Chapter 27
27
Just after dark, they met Molly and Sam Coburn behind The Fang, where they hopped into the backseat of Sam’s F-150. As they’d discussed during those three hours of waiting-slash-lovemaking, Maura insisted on explaining to them why she was in need of an emergency ride out of Firelight Ridge. She couldn’t allow anyone to take risks on her behalf without knowing what they were getting into.
The pair listened as Maura gave a thumbnail sketch of the last eight months of her life.
“Did you ever talk to a lawyer?” Molly asked right away, when she was done.
“I did. I was told that I needed more evidence. I didn’t have much in the way of backup witnesses. Small town, everyone’s afraid of the police chief. The lawyer told me my chances of success were low, and then he told me his hourly rate. That was the end of that.”
“I get it,” Molly said sympathetically. “And obviously I’m not licensed in Colorado, but I am here in Alaska, so keep that in mind. I’m here if you need me.”
“Thank you,” said Maura gratefully. “That means a lot. It’s been hard to trust the law-and-order system lately.”
Lachlan knew that Molly was fierce, brilliant, caring type of lawyer, and he hoped that Maura would trust her. But he wasn’t going to push her. He was just happy that she trusted him enough to get smuggled out of Firelight Ridge together.
“What did you tell Pinky?” he asked her once they were airborne and the drone of the single-prop Beechcraft provided cover. She’d met Pinky at the back door of The Fang and held a private convo with him before Sam and Molly had shown up.
“I told him that if anyone asked about me, to go into one of his rants about aliens or something. Basically, be normal.”
He chuckled, having been on the receiving end of Pinky’s conspiracy theories many times during his shifts behind the bar. “That should do the trick. Did he ask any questions?”
“Not really, there wasn’t time. He just wanted to know if I was coming back.” Her wistful tone made his heart squeeze. “Am I coming back?”
“I hope so.”
But he didn’t know, to be perfectly honest. If SS learned that Maura was in Firelight Ridge, or had been there, he might show up looking for her himself. If Maura’s goal was to stay one step ahead of him, she’d be better off almost anywhere else.
On the other hand, if the investigator reported back that she could never find Maura, and that she’d probably moved on, maybe SS would cross Firelight Ridge off his list and search elsewhere.
He couldn’t be sure of any of it because he didn’t understand how a stalker’s mind worked. What was his ultimate goal? Did he mean Maura harm? Why would he hurt someone he claimed to love? There was an element of twisted psychology there that Lachlan had no experience with.
Maybe he should consult some members of the psychology department while he was in Fairbanks. He’d see a wolf expert and a people expert, since he was dealing with both animals and people behaving badly.
Outside the little aircraft, the darkness was broken only by the blinking lights at the tips of the wings. He couldn’t even see stars, since a layer of overcast hovered just above them. As they cruised over the mountains, updrafts of air made the plane tremble and shake.
Flying through the night in a tiny metal canister after lying to a private investigator…life had taken some strange twists since he’d met Maura. And it was all worth it.
He glanced over at her, snuggled in the fur-lined parka that Lila had lent her. He could barely see her face, but the sight of her profile in the blinking light gave him comfort. She was still here. With him. They were in this together.
The landing was so bumpy that Maura grabbed for his hand. He let her squeeze it as hard as she needed to until the bouncing and the squeal of the tires stopped.
“Phew,” said Sam. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize for a safe landing,” said Maura, though she was still breathless. “Thank you, Sam. Are you flying back tonight?”
“Yes. There will be fewer questions if the plane is right where it’s expected to be tomorrow at daylight. Besides, Molly’s waiting at the airstrip. She has a cover story all ready. Legal emergency with one of the Chilkoot kids she’s working with. It’s always hard to verify Chilkoot stories.”
Lachlan’s heart swelled at the way Sam and Molly were going so far out of their way to help Maura. So were Lila and Bear, for that matter. They’d accepted his request for a few days off without blinking, as well as promising to let everyone know he was under the weather and shouldn’t be bothered.
Gil knew the basics of Maura’s story, too. He and Ani had gotten back to the house just as Lachlan and Maura were leaving. After hearing Maura’s account, Gil offered to keep tabs on the investigator while they were gone. “Is it okay if I bring Nick into this as needed?” he’d asked Maura.
After a quick glance at Lachlan, she’d nodded. “I trust your judgment on that. Also, there’s a chance that this guy might show up here. Keep an eye out and watch your back. He’s unpredictable.”
She’d given Gil a quick description, as well as his name—the first time Lachlan had heard it. Pete Perkins. Such a bland name for someone who had caused so much turmoil.
Lachlan had to admit, it felt good to know that Gil and Nick were keeping watch while he and Maura were gone. The more people she had backing her up, the better; he knew that she’d felt very alone during this entire experience.
Sam gave them the keys to the car he kept at the Blackbear airport, and they said goodbye on the nearly deserted tarmac. As they watched the little Beechcraft take flight, Lachlan couldn’t stop a chill from running down his spine. He had no idea what was coming next, and their last lifeline to Firelight Ridge was now receding into the darkness toward the mountains.
Cold air blew against his face, carrying the icy prickle of tiny snowflakes. They should find Sam’s car and decide what to do next.
“Lachlan,” Maura said softly. He startled and turned toward her. “I’ve been thinking. We don’t have to stay together. I can disappear in any direction. I still have some savings. I could find my way to Anchorage and catch a flight to Peru or something. This isn’t your fight, and I don’t want you to feel obligated to babysit me.”
A hot rush of emotion surged through him. Not anger, exactly, at least not at her. What she was saying made sense, from a certain perspective. But not from his. He set down his bag and gripped her by the shoulders.
“Listen, Maura. Until I was eleven or so, I barely understood the concept of being alone. I’d never once felt alone because I always had Gil. Even when I was on my own, I always knew that Gil was there. Both of us know that we can always turn to each other. In my opinion, no one should ever feel completely alone. I’m in this with you.”
“Just because we slept together—” she began.
“It has nothing to do with that.” He thought about it, then added, “Okay, it has a little to do with that. I could never walk away from someone I was just inside a few hours ago.” Was that a blush coloring her cheeks? “But mostly it’s that you’re going through something terrible and you shouldn’t have to do it alone. How do you think the human race has survived all these centuries? When saber-toothed tigers were chasing us, we defeated them together.”
Her face brightened and she almost smiled. “Loving the new nickname for SS.”
“STT. I like it. One letter away from STD.”
She made a face, then laughed ruefully. “I hope it’s the kind you can cure, not the kind you’re stuck with for life.”
Laughing about venereal disease, okay fine…whatever it took to chase that spooked expression off Maura’s face.
Once they found Sam’s car—a comfy Camry with a duffel bag of ice skates in the backseat to feed Sam’s hockey habit—Lachlan took the wheel while Maura pulled up the Maps app on her phone.
“It’s a five-hour drive to Fairbanks. Should we just wait until daylight?”
Even though it felt like the middle of the night, it was only six. That was Alaska in the winter for you, although these days the light was lasting noticeably longer. “I’m fine to drive. I don’t think we should wait around here any longer than necessary.”
But she wasn’t listening anymore. She was staring at her phone. “I got an email from my friend Marco,” she said numbly.
“Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know. He says SS is being accused of assaulting a woman in his custody. Her lawyer wants to talk to me. She wants me to testify against him. This is amazing. Of course I’ll testify. I’ll do anything to keep that…” Still scrolling, she gave another gasp.
“What now?”
“My parents emailed too. Oh my God. They’re the ones who contacted the lawyer after they saw the story about his arrest in the newspaper!” She looked up at him, her eyes shining. “Do you know what this means?”
“What?”
“They’re trying to help me. The whole reason I left Hopper was that I didn’t want SS and his father retaliating against my parents. I wanted them to be safe. They must feel safe enough to reach out to a lawyer.” She clutched at Lachlan’s arm. “Oh my God, it just occurred to me…is that investigator working for this lawyer? Is that why she was trying to find me?”
Lachlan hated to throw cold water on all this hopeful news. “Or the investigator is trying to find you to keep you from testifying against him.”