Page 39 of Valor

Yet there was no mistaking her response. She’d kissed him back.

As he hurried back toward the truck, he noticed a red truck off to the side, sitting with its engine idling. He couldn’t see the driver’s face because the guy was sitting with his head down as if using his phone.

No sane bad guy would try to follow his quarry in a bright-red highly noticeable truck, so Owen told himself to stop being paranoid. Trucks with four-wheel drive were the most common vehicle in Wyoming. He jumped in behind the wheel and headed back to the main highway leading through town.

“Did you see that sign for a ranger station?” Emily asked.

He shook his head. “No, I’ve been watching the rearview mirror to make sure that red truck doesn’t follow us.”

“What red truck?” She twisted in her seat. “I saw one earlier.”

That made his gut clench. Then again, it would make sense that anyone driving into town would stop for gas and supplies when the opportunity presented itself. He made a quick right-hand turn and found himself in what appeared to be a local neighborhood. The houses were sturdy and nothing fancy, but they were well maintained and set on spacious plots of land.

He wound through the streets until he found a dead-end road.

“What’s wrong?” Emily asked.

“I’m just giving that red truck plenty of time to move on.” He grimaced and shook his head. “I’m sure he’s a local, but I can’t help being wary.”

“I’m sure he’s harmless.” She waved off his concern. “I noticed the first digit on his license plate was the number three.” When he arched a brow, she added, “I think that number is the designation for Sheridan County. I saw so many of the plates with that number, it can’t be a coincidence.”

“Okay, that makes sense.” He took a deep breath and relaxed. “Glad you know that sort of thing.”

“I’ve lived in Wyoming my whole life,” she said with a shrug. “Back to that ranger station sign, I think that would be a good place to use as a meeting spot.”

He frowned. “Oh yeah?”

“Of course.” Emily looked at him as if worried he’d changed his mind. “Think about it, Owen. Rangers are peace officers. They’ll have a phone we can use and will also provide backup if anyone shows up other than Doug.”

She was right. The ranger station would be the perfect place to rendezvous with Doug Bridges. It was a much better location than the church.

Especially if there were more bad guys on the way.

“Sounds like that’s our next stop.” He didn’t immediately put the truck in gear, though. “Let’s wait a few minutes.”

Her brow furrowed, but she shrugged. “Okay.”

Bear made a circle on her lap, then settled down and promptly fell asleep. There was a long silence as he waited a full five minutes before putting the truck in gear and pulling away from the side of the road.

He managed to retrace their route through the subdivision. Once they reached the main highway, he turned right. “How far was the ranger station?”

“Maybe a mile or two?” She craned her neck as they moved through town. As they approached a rib and chop house, she leaned forward. “I see it! There, turn left on East 5thStreet.”

Seeing the sign, he obliged. The road crossed under the Interstate 90 bypass, and the ranger station was a smaller government building a half mile farther down the road.

He pulled into the parking lot and stopped. This was it. The end of the road for them. He forced himself to push the car door open to get out. Emily did the same, carrying Bear.

“Ready?” Her brown eyes were filled with an anticipation he wished he could share. He nodded and fell into step beside her.

As they approached the building, he was glad to see there was one green pickup truck with a game warden logo parked near the front entrance. Game wardens were armed with handguns, and he figured having that guy on their side was much better than utilizing a church pastor.

He wanted to turn around and leave Emily to make the call. He could be back inside the truck and out on the highway in less than a minute.

Yet the last two times he’d tried that, she’d almost been killed. No matter how safe she should be here at the ranger station, he couldn’t make himself leave. Not yet. He’d wait until Doug arrived.

From there, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. And that scared him. Because he was seriously considering doing exactly what Emily had wanted from the very beginning.

Throw himself on Doug’s mercy.

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