“I do. There’s no place better.”
“I was thinking more like another country. Canada or—” she swallowed “—Mexico.”
“They can hire guns there, too.”
He grabbed her arm, feeling that shock zing through him as it always did when he touched her. “Come on. We can talk in the car.”
“What about them?” She jerked her head toward the front yard. “How are we going to get away from them? We can’t drive away—they’ll follow us.”
The only other way was by boat. But then what?
Theodore at the marina had been trying to sell his old Jeep for months.
“We’ll take the boat.” He felt a sense of rightness flood him.
“And then what?”
He smiled. “Trust me. I’ve got a plan.”
And it worked like a charm. They crept from the back of the house down to his boat dock. Using oars, he pushed out from the dock, down the channel, waiting until they’d reached the entrance of the main body of water before starting his motor.
The newshounds clustered out front of his house had no clue they were even gone.
At the marina, Colton tied up his boat in front of the restaurant and located Theodore reading the paper in the back. Handing over cash, Colton accepted the keys and the title to the Jeep.
“It’s full of gas,” Theodore offered, baring his yellow teeth. “You’ll love it come deer season.”
Since deer season was still four months away, Colton merely nodded. “I’ll bet I will. Would you mind putting my boat in a slip for me while I’m gone? I’ll settle up with you when I return.”
“No problem.” Theodore grinned. “Have fun.”
They drove off in the Jeep, successfully leaving the newshounds camped out at Colton’s place.
“I brought these.” Digging in her tote, Jewel held up an ornate, hammered-metal case. It looked old and well taken care of. After opening the lid and checking the contents, Jewel slipped the case into her bag.
“Silver bullets.” She gave him a tremulous smile. “Now I’m ready. Let’s go.”
They headed west.
Every half hour, his cell phone rang. After the fourth call from Floyd, Colton turned off the ringer.
Skirting the southern edge of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, they drove west. Eventually the concrete and freeways gave way to small towns and two-lane roads. Some were little more than a few shacks. In the distance, mesas rose treeless from the prairie.
Jewel sat up straight, watching their surroundings. “This is different.”
“Welcome to West Texas.”
“What happened to the trees? They’re so…small.” She reached for her neck, then stopped. He’d noticed the movement before. Turning onto the road leading to his leased land, he let the car coast to a stop. “What’s wrong?”
“I had a necklace I always wore. I never took it off. It was unusual, a silver wolf. I lost it when the car crashed into the restaurant.”
“I’ll buy you another.”
Her emerald eyes widened. “Colton—”
Because he didn’t know what had prompted his rash promise, he did what he’d been wanting to do since he’d seen her nearly run down by the car. He kissed her. Hard.
She made a startled sound, low in her throat. Then, with a soft sigh, she kissed him back.
