Someone yelled. The sound was muffled. Coming from inside the barn? He fast walked to the front corner and looked out. A full-fledged battle was taking place. Could he get to the front door, where Jeremiah had shoved his sister inside, without being shot?
Noah gritted his teeth and ran for the door. It was open enough for him to slide through, but inside was empty.
Where was she?
* * *
Amy winced. “Let go.”
Jeremiah didn’t. He just kept dragging her. And why? There were gunmen everywhere. “Hurry up.”
She tried to keep up. Where were they going, anyway? He dragged her down a path. Her feet were soaked. The snow lay thick and heavy—like the clouds overhead. It was for sure going to dump a load of fresh powder tonight.
Which might have been nice if she’d been inside and able to appreciate it, instead of being dragged through the snow. She let out a heavy breath.
Her brother said, “Come on. Move.”
Who did he think he—
A single man stepped out onto the path in front of them. He lifted a gun and pointed it at her brother. “Think you can simply leave and I’ll forget?”
Jeremiah held his body so tight she thought he might snap. Amy huddled behind him. But if her brother was going to get shot, then that probably wasn’t the best place to hide. She moved out from behind him.
The cartel guy didn’t seem surprised.
Jeremiah shifted. “I was coming to find you.”
“No. You were running.” He paused. “Take your sister, take my money and disappear?”
“I’m gonna kill her!”
Amy took a step back. He didn’t want anyone else to do it. Her brother still hated her, and he was determined to kill her himself.
“And my money?” cartel guy asked.
Amy thought about making a run for it. Just dashing off into the snowdrifts and fleeing for her life. Would she get more than two steps before they shot her in the back?
“She has it.” Jeremiah motioned to her.
Amy gaped. “I...what?”
Then it registered that she’d heard a tone in his voice. Her brother was stalling for some reason. To stay alive? To kill her? To get away from the cops?
Jeremiah lifted his chin. “You’ll have to take both of us if you want to get it back.” He shifted his feet. Nervous. Cold. Playing a game that he wasn’t sure he would win.
Amy took a step back.
The gun moved to her. Cartel guy’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not entirely sure about that.” He shifted the weapon and pulled the trigger.
The flash of light blinded her for a second. And the sound. A boom that echoed, the noise causing snow to fall from nearby branches, dislodged by the sound.
Her brother’s body jerked and he fell.
Amy screamed. Cartel guy grabbed her wrist. “Move it. Or you get shot next.” He blew out a breath.
She stumbled trying to keep up. Then looked around. Had anybody heard that shot?
He jerked on her wrist. “I don’t have to kill you.” He pointed the gun at her shoulder as they walked, him halfway supporting her weight against his. “I could cause you a lot of pain. You’ll tell me what I want to know.”
She shifted away from his body, not wanting to be anywhere near him. She should tell him she didn’t know anything about the money. No. If he knew she had nothing to give him, he would simply kill her right here.
Money.
That was what this whole thing was about?
Where is the money?
That was what they’d asked when they’d abducted her before. The marshals had never been able to figure out what they were talking about.
Jeremiah had leveraged their desire to recoup what had been lost into a plot that would leave her dead. An army coming for her. Revenge. Then what would he have done? Killed her, and disappeared?
Her brother was insane.
Or he had been. Now he was dead. All those plans came to nothing now. He’d had no idea his son was still alive.
A tear rolled down her face, though she wasn’t entirely sure what she was crying for.
The cartel guy walked her down a snowed-over path until she saw a vehicle, maybe a quarter mile away.
She couldn’t let him get her in that car.
Amy started to pull against his grip on her. “Let me go.”
He let out a chuckle, a single exhale. Not wasting the energy to actually laugh.
What could she do...?
“Freeze!”
“US Marshals!”
“Put the gun down!”
Amy jerked to a stop. She was so surprised she lifted her hands. Someone grabbed her arm from the right and tugged her away from the cartel guy. Too fast for him to try and reach for her. To make her his hostage, held at gunpoint.
“Put it—”
Shots rang out.
She tried to turn to see, and then she was in Noah’s arms. Face pressed against the open collar of his jacket. “Don’t look.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. He was right, that wouldn’t have been good and she really didn’t want to see it.
Amy sucked in a full breath and then let it out. It broke a couple of times in the middle, and she whimpered.
His hand shifted, up and down her back. Strength holding her to him. Reassuring her. But Amy needed more than a hug. She shifted her arms and lifted them between her and Noah, to touch the sides of his face. Her bandaged, splinted arm was awkward. She ignored it and lifted her heels at the same time, going up on the balls of her feet.
She pressed her lips to his. Relieved, desperate to process the fact she was safe. They were both alive. She felt him smile, and he returned the kiss. Pulled her close in his arms.
Someone whistled.
Amy pulled back, letting out a small giggle. More relief than humor. They were okay. The cold rushed in, but there in his arms she was warm for the first time in a very long time.
“I love you.” The skin of his brows shifted. As though he wasn’t sure how she was going to react. There was nothing Amy wanted more than to reassure him.
To tell him that she felt exactly the same way. She probably had since the day they’d met. More and more each day, it had grown. In the last day she’d taken that final plunge and fallen the rest of the way for him.
She held his gaze. “I love you, too.”
EPILOGUE
Six months later
Sun shone through the curtains. Beyond the glass, Amy could see the rocker Noah had insisted she have on her front porch. At the horizon, past the city of Denver, was a backdrop of mountains she liked to look at. To bask in the sunshine.
It had been months since she’d been cold, and she was content to let things stay that way for a good long while. Even hiking was different now, though she still enjoyed it.
Because Noah came with her.
She turned and surveyed the furniture. A group of couples from church had come over and helped her get all moved in to her new house. The one Noah would move into with her in a month, after their wedding.
The last few months getting to know each other better than they ever had before, now that she was no longer part of the Witness Security program, had been the best of her life.
All those cartel guys who weren’t dead had been arrested. The money they’d been chasing was nothing but a line item on the FBI’s accounting of the case—cash Jeremiah had blown and then blamed on her.
The only dark cloud in that sunny sky was the fact her nephew still hadn’t replied to any of her letters. She’d been hoping he would contact her so she could try and repair their relationship. The threat was over now, but he still hadn’t responded.
Maybe that wasn’t to be.
Amy lifted her chin. She should put a pot of coffee on while she waited for Noah to sho
w up, so they could have dinner. He’d gone to return the rental truck. He was picking up dinner on the way. He’d insisted she didn’t need to drive him to his car, and it hadn’t made sense, but she hadn’t wanted to start an argument with him. Not on a day when they were starting the next phase of their life together. In a place they would call theirs.
A knock on the door sounded as she was pouring the water into the coffee maker. Amy set the carafe down carefully and moved to open the front door.
She smiled as she opened it, feeling the joy of how far her life had come. “You’re back.”
He didn’t come inside. She could see her happiness reflected in his eyes, but he wasn’t exactly smiling.
“What is—”
Noah took a step closer to her and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’ll give you two a minute.” Then he moved past her and she saw who was standing on her doorstep. Their doorstep.
“Anthony.”
He was tall. Taller than her, and taller than his father. That lanky body of a teenage boy with two hollow legs and a basketball scholarship.
Tears filled her eyes.
He cracked a smile, and then called out, “I told you she was gonna cry.”
Amy stepped back. “You two planned this.”
“Yep.” He came in, and his expression sobered. “I should start by saying sorry. I said awful things to you because I was angry.” He took a breath. “The marshals had me see a shrink. He helped me figure out that I lashed out, and it wasn’t because I blamed you. You were just an easy target.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. Noah told me about my dad, and what he did to you.”
She pressed her lips together as the tears fell. She hadn’t cried for her brother in weeks, but the grief was there at the surface. For what he’d given up. For the pain he’d caused so many. An entire town had been held hostage, all because he’d been content to string along a cartel just for the chance to kill her.
“Auntie Amy... I missed you.”
She choked back a sob. He opened his arms and she rushed forward to hug him. So strong. Her nephew was here.
She could hardly believe it.
“I want to live in your guest bedroom until school starts. If you’ll let me.” His chest shook, like he was laughing. Probably because it was better than crying.
She leaned back. “You do?”
“Not just because I’m a broke college student. But... I’d like to spend time with you.” He glanced at Noah, then back at her. “Until you guys are married, anyway.”
She looked at Noah. Was he worried about her being here by herself? Maybe, and this was probably the best answer she could ever have thought of. “I love you.”
Noah smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“Don’t get all mushy.” Anthony groaned. “There will be ground rules.”
Amy laughed. She’d thought she was full of joy before.
Now it overflowed.
* * *
Dear Reader,
This story was a fast and fun romp through snowy Colorado. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed crafting these characters and watching them navigate the disparity between our dreams and how life goes.
Thankfully, we serve a God who knows our deepest desires and joys in blessing us.
How wonderful is He?
You can find out more about me by visiting my website at www.authorlisaphillips.com.
In Him,
Lisa Phillips
Twin Pursuit
Jenna Night
To my mom, Esther. You were always up for an adventure!
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.
—Proverbs 29:25
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
EPILOGUE
DEAR READER
ONE
Bounty hunter Lauren Dillard strode into the diner in Sweetwater, Colorado, packing a pistol, a can of pepper spray and a set of handcuffs.
The Wagon Wheel Diner was a cozy little restaurant with red upholstered booths and the mellow sounds of classic country music twanging softly in the background. All Lauren had to do to wrap up her assignment was get a close-up look at her quarry to confirm she had the right guy. Then she’d wait until he finished eating, follow him out into the parking lot and slap the cuffs on him.
She took a quick glance out the plate glass window, looking beyond the road and the old redbrick buildings alongside it. Dark clouds loomed in the distance. Soon this bedraggled little town would get a fresh dumping of snow. But she would be on her way back to Denver, just over an hour’s drive away, with her bounty by then.
She shifted her gaze back to the inside of the diner, scanning until she spotted her prey. There he was, seated on a swivel stool at the counter, the guy she’d been tailing since early this morning. His name was Matthew Cortez.
The company that hired Lauren had put up a ten-thousand-dollar bond for Mr. Cortez. He was supposed to have appeared in court yesterday to face charges of being an accessory to murder. Matthew had not shown up. The owners of Gold Standard Bail Bonds needed him apprehended, otherwise they’d have to forfeit the bond money to the court.
Lauren wore a heavy cardigan-style sweater over her jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt. The equipment she needed to make her capture was attached to a belt under the loose, unbuttoned sweater where it was out of sight. Some bounty hunters liked to dress dramatically, and it worked for them. Lauren went for an understated look that helped shore up the element of surprise when she went in for the catch.
“Sit anywhere, honey,” a waitress called out as she hurried by with four plates of burgers and fries balanced on her arms.
“Thanks.” Lauren’s heart began racing as she moved toward the counter. It was almost time for the part of her job that she loved the most. That moment of truth, when the person who thought they could flee their responsibilities found out that they could not. Her mouth felt dry and her hand trembled with the adrenaline surge as she reached for her phone. She took one last look at the screen where she’d saved a photo of Matthew, just to be sure it was him, even though she’d already memorized that image of black hair, tanned skin and dark brown eyes.
Lauren had studied that picture countless times since yesterday morning, when she’d gotten the call to track him. She and her business partner, Kevin, had checked the home address located in Denver that Matthew had listed on his bond application. It was the same address shown on the photocopy of his driver’s license in his file, but it had turned out to be a Laundromat tucked in a residential part of town. A little further investigation had proven that the driver’s license was fake.
Research conducted into the very early hours of this morning had turned up an old address for Matthew at a small ranch here in Sweetwater. She and Kevin were scheduled to meet up and make the drive over before sunrise this morning. But then Kevin’s dad had been rushed to the hospital for chest pains. Of course the right thing was for Kevin to go and be with his dad. So Lauren had made the drive here alone. She could grab Matthew by herself, and if he gave her trouble during the transport back to Denver, she’d call for backup and wait for one of the other bounty hunters employed by Gold Standard to come and help her out.
She’d waited outside the ranch, studying Matthew’s picture, wary of approaching the residence, since she’d had no idea how many people were staying at the property. And she knew he was associated with a very dangerous group of people. Eventually a blue pickup truck had exited the property. The driver had looked like Matthew, but he wore a black cowboy h
at pulled down low in front, and it was hard to say for certain if it was him. If she jumped the gun and tried to grab the wrong person, he would obviously alert Matthew as soon as he was released. Matthew would take off for parts unknown and she’d be back to square one.
She’d held back and followed him into the town of Sweetwater, where he’d made several stops. They’d all been places where she couldn’t follow him in for a better look without being noticed.
When people initially violated their bond, it wasn’t unusual for them to visit their regular haunts. Some of them didn’t seem to realize that skipping their court date was a big deal. And after they were apprehended, they would claim that they’d gotten their court date confused and hadn’t realized they’d violated their bond.
Whatever. Lauren just knew she’d found Matthew fairly easily, and she didn’t want to blow her chance at grabbing him. So she’d waited until he’d pulled into the parking lot at the diner to make her move.
Now she had him. He’d taken off the hat. She just needed to get a good look at his face to be sure.
She sat down on a padded stool at the counter, ordered a cup of black coffee and a slice of pecan pie with ice cream, and took a couple of deep breaths to slow her racing heart. From the corner of her eye she saw a waitress set a plate with a patty melt and onion rings in front of him. The same waitress brought her coffee. She took a couple of sips, and her slight headache eased. Then her pie and ice cream arrived. She didn’t realize how ravenous she was until she started eating.
All the while, she stole quick glances down the counter toward her target. Finally, he looked in her direction. It was him. Matthew Cortez. She was certain of it. His hair was shorter than it was in the picture and he was clean-shaven now, but it was him. She quickly turned her gaze back to the empty dish in front of her and bit back a triumphant smile. Enjoy your last few minutes of freedom, pal. You’re headed back to jail.
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