Caught Off Guard Read online

  “Yeah,” I said. “You should be.”

  Toby groaned. “I’m definitely going to need time with Lady M after this.”

  Lady M—Lady Marmalade—was a sugar glider and Toby’s emotional-support animal, which he’d gotten after being shot earlier in the year.

  Precious studied Toby. “I picture you sitting in the bathtub, holding Lady M and crying, with paint on your body while you rock back and forth. Don’t do that. No matter what happens here today.”

  Toby rolled his eyes and headed down a trail. He stopped long enough to say, “I’m getting a head start.”

  “Oh,” said Precious, “me too.” With a dainty wave, she jogged down a different trail, her ponytail bouncing with each stride. She was dressed in camouflage yoga pants and a green T-shirt. I had to give her props for that.

  Leo touched my arm to get my attention. “At least they’re on board.”

  I nodded. “Yeah.” I bit my lip.

  “But?”

  I faced him and locked our gazes. “But I have this dreadful feeling that something big and bad is coming and I’m not going to be able to protect anyone.”

  That feeling had been with me for more than two weeks, a foreboding I couldn’t shake. It was the reason we were there. I believed if a person could use their wits to survive in the woods, they could use them in other places too.

  “Maybe your feeling is more from the fact that you’re taking on more cases and you know, logically, that they’re bound to get tougher.” Leo arched a brow in question.

  “Maybe,” I said. But I didn’t actually believe that.

  I’d grown up having to trust my instincts, and they were sounding alarm bells. The best way to describe this feeling was by using Shakespeare’s words: “Something wicked this way comes.”

  2

  Saturday

  At Sol Duc Resort, the cabins were sets of four in arched layouts. One firepit was placed centrally for easy access in each cabin cluster and was on a first-come-first-served basis.

  We sat around the firepit, each stuffed to the gills from the fish fry—pun intended. Behind us, music floated from the resort as the occasional sound of laughter carried on the wind.

  As I had been the first person shot, and by Toby to boot, I was much lighter in both funds and spirit. However, my thigh was aching where the paintball had made contact.

  I pointed at Toby. “I have to say it again. What you did was clever.”

  He tapped his temple. “Thinking like a Jedi. A master of the dark web, such as I am; it’s all about cloaking, right? When we’re on the clear web and asking people to join us on the dark side, we use smoke and mirrors. And I thought, why not do that here?”

  Leo chuckled. “So you tucked your neon T-shirt into a bush and hid across from it. Smart.”

  Toby stroked Lady M and beamed. “I was worried the pasty white of my natural skin would be as much a giveaway as the T-shirt. I thought about putting mud on my chest, but I didn’t want to get my hands all grody.” Toby was the cliché of a computer nerd. Tall, reed thin, with hunched shoulders, unkempt shaggy blond hair, an endless supply of ironic T-shirts, and a time dedicated to getting high. Everyone in town knew and often could be heard saying that Toby was unavailable because of “high time.”

  Precious tapped her beer to Toby’s and raised it in the air. “To Toby, who embraced his inner native and won the challenge. And if that howl he did after shooting Sam is any indication of how he felt, he might have found his second calling.”

  Toby shook his head. “Smoking weed and eating pizza rolls is my second calling. Tricking hunters would be my third.”

  We laughed. The past year had been rough for Toby. He’d been shot, had to give up vaping because of the still unsolved vaping lung disease epidemic, and almost lost his emotional-support animal in a fight with an unstable bride. That last one was my fault, but still… Today his win was a good thing.

  Leo leaned toward me and said under his breath, “You feel any better?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe about Toby.”

  I glanced at my best friend. Six feet tall thanks to her German heritage, top heavy thanks to the Shurmann-women genes, and not intimidated by much thanks to a childhood stutter that only showed when she was overly stressed or scared, Precious never backed down from a rumble. But that was what scared me the most. One day, she would meet a foe that would outwit her.

  I continued, “But I can’t predict what’s ahead, and I feel like there’s too much unknown to prepare for.”

  “What are you two whispering about?” Precious asked.

  I shrugged. “Just about ways to always be prepared.”

  She chuckled. “Would it make you feel better if I safety pinned a secret pocket with handcuff keys onto my pants every day like you did?”

  Leo chuckled. “Did you really?”

  I punched him on the shoulder. Being locked to a bike rack with no help was a situation I planned to never be in again. Being caught unprepared was a sore spot for me.

  I ignored him and told Precious, “Yes, it would. And carry a stun gun or pepper spray at least.”

  Precious stood. “And aim for the throat”—she pretended to grab an imaginary man’s throat—“and rip. Or aim for the twig and berries.” She did a groin kick in the air, and both Leo and Toby groaned.

  “On that note,” Leo said as he stood, “I’m going to bed.”

  A quick glance at my watch told me bedtime was long past. The fire was low, other campers and cabin-stayers were straggling toward their beds, and somewhere off in the deep of the forest, a pack of coyotes barked and howled as they began their prowl. Though, to me, they sounded as if they were calling out a warning.

  Leo squeezed my shoulder. “Native American lore says to see or hear wolves would be a bad omen. Be glad those are coyotes.”

  “Because wolves aren’t in the Olympic National Forest,” I pointed out.

  “Yeah, can you imagine if you heard one? Even I’d be scared.” He chuckled, gave my shoulder a final squeeze, then headed to the cabin he shared with Toby.

  Toby stood as well. “I think I’m going to bed too. Too bad there’s no internet out here, or I’d get online and brag to my friends, but I guess that’ll have to wait.”

  I said, “Must be killing you to be device free.”

  He tossed his empty beer bottle into a recycling bin a dozen yards from the firepit. “Life without internet access is cruel and unnecessary.”

  Precious said, “Yet you survived and had a good day. I’ll admit that I had a hard time with it at first too, but jeez, if we can’t be off the grid for forty-eight hours without all hell breaking loose, then something is seriously wrong with the world. You know, I don’t even know where my phone is right now. When’s the last time that’s happened?”

  “Ten years ago?” I offered.

  Toby gave a dismissive wave and shuffled toward his cabin.

  I stretched and yawned.

  Precious shook a finger at me. “You all are party poopers.”

  I rose from the log that served as my seat then kicked sand on the fire and made sure the embers had died.

  “Come on, tomorrow’s a long drive home,” I said.

  She grunted with disappointment then followed me to our cabin after tossing away her beer bottle.

  The next morning, we were up early and on the road. The drive south out of the Olympics to Wind River was slightly over five hours, not including stops. Both Precious and Leo had to be back at work on Monday, and I had babysitting duty. My six-year-old niece, Cora, was currently living with my parents while my sister was deployed. Rachel had left in late September and would be returning home in February. Having Cora around had been amazing, a wonderful chance to get to know my niece better and teach her bad habits, much to my sister’s horror. And I was planning to take her with me the following day, to do a job—not a PI job; I’m not that careless. I also work part time for a second-string pro quarterback. I was the chief operating officer for his l
aundry, groceries, and dog.

  The next day was dog-park day with Simon, and since Cora’s school was closed for teacher inservice, I thought she would love to get some dog time in. Most animals are good for anyone’s soul.

  Besides, I had only one active PI case. I’d been hired by a woman to follow her fiancé to make sure he was telling the truth about how he spent his time. I followed him on Thursday and reported on his mundane day, to her relief. But she wanted two weeks of information, just to be safe.

  The drive out of the national forest was quiet. I thought we’d all come to enjoy the experience of the peacefulness of being in nature. For me, being in the woods felt like being home. I loved camping and cooking food over an open fire. Having dyslexia meant school was hard for me. My dad recognized that and tried to find an outlet that built my self-esteem. Being outdoors became that thing. Leo’s kid brother, Hue, is also dyslexic and one of my closest friends. When not out hiking or camping with my dad, I would hang out with Hue on the reservation and learn how to be still among the trees, how to fish with nothing but a branch, a line, and a hook, and how to make a gill net.

  In nature, I found myself. I came into my own. And I disliked leaving it behind and heading back to a world where things automatically got harder.

  “I know we just had breakfast,” Toby said, “but we’re planning on stopping for lunch, right? We’re not driving straight through?”

  We were in Leo’s extended-cab truck, boys up front and girls in the back. The pause before anyone answered him allowed enough silence for us to hear his stomach rumble.

  Precious lightly pushed his shoulder. “Sounds like you didn’t have enough breakfast.”

  I handed him a protein bar over the seat. “It’s gonna be a few hours at least.”

  He grumbled and took it. We drove out of the thick of the forest and east toward Port Angeles. I loved that the coastline of Victoria, Canada could be seen by looking north from the edge of town. I loved that pods of killer or gray whales could often be spotted right offshore.

  We were closing in on Lake Crescent, one of the bluest lakes I’d ever seen, still easily thirty minutes away from the nearest town, when my phone chimed. Then Precious’s phone chimed, also indicating missed calls and text messages. We looked at each other as we dug through our purses or backpacks for the phones we hadn’t touched in two days. Leo’s phone gave a shorter series of chimes, as did Toby’s.

  Precious said, “Looks like the world missed us.” She looked at her screen, her brow furrowed.

  I scrolled through a series of text messages from AJ and noticed he’d tried calling me seventeen times.

  I told her, “These are all from AJ.”

  AJ was the second-string quarterback I worked for. Precious was his life coach as he strove to become a first-string NFL superstar. However, his current competition was a beloved All-Pro superstar.

  “Mine too.” She looked worried. “I hope he’s okay.” She tapped her phone three times then put it to her ear. “I’m calling him.”

  Leo met my gaze in the rearview mirror, a questioning arch in his brow. He was asking me if I thought that was the something I’d been worried about. I shrugged and gnawed on a thumbnail.

  “Hi, AJ,” Precious said. “I’m here with Sam, and we both noticed we missed a lot of calls and messages from you. Your messages were very cryptic. What’s up?” She paused then said, “Okay, hold on.” She looked at me. “He wants me to put him on speakerphone.”

  I asked the guys if that was okay, and they agreed.

  “Okay, AJ. You’re on speaker. And you should know there are two other people with us in the car.” Precious identified Leo and Toby.

  “Cool, cool,” AJ said. “Hi, everyone. I have something exciting to share. Well, I mean it’s bad but good. If that makes sense. I shouldn’t be so excited, but I can’t help it.”

  Precious cleared her throat. “Why don’t you tell us what it is? We can take it from there.”

  “Our next game is this Thursday, and guess who the starting quarterback will be?” He couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.

  “Seriously?” I said. “What’s happened to McVay?”

  Keith McVay had been the Portland Pioneers' quarterback and city superstar for the last five years. Something bad had to happen for McVay to not start.

  “Yeah, seriously,” AJ said. “Keith failed the mandatory drug-screening test he took Friday, and because he popped positive for illegal substances, he’s been suspended for three games. I saw him yesterday, and he looks ravaged.”

  Both Leo and Toby shared looks of surprise.

  Keith McVay popped positive? “Was it PEDs?” I asked.

  When I was a kid, my dad, a reporter, had done an exposé on performance-enhancing drugs, turning a huge spotlight on the sport and the big business of winning. That was a time when the average citizen didn’t know about PEDs.

  AJ said, “That part I don’t know. I don’t care. I want to know if you all want to come to the game. Please say yes. Need my favorite girls there to support me.”

  Leo cut a side-eye toward me. He thought something was going on between me and AJ. The truth was that nothing was going on between me and anyone. When I found out I’d been married to a con man who played me for a fool, well, that kinda made dating unappealing. I hadn’t gotten my taste for men back just yet.

  Precious answered, “Of course we’ll be there. We’re excited for you. I’ll be home later today, and let’s talk then. Sound good?”

  AJ said, “Yeah. Solid plan. Sam? You still coming for Simon tomorrow?”

  “Yes, and I have your groceries to pick up as well.”

  “Put champagne on that list,” AJ said.

  Precious and I laughed.

  I said, “I’m thinking Ralphs isn’t going to carry the kind of champagne you want.”

  Precious said, “I’ll take care of the champagne.”

  We ended the call moments later. I took a deep breath and tried to listen to my gut.

  “Better?” Leo asked.

  I shook my head. Whatever was making my spidey senses go off was still coming. And I was afraid the news with AJ might have been a distraction I couldn’t afford.

  3

  Monday

  I stood inside AJ’s back door, looking out at his patio, where Cora was playing with Simon, AJ’s Airedale.

  Precious and AJ were talking strategy on the couch.

  AJ said, “After Thursday night’s game, there will be three more before the new year. If I do well enough on the next two, I might catch the attention of a team who will be quarterback shopping in the spring.”

  I’d known Precious long enough to know what was coming next.

  Precious said, “Okay. First, let’s address your mindset.”

  I chimed in. “Never use the words ‘if I’m lucky enough' or ‘if I do.’ That’s negative self-talk. It’s defeatist. You’re already preparing for failure.”

  Precious snapped and pointed at me. “See, Samantha knows. Now I have to get it through your thick skull too.”

  AJ caught my eye, and I winked.

  I said, “She’s right, you know. The science behind the power of the brain is amazing. You work hard, AJ. You have talent. You’ve earned your position on the team. Now’s your opportunity to prove you are more than ready. Success doesn’t come because you got lucky in the games you start. Success comes with knowing you can handle any situation with confidence and skill.”

  He nodded, but the skepticism on his face belied his true inner feelings.

  Precious slapped him upside the head. Ever since her concussion, she’d become noticeably more aggressive.

  “Yow! What was that for?” AJ rubbed the back of his head.

  Precious crossed her arms and sat back in the overstuffed armchair she’d claimed upon arrival, commanding AJ to sit on the ottoman so that he could face her.

  “For two years, we’ve worked together, and I still can’t get you to believe in yourself. Not f
ully, anyway. I’m down to trying more adverse responses.”

  “You plan on smacking me every time I say or think something negative?” He looked at me and smiled.

  Precious said, “I can if you want. Or you can try harder. What do you think?”

  “I think I’ll try harder.” He smiled.

  Precious returned it. “A chance to prove yourself is what you’ve been waiting for, AJ. What you’ve been working hard on. Now is the time to show what an asset you are. No one will buy into you if you don’t buy into yourself.”

  He nodded several times as if letting the words sink in. “I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in. I’ve got my head on straight, mostly.” He bumped Precious’s knee with his fist in a teasing manner. “And I’m a damn good quarterback.”

  I said, “Now we’re talking.”

  Precious said, “I’m going to talk to your agent so we all can be on the same page with the plan between now and when you land a starting position.” She pretended to wipe away a tear. “I’ll miss you when you’re gone.”

  AJ laughed and rose from the ottoman. “You’ll still be my life coach, Erika. Now, I’m gonna make a smoothie. Anyone else want one?”

  I curled my lip. “Are you making that nasty-looking green drink?”

  AJ furrowed his brow. “Hey, that green drink is part of why I’m in such great shape. You are what you put in your body.”

  “And I’m happy being coffee and carbs,” I said without hesitation. “That drink looks toxic.”

  AJ made his way to the kitchen and pulled out his high-end blender. “Funny you should say that. The same day McVay popped positive on the test, I’d made him a green smoothie. Some of the guys teased me about spiking his drink so I could get some playtime.” He chuckled and shook his head. “It wasn’t funny then, but it’s funny now.”

  After a quick glance at Cora to make sure she was okay, I joined AJ in the kitchen. “Wait, what did you just say? No one really believes you spiked McVay’s drink, do they?”