Into Dust

by B. J Daniels

  Jack stepped away from the window. “Are you sure about that? Maybe the worst thing he could do is win this presidential race.”

  * * *

  DR. VENABLE GLANCED out the window, not surprised to see the big rancher leaning against his pickup, his arms folded over his chest and his gaze on this motel room.

  He let the curtain fall back into place and reached for his phone. “I have a small problem. Actually, a large problem by the name of Russell Murdock.”

  On the other end of the line, Joe Landon swore. Not that that was the name Joe went by now. Part of the plan was that they each didn’t know how the others had assimilated into society or what they did for a living or what new names they were using. It would make it easier for them to avoid arrest should something go wrong. Their only way of connecting was by throwaway cell phones.

  Except for Doc, who had kept his real name.

  “I thought Russell was out of the picture?” Joe demanded now.

  “He’s in love. You remember what it was like being in love with Sarah.”

  Joe let out an angry growl. “You would be wise not to bring that back up.”

  Doc knew he was right. But some days, he felt old and tired and even though he’d started all this, sometimes he forgot why. “Russell is running me out of town.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “He’s standing out by his pickup. He says if I don’t leave, he’ll bodily see that I am gone.”

  Joe laughed. “Does he have any idea who he is dealing with?”

  “He seems to. He’s the one who found me and has been busy putting all the pieces together. He knows I’ve contacted Sarah.”

  “How?”

  “Maybe she told him. More than likely, he’s been watching her house.”

  “That pathetic fool. She broke up with him. Why doesn’t he...leave town himself?”

  “He’s apparently staying to protect her and possibly win her back. I don’t believe he thinks much of Buck. I get the impression he thinks he’ll be around to pick up the pieces.”

  “Well, he’s wrong,” Joe drawled. “He’s dead wrong about that.”

  * * *

  CASSIDY FELT NUMB.

  “What do you think?” Jack asked as they drove away from her mother’s house.

  “I don’t know what to think,” she said. Her throat closed with unshed tears, her chest aching with unreleased sobs. She was holding it all in, trying hard to be strong. “It is all so...surreal. I wanted her to tell me she wasn’t one of those...anarchists. I wanted to believe it was all a mistake—including the attempt to kidnap me and having some...killer after us. But it’s real.”

  “Can we trust her?” Jack asked.

  She met his gaze. “I...” Swallowing, she said, “I don’t know. I want to. I think she was telling the truth.” Cassidy could see that he looked skeptical. She let out a sigh that came out sounding like a sob. “What choice do we have? If she calls your father and says that she has us...”

  “I’m not sure he’ll believe her—let alone be content with it.”

  “Do you think he’d come to Montana?” she asked, suddenly concerned at just how many people were after them.

  “I wouldn’t be surprised. My father is a hands-on kind of businessman. I suspect he’d be even more that way with this...organization he’s involved in.”

  “We could make a run for it, but you heard what my mother said. If they think that she’s lying about having us under wraps, they’ll go after Bo.”

  He glanced over at her. “Then let’s hope she convinces my father that she has everything under control.” He reached over and took her hand, his large and warm. She closed her eyes as the rental SUV bumped along the gravel road in a familiar rhythm that almost soothed her.

  “If this had to happen, I’m glad you were the one who—” she opened her eyes and swallowed “—saved me.”

  He squeezed her hand, keeping his eyes on the road. “Me, too.”

  Jack let go of her hand to steer around a sharp curve in the road. They were almost back to the old ranch house. Behind it, the Crazies gleamed in the sunlight against a sky so blue it hurt to look at.

  “I can’t understand why anyone would ever leave here,” he said as if as captivated by their surroundings as she was. “It’s...breathtaking.” He pulled up to the house and cut the engine before he looked over at her. “Just like you.”

  Her heart did a little bump. The heat of his gaze scalded her bare skin. His smoldering look burned into hers. “I’m scared that I’m not going to be able to protect you.”

  She shook her head. “It’s going to be all right.” She wished she could believe that. From his expression, he definitely didn’t. But then again, he knew his father better than she did. She was depending on her mother, a woman she barely knew.

  He reached for her, his hand curving around the back of her neck to draw her close. His mouth brushed across hers to plant a kiss at the corner of her lips.

  She felt a feverish heat rush along her veins as his other hand cupped her cheek. With agonizing pleasure his rough thumb pad skittered over her lips, opening them to get at the tender flesh of her mouth.

  Drawing her even closer, he gently kissed her mouth. A tremor moved through her as he parted her lips with his tongue. She opened to him, wanting this more than her next breath.

  “We should go inside,” Jack said, drawing back from the kiss.

  All Cassidy could do was nod, her heart pounding at the look he gave her. They got only as far as just inside the door before he grabbed her and pulled her to him. He buried his hand deep into her hair as his arm encircled her waist. Her body collided with his, her soft curves to his large, rugged, muscle-hard frame. A slow burn of desire spread through her as she clung to him.

  “Beany.” His voice sounded ragged with longing. His eyes blazed with a fire matching her own. His mouth dropped to hers and he drank her in as if dying of thirst. She moaned in answer to the assault on her senses as he explored her mouth with quick flicks of his tongue against her sensitive skin.

  She wanted his hands on her, her hands on him. Pulling back from the blistering kiss, she grabbed the front of his Western shirt and jerked. The snaps sung. Her palms pressed against his warm smooth chest. His nipples were erect. She bent her head to touch her tongue to one.

  Jack groaned. “If you don’t stop, we’ll never make it to a bed.”

  She smiled as he swung her up into his arms and took the stairs with her as if she were weightless.

  * * *

  JOE WAS SURPRISED and a little wary when he saw who was calling him on his private cell phone. He had been standing at the window when the phone rang. Since it seldom rang, it took him a moment to pull it out of the inside pocket.

  “I have Cassidy.” It had been so long since he’d heard Sarah’s voice that he felt momentarily stunned. Just the sound of it pierced his soul, bringing back pleasurable memories that made him ache. He lowered himself into a chair. “I also have Jack. Martin’s son.”

  He couldn’t speak for a long moment. “Sarah? Is this really you?” He knew what he was asking. She must have, too.

  She laughed at his surprise. “You know it is. I wanted to call you personally and tell you that I have taken care of everything. Just as we planned.”

  He had dreamed of this moment. But even now he couldn’t believe it had actually happened. He’d told himself for years that once Sarah regained her memory she would come back to him and only him. Once she remembered their shared passion, she would beg to come back.

  After another stunned silence, he ventured, “I’m not sure I understand, though.”

  “You understand. I remember. I remember everything.”

  This was a dream. This couldn’t be happening. Not after all these years. Not after the
last time they’d talked and she’d made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him ever again. His stomach roiled at the memory. “I thought...you’d—”

  “Forgotten us?” Her laugh, like that one word, was achingly sweet and laced with sexual subtext. He was struck by the memory of them tangled together, their bodies scalding with the heat of their lovemaking, the painful, pleasurable release...

  “I don’t know what to say,” he finally managed.

  “That’s a first.”

  Joe put one hand on the window for support, telling himself this was no dream. He could hear it in her voice. And yet, another part of him knew better than to trust this. Knew better than to trust the Sarah who’d fallen for Buckmaster Hamilton. That memory burned in his belly like acid.

  He realized there was only one way to find out if she’d truly come back to him. “When can I see you?”

  “Wouldn’t that be too dangerous under the circumstances?”

  So like Sarah to point that out.

  “But once we know that Buck is definitely going to win the election...”

  He heard it in her voice and felt himself react as he always had. His need for her burned so hot that at that moment he would have given up everything for her.

  “What do we do in the meantime?” he asked, his voice rough with the desire that had him in physical pain.

  “You can start by calling off Martin so he doesn’t ruin everything. He stupidly tried to kidnap my daughter Cassidy, thinking I needed extra...incentive.”

  Joe instantly withered. “I thought we were talking about us?”

  “There is no us if all of this blows up in our faces.”

  He nodded to himself. “Putting The Prophecy first. Just like the old Sarah.”

  “The old Sarah was your Sarah. That is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  A cold chill moved over his skin. His laugh hurt deep down. “I wouldn’t have you any other way.” And have her he would. Soon.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CASSIDY LAY IN bed spooned against Jack, sated and reveling in the cocoon of pleasure she felt. She never wanted to leave this bed. Their bodies fit together perfectly as if they’d been made for each other, that connection between them even stronger. When they’d come together earlier—

  Her cell phone rang, dragging her back to reality.

  Reaching for it, she saw it was her mother and forced herself to sit up to take the call.

  “I wanted you to know, I’ve taken care of everything,” Sarah said. “The two of you just need to stay where you are. You trust me, don’t you?”

  What choice did she have?

  “I love you, Cassidy. I would never let anything happen to you if I could help it.”

  “I know,” she said, praying it was true.

  “Stay close to the house. I promise this will be over soon.”

  Cassidy turned as she disconnected to see Jack was awake and watching her expectantly.

  “Your mother?”

  She nodded and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Those earlier moments of contentment were gone. She felt restless, uncertain. Worse, for a while she’d forgotten that she and Jack were in danger. She’d been able to dream that what they had was something lasting.

  Now she feared that after finding each other, they would be torn apart. Or worse, killed. “Want to see a favorite place of mine?”

  “Is everything all right?” he asked as he got up and pulled on his jeans.

  She turned to look at him. He was so handsome, so tender. Tears welled in her eyes. Was he serious? Everything was far from all right. “It will be,” she said, praying it so. “I assume you know how to swim?”

  He chuckled as he reached for his shirt. “Swim?”

  The day was warm, the breeze sweet with the scent of pine. She led him down a path through tall cottonwoods with green leaves that rustled overhead. They walked through the shadowed coolness until they reached a barbed wire fence.

  Jack held the strands of barbed wire apart so Cassidy could step through and then she did the same for him. She could smell the water before she heard its soft roar.

  “Where are you taking me?” Jack asked, sounding excited.

  “You’ll see,” she said with a grin. They’d been through a lot in a matter of days. The man had saved her life. Wasn’t that enough reason to feel so incredibly close to him? It was odd but she felt as if they had been destined to meet.

  As they moved through a tunnel of new cottonwoods under a canopy of old cottonwoods, she glanced over at him. Wasn’t it possible there was another reason she felt close to him? That their lives were on a course where they would always be together?

  Her heart swelled at the thought.

  Jack let out a cry of pure pleasure next to her as the tree branches parted and the creek came into view.

  “I thought you might like this,” she said, pleased. “The water’s cold compared to that in Texas, but—”

  “But this is a swimming hole and we’re going in, right?” He turned to look at her, grinning.

  “Last one in,” she said and began to strip down to her underwear. Again, she felt shy as she looked up to find him watching her undress, desire warm in his gaze.

  “Sorry,” he said quickly after being caught. “It’s just that you are so beautiful. I can’t stop looking at you.”

  “Especially when I’m half-naked?” she joked.

  His grin widened. “Especially.”

  She laughed and ran through the grass to the edge of the creek. Water pooled in an oxbow, deep and green. Someone, long before her father had bought this addition to the ranch, had tied a rope from a large old cottonwood branch. It was neatly tucked behind the trunk of the tree.

  She unhooked it after climbing up on the large rock next to the creek.

  Jack had stripped down and now stopped at the edge of the shore to watch.

  She held tight to the rope and leaped off the rock to sail out over the water. It had been so long since she’d done this. It brought back memories of her and her sisters playing here as children. At the perfect apex of the pendulum swing she let go, dropping through the sunlight and warm air.

  Her feet broke the surface of the water and she plunged in. Water rushed up over her head as she descended into the dark depths. The cold of the water shook her to her core.

  She surfaced with a shriek of laughter and, grabbing the thin retrieval rope dangling from the end of the swing rope, quickly began to swim toward the shore. “Your turn.”

  “You are covered in goose bumps,” he cried, but took the rope from her.

  Her body felt alive from the cold and the burst of adrenaline.

  “I’m from Texas. You do realize this could kill me.”

  That struck them both funny since they were much more apt to die a completely different way given what was going on in their lives.

  Laughing, Jack took the end of the rope and mounted the rock to stand at the edge. He wore a pair of expensive navy briefs. His skin was dark from the sun and he was beautiful, a sculpted Adonis.

  He was still laughing when he swung out, caught for a moment suspended over the creek.

  “Let go!” she called and he dropped, his body perfectly straight, into the emerald green.

  He shot back out moments later with a shriek. “You didn’t tell me it was this cold,” he said between chattering teeth. He rapidly swam to the shore, threatening what he was going to do to her.

  Laughing, she tried to get away, but he caught her in the sun-warmed green grass at the edge of the creek, pulling her to him for a kiss. They were both trembling from the cold, but only as long as it took for the kiss to warm them. They shucked off their wet clothing and pressed their naked bodies together. One kiss led to another. They made love slowly, ten
derly, the rest of the world forgotten.

  The summer sun glowed on their skin as the breeze in the high tops of the cottonwoods sighed and the creek hummed along as it flowed past.

  “I’ve never felt this way about anyone,” Jack said as he looked down into Cassidy’s eyes. “I know it’s happening too fast—”

  “It doesn’t feel like it. Not to me. Do you believe in soul mates?”

  He smiled. “I didn’t. Until I met you.”

  “My father would say we are too young to feel like this. But he and my mother fell in love at this age.” She groaned. “And look how that turned out.” Flopping back down, her laugh held no humor.

  He pulled her close again. “Maybe there will be a happy ending for us.

  Cassidy smiled at him. “You really are a romantic.”

  “Am I?” He leaned closer until their lips were only a breath apart. “No matter what happens, I know I want to spend every moment with you.”

  “A hopeless romantic.”

  They lay in the grass, staring up at the big sky overhead and talking about movies, books, silly things that had happened to them at college or since they’d been out.

  They didn’t talk about the trouble they were in now. Instead, they pointed out different shapes as clouds drifted past on the breeze. For a while, it was just a summer day and they were just twentysomethings enjoying each other.

  Neither mentioned love. It was too early for that and they both knew it. They’d had other relationships, but nothing like this. Mostly, Cassidy thought they didn’t want to jinx it.

  “Neither of us has mentioned the future,” Cassidy said finally. “Is it because we’re terrified we don’t have one?”

  Jack said nothing for a long moment. “Do you know what you want to do with the rest of your life?”

  She wanted to lie here in the grass with him beside her after swimming in the creek and then making love. But that seemed impossible given the way they’d met.

  “You mean a career?” she asked. “I had a dream to start an organic farm here on the ranch. But I don’t feel ready yet. It’s like there is something else I need to do first, but I have no idea what it is.”