Vivian Arend - High Risk

Her stomach fell. “You think it was reporters?”

Marcus grimaced, pacing back to sit on the bed, the mattress dipping slightly under his hips. “I don’t usually have neighbours coming over on a Saturday morning to borrow cups of sugar, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

“No, I understand how they get.” She had far-too-clear memories of being hounded by reporters. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Nothing you did.” Marcus stroked her leg under the sheet, looking her over carefully. She tried not to show how out of whack she was, but it must have been apparent because he sighed. With a pat to her thigh, he changed topics. “Come on, I’ll get breakfast.”

Her nerves still tingled with her almost-orgasm, but he was right. Slipping back into sex wasn’t going to work. “Frustration is not my cup of tea. Just to be clear.”

Marcus’s smile twitched. “Mine, either, but we can finish this later. Hit the shower.”

By the time she stepped back into the bedroom, wrapped in a towel, clean clothes were waiting for her on the bed. She dressed quickly, the comfortable familiar clothing helping to set her a little more at ease.

Whatever was going to happen today, she would survive it. She was strong, capable. No matter how confused, she could do this. Having Marcus to help her . . . Maybe she shouldn’t have felt as much comfort at the thought that he’d promised to be there for her, but right now she wasn’t about to wonder why.

He had breakfast laid on the table, the curtains opened to the view. Becki walked to the glass and peered out on the grey and cold.

“There’s snow again,” she complained. “Haven’t we had enough?”

On the deck a clear line of footprints led to the windows, then disappeared around the corner toward the bedroom.

Marcus stepped beside her and hugged her briefly. “Our Peeping Tom. I made a few calls.”

Becki nodded, then deliberately turned her back on the mountains, choosing a chair at the table where the only thing she saw was Marcus seated across from her.

Which wasn’t a bad view, to be honest.

Fighting the numbness inside, Becki pushed herself forward. She’d been here before, ready to fall apart, and sheer determination had rescued her. One day at a time.

She had to get through this day, and that meant getting through this hour. “Tell me what you’ve already done, and what’s next.”

Marcus went through the list of people he’d been in contact with while she’d been showering and dressing. It was short but made it clear he wasn’t messing around. The newspaper and the RCMP were both on the list. Every point he mentioned, she nodded, eating her breakfast with more appetite than he’d have been able to muster in the same conditions.

When he reached the end, he leaned back in his chair and examined her carefully. “Good so far?”

“About what I’d have done, although you have all the contacts here in Banff to do it quicker. Thank you.” Becki pulled over the notepad she’d been jotting down notes on. “I need to call Alisha and thank the team for their support. The news must have been a terrible shock for them as well—I’m grateful they stood up for me.”

“You’ve made a good impression on them, Becki,” Marcus assured her. “You’re not just Rebecca James, some unknown superstar, anymore. You’re obviously considered part of the team.”

That conjured her first full smile of the day. “Thanks. Still, I want to let them know it means the world.”

“Monday will be soon enough—there’s no training this weekend.” Something occurred to him. “Hmm, the fact that it’s the weekend might make it more difficult to reach anyone in Yellowstone. I assume you have contacts?”

She nodded.

“If the authorities need to get hold of you, they will, e-mail or phone. If you want to make contact first, that’s fine as well.” Marcus hesitated, but had to ask. “Did you want to return to Yellowstone for Dane? A memorial or something?”

She clutched her fork a little tighter but shook her head. “We already had a funeral, and there’s not anyone who wants to do it all over.”

And after more than eight months, he didn’t want Becki to have to deal with the body. “Family who might want him buried somewhere in particular?”

“No. It’s too bad they found him, in a way.” Becki lifted her gaze to his. “And I know I can say this to you, because you’ll get it. I’m not talking about the trouble this means to me—them finding his body. It’s just, things were done, and now they’re not. Even your question about a memorial. Dane wasn’t close with his adoptive parents. He’d gotten in contact with his birth mother for the first time a couple of months earlier, but nothing more seemed to come of it. It’s sad he’s gone, but being buried on the mountainside was what he would have wanted if he’d had the choice.”

She shivered, and her eyes grew wide.

“Becki?”

“Thought I’d remembered something.” She stared across the table and sighed. “It’s gone. I’m not sure what it was, but you need to know—last night I dreamed about the accident again.”

“Figured you would.”

“I remembered the next part after that scene when things repeated all the time. Dane fell and I got yanked upward. I rigged new lines to haul him up, but they failed. I got dragged nearly off the cliff—” Becki shivered hard enough her body shook. She lifted her tired gaze to meet his, sorrow and fear overwhelming her. “And that’s where it ended. I had my knife ready, Marcus. And I was being pulled toward the ledge.”

He didn’t snap out the first thing that came to mind, because if he did, she’d probably wave his assurances away. Instead, he took a step back. “For the record? I understand what you meant about Dane and the mountain.”

She nodded, small jerky motions. “Thanks.”

The doorbell rang, and she shot to her feet.

Marcus waved her down. “I’ll get it.”

He cautiously opened the door a crack. What he found on his doorstep made his temper flare. “You’re not welcome here, Ted.”

The other man shrugged. “Had to try. I’m not the only one looking for information. Of course, if I get a story then the others will probably back off a little more. No promises, but it might work. If Ms. James wants to talk?” The reporter raised his voice at the end.

Marcus crowded forward. “Get off my property.”

The man stared over Marcus’s shoulder. “Sure. No problem.”

Marcus didn’t believe that for a second. This intrusion was only the first attempt. He knew it. Ted knew it.

When he turned to face Becki, he could tell from her expression she knew it as well.

“They won’t go away because you told them to,” she warned. “They never did when I was in Yellowstone.”

He paced to her side. “We’ll do what we can to help. All of us will. Maybe there will be some huge political scandal in the next few days, and they’ll all scurry off to bother someone else.”

Becki folded her arms over her chest, fingers cupping her upper arms as she rubbed. “I hate this. I hate not knowing. I hate being poked.” She stared into his eyes, concern creasing her face. “If they go by rote, we’ll be trapped in your house or swarmed every time we leave. I’m sorry.”

Marcus slipped his fingers around her neck and pulled her against his chest. “Now that’s one of those ‘Don’t be stupid and apologize for things you didn’t cause’ statements.”

“I asked to spend the night with you.”

“And it would have been so much better for you to be alone in the dorm rooms this morning. Where Ted and everyone else would have complete access to you. Bullshit.”

Marcus had thought this through a dozen times, setting aside his conclusions because she’d asked him not to make decisions for her, but the solution rose again. It was the only decision that made any sense.

Only he had to phrase this correctly. He’d learned that much.

“Get in touch with your Yellowstone contacts. Once you know what they need, I have a foolproof solution to get the media off your back.”

Becki backed away, taking a moment before looking at him. Standing strong, but with that edge of lost in her eyes. “Are you rescuing me, Marcus?”

“That’s what a team does. Do you trust me?” he shot back.

Becki paced to the window and looked out. There was a small break in the clouds, allowing a bit of brightness to light the view of the town. It also showcased the footprints just starting to melt on the deck.

She shivered.

Turning to face him, she lifted her chin high. “I trust you one hundred percent.”

Rule three. Trust your team. The fact that she’d put him into that role—acknowledged there was a connection beyond casual between them—was enough to make something inside him very content in spite of the circumstances that brought them there.

Marcus nodded. “Let’s get organized.”

On the seat behind them lay gym bags packed with clothing. Food-stuffed boxes rested in the truck bed—David met them at the off-ramp to the highway to transfer a load. He gave Becki a brief hug, slapped Marcus on the back, then sent them on their way.

The three-hour drive that followed was more than enough time to let her relax. Becki had taken to staring at Marcus since the rain coating the windows and the clouds around them continued to obscure the view.

He handled the truck with impressive competence. They’d left the main highway behind more than an hour ago. The less-traveled path they currently followed required four-wheel drive, the section steep enough to make her heart race, but he maneuvered the massive vehicle along the narrow rocky road without a qualm. His sure and controlled motions mesmerized her, along with the complete comfort he displayed driving in the foul weather.