Mo couldn’t believe her luck. She’d been arrested on a charge she could wiggle out of the moment she went before a judge, and these backwoods lawmen had to know that. But how long would that take?
She could feel the clock ticking. Once Natalie was released from the hospital, she would be gone again, only this time, she wouldn’t make the same mistakes. She could disappear down a rat hole and might not surface for months, even years. By then she would have had numerous jobs. Which meant numerous victims. Mo couldn’t let that happen any more than she could let Natalie get away without having the chance to talk to her one more time.
As it stood now, there was no proof that she’d been at the hospital with any felonious intentions. All they had her on was pretending to be a nurse. Given her connection to Natalie Berkshire, the law could try to make something out of that. But ultimately, they wouldn’t be able to hold her on any of it—except for her attack on the deputy marshal, Brick Savage—the man who’d found Natalie after her escape from whoever had abducted her.
Mo paced in her cell. She kept thinking about standing over the woman’s bed, hearing the hoarse whisper, feeling the woman’s words hit her like a hollow-point slug to her chest. She’d had her right where she wanted her. The truth had been within her reach.
Natalie would run the moment she was released from the hospital. But what was she running from? The law? Her own guilt? Fear? Or this thing she’d kept secret?
At the sound of the door into the cell area opening, she turned to see Deputy Marshal Brick Savage come in and head toward her. She groaned inwardly. Of course he would come to gloat.
When he stopped at her cell door, she warned herself to be cool even as she wanted to wipe that grin off his face. He was enjoying how the tables had turned a little too much. Earlier, she’d felt guilty for attacking him. Right now, not so much.
“Enjoying your stay here?” he asked, shoving back his Stetson to expose a pair of very blue eyes fringed in dark lashes.
“Not really.” He was more handsome than she’d taken the time to notice at the hospital. Handsome, well-built and physically fit. And he was clearly looking for a fight. She could tell she’d banged up his ego more than his body.
“You go by Mo?” he asked.
She waited, fairly sure she already knew what had brought him here. She just wondered how long it would take him to get to the point.
Fortunately, it wasn’t long. “Look, I know you were planning to kill her earlier in the hospital—just as I know she told you something,” he said.
She wanted to say, “Prove it!” but thought better of it. Antagonizing a deputy, let alone the son of the marshal, was probably not in her best interests—even out here in the sticks. Maybe especially out here in the sticks.
“I’m sorry if there was a misunderstanding at the hospital,” she said with cavity-inducing sweetness.
He laughed, a beguiling sound. “Oh, I understood you just fine. I saw the way you were looking at Natalie Berkshire. Like you wanted to kill her.”
“Fortunately, that’s not against the law.”
“Attacking an officer of the law is.”
She tried not to smile. “I didn’t realize you were a lawman.”
“The uniform probably threw you,” he said sarcastically.
She shrugged. “I thought you were a lecherous security guard.”
His blue eyes narrowed, but he smiled.
“You did grab me, and you didn’t announce who you were. It was a innocent mistake.”
“I doubt there is anything innocent about you,” he said.
Mo chuckled at that, thinking how true that was. She was no longer the naive woman who’d believed in the law. That had changed everything about her. She was more daring in every aspect, she realized, as if she had nothing left to lose. In the past, she would have been more careful around a deputy who had her locked up behind bars. Heck, she would have been maybe even a little tongue-tied around a cowboy as handsome as this one. But right now she didn’t feel shy or cowed in the least.
She met his Montana-sky-blue gaze, so much deeper and darker than her own. “You’re new at this, aren’t you? Green as springtime in the Rockies.”
His brows furrowed. “Seasoned or not, I’m still a deputy—”
“On medical leave. I also heard that you’re the one who found her last night,” Mo said. She didn’t want to argue semantics. She didn’t have time for it.
He eyed her sharply. “Sorry it wasn’t you who found her?”
She was, but she wasn’t about to admit it to him. “You haven’t asked if I was the one who abducted her.”
“I don’t believe you are. Not your style.”
Mo raised a brow and couldn’t help but chuckle. “You think you know my style after one...confrontation? I must have made quite an impact on you.”
To her surprise, he chuckled, as well. “You could say that. It’s why I was anxious to see you—behind bars.”
She liked that he could joke. She also liked that he was smart. He’d spotted her quickly for the fraud she was at the hospital. Too quickly. She was curious, though, why he was really here. Just to taunt her? Or did he want something, as she suspected? It was clear that he thought he knew her. That was almost laughable. He had no idea.
“What did she say to you?” he asked.
She felt his gaze on her, a welding torch of heat and intensity.
“She said something to you,” he continued. “I heard her.”
“I’m not sure what you thought you heard, but the patient, I’m told, is in a catatonic state, unable to speak.” She was still dealing with Natalie’s words. They’d been private, disarming, horrifying if true. She wasn’t about to share them with anyone, especially this half deputy.
“What she said got one hell of a reaction from you,” he said as if he hadn’t heard her denial. “It stopped you from killing her.”
She said nothing, surprised to be hearing the truth in his words. She had gone to the hospital to get an answer to one question and then, well, then, she planned to make sure Natalie never destroyed another family again.
“Sorry, but I don’t believe you,” the deputy said. “You were leaning over her. I saw her lips moving. I heard her whispering something to you. I want to know why her words made you change your mind.”
She started to argue that he had no idea what was in her mind—and even if he did, he couldn’t prove it, but he cut her off.
“You want out of this cell? Tell me the truth.”
“The truth?” she mocked. “The truth is that Natalie Berkshire is guilty as sin.”
“You can prove that?”
“It will get proved, but unfortunately, not before someone else dies because our judicial system takes so long.”
“I’m still waiting to hear what she said to you,” he said, cocking his head to study her with those intense blue eyes of his.
Mo pulled her gaze away first. She didn’t want to tell this cocky cowboy deputy anything. She’d overheard the nurses talking about him last night at the deli. The cowboy had reputation with the women and yet women still seemed to be attracted to him, knowing that he might break their hearts. Good thing he wasn’t her type.
“I’m guessing that what Natalie said had something to do with your sister.” When she said nothing, he added, “Tricia, isn’t that right?”
Her pulse pounded in her ears. Had he heard Natalie say Tricia’s name? She groaned inwardly. Natalie Berkshire wasn’t just a killer. She was a psychopath who manipulated people. Look how she’d deceived Tricia and her husband, Thomas, and especially Mo herself. Wasn’t that the part that kept her up at night?
Trust didn’t come easy for her and yet Natalie had gained her trust, and in a very short time. Natalie had walked into their family and become a part of it. Mo had felt as if she’d always known the woman—that was how comfortable she’d been in her presence. Mo didn’t make friends easily, but she did make them for life.
When she’d first heard that homicide was being called in, that little Joey was believed to have been smothered, that Natalie was their number one suspect, she hadn’t believed it. She’d seen Natalie with Joey. Seen how careful she was with him since his health was so precarious.
But there had been only one other person in that house that afternoon and it was Tricia. According to her sister, she’d been upstairs asleep and had only come down when she’d heard Natalie screaming. It was no wonder the woman had been arrested. Who else could have killed Joey?
That was why Mo had come here to end this nightmare. For weeks she’d rationalized what she had planned, no matter how crazy it seemed most days. Now, she looked the deputy in the eye and told the truth based on what she knew at this moment. “She’ll kill again. Unless she’s stopped.”
“You just know that, right?” he asked, his gaze intent on her. “You have no idea if that is true or not or even if she is the killer.” She didn’t bother to answer. “Okay, let’s say you’re right. How exactly do you plan to stop her?”
“That is the question, isn’t it?”
“It seems pretty simple. You’re no longer a cop—”
“I’m only suspended,” she said in her defense, but wondered how long before they found out what she was up to and fired her.
“My point is,” he continued, “you have no authority to take her in, and I understand there are no charges pending against her at this point—only suspicions. So why do this? As a homicide detective you know what will happen if you kill her in cold blood.”
“You and I wouldn’t have been having this discussion only a few months ago. Since then, things have gotten...complicated.”
“You’re a vigilante cop upset with the system. Doesn’t seem all that complicated. Why take it on yourself? I understand that since Natalie was released, other law enforcement departments are reviewing deaths where the woman might have been involved. If she’s guilty, it will be just a matter of time before she’s under arrest again and a jury will decide,” he said.
Mo let out a snort. “What you say may be true, but there isn’t time to prove you wrong.” She flipped her hair back and met his gaze, narrowing those tropical-sea-blue eyes on him. “When Natalie gets out of that hospital she’ll run. She’ll be looking for her next job. Her next victim. Someone has to stop her.”
“If she’s guilty.” He was studying her. She felt the burn of his gaze on her skin. “Admit it. You’re having your doubts, especially after what she said to you. I saw your reaction. Tell me and I’ll get out of here.”
She snorted at that. “You’re wrong. Nothing Natalie could ever say would convince me that she isn’t a killer. So I guess you and I have nothing more to say to each other.” She turned her back on the cowboy deputy.
“You change your mind, you let me know.”
BRICK STUDIED THE woman a few moments longer. She had her slim back to him now, her head held high, radiating self-confidence and righteousness. He remembered what the deputy outside Natalie’s hospital room door had said about the blonde. At the hospital, he hadn’t had the time to get a really good look at her. She was definitely attractive from her thick blond hair that fell over one sea-blue eye before dropping in an asymmetrical cut to her shoulders to her slim, clearly physically fit body. He hadn’t known what to expect on actually meeting her, but it was clear to him that she was sharp. She didn’t come across as some crackpot on a mission.
Yet while her original intention seemed perfectly clear to him, something had changed when Natalie Berkshire had spoken to her. That intrigued him. Mo hadn’t made any bones about her belief that Natalie was guilty. What could the nanny have said to her that would keep her from doing something that she said she was still committed to finishing?
He thought of the pillow on the floor, convinced that his walking into the room wasn’t what had stopped her. But he also couldn’t imagine what Natalie could have said.
He’d seen the conviction still in Mo’s eyes. She wouldn’t stop until she found the woman and ended this—one way or another. And like Natalie, soon this woman, too, would be free to do just that.
And that was what had him worried as he left and drove toward the hospital. Mo Mortensen’s certainty that Natalie would kill again had him rattled. He was even more anxious to see Natalie Berkshire after talking to the cop. He needed to decide for himself if she was a monster or a victim.
Also, he wanted know exactly what Natalie had said to her, because he no longer believed the woman was catatonic. He could even understand why she was faking it. She was running scared. It was why she’d bailed out of Billings—only to get caught by someone he suspected had been seeking his own kind of justice. Natalie had to know the person would come after her again—or someone like him—not to mention the law now looking for her.
The woman had to know that her house of cards was about to come crashing down on her at any moment—whether she was guilty or not. Wasn’t there still the chance, though, that she wasn’t?
As he walked down the hall toward Natalie’s room, he noticed the deputy leaning back in his chair outside her door, legs outstretched. The deputy appeared to be asleep. As he got closer, he saw that the man’s hat was pulled down low over his eyes. His heart began to race. Things might be dull on the floor, but there was no way a deputy would fall asleep on the job.
He rushed to him, touched his shoulder. The deputy keeled over onto the floor. Brick felt his chest constrict as the man’s hat fell away and he saw the blood and the large goose egg on the deputy’s forehead. He quickly checked the man’s pulse in his neck—strong—before rushing into Natalie Berkshire’s room.
Just as he’d known, the bed was empty. He swore. Hadn’t he known she wasn’t catatonic? Just as he’d known that she’d spoken to Mo. He quickly looked around. The bathroom door was closed. “Natalie?” He stepped to the door and grabbed the knob. “Natalie?” No answer.
He opened the door. Of course the room was empty.
Because Natalie Berkshire was gone.
He started to pull out his phone when he heard a moan coming from somewhere in the room. The sound froze his blood. He wasn’t alone in here after all?
Brick spun around. The room was still empty. Another moan. He caught movement under the bed and rushed to push the bed aside. The nurse lay on the floor, gagged and bound with IV tubing. She was attired in nothing but panties and a hospital gown.
As he pulled off the gag and began to untie her, she said, “She jumped me. She took my uniform, my bra, my socks and shoes. She...” The nurse began to cry. “She threatened me. Said if I made a sound...”
“How long ago did she leave?” Brick asked as he freed her.
“Five minutes, maybe more.”
At the sound of the deputy regaining consciousness out in the hall, Brick rushed out. “Take care of the nurse and call this in.”
“The nurse?” The deputy touched the bump on his head gingerly. His eyes widened as if he realized at last what had happened. “The patient. Is she...?”
“Gone.”
“I don’t know what happened.”
“Say that to my father,” Brick called as he ran down the hall.
He told himself that the woman might not have gotten out of the building yet. She was wearing scrubs—just like every other nurse.
Brick took the stairs three at a time and burst out on the lower floor to race for the front door. After pushing out through it, he stopped to glance around the parking lot. He didn’t see her.
At the growl of a motorcycle, he spun around and saw a woman in scrubs roar past. Her hair was a dark wave behind her as Natalie Berkshire sailed away.
Brick ran to his pickup and went after her. But he hadn’t gone two blocks when he realized he’d lost her. He called it in, but didn’t hold out any hope that she would be caught. The dispatcher told him that a young man who’d been in the hospital parking lot was calling to say that a nurse had shoved him off his motorcycle and taken it.
Brick pulled over, slamming his fist down on the wheel. Natalie was in the wind. What were their chances that they could find her? At the moment, she wasn’t wanted by the law for anything but questioning. Her life was in danger, though, and she had to know that. Without money or transportation other than a stolen motorcycle, where would she go? Her car had been impounded. And considering what was found in her car, she’d already been running scared before she was abducted. What would she do now?
His cell phone rang.
“I get only one call so don’t make me waste it.” He recognized the voice at once, a little sultry, definitely direct. “I just heard the news here at the jail,” Mo said. “Natalie has taken off. I suspected she’d pull something like this. But I can help you find her if we hurry.”
He scoffed. “Too bad you’re behind bars.”
“Listen,” Mo said. “I know this woman. I knew she would run when she was released from jail. I knew she’d take off the way she has. You’ll never find her without my help. You want the blood of her next victim on your hands? Give it some thought. Then get me out of here.” She hung up.
Brick shook his head as he disconnected. He was on a forced medical leave and she was suspended. Neither of them had any authority to go after Natalie. Mo really thought he would spring her?
He knew she’d be out by morning, once she went before a judge. But at least for the moment she was locked up. Unfortunately, that didn’t make Natalie safe. Who knew who all was after the woman?
He sat in his pickup for a moment, his mind a rabbit warren of thoughts. What if Mo was right? What if the real person in danger was Natalie’s next client?
Starting the pickup, he drove to his apartment. On the way, he half expected to see Natalie in his neighborhood. He knew it wasn’t logical. Just as he knew he would always be expecting to see her somewhere until she turned up again. If she ever did. He still hadn’t decided if she was a victim or a possible serial killer.
Mo Mortensen thought she knew, but she was too personally involved. He couldn’t trust her judgment any more than his own.
At his apartment, he walked in, closing the door behind him. He stood just inside looking around the studio apartment as if seeing it for the first time. Nothing about the space reflected him in any way. It was as if no one lived here. Clearly, it was a hiding place, not a home.
He sighed as he pulled off his Stetson and raked a hand through his hair. His father was right. He wasn’t healed. Nor did he have any idea how to put himself back together again. He felt unsure of everything—except the steady beat of his heart. He was alive. He’d survived a bullet. Maybe he could survive the rest. Maybe. But not here in this colorless, empty apartment.
Brick walked over to the wardrobe, pulled it open and began to dump what he might need into a backpack. Swinging it over his shoulder, he took one last look around before he walked out.