give them on travel, they wanted to see this from me first.” She flashed a grin. “If I can dig up dirt, write exposés to take down organizations or just plain evil people any day of the week, surely I can write about”—she waved her hand around in the air—“something as frivolous as skiing in Jackson Hole. No problem.”
He couldn’t wait to read it. “Okay. You convinced me. Now follow me back to your place.”
A good half hour later, he parked his truck and Rae pulled in next to him. The red Suburban that had followed her into the parking lot slowed, and the driver watched her.
The hair on the back of Liam’s neck prickled. Rae got out of her vehicle, and Liam climbed from his truck. He stepped in front of her, instinctively shielding her, and the vehicle sped away.
“I think someone might have followed you.”
An image from the past flashed through his mind. Rae tied to that chair. Gagged. Her eyes wide with fear as Liam tried to free her, though he knew it was a trap set for him.
He had gained access to a far-reaching trafficking organization. They suspected that an undercover cop had infiltrated, but no one in the organization knew he was the cop. Not until that moment when someone walked in to find Liam setting Rae free. Still, they didn’t know his true identity. They knew him as Liam Mercer.
He took that dive then to catch the bullet meant for her.
Rae sucked in a breath, drawing him back to the present.
He had never wanted to see this woman again.
So help him, God, he wanted to walk away from her now. But he’d experienced what could happen when it came to Rae’s determination. He knew he wouldn’t walk away.
He’d prayed one simple prayer—that God would open a door for him to walk through, and look what happened.
God, please don’t let this be a repeat.
And it wouldn’t. He couldn’t let it be. Because what were the chances that he’d have to take another bullet for her when there were so many other ways to die?
CHAPTER TEN
Wednesday, 2:27 p.m.
Jackson Hole Mountain Ski Lodge
Rae’s pulse jumped. She searched the parking lot but didn’t see what had spooked Liam. “Please don’t scare me like that.”
“I wouldn’t make it up.”
Liam stood tall and intimidating. His shoulders were broad, and he sported a Jason Statham five-o’clock shadow even in the early afternoon. Wariness lingered in his eyes—only this time, he was suspicious not of her but of whoever he thought had followed them.
“Nobody could know I’m here. No one.” She shook her head in disbelief. “No one except Alan, but he wouldn’t have told anyone.”
“World Tour? They don’t know?”
“I didn’t tell them what I was writing about specifically. Or where I would go for research. So, you might want to consider that someone could be following you.”
He scoffed. “Not hardly.”
Liam had gone to great lengths to hide his true identity. No social media presence whatsoever. Rae knew him because they’d been more than close. To look at them now, that was hard to believe. Regardless, she would never share his true identity with anyone.
“You say no one knows you’re here. Where did you go right before you stalked that house in the woods?”
That heli-skiing place. “You’re right.”
“The number of people who know you’re here and why you’ve come will grow exponentially with each person you talk to.”
A few snowflakes danced across her cheeks, and she wiped them away. In the distance, beyond Grand Teton, the sky was finally clearing with the promise of a beautiful day. Memories of her time with Liam suddenly flooded her heart. Good memories that knocked into her at the absolute wrong moment. She wrinkled her forehead as she shoved them away. They were not welcome. Not now.
She shrugged off the melancholy. Rae had to remain focused on her mission to find Zoey, help her brother, and be the resourceful aunt Callie needed. What did her career in journalism mean if she failed the most important people in her life? She certainly wouldn’t be living up to the standards her father had set.
She grabbed her purse and camera before locking the car and pushing past Liam to head to the resort. Liam caught up with her and walked beside her. She still wasn’t sure he intended to help. But if she laid it all out for him, how could he say no? And if someone followed her, she definitely wanted him at her side. He was here