by Aimée Thurlo
Travis took a deep breath, then expelled it in a rush. “All right, but we won’t stick around unless I’m absolutely certain it’s safe. Agreed?”
She hesitated.
“I’m not going to take that exit until I have your word,” he said flatly. “Your emotions are influencing your outlook and that’s dangerous—for both of us. Like Suarez said, we have to rely on each other. You have the answers inside you and we must bring them to the surface, but you’ll need a more logical approach to succeed. That’s what I can provide for you now.”
“Balance,” she observed and saw him nod. “All right, we’ll do it your way.”
“There’s a gas station with a pay phone a few miles from here. I’m going to call Ashe and tell him what we’ve discovered about Prescott. I won’t go into specifics about staying at the pueblo or what Suarez found out for us, but I will tell him about the beacon. I think he has to know about that.”
“That’s a good idea. By calling we’ll ease his mind, too. He may not show it, but I bet he’s worried about us.”
“Ashe guards his thoughts well,” Travis said.
“So do you.”
He gave her a slow, sad smile. “Men are trained to cry alone and only in the dark,” he murmured.
His admission, so full of candor and vulnerability, moved Fox deeply. She reached for his hand, but as a powerful yearning rippled through her, she drew it away. Even the slightest touch was dangerous between them now. Too many raw emotions lay just beneath the surface.
They stopped a moment later and Travis made the call. Fox kept a sharp lookout over the back road, searching for signs of anyone following them.
Five minutes later, halfway to the main highway, their truck’s front tire suddenly blew out. “Hang on!” Travis yelled, taking his foot off the gas and trying to resist hitting the brake, which could flip them end-over-end.
Fox grabbed the seat tightly as the vehicle slid nearly sideways in the gravel. “We’re going to tip over!” she yelled, feeling the truck begin to tilt.
“I can hold it!” As Travis turned the wheel to the right, the vehicle straightened. Then, in the time it took to draw in a breath, the truck bounced and flew into the ditch that ran alongside the road. Brush on the outside whacked the vehicle like cannon blasts, forcing it to lose speed quickly. By the time they came to a stop, the truck was wedged in the narrow channel.
“Did you hear it?”
“What, the tire blowing out? Of course I did!”
“No, just a split second before that, another pop. It was gunfire. This was no accident. Someone shot out the tire. Stay low and inside the truck. I’m going to take a look and see if I can confirm what happened. If I’m right, we’ve got to find a way out of here before we’re the next targets.”
He slipped out of the driver’s side, and then edged around to the right front tire. It was as he’d guessed. The bullet hole was unmistakable, clearly visible on the sidewall of the steel-belted radial.
“They probably don’t know if we’re hurt or not, so they’ll be approaching cautiously.” Travis checked the pistol tucked into his belt. “I’m guessing that they’ll try to put me out of action and kidnap you. If they’d wanted us eliminated, I’d have taken the bullet.”
Fox fought the stab of fear that sliced through her, forcing herself to turn that emotion into anger. Getting ready to go, she reached down to the floorboard, and picked up the can of lubricating spray, which she’d seen rolling around under the seat. She had no idea how to use Travis’s gun, nor did she want to learn, but she knew her chemistry. This aerosol can, along with a spark from the cigarette lighter she’d seen in the glove compartment, would make a very effective weapon at point-blank range. She slipped both into her jacket pocket, then grabbed her purse.
“Climb out my side, and let’s go,” Travis said. “We’ll stay down in the ditch. There’s no water running in it now.”
“Shouldn’t we try to get back to the pueblo and find help?”
“No, they chose the point of attack very carefully. The shot angle tells me they positioned themselves on an intercept course, hoping we’d run back in that direction. We’ll go the other way. Our best bet is to make it to the highway where we can hopefully flag down a car. I don’t think they’ll be expecting us to do that.”
Their hike to the highway didn’t take long, but the moment they emerged from the ditch and out from behind cover, a bullet ricocheted off the asphalt ten feet away, and a rifle shot rang out.
Travis pushed Fox to the ground; then, grasping her around the waist, rolled with her out of the line of fire and back down into the ditch. “That was a high-powered rifle at long range,” he said. “The bullet arrived before the sound. They’ve anticipated us and, more importantly, they have a vehicle and we don’t.”
“How did they find us this time? We can’t seem to get away from them!”
“I don’t know but, right now, we have to concentrate n keeping some distance between us and them.”
“We can’t hike all the way to Santa Fe—not with someone who can drive right up to us at any time, chasing us.”
“We’ll take a diagonal path toward the river, staying out of sight. That’s our only hope. They have an advantage because they have wheels, but they can’t track from their vehicle. They also won’t be able to follow us easily if we vary the terrain, or end up swimming for it.”
Swallowing back the taste of fear in her mouth, Fox kept up with him as they jogged through the rocky, piñon- and juniper-covered area. Though she couldn’t see anyone behind them, she could feel their presence; that gave her all the energy she needed.
As they reached the summit of a low hill, Travis stopped to survey the ground they’d covered. “They’re about ten minutes behind us. I think they’re looking for a road they can take to cut us off before we reach the river. We’re going to have to go north around Black Mesa. Vehicle or not, they’ll have a tough time following us there except by cross-country, and they’ll have to avoid being spotted by Pueblo authorities. The best part is that they won’t be expecting us to circle around like that. That journey’s a rough one by anyone’s standards. They’ll believe you can’t make it.” He gave her a slow, heart-stopping grin. “But they don’t know you like I do.”
“I won’t even slow you down,” she answered, holding his gaze.
“The way things are working out between us,” he said in a husky voice, “you may want to do just that, someday.” His eyes shimmered with a fire that made her breath catch.
As they faced each other, desire sang in her and a storm raged in her heart. She wasn’t sure how she found the courage, but Fox tore her gaze away from his.
“We’d better get going,” she managed after a moment.
Their pace was grueling. When they reached the talus slope of the rocky fortress, where massive boulders had toppled down from the summit, Travis led them into the shadows. From there, he surveyed the area they’d just crossed.
“They’re not as far back as I’d hoped. They’ve found a route, apparently, that others have taken before.” He pointed to a slow-moving sports vehicle coming in their general direction, its windshield gleaming in the setting sun. “But they still don’t know exactly where we are.”
Sunset soon gave way to twilight. Travis and Fox looked around for a good hiding place as they made their way quickly up the side of the mesa. About twenty feet from the top, Travis found a shallow cave carved out by water and wind.
“It’s dark enough now, they won’t be able to see us unless we’re out in the open. Let’s hide here,” he said, peering inside. “We can’t outrun them on foot, so we’ll have to trick them. It’s our only option now.”
He moved aside the tumbleweeds that covered the opening, pulled her in with him, then restacked the brush so they would be hidden from view. As they stood side by side, backs pressed to the sandstone wall, they heard the vehicle approaching from down below. Her heart was hammering so loudly in her ears, she found it impo
ssible to believe that they wouldn’t hear it.
As she edged closer to Travis, she brought the aerosol can and lighter out of her pocket.
Suddenly the vehicle stopped. There was the sound of one door, then another, opening, then whispers. The scuff of boots on rock told Fox they were climbing around the side of the mesa.
Fox could feel Travis’s body as he kept perfectly still, his gun out and ready. Hearing the ominous click of a pistol being cocked just a few feet away, she held her breath. The advancing footsteps suddenly stopped, and she heard a low, throaty chuckle.
Fox felt her blood turn to ice. The men had approached from her side of the shallow cave. Travis was armed, but she stood between him and their pursuers.
One of the tumbleweeds hiding Fox’s head was suddenly pulled away. Before Travis could reach around her with his pistol, Fox held up the aerosol can and lighter. There was no time for aiming, just action. Pressing down on the spray nozzle and flicking the lighter, she sent a column of flames and burning oil onto the man’s shirt. He yelled and jumped back, knocking over his partner while he flailed wildly.
The sudden burst of light all but blinded her, but Travis grabbed her arm, pulling her out in his direction as bullets struck the rocks at the back of the cave where they’d been just moments before.
WHAT CAME NEXT WAS A dark, adrenaline-based blur. Gasping for air, Fox and Travis found themselves at the river’s edge.
“They won’t follow us now,” he said. “They lost the initiative and one of them is injured, possibly seriously.”
“Did you get a look at them?” she asked.
He shook his head. “All I saw was the fire that came shooting out of your makeshift flame thrower. We were lucky to get away without running in a circle or being shot.”
“Aw, come on. I saved the day. Admit it. Besides, you recouped quickly enough. You led me here at a dead run as if you could see in the dark.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t my vision that got us here. It was my memory of the area.”
“Would it kill you to say ”Thanks, you were brilliant’?”
“It would, unless you meant it sarcastically.”
Fox stayed by him as they got under way again, electing to walk downstream along the bank rather than risk an evening swim.
“By the way, that was quick thinking,” he said at long last.
She smiled. “I bet that hurt to admit.”
“You’ll never know.”
The minutes turned into an hour, then two. “Sometimes I wonder if we’ll ever make progress on this case,” she said. “All we ever seem to do is run. I’d sure like to see them on the run for a change. I’m tired of all this.”
“Their turn will come soon enough. One thing I’ve learned is that life continually changes. The real problems come in when you’re happy with the way life is going for you. No matter how badly you may want it to, nothing ever stays the same. And when good things get pulled out from under you, a piece of your heart gets torn off in the process.”
“But what’s the alternative? To force yourself never to care? That’s such a high price to pay! How can anyone be happy that way?” Fox asked.
“I was...at one time,” he said after a moment.
“‘Was’?”
“Let’s just say that life threw another curveball at me—one I wasn’t expecting—and once again, things changed.” He stopped and crouched on the ground. “I’m going to use the radio. Would you get it out of your purse? We need some backup fast, and another vehicle and there’s no way we can use a cell phone from this location. The mountains will block the transmission.”
“At the rate we keep damaging trucks, they’re going to give us an armored car.”
“I wouldn’t mind.” He chuckled, then shifted his attention to the radio.
Travis contacted Andrews, who was monitoring their channel. After a quick situation report, he added, “There’s one more thing. I have a feeling Stan McNeely, an ex-Army Ranger from Bloomfield, is one of the men on our trail. If he is, tell your people to proceed with extreme caution. He’s one of the most dangerous men around, especially when cornered.”
Once Travis had switched off the radio, Fox spoke. “How can either of us expect to outrun a man like McNeely?”
“There’s only one way to defeat McNeely. Play by his rules, only dirtier.”
“You can’t become what you’re not,” she protested.
“He and I are very much alike.” He held up one hand, stemming her protests. “I’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish my goal—keeping you safe.” He stood, then reached for her hand, holding it in both of his. “You’re the only thing that matters to me in this fight. We’ll win, even if I have to sink to his level.”
There was deadly intent and an acceptance of what he couldn’t change mirrored on his face. But what touched her most was the realization that he cared what she thought. A rush of tenderness swept over her as he moved away. She knew with certainty now that his heart, though scarred, still had the capacity to feel deeply.
“No matter what happens, I’ll always see you for the man you truly are—one who isn’t afraid to fight for what he believes in and always follows his highest sense of right.”
“Are you so sure that’s the real me?” Travis took a step closer to her. There was a dangerous challenge in his gaze.
She knew what he was doing. He was trying to prove to her that his dark side merited her fear. She could not back away now.
Fox held her ground and then took his hand. His fingers curled around hers tightly enough for her to take notice, but not so hard as to hurt. Instinctively Fox pressed his hand against her cheek, then brushed a kiss over his knuckles.
His grip eased and his gaze softened. “I’ll stand between you and harm. That’s my promise to you.” He released her hand. “It’s time to go.”
Silencing the yearnings in her heart, she followed him along the damp sand of the riverbank. Something special had just happened between them. Their hearts had spoken to each other, and that magical moment would be a part of her forever.
TRAVIS DID NOT SLOW DOWN until they were almost at the highway. It had been a long trek in nearly total darkness, and they were far south of the pueblo now. Ahead they could finally see the flashing lights of the police cars approaching from farther east, then turning on toward the pueblo.
“We know I injured one of the men and that’ll slow them down,” Fox said “With luck the cops will find McNeely and place him in custody.”
“Unless the injured man is McNeely, and he’s in very bad shape, the cops are outmatched. I know that in this terrain, I could evade the police for as long as I was able to keep moving. I expect McNeely could do the same.”
“We’re going to have to avoid the police ourselves now, too,” Fox said thoughtfully. “If they take us in we’ll spend hours being questioned when we have no answers, and wasting even more time.”
“Better that than spending the night out here in the open. That’s going to be too risky.”
“I have an idea.”
He groaned. “No, this time we’re playing it my way.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“For once, will you go along with me without giving me a hard time about it?”
“Only if you can convince me you’re on the right track.”
Her defiance sparked new fire in him. “We’ll go down the dirt road just ahead that parallels the highway,” he said. “There’s an old flatbed truck coming up, and it’s going really slow right now. If we’re quick enough, we can hop a ride on the flatbed without giving ourselves away.”
“I’m younger than you are, so I’m sure I’ll make it. Think you can keep up?” Fox sprinted forward.
Travis caught up to her quickly, and jogged beside her. “Don’t ever do that again,” he growled.
“Or what?” she asked, laughing.
He gave her a slow smile. “Try it and find out.”
Before she could gather her
wits, Travis got busy rolling a large tumbleweed out into the center of the narrow road. Then, taking her hand, he hid with her in the thick brush several feet from the obstacle he’d placed in the truck’s path.
“Stay out of sight until the driver either stops to move the tumbleweed, or slows to run over it. It’s an open-bed truck, so it’ll just be a matter of coordination to hop onto the back.”
A few minutes later they were on the flatbed, lying low to escape detection. “Great job,” he whispered.
“He almost came to a full stop before deciding to flatten the bush,” she said. “It wasn’t a real test of agility.” She rose up slightly, taking a peek at the elderly driver. “Do you think he lives at the pueblo?” she whispered.
“No, he’s going the wrong way. He looks more like one of the old Hispanic farmers who live along this stretch of the river.”
Travis kept his arm around her waist as he lay behind her on the rough oaken floor of the flatbed. His grip was firm, and she felt the hardness and heat of his body as he pressed her against him. Sparks of awareness shot through her.
Deciding that she had to put some distance between them, she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.
He groaned softly as his body hardened in response. “Stop fidgeting,” he said, his voice unsteady.
A new realization made her pulse race: she had the power to make Travis crazy with desire. And what was worse, everything feminine in her wanted to give him that pleasure and take all he could give her in return.
The knowledge both stunned and frightened her. She put a foot of distance between them. As if he understood, he didn’t try to stop her.
When the driver finally parked his truck, she felt as if an eternity had passed. The elderly man walked away with a bag of groceries toward a low adobe house that looked almost as old as the earth itself.
As soon as he was inside the house and an interior light had come on, Travis helped her down from the truck bed. “He’s got a barn. That’s where we’ll stay.” He gestured toward an equally ancient-looking earthen structure with two faded wooden doors.