Page 5 of Valor

But he couldn’t control the new players who’d emerged on the scene.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t stop. We need to keep moving.” He wove between houses in the general direction of where he’d left the SUV. The one he’d taken after killing the man who’d targeted him.

Something he was loath to tell Emily.

“I’ll call Doug; he’ll know what to do.” Emily sounded more insistent now.

He grit his teeth, knowing the first person her DEA agent brother, Doug, would call was Colin Granger. “See that black SUV? That’s our ride.”

Her gaze narrowed. “That’s quite the upgrade since the last time we rode together.”

He swallowed a sigh, knowing she was imagining the SUV had been purchased by him with drug money. And while the last part of that was probably true, he had nothing to do with getting the money for the car.

Not that it mattered. He yanked open the passenger door. “We’ll get someplace safe, then make some calls.”

“Okay.” The way she took his comment at face value only made him feel ten times worse. There was no way he’d let her call Doug.

At least not right away. Once he knew more about what was going on, then maybe that would be a viable option.

Who was he kidding? As Owen slammed the door behind Emily and ran around to the driver’s seat, he silently cursed himself up one side and down the other. Because deep down, he was tempted to take Emily to the opposite side of the country where they could disappear, forever.

Yeah, and maybe they’d have a small house, a white picket fence, two kids, and a dog too.

Shaking his head at his foolishness—there were no happily-ever-afters for guys like him—he tried to focus on their next steps. Get as far away from Cody as possible, and go where?

He had no idea.

“Who was that man?” Emily’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“I don’t know.” He glanced at her. “Did he look familiar? Could he have been lurking around over the past few days without you noticing?”

“I’ve never seen him before in my life.” She frowned. “You shot him.”

He clenched his jaw and nodded. “Yep.”

“Thank you for saving my life.” Her gratitude caught him off guard. He’d expected to be raked over the coals for shooting and killing a man.

“Don’t thank me.” The words sounded harsh to his own ears. “It’s my fault you’re in danger. I never should have come back.”

“You said you weren’t followed.” She eyed him warily. “Have you changed your mind about that? Do you think you were followed to my house?”

“No. That’s not what I meant.” He didn’t want to get into the details of the mess he was in now. He needed to stay focused on driving. “We’ll talk about that later. Help me find a place where we can stay off-grid for a while.”

“The only place I have access to is the Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue Ranch. My brother married Maya Sullivan. They live on the ranch with the rest of Maya’s eight siblings. But they also have an empty guest cabin on the ranch that you can use.”

“That’s not an option.” He shot her an annoyed look. “Do you really want to expose your brother’s family to danger?”

“No, of course not.” She sounded upset now too. “You asked for ideas! I don’t own any other places around here.”

“Okay. I understand.” He needed to remain calm for her sake. “I know of a place we can try to use temporarily, but it will take some time to get there.”

There was a long moment of silence before she asked, “Is the place we’re going connected to how you survived after leaving the cabin by snowmobile?”

He grimaced. “Yes. But now that you’ve said it like that, I’m not sure that’s a good idea either.” He didn’t think his recovery at Doc’s place was known by anyone, as he’d kept those details to himself, but it might be better to hold off on returning there for a bit.

“Why not try a motel?” she suggested. “Doug mentioned that when they were looking for places to stay that a few of them agreed to accept cash.”

He didn’t have a lot of cash to spare. But they needed a place to lie low for a while. When he heard the wailing police sirens, it took all his willpower not to hit the gas to speed away from the neighborhood as quickly as possible. “A motel works, but not in Cody. We’ll try Greybull. I know they have at least a couple of places that will hopefully accept cash in lieu of a credit card.”

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