“But you weren’t planning to come back this way,” she said, still marveling at his generosity.
“True.”
“Why here?”
A full minute passed. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down the valley. “I’m chasing something.”
The look on his face made her want to wrap her arms around him. “What’s that?”
“Closure, I guess.” He gave a humorless laugh and shook his head at her confused expression. “I…lost someone and I’m not sure how to process it.”
“Oh.” Wow. She’d been so wrapped up in her own ordeal, she hadn’t given any thought to what might be going on with him. How selfish. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” Something in his voice broke her heart.
Tempted to take his hand, she clenched her fists. They were so close to the bottom of the valley, she could see the tiny town of Tuttle, its homes and buildings scattered across the narrow valley like a child’s toys in a sandbox. “You’re chasing, and I’m running away.”
“From that cheating asshole Cruz?” The anger in Todd’s voice warmed her heart, even as she cringed.
Why had she told him about it again?
“Right.” She’d needed a break from the gossip at volleyball, the worry that she’d run into Cruz at the mall, the constant reminders of what a fool she’d been to stay with him.
She’d originally hoped this trip would give her a chance to hit the refresh button and go back to LA in a new frame of mind. Now, she was just ready to go home.
“You know a guy like that doesn’t deserve your energy,” Todd said.
“I know.” Lindsey sighed. “Easier said than done though. I’ll be beating myself up over it for a while.”
“Trust me. I understand.”
She wanted to ask what he meant, but they’d reached the trailhead and a dirt parking lot with a smattering of cars. Her heart thudded. They were so close to getting help.
Ten minutes later, they walked across a lonely highway and followed Center Street, the main road lined with several small shops, a diner, a bakery, and a Mexican restaurant. Two smaller streets ran perpendicular to form the core of downtown, with a park at the far end.
The streets were pretty quiet. A trio of twenty-something men sporting beards, large frame packs, and snap-back Patagonia hats passed them with friendly nods.
In the road, several men and a woman wearing maintenance uniforms stood around a hole in the asphalt, talking and laughing. The woman’s blond ponytail swung wildly as she did a double take at Todd. Who could blame her?
Lindsey licked her lips. They still tingled. She’d been lucky enough to kiss him today. Maybe she’d have more good luck and Megan would be back with her by nightfall.
Grabbing Lindsey’s hand, he tugged her to the end of the street where it dead-ended into a park about the size of two football fields. A white gazebo sat in the middle of the grassy expanse, like something out of a Hallmark movie.
“This way,” he said, heading left with her in tow. Was he so eager to get rid of her that he could no longer hide his impatience?
“How do you know where it is?”
“I don’t. I’m following the flag pole.” He pointed to the US and Montana flags snapping loudly above the brick buildings.
Sure enough, they rounded the corner and found a complex that housed a town hall, the sheriff’s office, a post office, and an elementary school that proclaimed itself “Home of the Foxes.”
Todd reached for the door handle and froze. Lindsey nearly crashed into his back, stepping aside just in time.
But the sign on the door nearly made her legs give out.
CHAPTER FIVE
TODD STARED AT the “WANTED” poster that had stopped him in his tracks. Mother fuckity fuck.
A sketch of him and a captioned photo of Lindsey dominated the top half. The bottom half explained that they were wanted for an attack on county Sheriff John Joseph Decker and deputy Kendall Harris the day before that had left Harris dead.
Todd went cold. What the hell? That stocky motherfucker had been alive when they’d left him on the trail, and his injuries had hardly been fatal.
Lindsey gripped his arm. “JJ is the sheriff?” Horror filled her eyes. “Megan and I were kidnapped by the sheriff?”
“Looks like it.” Todd released the door handle and guided her away from the building as casually as possible. “I’m assuming the picture and info are from your driver’s license. It won’t be long before they find one of the hotels where I stayed and get all of my info too.”
She nodded. “JJ’s guys took my backpack at the compound, but he can explain it by saying I dropped it during our ‘altercation’ on the trail.”
“Exactly.”
“I’m confused, though,” she said. “We didn’t kill Harris.”
“I have no idea.” They were in some deep shit. “Maybe he fell…”
“Or we’re being framed.” Her grip on his hand tightened.
They walked to the end of town in silence. He tried to pretend he wasn’t eyeballing every person within his field of vision. Not the other backpackers and disheveled hiker types, not the group of workers in reflective vests digging a hole along the shoulder of Center Street, and not the family of four whose pre-teen boy wore a Seattle Seahawks hat and stared at his phone while he shuffled behind his parents and little sister.
Harris was dead and JJ was the goddamned sheriff.
Todd could hardly wrap his mind around it. Not that law enforcement officers were never corrupt, but damn. This did more than put a wrench in his plan to get Lindsey to the cops and be on his merry way, it ran a fleet of armored vehicles right through it.
He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to think. He couldn’t drag her along on his quest to run down Pete, but if he waited too long, the man could be in the wind again. And who knew how long it would take to find him next time?
But he couldn’t very well leave Lindsey either. Just the idea of it made him twitchy. Their fates were now linked.
When they reached the highway, she stopped and looked at him, face ashen. “What do we do now?”
Todd shook his head. “I don’t know, but my hair color just became a serious liability. We need to get the hell out of town.”
“Where to?”
He dug a knit cap from his bag and snugged it down around his ears. “Let’s find someplace to lay low and figure out our next step.” He routed them across Center Street and along the back side of town, zigzagging through the residential section until they came to a tree-shrouded stream running parallel to the highway. “Did you stay in a hotel when you first got to town?”
“In Mullanburg. But just the first night after our flight so we’d be rested to hike up to the cabin. Apparently this guy’s place is so remote there’s no road.” She shrugged. “It looked like the perfect retreat in the pictures.”
He could almost see her coming to the realization that she’d never get to the cabin. “The day I found you, I stayed overnight in Mullanburg, and then ate brunch at the diner here in Tuttle, before getting a late start on the trail. I think we should avoid going that way.”
“Okay. That’s south of us, right?”
He nodded.
“What’s north?” she asked.
“If we go far enough, Bozeman, but we should probably steer clear of towns as much as possible for now.”
“What about Megan?”
Fuck. Todd stopped and faced Lindsey, crossing his arms so he wouldn’t touch her. “I don’t know. We need to get somewhere that feels safe so we can think for a minute.”
“Shouldn’t we go to the FBI? If JJ’s dirty… Don’t they investigate police corruption?”
“Probably.” He rubbed his face. “But if we go in there while there’s a warrant out for our arrest, what do you think will happen? We’re being painted as cop killers.” Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he said, “I’m not saying the FBI wouldn’t listen to us eventually, but I’m mor
e worried about being stopped on the way. Right now, the police are more inclined to shoot first and ask questions later. We need someone who can negotiate our safe surrender. Then maybe we can convince them to look for Megan.”
She opened her mouth and then clamped it shut, her face reddening. Hands on hips, she stared at the sky. “God, he totally fucked us.” Eyes wide, she caught Todd’s gaze. “We have to get to her. She’s a liability now. He can’t afford to keep her around in case we get someone to listen.”
She was right. JJ couldn’t risk keeping Megan at the compound for long. “He may have already moved her.” He forced himself to hold eye contact. “Or worse.”
Lindsey swallowed hard and nodded, her gaze dropping.
Damn, maybe he should have kept that thought to himself.
“I can’t just abandon her,” she said. “Especially now. You don’t have to come along, but without her testimony, we might not be able to beat this, so you need her too.”
Hard to argue with that. “I’ll go. And not just because your friend is the only one who can exonerate us.” Did she really think he’d turn his back on her now?
Besides, if there was any chance Pete was mixed up with JJ’s guys, Todd might get everything he wanted after all. Except it wasn’t going to be as easy as just calling in a tip about Pete’s whereabouts to the cops. Not anymore. With a deep sigh, he walked uphill toward the trees.
After a beat, she followed.
They’d paralleled a tributary for about fifteen minutes when he noticed she was slowing. “You holding up okay? How’re your feet?”
“Sore, but fine.” She twisted her ponytail nervously. “It’s probably not great that I’m wearing the deputy’s shoes, huh?”
He couldn’t even muster a smile. “Probably not. But they have to find us for it to matter, and I think the shoes are the least of our worries. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep us from getting caught,” he said, trying to buoy her spirits. “At least until we find your friend.” Hopefully alive, though he was having a hard time staying optimistic about the woman’s chances.
But on the bright side, he’d managed to keep the dismal thought to himself this time.
Lindsey stopped and faced him. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
She scoffed. “There’s no ‘of course’ about it. I’m so sorry you got sucked into this with me.”
“Not your fault. I’m sorry you and Megan landed in this shit in the first place.”
“It’s my fault she’s still there. I left without her, and now she’s the one suffering for it.” Lindsey’s pretty eyes blazed.
He placed his hands on her shoulders, unprepared for the jolt of lust that hit him when he touched her. Foolish, because it happened every time. “Don’t beat yourself up. Given the circumstances, you did everything you could.”
She sighed and crossed her arms. “You make it sound so simple to let go.”
If only. “Simple, sure. Never easy.” Todd knew that as well as anyone.
Reluctantly releasing her, he opened his senses to the world around them, looking, listening, feeling, as they started walking again. There might not be a single person hunting for them right now. Or JJ might have mobilized a hundred-man posse with tracker dogs who would be on them within the hour.
The way Todd saw it, they only had a few choices: go after Megan, run, or turn themselves in. But without Megan, it would be difficult to prove they were innocent.
They might be able to prove she was missing, but that meant nothing. Worse, if she was found dead, JJ could accuse Todd or Lindsey. If Todd were the sheriff, he’d frame Lindsey for the murder and say the women were fighting over Todd. That, or say Lindsey convinced Todd to do it.
Either way, he couldn’t prove he didn’t already know the women. Plus, it’d be a simple enough thing for JJ or one of his deputies to kill Todd and Lindsey in a “shootout.” The two of them were now considered a threat to law enforcement.
No one would question the sheriff’s use of lethal force.
Lindsey wanted so badly to see things Todd’s way, to believe that she’d made the right choice by leaving Megan behind and going for help. But she could hardly think straight while she digested that they were wanted for murder, that the world now thought they’d attacked the sheriff and killed his deputy.
Her stomach threatened to revolt.
JJ had painted an enormous target on her back, and she couldn’t stop shaking.
Being with Todd was the only thing keeping her from going off the deep end into hysteria. She had no real skills to protect herself, no experience as a fugitive, and no idea how to prove she was innocent if they didn’t find Megan.
It sure felt like the end of the world.
But he helped her focus, even forget a little. And somehow, he seemed to understand what she’d gone through. No surprise. Surely as a PJ and a bodyguard he’d faced tough calls. Far worse than any she’d had to make.
“Can I ask you a question?” She let some low-hanging pine boughs scrape their little spikes across her palm.
“Sure.”
“What’s the big regret that you can’t let go of?”
Todd’s laugh held no humor. “My list is far too long to get into now, but I don’t regret pulling you off the side of a mountain.”
His response warmed her, and Lindsey decided to let him sidestep the question. Something specific was definitely eating at him—beyond their current situation—but it was none of her business. He didn’t owe her his private pain. Especially since he was wanted by the police for doing nothing more than saving her life.
He was a freaking hero on so many levels and he’d proven himself to her in every way possible. He deserved better than to be on the run for having the bad luck to run into her on the trail.
“This is going to sound selfish,” she said, her feet protesting as she tromped through thick grass, “but as bad as I feel about you getting caught up in my drama, I’m grateful you’re with me.” Her cheeks heated and she kept her gaze firmly on the barely visible path of depressed plants in front of them.
“Drama,” he scoffed. “You make it sound like a feud with an ex or something.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do.” He snagged her hand and pulled her to a stop, his intense gaze making her heart stutter. “I’m glad that neither of us has to face this alone. We can’t change the circumstances, but our chances are better if we stick together.”
“You sure about that?” With her free hand, she tugged at the rough tips of the grass blades. “Being with you definitely benefits me. You have all the tools, all the knowledge about how to survive, how to fight. I’m just an anchor weighing you down. I can’t exactly bring my accounting skills to bear on this, and I don’t think being able to spike a volleyball will help much either.”
“At least you’re an optimist.”
She laughed. God, given half a chance—and better circumstances—she could fall for this man.
What a ridiculous thought. For so many reasons. “Well, if we’re going to stay together, we need disguises.” She slipped her hand free and began walking again. Touching him made her want impossible things. “The cap helps, but your red hair is still far too recognizable. How do you feel about getting rid of the beard?”
“Pretty salty, actually.”
She couldn’t hold back a smile.
“I didn’t even bring a razor,” he said. “My plan was to go completely wild on this trip.”
An image of him going wild on her flashed through her mind and her body flushed from head to toe. Head in the game, Garcia. The voice belonged to her high-school volleyball coach, deep and gravelly, and had her snapping to attention.
“We can stop walking soon, but stay alert,” Todd said.
Alert seemed to be his natural state, aware of everything and everyone around him. Probably being in combat did that to a person.
He’d served his country, saved countless lives, survived, and no
w he faced this injustice.
Sometimes the world sucked.
Ten minutes later, they finally came to rest in a small meadow hidden within the thick forest about thirty yards from the stream.
“I want to get in touch with my boss,” Todd said, “but even if had my phone, I wouldn’t risk using it now. Better to pick up a burner somewhere.” He rubbed the heel of his hand against his forehead. “We can’t risk being seen until we make some changes. Even then…”
“What if I go into town alone?” she asked. “People are looking for a couple, and I look nothing like my driver’s license photo right now. I’d just be another brunette. No one would look at me twice.”
He snorted.
“What?”
“I doubt there’s a man or woman out there who wouldn’t give you a second glance.”
Her stomach fluttered, but she knew what he really meant. “Because I’m tall.”
“That too.”
She made a face at him. “You don’t need to over-flatter. If you want another kiss, all you have to do is ask.” Breaking eye contact, she plopped onto a rock, leaving a couple feet of space between them. Heat filled her face. Usually being that direct with a man required some liquid courage, but now, at literally the most inappropriate time…
“I do want a kiss. Always.” He said matter-of-factly. “And false modesty doesn’t suit you.”
He always wanted a kiss from her, or just in general? She had no idea how to deal with someone who flat out said what he was thinking. It was both unnerving and reassuring. She preferred cut-and-dried to fuzzy, but she wasn’t used to actually getting it from people. And she didn’t know how to give it back. Maybe that’s why she didn’t excel at dating. “It’s not false modesty, just reality. I think I’m pretty enough, but I’m not supermodel material. And I don’t inspire second looks.”
Not from guys like Todd. Not unless they saw her as an easy target.
“Then the guys in LA don’t have a lick of sense.”
“Or maybe you don’t.”
He laughed, and it was magical. They way his face lit and his features softened had her heart working overtime. Down, girl.
Blind Trust: A Military Romantic Suspense (Men of Steele Book 6) Page 5
