Page 74 of Cold Light of Day

He remained silent, listening to the lapping waves. Then finally, he said, “This is supposed to be a great place to see bald eagles.”

When she didn’t say anything, he was left to imagine what she was thinking. And her brother’s words came back to him.

“Will you talk to her?”

Yeah. Sure. He would try.

Again.

He blew out a breath, then started in. “Listen, I don’t think you can afford to alienate your brother. He’s, well, your brother, for one. And he has resources. He’s willing to bend a few rules to help the cause of justice. Maybe you should consider taking a few days off and staying in Anchorage. Nobody would fault you for it.”

That earned him a glare, along with raised eyebrows. “Oh, but wouldn’t they? We’re having a crime spree in Shadow Gap and the police chief is a no-show?”

He shifted on the log, wanting to reach for her hand. To touch her cheek. He hated that the memory of their kiss flooded him now. “Look...” He’d never called her by her first name for his own reasons, but he desperately wanted to say it now, and the thought pinged around in his heart. “I get it. Your job is important. But it’s not worth your life. That aside, I think you have bigger issues to talk about.”

He let those words hang in the air, uncertain which issue she would bring up, but he thought he had an idea.

She stared straight ahead, and by the look in her eyes, he knew she was miles away. She blinked at unshed tears. “All these years, I believed it was my fault Mom died. She drowned swimming me to shore. Or so I’d thought.”

And there it was—she had shared what had to be her deepest wound with him. He wasn’t sure he deserved to hear it.

THIRTY-ONE

Once the proverbial gate had been opened, Autumn couldn’t stop the flood of words. They’d been building up in her chest for far too long as it was, and she couldn’t hold the emotions inside any longer. Grier was the man of the hour—the person who happened to be with her, so she hoped he was prepared to listen.

Tears surged, but she held them back. Police chiefs weren’t supposed to cry.

“Hey,” Grier said. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

Even in front of friends.

She gazed up at Grier and took in his dark-green eyes; strong, scruffy jaw; and thick hair. She couldn’t think of anyone else she would rather share with. And maybe that was wrong of her.

“That day. Mom argued with the men who threatened her, threatened us. She rushed me off the boat, jumping with me. Then it exploded behind us. Debris rained down into the water. She tugged me out of the way and to safety, and then we began the long swim back. Mom mostly kept me going when I grew tired. At some point she was the one swimming for the both of us, holding me like I was an unconscious person.She never complained, and I never even thought about her growing tired.”

“You were just a kid.”

Autumn pressed her hands against her face. Gathered what she had left of her composure. Then looked out over the water. The blue sky was quickly filling with clouds, and she could no longer see Denali in the distance.

“I don’t remember exactly what happened. I know that I crawled up the beach and laid on my back, exhausted and in shock. I might have passed out. I don’t remember. I don’t know how long I was there, but long enough that day turned to night, and eventually I was staring up at the stars. That night the sky was filled with a meteor shower. I finally had the energy to sit up and then realized...she was gone. She never made it to shore.”

“And authorities assumed she drowned?”

“Yes. That she brought me far enough and released me, but a riptide must have taken her away. Basically, she was too tired by that point to fight back.”

“That had to have been a traumatic experience for you.”

She nodded. “I curled into myself after that. I know lots of conversation went on around me, with the authorities searching for her. The men were assumed dead with the boat, but clearly at least one of them survived. And according to Dad, so did Mom.”

“When did your father know?”

“He didn’t exactly say, but according to my grandfather, she contacted my grandparents about three years ago. That’s when they learned their daughter was still alive. Nolan was with them when they heard from her, so he knew. Why did everyone keep this from me?”

“I don’t have the answers, Chief”—his voice was gentle, compassionate—“but it sounds like she believed your lives were in danger as long as she remained alive. So she made the ultimate sacrifice by faking her death so that her presence in your lifewould no longer endanger you. I can’t know the true reasons why this information was kept from you, but I can see how your family thought the news could bring tremendous pain. They wanted to spare you the hurt. It sounds like her goal is to remain dead to the rest of the world, so even now, you can’t see her.”

Grier stared out over the water, shaking his head. He appeared to be going through the pain of it with her even though he had his own serious problems.

Autumn nodded and drew in a harsh breath to shove back the gathering tears. “I made it my mission in life to be the best swimmer I could be. The best diver too. Every year I went back to the Caribbean—where it all started—to dive and chase away the fears. And now, to learn that she survived?”

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