Chapter 19
19
Ruth sat in the tight spot between the two men, trying to make sense of what had just happened. She and Gunnar had been on the verge of something world-changing, and then suddenly the world had changed around them.
“I know you,” Gunnar said. “You came to Firelight Ridge once.”
“I came a couple of times. My name is Jim Kelly. Friend of your dad’s.”
Next to her, Gunnar’s body vibrated with tension. “Did something happen to him? What’s going on? Why are you stealing my truck?”
“I’m not stealing it. But someone was tampering with it. I stopped him, but he got away, and it wasn’t safe for you or the truck or me to be there anymore. I’m…delivering it to you.” He focused intently on the city streets before him, weaving a pattern of sudden turns into side streets, and occasionally checking the rearview mirror.
“Is someone following us?” she asked. She reached for Gunnar’s hand and found that it was ice cold. Where were his gloves? She interlaced her fingers through his, trying to send him strength and support through skin contact
“Doesn’t look like it, but I need to make sure. Hang tight.” He yanked the wheel to the right and crossed two lanes to exit onto a street that went into a park. There were no streetlights here, and he turned off the headlights of the truck and pulled to the side of the road, to a spot shaded by overhanging tree branches.
He held up his finger for silence. They all sat stone still and watched the street. After what seemed like an absurdly long amount of time—not a single other vehicle came down the street—he relaxed and turned toward them. “Sorry about that. I know this must be a shock to you. Like I said, I’m friend of your dad’s. I’m helping him…take care of things.”
Gunnar stared at him. “You were in Florida with Bridget, weren’t you? You turned up in her car, too.”
Ruth gave the man another look, and sure enough, he fit the description that Bridget had shared—a burly, gray-haired, balding Black man.
“Yeah, that was me. Gave her a scare. Apologized for that. Part of the job.”
“What job? What are you doing here?”
“I know you have a lot of questions?—”
“You think?” Gunnar burst out. “You show up here in the middle of the night stealing my goddamn truck ?”
“I wasn’t stealing it, I was?—”
“Okay.” Ruth intervened, since it was clear that Gunnar wasn’t thinking straight yet. “Obviously, we’re very confused about what’s going on. Maybe you could fill us in a little? I’m Ruth?—”
Kelly didn’t let her finish. “I know who you are. You’re a Chilkoot on the run. A pretty one, too.”
“Don’t talk like that to my girlfriend,” Gunnar growled.
Ruth wanted to pause the entire conversation and grill Gunnar on what he meant by “girlfriend.” But he kept his focus on Jim Kelly, who shot him a hard glance in return. Tension coursed between them, with her trapped right in the middle.
That used to happen a lot at the compound. Men were always getting mad at each other, and she only rarely understood why.
She turned back to Kelly. “You know my family?”
“Family is not the word I’d use, but yes, I know about the Chilkoots.”
“No, I mean, do you know them. Who they really are. Their whole story, like how they bought the property when it didn’t even exist on those plat maps.”
“The plat maps.” He snorted. “You two should never have gone to the State. That was your mistake. Please don’t do that again. That’s why your father told me to step in.”
“My father ?” Gunnar gripped the dashboard as if it were a lifeline. “Where is he? Why didn’t he come himself if he’s so worried?”
“He’s busy right now. That’s why he sent me.”
“ Busy ? What the fuck ?”
Ruth was afraid that Gunnar might explode right there in the cab of the truck. “Can you tell us what’s going on?” she asked quickly. “Who was tampering with the truck?”
“Someone who doesn’t want you poking around in property records. He ran off when I busted him, so I can’t say exactly who. But if I had to guess, I’d say he was Russian.”
“Russian,” Gunnar said flatly. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I’m not fucking kidding you.” Kelly’s dry tone held a certain amount of irritation. “You’re getting angry at the wrong person. I just saved you from a car explosion.”
That silenced them both, at least for a moment. “So you say,” Gunnar said eventually. “But who are you? Bridget said you were Dad’s colleague. What kind of college? Business, or…”
Ruth could tell that he didn’t want to say CIA or any of their other wild guesses.
“We were in the Special Forces together back in the day. I owe your dad a lot. My life, for one. Look, I can’t stick around. You two watch your backs.” He put his hand on the door handle, but Gunnar reached all the way across the cab and clamped his hand on Kelly’s arm. Ruth shrank back in her seat to give him space.
“Oh hell no,” Gunnar growled. “You’re not leaving until I get more answers than that. Where is my dad?”
Kelly gave a low, dangerous snarl, and Ruth wondered if the only reason he didn’t kick Gunnar’s ass was the fact that she was in his way. Or maybe he knew about all of Gunnar’s sparring skills.
“He’s closer than you think, but I can’t say more than that. It’s not safe.”
“Why not?”
Kelly shook his head again. “I can’t talk about it. I’m sorry.”
“How come you can’t talk about it, but you can follow us and spy on us and steal my truck?” He held up his hand before Kelly could object. “You took it without permission and that counts as stealing.”
“Look, kid. I know you have questions, and that’s fair. But there are national security issues at stake that are much bigger than you. Bigger than all of us.”
“National security ?” Ruth gave a soft gasp. “Are we in danger?”
“You will be if you don’t go back to Firelight Ridge. Your father wants you to go home and stay put and forget any of this happened.” He glanced pointedly at Gunnar’s hand, still clamped on his arm. “Wanna let go now, or get your arm broken?”
“No,” Gunnar said simply. “If my father wants that, he’s going to have to tell me so to my face.”
“I told you?—”
“He’s busy, I get it. But we need some answers. If there are things you can’t say, I get that. But we need something . Otherwise we’re going to keep pushing. Right, Ruth?”
Ruth startled. It wasn’t so often that men wanted her to chime in. Gunnar might be the only one who consistently asked for her opinion. “That’s right,” she said. “I don’t think either of us can just go back and pretend that nothing’s different. Besides, if any of this has to do with my family, maybe I can be of some help.”
“No!” Both men turned on her at the same moment. She blinked as she met Gunnar’s angry gaze. “You’re not going to put yourself in any danger,” he said in a lowered voice. “I won’t allow that.”
“You won’t allow that? Allow ?” She glared at him, then pointedly turned toward Kelly. “He’s not my boyfriend, by the way, and he has no actual say in anything I do. I’m done with that kind of thing.”
As soon as she spoke those words, she realized it was absolutely true—had been true since she’d left the compound. No longer would she let any man—any other person in general—determine how she thought or felt or acted. Not Gunnar either. She would do that for own self.
“Ruth,” Gunnar said, worry resonating through his lowered voice. Now worry, that was different. She’d allow it. “I agree with everything you just said. But we have no idea what’s going on with this situation, and even though I hate to say it, I don’t trust my father right now. Or this guy.”
“He’s right,” said Kelly. “You shouldn’t trust anyone. That’s why you should go home and get on with your lives.”
“ No ,” Gunnar said again, turning back to him. “Maybe my dad doesn’t know I’m a grown man now. If something’s going on that affects me or the people I care about or the town where I live, I want to fucking know, and I want to do something. So come on, Kelly. If my father was here right now, looking me in the eye, what do you think he’d do?”
Kelly’s gruff expression shifted, respect flashing in his eyes. He fought some kind of silent battle with himself, then gave a grudging nod. “I don’t know everything. I’m just the fixer, making sure Anthony’s kids don’t get themselves killed. But maybe there’s something you two can do.” He held both of their gazes, long and serious. “Find out who’s at the Chilkoot compound. Names. Nationalities. That kind of thing. You.” He held Ruth’s gaze. “Lots of new folks there lately, yeah?”
She gave a brief nod, wishing she’d paid more attention to all those newcomers.
“That’s what we thought. Anything you can find out about them, good.” Kelly put his hand on the door handle, preparing to leave.
“Wait. How should we contact you if we learn anything?” Gunnar demanded.
“Don’t worry about that. And be careful. If anything happens to you, your dad will dismantle me. He’s doing all this for you, you know. You’re the only thing that matters to him. Want to know their big mistake? They thought they got rid of him. Not so easy.”
Kelly slipped out of the truck and landed on the ground like a graceful, though aging, cat. A moment later, he vanished into the darkness beyond the trees.
Gunnar pushed open his door and jumped out, staring after his father’s friend. He stood in the pearly dawn light, the expression on his face tearing at her heart. Confusion, anger, heartbreak…but also deep, deep love. The love of a young son who’d refused to leave the place where his father had disappeared. The love of a man who would do anything for someone he cared about.
Her own heart did something she couldn’t explain, and that she’d never felt before. It sort of…melted like butter in a hot pan.