When Romance Prevails (The Dark Horse Trilogy Book 3)

by Dane, Cynthia

  A long, hard road lay before them. The only way to traverse it was together.

  Chapter 5

  Perhaps the most difficult thing Hunter found to accomplish in this endeavor was convincing Kerri that he had everything under control. “Trust me,” he said more than once. “You’ll be safe with me. No one will find us until we’re ready to be found.”

  He had to project that protective aura if he was going to keep Kerri calm and content. She was always on the verge of breaking down if Hunter did not assert himself as the one in charge in this situation. It wasn’t about dominating her or making her into a kept woman. He would have been just as happy – perhaps even more so – if Kerri’s bearings were together and she had a plan of action as well. For in truth Hunter barely knew what the hell he was doing, and he was afraid of letting it show, lest Kerri give up all hope. He couldn’t bear to see her just as down as she was in her prison cell of a bedroom back at the Governor’s Mansion.

  But Hunter could only do so much to make sure their tracks were covered. This cabin, for one, was only a temporary solution until he could figure out a way to get them out to California or somewhere else far away from here. He had connections there, and even if they were found it would be that much harder for their parents to make a stink – especially when locals wouldn’t give a damn about another place’s internal politics. Money wasn’t an issue, but keeping a low profile was. The only person who knew they were here was the old gentleman who rented the place to Hunter under an assumed name. (The only place he could do so.) Serial killers probably hid out here a time or two. So far there were no blood stains anywhere.

  Hunter was the only one who left the cabin, and he did so for no longer than an hour if he could help it. There was a motor scooter out back that he rode into the nearest town to pick up food with cash. He bought newspapers too – he was afraid to turn on his phone – to keep up with what was happening, but kept these from Kerri unless she asked for them, which she never did. The news was usually a day or two old, so it took a few days for them to finally see the fallout of their running away.

  “Governor’s Daughter Missing” was the major headline three days later. Hunter waited until Kerri was in the shower to read it. “Kerri Mitchell was last seen shopping with her mother, where she disappeared without a word.” The article went on to say that due to no signs of a struggle, the police believed Miss Mitchell went missing on her own accord. In normal circumstances it would be dropped, but since her father was the governor…

  “What does it say?” Kerri asked that night. She was curled up on the bed with a book. Whether she actually read it much was left to be known. “Oh, come on, I can see my name in the headline as clear as day.”

  Hunter folded up the paper and looked the other way. “People are looking for you. It doesn’t say much more than that.”

  “No guesses where I am? My parents not throwing up over my disappearance?”

  “Something like that.”

  Kerri huffed. “And let me guess. Not much of a peep about you.”

  “It says I’m impossible to locate as well, and we both went missing on the same day. Granted our previous reveal… people are smart. They know we’re together somewhere. I think that’s why our parents are being hushed. Neither of them want to admit that we ran off together.”

  “Because if they did…” Kerri didn’t finish her thought. She didn’t have to, with the both of them thinking the same thing. Because then they would have to admit they screwed up. That this is reality. “Well, at least they know we’re probably safe. But for obvious reasons they’re going to keep at it until they find us. Let’s just hope your parents find us before mine do. Because someone will.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Hunter said for the millionth time. Maybe if he said it enough, he would start believing it. “I doubt they’ll find us anytime soon. And by the time they know we’re here, we’ll be somewhere else entirely.”

  Kerri perked up. “Where are we going?”

  “California. Or at least I hope.”

  “California! What’s out there?”

  “Besides distance? I have some job connections there so we could start a new life. Together, I was hoping.”

  Although the cabin was quiet, it was not peaceful. Kerri looked at Hunter as if he were from another world, an alien come down from space to ask her to go with him back to Pluto. “When were you going to include me in this decision?” she asked with a scoff. “I’m not about to just up and move to California with anyone. Not that you’re anyone. But you get what I mean.”

  Do I? Hunter admitted that he did not anticipate Kerri saying no thank you to California. He assumed she would like the idea of traveling, getting away from her family, and starting over again where she could be her own woman. Sure, some media would follow them for a while, but soon enough… I don’t know what I expected. “Sorry. I’m not sure what else to do.”

  “You’re right. We’re like fish waiting in a barrel. Only the guy with a gun hasn’t found the barrel yet. We really should move on somewhere else as soon as we can. I’m just not sure how I feel about rushing to California when we’re still not sure what we have here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Kerri’s eyebrow traveled halfway up her forehead. “You just essentially asked me to move in with you. Well, you didn’t even ask. You assumed I would be into the idea. But we only recently decided that we love each other, never mind what we want for our immediate future. Everything has happened so quickly. From us meeting, to our first night together, to dating and… well, it’s a rush. In every sense of the word. Need I go on?”

  “No.” Hunter stood up from the table and approached his girlfriend. “I assumed too much. Got caught up in the moment, I suppose. But honestly, Kerri,” he sat next to her, hand in his, “right now I can’t think of another woman I want in my life more than you. We would be crazy to not try and make this work.”

  “Especially after everything else we’ve been through, right?” Kerri squeezed his hand.

  It wasn’t just that, though. It was everything else they had been through together, even though it didn’t seem like much now. I scaled her balcony for her. Hunter couldn’t think of any other woman he would do that for. “Yes. It may not seem like much to some, but we’re taking big risks doing this.”

  “What risks? The risks are over. It’s been done. What happens from now is what will happen.” Kerri sucked in her breath. “Although I feel that I should make it clear right now that I’m not running off to marry you. Let’s take some things slowly.”

  “Of course.” Hunter held up and kissed the back of her hand. “We’ve rushed through a lot of the other good stuff anyway. Don’t you think we should slow down a bit and… enjoy it?”

  Kerri answered that with a kiss to his cheek – a kiss that quickly turned into something more the moment Hunter felt that rush in his blood.

  Chapter 6

  It was a cold, gray day one week before the election when the tides changed.

  Hunter sat at the table, giving himself frown lines as he tried to plan their next escape. We can’t stay here another week. He was starting to get strange looks in the small town. But how can we get to California? Kerri had finally agreed to go with him for a short period of time, at least until the election results died down. “I’ll send them word once we’re settled there,” she said. “As for how long we’ll be there, we’ll figure that out later.”

  That was all well and good, but gave Hunter a new challenge. Getting there would not be easy. They could drive it, but then they ran the risk of having the car recognized. Flying was an option, but there were no private pilots who Hunter trusted to keep quiet until they were on the other side of the country. Commercial airlines were definitely out. At that point he wouldn’t be worried about being tracked – just caught before they could step one foot on the plane.

  We are acting like criminals. By now he was jaded, not to Kerri, but to living l
ike this. Days had blended into weeks, and now Kerri had enough cabin fever to send her out wandering around the cabin early in the mornings. She did not dare go into town, even with Hunter – especially with Hunter. But she made it clear that the next place they went would allow her to roam like a damned human being. “I gave up one prison for another,” she mumbled. Yet she did not ask Hunter to take her back to the mansion.

  She didn’t need to. For on that cold and gray morning they received an unexpected visitor.

  “Oh no,” Kerri muttered, moving as if she were going to hide in the bathroom. “Black cars are never a good sign.”

  Indeed it was a black car, pulling up the driveway to the cabin. Hunter froze in the window, watching the sedan turn around. It’s not my father’s car. It could have been Mitchell’s. But last he heard they preferred Town Cars to the kind of car now parked in the driveway.

  “What do we do?” Kerri asked. There was no back door. “Who is it?”

  “It’ll be fine.” A man got out of the car, dressed like a bodyguard. Not my father’s man. Of course, things could have changed in the days since Kerri and Hunter ran away together. “We shouldn’t try to run. We’re not guilty of anything.” They acted like it was the police.

  No, not the police. The man now getting out of the car wasn’t even on the level of Terrence Hall or Raymond Mitchell.

  It was Joshua Payne, and he wore the solemn face of a man who did not want to be there.

  Kerri came to the window now and gasped. Clearly she did not anticipate this turn of events either. “What is he doing here?” she asked. “You didn’t invite him, did you?”

  “No.” Hunter closed the curtains and waited for the inevitable as Joshua and his small entourage approached the cabin.

  Sure enough, there was a knock at the door.

  Kerri dithered between standing behind Hunter or getting as far away as possible. She ended up sitting on the end of their bed and waiting, her eyes large and her hand spread across her chest. Still your heart, love. Hunter squared his shoulders and opened the door.

  “Mr. Hall,” said Joshua, his face as grim as it was when he got out of his car. “I trust that you are doing well in your seclusion?”

  Hunter could only say the first thing to pop into his head. “How’d you know we’re here?”

  “I told you, Mr. Hall, I have dedicated men and women that you would never suspect. The proprietor of this cabin called me the day you two showed up. Rest assured, I kept your secret safe.”

  Hunter gritted his teeth. He really could trust no one. “What do you want with us?”

  A drizzle began falling outside, but the men in dark suits continued to stand there as if it did not bother them. “I’m assuming you’ve heard the news.”

  “No, I haven’t.” What news? Where? When? Who? “I haven’t been into town yet.”

  “Oh dear.” Joshua glanced into the cabin and saw Kerri sitting on the bed. “You two best come with me then. It’ll be easier to show you than to tell you.” When neither Hunter nor Kerri moved, he continued, “I won’t take you home, unless that’s where you want to go. But I don’t think you’re going to want to today. Or tomorrow.”

  By now Kerri was at the door, her hand shooting through the opening as if to grab Joshua by the jacket. “What’s happened to my parents?” Her body teetered in fright, and she had to catch herself on the doorframe. Hunter put a protective hand on her shoulder.

  “Sorry, they’re fine, for the most part. No accidents, no terror plots… nothing like that. Sorry to make you worry so.” Joshua stepped away from the stoop. “Come with me. It’s a bit of a drive to my place, and we’ll want to get started. Bring your things. If I can find you here, anyone can.”

  Joshua waited in the car while Hunter and Kerri wandered around the cabin in a daze, packing this and making sure they didn’t forget that. Hunter had paid up the cabin for the rest of the week, so there was no need to check out right now. Not that he wanted to see the proprietor anyway. He can go to hell. Didn’t matter that he was on the side of Joshua Payne.

  It was a good thing Joshua’s house was far away – a good two hour drive, back over the state line – because Hunter was too angry to speak and Kerri was too overwhelmed to do more than stare out the window of the car. The three of them got into the back of the car while the bodyguard rode up front with the driver. The other men joined another car at the bottom of the hill beyond the driveway. That car went first up the road while Joshua’s car brought up the rear.

  Hunter kept his eyes on either person beside him. His hand went around Kerri’s as she continued to stare at the passing countryside just before they turned onto the interstate. After that, there was little to look at, and Keri bowed her head, perhaps in sleep. It did not stop Hunter from holding her hand even after his began to go numb.

  “What is this really about?” he asked Joshua, who held a tablet up to his face. “Something doesn’t smell right. Did you do something?”

  The tablet came down, but Hunter could not see what was on it. “No. I’ve done nothing but come fetch you on my own accord. But I think it’s wise if we wait to discuss it until we get to my home. It’ll be much easier to digest the information there.”

  So they rode in Joshua’s car for the longest time, both Kerri and Hunter grumbling that something felt off. Kerri, of course, assumed the worst: that her parents were in danger or on their death beds. Joshua reassured her multiple times that this was not the case, but since he would not divulge what was really going on, Kerri only became more frantic.

  “It’s about my father, isn’t it?” They turned off the freeway and finally made the final lurch toward Joshua’s house in a cozy suburb. “Don’t you lie to me.”

  To that Joshua only said, “All right. I won’t lie to you.”

  Before Kerri could open her mouth again, the car turned up a private driveway and took them to the Payne house. It was a good size. Not as big as the Halls’ manor, and definitely not as big as the Governor’s Mansion. But it had an old world charm to it, with updated brickwork, a terraced garden, and enough privacy to host a party nobody else would know about. Quaint. Any other day and Hunter would go out of his way to admire the place.

  It was good to get out of the car. They stretched for a few moments before being ushered in the front door, where a mutt and two boys lounged in the living room. The dog wagged its tail at their presence, but the boys stayed in place the moment their father held up a finger to his lips and lead his guests to a large office in the back of the house.

  “Have a seat.” He motioned to a leather couch along the far side of the wall. The bodyguard stood at the doorway, and Joshua’s campaign manager stepped in to sit with the man behind the desk. Joshua picked up a remote and turned on the flat screen TV hanging on the wall. “Brace yourselves. This isn’t going to be pretty.”

  Kerri latched onto Hunter’s arm and bit his shirt. The TV flashed on to reveal one of the local news channels.

  “Dad,” she said, and sure enough, Raymond Mitchell was standing at a podium in front of the state capital. Brenda was to the side and behind, her face as somber as the Pope’s on the first day of reckoning. Raymond didn’t look much better himself, what with the sweat sheen on his head and his body shifting back and forth on his heels as if he had something to hide.

  He did.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, his voice cracking. “There’s been a lot going on lately. Usually the matters of my personal life do not bleed into my abilities to perform as your governor. But as you may have heard lately, that reality has blurred.” He cleared his throat, not once, but twice. Behind him, Brenda forced her chin up and became more determined to not falter under whatever pressure held her down. “By now you know about the accusations that have recently come out against me. I admit, every one of them is true.”

  The audience he spoke before gasped. “What allegations?” Kerri stood up from the couch, her body turning toward Josh
ua Payne but her voice for anyone listening. “What’s going on?”

  Hunter encouraged her to sit back down. Neither Joshua nor anyone else said a word.

  “For the past two years I’ve been gambling away every dollar I have. At first it was just for fun. Horse races, casinos… my own personal money that didn’t matter. Then it got worse. I started gambling on the internet whenever I felt stressed. In this position, you are always stressed. I soon ran out of money. I started taking money…” He choked again, “As you have heard, I have been using tax money to fund my addiction.”

  This time the gasps were full of anger. So this is what it’s like to watch a political career tank in front of you. Hunter looked to his girlfriend, who slapped one hand against her face and could say not a word. “Kerri,” he began, but all she did was shake her head and hold back the tears of a betrayed daughter.

  Joshua turned off the television. “That was broadcasted a few hours ago. The full scandal broke yesterday, and I decided to find you two before things got worse. I figured you had cut yourself off from the going ons around here.”

  “Who leaked the story? My father?” Hunter remembered something about Terrence having some dirt on the Mitchells. Was it this?

  “There have been rumors for quite a few months now. Rumors that Governor Mitchell managed to squash before they got any traction in the media and middle circles.” Joshua got up from his desk, nodded to his campaign manager, and pulled a newspaper from his drawer. “The Tribune was the same one to leak a full exposé.”

  “The same reporter who found out about Kerri and me?”