by Leah Brooke
“I need a room for an hour.”
His smile fell, and he looked behind her as if hoping to get a glimpse of her client. “Twenty bucks.”
Stormy slid a twenty across the desk until it stuck on a damp spot, accepted the key from the clerk, who’d already gone back to his movie, and left without another word.
Once in the room, she locked the door and tossed her bags on the bed before hurriedly propping a chair beneath the doorknob.
After grabbing clean clothes and her own toiletries from her bag, she wolfed down her breakfast as she carried everything into the bathroom, afraid to put her food down for a cockroach to eat before she could.
After a quick shower, she changed into dry clothes and dug her laptop out of her bag.
After downloading the pictures from her camera, she got into her email account and sent a note, along with the photos, to Kathy for safekeeping.
After hitting Send, she started to close the laptop again, pausing when she caught a glimpse of her leather jacket out of the corner of her eye.
Impulsively, she started an email to her brother.
She knew that Sam Kline wouldn’t hesitate to kill her, and although she had no intention of letting him find her, she knew that it was possible and that Logan would need to know what had happened to her.
She attached the file of incriminating photos she’d taken to her brother’s email.
Logan, don’t open the attachment unless something happens to me. Love you, Stormy.
A sense of relief washed over her at the knowledge that if something happened to her, he would take the information to the sheriff he trusted so much and stay the hell out of danger.
After logging off, she stuffed her laptop into her bag and gathered her things, leaving the room just as the sun appeared above the horizon.
She made her way back to the office, and even the bell didn’t rouse the clerk, who’d slumped on the desk, snoring loudly.
She slid the key onto the desk as quietly as possible, not wanting to take the chance of waking him, and eased the door open, reaching up to silence the bell as she left.
Scanning the street, she made her way to the parking lot next to the now deserted diner, grimacing when she got a good look at her SUV for the first time.
Several bullet holes lined the driver’s side of her car, something she knew would draw a lot of unwanted attention.
Since nothing could be done about it, she tossed her bags inside and slid behind the wheel, plugging her phone into the charger before driving around to the gas station.
The man who worked there, his nametag identifying him as Rory, filled her tank, looking from her to the bullet holes and back again.
“Looks like you had a little trouble.”
Stormy sniffed, wiping away an imaginary tear. “My husband went crazy. He has a girlfriend, and I think he’s trying to kill me. He shot up my car so I couldn’t leave, but I escaped. I just hope he doesn’t follow me.”
“What?” His eyes widened in horror. “I’ll call the police.”
“No!” Stormy sniffed again and donned her sunglasses against the brightening sky. “Please don’t. He’s a powerful man and would just pay off the cops. Please, if he comes and asks about me, tell him you haven’t seen me.”
Rory nodded, his eyes wide. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll forget I ever saw you.”
Stormy smiled gratefully, anxious to get moving. “Thank you so much.”
After paying, Stormy drove away, a glance in the mirror telling her that Rory stared after her.
Almost fifteen minutes later, her cell phone rang, and after checking the display, she hurriedly answered. “Nicole, are you okay? Did you leave Nashville?”
“Oh, Stormy! Thank God. Yes, I left Nashville and headed north. I’m staying with my sister in Ohio. Kathy called me. She left town, too.”
“Good.” Breathing a sigh of relief, Stormy checked her rearview mirror again. “Stay there. Stay out of sight.”
“Did you call the police?”
“I called last night, but I didn’t stick around to see what happened.”
“Did you send those pictures to them?”
Stormy frowned. “Kathy told you about them?”
“Uh yeah. It’s not a big deal, is it?”
Something about Nicole’s tone made the back of her neck tingle, especially since photos of Nicole were included in her file. “No. Of course not.”
Nicole was Kathy’s friend, a woman she’d met in one of her classes. Kathy had introduced them when Nicole had mentioned that she thought Sam was cheating on her and wished she knew someone who could catch him.
Kathy had told Nicole that her roommate was a private investigator who specialized in cheating husbands and boyfriends, and had introduced them.
But, Stormy hadn’t expected Kathy to send Nicole the photos she’d sent for safekeeping.
“Where are you going?”
Stiffening at the question. Stormy kept her tone cool. “I don’t know yet. I have to go. Take care of yourself. I’ll talk to you soon.”
She disconnected and tossed the phone aside, only to retrieve it when it rang again.
Not recognizing the number on the display, Stormy frowned and answered. “Hello?”
“You don’t really think you’re going to get away from me, do you?”
Stormy stiffened, her heart pounding. She glanced in her mirrors again but didn’t notice anyone following her. Morning rush hour traffic had begun, and she hoped to lose herself in it.
Changing lanes again, she once again kept her tone cool. “Can I assume I’m speaking to Sam Kline?”
“You are. Stormy. An interesting name.”
“My parents thought so. You know you’re done, don’t you? I have pictures of you and your friends.”
“I don’t have friends.”
“Surprising.” Stormy had to struggle to hear him with the wind blowing in the back window, which had her scrambling for her earphones, managing to get them in before he spoke again.
“You really got some good shots of me doing business, didn’t you? They won’t stand up in court. My lawyer will say they’re Photoshopped.”
Wondering how he could have seen her pictures, or if he was bluffing, Stormy forced a light laugh. “Drugs and murder. Don’t try to sell yourself to me as a businessman. I’m not buying it. So, how do you know how good my pictures are?”
His cold laughter sent a chill down her spine. “I don’t have friends, but I do have family and associates. I particularly like the one that shows the look of surprise on Ricky’s face right before I killed him.”
Stormy snorted, despite the icy chill going down her spine. “Yeah. Funny how he thought he could trust an asshole like you.”
He chuckled coldly, lowering his voice an icy seductiveness that sent ice through her veins. “Those pictures mean nothing if you can’t authenticate them. I’m really gonna enjoy killing you.”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you.”
“Not at all. I enjoy the chase. You’re a hell of a lot more of a challenge than Ricky, but the end result will be the same.”
Stormy took the turn to Tulsa without thinking, heading toward Desire in an instinctive need to go to her brother, a decision she instantly regretted. She couldn’t bring her troubles to his beloved town and wouldn’t put him in danger.
Deciding she’d drive past Desire, Stormy forced a chuckle, her mind spinning. “Not gonna happen, asshole.” She reached out to disconnect, pausing with her finger over the button when he spoke again.
“You can run, but you can’t hide—not with a million-dollar bounty on your head.”
Chapter Two
Lucas Hart, along with his best friends and business partners, Devlin Monroe and Caleb Ward, kept one eye on their laptop screen and the other on their white-faced friend, Logan James.
Pacing back and forth in front of the large window, Logan cursed, jerking his phone from his ear and disconnecting.
&nbs
p; Sitting behind his desk, Ace Tyler, their friend and sheriff of Desire, frowned as he looked at the pictures on Logan’s laptop. Once he finished, he closed it and pushed it back toward Logan. “Your sister got some really incriminating pictures. Where is she?”
Logan whirled and scraped a hand through his hair. “Who the hell knows? I can’t reach her. I’ve been calling her, but it goes straight to voice mail.” Scraping a hand through his hair again, Logan stopped pacing and dropped into the chair in front of Ace’s desk, his fear evident. “I can’t reach her.”
Lucas could see the concern darkening Ace’s eyes, the sheriff’s glance at Lucas saying what none of them dared voice out loud.
Logan’s sister could already be dead.
Lucas lowered himself into the seat next to Logan. “Try to call her again. Put it on speaker phone.” He hoped like hell she would answer so Caleb could trace the call. “She’s smart and she’s tough. You’ve told us that several times. She’s gonna be just fine until we get to her.”
He glanced at Devlin and Caleb, hoping like hell he was right.
Swallowing heavily, Logan nodded and hit the redial button, his hands shaking as he set the phone on Ace’s desk. “Come on, Stormy. Answer the fucking phone.”
With a hand on Logan’s shoulder, Lucas held his breath with everyone else while waiting for her to answer.
When she did, she shocked the hell out of all of them, each one of them stiffening, their eyes going wide.
“Listen, asshole! You’re done. I don’t give a shit how many people you send after me. I won’t stop until I see you behind bars!”
Logan had jumped to his feet as soon as she began speaking and rushed to call her name when it sounded like she was about to hang up. “Stormy! What the hell’s going on?”
A long pause followed, and while Caleb typed into his laptop to trace the call, Lucas concentrated on sounds in the background.
“Logan?”
She raised her voice to be heard over the sound of air rushing in, prompting everyone to lean closer to the phone.
“Yes, damn it!” Raking a hand through his hair, Logan dropped back into the chair again to lean closer, his hands tightened into fists on either side of the phone. “What the hell’s going on? Who the hell did you think you were talking to when you answered? Where the fuck are you?”
“I stumbled into something I didn’t expect, but I can handle it.”
Logan’s color had improved, but he still looked scared to death. “I saw those pictures, Stormy.”
“Damn it, Logan. I shouldn’t have sent them to you. It was a mistake I made in a weak moment. I only sent them to you because I knew if something happened to me, you’d jump in with both feet to find who did it.”
Logan paled again. “Who did it? Do you mean who killed you?”
Sounding distracted, Stormy sighed. “Logan, listen. This guy’s dangerous, and I don’t want you to mess with him. If something happens to me, give the file to that sheriff you trust so much.”
“Stormy, I—”
“I’ve got this, Logan.”
Logan jumped to his feet a split second before Lucas did. “Bullshit!”
“Logan, stay out of it. I’m a big girl and have been handling myself for a long time. Can you assure me that the cop you trust so much can’t be bought?”
Logan smiled and looked at Ace. “As a matter of fact, I can. Ace is sitting here with me now and has already seen the pictures. Lucas, Devlin, and Caleb are here, too.”
Stormy paused, but the sound of her engine sped up, the wind blowing adding to the noise and telling Lucas that they hadn’t lost the connection. “Those friends of yours with the security company? What the hell did you do, Logan? Tell the entire town?”
Lucas frowned at the stress in her tone, something she obviously tried very hard to hide from her brother.
Logan rose again, scraping his hand through his hair, his frustration obvious. “No. I told my friends, who are almost as worried about you as I am. They want to help.”
“I can imagine. You and that town full of Neanderthals are probably chomping at the bit to help a damsel in distress. I’ve got news for you, big brother. I’m no damsel in distress. Not anymore. That sheriff you told me about?”
“What about him?”
“You really trust him?”
Logan took a steadying breath and looked directly at Ace. “With my life and, more importantly, with yours.”
“Got her.” Caleb blew out a breath, turning the laptop around so Lucas, Logan, and Ace could see it. “She’s on the outskirts of Tulsa.”
“What?” Stormy’s voice held a hint of panic that sent a chill of alarm to Lucas’s gut. “You’re tracking me? Damn it, Logan. Do you have me on speaker phone?”
“You’re damned right I do! I need all the help I can get with you. Damn it, honey. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?”
Patting Logan’s back, Lucas rose, bending low to speak into the phone. “Head for Desire. We’ll meet you.”
“Logan, tell your friend to kiss my ass. I’m flying right through Tulsa and—”
Picking up the phone, Lucas gritted his teeth and headed outside. “This is Lucas Hart. Head to Desire. We’re coming to get you. If you have people after you, you’ll be safer here.”
Aware that everyone followed him out and listened to his conversation, Lucas headed toward his SUV, motioning for Devlin to drive while Caleb watched Stormy’s progress on the computer screen.
“Listen, whoever you are, I—”
Lucas climbed into the back seat with Logan while Devlin slid behind the wheel and Caleb jumped into the front passenger seat, settling his laptop on his lap. “I already told you who I am. Lucas. Lucas Hart. I’m a friend of Logan’s, and I can keep you safe. Turn left at the next intersection.”
“I’m hanging up.”
Logan grabbed his phone back. “Don’t you dare!”
Devlin glanced back at Logan, his eyes hard and cold, his voice laced with fear. “Your sister’s in need of a good spanking.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed briefly on Devlin’s, the sadness and remembered terror in them unnerving Lucas. “She’s been through enough.”
“Logan!”
Logan jolted at his sister’s voice, blinking once, his lips thinning. “We’re on our way to you. Follow the signs for Desire. You’re gonna be on a long two-lane road, lined with trees. We’ll meet you on that road.”
“Logan, I’m not bringing trouble to your beloved town, and I’m certainly not bringing it to you.”
Although aware that Caleb already had Ace on the car speaker, Lucas focused on Logan’s conversation with Stormy.
Ace remained silent, obviously listening to the conversation between brother and sister along with everyone else.
Uneasy that the tension in her voice increased each time she spoke, Lucas shared a look with Caleb, leaning closer to speak into Logan’s phone. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what—”
Lucas clenched his jaw. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about! I can hear it in your voice. Something’s changed in the last few seconds. What is it?”
The silence lasted several heartbeats, allowing them to hear Stormy’s breath catch and the squeal of tires. “They found me. Logan, let your cop handle it.”
Logan paled again. “You’re talking about the guy in the picture?”
Another silence followed, and impatient with her, Lucas snapped. “Talk. Is it the guy in the picture?”
“No. It’s not Sam Kline. Uh, Logan?”
“Yeah, honey?”
Caleb turned to Lucas. “She’s coming up to the turn.”
Logan gripped the phone tighter, his knuckles turning white. “Turn left, honey.”
“Before I do, Logan, there’s something I have to tell you that might change your mind.”
“Nothing will. Turn, Stormy, and step on the gas.”
“Okay. I turned. Damn it, Logan. You hav
e no idea what kind of trouble I’m bringing with me.”
Logan swallowed heavily. “Tell me.”
“Sam Kline put a contract on me.”
“What?”
“Shit.” The unmistakable sound of gunfire and squealing tires tightened Lucas’s gut.
“Yeah. He wants me dead, Logan, so I can’t testify against him—and he’s offered a million dollars to anyone who kills me.”
Lucas shared a look with both Devlin and Caleb, and he could tell they were all thinking the same thing.
Stormy James was in a hell of a lot more trouble than they’d anticipated.
And there was a real possibility that they wouldn’t get to her in time.
Chapter Three
Glancing in her mirror, Stormy pressed harder on the gas, whizzing around the car in front of her.
She cursed and ducked, wincing at the sound of bullets pinging over the back of her car as another burst of gunfire erupted.
Lifting her head slightly, she glanced in the mirror again just in time to see that the car she’d passed skidded off the road, barely avoiding being hit by the car chasing her.
“Stormy!”
Stormy jolted, having forgotten that her brother and his friends were still on the phone. “Damn it, Logan. You scared the hell out of me.”
“I scared you?”
The car chasing her, a black sports car, pulled alongside of her, another barrage of bullets erupting.
She ducked, gripping the wheel tighter when he clipped her front bumper.
“Still here, Logan!” Automatically looking up, she caught a glimpse of flashing lights in the distance. “I see your sheriff! Watch out. We’re coming right at you, and he’s—oh shit!”
The car sideswiped her, the man in the passenger seat aiming a gun directly at her. Swerving to get away, Stormy sped up, fighting for control when her assailant shot out her left front tire as they sped past her.
Her left arm burned, becoming heavy and useless, the bullet hitting her at the same time her windshield shattered, but she somehow managed to get back on the road.
The man shooting at her seemed to realize the police were closing in, ducking back into the car as they made a sharp U-turn.