Chapter 6
6
Hawk could be reading it all wrong. But he didn’t think he was.
Remi was holding back. Hiding something. And it was putting her in danger. He had to figure out how to get answers from her, but he could see in her eyes that she had made the decision to keep him uninformed. She had no idea who she was dealing with in him—and that could be part of the problem.
Hawk had been trained to find his way in the dark, so he had no doubt that he would learn the truth.
Remi pursed her lips, then lifted her cell, her eyes wide. “A text came through. I need to take this.”
He could just stand there and wait for her to read it, but her eyes flashed with irritation and she gave him a look.
“I know when I’m being dismissed.” He bit back any other words he might have said, like we need to talk or I’ll find you later . No need to ramp up her determination to keep him ignorant of the truth.
He closed the door behind him, frustration pulsing through him. Now what?
A terrible feeling brewed in his chest, and he wanted to get a handle on what was going on. He’d love to believe the shredded rope ladder could have been some kids playing a practical joke, not realizing the danger. Maybe they’d been scared and had come back to remove the stakes and evidence. Sure. That was possible. And the tree could have fallen because that’s what trees did, especially during storms.
In that case, the knife attack could have been random, and he was building a case out of nothing.
Except ... for Remi’s reaction. He needed to know more about the situation.
Not Remi herself. No, he didn’t want to know about her at all. Her eyes didn’t draw him in. Her determination and the mystery surrounding her didn’t intrigue him in the least. He would keep telling himself that because he couldn’t afford any kind of romantic entanglement, not until he finished his personal mission. No one deserved a guy like him.
Besides, Remi was giving him mixed signals with her suspicious looks. She had her own baggage, which prevented her from trusting, and he understood. Good for her. Trusting the wrong person could get her killed.
He moved into the great room feeling antsy and useless. Maybe he should back off and away from Remi’s trouble. That would be the smart thing to do. Guests gathered at the window that Hawk assumed was made of some kind of impact-resistant glass. He secured a chair with a view while he waited to see if he’d get another chance to speak with Remi. He remained by the window and chatted with a few folks, learning about their backgrounds and what brought them to the lodge, while they watched the waves crashing and building. Some oohed and aahed and others projected a respectful level of fear.
When Remi didn’t show up after half an hour, he decided he was done pestering her. Scratching his head, he stood and grabbed his jacket. He should get to his cabin or else he might have to spend the night in the chair. Best to be inside where he was warm and safe ... and unfortunately alone. He didn’t even have a dog to bring with him to keep him company.
No internet.
No television.
No cell signal.
Just Hawk all by his lonesome with his thoughts. Pulling his heavy rain jacket tight and his hood over his head, he exited the lodge and hiked to his cabin on the bluff.
Inside, he shrugged out of the coat and stoked the woodstove.
Cedar Trails Lodge was supposed to be a restful place to get away from the busyness and chaos of the world and offer the kind of answers that came to a person out of doing nothing at all.
His former CO, John, had urged him to come here, especially after the failed mission—a catastrophe, really—that got him fired and left his copilot and friend, Jake, dead. But Hawk could focus on his own problems after he figured out what was going on with Remi and why someone had targeted her. John couldn’t have foreseen this set of circumstances that would lead Hawk into solving a problem rather than getting rest.
The clock ticked as the storm’s energy built and the wind howled around the cabin, shaking it. He stood at the window of his cabin—the best one for a view—and let the height of the waves keep him on edge.
By now, most everyone was already holed up in their cabins, preparing to see the spectacle they’d come here to see with the series of winter storms. Eventually, they could expect gale-force winds, and he would hunker down like the rest of them. The cabin rattled, and Hawk began to question his decision to stay here, right over the bluff.
But wait...
He angled his head. He’d heard something. A branch knocking against the roof? No.
That was a knock at the door. In two steps he was there and opened it, surprised to find anyone out in the weather.
A medium-height figure wrapped in a heavy overcoat waited, so he could barely make out her face, but he recognized those eyes that stared back at him from beneath the dark hood. His first instinct was to reach forward and pull her inside and out of the weather, but he thought better of it and opened the door wide for her to enter on her own.
Instead, she simply stood there.
“You want to come in?” he asked.
“You left early. I needed to talk to you.” She sounded frustrated with him.
You could have fooled me. Their interaction felt like they’d known each other for years when they’d only met this morning.
“You could have just called,” he said. Oh, wait a minute. No cell service.
“I tried.”
“Well, either you come inside, or you go back without me talking to you because I’m not going back to the lodge in this.”
She blew out a breath, then stepped inside but kept her distance. He closed the door, which barely muted the sounds of the wind and rain and trees and waves. Nature’s wrath at its finest.
He held his hand out. “Coat?”
“I’m not staying long.” She dropped her hood, so he got to see her dark-auburn hair, partially wet after battling the rain on the hike to his cabin.
“This must be important for you to get out in this.”
“You were former Army. A pilot. A warrant officer, then?” She remained rigid and questioned him like she was practiced in interrogations and he was a suspect.
He ran his hand around his jaw and chin, scratching the stubble there. “Yes. Why?” He wished he’d said nothing, but the deputy had wanted his background.
“And since then, before coming here, what did you do?”
He frowned. “Why the third degree?” Why not just look him up on the internet? Oh, right. That wasn’t readily available here.
She stepped forward. “Hawk, I need to know.”
He looked into those earnest eyes that had turned a deep, mesmerizing blue now. She was scared, but not of him. Or if she was, why was she standing here alone in his cabin, facing off with him?
“I’ll tell you everything I can if you tell me why it’s important.”
Her hands shook as she fished something out of her pocket, then showed him two puzzle pieces. “Do you know anything about this?”
He took the two pieces from her. He couldn’t make anything out of the partial image. “What’s this? Part of a puzzle?” He handed the pieces back. “No idea.”
She looked at him long and hard. “If you’re the one who sent these to me—if you’re behind this—I want to know and I want to know now. I don’t have time for games.”
“What does my background have to do with anything? Why would you think I had anything to do with this?”
“You first. You said you would tell me everything.”
“Look, if I was the one to leave you the mysterious puzzle pieces, I could just lie about it.”
“I’m good at seeing through lies. I would see holes in your story eventually.”
This woman.
He didn’t need this kind of drama. Or maybe he did—it occupied his mind so he couldn’t think about himself and the crash and Jake. Oh, and the fact he didn’t have a job.
“I was 160th SOAR. Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). Night Stalkers.”
“And then what?”
He didn’t see that his past had any bearing on her current dilemma over a puzzle. “I was a deputy for the King County Sheriff’s Air Support Unit. Seattle’s the county seat. You can check it out if you want.” But please don’t. “Look, Remi. I’m one of the good guys. Whatever has got you freaked out about those puzzle pieces has nothing to do with me. And I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”
She bit her lip and frowned. “Then who left this for me? I wish I had cameras everywhere now, but that kind of defeats the ‘no technology’ theme going on at this place.”
“Does the puzzle have to do with the attack today? And if so, then why have you been targeted?”
Remi stared at him as if she was some kind of mind reader, penetrating his brain to find out if she could trust him. Then she turned her attention to the window and looked out at the storm, but he could tell she wasn’t seeing the display. The dark, furious clouds muted what remained of the fading sunlight anyway. She turned to open the door so she could walk back outside and into the storm. Hawk moved to stand in her path. He had to know.
“What’s your story? Why are you here? What did you do before?”
Her face twisted as her frown deepened. “I came here to remember.”
Funny, because Hawk had come here to forget.
“I shouldn’t have come to your cabin.” She tugged on her hood, moved past him to open the door, and stepped outside, then pressed into the chaos.
Hawk stood in the doorway and let the rain lash him as he watched her disappear into the woods, where nightfall had come quickly. Eventually the flashlight beam was lost in the darkness. Her determination reminded him of one of the 160th Airborne mottos. Night Stalkers don’t quit.
Then there was ... Death waits in the dark .