Cowboy Command (17 page)

Jared was sitting next to Griffin but pulled the back door closed and locked it before stepping into the middle of the room.  He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope, holding it out to Seth.

“I think you might need these.  It was the best I could do on such short notice.”

Seth opened the envelope and the air was sucked right out of his lungs.  Jared had procured a couple of driver
’s licenses.  Seth’s actually had his picture on it, probably taken at a cookout or beer bash in the last year or two.  Presley’s didn’t have her picture, of course, but it was a fairly close likeness.

“
How did you do this?”  Jared had only had a few hours. 

Jared smiled. 
“Let’s just say I have friends in low, dark places.  I’m sorry Presley’s isn’t her picture but I got one that was close, based on your description of her.  Women change their look all the time, so maybe no one will say anything.”  Jared picked up Seth’s new identification.  “Mister Steve Rodell traveling with his wife, Missy Rodell.”

Seth fell into a chair. 
“Shit, this better work.  I’m breaking a few major federal laws taking Presley under with me.  Evan’s going to fucking have a cow.”

Griffin shrugged. 
“Evan will have to deal with it.  Listen, a few of us are going to follow you for awhile to make sure you get out of town and the bad guys aren’t tailing you.”

Seth shook his head. 
“I can’t ask you to do that.  I know you have your own towns to take care of.”

Logan smiled. 
“You didn’t ask, we offered.”  He shoved Tanner’s shoulder.  “Me and Tanner are coming.  I got a shit-load of vacation coming to me and seeing the Midwest with this ugly asshole is my dream holiday.”

Tanner
’s lips twisted.  “I’m feelin’ the love.”  He looked back at Seth.  “We’ll stay back a ways.  Logan and I are each taking a car so we can take turns in the lead, and all that jazz.  We’ll follow at least until Denver.”

“
Seth?”  Presley’s tentative tone made all the men turn around.  Her face was pale but her lips were firm.  She was going to be okay.  He would make sure of it.  He got up from his chair and pulled her into his arms, not caring if any of his buddies saw him. 

“
Yeah, honey?  Did you get a nap?” 

She nodded. 
“For a little while.  I’m all packed.  When are we leaving?”

She was so subdued, and Seth wasn
’t used to his little firecracker being so quiet.  He wanted to see her happy and smiling again, lighting up like a beacon. 

“
After sundown, so we have a few hours.  Are you hungry?  We should eat before we go.”

Reed stood up. 
“I’d be happy to go pick something up.  I’m getting hungry myself.”

Presley shrugged, a far cry from the gutsy woman he
’d encountered right after the shooting.  She seemed to be beaten down by the events and Seth didn’t blame her one bit.  She looked up at him.

“
What about Evan Davis?  When is he meeting us?”

Seth looked over her head at his best friends. Tanner nodded to him and Seth nodded once back.  Keeping things from her at this juncture wasn
’t a good idea.  They were a team now and they needed to start acting and working like it.

“
I’m not telling Evan anything.”  He guided her to a chair and helped her sit down.  “Evan’s part of a large organization that he can’t control.  They are, supposedly, the only people who know where you are.  Someone must have told Simon your whereabouts.  You didn’t tell anyone, did you?”

Seth finally saw a flash of fire in her eyes. 
“No!  I didn’t tell a soul.  That’s a shitty thing to say, Seth Reilly.”

His friends grinned at her feistiness and Seth smiled.  This was a Presley he knew how to handle. 
“I was only seeing if you were paying attention.  You seemed a little sleepy.  But it begs the question, doesn’t it?  If you didn’t tell anyone, and I didn’t tell anyone, well, that only leaves the Feds to have leaked the information.”

Presley crossed her arms over her chest and glared
, much to the other men’s amusement.  “You have a point.  I’m paying attention, rest assured.  Did I hear that some of you are following us to Denver?”

Logan nodded from his post at the window. 
“Tanner and I are.”

Presley nodded. 
“Thank you.  I feel safe with Seth, but with both of you, I’ll be triple safe.”

“
We won’t let anything happen to you.” Seth stroked her silky hair, watching it curl around his fingers.  “We’ll get to Tampa so you can testify, I promise, honey.”

Jared cleared his throat. 
“Speaking for myself, if you were testifying against me, I’d be scared to death.”

Seth saw the first real smile from Presley all day and silently thanked Jared.  He had a way with people. 

“Randall should be.  I want him behind bars for good.”

Seth patted her shoulder. 
“He will be.  Don’t worry.”

“
What would make me not worry is if you would go over all the things you’ve done and prepared to keep me safe.  I saw the RV out back and I see you’re all loaded for bear.”  Presley pointed to Seth’s shoulder holster.

Griffin gave her a crooked smile. 
“Let me give you a tour then…Mrs. Rodell.”

Presley frowned. 
“Who’s Mrs. Rodell?  My name is Presley.”

Seth smiled. 
“Wait until we show you what the guys brought.  I think you’ll be impressed.”

“
Do I get a gun of my own?”

“
No,” the men all said in unison.  Seth rolled his eyes.  “Have you ever shot a gun?  At all?”

“
No, but it can’t be all that hard.  You aim and pull the trigger.  Seems pretty straightforward, Sheriff.”

“
If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can hurt, or even kill yourself.”  Seth sighed.  “No gun for you.”

Presley pouted. 
“How am I supposed to protect myself?”

“
You’re not.”  Seth pointed to his chest.  “That’s my job.  Got it?”

“
Seems unfair.  What else do you want to show me?”

Griffin held up the box of pre-paid cell phones. 
“We’ll start here.”

Seth paced the room while Griffin showed Presley every precaution they
’d taken.  Seth was ready to go.  He could feel the anticipation and drive to leave building in his gut.  He needed to get Presley out of this town as soon as possible.  Her life depended on it.

* * * *
*

“
You’re incompetent,” Nora roared into her cell phone loud enough that her assistant hustled into the office to see what was going on.  Nora waved her away and the woman ducked out as quickly as she came, clearly recognizing she was not needed nor wanted.

“
It wasn’t our fault,” protested Joe Gartner, a man Nora had found a few years ago with not much brains, and even fewer scruples.  He was clearly worried about his job and he should be.  If he couldn’t carry out something as simple as this, then what was she paying him for?  “Some guy called to her and she turned at the last minute.  It was a cop so we needed to get the hell out of there, Nora.”

Nora
’s temper flared, but she needed to get a firm hold on her out of control emotions.  Katie was like a fucking cat with nine lives who fell from the staircase but landed on all four paws.  The visual of Katie making that same fall but breaking her damn neck made Nora smile with pleasure.  Perhaps she needed to stop trying to kill Katie by remote means and get up close and personal.

Nora hadn
’t planned on getting her hands dirty with the deed but it was starting to look like she didn’t have a choice.  She turned her attention back to her failing employee.

“
What is she doing now?  Why haven’t you tried again?”

Silence. 

“She’s gone.”  Joe’s voice bordered on whiny and if there was one thing Nora hated it was a whiny man. 

“
What do you mean ‘
she’s gone’
?  Where is she?” 

“
I don’t know.  She’s just disappeared.”  Nora’s fingers tightened on the phone and she had to talk to herself to calm down.  Anger wasn’t going to solve this.  Being calm and in control was what was called for at a time like this.

Nora sat up straight in her chair. 
“Find her,” she hissed.  “Find her and kill her, for fuck’s sake.”

“
I don’t know where she is,” Joe whimpered so pathetically it almost made Nora sick.  Fucking gutless wonder.  He was why Katie was still breathing.  After what Katie had done, she didn’t deserve to breathe.

“
Come back to Tampa.”  Nora made an instant decision.  She always trusted her gut instinct at a time like this.  “Get back here.  It would be stupid to roam around trying to find her when we don’t know where she is.”  Nora didn’t wait for Joe’s reply.  She simply pressed the End button and tossed the phone on the desk. 

She stood up and looked out the window of her office at the bright Florida sunshine.  Through important contacts locally, Nora had learned Randall
’s Grand Jury hearing would be in less than a week.  Katie had been his assistant and would surely be on the list to testify.  It was the perfect opportunity.  There was no need to go find her.

Katie would come to Nora.  How convenient.  Then Nora would end Katie
’s life, once and for all.

Chapter Fourteen

Presley had to admit
the RV was certainly luxurious for a home on wheels.  The kitchen had an oven and a microwave, and the refrigerator was as large as her own at the apartment.  The sitting area had an oversized flat screen television and the back of the RV was a bedroom with a comfortable king-sized bed.  The bathroom was small and it appeared she’d be taking a shower while straddling the toilet, but at least they had one. 

“
I feel like a rock star traveling around in this.  Whom does it belong to?” 

Seth didn
’t take his eyes off the road.  It was after nine o’clock and the highway was deserted but she could easily see he was still tense.  “Tanner’s parents bought it for their retirement.  When his mother’s health took a turn, they stopped traveling.  It was just sitting in a barn.”

Presley
’s passenger side chair swiveled so she could look back into the RV.  “Well, it’s fancy.  I think it’s about the size of the apartment I lived in with my mom before she married my stepdad.”

“
Were things tough before your mom got married again?”

Presley unclipped her seat belt. 
“You’re assuming mom was married the first time.  Do you want a soda?”

“
Sure, be careful, though.  I don’t like it when you’re not buckled in.  I’m not following you.  What do you mean I’m assuming your mom was married?”

Presley grabbed two sodas from the stocked refrigerator and headed back to her seat. 
“I’m saying my dad never bothered to marry my mom.  Never met my biological father but I hear he was a real piece of work.  Liked to use mom for a punching bag.”  She popped open Seth’s can and slid it in the cup holder before opening her own.

Even in the dim light, she could see Seth scowling.  His family was so wonderful
that sometimes he had a hard time wrapping his mind around the dysfunctional ones.  She’d seen it often enough in Harper when he’d gone out on domestic disturbance calls. 

“
So your mom left him?”

“
He left my mom.  Decided being a father was a hassle.  Thank God.”

Seth turned to look at her briefly. 
“Why ‘thank God’?”

Presley looked out the huge windshield at the desolate landscape, lit only by the headlights and the occasional streetlight. 
“Because if he beat my mom, he probably would have hit me.  If that had happened, maybe I would have thought that was normal and ended up with a guy who liked to beat on me.”

“
Never, honey.  I could never see you taking any crap from some guy.”

Presley smiled to herself, thinking about what could have been. 
“I’m like that now, but we don’t know what I would have been like if my dad had been around.  Luckily, I saw my mother stand up to my stepfather.  He was a jerk but she gave him shit for it.  She didn’t let him blame her for his faults.  I heard him try to once.”

“
He blamed your mother for his cheating?”

“
Yep, said she wasn’t sweet enough to him.”  Presley snorted.  “My mother laid into him good.  She’d been a victim of my father but she sure wasn’t going to be a victim again.”

“
She left him?”

“
She did, then got sick right after.  They tried to keep things together for me and Nora during that time.”

“
Nora’s your sister?”  Seth paused.  “What’s your name?  I mean your real name?”

Presley twirled the can in the holder.  She wasn
’t sure why she was reluctant to tell him, why it felt wrong to say her given name. 

“
Katie.  Katherine Johnson, actually, but all my friends call me Katie.”

“
Katie,” Seth said it slowly.  “That’s a nice name.  Do you want me to call you Katie?”

“
No,” she answered.  “I think you’re supposed to call me Missy.”

Seth laughed. 
“And I’m Steve.  With all these names floating around, I think it would be easier if when we’re around people we don’t use names at all.  I’ll call you honey and you can call me babe or something.”

“
You don’t look like a Steve.”  Presley liked teasing Seth.  “Maybe like a Harvey or a Milton, but not a Steve.”

“
I’m going to pretend you didn’t even say that.”  Seth handed her the large Atlas.  “We need to stop in about three hours.  Find a small city and see if it has a campground we can park in.  Pick one of the phones from the box.  They all have internet access to do the research.”

It felt good to have something to do.  She flipped on
a small light to see the map.  They were already in Wyoming and they had a three-day drive ahead of them, trying to stay one step ahead of her killers. 

She set the map down and looked at Seth, his chiseled profile outlined in the low light. 
“Thank you.”

He flicked a glance her way. 
“Thank you for what?”

Her heart felt very full at this moment for this man. 
“For everything.  Protecting me.  Dropping your whole life and hiding me.  Just everything.”

There was a long silence. 
“You’re welcome.  I wouldn’t do anything less, honey.  We’re a team now.  We take care of each other.  That’s how it will be from now on.”

She really liked the sound of that, but she had to press him just a little. 
“Then can I have a gun?”

“
No.”  He smiled, though, so he knew she was teasing. 

“
You’re no fun.”

“
I think you know that’s not true.”

She couldn
’t leave it like that for some reason.  She was becoming sentimental after everything she had been through today.

“
Okay, you are fun.”

“
So are you, Presley.  More fun than I’ve ever had, frankly.”

His voice was warm and soft and she wished they were anywhere but in an RV running from people who wanted her dead.  She exhaled slowly, trying to push those thoughts from her mind.  Dwelling on her situation wasn
’t going to make anything better.

“
You needed fun more than anyone I’d ever met, Sheriff.”

Seth didn
’t reply this time.  He simply kept driving into the night, putting more and more miles between them and Harper, and hopefully getting closer to safety.  She picked a town on the map and fired up the phone, hoping her search would turn up an acceptable RV park with a vacancy.  They could stop for the night and get some sleep before continuing their long journey.

When she was safe, everything would go back to the way it was.  Seth would go back to Harper and Presley would go back to Tampa and resume her life.  Such as it was.

Presley didn’t expect the wave of sadness that poured over her, but she didn’t push it away.  Instead, she let herself feel it completely, knowing that losing this man was more than just breaking up with some guy.  This was losing somebody who meant something.

She
’d tried to keep it casual and light, but as usual, she’d screwed up. 

* * * *
*

The day was bright and sunny and Seth was almost cheerful as he drove the RV down
Highway Ninety, nearing Denver.  Since they hadn’t stopped until after midnight, they’d slept late this morning, not getting on the road until ten.  It was around noon now and Seth was thinking they could pull over for a late lunch once they got through Denver.  He talked to both Logan and Tanner on the radio and so far there had been no sign of a tail.  Seth’s worst worry was the winter storm planning to blanket Kansas. 

Seth glanced down at the gas gauge.  Damn, this home on wheels guzzled fuel.  He needed to stop and fill the tank.
  He’d seen a few signs for a good exit up ahead. 

“
Honey, we’re going to stop for gas in a few if you want to get out and stretch your legs.”

Seth picked up the handset
of the radio.  “This is Abe, calling Chris and Mercury.”

Static and then Tanner picked up. 
“This is Chris.  Is everything okay?”

“
We’re just going to make a fuel stop.  Wanted to let you know.”

More static. 
“We’ll slow down.  I’m about a mile behind you and Mercury is about a mile ahead of you.”

“
Gotcha.  I was thinking we’d stop after Denver for lunch.”

“
Sounds good.  Ten-four.”

“
What’s with the Chris and Mercury stuff?  And who is Abe?”

Seth chuckled. 
“I’m Abe.  My middle name is Abraham.  Tanner’s is Christopher so he’s Chris.  Logan’s middle name is Mercury.  Don’t think we didn’t give him some shit for that.”

“
I thought you might have cool CB radio names.”

“
Like what?”  Seth mocked.  “Lone Wolf, Fighting Brave, and Dances With Wolves?”

She giggled and the sound squeezed his heart.  The thought of anything happening to her was unthinkable. 
“Those are kind of cool.  Would you be Lone Wolf or Fighting Brave?  I know you wouldn’t be Dances With Wolves as I practically have to beg you to dance with me.”

“
I’ve danced with you.”

“
A slow one, nothing else.”

“
That’s all there is, honey.”  Seth grinned.  “I can slow dance and I can line dance.”

“
I didn’t get to go to the roadhouse, you know.  You owe me, Sheriff.”

“
When we get back I promise I’ll take you.”  He would get her back in one piece.

“
I’ll hold you to that.”  Presley stretched and yawned, setting her book down.  She’d been quiet this morning, reading her book, but she didn’t seem depressed or sad as she had yesterday.  “I could use some exercise.  How far are you planning to drive today?”

Seth glanced up at the still clear sky. 
“I was hoping Kansas City, Missouri, but there’s a winter storm threatening.  We may need to pull over for a day or two and wait it out.”

“
Can we get ahead of it?”

He liked the way her mind worked.  She was full speed ahead. 
“We might be able to if I can stay awake that long to drive.”

“
I can help you drive.”

Seth turned on his turn signal for the exit before answering. 
“I’m not sure that’s such a great idea.  Have you every driven anything this big before?”

“
No.  Have you?”  Her eyebrows were raised in question.

“
Well, no.  But I’ve driven trucks hauling a horse trailer so I’m more experienced.”  It sounded lame even to him.

“
How much experience do I need to keep it in the right lane?  I promise I won’t even pass anyone.  Let me drive.”

She was challenging him and his mind was whirling trying to think of a good excuse for her not to drive the RV, other than he was
a male chauvinist who didn’t think women were good drivers.

“
I’ve never seen you drive.” 

She rolled her eyes at him as he pulled in to the combination gas station and convenience store. 
“I have a driver’s license.  Actually, I have three.  One in Katie’s name, one in Presley’s name, and one in Missy’s name.  That’s one more than you have.”

He sighed heavily, knowing he was beat, but not wanting to give in too easily. 
“We’ll see.  I may not get tired.”

She smiled triumphantly. 
“You’ll let me drive.  I can’t do any worse than some of the people on these roads.  They’re crazy.”

He was probably crazy as well but instead of saying something that was going to get him relegated to sleeping on the couch, he pulled up to the diesel pump and put the motor home in park. 

“I’m going to fill up.  Stretch your legs while you can.  If we’re going to get to Kansas City, we have a long drive ahead.”

Presley headed to the convenience store, probably to use the facilities and stock up on snack food, or maybe grab a magazine.  Seth went into the store to pre-pay since he was using cash and by the time he came out again, a county sheriff
’s cruiser was pulled into the pump next to his. 

Seth tried not to even look
its way, going straight to the side of his own RV and starting the pump.  He watched the numbers whirl but kept a close eye on the cop putting gas in his own vehicle.  Seth wiped at his brow, sweaty despite the frigid temperatures.  He didn’t know if the Feds realized Presley wasn’t in Harper yet, but once they knew, they would be sure to put a BOLO out for them.  He pulled his hat down further over his eyes and cursed the size of the gas tank.  It took too fucking long to fill it.

“
That’s a beaut you got there.”

Aw
, fuck it.  The deputy was talking to him now.  Seth’s heart was pounding but he schooled his features and smiled.  “Thank you.  It belongs to my in-laws.  We’re taking a little vacation.”  Seth was glad he’d rehearsed questions and answers with Jared.