Makena heard Colton’s voice as she sat with Peach. He was talking about shock and the need to keep an eye on her. The concern in his voice brought out all kinds of emotions in Makena. She could tell that he genuinely cared about Peach and it was just about the kindest thing Makena thought she’d ever witnessed. But that was just Colton. He was genuine, kind and considerate wrapped in a devastatingly handsome and masculine package. There was nothing self-centered about him. In fact, there was a sad quality in his eyes that made him so real.
“Bernard and I spent our whole lives here at this motel. He never would take a vacation. I used to tease him about what he’d turn into with all work and no play.” A wistful and loving look overtook Peach’s face when she spoke about her husband.
“He sounds like an honest, hard-working man,” Makena said.
“That he was. He was good to me and I was good to him. We had two daughters. One who succumbed to illness as a child, and the other who your boyfriend is on the phone with now. She looks after me. She’s been on me to sell the business for years.” Peach exhaled. “It’s difficult to let go. Here is where I feel Bernard’s presence the most. I always thought I’d start a little restaurant. Even had a name picked out, but I never did find the time. I always would rather be feeding people. The motel was Bernard’s baby.”
The fact that Peach had referred to Colton as Makena’s boyfriend didn’t get past her. She didn’t see this as the time to correct the elderly woman.
She glanced up, and it was then that the flat-screen TV caught her attention. She remembered the date stamp and the time stamp on the screen when River had looked up. He’d looked up at exactly 6:12 a.m., which meant he was at the motel and not anywhere near Katy Gulch and he must have known something was going to happen even if he didn’t know what because he’d given himself an alibi. Birchwood was a solid half hour from town. He’d been inside his room the entire night, based on the camera footage. The only window was in front, next to the door. If he’d tried to climb out, the camera would’ve picked it up.
As far as she knew there were no other exits in the room, which pretty much ensured that he was innocent.
A flood of relief washed over her that he hadn’t been involved in the bombing attempt. Bic and Stitch’s whereabouts had yet to be known, and she had plenty of questions for the pair.
Makena sat with her hands folded in her lap. She refocused on the story Peach was telling her about how her beloved Bernard had singlehandedly patched up a roof after a tornado. Peach was rambling and Makena didn’t mind. The woman’s smooth, steady voice had a calming effect, and she figured Peach needed to keep her mind busy by talking.
Colton stepped back into the room and then handed the phone to Peach, who took it and spoke to her daughter.
While Peach was occupied, Makena motioned for Colton to come closer. He bent down and took a knee beside her. She liked that he immediately reached for her hand. She leaned toward his ear and relayed her discovery.
He rocked his head. “That’s a really good point. If he was here all night, he couldn’t have been the one to set the bomb. We have two names, and their department will want to be involved. I promise you here and now justice will be served.”
Makena hoped he could deliver on that promise before they could get to her. Bic and Stitch had proven they’d go to any length to quiet her.
“I already figured out they were setting River up. It’s a pretty perfect setup and that’s the reason we found the black key chain at the scene.” After everything she’d been through with River, she probably shouldn’t care one way or the other about it. She just wasn’t built that way. She did care. Not just about him but about anyone who’d taken a wrong turn.
“Any chance we can stop by the hospital when we leave here?” Makena asked.
“I think that can be arranged.”
She really hoped so, because she wanted to see with her own eyes that River was okay.
“Since we know he’s a target, will there be security? How will that work?” she asked.
“I just called in a report that he’s a material witness in an attempted murder case. One of my deputies is with him and we’ll make sure he’s not left unattended in the hospital while he fights for his life.” Colton’s words were reassuring.
“Excuse me, sir.” Trooper Staten stepped inside the room.
“How can I help you?”
“Since you have a deputy here, I’d like to offer backup to one of my buddies who has a trucker pulled over not far from here. If you think you’ll be good without me, I’d like to assist.”
“We’re good. Thank you for everything. Your help is much appreciated.” Colton stood up, crossed the room and shook the state trooper’s hand.
Deputy Fletcher worked to process the scene while Colton and Makena waited for Peach’s daughter to show. She did, about twenty minutes later. The young woman, who looked to be in her late twenties, had a baby on her hip and a distressed look on her face as she approached the motel.
Rather than let her step into the bloody scene before it could be cleaned up, Colton met her at the door. He turned back in time to say, “Makena, do you want to bring Peach outside?”
“Sure. No problem.” She helped Peach to her feet.
The older woman gripped Makena’s arm tightly and it gave her the impression Peach was holding on for dear life. It was good that her daughter was picking her up. She needed someone to take care of her.
Seeing the look on her daughter’s face as soon as they stepped outside sent warmth spreading through Makena. The mother-daughter bond hit her square in the chest, and for the first time, Makena thought she was missing out on something by not having a child of her own.
When Peach was settled in her daughter’s small SUV and the baby had been strapped in the back seat, the older woman looked up with weary eyes.
“Maybe it is a good idea for me to sell. My handyman, Ralph, can keep things running until the sale. He can see to it if anyone needs a rental. You were right to have me call my daughter,” she said to Colton. “Good luck with everything. Take care of yourselves.” Peach glanced from Makena to Colton and back. “And take care of each other. If you don’t mind my saying, the two of you have something special. That’s probably the most important thing you can have in life.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Colton said.
Again, Makena didn’t see the need to correct Peach despite the thrill of hope she felt at hearing those words. Peach had been through a traumatic experience and Makena wasn’t going to ruin her romantic notions by clarifying her relationship with Colton. He had become her lifeline and that was most likely the reason the thought of being separated from him at some point gave her heart palpitations, not that she’d reactivated real feelings for him. The kind of feelings that could go the distance.
COLTON CHECKED HIS WATCH. He surveyed the area, well aware that it had only been a short while ago that two perps had been walking across that same street.
A second deputy pulled up. Colton motioned for him to go on inside. He didn’t want anyone working alone on this scene or this case.
He turned to Makena. “River is probably still in surgery. Do you think you could eat something?”
Peach wasn’t the only one in shock. Makena was handling hers well, but she’d had months of being on the run and hiding to practice dealing with extreme emotions.
Makena closed the distance between them and leaned against him.
Colton looped his arms around her waist and pulled her body flush with his. This time, he was the one who dipped his head and pressed a kiss to her lips. He told himself he did it to root them both in reality again, but there was so much more to it, to being with her.
The thought of how close he’d come to losing her sent a shiver rocketing down his back. He’d lost enough with Rebecca and he didn’t want to lose another friend.
Makena took in a deep breath. “How do you think he knew?”
Colton knew exactly what she was talking about. She was picking up their conversational thread from a few minutes ago.
“It’s possible he didn’t. It’s likely he assumed that something could happen. He might have followed them here. Maybe they disappeared for a couple of days, and he realized they were searching for you and had found you. So he must’ve decided following them was his best chance at finding you. You were the wild card. They had no idea when you were going to show up and what evidence you might bring with you. They’ve probably been looking for you this entire time, and the fact that you disappeared when you did made it look that much more like you had something to hide or fear.”
“Timing,” she said on another sigh. It was a loaded word.
She blinked up at him and those crystal clear blue eyes brought out feelings he hadn’t felt since college. He had no idea what to do with them. Complicated didn’t begin to describe their lives. But he liked her standing right where she was, her warm body pressed against his and his arms circling her waist.
Colton glanced around, surveying the area. Even with two deputies on-site he couldn’t let his guard down.
“What do you say we eat at the cafeteria in the hospital?” Makena asked.
“I need to let these guys know where we’re headed and communicate with Gert so she can keep someone close to us.” Traveling this way was cumbersome and frustrating. An idea sparked. He twined his and Makena’s fingers before walking back inside the building. “How about one of you gentlemen lend me your service vehicle? I can leave my truck here. I don’t want either one of you driving it. I’ll have it towed back to my office. And then the two of you can buddy up on the way back to the office, where you can pick up another vehicle.”
Both of his deputies were already nodding their agreement.
Deputy Fletcher pitched a set of keys to Colton, which he caught with one hand. He figured that he and Makena would be a helluva lot safer in a marked vehicle than his truck. Not to mention Bic and Stitch knew exactly what he drove. They may have even pulled some strings and run the plates by now, which would work in Colton’s favor. He highly doubted they would’ve shot at a sheriff if they’d known.
Colton led Makena out to the county-issued SUV.
The drive to the hospital was forty minutes long. Colton located a parking spot as close to the ER doors as he could find. He linked his and Makena’s fingers before walking into the ER bay. He was ever aware that a sharpshooter could be anywhere, waiting to strike. But what he hoped was that Bic and Stitch had gone back to Dallas to regroup.
Now that their chief was aware, they would be brought in for questioning. It would have to be handled delicately. Their plan to set up River had blown up in their faces, as had their plans to erase Makena.
The strangest part about the whole thing was that they were targeting her based on what they thought she knew, while she really knew nothing. But now Dallas P.D and the sheriff’s office knew what the men were capable of.
On the annual summer barbecue night, Colton and his staff would sit around a campfire way too late and swap stories. Conversation always seemed to drift toward what everyone would do if it went down, meaning they had to disappear.
The first thing people said was obvious. Get rid of their cell phone. The next was that they’d stay the heck away from their personal vehicle. Another thing was not to go home again. That seemed obvious. Most of the deputies said they’d go to the ATM and withdraw as much money as they could before heading to Mexico. At least one said she would head toward Canada because she thought it was the opposite way anyone would look for her.
Bic and Stitch had to have a backup plan. It was just a cop’s instinct to talk through worst-case scenarios. And if they thought like typical cops, like he was certain they did considering they had twenty-six years of police experience between them, he figured they had an escape plan, too.
So the thought of them going back to their homes or to Dallas was scratched. Their cover was blown.
But did they realize it?
One thing was certain: they didn’t have anything to gain sticking around town. In fact, it would do them both good to hide out until this blew over. And then take off for the border.
What would their escape plan be? He wondered where they’d been hiding while River booked the motel room.
It was a lot to think about. Colton needed a jolt of caffeine and he probably needed something in his stomach besides acid from coffee. The piece of toast he’d had for breakfast wasn’t holding up anymore.
He stopped off at the nurses’ station in the ER.
“Can you point me to the cafeteria?” It wouldn’t do any good to ask about River yet and these women most likely wouldn’t know. He would go to the information desk, which would be in the front lobby.
“Straight down this hallway, make a right and then a left. You’ll find a lobby, which you’ll need to cross. You’ll get to a hallway on the exact opposite side and you’ll want to take that. You can’t miss it from there.”
Colton thanked the intake nurse and then followed her directions to a T. A minute later, they were standing in front of a row of vending machines that had everything from hot chocolate to hot dogs.
“Does any of this look appetizing?” he asked Makena.
She walked slowly, skimming the contents of each vending machine. She stopped at the third one and then pointed. “I think this ham sandwich could work.”
Colton bought two of them, then grabbed a couple bags of chips. She wanted a soft drink while he stuck with black coffee.
There was a small room with a few bright orange plastic tables and chairs scattered around the room. Each table had from three to six chairs surrounding it. There were two individuals sitting at different tables, each staring at their phone.
Makena took the lead and chose a table farthest away from the others. The sun was shining, and hours had passed since breakfast.
“So I noticed you didn’t ask about River.” Makena took a bite and chewed on her ham sandwich.
“No, the intake nurses either wouldn’t have information or wouldn’t share it. There’s an information desk we can stop at after we eat. I know most of the people who work there and figured that would be the best place to check his status” He checked his smartwatch. “Gert would let me know if the worst had happened, if River had died.”
“Have you given much thought to what your life might look like once this is all behind you?” Colton asked Makena after they’d finished eating.
“Every day for the past six months I’ve thought about what I would do once this was all over. To be honest, I never really had an answer that stuck. I went through phases. One of those phases was to just buy a little farmhouse somewhere away from people and live on my own and maybe get a golden retriever for company.”
“There are worse ways to spend your life.”
She smiled and continued. “Then, I had a phase where I wanted to move far away from Texas and live in a major metropolitan area where there would be people everywhere, but no one would bother me unless I wanted them to. If I wanted to be left alone, people would respect that. But I would be around life again. I’d be around people doing things and being busy. I wouldn’t have to hide my face.” She looked out the window thoughtfully. “None of those things stuck for more than a month.”
“And how about now?”
“I have a few ideas.” She turned to face him and looked him in the eyes. “Now I feel like I know what I want, but that maybe it’s out of reach.”
Before he could respond, a text came in from Gert that River was out of surgery. Gert had connections in most places and the hospital was no different. Glancing at his watch, he realized an hour had passed since they’d arrived at the hospital.
Colton made a mental note to finish this conversation later, because a very large part of him wanted to know if she saw any chance of the two of them spending time together. It was pretty much impossible for him to think about starting a new relationship while he had one-year-old twins at home, especially with what was going on with his family.
His mind came up with a dozen reasons straight out of the chute as to why it was impossible and wouldn’t happen and could never go anywhere. Why he couldn’t risk it.
But the heart didn’t listen to logic. It wanted to get to know Makena again. To see if the fire in the kisses they’d shared—kisses he was having one helluva time trying to erase from his memory—could ignite something that might last longer than a few months.
Logic flew out the window when it came to the heart.
“River is out of surgery and I can probably get us up to his floor if not his room.”
Makena looked like she wanted to say something and then thought better of it.
“Let’s do it.” She took in a sharp breath, like she was steadying herself for what she knew would come.
Colton cursed the timing of the text, but it was good news. He led them to the information desk where he could get details about which floor River was housed in. Trudy, a middle-aged single mother who lived on the outskirts of Katy Gulch, sat at the counter.
As sheriff, Colton liked to get to know his residents and look out for those who seemed to need it. Trudy had been widowed while her husband had been serving in the military overseas. She’d been left with four kids and not a lot of money. Colton’s office led a back-to-school backpack drive every year in part to make sure her children never went without. Gert always beamed with pride when delivering those items.
Gert organized a toy drive every year for Christmas, a book drive twice a year and coats for kids before the first cold snap.
“Hey, Trudy. You have a patient who just got out of surgery, and we’d like to go up to his floor and talk to his nurse and possibly his doctor,” Colton said after introducing Trudy to Makena.
“Just a second, Sheriff. I’ll look that up right now,” Trudy said with a smile. Her fingers danced across the keyboard.
Makena’s gaze locked onto someone. Colton followed her gaze to the man in scrubs. The doctor came from the same hallway they’d entered the lobby from, and then headed straight toward a bank of elevators.
The hair on Colton’s neck prickled. Trudy’s fingers worked double time. Click-click-click.
As the elevators closed on the opposite side of the lobby, something in the back of Colton’s mind snapped.
“The patient you’re looking for is on the seventh floor. He’s in critical condition. No visitors are allowed.” She flashed eyes at Colton. “No normal visitors. That doesn’t mean you. He’s in room 717.”
Colton thanked her for the courtesy and realized what had been sticking in the back of his mind. The doctor who’d crossed the lobby wore a surgical mask and regular boots. Every doctor Colton had seen had foot coverings on their shoes. They usually wore tennis shoes with coverings over them for sanitation purposes.
This guy had on a surgical mask and no boot covers?
One look at Makena said she realized something was up. Colton looked at Trudy before jumping into action the minute he made eye contact with Makena and realized she was thinking along the same lines.
“Trudy, call security. Send backup to the seventh floor and help to room 717.” Colton linked his fingers with Makena and started toward the elevator. Of course, he had a deputy on-site and the hospital had its own security. So imagine his shock when the elevator doors opened and his deputy walked out.
“Lawson, what are you doing?”
His deputy seemed dumbfounded as Colton rushed into the elevator.
“What do you mean? I’m going to get a cup of coffee. Hospital security relieved me and said you authorized a break.”
“And you didn’t think to check with me first?” Colton asked.
Lawson’s mistake seemed to dawn on him. He muttered a few choice words as he pushed the button for the seventh floor, apologizing the whole time.
It seemed to take forever for the elevator to ding and the doors to open. At least, they knew where one of the men was; the other had to be close by. The two seemed to travel as a pair.
As soon as the doors opened, Colton shot out. He shouted back to Lawson, “Make sure no one comes down this hallway.”
There were two hallways and several sets of stairs, but Lawson could make sure no one followed Colton.
Unwilling to let Makena out of his sight, Colton held on to her hand as he banked right toward room 717. As suspected, there was no security guard at the door.
Colton cursed as he bolted toward the open door.
Inside, he interrupted a man in a security outfit standing near River’s bedside. The man in uniform had a black mustache, neatly trimmed.
“Sheriff, I saw him. Someone was in here. He ran out the door.”
“Put your hands where I can see them,” Colton demanded.