Reasonable Doubt. Tracey V. Bateman

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СКАЧАТЬ as each mile brought him closer to the cabin. He hadn’t seen the Mahoney cabin since his parents’ death fifteen years earlier. Despite Aunt Toni’s promise that she’d take him back there for vacations, she’d promptly forbidden any contact with his past. Said it made him mopey thinking about his old home and that made for bad karma. By the time she was out of her karma phase, Justin had moved on with a new circle of friends.

      It hadn’t taken Justin long to figure out that Aunt Toni never took vacations. She worked sixteen hours a day every day except for weekends when she shacked up with her most recent boyfriend and left Justin with cash for pizza and movie rentals. By the time he’d graduated high school and moved on to college, Justin hadn’t even wanted to go back to Briarwood.

      That wasn’t true exactly.

      He didn’t have the guts to face Keri Mahoney after all the promises they’d made each other. He pictured her exactly the way he’d left her. Fresh, wholesome, eyes wide with wonder and hope. Pure.

      His back wheels slid and Justin brought his attention back to the highway, which was quickly becoming snow-and ice-covered.

      The curvy, hilly highway became treacherous with nearly zero visibility by the time he found the country road leading to the cabin. He breathed a sigh of relief when the landscape began to look vaguely familiar. Just a few miles into the woods, and they’d be safely tucked away from it all.

      Chapter Three

      Plump flakes of fairy-tale snow gave way to a wintry mix, and ice pellets bounced off the hood of the Jeep. Keri held her breath and prayed. With extra caution, she maneuvered the vehicle onto Highway 13, wishing she hadn’t taken the time to go home and change out of her uniform.

      Snow-frosted trees lined the winding road with breathtaking beauty. She loved the picturesque view from this road during any season, but the winter scene was her favorite. How could something so beautiful be so potentially fatal?

      She tried to keep her thoughts focused on the frozen pavement, but her mind drifted toward Justin as it often did. Rarely did a day go by without memories of her childhood friend invading her consciousness and even her dreams.

      Now, she imagined him once again sitting beside her, next to the lake, tossing sticks into the water. The promises, the kiss, the declarations of unending love.

      Keri fought her way back from the bittersweet memory that was worlds away from the reality of a treacherous road. With the wipers barely making a difference, she was forced to roll down the window and stick her head out to see the turnoff. Ice pelted her face and stung her eyes. She eased the Jeep onto the gravelly path. Krahoney Road. Despite her precarious situation, a smile tipped her lips. She and Justin had dubbed it that—a combination of their two last names. Keri sobered and focused her attention back to driving a straight course as her back wheels slid to the right. Gasping a prayer, she eased into the slide just in time to avoid the three-foot ditch.

      When she was only a couple of miles from the cabin, she noticed faint red lights flashing ahead. She squinted, trying to make out the source of the glow. Recognizing the flashings as hazard lights, she prepared to stop.

      Anxiety burst through her veins, sending a warning of caution to her brain. Who in their right mind would be out in this weather and on Krahoney Road in the first place? As far as she knew, no one had been out here since this summer when Dad had commissioned all the remodeling for the cabin.

      She eased the Jeep to a stop and started to open the door. Then, just to be safe, she grabbed her gun from the glove box and stuffed it in her belt, behind her back. Cop or not, a woman alone on a deserted road was still at a disadvantage to a man who might be up to no good. Leaving the door open and the Jeep running, she walked carefully toward the car. A man was attempting to meet her halfway, walking slowly, his feet unsteady beneath him.

      “Thank God you happened by,” he said. Though he wore a heavy coat and a hat, his teeth were already chattering.

      Keri took another step and, as she did, lost her footing. She struggled to stay upright, but felt herself falling despite her best efforts. The stranger grabbed on to her, the momentum slamming them both onto the road. Her mind fought to process the rapidly changing events as she caught a good look at his full face. She gasped.

      “Are you okay?” he asked, sitting up.

      If she hadn’t already been on the ground, Keri knew her legs wouldn’t have held her up, anyway. Her stomach turned over unpleasantly.

      Justin.

      Even with a five o’clock shadow, his face was unmistakable. The good-looking teenager she’d loved so long ago had turned into a gorgeous man.

      He attempted to stand and crashed back to the ground. “Cowboy boots!” He gave a disgusted grunt.

      She wanted to throw herself into his arms, tell him how wonderful it was to see him again, demand an explanation why he had never come back for her. But reason and maturity prevailed. What if he was running from the law? Had he been charged?

      Knowing she had to be on her feet first if she was going to gain the upper hand, Keri crawled to her knees and inched to a standing position. She reached behind her and pulled out her pistol. “Hold it,” she commanded in her best I’m-a-cop tone of voice. “Turn around and put your hands behind your head.”

      “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

      “Make one wrong move and you’ll find out how serious I am,” she dared, her heart sliding into her throat. What would she do if he turned violent? If he gained the upper hand out here in the middle of nowhere in blizzard-like conditions.

      “Okay, just take it easy. My wallet is in my back pocket. You can have the money. Just…don’t get nervous with your trigger finger.”

      Keri blinked. He thought she was the criminal here? “No. I’m…” What was she doing? As far as she knew, he hadn’t yet been charged. Still…why would he be up here in the winter unless he was running from something? “I’m a cop,” she blurted.

      He glanced over his shoulder. “You can’t arrest me. Last I heard there’s no law against sliding off the road.”

      “I—I know who you are—and about your wife.”

      Dropping his hands to his side, he turned with a scowl.

      Keri adjusted her position, praying that she wouldn’t lose her footing.

      “I don’t know what you saw on the news, lady, but I’m bringing my boys for a vacation.”

      “Up here? In the winter? That seems a little suspicious to me.”

      “Look, I don’t really care what looks suspicious to you. I’m not running away. I’m free to go wherever I want.”

      “Oh, yeah? Well, until I have a little chat with my chief and verify that, I’m going to have to detain you.”

      “How do you plan to do that?”

      Was that a challenge? She sent him her fiercest frown. “Any way I have to, tough guy.”

      He smirked at her bravado. “I meant, how do you plan to get back to town in this ice? You know, for that ‘little chat with the chief’?”

      Her СКАЧАТЬ