Chapter 2
When Troy’s truck pulled into the parking lot of RTA, Lakin noticed immediately.
Even if she hadn’t seen the rusted old pickup through the office’s big windows, she would have known.
She’d always been able to sense when he was close; it was as if her whole body tingled with awareness of him.
Before she could disengage from the client talking her ear off on the telephone, he was gone again.
He’d been heading toward the office when Hetty caught up with him. She knew, of course, that Hetty was still recovering from her gunshot wound. But was Troy limping, too?
Maybe he’d just been stiff from the long trip from the offshore oil rigs. Of course he wouldn’t have been shot like Hetty. Nothing bad could have happened to him, or someone would have notified her or at least his family.
Troy and Hetty probably had a lot to catch up on, and that was why he’d left.
But without even stopping by the office to give her a quick kiss?
If she hadn’t been on the phone with a client, she would have run out to greet him like she always did.
She’d missed him so much when he was gone that she couldn’t wait to see his handsome face again, to kiss him, to hug him.
And he hadn’t even stuck his head in the office to smile at her before leaving again?
Maybe he’d found out what she’d done, and he was mad at her.
But only a few people besides her knew. And her dad wouldn’t share her secret until she started sharing it herself. He understood her reasons for wanting to keep it quiet until she was ready to announce it to other members of their family. They might be the hardest to tell. And Troy…
Would he be happy about it?
Unfortunately she doubted it. He was so determined to wait, and not just when it came to starting their business together.
He seemed determined to wait for them to start their life together as well.
Marriage. A family. All the things they’d been talking about since they started dating in high school and he’d finally realized what she’d known all along: they were soulmates.
But now, it seemed like he wasn’t in any hurry to give her the commitment she wanted.
Maybe she was just letting Billy Hoover and Eric Seller’s comments get to her.
Instead of understanding Troy’s reasons for working on the oil rigs, she was beginning to think they were just excuses to put off their future.
Maybe she was just getting sick of waiting for Troy. And sick of missing him.
She was so sick of it that she felt nauseous. Or was that nerves churning her stomach because she was worried that he was going to be angry with her? Not that he really had any reason to be, not after going so long with so little communication. If anyone should be angry, it should be her.
If only she didn’t love him so damn much…
He was a good guy. So protective and loyal and caring. All he wanted to do was help the people he loved.
But was she still one of those people?
“You don’t look so good,” Parker said the minute he stepped out of his private office.
The administrative building was a big old cabin and felt more like a home than a workspace.
The floor was polished concrete, and there was wood everywhere and big, thickly cushioned leather furniture where guests and family often lounged while waiting for a tour to start.
Parker hadn’t even walked up to her desk before he made his pronouncement.
He was perceptive as ever. He’d taken RTA to the next level, rebranding the company after their father and uncle retired and making it even more successful than it had been.
Lakin loved working with him and had learned so much from him that she had the skills to run her own business now.
She just needed help—the partnership she’d dreamed of having, in every aspect of their lives, with Troy.
“Lakin?” Parker asked, his voice deep with concern. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, then grimaced at the tension headache forming behind her eyes. That, coupled with some nausea, made her wonder if she had picked up a virus.
She was pretty sure it was just stress. If she admitted that to her brother, though, he would want to fix it. Her three older brothers had always been super protective of her, just like Troy; that was probably the only reason they’d accepted him as her boyfriend, because he was so much like them.
Maybe she should have been offended that they didn’t think she could protect herself, but like Troy, she loved them so damn much that she could never be angry with them. They were the best big brothers she could ever imagine anyone having.
“I’m fine,” she tried to assure him. “Just probably not sleeping well right now.”
Because of what she’d done…and that feeling she’d been having that someone was watching her. But who…and why?
“I don’t think anyone is sleeping well right now,” Parker said. “Not with some maniac out there abducting and killing women. Are you sure you shouldn’t be staying with Dad and Mom instead of in that cabin all by yourself?”
“I’m fine,” she repeated. “I lock my doors and windows and keep an eye out.” Even though she’d been super careful, she hadn’t figured out who was watching her. Maybe nobody was, and she was just being paranoid because of the killer.
“That’s good,” Parker said. “And I’m sure Eli will find the bastard soon and put him behind bars for the rest of his life.”
“I hope he finds Dawn Ellis soon,” Lakin said, “and alive and well.” She’d never met the missing young woman, but she was worried about her.
Parker nodded. “Yeah, me, too.” He stepped closer to the reception desk and narrowed his eyes as he studied her face. He must have noticed the dark circles under her eyes. “Go home and get some rest. I’ll handle the office for the rest of the day.”
She smiled. “It’s almost quitting time.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. That’s why I can handle it on my own.”
He was obviously on his way out, so she shouldn’t take him up on his offer. But she was feeling too sick, with nerves and a bad stomach and a headache, to stay. So she grabbed her bag and headed toward the door.
“Hey, you didn’t drive here?” Parker asked. He must have looked out at the parking lot and noticed her SUV wasn’t there.
“No. I left my vehicle at the cabin.”
“Let me lock up and walk you to your place,” Parker said.
She laughed and shook her head. “You’re not getting off desk duty that easily,” she said. “We’re getting a delivery with the toner I need for the printer, and someone has to be here for them to leave it.”
Parker groaned.
“You just have to—”
“I know how to sign for a package,” he told her. “I don’t like you walking by yourself.”
“I walk by myself all the time,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”
“Lakin—”
“I know,” she said before he could bring up the serial killer again. “I’m always aware of my surroundings, and I’m very cautious. I’ll be fine.”
Parker still looked worried, but he nodded begrudgingly.
She understood his concern. Her own worries didn’t end when she stepped outside into the cool afternoon air.
What would Parker do when she wasn’t here to help him? She felt a twinge of guilt that she wanted to leave. RTA was family, and she felt like she was betraying them. But if she had help with her new venture, she would be able to train her replacement. If she had Troy…
She needed to talk to him. Really talk. Of course, usually after these long stretches apart, talking was the last thing they did.
First she ran to him and leaped into his arms, then wrapped hers around his neck and pulled his head down for her kisses.
Just thinking about his mouth against hers, his strong arms holding her, had her flesh tingling and heating up.
Her legs weakened a bit, and she nearly stumbled as she walked toward her cabin. It was farthest from the office and close to the woods. She’d chosen it because she liked the solitude of being farther away from the other cabins, especially when Troy was home from the oil rigs.
But now…
She shivered at the isolation as she passed the last unoccupied cabin. She’d parked her SUV at her cabin when she came back from Roasters that morning, but she wished now that she’d parked at the office.
No. She spent entirely too much time at her desk and liked to walk outside as much as she could, whenever she could.
While she liked to be outside for the fresh air, she wasn’t into the extreme outdoor adventures her family business offered.
She preferred her cabin and her soft bed to a tent and a sleeping bag.
And the farthest she liked to hike was to her cabin from the office.
That was a moot point now. After what she’d done, she wasn’t going to get much time outside, especially if she couldn’t convince Troy to help her with her new venture.
Maybe she shouldn’t be worried about him helping her; maybe she should be worried that he might break up with her over making such a big decision without discussing it with him.
But she’d tried.
He was the one who was out of touch for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. And that was getting old.
Especially now with a killer on the loose. Being alone so much was unnerving. Maybe Parker was right; maybe she should stay with Mom and Dad until the killer was caught.
Eli would catch him. Her big brother was the best agent with the Alaska Bureau of Investigations.
And this case was personal to him. She knew why; it reminded him of how he and Dad had found Aunt Caroline all those years ago.
Dressed up with a fake engagement ring on her finger, the young model had only been seventeen.
She hadn’t been anyone’s fiancée, but an obsessed fan had thought she was his.
He’d taken her life, her parents’ lives and his own.
And Dad and Eli, when he was just six or seven years old, had found their bodies.