Page 63 of Call Back

Chapter 13

My nerves were so strungout, I didn’t even realize where Colt was going until he pulled up to a metal box on top of a pole. There was another gate at the back of the property. He rolled down his window and punched several numbers into the pad.

“How do you know the code?” I asked as the gate began to slide open.

He frowned as his hands held the steering wheel in a death grip. “I told you. I have a friend of a friend.” When the door was open wide enough, he drove through the gate into the neighborhood I’d seen on the satellite map.

“Why are you going out this way? My car’s in the parking lot behind us.”

“Because he might be watching the front.” He kept darting glances at the rearview mirror intently as the gate closed behind us. Probably making sure the guy didn’t follow us.

“He knew I was there.”

He sighed as he drove away from the park. “Not a surprise, I guess. If he made out a woman, it wouldn’t be a leap for him to assume it was you. I need to figure out what to do with you.”

His phrasing caught me off guard. I involuntarily sucked in a breath and slid toward the passenger door—and was instantly filled with shame. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, yet my instincts had taken over. I was in survival mode.

He shot me a glance with narrowed eyes. “That’s the second time tonight you’ve acted like you’re afraid of me. Why?”

“It’s not you,” I said. “Just all those years in the big city. Instinct.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he let it go as he continued to drive, checking his mirrors. Several blocks later, the street ended at the junction of another street. After taking another sweeping glance at our surroundings, he turned right, even further away from my car.

I almost asked him what he was doing, but I’d already told him that I trusted him. And while that didn’t mean I was going to let him call all the shots, I decided to keep my mouth shut for now.

Colt turned right and drove for nearly a half mile until we came to a church on the right side of the road. He pulled into the lot and parked in the back, out of sight from the road.

“Why are we back here?” I asked, turning in my seat to face him.

He was quiet for several seconds. “I’m trying to figure out what to do to make sure you’re safe.”

I started to shake, both from fright and the cold—my clothes and hair were soaked. Colt slid off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders, then turned on the heater.

“He didn’t threaten to hurt me until Saturday night, right?” I paused, preparing myself for an argument. “Maybe we should tell Brady.” Sure, if the guy turned out to be Owen, Brady and Owen were friends, but I had to believe he would protect me, and Colt in turn.

Colt smacked his open palm on the steering wheel. “I knew you would want to tell him. I warned you not to get close to him.”

“Colt,” I said, turning sideways in my seat and leaning toward him. “He can help us.”

Rage filled Colt’s eyes. “I swear to God, Maggie, if you tell him, we are done as friends.”

I gasped, feeling like he’d just stabbed me with his pocket knife. I’d expected him to fight me on it, but I’d never expected his reaction to be this strong. “Colt!”

“End of discussion.”

“Is this because you have a record? You think he won’t treat you fairly?”

He shot me a look.

“I know about your past, Colt. Or at least that you have one. It stands to reason you’d have a record.”

“It’s more complicated than that. I’ll tell you what I can, but for now, please trust me that we need to keep all of this as far away from the police force as possible. And that includes Bennett.”

I didn’t protest, mostly because I had no idea if Brady would believe Owen might be out to hurt me. “Okay. But I want to know about your original plan.”

“I told you.”

I waited for him to continue, and when he didn’t, I prodded. “Yeah, you have a friend of a friend who owns the place. Got it. But that doesn’t explain your plan.”

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