could in the other direction, straight to my car. I had my keys already in my hands. I couldn’t think what else to do right then.”
Trent swallowed over a lump of pure anger. “It was nighttime by now?”
“Yeah, and I was in heels.” She shook her head. “I got into my car, slammed the door, and Brad pounded on the window. He was so angry. I never even imagined he could look like that.” She rubbed her fingers along Trent’s jaw. The whiskers must be scratchy, but she didn’t seem to mind. “I’m not a moron, and I do have more sense than a pinecone. But they seemed so nice, and I had no idea they were stealing or didn’t mind murdering people.”
“So you ran?” Trent asked.
She nodded. “I knew I couldn’t go back to my apartment, so I just started driving as fast as I could away from Boise, since Brad said they had the law in their pockets. That might not even be true, but I couldn’t take the chance. I used my credit cards at a Target for the last time and bought a suitcase and everything else I might need, then kept going.”
He brushed his knuckles along her cheekbone. “That was smart.”
“They almost caught me in Jackson and then in Denver,” she admitted. “I’ve been stopping along the way at public libraries, using different IP addresses, to log in and try to get more evidence on the bad guys. I’ve collected a good bit, I think.”
Impressive. Dangerous, but he felt a pride in her. “Where were you going?” Trent asked.
She took another deep breath. “I read about an FBI office in Montana that took down a corrupt small town, so that was my plan. Because the Boise local law might be involved, the FBI can get involved, so I figured if I could just get to that FBI office, the one with the good track record, they could at least start a case or something.”
It wasn’t a horrible plan. What else could a woman on her own do? It wasn’t as if she knew Trent and his brothers existed.
“So.” She pushed against his chest. “Now you understand why I have to go. If you’d let me borrow a truck, I could go to the FBI in Montana and have this taken care of. There is a chance I might end up in prison, but maybe you could write to me.” She tried for a joke, but the laughter didn’t reach her pretty eyes.
Austin stood first. “All right. Meet at the clubhouse at five in the morning?”
Trent nodded. Jesse should have all they needed by then. “How many do we have out of town right now?” While they wanted out of the mercenary business, right now, they had a couple more situations to handle.
“We have four out and eight here,” Mac said, standing and gathering the beer bottles. “More than enough to take care of this and keep the ranches in working order.”
As silently as they’d appeared, his brothers faded into the night, heading to the clubhouse.
Hallie remained in his lap, idly playing with his hair. “I think I’ll have to wait until morning to drive to Montana. The world is really blurry right now.”
He finally let himself lean in and take her mouth, all but drowning in sweetness and wine. She was soft, and the ragged sound she made nearly undid him. He tried to make himself stop, to not take her deeper, but she was all heat and fire, pouring down his throat to land somewhere he didn’t know he still had. Somewhere deep and real. Finally, he released her just to let her breathe.
She rubbed her cheek against his chest like a little cat. “I wish I’d met you before all of this, Trent Logan.”
He didn’t exist before all of this. At that thought, he carried her into her room and left her safely there, even though it nearly killed him. She was tipsy and vulnerable, and nothing in him would take advantage of that, no matter how badly he wanted her. Needed her.
Then he turned and stalked back outside to sleep near the wolf beneath the stars.
CHAPTER NINE
Hallie’s head ached, but the travel coffee mug felt warm in her hands. Trent drove along the bumpy road as dawn tried to peek through the bruised clouds despite the rain that pounded down, soaking the earth and pinging against the windows. She took a deep drink, trying incredibly hard not to complain about the early