Page 19 of Mountain Rescue
“That works.” Jack left, and Dallas went back to spend a few more minutes with Bella before returning to the cabin. He sat even closer this time, and it seemed to him that the dog wasn’t shaking quite as much.
“So, Bella, how angry with me do you think our wildcat’s gonna be?”
Chapter Six
Rachel was bored. She’d gone for a run, cleaned the cabin even though it didn’t really need it, and had finished reading the book she’d started last night when she couldn’t sleep. The restless night, she blamed on a cowboy.
She really needed the distraction of him gone, but the blasted man had dug in the heels of his boots, refusing to leave. A few years ago, she’d stunt doubled for an actress in a western, and at the time, she’d thought casting had picked the perfect male lead for the cowboy role.
Ha! She was reevaluating her opinion on that. Dallas...what was his last name, anyway? Dallas whoever was the personification of a real cowboy.
Duh, Rach, that’s because he is a real cowboy.
She was scouring the contents of the freezer for something to make him for dinner since he’d cooked last night when she remembered he was having dinner with Jack and Nichole.
What she wouldn’t give to see her best friend, but if she told Nichole she was in Asheville, Nichole would tell Jack, and Jack would go all into hero mode, putting his life on the line to protect her. She refused to let him do that. If Robert hurt Jack, or God forbid, worse, and Nichole lost her husband, Rachel wouldn’t be able to live with herself. So no, no matter how much Dallas pushed her to tell Jack she was here and why, she’d stand strong.
She hadn’t heard from Detective Diaz since she’d arrived, so she called him, got his voice mail, and left a message. Now what? She was too restless to start another book, and the cabin was spotless, so... She could go for another run. It was important that she stay in shape, but the thought of running up the mountain again had her groaning.
While she was trying to decide what to do, her phone buzzed, Detective Diaz’s number showing on the screen. “Thanks for calling me back, Detective.”
“I wish I had good news for you, but so far, we haven’t been able to find Robert Hargrove.”
That wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but she wasn’t surprised. “So what happens now?”
“We keep looking. Also, because his wife told you he was dealing in illegal arms, we’ve passed everything we know about him on to the FBI, so they’re involved now.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“Definitely. They want to talk to you, but I told them I needed to let you know before I gave them your number. I was going to call you today, in fact, to update you.”
“I’ll talk to them, but I’d rather be the one to make the call.” Could the FBI trace a burner phone? She wasn’t sure she wanted the FBI to know her location.
“Fair enough. You have a pen handy?”
“Yeah, hold on a sec.” She grabbed her purse and fished out a pen and her notepad. “Okay, go.”
“Where are you, Rachel?” he said after giving her the information.
“Someplace safe.” At least for now.
“You don’t trust me?”
“No offense, but I don’t trust anyone right now. Henrietta told me Robert had the police...and I’m not accusing you, but that he had some police on the payroll. That was one reason she wouldn’t go to the police herself.”
“I promise you I’m not on his payroll. I want to see the man behind bars if he really did kill his wife.”
“You doubt me?”
“No, I believe you, but lack of a body makes it just your word.”
Lack of a body.That sounded so cold. “The body has a name,” she snapped. Tears burned as the loss of her sweet friend hit her again. “I’m sorry. I know you’re doing the best you can.”
“And we won’t stop until we find him, Rachel. Call the FBI. They’re waiting to hear from you and having them involved will only help.”
“I’ll call them today.” After she figured out the best way to contact them. Dallas would probably know if a burner phone could be traced. He was a SEAL, and SEALs knew all kinds of secret stuff, right?
Dallas had put his number in her phone, and she thought about calling him to ask about tracing burner phones but decided against it. If Dallas was with Jack, it wasn’t a conversation she wanted Jack to overhear, so she’d wait until Dallas got back to the cabin.
