Against the Edge (The Raines of Wind Can - By Kat Martin Page 0,68
to his bedroom.
He made love to her with the same sweet tenderness, exposing the vulnerable side of himself he rarely allowed her to see. Afterward as she lay in his arms, Claire was forced to face an unwelcome truth.
She was falling in love with Ben Slocum. And it was the stupidest thing she could ever do.
* * *
Ben heard the ringing as a distant buzz in his ears. He stirred, opened his eyes, found himself pressed against a soft female body, a thick biceps draped heavily across a pale, elegant breast.
Ignoring the hard-on Claire’s sweetly curved body had aroused, he eased away from her and picked up his iPhone. As he padded out into the hallway, he pressed the phone against his ear.
“Slocum.”
“Bruce Holloway. They found Bridger’s pickup. No sign of Bridger, Hutchins or your boy.”
His hand unconsciously fisted. “Where?”
“Behind an abandoned barn off Route 96 south of Jasper. That’s not far from the Louisiana border. Hood was up like he was havin’ engine trouble.”
“He must have gone on with Hutchins.”
“Unless we get an auto theft report in the area, that’d be my guess. We’ve got the license number, make and model of Hutchins’s car. The police are on alert.”
“He’s probably switched plates.”
“Good chance. But they’ll be watching for a black ’99 Camaro with two men and a boy. Looks like you were right and Bridger’s headin’ for Louisiana.”
Ben didn’t say he was on his way there, too. He preferred to let law enforcement do their job while he did his.
“Where are they towing the pickup?”
“Jasper County sheriff’s garage. It’s a small town. The coroner does the forensic work. He’ll take a look, see if anything interestin’ turns up.”
“Keep me posted, will you?”
“You know I will.”
As he ended the call, Ben heard Claire’s footfalls coming up behind him, felt his dark brown robe draped warmly around his bare shoulders.
“It’s cold in the house. In case you’ve forgotten, you’re naked.”
He almost smiled. “I’m glad you noticed. If we had more time, I’d take advantage of that, but since they’ve found Bridger’s pickup, we need to get going.”
Her head came up. “They found the truck? What about Sam?”
“No sign of him. Best guess, both of them are with Hutchins. The thing is, the truck was outside Jasper. It’s on the way to Converse. There’s a lot of back roads you can take to get there, but it may well be their destination.”
“It fits with the white-supremacist theory.”
He nodded. “I want to stop at the sheriff’s office first. See what they find in the truck.”
“I packed when we got home last night. A quick shower and I’m ready to leave.”
“Same here.” His mouth edged up. “I’d suggest we save water, but we need to get on the road.”
She leaned into him, rested her head against his shoulder. “We’re getting closer, Ben. I can feel it.”
Ben thought of his son, a boy who was on the run with a convict and a child abductor, and prayed Claire was right.
Twenty
Claire watched as Ben loaded their overnight bags into the back of the Denali.
“What’s all that other stuff you’re bringing?” she asked, pointing to a long canvas bag and a big, heavy-duty aluminum truck box that fit behind the seat. She’d noticed the box before and wondered at its contents.
Ben gave her a long, assessing glance, leaned into the back, dragged the canvas bag over and unzipped it. Claire’s eyes widened at a stash of weapons that looked as if it could arm the National Guard.
He reached into the bag and took out what looked like a machine gun. “AR 15 semi-auto. Convertible to automatic with a kit.” He slid it back into the bag, opened a box and pointed to a big black handgun. “M-9 Beretta. Nine mil with a fifteen-round magazine.”
He lifted out a short-barreled shotgun. “Mossberg Thunder Ranch six-shot, twelve gauge.” He shoved the shotgun back into the bag, lifted out a smaller, holstered weapon. “My ankle gun—thirty-eight revolver.”
He lifted out a long, sheathed knife with a serrated edge. “My KA-BAR. It’s come in handy more than once.” He drew it out of its sheath, slid it in with a steely ring. “My Nighthawk’s stashed in the center console. Oh, and there’s a sat phone in the bag. You never know when you might be going off the grid.”
“You have got to be kidding.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, sweetheart, I’m already walking around with the hole Duke Hutchins’s bullet carved into my side. I’m not giving him a chance to finish the job.”