Bounty Hunter

by Donna Kauffman

  He fisted his hands, as much to stem the urge for violence as to prevent him from yanking her into his arms and keeping her there. Paying dearly for his even tone, he asked, “Why here? Doesn’t he know about this place?”

  “No,” she said, her voice still shaky. “I told you before, I’d only been here once. And that was over two decades ago.”

  “Is the deed in your name? Can he trace you here?” Kane already knew the answers to those questions, but he had to ask. When she was thinking more clearly, she’d surely wonder why he hadn’t. He grimaced, hating the duplicity. Telling himself she’d know everything at some point didn’t make him feel one whit better.

  “The deed is in Matthew’s name,” she answered, mercifully pulling him from his thoughts. “It’s not listed on any of my asset sheets, such as they are. I’m not sure if Matt claims it, but it’s probably on his tax statements. I don’t think Sam would think to track them down. I didn’t even remember it until I saw the picture in Matt’s apartment.”

  Kane winced, glad she was facing away from him. “Sam. Tell me about him, Annie. What would make him want to kill you? Is it because you finally stood up to him and escaped?”

  “It’s not like that. I mean, until … he never hurt me, not physically, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “Tell me what I’m supposed to think, Annie.”

  “I … uh …” She gulped, the sound audible. “You were right. I know something about him he doesn’t want revealed. It could … destroy his reputation. His whole life.”

  Damn. He’d figured as much. A mistress. He ached for the anguish she must be going through. As if the terror of being hunted wasn’t enough, she was dealing with rejection as well. The latter, an emotion he was on intimate terms with.

  And all the money in the world wouldn’t have stopped Kane from killing Sam Perkins with his bare hands if he had appeared at that moment.

  “Must be one hell of an affair if he’s willing to kill to keep it a secret.” He wanted to kick himself when she flinched. “I’m sorry, that was a lousy thing to say.”

  “Don’t apologize. I only wish that were the case.” She laughed, and the flat sound chilled him. “The night I followed him, that’s what I suspected.” She tipped her head back, her gaze directed at the star-filled sky. “What a fool I was to think that I would have been devastated by that truth.” Another bark of laughter. “Now I’d gladly line the women up if that was all he wanted.”

  Kane’s mind whirred with this new information. He’d jumped way off base, and it took a moment to reconfigure the facts. If it wasn’t a sex scandal Perkins was afraid of, that left one other alternative.

  “Are you saying he’s involved in something illegal?”

  She shook her head. “You know, when I finally figured out what he was doing, I was so stunned, the legal implications didn’t cross my mind.”

  Kane had only to tilt his head to the side to see the slight quiver of her chin. It was the only indication that she was holding on to her anger with a grip that was tenuous at best.

  “Something else happened to change that.” It was a statement meant to encourage not question her story.

  She nodded, the motion small and tight. “Oh yeah.”

  “What was he doing, Annie? The night you followed him, where did he go?”

  “He was attending a … meeting. In Hunnicutt. At Joe Twyler’s house.”

  Kane knew of the small town. It was a dozen or so miles outside of Boise. The man’s name was familiar also, but the connection didn’t come through. She took care of that with her next statement.

  “Aside from Sam and Hunnicutt’s mayor, the chief of the local police department and several influential Boise businessmen were there. There were others, but I didn’t recognize them. Not that it mattered.”

  Kane let out a long, slow breath. Damn, damn, damn. Annie hadn’t been lying about the trouble she was in. As a matter of fact, to his knowledge, she’d never lied to him about anything. An honest woman. He grimaced. Just what Sam Perkins didn’t need.

  “How did you know these people? Do they know you? Do they know you saw them?”

  She waved her hand as if to slow him down, then slumped forward to rest her chin on her knees, raking her fingers through her tangled hair. Her fingers shook, and she eventually dropped her hand to clasp her other one around her shins.

  Kane felt as if he’d kicked a defenseless kitten. He took another deep breath, struggling to keep a hold on his control. A thousand questions lay right on the tip of his tongue. But what Annie didn’t need was him grilling her, making her feel like the criminal instead of the victim.

  “I’m sorry. You’re throwing a lot at me.” He fought a surprising smile when her posture once again became rigid and defensive. Maybe there was more tigress in his kitten than he’d credited her with. “I know I asked you to. Just give me a second to think this through.”

  “Why? How long does it take to decide to cut and run?”

  Kane hadn’t missed the plea underlying her tough-as-nails demand. “Annie—”

  “I wouldn’t blame you if you did, you know.” Her spine slackened some, her voice when she spoke was more rough than harsh. “I knew from the start it would be like asking for the moon.”

  Before he could think to do otherwise, Kane followed his instincts and tugged her backward, cradling her against him. At the last moment, he regained enough control to settle for looping his arms loosely around her shoulders, letting them dangle in front of her chin, while his own rested lightly on the top of her head.

  “If you asked for it, I think I’d find myself trying like hell to get it for you.”

  She flinched at his softly spoken avowal, but it had been said, and he wouldn’t let her pull away.

  “Why? Why would you do that, or any of this for me? You don’t even know me.”

  “I suspect I know you better than most.” She didn’t deny it so he pushed on, ignoring the danger signals blaring in his head to quit now before he tore apart everything he’d accomplished. “And I think maybe the same could be said of you.”

  She was silent for a moment. “Then that’s a very sad thing.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I feel as if I don’t know you at all, Hawk.”

  His blood pounded through his body at her softly spoken endearment. And it was an endearment, at least to his mind. To his heart. His body followed his heart and responded accordingly. “Yes, Annie, you do,” he said quietly. “More than you think.” She stiffened. “You trusted me with your story. Something I don’t think you’d have done with another man. True?”

  “Maybe that’s so, but you can’t deny that my judgment isn’t the greatest in the world.”

  Kane swore under his breath. Another thing Perkins had robbed her of, and it was a precious gift. Her self-respect. “Annie, there is no shame in loving someone with all that you are. If that person betrays that love, it is their loss, their shame. For destroying a gift that should have been revered.”

  Silence followed his terse declaration, forcing him to listen to the echoes of his words in his mind. Thoughts of his grandmother assaulted him. Yes, he knew all about the pain and shame of betraying someone’s love. The loss of a precious gift. What was happening to him? Distance, he needed to put Annie at a distance before he made a bigger fool of himself.

  No matter what had happened with Perkins, she was bound to him by law. Not to mention vows of love that she obviously took very seriously. Vows that had been wasted on a bastard not worthy of her loyalty. He struggled to pull his control together, to do what he had to do.

  Her next words kept him stock-still.

  “Did you ever love someone like that, Hawk? Completely? Blindly, maybe?”

  His heart fisted in his chest. Her question resurrected another ghost, this pain old and well worn like a talisman rubbed again and again until the sharp edges were too dulled to cut. “Yes. But I didn’t have any choice.”

  “Is this part of w
hat you meant earlier? About not always having the right to choose?”

  “It was my mother.”

  He felt the air leave her body in a long whoosh and fought against turning her in his arms and kissing her, of not stopping until all their hurt disappeared.

  “That’s one thing I had. I didn’t take it for granted, either.” She shifted a bit, resting her chin on his forearm but not looking back at him. “That stinks, Kane. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” he started to say, but her hand on his arm stopped the automatic denial.

  “For her, Hawk. For her. She’s missing one hell of a son.”

  Kane’s throat tightened at the unexpected gift. He blinked hard several times, then gave in and buried his face in her hair. What had he done to deserve finding such truth in a person, only to be put in a position of having to betray it? He wanted to stand and howl at the moon, stomp and yell and argue with the Fates until he got the answers he wanted.

  But he didn’t. He sat right where he was and let her sweet scent seep into his pores, into his mind, into his heart. Storing up the heady sensations for the day when she would no longer be within his grasp. “Thank you,” he said roughly.

  She didn’t respond except to squeeze his arm gently then turn to face away from him once again. When he could finally manage it, he pulled away from her, leaning his elbows on the step behind him. It took a considerable amount of discipline, all that he had in fact, but he ruthlessly steered his mind back to her revelation, to his original purpose—helping her.

  “What did you discover that night? What was Sam doing that was so terrible that he threatened you?”

  “It wasn’t a threat. I tried to talk to him about it, make him see reason. That didn’t work. He poured on the charm, trying to convince me to do what he wanted. He’s real good at that. But I … couldn’t. Not until he explained.”

  “Did he?”

  She shuddered. “No. He got nasty. Violent. I’d … I’d never seen him like that.” She pulled in a visible breath. “I left him after that night. Checked into a motel until I could figure out what to do next.”

  “And?”

  “And two days later, I was almost run off the road by an old pickup truck with no tags.”

  Kane had sensed it coming. But he wasn’t prepared for the ferocity of his response. “Are you sure he was behind it?” he asked through gritted teeth. “Was he driving?”

  “I couldn’t see, but I doubt it was Sam. And at first, I really wanted to believe it was a coincidence. A driver with too many beers under his belt. It was a Friday night, and … But it wasn’t a drunk driver.”

  “Another attempt?”

  She nodded. He gently massaged her shoulders. “I know it’s hard. Take your time.” Time. Hers was running out, and it was all Kane could do to keep from tearing out of there and back to Boise where he could get his hands on Perkins’s scrawny, lily-livered neck. But without all the facts, charging off half-cocked was only likely to get them both hurt.

  “What happened?” he urged, as much for his sake as hers. “Another car incident like the first one?”

  “Same truck. But this time it was in the underground parking garage in the building I work in. It … it was late, and I was the only one around. The headlights …” She shuddered. “They blinded me. At the last minute I jumped onto the hood of the car—”

  “Son of a good-for-nothing bitch!” Kane roared, unable to control his rage a moment longer. Uncaring how she interpreted his comment or his actions, he pulled her roughly into his lap, this time folding his arms tightly around her and pressing his face against her neck.

  “I wanted to go to the police,” she murmured against his shirt. “But I got paranoid. I couldn’t be sure who was in on it …”

  His lips found the pulse at her temple. “We’ll get him, Annie. I promise you.”

  She tugged at his arms with her hands, squirming inside his tight embrace. With great reluctance he released her, wanting to apologize for his actions, but unable to lie to her at this point.

  To his surprise she huddled closer to him. It took less than a second before his arms closed around her again. It was clear she needed a shoulder, to feel protected.

  His heart pounded so loudly under the sweet pressure of her cheek against his chest, it took him a moment to realize she was speaking.

  “What?”

  “Thank you,” she repeated softly. “For this.” She looked up at him.

  His heart swelled then tightened painfully at the look of admiration he found shining in her eyes. He wanted to tell her how undeserving he was, but she didn’t let him.

  “Your faith in me is more than I could hope for,” she said, ironically echoing his own thoughts. “But I can’t let you interfere.”

  “Why the hell not?” No way was he letting her push him away now.

  “Because you’ll get hurt.”

  Kane studied her closely. “I understand the risk, Annie,” he said tersely, silently cursing himself for wishing it had been more than basic concern of one human being for another. “I’m willing to take it. It’s my decision, and I take responsibility for it.”

  “But you don’t understand the risk. Not fully anyway.”

  He realized then that there was something she hadn’t told him, something important. He lifted her chin and locked his gaze on hers. “Then tell me and let me be the judge.”

  “The meeting I went to—” she broke off, her chin quivering.

  “Annie?”

  “I’m sorry, Hawk.” She took a deep breath. The sound was uneven and thready. “He … Sam is … He’s a …”

  “What? What?”

  “This is so hard, especially …” She pulled in another lungful of air and blurted it out. “Sam went to Twyler’s that night to attend a meeting. A meeting of an organization called The Alliance.”

  “What the hell is The Alliance?”

  She reached up and placed her trembling fingertips on his lips as if in silent apology for what she was about to say. “The Alliance is an organization of white supremacists.” A lone tear escaped and tracked slowly down her cheek. “Sam is one of the leaders.”

  SEVEN

  Kane went completely still. His brain was numb for a moment as it absorbed the shock, then exploded into activity. “That can’t be,” he muttered, as his thoughts boiled down to one irrefutable fact. Perkins had hired a half-breed to find his wife. A man with supremacy beliefs—a leader of them, no less—would hardly be hiring a nonwhite person, no matter the necessity.

  He didn’t realize he was crushing Annie against his chest until she began to struggle. He loosened his arms automatically.

  “Kane,” she said softly. When he didn’t respond, she laid her hand on his cheek. “Hawk?”

  He immediately focused on her, on her eyes, which were huge with worry. Oh, Annie, what have you gone and done? “What?” he answered hoarsely.

  “It’s true. I know I’m not mistaken. I listened to them talk, to their—” she broke off, visibly shoring up another deep breath. “I heard their plans.”

  He realized then what he’d said a moment ago. Damn! He could hardly tell her why it was so improbable that Perkins was a supremacist. “What plans?”

  Another visible gulp. “They … they were uh, talking about … discussing how to … I don’t know how to put this.”

  Kane gripped her shoulders, fighting to keep his hold gentle and reassuring. “How they were going to do what?”

  She raised her eyes to him, her skin so pale in the moonlight. “How they were going to get rid of all the … Indians. And … others. Minorities.”

  The anger and revulsion that shuddered through his body made it next to impossible to keep his words calm and even. For Annie’s sake, he tried. “And what did they decide?” he asked. His tone was hardly emotionless. It was the best he could do.

  “They argued. Joe wanted to fence off an area of Montana and … and move them all there. Sam … well, he just wanted to—God, I
can’t even say it.”

  “Wait a minute, Annie. These aren’t real plans. This is the raving of a bunch of lunatics. They can’t have any real hope of accomplishing any of this.”

  “That’s what I made the mistake of thinking. I knew there was no way Sam truly could be involved. I knew there must be a mistake. So, I waited for him in his car.”

  “You what? Wait a minute, did anyone else see you?”

  “I’m not sure. I didn’t try to hide. I know they weren’t aware I had listened in on the meeting. I heard them before I knocked on the door. I was so stunned, I stood there like a dumb animal, listening. Eventually I think I went a little crazy. I mean, this was the man I’d pledged to spend my life with, talking like something … evil. Like a monster. I remember thinking that if I could just talk to him, I’d discover it was all some sick joke.”

  “What happened when he found you in his car?”

  “He … well, of course he was surprised.” Annie shook her head, shifting her focus back to Kane’s shirt pocket.

  “Was he upset?”

  “I don’t really remember, I think I sort of barraged him with questions right off. At first he tried to calm me down and assure me everything was okay. He wanted me to get in my car and follow him home, but I wouldn’t. I wanted answers.” She snorted.

  “I got everything but. He pulled the car around the corner to where I had parked, but I wouldn’t get out. I kept demanding to know what was going on.” She stopped abruptly, as if all the breath in her had suddenly been used up. She slumped heavily against his chest.

  Kane propped her chin up with two fingers until she looked at him. “Did he hurt you, Annie? Threaten you?”

  She shook her head in a slight movement. Her body was still limp, but she’d begun to shake. She seemed unaware of it, her voice hollow as she continued.

  “At first he tried to sweet-talk me, saying he wanted to move the date up … But I refused to do that until he talked to me, really talked to me … Then he got so angry. I’ve never seen him like that. He … he didn’t hit me, but it got very ugly.”