“Thanks. You can bring him here in the morning. Raven claims she’s okay with him visiting the lobby and, to be honest, I think she’d like seeing him after today.”
“How is she?” Sean asked.
“She’s sleeping. Dropped off quickly.” He glanced towards the darkened bedroom. “Sean, if it wasn’t Colin or Morgan…”
“We’ll find out who it was,” Sean assured him. “Get some sleep. We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Thanks,” Cade said and hung up.
He removed his shoes and jacket. Then he grabbed an extra blanket, sat on the sofa, and turned the television on, making sure to mute the set. He watched the replays from a college football game.
He woke when he heard Raven scream. His body instantly went on full alert. He jumped up from the sofa and tripped when his legs got tangled in the blanket.
It took him longer to get to her than he liked. Seeing her asleep and fidgeting in the bed, he relaxed slightly. By the time he gently shook her awake from the nightmare, he’d settled his racing heart.
“Raven?” He pulled her up into his arms. “Shh,” he said, stroking her now dry hair. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
“Blood and fire,” she mumbled. “So much of it.”
“I’ve got you,” he murmured against her hair as he held onto her. He felt the moment she relaxed back into sleep.
Leaning his head back, he tried to get comfortable as he followed her into sleep.
The next time he woke, it was to the feeling of Raven tensing in his arms. He smiled slightly when she tried to pull away slowly, so as to not wake him up.
“Too late,” he said, opening his eyes. “I’m awake.” He looked down at her.
Her crystal eyes looked up at him, and he could tell she had a million questions.
Chuckling, he answered the unspoken first one.
“I only came in her a few hours ago when you were having a nightmare.” He felt her instantly relax.
“I wasn’t concerned,” she said with a slight nod. “I was just trying to determine if last night really happened. But since you’re here…” She sighed.
“Yeah,” he sighed, “you really did find your murdered CPA’s body in an elevator,” he said before really thinking it through.
The moment her body tensed and her eyes grew wide, he groaned.
“Shit, that wasn’t how I was going to tell you.” He took her shoulders and sat up a little. “I’m not really fully awake. It usually takes a long shower or two cups of coffee.”
“Murdered? Joe was murdered?” She wrapped her arms around herself as she leaned against the headboard. “Why? How?”
“I don’t know the details yet; we’re supposed to meet my uncle in the lobby at nine.” He glanced down at his phone. “We have some time, if you want to get ready. We can grab something to eat while we wait.”
A look crossed her face, and he could tell she was going to turn the offer of food down.
“You skipped dinner last night and something tells me you missed lunch yesterday as well,” he jumped in.
Her shoulders sagged, and then she nodded. “I’ll get dressed.” She rolled out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom.
Heading back into the other room, he realized the television was still on and paused when a picture of Joseph Ramsey flashed on the screen.
After finding the remote, he turned on the sound to hear the last part of the story from the local Redding news station. He switched it off quickly when they offered no more updates. Raven wasn’t going to like the negative publicity of someone being murdered at her resort before she could reopen the doors.
It broke his heart a little seeing her step out with red eyes. She’d tried to cover her distress with makeup, but he could see right through it.
She’d dressed in a pair of dark dress pants, a dark grey button-up blouse, and matching low-heeled boots. She had slicked her hair back into a low ponytail. The outfit was meant to project confidence and power. Her eyes, however, gave her away. At least to him.
“Ready?” he asked, taking her hand in his.
She nodded. “Thank you for staying with me last night.”
He opened his mouth to explain that his uncle had requested he stick around, then thought better of it. After all, he didn’t want it to sound like she had been a burden. She hadn’t been. He only wished that the circumstances of his overnight stay had been different.
“I’m glad I did,” he said instead. He walked with her to the elevator.
“How about we take the stairs?” she asked, pulling him to a stop.
He turned and looked at her.
“It’s not… it has nothing to do with last night. I normally take the stairs in the morning for exercise. Once I sit down, some days I don’t get back up for hours.”
He shrugged and nodded, then followed her to the staircase.
“Of course,” she said as they headed down, “I should be climbing these at the end of the day. Going downstairs isn’t as good of a workout as going up.”
“Still, it’s something. Don’t you guys have a gym around here?” he asked once they reached the bottom floor.
“Not yet.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I have plans to put one in, though. It’s going to have state-of-the-art equipment. I plan on putting in a few walking paths outside as well, for summer guests.” She turned to him, and he saw a slight smile on her lips. “And those bike paths you mentioned. I had a talk with Jake about it, and he sounded very excited about the possibility of using the paths himself.”
Cade chuckled. “Jake’s one of the guys I went to Colorado with that summer. Trust me, he’d be first in line to test the runs out.”
She turned, and he noticed the moment she remembered yesterday. The slight spark in her eyes disappeared quickly, and her gaze darted to the large plastic sheeting hiding the view of the area where she’d found Joseph.
“Hey.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m here.” He nodded towards the bar area. “Let’s order some breakfast, shall we?”
The moment after they ordered their food, his uncle strolled in with Blue by his side. The dog paused at the doors and looked up at Sean, as if to make sure it was okay to come inside. God, he had such a good dog.
“Oh!” Raven smiled. “Blue’s here.”
“Yeah, I had my uncle bring him. He watched him last night. I thought he could help you get through today.”
“Thank you.” She got out of her chair and gave his dog a warm greeting while he greeted his uncle.
“Morning,” Sean said. He took the seat Cade offered.
“We just ordered food, if you want something,” Raven said, sitting again.
“No, Blue and I stopped for baked goods in town before heading out here,” Sean answered.
Cade snapped his fingers, and Blue sat beside him. He bent down to give his dog a little love while Sean talked with Raven.
“I’m not sure if Cade filled you in yet. We have confirmed that it was Joseph Ramsey you found yesterday,” Sean said.
“Yes.” Raven sighed and looked towards Cade. “He mentioned something about murder?”
“We found scratch marks on his hands and arms. His associate claims they weren’t there before they parted ways in the lobby shortly after their meeting with you,” Sean said. “I know you’ve been through a lot in the past twenty-four hours, but if you could answer a few more questions?”