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Finn rubbed his damp palms over his jeans, dreading the upcoming conversation with every fiber of his being. He’d already talked to Sheriff Buchanan about everything. Now he had to come clean to his mom.
As promised, Ryder was here, sitting in the easy chair across from him. Finn had found him on the couch when he’d come out of his room an hour ago. “You wanna eat something first?” Ryder asked him.
“Nah, I’m good.” More like he wasn’t hungry. His stomach was too upset right now to even think about food.
His mom appeared in the hallway and stopped on her way to the kitchen. She glanced at them both. “Morning.”
“Morning,” Finn mumbled. Shit, he hated all this. Should have just come clean on Christmas Eve. Maybe then his mom wouldn’t have been held hostage and almost killed. Maybe those people wouldn’t have been killed last night.
Every time he thought about it, he felt sick.
She frowned at them. “Something wrong?”
“Kind of.”
Her eyes cut to Ryder. When he didn’t say anything her expression turned pinched, and she sat on the couch beside Finn. “What’s going on?” She searched his eyes worriedly.
He blew out a breath. “The other night. When someone shot at the house. I think I know who did it.”
She stared at him in alarm. “Who?”
“A guy from school. A senior. His name’s Grant. Paul introduced me to him. We’ve...hung out a couple times.”
She didn’t say anything. Just kept staring. And the fear and disappointment in her eyes made him feel like shit.
“At his place I met his dad, or stepdad, I’m not sure. Anyway, I could tell the guy was bad news. He hinted about things that made me nervous. And then Grant... He drove me home, but basically, I found out he’s a drug dealer. Well, at least a drug dealer.”
She sucked in a breath, anger bleeding into her expression. “Finn.”
“I know. I was stuck because I was in the vehicle with them at the time. He and his dad, or stepdad, basically offered me a job. I said no. But it was other stuff they said. About a missing girl from school. I didn’t think too much about it at the time, but now... I think it’s more than drugs.”
He rushed on, wanting to get this all out. “I cut contact with them all after that. On Christmas Eve they basically threatened me, warning me not to snitch on them.” He wasn’t going to show her the text with the gun gif. She was worried enough as it was. “Not long after that, the shooting happened.”
His mom put a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God. Oh my God, you need to tell—”
“I’ve already told Sheriff Buchanan. He took my phone so they could use the evidence on it.”
She lowered her hand, swallowed. “So this guy and his dad, or stepdad, they might be involved with what happened to those people last night?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. I dunno. But like I said, I cut all contact with all of them. Even Paul.”
The disappointment in her eyes was worse than if she’d yelled at him. “Finn...”
He hung his head. “I know, and I’m sorry. I would never have hung out with Paul if I’d known he hung out with guys like that. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, especially after what happened Christmas Eve.”
A long, tense moment of silence followed. Then she sighed. “All right. Come here.” She held out her arms.
His throat stung as she hugged him. Her forgiveness meant everything.
After a moment she pulled back to look him dead in the eye. “Is that everything? Or is there more?”
“That’s it. I swear.”
She hugged him again then sat back, shaking her head. “God, when I think about you having any link at all to people like that...” She stopped, calmed herself. “Thank you for telling me.” Then she looked over at Ryder. “I’m guessing you already knew?”
He dipped his chin. “He told me last night. I promised to let him tell you this morning.”
Finn cringed inside at the way that sounded out loud. But hell yeah, telling his mom had been a thousand percent harder than telling Ryder.
“Okay,” she said in a tone that rang with finality and got up. “I’m having leftover pumpkin pie—with extra whipped cream if anyone wants to join me.”
As she walked to the kitchen Finn let out a slow breath, all but sagging back into the couch. Ryder got up, stopped on his way by to lay a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Proud of you,” he said, squeezing once before going to the kitchen.
Those quiet words, that squeeze, made warmth spread through his chest. Made him think of his dad, and what he would have thought of all this.
I’m sorry, Dad, he said silently, hoping he could somehow hear it. I screwed up, but I’ve done everything I can to make it right now.
He hoped it would be enough.
****
“Exchange this shirt for a large, got it,” Ryder said from the passenger seat beside her, and took the bag holding one of Finn’s Christmas gifts that she handed him. “Anything else?”
She’d taken the day off to...process things before going back to work tomorrow. Ryder had insisted on running her errands for her while she waited in the car, and in truth she felt safer that way. “I placed an online order at the drug store. It should be waiting for me at the counter if you don’t mind.” Hopefully he wouldn’t look in the bag and see the condoms.
She hadn’t needed to use any since she and Terry first started sleeping together in senior year of high school, but if things kept progressing with Ryder the way she suspected, then she wanted to be prepared. And a small bottle of lube just in case, because hey, it had been a while.
“Sure.” Ryder got out, paused before closing his door to give her a half-smile. “You okay?”
She was parked in the middle of a busy mall parking lot, in broad daylight. This was as safe as she was going to get without Ryder standing guard next to her every single second. “I’m good. Thanks for checking.”
He leaned in, kissed her softly. “Back in a bit. Lock the doors.”
She did as soon as he shut his, then watched him walk across the parking lot toward the entrance. It hit her just how emotionally attached to him she was already.
He’d slept in her bed for the past two nights, fully clothed, holding her, without making any sexual advances. Solely to make her feel safe. Both mornings she’d woken alone because he’d snuck out at daybreak, not wanting to cause any awkwardness with Finn who was under enough stress.
How was she supposed to stay emotionally uninvolved with a man like that?
Laying her head back, she closed her eyes to rest while the radio played quietly and tried to empty her mind. Things had been so insane, but she refused to sit at home and dwell over what had happened the other night any longer. On top of dealing with Finn’s bombshell about Grant and the stepdad guy, she had worked with the sketch artist yesterday, and done two more interviews with the FBI.
They were continuing the investigation and any potential links to Grant’s stepdad—whose name was Victor—and had assured her that the suspects who had broken into the clinic were most likely long gone from the area, along with the other two men involved in the murders. Even so, Ryder had shifted into straight-up bodyguard mode and insisted on being her shadow wherever she went.
Besides, living in fear wasn’t an option for her. Crimson Point was her home now, and this was her life. She wanted to reclaim it and get things back to normal as soon as possible. Even if she dreaded stepping through the clinic door tomorrow morning and having everything flood back.
The rattle of a shopping cart made her open her eyes. An elderly woman was pushing it to a cart return nearby. But then a weird sense that she was being watched made her look up.
It felt like her heart stopped for an instant as she locked gazes with the man standing across the parking aisle from her. The way he was staring at her—shock and recognition—set off her internal radar. He was tall and powerfully built. Short, dark hair. Pale green eyes.
A warning prickle made the hairs on her nape stand up. He kind of reminded her of—
Her gaze dropped to his hand, holding a bag. And her heart lurched when she saw the heavy black tat on the back of his wrist.
Jerking her eyes back up to his face, she started to reach for her phone to call for help, but the man whirled away and rushed through a row of parked cars.
“Shit,” she breathed as she lost sight of him, digging her phone out of her purse to dial 911, her pulse pounding.
He might come back. She couldn’t sit here and wait for Ryder.
Just as the emergency operator answered, Danae started the engine and sped away, relaying what had just happened. “It was the man who held me at gunpoint two nights ago. I’m sure of it.” She was breathing too fast, her hands trembling on the wheel, gaze darting to the rearview and side mirrors every few seconds.
“Ma’am, try to stay calm. Where are you right now?”
She would call Ryder as soon as she finished this one, but she couldn’t sit here a moment longer. “Just leaving the mall.” She turned out of the parking lot and sped up the road, watching for any sign of being followed.
It wasn’t likely. That guy would no doubt be trying to get the hell away from here. Still, she wasn’t taking a chance. “I’m going to drive straight to the police station and talk to Sheriff Buchanan in person.”
“Okay, how far away are you currently?”
“About seven miles.” Ryder would be worried as hell when he found out what was happening, but she couldn’t focus on him now.
When no one followed her through the next light, she relaxed a bit, her heart rate easing. Damn, that had been scary as hell. She couldn’t believe they’d run into each other. The FBI were definitely wrong about him leaving the area.
She stayed on the line with the operator as she drove, until she reached the turnoff to Crimson Point. She took it. “Okay, I’m technically in CP now. Still no sign of him. I should be at the station in—”
She broke off at the sound of a speeding engine coming up behind her, gasped and swerved her car as it whipped past her and cut hard in front. The abrupt turn caused her tires to spin on the wet road, sending her careening toward the sheer rock face of the cliff to the right.
She let out a yelp and brought the car to a stop, her front bumper just inches from the cliff face on the eastern side of the highway.
“Ma’am? What’s going on?” The operator’s voice suddenly sounded far away.
Danae couldn’t answer, she was too busy staring in horror as the other car’s door opened. The driver climbed out, and a chill snaked through her when she saw his face.
“Oh my God, it’s him,” she blurted, panic detonating.
She grabbed the gearshift and put Professor Plum in reverse, but there was nowhere to go. She was boxed in between the other vehicle and the cliff.
She darted a panicked gaze through the windshield, her blood pressure nose-diving. “Shit, he’s coming toward me—and he’s got a gun!”
“Ma’am, I’ve dispatched officers to help you. Can you—”
She didn’t hear another word, too busy undoing her seatbelt and hitting the trunk release, too afraid to try and exit through the side. Heart slamming into her ribs, she scrambled into the back and crawled out through the rear hatch, quickly closing it and hiding behind the trunk.
Fear crawled through her. There was nowhere else to run. Nowhere to hide. The man was coming for her. She had to run. Had to find—
She whipped her head around at the sound of a big engine approaching from behind. A semi-truck rounded the curve in the road and hit its Jake brakes, releasing a blast of sound from the exhaust valves.
Danae stayed crouched behind her vehicle, torn between running to the truck and being too scared to move. The rig driver blasted the horn. She jumped at the sudden burst of noise, but in the silence that followed she heard the sound of a door slamming shut and then tires squealing as the attacker tore away.
She closed her eyes and bowed her head, sucking in shaky breaths. Oh god, oh god, oh god...
“Hey, are you okay?”
She turned to the semi driver, now rushing toward her with a stunned look on his face. “Yes,” she answered, shuddering. Now that the initial terror had faded, she was shaky, queasy.
“Let me help you,” the man said, reaching down to help her to her feet.
She gripped his upper arms, grateful for the support. “Thank you,” she breathed, her legs beginning to quiver along with the rest of her.
“Who the hell was that?” he demanded.
“Long s-story,” she managed.
He walked her around the side of her car and opened the door for her. “Sit down. I’ll call the cops.”
“They’re already on the way.”
“I’ll stay with you, make sure that prick doesn’t come back.”
Nodding, she kept the 911 operator on the line and texted Ryder with trembling fingers.
****
Ryder stepped out of the mall with a new shirt for Finn and Danae’s order from the drugstore. But when he reached the right area of the parking lot, he stopped. Danae’s purple MINI was gone.
He looked around, confused. Had she moved somewhere?
His phone rang in his pocket. Seeing Danae’s number on the display made him breathe easier. “Hey, where are you? I can’t see—”
“Can you come get me?”
He tensed, the tremor in her voice pushing him into immediate action. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“The gunman from the other night saw me in the parking lot. I drove away immediately, heading for the police station, but he followed without me noticing and cut in front of me on the turnoff. He blocked me in and started coming toward me with a gun in his hand. A trucker showed up and scared him off, thankfully.”
Jesus Christ... Urgency ripped through him, instincts screaming at him to get to her, now. “Did you call the cops?”
“I was on the phone to 911 when it happened. They’re coming.”
“Where are you?” he demanded.
She gave him her location, and the catch in her voice shredded him. Dammit, he never should have let her out of his sight. “I’m on my way right now, sweetheart. Just stay put and I’ll be there in a few minutes, okay?”
“Okay.” He caught the sound of sirens in the background. “I gotta go.”
He was relieved to know the cops were on scene to protect her. “All right. See you soon.”
He hailed a ride and the driver sped along the wet roads, the invisible vise around his ribs clamping down tighter with each passing minute. He called Noah’s cell on the way, but the sheriff had already heard what had happened, and Ryder ended the call just before reaching the turnoff Danae had specified.
His heart squeezed when he saw her standing with two deputies and another man who must have been the rig driver. The semi was parked in the middle of the north-bound lane, and the back bumper of Danae’s MINI was close to the cliff face.
He shook his head, furious with himself for not sticking to her today. He’d only known her a short time, but she already meant something to him, and if anything had happened to her...
He got out behind the cruisers blocking the road and strode over. Danae broke away from the cops, walking toward him faster and faster. Steps away, her face twisted, shredding him.
Ryder caught her and pulled her to his chest, holding her tight. With her safe in his arms, he closed his eyes and dragged in the first deep breath he’d taken since she’d called.
She shuddered, her hands gripping the back of his jacket. “I was so scared,” she choked out.
“I’m glad you’re okay.” His chest hurt. A tight, searing ache that wasn’t easing.
“You’re Ryder?” one of the cops said as he strode toward them.
Ryder nodded and kept hold of her while they filled him in on everything so far. The semi driver was showing his dash cam footage to the other cop. With any luck it had captured the make, model and license plate of the suspect’s vehicle—and hopefully an image of the asshole’s face as well.
When Danae had calmed and stepped back to wipe at her cheeks with the heels of her hands, he wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her to the waiting SUV. “We’ll get someone to come get your car,” he told her, bundling her into the back passenger seat. “They’ll either meet us at the station or bring it home for you.”
The driver took them to the station, Ryder holding her hand tight the whole way. “Want me to call Finn?”
“No, he’s at work. Don’t tell him yet, it’ll only upset him more. I’ll tell him after he gets home.”
Noah was waiting for them at the station. He hugged Danae and took them into a quiet conference room in the back.
Ryder sat beside her while she explained what had happened and answered Noah’s questions. The department would be reviewing security footage from the mall in addition to the rig’s dash cam, and Noah would pass on everything personally to the FBI agents working on the larger case.
When they’d finished up, Noah drove them home. Beckett and Jase had parked her car in her driveway. Ryder told Noah to go to his cottage instead. He felt safer having her there for the moment.
Ryder followed her inside, watching her closely. Her shock had worn off a while ago. She looked tired now, ready to crash.
He slipped an arm around her waist, sliding his other hand into her thick, dark hair. “What do you need right now, sweetheart?” he murmured.
She stared up at him with those piercing, pale blue eyes, and took his face in her hands. “You. I just need you.”
Need slammed into him, hot and intense.
On its heels came regret. I’m leaving soon. I don’t want to hurt you. And I’m not in the best spot personally right now.
But before he could utter another word, her lips were on his, obliterating all the thoughts from his mind—except one.
Making her his. Even if it was only for a little while.
