Page 39 of Tracking Safety

She was breathing hard. So was he.

Her eyes were wide and dark and looking straight at him.

For one suspended second, neither moved. He was too caught up with her closeness. Her flowery scent. Her . . . everything.

Then reality crashed back into him, reminding him that these were not things he should be feeling. He could not entertain any enjoyable feelings toward her—not if he wanted to keep his heart safe.

Not just his heart either. His children’s.

He scrambled to his feet and forced his thoughts to shift.

He reached to help her stand. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” Her voice trembled. “You?”

“I’m fine.” He didn’t mention the throb in his shoulder. It would go away.

He grabbed his phone and called Micah again and told him what had happened. He told him everything had happened so fast that he hadn’t seen the license plate.

Micah promised to file a report and have his deputies remain on the lookout.

As he ended the call, he glanced at Jenna. Her arms trembled.

The near hit-and-run had left her shaken—as it would anyone in her shoes.

Jenna wasn’t just a heartless woman who’d abandoned her family. She was frightened and living in fight or flight. Her years of running had taken a toll on her.

Despite their history, concern rushed through him. He knew for certain that he couldn’t just walk away from her now.

He didn’t know what their future looked like, but they still needed time to sort things out.

He was trying to figure out the next move when a truck pulled to the curb.

Wes Bennett cut the engine and got out. Remington, his Doberman pincher, followed him, staying on his heels with the reserved elegancy the dog always encompassed.

Wes’s eyes went from Luke to Jenna and back to Luke.

He stopped a few feet away and nodded. “Luke.”

Luke stared at him and tried to keep his emotions in check. He knew he couldn’t blame Wes, but it was hard not to. It was hard to think that this man had shared uncountable meals with his family, and he’d never once thought to mention that he knew where Jenna was. That he knew she was safe.

If Luke were in Wes’s shoes, he would have probably done the same thing.

But that fact didn’t make Luke feel better right now.

CHAPTER 15

Luke stared at Wes another moment. He needed to get some things off his chest before he moved on.

He glanced at Jenna. “Give us a minute.”

She nodded and moved a few steps away, putting distance between herself and the two of them.

Luke turned back to Wes, his voice barely contained. “You knew.”

Wes met his gaze, his expression steady and serious. “Yes, I did.”

“The whole time.”