Page 10 of His Relentless Mate

Carol reached across the table as if to take Annika’s hand in hers, but she pulled her hand back, closing it in a fist to hide the tremor in her fingers. “I don’t have the answers you’re looking for, Annika. But I do know that sometimes, the truth is more complicated than we want it to be. And sometimes, it’s better left alone.”

Annika nodded, though her mind was far from settled. The conversation had only deepened her resolve to find out what had really happened to Daniel, but she knew she couldn’t push her mother any further. It seemed she had re-opened old wounds.

“Thank you,” Annika said softly, reaching across to squeeze her mother’s hand before letting go.

Carol gave her a sad smile, her eyes filled with a mixture of love and sorrow. “Just be careful, Annika. This town… it has a way of holding onto its secrets.”

Annika nodded again, standing up and taking a deep breath. “I will. I’ll be in touch if I find anything.”

As she turned to leave, something caught her eye—a dusty old newspaper, partially hidden on one of the nearby shelves. Curious, Annika walked over and pulled it out, her eyes scanning the yellowed pages for anything regarding the victim.

One article, in particular, stood out, the headline bold and attention-grabbing: ‘Mayor Linked to Victim’s Business Partner in Secret Dealings,’ Annika’s heart skipped a beat as she read through the article, her mind racing with the implications. If the mayor, who had been newly elected at the time of the murder, had been involved in some kind of shady business with the victim’s partner, it could provide a motive for the murder—and possibly even explain why the investigation had been buried so quickly.

She folded the newspaper carefully and tucked it under her arm, her thoughts whirling as she made her way toward the exit. But just as she stepped out of the library and onto the sidewalk, a car came barreling around the corner, heading straight for her.

Annika’s reflexes kicked in, and she jumped back just in time to avoid being hit, the car missing her by mere inches. She watched in shock as it sped away, her heart pounding in her chest.

For a moment, she stood frozen, her mind struggling to process what had just happened. It had all been so fast—too fast. But the more she thought about it, the less it felt like an accident.

Shaken but determined, Annika pulled out her phone and dialed Trace’s number. As the phone rang, she glanced down the street; the car was long gone, but the feeling of being watched, of being hunted, still lingered.

When Trace answered, she kept her voice steady, but the urgency was clear. “Trace, I need to talk to you. Now.”

She could hear the concern in his voice as he replied. “What happened?”

Annika took a deep breath, her mind still reeling from the near miss. “I just found an old newspaper article linking the mayor to the murder, and I think someone just tried to kill me.”

Chapter Six

Trace

Trace paced in front of the bank of windows in his office in the Kodiak Police Department, his mind racing with the implications of the investigation. He had spent the better part of the day piecing together the fragments of information they had uncovered, and it was becoming increasingly clear that the case was more complicated—and more dangerous—than he, or perhaps anyone, had initially realized.

His thoughts kept drifting back to the near-miss Annika had experienced earlier in the day. The image of her pale face as she recounted the incident to him was burned into his mind, filling him with a protective anger he hadn’t felt in years. Someone was trying to silence her, to keep them from digging too deep, and that only made him more determined to get to the bottom of it.

But even as his resolve hardened, Trace knew he had to tread carefully. The investigation was leading them straight to the heart of Kodiak’s political and social elite, and the closer they got to the truth, the more dangerous it became. The mayor’s evasiveness during their earlier conversation had only heightened his suspicions, but he was acutely aware of the consequences that could follow if they pursued this lead too aggressively. The town was a tight knit community and exposing the mayor’s potential involvement in Carl Hansen’s murder, or even her former business dealings with him, could unravel everything.

Still, Trace couldn’t ignore the facts. He needed to speak with the mayor again, this time with a firmer approach. He had to push harder, to force her to answer the questions she had skillfully dodged earlier. But as he prepared to leave the station, a knock at his office door interrupted his thoughts.

“Come in,” he called, half-expecting it to be one of his officers with an update.

Instead, the door swung open to reveal his niece, Tricia. She stepped inside with a determined look on her face, clutching a notebook in one hand and her phone in the other.

“Tricia,” Trace said, surprised to see her. “What are you doing here? I thought we agreed you’d stick to background research.”

“I did,” she replied, her voice full of barely contained excitement. “And I found something you need to see.”

Trace raised an eyebrow, curious despite himself. “What is it?”

Tricia crossed the room and handed him her notebook, flipping it open to a page filled with neatly written notes. “I was digging through social media, old news articles, and some online forums, trying to find anything about Carl Hansen’s personal life that might have been overlooked. And I think I found something.”

Trace skimmed the notes, his interest piqued as he read the details. “What did you find?”

“Carl Hansen had a second family,” Tricia said, her voice low, as if sharing a secret. “A mistress and a child, both living in Anchorage. They were never mentioned in any of the reports, but there were rumors about it in some old forums, and I found a few photos on social media that seemed to confirm it. I’m not sure how public this information was, but it definitely wasn’t in the official investigation.”

Trace felt a jolt of adrenaline at the revelation. This could be the missing piece they had been searching for—a motive that tied everything together. “This is good work, Tricia,” he said, genuinely impressed. “But we need to be careful. If this information is accurate, it could change the entire direction of the investigation.”

Tricia nodded, her eyes bright with determination. “I know. That’s why I brought it to you. I figured you’d know how to handle it.”

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