Page 90 of Delta
“Sure, but not because of you. I know that, if anything happened to her, minor or otherwise, you’d let it eat you alive. I’m tired of watching things eat you alive.”
My anger deflates. “I’m doing surprisingly okay. Mad at myself, but what else is new?”
Tucker is quiet for a moment. “Where is she?”
“Inside, taking a nap. We’ll be leaving as soon as she wakes up.”
“You probably should up that timeline.”
“Why?”
“One of Slater’s known aliases just boarded a private plane to Dallas. That’s why I’m here.”
“He’s coming here?”
Tucker nods. “Looks that way.”
“Then we need to stay. I need to help prepare the ranch.” My mind starts racing. We need to set proximity alarms, get everyone who can’t fight to the barn on the far side of the property. Where they’ll be out of sight and safe.
“We’re already on that. And it won’t matter if you can get Emma out. I’ll send you Slater’s number. When you’re away from the ranch, call him. Let them trace it. He’ll know you’re not here anymore. Trash the phone, then use a burner.”
“If he comes here anyway?”
Tucker smiles. “Then we’ll call you when the problem has worked itself out. As far as I’m concerned, if he sets foot onto our property, he’s a threat, and we’ll treat him as such. Don’t worry about us. My gut says he won’t risk coming here if she’s not here.”
“His mother?”
“We’ll make sure Harlow is safe too.”
“You’re sure you’ll be okay?” It seemed like a good plan before, but now that I’m facing the reality of it, I hate the idea of leaving my family alone while I run. But Tucker is right—if Emma isn’t here, then Heath won’t want to chance it. It would be a stupid thing to do. An unnecessary risk. And he doesn’t strike me as a man who makes those often.
“We’ll be fine. You did the same for me, remember?”
“Those were cops coming for Alice, Tucker, not a crime boss.”
“You still risked your lives to make sure I got her to safety. Let us do the same for you, okay? Get her out, and we’ll handle the rest.”
Emma’s been silent ever since we hit the road. We’re about two hours away from the ranch now, so I guide my truck into a gas station, park next to a pump, and pull out my phone. “You know what to do?”
Nodding, she takes my phone and taps on the number Tucker texted me. Then, she places it on speakerphone. It rings twice before he answers.
“I expected this call,” he says. “Did you decide to hand her over to me?”
“No one is handing me over to anyone,” Emma says. Her voice is level, but her hand holding the phone is shaking.
Heath is silent a moment. “Ah, Miss Emmaline. How lovely it is to hear your voice.”
She shuts her eyes tightly. “I’m only calling to let you know that you’re headed in the wrong direction.”
Again, he’s silent a few beats. His way of trying to maintain control, likely as they trace the call. “Is that right?”
“Yes. You won’t find me this time.”
“I assume lover boy’s ranch is still standing—for now. Maybe I’ll still pay them a visit.”
“Go ahead. But you should know that local police have been alerted and are right there, ready to take you in the moment your tire tread crosses onto their property.”
“Is that so? I’ve dealt with the police before. Maybe I just took a wrong turn. Needed to turn around.”
