In the faded yellow one-story compound that housed both the police and fire departments, she repeated the story she’d told to Tristan to Maya Badger. The look in the woman’s rich brown eyes made it clear she was none too happy with the fact that Lulu hadn’t told it earlier.
If only she knew the entire entire story.
Lulu shoved that thought to the far back corner of her mind. She didn’t want any hint of secrecy showing on her face, and she really wasn’t any good at hiding things.
“Why didn’t you tell us about this earlier?” the police chief demanded when she was done.
“My plan was to leave Lost Harbor as soon as I could manage it. I didn’t want to involve anyone here.”
“We’ve never had a truck blow up on the boardwalk before,” Maya said dryly. “I think we’re involved.”
Darius the fire chief propped one ankle on the opposite knee. “There was that time when that longshoreman messed with Padric Jeffers’ engine a couple years ago,” said Darius. “I’d just started the job here, and I remember thinking maybe I had it all wrong about a small harbor police chief being a boring job.”
“I’m glad my ex-truck is adding to your entertainment.” Tristan rolled his neck to work out the kinks. Swimming, truck blowing up, it was a lot. She wanted to slide her hand under his damp hair and help him.
“Sorry, man,” Darius said. “You need something to drive for a while? Emma Gordon—Kate’s grandmother—has some extra rigs sitting around the peony farm. She starts them every year on her birthday, so I know they all work. Might need some fluids and bodywork, but they’ll serve.”
“Nah, I’m good.” Tristan shrugged his big shoulders. “I wouldn’t be a real Alaskan without my quota of junkers lying around. How are we going to find this guy?”
“We aren’t.” Maya folded her arms on the desk and cast a stern look at Tristan. “Not if we includes you. All I need from Lulu is a positive ID.” She opened an iPad and swung it around so Lulu could see it. “Can you identify the man you saw on the cruise ship? I did some digging into the alias you mentioned, Sebastian Perro.”
The iPad showed a grainy photo of someone who wasn’t the man. “Can I…”
“Yes, scroll away.”
Lulu flipped through photos until she found the one that even now gave her chills. “This is him.” After giving Tristan a moment to take it in, she spun the iPad back toward Maya.
Maya read from the iPad. “His name is Seb Antonov. Lithuanian national. Kidnapping. Trafficking. Forger. Bad dude.”
Lulu swallowed hard as her fear came welling back.
“What I don’t understand is why he’s coming after you. Just because you recognized him? It doesn’t seem like enough of a reason.” Maya’s forehead wrinkled in a frown. “Are you sure there isn’t more than that?”
Oh dear. Clearly, she was dealing with a smart police chief. After all, Maya Badger had managed to identify Mr. Bad Guy in under a day. “I went to the security head, like I told you. I assume it’s because of that.”
“But clearly whatever he’d done to cover his tracks worked.”
Lulu ran her tongue across her suddenly dry lips. “Yes, but maybe he thought I’d keep pushing? I wasn’t going to, but he didn’t know that. Maybe he just didn’t want to leave any loose ends at all.”
Maya narrowed her eyes, still looking unconvinced. “So when you left the ship, he went after you to what, get rid of you?”
“Maybe he thought I’d go to the authorities here. Like I am now, with you all.”
“But you only did that after he apparently blew up Tristan’s truck. And that’s another thing. He wasn’t trying to kill you, in my view.”
Darius was nodding along with Maya’s assessment, his bulging forearms folded across his midsection. “I was thinking the same thing. If it was a remote detonator, he could have waited until you were in the truck. But he didn’t. He triggered it when no one was nearby. Not a single person got hurt. It seems more like a warning.”
Lulu’s gorge rose, and for a moment she thought she was going to vomit. It was a warning. Of course it was. And she knew exactly what he was warning her about.
Should she tell these kind and capable people everything? No. Not yet. Not until she had one very important conversation. Then she would.
Maya picked up her cell phone. “I’m going to reach out to the Anchorage FBI office and let them know there’s been a sighting of this fugitive. I know they’ll want to talk to you, Lulu. I have a contact there, Agent Clement, who I’ve worked with before. I’ll ask him to come down as soon as possible.”
She nodded, but her stomach still roiled. How long would they take to get here? Could they be trusted? Would she be a sitting duck until they arrived? And what would happen once they did?
Tristan got to his feet, his height and broad shoulders a match for even the mighty fire chief’s. “Call me when the FBI is here. It’s probably not safe for Lulu to use her phone.”
“She’ll be with you?” Maya frowned again, shaking her head. “I’m not sure that’s safe. Obviously the suspect knows you’re together. I can arrange a secure place for her.”
“Are you sure about that?” Tristan settled his shoulders in his jacket. “Face it, none of us here in Lost Harbor knows shit about people like this guy.” He gestured at the iPad.
“Ethan James?” suggested Darius.
“Former private eye from Los Angeles,” Tristan explained to Lulu.
“Ethan’s out of town on a job. He won’t be back until next week.” Maya drummed her fingers on her desk. “Maybe Bash could step up as a bodyguard.”
“Former MMA champ.” More explanations from Tristan. “And my future brother-in-law.”
“Of course, I met him with Toni—”
They barreled on as if she hadn’t spoken. “Maybe she could stay someplace more remote, like in a yurt on the Lighthouse property,” Maya mused.
“Hell, Emma Gordon has a rifle and the best eye on the peninsula. And those geese she keeps are better than any guard dog.” Darius took out his phone, ready to text.
“Maybe we should think more creatively, like maybe Bethany or Ian can find an empty room at the hospital. It has lots of people, paramedics coming and going, good security.”
At the thought of being stashed in a hospital, after everything she’d gone through with her mother, Lulu rebelled. She had to get back to the Desperado, immediately. Nothing else mattered until she did.
She bolted to her feet. “I’m sure you all have good intentions, but I’m a grown woman and you’re all talking about me as if I’m not even here. This is my decision. You have no authority over me. I’m not even a citizen of this country. Am I under arrest?”
Their faces all swung toward her, showing various versions of surprise.
“Of course not,” said Maya.
“Then I thank you all for your offers of help, including roping in random other Lost Harbor residents, but I’m going to leave now.” She spun on her heel and marched out the door.
“I highly advise against it,” Maya called after her. “This man is dangerous.”