Wasilla, Alaska
A week later, Annie and Stone held hands on their way back to Wasilla. They’d spent the day at Glenna Lake’s funeral and went directly after to her celebration of life at a local tavern in Palmer. Stone had been quiet all day. Annie wasn’t certain if it was the occasion or something else bothering him. She watched the road ahead, lit solely by the headlights, a wall of trees on either side.
“I’m sorry, but I have to ask.” His voice split the quiet, startling her.
She glanced his way. “Okay.”
“What are your plans?” He kept his focus on the road.
“I thought we were going back to your house and having pizza.” She acted obtuse on purpose. This was not a conversation she was ready to have.
He glanced her way, then back at the road. “I’m serious. Are you going back to Virginia?”
“My boss called today, and he would like to see me in his office next week.”
Stone pulled his hand from hers and put it on the steering wheel. “When were you going to tell me?”
“Under the circumstances, I didn’t think today was an appropriate time to discuss the future,” she answered.
“Fair enough. What did you tell him?”
“That we’re still working on the other victims to make sure all are identified and the cases were closed.”
“What was his answer?”
“That my part of the investigation was done. I helped you catch the bad guy. Case closed.”
“I see. So you’re leaving next week.” His face had turned to stone. He showed no emotion whatsoever.
She shifted in her seat, turning toward him as much as possible while keeping her seatbelt engaged. “Look, you know how long I’ve worked to get into the BAU. I’m not about to quit for a man I’ve known for only a few weeks.”
He glanced her way with raised brows.
“What I meant to say was that this relationship is so new. I’m sure we can work out something.”
“Right.” His lips set in a straight line.
They pulled up in front of his dark cabin. “I thought we were picking up a pizza from Evangelos?”
“I’ll take care of that. Why don’t you go in and stoke the fire. You know where the key is. I’ll be back soon.”
She opened the door and got out, but not before looking back at him. He wouldn’t meet her gaze. She slammed the door and watched him drive away.
Annie was truly confused. Her feelings for Stone were strong, but she couldn’t call it love. It was just too soon. It had taken months before she was certain with Matt. She couldn’t help but compare the two. It wasn’t their friendship, it was the fact that they were the only men in her life that she’d ever had strong feelings for. The truth was that when she was with Stone, she led with her heart, and didn’t analyze the relationship.
But the minute he was out of her sight, her mind took over.
Did she really care for him or was it his connection to Matt? Was this her way of keeping him alive? Was it possible to have two great loves in one lifetime? Did she manufacture her feelings toward Stone because she was lonely? She was a firm believer that if something seemed too good to be true, it usually wasn’t.
She’d been driving herself crazy. Annie reached under a pot by the door and retrieved the key, unlocked the door, then put it back. No matter what this relationship was or wasn’t, she wasn’t about to abandon her dreams for a man. Any man. After all, if he loved her, why couldn’t he just quit and move to Virginia?
Why do women always have to be the ones to uproot their lives for men? Then again, if he told her he would quit and move in with her, she’d probably be scared shitless. Annie entered the cabin and flicked on the light.
A blood curdling scream filled the room.
Sitting on the couch as casual as could be was her dead fiancé, Matt Locklear. He jumped up and ran to her. He tried to put his arms around her, but she slapped them away.
“What, what, what.” With each word she backed up. “What are you doing here? Alive.”
He reached for her again, but she put her hands out to stop him. “Don’t. You. Touch. Me.”
He put his hands out in surrender. “I’m sorry. You’re right. This must be a shock.”
“Shock? Is that what you call it?”
“Come sit down. Let me explain.”
“Explain? What, you had amnesia? You were imprisoned by terrorists who were pulling out your fingernails? You’ve been in a coma for the last year?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then there’s nothing I want to hear from you. I’ve been in holy hell grieving for you. I finally get some semblance of a life back and you show up. Alive. They didn’t have phones where you were?”
Matt put his hands down. “It’s not like that. I did it for you.”
“You faked your own death for me? Wow, and I didn’t get you anything.”
“Please, will you just listen?”
“Or do you mean you did it to get away from me? That’s pretty dramatic even for you.”
“You know better than that.”
“Do I? Apparently I don’t know you at all.”
He frowned.
“Oh, no. You do not get to act hurt. What about your family? What about Stone? You let all the people who love you think you were dead!” She screamed the last word with a years worth of pent up grief.
Stone burst through the door, his gun drawn and pointed at Matt’s head. “What the fuck?” His gun hand dropped to his side.
“Oh, yeah. Happy New Year, your best friend isn’t dead. But be my guest, you can do the honors.” Annie threw her fists on her hips. “If you don’t, I will.”
Stone glanced at her, then stared at Matt while he put his gun back in his clip. “What the fuck, man? How could you? Do you have any idea what you put everyone through?”
“I know, and I’m sorry. But I had to. It was for everyone’s safety,” Matt said.
“Don’t you dare try to feed me a bullshit line like that. I can take care of myself, and I’ve seen how well Annie fares. She can hold her own,” Stone shot back.
“Really? That’s why you came blazing through the door ready to blow my head off? Because you’re so certain Annie can take care of herself?” Matt asked.
“That’s what partners do,” Stone bit out.
“That’s what you call it when you’re fucking your best friend’s fiancé?” Matt yelled.
Stone couldn’t have appeared more stunned if Matt had hauled off and decked him. Annie marched over and pushed Matt in the chest with both hands. He stumbled back before he caught himself. “You piece of shit. You have no right to come in here and be angry. We did nothing wrong. You were dead, remember? What did you expect me to do, pine away for you the rest of my life?”
“No, but there are billions of people on this planet. Why did you have to choose my best friend to hook up with?”
“Get out.” She pointed to the door. “Get the fuck out!”
Matt looked to her, then Stone before he headed toward the door.
“Wait.” They both stared at Stone. “I want to hear this.”
Annie sidled up to him, grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I’m not going to listen to a word if he’s going to talk trash.”
Stone put his arm around her and pulled her close. “You’re not going to talk trash, are you, bro?”
“No,” Matt stated simply.
“Fine. Let’s all sit down like civilized human beings then. Matt’s going to tell us a story.” Stone glanced down at Annie. “Okay?” he asked softly. She nodded.
Annie and Stone sat on the couch while Matt sat opposite in the leather recliner. Quietly they stared at Matt as they waited for his explanation.
“The last undercover case I was on was with the Lobianco crime family in Chicago. I was in deep. I’d befriended the oldest son Michael and was engaged to the daughter, Bella.”
Matt stared at Annie when he said the last part, no doubt to gauge her reaction. Unfortunately she flinched before she caught herself. The image of Matt making love to another woman filled her head. Stone put his arm around her and she snuggled close in his protective embrace.
Seeing this, Matt stopped talking a moment. “It wasn’t me, Annie, it was my cover. She meant nothing.”
“Sure, bro, you fucked another woman, but it wasn’t cheating because it was just work. We got it.” Stone patted Annie.
Matt glared at Stone. “What makes you think I had sex with her?”
“Oh, so you’re saying she’s a virgin?” Stone asked.
“I, uh, no.” A muscle twitched in Matt’s jaw.
“So you expect us to believe you were engaged to a woman that you’d never had sex with? How did you manage that?”
Matt’s face was red with anger. He took a deep breath. “With everything I uncovered, we were able to put Vincenzo away for a very long time, but not Michael, who runs the family now.”
Obviously Matt had decided to ignore the implication he’d had sex with Bella.
“Everything you were told about the reporter was true. He was tortured within an inch of his life until he gave up my name. Then they killed him anyway. After which a hit was put out, but not on me. On my entire family and everyone I cared about, which included the two of you.
“My boss came up with the idea for me to fake my death until we were able to neutralize the threat. I deliberated on it for some time, but couldn’t come up with a better alternative, so in the end I agreed.” Matt addressed Annie. “I want you to know it was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
“And you couldn’t let those you care about know the truth?” Stone asked.
“No. The SAC was adamant. For it to work, we had to make sure everyone involved had complete deniability. We knew Michael would look into my death. He and his right hand man were at the funeral. They watched Annie at the cabin—and you too, Stone—to make certain you weren’t hiding me. They were in town for a week before they moved on,” Matt finished.
“So you’re the one who’s been watching me?” Annie asked.
“Yes,” Matt admitted.
“The night of the blizzard, that was you, wasn’t it?” Annie stated.
“I couldn’t let you freeze to death, even if it meant blowing my cover,” Matt said.
“So why are you here now? Is it over?” Annie asked.
“Yes. Michael was murdered on New Year’s Eve. The moment her father was sentenced, Bella ran off with Anthony Russo of the Russo crime family. They’d been secretly seeing one another all along. The rest of the crew is in the wind, hooked up with other families or simply gone,” Matt replied.
When he finished talking, the room was quiet. Annie’s entire life had been turned upside down. Again. She didn’t know how she felt or what was expected of her. All she knew was that she needed to be alone. She jumped off the couch and ran into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.