by June Kramin
“Well I am…in the case, anyway. And I never call great sex a mistake. I need you to know that I can’t guarantee you any outcome. I don’t like the looks of what I’ve seen so far and whatever it is, however it goes down, you need to know I may not be able to protect you from the law.”
“I’ll take my chances. I want my daughter back. I’m not the one breaking laws.”
“Except for what you’ve done to me and my deputies.”
She ignored his last statements. “I really wish you’d just let me go. You don’t know what you’re in for, Hunt.”
“How much worse do you think it’s going to get? I’ve already been shot.”
“And you could have been killed.”
“Your goons have terrible aim.”
Amanda stood up. “This isn’t a game, Hunt. They mean business.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere. Sit back down and eat, then I want you to start talking to me.”
Chapter Twenty
They ate mostly in silence. Hunt brought up the latest weather forecast he heard while he went for the food, and Mandy nodded along. She cleaned up her plates and picked up Hunt’s when he said he was done as well. She tried walking by him, but he took her by the hand and sat her on his lap.
“No more fighting. Just tell me what is going on.”
“I told you what’s going on, Hunt.”
“You said your ex ran away with your daughter. I want to know what that has to do with armed bodyguards or whatever those men are. Why were you beat and left for dead, and why when you show up in a bar they have you pinned in minutes and a gun pointed on you? Who is this Gerard, and why is he sending men after you? And how the hell do you make it through digging out a bullet without puking your guts out, and where did you learn how to field dress a wound like that?”
Mandy motioned to get out of his lap and Hunt let her. “It’s…difficult to explain.”
“Is he a drug dealer?”
“I wouldn’t have gotten involved with a drug dealer, Hunt. Do I look that stupid?”
“What is he then? Some kind of Mafia? Does that sound as lame to me as it does to you? Help me make this make sense, Mandy.”
“It may sound lame, but I guess that’s as close as you’re getting.”
“Mafia? You have got to be shitting me. Why the hell would they come out to Vermont? Not cold enough in New York for them?”
“It’s not what you think. You probably watched one too many movies. Gerard isn’t like the ‘Don’ or anything.”
“Son?”
“Nothing that grand. I swear I didn’t know any of this when we got involved. When I found out, it was too late.”
“Afraid to leave him?”
“That and I didn’t want to. I really loved him at first. I found out I was pregnant, and there was no way I was going to do it alone. He was a great guy.”
“Besides the whole running the city thing.”
“I told you, he wasn’t like that. I never knew, Hunt. I swear. In the beginning, we lived a normal life. I wasn’t showered in diamonds and furs. We didn’t host grand balls every weekend and rub elbows with the cliché corrupt mayor and such. I didn’t have bodyguards and we didn’t have machine guns in the house.”
“What changed? When did you realize who he was?”
“I can’t pinpoint it to any one thing. I remember men like the ones from yesterday showing up more often. Gerard was always in his den with one or two of them. I was never allowed in. I tried bringing in drinks once, and he was in a hurry to hide a big wad of cash. He rushed me out of there like a flash and I was scared he was going to hit me.”
“Did he?”
“That time, no.”
“That time? So he did hit you.”
“Not a lot. When I found out what he was involved in, we would get in fights. I wanted to move away. He wouldn’t go with me and said he’d kill me if I ever left him.”
“Sonofabitch.”
“I didn’t want to tell you these things, Hunt. Getting angry at him personally isn’t going to help matters.”
“He was scum before, but hitting a woman…there is never an excuse for that.”
“Hell, Hunt. I slapped him first once. I’m hardly innocent.”
“I don’t care.” He walked over and held her face in his hands and kissed her gently. “I’m sorry.”
Mandy shrugged it off and walked over to the window. She pushed the curtain aside. “It’s snowing.” Her tone had dramatically changed, and she was now smiling wide. Hunt joined her.
“Shouldn’t amount to much.”
“It’s still beautiful.”
“That it is. You’re in God’s country now, sweetheart.” Hunt turned to her again and locked eyes with her. “Will you tell me more?”
“For all the good it’s doing?”
“I need to know what I’m up against. Tell me about this resort you’re heading for.”
“It’s just an old lodge. There’s a huge kitchen and twelve rooms. It was probably a bed and breakfast in its day. We stayed there once by ourselves, years ago. Something was going down and I got sick of the bodyguards or whatever they were floating around our house. Gerard brought me there to get away. I guess he knew we were safe enough there that no one came with us. It was a great week actually. I was six months pregnant and the mini vacation was great. It did our marriage some good.”
“Even knowing what he did for a living?”
“I was pregnant, Hunt. I don’t expect you to understand. I always thought I’d get him to change his mind and let us leave. Go to Mexico or something. Australia. Anywhere to get away from this. Yes, I loved the sonofabitch. I knew he’d be a good father, too.”
“So much so that he kidnapped her.”
“I shouldn’t have packed a bag. I should have just left. Things could have been replaced…” Her voice trailed off and she sounded like she was fighting tears.
Hunt placed his arms around her and gently rocked. “Shhhh. Take it easy, sweetheart.”
“He came home when I wasn’t expecting him. He was furious to see the bag.” She paused again. “I wasn’t left alone after that day.”
Mandy moved her head away from him and wiped the corner of her eye. Hunt broke away from her. “Hang on a second.” He went to the duffle bag and pulled something out of the side pocket. He stood in front of her and held up her locket. Mandy snatched it from his hand.
“I thought I lost this to the lake.”
“It was in my pocket. The pictures didn’t fare too bad. That glass covering them must seal pretty well.” He took it back. “Turn around.” She turned around and he clasped it around her neck. He spun her back around and held it in his hands again.
“How old was Darci then?”
“We had just celebrated her second birthday.” She lay heavily against Hunt’s chest.
He kissed the top of her head and rocked with her for another moment. “Can you draw the layout of the resort for me?”
She leaned back. “Sure.” She dug in the nightstand drawer and found a notepad and pen next to the bible.
Hunt watched as she drew the layout in great detail. Her perspectives were amazing. It wasn’t at all the plain lines for walls and open spaces for doors he was expecting her do to. She even added in where the sink was in the kitchen. “Did you go to school for architecture or something?”
“I had a semester of drafting. Nothing fancy.”
He took the paper from her. “This is amazing.”
“Well let’s hope there isn’t a panic room or any other hiding places. Remember, I wasn’t so paranoid when I was there last.”
“It was all about the make-up sex, wasn’t it?”
“Pretty much,” she said as she took the drawing back and continued her sketching.
Hunt lifted her up out of the chair and she squealed. He tossed her on the bed and her squealing turned to more playful giggles. He crawled on top of her and pinned both hands above her head with one of his. He reached und
er her shirt and unclasped her bra with the other one.
“Floozy,” he said, as he gently nibbled at her breast through her shirt.
“What took you so long, Hunt? I’ve been waiting on dessert.”
“One only has to ask.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Again they lay together, completely satisfied and not letting their worries concern them. No matter how intrigued Hunt was with what she was telling him and how eager he was to arrest this Gerard, he couldn’t keep from being more incredibly turned on by Mandy with every glance. He wanted her bad, and to even think of her being with another man made him insane. The desire for animal sex had won over the desire to make gentle love and let her know she would never again have to know what it was like for a man to hurt her. Hunt would never allow it. He was trying to play it cool, but he was falling for her and didn’t want it to be over after he made the arrest. He had been planning what he could tell his deputies about her. About why she did what she did and wasn’t locked up. Hunt wasn’t one to break rules or to let a lawbreaker slide, but he could only imagine what she was going through and what caused her to do what she did. Things would be different when this was all behind them.
She lay with her back facing him and he pulled her in even closer. “Damn, girl. I wish all of my cross-state arrests were this much fun.”
She spun around and faced him. “I’m not under arrest.”
“Maybe not anymore, true enough. But I sure as hell wanted to haul your ass in for what you’ve done.”
“I hope I convinced you with my story and not just the sex.”
“I couldn’t be bought and turned corrupt with sex. I would think you knew me by now.” He kissed her on the forehead. “How did you get so good at escaping?” He propped himself up on his elbow. “You did try getting away from Gerard before, didn’t you?”
She looked away shyly, but he held her chin and brought her back to look at him in the eyes. “Yes. It wasn’t as easy with Darci though. I could have left a few times when I didn’t have her with me, but Gerard knew I would never leave without her.”
Hunt stroked her cheek. “You really make me wish I settled down and had kids. I can’t imagine loving someone else so much.”
“I highly recommend you give it a whirl someday.”
“Maybe I will,” he said as he claimed her mouth with his once again. They were making love again before Hunt had time to think. She drove him crazy, and his body took over. They moved from the bed to the dresser to the shower before they had finished. Mandy was not shy about her sexuality and had a couple of orgasms before Hunt was rendered ‘out for the count.’ After lightly toweling off, they collapsed back in bed, finally falling asleep for the night.
When Mandy woke up at six, Hunt was already awake and staring at her sketch. He joined her in bed when she stirred. Sitting up against the headboard, he waited for her to join him. He pointed to a small room on the end. There was a door going in from the outside and a door to what appeared to be the kitchen.
“Is that a walk-in pantry?”
“Good morning.”
“Sorry.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Good morning. So…pantry?”
“Yes. Gerard said it was set up that way so they didn’t have to haul supplies through the house.”
“Is this first bedroom a master room?”
“I guess it’s designed for the caretaker. It has its own bathroom. It’s the only room that does.”
“And how far is it to the lake? Any chance we could sneak up that way?”
“There’s a hundred and sixty-two stairs to the lake. It’s steep. We wouldn’t be seen but we also wouldn’t see if someone was coming down. We’d probably hear them, but I’m not so sure we’d get away without being seen by them first.”
“That’s a hell of a lot of stairs.”
“I walked them twice a day. I counted. There’s an old mechanical lift chair, too. It still works—at least it used to, but it’s as loud as hell.”
“What about neighbors?”
Mandy spent the next twenty minutes describing the closest neighbors and the layout as best as she could. She sat up and inspected his side. “I want to redress that, Hunt.”
“I’m sure the air has been fine for it.”
“Maybe, but if your shirt rubs, it’s bound to start bleeding. Just let me do it.”
As she was getting up, he took ahold of her wrist. “We never did get to how you dealt with my wound so well.”
“Hunt, when you’re a mother, you see everything. Blood, vomit, and gore don’t bother me.”
“Not buyin’ it.”
She let out a heavy sigh. “That goon you shot?”
“Yeah?”
“I did the same for him. He showed up one night with a bullet in his thigh. Gerard wasn’t home and I was scared to death. I hadn’t known then. I thought he was just a business associate of my husband’s. We had met at a party once.”
“Go on.”
“I didn’t care for him. Now I guess I understand why he acted the way he did all the time. He thought he was bigger than his own britches. It was one of Gerard’s men that shot him for mouthing off. They were probably aiming for his knee. When they showed up, I thought I was going to be murdered.”
“Why did they barge into your place? Don’t those guys have doctors on payroll?”
“I guess we were convenient. I can’t say for sure. Gerard came home and was furious. It was the first time I witnessed him getting violent. He pulled a gun out of a holster he was wearing. I never even knew he owned a gun. He pinned the guy that brought the wounded one in against the wall and held the gun to his chin. He thought they were going for me as well. When he realized what I was doing, he lightened up a little.”
“How did he explain that away?”
“Not very convincingly. It was at that point I was beginning to wonder, anyway. I went from suspicions to full blown guns and gore. I hated the man. I actually enjoyed hearing the fucker scream as I tended to him.”
Hunt laughed. “Did you enjoy hearing me scream?”
“You weren’t that bad.” He raised an eyebrow. “No, Hunt. I didn’t enjoy it. You were different. He had it coming. It was my fault you were shot. I don’t know what I would have done…”
Her voice trailed off and Hunt pulled her to his chest. He wanted to make light of it before she became scared and serious. He faked a laugh and touched a finger to his chest by where her head now rested. “Like a bullet could penetrate this.”
That caused her to laugh for real. She stroked his chest. “You have a good point there.”
“Let’s hit the road. I want a good breakfast, and we have about an hour drive to get to this cabin.”
“What if they aren’t there?”
“Then we keep looking.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hunt checked in with Roy from the diner. He didn’t give him any details; he just said he was still in pursuit.
“Where the hell are you, Hunt? Texas? That GPS should have taken you right to her.”
“I’m still in Vermont. Things are just…complicated.”
“Complicated. Tell me you ain’t fucking her. Goddammit, Hunt. She totaled a cruiser, broke Luke’s nose, and stole my truck and you’re on a muffin buttering vacation.”
“It’s not like that, Roy. You know me better than that.”
“Oh, I know you all right. I thought you were going all possessive on her because of what she’s done. You’re in love with the little bitch.”
“You watch your mouth when you’re talking about her, Deputy!”
“You are fuckin’ her!”
“Just shut up and listen. Things are going in a way you can’t even imagine. I may have to call in another department once this gets rolling.”
“Tell me where you are! I’ll leave Luke here and call in Ole.”
“You stay where you are. I’ll call you if I want backup. I need you there.”
“But, Hunt—”
Hunt hung up before Roy could protest any further. The last thing he wanted was the doughnut king of St. Ann’s showing up and getting his fat ass shot off. Hunt was lost in his thoughts about why Roy would go straight to assuming he and Mandy were sleeping together when she came up behind him and startled him. He jumped at the sound of her voice.
“Everything okay?”
“It’s fine. Roy had a great idea about showing up here and trying to help me apprehend you.”
“He still thinks you’re after me?”
“Actually, he thinks I’m sleeping with you.”
“He what? Is this some kind of habit with you?”
“You know that’s not true. I don’t know why he went there. I had fire in my eyes when I left the station to come after you. He knows that’s not what this is about.”
“Maybe, but your poker face sucks. You gave it away in your voice, Hunt.”
“No way. I’m great at poker.” He grasped her hips and pulled them toward his.
She shoved him back. “This isn’t funny.”
“Hey,” he said, reaching for her hand. “I’m just trying to make light of all this. I swear I don’t know why he said that.”
“I’m not mad, Hunt. My nerves are really getting worn. I need to get Darci and get the hell out of this godforsaken state. Everywhere I turn there’s nothing. I need to see some buildings, for crying out loud.” She rubbed her arms trying to warm them up and walked to the truck. Hunt caught up to her and helped her up. Before getting in his side, he reached in back and pulled out a sweatshirt.
“You should have said you were cold. We don’t think about coats around here until it’s thirty degrees out. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. Sorry for snapping.”
He started the truck but waited to put it in gear. Turning sideways, he faced her with a serious look. “I’m beginning to second guess having you along.”
“No way, Hunt. You need me there. This is my task, not yours! You’re not handcuffing me in some hotel room and going there by yourself!”
“Look, don’t get upset. I admit it. My senses were dulled with all the sex. It’s just instinct for me to want to take care of you.”