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He couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away.
From the swings, they went to the slide and the kid climbed the steps and came down, squealing like it was the most fun ever. And Laura clapped her hands, the first time and the fourteen other times, as if it was a spectacular thing the child was doing.
Then it was to navigate a set of horizontal bars, but the child was way too short and Laura had to hold him or her—he still wasn’t quite sure—up while the child got across. Then the kid must have convinced Laura to try because Laura jumped and reached and her shirt came with her, showing a wide expanse of fair skin.
From a distance, she was fit and athletic and he wished he were closer to see if there were a smattering of freckles on her belly, like there were across her pretty little nose.
All too soon, Laura reached for the child’s hand and they started walking. He thought they might be headed back to the motel but instead, they walked into O’Grady’s, which appeared to be a small restaurant across from the park.
He took that opportunity to let Lucky out to do his thing and expend some energy. Then it was back in the SUV.
Thirty minutes later, Laura and the kid walked out of the restaurant. He started his car and drove back to the hotel the way he’d come, intending to be in his spot, waiting for them.
But when he arrived, he saw a police car parked behind Laura’s Mustang. There was an officer out of his car, looking into the windows of the vehicle.
What the hell?
It took Laura and the kid twenty-four seconds to round the edge of the driveway. They were holding hands. And then it was like he was watching something in slow motion, the movements were so exaggerated.
The shocked look on Laura’s face. The quick jerk of the arm. The turn. Them going back the direction that they’d come.
He wanted to race after them but he knew he could catch them easily enough—he had wheels and they were on foot. Right now, he wanted some information.
He got out with his crutches—always better to look a little nonthreatening when approaching a cop. He made his way to the car. “Afternoon, officer,” he said.
“Afternoon. This your car?”
“No,” Rico said. “It’s a beauty, though.”
“I know. That’s why I stopped. My wife wants one. We’re celebrating our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary next month and I’m thinking of surprising her.”
“Sweet,” he said. He put his hand on the white paint. “I’d go for this in red.”
The cop smiled. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“Have a good day,” Rico said, and proceeded to walk toward the hotel office. He opened the door and a thin woman behind the counter stood. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m looking for a restaurant called O’Grady’s,” he said.
She used her thumb to point north. “A block up.”
“Thanks,” he said. He turned. The cop and his car were gone.
He went back to his SUV, started it and drove down the street. Laura and the child were moving fast, considerably faster than they’d walked before. He saw a parking spot thirty feet ahead of them and pulled in. Got out. Was leaning up against his vehicle when they got close enough that Laura could see him.
Recognition. Then panic. He watched it play out across her face. It dawned on him that she probably thought that he had something to do with the cop being there. Like maybe he’d called the police after finding out that she’d been at the cabin without actually renting it.
Before he could explain, she bent down, scooped up the child and started running. And she was smart about it. She got off the sidewalk and started running between houses, making it difficult for him to follow her in his SUV.
In a foot race, even carrying a child, she had the advantage. His ankle would not stand up to that much activity.
He got behind the wheel and took off, making several quick turns. Not knowing the town well made it hard to predict where she might emerge. He went the wrong way on a one-way, and just when he thought he might have lost her, he saw her pop out from an alley in his rearview mirror.
He jammed his car in Reverse, backed up in someone’s driveway and floored it. He caught up with her just as she was about to cross the street. He pulled in front of her, leaned across the seat and opened the door.
“Get in. Please,” he added. “That cop wasn’t after you. He was just admiring your car.”
He saw what might have been hope in her pretty eyes. But mistrust quickly crowded it out. “Are you following me?” she asked.
He considered lying but thought there was already plenty of that in the mix. “Yes. When you left this morning, I saw you turn toward the store but then shortly after that, you reversed directions. I was intrigued.”
“You said you were going to take a shower.”
She’d been counting on the fact that he wouldn’t be at the window, watching the road. “I know. My name is Rico Metez. I own the cabin that you were staying in last night. So I know there was no mix-up on the rental. I think you’re in trouble, Laura.”
“How do you know my name?”
“Because when you were getting ready to leave, he—” he nodded his head toward the child “—called you Laura.”
He could read the dismay on her face. She’d been tripped up and hadn’t even realized it at the time. Perhaps because she didn’t pay attention to small details. Perhaps because her brain was going a mile a minute, trying to find a solution to whatever problem she was dealing with. “I’d like to help you,” he said.
“Why would you do that?” she asked.
“Because it’s what I do. I help people.”
“Modern-day Robin Hood?”
It was a rather apt descriptor. “Nothing so fancy. I own a security company.” He pulled a business card from his visor and tossed it to her. It had his picture and Wingman Security’s business address.
“Why would I trust you?” she asked.
“Because I think you need to trust somebody,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure I’m your best bet right now.”
He could tell she still wasn’t convinced. He looked into his rearview mirror. “And don’t look now, but that cop is headed our direction.”
She did look.
He hadn’t been lying. The cop car was approaching.
It she was on the up-and-up, it was the perfect opportunity for her to flag the officer down.
Instead she opened the back door on his four-door SUV and she and the child got in.
Chapter 4 (#u2be2ace7-1701-5237-9043-8a6e9b86bc92)
Lucky was barking and acting like this was the best day ever. He thought the dog was about five seconds from vaulting into the back seat and licking Laura and the kid to death. “Settle down,” he told the dog, and got a look back that said, Don’t you get how exciting this is? We just picked up friends.
Laura wasn’t looking at him as if he was a friend. Her face was white and pinched, and he was pretty sure she wasn’t breathing.
“Nice day for the park,” Rico said. He glanced in his rearview mirror. “I’d feel better if you both buckled up before we take off. I’m sensitive lately to collision issues.”
Laura buckled the child into the middle seat and herself into the one on the passenger side. The kid said nothing but his eyes were very big.
“Do you crash frequently?” Laura asked. He could hear the tension in her voice.
“Well, never in a car yet,” Rico said. The cop was driving by. He turned his head slightly to look at Rico but didn’t seem to recognize him from their short conversation at the hotel. He gave the back seat occupants no attention.
He could almost see the air come out of Laura in relief.
“But that’s how I got my ankle injury. I mentioned that I was waterskiing. I fell because somebody almost crashed into the boat that was pulling me.”
“Accidentally?” she asked, maybe hearing something in his voice that he tried to hide but wasn’t always successful. The circumstances of the accident bothered him beyond the fact that it was a giant pain to have been hurt.
“You would hope so,” he said. But it had been all so damn odd. The approaching boat had changed course so drastically, so quickly, that the driver pulling him had had no choice but to jerk the wheel.
“Did they arrest the other driver?”
“No. Didn’t catch him.” If he’d have been driving the boat, the guy wouldn’t have gotten away. He’d tried to insist that the driver pursue the boat, but everybody had been too damn worried about him.
He’d wanted the idiot caught.
And had been so frustrated afterward when it seemed that nobody could agree on what color the boat was, what size or anything about the driver. There had been three people in his boat and he’d gotten three different versions of everything. As was generally the case, firsthand witnesses were not much help.
He, unfortunately, to his great irritation, hadn’t been much better. The sun had been in his eyes and he’d hit the water hard. But he was fairly confident the boat was red with a silver stripe, even though none of the other people in his boat agreed with him.
He eased out of the parking space.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
She sounded as if she was about ten seconds from throwing herself and the child out of the car. “Relax,” he said. “Back to your car.”
“Okay. Thank you,” she added.
“I want Ja-Ja,” the kid said.
“We’ll get her,” Laura assured.
“Ja-Ja?” Rico asked. Was there a child he’d somehow missed?
“Ja-Ja is a doll,” Laura said.
He supposed boys played with dolls. Why not? “So you took the long way to the store?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. She shook her head in disgust. “Listen, I’m sorry I lied about renting the cabin. I drove a long way yesterday and, quite frankly, didn’t think I could get back into a car and drive any farther. And we really needed to have a good night’s rest.”
“How did you get the entry code?”
“I didn’t,” she said quickly. “The back door was open.”
He didn’t think so. It technically was possible. He had somebody who came in and cleaned the cabin and brought fresh linens between guests. They could have left the door unlocked. But he didn’t think it was a coincidence that she was driving a car that had been at one time registered to Melissa Trane, who had been providing care for Georgina.
“So you just happened to be driving through the mountains and decided to see if my particular cabin was unlocked?” he asked, poking at her a little more.
“It was the first one that I saw where there were no cars. I thought I’d take a chance. I got lucky.”
Right. It was time to get to the important stuff. “Are you his mother?”
She shook her head. “Caretaker.”
“Where are the parents?” he asked.
“Traveling. Asia.”
He was pretty sure she was lying. The explanations were succinct and coming easy. Made him think she’d practiced them.
He pulled into the lot of the hotel, near her car. “You said that you’d driven all day. Where from?”
“Tennessee.”
That was probably true, since the car was registered to somebody who lived in Nashville. “So you drove from Tennessee to Colorado because...” He let his voice drift off.
“I’ve always wanted to see these mountains.”
Okay, it was time to cut through the crap. He shut off his SUV and turned in his seat so that he could see her. “Why did you run when you saw the cop looking at your car?”
* * *
Since the minute she’d gotten into his SUV, she’d been expecting the question. And she’d read that the best lies were those that were closest to the truth. But Hannah couldn’t hear this particular explanation—it would confuse the poor child too much. So far the fact that they were referring to her as a he hadn’t registered, probably because the little girl was fascinated with the dog, but it was only a matter of time before she would pick up on that, too.
“I panicked,” she said.
“Why?”
She deliberately glanced at Hannah. “I’d be happy to tell you but it’s naptime right now. If you want to wait a few minutes, we can talk then.”
“Sure,” he said, as if he had nothing better to do. But she didn’t buy it. He’d followed her for an hour. He was asking questions about her and Hannah’s relationship. She wasn’t going to be able to shake him, so she needed to give him an explanation that he’d believe.
She opened the door and got her and Hannah out. She didn’t look back as they walked up the stairs to their room. Once inside, she had the little girl go potty, washed her hands and face, and tucked her in, with Ja-Ja at her side. “Sleep tight,” she said, and kissed her on her nose.
Hannah was tired from the park and she didn’t even offer a token protest. Just stuck her thumb in her mouth and rolled onto her side. She was asleep in minutes.
When Laura opened the door, she saw that Rico was out of his SUV and sitting at the picnic table near the office area. His crutches were leaning against the table. Lucky was on a leash, sitting next to his right leg.
He’d seemed to buy the explanation that the cabin was open. There was no way that she was burning her friend Melissa. The woman needed her job more than ever since her husband had found somewhere new to take off his boots.
She closed the door and made sure it was locked. Then walked down the stairs and toward him, pretending that she had nothing to hide. She wrapped her arms around herself, thinking that it was much colder than it had been when she and Hannah had walked to the park. And the sun had disappeared behind the clouds.
“Already asleep?” he asked.
