Saving Cade: A Romantic Suspense

by Victorine E. Lieske

She was crazy. There was no doubt about it. But he’d saved her. He was injured because of her. And for some stupid reason, she believed that he didn’t murder his girlfriend. She let out a snort. Right. Don’t all killers say they are innocent? She knew nothing about the man except he was super rich and lived in Omaha.

  Still, her mind kept coming back to the fact that he had put his life in danger to save her from that disgusting man. And there was nothing in Bend. She couldn’t leave him bleeding in the parking lot of a bar.

  Cade moaned. Meg rummaged under her seat and pulled out a bottle of water. “Here. You’d better drink it.”

  He opened the water and took a sip. He put it in the cup holder then stared down at his shirt. It was a bloody mess.

  “There’s a Walmart in the next town. I’ll run in and get you some new clothes.” She glanced at him. “I’m Meg, by the way.”

  “Thank you, Meg,” he said, his voice gravelly. “The name’s Cade.”

  “Yeah. I know.” Silence once again filled the car as she drove. It would be another twenty minutes before the next town. It was after midnight, but adrenaline was keeping her awake.

  Cade continued to sip the water. He leaned back and put his hand to his chest.

  “Has it stopped bleeding?”

  “I think so.”

  That was a relief. She didn’t want to think about what might happen if he bled out in her car. Stupid. Why didn’t she let him walk into that bar? Oh, yeah. Because she knew he would get picked up by the cops, and she felt bad he was injured because of her.

  “Nice car.”

  The ‘88 Mustang was Travis’s baby. If he did call the cops, it would only be to get his precious car back. “Thanks.”

  “Stolen?”

  She jerked her head toward him. How did he know? But when she saw the expression on his face, she realized he was just fishing around. And she’d reacted. “No,” she said, her voice flat.

  “Right.”

  Cade didn’t believe her, but she couldn’t get mad at him. She’d taken Travis’s car. She was pretty much a car thief.

  “So, what happened?”

  She wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but for some reason, she felt the need to get validation for what she did. “I got tired of being his punching bag.”

  Cade’s grip on his water bottle tightened and it made a crinkling sound. “Your boyfriend hit you?”

  She bit her bottom lip. “Husband. Well, ex-husband.” Why was it so hard to admit? Maybe because marrying Travis had been the worst decision of her life. And maybe because it made her look like another stupid woman who wouldn’t leave her abusive spouse.

  Cade looked like he wanted to rip apart something. “How long?”

  “How long, what?”

  “How long did that go on?” he said, a hard edge to his voice.

  Meg drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve been with him on and off since high school. We married young. Too young, I realize now. And when it got bad, I filed for divorce. I thought it was over between us, but he convinced me to go back.” Admitting that was hard, but Cade didn’t seem judgmental.

  He gave her a long, searching look. “No going back this time?”

  “No,” she said quietly. She’d had enough. He was not going to change.

  Cade settled back into his seat. “If you were married, then it’s not stealing.”

  “His name is the only one on the registration. He got the car in the divorce settlement. It’s his.” She hadn’t wanted to take his car, but the only other option was taking a bus, and she didn’t have enough cash to do that and rent an apartment.

  They drove in silence for a while before Cade turned to her. “Are you in any danger?”

  “Only if Travis finds me.”

  “Then we’d better make sure he doesn’t find you.”

  Her heart pounded. “We?”

  He stared at her, an expression on his face she couldn’t quite read. “I can help you if you let me.”

  Meg stared at the man. He was crazy, right? “What can you do? The police are after you.”

  “I have a place in Colorado. It’s not owned by my parent company, and it’s not in my name. No one will look for us there.”

  Her hands grew sweaty on the steering wheel. “I thought we were going to part ways in a few minutes.”

  He broke his gaze. “If that’s what you think is best, I’ll disappear. No one will know you helped me.”

  Thoughts tumbled around in her head as she turned off the highway toward the brightly lit Walmart parking lot. She was stupid to even consider going with him, right? He really could have murdered that girl. She didn’t know him at all. But what would Travis do if he caught up with her? She wasn’t sure.

  She pulled into a parking space and stopped the car. “What kind of a place is it?”

  He gazed at her. She couldn’t help but notice his emerald green eyes. “It’s a six-bedroom house. Plenty of room for two people.”

  “I don’t know. I think I’m crazy to even consider going with you.”

  Cade sighed. “I’m not a killer. I was framed, and I got close to finding out who was behind it before I was convicted. If I can just dig into it a little more, I should be able to prove there was fraud going on in my company, and who was behind it.” He glanced at her. “I won’t hurt you. I can protect you.”

  Meg shut the engine off. “I’ll think about it. Sit here. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay.”

  Meg left him in the car. The cool night air smelled like rain was coming, which was a bizarre thing to notice given the fact that she had an escaped criminal sitting in her vehicle. She entered the store and ran to the bathroom before grabbing a cart. She didn’t have a lot of money, so she tossed a discount package of white T-shirts in the cart. Large should fit the guy. She also bought a baseball cap that said, “World’s Greatest Dad.” It might be best if Cade wore it. Who knew what photo they were circulating on the television? Then she grabbed a package of wet wipes, some painkiller, and a few snacks. She had no idea when he’d eaten last.

  After she checked out, she parked the cart and grabbed the grocery sacks. All that for less than twenty bucks. She walked back to the car and got in. “Here you go,” she said, handing him the wet wipes. “Clean up as much as you can out here, then you can go in and wash in the bathroom.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Cade unbuttoned the plaid shirt he was wearing. She tried not to stare at his abs. Too late. Holy cow. He must have been in the prison gym every day. The thought made her balk.

  She grabbed the T-shirt package and the hat and held the sack out. “Put your trash in here.”

  It took a few minutes for Cade to clean up. When he was done, she gave him the baseball cap. “I thought maybe this would help people not recognize you.”

  “Good idea.” He pulled on a clean T-shirt and slipped the hat on pulling it low, then he got out of the car. “I’ll be right back.”

  She watched him walk into the store. It was hard to believe he borrowed those jeans. It looked like they were made for him. She stuffed the grocery sack full of dirty wipes in the back seat and scolded herself for ogling Cade. He could be a murderer. She had to pull herself together.

  Exhaustion settled in and her eyelids grew heavy. The time was catching up to her. It was after one in the morning now. They needed a place to crash. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax. She’d nodded off when she heard the door open.

  Cade climbed into the passenger seat. “Thanks. That feels better. Not quite as good as a hot shower.”

  Great. Now she was thinking about him in the shower. So not where her mind should be. “We need to find a place to sleep.”

  “What have you decided?”

  Meg rubbed her thumb on the palm of her hand. “I can take you to your place in Colorado. Then I’ll keep going.”

  Cade nodded. “Thanks.”

  “I’ll look for a rest stop where we can crash.”

  Cade fr
owned. “Why don’t I drive while you take a nap? Then we can switch.”

  “You’re not tired?”

  He tugged on his baseball cap. “Nope.”

  “Then at least take some painkiller.”

  He got a funny look on his face. “Yes, Mom.”

  Meg’s face burned as they traded seats and she buckled herself in. What was she doing? She just handed an escaped convict her car keys. She should be terrified, but for some reason, she felt safe with Cade. She reached into the back and pulled out a sweater. After wadding it up, she snuggled up to the door and closed her eyes. It wasn’t half bad.

  The soft rocking of the vehicle put her to sleep. It was a dreamless sleep, one where she knew where she was, but time seemed to pass quickly. When she woke again, the sun was up. She stretched and looked at the landscape. Cade nodded to her. “You slept hard.”

  “Yeah. You tired?”

  “Yep. I thought we could get some breakfast, then you could drive the rest of the way to Colorado.”

  “Okay.” Meg tried to smooth down her hair, but she was afraid it looked like a mess. “How bad do I look?”

  Cade grinned at her, and she realized in the light of the day he was quite handsome. “You look cute.”

  “Great. That means I have smeared makeup and funny hair.” She rummaged through the bag of snacks and pulled out a stick of beef jerky. “You want one?”

  He held out his hand, chuckling. “Sure.”

  “Anything eventful happen while I was asleep?”

  “Nope.”

  Meg nodded and bit a piece of beef off. The spicy flavor filled her mouth, and she looked closer at the wrapper. She hadn’t realized she’d chosen extra hot. Her eyes watered.

  Cade coughed. “What is this?” he said around the piece of beef in his mouth.

  She swallowed. “Oops. I guess I bought the spicy kind.”

  He picked up his bottle of water and downed it. He chewed some more. “That didn’t even help.”

  Meg giggled at the look on his face. “Sorry.”

  He kept chewing. “You’re not sorry. You’re enjoying my discomfort.”

  “You do look like you are trying to eat a fresh pepper.”

  He swallowed and made a face. “What else did you buy?”

  “Pringles.”

  “Yeah, give me some of those.”

  She grinned and opened the cylinder-shaped container. “Coming right up.”

  Cade crammed a handful into his mouth. She laughed at him. “Much better,” he said after he swallowed.

  A few minutes later Cade pulled into the parking lot of a mom-and-pop coffee shop. “I haven’t had a good cup of coffee in...” He looked at her and cringed. “A while.”

  Yep. A reminder that she wasn’t sitting next to a regular guy. He was a convicted felon. A murderer, if she wanted to believe the evidence. She pushed down all the warning bells going off in her head. He hadn’t tried anything while she was asleep. What could he do in a public place like a coffee shop?

  She got out of the car and walked with him inside.

  Chapter 4

  Cade pulled out a chair and slid into it, gripping his coffee like a lifeline. This was the good stuff. He’d missed it. Meg sat opposite him, staring at her croissant. “You okay?”

  She raised her gaze. “That woman behind the counter asked me if I needed help getting away from you.”

  “What?” Fear raced through Cade’s chest. “Did she recognize me?”

  Meg shook her head. “She just saw my bruise...and well, we look like...this.”

  Yeah. They looked like they were running from the police. Cade shifted. “What did you say to her?”

  “I told her no and tried to laugh it off, but she’s watching us.” Meg picked up her breakfast roll and bit into the end.

  He reached across the table and put his hand on hers. “Then maybe we should look like we’re a happy couple.”

  A smile formed on her lips. “Good idea.” Then she threw her head back and laughed.

  Cade chuckled. Who was this girl? She cracked him up. “You’re a good actress.”

  She sat up straighter in her chair. “Well, I was the lead horse in my third-grade play.”

  “Lead horse, huh? I bet you put that on your resume.”

  “Of course.”

  Cade liked the way the light was coming in the window, making her eyes sparkle. Meg was a beautiful woman. He hadn’t noticed before. Hers was a small town, girl-next-door kind of pretty. Not movie star hot. Maybe that’s why he didn’t see it yesterday. Or maybe because he was bleeding and trying to get away from the cops.

  He reached out and cupped her cheek, sobering. “Does it hurt?”

  She glanced at the woman taking orders. “Only a little.”

  Anger surged in him for what her ex did to her. Cade ran the pad of his thumb down her skin lightly. “I won’t let him hurt you again.”

  A wariness entered her gaze. “Thanks.”

  He lowered his hand. He hoped her lowlife ex-husband wouldn’t come after her. He didn’t think he could restrain himself if the guy showed up. Then he really would deserve to be in prison. Cade shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. “So, what do you do?”

  “For a living?” She snorted. “I work...I mean, I used to work for an insurance company. Just answering phones and filing things.” She glanced at the clock. “They’ll be wondering where I am in a few minutes.”

  “Did you enjoy it?”

  She made a face, her nose crinkling up. “Not really.”

  “Well, this can be a new start for you. What would you like to do, if you could do anything?”

  Meg’s cheeks colored, and she shrugged. “Nothing. I’ll probably go find a temp agency somewhere.” She brought her cup to her lips.

  A tall man entered the coffee shop, making the bell on the door ring. He nodded as he passed by their table. Cade pulled his hat down lower and turned back to Meg. “No, really. What would you want to do? I’m talking dream job here.”

  Meg shifted in her seat. “It’s silly.”

  “I’m sure it’s not.”

  “Yeah, it really is.” She frowned.

  “Tell me, and I’ll decide.” He picked up his breakfast burrito and bit into it. It was a simple egg and sausage wrap, but it tasted like heaven to him.

  “I want to be a singer.” She laughed at her own statement. “But that’s so stupid, isn’t it?”

  He could tell she was embarrassed. “No, it’s not. What kind of music do you sing?”

  She picked up her napkin and twisted it around her finger. “Just regular stuff. Pop songs mostly. Music soothes my soul. It’s gotten me through some tough times.”

  “Do you know how to play any instruments?”

  “I taught myself how to play the piano when I was a kid. Then I taught myself the clarinet and the guitar. I had to sell my guitar when money was tight, but I have this little ukulele that my dad bought me when I was twelve. I’ve gotten used to playing and singing with it.”

  “That’s cool.”

  She looked down at her plate. “Yeah, well, singing won’t pay the bills.”

  “Maybe not right away. But you could work a day job and do some singing gigs in your spare time. Or start a YouTube channel. A lot of singers are being discovered that way now.”

  She reached out and patted his hand. Her skin sent warmth up his arm. “Thanks for not making fun of me.”

  Cade clenched his hand. “Is that what your husband did? Made fun of your dream?”

  She lowered her gaze. She didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to. Heat crept up his back. He was beginning to really hate this Travis guy.

  “You finished?” he asked, his voice husky.

  “Yes.” She stood and pushed in her chair. “I’m going to use the restroom. Then we can head out.”

  Cade nodded and watched as she crossed the coffee shop. He liked the woman. Trouble was, he couldn’t get involved with anyone right now. He had enough to worry a
bout without getting tangled up in a relationship.

  MEG TURNED OFF THE highway and followed the directions Cade had given her. This house was supposedly some kind of a destination place he and his business partner were going to rent to vacationers but had never gotten around to renovating. She hoped it wasn’t some dilapidated cabin. She’d seen too many cabin-in-the-woods movies to care to stay in one.

  The road turned and twisted through the mountains. Spring had turned everything green, and it was breathtaking. She slowed as she climbed in altitude. The trees on the other side of the road gave way to a large drop-off. The river below sparkled in the morning sun.

  Driving on the side of a cliff was a little nerve-wracking. She’d grown up in Iowa. There were no mountains there. The view was amazing though. The farther up they got, the more snow was still on the ground and tops of the trees. She was shocked. She’d never seen snow on the ground in May.

  When she pulled up to the address, her breath caught. Was that seriously the house? A mansion? The home was two stories, had giant pillars extending up to the roof, and a balcony on the second floor. She double-checked the address. “Wow,” she said under her breath.

  Cade stirred then sat up. “We there?”

  “Is this it?” She pointed to the mansion.

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  “Holy cow, Cade, when you said home in the woods, this is not what I was picturing.”

  “Don’t get too excited. It needs a lot of work.”

  Meg got out of the car and rubbed her arms as a breeze came through the trees. It was chilly. She walked around the car, staring up at the detailed woodwork on the top. Some of it was chipped, but it was still magnificent. The afternoon sun reflected off the windows. “This is incredible.”

  Cade opened the back door. “Do you want me to bring in your clothes?”

  A hot bath and a change of clothes sounded like heaven, but she worried about his injury. “Just leave them for now. I’ll get what I need later.”

  Cade nodded and closed the door. They walked up the curved stone walkway. The stone steps had a chunk missing, so Meg stepped around it. Cade moved one of the empty topiary pots beside the door and produced a key.