Chapter One
Chase Shepherd swung the axe again and again until his vision blurred and his hands blistered. Either he tortured the muscles in his back and arms or he answered an email that wouldn’t go away.
He chose the axe, which resulted in more firewood than even he needed.
The sun touched the top of Shadow Mountains. The days ended early in January in New Jersey The winter spun its chill over the trees and across the lake, but heat burned in his veins., When was Grey Holden going to accept he was through with The Omega Team?
The axe split another log in two. Chase swiped the sweat from his eyes with the sleeve of his flannel shirt. How could he possibly work another special operation after what happened? Holden would have to understand, and Chase was going to make him. Or cut down every tree on his fifteen acres.
But it wasn’t just Holden. His former teammates never let up either. They continued to wave special assignments at him. Assignments that had nothing to do with Omega. Simple things he could do in his sleep. The money was tempting, but only for a second.
He’d come to Silent Water six months ago to get away from his former life, to learn to sleep without nightmares, to forget. Especially, to forget. The mountains to the west were supposed to heal him. The privacy was supposed to soothe him. Only chopping wood seemed to have any affect.
He stacked the last of the wood and went inside as the sun took its final dip and threw the yard into ribbons of gray and the lake under a blanket of black velvet.
He lined up his boots right inside the mud room door and hung up his shirt. The fire in the kitchen fireplace had dwindled down to embers. He threw a couple of logs in. Soup would be the big dinner plans, and a good book. Exciting life. But he wanted this life. He really did. It just didn’t fit him quite yet. It would. He needed time.
He checked that all the doors were locked, and he viewed the security camera footage. After that he could put his feet up and answer that email.
Gripping a beer, he padded upstairs to the loft on the second-floor loft and popped open his laptop. He’d hung maps of Silent Water on the wall in order to memorize this new town, and he added some other maps of New Jersey, the world, and Aruba. He’d never been to Aruba. Maybe someday.
He wanted to ignore his inbox, but his fingers tapped over the keyboard and brought email up. The opened one from Grey still waited for his response. But two new ones had come in and he clicked on the first from his former teammate at Omega.
Hey Chase.
I have a great opportunity for you. Security for a birthday party. Simple. Good money. I’m holding the spot for you. Like old times. Miss you, man. Poker this weekend? Max and I will drive to that town you holed yourself up in.
Deke.
He hesitated. Deke had stood by him, fought for him, and tried to convince him not to resign. He owed Deke.
He typed a response. No to the detail. Yes to poker. Prepare to lose.
They must be on assignment nearby and a few hours away. Neither Deke nor Max lived in New Jersey. After hitting send, he opened the feed for the security cameras. Old man Badger hadn’t minded when he offered to install the cameras for free and leave them when he moved on. Badger had taken his wife and moved to Florida ten months out of the year. He spent July and August living at the Jersey shore with his daughter and three grandchildren. But he couldn’t let his home in Silent Water go, so he rented it out and Chase had been fortunate enough to find it. He was good at finding things. Just not keeping them.
The lake and side views all looked clear. He switched to the driveway entrance. Headlights turned from the road and broke open the dark night. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Maybe this person was lost.
But instead of turning around, the car turned right at the fork in the drive. Badger swore to him no one had used the small guest house in two decades. Claimed he only rented the main house – Chase’s house. For the past six-months no one had come up that driveway uninvited. So, what was that dented, late-model Toyota Camry doing parking in front of the guest house?
He left the beer and took the steps two at a time. He shoved his feet in his boots, ran outside, and grabbed the axe from the chopping block. He marched his way across the lawn. The motion sensor lights kicked on lighting up his path.
The engine’s growl was an unwelcome sound effect in the quiet night. He held the axe in both hands with a loose grip. Nothing to be worried about yet. Just checking things out, and marking his turf.
A thin woman with blonde hair knotted on the top of her head as if she’d fought the hair to get it up there pushed out of the driver’s side door. Her black down coat, cinched at her thin waist and snow boots that looked newer than a shiny penny didn’t match the car. She popped the trunk and yanked a suitcase out. He didn’t know much about designer labels, but he’d seen those initials on bags his ex owned. That tote cost more than he made in a year with Omega Team, and more than he made in two years down at the General in town.
“Are you lost or something?” He did a double take because his voice took him off guard sometimes. He wasn’t in the habit of using it when he was at home, and he tried not to use much in town either.
The blonde swung around at the sound of his voice and dropped her bag. She tumbled backward over it and landed on her butt.
He stayed planted. “You okay?”
She wrinkled her nose, and pushed off the ground with a snarl. “Fine. Just didn’t see you.” She wiped her hands on her jeans then looked up at him. “Do you always sneak up on people while carrying an axe?”
“Only when they trespass.” He let the axe dangle at his side.
“Mr. Badger rented this place to me.” She pointed to the small guest house. The back was lined with windows that faced the lake. The front was nothing more than gray clapboard, a door and a carport.
She righted the bag and yanked another from the trunk. This bag was smaller, a bright blue and covered in stickers. “Landon, come get your bag.”
The back door to the car opened and a boy spilled out rubbing his eyes. His dark hair hung low on his brow. His arms and legs twisted and bent like spaghetti wrapped in a coat and jeans. “Hi. I’m Landon – ”
“Landon, take your bag.” She whispered something in his ear and handed him a set of keys. The boy pulled and yanked his bag. The smile that had touched the boy’s lips vanished.
“You can’t stay here.” He could point her in the direction of a hotel or something.
Badger had agreed Chase would be the only one renting. In fact, he’d paid Badger more than he was asking to insure no one else showed up.
Mr. Badger had said, “not necessary. Ain’t rented the place in twenty years. The pipes make too much noise, and it’s drafty in the winter. Really meant as a summer home when our family came to stay.” But Chase had shoved the money in the old man’s hands. He’d be making a call to old Badger straight away.
“We won’t bother you. We’ll stay on our side of the property, and you stay on yours. You won’t even know we’re around.” She slammed the trunk shut, grabbed her bag, and turned her back in dismissal.
“Hang on a second.”
She whipped around. “Mister, back off. You got me? Mr. Badger said you were a quiet guy who kept to himself. That’s the only reason I agreed to a neighbor. I don’t want any trouble, but I need to get my son inside and get us some food and some sleep. You won’t stop me.”
“Whoa.” He held up his empty hand. Her eyes were wide and her gaze darted in all directions. She’d taken a fighting stance, but kept her hands gripped on her bag. “I don’t know what your agreement was with Badger, but it won’t stick. You might be able to stay the night, but plan on being gone in the morning.”
“Good luck making that happen, pal.” She turned again without another word and let herself and the boy into the house.
He stood there as if he’d been struck. He’d be damned if he’d put up with another woman like her.
He marched back into his house, and yanked at the phone on the wall. He’d memorized Badger’s number and punched it in. Silent Water sat at the bottom of Kittatiny Mountains which blocked cell phone service. He chose Silent Water for its determination to remain unplugged from modern technology. Sometimes he thought Silent Water had chosen him. He did not want a neighbor with a kid. Especially not a beautiful neighbor with sparks flying from her ears. That kind of woman was trouble and he’d had his fill of trouble.
The phone rang and rang then went to voice mail. “Badger, this is Chase Shepherd. We had a deal, and you broke it. Call me back.” He slammed the phone down.
No way was this happening. No way. He went to the window and peered out. All the lights were on in the guest house illuminating the whole damn area like a beacon, and she was back outside dragging another bag from the trunk. That was it? Three bags? No boxes? No trailer attached to the back of that out of date Camry, but she wore clothes that cost more than the car? The details didn’t add up. She was trouble. And he was having none of it.