Freezing Point (14 page)

Leaving his equipment and the ice sculptures behind to melt, Jesse climbed into Miguel's truck, allowing him to drive them back to the ice company. Thankfully, Miguel drove as if it was Elena in the freezer.

Jesse regretted even more the lie he'd lived for the past several months. But right now, all he needed to be concerned about was the fact that Casey's life was in his hands alone.
While Miguel drove, Jesse dialed the main number at the ice company, hoping someone would answer so he could send them to look in the freezer. But it was after hours, and he got no answer.

“Miguel, what's Carlos's number? If he's there, he can open the freezers and search for Casey.”

“Are you kidding me? I thought you said he was responsible?”

“And you think he's not? He threatened her. At the moment, I'm up for trying everything.”

“Never fear, my friend, we're almost there.”

Miguel raced the truck across the parking lot, flying over a speed bump—which sent their heads to the cab ceiling—and right up to the loading-dock door, locked and sealed for the evening.

He hopped from the truck and jammed his key into the side door, leaving it open for Jesse. “You check the freezer on the far side. I'll get this one.”

Jesse gripped the handle of the large refrigerated room where he'd first stumbled on Casey, when she'd gotten lost on the loading dock.

Please, Lord, let her be here…

C
asey wiped the tears streaming down her face, thankful they weren't icicles yet, thankful for the warmth they brought to her fingers, which grew more numb by the second. She feared she was nearing the second stage of hypothermia.

“Oh, Lord, am I going to die in here?” she asked, her voice barely a croak. But God heard her regardless. He heard her heart's cry for help. She had to believe that.

Thump…

Casey stared at the door for a second before she could comprehend someone was on the other side. She moved to the door and pounded. “Help! Someone help…”

The handle, which she'd been unable to budge earlier because it was securely locked, abruptly turned. Slow to comprehend—relief moved over her like a glacier. The door swung open, and Casey swayed at the sight of Jesse.

“Casey!” He tugged her to him and off her feet, carrying her out of the freezer. “Are you all right?”

Placing her on a nearby counter, he held her head with his hands and peered at her. She could only nod, tears streaming down her face as he pressed her head against his shoulder. He stroked her hair and back, holding her as if he'd never let her go.

“If anything had happened to you…” he whispered against her ear and kissed her hair. “Thank God you're…”

“Alive?” she eased away from him, still chilled.

He rubbed her icy hands. Frown lines creased Jesse's face, making him look much older. “Miguel! Call 911, get an ambulance here.”

“Jesse, you could get her to the hospital before an ambulance could get here.” Miguel appeared as distressed as Jesse. “The police will want to question her there, too.”

“You're right,” Jesse said, after a quick glance Miguel's way. He stared into Casey's eyes. “Are you okay to walk to the truck?”

“Jesse, I'm fine. I don't need to go to the E.R.” Casey savored that she'd been found; she cherished Jesse's attention.

“You
are
going to the hospital. They'll know how to get your core temperature back up.”

She shook her head. “I wasn't in the freezer that long.”

Jesse gave her a questioning look, then asked, “What happened? I saw you drive away. You should have gone directly home.” Frowning, he worked his jaw.

The guy was angry. “Didn't you get my message? I waited for you to come out so I could get Danny's camera. Jesse, I would never have done anything so stupid…”

“And yet—”

Miguel nudged Jesse's arm. “Jesse, do we need to have this conversation here? Why don't you take Casey somewhere warm, even if she doesn't want to go to the hospital?”

Jesse scooped her back in his arms. “She's going to the hospital.”

As much as Casey loved the feel of his body against hers, of his strong arms carrying her, she freed herself from him, and to her surprise, he allowed her.

“There's nothing wrong with me that a cup of coffee or hot chocolate won't cure. Besides, I don't feel like waiting in the emergency room, and I don't want to be slapped with a big bill.”

Jesse frowned. “Are you sure about this? I would never forgive myself…”

“I'm sure. I wrote an article about some hikers who got lost and suffered with hypothermia. I know what I'm talking about.”

“One article doesn't mean you're qualified to make the call.”

“Please, Jesse…” She watched the desperation in her voice affect Jesse and hated herself for putting the pain in his eyes.

“All right,” he said, shoving both hands through his hair. “Let's get you warm, then we can go to the police.”

He gave a quick, furtive glance Miguel's way.

“Don't worry about the stuff back at the hotel, Jesse. I'll get some help and get things cleaned up there,” Miguel said.

Jesse nodded. Those two seemed to understand each other like brothers. Casey wished she had a friend like that here, wished Meg could be here.

Holding Jesse's hand, Casey allowed him to lead her outside to his Jeep. He opened the door and before she stepped inside, she paused and held his gaze.

“I won't get in unless you promise me you won't take me to the police.”

Jesse's jaw worked as he searched her eyes, questions in his. “Why not?”

“Promise me.”

“On one condition.”

Fatigue setting in, she sighed. “What's that?”

“You tell me everything. Why you don't want to tell the police.”

Her momentary exhilaration at being discovered waning, Casey shrugged and climbed into Jesse's Jeep. She was safe
for the moment. She was beginning to feel like the only time she would ever be safe was when she was with Jesse.

Except today's fiasco showed her just how vulnerable she was.

Jesse appeared to text someone as he made his way around the vehicle. When Jesse was sitting in the driver's seat and had started his engine, he backed from his parking spot. “If you don't want to go to the hospital or the police, then where?”

Casey rested her head against the headrest, trying to ignore the pain behind her eyes. They had to be beyond puffy right now. “All I want to do right now is get a warm bath, wrap my hands around a hot cup of coffee and curl up with a blanket. Is that too much to ask? Just take me home, Jesse.”

Home? Where exactly was home?

“I don't think that's a good idea. Isn't there anywhere else you can stay? What about your friend from the movies the other night? Could you stay with her, at least for tonight?”

“Maybe.” Another long breath escaped. “Maybe, yeah, sure. I'd have to get a few things first.”

“Okay, then. I'll take you to your uncle's, and I'll keep you safe, while you get a warm bath and grab a change of clothes. But then you need to go somewhere else.”

He couldn't know how much his words meant to her. “That's all I want, Jesse. I promise, I'll tell the police everything tomorrow. But tonight, I couldn't stand the thought of sitting there, filling out paperwork, answering questions and then more questions—” her voice broke “—I'm just too—”

“Exhausted.” Jesse placed his hand over hers and squeezed. “I understand.”

He signaled and turned left onto Shoreline Road and headed to Uncle John's beach house. Glancing at her intermittently, he maneuvered along the curvy road.

“Tell me what happened, Casey. Who put you in that freezer?”

Drawing in a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. “I'm sure it had to be Will Tannin.”

“Are you saying you don't know? Didn't you see who it was?”

Tension squeezed Casey's neck. “No, I didn't. I can't remember what happened. One minute I was sitting in my car, waiting on you to call me back.” Casey felt heat creep over her, which was a good thing in an odd sort of way. “I know I shouldn't have done this, but finally I got out of the car to go find you. The next thing I know, I woke up in the freezer with a headache.”

“Someone probably hit you, knocking you unconscious. All the more reason to take you in.” Jesse pulled the Jeep to the side of the road, preparing to turn around.

“I will get out of this car if you don't take me home now.”

Jesse glared at her, then his expression softened. He drove the Jeep back onto the road, heading to Uncle John's.

“Don't you see? I've been through this for months now, Jesse, and I'm so very tired of it. Do you have any idea how crazy I'm going to sound if I say a man has followed me all the way from Oregon and I can't prove it? He's still there. But I think he might have hired the guy who was at the parking lot and also at the sculpture competition.”

Jesse didn't respond as he pulled the Jeep into the driveway at Uncle John's.

If she survived this ordeal, she would have to write a story on women who were stalked by ex-husbands. The stats were not on the woman's side. Though Casey hadn't been married to Tannin, he was stalking her nevertheless. Just short of getting the upper hand—of killing him herself—she was running out of ideas.

Lord, help me to get free of this…

Casey wasn't sure she should voice her next thought, but she had nothing to lose. “I'm considering taking things into my own hands. Going on the offense. Will you help me set a trap, Jesse?”

 

Casey's question nearly bowled Jesse over, and he certainly wasn't prepared to respond. Keeping the lights on the Jeep, he got out and went around to Casey's side, assisting her out.

He rubbed her arms. “Let's get you warm and some food in you, then we'll talk, okay?”

Her slight smile flattened, and she averted her gaze. He recognized her reaction—she thought he believed she was crazy. Pain squeezed his chest. He'd have to set her right.

Once she checked the house and was sure all appeared to be undisturbed, he turned the Jeep lights off. Back in the house, he watched her arm the alarm system.

“Why don't you take that warm bath while I fix us something to eat? What have you got that's good?”

“Help yourself. Pasta's easy and then there are a few frozen dinners.”

Jesse nodded and watched her make her way down the lighted corridor to the guest bath and bedroom.

Once she was out of sight he pursed his lips and made a fist, wanting with all that was in him to plunge it through the wall. Any normal man would have called an ambulance and the police. But Jesse wasn't normal. He was a guy with a mission.

The police would have secured the loading dock to investigate the crime scene, and that was the only reason Jesse had allowed Casey to have her way.

That, plus, Jesse knew something she didn't—he knew who had been threatening her and why. It wasn't her Oregon stalker. Carlos had it out for her and had left her in the
freezer. But tomorrow night, it would all be over. Carlos would go down with the crime ring. Everything hinged on that, and tonight's incident threatened to blow it all.

Months of work could have been blown!

Jesse wanted to wring Carlos's scrawny neck, but maybe Miguel would do that for him. Putting Casey in the freezer at the ice company was beyond stupid and could cost them everything if the police got involved.

But…Carlos wasn't that stupid. The man had left Casey in the freezer as a warning to both her and Jesse. That had to be it. That's why Carlos had texted Jesse to let him know where Casey was. He wanted him to find her before it was too late. Still it was a huge risk on his part. Casey could have died, or she could have insisted on reporting the incident to the police. Even Jesse had come very close to getting backup from his fellow ICE agents in order to save her. He'd texted for them to stand down once he found her.

Not wanting to stay here one minute longer than necessary, Jesse busied himself with making Casey something to eat. That would warm her and give her energy, and maybe she could think more clearly.

What Jesse didn't know was how much longer he could keep Casey in the dark.

She wanted to set a trap? Could he keep her out of trouble just one more day?

He was walking a shaky precipice between keeping her safe and doing his job—one wrong step and they could both die. She meant far more to him than this job, but if he could keep her safe and out of harm's way for only a little longer…

Jesse liked to think his many skills included whipping up a mean dish of pasta. But tonight, as he accidentally dumped the entire container of garlic salt into the sauce, he knew his mind was not on the task.

He found another can of tomato paste and started all over.
He was glad Casey agreed to stay at her friend's house and hoped her friend would agree to have her. Of course, then they ran the risk of involving yet another person in Casey's drama.

Jesse grabbed the cup of hot cocoa he'd made. He strolled down the corridor to find Casey. Standing next to the closed door, he didn't want to disturb her privacy, but he needed to know she was all right and deliver the warm drink.

He gave a light rap with his knuckles. “How are you doing in there? The pasta's almost ready.”

The door whipped open. Dressed in a lavender sweater and blue jeans, Casey smiled up at him, looking more beautiful than he'd ever seen, but with a distant wariness in her eyes.

His mind went blank. Why had he knocked on her door?

“Oh, is that for me?” she asked, and took the mug of hot chocolate from him.

“Yeah.” He stared down into her eyes. At that moment, the events of the day seemed to crash down on him, almost crushing his heart. He cared far too much for this woman. Almost losing her today brought his long-ignored feelings to the forefront.

“Come here,” he said. Mindful of the hot chocolate, he pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips against hers.

A tiny groan escaped her throat as she melted into him.

Oh, Casey, I think I love you…

A noise from the kitchen startled him, and he ended the kiss. “Uh, I think the pasta is boiling over.”

Leaving her behind, he hurried back to the kitchen. After pouring the water off and mixing the sauce in, Jesse fixed Casey a bowl and found her sitting snug on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket.

“Here you go. I hope you're hungry.”

“Mmm. It smells wonderful.”

Jesse joined her, sitting across from her on the other sofa.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, his mind filled with everything he wanted and needed to say. He hadn't a clue where to begin. He assumed Casey was equally preoccupied.

She finally set her bowl on the coffee table. He frowned when he noticed how little she'd eaten and set his bowl down, too.

Casey rested her head against the sofa back. “This is a very strange ending to a very strange day, don't you think, Jesse?”

He hated that she was going through this. “Are you feeling warm enough now? Care for a walk on the beach?”

“Are you serious? With that madman out to get me? What am I going to do, Jesse? Maybe you're right. Maybe I should have gone to the police. This was an actual attempt on my life.”