Out of the Storm (Buckhorn, Montana #1) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,89
went back inside.
Hurriedly wriggling out the window, Jon dropped down behind the dense pines at the front of the house. He was still shaken by what he’d heard Gerald saying on the phone. His mind raced with what to do about the information. The vehicle that had brought him and Kate to the house was still parked outside. A pine tree blocked it from sight out the front window.
He made his way to it, expecting to find the car locked. Crooks often worried about other crooks robbing them. But there was little inside—except for Jon’s duffel, which had been tossed on the passenger-side floorboard where it still lay. Were his phone and guns still inside it?
Quickly picking up the duffel, he ducked down as another vehicle came roaring up the street, followed by another. The first one Jon recognized as the SUV Collin had been driving in Buckhorn. The second was an old pickup that was in the process of being restored.
The driver of the SUV parked it behind the car where Jon was hunkered. He worried for a moment that the man would head for the house. But instead, he left the SUV and walked back to climb into the pickup.
Jon had only a couple of seconds to get moved around to the far side of the car where he was squatting before the pickup roared past. He could feel the hair rise on his neck. He had to hurry. He stared at the SUV, thinking about what he’d heard. How could he let Kate get into that vehicle?
He had no choice. Any other option would get her killed sooner. He figured it would be a while after Kate and Collin left for the border before they would find him missing from the basement. He would do what he had to and hope it was enough.
The first step was retrieving his pickup from the hotel. The weight of the duffle told him that everything was still inside it. He wasn’t sure how much time he had before Gerald had law enforcement looking for him. He hadn’t gone far when he spotted a mountain bike in one of the neighboring backyards. He vaulted over the fence and minutes later was racing toward downtown Moose Jaw.
* * *
KATE COULD FEEL Collin’s gaze going from her to the rearview mirror to the highway and back as he drove them out of Moose Jaw, headed for the US border. She wondered why he was so nervous. Because he didn’t trust Gerald any more than she did? Nor did she trust Collin. What would happen at the border? Worse, what did he have planned after they crossed?
Neither had spoken since leaving the house. She’d looked back to see Gerald watching them go as they’d left. His expression was hard to read, but she suspected he was worried that Collin was going to screw this up. Or maybe it was her he was worried about.
“What were you going to do with that stupid little knife?” Collin demanded, without looking at her. There was a hard edge to his voice, a bitterness mixed with fury and fear.
She looked out at the snow-covered passing countryside. Collin hit a bump in the road. Something shifted behind her. She glanced back to see that the rear seats had been folded down to accommodate a large white box.
“It’s your wedding dress,” Collin said. “I asked you a question. What were you planning to do with that knife?”
“Defend myself,” she said, turning to meet his gaze.
“From who?” He swung his gaze toward her. She said nothing and saw the well of anger he was fighting to control. “You would have stabbed me?” He sounded disbelieving and hurt along with furious.
It made her laugh. “You can’t be serious. I know you’re planning to kill me once we cross that border. Do you think I’m an idiot?”
He growled under his breath and gripped the wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.
She knew that was the real source of his anger—not her. She’d witnessed how Gerald had demeaned him in front of her. So she wasn’t surprised that Collin would take that anger and frustration out on her if she wasn’t careful. “I wasn’t thinking of you when I took the knife.”
Those last words seemed to take some of the fury out of him. He drove, breathing hard, checking his rearview mirror often. Did he think Gerald had hired someone to follow him to the border?