Close Proximity

Her gaze cleared, and his heart lightened, his blood simmered in his veins.

Great Father above, he was going to need help ignoring the desire he felt for this woman. Lots of help.

His assurances had been gruff at best. But he was relieved that they had been enough to bolster her. At least for the moment.

The night air was nippy as he made his way to his truck. But rather than curse the chill, he thanked fate for the opportunity to cool the need pulsing through him and wake his sleepy senses. He forced the craving he felt for Libby from his mind, from his body, and focused on the important duty awaiting him. Protecting David’s daughter.

She had no idea she might be in danger. And if the truth were known, he had little more than gut instinct telling him that she could be the target of someone’s nefarious intentions. However, a winter fog was rolling in, misty tendrils creeping along the ground, engulfing bushes, trees, cars. Perfect cover for someone who wanted to remain unseen. He’d have to remain vigilant tonight.

He scrubbed at his face. Lethargy and fatigue wouldn’t be his only battles tonight. Images of Libby danced just behind his eyelids. The passionate longing that plagued him would be a formidable foe as well.

As he had every other night this week, he drove his truck down the block, made a U turn, pulled to the curb, cut the engine…and watched.

Usually, Rafe avoided Ruby’s Café during peak business hours, but if he didn’t get some caffeine into his system this morning he was surely going to crash. Mokee-kittuun folklore was full of brave warriors who could remain alert for days at a stretch without sleep or sustenance. But he suspected those stories were more myth than reality.

“Coffee to go, please,” he told the waitress behind the counter.

She nodded and went to fill his order.

Ruby’s hadn’t changed in all the years that he could remember. The art galleries and antique shops lining Prosperino’s streets brought plenty of tourists into town, but if you wanted to mingle with the locals, Ruby’s was the place to be.

Not that Rafe was known for going out of his way to mingle. However, that was going to have to change if he wanted to learn anything that might help David.

He rested his forearms on the wooden countertop, waiting for his coffee, when he heard his name called from the back of the room. Sweeping his gaze in that direction, he saw Prosperino’s mayor, Michael Longstreet, waving for Rafe to join him.

“Rafe!” the gregarious mayor greeted him, pumping his proffered hand. “How are you?”

“Fine, Michael. Just fine. How about yourself?”

“I’m doing great. Just great.” The man’s whole expression beamed with happiness.

Although Rafe had only officially met the mayor a few weeks earlier, it was common knowledge that Michael had just gotten married last month. The man had a bit of a playboy reputation in town, and everyone had been surprised when he’d tied the knot.

Politeness had Rafe asking, “How’s your wife?”

“Suzanne is great, too,” Michael continued. Then he sobered. “She works with the teens at Emily’s House out at Hopechest.”

The drinking water at the youth ranch had been the first place the DMBE had shown up. The staff and children had been evacuated to Joe Colton’s estate, Hacienda de Alegria. Blake Fallon, Rafe’s best friend, ran Hopechest Ranch. After just having to deal with the fact that his father tried to murder Joe Colton, Blake hadn’t needed more to trouble him.

Even though he and Blake had been friends since childhood, Rafe hadn’t yet told him about his suspicions regarding the polluting of the aquifer. The information he had could be misconstrued to make David look even more guilty than he already did. Rafe hoped that, at the end of this mess, all would be revealed and the real guilty party would be apprehended.

“I heard you’re working for Libby Corbett,” Mayor Longstreet said. “Helping to clear David’s name.”

“That’s right.”

Suddenly Rafe felt on edge, which was odd. He guessed it was the negative press David was receiving in the local papers and the national news that had him antsy about the townspeople’s reaction to him helping the Corbett family.

“Well, I think you ought to know—” the man’s voice lowered “—there’s a rumor racing through the courthouse. The prosecutor is thinking of charging David with the death of that EPA employee. The one who was killed in December. His name was Charlie O’Connell.”

Rafe couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “That’s ridiculous! I read in the papers weeks ago that O’Connell’s death was ruled an accident.”

Michael shrugged, his eyebrows rising. “That was before the dumping of this DMBE was thought to be deliberate. And there were scratches on the car O’Connell was driving. Paint samples were taken.”

“David Corbett had nothing to do with the DMBE or O’Connell’s death.” Rafe tried to keep his tone down, but the anger running through him made that difficult. “The man is no murderer!”

The mayor placed a quelling hand on Rafe’s shoulder. “I know that, Rafe. I do. And that’s exactly why I’m telling you about the rumor. Forewarned is forearmed.” Then he added, “Libby Corbett ought to know what her father is up against.”

Rafe nodded silent thanks. Michael was right. Libby did need to be alerted if more charges were going to be pressed against David.

“You’re a lawyer, Michael. How likely is it that they’ll pin all this crap on David?”

Worry hooded Michael’s green eyes and he shook his head. “I just don’t know. Depends on what evidence they have.”

The sound Rafe emitted was derisive. “That’s just it. The prosecutor says he has a ton of evidence against David. He’s told that to everyone who will listen.”

“Yes, I’ve read it in the paper.” Michael’s dark head bobbed now. “Seen it on the evening news.”

“Yet, we can find nothing that looks incriminating in the discovery Libby’s received. The prosecutor is using every excuse in the book to keep the implicating evidence out of our hands.”

“He’s just playing for time, and his stalling tells me that he’s not really sure of his case strategy. But he’ll soon run out of excuses. Especially if Libby keeps filing those discovery motions and hounding the judge.” A shadow of a smile curled the edges of Michael’s mouth. “Surprise evidence might generate exciting television drama; however, it paves the way for poor justice. The judge knows that. So do all the attorneys involved. Libby’s one hell of a lawyer. She knows what she’s doing. She’ll eventually get her hands on everything that the opposing counsel has on David.”

Rafe saw that the waitress was looking impatient as she stood at the counter with his order. He bid Michael goodbye, thanking him for the information about the new charges David might be facing.

After paying for his coffee, Rafe pushed his way out the door and into the foggy morning, dread sitting in his stomach like a brick at the thought of having to be the bearer of bad news.

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