“Hey, you want me to act dumb, that’s not free. Talk it over with your wife. I’ll hold the story for twenty-four hours if you want to think about it.”
“Go to hell.”
“Suit yourself. Then I run the piece.” Ned squatted on the rocks and hunted inside a zippered hip pack. He took out a black digital watch, strapped it to his wrist, and checked the time. “I think we’re done here, Stride. Why don’t you go home and hold your wife’s hand? Seems like she’ll need it.”
Stride felt another wave of violence wash over him like a flood. All of his muscles coiled into knots, ready to spring. It was easy to imagine his hands around this man’s throat. It was easy to feel his slippery finger curling around the trigger of his gun and sending a bullet into this man’s forehead.
No one would know. Ned Baer would simply disappear. The story would go away, and Andrea would keep her secret.
He heard his wife’s voice again: “Save me!”
But he couldn’t do that. There were lines he couldn’t cross. What was going to happen was going to happen, and he had no way to stop it.
Stride didn’t say anything more.
He turned around and left the Deeps, with Ned still on the cliff behind him.
“What did you do next?” Serena asked.
“I drove north. Alone. I’d never felt more powerless in my life. I drove up the lakeshore and sat by the water for hours. I didn’t go back home until after midnight.”
“Was Andrea there?”
“Yes. She was asleep. We didn’t talk. The strange thing is, we never talked about it again. That was our style. By the next morning, it was like nothing had ever happened. Even when Ned disappeared, we pretended the whole thing didn’t exist. She thought I’d killed him, but she never said a word to me about it.”
“How did you find Ned at the Deeps?” Serena asked. “How did you know that’s where he was?”
“I talked to the owner of the motel where he was staying. Ned asked him for directions.”
“Did Andrea know that’s where you were going?”
Stride nodded. “I called her. She was so out of control that night, I wanted to make sure she was still okay. That she hadn’t done anything crazy. I told her that I was going to find Ned at the Deeps and do what I could to stop him from running the article. Except I think she already knew I wouldn’t be able to do a thing.”
“So she could have gone out there herself,” Serena said.
“She could have, but I don’t think she did. She said she called Steve and told him to follow me. That explains how Steve found the body.”
Serena shook her head. She wasn’t going to let Stride be noble, not when his whole future was at stake. “I’m sorry, Jonny, but you don’t know that’s how it happened. You don’t know that at all. Andrea knew where Ned was. She was desperate to stop him. She could have followed you up there and confronted Ned herself after you left. With a gun. And when Ned was dead, that’s when she called Steve to tell him she was afraid of what you were going to do. Because she knew when Steve found the body, he’d protect his best friend.”
12
“Do you know who you remind me of?” Cat asked Brayden Pell a little breathlessly from across the long bench at Hoops brewery. “Ryan Tedder. You know, the singer from One Republic? I mean, I know he’s a lot older, but you guys could be brothers.”
“Actually, Ryan is my brother,” Brayden replied.
Cat’s eyes widened into saucers and she practically leaped across the table. “Oh, my God! Are you serious?”
Brayden winked. “No.”
She sat back on the bench with a pout. “You’re teasing me.”
“A little.”
His lips bent into a crooked smile, and his deep dark eyes twinkled at her. She had to look away in embarrassment, because she felt her face flushing deep red. Instead, she watched the crowd in the brewery. It was almost eleven o’clock, but the benches stretching across the beer hall were mostly full. Tourists stood two deep at the taps. The space was brightly lit with circular chandeliers and decorated in blond fir wood. Noise reverberated off the ceiling.
She fidgeted on the long bench and grabbed a square piece of Sammy’s pizza they’d had delivered to the beer hall. She took a drink from a tall glass of pop and gestured at Brayden’s mug of coffee. “You know, you can drink beer even if I can’t. Stride said you’re off-shift, right? I mean, babysitting me isn’t really like being on duty.”
“It is to me. And I’m not babysitting, Cat. You’re under threat, and I’m here to make sure you’re safe.”
“So how does that work exactly?” she asked.
“I pick you up. I drive you where you want to go. I keep an eye on the surroundings wherever you are. Like here. I survey the people around us every few minutes, and I make sure no one’s watching you. I note everyone who comes in and assess whether someone looks like a threat. But it’s not like I have to be your shadow and constant companion, either. If you feel smothered, you’re more likely to ditch me, and I don’t want that. So if you want space around your friends, tell me, and I’ll back off. Just be aware that I’ll still be in the background.”
“Okay. Thanks.” She bit her lip and added, “You don’t have to back off. I don’t feel smothered.”
“Good.”
“Have you ever done this before? Protecting somebody?”
Brayden shook his head. “Not really. I’m a street cop. Mostly it’s domestic disturbances and break-ins and drug busts.”
“So why’d you volunteer to be with me on your days off?”
“Stride put out the word that he needed someone. I think you’ll find that most of the cops on the force would do just about anything for him.”
“I like that. I would, too.”
She watched Brayden sip his coffee. As he did, his eyes checked out the beer hall again. He wasn’t in uniform; no one would peg him as a cop. She knew she was staring at him, being way too obvious, but she couldn’t help herself. He was so attractive. He was a decade older than she was, but she had never cared about age. There was something tough in his face when he looked at everyone else and something gentle when he looked at her.
“I guess you know the stories about me, huh?” Cat asked. “I mean, not just that actor and all the craziness last winter. I suppose Stride told you about my background before then.”
“He did. A bit.”
“I was basically a hooker when Stride and Serena took me in. I was on and off the streets. I just figured you should know who you’re dealing with.” She rolled her eyes and made an L on her forehead.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Stride told me your mother was murdered when you were a kid, and you got shunted off to some awful foster parents. Now look at where you are. Sounds to me like you’ve come a long way.”
She flushed again. “That’s sweet. Thanks.”
“I hear you have a kid,” Brayden said.
“Yeah. Well, I let another family take him. They’re great. I still see him all the time. But I know what you’re thinking. A baby at seventeen, pretty stupid.”
“I don’t think that at all. You had a child and gave him a better future, but you’re still involved in his life. He’ll grow up knowing who you are and what you did for him. That takes a lot of guts.”
“Stride gives me the same pep talk all the time.”
“Well, he’s right.”
Cat offered up a half-smile and twisted a few strands of chestnut hair nervously between her fingers. She checked her phone. “I’m sorry we’re just hanging out here. I don’t know where Curt and Colleen are. They’re late.”