SECRET IDENTITY (16 page)

Are you shitting me?
Lorne asked incredulously.
On
what grounds? Sabotage?

Luke’s mental sigh was all the answer he needed.

Okay. So the Palmers paid her bail. Does Lorne need to go
get her and bring her home?

Actually, I have a better idea,
Luke suggested
. We
all agree that Brenda is being set up for this, right?

Right.

And whoever is behind this is going to be watching to
make sure she takes the fall. Which means she’s going to need our protection
until we can find out the truth behind this whole mess. But since we can’t
reveal our superpowered personas, here’s what I suggest.

Go ahead, bro. I’m listening,
Lorne solemnly said.

All right. Here’s what you need to do.

Chapter 20

Beach House

Brenda sat on the narrow bed, her head resting against the
dirty green wall. She was at the very bottom rung of her emotional ladder, and
hanging on by sheer strength of will alone.

Her company refused her legal representation, which she had
every right to have, being an employee of Dobbling Enterprises. Yet, she could
understand why they had suddenly turned their backs on her. To them she was the
person responsible for the explosions at the factory. To them, she was on
someone else’s payroll and out to sabotage Dobbling’s efforts.

The huge question was, who was really responsible for this
mess? Who was the conductor orchestrating this rather elaborate symphony of
events?

More importantly, why had she been tapped to be the
scapegoat? What had she done to piss off someone so badly that they had to
target her?

She’d tried to figure out who might be at the helm, but no
one’s name rose to the top. Her rise in the ranks had been swift and somewhat
miraculous. There had been no time to create many enemies, if any.

Someone swore. She heard someone vomiting on the floor.
Further down in the large holding cell, a few drunk men were waiting for their
twenty-four hours to be up, or for someone to come get them. Because she was
the only female, she had been placed in a small cell for her protection.

Brenda wiped her eyes with the cuff of her sweater. What
would happen to her now? She had no idea how the justice system worked, and she
hadn’t had the chance to call anyone yet. The officer who had brought her here
told her that the city would provide her with a defense attorney, but that was
all.

Inside her soul the flame of righteous indignation burned
hot and bright. Whoever was doing this to her was in the wrong. It didn’t take
two cents’ worth of common sense to realize that someone didn’t want her to
ever get out of jail. And why not? Because she would be able to discover who
the real culprit was?

I’m no detective. I don’t know the first thing about
tracking someone down. How could I be dangerous?

The more she thought about it, the more confused she became.
And the more confused she became, the lower her spirits sunk.

A loud scraping sound at the end of the hallway signaled
someone was entering the cell block area. Brenda closed her eyes, believing the
police were hauling in another vagrant or drunk. She didn’t expect the
footsteps to stop in front of her cell. The keys in the lock made her turn in
surprise to see a different officer opening the door.

“Miss McKay, your bail’s been posted. Let’s go.”

Her jaw dropped. “Who?”

Rather than answer her, the officer gestured for her to
leave. She quickly got up and followed him into another area of the police
station where another police officer handed over a brown envelope containing
her purse, and made her sign an affidavit saying none of her personal
possessions were missing. Numbly, Brenda signed the paper without checking.
When she was finished there, a female officer escorted her down another hallway
and through another door that opened up into the general waiting area.

She was stunned to see Luke Palmer waiting for her near the
glass front doors. “Luke? You’re the person who posted my bail? Where’s Lorne?”

“He’s at work. I called him to let him know what was
happening. Come on.” He opened the door for her to exit first. “We’ll talk all
about it in the car while I take you home.”

She went ahead of him, stepping out into the cool night air.
The stars overhead were obliterated by the building’s lights, but the moon was
still visible. A half-moon.

“How did you know I was here?”

He gave her a teasing smile. “Gee, you couldn’t figure that
out on your own?”

Of course she could, now that she thought about it. She was
a hometown girl, and that meant many of the people employed at the police
station already knew her and her family. That probably explained why she hadn’t
yet been given the chance to make her one phone call.

“Luke, I’m going to repay you for every bit you had to shell
out. I promise. I don’t care how much it cost.” She glanced over at him
striding beside her as they aimed for the visitors’ parking lot. “How much did
it cost?”

“Lucky for you, just a few hundred thousand.” He grinned at
her shocked expression. “Hey, Dobbling wanted the bail rescinded, but when the
judge refused, their lawyer tried to make it at least a cool million. Like I
said, you’re lucky you’re a hometown girl. Judge Nichols can be just as pigheaded
as those corporate suits.”

Brenda felt a smile come over her face. “Gee. Nichols is
still on the bench? I remember when Deanna Nichols and I had a falling out in
junior high over Larry Evers. Of course, she and Larry ended up getting married
right out of high school. I wonder how they’re doing today?”

“They’re divorced. Deanna still lives here in town with
their son. She works over at the Family Dollar Discount. Larry moved to some
place in Texas where he’s an oilfield worker.” Luke grinned. “I think you came
out ahead on that deal.”

“Maybe so. Too bad I can’t say the same thing about this
deal,” she remarked.

They had almost reached the sedan when Luke stopped,
grabbing Brenda around the waist as if to protect her. Looking at him, she saw
his gaze aimed upward. Following it, she caught sight of the figure in black
slowly descending to land in front of them.

“I’m not here to hurt her,” The Defender announced. “I’m
here to help.” He held out a hand toward Luke. “I’m called The Defender.”

“Luke Palmer,” Luke answered, and the two men shook. “What
do you mean, you’re here to help?”

Rather than answer the man directly, The Defender turned to
her.

“Miss McKay, I have every reason to believe you are being
set up to take the full blame for the destruction of the Dobbling Chemicals
factory.”

“I wish you’d call me Brenda. And I’ve pretty much come to
the same conclusion.”

“My brothers and I are certain Brenda’s innocent of all
charges,” Luke added.

The Defender nodded. “That’s why I’m here. I’d gotten word
that you’d posted her bail. And if I’m aware of it, those who are trying to pin
this on her are also aware of it.”

“So you think she’s in danger?” Luke asked.

“I think that as long as she had remained in jail, she would
have been safe, but your actions have negated that. With her free, these people
will think she’s going to do everything she can to find out who the real
culprit is—”

“You can bet I will!” Brenda interjected heatedly

“And they’re going to try and stop her,” The Defender added
in a voice that suggested a sinister conclusion might be at hand.

“What do you think we should do?” Luke said.

“I think it would be in your best interest if I put her in a
safe house where I can keep watch over her until I know who is behind all this.”

The Defender looked at her with an intense stare. Brenda
could feel a sexual tingle start to go through her, but it was tempered by the
seriousness of her situation.

“I think the safe house is an excellent idea,” Luke said. “But
I don’t like having Brenda where my brothers and I can’t communicate with her.
We’re practically family, and Brenda’s father just died, so we’re all she has
left.” He looked at her for approval, when a smile came over him. “Wait! I have
an idea!”

Releasing her waist, he dug into his jeans pocket and pulled
out his set of keys. He quickly removed one key from the ring and handed it
over to The Defender.

“We have a small beach house on Longone Point. It’s pretty
much isolated, and it sits out in the open, which means you can see anyone
coming from miles away. There’s no land line to it, so you don’t have to worry
about anyone tracing a call.”

He produced his cell phone from his shirt pocket and gave it
to her. “This is my personal cell. Only myself, Lorne, and Lee have the number.
Call us if you need us, okay?”

“Okay.” She took the phone, noticing how warm it felt in her
cold hands.

“This place sounds like an excellent idea,” The Defender
said. “How do we get there?”

“I normally go up and take 17 over to MaGrath Road, right
before you get to Ocean City. That’ll take you to Seaside. From Seaside, there’s
a turn right past Morgan’s Bait Shop. It’s a sandy dirt road that’ll meander
for about seven miles before you see the cottage.”

The Defender nodded. “I should be able to find it without
any difficulty.”

Luke sighed. “The only problem is, we haven’t been there in
a couple of years. There’s no provisions.”

“I can deal with that later. Right now my main concern is
for Miss McK— Brenda’s safety. Thanks for your help.”

“No. Thank
you
, Defender,” Luke replied, and the two
men shook hands again.

He turned to her and wrapped his hands around hers still
clutching the phone.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this plan?” he asked her
softly. “You have no qualms about having this man take care of you? Because if
you do—”

“Luke.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a
grateful kiss on the cheek. “Yes, I trust him. I’ll be fine. I can’t thank you
enough for everything you’re doing. I wish there was a way I could help.”

“Hey.”

Although lighting was poor, she would swear he was blushing.

“You keep safe. That’ll be our payment. And keep thinking
over things that have happened in the past, even the smallest, insignificant
details. Let us know if anything strikes you odd.
Any
thing, you
understand? In the meantime, I’m going to call in some favors and see if I can’t
find out something that might give us some answers.”

“Are you ready? We need to get away from this place as soon
as possible,” The Defender asked, interrupting.

Nodding, Brenda gave Luke another peck on the cheek before
turning back to the man in black. She gasped as she was quickly swept up into
the man’s arms. A split second later, they were above the trees and heading
toward the stars.

Chapter 21

Decision

The Defender kept her gathered close to his chest as they
flew through the dark skies. Still, at this height, the night air was brutally
cold. It penetrated her clothing, all the way to the bone, and she couldn’t
stop shivering. The Defender held her tighter, lowering his face so she could
hear him.

“Want me to fly more slowly so the wind’s not as fierce?”

“N-no.” She shook her head, unable to speak clearly because
her teeth were chattering so hard. She buried her face in the curve of his
neck. The tip of her nose found his pulse below his ear. She was surprised to
find it beating furiously.

In spite of the weather, it was a beautiful night. She
caught glimpses of the world passing below them, looking like bright jewels
against a black velvet tapestry. Overhead, the stars were incredibly brilliant,
like crystalline drops of ice suspended in space. The Defender flew high enough
to prevent them from being seen, but low enough so as not to interfere with any
air traffic.

It was quiet up here in the skies. She never realized how
noisy life was at ground level until now. Even at night the insects and
bullfrogs kept a soft chorus going in the background. But up here, above the
trees, sound and time stilled. Only the rushing of the wind going by them could
be heard.

She had no idea how long they flew. She remembered
overhearing Mrs. Palmer once comment that it took her a little less than an
hour to drive from their home to the beach house. It would probably take The
Defender a fraction of the time to get there.

The Defender shifted his body. Instead of being parallel to
the ground, he was now in a vertical, standing position. Gravity tugged at her,
and Brenda realized they were landing. The sound of the ocean penetrated the
silence, and she caught a glimpse of moon-washed waves sparkling in the
distance. She also spotted the beach cottage sitting on its tall beams like an
insect with stilt legs moments before they set foot in the sand behind a ridge
of tall dunes.

He lowered her to her feet and backed away. “Stay here. I
want to check out the place first. Make sure it’s safe.”

“Okay.”

He jetted up and over, heading straight for the beach house.
Brenda watched from the top of one dune, peering between the sea grass for
safety’s sake. Her eyes were adjusted enough to the dim moonlight to see The
Defender land in front of the door. In a few seconds, he’d unlocked it and
walked inside. He reappeared almost immediately and flew back to her. Silently,
he picked her back up in his arms to transport her over to the cottage, setting
her on the small deck.

“It’s dark inside. Be careful.”

“That’s okay. There’s no electricity, but I think I remember
where the candles are.”