Sunset Promises

by Carla Cassidy

  “Come on. We need to get back on the road,” Hank said, his voice cutting through the horror that built in Colette.

  Minutes later they were back in the car, eating up miles at the speed limit rate. “Hank…that was our room, wasn’t it?” Colette finally said.

  “I imagine it was,” he agreed.

  “But how…how did they find us? How did they know it was our room?”

  “I don’t know, Colette. All I do know is that it’s important we keep moving. We won’t stop anywhere tonight. We’ll drive until we reach San Bernardino.”

  Colette wrapped her arms around herself and stared out at the blur of scenery. Had they slept later, they would all three be dead, shot while they slept in their beds. She shivered, a hard knot of anger growing in her stomach.

  What kind of a monster was Cameron Collier? What lengths would he reach to keep her quiet? And how long could her and Hank’s luck hold out?

  As the miles passed, the anger ebbed, the horror of what might have happened passed. The motion of the car, along with the big breakfast lulled Colette. She fought against sleep, then with a sigh leaned her head against the window and gave in, allowing slumber and a world of dreams to overtake her.

  * * *

  HANK RELAXED the moment he knew she was asleep, knowing there would be no more probing questions about his past, no sharing of little details that ultimately encouraged intimacy. He’d made that mistake before and in the process had unconsciously encouraged her to expect things he couldn’t give, anticipate a future he’d never share.

  The tires sang against the hot pavement, singing his song of freedom. Once he got Colette to California, this particular job would be done. Maybe it was time he took a vacation. He’d been pushing himself hard for the past five years, ever since Rebecca’s death.

  Rebecca. He frowned, surprised to discover thoughts of her brought no sharp pain, no overwhelming rage, only a hollow ache of bittersweet loss.

  He tried to conjure up a mental picture of her. Brown hair shot through with strands of gold. Hazel eyes that changed hues depending on what colors she wore. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Ire swept through him as he realized it wasn’t Rebecca whose image unfolded in his mind, but rather Colette’s.

  He shot a sideways glance at her. Although she was still asleep, it was not a restful slumber. Her forehead was wrinkled and she winced, as if suffering an unpleasant dream.

  It was easy to imagine the nightmares that haunted her. She was not in an enviable position. Testifying against a man like Collier was probably the most dangerous thing she’d ever do in her life. Unfortunately, at this point in time, not testifying was just as dangerous. The moment Collier learned that she’d heard the incriminating conversation between him and his hit man, Colette’s head had gained a bounty.

  Hopefully he could keep her safe until the trial. The prosecution would keep her safe during the trial and after that…after that she wasn’t his concern. He frowned, surprised at the bitter taste in his mouth this thought produced.

  He thought of her hope in finding the baby’s father…the idea that somehow the father was a prince among men who’d keep her and the child safe, protect them and love them forever. She carried the dreams of an innocence he’d long ago lost. Eventually those dreams of hers would shatter beneath the weight of cold reality, but he wouldn’t be around to watch it happen.

  Looking in his rearview mirror, he tensed as he spotted a patrol car gaining on him. He gazed down at his speedometer and relaxed somewhat. He wasn’t speeding so there should be no problem. Still as the patrol car continued to gain and the red light on the top began to spin, a bad feeling swept over Hank. Maybe he had been speeding a little. He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. Just what he needed, a damned ticket.

  “Colette, wake up,” he said as he slowed and looked for a place to pull over onto the shoulder of the highway.

  She awoke immediately. “Wha-what’s wrong?”

  “We have company.”

  She turned backward and looked behind them, where the police car rode Hank’s bumper. She looked back at Hank. “Were you speeding?”

  “No. At least I didn’t think so.” He pulled to a stop on the shoulder, the police car just behind.

  Several cars whizzed by them before the officer got out of his car and approached Hank’s window. The bad feeling inside Hank escalated. “Afternoon, Officer,” he greeted the tall, pock-faced man who leaned down and peered into the car. “What’s the problem?”

  “I need your license and registration,” the officer replied.

  “I’ll like to know why I was stopped,” Hank replied. Every instinct he owned cried out that something was amiss.

  “Routine check. Your license?”

  Hank pulled his wallet from his back pocket, removed his driver’s license and handed it to the officer. Routine check? Usually a routine checkpoint was set up with more officers than a single one.

  “Just sit tight. I need to call this in, then you and Ms. Connor can be on your way.” The officer stepped back to his car.

  “Hang on,” Hank muttered to Colette. “We’re in trouble.” His gaze didn’t leave the rearview mirror. He was grateful she didn’t say anything, didn’t ask questions and scatter his concentration.

  The officer sat in his car as several more vehicles went by in both directions. As the highway stretched empty of traffic once again, he got out and once again approached Hank’s car.

  As he reached the back fender, Hank saw his right hand move toward his gun. Hank shoved the car into gear and pulled away, his tires spewing gravel and dust before gripping the hot pavement and shooting forward.

  Colette gasped and gripped her seat as he accelerated. Hank knew he had two things going for him, the element of surprise to gain him a head start, and enough horsepower under the hood to keep whatever lead he’d managed to gain.

  He took the first turn he came to, getting off the highway and onto a county road. From there he made a series of turns until they found themselves on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.

  Slowing his speed, he allowed himself to take a deep breath and relax momentarily. There was no sign they had been followed and he suspected he’d managed to lose the patrolman.

  “Why did you do that?” Colette finally spoke.

  “Because if I hadn’t, somebody would have found our dead bodies along the road.” He pulled off the side of the road into a grove of trees and brush. He needed to take a moment to allow his adrenaline to die down. He shut off the engine and turned to Colette, whose eyes were wide with fear. “That cop was one of Collier’s men.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I felt it in my gut. Besides, he had no reason to stop us, and he called you Ms. Connor. There was no way he should have known your name.” He opened his car door. “I need to walk a little bit.”

  She shot a glance into the back seat where Brook slept, then opened her car door. “Mind if I join you?”

  He shook his head. Together they got out of the car. The afternoon heat shimmered, but beneath the foliage where the car was parked, the air was cooler, not unpleasant. He sat on the car hood, needing to think, to plan where they went from here.

  Colette scooted up next to him, her fear almost palpable. “How did he find us? How did he know to stop us?”

  “Collier must have my license plate number. He must be calling in markers all over the U.S.”

  She leaned against him. “What are we going to do, Hank? We can’t hide from every policeman along the way.”

  “It’s not every cop we have to worry about, just those dirty ones trying to do Collier’s work.”

  “How do we tell the difference between the two?”

  He sighed. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He was having problems concentrating with the warmth of her body against his, the scent of her perfume filling the air.

  “What we need to do is ditch the car, get on a bus or a plane or something.”
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br />   “You’re right.” He raked a hand through his hair and frowned thoughtfully. “There’s a map in the glove box. Would you get it for me?”

  She nodded and slid off the hood, taking with her the scent that muddied his thoughts, made it tough to concentrate.

  He stood and stretched with arms overhead, the adrenaline not dissipating, but rather building inside him. As Colette rejoined him, he took the map from her and spread it out across the hood. Peering at it, he tried to figure out exactly where they were. He knew about where they’d been when the patrol car pulled them over. “We’re about here,” he said, placing his index finger on the spot on the map.

  Colette once again leaned against him as she looked at where he pointed. “We aren’t too far from Provo.”

  He nodded. “It looks like we can take back roads into the city, then probably our best bet is to do as you suggested. Ditch the car and get on a plane to San Bernardino. As long as we’re in the car we’re sitting ducks.”

  She shivered, her eyes once again huge as she looked up at him. “Is this what my life is going to be like from now on? Running? Hiding? I’m supposed to keep Brook safe…how can I do that when I can’t even keep myself safe? If I can’t trust the police, who can I trust?”

  Despite his reservations, Hank pulled her into his arms, knowing she needed the physical contact of comfort to chase away the haunting fear in her eyes. Willingly she went into his embrace, molding herself to him, as if needing to crawl inside him, meld to his strength.

  “Colette, for every one dirty cop, there’s a thousand good ones,” he murmured, the adrenaline pumping through him as her warmth mingled with his, her scent invaded his head.

  She nodded, her hands clutching him tighter around the neck as her body burrowed closer against his. He knew he should disentangle himself from her, knew she was experiencing a common emotional response to danger. But he understood this in some distant part of his mind, a part he didn’t have the willpower to tap in to. Instead he held her tight, as if absorbing her into his very pores.

  All his senses seemed heightened. A bird chirped merrily overhead and a warm breeze rustled through the branches of the tree. The sounds of nature mingled with Colette’s soft breaths against his neck, the noise of his own heartbeat surging within his chest.

  When she looked up at him, her eyes were darkened with desire, and her gaze lit the flames of desire in him. Groaning deeply, he captured her lips with his, drinking in the sweet passion she offered.

  He knew they were both functioning on sheer emotion with no thought to what was right or wrong, but he had no desire to control or change the situation. Although he knew he’d probably regret it later, at the moment he simply wanted to take whatever she offered.

  She broke the kiss and took one of his hands in hers. With her eyes blazing in unspoken want, she led him to a shady, grassy area beneath the tree. She knelt down and with one smooth movement pulled her T-shirt over her head. “Hank.” Her voice was as soft as a sigh, as compelling as the sunshine to a flower. “Hank, make love to me.” She sank back in the grass and opened her arms toward him.

  His desire for her ached through him, impossible to ignore. He could no more avoid going to her than he could bypass the act of breathing. He eased down next to her, vaguely aware of the lush coolness of the grass, but more captivated by the way she looked.

  Dappled sunlight kissed her flushed skin and highlighted her wispy bra. With her chestnut-colored hair and her eyes picking up the green hues surrounding them, she looked like a woodland nymph.

  He took her in his arms, his lips once again seeking hers as his hands caressed the silky smoothness of her shoulders, her back. She didn’t merely accept his caresses, but rather was an active participant, her hands moving up beneath his T-shirt with featherlight touches that inflamed his senses.

  I should stop this, he thought as his fingers fumbled with the clasp on her bra. One of us has to be strong. This is crazy. But these thoughts were lost as her bra fell away, exposing her full breasts to his heated gaze, his reverent touch.

  With his last vestige of control he knew he had to make her understand that there was no forever for them, nothing but this moment of need, this space of time here and now. He had nothing to offer her.

  “Colette,” he murmured against the hollow of her neck. “Colette, you have to understand…”

  “I know, your rules of seduction. No promises, no commitments.” Her voice was breathy, husky with desire. “Don’t worry, I promise I won’t forget the rules. Just love me, Hank.”

  Her words snapped the last strand of his control. He sat back only long enough to pull his shirt over his head, then rejoined her in the sweet grass.

  * * *

  COLETTE REVELED in the passion that had been building between them since the moment she’d first seen him at the ranch. His kisses filled her soul, his caresses burned her flesh and she wanted him with a ferocity that overwhelmed her.

  Each touch from him spawned renewed fire inside her, every caress carried her higher and higher. And somewhere in the back of her mind was the same strange familiarity, as if they’d been lovers in another lifetime. It was haunting, disturbing, but the impression fled as he removed her sweatpants, his hot hands stroking each inch of flesh as he bared it.

  She unbuckled his belt, her fingers trembling with want, with need. He’d used the same belt to hold her captive only the night before, but now she was a willing captive, his prisoner by her own design.

  With her help, he removed his jeans and within moments they were both naked. Her hands danced across the muscles and planes of his body, caressing and exploring as he did the same to her.

  Their rapid breathing filled the air, mingling with husky moans and gasps of pleasure. The residual of fear, of danger that had been with her for so long, faded beneath the onslaught of passion each of Hank’s caresses evoked.

  When he finally entered her, Colette’s heart swelled and tears sprang to her eyes. They were tears of joy. He filled every empty space she’d held in her heart, in her soul. It was the only thing that had felt right in her life since she’d lost her memories.

  He moved deeply, slowly within her, taking her higher and higher, leading her to the edge of a precipice. As she went over the edge, she grasped his back and cried out, her cries carrying him with her.

  For a long moment neither of them moved, but rather remained locked in their embrace. Colette could feel his heart beating against her own, the rhythms matching as they began to slow to a more normal beat.

  With the satiation of passion came the return of reality. As breathtaking as this interlude had been, nothing had changed. Hank was still taking her to a trial, men still intended to try to kill her and they were stuck in the middle of nowhere with a car whose license tags were like a neon invitation to all of Collier’s men.

  They dressed silently, the earlier intimacy replaced by an awkward silence. “We’d better get moving,” he finally said.

  She nodded, vaguely disappointed to see the cold distance in his eyes. Okay, so that’s the way it’s going to be, she thought as she walked back to the car. They would pretend they hadn’t just made love. After all, she’d promised no commitments, no hope for anything other than that single moment in time. They’d satiated their lust, alleviated inner tension, nothing more.

  It was back to the cold of reality. They had to get to San Bernardino. She had to find Brook’s father… before Collier’s men found them.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It took them an hour to get to Provo, using back roads and dirt trails to finally make it into the city. Once there, they parked the car in a shopping mall garage and sought a pay phone. Hank called the airport, dismayed to discover the earliest flight to San Bernardino was eight hours away.

  “I don’t want to hang around for eight hours,” he said with a frown as he hung up the phone.

  “Maybe we can catch a bus right away,” Colette suggested. “Besides, I’m not real thrilled about flyi
ng.”

  Hank leaned against the phone stand and rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. “The bus is probably better anyway. The first thing they’ll do if and when they find the car is guess that we got on a plane.”

  She nodded absently. “Hank…please let me call my sisters.” She eyed the phone longingly, then looked back at him. “I need to let them know I’m safe.” She didn’t know how he would respond to her plea. He’d been emotionally removed from her since the moment they’d finished making love and gotten back into the car. “Hank, it’s important to me.”

  “Colette, it’s just not smart.”

  “I don’t care whether it’s smart or not. I want to call and I’m not moving a foot from this phone until I do.” She raised her chin defiantly.

  “Colette, be reasonable.” A muscle ticked in Hank’s jaw, an open display of irritation.

  “I’m tired of being reasonable. I know Abby and Belinda must be frantic. I’ve promised you I wouldn’t try to run again. I’m committed to seeing this whole mess through, but I’m serious about this. If you don’t let me make this call, you’ll have to carry me kicking and screaming away from here.”

  He hesitated a moment, the jaw muscle working overtime; he dug out a handful of change and handed it to her. As she deposited the money and dialed, he walked several steps away from the phone to give her some semblance of privacy.

  Abby answered and the sound of her voice immediately brought thick emotion to Colette’s throat. “Abby?” She swallowed against her tears as Abby responded half hysterically. It took her a few moments to calm Abby, reassure her that everything was fine and Colette and Brook safe.

  “But where are you?” Abby asked when Colette had explained the situation to her.

  “I can’t say, but we’re on our way to San Bernardino. We should be there sometime tomorrow.”

  “Then what?” Abby asked.

  “Hank says we’ll stay in a safe house, a place in a quiet little suburb where nobody will find us. We’ll stay there until the trial…then I don’t know what will happen.”

  “I do. You’ll come home,” Abby answered in her no-nonsense tone.