Page 40 of Deadly Target (Rocky Mountain Courage 2)

SIXTEEN

The slight downward shift and pressure change on the plane alerted Nathan that they were approaching Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. He opened his eyes and blinked. Exhaustion had taken hold as soon as he’d buckled in for the hours-long flight, though he had never fully fallen asleep. He licked his parched lips and spotted the drink still sitting on the tray table. If he reached for it, he might wake Erin since her head rested on his shoulder. Her soft snores told him she was asleep, and he was glad. They were both probably pushing their minds and bodies to make this trip so quickly after what they’d been through. But there was no time to waste.

A measure of guilt corded his throat for letting Erin come with him. For inviting her into the investigation in the first place. Aurie and Nadine had agreed to stay with Celia while Erin took the trip. She’d told her mother that it was work related, and in a way it was. Erin said she could potentially add this cold case to her podcast—after the danger had passed, of course.

And that was just it. The danger was very real and present. Maybe Dad’s boss—his captain or sergeant—had warned Dad away because of the potential danger, yet that’s not how law enforcement worked. So now Nathan was stepping into the storm in his father’s place.

Like father, like son.

Had he been selfish to share with Erin in the first place?

Yeah, he probably didn’t think through that very well, but it was too late now. Fatigue chased him, and he had no time to give in to it.

Next to him, Erin’s mouth hung slightly open. Her lashes fluttered, then she opened her eyes. A few breaths passed as she took in her surroundings, then moved away from him with a start. She cleared her throat as she stretched her arms as much as space would allow.

“We’re landing.” He reached for the water and finished it off. The flight attendant moved down the aisle to collect garbage.

With her fingers, Erin weaved her mass of light-blonde hair together and clipped it on top of her head. Nathan would love to get his hands into that. But that unbidden thought had no place in his mind. And he had a feeling such thoughts weren’t going to stop anytime soon, so he would just keep pushing them aside as long as he had to.

He glanced at his watch. They’d had one stop in Denver, which had added time to their travel. “We’ll be on the road by two thirty. Maybe three.”

“Yay. I’m relieved we’ll miss rush hour traffic, though just barely,” she said. She handed her water to the flight attendant and pushed up her tray table.

“I keep thinking that if your dad’s boss didn’t want him looking into the cold case, but he continued and someone shot him to prevent that, then what are the chances someone has already been at your father’s place and searched it?” She chewed on her thumbnail, a nervous habit Nathan hadn’t seen before. “Maybe someone is even watching the house.”

Even the police.

She had been thinking about this. Good. He needed all the help he could get. “I’d say the chances are good. We’ll be careful.”

She pressed her head against the seat and sighed. Nathan noticed she squeezed the armrest as well. “Don’t worry. We’ll be careful. I have every right to enter my father’s house with the key he gave me and search for something he wanted me to find.” Dad hadn’t given Nathan the key, exactly, but Nathan had retrieved it from his things.

The jet vibrated and rumbled in response to the air turbulence, and he found himself gripping the armrest too. He covered Erin’s hand with his right hand and squeezed. She sent him a small smile, and he caught himself lingering on her perfect lips. Nathan shifted to look out the window instead. In some ways, the forced proximity was brutal.

Erin ... She’d been his everything before she’d destroyed him by walking away.

He’d been going to propose.

Propose.

A guy didn’t just get over that. And apparently, he hadn’t gotten over it even after five years ... or her. That she was sitting next to him on this venture seemed surreal. Nathan struggled to push aside thoughts of what could have been between them and focus on the present and what mattered.

Finding Dad’s shooter. He allowed those gruesome images to blast through his brain again and he was back on track.

Forty-five minutes later, they had landed, grabbed their luggage and Nathan’s checked firearms, then taken possession of the rental car they had reserved. Nathan navigated the thick traffic as he headed to his father’s home in Gifford, a suburb where he worked for the police department. Boston traffic seemed to close in around them. Digital boards as well as big green signs with arrows directed them, including one particular sign that directed traffic to the Charles River Dam.

“I know my mother is having issues,” Erin said, “but is there any possibility someone destroyed the dam to maybe ... I don’t know ... to cover up evidence?”

“That would be a lot of trouble to cover up evidence.”

“What kind of evidence could someone want to hide?”

“Remember, it had rained that night. Rain could have already destroyed the evidence. Nobody needed to blow up a dam. I’m not sure it’s as simple as a stick of dynamite. I heard a loud noise when the dam collapsed, but I thought it was just the dam breaking up. Maybe I’m wrong, but I brought the mention of someone taking out the dam to the sheriff’s attention, and it’s up to him to look into it. As for evidence, a bullet was lodged in Dad’s brain, so we have that.”

He squeezed the steering wheel even tighter at the thought. Would he get his father back? And even if he did, would he be the same? God, help me to do this.

Erin pressed her hand gently on his shoulder. “We’re going to figure this out. I’m here to help however I can. Justice will never happen unless we dig where no one else is looking.”

“You mean where no one wants us to look? Don’t forget what happened to my father because someone didn’t want him looking deeper.”

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