Chapter 18
The sun was coming up when I was finally released from the scene of the fire. I had to answer a million questions from the fire department and sheriff’s office. I could tell the old lawman wanted to take me in for questioning again .
Fortunately, there was surveillance video evidence that captured someone else breaking into the building and lighting the place up. His image was clear as day, almost like he was taunting whoever watched the footage to catch him. I didn’t question why the feed went black right before Risky ran into the fire. He’d had the system installed, and his buddy’s company handled the monitoring. It was easy enough to wipe the evidence of his intervention away.
Seeing as there was no way to pin the blaze on me, the sheriff came and went quickly, but I’d sweated the entire time he was there.
I knew if the sheriff or one of his deputies stumbled across the snow-covered body halfway between the lodge and the river, it would be the perfect reason for him to lock me up. That was a blazing red flag even the most incompetent cop could ignore.
Even though I was innocent of any wrongdoing other than looking the other way, guilt weighed heavy on my shoulders. I understood an eye for an eye. That guy had burned my property to the ground, probably hoping I would go up in flames right along with it. He wasn’t on the mountain to scare me or warn me. He was there to kill me. There was no need to feel bad about someone who could do those things with no remorse getting a taste of their own medicine, but it was the second time I’d watched someone die right in front of me and done nothing to prevent it from happening.
There was no question about what kind of person that made me.
One who deserved all the bad luck I’d already experienced and a lifetime more.
I was loopy and far from thinking straight when Banner could finally whisk me away from the scorched scene. The snow never let up, and the weather continued to worsen throughout the night and into the morning. It took over an hour for her to drive down the pass and into Blue River. She had to stop and pick the baby up from her mother since her parents had to open the restaurant in a few hours. By the time we reached Banner’s small condo, all I wanted to do was sleep for a solid week and pretend like everything that had befallen me since returning home was nothing more than a nightmare. I wanted to forget how warm Risky had made me feel and unlearn how to rely on him.
Banner gave me her room since the apartment only had space for her and the baby. I told her I was happy to crash on the couch, but she insisted on giving me her bed.
If I hadn’t been so sleepy and emotionally drained, I would’ve asked her how she could be so nice and caring when I needed her most, yet had done everything she could to ruin me when my back was turned. The contradictory behaviors were confusing and frustrating. But any confrontation had to wait until I felt like a human, not a lump of coal.
When I woke up, it was dark again. The sun went down early in the winter, but it was well past dinnertime when I crawled out of the borrowed bed and asked Banner to use her shower. She hurriedly found me something to change into and asked if I wanted something to eat when I was finished freshening up. My stomach growled at her words. The only sustenance I’d had the day before were sex and wine. I was definitely hungry.
I stripped the bed I’d left smelling like smoke and hauled all the bedding to the washer that was in the hallway.
Rosie was already put down for the night. The door to her room was cracked open, and I could see a faint light coming from underneath and hear Banner’s soft voice whispering.
At first, I thought she was reading a bedtime story or cooing to the baby to keep her asleep. I paused when I heard her whisper-shout her husband’s name and realized she was talking on the phone. She knew I wouldn’t go into the nursery uninvited and wanted to have a conversation where I wouldn’t overhear or interrupt.
I paused outside the door and held my breath as Banner questioned, “Did you hire someone to burn the lodge down? We talked about this. I agreed to help you force Lucky into selling the property so you could give your clients a leg up on the competition when the time came and make partner—as long as no one was seriously injured. Burning the place down without knowing if Lucky was inside or not was a step too far. I’m not okay with anything that happened tonight, Grant. I believed you when you told me it wasn’t you who was responsible for trying to run her off the road. I swear to God, if you’re still lying to me …” Her hushed voice trailed off. “I want my family to be together, but if there’s no trust between us, there is no saving this relationship.”
She went quiet while Grant responded. I wished she’d had the call on speaker so I could hear what he said. At least I had a better grasp on her reasoning to put me out of business. She was doing it all for her family.
Banner sniffed, sounding like she was fighting back tears. “It was terrible. That resort is as much a part of Blue River as my parents’ restaurant is.” She paused, and a hint of anger climbed into her voice. “No. I’m not going to ask her about selling the property the lodge sat on so soon after the fire. You don’t know Lucky. She’s like a feral cat when she’s backed into a corner. She’s going to fight tooth and nail to hold on to what’s left of her grandparents’ place. She’s a softy when it comes to people getting hurt because of her. Which is why I suggested going after the guests as the best plan to force her out. She gives herself no latitude. She’s going to blame herself for the fire and cling to what’s left and start cutting down trees and piecing the place back together with her bare hands. I tried to tell you not to underestimate her when you initially asked me for help.” Her voice rose when she asked, “When are you picking me and Rosie up to move to Denver with you? Don’t forget your end of the deal, Grant. I didn’t betray my best friend just for the hell of it.”
I chuckled, purposely making my presence known. After walking down the short hallway and into the kitchen, I saw the soup and sandwich Banner had set out for me. I helped myself to the microwave so I could heat things up, and found a soda in the fridge. It didn’t take long for me to make myself at home at the counter to eat.
Banner joined me a couple of minutes later. Her expression was wary as she sat down next to me and refused to meet my gaze. “How much of that conversation did you overhear?”
I blew on a spoonful of the soup and answered, “Enough.”
Banner blew out a breath and lifted a hand to shove the front of her hair away from her face. She looked tired and frustrated. There wasn’t a hint of the fun, happy girl I remembered from our childhood anywhere on her face. I didn’t know what it said about me, that until recently, I felt like I hadn’t changed a bit since then. My eyes were definitely brighter, and it was easier to smile ever since I’d lost part of myself to my wayward handyman.
“I did what I had to do for my family, Lucky. One day, you’ll understand.” She didn’t bother to fake remorse for her actions.
I bit into the sandwich and frowned when I got a mouthful of mayonnaise. I hated the consistency and spit it out. I guessed the two of us were never as close as I’d thought because my dislike of the slimy condiment was well known.
“I understand.” I gave her a look out of the corner of my eye. “I hope you gain more than you lost by deciding to do all of that behind my back.” I sighed and pushed the sandwich away. “Now, if I sell the property, there’s not a chance in hell I’ll let it go to anyone your husband is in business with. That’s if he manages to stay out of prison.”
Banner’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Intentionally sabotaging a business for personal gain is illegal. The data breach is a federal offense. So is purposely making all those people ill. You’re going to join him behind bars, Banner.”
“You need proof before you start lobbing threats like that.” I could tell she wanted to sound smug, but fear crept into her voice.
“I’ve got you on a livestream fucking around with the guests’ food. I have proof, and I’m sure once the authorities start to look into it, they’ll be able to tie everything back to you and Grant. You aren’t very sneaky.” I shook my head and asked, “Did you stop and think about what might happen to your daughter if you got caught, Banner?”
She stilled beside me, one of her hands reaching out, but I batted it away.
“Grant needs to make partner. I’m impatient. I’m tired of waiting for that to happen. If I can speed up the process, I will. It’s what’s best for Rosie.”
I snorted. “You sound just like my parents.” All they cared about was being together. Who cared if their child had been left alone to fend for herself? “What’s best for Rosie is for her to know you love her unconditionally. Which means you love her even if Grant isn’t in the picture and the two of you aren’t together. What’s best for her is a mother who prioritizes her wants and needs, not her own. I can’t believe you don’t hear how selfish you sound right now.”
“You’re one to talk about being selfish, Lucky. You’ve always had everything handed to you. Your grandparents paid for you to go to college. They left you the lodge and an outrageous inheritance. You’ve always had some boy and, later on, multiple men willing to do whatever you asked with a snap of your fingers. Yet all you choose to focus on is your deadbeat parents and your unfortunate luck. You’ve had it easy, but you insist on making everything hard. You’re addicted to sympathy. Everyone knows you should’ve sold the lodge years ago. You don’t have the heart a place like that needs. Sometimes I wonder if you have a heart at all.”
I lifted an eyebrow and watched her until she started to squirm. “I never asked anyone for sympathy. Bad things happen, and I do my best to minimize the damage. I never go looking for trouble. But you?” I pointed a finger at the tip of her nose. “You married a guy who didn’t want to commit, even before you got a ring. You knew no one liked him and still went through with it. You had his baby when he didn’t want to live in the same city as you, and then you went so far as to break the law and destroy a lifelong friendship for him. You’re the one making things hard, Banner. You created this nightmare; I’m just trying to survive it.”
Banner scoffed, “What friendship? Did you ever see me as anything other than your sidekick, Lucky? I know you only hung around me when we were younger because you liked to pretend my parents were yours. You needed me to experience what a normal family was like and act like you weren’t an orphan. I was the smoke screen you used to pretend you’re just an average person. We both know you’re anything but. No one is as cold and detached as you are. Even now, you should throw that soup in my face and call me every name in the book. You should be furious and trying to fight me, not sitting there, calm and rational. I think you’re broken.”
This was far from the first time I’d heard that. My mother was fond of telling me all the ways in which I was unwell and disappointing. My stomach turned at the thought of dealing with her and my father when they learned about the fire. I saw a whole lot of I told you so in my future, along with another round of relentless pressure to sell. The building might be gone, but the real value had always been the land it was perched on. One factor that had kept me from getting rid of the place from the beginning was the knowledge that whoever got their hands on that slice of mountainside would inevitably tear down my grandfather’s work and replace it with a modern monstrosity.
“I’ll stay broken if the trade-off is serving my soul up to the highest bidder or to someone who convinces me to hurt others in order to be with me.” I pushed the food away and climbed to my feet. “Thank you for bringing me here after the fire. I’ll consider it the last act of friendship between us. I sincerely hope you pull your head out of your ass for Rosie. She deserves more. And for what it’s worth, Grant didn’t lie to you about being the one behind it. I’ve got problems bigger than you and him I’ve got to deal with.”
I walked out of her condo in the borrowed clothing with no place to go and no clue what I should do next. I didn’t have a ride back up the mountain. Even if I did, I wasn’t ready to face what was left of the lodge. Or my dying illusion about Risky.
I couldn’t land on how I was supposed to act around him now that he was no longer hiding his true nature behind a mask of incompetence and affection. I wanted it to be as simple as hating him and being disgusted by his actions, but it wasn’t. I was worried about someone taking a peek into the valley. I was concerned the first body that had gotten tossed into the river was going to wash up somewhere and lead back to him. I was uneasy that he might be gone now that there was nothing left for him to pretend to know how to fix. Not because I was afraid of his scary boss coming after me. It was more like I was nervous I would never see him again.
Lost in thought, I wandered from Banner’s place to the center of town, not sure where I should go next. Since it was the start of high season, the city center was busy, and most of the restaurants and shops were open much later than they were the rest of the year. I still had on Risky’s smoke-scented jacket, and luckily, I’d grabbed my phone and wallet before Banner brought me down the pass. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to try to get a hotel room for the night or find a ride home. I felt like a coward, avoiding Risky and the rubble, but a girl deserved a couple of days to get her head on straight.
Since I couldn’t decide what my next move was, I decided to pop into the busy brewery and get myself an overpriced beer. I was forced to stop and converse with a couple of locals on my way to the bar. Of course, the talk of the town was the fire, and I could feel curious eyes prying into my back and following my every move as I maneuvered through the crowd. The speculation and curiosity were noisier than usual, but thankfully, it was mostly drowned out by the sound of out-of-towners getting drunk and letting loose. It was easy to blend in with a bunch of strangers if I kept my head down.
It took forever to get the beer, and once it was in front of me, half of it sloshed out of the pint glass when my elbow was bumped by a rowdy guy with a man bun and sunburn. He profusely apologized and promptly bought me another.
I decided to find a place to sit that wasn’t stacked with people on top of people. I settled outside under one of the heaters, tucking my hands into the sleeves of the jacket so they didn’t freeze. I nodded to a gaggle of obviously drunk girls who asked if they could take the extra chairs for their group. My nose was getting cold, and I was hungry since I hadn’t eaten the sandwich Banner had made me.
I realized I was feeling sorry for myself and wondered if Banner was right about me being addicted to sympathy. It wasn’t something I ever asked for, but because I lived with misfortune at every step, it was the way many related to me. There was nothing anyone could do to turn my luck around, so they were left feeling sorry for me. Pity might be the only emotion I knew how to handle when it was handed down from others.
Risky had been the first to come along who handed me a wealth of endless compassion and empathy since my grandparents had passed. He forced me to look outside myself for the cause of every mishap, and once I identified the reason, it was much easier to avoid a repeat incident. Plus, ditching the problematic people in my life, who were all too willing to take advantage of my self-recrimination, cut down the number of catastrophes significantly. I just needed to get better at recognizing the foes hidden among my so-called friends much faster.
I dug my phone out of my pocket so I could figure out where I was going to spend the night when the sound of a chair scraping across the concrete patio caught my attention. I blinked at the older woman who sat herself across from me and settled in like she owned the place.
“Do you mind if I join you?” Her voice was cultured and smooth. Her hair was the color of snow and twisted into a fancy style at the back of her head. She wore an expensive leather trench coat that matched the gloves on her hands, and boots with an insane heel, considering the weather. She was absolutely stunning and looked vaguely familiar.
“Not at all.”
The brewery was crowded, and places to sit were limited. I didn’t need to have the entire table to myself. I felt I needed to give her a warning, just in case she was hoping to make a new friend or be entertained.
“I’m not the best company right now, but help yourself.” I glanced down at my phone and saw I had several missed calls from Risky and a text message from my mother, which I had no plans to answer.
“That’s fine. How about I talk and you listen?”
My head jerked up, and I stared at her, unsure if it was worth putting her in her place or if I should get up and walk away. I’d already fought with Banner tonight. I didn’t know if I had more energy to go back and forth with a stranger.
“I’ve had a rough few days. I’m not in the mood for small talk. Sorry.”
I downed the beer in front of me and got ready to leave when her words stopped me in my tracks.
“My name is Karsen Booker. Declan Risk used to work for me.”