Viator (The Viator Chronicles Book 1) (25 page)

The trail was shady and cool under the fir trees. They strolled in silence, and Erin enjoyed the peaceful forest after the crowds on the bridge. A few other people wandered along the path, but most of the visitors stayed near the bridge or in the park on the other side. After they had walked about a mile, Matt, who had been leading the way, stopped and put his finger to his mouth. “Ssshh.”

He pointed to the right. Five deer stood under the trees. They were munching leaves, and they turned their graceful necks to look. Two fawns, two does, and a buck. They took a few steps across the forest floor. More people approached on the trail, and the deer stood still as statues, then flicked their ears and leapt away. They were out of sight in seconds.

Matt took the lead again, and they walked on until they came to a high knoll where the sun shone on the green grass, and a few flowers bloomed along the edge of the forest. Erin could see Puget Sound far below and Hope and Camano Islands in the distance. The water glittered in the sunshine, and the islands were covered with the dark green of fir trees down to their rocky shores. Erin looked up at the sky and pointed out two bald eagles flying directly overhead.

“How’s this spot for lunch?” Gwen asked.

“It looks good to me,” Erin said. “What do you think, Gary?”

“It’s perfect.”

They dropped their packs, spread out the blankets, and Erin brought out the lunch containers. She had brought thermoses of iced tea and lemonade, plus fried chicken, potato salad, grapes, cheese with crackers, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. They all sat down on the blankets and filled their plates.

When the kids finished their lunch, they wandered off to explore. Erin called out, “Don’t go far. Stay in earshot.”

Gary pulled off his shirt and lay back on the blanket in the sunshine while Erin put away the lunch things. Then she lay down on the blanket next to him.

“How’s Henry?” she asked.

“Pretty well,” Gary said. He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

“Have they found out who did it?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Any ideas?” Erin asked.

He opened his eyes and gazed at the sky for a minute, then leaned on his elbow to look at her. “I don’t want to talk about Henry today. Let’s just enjoy each other.”

Erin nodded. “Sure.”

Gary moved closer to her. He trailed his fingers lightly over her face and kissed her.

“You bring me to beautiful places.”

“I’m glad you like it, but you’ve been all over the world. You’ve been to many more exotic places than this.”

“Maybe more exotic. But when I’m with you … well, this is the closest to heaven I’ll ever get.” His smile was teasing.

Erin shook her head. “What do you mean?”

His grin widened. A crow landed in the tree above them, nodded its head and cawed several times.

Gary picked up a rock and threw it at the crow. “Annoying bird.”

It cawed once more before flying off.

Erin frowned; she felt an urge to follow it and started to get up. Gary put his hand out and held her arm. “Don’t go.”

She lay back down and closed her eyes. Gary leaned back with his hands behind his head. “I never intended to fall for you so hard. I’m falling in love with you, Erin.”

She sat up. “Oh, Gary. I enjoy being with you—I like you—I more than like you. But I’m not sure I can fall in love with anyone yet.”

He frowned. “It’s been two years—don’t you think that’s long enough?”

Erin gazed at the sky. She could see the crow flying away from them, and she sighed. “I know it seems like a long time.” She was quiet for a few moments as William’s face came to her mind. She turned her head away, pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her legs. The sun beat down on her head and back. She turned to face him again.

“I love being with you,” she said.

“That’s a good start.”

He reached for her and pulled her close. His arms felt strong, his skin so smooth. She ran her hands over his muscled back, and then stopped and listened for a minute. She pulled away, stood up, and looked around for the children, but couldn’t hear them, so she called out, “Matt! Gwen!”

“Over here, Mom, we’re all here,” Matt called from further down the trail. Satisfied, Erin sat back down on the blanket, picked a long piece of grass and put the end into her mouth. She lay back on the blanket and closed her eyes.

Gary leaned up on his elbow and traced his fingers lightly over her face. The tingling feeling of his touch made her smile.

“Someday I want you to marry me,” he said, still running his finger around her face. “And I always get what I want.”

Erin’s eyes shot open, and she saw his amused smile. “Are you laughing at me?”

“No,” he said. “Just relax. Enjoy my touch.”

She closed her eyes. The warm sunshine made her feel dreamy, and his light caresses made her feel beautiful. She didn’t know how she could ever say no to him.

The sun began to sink into the west behind the trees, and a cool wind blew from the south. The children wandered back to the picnic spot and were ready to head home, so they gathered their blankets and headed back down the trail, winding through the forest as the twilight deepened under the trees. Erin felt strangely subdued, and Gary was quiet as they hiked down to the car.

They emerged from the forest and crossed the highway to the still-crowded parking lot, and Erin saw that two men were standing beside her SUV. Gary noticed them too, and he slowed his pace and glanced around, scanning the area.

“Wait here,” he said.

“Who are they?” she asked.

“What’s going on?” Matt asked.

Gary’s face was like stone. He ignored their questions, and they stopped while he walked toward the men. They were dark-haired, dressed in dark pants with shirts tucked in. One of them flicked a cigarette away and spat on the ground. They watched Gary as he walked with confidence toward them. A few other people in the parking lot eyed the men warily and hastened away.

“Who are they, Mommy?” Gwen asked.

“Shh. I don’t know,” Erin said. “Stay here.” She slowly followed Gary and stopped a few feet away.

“So here you are, Arthur,” one of the men said, a burly, whiskered man wearing a gold bracelet. Erin thought his accent must be from somewhere in Eastern Europe.

“Yeah. I’m not hard to find.”

The men laughed. “Your woman isn’t hard to find either,” the burly man said as he looked at Erin.

She caught her breath—anger flared inside her, mixed with a trembling fear.

Gary’s voice was as cold as his eyes. “What is that to me? There’s no problem here.” Erin could see how every muscle in his body was tensed.

The men laughed again. “Is that what you think?” the man said. “We have the ship. The cargo is …” he laughed a sneering laugh, “… worse for wear.”

Gary stood still.

“So you see, we have a problem here,” the man said. His eyes slid to Erin again, lingering on her.

“Did Grekov send you?” Gary said.

“He is angry.”

“I know. But Grekov knows I always make good. And I make him a lot of money.” Gary’s voice grew louder. “And Grekov knows he needs to keep me happy.”

The burly man stepped closer. Erin could see the tendons standing out on his neck; his face was turning purple as he shook with anger. “Fuck you. Grekov wants you to take care of this NOW.”

Gary laughed. “Tell Grekov I feel his pain. Tell him if he’s patient—IF HE’S PATIENT—he’ll be remunerated for his trouble. But if he’s not, well, remind Grekov that there are consequences if anything happens to Gary Arthur.”

They both stood still, eye to eye, staring at each other. Erin felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. Gary didn’t move a muscle, but the other man clenched and unclenched his fists. Finally, his companion broke the silence. “Fuck this. Let’s get out of here.”

Gary didn’t move. The other man, his eyes still locked with Gary’s, spat on the ground. Then he turned around and the two men walked to a black car parked nearby and climbed into it. The car started, and the men took off out of the parking lot, forcing several people to dash out of their way.

Only when they were out of sight did Gary turn around to face Erin and the children. His face was a frozen mask, his eyes hard and unreadable. Erin’s heart was beating fast, but she called to the kids. “Go to the car.”

Gary stood still, watching her.

“What was that about?” she asked.

He looked away and his nostrils flared as he breathed. He clenched his fists and shook his head, then looked back at her with blazing eyes. “I’ll take care of it. It doesn’t concern you—it’s not important anyway.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t concern me? Those brutes came here to hurt you.”

He laughed and shook his head. “No. They had no intention of hurting me. They wanted to scare me. They’re bullies and don’t know how to behave. I’ve seen their kind often enough.”

Erin was shocked. He laughed again. “It’s okay.” He put his arm around her shoulder and started to walk to the car, but Erin stopped him. “What was that about? What was the cargo?”

“The cargo? It was from that shipment I told you about—the one that was missing. Mechanical equipment from the Ukraine.” He put his finger under her chin, lifted her face to his and whispered, “It wasn’t drugs. I don’t have anything to do with drugs.” He kissed her lightly and his dimples deepened with his smile.

Erin let out a sigh. “Gary, I’m frightened. What are you going to do?”

“I knew I was going to have to deal with Grekov as soon as I found out the shipment was late. I’ve got it figured out. Everything’ll be fine—don’t worry. Let’s go back home.”

Chapter 35

Erin felt exhausted and achy after the long day at Deception Pass. Gary left to drive home after a light supper at her house, and her emotions were frayed and raw. She felt a little better with Gary’s reassurances, but the whole scene had been terrifying.

Her back hurt. After the kids were in bed she examined it in the mirror again. There were no longer any signs of bruises, but the red scar was still there. She tried to think of any time when she had cut her back but couldn’t. Pieces of last night’s dream floated through her mind, and strongest of all was the memory of Michael carrying her through the forest.

And then she remembered—she was supposed to have lunch with Michael the next day. She needed to call and find out where he wanted to meet. A glance at the clock showed nine-thirty, so she called Aleesha’s cell phone to get his number.

“Hello, Erin. We were just talking about you,” Aleesha said, laughing.

“Who?”

“I’m sitting here with Bruce and Michael. Bruce is packing up to go back to Portland tonight. He’s got a class to teach in the morning.”

“Oh, what does he teach?” Erin asked. She tucked the phone under her chin, sat on her bed, and took off her sandals.

“Latin and math at Portland U,” Aleesha said. “Plus he coaches basketball.”

“Really?” Erin laughed. “When I think of a Latin professor, I think of a stern old taskmaster armed with a cane and a pipe. Bruce sure doesn’t fit that image!”

“No, definitely not.”

“I called to see if you had Michael’s phone number, but since he’s right there, do you suppose I could have a word with him?”

“Certainly.”

Erin set down her phone, pulled her shirt off, and slipped a blue camisole on. She picked up her phone and overheard some muffled talking and laughter on the other end of the line, then Michael came on.

“Hello, Erin. I hope you felt all right this morning?” he asked.

She caught her breath.

“Not terrible.” She tucked the phone under her chin, unzipped her jeans, and slid them off over her feet.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said.

“What makes you ask me that?”

Michael was silent for a moment. “You told me about your bad dreams. I thought you might have had another one last night.”

An image of Michael with his face splattered with blood flooded into her mind. “Oh … I did.”

“Do you remember it?”

“Only a little.” She didn’t want him to know she’d dreamed of him.

“Is that why you called?” he asked.

“No,” she exclaimed. “No. I just wanted to make sure you were still on for lunch tomorrow, and to find out where you want to meet.”

She lay down on the bed, wincing a little from the pain.

“I’ll pick you up at the store.”

“You don’t have to do that—I’d be happy to meet you somewhere.”

“No, I’ll pick you up.”

Again there was silence on the line. Michael spoke quietly. “Is your back feeling better?”

This time it was Erin’s turn to be quiet. “Yes.”
How could he know?
Her scalp prickled; if he had some answers, she wanted to learn more without saying too much out of the ordinary herself. She walked to her window and looked out across the water.

Michael continued, “What do you think happened?”

What did he know?
“What do you mean?”

He laughed. Erin felt a little dismayed at that. “Why don’t we talk about it at lunch?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said. She realized how exhausted she was. She threw herself down on top of her bed and laid her head on her pillow.

“Have a good night’s sleep, then,” Michael said.

“I hope so. It’s been a long time, though,” she said with her eyes closed and her left arm draped across her forehead.

“Do your dreams wake you in the night?” he asked. His voice soothed her tired mind.

“Yes, then I can’t get back to sleep.”

“It’ll get better once you start remembering more.”

Erin opened her eyes. “It will?”

“Sure. Say, Aleesha’s about to leave so I’d better give her phone back. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.

Erin sat up straight. “Wait. What do you mean?”

“Just let yourself remember.”

“I try.”

“We’ll talk. Walk with care—safe dreams,” he said.

She sighed. “
Et tu.”

Chapter 36

“Come on, kids, it’s time to go,” Erin called up the stairs.

Matt came running down, grabbed his backpack from the floor, and said, “Ready.” He went out the front door and got into the car.