Page 42 of Bravo

“You clearly don’t know my mom,” I reply with a smile. “You’re making her day by letting her take care of you.”

“Still, I do okay on my own.”

Who hurt you?I can see it all over her face. Body language is a specialty of mine. It’s one of the reasons I’m so good in the field and why I excelled in interrogation when I’d been stationed overseas.

This woman has been hurt…badly.

The more she lets her mask slip, the easier it gets to see.

“No one doubts that,” I tell her. “We’ll get you back to the cabin as soon as you’re on your feet. I can go get your stuff for you if you’d like.”

“No. That’s okay. Thanks, though.” She’s frustrated but relaxes back against the pillows again.

Awkward silence settles around us, so I lean forward and clasp my hands together. “Lani said that you didn’t want to go get X-rays? The ranch will cover medical expenses for all of its employees injured during working hours. So if that’s what you’re worried about?—”

“It’s not,” she interrupts. “I just, sorry, I just don’t like hospitals.”

“Okay, well, if you decide you want to go get checked out, I could take you.”

She smiles, and my heart flips in my chest.So beautiful.“Thanks, I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

“Sure thing.”

More silence, and she shifts her attention toward the open window. I take a moment to study her profile in the sunlight, my eyes greedily drinking in the sight of her as she closes her eyes and soaks in the ray of sun sneaking in through the window.

“Well, I should get back out there. We’re sifting through what’s left of the barn.”

She turns back toward me. “I wish I could help. Maybe if I had crutches?—”

“No,” I tell her. “Just rest, Sammy. I promise your job will be here for you when you’re better.”

CHAPTER 15

KENNEDY

Rain pelts me from all sides as wind whips the drenched strands of my hair. My clothes are plastered to my skin, and my bare feet slap against the wet pavement. Blood pours from my forearm, but I do my best to maintain pressure on the wound.

I just have to survive long enough to make it to the boat. As soon as I do that, I can leave this place and sail somewhere they’ll never find me. Somewhere not even the devil himself can hunt me down.

Who am I kidding? He’ll always find me. Tonight is merely an example of that. The marshals tried to hide me, but he found me, and now they’re dead.

They’re all dead.

I choke on a sob. Crying will do me no good now. Later I can grieve, but right now I have to stay focused. If I die, everything I know dies with me.

My frantic dash toward freedom does nothing but buy the feds enough time to fully close in on him. If I can do that, then I stand a chance at living to a ripe old age. Otherwise—I shove that thought away because it’s no help to me now.

I trip, my toe splitting open against a crack in the pavement. Pain shoots up my leg like lightning, momentarily obliterating the burning agony of the gash in my forearm. I whimper, my knees slamming into the ground as I go down. Asphalt bites into my skin, and even though I know I should keep running, I can’t bring myself to stand.

Knowing they’re not that far behind me, I try to hide myself as best as possible by crawling behind some boxes in the alleyway I’d chosen. In hindsight, I might have been able to get help if I’d stayed on the crowded street. But doing that would only put anyone who offered me aid in danger. And I can’t let anyone else die because of me.

The body count is already too high.

Clutching the wet Bible beneath my shirt, I tuck my legs up as best I can and lean back. Just a minute. I need just a minute to catch my breath.

A door opens behind me, and an old man peers out. I do my best to remain still even as the freezing rain has soaked straight through to my bones.

Please don’t see me.

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