Ice (22 page)

Seeing the bruise on Alex’s face, John Harper said with a scowl, “Well, it looks like we got here just in time.”

His conversations with their fathers had echoed in his head for days, and he had read the women’s files a dozen times, studying them like criminals even though they weren’t. John Harper knew that Campbell followed rules and Blake bent them. He knew that both, regardless of their methods, were good police officers, and he knew that one night, three years earlier, they had to come to blows. Assuming that the bruise on Alex’s cheek was the result of another heated argument between the two Detective Inspectors, John Harper did the only thing he could. He looked the other way. The two women had been through enough. Neither deserved a mark on their record, so instead of questioning them about who or what had caused the injury, he decided to give them a few degrees of separation.

With another winter storm on its way, within minutes of his arrival, Maggie and Alex were ushered from the cabin and placed on the back of separate snowmobiles parked at the edge of the forest. Taken to an awaiting helicopter near where their plane had crashed, they were given seats on the opposite sides of the chopper and whisked to an airport where a small jet was waiting to take them back to England.

Upon boarding the plane, Harper instructed the onboard medic to take care of Alex’s swollen cheek, and for the rest of their journey, he monopolized Maggie’s time with endless questions about their adventure, never once bringing up her partner’s bruised face. Both women had stolen glances at each other when they could, and a few times Alex had managed to send a flirtatious wink in Maggie’s direction, causing her to blush, but other than a few words spoken during the noisy helicopter ride, the women hadn’t been able to talk for hours.

Their arrival in London was as secretive as their departure. The damp English weather filled the air with misty rain, and the lights streaming from the many hangars cast an eerie glow across the tarmac. When the plane finally taxied to its destination, it was near a hangar far from prying eyes.

Harper, running interference as he had done the entire trip, escorted Maggie from the plane with Alex following closely behind. Stopping for a moment on the stairs, Alex breathed in the crisp English air. She was home.

Smiling, she trotted down the steps and the minute her feet landed on English soil, the quiet of the night was split by the sound of Paige Harrison’s squeals of delight. Chuckling at the loud whoops and hollers traveling across the tarmac, Alex quickly glanced in Maggie’s direction to let her know that she’d be right back, but Maggie wasn’t paying attention, at least not to Alex.

Two men with outstretched arms ran from the hangar in Maggie’s direction, and even though she had never met them, Alex knew who they were. The quicker of the two, sprinting as if for position, was Glenn Shaw, the
ex
-boyfriend. He was taller than Alex had imagined, and as he galloped across the airstrip, he reminded her of a newborn colt, all legs and wobbly. His floppy hair bouncing with every step he took, Alex rolled her eyes at his comical appearance and focused on the other man.

At a slow jog that comes from age, Douglas Campbell was of medium height, but broad-shouldered and barrel-chested, he still looked like a force to be reckoned with. Even in the shadows, Alex could see his wide smile, and she smiled too. A father’s prayers had been answered, and his daughter had come home.

Unfortunately, Alex’s smile didn’t last long for when she looked in Maggie’s direction and saw her in the arms of Glenn Shaw, her shoulders fell. Watching as the man covered Maggie’s face with an endless amount of sloppy kisses, Alex pulled the collar up on her coat and shook her head.
So much for returning to civilization and telling the truth
, she thought.
Old habits die hard
.

Out of the darkness her name was called, and instantly she grinned. Running to the people standing under an overhang to stay out of the rain, Alex fell into the arms of her parents and her best friend. Tears were shed, and kisses were exchanged. Hugs were bear-like and smiles were wide, and for a few moments, Alex’s disappointment was gone.

***

“What the hell is this?” Maggie exclaimed as she walked into her house to find it overflowing with empty take-away containers, soda cans and long forgotten tea cups.

“I guess I should have cleaned up a bit,” Glenn whimpered. “But Mags, I’ve been so worried about you. I couldn’t focus on anything else.”

“Glenn, unless I’m mistaken, I asked you to move out
two
weeks ago!”

“Yeah, but the next day your boss called and told me that your plane went missing. I didn’t know if you were dead or alive, so I thought—”

“What?” Maggie said. “Did you think you’d just squat here until they pulled my corpse from the bloody lake!”

“Of course not, darling.”

Maggie’s eyes filled with fury. Marching up the stairs, she entered her bedroom like a tornado on steroids. Seeing dirty clothing draped over almost every piece of furniture, as well as partially covering the floor, her anger increased tenfold.

Snatching it all up, she emptied drawers and hangers and stomped to the stairs, tossing the lot over the railing without giving it a second thought, and then returned to the bedroom for round two. Stripping a pillow of its case, she filled it with anything even remotely hinting that it belonged to Glenn and carried it down the stairs. With her Scottish temper now hotter than the fever that almost killed her, she shoved the bundle so hard against Glenn’s chest that he stumbled back a step.

“I’m going upstairs to take a shower,” Maggie said through gritted teeth. “Don’t be here when I get out, and if there is
one
thing left in this house that belongs to you, consider it
gone
!”

“Maggie—”

“This
isn’t
up for debate!”

It had worked many times before, so inwardly grinning as he assumed the outcome, Glenn played his sympathy trump card. “Maggie, you know that I’ve had a stretch of bad luck—”

“Well, it’s
about
to get worse!” she shouted. “Glenn, I don’t love you. Hell, I don’t even bloody like you anymore.”

“Mags, you don’t mean that.”

“Oh, but I do!” she said defiantly. “Glenn, let me make this crystal clear, shall I? I don’t want you in
my
house. I don’t want you in my bed, and I don’t want you in my
bloody life
!”

***

“Thanks for driving me home,” Alex said flatly. “My folks looked wiped out.”

“What do you expect? We were all told you were dead.”

When Alex didn’t respond, Paige looked over and saw her staring aimlessly out the window, tracing a drop of rain as it made its way down the glass.

While the reunion at the airport was filled with laughter and smiles, Paige had sensed that something was wrong. Alex’s answers to their questions had been clipped, and when everyone asked about the bruise on her cheek, she had shrugged it off and changed the subject. The last time Paige had seen her friend this withdrawn, a woman named Debra had been the cause. Debating for only a moment, Paige pulled off the road and parked in front of a small coffee shop with a green neon ‘Open’ sign flickering in the window.

Brought back to now by the car’s lack of movement, Alex looked around. “What’s wrong? Why’d you stop here?”

“Because
I
need a cup of coffee, and
you
need to talk to me.”

“Paige, I’m tired and I just want to go home.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, so please, can we just go?”

“And there’s nothing bothering you? Nothing on your mind?”

“No, I told you, I’m tired!”

“Bollocks!”

“Paige—”

“Alex, just who the hell do you think you’re talking to? I may be blonde, but I’m not stupid!”

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Alex grumbled, slumping in her seat.

“No?” Paige asked as she stepped out of the sedan.

“No!”

Leaning back into the car, Paige grinned at her friend. “Well, then riddle me this, Alex. How can a woman who claims that nothing is wrong, explain the fact that she’s been back in London for almost two hours and
not once
has she asked about her beloved dog?”

Seeing the mortified look on Alex’s face, brought a smile to Paige’s face. “I love it when I’m right,” she said with a chuckle. “And I’ll be inside when you’re ready to talk.”

***

There are those that only appreciate the finer things in life. Without fancy cars, expensive jewelry, the newest technology or a house larger than their neighbors, they simply aren’t happy. Maggie Campbell was not one of those people. She didn’t need towels embroidered with her initials, or a marble-lined shower large enough to fit six to put a smile on her face. All she needed was hot water…lots and lots of hot water.

Forty minutes after arriving home, Maggie stepped out of her shower with her skin rosy, her fingers pruned and her smile wide. Pulling on a pair of track pants and a blue vest, she jogged down the stairs with purpose. She had a house to clean, a pantry to stock and a woman to call.

Stepping around empty soda cans and paper plates holding remnants of pizza crust, Maggie made her way to the phone, but as she started to dial the number, she stopped.

“Shit!” she groused, shaking her head. “I don’t have her bloody number!”

Pausing for only a moment, Maggie called work, and a few minutes later, she was punching in Alex’s mobile number. Sighing when it went to voice mail, she left a quick, perky message telling Alex that she was home, Glenn was gone, and the house would take hours to clean. Rattling off both her home and mobile numbers, Maggie smiled wide as she said, “I love you” and then hung up the phone.

Although she had every intention of telling her father and stepmother about Alex, the airport hadn’t been the place. It was late, everyone was tired, and Glenn had attached himself to her like a leech. So instead, Maggie invited her family to brunch, where they could talk in private. Unfortunately, she didn’t know at the time that Glenn had turned her house into a dorm room.

Looking around at her disheveled home, Maggie chuckled and flicked on the stereo. Adjusting the volume one decibel below waking up the neighbors, she headed to the kitchen to make a shopping list. Stunned to find the pantry nearly empty, she jotted down the necessities and then opened the fridge. Scrunching up her face at the foulness inside, she grabbed a rubbish bag and began removing any remaining evidence that Glenn Shaw ever existed.

Three hours later, Maggie climbed the stairs, stripped out of her clothes and fell into bed. Smiling at the smell of the clean sheets, she let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Alex hadn’t called, but Maggie wasn’t worried. There’s a lot to do when you return from the dead.

***

“How’s Sandy?” Alex asked, sliding into the booth.

Pushing a cup of coffee in Alex’s direction, Paige said, “Oh, so you
do
remember her.”

“Is she okay? What about the pups?”

“Sandy’s fine and so are the puppies,” Paige said with a smile. “She had them the morning after you left. Two adorable little girls, but Jesus Christ, Alex, they were so tiny. I almost shit myself!”

Laughing at Paige’s bug-eyed expression, Alex asked, “And they’re okay?”

“They’re fine. I called the vet and had them checked out. Sandy is keeping them fed, and Amy and I are keeping them in newspaper, which, I might add, we had to beg, borrow and steal.”

“What? I was saving it for weeks. I had stacks.”

“Yeah, well apparently puppies spend all their time sleeping, nursing and peeing, with an emphasis on peeing.”

“I owe you one.”

“I’m just…I'm just happy that you’re all right,” Paige replied, her eyes filling with tears. “When your dad called to tell me what had happened, I fell apart. If it hadn’t been for Amy, I…I don’t know what…what I would have done.”

Reaching across the table, Alex took Paige’s hand. “I’m all right, and it sounds like I owe you and Amy a night out on the town.”

Wiping the tears from her face, Paige snickered. “You owe us at least two.”

“Two it is then,” Alex said, smiling. Motioning to the waitress, she ordered more coffee, and then leaned back in the booth and looked at her friend. “Thank you, by the way. I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like you.”

Grinning back, Paige said, “More importantly, what did
you
do to deserve that bruise you’ve got on your face?”

“It was an accident, nothing more than that,” Alex said quietly. Staring at the coffee cup in her hand, she ran her finger around the edge as she became lost in her thoughts.

Eyeing the woman across the table, Paige leaned over and asked, “So, are you in love with Campbell as much as I
think
you are?”

Continually impressed with Paige’s perceptive ways, Alex raised her eyes. “Yeah, I am.”

“And she doesn’t feel the same way?”

“No, she does.”

Confused, Paige leaned back in the booth. “Wait, let me get this straight. You love her, and she feels the same way. Right?”

“Yep.”

“And those men who greeted her at the airport were—”

“Her father and her boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Sorry…
ex
-boyfriend.”

“And you were angry because?”

“I’m afraid she’s going to do what Debra did,” Alex said quietly.

“And you told Campbell that?”

“No, of course not!”

“Oh…sorry, I thought that’s why she hit you.”

“Who?”

“Campbell.”

“Maggie didn’t hit me!”

“She didn’t?”

“No, she kicked me.”

“
What
!”

Laughing at Paige’s outrage, Alex quickly filled in the blanks. “We were playing around on the bed. I was tickling her and she
accidentally
hit me in the face with her knee.”