Alive (Sundown Series Book 3) Read online

  “I can’t do it right now. I don’t have the supplies. I can take you where you need to go,” Rafe offered.

  “I don’t even know you.”

  “I’m Rafe Duncan,” he said pointing to his chest, then he pointed to her, “You’re Charlotte Brewer.” That caused her to squint at him as if she couldn’t place his face.

  “Oh, you work in security at the lab,” she said suddenly. Rafe just nodded his head. He motioned toward his truck and Charlotte thought for a moment. Decision made in her mind, she turned back to her car and fished out a duffel and her purse. She trudged up the small hill and climbed through the door Rafe held open for her.

  Inside the truck, Rafe found Charlotte shivering and leaning toward the vents. He cranked up the heat and she sighed. He pulled back onto the main road and headed toward the small cottage he knew she was renting. Word got around out in his area of the happenings of residents. When the old couple that owned the cottage decided to move into the city and rent out their little home, everyone heard about the young doctor that moved in.

  “I saw you today, helping Tammy. You saw me arguing with the facility head,” Charlotte said.

  “Yup.”

  “I shouldn’t have argued with him.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just shouldn’t have. He didn’t like it,” Charlotte said softly.

  “From the argument I saw, you didn’t seem to care what he liked.”

  Charlotte didn’t answer. Rafe glanced over at her quickly and he could swear she was blushing. He swung his gaze back to the road quickly, not quite sure what else to say.

  “Thanks for stopping,” Charlotte said finally, filling the void of sound in the truck cab.

  “Why do you think someone ran you off the road on purpose?” Rafe asked, remembering she had avoided his question earlier.

  “I think I was being followed,” she said, her voice uncertain.

  “You think? Or you know?”

  “I saw the same black SUV a number of times behind me in town. I ran errands and it was always behind me. I went to yoga and I swear it was parked down the street. When I got out here, there’s usually not a lot of traffic in the evenings. The same SUV was behind me.”

  “There are a lot of SUVs in town. Many of them are black.”

  “You don’t have to believe me,” Charlotte shot back, her chin lifted defiantly. Rafe was again struck by how she reminded him of his sister Max. The thought almost made him grin, but he knew it was the wrong time for that.

  “I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I’m just trying to talk the situation out with you.”

  “It was the same SUV. Same tint on the windows. I’m pretty sure it was the same license plate, but to be fair I wasn’t paying close attention at first.”

  “How did it run you off the road?” Rafe asked.

  “I was driving carefully like I always do when there’s snow on the ground. The SUV came up kind of quickly and I was a little nervous about it already. It accelerated like it was going to pass, but just as the back bumper was at my front wheel it started to come into my lane. I had no choice but to move over and it just kept coming. I slammed on my brakes, but it was too late, I was already in the trees.”

  Rafe sat in silence for a moment. He imagined Charlotte trying to slow down, honking her horn probably, to alert the other driver she was there. Her car was small, but not so small the driver wouldn’t have noticed her panicking as they almost hit her. The addition of not stopping once they caused her to drive into the trees, Rafe came to the conclusion that Charlotte was right. She was ran off the road on purpose.

  Not long after, Rafe pulled into the driveway of her little cottage. Charlotte sat in her seat for a moment, staring through the windshield. She seemed lost in thought, so Rafe sat quietly waiting for her to let him in on what was happening in her head.

  “How did you know where I live?” She asked without looking at him.

  “People talk. A doctor moving into the neighborhood was big news when you came.”

  She still sat staring, as she nodded in understanding of his explanation. Rafe wasn’t entirely sure what she was waiting for. For a moment he wondered if she wanted him to open her door. Though his father never taught him the intricacies of being a gentleman, Rafe knew well enough that if they were on a date it would be appropriate for him to open her door. However, that was not what this was, and he didn’t want to do something strange.

  “Would you mind waiting until I get inside?” Charlotte asked him finally.

  “Sure. Do you want me to walk you to the door?”

  “Would you mind? I know it’s cold out.”

  “I think I can handle a little snow.”

  Rafe jumped out of the truck just as Charlotte climbed down and put her purse over her shoulder. She had her keys in her hand as she approached the door. But when they got to the door, she stepped back with a gasp. Rafe moved around her to find the door open, the jam broken where someone had kicked it in. He instantly went on alert, turning and looking around the woods that surrounded the little house. It was too dark to make out anyone that might be an intruder. Rafe wasn’t armed and didn’t feel confident enough that the intruders were gone.

  “Come on,” he said. He took Charlotte’s arm and led her back to his truck. Her shock kept her from fighting him as he opened the passenger side door and lifted her in.

  “Stay here. I’m going to look around the back.”

  Reaching into the bed of the truck, Rafe grabbed the crowbar he had taken from Charlotte when he picked her up. Normally Rafe had a gun in his truck, but he had to admit to himself he had become lax with the items he knew he should always have. He hefted the crowbar for a moment, deciding that against a would-be attacker it would work in a hand to hand situation. However, against a gun, he would be at a severe disadvantage.

  He crept up to the cottage and went to the first window in the front of the house. Charlotte seemed to keep all of her drapes pulled, leaving a clear view into her home. Rafe slid to the side of the window and slowly peered around the edge. He watched the shadows in the house created by his headlights that shined across the front windows. Nothing moved as he stood stock still watching.

  Deciding that the front room was clear, Rafe moved to the side of the house. The first window he came to was higher, and he guessed it was a bathroom. He doubted someone was hiding in her bathroom at that moment, so he moved on without trying to find a way to see in the room. The next window was a large double window. He peeked in to find a nicely made bed, dresser with tv, and armchair with a robe draped over it.

  As he noted all of the items in the room, he realized the room had been ransacked. The dresser drawers were out of the dresser and clothing was thrown on the floor. The small drawer from her nightstand was open and hanging at an odd angle, items on the floor below. Someone broke in and they were looking for something specific. Her TV was left, so if the break-in was all about theft, the wannabe thief missed a large item.

  After Rafe finished a circle around the house, he was fairly certain the intruder or intruders were gone. Other areas in the house seemed to have been searched and items possibly taken. Though without actually seeing the house intact, Rafe couldn’t be positive anything was actually missing. When he came around to the front of the house again, Charlotte jumped out of the truck and came running to him.

  “Is there someone inside?” She asked.

  “I don’t believe so. Did you call the cops?”

  “Yes. They said to not go inside until they get here. But I need to go in!”

  “Charlotte, wait outside. Let the authorities do what they do. They might be able to figure out who did this.”

  “Charlie,” she said suddenly.

  “What?”

  “Stop calling me Charlotte. No one calls me that. Call me Charlie.”

  Rafe looked at her, stunned. A few times during the day she had made him think of his sisters. Now to find out she went by a nickname, a typically male
name, it was all too much for him. His parents couldn’t decide on a name for his older sister. Mitch Duncan didn’t know what to do with a girl. The story he told to his children later was, after much debate they had agreed on names for the girls that could be shortened to boy names. Alex’s name was Alexandria and Max, Maxine.

  Ten minutes later a cop car came screaming down the road, lights flashing through the darkness that had fallen. Rafe explained in detail what he had seen, touched, and done. The cop seemed fairly impressed with his assessment. Weapon raised, the officer entered the house. Moments later he was flipping on lights and talking into the radio on his shoulder. Additional cars pulled up and a crime scene team started their investigation.

  “Ma’am, I’m Officer Brown. Do you think you could come inside with me and indicate if anything is missing?” The initial officer that had arrived on scene spoke softly to Charlie, treating her like a fragile creature.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that, Officer, but I was told to stay outside,” Charlie answered, her chin hitched up.

  With a slightly disbelieving look and Rafe following in bewilderment, they entered the house. Charlie went directly to a desk she had set up in her kitchen area. From the doorway, Rafe could see cords that were leading to where a computer may have sat. A large monitor set up was left, with one monitor knocked over on the desk.

  “Well the bastards took my computer,” she said, confirming Rafe’s suspicions. She began patting under the desk and a creak could be heard before she pulled a piece of wood out. She then palmed a small thumb drive and an envelope. The officer made a move to take the items from her to log into evidence, but Charlie refused adamantly, stating they were her personal documents and she would need them for an insurance claim. Rafe knew without asking that they weren’t just personal documents.

  “Ma’am, do you have somewhere to stay until you are able to get the locks replaced?” Officer Brown asked.

  Charlie looked at him, her face similar to a deer in headlights. It hadn’t occurred to her that she would need somewhere to go for the evening. Something about the lost look in her eyes pulled at Rafe. He was speaking before he had thought it through.

  “She’ll stay with me.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Sitting in his truck, waiting for the metal gate to roll back at his property, he glanced over at Charlie in his passenger seat. What had gotten into him? This woman’s life had nothing to do with him. He hadn’t meant to offer his home to her. However, he was even more surprised when she agreed. No sense to not stay with a stranger, Rafe thought to himself.

  “You live here?” Charlie broke into his thoughts.

  “Yeah.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “It’s so big,” she said, trailing off as they pulled up next to the house.

  Rafe parked his truck in its normal spot at the top of the driveway, next to the house and facing the three large shipping containers not far in the distance. In the dark, she wouldn’t be able to see the root cellar entrance that was on the other side of the driveway. She got out of the truck tentatively, as Rafe grabbed the small duffel she had packed for herself. He waited silently as she turned and took in the land that surrounded the house. In the moonlight, he knew she couldn’t see the large rock wall that surrounded everything.

  “Come on in, make yourself at home,” Rafe said as he finally walked up to the door.

  He flipped on the kitchen light, illuminating the mudroom as he removed his shoes. Charlie followed his lead, leaving her sneakers next to his on the ground under a bench. Rafe walked into the house, turning on lights as he went so Charlie would see where she was going. He could navigate the area in the dark most of the time, but he didn’t want her to trip or run into a wall.

  In the hallway, Rafe paused, suddenly not sure where to have her sleep. The Duncan house didn’t have a guest room, Mitch never planned to allow people to come to visit. He felt wrong putting anyone in his sisters’ rooms. Not that his sisters were coming to visit anytime soon, it was still their space. Decision made, Rafe turned into his own room.

  “You can sleep here,” he said, leading the way into the room. He set her duffel on the bed, which he was thankful he had made that morning. He glanced around for a moment and didn’t see anything embarrassingly out of place. Luckily, he was similar to his father when it came to things, Rafe was more of a minimalist.

  “This is your room?” Charlie asked.

  “Yeah. I’ll sleep in my dad’s room.”

  “Oh, where will he sleep?” Charlie looked back out to the hall as if she expected someone to be standing there.

  “He won’t be. He passed away.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Charlie said, her cheeks flushing slightly.

  “It’s ok. It’s been a few years. It’s hard to not think of the room as his still.”

  “Rafe, thank you for this. I’m not sure why you offered, or really why I accepted.”

  “You needed a bed. I have beds to offer,” Rafe said, shrugging.

  “It’s more than that. You don’t even know me. I don’t know you.”

  “And yet, you’re here in my house,” Rafe said, laughing a little to lighten her mood. It didn’t work. She suddenly sat on the bed and he realized she was clutching something to her chest. He started to walk back to the door and leave her to sleep or do whatever it was she wanted to do.

  “I think I know who broke into my house.”

  Her words stopped Rafe in his tracks. Her voice was laced with fear and she spoke so quietly he wasn’t sure he had heard her accurately. At the doorway he turned back and leaned against the doorframe, looking back at her. Her little frame was curled in on itself, while she softly rocked back and forth. He felt cold, thinking about how small and broken she seemed at the moment.

  “Why didn’t you tell the cops?”

  “Because I can’t.”

  “You can’t, or you won’t?”

  Her eyes blazed then, as she looked up at him in anger.

  “You think I wouldn’t say something if I could, if something could change?”

  “I’m not saying you wouldn’t. I’m just trying to understand why you didn’t tell the cops if you knew who trashed your place.”

  “It wasn’t about trashing it. They were looking for this,” she said, holding out her hand, the flash drive in her palm.

  “Why would someone be looking for that? What’s on it?”

  “I...I can’t tell you,” she said quietly.

  “Really?” Rafe raised one eyebrow at her in disbelief.

  “It’s dangerous. Obviously. Look at my day! I was ran off the road. My house was ransacked!”

  Her anger gave her fuel and she stood up again. She began to pace around the room. Her blonde hair had been falling from the knot she had it tied in. Now she pulled it all down and Rafe was shocked to realize it was well beyond the middle of her back. Absently he noted he had never seen her with her hair down at work. She now twirled a long strand around her fingers as she moved.

  “I’m thinking I can take care of myself, Charlie. If you know something, you should tell the authorities. They could try and protect you from whatever is happening,” Rafe said. She was making him dizzy with her movements. He wanted to grab her and make her still.

  “Do you ever wonder what goes on at our facility?” Charlie caught him off guard with her question. He had always wondered but had never asked so he didn’t risk his job or the company he contracted with.

  “Sure. But there’s all sorts of confidentiality clauses I had to sign when I started working there. So, I just don’t ask.”

  “You should. You should ask lots of questions.”

  “What questions would I ask? I’m not a doctor. I don’t understand what it is you lab coats do in your decontaminated rooms,” Rafe said. He smiled at her slightly, again hoping to lighten the stress of the situation. She looked at him and just huffed out a sigh.

  “I’m tired. This has been such a l
ong day. I just want to go to bed. Is that alright?” Charlie asked.

  “Of course. But if you change your mind, you can find me just upstairs.”

  Rafe showed Charlie the downstairs bathroom, provided her with towels and let her know she was welcome to anything in the kitchen. She declined dinner, claiming she was just too tired to do anything but take a shower and sleep. So Rafe ate a quiet dinner of leftover chili he had made the day before. He stood eating at the kitchen bar, letting the warmth of the chili slide through his stomach and warm his chilled body.

  His mind couldn’t seem to wrap around everything that had happened that day. Whatever information Charlie she had, she was scared about. Her being ran off the road and her house being broken into on the same day were too wild to be a coincidence. She led him down the path to believing that whatever the problem was, it all tied back to the facility. He started to wonder what he had gotten himself into with helping Charlie and with working at the facility.

  Sleep was difficult, causing Rafe to toss and turn in what was his father’s bed. He hadn’t spent much time in the room since Mitch died. Laying on his back and staring at the ceiling, Rafe reflected back on his father’s beliefs. Working for a government facility would have horrified Mitch. He didn’t trust anything the government did. Rafe’s own feelings were indifferent. He understood much of his father’s thoughts were eccentric and not normal.

  Now he found himself thinking about the work that was happening in the lab. Charlie said he should ask lots of questions. However, he wouldn’t know what to ask. The facility was cloaked in secrecy and urgency at all times. Even when he had worked night shifts, there was never a slow in the number of people working and rushing from one point to another. Employees were two distinctive groups, separate from security. There were the doctors, or the coats, as Rafe called them. And then there were the suits, the business people that would randomly show up in the facility.