on the shelf. Her hands shook but she took it out and flipped the lid open. She’d expected more bullets or something. What she found were passports. She filtered through them. Each one held Trent’s picture with a different name. A couple of USA passports, Russian, Belgian, Scottish . . . there were at least a dozen of them from as many different countries, and his look varied in each one.
But it was Trent.
Her hands shook so hard, she had to close the lid and slide the box back onto the shelf. Leaning to the side, she saw a bigger box beneath the bottom shelf. Biting her lip, holding her breath, she pulled it out, grunting with the effort. Swallowing down panic, she opened the lid.
Money. Tons of cash, all in different currencies.
Who was this man? She hurriedly closed the lid and shoved the box beneath the shelf, closing the secret door. She leaned against it, her breath panting wildly. He had weapons and passports and currency. Was his name even Trent? Who were these ranchers? What were they really involved in?
None of it seemed good. How could it be?
He had told her he was a killer. He’d said the words, looking right in her eyes. Were they some sort of hitmen? She realized Austin was one of them, as well as being the sheriff right now.
She had to run.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her purse and opened the door to the quiet hallway. Then she hurried toward the exit at the end, pushing the door open and rushing into the rain. Avoiding the trucks of the cattlemen, she looked at the other cars parked there. One of them had to have keys.
She scored with an older blue Honda and left the lights off as she drove away until she was out of sight.
None of this seemed real. No matter how she looked at it, Trent had lied to her. He’d promised her forever, and he hadn’t even told her who he was or what he did. At best, he was hiding from something. At worst, he was some sort of assassin or something crazy like that.
Either way, she did not know him. At all.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Hallie’s hands shook on the steering wheel, and she had to squint to see through the rain. Something on the car dinged, and she caught sight of the fuel gauge. Wonderful. Almost empty.
The thunder billowed in the distance and the rain pelted down during yet another impressive storm.
She bit her lip and drove to the end of town, swinging into the lone gas station. Grimacing, she pulled out her last ten dollars. Trent hadn’t had a chance to pay her yet. Why the heck hadn’t she stolen some of the money from his closet? The idea hadn’t even occurred to her until right now.
She was the worst fugitive ever. She wished she’d brought the wolf, already missing him.
Gulping, she ducked through the rain and paid the cashier, a teenager who barely looked up from her book. It was nice the place was open twenty-four hours. Then Hallie dashed to the pump and carefully used the ten dollars, choosing the least expensive fuel. “Sorry about this,” she murmured, hoping she could ditch the car somewhere so the owner would find it easily.
Trent had turned her into a car thief.
Her anger was at a slightly higher level than her hurt, and at least that was something. He owed her an explanation, but she needed some time and distance first. Plus, what would he do? She couldn’t imagine in a million years that he’d hurt her, but it wasn’t as if she really knew him. Maybe the charm and promises had been as fake as his many passports. This was all so confusing.
Yeah. Time and distance were her friends. Oh, she was going to confront him and make him explain everything, once she’d gotten to safety. For now, she just needed some time and space to think. Then she’d figure out how to confront him.
“Hello, Hallie.” Something hard pressed into her back.
The world ground to a harsh halt. Her head hung. This was impossible. She partially turned to see Brad Montgomery, his handsome face twisted, a three-day scruff covering his face. Even his eyes were bloodshot. It was too much. Everything was too much. “You can’t be here right now,” she snapped, losing her mind.
He reared back. “Excuse me?”
The gun pressed harder into her rib cage.
She threw out her hands as her sense of reality completely deserted