Page 34 of Red Boar's Baby

Or a terrible, terrible coincidence?

She cried herself out and straightened up with a final sniffle, reluctantly unwinding herself from Costa’s arms. He looked at her with a helpless expression that would have made her laugh if she had felt less miserable, then soaked a clean dishcloth at the sink and handed it to her.

“Thanks,” she hiccuped and tried to clean up her face a little. “I must look like a wreck.”

“You look like a very strong, brave woman whose house burned down tonight.”

There was a throat-clearing noise from the open doorway between the kitchen and living room. Caine was lounging against the doorframe, looking tired but amused. “I’m headed home. We’ll see if the lovely Gilly saved the rest of supper for me.” He paused and added awkwardly, “Do you need anything else before I leave?”

“No, get back to your supper and the lovely Gilly,” Costa said with a slight smile and a dismissive handwave. “I really appreciate you coming so quickly. And—the rest of it.”

This stirred Diana to put in, “Yes, thank you. I’ll keep your secret, I promise.”

Caine gave them both a terse nod and ducked out of sight. Diana suspected he was gone almost as soon as they could no longer see him.

“Whatishe?” she asked as Costa rummaged in a cabinet. “What did he do just now?”

“Sorry, that’s his story to tell. But now you know why he’s a huge asset to the bureau, at least when he’s not being a huge assatthe bureau.”

Diana giggled a little, as she was probably meant to. Costa set out a wine glass and poured her a glass of red wine, while he picked up an open beer from the countertop. Diana wasn’t that much of a wine drinker, but she accepted it, aware that she probably shouldn’t dip into anything stronger in her present state.

“Do you mind talking about it?” Costa asked, sliding onto the stool beside her.

“No, it’s fine.” She was very aware of his presence, the muscular arm almost touching her own—which had been wrapped around her mere moments ago. There was still a damp patch where she had cried on his T-shirt.

“We’ll stop if you need to, but why don’t you start by telling me about the guy who was looking for you today?”

Diana repeated everything Luis had told her, which wasn’t much. “Big, blond, wearing camo, and dangerous-looking. Luis said he didn’t use my name, he just asked about the lady helicopter pilot, but he could easily have found out who I was later.”

Costa started to say something, then abruptly fell silent and looked up. Diana tensed, but he was only listening to the sound of a slightly drunken couple laughing and arguing as they passed outside his house.

“Sorry,” Costa said. “You should be the one who’s paranoid, not me.”

“It’s enough to make anyone paranoid.” Diana took a gulp of her wine. “If someone really is after me, there’s no way they could know I’m here—thanks to Caine. And my car’s still in Bisbee.”

“True.” Costa ran his fingers down the beer bottle. He had barely touched it. “And I’m wondering if we ought to take advantage of our head start. If someoneisafter you, it won’t take them long to connect you to me. And the kid’s mixed up in all of this too. She could have been with you tonight.”

Diana shivered. “I’ve thought of that.”

“I don’t think you should stay here. I’m thinking about heading out before anyone has a chance to locate you and taking you to my family’s ranch.”

The ranch. She shivered for an entirely different reason. She hadn’t been out to that dry valley that had once been her entire world since her parents sold their spread. “But if these people connect me to you, then they’ll find out about the ranch,” she pointed out.

“Yes, but there’s no more defensible place I can think of. It’s at the end of a single road in or out. No stranger is going to show up without everyone knowing about it. And they’re all shifters out there, plus my female relatives will have some clothes and things you can borrow, as well as stuff for the kid.”

“Sold,” Diana said.

* * *

Costa took a few minutes to pack, while Diana bundled a drowsy Emmeline in a blanket. It was Costa’s idea to make sure Diana didn’t show herself outside; she went straight from the condo down a flight of steps to his car, parked in a narrow garage that barely had room to move around the sides. Diana found that a child’s car seat had been placed in the back, and struggled with the straps until Costa arrived with a military-surplus canvas rucksack over one shoulder, hauling a canvas shopping tote and a cooler, with a travel mug in the crook of his arm. He saw the difficulty she was having and moved in.

“Borrowed from one of Mavis’s relatives,” he explained. “I’ll get it. Here, trade you.” He handed her a warm travel mug. “Leftover coffee from earlier. I heated up what was left of the pot. We’ll probably need it for the drive.”

“Good thing you didn’t have much to drink,” Diana remarked. The wine was a warm glow in her stomach.

“Your groceries are in the cooler. Is there anything you want to stop for on the way? You might be at the ranch for a few days.”

Diana shook her head, unable to speak for a minute. Wordlessly she buckled herself in, and finally managed, “No. I’m good.”

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