Page 26 of Blue Norther
Her dad lived in Milton City.
“Okay. Start from the beginning.”
She sighed as I sat down next to her, my thigh pressing against hers on the small couch. “I drove into town after dinner, just to clear my head. I stopped into the diner to see if I could say hi to your mom, but she wasn’t in. Her key lime pie is still just as good as I remember it, though. I had a terrible craving for it when I was sixteen weeks. The frozen pie my grocery delivery service got for me just wasn’t the same, and I cried for three days over it.”
“Ma would have shipped you up some if she’d known. But I don’t think craving key lime pie is why you’re so worked up right now.”
She sighed. “I’m getting there. I got home later than I thought I would, but I know I turned on the porch lights and left the living room lamp on before I drove to your place.”
Well, I officially didn’t like where this was going.
“They weren’t on when you got home?” I asked.
“No. It freaked me out, but I got out of the car thinking maybe the power was out… Why are you rumbling like that?”
I swallowed, stopping the deep growl that was running through my chest. “If you were freaked out, you could have called me. I was still awake.”
“Because there weren’t any lights on? Colt, come on. I’ve survived a lot of days on my own. Scary, dark nights included.”
Fuck that. She wanted my help. “And yet you called me, sweetheart. So tell me why.”
She nodded, her pupils dilating at the use of the pet name. And I liked that reaction far more than I should have. “I didn’t see it at first. But the door was unlocked and?—”
The floor above our heads creaked, and I jumped up, looking around the cabin…there were at least four rooms I’d need to sweep on this floor, then two bedrooms and a shared bathroom upstairs to get through before we could say the space was secure. And my wife—dammit!My very pregnantex-wife who spent the morning telling me about how someone in New York made her feel unsafe—was just hanging around in here by herself until I showed up. I took a deep breath, trying to not fly off the handle. “Vi? The door was unlocked?”
Her eyes went wide, and she nodded. “I-I came inside and everything seemed fine. I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and was getting ready to go upstairs, but I was still expecting an email from my business manager. I got on the computer to check real quick, only, the message I got wasn’t from him. I-I read it and tried to call my dad, but he wasn’t answering. Maybe I shouldn’t be freaked out, but I called for a wellness check. That’s why I’m waiting to hear back from the police.”
“Is it still up on your laptop?”
She nodded.
“Good. I’ll read it in a minute. Come on.” I held out my hands, waiting for her to grab them so I could help her off the couch. She only blinked once before her hands were in mine.Fuck.I needed to get her out of the damn cabin, but the second she slid her hands into mine, I didn’t want to let go.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m getting you out of this fucking house until I search it.”
“Colt?”
There wasn’t time for arguing. “Now.”
I walked her, hand in hand until we were out the door, across the porch, down the stairs, and over to my truck.
“I forgot…”
“What?” I asked as I helped her up into my truck.
“The last note the person sent. It wasn’t sent to my manager’s address. It…it came to my apartment. I was so flustered by what it said, I didn’t even realize it was delivered there. I remembered when I was talking to Stone earlier. If this guy knows my address, he knows my real name…” Her hand gripped my arm. I could feel the fear rolling off of her in waves. They ebbed when I first showed up, but they were crashing over her once again. “I’m sorry I didn’t say something before. But now he’s threatened mydad,Colt.”
“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay now. Move your legs for me, just for a second.” I reached under her seat, my fingers brushing against the lock box where my firearm was stored. Wrapping my hand around it, I slid the box back under her seat and discreetly placed the weapon in the holster on my hip.
“What in the world are you going to do with that?”
“Vi, someone could be in your house right now. I’m protecting myself. Now, take my keys. Don’t you dare unlock this truck until you see me coming back out and I give you the all clear. Okay?”
“O-okay. Oh, my phone, Colt! I need to have it in case the police call.”
My hand rested on her leg. “I’ll answer it if they do. Just turn up the heat and get warm.”
