Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Hawk, Tex, and Easy came over to peer at the photograph over Chris’ shoulder. A young man with wavy brown hair smiled at the camera. Chris looked up at Caleb. “Oh, no. Oh fucking hell.”
Caleb’s mouth set into a grim line and he nodded.
“What?” Hawk demanded. “Who’s that?”
“Fuck!” Chris shouted and moved a few feet away. “He’s the kid from the car rental place in Virginia. Goddamn it!”
“You don’t want to see what he looks like now,” Caleb assured the men. “Virginia PD did a sweep of your rental car and found a gps tracker in the back wheel well. You never would have found it without a Bug Catcher. That’s why you didn’t pick up on a tail. FBI cracked the laptop Markham had with him and found the tracking software. He was miles away from you. You could never have known he was following you. He must have planted the tracker at the hospital, hoping she’d show up. He followed you to Virginia, tortured the kid for your DMV info that you used to rent the car, and took his time getting up to Dakota.
“I wouldn’t have even told you, since that fucker’s dead and in the hot place, but I know it would eat at you the rest of your life if you never knew how he’d found her. This shit’s expensive, Shooter. Very. I wouldn’t have guessed he had it and neither did you and at least now you know. Don’t let your head get fucked up over it.”
Chris shook his head. “I killed that kid.”
“You did not,” Caleb insisted. “You did everything a reasonable man could.”
************************
The late fall wind reminded her that she wasn’t in the South anymore. It whistled against the windows of the car. The sun was at their backs as they left the Rapid City Regional Airport and headed north toward the address she’d given the cabbie. As they left the city, they passed a few small farms. The road up the forested hill was winding and the last few rays of sunlight glinted through the trees.
Her first glimpse of the house stirred her to lean closer to the window. It was as beautiful as the photos. She smiled at Chris’ choice. The cabbie turned in the circle drive and parked the car. She only had one suitcase, but it was new and large and packed to bursting. She paid the man and bid him goodbye. Insisting she’d take things from there. That turned out to be a bit premature as she quickly discovered that, though, it was Saturday, Chris wasn’t actually home, despite it being five o’clock.
She hauled the suitcase up the wooden steps and left it by the front door. Apparently, Pepper had somehow figured out she was there and was in the sill. Sarah pressed her fingers to the glass and the cat pawed at them. She dug out a warmer coat from her luggage and zipped it up. There were comfortable looking chairs on either side of the front door so she settled into one and sat down. Chris had been right about the solitude. The only sound, other than the cat of course, were the birds in the surrounding trees. The wind blew leaves across the drive and shimmied the branches. She closed her eyes to take it all in.
*************************
Chris had been leaving the Harley at home more and more since he often stopped by the home improvement store on the way home every night for something. This time he was loaded up with hardwood flooring. He wanted to stockpile all the things he could work on indoors when the harsh weather kicked up permanently. He figured he’d store it all in the garage. He was mentally listing all the things he needed when he turned into the driveway. Hit hit the brakes instinctively before he even got to the house.
The sun had gone down but the shadowy figure on the porch couldn’t really be missed. He took his foot off the brake, pressed the gas, and as he got closer, his approach triggered the security lights. They illuminated the driveway as well as the steps of the porch. He slammed the stick shift into neutral and yanked on the parking brake. He was out of the truck in seconds.
Sarah was at the bottom step by the time he’d crossed the gravel drive. “Hey,” she told him. “I-”
Ignoring her, he swept her up against him and planted his mouth over hers. She was a little surprised at first, but then she melted into him with a soft noise of contentment. After several long minutes, Chris, grudgingly, let her go. He looked behind her to the suitcase by the door and frowned.
“Just the one bag?” he asked cautiously.
She glanced over her shoulder and then back to him. She cleared her throat. “Well, they don’t really sell cold weather clothes down South. So I figured I’d wait to do my shopping when I got home.”