Protector (Copper Mesa Eagles Book 3)

by Roxie Noir

  “A couple years ago, there was a case in this small town in Montana,” she said, softly. “Someone tried to poison the town’s reservoir and kill everyone in this little town. If he’d gotten stronger poison, it would have worked, too. Just up and leaving isn’t that bad in the grand scheme.”

  He frowned, then looked puzzled. Then he finally smiled.

  “I think that was supposed to make me feel better,” he said.

  “I didn’t really think it through before I said it out loud,” Ellie said, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. She held onto his hands anyway. “I meant, they’re still your brothers, and I’m sure they’ll take you back.”

  “Thanks,” Garrett said. “That was more comforting than the attempted mass murder thing.”

  He opened his hands a little and Ellie’s fingers slipped inside them, his palms warm and dry under her fingertips. Gently, his stroked his thumbs over the backs of her hands, and Ellie looked up at him, her heart beating faster.

  This is not how you solve a crime, she thought, the pads of Garrett’s thumbs tracing circles on her hands.

  “What do we do now?” Garett murmured.

  Ellie opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, a knock thundered through the apartment.

  She nearly jumped out of her skin, yanking her hands out of Garrett’s. They both jerked their heads toward the door.

  Garrett jumped out of his chair so fast he knocked it over backward.

  “Stay here,” he growled at Ellie, disappearing into the living room.

  She was out of her chair in seconds, following right after him. He scowled at her, then bent to look through the peephole in the apartment door.

  “Cop,” he said.

  Ellie stood on her toes and looked through the peephole. On the other side was a white man, hair graying, with a mustache and a blue uniform, the Grand Junction PD badge shiny on his crisp shirt.

  “I don’t recognize him,” she whispered to Garrett.

  “So?”

  “So my dad’s the chief of police, and Grand Junction doesn’t have that many cops. It’s weird that I don’t recognize him.”

  Garrett looked at her and touched the chain on the door, making sure it was locked in place.

  “And there’s only one,” she said. “Cops usually come in pairs. Be careful. Don’t tell them I’m here.”

  She jumped back as the man pounded on the door again, and Garrett reached for the knob.

  “If he tries something, start yelling and recording him with your phone,” she hissed. “Whatever gets your neighbors to look out their doors and gets him to back off.”

  Garrett nodded, then opened the door six inches, the furthest the chain would allow.

  “Garrett Monson?” the man said.

  Garrett didn’t respond. Standing behind the door, Ellie could see the muscles in his jaw flex.

  “I’d like to come in and ask you a few questions about a robbery that happened last night,” the cop said. “Got a few minutes?”

  “Got a warrant?” Garrett asked.

  Silence.

  “Son, I just want to ask a few questions,” the cop said.

  “Could I see your ID?” Garrett asked.

  “There are two ways to do this,” the man said, ignoring Garrett’s question. “The easy way is you just let me in, nice and easy, and we chat.”

  “I said, do you have a warrant?” Garrett said, raising his voice.

  “I can get one in twenty minutes,” the man said. “I’ve got the judge on speed dial.”

  Ellie couldn’t see him, but she thought he was starting to sound uncertain.

  “Then CALL THE JUDGE,” Garrett said. “I’ll still be here, waiting for you to VIOLATE MY CIVIL LIBERTIES AND ACCUSE ME OF A CRIME I DIDN’T COMMIT.”

  “Calm down,” the guy said.

  “I will NOT calm down,” Garrett said, starting to really get into it. “You can’t come here and threaten people in their homes! You can’t accuse innocent people! You can’t TRY TO ARREST ME for doing nothing! I have rights! They’re in the constitution, I’ve got constitutional rights!”

  Ellie heard another hallway door open, and then another.

  “Everything okay out here?” a woman’s voice said.

  “Ma’am, please step back inside,” the cop said.

  “He’s right, you know,” the woman said. “We’ve all got rights, and you jack-booted thugs can’t march in here and just violate us.”

  “This is how the police state starts,” another voice said, this one older and male.

  “Sir—“

  “I will not go back into my apartment,” the man said.

  “You tell him, Stuart,” the woman said.

  Ellie raised her eyebrows and looked at Garrett, who sneaked a glance her way.

  “Fine,” the cop finally growled. “I’m getting a warrant and coming back in twenty minutes, so you better be prepared, son,” he said, menace in his voice.

  Then he walked away, down the hall. Garrett closed the door and raised his eyebrows at Ellie.

  She shook her head.

  “Not Grand Junction PD,” she said.

  “We have to leave,” Garrett said. “They’re going to come back, and they’re not gonna be scared off by my neighbors.”

  “Why don’t we go to the police?” Ellie asked, rubbing her temples. “The real police?”

  “We’ve got nothing,” Garrett said.

  “Someone busted up my office.”

  “We can’t connect that to anything,” Garrett said.

  He stepped toward her, his voice still low.

  “We’re getting close,” he said.

  We? thought Ellie. I’ve been involved with this for three days.

  “I don’t know,” she said.

  “They smashed up your office because I finally started asking the right questions,” he said.

  Then his face went serious, and he put his hands on her shoulders.

  “Ellie, if you want out, you can go,” he said. “This isn’t your fight, it’s mine, and I never meant to involve you in it like this. I’ll pay you for your time and you’ll never have to see me again.”

  Ellie’s stomach flipped over at that thought.

  But I like seeing you, she thought, biting her lip.

  The image of her broken office flashed through her mind, the note left in her desk drawer.

  “Hell no,” she said. “They got me involved when they thought they could scare me.”

  Garrett looked down at her, his golden eyes intense. Ellie’s breath caught in her throat.

  Kiss me, she thought.

  Her whole body felt like a guitar string, taut and vibrating.

  Just kiss me.

  She took a deep breath, and suddenly, she snapped back to reality, stepping back. Garrett’s hands fell to his sides.

  “Come on,” she said. “Get what you need. We’re going to Obsidian.”

  Chapter Seven

  Garrett

  From the way she stayed calm and ordered him around, Garrett started to wonder if Ellie had been on the run before. Under her direction, he downloaded her backups from her remote server and put them on a hard drive. He got his own stuff, and even packed a bag with clothes and a toothbrush all under her command.

  I should be more suspicious, he thought, tossing toothpaste into a side pocket.

  They were out in fifteen minutes. Ellie even unplugged the toaster, for safety, and left the living room light on so the apartment wouldn’t look empty.

  “Okay,” she said. “Now you’re going to drive me to my apartment, and you’re going to act totally normal about it.”

  “Normal how?” he asked, backing his car out of the parking garage.

  “Normal like you’re just coming over to my place,” she said.

  “I’ve got a bunch of stuff and it’s almost eight at night,” Garrett said. “So normal like I’m spending the night at your place?”

  “Maybe I’m just making you a late dinner,”
Ellie said.

  As tense as she looked, there was a smile in her voice.

  This probably isn’t the time to flirt, Garrett thought.

  “I’ve clearly got enough clothes to spend a weekend with you,” he said. “I think, for cover, we should act like we’ve been on at least three dates.”

  “Three,” Ellie said. “That’s a specific number. What happens after three dates?”

  Garrett shrugged.

  “You spend a weekend together?” he said, slowing for a red light.

  Ellie glanced through her window, but nothing unusual was happening.

  “Is the third date your sex date, Garrett?” she asked.

  “What? No,” he said, and Ellie burst out laughing.

  “It totally is,” she said. “Are you one of those guys who’s got a system? Like, first date, is a peck on the cheek, second date is a kiss, third date is sleeping together?”

  “I do not have a system,” he said. “Unless not going on a date in three years is a system.”

  Ellie didn’t say anything.

  You had to mention three years out loud, Garrett thought.

  He could feel Ellie’s eyes on him, and he swallowed.

  “Turn up here,” she said. “Three years? Really?”

  “I’ve been traveling a lot, and there just... hasn’t been time, I guess? Women don’t seem to think much of me, until they find out how much I’m worth, and then I feel like they just see a giant dollar sign when they look at me.”

  Ellie pointed.

  “Make a left,” she said, and then went quiet again.

  “I just haven’t met anyone is all,” he said.

  “You don’t think I see dollar signs when I look at you, do you?” Ellie finally asked.

  You and your big fucking mouth, Garrett thought, and stole a glance over at Ellie.

  “No,” he said. “Even though you do keep reminding me that I have to pay you once we solve this.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t be. You’re right,” he said. “I’m taking up lots of your time right now.”

  “I don’t mind,” she said, and pointed at a small apartment building. “Park underneath, it’s got a little parking garage.”

  She unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the door.

  “Ellie,” Garrett said. “I don’t think that about you. Not at all.”

  She looked at him for a long moment, her eyes serious. Then she smiled.

  “I know,” she said, and cocked her head. “I think we act like we’ve had two dates, but they’ve gone really well, so we’re jumping right into a weekend away, and neither of us is sure it’s a good idea this early in the game but we’re doing it anyway.”

  “Got it,” Garrett said, and got out of his car.

  In her own apartment, Ellie was even more efficient at packing and getting out, and Garrett just stood in the middle of her place, looking around. She had lots of pictures of her family, her parents, her brother and his wife. A shot of her and four other girls standing in the forest, grinning at the camera.

  A bookshelf with lots of Raymond Chandler and Sherlock Holmes.

  Of course, Garrett thought.

  “Okay,” Ellie said, bustling back out, backpack over her shoulder and duffel bag in her hand. “Ready?”

  “Wait,” Garrett said.

  He pulled his phone from his pocket and tossed it onto her kitchen table.

  “You think they’re tracking us?”

  “It’s possible,” he said.

  Ellie sighed and put her phone next to his.

  “I’ve got a backup pay-as-you-go cell in my stuff,” he said. “We can still make calls.”

  Ellie just shook her head, and they left her apartment, the bedroom light still on.

  She drove through Grand Junction without speaking, and then got on the interstate heading east, toward the Rocky Mountains.

  “Utah’s the other way,” Garrett said.

  “I know which way Utah is,” she said. “I think we’re being followed. Don’t turn around, but get that cell phone out.”

  They drove in silence for a long time.

  “You see it?” she finally asked.

  “The black Ford?”

  “Yeah,” Ellie said.

  “Can you lose it?”

  Garrett wished he were driving. Ellie was going exactly the speed limit, both hands on the wheel. Not trying to evade the car following them at all.

  “Yup,” she said. “Call 9-1-1 and report a drunk driver to the highway patrol. There’s a station right off the highway at this next exit.”

  “That’s it?” he asked, looking down at the flip phone in his hand.

  “Not everything has to be hard,” Ellie said. “Just make it convincing.”

  Garrett shrugged and dialed.

  “Yeah, I think there’s a drunk driver on I-70 eastbound, just outside Grand Junction,” he said.

  Ellie made a what are you doing hand gesture.

  Right, he thought. Convincing.

  “Oh, man, this guy is really swerving a lot,” he said, trying to sound concerned. “It’s a black Ford with Utah plates, something little — oh no! Oh shit, he almost sideswiped somebody.”

  Ellie honked the horn for effect, and gave Garrett a thumbs up.

  “Wow, this is bad,” Garrett went on. “The lights aren’t on either, and — honey, look out!”

  “I’ll send a car right away,” the woman on the other end said.

  Garrett snapped the phone shut.

  “Nice,” said Ellie.

  Not two minutes later, blue lights flashed in the rear view mirror, and the black Ford behind them made its way to the shoulder.

  Ellie sped up and got off at the next exit.

  “Now we’re going to Utah,” she said.

  They took back roads past Grand Junction again, and then Ellie got back on the interstate. Every thirty miles or so she’d get off and take another route for a while, just to make sure that no one was following them, but no one ever was.

  “Maybe this isn’t as wide-reaching as we thought,” she said in the dark. “It could just be one guy.”

  “And the rhinestone cowgirl,” Garrett said.

  “And her,” Ellie agreed.

  They took route 128 south from I-70, and Garrett tried to point out scenery as they drove past it in the dark.

  “That’s Arches, to the right,” he said. “Canyonlands is close by. It’s really pretty.”

  Ellie looked around, skeptically.

  “I swear it’s true,” he said, and she laughed.

  “I’ve been to Arches before,” she said. “I grew up two hours away, you know.”

  She paused.

  “Where am I going, by the way? Blanding?”

  “Just outside it,” he said, turning around and rifling through the duffel bag in the back seat. “I sort of rented a house this afternoon, just in case.”

  Ellie frowned and shot him an are you crazy? look, then turned her eyes back to the road.

  “You just rented a house this afternoon?”

  “I had a feeling I’d end up down here, so I just went ahead and did it,” he said. “Don’t worry, I don’t think Boudreaux or whoever can track it. I used a shell company.”

  “Lord,” Ellie muttered. “When were you going to mention this to me?”

  “I just did, didn’t I?”

  “Regular people stay in shitty motels,” she said.

  “It’s got a hot tub,” he said.

  “I don’t have a swimsuit and we’ve only been on two dates, remember?” Ellie teased.

  “But those two nonexistent dates went really well,” Garrett said. “And we’re rushing things a little right now, remember?”

  He could have sworn that she blushed, her face lit only by the dashboard lights of his car.

  There’s no one here, he thought. We could pull over and turn out the lights, and we’d never get caught.

  Even just driving she was sexy, in the t-shirt
and jeans she’d changed into at her apartment, and Garrett let his eyes linger until he started to get hard, then tore his eyes away.

  Come on, he thought. Wait until this case is over. She made that pretty clear.

  Now I just have to survive being close to her for that long, and I’ll be fine.

  * * *

  The house he’d rented was on the side of a mountain, looking over the valley below. It had a wall that was almost completely windows and a wraparound balcony on three sides.

  “You didn’t tell me you rented a romantic vacation house,” Ellie said when she saw it in her headlights.

  “It’s just a house,” Garrett said. “I thought it looked nice.”

  “We could be a little more inconspicuous,” she said.

  Garrett just shrugged.

  “Any other swanky rented houses you forgot to mention?” Ellie asked.

  “Just one in the Rockies,” he said. “In case we needed to go that way for some reason.”

  “You know that’s not normal, right?” Ellie asked.

  Garrett just shrugged.

  “If I want to, can’t I spend my fortune renting houses in every state?” he asked.

  “Seems like there’s better ways,” Ellie said.

  “There’s a huge fireplace. The master bedroom’s shower has a waterfall in it.”

  Ellie glanced up at the house.

  “That’s ridiculous,” she said.

  “But cool, right?” Garrett asked, grinning.

  “It’s kind of cool,” Ellie admitted.

  “Yeah it is,” Garrett said. “The key’s in that lockbox. Keep the headlights on.”

  Chapter Eight

  Ellie

  Fine, Ellie thought, carrying her backpack through the front door.

  This is a really nice house.

  The car was securely in the garage, and for the first time in hours, Ellie relaxed a little. She still had the sensation of constant danger, but it felt further away.

  Even if they know we’re heading to Utah, they won’t look in this house, she thought. Even if they go to Blanding, they can go to every motel and not find us.

  Garrett opened a cabinet and pulled out two glasses, then poured water for both of them without asking.

  “Thanks,” Ellie said.