Page 11 of Shadow Games

Unfastening the seatbelt, she pulled the sweatshirt over her head, then refastened the seatbelt. She pulled her feet up on the seat and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her legs were probably cold. They needed to stop and get her some supplies.

“How many of the women died,” she asked, so softly he wasn’t sure if he heard her or not.

“None of them. Only the men died.”

She looked up, looking hopeful. “You’re not lying?”

“Nope. I thought the guard was dead at first, but she was sitting up and talking when I left. I got your piece, by the way.”

He reached behind his waistband and handed her the little .380. He made sure the safety was on before he handed it over.

Rowan took the weapon and put it into a pocket in her backpack. “Thank you for that. My dad gave me that when Ken started stalking me.”

“I wish I’d have known sooner. I would have been here to help.”

He thought she smiled, but she put her head down, propping it on her hand on the door. He could tell she was asleep with just a few seconds. He sighed, a little stymied that she’d gone to sleep. They needed to talk.

* * *

After a solid twohours of driving, Wyatt pulled over to a big box store. Rowan roused, blinking drowsily.

“Let's go get you some clothes and stuff. Or do you want to wait here?”

She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. “I think I’ll stay in the truck, if you don’t mind.”

Wyatt got an idea of her sizes and went inside. He had no idea what was in style or anything, so he just grabbed some stuff. Then he headed to the personal care department, got her a brush and some hair clips. Then he got a bunch of snacks and a bag of dogfood for Echo. He doubted she would even touch the stuff, but she had to eat something.

Wyatt was back at the truck within twenty minutes. Rowan jumped when he opened the door, and he felt bad for scaring her. “I think I got everything you needed. And if not, we can stop again.”

She took the bags from him. “Thank you. I'm not sure when I'll be able to repay you.”

“I'm not worried about that. I just want you to feel safe and comfortable.”

She snorted. “I don't know if I'll ever feel like that again.”

“Well, we can at least try.”

Rowan nodded, pulling out the brush gratefully. She pulled off the tags, then ran it through her shoulder-length hair.

They needed to talk. With that in mind, Wyatt pulled into a 24-hour restaurant. “Let's get something to eat.”

Rowan nodded, looking way too pale. “If you give me a minute, I'll change my clothes.”

Wyatt stepped out of the truck and called Echo out. She could go potty while they waited for Rowan to change. Wyatt leaned his back against the front of the vehicle, feeling the heat from the cooling engine. Echo wandered their corner of the lot, doing a lot of sniffing.

Within a few minutes, Rowan stepped out. The clothes didn't fit her perfect, but it was better than the pajamas she'd been wearing. She still had his oversized sweatshirt on, which hung almost to mid-thigh. In spite of the fear in her eyes, she looked damned cute.

“Now that you have clothes, we can go in and pick you out stuff. Although you would have fit in fine at Wally-World in your jammies.”

She nodded, and there was a glimmer of humor in her expression, but she didn't say anything. Wyatt put Echo back into the truck, with the soft order to ‘guard’. Then they headed into the restaurant, seating themselves at a table in the corner. They were only one of two couples.

“So, how did you find me?” Rowan asked. “How did you even know I was in trouble?”

Wyatt surveyed her carefully. “A woman contacted me and told me that Blade had been murdered. And that you were having some issues?”

Rowan snorted. “Yeah, issues.”

“She said you had something that you were trying to keep from the cartels.”

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