Читать книгу Fugitive Trail - Elizabeth Goddard - Страница 15

Sierra rose from the table and moved to dump her drink so she could hide her trembling hands. She was still working to get over what had happened yesterday—the image of Damien’s dark eyes and his intimidating words still fresh in her mind. Yesterday’s experience would have been traumatic even if the man hadn’t been an escaped prisoner who had come for her. Trying to save a man and watching him die like that had felt like a fist squeezing her heart tighter and tighter, crushing her.

And then to see Raul watching her from the trees…

As if that wasn’t enough, Bryce apparently thought he could walk back into her world and she would welcome him to save her again—as if he was her knight in shining armor? On the one hand, that he would do such a thing warmed her through and through. But on the other hand, she didn’t want to feel that way about his sudden appearance. They’d been through enough already.

Before Bryce, she’d cared deeply about someone on the Colorado State Patrol, but he’d been killed after he’d pulled a speeding driver over on the highway. His death had been senseless. It had been hard for her to get over it, but time had eased the pain enough for her to be ready to try. She had been close to letting Bryce in when Raul’s attack came. He’d almost died.

Sierra wouldn’t let herself care deeply or love someone in law enforcement again. There was too much pain to be had, something she knew from experience.

She sighed heavily. She truly had no idea how she really felt about Bryce’s appearance. The moment she’d seen him in the aisle next to the baby dolls, her heart had stumbled, then begun to beat erratically until she’d calmed herself and reminded herself why she had to guard against caring too much. But that had always been hard for her when it came to Bryce. His sturdy form, strong jaw and huge dimples when he smiled had always made her heart jump around, but adding to that, he could be tough as steel one moment, then instantly turn gentle and sensitive and caring the next. She was surprised someone hadn’t snagged and married him already.

“Listen.” He remained at the table, toying with his mug. Samson lay at his feet, taking up half the space of the nook.

It was a picturesque moment, one she wouldn’t easily forget.

“I know my sudden appearance today is a surprise to you. But I couldn’t stay away. Not when I heard about Raul and Damien.”

That news hadn’t filtered all the way to the small town of Crescent Springs—not until they’d found the crashed plane. That Bryce still thought of her, and that some part of him had remained committed to her, could melt the cold places in her heart. And that wasn’t a good thing. She’d tried to forget him and now he was here.

She’d hurt him before. She’d hurt the both of them. Could she really turn around, face him and ask him to leave? Washing the mug off, she tried to figure out what to say.

She continued to rinse the few remaining dishes in the sink. “So, what are you going to do?” she asked.

“I’m staying in town for a few days.” His chair scraped the floor as he scooted it away from the table.

Oh. Okay. Hmm.

Facing him, she crossed her arms and leaned against the counter. “Don’t you have a job? Did you take vacation or something?”

“I’m taking a few days off.” He studied her as if waiting for her reaction. She kept her emotions hidden away.

Bryce turned his attention to the dog. Samson was a great distraction when one was needed. She totally got that.

“Is it always this crowded in town?” he asked. “Or is that just because of the ice festival?”

“No, it’s not usually so crowded. The town becomes an ice climbing mecca during the festival.” The timing of the prison break couldn’t have been worse. The tourists and fans that flooded the town—so many strangers here—could make it easier for Raul to hide in the chaos and get to her.

If only…

Bryce glanced up at her. Not even the hint of a smile curved his lips. And why should there be? There was nothing to smile about under these circumstances. Bryce showing up because of the Novack brothers only served to emphasize the way the horrors of the past were coming back to threaten her again. Maybe even threaten Bryce again too. Still, the look in his eyes—He wanted to know how she felt about him being here—of course, he would want to know. But she wasn’t sure herself.

“You know.” She smiled. “I have this amazing guard dog, compliments of you. Samson wasn’t there before, when the attack happened. But he’s here now so you didn’t need to come for me.”

A pained look skittered across Bryce’s face. Had she imagined it? At the sound of his name, Samson lifted his head. Bryce ran his hands through the dog’s fur. “And I missed Samson, okay? I needed to come see my buddy and make sure you were treating him right.”

Bryce’s grin ignited memories in her. She’d adored his grin before. She couldn’t let herself adore that grin again.

“I appreciate you coming to check on me, Bryce. Really. But there’s no need to worry about me. I’m fine—and I’m sure Raul will be captured soon.”

He crouched to get a better angle to rub Samson’s enormous belly. The dog was really too big for this kitchen.

“Yeah. Maybe. In the meantime, why don’t we have dinner tonight? You can tell me about life back here in Crescent Springs.”

Dinner. Two friends catching up. Not a date. As long as they were both clear on that point. “And you can share what you’ve been up to. Catch me up on the Boulder PD.” Wistfulness washed through her. While she loved working here and being close to her father, there were aspects she missed about the daily grind of detective work in Boulder.

Bryce stood to his full height, his silver-blue eyes taking her in. An old, familiar stirring hit her, and she realized how much she’d missed this man. She’d always felt drawn to him. But then, that was why she’d been deliberate about putting emotional distance between them.

“I don’t have any inside scoops for you. I don’t know what’s going on with BPD.”

She glanced at him. That didn’t sound good. “Why don’t you know what’s going on?”

“I’m not working with BPD anymore.”

Okay. That surprised her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m telling you now.” He winked. “I’ve been a private investigator for a year now. That and working security.”

She nodded, taking it in. “That had always been your dream.” She remembered that much. “Good for you, Bryce. I’m glad.”

Bryce held her gaze captive for a few breaths longer than necessary. There was so much more she could say to him.

He approached her and, in two easy steps, he stood much too close. Samson, who had stuck by Bryce’s side, decided to wag his dinosaur tail and it thumped against her leg.

“Just so you know, I’m here until Raul is back in prison. I’m here for as long as it takes.”

Sierra stared into his eyes. If only she could send him away. It would be safer for her heart. But his proclamation had the strange and unbidden effect of reassuring her that she would be safe as long as he was here. Between Samson and Bryce, no one would get to Sierra. And maybe it was okay to accept his help. After all, it had been only yesterday when she’d looked into Damien’s vengeance-filled eyes right before he died. Only yesterday she’d seen Raul watching her.

Bryce suddenly took her hand. “Breathe, Sierra. It’s going to be okay.”

She hadn’t been breathing? She slowly drew in air along with the hint of his musky cologne. “Is it? You didn’t see what I saw.” She hadn’t meant to show him how scared she was. She didn’t want to be scared. But this situation made her anxiety impossible to ignore. “You didn’t see the hate in his eyes. He wasn’t even afraid of the fact that he was about to die. All he cared about was getting to me. His last words were nothing more than evil. His brother is no different than him, and Raul succeeded in getting to me before.”

And both she and Bryce had almost died.

A shudder rolled through her.

She tried to hide it but Bryce didn’t miss the effect Damien’s words had on her. Without a second thought he wrapped his arms around her. As a friend. Nothing more. Someone who cared for her deeply—and platonically.

“It’s going to be okay. I hope some part of you knew that I would come. We’ve been through so much together. We faced off against Raul before. If he comes for you, we’ll face him again and win—together, Sierra. That’s why I’m here. To face him with you if it comes to that.”

Though uncertainty about his decision to come had plagued him, now Bryce was more than glad he’d decided to head to Crescent Springs. Whether she had realized that she needed him before, he didn’t know. But the way she held on to him now told him she would accept his presence, at least for the time being.

He eased away and gripped her arms. “I’m here for you.”

In her eyes he could see that she didn’t want to need him. He took a step back even as she did too. “See you at dinner?” he asked.

She nodded. “Okay. Sure.”

“How about the Crescent Springs Café just across the street.” That should be easy.

“It’s going to be crowded.” She shrugged. “We could eat here.”

“We could. But then your father would hear our conversation.”

She nodded. “Right. I don’t necessarily want him to know all the danger I’ve had to face or am facing now. I haven’t even told him the worst part about yesterday.” She rubbed her arms. “I need him to know. He needs to be safe and remain cautious, but I know how much it will hurt him to learn all the details of what I went through before, and that it followed me here.”

“I’ll be praying for you,” he said.

Her eyes widened. “Looks like you have a lot to share with me, then.”

Right. He’d found God. Or rather God had found him since Sierra had left Boulder.

“So the café it is.”

She smiled. “I’ll call and let them know to save us a table. I’m friends with Miguel, the owner.”

“Sounds good.” He left her standing in the kitchen petting the gentle giant he’d given her four years ago. She’d remained in Boulder for three years. When Samson had been old enough she’d trained him for K-9 work. Just before Samson had become an official part of BPD, Sierra had moved to Crescent Springs. Bryce got the feeling that the timing wasn’t a coincidence. Sierra hadn’t wanted to put Samson in harm’s way or lethal situations.

He headed out through the toy store and gave a small wave to her father and the young woman Bryce assumed was Jane. She didn’t look a day over twenty. As he exited the toy store, he realized the anticipation he felt about tonight’s dinner with Sierra felt so much like a date when it shouldn’t. She’d hurt him before, and he knew Sierra well enough…she would hurt him again if given the chance. Regardless, Bryce was only here to keep her safe. Sierra was in danger. That he found himself wrapped up in protecting her against a Novack brother again seemed surreal. But he would see it through until the end.

If only he could shake the feeling that it wouldn’t end well. They had survived the last time. Could they survive this time?

He hesitated before crossing the street and leaving the toy store. But he reassured himself that while Sierra was at the toy store and surrounded by people, she should be safe. He walked the growing crowds to see if he spotted any familiar or unwanted faces and called his old boss from the Boulder PD on his cell.

“Bryce.” The man was breathless. Traffic resounded in the background. “Good to hear from you. Since the Novack brothers’ escape, we’ve been trying to find out everything we can. Where are you?”

Three steps ahead of you. Bryce leaned against a storefront and watched the toy store across the street while he talked. “Crescent Springs, Colorado.”

“Oh, you’re staying close to Sierra then. You obviously know about the plane crash.”

“Yes. And I’m here with her until this is over.”

“Don’t forget that you sent them to the penitentiary too. You could be in as much danger.”

“I’m well aware of that, don’t worry. But I don’t think that I was their primary target since they headed straight for Crescent Springs.”

“But now that you’re there, it’s easier for Raul to get at both of you. That said, I don’t blame you for being concerned about her.” A car door opened and shut. “You’re a good man to make sure she’s all right. I’ll stay in close communication with Sheriff Locke there in Crescent Springs as the state and NTSB work through this so we’re all on the same page. I don’t need to tell you to watch Sierra’s back, but please watch your own.”

“I will, don’t worry. I’m sure someone will spot Raul soon. He couldn’t have lasted long in the elements so my guess is that he would have made the closest town.”

“Crescent Springs.”

“Which is hopping right now for a local ice festival. If he’s hanging around, someone’s going to see him.”

“On the other hand,” his old boss said, “he’s smart enough to know that, with the plane crash, we’re onto him. He might get as far away as he can rather than trying to get to Sierra.”

“Whatever the case, let’s hope he doesn’t get to Sierra.” The state was searching and local law had been called in, as well. Sierra wasn’t out there searching for the criminal for obvious reasons. Bryce was glad that Sheriff Locke hadn’t involved her.

“I’m with you. And Bryce? It’s good to be working with you again. I wish you would have stayed with the BPD. You’re always welcome to come back. We could always use another good detective.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Captain. I’ll keep that in mind.” At the very back of his mind. He ended the call.

Bryce leaned against the wall to watch the tourists entering the shops or merely window shopping.

Across the street, next to the toy store, he spotted a big man, his hood covering his face. The guy’s build was the right size. He could be Raul.

Sierra appeared in the glass doorway of the store, stepped out onto the sidewalk and turned left to walk up the street. Where was she going?

His gut tensed. Bryce started across the street. The big man turned and walked away from the store as if to follow Sierra.

Bryce trailed him, picking up his pace. If this was Raul gunning for her, Bryce couldn’t let him hurt Sierra. Nor could he let him get away.

The man increased his pace and headed directly for Sierra.

“Sierra! Watch out!” Bryce shouted but he wasn’t sure if she could hear him over the bustling crowd and the traffic.

Sierra jerked around at the same moment the man was on her. He grabbed her, then threw her against the wall. He wielded a knife, but Sierra dodged his strike.

“Hey!” Bryce called out as he weaved through pedestrians and sprinted toward Sierra and her attacker.

The man jerked his attention to Bryce then threw Sierra down hard as if she was nothing but a rag doll. He pushed his way through the tourists to escape, bumping shoulders with people as he passed, and knocking a man and his child over.

Bryce caught up to Sierra and tried to help her to her feet.

“Go, get him!” She pointed. “I’ll radio the sheriff.”

Bryce ran after the man, but the attacker climbed onto a motorcycle and sped away. The chase wasn’t over yet though. The traffic and tourists would slow the motorcycle and that would be Bryce’s only chance of catching him. Bryce pushed himself, dashing between cars and people, shouting that he was coming through. The motorcycle turned right at the corner, away from the heavy traffic in the town’s center. When Bryce made it to the corner, his legs slowed. He was good for a marathon but not for a sprint. Up ahead, he spotted the motorcycle speeding out of town.

There was only one main highway out of town, but there were numerous forest service roads. Bryce would never catch up to the man he suspected had to be Raul, but once notified, the Colorado State Patrol would ramp up their search. Bryce wanted to believe that Raul would be captured. The fact that the convict had stayed around the area this long knowing that law enforcement was searching for him didn’t reassure Bryce about Sierra’s safety.

Catching his breath, Bryce turned to make his way back to Sierra.

What would have happened if Bryce hadn’t been there, watching the toy store when she was attacked? Would Raul have gotten the best of her despite her defensive efforts?

He couldn’t bear it if something happened to her. Bryce would camp out at her place if that’s what protecting her required. He had the feeling the hotel across the street might not be close enough.