River’s End

free.
    “It’s just the phone. Christ.” To defend himself, he clamped his arms over hers.
    “It’s him. Let me go! It’s him.”
    He didn’t ask whom she meant. She only used that tone when she spoke of her father. “How do you know?”
    Her eyes wheeled white with panic. “He called before—just before.”
    “What did he say to you?”
    “Nothing.” Overwhelmed, she curled up, clamped her hands over her ears. “Nothing, nothing.”
    “It’s okay, it’s all right. Stay right here.” He nudged her aside and with blood in his eye strode into the office. Even as he reached for the receiver, the ringing stopped.
    “It was him.” She’d managed to get up, managed to walk to the door. But she was shaking. “He didn’t say anything. He just played the music. The music my mother had on the stereo the night he killed her. He wants me to know he hasn’t forgotten.”

Twenty-five
    He’d managed to book a room, but had been warned it was only available for one night. For the remainder of the month, the lodge was fully booked. There were a couple of campsites still available, but he couldn’t work up any enthusiasm in that area.
    Still, he was going to have to snag one, and buy himself some camping equipment if he meant to stay.
    And he meant to stay.
    His original plan had been to rent a snazzy suite in some hotel within reasonable driving distance where he could work in comfort and seduce Olivia in style. After what he’d learned the night before, he wasn’t willing to stay that far away. He intended to keep an eye on her. The only way to accomplish that was to stay put and to be more stubborn than she was.
    There’d been a test of that the night before as well. She’d told him about the phone call, the music box, and her fear had been alive in the room with them. But the moment she’d gotten it out, she’d toughened up again, stepped back from him. He thought part of it had been an incredibly misplaced sense of embarrassment at showing a weakness. But on another level, he decided this was the way she’d shored up any holes in her defenses for years. She set it aside, closed it off and refused to talk about it.
    She’d tired up when he’d said he was taking her home. She knew the way, he’d get lost on the way back, she didn’t need a bodyguard. And wouldn’t be taken anywhere by anyone.
    Noah stepped out on his tiny first-floor patio and scanned the deep green of the summer forest.
    He’d never actually dragged a woman to his car before, he thought now. Never seriously wrestled with one in a personal match that didn’t have the end goal of sex on the minds of both participants. And he’d never come quite so close to losing to a girl.
    He rubbed his bruised ribs absently.
    He wondered if he should be ashamed of having enjoyed it quite so much, then decided against it. He’d gotten her home safely, had managed to block her last punch long enough to punctuate his victory with a very satisfying kiss. Until she’d bitten him.
    God, he was crazy about her.
    And concerned enough to make him determined to deal with Sam Tanner. To keep Olivia safe and to give her some peace of mind.
    He went back inside and called his father. “How’s Mom?”
    “She’s fine. I drove her in to work today and browbeat a promise out of her that she wouldn’t go anywhere alone. I’ll be driving her to and from until . . . until.”
    “No word on Tanner?”
    “No. He withdrew two thousand in cash from his bank account. He rented his room by the week and had paid up. We’re—the police are interested in questioning him about the picture, but there’s not a lot they can do. I tugged some strings and had a couple of my buddies check the airports and train stations for reservations in his name. Nothing.”
    “He needs to be found. Hire a detective. The best you know. I can afford it.”
    “Noah—”
    “This is my party, I foot the bill. I’ll arrange for you to leave messages for me here at the lodge. I’m going to be doing the tent thing for a while and I might not have my cell phone on me, so I won’t always be reachable. I’ll be checking in as often as I can.”
    “Noah, if he’s decided it’s payback, you’re a target. He’s dying, he’s got nothing to lose.”
    “I grew up with a cop. I know how to handle myself. Take care of Mom.”
    Frank waited a beat. “I know how to take care of what’s mine. Watch yourself, Noah.”
    “Same goes.” He hung up, then paced the little room while