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I opened the back door like I was about to go inside, then dashed behind the dumpster while Tom had his back to me.
The guys were climbing into the car, their gazes fixed on Tom. His hand rested on his gun. “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
The passenger’s gaze shifted to me, and his eyes lit up with recognition. I could tell he wanted to come after me, and I was terrified he’d gun Tom down to do it. But after giving Tom another quick glance, he got inside the vehicle, slamming his door shut as the car jerked backward.
Tom pulled his gun from its holster and pointed it at the moving car. “Stop!”
The sedan tore out of the parking lot, tires squealing.
Tom ran around the corner as several sirens filled the air, coming from the front parking lot.
“You sure know how to stir up trouble,” Collin said from behind me.
Startled, I spun around to face him. “What are you doing back here?”
“Checking on you. I wasn’t sure if Officer Fife was going to arrest you or not.” He gazed across the parking lot. “I’m not sure whether telling him about your suitors was a good idea. There’s a good chance you’ve just exponentially increased the danger you’re in.”
“Not if Tom and the other officers catch them.”
“There’s always more on their heels, Ellie.” He sounded tired, like he knew from experience.
I closed my eyes. I suspected he was right.
Collin grabbed my arm. “Come on.”
I jerked out of his hold. “Why would I go anywhere with you?”
“Ellie, you’re in real danger. ’Don’t you get that?”
“The police can protect me.”
He snorted. “And can they protect you from the thing that killed that woman last night?”
He had a point.
Collin’s hand slipped into mine so easily and naturally that I actually let him pull me halfway across the parking lot to his truck. “Wait. Where are we going?”
“I’m going to hide you. We’re going to my boat.” He opened the passenger door.
I dug my feet into the ground. “For how long?”
“Indefinitely.”
“What? No!”
Collin pushed me against the side of the trunk, pressing his body into mine. My legs barely held me up. “Ellie, how many times do I have to apologize? I’m sorry, okay? Do you know how many times I’ve apologized in my life? I could count them on one hand, and most of them have been to you.” His hand slid up my neck, digging into my hair, and my traitorous body leaned into him. His mouth hovered over mine, and I could tell he was trying to resist me as much as I was trying to resist him. We were supposed to be fleeing, not making out.
“I can’t.”
“Why?I can’t stand here and watch you get hurt. Or worse.”
“I have a date.” I didn’t mean to say it like that, but it was the first thing that came to mind.
Collin’s hand stiffened in my hair. “Youwhat?”
His reaction was enough for me to push on with my deception. He deserved it and more. “A professor of Native American studies is here working at the colony site. He’s offered to help me.”
His expressionless face barely registered my words, but a slight tic in the corner of his eye gave him away. “Help you how?”
