The Eligible Suspect (9 page)

“He shot at us,” Savanna said. “We were forced to ski into the wilderness. The yurt saved us.” She looked up at Hurley to send him her silent thanks. He gave her an answering faint smile.

Macon eyed Korbin in a way that made him uncomfortable. He wasn’t buying the story. For an actor he was sure street-smart. Maybe he suspected there was more to it. Well, there was. A lot more.

“How well do you know Mr. Ricchetti?” the sheriff asked.

“I thought I knew him very well. We’ve been friends for more than ten years.”

“Can you give me his address?”

Korbin did.

“And how about his place of employment? You said he was into cyber crimes.”

“He runs a contracting company. He employs information technology types.”

“What’s the name of his company?”

“DR Consulting.” It’s what he filed his taxes under.

“And you haven’t noticed anything different about him?”

“He’s been distant. Doesn’t talk as much as he used to. But nothing significant. It wasn’t until I discovered his association with Tony that he became violent.” All of that was true. He only left out the fact that they both illegally hacked the wealthy. He glanced at Savanna to see if she’d reveal anything. She stared at the sheriff’s notebook but didn’t say anything. Her gaze lifted and met his.

The sheriff tapped his notebook with his pen. “What brought you up here?”

Savanna’s eyes shifted to the sheriff. Yes, that was a good question, wasn’t it? Korbin fumbled with a reply.

“I needed a few days alone.”

The sheriff studied him a while and for a moment he thought he’d ask more questions.

“I’ll pass this along to the authorities in Denver,” he said. Korbin felt his suspicion. He felt Macon’s, too. And Savanna was becoming agitated. She folded her arms and had a cold demeanor now. He’d have to tell her everything.

“We finished up at your house,” the sheriff said to Savanna. “I had my deputy arrange to have your window boarded up. It should be safe to go back there. There’s a mess to clean up, though.”

Savanna nodded, awkward and revealing.

A glance at Macon confirmed he’d noticed, too.

“You should have the patio door replaced as soon as possible,” the sheriff said.

“I will.”

“And I’d recommend upgrading your security. You’re remote and that sometimes deters most, but in this case...”

“Yes. I’ll do that. Thank you.”

Savanna had an appearance of a woman who needed protection and taking care of, but Korbin had seen for himself how misguided that perception was.

The sheriff tipped his hat at them and then walked toward the lobby with Hurley, the two going into a conversation about an upcoming local event. Small-town talk. The sheriff would do some checking on him, but by the time he figured out he was a suspect in a murder and a hit-and-run, Korbin hoped to be long gone.

“I think you should come with me, Savanna,” Macon said.

That interrupted Savanna’s consternation as she, too, had watched the sheriff leave. “Aren’t you up in Vail working on a movie?”

“Yes, but you shouldn’t be here alone.”

“She isn’t alone,” Korbin said. He doubted a movie star had what it took to protect her, and wouldn’t have the time, either. No. Korbin wasn’t about to let her out of his sight.

“If it wasn’t for you, she wouldn’t be in danger.”

“But she is in danger,” Korbin said. “Damen might go after her now that he’s seen her with me. He’ll assume she knows what I know. I can keep her safe.”

Macon turned from his sister to face Korbin. “Really. And how do you propose to do that? What makes you so sure you can keep her safe?”

He didn’t ask something stupid like,
What makes you so sure you can?
He might be an actor, but Savanna’s family had money. They could protect her.

“It’s like you said. If it wasn’t for me, she wouldn’t be in danger. I feel obligated.”

“Well, I officially absolve you of all obligation.”

Savanna sighed hard then, swatting her hand in the air to vent her frustration. “Would you stop making decisions for me? Both of you.”

Leaving Korbin staring in stunned silence, she marched toward the lobby.

“Is she considering sticking with you?” Macon asked, incredulous.

Korbin didn’t answer. He followed Savanna to the lobby, glad to see the sheriff had gone. He stopped before Savanna and Hurley, who stood near the front desk waiting for them.

“Savanna...” Macon started in again.

“Macon. Stop. I don’t need you to protect me. I don’t need anyone to protect me.”

“That’s not what I saw when Damen broke into your house,” Korbin said.

“Just come with me, Savanna. I’ll drop you off in Evergreen.”

“I don’t want to go to Evergreen,” she snapped.

“There aren’t many who can tell Savanna what to do,” Hurley said with a grin. “I’ve offered to help her on many occasions and she usually refuses. Nicely, but a refusal nonetheless. Folks up here tend to be that way. We like our isolation.”

“Yeah, well, so do criminals.” Macon eyed Korbin. “As we’ve seen.”

Savanna stepped up to Macon, taking his hands. “I’ll be all right. I’ll do what the sheriff suggested. Get a security system. I’m not running away from my life.”

“What about him?” Macon thumbed toward Korbin. He was close to his height.

Savanna rolled a slow glance toward him. “He’ll take his trouble and go away.”

She meant more than Damen. After last night, she was pulling back, ruling him out as a potential love interest. He should be relieved. He wouldn’t have to face all the turmoil and confusion having feelings for Savanna invoked. But something shifted inside him. He was relieved, but regret was stronger—regret that he’d never see her again. Regret that she’d be out of his life for good. And a question as to whether letting her go that way was wise...or right.

“Mom’s going to have a fit,” Macon said. “She won’t stand for this.”

“She’ll have to.” With a disgruntled breath and a shake of her head, she turned to Hurley, who had emerged from a storage closet behind the front desk carrying two pairs of winter boots. Korbin and Savanna were still in ski boots. The man sure thought of everything. That had been obvious with how well equipped the yurt had been.

“What’s with her?” Macon asked.

Korbin saw how perplexed Macon was. More than Korbin’s character had him wondering.

“She seems upset about something.”

Korbin didn’t offer an explanation and hoped Macon would just drop it. He didn’t.

He scrutinized Korbin. “Is something going on between the two of you?”

“Someone shot at us.”

“No.” Macon kept eyeing him suspiciously. “You two have something going on. Is that why she won’t go with me? She’d rather be with you?” When Korbin said nothing, inwardly squirming, Macon said, “You were alone for a long time. A night at her place. The yurt...”

“Nothing’s going on between us.” Nothing he was willing to discuss, anyway.

“What’s your story, Maguire? What weren’t you telling the sheriff back there?”

If he hadn’t told the sheriff, what made Macon think he’d tell him? As guilty as he appeared, some information had to be withheld. For now.

“If you get my sister hurt, I’ll have to do something about that.”

Again, his acting profession didn’t mix with this glimpse of a man who delivered threats that had to be heeded. Korbin had the distinct impression that he was capable of retaliating to avenge his sister. Where had that background come from? Korbin doubted even his family was aware of this side of him.

“As soon as I know more, I’ll be the first to tell the police. You have my word,” Korbin said.

“How do I know your word is any good?”

“You don’t.” He met the other man’s gaze and watched him digest the truth of that statement. Macon didn’t know if his word was any good. He’d have to trust him. Or not. But Korbin’s message was clear. He’d given his word and he intended to keep it.

Macon gave him a pat on his shoulder. “Take her home. Let her decide what she wants to do.”

Korbin nodded once. He wouldn’t force Savanna to do anything she didn’t agree to. He walked over to her. She’d put on the boots and was waiting for him.

Taking the pair Hurley had for him, he removed the ski boots and put those on.

“Thanks for all your help,” he said to Hurley.

“You take care now.” He handed Savanna some keys.

“I’ll take you to your truck,” Savanna said to Korbin.

“I’ll meet you there,” Macon said. “I have to go get my things from my room and make a couple of calls first.”

He’d make sure Korbin took her there. Korbin would do the same if he had a sister and something like this had happened. He followed Savanna out to Hurley’s truck. Before she reached the driver’s door, he stopped her.

“I’ll drive.”

She didn’t protest and climbed up into the passenger side.

“You should stay with me, Savanna,” he said as he began to drive.

“And continue this charade? No, thanks. I’ll take my chances with a new security system. And don’t forget, my dad is really rich.”

Her frustration came from sleeping with him. He wasn’t going to broach that topic now. So she could afford security personnel if she decided to go that far. All right. He had a control problem going on here. He’d lost two women he should have been able to protect. Savanna was not going to be the third.

He didn’t argue. Just drove the short distance to her road. Moments later, he spotted his truck—and the swarm of other vehicles up at her house, unmarked Denver detective cars.

“What’s going on?”

Somehow the police had tracked him here, and the sheriff hadn’t yet been informed. Korbin braked, glanced over at Savanna’s questioning face and then did a U-turn. She wasn’t going to like this.

Chapter 7

“A
re you kidding me?” Savanna held on as Korbin slid out onto the highway.

He raced as fast as he dared up the icy road. Now wasn’t the appropriate time to explain everything to her.

“What are you doing?”

Just then a black Escalade passed going the other way. Savanna watched it, and Korbin saw her brother in the driver’s seat. He didn’t notice them.

“Stop this truck!” Savanna twisted to look for her brother, but Korbin saw in his rearview mirrors that he wasn’t slowing to turn around.

Spotting the turn to Chavis’s cabin, he took it. The road had recently been plowed. There were other cabins in the area. The first turnoff was Chavis’s. Korbin drove up the driveway, protected by a thick forest of trees. In the clearing, he stopped.

Savanna sat on the other side of the truck, a fiery beauty full of temper.

“Take me home. Now.”

“Just come inside. I’ll explain everything.”

“I don’t want to know any more about you. The fact that you just ran from police is already too much.”

“I talked to the sheriff,” he said.

“Only because you
had
to.”

“Come inside, Savanna. If you still want me to take you home after I explain, I’ll take you.”

She stared at him, debating.

He opened the driver’s door, taking the keys with him and surveying the small clearing. She must think he had some redeeming qualities, because she got out and trudged through the snow to the door of the cabin, which was a lot smaller than hers and not as nice.

Inside, they stomped snow off their boots. The cabin was oddly not chilly. Korbin went to the thermostat and checked the heat. It was set at about seventy degrees.

Savanna waited in the middle of the room, the rustic kitchen behind her. Light from the front window touched dust in the air. Moose-patterned log furniture in the living room and bulky wood side tables had been chosen by a man. Savanna eyed everything as though ticking off a list of feminine accents she’d add, or maybe things she’d get rid of. But that lasted all of ten seconds. Then she turned her expectant gaze on him.

Korbin went to the fireplace, crouching and holding his hand out. It felt warm. Someone had turned up the heat and had a fire. They weren’t alone.

Creaking floorboards brought Korbin up and moving toward the hall. Damen appeared with a pistol. He aimed at Savanna.

Ignited with rage, Korbin turned and as Damen began to swing the pistol toward him, he knocked Damen’s hand. The gun fired and took a chunk out of the wall.

Savanna screamed while Korbin took Damen down to the floor. No way was he letting this man get the upper hand on him again. He squeezed Damen’s hand and bashed it and the gun against the wood floor. Wrestling Damen’s kicking legs, he blocked a punch and jabbed his fingers into the other man’s eyes, eliciting a shout from him. The gun fell out of Damen’s hand.

Korbin grabbed the gun and aimed it at Damen’s head as he climbed to his feet. Damen blinked rapidly and rubbed his eyes, sitting up and trying to see. Swinging his foot, Korbin clocked him in the head, sending him falling backward, unconscious.

Disarming the pistol, Korbin went into the main room where Savanna crouched behind the kitchen island. Seeing him, she rose. Korbin put the gun on the island and stuffed the magazine into his front pocket. Savanna’s breathing was fast and shallow. Her body trembled.

“Are you all right?”

She nodded shakily.

Korbin brought one of the kitchen chairs into the living room and then went out into the garage, where he found some duct tape and an extension cord.

Back in the cabin, he saw that Savanna still stood near the kitchen island. She watched as he dragged Damen to the living room and lifted him onto the chair. Damen groaned.

“What are you doing?”

She must be in shock or something. She could see what he was doing. “Tying him.”

Working faster, Korbin wound the extension cord around Damen’s body, making sure his arms and legs were securely bound. He used duct tape to wrap around his ankles and wrists, double assurance he wasn’t going anywhere.

Slowly, she moved toward him. “He was going to shoot me.”

He straightened and looked at her. “Yes.”

Confusion and fear and abating adrenaline kept her face slack. “Why?”

Damen’s head rolled and began to lift.

Korbin helped him out by gripping a handful of hair and yanking his head back. Damen met his eyes groggily. As it dawned on him that he was bound, awareness of his situation came into his eyes.

“What don’t you want me to know about Tony?” Korbin asked.

A sick clown smile curved his lips. “I can’t wait to see you rot in jail.”

“I thought you wanted me dead.”

Damen lowered his head and tested the binds at his wrists and ankles.

“A little hard to kill me like that,” Korbin said. “Some friend you turned out to be.”

“You’ve been getting too righteous, Maguire. I should have seen this coming a lot sooner than I did.”

“What? That I wasn’t going to do your bidding anymore?”

“You didn’t have a problem with it before.”

“Well, I do now. How did you find me?”

“When you didn’t show up here, I used Chavis’s snowmobile and backtracked your path. That’s how I found your truck. Got stuck, did you? Lost in the storm?” Damen chuckled and glanced over at Savanna. “Well, you always were lucky with the ladies. Or did you plan to stumble upon a beauty like her? Did you know I’d look here for you?”

Savanna sent Korbin a sharp look that questioned the validity of Damen’s claim.

“I didn’t know you were coming after me until you started shooting,” Korbin said. “Tony must be someone important to you if you’re willing to kill to keep him a secret.”

The clown smile faded. Damen didn’t like that much. Whatever his association with Tony was, it was a dangerous one.

“You should have left Collette’s computer alone, Maguire. Why did you think to look there? I never did. I didn’t know she was getting suspicious of me. How much did she find out? Is that why the two of you met?”

“You set me up for that hit-and-run.” He hadn’t explained any of this to Savanna, and she was absorbing all of it with a good amount of speculative confusion.

“You and Collette were conspiring against me.”

“No,” Korbin said. “What did you think was going on with us?”

“Were you sleeping with her?” Damen asked, emotion darkening his eyes. “Were you with her the night before you met her at the restaurant?”

Collette must have succeeded in avoiding him that night. “No. I never slept with her.”

“She liked you.” His mouth and eyes contorted with a sneer. “She talked about you all the time. And she said the two of you were friends.”

“When did she say that?”

“When I confronted her about the meeting she had with you. I saw you go into that restaurant and meet her.”

Had he seen them leave? Korbin had searched pretty thoroughly then, before he’d given Collette the gun. He would have noticed. Damen must have left as soon as he’d seen them get up from the table.

Damen had set him up because he thought he was fooling around with his girlfriend. “You’ve really sunk to a new low, haven’t you?”

“If you didn’t sleep with her, you would have. I know you, Maguire. How you are with women.”

How was that? He’d been married and after Niya’s death, he hadn’t seen anyone. Sure, plenty of women came on to him, but he hadn’t been interested. Damen was delusional. Jealous. Korbin had suspected as much, and even that the feeling had intensified the longer they knew each other and the deeper into crime Damen fell, but for Damen to act on it? Maybe it was that Damen couldn’t control him. He controlled everyone else he worked with, certainly everyone who worked for him. But never Korbin.

“Collette asked me to help her get away from you,” he said. “She was going to meet me the next morning and I was going to get her away from you.”

Damen’s eyes didn’t move from Korbin as he considered that. “Well, I guess she got her wish.”

That was uncalled for and not something Korbin would let slide by. He punched Damen on the side of his eye, quick and hard, the sound of knuckles against flesh cracking.

Savanna inhaled sharply, not having expected the violent response.

“Tony,” Korbin said. “Who is he?”

Damen shook off the dizzying effect of Korbin’s hit. “I thought you knew.”

“How would I?”

Damen shrugged within his confines. “Bear could have talked.”

Bear was one of Damen’s thugs he’d recently taken on and part of what had begun to change Korbin’s mind about him.

“No. I didn’t have time to ask him. Is he involved, too?”

Damen stared up at Korbin for a while, weighing his options, which weren’t many in his current predicament.

“Let’s talk about this, Korbin. If you let me go, I’ll tell the cops I talked to you the night of the hit-and-run. You’ll be cleared.”

“What about Tony?” And let’s not forget Collette’s murder. Surely Damen hadn’t forgotten that it was Korbin’s gun he’d used to kill her. Or had he known it was his gun? Maybe he hadn’t. If Collette hadn’t told him, how would he have known?

“You have to agree not to interfere in that,” Damen said.

“And my word is all you need.”

That clown smile returned. “We are friends, Maguire.”

“Wrong. We
were
friends. We aren’t anymore.”

Damen shook his head, lowering it and then looking up at Korbin. “I can’t have you ruining my business arrangement with Tony.”

“You’re hardly in a position to stop me.” And, oh, did Korbin ever intend to ruin it.

“Aren’t I? You’d rather go to prison for something you didn’t do?”

“You’ve got that confused, Damen.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah.” He bent to bring his head close. “I’m not the one who’s going to prison. You are. Trouble is I need a little more time to ensure that.”

“It won’t be long before the cops get here. I told them about your friendship with Chavis.”

“Good. Because you’re going to need them.”

“I’m going to need the cops?” Damen outright laughed, a deep, robust sound that ricocheted off the walls.

“Savanna?” Korbin said. “I need you to wait in the backroom. Or outside in the truck. Whichever you prefer.”

“Wh—why?”

“Because I don’t want you to see this.”

Damen’s smile vanished. He was beginning to recall Korbin’s reputation. This was why no one went up against him, why no one tried to make him do things against his will. Damen should have remembered that. He should have considered the possibility that he’d find himself on the receiving end of Korbin’s brand of justice.

“What are you going to do?” Savanna asked. She was a strong, brave woman, but she wasn’t accustomed to violence.

“Give us some time alone together, Savanna.” His calm tone was both reassuring and a warning.

Savanna looked from Damen to Korbin. “I’ll be in the truck.”

* * *

Savanna started toward the truck, a thousand questions going through her mind. Who was Collette? Who was Bear? And what was Korbin doing in that cabin right now?

The only reason she didn’t drive away was because that man had shot at her. Well, and she didn’t have the keys, either. Still punchy and dazed over how close she’d come to dying, she couldn’t think straight. What was the right thing to do? Damen had set Korbin up in a hit-and-run accident. What had happened with that? Had someone died? And what’s with the woman, Collette? She’d been trying to escape Damen and Korbin had tried to save her.

Everything she’d heard painted Korbin as a hero. He’d jumped between her and Damen when he’d shot at her. He’d saved her. Again.

About fifteen minutes later, Korbin emerged, striding calmly toward the truck as though he’d just left a hair appointment instead of a man tied up. When he climbed into the truck and handed her the keys, Savanna had regained some of her aplomb.

“Is he dead?”

“No. But he’ll be in the hospital for a few days.”

Just the right amount of time he needed? He’d beaten the man so severely that he’d be taken to the hospital. That’s what the police would find when they arrived to look for Korbin. Damen. Beaten to a bloody pulp.

“Where are we going?” She wasn’t even sure she was going anywhere with him.

“Denver. I have a friend who can help us.”

She didn’t even ask to be taken home. She didn’t know where she wanted to be right now. But there was one thing she needed to set straight. “There is no
us
.”

He paused in clipping his seat belt in the passenger seat to observe her, probably trying to ascertain whether she meant them as a couple or them in this situation.

“There
is
an
us
.” He clipped the belt as though that made everything final. “Damen shooting at you made that a certainty. You’re staying with me now.”

She jerked the gear into Reverse and turned the truck around. “I cannot believe this.”

“I’ll make it right.”

“Like you did in there?” She jerked her thumb toward the back window, where through the rearview mirror the cabin disappeared as the thick forest swallowed them.

“Collette was Damen’s girlfriend,” Korbin said. “He killed her after she met with me.” He explained everything about the meeting and the hit-and-run and then finding Collette.

Nauseated to discover two people had died before he’d fortuitously found his way to her remote road, Savanna drove white-knuckled, pale and cold.

“Didn’t you notice anything off about Damen before now?” There’s something wrong with a person who was capable of murdering people. A staged hit-and-run? He had to have noticed something.

“He wasn’t always like what you saw in there. I told you the truth about him. And me. We stole from the wealthy. It was a game. Until now.”

Now it was no game. Damen would kill to preserve his dangerous association with a man named Tony.

“And yes, I have noticed the change in him before now. That’s why I was getting out,” he said. “After I found out about Bear...”

She was almost afraid to ask. “Who is Bear?”

“A drug dealer.”