Page 81 of Second Chance Savior

River stood up, bracing his hands on the table. “Our theory is that Hale is running from something. Possibly Stillwater. If he took his ATV, he’s probably staying off main highways. His hiding spot couldn’t be that far from home. That narrows our radius significantly.”

“I’ll keep you updated on what I hear in Hartley,” Trace said. “But if you need the Protectors for backup, it could be dicey. The Feds are watching us, and they’re not being subtle about it. They must have figured out you and I go way back, because they had a car parked down the street from my house this morning. Scarlett marched right out there and told the agent to stay away from the kids. Mama bear in action.”

“Good,” I said. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

Trace grinned, which transformed him from intimidating to glowing. “When all this blows over, you’re more than welcome, Charlie. We’d love to meet someone from Riv’s life growing up. You’re clearly important to him.”

“Thanks. He’s important to me too.”

River sat again, and his hand brushed down my shoulder.

I had no idea if or when I’d be in Hartley. If we would simply become friends after this was all over, and I could stop by for a friendly, non-awkward visit. I hoped I could. I didn’t want River to vanish from my life again.

“I’m sorry my problems are causing a disruption for your family.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither would Scarlett. Or any of us. Except Rivdidmiss my sister’s party where Aiden proposed. River had to take off for Denver to get to you. The mission just couldn’t wait.”

“No offense to your sister, but I’m glad he did. Even if it took me a while to come around. River told me about the Protectors and what you do. I was skeptical at first. But I’m becoming a believer.”

I felt River watching me again, but I didn’t look his way. Probably because Trace would see everything written out on my face. The man seemed perceptive like that.

In the afternoon, I sat down in front of River’s laptop again and studied his research on Jud.

Instead of vying for my attention, River changed into a pair of shorts and sneakers, stripped off his shirt, and jogged laps around the cabin. I heard him go by every time he passed the open door.

Then he started doing push-ups, sit-ups, and some kind of jumping lunges outside, which tested my resolve. His lean torso was all sweaty, glistening with sweat in the sun.

The way his lats bulged when he did push-ups wasobscene.

I had to close the door or I wasn’t going to get anything done. That man was a menace to my attention span.

But finally, I got absorbed in my task. A lot of the details here, I already knew. I had dated Jud for years, after all. He’d shown me pieces of his life.

But beneath the surface, it was clear how little I’d known about my ex-boyfriend.

He had far more debt than I had ever realized. While he owned extensive property in Hart County and also in Denver real estate, he’d leveraged everything to the max. The fancy watches and clothes I’d noticed him wearing had cost a very pretty penny. Same with the new cars.

I got a great deal. That had been his constant refrain. Yeah, right.

Reading his financials, I saw the change in his bank accounts in the last couple of years. Small but steady increases. Not enough to alert the government, but still inexplicable.

They had to be payoffs from Stillwater, probably funneled through an offshore bank and gradually deposited in Jud’s checking account.

But something must have gone wrong. Jud had retired from the state legislature late last year, not long after our breakup. He’d returned to Hart County. Had Stillwater been angry that he’d left his political seat? But months had gone by since then. Jud had only disappeared a few days ago. Right before the attack on my fundraiser.

Why?

If Jud was on the run, where would he go?

He’d taken his ATV. But he would avoid his own properties and those of his friends. Those locations would’ve been too obvious. Easy for Stillwater’s people to check.

But that left hundreds of square miles.

There was a lot of wild landscape in Colorado. So many places a person could disappear. Yet Jud wasn’t the type to go without basic luxuries. He wore that cowboy hat and ropers, and he could add a charming rustic drawl to his speech, but I couldn’t imagine him holed up in a remote cabin like River’s.

I pulled up a Colorado map and let my eye rove over it.

Where are you?

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