Page 81 of Unbearable
“I honestly didn’t know if you were serious or not,” he said. “I figured if you didn’t show in half an hour, I would just go back inside. Chalk it up to some twisted prank to get out of dinner.” He picked his bike up like it weighed nothing and slid it into the rack. “I’ve heard there are a couple of good trails in the White Mountains, but I’ve never ridden them myself. There’s just never enough time.”
“We can grab something to eat outside of the city. I made room reservations at a place my brother and I have stayed at in the past. It’s nothing fancy, but it does the job.” She climbedback into the driver’s seat. He stored his pack in the back and climbed in next to her.
“This is going to be great. I can’t believe I’m finally getting away for the weekend. Thanks for asking. I can’t wait to see what we do,” he added with a grin.
“Me too,” she answered, glad she had remembered to pack her ankle holster.
Sean wasn’t sure how the weekend, which had been full of promise, had turned out the way it had. He had finally gotten up the nerve to ask Dover on a date. It had been her idea to make it an entire weekend, though he didn’t hate the idea. Who wouldn’t want to spend two days with a gorgeous woman in the mountain air.
This wasn’t what he had in mind when he agreed, though. It had started out okay. They found a small diner that sold hamburgers and hand-cut fries somewhere between Boston and the New Hampshire border. He’d watched as she slowly relaxed in his company. It was a heady feeling knowing he could have that effect on her.
She was right about the hotel. It wasn’t going to win any awards, but the bed was soft, and the water was hot. They started out the next morning on a ten-mile easy trail just to get back into the mountain biking groove.
They moved on to a harder one before lunch. Then they transitioned to a remote trail that went deep into the woods later that afternoon. Where they had passed several bikers on the other trails, no one was on this one.
By nightfall, they found themselves at the very back of the trail near an old abandoned cabin. Dover stepped off her bikehalf a mile from the cabin and watched it for a few minutes. He leaned his bike against a tree. Fishing his water bottle out, he took a long drink.
“Need some?” he asked.
“Shh,” she answered. She was still staring at the cabin. To his amazement, she pulled a pair of high-powered binoculars out of her daypack.
“What are you looking at?” He was quieter this time when he spoke.
“There was a sighting of Edmund Anderson in this area.”
“Are you kidding me? Is this what all this weekend thing was about? Catching the very person you were told to let the FBI handle?” He shoved the bottle back in his pack.
“Shh. I’m just going to take a look.” She eased toward the cabin. He shook his head and followed her. “Get down. I don’t want to alert him that we’re here, just in case he’s in there.”
Sean found himself walking from tree to tree in an awkward squat. He guessed if this got it out of her system, then it wouldn’t hurt.
Slowly, they approached the cabin in a hunch. Several times he found himself shoved onto his stomach in the dirt until she decided they could continue forward.
By the time they made it to the cabin, his once just sweaty biking clothes were covered in dirt. They made a round peeking in windows until she was satisfied no one was inside.
“Damn it!” she exclaimed before kicking in the front door.
“Christ, what are you doing?”
“Memphis thought he was here,” she mumbled. “He was so sure this time.”
“Who’s Memphis? What are you talking about? Did he see Anderson around here?” Sean couldn’t help but peer into the darkening woods around them. There were shadowseverywhere. If Edmund Anderson was one of them, he’d never know it. The thought made him nervous.
“Sort of.”
“Sort of. What does that mean? Did he see him or not?” He stood in the doorway as she sifted through the contents of the interior. As far as he could see, no one had been here in a while. Perhaps, whoever Memphis was, just thought he saw someone who resembled the killer. “Probably just a crank or something. You know how unreliable witnesses are.”
“This guy is different.” She finally gave up her search and brushed past him. Pausing on the porch, she began brushing the dirt off her own clothes. She hadn’t elaborated on her statement before she started down the steps.
“What do you mean he’s different? What’s so special about him?” He watched as she stopped on the top step and turned to face him. “Is there something you’re not telling me? I deserve to know what it is you’ve got me up here for. Was it on false pretenses so you could continue your chase of a serial killer? I’m all for doing my civic duty, but this might be a bit too?—”
He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before she had stepped up to him and pressed her lips to his. Nothing could have taken him more by surprise.
She pulled back and gazed at him as if she was going to confess all of her sins. That could wait. He wrapped a hand around the back of neck. Pulling her back to him, he kissed her again.
This time he wasn’t surprised. There was no ambush involved. He felt her melt against his chest as his tongue swept across hers. Somehow, he forgot to be indignant about how he got to this place. If this was the result, the why didn’t matter. Neither did the how, or the who, or the when. Since he met her, this was all he had thought about. All he had fantasized about.
Unfortunately, they were human and had to break for air. He wanted to stand on this porch forever doing exactly what he was doing at that moment. Dover had other ideas though. She placed a hand on his chest pressing him back slightly.