Читать книгу Landon - Delores Fossen, Delores Fossen - Страница 10

Chapter Four

Tessa tried to move away from Landon again, but he held on to her.

“Explain that,” he demanded.

She didn’t have to ask exactly what he wanted her to tell him. It was about the bombshell she’d just delivered.

If you stay here with me, they’ll kill you.

There were plenty of things still unclear in Tessa’s head, but that wasn’t one of them.

She glanced behind her at the parking lot on the other side of the glass door. “It’s not safe for us to be here. Please, let’s go somewhere else.”

Landon stared at her, obviously debating that, and he finally maneuvered her to the side. Not ideal, but it was better than being in front of the glass, where she could be seen, and at least this way she had a view of the hall in case someone came at her from that direction.

“Now that the drugs are wearing off, I’m remembering some things about Emmett’s murder,” Tessa admitted.

His eyes narrowed. “Keep talking.”

“I didn’t see the killer’s face.” Though Tessa tried to picture him, the bits and pieces of her memory didn’t cooperate. “I came into my house, and this man wearing a ski mask attacked me. Emmett was there, and they fought.”

Landon stayed quiet for a long time, clearly trying to process that. “Why was Emmett there?”

She had to shake her head. “I don’t know. I don’t know why the other man was there, either. Maybe he was a burglar?”

That didn’t sound right at all, though. No. He wasn’t a burglar, but clearly there were still some blanks in her memory. And because he was wearing a ski mask, she didn’t have even fragmented memories of seeing his face.

Tessa looked down at the baby. Did that man have something to do with the newborn?

“A burglar,” Landon repeated, “wouldn’t have left a note like that on Emmett’s body. His killer was connected to me and obviously to you since the murder happened in your house.” He tipped his head to the baby. “And where was she the whole time this attack on you was going on?”

“In my arms.” Tessa was certain of that. “She was also in my arms when I ran from the man. No, wait.” More images came. Then the memory of the pain exploding in her head. “He hit me with his gun first.” That explained the bump on her head. “Emmett tried to stop him, and that’s when I think the man shot him.”

Landon dropped back a step, no doubt taking a moment to absorb that. Those details were still fuzzy, and Tessa was actually thankful for it. She wasn’t sure that right now she could handle remembering a man being murdered. Especially so soon after nearly dying in that barn fire.

“You were close to Emmett?” she asked but then waved off the question. Of course he was. And apparently she had been, too.

After all, Emmett had been at her house.

“I think his killer might have been a cop,” Tessa added.

Landon huffed. “First a burglar, now a cop?”

She didn’t blame him for being skeptical, but her mind was all over the place, and it was so hard to think, especially with that warning that kept going through her head.

That it wasn’t safe here. That she couldn’t trust anyone.

That she was going to get Landon killed.

“The killer held his gun like a cop,” she explained. “And he had one of those ear communicators like cops use.”

“Criminals use them, too,” Landon was just as quick to point out.

True enough. “But he said something about a perp to whoever he was talking to on the communicator. That’s a word that cops use.” Tessa paused. “And when I saw your badge, I got scared. Because I thought maybe... Well, it doesn’t matter what I thought.”

“You thought I had killed Emmett,” he finished for her. Landon added a sharp glare to that. “I didn’t, and I need you to remember a whole lot more than you just told me.”

So did she, but before Tessa could even consider how to make that happen, she saw some movement in the hall. Landon saw it, too, because he moved in front of her. From over his shoulder, Tessa saw Dr. Michelson and a security guard. But there was another man with him. Tall and lanky with blond hair. Wearing a suit. It took her a moment to get a good look at his face.

Her heart jumped to her throat.

“Joel,” she said. Even with the dizziness, she recognized him.

Landon looked back at her, a new round of displeasure in his expression. “So you remember him now?”

She did. And unlike the other memories, these were a lot clearer.

Oh, God.

This could be bad.

Joel kept his attention on her, obviously studying her dyed hair, but she soon saw the recognition in his eyes, and he picked up the pace as he made his way toward her.

“Tessa?” Joel called out. “Are you all right?”

Landon didn’t budge. He stayed in front of her. “Someone tried to kill her. What do you know about that?”

Until Landon barked out that question, Joel hadn’t seemed to notice him. But he noticed him now. “What are you doing here?” Joel snapped.

Landon tapped his badge. “What I’m doing is asking you a question that you will answer right now.”

Despite the fact that Landon’s tone was as lethal as his expression, Joel made a sound of amusement when he glanced at the badge. “What happened? Did you lose your job as a Houston cop and have to come begging your cousin for work?”

That jogged her memory, too. Yes, Landon had been a detective with the Houston PD, but Tessa doubted he’d lost his job. He had likely come back to Silver Creek to solve Emmett’s murder. Good thing, too, or else there might not have been anyone to save her from that barn fire.

But he couldn’t help her get out of this.

“How did you know I was at the hospital?” Tessa asked Joel.

Obviously, that wasn’t what he wanted to hear from her. He probably expected a much warmer greeting, because he stepped around Landon and reached out as if to hug her.

Landon, however, blocked his path. “How did you know she was here?” he pressed.

Joel looked at her. Then at Landon. And it must have finally sunk in that this was not a good time for a social visit. If that was indeed what it was.

“What happened to you?” Joel asked her.

“I’m not sure.” That was only a partial lie. “Someone drugged me and then tried to kill me.”

Joel nodded. “In the barn fire. My assistant got a call from a friend who works at the fire department. He told her that you’d been brought here to the Silver Creek Hospital. I came right away.”

“Why?” Landon demanded.

Joel huffed as if the answer were obvious, but he snapped back toward Tessa when the baby made a whimpering sound. He peered around Landon, and Tessa watched Joel’s face carefully so she could try to gauge his reaction.

He was shocked.

She hadn’t thought for a second that the baby was his, because Tessa was certain she’d never slept with Joel. She definitely didn’t have any memories of him being naked in her bed. But she’d considered that he might have known if she’d had a child.

If she had, that is.

Joel stepped back, the shock fading, and in his eyes, she saw something else. The raw anger, some directed at her. Most of it, though, was directed at Landon.

“You two had a baby,” Joel snapped. “That’s why I haven’t heard from you in months.”

Months? Had it been that long? Mercy, she needed to remember.

“I didn’t think things were serious with you two,” Joel added. “You said it was just a one-time fling with him.”

She figured Joel had purposely used the word fling to make it seem as if what’d happened between Landon and her had been trivial. Of course, that was exactly what she’d led Joel, and even Landon, to believe.

Tessa needed to settle some things with Joel, but she couldn’t do that now. Not with the baby here. And not until she was certain that this jumble of memories was right.

“I want the name of the person from the fire department who contacted your assistant and told her about Tessa,” Landon continued.

It took Joel a few moments to pull his stare from her and look at Landon. “I’ll have to get that for you. My assistant didn’t mention a name, and I didn’t think to ask.”

Well, it was a name that Tessa needed so she’d know if Joel had someone in the Silver Creek Fire Department who was on the take.

“I’ll want that information within the next half hour,” Landon added. “And now you’ll have to leave because Tessa and the baby have to be examined by the doctors.”

Joel turned to her as if he expected her to ask him to stay. And she might have if Tessa had had the energy to keep up the facade so she could try to get what info she could from Joel. She didn’t. It was time to regroup and tell Landon what she’d remembered, but she couldn’t do that in front of Joel.

“Landon’s right. The baby and I need to be examined,” Tessa stated to Joel. “Please just go.”

She could see the debate Joel was having with himself, but Tessa also saw the moment he gave in to her request. “Call me when you’re done here,” Joel said. “We have to talk.” And he walked away as if there were no question that she would indeed do just that.

Tessa and Landon stood there watching him, until Joel disappeared around the hall corner.

“I’ll need a minute with Tessa,” Landon told the doctor and security guard.

The doctor hesitated, maybe because Landon’s jaw was clenched and he looked ready to yell at Tessa. But Tessa gave the doctor a nod to let him know it was okay for him to leave. As Landon and she had done with Joel, they waited until both men were out of sight.

Since she knew that Landon was about to launch into an interrogation, Tessa went ahead and got started. “I don’t think the baby is ours,” she said. “And I’m certain she’s not Joel’s.”

“How would you know that?”

She got another image of Landon naked. Good grief, why was that so clear? It was a distraction she didn’t need. Especially since the man himself was right in front of her, reminding her of the reason they’d landed in bed in the first place.

“I just know,” she answered. An answer that clearly didn’t please him.

“Then whose baby is that?” Landon snapped.

Even though Landon wasn’t going to like this, she had to shake her head. “Memories are still fuzzy there, but I don’t have any recollection of being pregnant. I think I would have remembered morning sickness, the delivery...something.”

“And you don’t?”

“Nothing.” She wasn’t certain if he looked relieved, disappointed or skeptical. But she wasn’t lying.

“The doctor will be able to tell once he examines you,” Landon reminded her.

She nodded. “I do have plenty of memories about Joel, though.” Tessa had to lean against the wall when a new wave of dizziness hit her. “And some memories about me, too. I’m not a real PI.”

Landon stared at her as if she were lying. “But you have a PI’s license. A real one. I checked.”

Of course he had. Landon probably wouldn’t have asked her out unless he’d run a basic background check on her. And he definitely wouldn’t have slept with her.

Then she rethought that.

The sex hadn’t been planned, and it’d happened in the heat of the moment. Literally.

“Yes, I have a license.” Best just to toss this out there and then deal with the aftermath. And there would be aftermath. “But I had it only because of Joel. He said he wanted me to get it so I could help him vet some of his business associates. It’s easier for a PI to do that because I had access to certain databases.”

She got the exact reaction she expected. Landon’s eyes narrowed. Tessa wasn’t sure of all of Joel’s activities, but there were enough of them for her to know the kind of man she was dealing with. Landon had called him scummy, but he was much worse than that.

Because Joel was a dangerous man.

With that reminder, she looked around them again. Tessa could still see the parking lot and the hall, and Landon made an uneasy glance around, too.

“You’ll want to keep going with that explanation,” Landon insisted. “But remember, you’re talking to a cop.”

The threat was real. He could arrest her, but it was a risk she had to take right now. She needed Landon on her side so he could help her protect this baby. Maybe from Joel.

Maybe from someone else.

Mercy, it was so hard to think.

Tessa had to clear her throat before she could continue. “I think Joel might have murdered someone.”

His eyes were already dark, but that darkened them even more. “Who? Emmett?”

But she didn’t get a chance to answer.

Landon stepped in front of her, drawing his weapon. That was when she saw the man in the hall.

He was coming straight toward them.

And he had a gun.