Undercover Texas (14 page)

Erin glanced up at a telephone pole. The sophisticated security monitoring system was attached to the top of the pole. With equipment like that, it was amazing anyone got near the ranch. How much was functional?

She said nothing until they passed a second one that had fallen onto the ground.

“Wait,” she called to Hunter. She indicated the monitoring equipment on the ground. “I want to take that security camera back to the cabin.”

“What are you planning, Erin?”

She paused. “We have nothing to warn us if someone’s sneaking up on the cabin. I don’t think it would take much for me to repair it.”

“I like it. I’d feel a lot better if we had an advanced warning system. Keep using that sexy brain of yours, sweetheart.”

His words fed a warm glow in her core. “With the quality of this equipment, I bet I could come up with a design that’s tamper-proof.” Erin could already see the circuits in her head.

They started back a different way. Hunter pointed out some of the local grasses and birds, and a short while later, they came upon a gurgling stream. With the Texas heat, it was a welcome sight.

“Want to stop for a while?” he asked. “I brought some food and something a little special in case we needed it.”

Erin shifted in the saddle, and the baby started to fuss. “If I don’t stop, I won’t be able to walk when we get back to the cabin.”

Hunter helped Erin down from her horse, then pulled his binoculars and some snacks out of his saddlebag. Brandon had been lulled asleep by the horse’s cadence, but because of the jostling required for his mother to dismount, he was wide-awake now.

Hunter built a small fire, and Erin studied the water’s ripple. “I didn’t think west Texas had creeks.”

“There’s the occasional water source, but having this makes Logan’s land all the more valuable.”

Hunter looked around him. “This is the kind of place I’ve always wanted, you know. My mother and I lived in a tiny apartment. I slept on the sofa and I dreamed of wide-open space. That’s one of the reasons I joined the military.”

“My dream was a lot different than yours,” Erin said softly. “I wanted to run a research lab and invent things that would make life better.” She toyed with the grass brushing her legs. “I reached that goal, but it didn’t turn out like I imagined. I guess after all this, I need a new goal.”

Hunter lifted a package of marshmallows and chocolate. “How about we start with s’mores.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I got a hankering for them. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Why not?”

She watched as he skewered the white fluffs on a stick and handed one to her. She let it toast and then suddenly the marshmallow erupted into a flame.

Quickly she doused fire with a few quick breaths. A crispy, crunchy, charred mess remained.

“Want a new one?”

Erin shook her head. “Hand me the chocolate and the graham cracker.”

She trapped the marshmallow on the stick. The hard charcoal crust faded and oozed inner sweetness. She licked the sticky mess and looked up at Hunter.

“I finally figured you out,” she said softly. “You’re a burnt marshmallow.”

“How do you figure?”

“You act all tough and hard.”

“I’m a spy. Of course I’m tough,” Hunter said.

She handed him Brandon and he kissed the boy’s cheek.

“You’re gooey on the inside.”

Brandon rolled over on his back and grinned up at them. Erin blew a raspberry kiss on his tummy, and her son laughed. He reached out his arms to Hunter. “Da.”

“He knows you’re gooey, too,” Erin said, a bittersweet realization that this might be the only time left for the baby to be with his father.

“I’ll miss him,” Hunter admitted. “I just didn’t know how it would be. The reality of having a son is so much more than I expected. Leaving him...” Hunter paused and looked into Erin’s eyes. “Leaving you both is going to kill me.”

She took a deep breath. “What if you quit, Hunter? What if you got new identification along with us when we see that woman today? You could come, too. We’ll find a place like this, far from all the conflict surrounding us. We could be a family.”

Hunter didn’t respond. He just stood with his back rigid and stared around him. The grasses swayed in the wind, and the creek gurgled, but he remained silent.

She couldn’t believe she’d begged him. He loved Brandon. He wanted her, but she didn’t know if he
loved
her. Oh, God, had she made a fool of herself?

“Forget I said anything—” she started, but he whirled to face her.

“I can’t forget it.”

She didn’t expect the depth of the longing in his eyes.

He squatted in front of her. “Erin, look, I want to come with you. God knows I want every single thing you said, but I can’t be sure my enemies won’t find me. General Miller was right when he warned us that first day about the risk of having a family. I know now that I would do
anything
to protect you and Brandon.” He stroked her cheek. “Even give you up.”

Erin looked away, swiping at the tears building in her eyes. So she would be alone without him. Anyone else she would meet in the future would never know the real her. The Dr. Jamison who invented incredible crazy things. The shy, naive woman who’d been seduced and loved in a way she’d never known possible. They’d only know whatever made-up identity some unknown woman was coming up with today.

Erin Jamison would be gone. The only thing besides Brandon to go with her from this life would be her broken heart.

Hunter leaned into her. He kissed away the tears from her cheek. “If I could find a way, I would, Erin. I owe the general, but I would give up my life with the team with no regrets if I could have you and Brandon and keep you safe.”

He shifted his mouth and took hers in a sweet and tender kiss.

If only he could find a way.

Her lips parted under his and she let out a low groan. He dragged her closer.

The snort of a horse burst them apart.

A large white animal crossed toward them, with Sheriff Redmond’s little boy, Ethan, sitting in the saddle. He stopped and patted the horse’s neck. “Are you two making babies? My new dad said all that hugging and kissing makes babies. I just don’t get it.”

Erin flushed, glad the kid hadn’t come by a few minutes later or he might have witnessed that baby-making firsthand.

“Are you out here alone?” Hunter asked

“No, I just rode ahead on Sugar. He likes me, but you can’t get too close. He’s ornr...ornery. That means he doesn’t like most people. He had a tough time when he was young, but he likes me a whole bunch.”

Hunter stood and helped Erin to her feet, then settled Brandon back into his front harness carrier. “Who did you ride ahead of...your parents?”

“Yep, Dad’s bringing Mom out in a car with lots of blankets. She can’t ride horses ’cause of the baby.” Ethan grinned. “It was all that kissing and hugging they did, for sure.”

Chapter Ten

The narrow Texas county road leading to the woman who would make up Erin’s and Brandon’s new documents headed straight west. A few hills, lots of open spaces and no other vehicles as far as Hunter could see. He glanced at his watch. They were cutting it a bit too close to the scheduled meeting for his liking.

By the time he and Erin had delivered Ethan safely back to Blake and Amanda, the sun had risen high in the sky. They’d grabbed a quick bite for the road and changed Brandon, and now the SUV headed to a rendezvous point in the middle of nowhere.

The woman creating Erin and Brandon’s documents was supposed to be out here. Somewhere. And she didn’t wait for stragglers. Hers was a mobile operation and she didn’t like staying in any one place too long. No exceptions.

Erin looked around dubiously. “Are you certain this is the right way?”

“According to Logan. A little farther and we should be there.”

Hunter turned the SUV off-road, and the vehicle shot dirt into the air around them. The cloud of dust would be visible from quite a distance. He’d taken a few detours along the way, and hadn’t seen a tail, but somehow the people who wanted Erin knew their location. He’d torn everything apart looking for a bug but had found nothing.

They needed to get the paperwork done and move on. Fast.

Finally, just over a small hill, he spotted a pickup truck with a nondescript tow camper behind it.

“Just like Logan described it,” Hunter commented. “This woman must be paranoid as hell. There’s nothing out here but mesquite and lizards.”

He pulled up about twenty-five feet away from the camper, as instructed. Hunter removed his gun from the back of his pants and set it on the seat next to Erin.

“Move over to the driver’s side. If something goes wrong, get out of here. Go to Blake and have him contact Logan. Understand?”

She gripped the weapon and scooted over as he exited the vehicle. “Don’t let anything happen, Hunter. Please.”

“No worries.” He gave her a quick wink. “We’ll be fine.”

He trusted Logan, but Hunter couldn’t ignore the tingling that had settled on the back of his neck. It had started the moment the team had attacked them at the Florida safe house. How had they known how to find them? The Zodiac assault on the
Precious Memories
had sent the feeling into overdrive. Now the warning signals hummed under his skin again.

“Halt. That’s far enough,” an electronic voice boomed through a sound system. “Who’s with you?”

“Scorpion,” Hunter said, providing her with the preagreed-upon code word.

“Stay where you are. I’ll come out.”

A small, attractive woman, her dark hair tied up in a topknot, emerged from the camper, an Uzi in her hand. “You Clay Griffin?”

So Logan had decided to use the alias. Good. One less person aware of his real identity. Hunter nodded and raised his hands in the air. “I’m unarmed.”

She shook her head. “And I’m Little Orphan Annie. In fact, just call me Annie. Don’t bother taking the knife out of your boot. I’m assuming you have a gun stashed somewhere, too.”

Hunter didn’t say a word.

“That’s what I thought. Good thing Logan vouched for you. I don’t like being lied to. Makes my trigger finger itchy.” She stood fifteen feet away, legs apart, her stance aggressive and ready. She nodded toward Erin and Brandon. “Those the two I need to finalize the documentation for?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t know one was a baby. I’ll need two signatures for the passport—mother and father. You prepared for that?”

“Come up with a name, and I’ll sign,” Hunter said.

“Bring them inside.”

She turned and rounded the camper to the door. He opened the SUV and faced Erin. “Let’s do this.”

Erin gave a slight shiver, but when she looked at Hunter, it was with confidence. He respected her for that. He grabbed Brandon’s carrier and they walked around the trailer and mounted the steps.

When she entered, Erin gasped. Hunter didn’t blame her. Half the place looked like a high-tech wizard’s dream.

Annie stood in front of the camera. “Pictures first.” She pointed to Erin, then at the stool. “Sit. And no smiling.”

“I don’t feel much like it anyway,” Erin said, facing the lens.

“I hear you, sister.” Annie snapped five photos.

Erin’s countenance seemed sad and so very tired. Hunter wanted to hide her and Brandon away at the top of a mountain somewhere and take all their troubles away, promise them everything would be fine. But he couldn’t. A new life away from him was the only way he knew to protect them.

Annie stepped back from the camera. “Now the baby. Prop him up, but try to keep your hands out of the photo.” Brandon jabbered and grinned at Annie, and she chuckled for the first time since they’d arrived. Her smile revealed a hidden beauty she’d taken pains to conceal.

She looked up at Hunter. “He’s definitely your kid.”

Erin grabbed Brandon and stood. “How can you tell?”

“The hair, the eyes and those dimples. Mr. Serious here doesn’t smile that much, but when he watches you and thinks no one’s looking he gets a goofy grin on his face. Those dimples show up then.”

Heat flooded into Hunter’s face. He couldn’t believe he was so transparent.

Annie laughed. “Oh, don’t sweat it, Clay. I make my living studying people and faces. Now sit down.”

“You said you need my signature. You’re not taking my picture.”

“Sorry, but I need a fake identity for the kid’s father. No choice.”

Hunter paused for a moment, fighting his instinctive aversion to having his photo taken. The first rule of clandestine ops. No images. Whatsoever. It made you easier to find.

One glance at Erin and Brandon, though, and Hunter sat on the stool. As Annie said, there was no choice.

He would do anything for them, even if it turned out to cost him his life. Anytime. Anyplace.

Annie clicked the shutter. “I’ve chosen a name for you, Ransom Grainger. Like it?”

“Fine.”

He couldn’t take his gaze away from Erin. He wanted to soak in every curve, every line of her face. Each minute that passed ticked closer to the terrible moment when they’d have to say goodbye forever. That time was speeding at them much too fast for his aching heart, and not fast enough for their safety.

Annie nodded to Erin. “You’re Marina Grainger, and your son is Brady. It’s best if the new names are similar to your original ones. They’re easier to remember. You’re lucky your son is so young. He won’t have any trouble adjusting.” Annie looked at Erin. “You, however, will have the worst time of it. You’re already fighting this happening. My advice? Don’t think about what you
don’t
have anymore. Think about what you
do
have. Not everyone is lucky enough to even get a choice.”

A shadow crossed her face, then vanished as quickly as it had come. Annie jumped off her stool and strode to the table. She shoved several documents in front of each of them and provided two pens.

“Welcome to your new lives.”

Hunter scanned the papers, signed and handed Erin the pen.

“Thanks, Hunter.” Erin took the pen and bent over the documents.

“Don’t forget to use your new names,” Annie said quickly with a knowing glance at them. “It’s the difference between life and death.”

Erin’s hand paused. “Oh, God, I called you Hunter—”

He covered Erin’s hand with his. “It’ll take time, but you can do this. All of it. I know you can.”

Her gaze held his, but tears glistened. She nodded finally, biting her lip while she signed the papers. Hunter followed and stared down at their signatures.

Erin and Brandon Jamison were gone.

Ransom, Marina and Brady Grainger were born.

A family.

A family that never truly had a chance to exist.

Annie slid two more papers between them. “These are the last.”

The divorce decree and custody agreement, granting Marina Grainger sole custodial rights.

The words ricocheted in Hunter’s head. He glanced at Annie. “Are these necessary?”

“Marina needs full custody of Brady. You have to relinquish your rights as a father so she can make all the decisions for your son. There can’t be any questions or any reason to search for Ransom Grainger. Ever.”

Hunter clamped down on his jaw. His neck and shoulder muscles gnarled under the tension. God, the papers were fake; the situation was an elaborate lie, but the loss Hunter felt was devastatingly real. Annie’s works had ripped his heart out.

After signing the first document, he gently chucked Brandon under his chin and stroked Erin’s cheek. Her gaze lifted to Hunter’s, pleading, and she gripped his arm.

When he’d kidnapped her a few days ago, no doubt she would’ve rejoiced if he’d signed over complete custody. He wouldn’t have wanted to, but he still would have signed without hesitation.

Now he’d fallen in love with Erin all over again. She was different than he had imagined. Far more than he’d ever dreamed. She was smarter, braver, more passionate than any woman he’d ever known.

He could never tell her how he felt, though. He’d hold the truth inside him the rest of his life.

As to Brandon, that little boy had wrapped himself around Hunter’s heart. He wanted to see what his son would grow into, what kind of man he would become. Brandon laughed like his mother. He grabbed on to life with both hands and with no fear.

Brandon was the best of both of them combined.

And Hunter would never see him grow up.

Hunter gripped the pen and signed his name to the custodial agreement. This was what he had to do. He had to give them up.

Ransom Grainger’s signature made it official.

He was no longer a father. No longer part of a family that might have been.

A loud beeping noise coming from one of the panels on the wall echoed through the camper. Annie paled, rushed over and flicked on a switch. The streets of Carder, Texas, appeared on the screen. A large black car pulled up in front of the sheriff’s office.

She let out a string of curses. “Let’s finish up. I have to hit the road.”

Hunter grabbed her arm.

She stilled and stared pointedly at his hand. “I don’t think I’d do that, if I were you.”

“Sorry,” he said, releasing her. “Can I help?”

She shook her head. “My story, my life. You just live yours. You’ve got enough going on.”

She finalized the documents, shoved them into an envelope and gave them the thick package. “Passports, birth certificates, driver’s licenses from Montana. Along with the divorce and custody agreements, Marina and Brady should be able to start their new life without any trouble.” Annie glanced at her watch. “Okay, that’s a wrap.”

She opened the trailer door. “We won’t meet again, Ransom and Marina, but I wish you luck in staying ahead of whoever is after you. It’s not always easy.”

Hunter climbed down the trailer steps, then took Brandon from Erin.

Annie followed them out. By the time Hunter had secured Brandon in the backseat and shoved the SUV in Reverse, Annie had packed up her trailer and was in the large pickup heading into the middle of a field, no road in sight.

Erin leaned back in her seat. She looked over at Hunter. “I don’t want to turn into Annie. She’s all alone.”

With a sigh, he gripped her hand. “You won’t be. I know we’ve cut the ties to your old life, but I’ll find you a new one that will be safe. You’ll build new relationships. You and Brandon will be happy.” He leaned over and kissed her lips.

“But it will be a life without you,” Erin said.

“Yes,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry, but it will be a life without me.”

* * *

T
HE
T
EXAS
LANDSCAPE
ROARED
past the SUV’s window as Hunter sped back to the cabin. Once again he’d taken them on a tour of the back roads around Carder. At one point Erin wondered if they’d end up in San Angelo, or maybe even San Antonio. He’d gone in opposite directions for miles.

He was convinced they were being tracked somehow, and the knowledge had set him on edge. Erin couldn’t imagine where the bug could be hidden. They’d all but stripped naked searching for the blasted thing.

Erin clutched the envelope with the documents for her new future in her hands. Her nails made indents in her palms. She wanted her former life back someday, but for now, she’d just take a day where she wasn’t looking over her shoulder or didn’t have to look at a dead body.

If that meant temporarily being Marina Grainger, she’d do it.

A week ago she would
never
have imagined saying those words.

As for Hunter, she sent him a sidelong glance. A week ago she’d never considered seeing him again. Now she didn’t want to let him go.

And she had no choice.

Hunter pulled the SUV close up in front of the cabin. “Keep the gun handy. I’m going to confirm no one has been here before we take the baby out of the car.”

He left the engine running and exited the vehicle, studied the door, then ran his fingers along the doorjamb and window frame.

His edginess had her jumpy, too. The thick envelope had gotten heavy in her hands. It contained all the documentation, plus a huge amount of cash Blake had given Hunter without a word, just a look.

Erin had been working with classified information most of her doctoral career, but nothing could have prepared her for the cloak-and-dagger life Hunter lived and breathed as if it were normal.

He had mentioned General Kent Miller several times, and how much he respected the man. Erin didn’t know the depth of Kent’s role in Hunter’s life, but she did know that Hunter had changed and now he wanted out. There had to be some way around the no-family rules. General Miller might be the person who could make an exception happen.

Hunter motioned her with the all-clear signal he’d taught her. Erin clutched the paperwork and turned around Brandon. “Well, cutie, I guess this adventure is almost over. I’m trying to figure out a way to keep your daddy with us, but it’s not looking good.”

With a sad smile, she tickled Brandon’s tummy and he laughed at her. God, to be so innocent again.