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He sat up. “One thirteen.”
Amber blinked. “What?”
“One thirteen.”
“One hundred thirteen? What does that mean, Sam?”
“Paper said one thirteen.” Then he laid his head back on the floor and closed his eyes.
Amber knew Sam had just told her something very important, but she had no clue what it meant. And she didn’t have time to think about it now. She had to get them out of the cabin and to a safe place.
She heard the roar of an engine and looked out to see a snowmobile glide to a stop. The rider held out a hand to his wounded partner in crime and pulled him up behind him. They sped away and Amber grabbed Lance’s keys from the floor then raced to Sam. She picked him up and he struggled against her for a brief moment then let her carry him.
Lance was already at the back door. She slapped the keys into his hand. “Let’s get to my car,” he said. “We can head to my ranch. We’ll be safe there. I have a couple of guys who work for me. They’ll help watch out for us.”
“First we need to get to your car.”
“Follow me.”
“I need to grab my backpack. And Sam’s shoes.”
“I’ll get it. I’ll throw his shoes in, too.” Lance bolted to the back of the house and returned within seconds.
Amber tried to decide the best course of action. She was used to making split-second decisions when it came to her own safety, but the child in her arms brought a whole new meaning to the word fear. She couldn’t make a wrong move when it came to protecting him. As a result, she hated to leave the security of the cabin, even as iffy as that security was, to venture into the wide-open space of outside.
But they had no choice. She followed Lance out the door, hovering over the boy in her arms. Sam held himself rigid, but didn’t protest her carrying him. A fact for which she was very grateful.
Lance held his weapon ready, pointing one way, then the other. He led the way and she darted after him. She believed that the two who had been shooting at the cabin were gone, but she wasn’t absolutely sure so that meant her nerves were standing on edge.
Lance didn’t hesitate. He kept going through the ankle-deep snow. At least it had stopped coming down for the moment. She didn’t care about the fact that they would be able to follow their prints. Not now.
“Almost there,” Lance said.
Amber’s arms started to ache. It didn’t help that Sam began wriggling. “Down.”
“Be still, Sam. Please.” She huffed. She was in excellent physical condition, but Sam weighed a little over fifty pounds and conditions were working against her.
“Let me take him,” Lance said.
“He won’t go to you. Just keep going, okay?”
Lance didn’t argue. They continued the trek with Amber anxiously watching over her shoulder. Her breath came in puffs, but she didn’t stop.
They raced down the hill, along the tree line, using the trees for cover as much as possible. It felt like a lifetime, but in actuality was probably only about ten minutes before she found herself back on the road. She crossed the street and slipped into the woods. Lance led her to a small clearing where he’d pulled his Ford. Snow covered the vehicle and had hidden the tracks he’d made when he’d pulled in.
He opened the door and helped her buckle Sam in the backseat. She tucked the blanket around him and he leaned his head against the door.
The exertion had kept her warm, but now she shivered in the cold as she hadn’t had time to grab her coat before bolting from the cabin. Amber raced around to the passenger door and climbed into the seat beside Sam. If someone discovered them and bullets started flying again, she wanted to be able to cover Sam with her body.
Or shoot back through the window if she had to.
Within seconds, Lance flipped on his headlights and pulled from his hiding place. “Give it a minute to warm up and I’ll turn the heat on.”
“That’s fine.” She tucked her right hand under her left armpit to warm her nearly frozen fingers. She needed to keep them limber in order to be able to pull the trigger should the need arise.
“A snowmobile picked up that wounded guy,” he said. “I never heard it approach.”
“They parked far enough away then walked in.”
“And when the shooting started, they realized we could hold our own on the firepower. One of them went after it.”
“He had to in order to pick up the guy I shot.”
“Yeah.”
The chains on the tires gripped through the snow and ice and Lance was able to move at a steady, if slow, pace toward his home.
“You’ll need to check with hospitals nearby and see if anyone comes in with a GSW,” she said.
“Yep.”
She sighed. “Sorry. I know you know how to handle this.”
“It’s fine. You never know. You might say something I don’t think of.”
“Right.” She looked at Sam. His eyes were open and he was taking everything in. She leaned toward him. “Sam, what is one thirteen?”
He blinked then crossed his arms across his belly and started rocking. “One thirteen.”
“I know. What is it?” she pressed.
“One thirteen. One thirteen. Number One Dad. Number One Dad.”
“It has something to do with your dad, huh, Sam?”
Sam closed his eyes and continued his rhythmic rocking, counting his backward and forward motion, lips moving silently. Amber knew the child well enough that pressing him now would get her nowhere. She looked out the back window and saw no headlights. In fact, the darkness of the night pressed in all around her. It made her feel safe. Deceptively safe, she knew, but for the moment, she relished it.
Then Lance was pulling into his gravel drive, the chains on the tires crunching the snow and small rocks. “I’m going to park in the garage.”
“Great.”
The door to the three-car garage went up and he pulled the large SUV into the space on the left. The area on the right held a boat and two snowmobiles. He shut the engine off. “Come on in.”
It had been a while since Amber had seen his home. Krissy, his wife, had been alive the last time she’d set foot on the property and he’d made a lot of changes since then.
He opened the back door on Sam’s side and held a hand out to the boy. Sam ignored him and climbed out on his own. Amber shrugged and slid across the seat to follow him. Sam stopped at the door and looked at his feet. Lance unlocked the door, punched in the code for the alarm then led them through a mudroom and into a kitchen. He flipped the lights on then stood still for a moment, listening. Amber did the same, her hand on her weapon.
“Alarm was armed. All looks okay. Stay here a minute.”
She did and he disappeared down a hall. When he returned, he looked slightly less tense. “We’re good.”
“They might have seen your car. They could show up any minute if they got the plate.”
“Maybe. We’ll be prepared for that.” He sent several texts from his phone while she looked around.
“Wow.”
“What?” he asked, finally looking up.
“Your kitchen. It’s really nice.”
He let his eyes roam the area as though seeing it for the first time. “Oh. Thanks.”
“This does not look like it used to. Did you suddenly come into some money?” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry, was that rude?”
He crossed the room and flipped another switch. The den lit up. As well as a seven-foot-tall Christmas tree in the corner near the fireplace. The lights blinked off and on, a colorful display of festivity. A stark contrast to the darkness she and Sam were battling. He turned with a small smile. “No. It wasn’t rude. I did get some money from Krissy’s life insurance policy, but mostly I’m just handy with a hammer and some power tools. I had a bit of time on my hands after she died.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t spend it all hidden away in my little cave in the mountains. Apparently, it made people worry about me.”
“You still go there?” He’d always loved the caves in the hills. He knew that area better than anyone.
“Sure. It’s a stress reliever for me. My get-away-from-everything place.”
She scowled. “Maybe I should use it as my get-away-from-the-bad-guys place.”
He smiled. “Come on and I’ll show you the guest bedroom. You want to stay in the same room with Sam, I suppose?”
“Yes, that’s probably best.”
“All of my family lives out of town now. Dad got a job transfer a couple of years ago and my sister and her husband and kids live in Nashville. They come visit every now and then. The kids love the ranch.”
“How is Janine? I heard she made you an uncle again a few months ago.”
“Yep.” He smiled. “That makes four for her. Two girls and two boys. She said Billy wanted a basketball team with two subs.”
“Seven kids?”
“I know.”
“Think they’ll really go for seven?”
“Looks like it. She’s homeschooling and seems to love every minute of it—even the days when she’s pulling out her hair and trying to balance their finances.” He smiled. “So, I know you’re tired. I’ve got two guest bedrooms. The one at the end of the hall has its own bath. Why don’t you use that one?”
“Thanks.” She glanced at the clock hanging on his wall. “It’s only midnight. I thought it might be two or three in the morning.”
“Feels like it. Follow me.”
She did and soon she had Sam tucked in. The child was so tired he didn’t have the energy to protest or oppose his new surroundings. He simply closed his eyes and fell asleep.
She heard footsteps in the hall and turned, her hand going to her weapon.
“It’s just me,” Lance said.
She relaxed a fraction. “Sorry.”
“Your adrenaline is still racing.”
“Must be.”
“You’ll need to crash again soon.”
She lifted a brow. “Hmm.”
His lips curved in a slight smile and he handed her a pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt. “The pants belong to my sister who visits every so often. The shirt is mine. It’ll swallow you, but it’s clean and warm. The bathroom is stocked with whatever you need.”
“Thanks.” She took the clothes and he stared a moment longer. She couldn’t read his expression and wasn’t sure she wanted to. “Is there something else?”
He started to shake his head then stopped. “You’re not the same Amber Starke I used to know.”
Amber let out a low laugh. “No, I’m definitely not the girl you used to know.” She paused. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No. Not bad. Maybe not good either. But interesting. Definitely interesting.” He turned and left, and Amber watched him disappear into the den.
Now what did he mean by that? He obviously felt the same tug of attraction she did. And while the thought was exhilarating, it was also...unnerving. She hadn’t planned to be in Wrangler’s Corner long, much less be attracted to a man she thought was lost to her forever. She huffed.
Who was she kidding? Romance and attraction aside, she had killers after her. And even if she didn’t, as long as she was in her line of work, she’d never get involved.
As an operative, before she had become Amber’s handler just six months ago, Kat had met someone she’d thought she might be able to develop a relationship with. She’d gotten involved with a guy named Vincent Ford. She’d met him through her brother and soon found herself defending every move she made.
When she’d finally read him in, he’d dumped her. After that, Kat had wept on Amber’s shoulder about having to lie about her job, her life, her...everything. She’d warned Amber to avoid romantic entanglements at all cost. Amber shook her head. She’d never met the man—Kat had been too worried about introducing him to her friends in the business. Which Amber had understood. Just one more sacrifice she’d had to make thanks to her career.
And now she found herself drawn once again to a man she couldn’t have. Or at least shouldn’t have. She groaned and sighed.
Unwilling to waste any of her remaining energy on thinking about it—or him—she looked around the room.
She needed a hot shower. She wanted a hot shower.
But first things first. She walked to the window to test it and found it secure. As secure as it could be, she supposed. She checked her weapon, tucked the covers around Sam a bit better then walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. While the water heated, she mulled the situation over and over in her mind.
And tried to figure out how she was going to get what she needed and get out of Wrangler’s Corner without getting anyone else involved.
Or killed.
FIVE (#u16a06754-c547-5bb3-b3ec-0df9084834d8)
Lance paced his large den. From fireplace to recliner where he’d start to sit then spin on his heel and cross the room again. He couldn’t sit, he had to think. Backup had arrived at the cabin after he and Amber had managed to escape. He’d already reported that they were safe and in another location. The others would take care of the cleanup at the cabin while he tried to decide what to do. He glanced at his watch and grimaced. It had been a little over an hour since the attack and he needed to make some sort of decision soon.
He wanted to respect Amber’s wishes that he not say anything to her family, but he just didn’t see any other option. He knew it wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, but that she feared they’d be in danger if they knew she was here. But the very fact that the people after her and Sam knew who she was and where she lived put her family in danger.
They were going to need to bring someone else in. If they were going to live long enough to catch the people who were after Amber and Sam, they needed help. He just had to convince Amber of the fact. Amber, the girl he’d regarded as a little sister. The girl who was now an attractive woman who sent his senses spinning. What was he going to do about that?
