Читать книгу Perilous Refuge - Kathleen Tailer - Страница 14

FOUR

The next morning Chelsea was up early, packing the trunk of the rental car for their planned morning trip to the national park at the top of Haleakala, one of the island’s volcanos. Apparently it was the best place on the island to watch the sunrise and enjoy a picnic breakfast. Chelsea stowed another bag, then closed the trunk. She was anxious to be under way. The sooner they were away from the hotel, the lesser chance she had of running into the man with the baseball cap again. So far, she hadn’t seen him since the pool, but she was keeping a wary eye on her surroundings just in case.

“Are you ready to go?”

Chelsea jumped at the sound of Alex’s voice and turned to see him approaching. “Almost. Miss Abigail stopped at the front desk for a moment and asked me to get these bags loaded into the car. She should be here any minute.”

She picked up her camera bag and took a step back. Why was he staring at her like that? His look was so intense that for a moment she wondered if he had somehow discovered who she really was. The thought made her subconsciously retreat another step, then another.

She gave herself a mental shake. Alex couldn’t possibly know who she was and she refused to believe anyone who was an old friend of Miss Abigail’s could have any connection to Justin Carver. She still hadn’t figured out why Alex was so intent on digging into her past, but he had been nothing but kind and compassionate with Miss Abigail, and she found herself actually admiring him for that in spite of his gruff demeanor. She remained hopeful that he would be pleasant and congenial during the day’s activities. She realized that the less Alex knew about her the better. But living in such anonymity was a lonely existence and having an adult conversation with someone her own age was rare these days and even tempting.

Still, the more she thought about it, the more she realized the futility of getting to know him or anyone else any better. With Carver after her, there was no way she could have an honest or lasting friendship with anyone. The thought was a difficult reality to accept.

She glanced up at Alex’s face and noted that his steel-gray eyes were still studying her. She cringed inwardly. The best course of action was just to avoid him as much as possible, despite the loneliness she was feeling. She moved toward the rear door of the vehicle. Hopefully he would leave in a day or two and forget that she even existed.

“Any idea how long this jaunt is supposed to take?” Alex asked, breaking her train of thought.

“It depends upon how much time Miss Abigail wants to spend on top of the mountain.” She paused. “I thought you were too busy to spend time with us today, Mr. Sullivan. Aren’t you leaving soon?”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “Eager to be rid of me?”

Chelsea shrugged. “No. I’m just trying to figure out what a busy attorney like you is doing in Maui in the first place. It’s obvious you don’t want to be here. You’ve made that quite clear.”

“Have I?”

Chelsea’s hands stilled. “Yes. Why are you here, Mr. Sullivan?”

Their eyes locked for a moment, neither one willing to give up any information. She looked away first and opened the car door. She didn’t care about winning this battle of wills. All she really had to do was keep Alex Sullivan from discovering her past. Not only would she probably lose her job with Miss Abigail if he found out, but he would also undoubtedly make her go to the police. She wasn’t ready to do that without more proof. Besides, trying to stay away from the man with the cap and worrying about the note were stressful enough. She didn’t need to engage in a verbal sparring event with Alex Sullivan just because he seemed suspicious of her for whatever reason.

“Alex! I’m so glad you’re joining us!” Miss Abigail gushed as she approached, giving him a big kiss. “Let’s hit the road, folks. I’m not getting any younger and the sun will be up before you know it.”

Alex raised an eyebrow at Chelsea, then released the door and leaned over to give Miss Abigail a quick kiss on the cheek. “Your wish is my command. Shall we go?”

Chelsea got in the backseat, the anxiety pulsing through her. Whatever Alex’s reason for coming to Hawaii, it seemed he wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon. And that meant she’d have to put up with his probing stares and persistent questions for at least a while longer.

An hour and a half later, Alex, Chelsea and Miss Abigail got out of their car and made their way over to the observation look-out deck. The trip up had been uneventful, with little conversation since neither Chelsea nor Miss Abigail had wanted to distract Alex as he negotiated the narrow roadway on the way up the mountain. Although it was only twenty-two miles from the base of the mountain to the overlook at the top, the trip had taken much longer than they’d expected because of the winding roads and hairpin turns.

Once at the park, Alex unfolded the portable chairs they had borrowed from the hotel and the three of them sat and faced the east, waiting for the show to begin. By the time they were situated a faint light was already beginning to brighten the sky on the horizon. For the next twenty minutes they sat in awestruck wonder as God painted the heavens with beautiful colors and lit up the valley below with reflections of the morning light. Pale pinks and purples colored the lava beds and mirrored the pastels from the sky. It was truly spectacular.

Chelsea took several photos with her 35 mm digital camera, then stood and checked on Miss Abigail. So far she hadn’t seen any signs of danger on their trip, but she constantly scanned the other tourists at the park, keeping her eyes open for the man with the Braves cap just in case he’d managed to discover her location. And what if he wasn’t alone? What if the man with the cap was working with others that she couldn’t recognize? Suddenly her apprehension was too much to handle and she knew she had to move around before the stress consumed her.

“Would you mind if I walked around and took a few more pictures, Miss Abigail?”

“Not at all, dear,” the older lady said sweetly as she patted Chelsea’s hand. “You take all the time you want. I’m just going to sit here and enjoy this marvelous view.”

Chelsea smiled, then stood and started walking along the ridge to capture different angles. She was an avid amateur photographer and tried to let herself get lost in composing her photographs and enjoying the beauty around her. It didn’t work—she was too tense. She heard the crunch of rock and peeked back quickly. Just Alex—not a threat to her safety, just a threat to her peace of mind. A knot tightened in her stomach as she prepared for the battle. She turned and looked at him, but instead of antagonism she saw a question in his eyes.

“Are you going to take a whole roll up here?” His voice was tinged with disbelief as he put his hands in his pockets and watched her with the camera.

Chelsea shrugged, determined that he wasn’t going to rattle her today, despite his constant questions and barely veiled suspicion of her. She crouched and took another shot, getting one of the sun just as it was breaking over the horizon. “Hardly anyone uses film anymore, Mr. Sullivan. This is a digital camera, so I can take hundreds of photos and just delete the ones I don’t want. Sometimes I need to take a whole slew of shots to get that one special photograph.” She adjusted the focus on her Canon and peered through the viewfinder. “Do you have a hobby?”

Alex grimaced. “I don’t have time for hobbies. I have a law practice to run.”

“You’re missing out,” Chelsea said quietly. She stood and their eyes locked. Despite the frustration she saw in his gray depths, an emptiness she hadn’t expected reached out to her.

Miss Abigail had told her that Alex Sullivan basically lived at his office and worked seventy-hour work weeks. Maybe she could help him enjoy a small part of Maui before he returned to that single-minded existence. She took the strap off of her neck and handed him the camera. “Pictures tell a story, Mr. Sullivan, just like an attorney giving an opening statement. Take a look.”

Alex paused a moment as if considering her analogy, then shrugged and took the camera. He pointed the viewfinder toward the valley and turned slowly, looking around at the different landscape that surrounded him. “It all looks the same to me.” He shrugged. “Everything is a fuzzy blur.”

Chelsea laughed and gently reached over to adjust a setting on the top of the camera, then guided his index finger to the button on the top right of the body. His skin was warm and to her own surprise, she enjoyed the touch. “Okay, it’s on automatic focus now. Just push this button halfway down. Yes, that’s it. Now it will focus for you. When you’re ready to take a shot, push the button all the way down until you hear a click.”

Alex played with the focus for a while, slowly pointing the lens at different views of the valley and snapping a few pictures. Then, to her amazement, he turned the camera toward her and took a few shots. She laughed and covered her face with her hands and waved him away, but he took a few more anyway, ignoring her protests. Finally he pulled the camera away from his eye.

“So you take a hundred photos of the same thing. Then what?”

She turned the camera over and showed him how to scroll through the pictures he had taken and delete the ones he didn’t want. “The best ones I print and put in albums. Occasionally, I frame one and put it on my wall. I don’t buy very many souvenirs when I travel. My pictures are great reminders of my trips.”

“Do you travel a lot?”

The question was asked in a casual way, but Chelsea raised any eyebrow to show that she understood that he was again probing for more information about her background.

“Not as much as I’d like. I usually enjoy exploring new places and meeting new people.” She grinned pointedly at him. “Usually, that is.”

Alex continued to scroll through the pictures, ignoring her subtle gibe. “So where have you visited?”

Chelsea reached for the camera, but Alex moved slightly, keeping it just out of her reach, and continued to peruse her photographs. “Several different states. A few countries. This is my first trip to Hawaii. Have you been here before?”

“No, I don’t have time to travel much.” He paused and then slowly looked away from her camera and captured her eyes with his own. “You’ve got some really pretty photos on here, and also a lot of pictures of various men—all of whom look kind of rough.” He showed her one of the pictures. “Is this a friend of yours?”

Chelsea felt her pulse accelerate. Why hadn’t she deleted those pictures? There had been several times since she had escaped from Carver that she had worried that someone was following her, so she had taken pictures of the suspicious men to help her remember their faces, just in case. So far, each had been a false alarm, but she’d kept up her surveillance, regardless. In her book, it couldn’t hurt to be too careful. But how could she explain that to Alex? She crinkled her nose and rubbed her arms, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for the photos and warm up at the same time. The altitude was 7,000 feet above sea level and it was definitely cooler here than it was at the beaches below.

She bit her bottom lip. Struggle as she might for a plausible reason for the photos, her mind drew a blank. She chose to evade the subject and furtively hoped that he would let it drop. “I’d better go check on Miss Abigail. Hopefully the walk will warm me up—it’s kind of chilly up here. Are you ready for breakfast?”

Alex slipped off his fleece jacket and handed it to her with a frown. He’d obviously noticed that she had avoided the question, but he didn’t push, despite the query in his eyes. “Here. I can’t have you freezing.”

She took the jacket gratefully and hugged it around her. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” It warmed her instantly and smelled fresh, clean and masculine. Strange how the simple gesture of him lending her his jacket made her feel not just warmer but safer, as if she could count on him to look after her.

Strange thought, indeed. She knew better than that—she could count on no one but herself.

* * *

After returning to Miss Abigail, they breakfasted on shaved honey ham, Hawaiian sweet rolls and sharp cheddar cheese. Chelsea had also found some fresh pineapple at the deli and a few other tropical fruits to round off the meal. She had even brought a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice and little paper cups emblazoned with the hotel logo.

The food was simple yet satisfying, and Alex felt himself watching Chelsea as she served the small breakfast, filled with a sense of peace he hadn’t experienced in a long time. Her eyes danced as she talked and she moved with a grace he had rarely seen. Could this woman really be a criminal? She sure didn’t fit the scheming stereotype he had in his mind. But then, would any con artist be easy to spot? After all, his fiancée had sure pulled the wool over his eyes before her true character had been revealed. Irene had professed her love one day and the next tried to steal his client’s secrets so she could sell them to his client’s adversary. Her treachery had been a bitter pill to swallow and still squeezed his heart whenever he thought about it.

He eyed Chelsea critically. Was it possible she was just a great actress, playing a part? Who was the real Chelsea? She was definitely hiding something. His investigator’s inquiries had proved that. But what? And who were all of those men on her camera? His mind swept through various possibilities as they finished breakfast, but he still didn’t know enough about her to really come to any conclusions. As much as he hated to change his plans yet again, he realized that learning about Chelsea and her motives was going to take much longer than he had anticipated. He would probably need to extend his trip if he was going to find out the truth. He patted his pocket where he had stashed the paper cup she had been using and hoped that Tony would be able to get the fingerprints off of it without any problems.

Several other people were milling around the observation deck and the antics of a three-year-old boy captured his attention. The child was very energetic and was throwing rocks over the railing whenever his parents weren’t looking. Alex smiled and then scanned some of the other people who were also standing along the railing. Most were engrossed with the view, but then he noticed a man wearing a Braves cap who seemed to be watching Miss Abigail and Chelsea with a careful eye. Was it the same man from the plane? He tried to remember the features of the man but couldn’t recall much besides the baseball cap. Surely there was more than one Braves fan in Maui.

This man was large, with dirty-blond hair catching the light in spite of his cap. He looked to be about thirty years old. At first Alex thought he was just being overly suspicious, but as Chelsea started to pack up the remains of their breakfast and take some of their belongings back to the rental car, he noticed the man’s eyes continue to follow her movements. He was definitely watching her. The hair on Alex’s neck prickled. He stood abruptly and started toward the stranger.

The man seemed startled at Alex’s movement and for a moment their eyes locked. The menace Alex saw was palpable, but suddenly the other man turned and quickly strode away. Alex hesitated, torn between the desire to chase the man down and demand answers as to why he was watching them or to stay and make sure the women were safe.

“Is everything okay?” Chelsea asked as she came up and stood beside him.

“You tell me,” he answered, keeping his voice low enough so that only she could hear him. “There was a man watching us—Braves cap, shaggy blond hair. I think he was on our flight—but he just walked away rather quickly and disappeared toward the northern observation area.” He saw Chelsea’s face visibly pale at his words and she took a step back. He took a step forward. “Do you know the guy?”

Chelsea shook her head. “I don’t know anyone in Hawaii.”

“Are you sure? I’d say he’s about thirty years old. Dark eyes, heavy. Probably a drinker by the look of his face. He seemed dangerous.”

Chelsea’s hands started shaking at his words and she quickly thrust them into the pockets of the jacket. “Maybe we should get Miss Abigail back to the hotel now, just to be safe.”

Alex nodded, keeping a wary eye on Chelsea. “You seem pretty scared for someone who claims not to know the man.”

Chelsea raised her eyes and took another step back. “I don’t know anyone in Hawaii,” she repeated. “I’ll finish packing things up so we can go.” She turned abruptly and quickly started putting up the folding chairs, effectively ending their conversation. Alex paused for a moment, torn between pushing her further for more information and letting the subject drop for now. He finally moved to her side and starting packing up his own chair, but didn’t ask her any more questions. Miss Abigail was close enough to overhear them and Alex didn’t want to upset or worry the elderly lady. But talk they would, as soon as they returned to the hotel. It was time to get some answers, whether Chelsea wanted to give them or not.

It didn’t take them long to get Miss Abigail ensconced in the car and within a few minutes they were on the road, heading back down the mountain. Alex continued his perusal of Miss Abigail’s assistant as he drove, listening carefully to every word she uttered in the hope that she would give more of herself away. Although she always had a kind word for Miss Abigail, he noticed that she never said anything personal about herself or her history during any of the conversations.

Alex eased around a bend in the road, then noticed a black SUV coming up fast behind him. The road was narrow with no space to pass, but the other driver was apparently in a hurry and immediately started riding his bumper. Alex tapped the brake and glanced in his mirror, catching sight of a man’s silhouette in the driver’s seat. He couldn’t see the man’s features, but did note that he was wearing a baseball cap and dark glasses. A wave of apprehension swept over him. Was it the man with the Braves cap?

Instead of backing off when Alex slowed, the SUV came closer. Suddenly both Chelsea and Miss Abigail noticed Alex’s concern and looked behind them to see what was happening.

“Why is that man so close?” Miss Abigail asked, her tone filled with worry, her eyes wide.

“He must be in an awfully big hurry,” Chelsea added. She leaned closer to the window. “Is that the same man you saw at the park?”

“I think so,” Alex said tightly. He kept his eye on the SUV and at the same time handed Chelsea his cell phone. “Call 9-1-1. This guy seems determined to cause us trouble today.”

Suddenly the car lurched as the SUV slammed into the rear bumper. Both women screamed and Alex tightened his grip on the wheel and tried to control the car on the narrow, dangerous road. Was this maniac trying to kill them all?