Lucas Read online

  But she didn’t try to escape.

  A hoarse sob tore from her mouth, and Hailey eased away from him. Just in case she had another weapon back there, Lucas leaned over the seat and did a quick check around her. He frisked her, too. Since she was wearing a pair of loose green scrubs, a thin sweater and flip-flops, there weren’t many places she could conceal a weapon.

  Still, after what’d happened three months ago, Lucas looked.

  His hand brushed against the side of her breast, and she made a soft sound. Not the groan she’d made earlier. This one caused him to feel that tug deep within his body. But Lucas told that tug to take a hike.

  Their gazes connected. Not for long. Lucas finished the search and found nothing.

  “Now, keep talking,” he insisted. “Tell me what happened to you. Why did you go on the run, and why didn’t you tell anyone before now that you were out of the coma?”

  She opened her mouth and got that deer-in-the-headlights look. What she didn’t do was answer him.

  “Enough of this,” he mumbled.

  He took out his phone to call Mason and then the sheriff, but as he’d done with her earlier, Hailey took hold of his hand. “Please don’t tell your cousins. Not yet.”

  Since most of his Ryland cousins were cops, that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “Did you break the law? Is that why you were on the run?”

  “No.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. Her head wasn’t the only thing shaking, though. She started to shiver, the cold and maybe the fear finally getting to her. “But I’m in trouble. God, Lucas, I’m in so much trouble.”

  He was about to curse at her for stating the obvious, but something else went through her eyes.

  Fear.

  “It won’t take long for word to get out that I’m awake,” Hailey said, speaking barely louder than a whisper. “And he’ll find out.”

  “He?” Lucas snapped.

  Hailey’s voice cracked. “There’s a killer after me.”

  Chapter Two

  Hailey closed her eyes a moment, hoping it would help with the dizziness.

  It didn’t.

  It was hard to think with her head spinning, the bone-deep exhaustion and the muscle spasms that kept rippling through her body.

  Hard to think, too, with Lucas glaring at her as if she were the enemy. Of course, in his eyes, that’s exactly what she was.

  He obviously didn’t believe her. Didn’t trust her, either, but somehow Hailey had to make him understand. First, though, he had to take care of what was most important—the baby.

  “Are you sure Camden is safe?” she asked.

  That caused a new slash of anger to go through his eyes. Probably because he believed she was dodging the news she’d just dropped on him.

  There’s a killer after me.

  “He’s safe,” Lucas finally said, but he spoke through clenched teeth. “Now, tell me why you need to make sure of that. Does it have something to do with the so-called killer?” He didn’t give her a chance to say a word, though. “Or are you trying to lie your way out of why you ran from me three months ago?”

  “It’s not a lie.” She wished it was. “But I didn’t tell the truth about some other things.”

  That tightened the muscles in his jaw even more. “Start from the beginning, and so help me, there’d better not be any lies this time.”

  Hailey nodded but glanced around them. Since it was Tuesday and a school night, Silver Creek wasn’t exactly teeming with activity, but she did spot someone jogging in the park. She kept her attention on him until he disappeared around the curve of the tree-lined trail. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe the guy was just that—a jogger—but he could have been someone after her.

  “We need to find a better place to talk,” Hailey told him.

  Lucas gave her a flat look. Cursed. “I’m not taking you to the Silver Creek Ranch.”

  That was no doubt where the baby was.

  Camden.

  Hailey mentally repeated that, something she’d been doing since Lucas had first mentioned her precious son’s name. Learning something—anything—about her baby caused her heart to ache. It felt as if someone was squeezing it hard.

  Mercy, she’d lost so much already. Three months. And there was a lot more she could lose. Thank God the baby was okay, but it was up to her to make sure he stayed that way.

  “I can’t see Camden,” Hailey answered. Saying it aloud added an even deeper pain. “Not until I’m sure it’s safe.”

  “You won’t see him at all,” Lucas snapped. He spewed out more of that profanity. “You don’t have a right to see him.”

  No, in his eyes, she didn’t. But if and when this was over, she would see her son. Even if she had to push her way through an army of Ryland lawmen. No one would keep him from her.

  Since it was obvious Lucas wasn’t going to budge, Hailey tried to figure out the fastest way to convince him that it wasn’t safe for her to be out in the open like this.

  That meant starting from the beginning.

  “I’m not who you think I am,” she said.

  A burst of air left his mouth, but it wasn’t a laugh. “Obviously. You slept with me and then sneaked out, leaving me a note saying you couldn’t see me again.”

  Hailey didn’t need a reminder of that. She could have recited the note word for word.

  Lucas, I’m sorry, but this was a mistake. I can’t get involved with you.

  “That was the truth,” she continued. “I shouldn’t have let things get so...intimate between us.”

  “But you did, and you got pregnant.”

  Yes, she had. Since they’d used a condom, the pregnancy definitely hadn’t been something Hailey had been expecting. But that hadn’t stopped her from wanting the child right from the start.

  “Mistakes aside,” Lucas continued, “you had no right to run away from me while you were carrying my baby.” He cursed again. “If you hadn’t had that car accident, I might have never found you. Of course, that was probably the plan, wasn’t it? To run away so that I’d never be able to see my child?”

  Hailey didn’t even have to think about that answer. “No. That wasn’t the plan.”

  He didn’t believe her, but it was the truth.

  “I was trying to stay alive, trying to keep the baby from being hurt,” Hailey explained.

  He tapped his badge. “I’m a Texas Ranger.” That was probably his way of saying that if something was wrong, she should have gone straight to him.

  But Lucas had been in danger, too.

  Something he didn’t know.

  Yet.

  Figuring she would need it, Hailey took another deep breath. “Two years ago, I was employed as a computer systems analyst in Phoenix for a man named Preston DeSalvo. I found out he was working with someone in the FBI. A dirty agent. And they were selling confiscated weapons. I went to the cops, DeSalvo was eventually arrested, and after I testified against him, I was placed in witness protection and given a new identity. The marshals relocated me here to Silver Creek.”

  She paused, giving him a few moments to let all of that sink in, but Lucas didn’t take the time. He whipped out his phone again, and before she could stop him, she saw him press the contact for one of his cousins.

  Sheriff Grayson Ryland.

  “Don’t tell him I’m with you,” Hailey insisted. “The sheriff’s office could be bugged.”

  She saw the debate Lucas was having with himself, but he didn’t stop the call. He did put it on speaker, though, and it didn’t take long before Grayson answered.

  “I heard about Hailey,” Grayson said right off the bat. “I’ve sent two of the deputies to the hospital to help look for her.”

  “Thanks,” Lucas said. And he paused. A long time. “Can you loo
k up info on a guy named Preston DeSalvo?”

  Grayson paused, too. Hailey knew the sheriff well because she’d worked for him as an emergency dispatcher shortly after her arrival in Silver Creek. Grayson had a lot of experience as a lawman and was probably suspicious.

  “Is DeSalvo connected to Hailey?” Grayson asked, though she could hear the clicks of his computer keys.

  “Maybe.”

  More keyboard clicking sounds. “Well, Preston DeSalvo was sent to prison about eighteen months ago. He’s dead. Killed in a fight at a maximum security prison in Arizona a little over three months ago.”

  “Why was he in prison?” Lucas pressed.

  “A laundry list of charges, including murder, extortion and gun running. An employee, Laura Arnett, testified against him, and she’s in WITSEC.” He huffed. “Now, what does this have to do with Hailey?”

  “Maybe everything. I’ll call you back when I know more. In the meantime, can you make sure the ranch is on lockdown?”

  “Already have. Mason called and said you’d asked him to go to your house. You think Hailey could be headed there?”

  “I’ll call you back,” Lucas repeated, probably so that he wouldn’t have to lie to his cousin.

  But the stalling wouldn’t last long. Soon, very soon, his cousins would be demanding answers. Especially Grayson, since he wasn’t just the sheriff but also the head of the Ryland clan. However, Lucas would be demanding them first.

  “Laura Arnett?” Lucas repeated. “That’s your real name?”

  She nodded. “I haven’t thought of myself as that since all of this happened. I’m Hailey Darrow. For now, anyway. But I’ll have to come up with another identity. DeSalvo’s dead, but no one knows who his partner was,” she added.

  “The dirty FBI agent,” he spat out like the profanity he tacked onto that. “And you believe he’s after you?”

  “I know he is. Well, one of his henchmen, anyway.”

  She glanced around again, praying that one of those thugs wasn’t nearby, looking for her.

  “I don’t know how he found me,” Hailey continued. “Maybe he hacked into the WITSEC files, or he could have bribed someone to give him the info. But three months ago, I found an eavesdropping device in my house here in Silver Creek, and I knew my identity had been blown.”

  “You should have come to me.” His jaw muscles were at war with each other again. “Or since you were in WITSEC, you could have called your handler.”

  “I didn’t get a chance. Before I could do anything, a hired gun showed up at my house. I hid, but he yelled out that if I didn’t give myself up, he’d go after you and use you to get me to cooperate.”

  The skepticism was still written all over his face. “Cooperate with what?”

  Oh, he was not going to like this. “I have some computer files that I didn’t turn over to the cops. Files that incriminate Preston’s son, Eric. Nothing as serious as murder, but it would have put him away for a few years.”

  “I’ll want to see those files.” And it wasn’t a suggestion.

  She nodded. “It’ll take a while to access them. I put them in online storage with some security measures. I set it up so the files won’t open until twelve hours after I put in the password.”

  “Clever,” he mumbled, but Hailey didn’t think that was a compliment. No. Lucas was silently cursing her for not bringing this to him sooner.

  “I let Preston know I’d leak the files if anything happened to me,” Hailey explained, “and that his son would head to prison right along with him. It was my insurance, a way of making sure he didn’t send his hired thugs after me.”

  Lucas lifted his shoulder. “But he sent them anyway?”

  “No. Preston was dead by then. I think the person who sent the thugs is the dirty agent. First, though, he wants those files.”

  “Or it could be his son who’s after you,” Lucas quickly pointed out.

  “Maybe. But I didn’t personally mention anything to Eric about having incriminating info on him.”

  Of course, that didn’t mean Eric hadn’t found out. Eric hadn’t visited his father in prison. Not once. But Preston could have said something to one of his lackeys, who in turn passed the info on to Eric. Which wouldn’t have necessarily been a bad thing. Because it could have kept Eric off her back, too, had he ever decided to come after her.

  “How did you get away from that hired gun?” Lucas asked a moment later.

  “I sneaked out the back of the house. I had a car, some cash and new identity papers in a storage unit.” Hailey huffed. “I’ll answer all your questions. I promise. But we can’t stay here. In fact, you can’t be with me.”

  He looked at her as if she’d just sprouted wings. “You think I’m going to dump you out here on the street?”

  “No, but I was hoping you’d arrange to get me a car. Or let me use this SUV for a couple of hours.”

  “That’s not going to happen. But I am taking you somewhere—to the sheriff’s office.”

  “No.” She couldn’t say it fast enough, and Hailey went to the edge of her seat so she could take hold of his arm again. “Didn’t you hear me? The office could be bugged. My hospital room was. That’s why I didn’t say anything to any of the medical staff. I wasn’t sure who’d put it there or if I could trust any of them.”

  Lucas had already put the SUV in gear to drive away, no doubt to head toward the sheriff’s office, but that piece of information stopped him. He turned, studying her, probably to decide how much of this was the truth.

  Before he could make up his mind, his phone rang, and again she saw Grayson’s name on the screen. She doubted Lucas would keep her secret much longer. He would spill everything to the sheriff.

  And that meant she had to get out of there—fast.

  But how? Lucas had all the doors locked, and she wasn’t nearly strong enough to break the windows.

  “We might have a problem,” Grayson said when Lucas answered, and he put the call on speaker. “Dr. Parton called, and he said right after you left, a man showed up looking for Hailey. He claimed he was her brother.”

  Oh, God. “I don’t have a brother,” she mouthed.

  “Doc Parton got suspicious,” Grayson went on. “And he just sent me the surveillance footage of the guy coming in through the ER entrance. I put his photo into the facial recognition program and got an immediate hit.”

  Lucas groaned, no doubt because he knew what that meant. If the guy was in the system, he had a record. “Who is he?” he asked the sheriff.

  “Darrin Sandmire. A low-life thug.” He paused. “Sandmire often works as a hit man.”

  Her heart slammed against her chest. It was happening. Her worst fears. The killer wasn’t just after her. He was here in Silver Creek.

  “Sandmire left the hospital before the security guard could stop him, so he could be anywhere in town. Now, you want to tell me what this is all about?” Grayson demanded.

  “Yeah. I’ll be at the sheriff’s office in a few minutes.” Lucas paused. “Hailey’s with me.”

  The panic shot through her, and she tried the door handle even though Hailey knew she was trapped. If Lucas took her to the sheriff’s office, she might be putting not only herself in danger but also all of them. Lucas put the SUV in gear again, but something must have caught his eye, because his attention zoomed to the driver’s side window.

  To the park.

  Hailey saw it then, as well. The jogger she’d spotted earlier. But this time, he wasn’t on the trail. He was coming straight toward the SUV.

  And he had a gun in his hand.

  Chapter Three

  “Get down!” Lucas shouted to Hailey.

  His first instinct was to draw his gun and take aim at the man running toward them. But Lucas didn’t want to get into a gunfight
on Main Street where innocent bystanders—or Hailey—could be hurt.

  Lucas wasn’t sure he believed everything she’d just told him, but it was obvious she had someone after her. Later he’d find out who that was, but for now he wanted to put some distance between this armed man and them. He hit the accelerator.

  Just as the guy took aim.

  And fired.

  The bullet slammed into the side of the SUV, missing the window and Lucas by only a couple of inches.

  “I need a gun,” Hailey said, climbing over the seat to get to the passenger side. She started to fumble around for the weapon that he’d knocked away from her.

  “Stay down,” Lucas warned her, but her search took care of that. Hailey crawled onto the floor.

  At least, it took care of it for a couple of seconds. Once she had the gun, she got back in the seat and took aim out the back side window.

  She fired.

  The sound blasted through the SUV, causing Lucas to curse. He hadn’t actually expected her to shoot. Too bad she missed, because the gunman sent another bullet their way.

  Lucas sped off. The thug got off one more shot before Lucas took the first turn he reached. He wasn’t driving in the direction of the sheriff’s office, but he could double back.

  Lucas tossed Hailey his phone. “Call Grayson and tell him there’s an armed man near the park at the intersection of Main and Everett Road.”

  Hailey made the call, but she kept watch behind them, making sure that goon wasn’t in pursuit. The moment Grayson answered, she rattled off the information. Then she hit the end call button. No doubt because she didn’t want to answer Grayson’s questions. That was okay. For now.

  But as soon as they reached the sheriff’s office, Hailey had better come clean about everything.

  Lucas took another turn. Then another, meandering his way back to Main Street. That particular part of the park was only about seven blocks away from the sheriff’s office, so it wouldn’t take Grayson long to get a pair of deputies there to catch the guy.

  “Do you know if that was Darrin Sandmire?” Lucas asked her.