Page 32 of Valor

He planted his foot down on the accelerator, increasing his speed to get to Ranchester. He needed to find a place to drop Emily off so she could wait for Doug. It was the only viable option if he hoped to avoid prison.

Pushing his wounded feelings aside, he told himself this was for the best. If he could buy himself even five minutes, he’d hit Interstate 90 and then hopefully get lost among the other travelers. Friday in May should have plenty of travelers hitting the road for a long weekend.

This could work. Once he knew for sure he’d left Doug and the gunman behind, he’d find a place to stop and regroup. To figure out his next steps.

Yeah, it was well past time for him to move on without Emily.

Unfortunately, that thought hurt as much if not more than her betrayal. Leaving Emily behind was the right thing to do.

But deep down, Owen silently admitted he’d never forget her.

* * *

Emily wincedwhen she realized Owen was eyeing the rearview mirror with a grim expression etched on his features. Was it possible Doug was closing in on them? Maybe he’d already been on his way to Dayton before she’d called using Angela’s phone.

She resisted the urge to twist around in her seat to see for herself. Not that she’d be able to tell if the car behind them belonged to Doug rather than the gunman. To her mind, one car looked very much like another.

Yet she was convinced the SUV they saw earlier this morning had been Doug all along. He’d come to pick her up from the Elk Horn cabin, and when she wasn’t there, set out to search for her by driving up and down Highway 14.

She was surprised he hadn’t brought Maya and her K9, Zion, with him. Or one of the other Sullivan siblings. He and Maya lived on the ranch. A wave of doubt washed over her.

Why hadn’t she thought of this sooner? Of course, Doug would have brought a search dog and handler along.

And if so, maybe the gunman was hot on their tail.

She reached for Owen’s arm. “That may not be Doug behind us.”

“Nice try.” His voice was harsh as he shook off her grasp. “Give it up, Emily. I should have expected you to use Angela’s phone to make that call to your brother, but I’ll admit you caught me off guard with that stunt. I wish you’d have told me, though. I could have left you at the café with Angela in Dayton.”

“I’m sorry.” She wasn’t sure why she was apologizing, because in the same circumstances, she’d probably do the same thing all over again.

“No you’re not,” he snapped. “Quit pretending.”

Bear yawned and pushed himself upright. She stroked the puppy to soothe him. Maybe the little guy could tell she was worried.

“I’m sorry you’re upset with me, Owen. But take a moment to think this through. If Doug was searching for me in the middle of the night, then why didn’t we see any sign of Zion, Maya’s search and rescue K9? Zion has incredible SAR skills. She would have easily tracked our scent through the woods, leading Doug and Maya right to us.” Her voice pleaded with him to listen to reason.

He frowned. “Why would he bring the dog? It’s not like a K9 can track people moving around in cars. Besides, you told him where you were located, so he probably decided there was no need to bring Maya and Zion.”

“True.” She gnawed her lower lip, trying to figure out if Doug would have brought a K9 team along on the trip or not. Last week, Maya had confided in her that she was newly pregnant, barely twelve weeks along. Knowing Doug’s overprotective nature, she could see him making the decision to head out to pick her up alone, leaving Maya and Zion behind. The tension eased from her shoulders. “Okay, maybe I’m overreacting.”

Owen muttered something she couldn’t decipher under his breath. Then he pressed his foot harder on the accelerator, increasing their speed even more. As they took the turns and twists in the road, she caught the occasional glimpse of the town of Ranchester up ahead.

She realized he was doubling down on his intent to leave her and Bear behind despite not knowing who was driving the car behind them.

“Owen, let’s talk about this,” she began.

“Not now.” Between glancing at the rearview mirror and watching the road, she could tell he was too distracted by the situation to listen.

She expected him to barrel through town, dropping her on the other side closer to where the interstate was located. But when he reached the town, he hit the brake and wrenched the wheel into a last-minute right-hand turn.

She let out a squeak as Bear dug his nails into her legs, fighting to stay in her lap. She tightened her grip on the puppy with her left hand while clinging to the arm rest with her right. “What are you doing?”

Owen didn’t bother to answer. A moment later, he’d taken another turn and entered the Community Church parking lot. He chose a spot near the front of the building, one that could not be seen from the main highway, which ran behind the structure. There were only two other cars in the lot. She eyed the clock. It was quarter past nine o’clock in the morning, which meant there could be an upcoming service.

For all they knew, the car behind them was heading for the church. Maybe there was nothing sinister about the vehicle at all.

“Stay here.” Owen released his safety harness, pushed out the driver’s side door, and moved quickly along the east side of the building.

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