Lakeside Peril

“I told you—”

“You know I hate your father, right?” Hunter asked, his hands gripping the wide arms of his chair. “So...you can’t trust him, but you think maybe I’d be the perfect person to help you bring him down? Maybe because you think I need to seek revenge or retribution against your family? So you’ll use me to handle the unpleasant tasks, the same way your father uses people? Is that it? Am I right so far?”

He made it sound so sordid she wanted to bolt right out of here. But where would she go?

“That’s not my reason for finding you,” she said, fatigue warring with hope, regret merging with resentment. “I thought maybe if we worked together on this and if I could find out who did this to Laura, you might finally forgive my stepbrother for what he did.”

Anger clouded his eyes. “I doubt that’s gonna work, since getting justice for you will not absolve anyone—not even me. Besides, I don’t have to forgive Tray Conrad. He’s dead now and I’m thinking he’s not in a better place.”

“But—”

“But hiring me is one thing. Trying to redeem Tray is another. We do this my way and that means we aren’t going to speak of that lousy piece of humanity again, understand? And it also means I’m not anybody’s whipping boy or killer-for-hire.”

He stared out at the water for a moment and then gave her a look full of defiance. “I’ll help you find the truth about your sister’s death, but this doesn’t have anything to do with my feelings toward your family. Nothing will ever make me change my mind on that. Understand?”

She nodded again and stared at her boots. “I’m sorry, Hunter. For what he did to your sister.”

Hunter’s brooding expression turned black with anger. “Save it and get on with things.”

She told him more about the files she’d found, but she was still afraid to divulge everything. “I separated the files and kept some on my laptop and then hid part of them in a safe spot.”

“Nowhere is safe if someone is after damaging information.”

“I also took pictures of the papers and contracts that show the land sale. My father’s signature is nowhere on those papers, but somehow Laura found out he’s behind those buyouts.”

“He probably had someone strong-arm the landowners. You know how he lets other people do his dirty work.”

Hunter’s disgusted tone was undeniable. He’d never forgive Wayne Conrad for trying to cover up what her stepbrother, Tray, had done. Why had she come here?

She stood, needing to be away from him. “This was a bad idea. If you’ll take me back to the Millbrook Inn, I’ll call a cab and get a flight home.”

Hunter stood, too, and blocked her way, his broad chest shadowing the last of the sunset’s show-off rays. “Not gonna happen.”

“You said you hate my father.”

“I do. But if I let you go back and something happens to you, I’ll have to live with that, too.”

“I don’t want you to live with any more grief,” she said, hoping he’d see the sincerity in her eyes. “I came to you because you know Oklahoma. You grew up there. You know the oil fields and you know how things work.”

And because her sister had written his name with a question mark beside it in her notes. There were some other interesting revelations in her sister’s papers, but Chloe figured she’d have to dole out those details one at a time with this man. Had Laura planned on finding him?

“Yeah, I know it all,” he said in a taut whisper. “I watched my parents scrape and grovel just to keep a roof over our heads. My daddy worked himself to death and my mother’s health is so bad now she had to move in with her sister in another state. I blame their misery on Conrad Oil.”

“And you blame your own misery on my family, too,” she said, unafraid of him now. “You understand, Hunter. It might hurt and you might not like it, but you’re one of the few people who can find the truth on this.” She stopped, took in a breath and wished she could blurt out all her findings. “In the same way you fought against my father to find out the truth about your sister’s accident.”

He took her by the arm, his expression brooding and brittle with rage. “I’ll find the truth, all right. But you need to think long and hard on what’s about to happen. I won’t forgive and I won’t forget. If I have to, I’ll put them all in jail. So if you came here on some rich-girl mission to rebel against your daddy, you won’t be having any fun.”

Anger poured over Chloe in a heated rush. She glared up at him, matching the fire in his eyes. “Do I look like I’m having fun?”

He dropped her arm. “No.”

Chloe saw the trace of regret in his stormy eyes and played on it. “If you can’t find it in your heart to help me, then...I’ll go home and keep digging on my own. I’m used to doing things on my own.”

“And you’ll die trying.”

“Maybe. But at least I’ll know I did my best.”

He stared down at her, the battle raging inside him causing his body to shake. She could tell he wanted to say more, but before he could form the words, they heard tires hitting the shell-covered lane leading up to the house. Then headlights flashed briefly and went dark.

Hunter spun into action. Pushing her behind him, he pulled out his weapon and then hurried her around to the front of the house that faced the yard down to the beach.

“There’s a path along the bay,” he whispered. “I’m going to check this out, but if I’m not back in five minutes, take that path up to the road to the west. You’ll find a bait shop there. Keep your phone close and call 911 if you think anyone is following you.”

“I’m not going without you,” she said, her nerves twisting into painful knots.

“You might not have any other choice,” he said. “Wait here. I should be back soon enough.”

And then he was gone.

Chloe hid behind the storage room that was centered underneath the pilings and searched for anything she could use as a weapon. Determined not to leave without Hunter, she spotted a baseball bat. That could do some damage. She didn’t want to think about what she’d do if Hunter got hurt. Or killed.

* * *

Hunter crouched low and moved through the shadows. Since he knew every shrub and tree in these woods, he had an advantage over whoever had come for a visit.

The battered pickup truck had stopped about halfway up the drive. He couldn’t tell if anyone was inside or not and he didn’t recognize the dark-colored truck.

When he heard the click of a gun being loaded, he went behind the truck and listened. Then he saw a man moving near the line of mossy oaks on one side of the driveway toward the house.

Hunter stayed behind him, following at a close distance. If this was part of the same hit team that had tried twice now, he’d have to take matters into his own hands. Whoever had sent them obviously wanted Chloe dead, no matter what.

The man was about ten yards away from the house when Hunter heard a buzzing sound. He stopped behind a massive live oak and listened after the man pulled out a cell phone.

“I think this is the place, but I don’t see anyone around.”

Silence. Hunter held his breath. How had they found Chloe here?

“Yeah, whatever, man. I need to get in, get out and go. And I’m not feeling this. Something’s not right.” Another pause. “Well, maybe he took her somewhere else.” Then, “Yes, sir.”

The man hung up and turned to head back to his truck.

Hunter met him, stepping out from the tree so quickly he tripped the unsuspecting man with a booted foot and then placed that same foot over the man’s chest.

Aiming his Glock semiautomatic straight for the man’s chest, he said, “Drop the gun and start talking.”

* * *

Chloe checked her watch. Four minutes and counting. Now that the sun had gone down, it was hard to see past the palm trees and towering, moss-covered oaks. She didn’t want to walk the dark path to the bait shop.