Page 50 of Out of Time (Undaunted Courage #3)

TWENTY-NINE

brAD TOOK THE DRIVE UP to Natalie’s house far faster than was prudent, gravel pinging against the underside of the cruiser.

But cars were replaceable.

People weren’t.

He skidded to a stop on the circle drive behind Cara’s Accord, set the brake, and vaulted from the car.

As he strode up the walk and ascended the steps to the galérie, he scanned the property. All appeared quiet.

Didn’t mean a thing.

Sometimes the quietest moments held the deepest danger.

He rang the bell, trying to curb his impatience as he waited for Natalie to answer.

At last the muffled sound of a sliding bolt broke the silence. Seconds later she opened the door. “Sorry to keep you waiting. It seems I move slower every day.”

“Is Steven back?”

“No. Would you like to come in and wait?”

“Yes, but I want to swing by the cottage first. Give me a few minutes.”

“Don’t rush on my account. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“If it’s not too much trouble.” Wired as he was, he didn’t need the caffeine. But juggling a mug would keep his hands occupied.

“It’s no trouble. Do you want to cut through the house?”

“No. I’ll circle around from the outside.”

“I’ll unlock the back door for you. Come in through there after you finish.”

He acknowledged her comment with a dip of his head, then descended the steps and took off at a jog around the house, scrutinizing the cottage at the back of the yard after it came into view.

Nothing appeared to be amiss.

Hopefully, his worry was for naught. Cara would be hard at work on her laptop or engrossed in one of the books she’d borrowed from the study in the main house.

At her door, he gave a soft knock.

No response.

He tried again, rapping harder. With her hearing issues, it was possible she hadn’t heard his first attempt.

Still nothing.

He frowned.

Could she have turned off her implants?

He crossed to the window, cupped his hands around his face, and peered in.

The cottage was empty.

A tingle of alarm raced through him.

Since she wasn’t at the main house and her car was in front, she had to be on the property.

But where?

Had she decided to take a hike around the lake on this beautiful day?

She’d said she’d given those up after he’d expressed concern about her wandering around alone, but what if she’d changed her mind?

What if she’d run into Steven?

He tamped down a surge of panic.

It shouldn’t matter if they’d met up. The man would have no reason to hurt her.

Yet he’d had no apparent reason to hurt Micah, either.

And Micah was dead.

Pulse kicking into high gear, he texted Larry with a request for backup before jogging back toward the main house. It wouldn’t hurt to have his chief deputy on hand in case this went south.

As he drew close, Natalie came out onto the galérie. “Is everything all right?”

“Cara’s not in the cottage. I’m going to see if I can find her. Do me a favor and bolt all the doors while I’m gone.”

Her eyebrows rose. “What if Steven comes back?”

“Talk to him through a window. Ask him to wait outside.”

Natalie blinked. “Why?”

“It would be safer.”

“I’m not afraid of Steven.”

“Trust me on this, Natalie.” He began backing up. “If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize to both of you later. But if I’m not, at least you’ll be secure until I get back.” He swiveled around and took off at a fast trot.

He couldn’t make Natalie follow his instructions. All he could do was hope she listened to him.

Because if Steven had somehow realized that the risk of exposure for whatever he was up to had escalated, no one would be safe.

Including the cousin who’d never shown him anything but kindness and love.

“STEVEN ... I DON’T UNDERSTAND what’s going on.” Cara pushed aside a branch as they ascended the trail to the cliff. Maybe if she could get him to talk, she could buy herself a few more minutes.

“You don’t have to understand.”

His reply was a bit garbled, but she got the gist.

He didn’t want to talk.

She surveyed the path ahead.

They were halfway to the top of the cliff, and the clock was ticking down fast.

It couldn’t hurt to try again to engage him. What did she have to lose?

“Look ... you don’t have to do whatever you’re planning to do.” She stopped and pivoted toward him. “I don’t know anything about whatever you’ve got going on.”

“You know about the bracelet. And I pulled a gun on you. Your sheriff friend wouldn’t be happy about that.”

“I don’t have to tell him about it.”

Steven barked out a laugh. “Like that’s gonna happen.”

“Even if I did tell him, pulling a gun is far less of a crime than using it.”

“I’m hoping I don’t have to do that. Get moving.” He waved the gun toward the trail. “And pick up the pace. You’re going too slow.”

“The path is overgrown.”

“Yeah.” He surveyed the trail ahead. “I suppose Micah was good for something. But he ended up being as much of a problem as you did.”

Cara’s lungs stalled. “Are you saying you ... that he didn’t drown?”

“No. He did drown—with a little help.”

As the man’s comment sank in, two facts registered.

Steven had killed Micah.

And if he was willing to admit his culpability, he couldn’t let her live to tell that tale.

Cara began to shake.

She had to come up with a strategy to foil his plan. Now.

“Keep going.” Steven pointed the gun at her again.

Doing her best to rein in her snowballing panic, she stumbled forward, moving as slow as possible. They were approaching the top too quickly, and her brain felt mired in muck.

A bramble snagged her sleeve, halting her forward momentum.

“Now what?” Steven sounded annoyed.

“I’m stuck on a thorny vine.”

“Pull it off.”

She pretended to focus on freeing her sleeve, but in reality she was concentrating on getting her brain in gear.

Could she enlist Steven’s help with the barbed stem? Draw him close enough to perhaps kick the gun out of his hand?

Problem was, the path was narrow, the brush on either side was too thick to plunge through, and he was a lot stronger than she was. It would be better to find an open spot for her kick, where she had room to maneuver and could attempt to outrun him.

At a sudden prick on her finger, she jerked her hand back. “Ouch!”

Muttering a word that burned her ears, Steven moved closer, jabbed the gun into her kidney again, and yanked the bramble free of her sweater. “You’re more trouble than Micah was.”

The coldness in his eyes sent a shiver through her.

“Why did you kill him, Steven?” She searched his face. “He never did anything to you.”

A muscle in his jaw clenched. “He saw too much. Like you did. But I had time to plan with him.”

Keep him talking while you think, Cara.

“You did an impressive job.” She tried to inject a note of admiration into her voice without gagging. “It looked like an accident.” Even if Natalie had her doubts and Brad was still investigating the death.

“That was the plan.”

“You must have mapped it out to the last detail, minute by minute.”

It was possible he’d tell her to shut up again—but if he wanted to brag about his plotting skills, she’d listen. That would eke out a few more minutes for her.

He took the bait.

“Yeah. I did.”

“I thought you left the night before Micah died.”

A smirk twisted his lips. “So did everyone else. But I hung out down the road.”

“And you came back Sunday?”

“Yes. Early. I went down to Micah’s cabin before dawn, hid outside, and played a YouTube video of a whimpering raccoon.

He could never resist an injured animal.

When he came out to investigate, I hit him with a pipe.

Once I got him into the boat, all I had to do was inject him with the sux I’d brought and dump him over the side. ”

At his matter-of-fact recounting of the ruthless murder, Cara groped for the tree next to her. Held on.

How could she have been fooled by the pleasant facade he’d displayed to the world?

But Natalie had been duped too, and she’d known Steven far longer.

Despite the nausea threatening to choke her, she forced out another question. “What’s sux?”

“A drug that causes short-term paralysis. Vets use a ton of it. I knew it would keep Micah immobilized if he woke up while I was trying to get him into the water.”

“Also while he was drowning.” This man was heartless.

“That too.”

“Weren’t you worried it would show up in the drug screening the coroner did?”

“No. He’d have to test for it specifically, and why would he? The cause of death was obvious. Drowning.” Steven’s eyes narrowed. “You’re only delaying the inevitable, you know. And I don’t want to be gone too long from the house. Natalie will wonder what I’m doing. Start walking.”

She turned back to the path and began to climb again, her heart picking up speed as her palms grew clammy.

They were getting very close to the top.

And unless there was room up there to maneuver ... unless she got an opportunity to deliver a well-placed kick ... unless the clifftop offered an escape route ... her life could be over in a handful of minutes.

HE COULD CALL OUT TO CARA. See if she answered.

But as Brad took the path from the cottage toward the lake, his gut told him to stay quiet.

And he always listened to his gut.

In fact, he took extra pains to keep his footfalls as silent as possible.

Of course, there was a chance he’d come across Steven and Cara either individually or together, both out for an innocent walk.

That was the best-case outcome.

Worst case, he’d be plunged into danger.

That’s why Larry was en route, with instructions to come in quietly and text once he arrived.

It was also why his hand wasn’t straying far from his pistol.

As Brad approached the offshoot trail that led to the clifftop, he paused. Leaned close to examine the broken branches along the edge of the overgrown trail that indicated someone had ventured that way in the recent past.

Deer were a distinct possibility.

He hesitated.

The most prudent course seemed to be to continue on, toward the lake. It was doubtful Cara would tackle the overgrown track, and Natalie had said Steven intended to go to the lake.