Page 83 of Trail to Trouble
She pulled her hands from his and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Don’t pull away.”
“I can’t put you through this again.”
His gaze intensified, and she wanted to pull hers away, but couldn’t. She loved him and wanted to keep him in her life. She ripped her gaze away.
“I love you, Hannah.”
Her heart beat erratically at his profession of love and use of her real name. There was no way she could walk away from him again. Her gaze floated back to him.
“I have an idea. First, we’ll call the cops and get this on record. Second, let’s bait him.”
“What?”
The thought of intentionally calling attention to herself and Hunter scared the crap out of her.
“Let’s see if we can’t get him to do something stupid that gets him sent back to prison.”
“Say that happens, that would only be a temporary result, and we’ll be right back in this position when he gets back out.”
“That could be true, but it beats the alternative, right?”
“I guess so. What’s your idea?”
“We’ll drive to the Green Bay Police Department and get a report on file. Then, you text Bianca back to let her know you’re going to run and hide out up north for a while. If Sebastián is monitoring her phone or, unfortunately, if Bianca is trying to draw you out for him, hopefully that will be enough information for him to figure out you’re going to Yooper’s Adventures.”
So, a part of Hunter thought Bianca could be a willing partner of Sebastián’s. She supposed this was a possibility, since her friend seemed to desert her a decade ago when she needed her most. In her heart, she wanted to believe Bianca was a good person. They were once friends. She couldn’t be that poor of a judge of character, could she? Yes, she once liked Sebastián, so the answer was yes. In her own defense, though, she’d figured him out quickly.
“What do you think?” he asked at her lack of response.
“Let’s start with the police. I’ll mull the rest over. I don’t want to put any innocent bystanders, meaning your uncle or clients, at risk.”
“Fair enough. I’ll call him to see what he’s got going on this week. It’s early in the season for camping and hiking, so maybe there aren’t that many people there right now. Could be some there for fishing. We’ll see.”
“Okay.”
“Give me a few minutes to pack a bag, and then we’ll go to your place so you can pack, and then to the police department.”
Katrina paced the kitchen and living room, waiting for Hunter’s return.
When he entered the living room, he had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder, a large plastic case in his right hand, and a rifle case in his left. He stepped up onto the kitchen island and popped the case onto the counter, dropped the bag to the floor, and then opened the case. Inside were two pistols and ammo.
“Are you good with a .45 auto? Or would you rather a 9mm?”
He was dead serious and dead right. They’d need to provide their own protection. A 9mm is what she normally carried, but in this case, she wanted the .45. The bigger, the better.
She pulled one of the matching 45s from the case just to get the feel of it.
“This will work,” she said as she put it back.
“I was hoping you’d opt for the .45, but I would have pulled a 9mm from the safe for you.”
Hunter followed her as she drove back to her apartment. Paranoia ruled her drive. Not even sure what she looked for, she kept her gaze and senses on high alert.
She tucked her SUV into the garage and Hunter parked in front of the large door. He followed her into her apartment and waited while she packed. Then, they loaded into his truck and drove to the police department.
Even to her own ears, she sounded like a crazy person as she told her story to the officer. He was kind and took notes.
