Desperate Measures (An Aspen Falls Novel) Read online

  “Cam?” Jess shot her a warning look, locking both hands on the gun.

  She clearly saw Alex as a threat, and Cam knew she needed to take it down a notch.

  She held up her hands. “He’s cool, Jess. I promise. Put down the gun.”

  Jess looked at her uncertainly.

  “Truly,” she said. “He’s fine.”

  Jess wasn’t the only one who was confused.

  Alex was staring at her, his brow furrowed. “Who is she?” he asked again. Cam noticed he was cradling the side of his head.

  “It’s a long story,” she said.

  And one she definitely wasn’t going to go into with Jess there. Especially because she knew Jess would end up having more questions than she probably already did.

  She turned to Jess. “Um, thanks for coming…”

  It seemed like such a completely inadequate thing to say.

  Cam had left Lulu’s after talking to Nate, trying to come up with a way to find Necco. As soon as she got in her car, her phone buzzed. It was Jess, which she thought was odd. Not that they weren’t friendly, but Jess had left the department and they hadn’t exactly been close while working together. They did, however, have a rather harrowing experience at Superior Metals, and that situation had forged a new bond between them, one that both of them were still sort of testing out.

  “Cam?” Jess’s voice had been hesitant on the other end.

  Cam pulled out onto the road. “Yeah?”

  “Hey, I got off the phone with Sarah a little bit ago. She said you were sick and that it might be nice if I could bring you some soup.”

  Cam was dumbfounded. “She did what?”

  Jess chuckled. “You know how Sarah is.”

  “Why in the world would she ask you?” she asked, then realized how bad that sounded.

  But Jess didn’t seem offended by the question. “I guess she figured now that I’m unemployed, I have a lot of free time.”

  Cam sighed. “I’m fine. Really.”

  “So you’re not sick?” Jess asked. “I didn’t know what was going on, since your front door was open and everything…”

  Cam’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “What?”

  “Your front door,” Jess repeated. “It’s open—”

  “Are you there now?”

  “What? Yes—”

  Cam stepped on the accelerator. “What are you carrying? Anything?”

  “Soup? I…I stopped at the grocery store and grabbed chicken noodle from—”

  “No, no,” Cam said, shaking her head. “Are you carrying a weapon?”

  Jess was quiet for a minute.

  “Jess! Do you have a gun?”

  “Yes.” Her voice was small. “My dad’s. I…I carry it with me after…” Her voice trailed off.

  Cam knew what she was referring to.

  After what had happened at Superior Metals.

  But she didn’t have time to talk about that now.

  “Listen to me,” Cam commanded. “I need you to park. Approach the house. But do it carefully. Gun drawn. Do you hear me?”

  “What the hell is going on?” Jess’s voice was sharper now.

  “There’s no time.” Cam hated that she was asking Jess to do this. But she didn’t have a choice. “Can you do it for me?”

  Cam could hear Jess swallow. “What am I looking for?”

  Cam didn’t answer right away.

  Because she didn’t know.

  She had no idea why the front door was open.

  Had Alex left?

  Or had someone found him?

  Either one was a distinct possibility.

  “Are there any vehicles out front?”

  “No. None directly in front, and none in your driveway, at least.”

  “Okay. Approach the house. Be ready to call for backup.”

  “Cam, I’m not a police officer anymore.”

  “I know. Just listen to me, okay?” She drew a breath. “I don’t know what you’ll find. What I need for you to do is secure the entry so no one can go in or out. That’s all I’m asking you to do.”

  She wanted to ask for more. She wanted to tell Jess to barge into the house and make sure Alex was there. Make sure he was okay.

  But she couldn’t bring herself to do that. Not when she didn’t know what might be waiting inside.

  Jess cleared her throat, and Cam was back in the present moment, standing in her house, trying to diffuse a tense and awkward situation.

  She stared at Alex. He didn’t have any visible new injuries, but something had obviously happened.

  She just knew they couldn’t discuss it in front of Jess.

  Cam turned to the woman standing in the kitchen. A red headband held Jess’s short black hair off her forehead, a color that was a shade lighter than the long-sleeve T-shirt she was wearing. The handgun was now sitting on the counter, but still within easy reach.

  Cam offered a smile. “I appreciate you helping me out.”

  Jess stared at her, dumbfounded. “You’re not going to tell me what’s going on?”

  Cam hesitated. “No.”

  Jess frowned. “What?”

  “Remember that favor you asked of me?” Cam said. “With Jarrett and Superior Metals?”

  Jess’s cheeks colored a bit.

  “Well, it’s my turn to cash one in now.”

  The silence was like a chasm between them, but Cam stood her ground, her expression firm.

  “Fair enough,” Jess said with a sigh.

  Cam could tell Jess was pissed, but she knew the woman standing in front of her was well aware that she was in no position to make demands. Cam had helped Jess out during a tough and dangerous situation, and Cam knew Jess felt indebted to her. She was ready to milk that for all it was worth.

  Jess cocked her head. “But you’ll tell me eventually?”

  Cam stole a glance at Alex. His expression gave nothing away.

  It took a minute but Cam nodded. “Eventually. But for now, I need you to keep this quiet. All of this.”

  Jess gave a slight nod.

  “Even from Jarrett,” Cam said. Especially from Jarrett. The last thing she needed was Jess’s boyfriend digging around, looking for a story.

  The woman sighed.

  “I’m serious,” Cam warned.

  “Fine,” Jess said. She looked at Cam warily. “But this feels like a much bigger favor than the one I asked of you.”

  “It probably is,” Cam admitted. “Which is why I thanked you.”

  Jess’s mouth dipped into a frown, but she made no further comment. Instead, she said, “The soup is still out in the car. I’m sure it’s cold by now.” Her eyes raked over Cam. “Not that you need it.”

  Guilt niggled at Cam. All Jess had wanted to do was help her out by bringing over some soup. Instead, she’d been forced to approach a house with her gun drawn. Walked in and found a strange man and then held him at gunpoint long enough for Cam to get there.

  Yeah, Cam definitely owed her an explanation.

  And probably a hell of a lot more than that.

  It would have to wait.

  There were other things that needed to be taken care of right now.

  She knew Alex was safe.

  What she didn’t know was what had gone down at her house.

  Jess picked up her gun and stuck it into the waistband of her jeans. “Guess I’ll leave so you two can sort things out.”

  Cam nodded.

  Jess looked at Alex before she left, eyeing him with open curiosity.

  He acknowledged her with a nod and a slight smile. “Thanks for not shooting me.”

  Jess’s cheeks flushed a deeper red this time.

  As soon as she was gone, Cam shut the front door as best she could. It didn’t work, seeing as how the wood was splintered from being kicked in. She wondered if they would be better served keeping it open. At least they could see any potential assailants that way.

  “What happened?” she asked as soon as she heard J
ess’s engine start up.

  “Well, your little friend showed up…”

  She glared at him. “Before that,” she snapped. “Why was the front door open? And why is it busted off its hinges? I know Jess didn’t do that.”

  She could tell he didn’t want to answer. Hell, he was probably coming up with a suitable response, one that wouldn’t necessarily encompass the whole truth.

  “Alex.” She swallowed. “Don’t lie to me. Please.”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Two guys showed up here,” he said haltingly. “The guys in the Caprice.”

  His statement sent her reeling.

  “Said there was a bounty out on me.” His words were coming out a little faster now. “Your friend scared them off, but they’ll be back. And next time, there’ll be more of them.”

  Bile rose up in her stomach.

  “You know what this means, right?” He pushed off the couch, getting to his feet. “I have to go. And if you stay in this house, you need to make sure you’re armed and that there’s someone on patrol.”

  “No.”

  His expression hardened. “None of this is up for debate. Not after what just happened.”

  “You don’t have to go,” she said, shaking her head.

  She wasn’t letting him walk away. Not when doing so meant certain death.

  He had no safe place to go. No money. No contacts.

  Now that one of his enemies had traced him there, her home was no longer safe. She knew this. But she still didn’t agree with what he was saying.

  “Camila.”

  She flinched. She had a love-hate relationship with him saying her full first name.

  “You don’t have to go,” she repeated. “We do.”

  Her answer caught him by surprise, but he quickly recovered. “No.”

  She knew he’d object.

  And she knew just how to convince him she was right.

  “They know where I live, Alex,” she told him. “You just told me I needed to be armed. I needed guards. I’m not safe here anymore, am I?”

  He stiffened and offered a curt nod.

  “We have to get out of here,” she told him. “Not just you. Both of us.”

  “There’s nowhere to go.”

  “Yes there is.” She smiled grimly. “I have the perfect place.”

  26

  Monday, September 10th

  2:00 pm

  Cam did have the perfect place for them to hide.

  A place few people, if anyone, would suspect.

  Isabel, Cam’s grandmother, smiled at him. “It’s just so good to see your face again.”

  Alex and Cam were sitting in Isabel’s small apartment in Casa Mañana, the assisted living facility where she lived.

  Cam had convinced him it was the best place for them to go. After throwing together a quick bag, they’d hurried to her car and Cam had phoned the front desk of the facility to confirm their guest apartment was available. It felt like the first piece of good news in a long string of monumentally shitty developments.

  “Why is there an apartment?” he’d asked as they weaved their way through town.

  Cam took side streets to the facility, purposefully choosing roads with little traffic so they could see if they were being followed. She’d given Alex a baseball cap and sunglasses, and had donned a similar disguise for herself. They both knew it was a pretty lame attempt at hiding their identity, especially since Marco and his buddy already knew what kind of car she drove, but it felt better than doing nothing.

  “They have it available for guests,” she told him. “A lot of residents have family who come to visit from out of town. The apartment is available on a first come, first serve basis to whoever needs it. You just have to know someone in the building.”

  Yes, Alex thought. This was indeed the first bit of good luck he’d had since the whole shit storm had developed.

  Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Having Cam on his side felt like good luck, too. As did the fact that Marco hadn’t been successful in knocking him off.

  Or hurting Cam.

  That thought still seized up his insides, even now when they were sitting safely inside her grandmother’s apartment.

  He didn’t know what he would do if something happened to Cam.

  “Tell me what you’ve been up to, my dear,” Isabel said from her recliner.

  Alex adjusted himself on the love seat. He and Cam were sitting side by side, squeezed together so tight that they were practically in each other’s laps.

  He didn’t mind. Not in the least.

  He tried to focus on her grandmother’s question instead of the close proximity of Cam’s body.

  “A little bit of this and a little bit of that.” He knew he was being evasive, but it wasn’t as if he could just volunteer how he’d spent the last twelve years of his life.

  “You have a good job?” she asked.

  Cam’s leg pressed into Alex’s.

  He didn’t need the warning.

  “Pretty good,” he said. “It involves a lot of research.”

  “Research?” Isabel’s gray eyebrows lifted. “You a scientist?”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Just a…a researcher.” It wasn’t a total lie. His job did involve a lot of research. And hands-on experience. And navigating through gray areas of the law.

  Thankfully, she seemed satisfied with his answer.

  “Are you hungry, Grandma?” Cam asked. Alex knew exactly what she was doing: redirecting. “I think I saw cookies down in the dining room.”

  The old woman wrinkled her nose. “Probably sugar cookies. Those diabetic ones that taste like air.”

  “I thought I saw chocolate chip.”

  “Fake chocolate chip,” Isabel clarified. “No one knows how to bake around here. Bake or cook.”

  Alex looked down at his lap so he could hide his smile. Isabel was still her old, feisty self. She’d aged a little—her hair had gone almost completely gray, and more wrinkles now creased her face—but her dark eyes still flashed when she talked, and her accent still got heavier as her words and emotions heated up.

  Just like he remembered.

  He glanced around the apartment. It was essentially one large room that had been carved up into different areas by cleverly placing furniture. There was the living area, where they were seated now, which consisted of a recliner and small love seat and a console with a TV on top. To their right was a kitchen area, separated from the living room by a tall counter. It had just enough space for a refrigerator, sink, and stove along one wall and a small dinette set along the other. A wall of bookshelves separated the living room from Isabel’s bedroom. This was sparsely furnished, as well, with a hospital bed, a dresser and a door that Alex presumed led to a closet. The only other door in the apartment was closed, but he was sure the bathroom was behind it.

  And everywhere, there were personal touches. The cross hanging on the wall, the prints of Mary and Jesus hanging on either side. A rosary sitting on the TV console. A small tapestry that Alex thought he remembered seeing at Cam’s house years ago. There were a few photographs, too, tucked behind the glass of cheap plastic frames. Cam graduating from college. The police academy. Miguel graduating from college and then med school. Alex tried not to stare at them but it was hard. They were glimpses of a past he wasn’t part of, and he yearned to drink in all the details, to sear them into his memory so he would remember just how Cam had looked on those special days.

  “Where are you living now?” Isabel asked him.

  He tore his gaze away from the photos.

  “You still in the old neighborhood?”

  “No, I haven’t lived there in years,” he said. “I’m farther north now. Sort of near St. Cloud.” He wasn’t about to volunteer the actual city he lived in. No need to take any chances sharing that kind of information.

  “And what about a family?” She smiled at him, revealing what looked like a set of brand new dentures. “You have any little Alejandros r
unning around?”

  He felt Cam shift next to him.

  “No,” he said.

  Her grandmother frowned. “No?” She clucked her tongue. “Just like Camila here. I keep telling her it’s time to have babies. She says no.”

  Alex glanced at Cam. Her cheeks were red, and she quickly downed a sip of water from the glass she was holding.

  “No babies,” Alex told her. “Not yet, anyway.”

  “Oh?” Isabel perked up. The afghan that was draped across her lap slipped a little. “You have a wife?”

  Again, Cam stiffened.

  “No.”

  “Girlfriend?”

  “No.” Alex smiled. “My…research has kept me busy.”

  Isabel tsked again. “Life comes at you hard and fast, mi hijo. You’ll never regret not working enough. Pero una familia? You might regret not having one.”

  “I know,” he said. “That’s something I plan to work on. Once things slow down, I mean.”

  The old woman closed her eyes, seemingly satisfied with his answer.

  Alex reached for his own glass of water and drained half of it in one long gulp.

  Now that the grilling appeared to be over, he relaxed a little.

  Actually, he relaxed more than a little

  There had been no indication that they’d been followed from Cam’s. He’d scanned the roads the entire way across town, keeping his eyes open for the Chevy Caprice or any other vehicle that might be suspicious. But there was none.

  Coming into the facility, he’d sized up every person he saw, keeping a catalog of physical traits and doing his best to assess the threat level.

  There’d been none.

  Maybe, just maybe, he was in the clear for a bit. Maybe this would be the place where he could regroup and come up with a plan. Yes, Marco and his buddy were still out there, and they’d found him in Aspen Falls, but they didn’t know where he was right this moment. And if Cam stayed with him, they wouldn’t be able to get to her, either.

  He relaxed back into the love seat, rolling his shoulders as he did so. The tension uncoiled from his muscles, and when he took a breath, it felt like his lungs were finally able to take in the proper amount of air.