Page 103 of Storm Warning
Jo had doctored Cole’s wound and brought him broth. Nurtured him. The woman had single-handedly rescued his brother. He owed her, big-time. But he had a feeling that Cole would be the one to repay that debt. The way he looked at her, he might be smitten.
Hawk finally stood. “I’ll get the door.”
He opened it and Sheriff Thatcher limped inside, leaning on a cane. He wasn’t taking time to recover from his injury, despite what the county rules might say. “I brought the cavalry. I hope you got your facts straight.”
He wasn’t sure he had. Where did he begin? Working with John to protect Remi, misunderstanding the entire situation? John’s men. Whitman’s men. The guys in the bunker? The dead guy that got washed away? The other guy gunning for Remi that he’d taken out in the woods and zip-tied had escaped but then fallen down the newly formed gully to his death. A couple of Whitman’s henchmen had escaped, though.
Thatcher squeezed his shoulder. “You’re a hero in all this. It’s going to be okay.”
But heroes didn’t always come out unscathed. Experience told him that.
43
TWO WEEKS LATER
The heavy marine fog hadn’t burned off yet as Remi walked the disconcertingly quiet beach. At least it was peaceful now that the series of big storms had passed. Normally, the wind would still blow hard and cold on these rocky shores. But maybe nature had run out of fuel after the last fierce display.
So Remi would savor walking on the beach while no one else had ventured out. All manner of seashells littered the shore, along with a few sea creatures.
The lodge had weathered the series of monster storms and remained strong and sturdy as it had for a century. Remi had contacted the geologist specialists to come and evaluate the new gulley created by the unexpected collapse near the Bluff Cabin, and depending on their assessment, decisions needed to be made. The Bluff Cabin was off-limits until then.
Guests had already started returning to the lodge to continue watching the rough seas and the crashing waves andto walk on the beach to look at tide pools during low tides. Watch from the window during high tides. King tide season was almost behind them.
She wished that was all she had to worry or think about, but it would take her a good long while to forget all that occurred, except she didn’t want to forget. She would always remember. Forgetting was overrated.
She’d shared all she knew about the device with the two men from the DIA—Defense Intelligence Agency, part of the DOD. She relayed the information Sergei had shared, including where to find the device. While he had been speaking at a university in Europe, he was able to hand the Tempest off under the guise of a research project to a trusted friend who then shipped it to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where it was stored until Sergei himself could retrieve it. The friend had no knowledge the package she’d sent contained the Tempest device, leaving Remi as the only one to know its location. Remi could only assume that responsible parties within the US Government had recovered it because no one had come back to question her about the location. She’d been tasked with not sharing what happened with anyone else or she would be charged with treason. She wasn’t sure about that, but she didn’t intend to test that threat.
At least the danger surrounding the device had been neutralized and the Blackfire cell of terrorists would never get their hands on it. Andre Aslam—the same man Hawk had pursued and who’d died in the helicopter collision—had belonged to that same cell. John Marshall had been arrested for his efforts in coordinating international espionage and working with a now-deceased arms dealer. John had double-crossed his partner, Charles Whitman, who had cut him a deal to retrieve the device for him. In fact, he’d gone as far as shooting himself to perpetuateCole’s role so he could be framed when the device went missing and Remi was ultimately killed. Cole and his military hacker friend had provided evidence against John, and it sounded like Cole was coming out of this with job offers. State and federal agencies wanted his investigative skills.
And Erika...
Remi shook her head and almost smiled. The woman had tried to kill her on multiple occasions. A week after Erika had shot Gordo’s helicopter down, killing Charles Whitman, she’d appeared in Remi’s room in the middle of the night. Remi thought back to that moment.
Heart pounding, she’d reached for the gun she now slept with under her pillow. But it was too late. Erika stood over her with a knife. Always a knife with this one. A sliver of light filtered through the window. Erika was a redhead now. Remi couldn’t see her eye color. She remained a shape-shifter.
“What do you want?” Remi asked.
“Relax. I’m not here to kill you,” Erika whispered.
“Why the change of heart?”
“You’re no threat, Remi. I’m Zarovian intelligence, and my job was to prevent our star scientist, Sergei Petrov, from delivering the Tempest device into the wrong hands. We thought you were a spy sent to learn from Sergei and that you were working with Charles Whitman, who planned to sell the device to a group called Blackfire. We couldn’t allow that. Whitman thought he’d killed me and left me for dead, but I completed my mission and neutralized him. As long as he was alive, he would always be a threat to not just my country but yours.”
“So, you don’t consider me a threat?”
“I learned directly from him that you weren’t working with him. And our countries are allies, and besides ... Ithink of you as a friend. Yeah, I was a deadly threat right in your midst, and I’m sorry about that. Sorry I tried to kill you.” Erika smirked.
Before Remi could say more, she slipped out the window. Remi ran to look, but Erika was nowhere to be seen. Remi could breathe a little easier for the time being. She believed Erika because she could have killed her while she slept, then been well on her way to her own country before anyone would have discovered Remi’s body.
Jolting her back to the present, a wave rushed up and soaked her to the ankles. The cold sent a rush through her, and she gasped. If she ever again ended up with the choice to help someone running from bullets, would she avoid getting involved next time? She hoped not.
But the biggest pain in her chest was Hawk.
He’d saved her. They’d been running from danger together and he’d been there to help her. She’d helped him. But she had a feeling that he was like that ghost ship ... in and out of sight ... always just out of reach.
After walking as far as she could before she’d have to get wet to maneuver around that obtrusive but beautiful sea stack, Remi turned around to head back to the steps to the lodge.
The heavy marine fog cleared, revealing more sea stacks. Crashing breakers soothed her soul, and yes, maybe she could make this place her permanent home. Remi had been surprised that Mrs. Monroe hadn’t wanted to dismiss her after the guests had been endangered because of Remi.
