Witness Pursuit (14 page)

As Cassie kept watch, she thought about everything that had happened in the past few days. Not wanting to be dragged down by fear, she said silent prayers of gratitude: she and Nate were still alive and safe, and they'd found Becca. Plus, Cassie had been able to dig deep down to find the strength to defend Nate from the attacker in the woods.

There was one more thing: Nate had kissed her on the cheek. She smiled to herself.

A few hours later, the early sunrise sparked a sense of peace across the property. She heard rustling behind her. Becca stepped up beside Cassie at the window.

“Did you get any sleep?” Becca whispered.

“Not much.”

“Go lie down. I'll keep an eye out.”

“Thanks.”

“How long has the chief been asleep?”

“A few hours. Wake us if you see anything.”

Becca nodded and gazed out the window.

Feeling utterly exhausted, Cassie lay down near Nate. She wished she could reach out and hold his hand, feel his warmth, but sensed it was inappropriate. Yet the ache to touch him made it painfully clear that she'd have to confront him about their relationship at some point.

Something amazing had grown between them, and she planned to hold on to it.

“Cassie?” Becca whispered.

Cassie sat up. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing. I have to go outside for a few minutes.” She went to her backpack and took out some tissue. “Be right back.”

Cassie lay back down and waited for Becca to return.

And waited.

Something wasn't right.

Cassie got up and started for the door.

The glass window shattered.

FOURTEEN

N
ate sat straight up and was about to pull Cassie out of harm's way when she dropped to the floor. He scrambled to her, a ball lodging in his throat.

“Cassie, honey, are you hit?”

She didn't answer at first. He rolled her over, looking into her wide blue eyes.

“I'm okay, but I'm getting seriously tired of this,” she snapped.

He pulled her against his chest and hugged her tight.

“Becca,” she said against his shoulder.

Nate released her. “She's out there?”

Cassie nodded. Staying low, he made his way to the window and peeked outside, recognizing Tony's hoodie and wild black hair. He shoved Becca into the passenger side of a car.

Nate whipped open the cabin door and withdrew his firearm. “Tony, stop!”

Tony fired off a couple of shots.

Nate dodged back into the cabin. “He's out of his mind shooting at a cop again.”

The car screeched as it sped away from the cabin. Nate rushed outside, but was too late. At least he got the make and model, probably another stolen vehicle. Tony was racking up the charges.

“Nate,” Cassie called from the cabin.

He holstered his gun and went back inside. She stood at the kitchen table, holding a note in her hand. “It's from Becca. She says she's sorry and begs my forgiveness.” Cassie slapped the note on the table. “This is wrong. She wouldn't go willingly with someone so unstable and dangerous.”

“I need to alert my team.” He called in, giving Detective Vaughn the make and model of the car Tony was driving.

“Wait, he shot at you again?” Vaughn said.

“Yes, add that to the list of charges. This kid is falling fast, and he's got Becca Edwards with him. I'm not sure if she went willingly or not.”

“She didn't,” Cassie called out.

“We'll find them,” Vaughn said.

“Any other developments I should know about?” Nate pressed.

“The guy who attacked you in the mountains yesterday lawyered up.”

“Big surprise. Anything more from Len Pragner?”

“Nothing. He's hiding behind his attorney, some guy from Chicago.”

“Fantastic,” he said, sarcastic.

“What?” Cassie asked, touching his arm.

He glanced into her eyes, realizing how much she trusted him to do the right thing.

“Detective,” he said into the phone, “I'm rethinking our current strategy. Our disappearing act is obviously not working, and now Tony knows where we are. If they find him first, it won't take much to pressure Tony into giving up Cassie's whereabouts. I'm bringing her in.”

“Yes, sir. Where are you going to keep her?”

“I'll contact Aiden about commandeering Quinn Donovan's fortress apartment at Echo Mountain Resort. If that wing of the resort is empty, it's our most secure location. Also, Becca filled in some of the blanks about the case. We need to be more aggressive in shutting this thing down.”

“What have you got in mind?”

“I'll explain it when I see you.”

“Want me to send a cruiser to pick you up?”

“Yes. Who's on?”

“McBride and Carrington.”

“Send McBride. We're at the Horizon Point property. Have you spoken with Agent Nance this morning?”

“No, sir.”

“Once we're set up at the resort I'll want him in on the plan.”

“Roger that. Stay safe.”

“Thanks.” He ended the call and hit speed dial for Aiden.

“My baby sister's driving you nuts, isn't she?” Aiden answered.

“No, actually, she's good. But I need a favor.”

“Name it.”

“Is Quinn Donovan using his apartment at the resort?”

“He's not expected back for a week. Why, you want to stash my sister there?”

“Yes, if that wing of the resort is mostly vacant.”

“I'll relocate the few guests who are there and I'll put extra security on that end of the building.”

“Do you need to check with Quinn first?”

“Nah, he gave me blanket permission to use it in case of emergency. I think this qualifies.”

“Great, thanks. We'll see you within the hour.”

He ended the call but didn't rip his gaze from the property surrounding the cabin. Tony may no longer be a threat, but Nate's adrenaline still hummed just below the surface. For all he knew, Tony could be in direct contact with the mob guys, maybe even told them he'd give up Cassie's location in exchange for Tony's and Becca's freedom.

Which still made no sense—why were mob guys after Cassie? Nate could only assume it was guilt by association.

“I'm so disappointed,” Cassie said.

He glanced at her. “I'm sorry.”

“Not in you, Nate. You've been amazing. You've been shot, and beat up, and shot at again, and all because my friend fell in love with the wrong guy. I'm so disappointed in Becca.”

He refocused out the window. “I think she got that message last night when you challenged the poor decisions she'd made. I was actually quite proud of you.”

“You were?”

“Yes, ma'am. You spoke your truth. Not always an easy thing to do.”

“I hope that's not what drove her away. I'm upset with her, but I'll always forgive her, even if I don't appreciate being dragged into this, all because of laundry.”

Laundry containing passports and cash. That gave him an idea. “Cassie, did you put the clean linen in the Whispering Pines cabin the other night?”

“I didn't have time.”

“Which means it's still in your car.” He pulled out his phone and called Detective Vaughn.

“Yes, Chief?”

“Cassie McBride's car, I need you to find it and check the trunk.”

“What am I looking for?”

“Passports and cash stuffed into linen packages.”

“I'm on it, sir.”

Nate pocketed his phone. “Now it makes sense. Cassie, how many other rentals did you cover for Becca besides Whispering Pines?”

“Let's see—Hidden Hollow, Serenity Lake and Sunset Vista.”

“And each time you delivered a fresh package of laundry?”

“Yes.”

“Which you picked up at the office?”

“I did. As a matter of fact, it was weird because some of Becca's packages looked different from the other ones I delivered.”

“Did you report that to Mr. Anderson?”

“I mentioned it to Carol and she said she'd check into it, but didn't seem all that concerned. Wait, you don't think Mr. Anderson is involved?”

“We won't know until we do some digging into the mob connection to Echo Mountain. My gut tells me they didn't randomly choose our town to set up their smuggling operation.”

“When we get back to the resort I'd like to help so I can feel like I have some control over my life.”

“How about you do internet research?”

“Wow, you didn't say no,” she said with a smile.

Nate realized saying
no
to Cassie was becoming harder and harder to do.

* * *

They didn't talk for the next half hour and from Nate's expression, Cassie figured he needed quiet time to think and process. She sensed he was upset with himself for the direction of this investigation. Why else would he automatically assume she was disappointed in him?

Or was it something else? Was he withdrawn because somewhere in his unconscious brain he'd heard her confession of love and wasn't sure how do deal with it?

Well if that were the case, they should talk about it, right?

She caught herself. This wasn't the time nor the place to discuss a heady issue like love.

Finally, unable to stand the silence any longer, she approached Nate as he stood guard at the window, waiting for her cousin to show up. She offered a piece of beef jerky. “Breakfast?”

“Thanks.”

As he gnawed on the jerky, she followed his gaze out the window to the surrounding property.

“I'm sorry,” Nate said.

She snapped her attention to him. “For what?”

“That you had to experience this kind of trauma.”

“Well, at least I've got you with me.” She looped her arm through his and leaned against his shoulder.

She felt him sigh, and she looked up into his green eyes. “What was that for?”

“What?”

“That heavy sigh.”

He shook his head and wouldn't look at her.

“Nate?” She hesitated. “You don't like people keeping things from you, yet you're awfully good at clamming up. It makes people who care about you feel terribly insecure.”

“People who care about me,” he said in a flat tone.

“Yep, that would be me.”

“Well, you shouldn't.”

“Too late, and I think you feel the same way. Unless I've been reading your signals all wrong, which I doubt because I've been paying pretty close attention to your body language these past few months. Wait, that makes me sound like a stalker.”

Nate pulled his arm free of Cassie's and went to another window.

“I'm not really a stalker,” she teased, sensing he was about to shut her out completely.

He snapped his attention to her for a quick second, and the intensity of his eyes was nothing short of alarming.

“Whoa, what was that?” she said.

When he didn't answer, she went to him.

“Nate? You looked at me like...like you hated me.”

He stared deeply into her eyes. “I could never hate you.”

She felt utterly lost when he looked at her like that. Was this what love felt like? Mature, adult love?

“I hate myself,” he spoke so softly she almost didn't think she heard him right.

“What? Why?”

“Because I'm unable to keep you safe, unable to shield you from the brutality of what's going on.”

“Hey, you've done a great job protecting me. I'm unharmed and alive.”

And in love.
For the first time in my adult life.

He ripped his gaze from hers and glanced out the window. “Your cousin's here.”

As he started to walk away, she grabbed his arm, stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips against his.

“I'm alive because of you,” she said.

When she released him, his brow furrowed like she'd spoken another language, one he didn't understand.

But Nate was a grown man who surely had been in a relationship before.

He had to understand what the kiss meant.

With a tightly clenched jaw, he opened the door and went out to greet her cousin, Officer Ryan McBride. She packed up trail mix and beef jerky, a little dazed by the impact of the kiss. That was awfully forward of her, but it felt right and necessary. She had to let him know there was more to this whole cop-protecting-the-witness thing, a lot more.

Was he so dense that he didn't get it? No, he was purposely dodging the issue, but why? Not because he didn't care about her, because she sensed he did.

At any rate, she'd help with the case because she wanted it solved quickly. Then she could explore her relationship with Nate.

It struck her that she hadn't thought about travel for a while now, not since she and Nate had gone off together, not since he'd challenged her to speak her truth—which she had to Becca.

Thankfully she was getting better at saying what she needed to say with clarity and compassion. The next subject of her honesty would be Nate. If he wouldn't accept the kiss as an indication of her feelings, she'd have to come out and say it: she wanted to date him, explore a future together.

“Wow, can I do that?” she whispered to herself, zipping up the pack.

“Do what?” her cousin Ryan asked from the doorway.

“Um...stay at the resort without Aiden driving me loony birds,” she recovered.

“I wouldn't count on it. Come on, coz,” Ryan said, shouldering the backpack. “Staying at the resort's gotta be better than being stuck in the wilderness with the silent chief.”

Nate cleared his throat from the doorway.

Ryan snapped around. “Ah, sorry, Chief, that's not what it sounded like, sir. I meant the resort is better than being out here with no running water or—”

Nate put up his hand to silence Ryan. “It's fine. Let's go.”

“Yes, sir.” Ryan rushed out of the cabin.

Cassie glanced around, looking for anything she might have left behind. She grabbed her shoulder bag and marched to the door, hesitating in front of Nate. “Just so you know, we're not done talking.”

* * *

An hour later they were settled at the secluded apartment on the north side of Echo Mountain Resort. Nate didn't like bringing Cassie, and the trouble that followed her, back to the resort, but the reality was they couldn't get away from whomever was after her no matter how far they went. It seemed as if the mob had eyes and ears everywhere: in the mountains, in town, possibly even in the police department.

No, he was being paranoid. He trusted the former chief with his life, and Detective Vaughn was solid. They were the only two in the inner circle, the only two who knew where Nate and Cassie were at any given moment. At some point Nate had to learn to trust, even if it wasn't second nature to him.

Neither was love.

He'd thought he'd heard Cassie say it back at the Horizon Point cabin when he was struggling to regain consciousness.

She loved him.

Not good for so many reasons.

“Are you talking background checks on everyone in town, Chief?” Detective Vaughn said, standing on the opposite side of the dining room table.

She was speaking to him, discussing strategy, yet he was so distracted by thoughts about Cassie that he barely heard her.

“Start with anyone associated with Echo Mountain Rentals,” Nate said. “That's the hot zone. We also need to track down this mysterious laundry service. It all started with the owner of that company. I want to know who he is, how he got paid and where his facility is located. The Feds can assist with the search of the facility.”