Troubled Waters by Rachelle McCalla

Author:Rachelle McCalla
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

Tracie blinked across the desk at Heath. The same thought had already occurred to her, though she didn’t like it. “Because Trevor has a key to my house now?”

“Yes.”

“Want to know what I think?” She’d gone over the issue in her mind a thousand times that afternoon already, and had reached a few conclusions. “I think if Trevor just wanted access to me, he could have made copies of my keys without ever letting on to me that he’d done so. No, I believe he replaced Gunnar’s picture with his own to send me a message. He may not have even copied my keys.” She planted her elbows on her desk and rested her chin in her hands.

“I think that last assessment sounds a little optimistic.” Heath leaned forward until his own elbows rested just beyond hers. “What’s the message you think he was trying to send?”

“He wants to frighten me. It’s a scare tactic, that’s all.”

“He took a shot at you yesterday, and as far as we know, he had no idea you were wearing steel-plated body armor. He tried to kill you. The picture on your keys was a warning.”

Tracie sighed and bit her lower lip. She didn’t want to believe Heath. Though she’d almost convinced herself she truly believed Trevor wouldn’t try to get to her inside her own home, Heath’s words of caution rang true.

He looked at her levelly, his face close, his steel-blue eyes unswerving. “Isn’t there anyone you can stay with? You still have family in the area, don’t you?”

Tracie cringed. Sure, her mother and stepfather still lived in Bayfield, but she wasn’t about to stay with them—not unless she wanted to endure their ongoing predictions that she would surely fail in her job, or quit, or possibly become the laughingstock of the Coast Guard, if her stepdad really got going. “Not anyone I want to stay with,” she told Heath firmly.

“And I suppose staying with someone from work—” he began.

“Nope. Most of the guys are single, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to stay with them. Gary, John and Jim all have families, but they’re living in cramped enough quarters as it is—they don’t need an extra houseguest for an indefinite period of time. Besides, if Trevor wanted to sneak up on me, he wouldn’t have left his calling card behind. He’s just out to spook me. If I let him chase me from my home, he wins.”

“If he kills you he wins,” Heath amended.

Tracie persisted. “I have Gunnar. Trevor knows better than to try anything with Gunnar around—Gunnar would tear him to pieces, and he can smell him coming, too.”

“Tracie,” Heath leaned back in his chair and glowered at her, “Gunnar can’t stop Trevor, and if you expect him to, then you’re putting your dog at risk. Remember what you said when Tim died? That we should have forced him into protective custody, even though he refused it? I think you need to stay with your family.”

She felt her mouth fall open as she realized what he was suggesting.

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