Page 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“ I told you, he rammed into me. Twice.”

Detective Pollard nodded at Aspen the way people do when they think you’re insane but don’t want to say so.

Garrett could feel fury dripping off her body like the snow from her parka.

They’d been at the police station for an hour at least. Aspen had told a uniformed officer her story no fewer than three times before this detective, a fifty-something man with a full head of curly black hair—brought them into a small conference room. The door was closed, but through the window in the door, Garrett could see a handful of officers going about their evening business.

“How long had he been following you?” Pollard asked.

“He hadn’t been. He came flying up behind me.”

“And then he just rammed you?”

“I thought he was trying to pass me, but then his car hit mine.”

“Why didn’t you just pull over?”

“Where? There’s no shoulder. It’s not like?—”

“There’s a shoulder on Rattlesnake.” The man said the words as if Aspen were crazy. Or lying.

“Not past the condos.” Garrett had been trying to stay out of it. He had nothing to offer but moral support. But Pollard was seriously getting on his nerves. “The road’s barely wide enough for two cars. And with the snowbank?—”

As if Aspen weren’t there, Pollard responded to Garrett with, “She could’ve pulled over onto the dirt, though.”

Garrett forced his tone to stay even. “It’s not dirt, it’s snow, and she’s not a local. She doesn’t know how to drive in the?—”

“All right, all right.” He waved off Garrett’s words and focused on Aspen. “Look, I’m not saying nobody hit you. But how can you be sure it wasn’t an accident?”

“Twice, detective. He hit me twice. ”

“Even still, it could have been an accident. And it sounds like he came to help you, but you took off.”

“It didn’t feel like he was coming to help me.”

The detective’s gaze flicked to Garrett with a definite Can you believe this woman? look. “What would that feel like, exactly?”

She took a steadying breath, and when she spoke, it was with slow, even words. “He never called out to me. He never said anything.”

“What should he have said?”

“I don’t know,” she snapped. “How about, ‘Hey, you okay?’ Or ‘Don’t worry, help is on the way.’ He also wasn’t running. Wouldn’t you run, detective? If you saw a car go off the road, saw a car about to go over a cliff, wouldn’t you pick up the pace a little?”

The man made a note on a little notepad.

A thought occurred to Garrett. “Did anybody call it in?”

The detective glanced up from his paper. “Only Miss Kincaid.”

“Don’t you suppose someone who was there to help would have called 9-1-1?”

“Assuming there was someone, service is spotty?—”

“Are you calling her a liar ?” Garrett asked.

“Not a liar.” He stretched his lips into what he must have thought passed for a smile. “Just confused.”

Confused.

Oh.

“I. Am. Not. My. Mother.” Aspen’s words were spoken slowly and deliberately.

“Just calm down, ma’am.”

Before Aspen could spout a scathing reply—not that the detective didn’t deserve it—Garrett said, “Someone ran her off the road. It’s been over an hour. Why hasn’t anyone called it in?”

Pollard gave Garrett an indulgent smile that made his fists clench. “We’ll look into it.” He turned back Aspen. “So you say he rammed into you.”

Garrett growled under his breath. If this guy hadn’t been a cop, he’d have punched him already.

“And then what happened?”

“And then my car hit the snow and?—”

“I thought you said you drove an SUV.”

Aspen ground her teeth so loudly that Garrett winced at the sound. She took a breath and started again. “And then my small SUV hit the snowbank and went over. I remember seeing a tree and swerved to avoid it. The car must’ve gone up an incline because it flipped onto its side.”

“How fast were you going?”

“Not very, but I didn’t check the speedometer. I was too focused on the guy trying to kill me.”

“People get into accidents all the time, ma’am. I’m sure he was just trying to get past you. Are you sure you didn’t just run off the road accidentally? Maybe you imagined?—”

“I didn’t imagine it.”

The detective smiled as if he found her amusing.

That did it for Garrett. He stood. “Is this funny ?”

The man’s smile faded. “You can sit down, sir, or you can leave.”

“So you can ridicule her in peace? I don’t think so.”

The man pointed with his chin to the chair Garrett had vacated. “Your choice.”

But through the glass door, he caught sight of the police chief stepping into the building. Garrett reached for Aspen. “Come on.”

She took his hand. Hers was still freezing, no doubt a result of scrambling through the woods with no gloves on—and the chilly treatment she’d gotten from this incompetent jerk.

Pollard said, “If you want to give your statement, sit down.”

Before Garrett could tell the guy where he could shove his notebook, Aspen said, “We’ll just go talk to your boss. We’ll be sure to tell him how helpful you’ve been.”

Garrett couldn’t help the smug look he gave the other man as he followed her to the door.

He hoped it was justified and the chief would take her seriously.

She’d already spotted Cote and beelined past the officers and desks to where he stood on the far side of the room. “Can we talk to you please?”

“Sure. Sorry I didn’t get back to you. I was driving into town when I heard what happened.” Cote led them into a glass-fronted office. His, according to the nameplate on the desk. The chief directed them to two chairs and closed the door.

“FYI,” Garrett said, “Pollard’s a piece of crap.”

Cote sat on the far side of the desk without comment about his detective. He spoke to Aspen. “How you holding up?”

“I’ll be all right.”

“You gave your statement already?”

“For as much good as it’ll do. Your detective seems to have gotten me confused with my mother. He thinks I’m either lying or insane.”

Cote squinted the tiniest bit as he glanced beyond them and through the window into the larger room. He masked the expression quickly. “I’ll take care of it. Tell me what happened.”

Once more, Aspen related the events from the time she spotted the headlights in her rearview mirror to when Garrett picked her up. Cote took no notes, just listened, nodding along.

When she was finished, he turned to Garrett. “Did you see anybody?”

“Just Aspen.”

“Any cars?”

“No, but I was only there for a minute.”

“You were home when she called?”

“On my way there, which is how I got to her so quickly.”

“Where’d you been?”

It was a strange question, considering Garrett had nothing to do with anything. Rather than question the chief, he simply answered. “After I left Aspen’s—I’m her general contractor—I drove to my aunt and uncle’s house.”

“How long were you there?”

“They weren’t home.”

Now, Cote’s eyebrows lifted. For the first time, he made a note on a pad on his desk. “Did you call them?”

Garrett shifted, suddenly nervous as if he’d done something wrong. “Why does it matter?”

“Just trying to get a sense of the timeline here.”

The answer didn’t make sense, but Cote didn’t explain further.

A beat of silence passed before Garrett said, “I called, but they didn’t answer.”

Another note on the pad. “And after you picked Aspen up, you came straight here?”

Garrett was about to answer, but Cote’s phone rang. He grabbed it, spoke a moment, then set it down. To Aspen, he said, “Your car’s being pulled out. They’ll tow it to Larry’s.”

“Where’s that?”

Garrett said, “I know it. It’s in town.”

“Is it…?” She’d held up well so far, but now her voice cracked. “Do you know what kind of shape it’s in?”

“Pretty banged up,” Cote said. “You’re very lucky you got out before it went over the edge. Fortunately, it didn’t go all the way down, so we were able to pull it up. There are other places up there where the drop-off’s much deeper. Your car only fell about twenty feet before it landed head first.”

Twenty feet? Garrett hated to think what sort of shape Aspen would have been in after that, assuming she even survived. He slid closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Thank God, thank God she’d gotten out. The very thought of what could have happened if she hadn’t…

Or if that person had found her.

He couldn’t stand the thought of someone hurting Aspen. Somehow, in the space of a week, she had become immensely important to him. He could see himself falling for her. Maybe he was already halfway there.

But somebody had run her off the road. And in that spot, on the edge of the mountain, right by that steep drop-off, if she’d been going the speed limit… If she hadn’t been able to stop…

He had no doubt the person who hit her had planned for her to careen over the edge.

Someone had tried to kill her.

“What did you guys find?” Garrett asked. “Evidence of other cars, anybody else there?”

“There are other prints. Somebody was tromping around in the woods. The only question is, why. Were they there to help, or harm?”

Aspen explained again why she’d believed the second, and Cote listened carefully, nodding as if he agreed.

When she was finished, he said, “Definitely suspicious. And nobody’s called it in, either.”

Cote was taking it seriously. Thank God.

“We’re already talking to local body shops, asking them to alert us if anybody brings in a car with damage to the right side. You didn’t get a plate number, make, model?”

“It was a sedan. White, maybe, or silver. I don’t know. It was so dark.”

He made a note of that. “And you didn’t see the driver?” When she shook her head, he asked, “One person in the car? Two?”

“I don’t know.”

After they went over the details one more time, Aspen asked, “Can I get my things out of my car?”

“Of course. It should be in the lot soon.” Cote looked from Aspen to Garrett and back. “This, coupled with the break-in at your house the other day… I wish I could offer you protection, but it doesn’t work that way. You have to be prepared to protect yourself.”

Garrett thought of the handgun she’d relinquished when they’d walked into the station. At least she’d been wearing it, but no handgun would protect her from a madman trying to run her off the road.

“What do you suggest I do?” she asked.

“Maybe you should find a place to stay out of town, and don’t tell anybody where you’re going. And, maybe”—again, his gaze flicked to Garrett—“don’t stay alone.”

He would stay with her. If that was what it took to keep her safe, he’d do it.

But with the attraction he felt, and considering their kiss the other night, would that be wise?

Did he care?

“Do you mind if I ask…?” Cote rested his arms on the desk and leaned toward her. “Why are you in Coventry, Miss Kincaid?”

“My father bought that house. It’s mine.” She spoke the words as if she felt she had to defend herself.

Cote’s expression was patient, but he said nothing.

She sat up straighter. “I want to find out what happened to my mother.”

“Ah.” He leaned back. “You and a whole lot of other people. What makes you think you can solve that mystery?”

“I don’t know that I can. But I have to try. For my father’s sake. He asked me to.”

“He did? He asked you to do that?”

“He said to do right by her. How can I do that if I don’t find her?”

Cote regarded her for a long moment. Garrett had the sense that there was something he was holding back. Something he wanted to say.

But he opened his desk drawer and fished around. “I already have your number.” He pulled out a business card and handed it across the desk. “Now, you have mine. If you have an emergency, call 9-1-1 first. Then call me.”

Garrett stood and waited until Aspen did the same. “Pollard won’t be running the investigation?” Garrett clarified.

“He works for me,” Cote said. “I’ll take care of what happened earlier.”

That wasn’t exactly an answer, but Garrett knew when he’d pushed his luck far enough.

The chief walked them to the door. “Rest assured, I’m taking this seriously. Where will you stay tonight?”

She pressed her lips together and shrugged.

“Let me know where you land—not back at your house. Until we figure out what’s going on, you’re not safe there. Understood?”

“Maybe they have a room at the hotel,” she said.

Cote’s frown reflected Garrett’s feelings about that. The hotel would be the most obvious place to look for her.

No, she wouldn’t be staying there. “I’ll find her a place.” Garrett turned to Aspen. “Someplace nobody will think to look for you. Someplace you’ll be safe.”

They left the police station, and Garrett drove Aspen to her house. Based on the way she hurried to her front door, her gaze darting all around, he guessed she was as nervous to be there as he was. After he made sure nobody was there, she packed a bag quickly. Five minutes after they arrived, they drove away.

Nothing had happened. Nobody had been there. Still, Garrett wondered how many minutes he’d shaved off his lifespan with the worry and stress of those moments.

Not that he minded. Whatever it took to keep Aspen safe.

Twenty-five minutes later, he pulled into the lot at Larry’s Auto Body. He and Aspen climbed from the car when the flatbed turned in just a few moments later. It drove under the lights in the parking lot, and he got his first look at Aspen’s SUV.

And swallowed hard.

Beside him, Aspen gasped.

The front-end was smashed to pieces. The hood was bent. The windshield shattered.

Garrett urged Aspen close by his side to remind himself that she was all right. She must have gotten out before most of that damage had happened. But the impact of what might have been…

She turned to him, and he wrapped her in his arms. He didn’t know what to say. His emotions rose so fast, so powerfully, he was afraid to speak, afraid they’d leak out. Fury and rage at whoever had done that. Terror, thinking of what could have happened. Thinking of how he’d almost lost her.

This woman he hadn’t known two weeks before suddenly meant everything. And someone had tried to take her away from him.

Someone had tried to kill her.

She sobbed against his chest, and tears stung his own eyes. He would do anything in his power to keep her safe. But what could he do?

Who would do this? This was his town. These were his people. Surely none of them would have attempted murder. But if not a local, then who? Who would want her dead? And why?

Aspen sniffed and leaned back. “It all just hit me.”

“Me too.” He didn’t let her go, just gazed down at her. “I’m going to keep you safe. I promise. We’ll find a place for you.”

“I feel like I should tell you I can take care of myself. I’m not some damsel in distress.”

“Of course you’re not.” He looked at the place where the flatbed had disappeared around the corner of the building. “If you were, he’d have gotten to you. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need help. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”

“Good, because I wasn’t about to refuse it.”

He loved that humility, that authenticity. He realized there were a whole lot of things he loved about Aspen Kincaid.

“We should probably…” She stepped out of his arms and turned, seeming to steel herself for the job.

Though the car was out of sight, the sounds of the chains that had held her car in place being tossed aside reached them. Metal scraped against metal, the low hum of an engine roaring to life.

He took her hand. “Come on. Let’s see if anything’s salvageable.”

Together, they rounded the building and stopped beside the wreckage.

Larry caught sight of them and yanked off his gloves as he walked their way. “Garrett. This isn’t your car, is it?”

“It’s mine,” Aspen said.

Larry shifted to her. He was heavyset, in his thirties with longish mousy brown hair and greasy fingernails. He looked her up and down, not in a lascivious way but with surprise. “Did you push it over yourself? You’ve got nary a scratch.”

Larry was the type of guy to use the word nary.

“I managed to get out before it went over.”

Larry nodded like he was impressed. “God had His eye on you, my friend.”

“I have no doubt that’s true.”

He turned to the wrecked car. “Haven’t gone through it yet. Cote said you can take anything you can find, just don’t touch the outside.”

Aspen didn’t move toward the vehicle, though. She seemed frozen in place.

“I can do it, if you want.” At her nod, Garrett walked toward the mangled metal, sucking in a deep breath as he did. It was all too much to consider, and he certainly didn’t want to start considering it at that moment. With Larry’s help, he got a rear door open and crawled inside.

Her purse was there, zipped up tight, thank heavens, so her things weren’t all over the place. He grabbed it and crawled back out. When he handed it to her, he said, “This is all that’s in there.”

“The rest is in the back.”

Of course it was.

He anticipated trouble with the hatch, but aside from a few scrapes, it was undamaged. He opened it and slid back the cover used to hide cargo from passersby. He found a few plastic shopping bags, one from an electronics store. He peeked inside.

A new laptop.

He hefted the packages, and Larry slammed the hatch shut. “It all looks fine, even the laptop.”

Aspen smiled for the first time since Garrett had picked her up on the mountain road. “Amazing.”

Garrett handed Aspen the lighter bags and turned to Larry. “What do you think? Can it be repaired?”

The man chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”

He had been. There was no salvaging that mess. Garrett focused on Aspen. “Sorry, babe.” Babe? Had he just called her babe ?

But she either didn’t hear or didn’t mind. “It’s not like we’ve grown attached, the car and me. I only owned it for a week. I’m just thankful it held up.”

He seconded that.

With her purchases in the back of his truck, they said goodbye to Larry, and he backed out of the parking spot. But he didn’t leave the lot. It was after eight, and he hadn’t eaten dinner yet. “How about we pick up a pizza? There’s a great place in town.”

“Okay.” Her voice was small, as if she were fighting emotions. Rather than question her—who wouldn’t be emotional after the night she’d had?—he simply squeezed her hand before fishing his phone from his pocket. “What’s your poison?”

“I like everything but green peppers and mushrooms.”

When he ordered a small goat cheese and pear pizza, her eyebrows lifted suspiciously. He winked at her, then added a traditional pie—this one with every kind of meat a person could want. They wouldn’t finish them both, but he was never sorry to have leftover pizza in the fridge.

“It’ll take about fifteen minutes,” he said. “It’s only a five-minute drive. We’ll just stay here out of sight until it’s ready.”

She nodded, leaned back, and closed her eyes.

While they waited, he texted Dylan, told him what happened, and asked if there was any chance Aspen could stay with him and Chelsea. Because of Chelsea’s position as owner and CEO of HCI—not to mention the trouble she and her family had had in the past—their house’s security was top notch. Aspen would be safe there.

But Garrett got a response almost immediately. Wish we could help. We’re in NY and won’t be home until Friday. If she still needs a place to stay after that, we’ll be happy to have her.

So much for that idea.

Garrett and his friends had a group chat, so he texted it, asking if anybody had any ideas.

He got responses immediately. Fitz offered his place, but hadn’t Aspen told Garrett Tabby’s mother was staying there? He’d only met Mrs. Eaton a few times, but she could be a lot to take.

James offered his place, as did Braden. Both of them had new babies at home, though. They were kind to offer, but there had to be a solution that didn’t put anybody out.

Reid didn’t text back. Garrett guessed it was Ella’s bedtime because he had no doubt Reid would offer their place as well.

But it was Andrew’s response Garrett was hoping for. I just texted Grace. She’d love to have Aspen stay with her.

That was the perfect solution. Grace didn’t have a baby at home or a mother staying with her or a five-year-old. She had an extra room, which he knew was furnished, since she’d fostered a little girl for months. The girl had been returned to her family, so the room was available. And Grace lived within spitting distance of Garrett. He could see her front door from his.

That would be great, Garrett told his friend. I’ll text her myself, work out the details.

He did, and a moment later, Grace responded. Happy to have her, but I’m in town for an event at the youth center. I’ll be home by ten. She can come here for the key, if she’s in a hurry to get in.

Aspen was leaning against the passenger door, eyes closed.

“Grace said you can stay with her. She lives near me, and Andrew lives across the lot from her. You should be safe there.”

Aspen’s eyes opened. “If you think it’s all right.”

“Safer than the hotel. I’d have you stay with me, but...” He shrugged.

She met his gaze and then looked away quickly, though he caught the small smile in the darkness. “Maybe that’s not such a good idea.”

He felt a twinge of pleasure to know that, apparently, her mind had gone to the same place his had. Not that either of them would let their bodies follow, but the memory of their kiss suddenly felt like a solid presence between them.

He was looking forward to having a second kiss. But definitely not moments before she tucked into his extra bedroom. He wouldn’t get any sleep at all.

“Thing is, Grace won’t be home until ten. She said you could come by where she is and get the key, but… not that I have any right to say, but I’d rather you not be alone. You could just stay at my condo until she’s home.”

“If it’s no trouble.”

As if he wanted her anyplace but at his side. Shifting into drive, he said, “Pizza should be ready any minute, and I’m starving.”