She turned to see Charlie Heidorn, their former history teacher and Ian’s high school hockey coach, striding toward them. While she guessed he must be in his late fifties now, only the smallest touch of gray brushed his blond hair, and he still had the build of a man who hit the gym twice a day. He was flanked by two of the guys she’d worked hard to avoid in high school, Chip Costales and Barret Lasker, who’d both lost a lot of their athletic build but none of their swagger.
“You still friends with your former teammates?” she whispered, horrified.
So much for thinking Ian had changed.
“No, not really,” he said. “But Charlie’s a friend of my dad. He still coaches the team and my parents support the team’s charity work. I guess he brought a couple of the guys from the old team.”
Then he turned to face the other three men and there were complicated fist bump–style handshakes all around. “Thanks for coming and Merry Christmas.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Charlie said. His gaze turned to Tala, with a smile that brought to mind the term charm offensive. “Did I hear that you’re a big shot scientist now? I always knew you were destined for greatness.”
She felt Aurora’s wet nose nudge against her fingers. She scratched the dog’s chin.
“Forensic scientist, actually,” she said stiffly.
Charlie’s eyes widened and his head shook as if the thought was too wonderful to believe. “That explains it! Some of the kids on the team said you’d solved the Golden Bandit case.”
Did they, now? Good to know teenage gossip was as accurate as always.
“Not at all,” she told him. “I’m actually taking a bit of a break from the case.”
Which was true, if she counted the fact that she’d spent most of the day asleep.
“Well, I called your lab today and spoke to your colleague Bob,” Charlie said. “I wanted to bring some evidence by which might be relevant to the case.”
Tala watched as Ian’s eyebrows rose, and felt hers do the same.
“What kind of evidence?” Ian asked.
“I don’t know if you remember my daughter, Millie,” the coach said. “She was a couple of years behind you in school. Millie runs a mining-themed tourism business. Took it over from her husband last year when he tragically drowned in a boating accident. People come from all over the world to explore abandoned mines and try their hand panning for gold. There are always a few tourists each year who hit a sizable nugget. She even sells some of the smaller gold nuggets she’s found on her website.” He glanced around the room. “I’ll make an appointment to drop by and fill investigators in more. Let’s just say I have reason to believe her late husband might’ve been involved in something dodgy.”
Tala remembered the boating accident vaguely. Millie had called her husband in missing after he’d gone boating alone. His sailboat had eventually been found capsized, but his body had never been found. But the coast guard had also waited over a week before calling in the K-9 unit to help with the search due to some suspicion her husband had just left her. Accidents like that were all too common in Alaska and one of the reasons Lorenza had increased the number of cadaver dogs on the team.
“You know if you want to see Millie’s place I could take you up there sometime for a hike,” Barret said. He leaned past the coach with a smile that practically oozed swagger. “Maybe take a picnic?”
She almost choked. Was one of the same guys who’d been irritated she wouldn’t let him cheat off her in high school actually flirting with her now? She wondered if Ian noticed the weight of Barret’s gaze lingering on her. Instinctively, she stepped closer into the handsome trooper’s side. Ian’s arm slid around her shoulder and Barret’s eyes clocked it move.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Barret laughed, a bit too loudly, like he’d just heard a joke no one else could hear. “I didn’t realize you two were an item now. Wow, Ian, you sure have come a long way from that time back in high school when Tala tried to kiss you, you freaked out, called her a loser and ran away!”
Sudden heat rose to Tala. She felt nauseated and dizzy, almost like she had food poisoning. That memory was back. From the shock in Ian’s eyes to how humiliated she’d felt as she’d run from the party and called her grandmother to pick her up.
The tiniest rumble of a growl built in Aurora’s throat. Ian’s hand slid down to the small of Tala’s back and he pulled her closer to his side.
“Well, that’s ridiculous,” Ian said. “There is absolutely no way I ever called Tala a loser. And any man in his right mind would give anything to have this incredible woman at his side.”
Then, before his former teammates could wisecrack any more, Ian gently steered her toward the large glass double doors that led out to the side porch and closed the door behind them. Snow spread out in front of them in an endless blanket of white, dazzling like diamonds. The sun dipped below the horizon, leaving a wash of pink and gold in its wake. She gasped a breath of freezing air, thankful for the cold on her face, and her nausea faded.
“Here, take my coat,” Ian said. He pulled it off and draped it over her shoulders.
“No.” She raised her hands to push him away. “Thank you, but—”
“Please, I insist,” he said. “I know where the heat vent is by the wall and I’m really used to running around in the snow in my shirtsleeves.”
She nodded. “Okay, thanks.”
“Also, don’t look now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people were watching us out the window.” He draped it over her shoulders and then adjusted it. His hands lingered on the lapels. “You’re shaking. You shouldn’t let jerks like Barret get to you.”
She stepped back just enough that the lapels tugged out of his hands.
“You have no idea what it was like for me back then,” she said. “To be bullied by them.”
“You’re right,” he said soberly. “I don’t.”
“It’s like they went out of their way every day to make sure I was miserable and afraid,” she said. “It wasn’t just the times they bodychecked or tripped me in the hallway, or flicked gross things at me, or stuck horrible notes in my locker that hurt me. It was living every day on edge, never feeling safe and never knowing when they’d strike next. And, to make matters worse, even when I finally mustered the nerve to report them, I wasn’t listened to.”
“That’s partially on me and I’m sorry,” Ian said. “I should’ve stood up for you. Just because I never saw them pull that stuff in front of me doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have believed you. I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
Emotion pooled in the depths of his eyes.
“Why did you tell Barret that you didn’t remember the fact that we almost kissed?” she asked. “It happened right here on this porch.”
What? That wasn’t the way the conversation had gone at all!
He stepped back, just slightly.
“You kidding me?” he asked. “I never said that—”
“You said it was ridiculous—”
“Because the way he was talking about it was!” He felt his voice rise. Surely that’s not how she’d remembered what had happened between them back then, too? “Yes, I remember that you got up the courage to admit you liked me, we almost kissed and then I ran away like a coward. But we both leaned in for that kiss, Tala. I never rejected you or pushed you away.”
“You did!” Her voice rose and his eyes widened. He glanced toward the sliding glass doors and then he moved even closer than he’d been before. “You might not have called me a loser or physically pushed me, but you looked horrified.”
His face paled. He rocked back on his heels.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Really, if that’s how it felt, I apologize. But that’s not how I remember it. I wasn’t horrified, I was terrified. You were my best friend. You were the most important person in the world to me and I was terrified that if I kissed you, I’d start second-guessing myself like I always did and hurt you. I didn’t think I could survive without you.”
His warm breath mingled with cold air on her cheeks.
“Well, you chose your teammates over me,” she huffed, “and seemed to have survived just fine without me.”
His hand reached up and brushed the side of her face. And something about the simple touch sent an odd warmth coursing through her like dozens of tiny party sparkles.
“But I didn’t mean to,” he said huskily, “and I didn’t want to survive without you. Losing you was definitely not the plan. I stupidly thought that I’d just run out the clock until I got that sports scholarship, then we’d leave high school and we’d go back to being friends like normal. I was wrong.” He released a ragged breath. “I’ve thought a million times that if I could go back and be seventeen again, I’d wrap you up in my arms and kiss you. Because, sure I might’ve lost you just the same. Or maybe we’d have even fallen in love and gotten married. I don’t know! But what I do know is that after all these years without you, that’s a risk I wish I’d been brave enough to take.”
Oh, Ian. He had no idea how much she’d wanted that, too. Her lips parted slightly but she couldn’t think of anything to say. His hands slid around her waist and he pulled her close to him. She told herself that he was just doing it for show, that someone had to be watching and he didn’t want to blow their cover.
But what if she was wrong?
“Do you want me to go ask the guys to leave?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “It’s okay. But thank you.”
“Would it be okay if I kissed you now?” Ian asked.
She glanced to the window. The curtains had been drawn from the inside. No one was watching them. They were alone.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He kissed her, tentatively and tenderly, like he was afraid she was a dream and he didn’t want to wake up. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around him, and he pulled her up onto her tiptoes. The warmth of him surrounded her and filled her core with an unfamiliar happiness that somehow felt like coming home to a place she belonged after being away for far too long.
The lights went out, plunging the world in darkness. Aurora growled loudly and they abruptly pulled apart. The K-9 was turned toward the window. Her ears were perked. Her hackles rose.
“What is it, girl?” Ian asked.
Then Tala heard voices screaming.
Ian unholstered his weapon. Aurora growled again and stood at attention, facing the glass door. He pulled the antlers from her head. Shouts of fear and trepidation grew from within his house. He slid the door open a crack, thankful that whoever had drawn the curtains had given him something to hide behind. For a moment there was pitch-black air and the sound of people panicking. Then a blindingly bright tactical light began to flash, showing staccato scenes of terrified party guests cowering on the floor.
“I’m the Golden Bandit, and this is a robbery!” The man’s voice was as loud and rough as it was fake, as if he was intentionally trying to sound gruff. “Just do what I say, and nobody gets hurt. You’re going to take off your rings, necklaces and bracelets, and put it in this bag.”
Ian stepped back and let the curtain fall.
“Is that him?” he whispered to Tala.
“Sounds exactly like him,” she said. That was good enough for Ian. “But the crime doesn’t match anything we know about the Golden Bandit. He’s never hit a party before. It’s an escalation and a change in pattern. It doesn’t make any sense that he’d do something like this.”
No, it didn’t, and that worried him.
Lord, please give me wisdom. My heart wants to burst in there and take him down. But if I just run in there and fire, I could be putting everyone inside in danger. He glanced through the curtain again, and this time forced himself to block out the fear and terror and resist the temptation to look for the faces of families and friends. Instead, he focused on the criminal, the crime and the facts. The first thing he noticed was there were no obvious signs of blood or injury. Thank God. Then he saw jewelry covering the floor as people practically threw it toward the criminal, and that the Golden Bandit was carrying a handgun.
“I want you to stay hidden and call for backup,” Ian commanded. “I mean it. Promise me you won’t put yourself in danger.”
“I promise,” she said softly. She brushed a furtive kiss over his cheek. “You and Aurora stay safe.”
He pulled back the curtain again and waited, seconds passing by like minutes, until he saw the Golden Bandit holster his weapon so he could reach for his loot. Steeling himself, Ian stepped through the curtain with Aurora by his side, raised his badge with one hand and pointed his service weapon at the criminal with the other.
“Ian McCaffrey, Alaska State Trooper,” he shouted. “Hands up, drop your weapon and get down on the floor. Now!”
The Golden Bandit sent his blinding tactical strobe light spinning into the group like a grenade. Was he trying to give someone a seizure? Ian shielded his eyes, leaped for it and switched it off. But it was too late. Already his eyesight was jeopardized. Blurs of light and darkness filled his gaze. Footsteps sounded to his right. The Golden Bandit was getting away! Ian leaped to his feet and ran after him, barely able to see the contours of his own hallway. Chilly air wafted down the hallway in front of him. A window was open. He reached the end of the hall and looked out. A figure was trying to run through the snow. The Golden Bandit was not getting away this time. Ian signaled Aurora to jump.
Majestically his partner leaped through the window in a single bound, knocking the figure off his feet and into the snow as her paws struck his back. Ian was through the window before the perp could shake her off. He pinned the man down.
“Ian,” the man said, his voice both familiar and muffled. “Wait!”
“You are under arrest for robbery, murder, attempted kidnapping and uttering threats,” Ian said. He pulled the man’s hands back firmly and handcuffed him. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you may say could be used against you in a court of law.”
“Listen!” the man said. “Son!”
Ian leaped off and flipped him over. Light sprung on from the house and behind him, cascading down from the window behind him and encircling the trees around him.
“Dad?” He looked down at his startled father. Blood trickled down his dad’s face and splattered on his dress shirt and tie. Ian quickly took off the handcuffs. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” his father said. “It’s just a nosebleed.”
“What happened? What are you doing outside?”
“I don’t know,” the older man said. “I was in the hallway and then someone rushed me. He elbowed me in the face and pushed out the window.”
“And where is he now?”
“I d-don’t know,” his dad stammered again. “He ran into the trees.”
A car engine sounded. Headlights disappeared through the trees. Aurora whimpered. Ian looked down and saw she was holding something in her mouth. It was the bag of stolen jewelry.