Love Inspired Suspense June 2015 - Box Set 2 of 2: Exit Strategy\Payback\Covert Justice (30 page)

Bree shrugged.

They were almost at the resort. They couldn't get there fast enough for Aiden. He wanted to get to Nia, hug her, tell her that her brother was alive and everything was going to be fine, but he needed to stay with Will and Bree, make sure they were okay. Besides, Nia was safe under the watchful eye of Deputy Nate Walsh.

“Did Danny say anything that would indicate where he was going?” Aiden asked Bree.

“Nope.”

“What about you, Will?” Scott said. “You get anything out of the guy before he took off?”

Will's eyebrows furrowed. “I...I don't remember.”

Bree and Scott shared a look of concern.

“A little fogginess is to be expected after a head injury,” Spence offered with a reassuring smile.

“Yeah,” Will said.

But he didn't look convinced. He seemed lost and confused. The sooner they got him to the hospital, the better.

* * *

Although Aiden had asked her to stay at the resort, Nia knew she'd be safe in a hospital full of people with Nate as her police escort. She needed to be there for her friends Bree and Will.

As Nate accompanied her to the hospital emergency room entrance, he scanned the surrounding area with precision.

“Did he tell you the extent of their injuries?” Nate asked.

“No, only that they weren't serious.”

They entered the ER and asked the receptionist about Bree and Will. She suggested they take a seat in the waiting room.

A few minutes later, Aiden came out of the examining area. He looked pale, and worry lines creased his forehead.

She stood and went to him. “Aiden?”

He snapped his attention to her. He looked angry, not at all happy to see her.

“What are you doing here?” He gently took her by the arm and led her back to the lounge.

“I was worried about my friends and you.”

“I told you they weren't seriously hurt. Didn't you believe me?”

“Of course I did, but I needed to be here.” She studied his expression. “What's going on?”

He motioned her to sit near Nate so he could hear, as well.

“Good news, bad news,” he started. “Bree is fine. Minor scratches, bruises, that sort of thing. Also, Danny is alive.”

Relief washed over her. “He's not hurt or wounded or anything?”

“It didn't look like it.”

“You saw him?”

“I did.”

“Why didn't he come down with you?”

“He seemed a little off, Nia. Paranoid, borderline psychotic.”

“No, that's not Danny. He's laid-back to a fault.”

“Well, he didn't seem like himself, then.”

“Was he on something?” Nate interjected.

Nia studied Aiden as he answered. “Possibly.”

“Wait—how did you run into Danny?” Nia said.

“He was up in the mountains. He—” Aiden paused “—he lured Bree up a trail.”

“He kidnapped Bree?”

“He didn't kidnap her, exactly. She went willingly. She was worried because he was ranting about you being in danger. The sheriff's office and feds are working together to send a team into the mountains to find him.”

“That's the bad news, isn't it?” Nia said.

“Actually, there's one more thing.” Aiden took her hand in his and squeezed. “Will suffered a head injury after getting into a scuffle with your brother. Will's a little confused and they don't know how long it will take for the swelling to go down and things to get back to normal.”

“Confused. You mean he doesn't remember who he is? Like when Scott had amnesia?”

“No, it's not like that. Will thinks Megan is still alive.”

“Oh, Aiden.” A ball of emotion lodged in her throat.

Aiden pulled her against his chest and stroked her back in such a soothing way. Nia felt responsible and devastated. Poor Will would have to relive the grief of losing his wife.

Because of Danny.

“This is so wrong,” Nia said.

“Let's stay positive. Scott recovered, and he suffered a more severe head injury.” He broke the embrace and looked into her eyes. “It will be okay.”

“What are they doing here?” Nate said.

Agents Nevins and Parker marched across the lobby.

“Aiden McBride,” Agent Nevins said. “We need you to come with us.”

THIRTEEN

“W
ait—what? Why?” Nia said, getting up and effectively blocking them from speaking to Aiden.

“Hindering an investigation, for starters,” Agent Nevins said. “And we need to ask some questions about questionable business practices at the resort.”

“I don't understand.” Nia glanced at Aiden. He hadn't uttered a word and she wondered if he was drifting into some kind of posttraumatic place, or if he was stunned by this development.

“Mr. McBride?” Agent Parker motioned with his hand for Aiden to join them.

Aiden stood in a robotic fashion.

“Hang on,” Nia said. “His sister is in the hospital. He needs to stay and make sure she's okay.”

“It's our understanding Scott Becket is with her.”

“Are you arresting him?” Nate finally said, as if he'd been in too much shock to speak up before.

“Not yet.” Parker eyed Aiden.

Nia noticed Aiden clench his jaw as if he struggled to remain in control. Ah, that was it. They wanted him to lose control so they could lock him up for assaulting federal officers. Aiden would be out of the way if he was sitting in jail, and they could focus their attention on Nia without Aiden's interference.

Once again, someone she cared about was being manipulated in order to get to her. She simply wouldn't have it.

Agent Parker took a step toward Aiden.

Nia got between them. “Let's go, Aiden.”

“Ma'am, we can have you both arrested,” Parker threatened.

“For what? Coming in for an interview? Believe it or not, we want to solve my brother's case just as much, if not more, than you do, Agent Parker. We will follow you to the office. Where are you parked?”

Aiden glanced at her. “Nia, no.”

“Yes. You've always said you function better when I'm around, so let's get this over with.”

* * *

The feds were smarter than Aiden had given them credit for. They'd figured out the way to Nia was through Aiden because she'd do whatever was necessary to support him.

Even walk into a federal office to be interrogated.

Well, not exactly an FBI office, since the closest one was nearly two hours away in Seattle. But they'd convinced Chief Washburn of Echo Mountain PD to loan them space for the interrogation into the bogus accusations.

Nia demanded the feds let Aiden speak to his sister before he left the hospital, which got Bree even more worked up. But the fact that the agents had agreed to Nia's demand proved they were manipulating the situation. They wanted her to think she had power, when, in fact, neither Nia nor Aiden had any power over what was about to happen. Then again, they had the power of choosing their words very carefully.

“Questionable business practices. That's nonsense,” Nia said in a soft voice as they waited in the conference room for the agents to return.

She'd been firm and demanding with the agents, yet when alone with Aiden she let her guard down. She trusted him.

And now he'd led her here, into the lion's den.

Aiden paced to the window overlooking the parking lot. “You shouldn't have come with me, Nia.”

“Why? We both know that's what they wanted.”

He snapped around and studied her.

“Yeah, I figured it out. They think I'm somehow connected to my brother's business, or I know something, or I can get them something. Whatever. It's about time I dealt with this head-on instead of hiding behind you.”

The door opened and Agent Nevins entered.

“Please, take a seat.” He motioned Aiden to sit at the table across from Nia.

Instead, Aiden pulled a chair to her side. “So, how did I hinder your investigation?”

“Besides repeatedly denying us access to Miss Sharpe? You agreed to let us take a look at your computer system and locked us out. You also helped a suspect flee when you knew we needed to question him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You saw Danny Sharpe in the mountains and you let him go.”

“I was tending to an injured man.”

“You're not a doctor. You should have detained Danny Sharpe.”

“I'm also not a cop. It's not my job to detain anybody.”

“No, apparently not.” Nevins studied a folder on the table in front of him. “It's your job to help your girlfriend's brother flee authorities.”

As if she sensed Aiden's temper flaring, she placed her hand over his, resting on his thigh.

“I'm not his girlfriend,” Nia said. “I'm his employee.”

She repeated Aiden's words, spoken many times these past few days, but they suddenly sounded bitter and oh so wrong.

You're much more than an employee, sweetheart.
Much more.

“As his employee, do you have access to the resort's operating funds?” Agent Nevins asked Nia.

“I do.”

“And what about the Timberline fund?”

“I'm not familiar with that one.”

Agent Nevins glanced at Aiden. “You want to explain it to her?”

How could he? Aiden had never heard of the fund before today.

“There's nothing to explain,” Aiden said, growing worried that something was going on he didn't know about.

“Before you locked us out, we noticed the Timberline fund and tried figuring out from where the money originated.” Nevins leaned back in his chair. “It's a mystery. Either of you want to share?”

Aiden squeezed Nia's hand, encouraging her to remain silent.

“We can't tell you anything if we know nothing about it,” Aiden said.

“You're not a very good liar, Mr. McBride.”

“I'm not lying.”

“Then why were we abruptly denied access to resort accounts?”

“When did this happen?” Aiden asked.

“Early this morning.”

Agent Parker joined them.

“I can look into it,” Aiden said. “I'll ask my IT guy if there was a glitch in the system.”

“Which still leaves the fact that you helped Danny Sharpe flee the area.”

“No, sir, I did not. I have no motive for that. I want to protect Nia. Her brother's criminal associates pose a danger to Nia, and the resort, for that matter. Besides, I was in no position to bring him down with us.”

“Why not?”

Aiden hesitated. “Because he was threatening me with a gun.”

“Aiden,” Nia hushed.

Aiden gently squeezed her hand.

Nevins leaned forward. “He has a gun?”

“Yes.”

“What kind?”

“A pistol of some kind.”

“Long barrel, short, what?”

“If I had to guess, I'd say a Glock.”

The two agents shared a look.

“What did he say to you?” Nevins asked.

“That he was worried about Nia. That people were after her, too.”

“Why would he think that?”

“Maybe because her apartment had been broken into and you guys won't leave her alone?”

“Smart guy, huh?” Parker yanked Aiden to his feet and flung him against the glass window. He pinned Aiden with steely-gray eyes and a forearm against his throat.

“Let him go!” Nia shouted.

“Parker, enough,” Nevins said.

Aiden stared back at the furious agent, reading more than anger in his eyes.

“Maybe if you would have worked with us from the beginning, we wouldn't have lost two agents.” Parker released Aiden and paced to the other side of the room, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“And McIntyre was missing his firearm,” Parker continued. “Which is probably the gun Danny Sharpe is carrying. Two men are dead and he's our prime suspect.”

“You don't know for sure that he shot them,” Aiden said, surprised that he was defending Danny. “At least not until Forensics confirms time of death.”

“It's okay.” Nia reached up and touched Aiden's hand. “I'm ready to accept the fact my brother is responsible in one way or another for the agents' deaths.”

The room fell silent. Aiden wanted desperately to change the facts, or at least whisk her out of here and take her someplace where no one, especially the aggressive agents, could bother her. He sat down next to her, wanting to stay as close as possible.

She glanced at Agent Nevins. “I'll do whatever I can to help you apprehend my brother.”

* * *

Nia spent the next two hours giving the agents information about Danny. They said they needed to build a profile to anticipate what he might do next, where he'd go. The stakes had been raised beyond measure now that they suspected him of killing two federal agents. Even if the men had been corrupt, they didn't deserve to die.

Agent Nevins said Danny was the key to closing the corruption case on the two agents and putting a drug ring from the Midwest out of business. Agent Parker didn't speak much during the meeting, but he glared at Aiden a few times.

It was nearly nine o'clock and Nia realized neither she nor Aiden had eaten supper. She'd been too frantic about Bree's disappearance, and Aiden had gone from the search site to the hospital to the police station.

“May we continue tomorrow?” she said. “I'm exhausted and haven't eaten since lunch.”

“We can bring something in,” Nevins offered.

“No, thank you. We'll pick something up on the way back to the resort.” She stood and so did the men.

“Thank you for your help, Miss Sharpe,” Agent Nevins said. “We'll contact you tomorrow morning.”

“How about afternoon?” Aiden said. “We've got some catching up to do at work.”

Nevins ignored him and spoke directly to Nia. “I'll call around eleven and we can go from there.”

Nia finally breathed a sigh of relief when they left the police station in Aiden's truck.

“You really didn't have to do that,” he said.

“What?”

“Come with me.”

“Sure I did.”

“Are you...okay?”

“I am. Does that surprise you?”

“I guess a little. You seem different than when your brother first came to town.”

“I've accepted that which I cannot change. Danny has chosen a dark path and I cannot pull him back.”

“And it's not your fault?”

She glanced at him and felt her lips curl slightly in a melancholy smile. “It's not my fault.”

“At least some good has come out of all this.”

“What's that?”

“You giving up responsibility for your brother's choices.”

“Yeah, it feels good to let go of guilt. You should give it a try.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your friend Yates. He wouldn't want you to carry that around.”

A few moments of silence filled the SUV.

“Got any thoughts about dinner?” he asked.

“I could really use a grilled cheese right about now.”

“What, no Healthy Eats for you?”

“Actually, they have their own version of a grilled cheese with hormone-free cheese and gluten-free bread.”

“Probably tastes like paste.”

“Too bad they close at nine.”

“Yeah, too bad,” he said in a wry tone.

“It wouldn't hurt you to try something healthy once in a while.”

“It might hurt my taste buds.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For not being intense after everything we've been through today.”

“Intense. You mean like how I usually am?”

“I never said that.”

“You didn't have to.”

“You want things done right. That's an admirable quality.”

“Yeah, but my execution could use some work.”

“It never bothered me.” She glanced out the passenger window as they passed through town.

“Really?”

She looked at her boss. For some reason he looked like someone else right now, not the harsh-talking, hyperfocused manager of Echo Mountain Resort. He looked like a young, vulnerable man who needed affirmation.

“Really,” she said. “I always suspected your harsh demeanor was hiding something else, like fear or worry. It's those blue eyes that gave you away.”

“How so?”

“You can't have such kind blue eyes and be an ogre.” She slapped her hand to her mouth.

“What?” he challenged.

“I'm sorry. I really said that, didn't I?”

“Called me an ogre? Yeah, you did.”

“It's low blood sugar, exhaustion, worry about—”

“It's okay. I've been called worse,” he teased. “Speaking of low blood sugar, want to pick up a pizza?”

She studied him. She'd insulted him by calling him an ogre to his face, and he wanted to pick up a pizza?

“No pizza?” he said.

“Um, sure. Pizza is fine.”

“Good. Call it into Frankie's and we'll swing by.”

* * *

They made it back to the resort around ten with pizza. Bree called with an update: she was fine, and Will was spending the night in the hospital for observation.

That threatened to ruin Nia's appetite, but Aiden said he hated eating alone and asked her to join him. They were on their second slice when they heard someone jiggle the apartment door handle.

Aiden jumped to his feet and grabbed a nearby lamp to use as a weapon.

“Get in the bedroom,” he ordered.

“Aiden? Open up. It's Quinn.”

Aiden rushed to open the door. Resort owner Quinn Donovan marched past Aiden. “What's the deal? My garage door wouldn't open and the key card didn't work.”

He nodded at Nia. “Hey, Nia. You okay?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Turning to Aiden, Quinn narrowed his eyes. “And you're using my fiancée's favorite lamp as a weapon because...?”

“Sorry, sorry.” Aiden put it back on the table and plugged it in.

Quinn dropped his keys on the dining room table. “You want to tell me what's going on?”

“You got my messages, right?”

“About needing to use the apartment to protect Nia, yes.”