Lost in Shadows (Lost) Read online

  The lead waiter appeared and, taking the wine bottle, topped off their glasses. “Have you decided on dinner?”

  Jeb all but snarled at the lean man in the tuxedo. “I’ll take the steak, she’ll take the fish, now beat it.”

  “Jebediah!” Carolina chastised him and lit into another flurry of French. The waiter wisely avoided Jeb’s angry stare and let Carolina do the talking. She cocked her head and smiled, charming the waiter into forgetting she even had a dinner companion.

  He lowered his voice, softened his tone, but he didn’t let go. “We’ll look at the files after dinner.”

  “I know them by heart,” she said, tapping her index finger against her temple. “You’re bossy when you’re grumpy. Are you grumpy because you’re hungry?”

  “Grumpy is a dwarf. What I am is committed to protecting you.” Awareness was a swift kick in the gut. He had made the statement many times before—both as sheriff and to paying clients. This was the first time the commitment went beyond professional. Feeling exposed, uncomfortable, he dove for cover. “Like Nate asked me to.”

  Her face fell.

  That little frown stung, because he’d put it there. He shifted awkwardly, unbuttoning his coat. Growing more uncomfortable by the minute, he put his mind into work mode, telling himself he’d think about the effect she had on him later. “Tell me about the first one.”

  “Aubrey Malley is an economist. She had a breakthrough on her theoretical work. She prepared a paper for academic publication and asked me to double-check the originality of her research. Her mentor had an unfortunate experience when he published new work only to find out a Dutch economist had come to the same conclusions some eighteen months earlier.”

  “Have you finished the research?”

  Carolina tore a delicate piece of bread and dipped it in savory oil. “I finished it about a year ago. I believe her status in the economic community is quite high.”

  Jeb took the half loaf of bread and ripped a chunk off. “Which files are you actively working on or just finished?”

  “Of the files taken, three are active. I’ve worked with Nick Mayer for years. We co-wrote several important pieces together when I worked for the Post. Now that I do this, he frequently uses me to help track down details. We just finished a piece on abuses in nursing homes.”

  “When did you talk to him last?”

  “Two weeks ago. He asked me to double-check some ownership records. I finished the work last week and emailed him. He hasn’t called me back yet.” She clasped his wrist. “I should have noticed that. Do you think something could have happened to him?”

  He shrugged nonchalantly, but he was anything but cool as he savored the contact. “We’ll talk to him. Who else?”

  “Jeremy Miller is a political reporter in Tallahassee. He is working on a corruption story involving land deals and the Florida governor. This is the first time I’m working with him. He was referred by my former editor. He needed thorough, tactful assistance with researching some land contracts.”

  “It isn’t published.”

  Carolina shook her head. “Not yet. When you are doing this kind of work, you have to be 150 percent certain because things will get messy, fast.”

  “We’ll talk to him, too. Anyone else?”

  “Millstone. He goes by the title of Reverend, but I’ve never met a more irreverent man. He’s one of those ‘do as I say, not as I do’ political types. He’s against government intervention in individual lives. He’s particularly against civil rights, abortion rights, gay marriage. But he adamantly supports the death penalty, stand your ground laws, and eliminating the mandate for childhood vaccinations.”

  Jeb raised an eyebrow at her haughty tone of voice. “I take it you don’t agree with his politics.”

  “It’s his double standards that drive me crazy.” She jabbed the bread into the little pool of oil she’d made and then gestured broadly. “He’d damn you to hell if you aborted a fetus, but letting a living, breathing child die of measles is just fine.”

  He raised an eyebrow. This Millstone riled Carolina Walker. “Why do you work for him?”

  She waved the bread around again. “Oh, he’d just find somebody who is as warped as he is. I try to ground him in some actual fact.” She popped the piece in her mouth and chewed it.

  He definitely would look into this Millstone character. If Carolina riled him in equal measure, maybe he had a reason to ransack her home. “We’ll add him to the list. The others?”

  “I have more active accounts, of course. You’re welcome to any and everything I have.” She leaned back in her chair as their trio of waiters arrived bearing platters. “I just want to enjoy the meal. Can we talk about this at home?”

  He quietly nodded.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked as she delicately cut into the tender white fish.

  What was he thinking about? The fact that it should worry him that he felt warm when she said home? The word “home” used to mean happiness and safety. And then home felt crowded and invasive after ten years in the military, so he found a place to be alone, to control contact with others. He ran for and won the job of the county sheriff. The work kept him busy as he watched over the land and the people he still claimed as his own. The crisis management, staff management, kept him busy—body and mind. And so he had managed.

  Until last spring.

  Until Butch had come back home to divorce his third wife.

  Until Jeb had been forced to kill.

  What was he thinking about? Nothing he would share. With anyone, especially Carolina. He cut into the thick steak that filled the simple white plate. His stomach roared in anticipation at the aroma of the seasoned meat. “Best steak I’ve ever had, huh?”

  She raised a cocky eyebrow. “I stand by my assertion.”

  He bit into the succulent meat and rolled his eyes back in exaggerated ecstasy. “Mmmmm. Oh Miss Walker. This is good. This is good.”

  “I am appalled you doubted me.” She sniffed in mock disdain. “When I tell you something, Mr. McCormick, I expect you to accept it as fact, completely and immediately.”

  “Is that so?” He liked the sass in her tone and teased her for more.

  “I’m only thinking of you.” She cocked her head and gave him a wide-eyed look full of concern and honesty. “I’m saving you from having to say ‘you were right’ and hearing, of course, the much maligned ‘I told you so.’ I know how such phrases can damage a man’s ego.”

  “You have only my best interest at heart.”

  “Well, of course. It’s clear you need someone to look after you.” Her tone, playful and haughty, ended in a sigh. “I’ll just have to be the one to take you in hand.”

  “You think you’re up to the task?” How many times had he flirted over dinner knowing it was nothing but a little fun between consenting adults? This felt different. There wasn’t anything casual about Carolina.

  “Absolutely.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I have resources, my own bag of tricks.”

  “Tricks. I like tricks.” He reached for her. “Tell me more.”

  He looked down, shocked to find the plate clean except for the stripped T-bone. He’d eaten the au gratin potatoes and the broccoli and half of her rice while they had teased and flirted. He couldn’t remember an evening when he had completely forgotten life and just appreciated the company of a beautiful woman.

  “You were hungry.” She took the napkin from her lap, daintily wiped her mouth, and covered her partially eaten dinner.

  “Didn’t you like the fish?”

  “I did. It was excellent. It was just too much food.” She rubbed her stomach. The waiters appeared and cleared the table. She looked at him, her mouth pulled down sadly.

  “Would you care for coffee or dessert?” the waiter asked.

  “Coffee,” he said quickly before she could decline. “And something sweet.”

  She beamed at him. “Tea and an extra fork.”

  After three cups
of coffee and a second dessert, Jeb reluctantly acknowledged that they were out of ways to extend the meal. The plates were cleared, and she yawned demurely.

  “I think that’s my cue to get you home, Miss Walker.”

  She looked at him with eyes heavy with contentment. “Are you staying the night?”

  He nodded once. “We’ll talk tomorrow about increasing security.” He slid his chair back but hesitated when she didn’t move. “What’s the matter?”

  “It…It’s been so long since I’ve had a night like this. I never would have thought it possible after Thursday, after what happened at the mall. Here I am, in this dress.” She looked down, laughing at herself. “With you, having the best dinner of my life. You have given me…a wonderful gift, and I wanted you to know.” Her eyes were glassy, but the tears didn’t fall. Her smile brightened the dim room, warming the dark reaches of his heart.

  He captured her hands and brought them to his lips. “I would like to tell you that nothing bad will ever touch you again, but you’re too smart to fall for that. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there is bad out there…but there is more good. Bad is never bigger than good. It’s a game of shadows, a trick. Good is always bigger. Hold on to the good. That’s the secret.”

  “I choose the good.” Her thumb rubbed across his lips. “Thank you for a night I’ll remember for all the right reasons.”

  “You’re welcome.” He held her chair as she rose and draped his jacket over her shoulders. Their hands bumped and then intertwined as they left the restaurant. He drove through the empty city streets. They sat in companionable silence, hands still connected, enjoying each other’s company. Crowded shops gave way to homes as the miles rolled past. The traffic was light but headlights illuminated the rearview mirror. At the next light, Jeb turned left.

  Carolina sat up taller. “Where are we going?”

  “Home.”

  She twisted, looking back at the intersection they’d just gone through. “You turned the wrong way.”

  He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “We’re being followed.”

  Chapter Six

  “Don’t turn around. Look in the mirror. Do you recognize the truck?” Jeb drove the speed limit as he plotted their next move. To his mind, the best way to unravel the mess around Carolina was to get behind the ball and call the plays.

  He glanced at her, wanting to read her reaction.

  Streetlights showed her face in freeze-frame action. Surprise. Concentration. Doubt. “Are you sure they’re following us?”

  “I just drove in a circle, and they’re still back there. Does it look familiar?”

  “It’s a black truck. There are thousands of them around here.”

  “We picked up the tail a few blocks away. They didn’t follow us from the restaurant, and it’s too big of a coincidence that they just happened to come across us.” To him it was simple. This someone found them because he knew where they were.

  She sat back in her seat and blew out noisily. “Somebody really is following me.”

  “This isn’t anything we didn’t know. If there was any doubt, which there wasn’t, the mall proved that this somebody is real.” The tail kept his distance, giving Jeb the time he needed. “We’re not in trouble. He is. I’m gonna need you to drive.”

  “You…what?”

  At a curve in the road under the shadow of a large tree, he stopped quickly. “Now. Get in the driver’s seat. Fast.” He thrust the driver’s door open and jumped into the back seat.

  She threw off her seat belt, fell over the center console into the driver’s seat, and pulled the open driver’s door shut. “Ow!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  She put the SUV in gear and crept down the street. “I hit my knee.”

  He stuck his head between the seats. “Why didn’t you go around?”

  She snapped her head toward him, glaring. “You said fast.”

  “I didn’t say hurt yourself. Drive normally.”

  “I am driving normally.”

  He could have run faster than they were moving. “Drive like me.”

  She stomped on the gas and threw him back into the seat. Then she stomped on the brake and brought him back up. “Better?”

  He tugged on her hair, enjoying her being a smart-ass over her panicking. “Funny. Just drive.”

  She repeatedly glanced at the rear and side-view mirrors. Her eyes widened when the black truck made the turn behind them. “Now what?”

  He pulled his pack from behind the seat. Quickly and efficiently, he slid into a shoulder harness, locked his handgun in place, strapped a leather sheath with his hunting knife onto his ankle, and pulled on his black jacket. “Drive to your house. He’s going to be blind for a few seconds when we turn onto your street. I’m going to jump out. You’re going to drive into your garage, get straight into your house and into the hidey-hole until I come and get you. How do you open it?”

  “Pull the rosette on the left side of the fireplace. Jeb?” She choked on his name. “What’s going to happen?”

  “I’m going to catch the bastard.” He tucked a few strands of wild hair behind her ear, a small gesture of comfort. “It shouldn’t take long, but I’m not going to take any chances with you.”

  She turned to face him. “I don’t want to take chances with you, either.”

  “Keep your eyes on the road.” He reached up and shifted the light switch to keep the cabin dark. “I won’t take any unnecessary chances. I promise. Here we go. After the stop, make the turn just like normal. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  He pushed clear of the door and rolled to the sidewalk. Instantly on his feet, he blended into the shadow of the tall shrubs that provided privacy for the corner house. Five seconds later, the dark truck appeared at the stop sign. In the glow of the streetlight, the truck became dark blue, but the driver remained a faceless silhouette.

  The truck turned the corner. Carolina turned into her driveway, and the stalker had seen it. Jeb knelt, steadied his gun, and shot the rear tires, the silencer preserving the quiet of night.

  The truck’s tail end kicked when the tires blew, but the driver controlled the vehicle. He pulled to the curb several houses from Carolina’s and got out to inspect the damage.

  Jeb ran in a crouch, a creature of the night stalking his unsuspecting prey. He flattened his body along a thick tree trunk, waiting for the man to step past him.

  “Son of a bitch. Both tires? What the hell?” The man walked with his head down, scouring the pavement, when the cause of his problem leaped from the shadows.

  Jeb wrapped the man in an arm-lock designed to immobilize. The bastard knew the countermove, escaping and peppering Jeb’s ribs and kidneys with solid blows. Experience guided him, intuitively turning so that the blows glanced off and positioned him for an uppercut to the stomach that stole his opponent’s air. A jab put his ass on the grass.

  Breathing hard, Jeb closed in on the downed man. Adrenaline rode him hard, goading him to finish the fight.

  The man bounded up, landing in a crouch, with a knife glinting in the sparse light. “What the fuck is going on?”

  Jeb could have asked the same thing but in the moment, only one thing mattered. “Stay away from Carolina Walker.”

  “The hell I will.” Outrage pulsed through the man’s voice. “I’m her fiancé.”

  “The fuck you are.” He saw his opening and took it, going in low and mean. He hit the man’s arm, and the knife fell harmlessly to the grass. Jeb straddled the man and pounded fists into flesh. “This stops tonight.”

  The bastard protected his head. “I’m a cop, you asshole.”

  Jeb held his bloodied fist at the ready. “The fuck you are; you’re stalking Carolina.”

  The bastard dared lower his guard to glare at Jeb. “I’m not stalking her.” Jeb punched his already battered face. “Fuck. Stop that. I look out for her. I’m Deputy Derrick Jenkins, now get off of me, asshole. You’re under arrest.”

>   “The hell I am.” Jeb stayed in place. “You aren’t her fiancé.”

  “Not officially. Not yet.”

  “Why did you break into her house Thursday?”

  “What? I didn’t. I’m investigating it.”

  “It was you today, at the mall. Don’t bother lying. The girls in the toy store spotted the handcuffs.”

  “Yeah, I was there. Carolina shouldn’t be out alone after the break-in.”

  “She wasn’t alone. I was with her.”

  “And who the fuck are you? You think anyone believes that you’re Carolina’s boyfriend? She hasn’t been out for more than coffee with a guy in the years she’s been home. Her house is broken into, and poof you show up. You want a tip? Get out of our county before Walker finds out you’re still here. He kicked you out of the house, next place he kicks you is going to be into lockup.”

  Sitting on a deputy with blood on his hands, Jeb knew one thing for certain: he wasn’t leaving. He took a deep breath and settled his thoughts. His first priority was Carolina.

  A noise drew his attention. A truck tore over her front yard, hitting the street hard enough to send sparks flying. It raced past him and Jenkins, taking the turn on two wheels.

  “Call the cops. Now!” Jeb leaped off the deputy and sprinted across the four large properties separating him from Carolina. From Emmaline’s yard, he saw her front door wide open. The incessant beeping of a smoke alarm fueled him up the stairs and into the foyer. “Carolina!”

  “Carolina!” Jenkins shouted from behind Jeb’s shoulder. “Fire!”

  Smoke crept menacingly along the ceiling of the front hall. Without hesitation, both men ran toward the source. Fire spread greedily from the stove, devouring the sheer curtains of the windows and door and painting the cabinets in living flame.

  “Her shoe.” Jeb pointed to the corner of the refrigerator where one of Carolina’s high heels lay broken. “And her purse. Is that blood on the island?”

  “I called 911.” Jenkins pulled a small fire extinguisher from its holder. “Find her. I’ll do what I can.”

  Jeb started in the library, triggering the catch that opened the floor only to find the hole empty. Where else would she go? Where would somebody take her? He sprinted back to the kitchen. “Call Walker. Get him looking for that car. Carolina might be in it.”