Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #1 (47 page)

“I already told you, that information's confidential. I'm not allowed to give it to anyone without Meagan's permission.”

“No problem.”

He would find out what he needed to know with or without her help. Bobby had been able to get several viable prints from her place last night. They had already been turned over to Levy County to process. Anytime now they would get the results back.

Something told him there were some surprises in store.

THREE

D
ark clouds rolled across the sky, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Meagan pedaled harder, struggling against the wind. She would be hard-pressed to make it home before the sky opened up. One of the drawbacks to getting places on a bicycle during a Florida summer.

She made a left from D Street onto Fifth. One more block. An engine revved behind her, probably someone who had also just made a turn. But instead of backing off, the driver continued to accelerate. She cast a worried glance over her left shoulder. A white sedan sped down the road toward her.

She was used to sharing the streets of Cedar Key with vehicles—slow-moving ones. From trucks and SUVs all the way down to golf carts. Lots of golf carts. She had gotten over her nervousness at riding in the street weeks ago. But getting that note yesterday changed everything.

Besides, the sedan wasn't moving slowly. It was already going faster than it should for the residential neighborhood and was continuing to accelerate. It wasn't weaving, moving erratically or threatening in any other way, except for the speed. But she wasn't taking chances. She eased to the edge of the road, ready to veer off if need be, and cast another glance over her shoulder. The car suddenly angled straight toward her.

A bolt of panic shot through her. She jerked the handlebars to the right, desperate to get away from the three thousand pounds of metal bearing down on her. Her front wheel hit sand where the grass was sparse, and jerked the handlebars farther right, while the back wheel twisted left.

Meagan went airborne. Everything happened so fast, she didn't have time to react. She landed with a grunt on her left shoulder and hip, and rolled. How many times, she didn't know. A crunch of metal registered through her panic, and she came to a stop against the rough bark of a tree. A root protruded from the ground under her left hip, which was likely already bruised from the fall.

Tires squealed, and she pushed herself to a seated position in time to see the sedan turn the corner. Then it was gone. Along with the dim hope she had held on to that the message on the side of her house and the note were nothing more than a twisted prank.

Someone was trying to kill her. And she had no idea who.

Edmund didn't own a white sedan. Of course, it could be a rental car. In fact, if he wanted to run her over, he wouldn't use his own vehicle.

But somehow, that didn't sound like Edmund. When he finally found her, he would try to kill her. She had no doubt. But he would do it with his own hands, close enough to look her in the eye and see her regret, smell her fear.

She eased herself to her feet, testing her limbs as she stood. Her knees and ankles were okay. So was her spine. Except for a bruised hip and some tenderness in her left shoulder, she was fine.

She reached into her pocket to get her phone. She needed to call 911. There was only one way on and off Cedar Key. If they set up a roadblock on Highway 24, maybe they could apprehend the driver.

If not, she wouldn't be much help. She wasn't able to get the tag number. She didn't get a look at the driver, either. The windows were too tinted. And she'd been too focused on trying to get out of the path of the car to zero in on details.

Her eyes dropped to her phone, and her heart fell. The screen was shattered, with multicolored blotches and streaks running behind the jagged lines. She needed to borrow a phone. She took two quick steps toward her bike, then stopped. It hadn't fared any better than her phone had. It lay on the ground ten feet away, frame bent, wheels crushed.

A strong gust swept through and whipped the ends of her hair against her cheeks. The sky burst open, pouring rain over her. Leaving her bike, she sprinted to the nearest house with a car in the driveway. Old Mrs. Tackett was always home.

Within minutes, help was on its way. That help came in the form of Hunter. Meagan waved from Mrs. Tackett's porch, and he pulled into the driveway. She would have preferred Bobby, but at the moment she would take anybody.

From everything she had seen of Hunter, he was a good cop. He just made her uneasy, always pushing for information she would never be able to share.

The door of the cruiser swung open. A black umbrella appeared first, then Hunter stepped out. She met him at the car. She was drenched, with drops of water falling from her bangs into her eyes. But Mrs. Tackett had pressed an umbrella into her hand and insisted that she keep it. She would return it later.

Hunter's eyes were filled with concern. “Are you hurt?”

“No, just a little bruised.” And a lot shaken up.

“We've already got a BOLO out with Levy County on the white sedan. Since your bike is pretty mangled, there's probably damage to the car. Anything else you can tell me?”

“No. I was so focused on staying alive, I missed everything else. The description I gave the dispatcher is pretty much it.”

Which was pretty much nothing. White sedan, tinted windows. And now probably some good dents and scratches on the right front bumper. Maybe some pink paint.

She crossed the street and led him two doors down, to where her bike lay in the grass.

Hunter frowned. “If they left any tire tracks, this storm has pretty well washed them away.”

He was right. Already water had collected at the edge of the road and was running downhill in a steady stream. And the deluge didn't look to be letting up anytime soon.

Hunter continued. “We're searching Cedar Key, and Levy County is setting up a roadblock at the marshes between the Number Four Channel Bridge and Cedar Key Plantation to catch anyone trying to leave.”

His eyes shifted to the mangled bike and then back to her face. Anger had pushed aside some of the concern. “You could have been killed.”

“I think that was the point.” There was no sense in trying to deny it. After yesterday's note, she couldn't pass it off as coincidence.

He asked her several more questions, most of which she wasn't able to answer, and had her relay step by step what had happened from the time she turned onto Fifth until the car sped out of sight. After that, he took several pictures. Finally, he picked up the bike and loaded it into the trunk of his cruiser.

“Get in and I'll take you home.”

“That's not necessary. It's a few doors down.”

Even as she said the words, she knew there would be no deterring him. There was a steely determination in his blue eyes.

“Come on, Meagan, it's pouring rain.”

“I'm soaked. I'll get your seat wet.”

“It'll dry.”

She shrugged and stepped into the car. As long as he didn't press her for answers. Because she really didn't have any. Nothing that had happened this afternoon fit Edmund at all. And the chance that some friend or relative of Charlie's was coming after her in Cedar Key just didn't compute.

When Hunter got in, he turned the key in the ignition. But instead of pulling away from the curb, he looked over at her. The determination in his eyes was tempered with concern. “Someone just tried to kill you. Don't you think it's time to level with me?”

“I can't tell you what I don't know.”

“You know more than you're letting on. Tell me, Meagan.” His tone had softened. It was now gentle and pleading. “What are you running from? Who is after you?”

She closed her eyes and tried to still her pounding heart. Rain beat against the roof, but she was safe and protected inside her metal cocoon, Hunter next to her. His calming presence filled the car, and his masculine scent wrapped around her, woodsy with a hint of spice. She inhaled slowly, drawing it all in—his strength, his gentleness, his concern.

Her throat tightened, and her determination crumbled, leaving her with an overwhelming urge to throw everything she had held on to for the past several months at Hunter's feet. She was tired. Tired of running. Tired of the fear. And so tired of being alone. She longed to rest and let someone else take care of everything. Just for a little while.

She let her head fall back against the seat, and stared through the windshield. The wiper blades swished across the glass, providing brief moments of clarity through the river distorting the view ahead.

Clarity. What she wouldn't give for some of that right now. A clear path to follow. Knowing whether to run or stay. Knowing who to trust.

She lifted her head. Certainly not Hunter.

She had faked her own death. If that wasn't illegal, falsifying information on her I-9 and other employment documents was. And Hunter was a cop. An honest one. He'd have to turn her in.

Then it would be all over. Edmund would know she was alive, and there would be nowhere to run. Because he would follow every lead, turn over every rock. With his acres of vineyards and successful winery, he had the resources to do it. And if his own millions somehow fell short, there was always his family's expansive estate in Italy. For Edmund, money was no object. He would do whatever necessary to find her.

Then he would kill her.

It wouldn't be the first time he had killed someone. Or the second. She didn't have proof, but she had a dead man's blackmail letter. And a strong gut feeling.

Meagan shook her head. Hunter wanted to know who was after her, but she didn't know.

He sighed, then pulled away from the curb. When he came to a stop in her driveway, he didn't turn off the engine. “I'm calling the station before we go in.”

“We?”

He ignored the question. “I want to know if they've found this white sedan.”

When he finished the call, his face was grim. “There's been no sign of it. It didn't head up 24.” He opened the door and started to get out.

“What are you doing?”

“Seeing you safely inside.” He hesitated. “You have a cell phone, right?”

“I did until a half hour ago. I landed on it when I fell, shattered the screen.”

He frowned. “Do you have a landline?”

“No.”

He closed the door and began to back from the driveway.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting you a new phone.” He backed out onto Fifth, then glanced over at her. Some of the hardness had left his eyes. “I'm not leaving you alone here with no way to call out.”

Warmth filled her chest, along with an odd sense of longing that seemed to come out of nowhere. He was suspicious of her, but he still refused to leave her cut off and unprotected. It had been a long time since someone had cared for her like that.

She pushed aside the thought and shored up her defenses. She had escaped Edmund and stayed alive the past two and a half months by being strong. And depending on nobody but herself. Sure, Hunter was good-looking and sweet and caring, but now wasn't the time to go all weak. Or let a man once again try to take over her life.

She opened her mouth to object, then snapped it shut again. Hunter was right. She needed a phone. And fighting him on it was not only senseless, but stupid. When she went to bed tonight, her new phone would be on her nightstand within easy reach.

Both Cedar Key and Levy County were looking for the white sedan. And no one had spotted it.

Which meant only one thing—whoever had tried to kill her was still on Cedar Key.

* * *

Hunter stood inside Darci's Collectibles and Gifts, leaning against the metal doorjamb. It was five minutes to six, and Meagan was there alone, closing out the day's business.

Since yesterday's attempt on her life, she'd been without a bike. Darci had taken her to work this morning, and he was giving her a ride home. Neither of them was willing to let her walk. Hunter wasn't willing to let her ride, either. Once she got a new bike, he would probably have a battle on his hands.

She rounded the corner and met him at the door with a half smile. “Thanks.”

He nodded. As long as he wasn't pressing her for information, she was amicable—not exactly warm, but not bristly, either.

That was soon to change.

They had a match on the prints, and there were surprises. Big ones.

He opened the passenger door for her and helped her in. When he slid into the driver's seat, she was staring out the windshield, her dark hair falling in soft waves around her face. He wasn't sure what the natural color was. When she had first arrived in Cedar Key, it was deep black. Now it was a rich brown, like his mother's antique walnut desk, catching the light with hints of red. Though still short, it had grown out quite a bit in the past two or three months. Soft and relaxed, with just the right amount of natural wave, the longer style suited her better.

He eased from the parallel parking space in front of the store and went around the block to head toward the small house on Fifth Street.

She released a soft sigh. “I'm sorry about this.”

He glanced over to find her watching him. “What?”

“You having to pick me up. I'll work on getting a new bike this weekend.”

He pulled into her driveway and turned off the truck. “Under the circumstances, I'd rather drive you.”

Instead of responding, she just stared at him, her usually expressive eyes unreadable. Emotion swam somewhere near the surface, hidden behind the air of aloofness that had surrounded her from the moment she'd arrived in Cedar Key.

“I'll manage. It's not your responsibility to take care of me. Not even in your position as a Cedar Key police officer.”

“It's my responsibility to protect all of my citizens.” And that was why he was going to do what he had to do. “I need to talk to you. Is it all right if we go inside?”

She stiffened, and fear flashed in her green eyes. He could almost see the walls around her strengthen. She hesitated a moment longer, then squared her shoulders and gave a brief dip of her head.

Once inside, she eased down onto the couch. But she didn't lean back. Instead she sat straight and stiff, hands folded in her lap. He chose the recliner adjacent to her.

“You know the prints we lifted? Levy ran them through the FBI database.”