Against the Tide (24 page)

“I don't know.”

Unless she planned to leave town and the run was just a distraction. “I need to go upstairs. You've got a key, right?”

“Yes, but what about Khan?”

He started climbing the stairs. “In a minute. First, I want to look around, see if she packed her clothes.”

“Good heavens, why would she do that?”

“Just do it, Nell. Open the door.”

Nell pulled out a ring of keys, unlocked the apartment door, and turned off the alarm. Rafe went straight to the bedroom. The bed was made, nothing disturbed. Aside from Olivia not lying there naked beneath the sheet, smiling at him as she had been that morning, it looked exactly the same as it had when he'd left.

A chill ran through him. If she hadn't left town, where was she? Turning, he ran back downstairs. Khan was still frantically pacing in front of the porch. The dog had gone with her and clearly come back on his own. Liv was in trouble and Khan was trying to help her.

Rafe strode toward him. “Let's go, boy! Find Liv! Come on, Khan. Find Liv!”

The dog whirled and took off for the side gate. Rafe followed him, opened the gate, and Khan shot off down the road as if he knew exactly where he was going.

Rafe ran after him, picking up speed until they were both flat-out running, first along the road, then heading up the hill toward the mountains.

Rafe looked ahead. Someone was running down the hill in the opposite direction, running hard and fast. Tall, slender, graceful.
Olivia.

He intercepted her, stepped into her path and she collided with his chest. Her face was streaked with tears. A bruise had begun to form on her cheek and she couldn't catch her breath.

A jolt of fury tore through him. “What the—”

“Rafe, oh my God! We have . . . have to go. He . . . he's coming. He'll catch us.” She grabbed his arm and started tugging him back down the hill the way he had come. Rafe caught her and swung her around to face him.

“Tell me what the hell's going on.”

“We don't have time! We have to run! He's got a gun!” She turned to the dog. “Come on, boy, let's go!” She started running and this time Rafe didn't stop her. Together they sprinted off down the hill, Khan racing along beside them. At the corner, they turned.

“That's him!” Olivia pointed toward an old brown Chevy roaring down the hill. It shot around the corner, turning in the opposite direction, and careened off down the road, gathering speed as it moved farther out of sight.

Rafe tried to get the license number off the bright yellow plate, but the shrubs in the area were dense and he only got the first three letters. ETU.

“I have to go,” Olivia said, slowing only a little. “God, Rafe, I'm so sorry.” She started to turn away, but he caught her arm.

“I know everything, Olivia. I know about the murder. I know all of it. You aren't going anywhere.”

Her eyes shot to his. Her lips trembled, and a sob escaped. She swayed unsteadily. Rafe wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close as she collapsed against him. If he hadn't been holding her up, he wasn't sure she could have stayed on her feet.

She was trembling all over, her eyes still wide with fear. She glanced off down the road, took a shaky breath. Her eyes slid closed a moment before she looked up at him. “I'll do whatever you say. I just don't care anymore.”

He caught her chin, studied her face. “He hit you. Who was he?”

She shook her head. “I don't know. I really don't. He knew my name. My old name. Knew about the murder. I offered him money, but he wanted . . . he wanted . . .” She swallowed and glanced away.

He studied the bruise on her cheek and a fresh wave of fury rolled through him. “What, baby? What did he want?”

Olivia's gaze locked with his. “He wanted me to trade sex for his silence.” She managed a wan half smile, reached into her pocket and pulled out her stun gun. “He got a jolt of something a lot hotter than sex.”

Relief washed through him, along with a hint of respect he didn't want to feel. She dropped the weapon back into her pocket and his arms tightened around her. Olivia buried her face in his neck, and his chest clamped down. It was insane to feel such a powerful surge of protectiveness for a woman who'd committed murder. And yet there it was.

“Come on.” He took her hand. “Let's go back to my place. We'll call Nell, tell her you're okay. Then we'll talk.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

They brought Khan with them to Rafe's house, put a blanket down for him in the living room. The big dog had been frantic to save her. Olivia couldn't bear to leave him behind.

She showered and slipped on a pair of Rafe's sweatpants, pulled on the faded Coast Guard tee she had borrowed from him before.

Rafe was waiting for her in the living room when she went downstairs. She was surprised he wasn't standing guard outside the bathroom door.

Why had she ever believed he would be able to accept her as just Olivia Chandler? No past, only the present and the future they might have created. It was a crazy, stupid fantasy. One she would now be paying for.

She reached the bottom of the stairs, and he stood up as she entered the room, handed her a snifter of the single malt they had enjoyed together before. She sat down in the chair instead of sitting next to him on the sofa.

Those days were over. The two of them were over. She might as well get used to it.

Rafe left for a moment, came back with a bag of ice wrapped in a towel, handed it over. She pressed it against her cheek.

“You want to start or you want me to?” he asked.

She just shrugged. What did it matter?

“My brother found out who you are,” he said. “Once I gave him your name, he said it was easy.”

She nodded dully. At least the ice was having the same dulling effect on her cheek. “It was a big story for a while. The media killed it in a couple of days. They didn't want the real murderer to get bad press. They didn't believe she'd done it, of course. They were sure I was the one.”

Rafe leaned toward her. “Look at me.”

She let her hand drop and looked him straight in the face.

“Did you kill him?”

She shook her head. “No.” She was through lying. She had never really fooled him anyway.

“Did you murder your husband, Stephen Rothman?”

“No, dammit.”

“Do you know who did?”

“Yes. But your brother didn't see her name in the papers, did he?”

“Why not?”

“Because her name is Julia Stanfield. Julia Stanfield? Married to Phillip Stanfield the Third? Ring any bells?”

He frowned. “You don't mean the congresswoman? The woman who's likely going to run for president after Hillary Clinton?”

“That's her. The darling of the press.”

“You're telling me Julia Stanfield killed your husband.”

“Ex-husband. Stephen Rothman. He and I had a relatively congenial divorce. Stephen was older. We were friends before we married. He cheated. I ended it. Eventually we became friends again. That's what I was doing at his place that night. Stephen asked me to come over. He said he needed someone to talk to. When I got there, he told me he'd been seeing the Stanfield woman, but it wasn't working out and he wanted to end the affair.”

“What happened?”

“Apparently Mrs. Stanfield doesn't take well to being dumped. She showed up at the apartment while I was in the bathroom. I heard a shot. Scared me to death. I thought it was a robbery. I cracked open the door so I could see what was going on and recognized her, saw her fire another four rounds into Stephen's chest. He was dead after shot number one.”

“You're innocent,” Rafe repeated as if he couldn't quite believe it. And why should he? No one else did. “You didn't kill him.”

“No, I didn't kill him. I stayed in the bathroom until she was gone, came out and called the police. But by the time they got there, her people had set things in motion. The cops didn't believe a word I said. The gun was there, wiped clean but lying next to him on the rug. Her people fed the police and the press a bullshit line about how I was still in love with Stephen and I wanted him back. When he refused, I went over there and shot him. They kept her name out of the papers, the story died, and I was charged with murder.”

“You had money. You could afford a good lawyer. Why did you run?”

She scoffed. “You really have to ask? Julia Stanfield is one of the most powerful women in the country. She's married to one of the most powerful men. I didn't decide to run until someone shot at me while I was leaving my apartment building. They found me one more time after that, shot at me in the parking lot next to the office where I was working in Dallas. I got away, spent more money, paid big to reinvent myself, and came up here.”

She swallowed past the knot in her throat. “I love it here. God, I don't want to leave.”

And I don't want to leave you, Rafe.
But she didn't say that.

“You aren't going anywhere,” Rafe said. “You're innocent. We're going to figure this out.”

She shook her head, feeling a rush of sorrow so deep an ache throbbed in her heart. “I'm leaving, Rafe. You saw what happened today. That guy knows who I am. People know who I am. Word will get out. They'll come after me again and when they do, someone is going to get hurt. It could be Nell or Cassie or Katie. It could be you, Rafe. I won't let that happen. So choose. Either turn me over to the police, or I'm leaving. What's it going to be?”

Rafe came up off the sofa, took the towel-wrapped ice from her hand and set it on the table. Bending, he scooped her out of her chair and sat down with her in his lap. Indulging herself in these last few moments with him, she didn't protest, just let herself lean against his chest.

“You can't run for the rest of your life,” Rafe said. “You have to take a stand sometime and it might as well be here. You have friends here, people who care about you. We just need time to figure this out.”

“Rafe . . .”

“I'll talk to my brother, see what he thinks. He knows people. He has a friend in the FBI in Fairbanks. Dylan has a friend who's a high-powered criminal lawyer in Anchorage. We'll find a way.”

Her heart squeezed. She turned to look at him, reached up and gently cupped his cheek, felt the rough shadow of his beard. “I never would have guessed. You are just the sweetest man.”

He grunted. Lifting her off him, he set her beside him on the sofa, slid an arm around her waist to keep her there. “I'm not sweet. I'm determined. I believe in justice and I know there has to be a way to find it for you.”

She sighed. How could she fight a man like that? One of the few people in the world who stood up for what he believed in.

“All right, I'll wait a couple of days. But it's risky. That guy could already be on the phone calling someone.”

Rafe seemed to mull that over. “Or maybe not. You said you offered him money but he wasn't interested. If he wanted you that badly, maybe it's personal. Maybe he'll come after you again.” He cast her a glance. “From now on, you're with me, twenty-four-seven.”

Olivia shook her head. “You don't have to do that. I told you I wouldn't run. I won't, Rafe, not without telling you. I give you my word. I know it isn't worth much, but—”

“Dammit, that isn't it. I want you safe. I said we're going to figure this out and we are. Until we do, you're staying with me.”

Emotion tightened her chest. “You're serious. You actually believe you can help me prove my innocence.”

Rafe came up off the sofa, turned and looked down at her. “I know you, Olivia. Day after day, I've watched you in that café, watched how you treat people, how they respond to you. I know the kind of woman you are. No way are you a murderer. There has to be a way to prove it.”

She rose and went into his arms, hung on to him as hard as she could. He was her anchor in a world that made no sense. A rock in a sea of troubles that constantly threatened to drown her. She wished she could tell him she loved him.

She couldn't do that. And even if she could, asking Rafe to believe she meant it was simply too much for one day.

 

 

Rafe left Olivia on the sofa in his living room, curled up in a pair of his sweatpants and one of his faded T-shirts. She was exhausted. And scared. More for him and her friends than for herself. He spread a blanket over her, went into the kitchen and pulled out his cell phone.

His first instinct was to call his brother, tell him what had happened, tell him about the man with the gun, that the guy knew she was Fiona Caldwell and had tried to blackmail her for sex, maybe even meant to kill her.

But Nick could be a hothead, and like all the Brodie men, protective when it came to family. Rafe needed time to think, to figure the best way to handle the situation.

Instead of calling Nick, he phoned Zach.

“Hey, Rafe,” the kid said. “We still going in tonight to get the GPS?”

Finding Scotty's killer was no longer his top priority, but from what the men in the motel had said, they would be leaving town in just a few more days. Rafe was convinced they were somehow connected to Scott's murder.

He hated the amateurish tracking system they were using, but this was Valdez. There was no Apple Store on Main Street. Tonight, however, things would be getting a little more twenty-first century.

“We're going to get it and take a look, see if there's anything useful. Olivia picked up the new device this morning.” They had stopped at her apartment on the way to his house and retrieved the FedEx package she had picked up that morning.

At the time, it hadn't been his main concern, but it had kept his mind off the conversation they needed to have, the fact that her troubles had followed her here, and the rage he'd felt when he realized she could have been killed.

“If you can get the new GPS hooked up to a computer,” he said, “we'll be able to follow these guys in real time.”

“I can handle it.”

“There's something else I need you to do. I need photos of these two guys. Can you get them off the video? Something I can e-mail my brother?”

“Wow, cool. Your brother's a detective, right?”

“That's right.”

“He's planning to use facial recognition,” Zach guessed. “We really are going high-tech.”

“Can you get them?”

“Depends what the cameras caught. I'll call Ben Friedman, go over and do it right now. Give me your brother's e-mail address.”

That was easy enough. “Nick Brodie at g-mail dot com.”

“Got it. It's getting late. This might take a little while. I'll walk on over, start checking the video, and wait for you there.”

“Thanks, Zach.”

A few hours later, the photos had been retrieved and sent to Nick in Seattle. By midnight, the old GPS had been retrieved, and the new, high-performance device attached to the bumper of the Jeep. No mishaps, not a soul around. During the process, Olivia had waited for him in his pickup.

Her attacker was still out there. They didn't know who he was or what they were dealing with. If the guy had been watching Olivia, undoubtedly he knew about Rafe. There was no way he could leave her alone. And no matter what she'd promised, there was still a chance she would run.

As soon as he was finished, he returned to his truck. Olivia scooted into the middle while Zach climbed in on the passenger's side for a ride back to his apartment. Rafe pulled up in front and turned off the engine.

“This is interesting,” Rafe said, looking down at the screen of the old GPS. “Last night, right after we taped this under the bumper, the men made a trip. Looks like the car left the lot at 12:10 a.m.”

“Where'd they go?” Olivia asked.

“Someplace up in the mountains. Looks like they drove straight there, spent less than an hour, and came back to the motel.”

“We can follow their route,” Zach said, “drive right up and see what's there.”

“We could, but it's late and we've got a charter tomorrow. It's only a half day. Soon as we get back to the harbor, I'll drive up and take a look.”

Zach nodded. “You're still convinced something's going on with these guys. Something to do with Scotty.”

“I think something's going on. I'm not sure anymore what the hell it is. But I'm going to find out.”

Zach seemed satisfied. He cracked open the door. “I'll see you in the morning,” he said to Rafe as he climbed down from the cab. “Night, Olivia.”

“Good night, Zach.”

Rafe waited till the kid got inside, then turned to Liv. “You were attacked today. The guy who came after you is still out there. I want you to know, you're what's important in all of this. Keeping you safe. Solving your problem. Not finding Scotty's killer or anything else. Nothing is more important than you. You understand that?”

Tears gleamed in her eyes before she blinked them away.

“You understand what I'm telling you? Answer me.”

She swallowed and nodded. “Whatever happens, I'll never forget you, Rafe.”

“Bullshit. We're going to figure this out.”

“Okay.” She looked up at him, gave him a tremulous smile. “In the meantime, we have to keep going. We have to find the guy who killed Scotty. We're getting close, Rafe. I can feel it. We promised Cassie. I don't want to stop now.”

His eyes found hers in the dim light inside the cab. “That's it, isn't it? The reason you were so determined to help me find Scott's killer. You couldn't get justice for yourself so you wanted to get it for Scotty.”

“Yes.”

“All right, we'll keep going. But remember what I said. You come first. Tomorrow we make a plan. We figure out who we can trust. Who can be the most help to us. How to reach them. How to convince them you're innocent.”

She shook her head. “All that takes time. What happens when the guy comes back? He's going to, Rafe. He isn't just going to give up.”