Known (13 page)

Gianna considered calling her uncle but then rejected the idea. They’d argued the last time they spoke. He’d wanted her to move to California instead of to Oregon, claiming she needed to be near family. She didn’t want to admit that she’d stranded herself and Violet during their first month in their new state. No matter how much she loved the man who’d raised her after her parents’ deaths, it would trigger a million questions she didn’t have the energy to answer. “We’ll let Chris make the calls.” Violet gave her an odd look but slid the phone back in her pocket.

No one knows we’re here.

If she and Violet had died in that fire, how long would it have taken before someone missed them? A week? She had a scheduled phone call with her uncle on the first of the month, no matter the day. So he wouldn’t have noticed until she missed their call. She had close friends back in New York, but they knew she was slow to answer emails and texts. She wasn’t the type to call and chat for hours with friends on the phone.

Her empty life spread out in front of her.

Would her new employer have been the first person to notice they were gone?

She’d moved to the West Coast with the intent to make a fresh start, and that fresh start had nearly killed her and her daughter.

I’m not reckless.

Not like them.

For years she’d heard the stories about her parents. The adventurers. The beautiful people. So many friends. So little time.

Gianna had been their trophy child. Photos showed a serious girl who always had a bow in her hair and was dressed to match her mother. Having a daughter hadn’t slowed down her parents. They simply took her with them. Before she was six, she’d been to Australia, Italy, Russia, and Japan. She didn’t attend kindergarten; her parents had felt it was a waste of time. Instead they filled her world with books and travel. When it was time for first grade, the carefree travel stopped, and they stuck to winter and summer vacations for trips. Gianna remembered her introduction to the monotony of school. Suddenly she’d been forced into a structured schedule and immersed with children her own age. Before, it’d been the three of them and her parents’ adult friends.

She’d thought everyone lived as she did.

She met children who’d never been in an airplane and never swum with dolphins. At first she’d talked about her experiences, until her teacher had pulled her aside and asked her not to brag, because not everyone had the money that her family did and she was hurting other children’s feelings.

Gianna hadn’t realized her family was rich. Nor had she realized she was bragging. Humiliated, she’d kept her mouth closed.

Soon it’d no longer mattered.

Overcome with a soul-deep need to connect to her daughter, she reached out for Violet, pulled her close, and touched her forehead to Violet’s. The teen held the familiar pose for a long second. “We’re gonna be okay now, right, Mom?”

“Yes.”

Chris told the 911 operator about the deaths. She’d wanted him to stay on the line longer, but he’d told her they needed to get to shelter and would be at the closest ranger station. Next he called his brother, and the sound of Michael’s voice was as heartening as making it to the highway.

He relayed a condensed version of their situation.

“I can be there in less than a half hour. I’m on the far east side of the metro area looking into a story,” said Michael.

“What if the highway is closed?” Chris asked.

“It is closed,” answered Michael. “All the mountain passes are closed. They’ve been closed since last night, because there were wrecks all over the place.”

Chris knew that wouldn’t stop his brother. The investigative reporter had a way of getting whatever he wanted.

“What about in the city?”

“Portland is fine. We warmed up and now there’s just nasty slush everywhere. It’s the Cascades that are still trapped in low temperatures and snowfall. You say these women don’t know how the fire started?”

He heard the interest in his brother’s voice. There was nothing Michael liked better than nosing into odd situations. He pushed and prodded until he found answers that satisfied him.

“And she didn’t see who shot the ranger?” Michael asked. “Did they keep shooting at her?”

“She took off.”

“They didn’t follow her?”

“We didn’t wait around to find out. Once we figured out how to get out of there, we left. But they could have been as trapped by the snow as we were. If they were on foot, and if they knew where they were going, they could have made it to my place before we left. I didn’t want to wait any longer to find out.”

“Are you armed?”

“What do you think?”

Chris imagined the gears turning in Michael’s head.

“I’ll reach out to the state police, but I know they’re stretched thin right now.”

“Somebody needs to get to those bodies,” Chris muttered.

“They’re not going anywhere,” Michael stated.

“I can’t stand the thought of them left behind.” Despite the cold, sweat formed on his forehead.

“It’s all right,” Michael said quietly. “You’re not leaving anyone behind. It was totally out of your control.”

Chris’s vision started to tunnel slightly. “It’s not right. Somewhere someone is wondering about them.”

“They’ll be taken care of. We know exactly where they’re at and in this weather, nothing is going to disturb them. You did everything you could.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t—”

“
Chris.
Listen to me. Sit tight. The police will investigate. You did the right thing getting out of the forest. Remember that someone shot at her—what’s her name?”

“Gianna. Gianna Trask, and her daughter is Violet.” He turned to see Gianna watching him from several yards away. Her arms were wrapped around her daughter, but her focus was on Chris’s phone call. His vision cleared and he recognized the familiar drain he’d started to circle.

Violet turned her head to look at him.

These two are safe.

“Thirty minutes,” said Michael. “Start driving down to the ranger station. You’ll probably get there before me. Keep an eye out for my vehicle.”

Chris looked up and down the deserted white highway. “Not a problem.”

He needed to clean up the loose ends.

He hadn’t found the device his father wanted. His father had been convinced the subject would make contact with the woman, but it’d never happened. He’d kept his distance and simply watched, monitoring all electronics, wondering if the subject was communicating with the woman in a way they hadn’t foreseen, but everyone involved had believed the subject would talk to her in person.

How could he not?

It’d come down to time. And the cold. It’d been fucking cold and miserable and the subject still hadn’t approached the woman. He’d grown tired of waiting and launched an interrogation. He’d been ordered to keep his distance, but who would have expected several feet of snow and then a damned ice storm? The interrogation was the right move.

And his father was far, far away.

Right now he was running rogue, changing the plan, and the freedom was exhilarating. He needed to feed his own fascination first and then he’d implement his father’s plan and make everything right. He could make both happen.

Gianna had been a welcome surprise in this assignment. Surveillance was typically tedious, but from the first moment he’d spotted her, he’d wanted her. She’d become an object, one he wanted to own. Usually his wealth could buy him anything, but she hovered out of his reach. Flashing his cash wouldn’t turn her eye. Plus his father had ordered her death.

Accepting his father’s orders, he’d tried to kill her. But he’d failed twice.

Was fate speaking to him?

Maybe he was meant to have her first . . .

Lust shot through him. He needed to put his hands on Gianna. He needed to explore and feel the energy that radiated out of her.

He’d make it happen.

His past had taught him to follow his instincts.

He’d spent most of his life wandering aimlessly in one small part of the world, searching for his place and his purpose. He hadn’t found it. Instead he’d found trouble. He’d been attracted to the wrong people, wanting to experience the danger and energy that oozed from their pores. He’d wanted people to look at him with fear and worship. Instead he’d been set up to take the fall.

I was used.

The knowledge still heated his brain and sent waves of anger to his extremities. His father had had to step in and hustle him out of the country before he ended up in prison for the rest of his life. Part of him had hated his father, who had made success and power look effortless. He’d spent most of his youth believing that he could achieve the same. Every sports car and privilege their wealth had provided, he’d taken for granted, and then his poor decisions had nearly destroyed every advantage he’d received.

Once his feet had touched American soil, he’d known deep in his heart that here he could recreate his father’s success. His father still financed his life. His family’s fortune paid for his glitzy apartment and shiny car. But it wouldn’t be long before he could provide for himself.

He had the brawn, the brains, and the looks to make it happen. He dressed the right way, and Americans loved his accent. That plus credit cards and the right car made American women practically jump in his bed. At first he’d believed he’d conquered the American dream. Then he realized the women simply wanted to spend his money. They were sneaky bitches. Praising him to his face and then laughing about him to their friends. Fakes. Every last one of them. He learned to be more selective in his companions. He didn’t want a stable of easy lays who pretended to enjoy themselves in exchange for a shopping spree; he wanted respect . . . fear . . . and admiration.

The real stuff.

He’d abandoned the cheap whores and nonstop partying crowd, searching for quality. Gianna Trask was quality. People respected her. She was smart and cautious and had stood in the limelight and then chosen to reject it. He’d never had a woman like that in his bed before.

What kind of person rejects fame?

His lust and curiosity were both engaged. His obsession growing beyond that with any other woman he’d pursued. He needed to have her to get her out of his mind and system. Then he could fulfill his father’s orders.

He’d been following her for weeks. His orders were to watch for the subject who’d double-crossed them. The subject had been seen traveling to Oregon, but they’d lost his trail, and their intelligence indicated that he would meet with Gianna. She’d been easy to watch. She hadn’t started her new job yet, and had spent most of her spare time unpacking her moving boxes and sightseeing with her daughter. He’d set up shop in an empty rental house directly behind her new home. Watching from the windows that allowed him a direct line of sight into her bedroom and family room.

No one came to visit.

He’d followed her to Starbucks and the grocery store. Carefully keeping his face from her sight. But the more he’d watched, the more he’d needed her to know he existed. He could feel the pressure still building inside him.

His father still needed the device. Had the man passed it to Gianna? When? He’d searched the old man’s clothing and found nothing.

One of the Trask women should know where it was.

He couldn’t fail his father again.