Against the Tide (33 page)

In a way it was good he had the time off. He had no idea how to approach the problems Olivia was facing. He knew Nick had already started digging, trying to find something that would help them prove her innocence. He figured he'd know more after he talked to Keller.

Thinking of Olivia had him smiling. Despite everything that had happened and everything they would have to overcome, he knew he had found the woman for him. He thought maybe he'd known as he'd watched her all those weeks in the café. Since they had been together, it was something he had never really doubted.

 

 

Olivia finished packing a second suitcase, zipped it closed, and set it by the front door next to the first. Satisfied she had packed everything she needed but would still be traveling light, she went into her bedroom office.

There were two things she had to do before she could leave Valdez. The first was to sign over the restaurant to Nell. She couldn't tell her friend she was leaving. Nell would ask questions Liv didn't have the time or the strength to answer. Nell would try to stop her.

But after Cain's arrest, Olivia couldn't possibly stay.

She glanced at the clock. It was already one thirty in the afternoon. Rafe would be back at the café for supper, figuring to take her home with him after she finished work. By then, she had to be as far away as her little Subaru would carry her. She had to be somewhere Rafe couldn't find her.

Where no one could find her.

Once she got on the road, she'd have time to figure out a destination where she would be safe. She'd done it before. She could do it again. This time she would change her appearance completely, bleach her hair, wear colored contacts, blend in so thoroughly no one would remotely consider she was Fiona Caldwell.

She wouldn't look like herself. She wouldn't
be
herself. She would give herself up completely.

Liv swallowed past the ache in her throat. She had only just found herself here in Valdez.

She bit back a sob. She had to go before she weakened. Before the police showed up at her door. Even if she had the courage to stay and face the charges against her, she couldn't bear to think what seeing her in prison would do to Rafe. She knew the kind of man he was, knew he wouldn't abandon her. It could take years to prove her innocence, might never even happen. Rafe would be wasting years of his life. He might even be in danger.

She sat down at the desk and wrote a letter to Nell, thanking her for everything she had done. Telling her what a wonderful friend she had been. She asked her to find a good home for Khan, someone who would love him as much as she did.

Then she took the ownership papers she'd had drawn up a few weeks back in case she ever needed to leave in a hurry. She signed them over to Nell, put the papers in an envelope and licked the seal.

For a moment, she held the document against her heart. She loved this place. Loved the business she had created, loved the friends she had made.

She loved Rafe.

Her hand shook as she picked up the letter she had written him earlier. She had thanked him for everything he had done, told him how much she appreciated his friendship, told him how sorry she was that she had to leave.

The letter ended,
You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Rafe Brodie. I wish things could be different, but sometimes that's just the way it is. If you care for me as I believe you do, please don't come after me. Have a great life. Liv

She didn't tell him she loved him. She didn't say that leaving him was tearing her in two. She didn't because she knew if she did, he would search for her no matter how long it took, no matter how much of his own life he would be giving up.

She slid the note in an envelope and wrote his name on the front, left it on the sofa where it was easy to see. Next she took the ownership documents in the envelope marked with Nell's name and headed downstairs. Leaving the envelope on the office desk, she went out back to finish the last thing she had to do before leaving town.

Khan was lying in the sun in front of his doghouse, Tuxedo curled up beside him. When he saw her, his ears perked up and he shot to his feet. Tuxedo stood up, too. Both of them looked at her expectantly, then Khan jerked forward in a burst of speed and slid to a halt at her feet.

One great bark told her he was ready for his run.

Liv swallowed past the painful knot in her throat. “Hey, boy.” Kneeling next to him, she buried her face in his soft, warm fur. “Not today, sweetheart. We can't go today. From now on, someone else will be taking you out.” She brushed at a tear that slid down her cheek. “I have to leave. I'm sorry, but I can't take you with me this time.”

She rubbed his fur, kissed the top of his head. She had to change her life completely and that meant giving up Khan.

She scratched his ears and rubbed his head and handed him a dog treat. He downed the treat politely, turned to look at Tuxedo, but didn't leave. He cocked his head, watching her, made a little sound in his throat. He could tell something was wrong. He was such a good dog.

“Good-bye, boy,” she said, wiping at the wetness that continued to roll down her cheeks. “Bye, Khan.” Her throat ached. Her chest hurt. Turning, she hurried back up the stairs to check a few last-minute things and retrieve her suitcases. Once they were loaded into the back of the Subaru, she would be gone.

Her life as Olivia Chandler was over. She released a shaky breath. Fiona was once more on the run.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Something was nagging him, chipping away at his good mood. Rafe didn't know what it was, but instead of finishing the work he had started, he left his house and headed down to the café.

He needed to see Liv, make sure she was okay. A lot had happened in the past few days. She had to be upset. Hell, she had shot a man last night.

He smiled grimly. If he'd had any doubts she was innocent of murdering her ex—which he didn't—they would have disappeared last night. As he'd hurried toward the pickup, he'd heard Cain's voice, heard him threatening to expose her. She could have shot him right there and saved herself. But Cain was right. Olivia wasn't a killer.

And because she wasn't, there would be a lot more to face ahead.

The bell rang as he pushed through the door into the café. Nell spotted him and started forward, set a hand on his chest and shoved him back outside onto the patio before he knew what was happening.

She clamped her hands on her hips. “All right, what did you do to Liv?”

“What are you talking about? I didn't do anything to Liv.”

“You promised me you wouldn't hurt her. I warned you, but you wouldn't listen.”

“Dammit, I didn't do anything. I wouldn't hurt her.” He grinned. “I'm going to marry her—though it'd probably be better if you don't say that to her. At least not yet. I'm not sure she's ready to hear it.”

“You're gonna marry her?”

“If she'll have me. We've got some problems—”

“You're gonna marry her!” Nell threw her arms around his neck and hugged him hard.

Rafe chuckled as she hung on to him. “So I guess you approve.”

Nell stepped back and swiped at the tears beneath her smiling blue eyes. “Of course I approve. You two are perfect for each other. But you need to talk to her. Something's wrong. I don't know what it is, but I'm worried about her.”

Rafe didn't waste any time, just walked past her and shoved open the door to the café.

“Where is she?” he asked Katie when he didn't see her right away.

“She was upstairs a few minutes ago.”

He started walking, picked up his speed until he was almost running. Something was wrong. He'd felt it all morning. He pounded up to the top of the stairs and tried the door, found it open, which wasn't like Liv.

“Liv! Baby, where are you?”

He spotted the note with his name on it on the sofa, and felt a clutch in his stomach. He picked it up and tore it open. His insides churned as he skimmed the letter, read the meaningless niceties,
thanks for your friendship, thanks for your help, sorry I have to leave
, blah, blah, blah. He looked for some hint of her feelings, found none.

Then at the bottom. Y
ou're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Rafe Brodie. Have a good life.

His chest clamped down. He knew her now, knew the way her brain worked, knew she was afraid if she gave him the least indication of her feelings, he would follow her no matter how far she ran.

It wasn't
I love you
, but it was enough. He crumpled the note in his hand, turned and walked out of the apartment. If he hadn't heard Khan bark, he might have turned the wrong way at the bottom of the stairs and gone back into the café. Instead, he walked out on the back porch, saw Khan at the gate, and started across the yard to the garage where Liv parked her car.

He paused at the gate and lifted the latch, saw the garage door was open. The trunk of her Subaru was up. Liv was loading a piece of luggage in next to another bag in the back.

When she spotted him, her face went deathly pale. “Rafe . . .”

His jaw hardened. Rafe started walking.

 

 

Olivia's heart was pounding. All her careful planning had just gone out the window. Rafe was here. Dear God, what should she do?

She took a step backward into the shadows, wishing she could just disappear.

“What do you think you're doing?” he asked, but clearly he could see she was leaving. He just kept coming as she inched back, stalking her and reminding her of the lion she'd called him.

“Please, Rafe. I have to go.” Her voice was trembling. She hoped he wouldn't notice.

“You're running,” Rafe said darkly, and she could read the anger in his face.

“I'm going, yes. I'm sorry. I don't have any choice.”

Rafe made no reply, just kept closing the distance between them, driving her back till she came up against the wall. She gasped as he bent and slid an arm beneath her knees, scooped her up against his chest, turned and started striding back the way he had come.

“Put me down. What are you doing?”

He ignored her, of course, carried her inside, climbed the stairs and strode into her apartment, kicked the door closed with his boot. He sat down on the sofa with her in his lap.

“Rafe, please . . .” She tried to stay calm, tried to think of a way to soothe his temper, tried to think what she should say.

“You're not leaving,” Rafe said. “You might as well accept it. I love you. I'm crazy in love with you and I'm not letting you go.”

“What?”

“I said I love you, and you aren't leaving. Even if you aren't in love with me, I'm still not letting you go. I promised you we were going to fix this, and that's what we're going to do.”

Her heart was pounding, her chest squeezing so hard she could barely breathe. He loved her. The words filled her heart. Rafe loved her, and dear God, she loved him. It was the reason she had to let him go.

She leaned into him, rested her head on his shoulder. “Don't you see?” She wiped away a tear she hoped he wouldn't see. “If I stay, your life will be ruined. You might even be in danger. Please, you have to let me leave.”

He just shook his head. “No.”

“It could take years to fix this. I don't want my past to destroy your future. It's time for me to go.”

His jaw went tight. “No.”

Olivia sat up and looked at him, her gaze running over his face. At the hard set of his jaw, the tenderness she was feeling changed to something else.

Her chin went up. “You can't just say no. You don't own me. I'm a free person. I can leave if I want to.”

There was something in his eyes, a look of stubbornness tinged with desperation. “You aren't leaving. I won't let you. We're going to find a way to prove your innocence. You're staying here with me.”

She stared at him for several long seconds. No matter what she said, he wasn't letting her go.

A soft warmth spread through her body. Dear God, she loved this man. Loved his arrogance. Loved his protectiveness. Loved his beautiful face and his amazing body. She started smiling, chuckling at the audacity that was so much Rafe.

He looked down at her. “What, you think this is funny?”

She reached up, caught his face between her hands and kissed him, a long, wet, hot, thorough kiss that made him groan.

She eased a little away. “It isn't funny. It's wonderful. I love you, Rafe Brodie. All that stubbornness in such a sweet, sexy package. I don't think I could live without you, even if I went away.”

She didn't miss the relief that moved over his beloved face. “I want to marry you, darlin'. All we have to do is find a way to prove Julia Stanfield killed your ex-husband—not you.”

She started grinning. “That has to be the craziest proposal any man ever made to a woman.”

Rafe grinned back. “I'll do better next time,” he promised. Then he kissed her, and Liv knew, soul-deep, she wasn't going anywhere.

Chapter Thirty-Six

A lot went on during the next few days. The media tried to make Rafe, Noah, and Derek celebrities. But the two friends had slipped quietly away, leaving Rafe in the spotlight. Noah was former Delta. For all intents and purposes, as a hero, he didn't exist. Derek was pretty much a loner, a man's man who spent most of his time flying tourists in and out of the backcountry.

Rafe was a local and a businessman. He dealt with the media, kept things as simple as he could, and did his best to steer attention away from Olivia.

Liv spent the week in his bed. She hadn't tried to run again, hadn't even mentioned leaving. He figured she had finally figured out that they belonged together and that wasn't going to change.

Darius Cain still hadn't played his hole card. Rafe figured he was biding his time, trying to cut the best deal he and his attorney could make.

Cain had rolled on Trent Doyle, aka Trent Petersen, and his mistress, Tatiana Valenchenko, but so far hadn't mentioned Fiona Caldwell, keeping his trump card in place. He'd use it sooner or later, trade Fiona's whereabouts for something that would help him.

Whatever deal he made, Cain was going to prison for a very, very long time. So were Heng, Nadir, the mercenaries the Coast Guard had picked up on the escape boat, and anyone else connected with the terrorist plot.

Doyle and his mistress had been arrested in New York, their faces splashed all over the newspapers. The motive for their involvement was money. Big money, according to the FBI. Since Doyle and Valenchenko were considered international flight risks, the judge refused to release either of them on bail.

Peter Keller had flown to Valdez three times in the past week to meet with Rafe and Olivia to discuss the best way to fight the murder charges against her. They all knew it wouldn't be easy. But they'd set a plan in motion and they were determined. Keller had flown back to Anchorage last night.

Nick was in New York, working the Stephen Rothman murder case from where it had happened. Keller had connections in D.C., one of whom was a top-notch private investigator. The man was working the Julia Stanfield angle, treading carefully, since digging into the lives of such powerful people might get him killed.

Keller had been great. The attorney wanted to get all the pieces in place before he made contact with the authorities. They were racing against time, hoping they'd come up with something before Darius Cain told the FBI where to find Fiona Caldwell.

Once that happened, Olivia would have to turn herself in. A better scenario would be if Keller managed to assemble enough information to make a convincing case for her innocence.

Either way, Liv would have to go to prison. Once she was arrested, no bail amount would be high enough, since she had run before. Neither Rafe nor Liv was ready for that. No matter how much they talked about it, no matter how many plans they made, they just weren't ready.

And there was still the fear that once she came out of hiding, the same people who had tried to silence her before would attempt to kill her again.

Thinking about the problem had Rafe brooding that morning as they sat at the kitchen table drinking cups of freshly brewed coffee, Olivia seated across from him, reading a section of the
Valdez Star.

Watching her, his mood grew even darker, so bad he didn't even reply to the e-mail he received on his iPhone from a guy in Anchorage wanting to sell a forty-three-foot North Pacific that might be exactly the boat he was looking for to replace
Sea Scorpion.

Telling himself he should at least give the guy the courtesy of a response, he was e-mailing a reply when his cell started playing the Coast Guard anthem. His mood went blacker. Maybe he should change the tune.

Rafe sighed as he pulled the phone out of his pocket and recognized Nick's number. It was almost six a.m. in Valdez. Four hours later in New York. He pressed the phone against his ear. “Hey, bro, what's up?”

“Turn on your TV, big brother. Put on Fox or CNN.”

“What's going on?”

“Just do it.”

Rafe's worry kicked up a notch. He flicked a glance at Liv. “It's Nick. He says there's something we need to watch on TV.”

“Oh God. I hope it isn't another terror attack somewhere.”

Rafe headed into the living room, Olivia right beside him. He grabbed the remote and clicked on his big flat-screen, brought up CNN. He didn't recognize the dark-haired woman at first, attractive, late forties, dressed in an expensive tailored suit. But Olivia did.

“That's Julia Stanfield.” She stared at the screen. “Oh my God, she's being arrested.”

Nick's voice came through the phone. Rafe put the call on speaker and set it on the arm of the sofa.

“You see that, big brother? FBI just arrested Julia Stanfield. I guess her husband got tired of her many affairs and demanded she stop fooling around. Julia got tired of her husband. She tried to hire a hit man to take him out. Trouble was, the hit man was an FBI undercover agent.”

Rafe's gaze was fixed on the screen. They were loading the Stanfield woman into an unmarked police car, an officer shoving her head down as they settled her, handcuffed, into the backseat.

Nick's chuckle came over the phone. “Funny thing is, the feds weren't even targeting her. She just fell into a sting they were operating across the country. The pictures you're seeing are from early this morning. Word is, after the arrest was made, her entire staff turned on her like a pack of rabid wolves.”

“We have to call Peter,” Olivia said excitedly. “Maybe he can figure a way to get her to admit she killed Stephen.”

“I don't think that's going to be a problem much longer,” Nick said. “According to Keller's man in D.C., one of her aides has already jumped on that bandwagon. Made a deal to save his own ass. The deal includes information about the murder of Stephen Rothman. Info that it was Julia Stanfield who killed Rothman, not Fiona Caldwell.”

A sob caught in Olivia's throat. Rafe reached for her, pulled her into his arms and held on tight.

“Congratulations, big brother,” Nick said. “You too, Olivia. I'm on my way back home. Got a sweet little wife waiting for me. I'll keep you posted.” Nick hung up the phone.

Rafe felt Olivia's body soften against him. Her arms went around his neck. “I can't believe it. I can't convince myself it's really true.”

Rafe kissed her forehead. “Now that it's all out in the open, you'll be safe. There's nothing you can tell the police they don't already know.”

She just nodded.

Rafe caught her chin, tipped her face up. “They say bad things happen to good people. That's what happened to you, darlin'. But sometimes good things happen to good people. This is one of those times.”

Liv looked up at him, tears in her beautiful gray eyes. “I love you, Rafe Brodie. I love you so much.”

He ran a knuckle over her cheek. “Will you marry me?”

Olivia smiled at him through her tears. “That's the second time you've asked. It was yes the first time.”

Rafe bent his head and very thoroughly kissed her.