Page 42 of Frost and Venom

“Most likely he’ll be answering to the men he tried to have killed,” Raine said. “And he deserves whatever he gets.”

Harlow had to agree, but she didn’t want Wilder anywhere near the man. As far as she was concerned, he could hide out at her house forever. He’d be flying under the radar if he did.

“I’m going to pass on taking that assignment for you,” Rainier said. “I’ve told you several times, I’m done with that work.”

Blom gave a heavy sigh. “This is different, and you know it. If you want me to hire your security company officially, it’s done. We can negotiate a price.”

“I’m not a hit man, Elliot. I don’t take contracts to kill innocents for money.” There was the merest thread of something lethal in Rainier’s voice.

“I’m going to say it again. Hawkin Wilder is going to end up in the news if someone doesn’t stop him. If I had to name the most dangerous man out there right now, it would be him.”

“I hear you. Maybe you’ll get lucky and your ambush worked.”

“I need to know who is behind that door.”

“I’ll tell you this much. Vienna is in that room, along with several other women visiting a friend of theirs. That friend is my client, and she’s a woman, not a man. That’s the only explanation you’re going to get.”

There was a long silence and then the sound of retreating footsteps. Harlow couldn’t help but compare that measured tread to the silence Blom’s agents used when they walked. She was just grateful the man left.

“Coward,” Vienna whispered.

“He should hire bodyguards twenty-four seven,” Stella said. “That man knows he’s in big trouble if Wilder is alive.”

Chapter Ten

Harlow spent hours going through the photos she’d taken of the barn, looking for the perfect shot that matched what she had but included the black widow spiderwebs. She was fairly certain she’d found a couple that might be ideal, but she needed to blow them up and view them in the right lighting. She was so lost in her work she didn’t hear anyone enter the studio, and Misha didn’t react at first.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand fell on her shoulder. She whirled around, throwing her arms up to protect herself. Wilder stood there looking even healthier than he had when she’d left for the studio in the early morning hours. Rainier wasn’t far behind him.

“You have to stop sneaking up on me like that,” she reprimanded them. “Wear a bell around your neck or something.”

Wilder gave her a small grin in acknowledgment of her humor, but Rainier didn’t smile. “Great, your non-expressions bode ill. Really, you two? Can’t we get through a week without a crisis of some kind?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Rainier said. “You women are trouble magnets.”

She waved her hand toward the lounge area. “We may as well get comfortable. Do either of you want anything to drink?”

Both men declined, and she sat in her favorite chair, facing the two of them. “What’s up?”

Rainier steepled his fingers and looked at her over the top of them. “I’m certain you know Chelsey Sarten.” He made it a statement.

“Of course I do. She worked at the Sunrise Café and then started working for the local hotel. She’s been dating Sonny Leven. He’s a security guard at Stella’s resort. A local and very well thought of, although a bit of a prankster. It was such a surprise that they started dating because all of us thought he had a huge crush on Nellie.” When she was nervous, she tended to either chatter or go completely silent. In this case, she was extremely concerned for Chelsey. Why would they bring her up?

“Tom and Judy rent out the little two-bedroom house in the back. They’d been renting to Janine Hale, but recently she moved in with Edward, and Chelsey took over the house,” Rainier said.

Harlow pressed her lips together tightly and glanced at Wilder. Yeah, whatever they were about to tell her wasn’t good news. It felt as if every single day something terrible was happening. That storm she sensed weeks earlier had arrived in full force. She sent up a silent prayer that nothing had happened to Chelsey, but she didn’t insist they get to the details fast. She was reluctant to know.

“Sonny invited Chelsey to go with him on a vacation somewhere in Oregon. She was very excited and agreed to go. In the meantime, Judy and Tom asked if a friend of theirs, who traveled from San Francisco, could stay in the tiny house that’s right next to the house they rent out. The tiny house shares a small garden and patio with the guesthouse. Chelsey agreed,” Rainier continued.

“Are Chelsey and Sonny all right?” She had to ask. It was both of them. Two of her friends. She might not be super close to them, but she knew and liked them.

“Yes, both are fine. Chelsey called Judy to ask if she would water her roses, which were in pots on the back porch. Judy’s friend Edith Shumaker volunteered to do the watering. She told Judy and Tom she liked to sit outside in the early morning and enjoy her tea and would be happy to water the roses on Chelsey’s porch,” Rainier continued.

Harlow took a deep breath, her gaze clinging to Wilder’s. He didn’t look away, allowing her to use him to steady herself.

“Ms. Shumaker was found unconscious in the garden by the stairs leading up to the porch where the roses grew. She exhibited the same symptoms as Lawyer had, but whatever got her took her much faster. She never regained consciousness and died within three hours of being brought to the hospital.”

“Why wasn’t I called? They should have called me,” Harlow said, jumping out of her chair to pace the room. “I’m a trauma nurse. I work the ER. They should have called me.”