Page 42 of Midnight Secrets

“Definitely too much wine,” I muttered, dumping the rest down the drain.

CHAPTER 14

Ozzie

Heavy boots on the Bartles’s wooden floor drew my attention away from the window. Turning, my gut clenched as I took in the vision before me.

There was no other way to describe it.

This was the real Claire Holmes.

Not the woman in the professional clothes and all the makeup, nor the woman in the icy-blue bathrobe and hot-pink fuzzy slippers.

It was this woman in insulated grayish-blue bibs, heavy boots, mauve wool sweater, and her blonde hair twisted into a messy bun on her head, face scrubbed free of makeup.

She was beautiful.

Her friend, and the chief’s wife, Christina walked alongside her. She met my gaze. A knowing smile spread over her face and into her dark eyes.

I cleared my throat and looked away. “All set?”

Claire smiled. “Yep.” She moved to the kitchen table and picked up the coat to match her bibs that was draped over a chair, and swung it around to thread her arms into the sleeves. With a quick rasp, she zipped it, then grabbed the hat and gloves on the table.

I zipped up my own coat and pulled a stocking cap on low over my ears. It wasn’t terribly cold—it was March now, after all—but once we got going, it would feel much colder with the wind in our faces.

The back door opened and Chief Bartles clomped inside. “The ATVs are gassed up and ready. Claire, I strapped Christina’s rifle to yours. It’s loaded and there’s more ammo in the pack on the back.”

I wanted to protest arming a civilian but held my tongue. That rifle wasn’t to ward off humans.

Bartles’s gaze turned to me. “Quartermaine, I don’t think I need to tell you to watch yourselves, do I?”

“No, sir.”

He gave a sharp nod. “I don’t like that Claire’s going with you, but out here, sometimes what’s frowned upon is a necessity. Bring our girl back the way you took her out, please.”

“I will.” And I would, even if I had to step in front of a bear to save her.

Claire tugged on her hat. “It’s not me you should be worried about, Tom. You know I grew up hiking the bush with my dad. I could hunt before I could read. He”—she hooked a thumb toward me—“grew up in theAppalachians.” She wrinkled her nose like it was a dirty word. “Are they even mountains?”

“Hey.” I scowled at her. “Lay off my mountains.”

“You mean your hills?”

I just raised an eyebrow and shook my head. “Can we go?”

Her musical chuckle filled the small kitchen. “Fine.” She turned to our hostess. “Christina, thank you again for the clothes. I’ll try not to get them too dirty.”

The woman waved a hand. “They wash. You two stay safe.” She looked at her husband. “You gave him the satellite phone, right?”

Tom nodded. “Hopefully, they won’t need it.”

I hoped so too. Because if I had to call in reinforcements, it meant all hell had broken loose. “We’ll see you hopefully later this afternoon, Chief. Thanks again for the gear.” I took a step toward the back door, ushering Claire in the same direction.

We made our escape and settled onto our ATVs. Tom had brought them here from the department’s storage facility. His house was closer to the Hammonds’ cabin and near the forest. It just made sense to leave from here.

Donning our helmets and firing up our four-wheelers, we pulled away from the Bartles’s house, Claire in front. We both had a GPS device, but had decided it would be best if she took the lead. While I was no stranger to rough terrain, the land here was much different to what I was used to in North Carolina.

At first, we kept a quick clip, sticking to the road that led east, away from town.

---