CHAPTER 19

Cole leaned against a wall and slowly surveyed the scene in front of him. He was not happy with what he saw. Julie’s family room had been completely tossed, papers scattered, books askew, and drawers rifled through. Pete and another deputy, Kip O’Leary, picked through the wreckage, looking for clues and dusting for prints, while Hank stood nearby with Julie, finishing up with her statement. Cole had thought it wiser to have Hank manage that task. He’d done a fairly decent job of keeping his temper in check, but he was hyperaware of the anger simmering in his gut. The one saving grace had been that Julie hadn’t been home when the perpetrator entered.

But despite the fact that her house had been torn apart, despite the fact that she had to be pretty rattled, she was giving Hank crisp, clear, calm answers to his questions. She was a professional, all right.

“Well, Julie, that’s all I need for now,” Hank said, scribbling some final notes on his report pad before closing it. “If you figure out that anything is missing, give me a call at the station.” Hank glanced at Cole for confirmation that he was finished, and Cole gave him a curt nod.

“Sure, Hank. I’ll do that,” Julie said, eyeing Cole a bit nervously. He didn’t blame her; he knew the expression on his face was more than dark. But when it came to her safety, he couldn’t seem to rein it in. “Who could have done this?” she asked.

“Don Rathbone’s at the top of my list,” Cole said.

“Don? But he’s still in jail!”

Cole shook his head. “Found out he made bail within two hours. He must have some pretty powerful friends we don’t know about. Someone is jerking his chain.”

“Do you really think that Don did this?”

Cole pushed off the wall and came to stand near her. “I don’t think so,” he said slowly.

“It’s not really his style to go to this much trouble, but he’s been coming after you so often lately, I have to think that more than Margo’s at play here.”

She shuddered and hugged her arms across her chest. “Stealing stuff from my office makes sense. Like I said, I keep a lot of valuable things there—it’s a doctor’s office after all. But what could they have been looking for here to go through everything like this?”

“Any number of things.” He studied Julie intently. “You’re sure nothing’s missing?”

She stared back, not shying away from his gaze. “As far as I can tell, no, but it’ll take me a long time to get through everything.”

“I can help you. It was pretty gutsy to do this during the daytime. I’m guessing the person—or people—who did this cased the place before breaking in and knew you’d be out. This house has been picked over pretty well. That takes time. And I’m also guessing he probably didn’t find what he was looking for.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because every single room has been tossed. Sure, he could have found whatever he was looking for in the last room, but it’s more than likely he left empty-handed. That might have been why the perp went after your office, too.” Cole turned to his deputy. “Hank, check the perimeter. I’ll be out in a minute to help you.”

“Sure thing, boss, although it’s pretty dark outside now. Not sure how much I’m going to find.” A few moments later, Cole heard the creak of the front door as it opened, then shut.

“So you think this is connected to the break-in at my office?” she asked.

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Cole responded.

“That makes two of us. All of this makes me wonder if the prescription pads really are at play. After all, I did have them shipped to my house, but they came, I signed for them, and I brought them to the office, just like I planned. And they’re definitely still in the supply closet, right where I put them.”

He set his mouth in a straight line. “You could be on to something with those pads. It’d be a recent connection between here and your office. All the more reason to set up our sting and get clearance to start as soon as possible.”

“None of this makes sense,” Julie said. “There have to be other sources for those stupid pads. Why come after me?”

“I don’t know,” Cole admitted. “But I will find out. Anyway, this settles it. We are definitely not staying here tonight.”

“Where are we going to stay?”

She was looking up at him with her big eyes. He just wanted to get lost in those little flecks of color—green and brown, amber and gray—but he kept himself together.

“Two choices,” he ground out. “Hotel or Val’s boat.”

“Val’s boat.”

He let out a sigh of relief that she’d agreed so willingly, then embraced her. “Thank you. I’ll get to the bottom of this. I swear I will.” He kissed her forehead gently. “Now pack up some of your things for tonight. The sooner we get out of here, the better.” He walked her to the foot of the stairs, then headed to the front door, grabbing the large utility flashlight he’d placed on the hall table. Stepping out into the night, he flicked on the flashlight. It wasn’t long before he found something.

“Hank!” he bellowed into the night air.

Hank came around the side of the house. “Yeah, boss?”

“Take a look at this.” He pointed to a cellar window. The lock on the window was broken.

“Well, that’s the point of entry,” Hank said calmly. “I didn’t find anything else.”

“Sloppy, if you ask me. Does this look professional to you?”

“Nope. Amateur job. I could come back when it’s light out and take another look around.”

“Do that, Hank, and have the guys dust for prints out here, too. Not that I think we’ll find any.” There weren’t any prints outside Julie’s office door or in the shed after that Peeping Tom incident. Clearly, whoever was doing this was being careful. Assuming the incidents were even related. “I already did my workup at Julie’s back office door, but I’d like a second opinion. I think the perp might have extended his search from here to there. He’s probably after the prescription pads, but I’m not ruling out any other motive. Like revenge.”

“Don?”

“I honestly don’t know. We need to do some digging into his personal connections, pronto. In the meantime, I’m going to get Julie out of here. Can you wrap up?”

Hank nodded, cool as ever. “No problem, boss.”

Cole returned to the front of the house. Before he started up the stairs, something made him turn toward the shed. He skimmed the ground with his flashlight. When he reached the shed, he immediately went to examine the interior. There were no fresh marks in the dirt; the footprints were still there, but they didn’t look any deeper. So no one had been skulking around the shed—at least, not recently.

When he got back to the house, Julie was just coming down the stairs holding a small overnight bag. Cole nodded approvingly. “Good. You just need enough for a few days. I’ll come back with you later in the week to help you clean up, and we can get some more clothes for you then. Let’s get to the boat.” Ushering her to his waiting car, he took her bag, placed it in the trunk, got Julie safely situated in the passenger seat, and drove down to the pier. He parked next to the water in one of the spaces reserved for boat owners. Cole retrieved Julie’s bag from the trunk and grabbed her hand.

“Let’s go,” he said. The wooden planks of the pier creaked underfoot as they walked toward Val’s boat. Tiny lights from the docked boats lit the way. Aromas of the water and the pier, briny and musty, drifted up toward them. Waves lapped against piling and rope rubbed against wood as the boats strained against their moorings. “We’re here.”

Julie looked up at the darkened boat. Val stood on the deck, one arm wrapped in the rigging, a hand tucked into the pocket of his low-slung jeans. His black hair and lean figure blended into the shadows. Then he flashed a smile, white teeth glinting in the dim light, and unfolded his rangy frame from the rigging he’d been holding.

He looked dangerous, but in a different way from Cole. The danger that Cole exuded was palpable, present, while Val’s was more subtle. But it was there nonetheless. Val crossed the deck and reached out his hand to Julie, steadying her as she stepped over the threshold of the vessel.

“Doctor,” he said in greeting. His hand felt slim and cool. So unlike Cole’s large, warm ones. “Sorry you have to be here under these circumstances.”

Val’s prominent cheekbones stood out more as he set his lips in a determined line and met her gaze with an implacable expression. Despite his leanness, there was strength, great strength, within him. Cole had made it clear they protected their own.

And now Cole was treating her as his.

“Thanks, Val. I appreciate you letting me stay here.”

Val nodded. “I’ll put your things in Cole’s cabin,” he said, before slipping below deck.

The solid weight of Cole’s arm was around her shoulders. “You’ll be safe here,” he said, his voice echoing hollowly in the night air. “Val knows the score. He’ll pick up the slack when I’m not around. You shouldn’t go anywhere alone from now on. Not until we figure out what’s going on.”

Julie bristled a little at that comment. “I’m not used to people telling me what to do.”

“I know. But I’m not taking any chances with your safety.”

“So now what do we do?”

“Now we try to get some sleep,” he said, gesturing for her to follow him down to the cabins.

She made her way down the staircase until she was below deck. Val had disappeared. A short corridor stretched out in front of her with doors on either side, and one at the end. “I’m really not sure if I can manage that.”

He opened the door on the right. “We’ll try.”

She stepped into the room. There wasn’t much to the cabin. A pair of bunk beds were on the far wall, and there was a tiny closet tucked away to the right.

“Val probably put your bag inside.”

She opened the closet door and was unsurprised to see all of Cole’s clothes, neatly folded and stacked. Two uniforms were hanging up, and his shoes were compartmentalized in a shoe hanger. No fuss. No mess. Typical Cole.

They washed up in the small bathroom at the end of the hallway and got ready for bed. Then, they squeezed together into Cole’s snug bottom berth. To conserve room, Cole tucked his arm around Julie’s shoulders, turned her on her side, and rested her head in the crook of his arm.

“I like my bed better,” Julie said a bit petulantly, her voice muffled into the side of his chest.

Cole let out a brief chuckle. “I do, too. But it’s only temporary. We’ll figure everything out soon.”

“I am grateful to Val for letting me encroach,” she offered.

“I told him how important you are to me. He understands.”

“Val doesn’t talk much, does he?”

“Not around people he doesn’t know well. But around anyone with the last name of Grayson, he can talk with the best of them.”

“It must have been nice, growing up with three brothers.”

“Nice isn’t exactly the word I’d use,” Cole said wryly.

“What I mean is that you had each other.”

“We looked out for one another. Especially after Dad died.”

“You had your brothers. I didn’t have anyone looking out for me,” she said in a small voice.

“You do now.”

She tipped her face up to him in the dark cabin, seeking his lips with hers. When they touched, she pressed her mouth against his gently. “I’m glad it’s you.” Then she tucked herself back against him so that she was comfortable.

Cole kissed the top of her head. “Try to sleep, Doc.”

Julie closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. The hell-bent-on-trouble boy was long gone, and in his place was a man of strength and character. “I love you,” she whispered, before relaxing into his warm, firm body. Within minutes she was fast asleep.

She loved him.

What had he done to deserve someone like her? Someone who gave and gave—of her body, of her soul, of herself—and who saw him as he really was.

It was humbling. It was exhilarating.

It was petrifying.

That night, when he became aware that she’d been threatened again, a cold fury had swept through him. He would kill anyone who harmed her. The thought scared him. How would he have reacted if something had happened to her? That loss of control wasn’t something he wanted to contemplate. It was frightening, and yes, dangerous, to those around him.

The smartest thing he’d done as of late was to coax his way into her life. At first, he’d been doing better than he had in a while. She’d kept his anxiety and fear at bay, simply with her cool, calm presence. But it was still there, because the moment she was in danger, he felt it creeping up again. And as the danger to her had increased, every one of his emotions had heightened. Going back to the shrink in Boston played in his mind, but if he did end up going back, then he’d have to admit he was broken. Broken. The word grated on him. Why was it such a big deal? He already knew he was messed up, but somehow, having to admit that to Julie and the shrink, and backtracking on work he thought he’d already done was just demoralizing.

Keeping his weaknesses hidden had come back to bite him in the ass. Julie, with her positive outlook on pretty much everything, had flipped something inside him, skewed his perspective. Now, going back to the shrink wasn’t just “a good idea.” It was a necessity.

Cole held her closer and heard her sigh gently in her sleep as she cradled against him. It had been too long since he’d thought about himself as a person. He wasn’t paid to think about himself; he’d been a machine—working and fighting for others. But he couldn’t ignore the fact that she’d stripped him bare—seen what lay beneath the façade—and she still wasn’t running away. In fact, she was getting closer. He owed it to her to try the shrink again. And more than that, he owed it to himself.

Cole felt himself drifting to sleep, the rocking motion of the boat getting him there faster than if he were on dry land. Cue nightmare.

And when it came—all blinding light and hard fear and cold sweat, his woman grounded him once again, clinging to him and refusing to let him fall down the abyss.

Even though he was already gone.