining why Lincoln had asked her to come here to talk. “I almost didn’t get on the elevator. But Russ saved me from him.”

“The man who was after him? Russ—is that what you said his name was?”

“Yes.”

“How did he save you?”

“Well...first he shot the man in the leg, and then they fought and Russ ended up...killing him.”

Savanna’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“He’s an FBI agent and was going to arrest him, but he was forced to kill him instead”

“You sound like you’re defending him.”

Autumn stopped herself from fidgeting in her discomfort. Was it that obvious how much her night with Russ had affected her?

“Why was he going to arrest the man?” Savanna asked.

“He’s a hit man or something. Wanted by the FBI.” She tried to sound nonchalant but suspected she failed.

Savanna angled her head, eyeing her closely. “What happened after he killed the man?”

“We...” How could she explain that?
We went to my room and had sex
seemed so...right out of a movie. “Well...he refused to talk to the police and so we talked awhile and then...”

“Why did he refuse to talk to the police?”

“He was working undercover.” That explained why he hadn’t called the police...sort of.

“And then what?” Savanna pressed.

“We...well...we...went to my room for a while.”

“To hide?”

Autumn hesitated. “No...yes...maybe.” Had that been his intention?

Savanna’s head angled more. “Did you sleep with him?”

Autumn tried not to appear sheepish, but Savanna’s head snapped straighter and her mouth dropped open.

“You slept with him?” Savanna made a disgusted sound. “Autumn, you have to stop doing that! You’re getting to be a real floozy.”

Autumn never flushed but she began to now. “No. This was different than with Knox.” Knox had been exciting up until he’d taken too much of an interest in her dad, and she hadn’t been interested in him as a person. Not beyond his profession as a detective.

As Savanna continued to observe her, her mouth closed and her face softened. “You like him.”

Autumn couldn’t deny it.

“You
really
like him.”

“I wouldn’t—”

“I’ve never seen you this way before.”

“Savanna,” Autumn protested.

“Is he going to call you?”

Lincoln hung up the phone and came to stand before them. “If he does, you shouldn’t answer.”

Autumn had given him the cell number she’d gotten from Russ’s phone. What had her brother discovered? “Who did the text come from?”

“What text?” Savanna asked.

“Russ left before I woke up,” Autumn said. “But, in the middle of the night, I looked at his phone.”

“And there was a text from someone?” Savanna asked, still confused.

“A ‘things didn’t go as we planned but problem solved’ text,” Lincoln said. “It was from a guy named Kai Whittaker. He’s a defense contractor. A
major
defense contractor. Their specialty is night-vision equipment.”

“Is he legitimate?” Autumn asked.

“Yeah, but that isn’t what has me worried.” Lincoln sat next to Autumn and leaned forward with his forearms on his knees. “I looked up Russ Markham and found five of them in the United States. None of them work for the FBI.”

“I told you that isn’t his real name, Lincoln.”

“He was working undercover,” Savanna chimed in.

“I talked to a friend of mine at the Bureau. He confirmed Tabor Creighton was wanted by the FBI, but there were no cover ops in Iceland. No agents were sent there.”

“But if he was undercover...”

“He’s not an agent, Autumn. He lied to you about that.”

Autumn could only stare at her brother.

“I’m sorry. No one at the Bureau knew Creighton was in Reykjavik. Kai Whittaker hired Russ to go after him. Russ isn’t official. He’s black ops and private. He has to be. Creighton being a known assassin, we can only assume he was going to kill Kai. Why? I’d rather not know, and you shouldn’t, either.” He put his hand on Autumn’s shoulder. “You have to forget this guy, Autumn. Whoever he is, he’s no good for you.”

Disappointment shattered her. She’d never felt this way before. Why should a man she’d only known for one night affect her this much?

Savanna rubbed her back.

“Okay,” Autumn said, nodding, and adjusting to this new knowledge. “Yeah. It’s good I found out now.” She smiled at her brother. “Thanks for checking, Lincoln.”

“Anything for my sisters.” He winked at Savanna. “At least I don’t have to worry about you.”

Savanna smiled in a way that disputed his declaration. “Actually...I met someone.”

The news perked Autumn up. “Did you? When? Where?” Savanna seeing someone was significant. The family had begun to wonder if she’d ever give anyone else a chance again.

“He’s a lawyer for one of the biggest firms in Denver. We met at a supermarket in front of the deli counter. He was getting lunch and I was picking up an order Mom had for the Evergreen house.”