Page 238 of Ride a Cowboy

“I know.” Mark jerked the wheel roughly to the right, and this time Bridget knew they were on two wheels. She felt the truck tip sideways and closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable impact.

Instead, the truck’s airborne tires hit pavement once more. Mark struggled to keep the truck on the road as the back end swerved.

A loud crash sounded from behind them. Bridget felt Mark press on the brakes.

“What are you doing? Why are you stopping?” she asked.

“Christ.” Mark stopped the truck completely as he and Matt turned in their seats to look behind them. Bridget lifted her head, expecting them to push her down again. She knew when neither man took notice of her that the car chase had indeed ended with a bang.

As she peered over the back of the seat, she saw the Mercedes that had been chasing them burst into flames, the entire car engulfed in mere seconds. It had struck a tree, the car nearly sliced in half.

“The man?” she asked. “Isn’t he—” She paused, unable to think of the man burning to death.

Mark shook his head. “I doubt he survived the crash, Bridget.”

His words made sense. The car had been mangled beyond recognition.

For several moments, they sat spellbound in the middle of the road, watching the car burn. Shock permeated her body, accompanied by unbelievable relief. They were alive. They’d survived. Glancing down, she opened her clenched fist and looked at the flash drive Rodney had handed her. Had they all survived?

So much violence. So much death. All because of what was contained on that small piece of plastic.

Matt’s cell phone rang and they jumped. Matt ran a hand over his face. “Fuck. I think I just lost twenty years off my life.”

Mark’s hand landed on his brother’s shoulder. “At least you still have twenty to lose.”

Matt nodded. “We’re alive.”

It was an obvious statement, and yet his tone proved he was as amazed by that fact as Bridget.

His phone continued to ring. Digging it out of his pocket, he answered. “Yeah.”

He was silent as the person on the other end spoke. “We’re fine, but you might want to send a police car out to Old Mill Road. There’s a dead hit man on the hairpin curve.”

Bridget whispered, “Rodney.”

Matt nodded that he’d heard her, but continued to listen to the caller. “I’ll tell her,” he finally said as he hung up.

“Who was that?” Mark asked.

“Jake. He’s at the hospital with Rodney. Caleb was on duty, thank God, and he’s with him. The bullet lodged in his arm. He lost a lot of blood, and while the damage is pretty extensive, Caleb doesn’t think it’s life-threatening.”

Bridget released a soft sob. Rodney wasn’t going to die.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulders, misreading her response. “Caleb knows his stuff. If he says Rodney will be okay, he will.”

“I, I know,” she replied through choked sobs. “I w-was j-just so scared.”

Mark lifted her face, cupped her cheek and offered her a comforting smile. “It’s going to be okay.”

She swallowed heavily. For the first time in a long time, she believed those words. “I want to go see him.”

“No.” Matt looked at Mark. “Jake said Rodney was insistent we make that flight. Said under no circumstances should we bring Bridget back to Saratoga.”

“What?” she said. “No, no way. I’m going back there. I want to be with him.”

Matt sighed. “Bridget. We’re under the gun here. The judge’s trial is due to start in two days. The New York police department wants you back there and in protective custody now. Rodney said the attorneys are going to want to see that flash drive. We have to go to the airport.”

She wiped away a stray tear. “I can’t leave him here alone. Please don’t ask me to do that.”

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