Sabotaged (19 page)

Kirra waited in the rental car while Reef entered the Roadside Bar. Camille had told them she'd heard Henry had been frequenting their old haunt. Kodiak being a small community was working to their advantage, though Kirra couldn't help but wonder if it might work to their disadvantage too. Watts had to know they were coming. Had the trip wire been intended for them?

She shifted restlessly, not thrilled with the idea of sitting this one out, but from the look of the clientele she'd seen come and go since their arrival ten minutes ago, it had probably been the wise call. Though she doubted Reef looking like a model out of a Hollister catalog would blend in well with the roughneck crowd.

Ten minutes later, she started tapping a crescendo on the plastic dash, needing to get out the antsy energy coursing through her. What was taking him so long?

Another ten minutes and she got out of the car, striding to the front door. She pushed through to find near darkness, despite it being the middle of the day.

Cigarette smoke infused the air, AC/DC blared over the
speakers, and every man in the joint turned to give her a once-over. When her eyes fully adjusted, she searched frantically over the L-shaped interior. No Reef.

A chill tingled down her spine.
Where is he?

The only other female in the place was the bartender—slender with short brown hair. “Let me guess,” she said, her eyes on Kirra as she set a beer in front of the man at the end of the bar. “You want the good-looking one that was in here?”

Was?
“Yeah.”

“He's out back.” She gestured to the rear door.

“Thanks.” Her heart pounding in her throat, Kirra strode for the back door, a hundred different scenarios racing through her mind, none of them good.

She burst through the exit door, the sun glinting bright in her eyes. She lifted her hand to shield them. “Reef?”

“Over here, Kirra.”

She followed the sound of his voice to find him sitting on the open bed of a truck with a large man.

Reef stood and walked toward her.

She looked past him at the man, who smiled back at her. “Everything okay?” she whispered as Reef reached her side.

“Yeah. Sorry. Emmett and I got talking.”

“Emmett?”

The tall man stood and strode toward them. He extended a thick hand. “How ya doing?” He was nearing six-five, easily two hundred and eighty pounds, broad shoulders, bulging biceps.

She shook his hand, his grasp sturdy, though she could tell he was trying to be gentle.

“Emmett used to help my dad with fishing excursions way back when.”

“Yeah.” Emmett raked a hand through his tangled dirty-blond hair. “Last time I saw Reef he was about yay high.” His large hand hovered near his thick waist.

Kirra smiled, her heart finally settling. “Is that right?”

“Emmett was telling me he saw Henry Watts in here last week.”

She tried to contain her excitement. “Oh?”

Emmett folded his massive arms across his burly chest. “Yeah. No idea where he's holed up at, but like I told Reef, I'd be careful. Prison did nothing to settle Henry down.”

Kirra waited until she and Reef were pulling out of the parking lot before getting directly to the point. “So we keep an eye on this place hoping Henry shows up?”

“Emmett had a better idea.”

“Oh?”

“Suggested we talk to Watts's girlfriend.”

She hiked her brows.

Reef smiled. “Emmett works as a short-order cook over at O'Dell's Diner. He said one of the waitresses has been spending a lot of time with Watts lately.”

“Great. Let's go.”

“She's off today, but Emmett said she will be in for the breakfast crowd first thing tomorrow.”

She hated to wait another second. “Any chance he knows where she lives?”

Reef shook his head. “Nope. Said Charity likes to keep to herself.”

“So our chances of getting anything out of her . . . ?”

“Are probably not great, but you never know. We can pray, when you explain about Meg, that her conscience will kick in.”

Kirra looked back at the bar as it faded in the distance. “So what's the story with Emmett?”

“He had it rough growing up. My dad took him under his wing, but after Dad passed, Emmett stopped coming around.”

“That's too bad.”

“Yeah. Selfish as it may have been, I was too preoccupied with my own pain to think of anyone else, but Cole tried to keep him on as we transitioned Dad's fishing business into Last Frontier Adventures.”

“But Emmett wasn't interested?”

“I don't know. He was comfortable with my dad, but I got the feeling he wasn't around us kids . . . Maybe felt like he didn't belong.”

“That's a shame.”

“Yeah. It is. I told him next time he's visiting Yancey he needs to stop by for dinner.”

“I hope he does.”

Reef tapped the wheel as he pulled back onto the main road. “Me too.”

Reef saw Kirra settled before returning to his room, uneasiness tugging at his gut. He was right next door, but it didn't feel close enough, not when they were being hunted.

He gazed out the window, checking the nearly empty parking lot. There'd been no sign of the man chasing them since their near drowning, but he doubted the man had given up. Question was—had they finally eluded him or was he simply
biding his time before closing in? Reef shut the curtain, moved to the bed, and dropped to his knees.

I'm out of my league,
Father. I'm not a cop like Jake or Landon.
I just want to protect Kirra, to help her find
Meg, to keep Frank and her safe. Please guide us.
You know the men responsible. You see through all of
this. Please lead us in the right direction and wrap
your arms of protection around us. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Turning out the light, he crawled into bed, stretching his arms behind his head. He'd be surprised if he slept at all.

Kirra opened her eyes, the space around her disorienting. Everything within her screamed something was wrong. Her gaze fixed on an object poised about a foot over her head.

“Hello, darling.”

She blinked. The voice was rough, foreign.

She scrambled back, her head bumping hard against the thick wooden headboard, the room dark except for the flashlight glaring in her eyes, illuminating the silver-toned bat.

“Easy there.” He held the bat steady—now inches from her face, black lettering imprinted along its sleek metal surface. “See this?”

She nodded.

“Stop looking for Henry Watts, or next time I come swinging.”

Reef's feet hit the floor before his brain processed what he was hearing.

He yanked the door open, and Kirra rushed into his arms.

Not that he was complaining, but . . . “What happened?”

His blood boiled as she relayed the terrifying event.

A quick call had the local police on site within seven minutes, but there was little to report. Kirra hadn't gotten a good look at the man—he'd been shrouded in shadows, the bat he held the only thing she could describe with any certainty.

“You heard his voice,” Reef said.

“Yeah.” She nodded.

“Did it sound like the guy on the snowmobile?”

Officer Bohart frowned. “What guy on a snowmobile?”

Reef explained—what was pertinent at least.

Kirra cut in. “This guy's voice was different. Distinct.”

“Distinct how?” Reef asked.

“Gravelly. The other guy's was simply deep, and his inflections were different.”

“Great.” Reef sighed. “Now we have two guys threatening us.”

“I spoke with Officer Bohart,” Jake said over the phone as Reef paced the hotel room after explaining all that had happened since they'd talked that afternoon.

“Yeah, I told him it would be a good idea if he touched base with you. Anything on your end?”

“Well, we found something new about Rain—or should I say, Joseph Keller. He's got a long rap sheet, including being a principal suspect in a vandalism case involving NorthStar Oil and their newly laid interior pipeline.”

“Is that right?”

“Police didn't have enough evidence to make it stick, but they are convinced it was the work of Joseph and his
accomplice
.”

“Who . . . I have a feeling you're going to say we know.”

“You got it—Samuel Matthews.”

“Are you kidding me? Sam acted like he barely knew Rain, let alone partnered in vandalism with him. He made it seem as if Rain was just some guy who showed up when he wanted and no one except the girls really liked.”

“And that makes Sam a prime suspect in my mind. When Kayden and I got back to Kaltag, we discussed the pipeline angle with Gage and Darcy. We're concerned Frank is being pressured by ecoterrorists to sabotage one or more pump stations. I've arranged to meet a NorthStar maintenance engineer at one of the stations, but if nothing comes of your search for Henry Watts, we think you should head back to Seward to question the students—especially Sam Matthews—about ROW's involvement in any vandalism.”