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She heaved a sigh and cuddled into the oversized hoodie, drew her knees up to her chest, and looked over the edge of the steep mountainside. There had to be a hundred felled trees here. “You’re a logger?”
“I was. Now I don’t know what I am.”
“Did you get fired?”
“Yep.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“No one to blame but me.”
“What happened?”
“Derek Forester, two-nine-nine-three-five River Canyon Road, Kansas City, Kansas.”
She froze, and chills lifted the hair on the back of her neck. “How did you find that out?”
“I found the tracker in your car. You can drive it now. It’s safe.”
“You…you broke into my car.”
“Can’t break into an unlocked car, Hallie. Be more careful.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared out into the valley below. “Derek is dangerous—”
“I am dangerous.”
She remembered the way he’d held that man up with one hand last night, and any argument she’d had got lost in her throat.
“I’ll figure it out.”
He slid her a glance, and then went back to staring down the hill. “I don’t have control of my animal. I used to be foreman here. I had a three-man crew under me, but I couldn’t control my temper.” He twitched his head toward the huge machine. “That’s new. I rolled the last one down the hill and almost killed my work crew. There were two humans in it.”
“Two humans,” she whispered. “And the third was a shifter?”
Gunner nodded. “He was one of my Crewmates.”
“In the Warlanders?”
He frowned over at her. “How did you know?”
“It’s on your registration.”
An empty smile took his lips. “So I hunted Derek, and you hunted me?”
“We’re both a mess,” she quipped unapologetically.
“I just told you I rolled a machine down the hill while I was going after my crew, and got fired from my job, and you think your mess is comparable to mine?”
Hallie shrugged. “I can say I have no interest in competing over who has the biggest shit-show of a life. But…” She rolled her head over so she could see his profile when she said, “I’ve been on the run for twelve months, and am no closer to fixing my problems than I was the day I left. I can’t have friends or settle into a job. Closest I’ve gotten is in Laramie, with Corey.”
“Your cousin.”
“Yes, my cousin.”
“She’s the reason you came here?” he asked.
“Yep. I never told Derek about her, or how close we were as kids. I thought I could maybe be safe here.”
