The Bribe (Calamity Montana)

DUKE’S FACE changed from shocked to fucking pissed in a snap.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” The fresh onslaught of tears blurred my vision. “I’ll come back.”

Maybe. Hopefully. I wasn’t ready to walk away from Duke.

He crossed the room in two long strides, towering over me. But he didn’t touch. He crossed those strong arms over his chest—arms that held me so gently as I drifted off to sleep—and bored down on me with a look so cold, so stony, I had a new understanding of the term intimidating. “Explain.”

I blinked and swallowed hard, choking down the fit of hysterics that threatened to break free. “I have to leave. I have to get back to Nashville. Tonight.”

Duke’s jaw ticked. I’d been around him enough to recognize that one as really, really mad. It had done the same when I’d told him about my stalker. “Why?”

Why? Because I didn’t have a goddamn choice. Because I was never going to be free. Because I’d been so fucking selfish, running away from my life and responsibilities, that all I’d done was draw a target on Everly’s back.

I spun to the bed, sifting through the pile of clothes on top.

“What are you doing?” Duke put his hand on my shoulder. “Lucy.”

“I can’t find my phone.”

“Who cares about your damn phone?”

“Me!” And there were the hysterics. “I need my phone! If I show you, you’ll see.”

His mouth pursed in a thin line. “Where did you have it last?”

“Downstairs. In the kitchen.” The words were no sooner out of my mouth than I was barreling past him and racing for the stairs.

Duke’s footsteps followed close behind, and when I found the phone on the counter, its hot-pink cover blinking like a strobe light, he watched over my shoulder as I swiped it up and unlocked the screen.

My hands were shaking. My fingers trembled as I pulled up the email and held the phone up for him to see.

“What am I looking at here?”

“That’s Everly.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s from the stalker.”

He studied the screen, unblinking, until he must have memorized every detail.

I hadn’t needed to memorize it. One look and my heart had jumped into my throat. I’d known exactly what I was staring at.

Everly was on the balcony of our apartment.

After Spot and Meghan, the two of us hadn’t wanted to stay in the house I’d bought after the money had come rolling in. So we’d moved into an apartment with a doorman and a security guard stationed outside the one and only elevator.

I’d lived in that apartment for just weeks, but Everly had returned after leaving me in Montana. In the picture, she had a guitar on her lap and was singing. It hadn’t been taken from the street, eight floors below, at an upward angle. It had been taken from the building across the street. The light and angle were perfect, like the photographer had been watching her for days, waiting for a beautiful photo opportunity.

Everly’s long brown hair was braided over one shoulder. One of my neon-orange coffee mugs was on the little electric blue table beside her. She wore a pair of silk pajama pants in a deep olive green. Her tee was hanging loosely over one shoulder and she had this smile on her face, like she wanted to be nowhere in the world at that moment but sitting in that white outdoor lounge chair.

This was exactly how the pictures of me used to pop onto my phone and ruin a good day. The photos were faultless. If I hadn’t known better, I might have confused them with a candid photo shoot. Whoever was behind the lens knew exactly when to click the shutter to encapsulate exactly how I was feeling at the moment.

This picture of Everly had the same style. The same coloring. And a single word photoshopped in faint letters in the lower right corner.

Sweetheart.

“I won’t let him come after her too,” I whispered.

Duke ground his teeth together, then he took my hand and led me to the living room, nodding for me to sit on the couch as he took up a perch on the coffee table. His elbows came to his knees and he leaned in close. “All right. Let’s talk this through.”

Gone was the hard man from upstairs. The calm in his voice instantly put some of my fears at rest because while I was here with him, I was safe.

And that was the problem.

“How do you know it’s the same guy?” he asked.

“That’s the same type of picture I’d get in my emails and texts. I was always sent a picture of me doing something fun. Always in a moment when I thought I was alone. I’d get one of me reading a book by the pool with Spot lying at my side. One of me in my car at a stoplight, singing along with the radio. One of me exactly like this, playing the guitar with my morning coffee.”

After enough photographs, the private sanctuaries I’d carved out for myself had all been ruined. Every peaceful retreat, save for my own bedroom, had been stripped and stolen away, picture after picture.

And then Meghan had claimed my bedroom with her suicide, taking that one last safe place.

“You’re sure?”

I grabbed the phone that he’d balanced on a thigh and reopened the picture. “See this word? Sweetheart? Everything to me was labeled sweetheart. The photos. The emails. The letters.”

A growl came from his chest. That handsome jaw I would miss kissing so much ticked again. “How’d it land in your inbox? I thought you said you started from scratch. Was that an old email address? Or a new one?”

A chill crept down my spine. “It’s one I used personally. I haven’t checked it since coming here but I was waiting for you tonight and decided to just clear it out quickly. I expected a ton of junk. That’s usually all there is because I only use it for online shopping.”

“Did Meghan have access to it?”

I shook my head. “No. It’s from when I was in high school. It’s ancient.”

“Is this the first email that’s come to that one?”

“Yes. All of the other emails were to accounts that Meghan monitored. Or texts.”

“Okay.” Duke rubbed his jaw. “Not a bad thing. That means he doesn’t have your phone number.”

“Is there a way to get a number if you open an email?” My heart dropped. “Oh my God, what if there’s like a virus or something in it?”

I tossed my phone aside like it was poisoned. What if my Calamity hideaway was no longer secret?

“I have no idea if that’s possible but we’ll find out.” Duke put his hand on my knee, his thumb drawing circles on the denim of my jeans. “But right now, we’re not going to overreact. That includes packing up your stuff and going to Nashville.”

I closed my eyes. “This is about me. Not Everly.”

“Exactly. This is to draw you out, which means you’ve done a good job of disappearing.”

“Duke, she could be in danger. I can’t leave her there to deal with this alone.”

“You’re not going to Nashville.” His voice was gentle but firm. Calm. Except I didn’t need calm. I needed to help my friend and I needed him to let me go.

“I have to.”

“No, you don’t.”

I shot off the couch and walked for the stairs. There was packing to do.

“Lucy.” Duke gripped my elbow, stopping me at the mouth of the living room. “You are not going to Nashville.”

“I have to!” I threw my hands in the air, shaking him off. “She’s my best friend. She’s in danger.”

“No.” He stepped around me and blocked my path to the stairs. “Let’s calm down. Talk about—”

“What if it were Travis?”

He held up his hands. “But it’s not.”

“No, it’s not.” I sidestepped, trying to slip past him, but he moved too quickly. “Duke.”

“You’re not leaving like this.”

“Yes, I am. Get out of my way.” I tried once more to get by, but with one fast pivot, he’d cut off my steps. “Duke.”

“Lucy, look at me.”

I shook my head, staring at the staircase. “Move.”

“Lu—”

“Move!” I screamed, on the verge of tears again. “I won’t lose her.”

“And I won’t lose you,” he whispered.

My anger fell away along with the strength in my legs. I was about to crumple to the floor, curl into a ball and cry for days, but before my knees could give out, Duke swept me into his arms and carried me to the couch.

This time, he didn’t sit on the coffee table. He tucked me into his chest and cradled me on his lap.

“You can’t go, baby. It’s not safe.”

I leaned back and looked into his eyes. “It’s not safe for Everly either.”

“The stalker never made a physical move on you, right? Never tried to hurt you?”

“Me, personally? No. It was more of a mind game. But my dog is dead. What if Everly is Spot all over again? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her.”

“Let’s start by getting ahold of her. Does she know about what happened?”

“Yes, she knows everything.”

“Good,” he said. “We’ll start with her. Then we’ll get in touch with Detective Markum.”

I worried my bottom lip between my teeth. “But . . . then that means he’ll know where I’m at.”

Maybe it had been foolish not to trust the cops. Well, that cop. I trusted the one holding me with my life. But it was different with Detective Markum. He was a nice man and had done what he could to help me. But I didn’t want my name in a database. I didn’t need Jade Morgan listed as an official alias.

The minute someone other than Everly knew I was in Calamity, no matter how much they promised to keep my secret, the plan would fall apart. And I wasn’t ready for my peaceful, country life to end.

Duke blew out a deep breath. “Do you trust him?”

“Honestly, I don’t know if I trust anyone at the moment.”

He took my hand from my lap and pressed it against his chest. “Me. You trust me.”

“You.” I dropped my forehead to his. “I don’t want him to know where I’m at. I think the reason my stalker got my number all those times was from Meghan. But what if it wasn’t? What if there’s a dirty cop involved?”

“Then we’ll tell Everly to get in touch with him.”

“What about the email? He’s going to want to see it.”

“We can get it to her and she can pass it along. But as long as she’s willing, she’s the middleman.”

I sighed. “I don’t want her in the middle.”

His arms wrapped around me tighter. “Fact is, baby, until we find out who this is, we’re all in the middle.”

“I didn’t want to bring this into your life too. I’m sorry.”

“Hey.” He hooked his finger under my chin and tipped it back so I had to look at him. “Never apologize.”

“Your life was a lot simpler before I showed up in Calamity.”

“My life was lonely before you showed up in Calamity. These past few weeks, it’s been the best time I’ve had in years. Maybe ever.”

My heart melted. “Me too.”

His blue eyes caught the light from outside, making them shine like jewels. But it wasn’t the color that stole my breath. It was the affection, the protective comfort and sheer confidence we’d figure this out, that made it hard to breathe.

“Okay,” I whispered. “I won’t leave.”

“Good.” He kissed my lips, soft and sweet. Then he stood up in a flash, depositing me on my feet. “Call Everly.”

An hour later, my phone was on the butcher block island because I’d had enough of her yelling directly into my ear.

“This is fucking bullshit,” Everly snapped. “You know this is a trap, right? To get you back here? You’re staying right where you are.”

Duke chuckled from where he was leaning against the counter.

“Hi, Duke,” Everly said.

“Hey, Everly.”

“Don’t let her come to Nashville, okay?”

“I’m not going to Nashville,” I told them both.

“Good,” Everly said. “And I’m going to keep living my life. Singing on the balcony. Drinking coffee from one of your ugly-ass mugs.”

“You can’t ignore this, Ev.”

“Like hell I can’t.”

“We need to get Detective Markum involved,” Duke reminded her.

“I’ll call him as soon as we hang up.”

“And the security company.”

“And the security company,” she mimicked.

Duke pushed off the counter and braced his hands on the island. “If the stalker is watching closely, which I suspect is the case, an increase in security activity and a visit to see Detective Markum are probably going to tip him off that you two are talking.”

“Okay. But the alternative is not to hire security or talk to the police.”

“And I’m not suggesting that.” He gave me a sad smile. “I don’t like that you two talk once a week. He’s going to know you two talk. And if I was digging into phone records, trying to track you down, I’d wonder who called Everly every Wednesday. I doubt he’s found a way to crack into phone records yet but let’s be proactive, just in case.”

“I bought my phone from a Walmart in Omaha,” I said. “It’s a Nebraska number.”

“I know, baby.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “But it’s bouncing off a tower in Montana.”

My heart sank. “We can’t talk?”

“What if we got new phones?” Everly suggested.

“I’m good with that,” Duke said. “In a month. Lucy wanted to disappear. Well, let’s make that actually happen and see what shakes loose. I have no idea how far this stalker has gone, but if he’s listening and watching closer than we realize, I think a few weeks of radio silence would be prudent. Let’s get Markum on the case and see what happens. Then you can get a new phone with a new number. And the only people who will have it live in Calamity.”

Fucking prudence. How was I going to not talk to Everly? We’d grown up talking to each other.

“Well, this sucks,” she muttered.

“I agree.”

“What if I need to talk to her?” Everly asked. “What if it’s an emergency?”

“Go buy a disposable phone and you call me,” Duke answered.

My eyes dropped to the floor. I didn’t want to cut myself off from Everly but if doing so would end all this, I’d do it.

“What if things get worse?” I asked Duke. “What if the stalker gets angry and this sets off another explosion? What if my absence and disappearance bring havoc to Everly’s life? That’s not fair.”

“None of this is fair. And I don’t care,” she said. “I say . . . bring it on, asshole.”

“Ev—”

“I know what I’m dealing with here, Luce. I was there, remember?”

“But—”

“I’m not scared.”

I could see her jutting out her chin. Squaring her shoulders. Everly took life head-on. In everything, she was courageous. She was tenacious and fearless. When she hadn’t scored one of my lucky breaks in her career, it hadn’t gotten her down. She’d just kept singing.

That was what I was worried about.

Everly would be so dead set on walking forward, she wouldn’t notice the guy sneaking up behind her and clubbing her over the head.

“Please, be careful. Don’t downplay this.”

“I won’t.”

“Got a pen, Everly?” Duke asked. “I’ll give you my number.”

“Okay,” she said after he rattled it off. “Miss you, Luce.”

“I miss you too.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You just go and be Jade Morgan.”

“Thanks. I’ll talk to you . . . soon. It’s only a month.” That sounded like an eternity.

“Exactly. It’s only a month. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.”

I laughed, already missing the dorky sayings she spouted because they made me smile. “Bye.” I ended the call and slumped forward. “It’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not.” He ran his hand down my back and when I stood, his arms were waiting.

It was hard enough not talking to her every day after coming to Calamity. Now to go so long and not know if she was in danger? My stomach twisted and I gripped Duke tighter, drawing from his seemingly bottomless well of strength.

“What’s her real name?” he asked.

I leaned back. “How did you know it’s not her real name?”

“Didn’t.” He grinned. “But I do now.”

“Fell for that one, didn’t I?” I poked him in the ribs. “Her first name is Everly. That wasn’t a lie. But her last name is Christian. Sanchez is her mother’s maiden name.”

“Hmm.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t ring a bell. Would I recognize any of her music?”

“Probably not. She’s amazing and has a beautiful voice. But . . .” There were hundreds of other amazing women with beautiful voices in Nashville, all trying to make their mark.

Duke held me for a few more minutes, then let me go and flipped open the pizza box he’d brought over. “Hungry?”

“No.” I closed the box and put it in the fridge for later, but not before noticing there were quite a few slices already eaten. “What happened with Travis?”

He groaned and gave me a summary of what had happened earlier, giving me a much-needed change of subject.

“He’s failing Spanish?” I asked.

Duke nodded. “Yeah.”

“Hmm. I took Spanish all through high school and spent three weeks in Barcelona the summer between my junior and senior year. I could tutor him.”

“Appreciate the offer.” He dropped a kiss to my forehead. “More than you know. I’ll tell Melanie. But . . .”

“I get it. He doesn’t like me much right now. And that’s okay. If he wants help, the offer stands. It would be a nice distraction and I need one of those right now. Maybe I should take up knitting? Or gardening?”

“Or I can think of another distraction.” Duke slid in closer, his hands finding their way into my hair, massaging my scalp.

I moaned, letting him erase some of the tension from the past couple of hours. “That feels amazing.”

Duke’s touch was everything I needed in that moment. Comforting. Grounding. Safe. He was the metronome, the steady beat, keeping my song in time.

What would have happened had Everly and I picked another hiking trail? Or if I’d found any other place to run but Calamity?

I wouldn’t have missed him. Somehow, eventually, our paths would have crossed. I wasn’t dealing with this alone, because he’d been meant for me to find.

“Do you believe in destiny? Because I was just thinking . . . I’ve caught a lot of lucky breaks. My career, mostly. But this one, finding you here, doesn’t feel like luck. It feels like something bigger.”

His gaze softened, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes deepening. “It sure does.”

“That was your chance to get rid of me, Sheriff.”

“Too bad I missed it.” He snaked his arms around me, pressing his hard body into mine.

“Yeah.” I ran my hands up and down the roped muscles of his back, then dipped into the back pockets of his jeans as he pressed his growing arousal into my belly. “Too bad.”