Tracy’s transfer into the WITSEC program if Tracy had chosen to go that way. She had told Tracy to call her if she ever needed her.
Tracy’s hand shook so much, she couldn’t read the number. She placed the card on the desk. Though she dreaded the call she had to make, Jennifer would be able to give her answers. The problem was Tracy wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what the woman had to say. Still, she needed to know if Santino was still in prison or if he had escaped.
She moved around the cottage until she found a good signal and made the call. It went to voice mail and Tracy left a quick message. She didn’t detail what had happened; only asked if Santino was still in prison.
“Please call me back,” she said. “Something’s...happened.”
Tracy ended the call. She had thought she’d never talk to Jennifer again. She hadn’t imagined she would ever have to. Setting the phone on the desk, she admitted that she’d really just hoped and prayed she would never have to contact Jennifer again.
The call made, there wasn’t anything more Tracy could do until she heard back. She’d told the Mountain Cove police everything that had happened today. Everything except about her past and why she’d come to Mountain Cove. Telling them a killer could have followed her here when she was still considered relatively new to the community might make her look like a troublemaker. She’d been afraid to take that risk.
Though she’d lived here only a couple of years, Tracy loved Mountain Cove, and up until today, she had thought she’d found a place she could finally call home. She could never go back to live in Missouri, where her family lived, or Sacramento, where she’d worked as a newspaper editor and where she’d met Derrick. Where all her troubles had begun.
Of course, if Santino had actually come after her here, then she needed to tell the police everything so they would understand what they were up against. She wondered if other law-enforcement entities would get involved, too, swarming down on Mountain Cove. Then the community would wish they had never seen Tracy Murray.
At the moment all she needed was time to think things through. Then if she confirmed it really was Santino she would proceed according to plan, whatever that was. Unfortunately, she didn’t know where else she could go.
How could anyone have found her here?
In the old comfy chair by the fireplace, Tracy tugged her knees up to her chin and watched the flames. Even though it was summer, the evenings were cold enough in Mountain Cove, Alaska, to justify lighting the fire. Soaking in the warmth, she tried to calm her nerves. Until she received a return call from Jennifer she would be on edge, trying to figure out what to do next.
She lived rent-free with Solomon in a small cabin as part of her pay for working at Jewel of the Mountain Bed and Breakfast. The job and her living situation had fallen into place so easily after her arrival and had made her feel as though she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Finding Mountain Cove in the first place had been providential. It was the perfect place where she could hide as well as train Solomon for search and rescue. And it was so far off the beaten path, so distant from the world she’d known before, that she’d felt completely hidden and totally secure. But after the events of today, it didn’t appear to be far enough away to keep her safe. There was still a chance that her testimony, given years before, would get her killed.
She hadn’t been the only witness to Santino’s crimes, but the other guy had taken the get-a-new-life card and run with it straight into witness protection. He’d left everything behind to escape having to live his life in fear that Santino would come for him one day.
A knot grew in Tracy’s throat and lodged there. Had she made a mistake by choosing to stay out of the program, trying to keep from losing everyone else she loved? Hadn’t losing Derrick been enough? Had her decision backfired on her?
Though Tracy had feared for her life during Santino’s trial, and the potential retaliation should he be convicted, her biggest fear had been losing her family. Her father had refused to change his name and move the family to start a new life with her. He’d refused to be forced away from the life he loved, surrounded by lifelong friends and extended family. He’d refused to leave behind the oil business he’d built. That wasn’t something he could easily build up again elsewhere.
And Tracy had refused to leave her family behind—never seeing them again. Never making contact. That kind of price was too high for the added security of witness protection. It was as though she was the one being punished for doing the right thing.
Instead, Tracy had moved to Alaska, to a place that couldn’t even be approached by car. A person could reach Mountain Cove—in the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska—only via floatplane or boat. Hiking in was out of the question.
And this way, she could still go see her family anytime she wanted, while protecting herself by being almost completely isolated from the rest of the world. Yes, in a way she had in fact run from her life and was in hiding after a fashion, but it wasn’t quite as severe as the other choice.
And it wasn’t quite as secure, either. As today had proved, there was still the chance that she could be found and her life could be put in danger again.
Tracy paced the room, rubbing her arms, forcing down the bile rising in her throat.
When would Jennifer call back? Tracy wanted to know Santino’s status. If she had internet she could search the news feeds and find out. Maybe. But she didn’t. Part of the allure of the Jewel of the Mountain Bed and Breakfast was that people were forced to enjoy nature—there wasn’t anything else to do, and that, according to Jewel Caraway, the owner and Tracy’s boss, made the place the perfect getaway.
Solomon rested by the fire, and Tracy crouched next to him, ran her fingers through his thick, golden fur. “You did well today.”
She leaned closer to him. He wasn’t a trained attack or guard dog, but she knew that Solomon would protect her better than just about anything else. Or anyone. He’d already proved that once, the night that Santino had burned down her house. The same night he’d burned Derrick’s house to silence him forever. Solomon had been able to save Tracy.
A growl erupted from Solomon and his ears perked up. In that moment he wasn’t the typical overfriendly golden retriever. No. Solomon was protective of Tracy and he sensed a possible threat. Tracy stood, her gaze flickering to the windows and the door. Fear corded around her throat.
But when she heard the telltale sound of someone approaching the front door, she ran her hand down Solomon’s back to reassure him. “Bad guys don’t knock.”
No. Bad guys push people off ledges. Burn down their homes while they’re sleeping. Find good people where they hide in order to kill them.
David stood at the cottage door, his knuckles ready to knock. He took in a breath. What was he doing here? Tracy probably wouldn’t appreciate the intrusion. And David was conflicted about whether he wanted to be here, too. He’d set his boundaries and now he was taking a step outside that imaginary line.
But Tracy’s welfare was much more important than David’s need to protect his heart. That was it, then. He wouldn’t stand on the sidelines and do nothing. If there was a way he could help he would.
He knocked on the door.
Behind
