THE MARINE'S LAST DEFENSE

by Angi Morgan

  “Don’t know. An impression from the connection you two seem to have with each other.” His voice was low, like he almost didn’t want to admit that she could care. “So where did the money come from?”

  More reality. She hadn’t shared the details of that night with anyone, but they were as clear as ever. She’d written them down so she wouldn’t forget. Everything was in her electronic journal that she hoped would be impossible for anyone to find.

  “Griffin must have heard me moving pet carriers. He caught me just after I loaded the last cat and forced me back to his office. We fought. I grabbed an open briefcase. I escaped in my grooming van, leaving it in front of another animal clinic.”

  “Why not go to the police and explain what you overheard? You could identify the guy and they could have protected you.” His east Texas twang became more prominent.

  Just like when he’d been irritated with her earlier. Which part had upset him? Not going to the police? Or not identifying a potential killer?

  “I overheard Griffin say that someone in the police department would help with the cover-up. The evil guy wasn’t too pleased with a cop’s involvement but said it would help when they blamed me. I was so confused. I drove around in the van with three dogs and a kitten, too scared to talk with anyone. I just kept driving around in circles.”

  It was doubtful a confident marine would ever feel as scared as she had been that night. She could see the framed commendations stacked on a bookshelf instead of hanging on the wall. Maybe she’d ask her own questions about his past one day. But right now, they had to concentrate on putting Griffin and his cohorts in jail.

  “The fire was huge and could be seen for miles. Griffin made a statement for the radio claiming he’d confronted me about embezzling and that the police were searching for me. The next day, I was...my remains were positively identified in the fire. That meant they’d not only switched the dental records but had killed a woman. It sort of confirmed they had someone on the police force. I didn’t know who to trust.”

  “I’d think the same thing. It’s amazing that you managed to stay under the radar so long. How did you get from Amarillo to Dallas? And how in the world did you end up as a dog sitter?” He smiled and sort of laughed at the last words.

  “You wouldn’t know this, but I started my business by pet sitting and dog walking. Some of us didn’t have money for college or fancy careers and made the best of very difficult times.”

  He rose from the couch, carefully moving Dallas’s head as he got up. In a heartbeat he stood in front of her and tilted her chin to look at him. “I didn’t mean to insult you. We just met this morning, but I can tell how much you love animals. It’s a good fit.”

  She had been momentarily hurt. Right up until she looked into his concerned eyes. Remember that you’re alone and vulnerable. You have to stay strong. She had an uneasy feeling and searched the parking lot. Snowflakes fell, melting as they hit the warmer blacktop or refreshing the piles of snow from the previous two days.

  “There was more than money in the briefcase. A list of names I’ve been checking. All of them have pets and lived around Lakewood. I thought I heard the evil guy say the higher-ups were in this area, but I haven’t found any connection. All I accomplished was getting Brenda Ellen killed and you suspended.”

  “Don’t do that to yourself. Nothing good will come from it. There’s no retreat and no going back.” Jake stared somewhere over her head.

  At first she thought he’d stopped speaking because he’d seen something. But she quickly realized he spoke from experience and had changed his mind about explaining.

  “Let me think a little while about what you’ve told me,” he said finally. “We can talk more in the truck.”

  “Is there an all-night store nearby? We need dog food for Dallas. She needs something more suited for her than lunch meat.” She joined the puppy on the couch, needing her unconditional comfort. The dryer buzzed.

  “It’s been taken care of.” He followed her to the couch and stroked Dallas on the crown of her head. “You know, we can ask my pal to take care of her.”

  Strong, lean, long fingers...so close to her breasts and a robe she felt compelled to flatten across them was all she could focus on. If the circumstances had been different... She shook her head, answering his question about Dallas and saying no to her attraction. Jake’s extra care with her pet touched her deeply. “I’m probably being selfish, but I’d like to keep her with me. She’s been through so much, I don’t know how she’ll react if I leave her behind.”

  “Got it.”

  Maybe he considered the Lab his now? If it was his intention to send her to jail, she couldn’t keep a puppy. Either way, he treated Dallas in a loving manner. And unfortunately for Bree, it was very attractive. She had to remember that Jake Craig intended to put her in jail and she couldn’t let him succeed.

  Jake answered his house phone by just listening. No words, then he set it back on the charger. “Can you two go to the bedroom for a minute? Mac’s here.” He withdrew his gun from the holster and stood at the door, ready for the worst. “We’ve got what we need now and will be leaving in five.”

  Bree kept the bedroom door cracked a fraction, trying to listen after Jake let his friend into the apartment. They spoke too low. She couldn’t get a glimpse of what the other marine looked like, just the large black bag Jake set on the floor and the five or six bills that he counted into the other man’s extended hand.

  The puppy whined. “Shh, girl, we’ll be okay.”

  We have to be.

  She didn’t know Jake well and he’d just admitted that he probably wasn’t returning to law enforcement. Could she really trust that he wasn’t after the money?

  Whatever his motives, she had to take advantage of his help to free her family and waltz around the hot attraction that sizzled with each look.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jake berated himself for not checking the weather before leaving Dallas. Once they’d gotten north of Fort Worth, it had begun snowing hard. He hadn’t thought too much about a snow flurry at the apartment. He’d driven through them before. No big deal. They had food and a full tank of gas.

  Two hours north and he was barely moving twenty miles per hour down the highway. They followed the few drivers brave enough or foolish enough to keep pushing forward. But now even those cars were exiting to a closed gas station.

  “Need some coffee?” Bree stretched awake from the sound sleep she’d needed. “Oh, they don’t look open.”

  “Afraid we’re stuck here awhile.”

  “But we can’t stop. We don’t have time.”

  “I can’t see the road any longer. Not to mention the ice already on the bridges.” He was physically tired of driving through the crosswinds hitting the truck. And when he was this exhausted, he could lose control. He wouldn’t let that happen. He knew how to avoid that dark place.

  “But—”

  “Look, I want you to get there ASAP. I don’t feel comfortable helping you escape from the Dallas P.D., but I realize this is the best solution for you, me and your family. I also want us to get there alive. Everyone’s pulled off of 287.” He slipped his gloves on, immediately regretting the harshness he’d used to speak to her. “I’m going to check with the truck driver we were following. See if he received word about road conditions or if he was just tired of fighting this wind.”

  He pulled the keys. Dallas popped her head up when the cab light came on. “Stay.”

  “Do you really think we’d try to go anywhere?” Bree asked.

  “I was talking to Dallas.”

  “Right. Want to cuff me again?”

  He closed the door without letting the wind slam it shut. It was tense enough in the truck just driving. He didn’t need the wrath of a woman to aggravate the situation. The snow didn’t fall
as much as it slammed against his exposed skin. He quickly zipped his jacket and pulled the collar up around his neck.

  “This dang wind makes this morning’s walk in the snow feel warm.”

  In the military police, he hadn’t been in the middle of many blizzards and sure hadn’t faced them in east Texas, where he’d grown up. That gut-wrenching instinct told him this wasn’t a normal snowstorm. He had a very bad feeling they’d be stuck until morning. If not here, then along the road away from any town or cell reception.

  The wind gusted enough to blow him sideways as he walked. He wasn’t a lightweight and had to shield his face with his hand to see the vehicles in front of him. The tire tracks of the car that they had pulled off with were almost gone. As he passed, he noticed the man inside was alone and bundled into a sleeping bag in the backseat.

  Jake jogged as best as he could to the big rig and tapped on the door. The driver gestured through the closed window for him to go around to the other side. When he got there, the door was cracked open and he climbed up. He was greeted by a very large man holding a wooden bat.

  “A. B. Mills. You need something?”

  “Jake Cra—Crain.” He caught himself before using his real name. “I was wondering if you had news of road conditions into Amarillo?”

  “Slow going and icy bridges to Wichita Falls. Not much movement west on I-40 right now. No rescue vehicles can get through the storm. Everyone’s hunkered down and there’s talk they’ll close the highway. You might have better luck waiting it out till morning. That’s my plan.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “You in the car or the truck?” A. B. Mills never put the bat down. He just kept tapping or twisting it in his palm, sending a very loud message not to mess with him.

  “Truck. Guy in the car’s already camping there.”

  “In a hurry to make Amarillo?”

  “As a matter of fact, yeah. Family emergency.”

  “Your truck got four-wheel drive? If so, get you some weight in the back end and you won’t slide around as much. Slow and steady. You might hit I-40 in five or so hours.”

  “Thanks. I better get back and let my...wife know.”

  “Just pick you up a couple of logs or something like that. Good luck.”

  “Thanks again.” Jake braced himself for the blast of cold.

  He and Bree weren’t completely unprepared to stay on the side of the road. They had coats and gloves. But the only blanket belonged to the dog. There was no extra gas if they stayed put and ran the truck’s heater to stay warm. Being one swing away from striking out was wearing a bit on his nerves.

  He’d come up with a plan, got MacMahan to bring him every piece of electronics he could think of...but hadn’t followed through each time he’d begun to check the friggin’ weather.

  Walking between vehicles was so cold, the truck seemed like a hothouse to him by the time he sat inside. Dallas was curled in a tight ball and his prisoner shivered. He quickly started the engine and put the heater on high.

  “Sorry about that. I should have left the truck running.”

  “I don’t blame you. If you’d left the keys, you might be hitching a ride with one of the other drivers.”

  “Is that a warning that you need to be handcuffed to the steering wheel from now on?”

  “Not hardly. As much as I want to do this on my own, I know I can’t. Did the trucker know anything?”

  He repeated the information he’d received and Bree visibly reacted the way he felt. “We can’t wait here all night. Jerry’s usually in Amarillo every Sunday. We’ll miss him if we’re not there. He’s a trucker. He leaves tomorrow night.”

  “Whoa, wait a minute. Who’s Jerry and why do we need to meet up with him? The plan’s to collect the money from your uncle.”

  “Uncle Jerry hid the money. That’s why I needed the phone. He’s the only person who knows I’m still alive.”

  “You gave a truck driver almost two million dollars to hide? Man alive.” He threw his cap and gloves onto the backseat. “You really think he’s just going to hand it back over?”

  “He’s my mom’s brother.” She rubbed her hands together in front of the heater vent. “He kept the money safe.”

  Should he explain human nature to her and how unlikely a prospect it was that this man still had the money? “Is there a particular reason you waited until now to tell me?”

  “Maybe because of the way you’re reacting. Are we staying here or driving?”

  “Going. But it won’t be fun.”

  “As if any of today has been?”

  “You have a point.” He understood her sarcasm better than anyone else who’d been a part of their day. He slammed the truck into Drive. The spinning tires emphasized more than just his frustration. “The ice is going to be a problem.”

  “Would you like me to drive? I was raised here in the Panhandle. I’m used to it.”

  He shot her a look like she might be crazy. She wasn’t watching him, just the road. She was serious. Maybe she wouldn’t attempt an escape. That didn’t mean he’d let his guard down. This woman had a habit of slipping away from him when he turned his back. Or worse, she’d slipped under his radar and broken his personal perimeter.

  “I’ll tough it out. Is there anything else I should know before we get to Amarillo?” Jake’s foot itched to go faster, but twenty to thirty miles per hour was all the truck could manage without sliding across both lanes.

  “I’m not sure.” Bree clicked the radio to AM and pushed the scan button. It landed on excited, rapid talking. Spanish news.

  He didn’t speak Spanish and opened his mouth to tell her, but she shushed him, turning the faint station irritatingly louder. Dallas perked up, paws on the seat. Bree coaxed her over the top and had her head quickly dropping onto her lap.

  Bree turned the radio off and leaned back. She was deep in thought somewhere and wasn’t eager to share what she’d deciphered.

  “Did you understand any of that?” he asked.

  “I can pick out the major words and assume enough to fill in the blanks.”

  Patience wasn’t his virtue, but he waited. Both hands on the wheel to keep the wind from blowing the truck into the ditch. There hadn’t been any lights in the past mile. Visibility was down to almost nothing. No headlights. No taillights. No points of light indicating a small town.

  “What’s the verdict?”

  “As best as I can understand, there’s a whiteout in Amarillo. All the traffic’s been diverted off Interstate 40 and they’re warning people to get to safety.”

  The rear of the truck slid back and forth for several seconds as they passed over another iced bridge. “Maybe that’s what we should do.”

  Bree seemed to handle sliding across the highway well. She gripped Dallas with one arm and the safety handle with her other. If she was panicky, there wasn’t any outward sign.

  “We can’t turn back. Please. We have to keep trying or they’ll—”

  “Kill your family. I know. But if we’re in an accident, there’s even less chance of helping them. Our best shot is to call the local cops and get your family to safety.”

  “You know that won’t work.”

  “I know you think these men—whoever they are—have someone on the payroll, but every cop in Amarillo can’t be. The odds of something like that happening—”

  He saw the fright in her eyes and released his right hand to cover hers. A second, maybe two, and they were careening onto the grassy median. Black ice under the fresh snow or another gust of wind sent them onto the icier shoulder and began the spin.

  Jake pumped the breaks and steered into the turn, but it didn’t help. They were out of control and could only pray nothing like a ditch, concrete barrier or parked car got in their way.

  “Bra
ce yourself.”

  * * *

  BREE HAD BARELY wrapped an arm around Dallas to hold her steady before latching onto the shoulder strap. The truck spun and she closed her eyes, unwilling to watch their out-of-control fate. The sickening feeling lessened as the truck slowed to a stop and she realized they’d come out unscathed.

  They hadn’t hit anything, hadn’t rolled over and were barely in a ditch. Jake released the steering wheel, put it in Park, rubbed his neck and extended his arms to the ceiling as if he was on a long-overdue break.

  “You and Dallas okay?” he asked while stretching his neck from side to side.

  “I think so.” The pup was shaking but stayed in her lap. “My heart thinks it’s still spinning in circles, though.”

  Jake’s laugh was full of tension but warmed her.

  “We’re turning back and that’s the last word. It’s too dangerous, Bree.”

  He sounded final and she couldn’t think of a thing to change his mind. The only thoughts filling her brain were of those maddening, murderous eyes and what they’d do to her family.

  The truck inched forward, Jake slowly gave it gas and, miraculously, they weren’t stuck. If it were possible to go slower than he’d already been driving, he did. The snow obscured everything in front of them and she had no idea how Jake could see well enough to keep on the road.

  “We’ll return to the parking lot and call or use the trucker’s CB for assistance. Worst-case scenario is we wait until the peak of the storm passes.”

  “Maybe the storm’s not as bad west of here. We could go back to Decatur and try west to Lubbock, then north to Amarillo?”

  Jake released a long sigh filled with the frustration she felt down to her frozen toes.

  The shrill ring of an old-fashioned telephone had her and Dallas jumping in their seats. She seemed to be sitting on the receiver, but it wasn’t possible. Both phones were on the dashboard, where he’d tossed them after talking to the trucker.