Ride The Storm (Storm Warning Series Book 4)

by Geri Foster

  Reaching for her phone, she called Robert Hatley’s number. When the President of the bank answered, he didn’t seem happy to take her call. At this point, she didn’t care.

  “Mr. Hatley, I’m sorry, but can you come in today? I have to leave. It’s an emergency.”

  “Now?” he barked, obviously annoyed she’d asked him to actually do his job. “Can’t it wait until six?”

  “Then it wouldn’t be an emergency. I’ll be leaving now. I hope you can be here in a few minutes. I really can’t wait around.”

  She hung up the phone, glanced over at Jeff and noticed the disbelief etched on his features. “What? You get to protect me. I get to protect you right back.”

  He covered the distance between them in three long strides and pulled her into his arms. His mouth crushed against hers and she knew, in that moment, she’d made the right decision.

  Breaking the kiss, he escorted her out of the room. “Do what you have to before leaving and then let’s get out of here.”

  Nodding, she let the employees know she’d be gone and that Mr. Hatley would be in the rest of the afternoon and that he’d close. She knew her boss would say something on Monday about her abrupt departure, but she didn’t care right now. She just wanted Jeff to be safe and if this Alec character was out to kill him, she wanted to do whatever it took to help prevent it from happening.

  Gathering her purse, they walked out of the bank, Jeff carefully scanning the area. They got in his pickup and, to her surprise, he drove her to the Sheriff’s office. She’d expected him to take her to the ranch.

  “What are we doing here?”

  “I want you to stay with Lucas.” He reached over, flipped open the glovebox and removed a dangerous looking gun. “I’m going after Alec.”

  “But you can’t. Not by yourself.”

  He looked at her. “Why not? He’s just one man. It’s not like he’s an army.”

  She grabbed his arm desperately. “That doesn’t matter. I don’t want you going after a killer. You could be walking right into a trap.”

  He held her stare and she saw the seriousness in his green eyes through the dark lenses of his glasses. Not a great time to notice it, but could a man look any sexier?

  “He’s not that smart.”

  “You know nothing about him. Let’s go to the ranch and see what happens.”

  “You’ll be safe here with Lucas.”

  “I’m safer with you. You said so yourself. You’re going to protect me. You. You’re the person I trust most in this world, Jeff Crawley.”

  He thought for a few minutes, and she wondered if she’d convinced him not to separate. “Do you think he knows where you live? Is that why you’re worried?”

  “It won’t be hard to figure out.”

  “Listen,” she scoots closer. “You have the ranch secure. You said yourself it’s tighter than Fort Knox. Isn’t that a better place for a stand-off?”

  “It is, but I still want to leave you here with Lucas where you’ll be most safe. My house isn’t impenetrable, Nancy. If he has the skills, he can get in. There’s no way he’s going to try anything at the Sheriff’s office. No way.”

  “Are you saying Lucas is better at protecting me than you are?” she taunted him. It wasn’t the nicest way to argue her point but if it got them to stay together she’d use it.

  His jaw ticked, but he stood firm. “If you’re here, you’ll be out of danger. With me, you’ll be in the thick of things.” He leaned over and kissed her quickly, but soundly. “And if by some strange circumstance anything happened to you, I don’t think I could take that.”

  “Jeff, I love you,” she said, gazing into his shaded eyes. “I want to be with you.” She pointed to the Sheriff’s office. “I won’t stay here because here is not with you. You couldn’t take it if something happened to me? What do you think I’d do if something happened to you? Me staying here means Lucas is looking after me, which means he can’t look after you. You’ll be all alone out there.”

  He hesitated, taking in her words of love, but in the end, he remained steady. “I can handle myself, Nancy. I promise you.”

  Seeing she still hadn’t changed his mind she pulled out the big guns. “If Alec finds out I’m here, he might bring trouble to Lucas. I don’t want him to have a gunfight in the streets of Rainwater. We’ve already had that. Think of all the innocent people that would be caught up in that?”

  He thought for a few minutes, considering the chances of that happening and the consequences if they did, then he took out his phone. “Hello, Austin. I’m taking Nancy to my place. We’re going to hole up there and see what happens. I’ll let you know.” He slipped the phone back in his pocket.

  “What did Austin say?”

  “He wants to join us out there, but I told him I’d let him know how it goes.”

  “Okay, then let’s head to your place and get this show on the road. If you’re going to go head to head with a killer, I suspect you have a few things to take care of first.”

  * * *

  Alec copped a car, robbed a gun shop, and bought a new cell phone all before noon. Could be the best thing that happened today was the police showing up at his hotel. It snapped him into action and motivated him to get the hell out of Texas. He talked to Lou after loading the back seat of the car with guns, ammunition and assault rifles and a few grenades. He’d kill Crawley one way or another.

  After his conversation with the man, he changed his plans about Buffalo. Something seemed off with Lou today. Every time he called, his pal wanted to know exactly where he was and what his plans were. He suspected his old buddy came up with the drug deal just to get him there faster. Strange. When paired with the sudden appearance of the cops this morning, it was downright suspicious.

  Not willing to take any chances, he got out of the vehicle and stomped the phone with his heel. He’d get another burner. While out of sight, he took and transferred all the weapons to the trunk of the car as well. No need to advertise.

  Next, he drove to a convenience store on the opposite side of town and purchased a new phone, then pulled into a city park and turned off the car. He wouldn’t be here long. He knew the cops patrolled places like this because of all the kids being kidnapped and assaulted. But he had to make a few calls.

  A punk he knew in Dallas owed him a big favor. And by big, he meant his life. If it hadn’t been for him, the dude would be feeding the fish in the Chicago River. Losing his last phone was no problem, because he had every necessary number written down on a piece of paper he kept in his wallet. He knew that whole thing about slipping out your sim card prevented you from being tracked was a scam. If you had the chip in the phone, they’d find you for sure.

  After ringing a few times, the phone connected. “Yo, Gossett, my man,” he said. “This is Opara. Whatcha up to?”

  “Who is this?”

  He cut the friendly act. “This is the man who saved your ass in Chicago six months ago in the bar on the South Side of town. The bar was Willy’s and the bullets were real. You remember now?”

  “Yeah, yeah, I got you.” There was silence. “What do you want?”

  “I need a little help.”

  “Well, I’m back in Dallas now, I can’t be no help to you in Chicago.”

  “I ain’t in Chicago, I’m right outside of Dallas.”

  “Oh…okay. Why you calling me?”

  “I said, I need a little help.”

  “Well, I owe you one. Tell me more.”

  “I’m going to kill a man, and I might need a little backup.”

  “Humph, murder is a dangerous business.”

  “I know. That’s why I need you.”

  “Who you trying to get rid of?”

  “Nobody important. Just a guy who got my brother killed.”

  “Where is this taking place?”

  “In a dinky town West of you called Rainwater.”

  “Rainwater, Texas?”

  “Yes, I want you to meet me—”
r />   “Whoa, whoa. I ain’t taking my people to Rainwater. No way man.”

  He didn’t like that. “Why the hell not? I saved your life.”

  “And you’ll get us killed in Rainwater. That sheriff and his deputy mean business. No man, I can’t help you.”

  “You owe me.”

  “Not that much. Sorry man, you need more than I can offer you.”

  “It’s just a damn small town.”

  “You do know they have an FBI office not five miles from there, don’t you?”

  “I don’t care about the FBI. I got no beef with them. I don’t even care about the Sheriff. I’m after a veteran.”

  “Hey man, don’t you have respect for our military?”

  “I’m not asking you to go to church and salute the flag. I just need some help taking care of this guy.”

  “I’m out. I can’t do that.”

  The phone went dead, and he slammed his hand on the wheel. Guess he hadn’t known Gossett as well as he thought. Who knew a major drug dealer in a motorcycle gang had morals.

  He slapped the dash and kicked the floorboard. Damn, he couldn’t make any headway. Putting the car in Drive, he stepped on the gas.

  * * *

  In the end, Jeff wasn’t exactly sure why he’d agreed with Nancy, but she was adamant they stick together and he couldn’t fault her for that. She was right—he knew he could protect her better than anyone else—but having her with him meant he had to go on offensive instead of defensive. The hunter instead of the hunted. Not the best position, but he’d work with it. At least he didn’t have to worry about her being alone and in the open. Maybe they would be better off at his place. There, at least, he knew he could keep her safe.

  As they drove toward his ranch he ticked off what needed to be done in his head. Once there, he’d fortify the place, making sure he would be aware if anyone stepped on his property.

  On the way out of town, he looked over and suggested, “Let’s stop by the grocery store. That way we won’t have to go out for food.”

  “That’s fine with me.”

  Running in and out quickly, they left with several bags and were back on the road to his place within twenty minutes, arriving in time for her to fix lunch. She had a salad and made him a sandwich. She moved around his kitchen like she knew what she was doing. Like she belonged there. It was a sight he welcomed more than he ever thought he would.

  Outside, after eating, they walked the yard, scanning the perimeter. They checked again when he had her go with him to feed the cattle their evening meal. She went, but he wouldn’t let her do anything that included lifting. She did drive the truck for him while he pitched out bales of hay, but little else. It wasn’t some macho, chauvinistic thing. No. He just did his part and she did hers. She fed him and helped him out when she didn’t need to do either, so he did the heavy lifting. Felt fair to him.

  Finally, chores were done, and he’d made a few provisions for what might come after them. He didn’t know if Opara had enlisted help or would think himself smart enough to come alone, so he had to be ready for anything.

  “Let’s go inside now. Everything is locked up tight.”

  “I called the bank and Hatley hasn’t showed up yet. I’m concerned. I might have to go back to town to lock up.”

  “Hang on.” He took his phone out of his pocket and called Lucas. “Hey, can you go to Hatley’s house and see if he’s going to close the bank this evening or not? If he isn’t, please get the key from him and lock it up. I don’t want Nancy to have to go back to town tonight.”

  “I’ll cover it. Don’t worry.”

  “Thank you. I just feel she’s safer out here.”

  “She is. She did call Hatley and tell him she was leaving, right?”

  “Yes, she made that clear and her understanding was that he’d be there in an appropriate amount of time.”

  “He’s kind of useless anyway. Maybe I should take Robert, one of the bank board members, with me to make sure Hatley goes to work for a change.”

  “If that works.”

  He clicked off and stuck the phone back in his pocket and smiled at her. “It’s taken care of.”

  “Thank you. I wasn’t looking forward to going back to the bank. Who knows what awaits me there.”

  He put his arm around her shoulders and guided her into the house, carefully locking up behind him. “We’ll hopefully have a quiet night tonight.”

  “Oh no! I have to call the furniture store. They’re scheduled to deliver my new furniture tomorrow afternoon and I completely forgot.”

  “I can ask Russ or Austin to go there and handle that for you.”

  “I’d hate to put anyone out.” She stepped up on the porch and sat in the rocker. “It can wait. I’ll reschedule. Besides, if I’m Alec’s target too, what if he goes to my house looking for me and runs into someone else? They could be in as much danger as me.”

  He knew Austin could take care of himself, but he didn’t want to mention it if it was important to her. He sat beside her, gazing out at the road. They were safe out here. If anyone came down their lane, he’d see them in plenty of time to get her into the house.

  “Would you like me to go get you a beer?”

  “Only if you’re going to grab a Diet Coke for yourself.”

  “I can do that. I put one in the freezer to get it nice and cold.”

  He waited and, after a few minutes, she came out with their drinks and a bowl of mixed nuts she’d picked up at the store. Twisting off the cap, he took a long swallow. He let out an ‘aw’ as he lowered the bottle. “That’s good.”

  “I’m glad you enjoy it at a time like this.”

  He glanced at her and raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, at the end of a long hard day outside, working.”

  “I don’t always indulge and I rarely have more than two. A man has to have respect for limits.”

  “Because Russ used to drink?”

  “I guess so. I hated him then,” he confessed. “He ruined his whole family. I’m surprised Austin has anything to do with him.”

  “It’s hard to hold hard feelings against your parents. I know that.”

  “How do you know that? Your parents are gone.” She opened her mouth to speak when he caught himself. “I’m sorry. I just realized how brash that was. I’ll try not to be such an asshat.”

  She smiled softly at him. “It’s okay, really. It’s you and, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I really, really like you.” He nodded once, quickly, and took another pull of his beer. “I just meant, I resented my parents having me when they were so old. That left me to take care of them a big portion of my life. I had to give up college, traveling, going out with my friends, having a boyfriend.” She glanced at him slyly. “Not that any were knocking down my door.”

  “How old were they when you were born?”

  “My mother was fifty-four and my dad sixty-two.”

  “Don’t you think that was probably an,” he used air quotes, “accident?”

  She smiled. “I came to realize that, but I had a hard time letting go of that resentment. And I often thought maybe if I’d been able to have more of a social life, I might have had a boyfriend.”

  He took her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

  She blushed and nothing delighted him more. It was so schoolgirl-ish.

  “You would.”

  “Your parents were sick for a long time?”

  “My father came down ill first and my poor mother couldn’t keep up with his care. We had help come in, but not enough money for a full-time nurse and my mother didn’t want him to go to a nursing home.”

  “That left you with the whole situation?”

  “Yes, and then, just before my father passed, my mother became critically ill and spent weeks in the hospital.” She looked away. “As awful as it sounds, I was glad when she left this earth. At least she wasn’t suffering anymore.”

 
; “They died and left you all alone?”

  “That they did. I felt so brokenhearted.”

  He squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

  “Shortly after that, I went to work at the bank. I loved it there. It kind of became my whole life. So, years later, when Rachel’s father was accused of embezzling from the bank and the President, Levi Burke, fired me, vaguely hinting that I was too old to be a teller, it pretty much destroyed me. I had no direction and no one to support me but myself.” She laughed without humor. “You know, in actuality, he just wanted to hire his new girlfriend.”

  That hurt his heart because he knew how much her job and the bank meant to her. It had to be difficult to survive the hardship all alone. “No parents and no job.”

  “I found some part-time work, and that got me by. Eventually, the tides turned though. Because I had helped Rachel, Lucas and Kendall prove Jim’s innocence, the members of the board decided I deserved my job back—with a promotion.”

  He smiled. “Good for you. You deserved it anyway, from what I hear. Whether you helped them or not, you deserved that job. Which, I imagine, is why you’ve been promoted again since then.”

  “I could be demure and modest, but yes, I did deserve it.” She laughed. “Bank manager to VP, just like that.”

  He smiled at her joy. She definitely had no reason to be humble about that.

  His phone rung. When he answered it, he heard Austin’s familiar voice. “It’s me coming up the lane, don’t shoot.”

  He laughed. “I promise.” Hanging up, he glanced over at Nancy. “Austin is on the way.”

  “Why?”

  “He probably just wants to check on us and make sure we’re well prepared. Don’t be surprised if he insists on spending the night.”

  She smiled, but a hint of worry worked the corners of her mouth. “I won’t.”