High Desert Hideaway

by Jenna Night

  “Lily and I will be out of here and headed back to Painted Rock in just a few minutes,” Nate said.

  “Good.” The sheriff disconnected.

  Nate found Lily sitting on a stool at the cooking island in the kitchen eating a chicken salad sandwich and chatting with Ellen. “We’ve got to go. Now.”

  Nate told her about the unknown person who had apparently driven out to the ranch. And then he told her about Sheila.

  The smile dropped from Lily’s lips and the color drained from her face. She set her sandwich back on her plate.

  Ellen quickly wrapped the uneaten sandwich and put it, along with some chips and homemade cookies, into a bag. She grabbed a couple of water bottles from the fridge and as soon as Lily slid her arms into her jacket Ellen shoved the bag of food at her.

  After Lily took the bag, Ellen gave her a hug. Then Ellen gave Nate a hug, too, lingering a few seconds longer than she normally did. As they headed to the front door, Nate told Ellen a deputy was coming to the ranch house to keep an eye on things.

  He and Lily got into the truck and hustled out of there. Fortunately, as they headed down toward Copper Mesa, the snow flurries lightened and finally stopped. That meant Nate could drive just a little bit faster, and he did.

  His mind was racing as he made the turn that would take him toward the Starlight Mart and the intersection with the road to Painted Rock. Maybe it wasn’t Eddie Drake that murdered Sheila. It could have been some random psychopath or someone from her life that Nate had no way of knowing about. Whoever had been out on the Blue Spruce property might not have any connection with Lily or Torrent Trucking or the cargo thefts. Maybe this was all a coincidence.

  But Nate didn’t believe in coincidences. For the moment he had to assume someone was desperate and getting organized. And that person, or those persons, might be after Lily or Nate or anyone connected to them.

  As they neared the Starlight Mart, he glanced at Lily. She gave him a wan smile that made his heart ache. He took the turn north toward Painted Rock and floored it.

  Part of him wanted to take her to the Morales ranch and then head right back to the Blue Spruce to do some tracking. If anybody was out there, he’d find them. Maybe he could find out exactly what was going on and who was behind it all. Then he could bring an end to it.

  But there was also a part of him that didn’t dare leave Lily at the Morales ranch without staying with her. Elijah Morales was good. There were other members of Vanquish the Darkness with military and police skills. But Nate knew for a fact that they didn’t have as much heart in the fight to protect Lily as he did.

  Of course, he had the backing of the sheriff’s department, but they couldn’t be everywhere at once. If he called them for help it would take time for them to respond. He needed to be prepared for anything. Which meant he needed some of the extra equipment he kept at his apartment. In particular he was thinking of a bulletproof vest for Lily. Just in case someone tracked them to the Morales ranch.

  “I was engaged to a man who became involved with another woman,” Lily said after they’d been driving for a while.

  What? Nate felt a quick flash of fear. Why did she want to talk about that now? He wasn’t good at these emotional kinds of conversations under the best of circumstances. And right now he had way too many things on his mind to figure out what to say. Or, just as importantly, what not to say.

  “The guy was an idiot,” Nate finally said, going with his gut reaction. “He was a fool.”

  Lily was quiet for a while. Okay, good. That was over with. Nate breathed out a sigh of relief. Now they could get back to focusing on the here-and-now problems they needed to deal with.

  “After years of keeping my nose to the grindstone, I decided I was going to let myself live a little,” Lily continued doggedly. “And that led to a whole series of bad decisions.”

  Oh, no, she was back at it.

  “So your life got off track a little,” Nate said. “That happens.”

  “It got off track a lot.”

  He already knew most of this. Why was she bringing it up again? And why now?

  They reached the outskirts of Painted Rock.

  “The thing is, when I think about my life and the reality that it could end at any moment, I realize how much time I’ve wasted wallowing in regret,” Lily said. “And now I’m finished with doing that.”

  Nate felt himself grin.

  “That wasn’t supposed to be funny,” she grumbled.

  “I’m just happy for you.” He never knew what Lily Doyle was going to say, but it was always interesting. And every now and then there were moments, and this was one of them, when he felt that connection with her. Because he knew exactly what she was going through. When his life was in danger, he found himself focusing on the important stuff and ditching everything else, as well.

  “Once all of this is over, I’m going to work really hard,” she said, her voice taking an optimistic tone. “Start my own business. Maybe a café. Something food-related.”

  At least now she was focused on her future instead of her past. Or the danger that was dogging her. That was good.

  She had dreams and Nate was happy to know that.

  “What about you?” she asked. “What are you going to do when whoever is behind all this trouble is brought to justice and our lives go back to normal?”

  He could feel her looking at him and sensed her unspoken question. Did they have a future together? No. Yes. Maybe. He couldn’t think about that right now. He had more practical things to focus on.

  “I’ll go back to doing what I do best,” he muttered. “Catching bad guys.”

  “That’s it?” she asked, her voice now sounding flat.

  “And maybe some ranching.”

  That was enough to make him happy. At least it had been before he ran into Lily at the Starlight Mart. He couldn’t resist stealing a glance at her. She was staring at the road ahead, pensive. The woman had courage. He’d seen it. And it was enough to make him question the depth of his own courage. He’d thought avoiding a deeper personal relationship with her was the better and wiser decision on his part. Now he wasn’t so sure.

  “Plenty of people grow up in dysfunctional families, but they don’t use that as an excuse to hide from what they truly want,” she said.

  “And you assume I want you?” he snapped in response. This conversation was getting too personal too fast. She needed to back off.

  “I think you want more for your life than just work,” she said mildly. “And why is that so terrible?”

  Because he was already closer to her than he’d meant to be. Already too used to seeing her every day. What if he messed things up? What if he ruined things? What if he was a disappointment to people who loved him, just like his mom was?

  He cleared his throat. “I’m going to take you to the Morales ranch and then I’ll swing by my apartment to grab some things.”

  “Why don’t we just stop on the way?” Her tone had become polite and distant. It felt as if the temperature in the cab of the truck had dropped a couple of degrees.

  Well, good. That’s what he’d wanted, right? “Okay,” he said. “I’ll make it quick.”

  * * *

  They rolled into downtown Painted Rock and Nate turned from Stagecoach Road, the main drag through town, onto a side street. He drove over the bridge that crossed the small stream winding through town and then passed the city park. Houses and alleyways fanned out behind the businesses.

  Nate’s apartment was on the corner at the end of the street. Four separate buildings formed a hacienda-like square, with meandering pathways between them that were lush with evergreen vegetation.

  “Hold on a second.” Nate parked the truck, got out and looked around. Apparently satisfied, he opened Lily’s door and reached for her arm. “Stay cl
ose to me.”

  Lily couldn’t help feeling the warm sensation of comfort and strength that raced across the surface of her skin when he touched her. And that feeling reminded her that she wanted more from him than he was willing to give. She was mad at him. And mad at herself.

  They walked along a pathway to his front door and he slid his key into the lock.

  Lily heard a ragged intake of breath behind her and turned. A dirty, disheveled human form sprang out from behind a cluster of bushes. It was Eddie Drake. “Nate!”

  Nate whirled around and let go of her arm just as a flash of metal arced downward.

  A tire iron clanked to the ground and Lily felt herself being jerked backward. She flailed her arms, but Eddie had gripped her zipped-up coat by the collar and she couldn’t break free.

  Nate moved to reach for her and then froze, his arms stretched toward her.

  For the third time in less than a month, Lily had a gun pressed to the side of her neck. It was a sickeningly familiar feeling. The buoyant hope she’d felt about her future just minutes ago crumbled like cold ashes. Maybe all of her efforts to stay alive were pointless. Maybe getting shot was how her life was supposed to end.

  Eddie snaked his arm across the base of her neck, pulling her closer to him. He was breathing hard and he reeked of stale, sour sweat. His red hair fell around his face in greasy, dusty ringlets.

  Nate slowly lowered his right arm toward his hip, where Lily knew he kept a gun under his coat.

  “I’ve got nothing to lose, Deputy,” Eddie said in a soft voice that made Lily’s skin crawl. He pressed his gun into her skin a little harder. “You’d better think carefully about what you’re going to do.”

  From the corner of her eye Lily saw drapes flutter in the window of the apartment next door. Please let the neighbor call for help.

  Eddie started backing up, dragging Lily with him.

  Nate stared in her direction, but he wasn’t looking at Lily. He was watching Eddie, with that cold, calculating cop expression in his eyes.

  “Eddie, let me go.” Lily commanded herself to speak in a soothing tone, though her voice wavered a little. Maybe if she calmed Eddie down she could get him to act like a normal, sane human being. But then maybe he didn’t even have control over his actions anymore. Maybe he’d already snapped once before and murdered Sheila.

  “Eddie, please.”

  “Now you want to talk to me?” As he spoke, his gaze was still locked on Nate. He continued to move backward, pulling Lily with him. “Funny, you weren’t so interested in talking to me before.”

  She forced herself to seem calm even though her heart hammered so hard in her chest she could barely take a breath. “Eddie, I don’t know what’s going on, but you don’t have to do this.”

  He stumbled but quickly regained his footing. He must have been on the run the last few days. Law enforcement all over the state had been on the lookout for him. He probably hadn’t gotten much rest. Most likely he hadn’t eaten well if he’d even eaten at all. Maybe he was getting weaker and that would give Lily her chance to escape.

  Or it might make him more likely to panic and pull the trigger on that handgun.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, still pulling Lily backward with him, still holding her tight against his foul-smelling clothes. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk when we’re alone.”

  She felt a tear escape and roll down her face. She didn’t want him to see her despair, but she couldn’t help it.

  “If you try to follow us,” Eddie called out to Nate, “I’ll kill her.”

  He was taking her toward a small parking lot at the side of the apartment complex. She could hear a car engine idling. Her blood ran cold. What if there wasn’t really anywhere he wanted to take her? What if he was just going to shoot her in the parking lot and then speed away?

  Fueled by panic, she tried to twist out of his grasp, but his hold was too tight and he nearly broke her arm. “Try that again,” he whispered in her ear, “and I’ll go back and shoot your cop sweetheart before I shoot you.”

  They reached the car and he shoved her in on the passenger side. Then, gun still pointed at her, he forced her to climb over to the driver’s side while he got into the passenger seat.

  He slammed the car door shut. “We’re leaving town. Start driving, nice and easy. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  Lily put the car into gear and very slowly drove out of the parking lot and onto the street.

  People were bundled up and walking in the neighborhood despite the cold weather. A couple of kids and a dog were playing by the little white gazebo in the small park. Life still went on even though Lily’s world was coming to an end.

  She thought about shoving open the car door and trying to run away. She also thought about trying to grab his gun as he glanced back in the direction where they’d left Nate. But with each of those impulses she imagined a stray shot being fired and something horrible happening to an innocent bystander. Maybe even one of those kids.

  With a heavy heart she kept driving forward. She’d only gone a little ways down the street when an Oso County sheriff’s department patrol car pulled forward on a cross street ahead of her and stopped in the middle of the road. She hit the brakes.

  “I said drive!” Eddie screamed. He’d turned around to look out the back window again, like he was afraid Nate might be following them.

  “I can’t,” Lily shouted back.

  Eddie turned and saw the cop car blocking their path. He cursed. Agitated, he started taking rapid breaths. He moved around in his seat, looking in every direction. And then he shoved his gun against Lily’s temple.

  This was it. He was going to kill her now. He’d already said he had nothing to lose. Dear Lord, Lily prayed, glancing at the kids and the dog in the park. Please don’t let anyone else get hurt.

  THIRTEEN

  “No!” Nate punched the steering wheel of the truck when he saw a second sheriff’s department patrol car pull into the intersection behind Eddie’s car, boxing in the desperate criminal with Lily trapped inside the vehicle beside him.

  After Eddie grabbed Lily, Nate had raced to the truck in the parking lot, intending to follow them at a discreet distance. Drake was obviously on the edge of sanity, maybe even past the edge, and any fast approach, any confrontation, could feel like a threat and push him to lash out with Lily right there within his reach.

  Nate’s hasty plan had been to follow them wherever they were going, hoping Eddie didn’t recognize him in the truck and that the dusky early evening light would make his appearance less obvious.

  Nate had quickly come to the grim conclusion that Eddie’s likely endgame was to kill Lily and escape. But he’d have to take her somewhere to finish his plan and Nate meant to follow him there and surprise him. He’d already planned to alert Sheriff Wolfsinger in hopes of avoiding an interaction with a patrol car should a deputy recognize Eddie. The last thing Nate wanted was any action that might escalate the already tense situation.

  A blue light slowly began to rotate on the light bar atop the cop car in front of Eddie and Lily. The loudspeaker clicked on, carrying the voice of Deputy Crystal Rios. “Passenger, step out of the car with your hands up.”

  Somebody must have seen Eddie forcing Lily into the car and called it in. Deputy Rios might not have recognized Eddie, or realized Lily was in the car with him, until she’d already attempted the stop.

  Things could go sideways fast. Nate needed a new plan.

  He slammed the truck into Park, grabbed his gun, got out and started running. Lily and Eddie were only a couple blocks away. If Eddie was distracted by the cops, maybe Nate could surprise him if he snuck up on foot.

  He headed toward Eddie’s car, sticking to the edge of the road, where the trees and bushes surrounding the small community park gave him cover. He sl
owed down when he got closer, moving a little farther off the road and pressing into the foliage. He crouched down to make himself less obvious for those last few steps.

  The streetlights buzzed to life. Old-style pole lights, chosen to maintain the historic feel townspeople loved so much, cast pools of light down the darkening street. Thanks to their help, Nate could see through the back windshield inside the car. He rose up slightly. Through the gap between the front seats he could see Lily’s profile. She sat facing forward, her shoulders rigid, chin lifted. If she could maintain that composure he’d seen her exhibit before in life-threatening situations, it might save her life.

  Sitting beside her in the car, Eddie turned back and forth, looking at Lily to his left, then Deputy Rios’s car in front and then back to Lily again. His gun was out of sight. It could be trained on Rios or on Lily.

  Obviously agitated, Eddie began to shift around even more restlessly in the car. Not a good time to put added pressure on him. So far Rios was giving him some breathing room. Good call.

  Nate eased a few more steps down the street, then stopped, hoping to stay out of Eddie’s line of sight if he turned around or looked in his car’s side mirrors.

  Nate hit the speed-dial number for Rios on his phone. She might not answer. She might not even know Nate was there.

  “I see you,” the deputy said tersely when she picked up after the third ring. She was on speaker, her face was turned toward Eddie’s car, but her phone was out of sight. Eddie probably wouldn’t be able to see that she was talking to someone.

  Nate told her what had just happened.

  “I thought we might be dealing with Eddie Drake when the call came in, given the location where the abduction took place, but I couldn’t know for certain until I got here,” she said. “Sheriff Wolfsinger’s on his way up here from Copper Mesa. Meanwhile we’re keeping things as calm and easy as we can.”

  The patrol car behind Eddie and Lily pulled slightly forward. Unfortunately, Eddie must have seen it. He screamed something at Lily, though Nate couldn’t discern the words. He saw her shoulders raise up protectively and her head drop down. And then he saw the gun. Eddie had lifted it up into plain view. And, of course, it was pointed at Lily.