Page 80 of Texas Kissing

I gripped the phone so hard the casing creaked. “No.”

“Bull—”

“Lily—”

“No,listen.For once in your”—her voice cracked and she had to gasp for breath—”for once in yourgoddamn life, justlisten.”She swallowed. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. But I told you I couldn’t be with anyone and I was right. I have to go away, where they can’t find me again.”

“I can stop them! I’m with the FBI guy—we can fix this!” I was panting with fear, now. I knew I was about to lose her forever. “I love you!”

“I love you, too,” she whispered, and my heart felt like it was going to explode. “But this isn’t some movie where you can ride in and save me.”

I thumped the wall, leaving a dent in the plaster. “Let me try!”

“No. I made that mistake once.” She was sobbing, now. “You know me, Bull. I’m not the schoolmarm who needs saving, remember? I’m the goddamn saloon girl. I’ll be just fine on my own.”

“No you won’t,” I growled.

“No I won’t,” she allowed. “Goodbye, Bull.”

And she hung up. I called her back but she’d already turned the phone off.

Calahan stormed out into the lobby. “He’s still not talking,” he told me. Then he saw the phone in my hand. “Was that her? Where is she?”

I didn’t answer him.

I didn’t even know her—not really. Hell, I hadn’t even known her real name until a few hours ago. She wanted to leave and she was begging me not to follow her.

But the idea of losing Lily scared me more than anything I’d ever known.

I had to get her back.How?

“Bull?” asked Calahan.

I’ve never been much of a thinker. My whole life has been about the physical: fucking, drinking, gettingthrown around on a horse. But, ever since Lily came along, all that stuff felt less important. The way she made me feel...that was the only thing that mattered. So maybe it was time to start using my head.

Where would she go?Think!

It came to me instantly.Mexico.Close enough to run to but out of easy reach of the mob and the FBI. And out of reach of me. She’d hidden from the authorities for years. What chance would I have?

If she went to the nearest border crossing, maybe I could intercept her in time. But my pick up was still at Calahan’s motel.

Calahan’s sedan, though, was sitting right outside the police station. And it was plenty fast.

“Sorry,” I muttered to Calahan.

He frowned. “About what?”

I slugged him right on the jaw. He went down hard on his ass. “Oh, youmotherfucker,”he croaked.

I was already rifling through his pockets. I grabbed his car keys and ran for the door.

68

Lily

It took me several hours, two hitched rides, and God knows how many miles walking in the pouring rain to reach the border. By this point, I was so wet that there was no sense in trying to keep dry. I just trudged down the street with the rain soaking me to the bone, wondering if I’d ever feel warm again. The rain was really pounding, now, hitting the sidewalk and bouncing straight back up again to hit my legs. It was so heavy that it was difficult to see.

I knew that the best thing to do would be to get into Mexico and keep right on going, to put as much distance between myself and Gold Lake as I could. But the sun was coming up and I was so dog tired, I wasn’t going to make it further than the first hotel on the Mexican side.

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