Colorado Abduction - By Cassie Miles & Marie Ferrarella Page 0,39
in black, she was as slender as a shadow. “I’d feel a whole lot better if you were wearing full body armor, like Neville and Silverman.”
“This bulletproof vest is enough,” she said quietly. “The whole reason I’m here is to keep Sunny from being scared. If she sees me dressed like a robot, she’ll run.”
Again, her logic made sense. For exactly the same reason she’d stated, Burke was only wearing a Kevlar vest. “Let’s go over the plan again.”
“It’s not that complicated,” she said. “I stay with you. When you give me the go-ahead, I run to the trees. No time for conversation. I take Sunny by the hand and bring her back here.”
“If you hear me call out a warning, what do you do?”
“Seek cover.” She turned so she was looking at the flat land between their hiding spot and the pines. “There isn’t much to hide behind.”
“Hit the dirt,” he said. “The main thing is not to stand and run, making yourself a big, fat target.”
“Excuse me? You think I’m big and fat?”
“Your body’s great.”
“Do you really think so?”
“I like the way you’re put together.” This wasn’t the right time for this conversation, but he couldn’t control his thoughts. Even now, in the midst of a life-threatening situation, his brain flashed snapshots of Carolyn. The swing of her hips when he followed her up the staircase. Her long legs striding with purpose. Her casual grace when she sat on her bed. “Oh, yeah. You’ve got a great body.”
“You’re no slouch yourself,” she said. “Do you work out or do you get enough exercise chasing the evildoers of the world?”
He didn’t answer, preferring to concentrate on the business at hand. After a moment of silence, he lowered his binoculars and checked his wristwatch. Five minutes until midnight.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said, “about Logan being part of a distribution chain.”
He peered through his binoculars again. “And?”
“If somebody is bringing illegal goods into this area, the most logical route would be the pass that follows that old Indian Trail. It comes out of the mountains at the south pasture where all the sabotage was taking place.”
After studying topographical maps of the area, he’d been leaning toward the same conclusion. He and Corelli had been listening to the chatter from Logan’s office where Burke had hidden a bug. There had been talk about making a pickup, but no one mentioned where or what would be delivered. “You could be right about the route.”
“The sabotage started after Dylan moved the herd into that pasture.”
“Logan and his men might have been causing trouble so Dylan would move the cattle. If they’re using that trail, there’s less chance that someone would see them if the pasture was empty.”
“We can’t tell Dylan about this,” she whispered. “He’s already blaming himself for Nicole’s kidnapping. Lucas kept telling him to move the cattle.”
A suspicious note in her voice caused him to lower the binoculars and look toward her. “What else are you thinking?”
“Nothing really.” She shook her head. “Forget it.”
She’d mentioned the foreman—Lucas Mann. Was there something more sinister behind his warning to move the herd? Was Lucas the traitor? He knew that Carolyn would find it hard to accuse that bowlegged cowboy, a trusted employee who had worked at the ranch for years.
Burke was less sanguine about the foreman’s loyalty. Lucas could have been bribed; he had enough extra cash to buy that new Glock, which wasn’t a cheap weapon. “Is there something you want to tell me about Lucas?”
“I said forget it.”
Lucas had been in the house when somebody took the phone number from her cell. He’d also discovered the fire at the stable and acted quickly to rescue the horses. Could he be responsible for setting that blaze?
Burke looked up at the waning moon and a sky sprinkled with a multitude of stars—thousands of tiny spotlights. That beautiful, clear night sky worked to their disadvantage. He would have preferred cloud cover, even snow.
Aiming his heat-sensing binoculars again, he picked out a figure, moving slowly. “She’s coming.”
Carolyn peered though the dark. “I don’t see her.”
“Looks like she’s alone. Let’s get closer.”
He traded his binoculars for night vision goggles. Bent low, they crept across the field. He clearly saw the blond pregnant woman in a long dress and a parka. She walked carefully, pausing every few steps to look back over her shoulder. Her hand rested protectively on her swollen belly. Her apparent fear seemed to indicate that she wasn’t part of an ambush, which led Burke