Closing The Gap (Dangerous Pasts, #1) (23 page)

“Do you remember the night of the magnesium poisoning?  Several days later, you went white as a sheet when you got back the toxicity report from Dr. Baskett.  Were you considering the possibility he’d escaped and tried to kill your horse?”

“Yes, unfortunately, that’s always my first thought.  I called St. Peter later that day just to make sure he hadn’t left the hospital and the staff reassured me.  I honestly have no idea who could have done that to Lily.  I’d like to think it was just a random act of violence by a local delinquent.  There just isn’t any rhyme or reason to the whole situation.  It’s hard to get through security or onto the farm without being seen by Chad, Maria or Juan.”

As he wrapped his arms even tighter around her, he leaned in and kissed her neck.  “I am so sorry that happened to you, Lake.  All I can say is that I will make sure you are safe from now on.  Violence isn’t going to touch you again while on my watch.”

Lake turned in his arms and reached for his lips, their gentle kiss interrupted by her phone.  She recognized the number from the vet clinic back in Minnesota.  Her mom, Mae, consulted with the vet back home and made treatment decisions for the horses there so Lake became confused. 

“Do you mind if I grab this?  It’s my mom’s vet.”

“Of course not.  I know you’ll be worried if you don’t and I want all your attention on me.”  Lake was relieved to see his dimples were back.  He’d put on such a brave face for her in spite of his obvious hatred towards her ex and what he’d done.  Now, Josh and Lance were the only men who knew how deep the internal scars ran. External scars were far easier and quicker to heal.

“Hello.  This is Lake.”

“Lake.  This is your mother.”  Lake strained to hear her mom’s voice through her panting and broken speech.  Something was horribly wrong. 

“Mom, what is it.  What’s happened?”  Her voice became higher pitched and frantic which caused Josh to move them both upright in the tub.  Panic radiated straight through her body right into his.

“Honey, I don’t know how to tell you this.  It’s Rodney.  He got shot as he grazed out in the pasture yesterday.  He didn’t make it.  I’m so, so sorry, Lake.  I know how special he was to you as your first National Champion.”  As her mother’s words registered, Lake dropped the phone and it crashed to the marble floor tiles.  This couldn’t be happening.  Josh held her upright, so strong her water slick body didn’t even move an inch as she started to shake until the blackness of a panic stricken faint overtook her senses.

L
ake cradled her head against Josh’s rock hard shoulder as the plane descended into Sky Harbor.  She was grateful to him in spite of her agonizing heartbreak over this most recent tragedy.  Josh’s strength of character rivaled that of his father.  She now felt ashamed at how many times she’d doubted him.  He’d talked to her mom, Mae, on the phone and made all the arrangements to get them both on the next flight to Phoenix.  He’d also made sure she ate and rested.  It seemed like all Lake could manage was to lay curled in the fetal position for those debilitating hours until she had to make her legs work to walk her to the limo.  Josh had even packed her suitcase.

Now, she tried not to internalize the fact that she’d been making love while Rodney’s life blood drained from his body.  Her mom assured her many times, nothing could be gained by an immediate return home.  Her mom didn’t even want her to come home at all, stating the safety of the horses in Scottsdale should be top of mind to everyone.  Mae had already made arrangements to have Rodney buried on the farm under his favorite tree and a granite headstone ordered.  Mae invited her to visit him at length, the next time she traveled home for an event or holiday.

Something had become painfully clear, a vicious criminal had made her and her horses their prime target.  Someone with a lot of resources and time, judging from the violence, complexity and amount of ground being covered to carry out these despicable acts.  Exhaustion and pain clouded her brain from thinking about who and why.  Was it possible that her ex-husband was responsible, acting through another?  Once she got home, she planned to enlist the help of Chad and Summer.  Josh didn’t have any skin in this deadly game and she didn’t want to overwhelm their fledgling relationship with her incessant drama.

****

J
osh peered down at Lake with relief.  She rested against him and counted on him for strength and support.  He became hopeful that she would always feel comfortable doing that very thing.  Before they’d left Vegas, he’d stepped out in the hall while she napped and called an old fraternity buddy, Dustin Johnson.  Dustin worked in intelligence with the FBI.  Josh explained the situation and asked Dustin to find out the details about Lake’s ex-husband.  He realized he’d violated Lake’s privacy but her physical well-being had to come first.

Something about this whole situation reeked of sabotage and Josh promised himself to get to the bottom of it.  He belonged in Lake’s life and he
would
find out who dared to harm her, while doing everything within his power to keep her protected.  No one would threaten or harm his future wife.  He’d come to that surprising decision yesterday in the bathtub after she’d confessed her domestic abuse story.  He wanted his ring on her finger.  He also planned on removing his handgun from the safe in his condo.  When he’d applied for a Conceal and Carry permit due to his high profile life, he’d thought he’d never have to carry the weapon outside his own walls.

He’d made one other phone call out in the hall so that Lake wouldn’t overhear, to Roberts.  Josh needed to fly back to Chicago for work commitments in a few days and he would
not
allow Lake to be in peril at the farm alone.  His dad could fill in and help out but at his age, he couldn’t rival Roberts who was young and fit.  Roberts welcomed any opportunity to perform like a bad-ass superhero.  Josh asked him to come up with an excuse to get to Scottsdale by the weekend.

Once Josh apprised him of the concerns, his friend turned deadly serious.  If he couldn’t be there himself, Josh trusted Lake’s safety with Roberts and hoped Lake wouldn’t be upset with him.  She was smart and would figure out sending Roberts to her was a direct result of his interference.  She’d just have to deal with it.  She belonged to him now and he protected his own.  Until Josh found out who’d been harming the horses, Lake needed to be sheltered as if she lived in a safe house or witness protection.  Also, keeping Roberts entertained would take her mind off her troubles.

B
uck Hoeff lounged at a table in The Cheesecake Factory as he struggled to remain inconspicuous.  Fidgeting due to the heat of his disguise caused sweat to trickle down his spinal cord and pool in his lower back.  He felt extra proud of himself and his superior intelligence since he’d carried out his plans with such great success.  The rioting emotions tumbled through his mind as they coursed through his body.  He’d donned yet another new costume that included a padded bodysuit, real hair mustache, wig and glasses.  Adding a baseball cap and pulling the bill down to hide his eyes, indulged his flair for the dramatic.  To all onlookers, he appeared to be a typical tourist having lunch alone.

Stupid bitch, she didn’t have a clue.  He sat in the open, about twenty yards away from her.  It felt great to see her again, knowing what he knew and she didn’t.  Maybe the hairs crawled up the back of her neck like a million tiny spiders.  He sure hoped so.  Let her think something was wrong.  It was.  Horribly wrong.  He couldn’t wait to see her face right before he finished her off.  That sublime moment when she realized she’d meet her maker at his hands.  Later today, she would get it.  Right after he took out every horse on her property and her rodent dog too.  It had barked and growled at him from the house the night he’d poisoned her chestnut mare.  That one would be the easiest.  A good, strong kick to the ribs and he’d punt that little bastard like he’d just kicked the winning field goal in the Super Bowl.

Mr. NHL Hall of Fame sat in the booth across from her, his eyes filled with concern as he held her hand in his.  He made obvious longing looks with his brown, puppy dog eyes.  So, they were sad about the old nag he’d taken out last week.  She’d loved that horse more than she’d loved him.  She always had.  That was too fucking bad.  He was still euphoric.  He’d dreamt of blowing its head off ever since it had arrived home with its red rose blanket and silver plated trophy.

This new prick had an illness that attracted whores and Buck would be his cure.  Asshole, he’d look spectacular with a knife wound to the gut.  Better yet, he’d scalp his long, silky hair right off his head and watch it float in the breeze.  How she’d bamboozled someone so good looking and rich into fucking her, Buck could not even fathom.  No one in his family had ever liked her.  She just wasn’t good enough for him.  Hell, she wasn’t good enough for anyone.  The ugly bitch wasn’t even good enough for this planet.  The only thing that could make this better is if her cunt sister stumbled upon him in the act.  Two for the price of one.  What could be better than that?

“Is there anything else I can get for you today?”  His server interrupted his private machinations.

“Yes, I would just love a piece of your Red Velvet Cheesecake, it sounds so delicious.”

“Excellent, it’s one of our most popular.  I’ll have that out to you in just a few minutes.”

“Thank you so much, I can’t wait to try it.”

A few minutes later, Buck munched on his cheesecake and savored every bite.  His eyes never left the table of his prey until they stood up to leave.  Then, he smiled.  Their time would come.  Very, very soon.

“H
e’s escaped.  Her ex-husband, Buck Hoeff, walked right out the door of a secured mental facility.”

Josh’s breath whooshed from his lungs as he struggled to get his next words out.

“How is that possible?”

Dustin’s voice remained calm in spite of the terrifying subject matter.  “He hacked in to the hospital computers and walked out during the rotation of doctors.  He also deleted his real patient file to confuse the staff and replaced it with a dummy file.  They think he planted a Trojan virus.  The entire hospital mainframe is screwed up and their server keeps crashing.  Every time the staff entered information about him, the computer automatically changed it to the fake data.  That’s why no one notified the St. Peter police or Lake and her family.  They’ve been looking for him inside the hospital and had no idea he’s been back and forth across state lines for weeks.  Apparently, he likes small, enclosed spaces like bathrooms and closets so they assumed he wouldn’t leave the building.  I’ve asked for clearance to assist with this case and received it.  I’ll be on the next flight straight into Scottsdale Regional and I suggest that you do the same.”

“Holy shit.  I don’t think I can get a direct flight into Scottsdale so I’ll have to fly into Sky Harbor.  I’ll be there as soon as I can.  Dustin, I can’t thank you enough.  It means the world to me that you will be there to protect Lake and her family.”

“No problem.  Josh, remember that the behavior of violent sociopaths will escalate when they feel their world is closing in on them.  He’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goals.  He’s already murdered one horse, tried to poison another and who knows what else.  This guy is dangerous as hell.  I’ll get there as soon as I can and call you once I know more.”

After he hung up, Josh threw his essentials in an overnight bag and grabbed his gun.  Delta required the weapon to be unloaded and in the manufacturers hard sided case so he made sure he met their requirements before he left the house.  He wouldn’t tolerate a delay at the airport.  There was a flight to Phoenix in a little over two hours and he intended to be on it.  If not, he’d hire a private plane, no matter the cost.  His gut told him that something had gone wrong.  Josh didn’t doubt Dustin’s words or Buck’s danger.  Josh’s doorman hailed him a cab and as he slid into it, he picked up his phone and dialed Roberts.

“What’s up, old man?  It’s quiet here on the home front.” 

“I’m glad to hear it.  I need you to listen to me and not interrupt, no matter how much you might want to.  I’m about to say the most serious thing I have ever said and I need your help to keep Lake safe.”

“What the hell?  I’ve never heard you sound so sober.  What is it and what can I do?  You know I’ll do anything for either one of you.”

“I doubt that Lake has mentioned this because she holds things pretty close to the vest.  A few years ago, she married a man who physically and verbally abused her.  Right before their divorce, he tried to kill her.  He grazed her with a bullet on the side of the head and then gave her a knife wound to the stomach.  He left her for dead out in a field and she barely lived through it.  He’s been locked up in a secured mental health facility but hacked the computers and planted a virus to manipulate his patient data.  He got out.  Dustin Johnson thinks he’s the one who harmed Lake’s horses and he wants to finish the job.  The guy’s completely unstable, Ryan, capable of anything.”

Josh tried to breathe while he spit the words out.  “Dustin’s on a plane into Scottsdale regional as we speak.  I’m headed to O’Hare and am getting to Sky Harbor as soon as I can.  You’re the only one to protect Lake until we get there.  Dustin recommended that you get everyone that’s on the premises into the house and lock all the doors and windows.  Get a weapon since you’re licensed, just in case.  Have Chad secure the horses and barn as best he can.  Make sure Lance, Maria and Juan are inside too if they are there right now.”