Christmas on the Last Frontier (Last Frontier Lodge #1) (22 page)

He looked down at her, his mouth quirking before he stopped abruptly and turned to her.
Without a word, he leaned forward and molded his lips over hers. In the middle of a busy sidewalk with people parting around them, Gage kissed her senseless. He swept his tongue inside her mouth, cupping her cheek with his hand. As swiftly as it began, it ended. He pulled away, his eyes intent on her. His thumb lightly coasted across the pulse beating wildly in her neck. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, Marley thought she saw a flash of uncertainty in them.

“Let’s get to the hotel,” he said gruffly.

Moments later, they walked through the lobby. Marley pulled her raincoat off and gave it a shake while they waited for the elevator. She heard Gage’s name and turned toward the voice to see a man walking in their direction. He was tall, dark and solid as a rock. She figured he must be Aidan, who Gage had explained was a former team member from his Navy SEAL days and ran his own private security company now.

Gage grinned and tugged Aidan into a swift hug when he reached them. “Hey man, good to see you.” Gage turned and slipped his arm around Marley’s waist. “This is Marley.”

Aidan’s blue eyes crinkled when he smiled at Marley. He held a hand out. “Hello Marley. Nice to meet the woman who’s stolen Gage’s heart.”

Marley shook his hand, which was so large it literally engulfed hers. Though she’d never have considered Gage short by any means, Aidan towered over her and topped Gage. With Gage at roughly six feet, she figured Aidan had to have a good four plus inches on him. Gage chuckled softly at Aidan’s comment, while Marley frantically wondered if it was true, or if Aidan was casually teasing.

“Nice to meet you too. I don’t know how to thank you…”

Aidan glanced to Gage and back at her. “No need to thank me. Gage is the one who asked me to help, so if you want to thank someone, thank him. I’m happy to help and damn glad we actually got somewhere.”

The elevator binged and opened. Aidan gestured for them to go in first. “Let’s get somewhere private to talk.”

After they got to their hotel room, Marley pushed the curtains back and glanced out over the Seattle skyline. Her old apartment was a few blocks away. She’d been worried about how she’d feel coming back here, but her anxiety was lessened significantly with Gage by her side. The skyline was fuzzy in the misty rain, but she could see the Space Needle in the distance and boats in Puget Sound. She took a breath and turned back to Gage and Aidan who were sitting at a small round table. She joined them, and Gage immediately placed his hand on her thigh, its warm heat comforting and stimulating at once. Now was definitely not the time to get worked up over Gage, but his kiss had stirred up the ever-present charge between them. Not to mention that all he had to do was exist in space near her, and that hot, electric charge slid through her veins. She took a breath and focused on the moment.

Aidan turned to her, his blue eyes sharp and assessing. “How are you feeling about this?”

“Okay, I guess. I mean, not great, but it’d be weird if I felt good about it. It’s not talking to the police, it’s just the whole thing. Has anyone actually talked to Kent?”

Aidan shook his head. “The plan is for the police to interview you and see if anything comes up that might give them some clues about the robbery. Then they plan to bring Kent in for questioning. I can sit with you during the interview with them…”

Gage cut Aidan off. “I’ll be there too.” His eyes were dark when he spoke.

Aidan looked at Gage and back at Marley. “Gage, I know you want to be there, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why?” Gage all but barked his question.

Marley’s stomach churned. She’d somehow managed to tamp down her anxiety about why she was here most of last night and this morning. She’d shrouded herself in a cloud of denial. Discussing what was coming brought her feelings to the fore. She couldn’t quite believe Kent would have gone so far as to assault and rob her, but the fact was someone had. Her heart raced and her skin got clammy. She remembered what her therapist had told her—to let the feelings happen and find something to anchor her to the present moment. Her therapist had told her that her body would eventually convince her mind that the fear wasn’t coming to fruition in the present moment, but that it would take practice and patience. She focused on the feel of Gage’s hand on her leg and let the feelings pass through her. Right now, she was safe here beside Gage. She glanced at Gage who was glaring at Aidan.

“Look man, I get why you want to be in the interview with Marley, but she needs to not be worried about how you’re feeling. And I know you’ll be feeling something. You have every right to be furious at the guy who robbed and assaulted her, but the police need to be able to interview her without you unintentionally affecting her.” Aidan paused and glanced at Marley. “Any thoughts on this?”

Marley appreciated that he was including her. She looked to Gage and reached for his hand. He took a slow breath, but remained silent. “Much as I want you right there with me, it’s probably better if you’re not. I already went through these interviews a few times, unless they plan to do something differently, they’ll basically walk me through what I remember. I don’t want to hold back anything unconsciously. You have no idea how much it means to me that you’re helping with this. But if you start to get upset at what you hear, I’ll be worried about you.”

Gage held her gaze and swore softly. He turned to Aidan. “You promise I can wait right outside the room and you’ll get me right away if she needs me?”

Aidan nodded firmly. “Absolutely.”

Gage squeezed her hand and nodded firmly. “I don’t like it, but I get it. What’s the timeframe on when they’ll interview Kent? I want to be there for that.”

Aidan shrugged. “That depends. They don’t want to tip him off, so it’ll depend on if they can reach him right away for questioning. The lead detective’s been great. He’ll keep us in the loop every step of the way. They’ve got an angle beyond this they’re working with him. The woman he had an affair with has reported he’s been stalking her and making threats ever since she broke it off with him. Sounds like Kent’s pretty pissed off that he’s not getting a kickback for passing on data to her anymore.”

Fear threaded through Marley. As disgusted as she was to learn what Kent had done, the more she learned about him, the more he frightened her. She only hoped the police would be able to arrest him soon. The conversation moved on to lighter matters with Aidan discussing when he might be able to come to Last Frontier Lodge for a visit.

***

Gage waited outside the room where the police were interviewing Marley. While his mind was fully aware of why it wouldn’t be helpful for him to be present during the interview, his emotions emphatically disagreed. After years of missions as a Navy SEAL, he knew damn well it was never a good idea for emotions to be in charge, but when it came to Marley, his definitely were. The only thing keeping him out of that room was the knowledge that Aidan was there with her. He trusted Aidan completely and knew Aidan would come get him if needed. Right before Marley had walked in the room, she’d squeezed his hand and met his eyes. Her clear, forest green gaze nearly undid him right then and there. She was trying so hard to be strong.

He checked his watch. It had only been fifteen minutes. He shackled his emotions and leaned his head against the wall. He was good at waiting and would wait as long as he had to. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to see Becca’s number flash on the screen.

“Hey Becca. What’s up?”

“Just calling to check in. We’re wondering how Marley’s doing.”

Gage smiled to himself. After he’d filled Jessa and Becca in, they’d emphatically supported his decision to go with her to Seattle. Becca had gone into her protective bear mode, as she was prone to doing. As a prosecutor, she specialized in cases involving victims of violent crimes. Her skepticism about Marley, already waning, had dissolved in the face of a cause. Marley had become her personal cause for the moment. She’d contacted the police this morning to get an update herself and demand that they make sure Marley was provided with all the support she needed.

“Marley’s doing just fine. Thanks for asking. Honestly, I’m in worse shape than she is. They didn’t think it was a great idea for me to be in the interview room with her since I might have some feelings about the situation, so I’m stuck waiting.”

Becca chuckled. “Wow, you really love her, don’t you?”

Gage thought perhaps he should argue the point with Becca, but it seemed silly. He wasn’t the most comfortable with expressing his feelings, but it didn’t dilute their depth. He sighed. “Yeah, pretty much. Not so sure what to do about it.”

He could feel Becca’s smile through the phone when she spoke. “Seems like you’re doing what you need to do. If you ask me, she loves you too.”

He couldn’t help the uncertainty that flared in his heart. He was truly walking on foreign ground with Marley. He’d never once in his life experienced uncertainty when it came to a woman. He’d always been confident that he didn’t want serious emotional entanglements, so he didn’t have them. It had been simple and clean that way. Then he met Marley. All the rules he’d lived by went out the window with her. He was so rattled by how much she meant to him, he didn’t know how to talk to her about it. To say he was out of practice was an understatement. He hadn’t had any practice at this kind of thing. He took a slow breath.

“You think so, huh?”

“As much as I can guess based on how she looks when she talks about you and when you get anywhere near her. She lights up like a top. I’ve only known her a few days, and I’m the first person to be skeptical, but you two are so obvious, it almost hurts to watch.”

“I know I don’t talk much about stuff like this…”

Becca interjected. “I’d say it’s more that you never talked much about stuff like this because you’ve never had stuff like this in your life,” she countered with a soft chuckle.

“Any advice?”

“Tell her how you feel. Maybe not today because you two have a lot of other things to focus on, but soon.”

“That simple, huh?”

“In some ways, it is,” she said softly.

“Okay.” They sat quietly on the phone for a long moment.

Becca spoke again. “Will you call us when you have an update?”

Gage was touched at Becca’s concern for Marley, but he shouldn’t have been surprised. Becca thrived when she had someone to focus on, someone to worry about. He chuckled this time. “Of course. You know we’re flying back tomorrow morning, right?”

“Of course. We’re picking you up at the airport. But a lot can happen between now and then.”

“So true, so true.” Gage said goodbye and hung up. He flipped the phone idly in his hand, considering his conversation with Becca. He knew she was right, but he wasn’t so sure she could quite comprehend how out of his depth he was with Marley. He thought back on the many times he’d teased his team members for losing their heads over a woman and felt like he should call in a few apologies. He’d been utterly oblivious to the cataclysmic effects of falling in love. Marley had been nowhere near the map he’d created for his life when he planned his move to Diamond Creek to reopen Last Frontier Lodge. Now, he couldn’t imagine life without her.

With a sigh, he leaned his head against the wall again, wondering when Marley would be out. As if he’d conjured her, the door to the interview room opened and she walked out, Aidan close behind her. Gage stood and turned to her. Her eyes were shuttered and tired. She looked on edge. He started toward her, but she waved him away.

“Where’s the restroom?” she asked abruptly.

Aidan pointed down the hall, and she walked briskly to the restroom and pushed through the door. Gage turned to Aidan. “Is she okay?”

Aidan shrugged. “You know her much better than I do. She handled the interview okay, but it’s not an easy subject. I’m not sure how much she’s told you.”

“She glossed over the details. I heard more from a family friend and another friend of hers. Not that it wouldn’t bother me, but if it was just a robbery, it’d be a lot easier to stomach. The guy pistol whipped her and threw her in a corner though—every time I think about that part, I almost blow my lid.” Gage marshaled his composure, calling on his reserves to keep it together. He met Aidan’s eyes. “Anything new come out of it?”

“Maybe a few details. I’m gonna pop back in and see what they have to say now, but I wanted to walk her out here. If you wait here, I’ll update you.”

Gage nodded and watched Aidan walk back into the interview room where the detectives were waiting. He glanced down the hall, impatient for Marley to return. A few minutes ticked by and then she came through the door and walked toward him. She stopped in front of him, and he felt the tension radiating from her. His throat tight, he stepped to her and pulled her into his arms.

“I’m fine,” she said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

She leaned her head back to look up at him. Her eyes were still tired, but her gaze was softer, less edgy than it had been when she first came out.

“Let’s sit down,” she said tugging him by the hand.

He joined her, his arm firmly around her shoulders. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Not much to say really. I’m glad you’re here.” She took a quick breath. “Aidan said he’d check with them and let me know what’s next.”

“He will,” Gage said firmly.

They waited quietly while Gage grappled with a new reality for him. There was a time when he couldn’t have fathomed that his emotions would run the show, but the opposite was true now. With Marley, how he felt drove everything he did.

It wasn’t too long before Aidan stepped out with the lead detective, Officer Phillips. Officer Phillips reported only that he’d head out with a partner later this afternoon to bring Kent in for questioning. After they departed, Aidan offered additional details, namely that Marley had been able to confirm a scar she’d seen on her assailant’s hand. What she hadn’t known was that it matched a scar on Kent’s hand.