Page 25 of Dangerous Secrets
“Yes, ma’am.”
She gave a decisive nod.“I’m gladyou’re back.You belong with your people.What happened to you waswrong, but you’re too strong to let it ruin your life.”
She’d given him another hug and he’dstared after her as she walked away.Her unqualified faith had madesomething shift uncomfortably in his chest.Then Mateo, who’d beenin the lumber area frowning over two by fours of pressure-treatedwood, had sucked him into a discussion of a deck he wascontemplating building behind his house.That’d led to Mateoinviting Walker to come by his place to look at the plans for thedeck.He’d added the enticement of barbecued chops and beer, andWalker hadn’t been able to refuse.
He’d hung out with Mateo, drank thebeer, and ended up watching a baseball game that went into extrainnings.He’d waited long enough so he wasn’t under the influence,and now it was an hour before midnight and he was headinghome.
He rubbed his hand tiredly over theback of his neck, still surprised at the short hair.He’d cut itfor the funeral out of respect for Pop, seeing how he hadn’t likedhis grandsons with long hair.
Walker was glad the funeral was behindthem.Sawyer had said his words, and they’d been good ones.They’dstood across the open grave from Laney, her face ravaged by grief.She’d placed a bunch of wildflowers on top of the simple coffinbefore it had been lowered into the ground and the first dirtthrown over it.
The naked grief on her face hadmirrored his own.He’d blocked the part of him that wanted to reachout to her, talk to her, get to that place where they’d once been.But other than those kisses and the conversation after she’d laidout Vance Norris, she was doing what she’d said she’d do and waspretty much ignoring him.
He couldn’t blame her.He’d ignore himtoo.
He couldn’t tell her the truth, thoughthere was a part of him that wanted to lay it out there and see howshe reacted.She’d lose her freaking mind if he told her being withher made him feel complete.Like without her some integral part ofhim was missing.
Like he felt he had a chance in thisworld if she stuck with him.
No matter how often he told himself tostop looking her way, their interactions had sparked a small, weakflame of hope, like maybe she didn’t despise him as much as sheshould have.
Any time he spent with Laney posedsome risk because it entrenched her further in his life, and otherscould see her with him and figure she was in on whatever he wasdoing.But he couldn’t seem to help himself.He was coming torealize his plan to stay away from her was flawed.It was deadimpossible to stay away from the woman he craved with every breathhe took.
On top of that, he needed herhelp.
He drove on.No streetlights on thisstretch of road meant beyond the wash of his headlights, the nightwas ink black under a starry sky.
The darkness shrouded what he knew tobe a sheer drop-off to the creek bed on the right, the far side ofwhich was Lone Pine Ranch belonging to Shane Keller: grassy landdotted with pines sloping north and east into folds of the SierraNevada.
In daylight, you could see Mill Creekrushing down the mountain, a shining silver ribbon on its way tojoining the Sacramento River.At night, the ravine with the creekat the bottom formed a dark chasm that might as well have been themouth of hell it was so dark.
Twin pinpricks of light in hisrearview mirror snagged his attention.A vehicle was gaining on himfast on the straightaway, with another set of headlights fartherback.He let up off the accelerator, pulling to the right of thetwo lanes going his direction.
He tagged the first vehicle as a truckor SUV given the height and spacing of the headlights.It drewsteadily closer, and closer still until it was tailgating him.Heflipped the review mirror to dim and slowed even more to encouragethe asshole to pass.The vehicle roared past, an Escalade as big asa tank, and when it cleared Walker’s front end it swerved to theright, taillights flaring as the driver hit the brakes.
“Son of a bitch.”Walkerlaid on the horn and veered to the left lane.The Escalade did thesame, again braking hard.A split-second glance at his rearviewmirror showed the other set of headlights had closed thegap.
Hoping that driver had good reflexes,Walker stomped on his brakes and controlled the skid so he didn’tend up over the side of the road at the bottom of the ravine.TheEscalade continued to slow, and now the lights behind him wereright on his tail.
Instinct was flashing a big warninglight with blaring sirens in his brain.He yanked the steeringwheel to the right, slowing to a near stop.He tapped on the screenof his phone where it sat in a holder on the dash.The Escaladeangled in front of him and stopped with a screech of tires onpavement, the rig at his rear doing the same.
His brother’s voice filled the cab.“What’s up?”
“Two vehicles, one a blackEscalade, the other a dark-colored pickup, forced me to a stop onthe Mill Creek Road, coming from town.I’m probably a mile and ahalf from the turnoff to the farm.Fuckers are getting out of theirvehicles.I’m thinking they don’t want to exchangerecipes.”
“I’ll send a unit out andI’m on my way.Stay in the truck.”
The glare of his headlightssilhouetted a big barrel of a man with a balaclava over his headand a crowbar in his grip.
“Fuck me.”His knife inthe glove box wouldn’t be much help.He wished he had the Ruger 89he’d left in the cabin.
“Out of the truck,asshole,” the guy with the crowbar yelled.
Like hell.Walker knew a setup when hesaw one.He threw the transmission into reverse, gunned the engine,and felt the jolt when he hit the truck behind him.His pickupweighed a couple tons and had heavy-duty bumpers and a ball hitchwith plenty of heft.He kept his foot on the accelerator and shovedthe other truck back at least ten feet.He rammed the transmissioninto drive and steered directly toward the big guy with thecrowbar.
Two sharp cracks split theair and the rear and passenger side windows had holes punchedthrough.One of the bullets burned as it grazed his temple beforeexiting through the front windshield.Fuck.The guy with the crowbarlunged to the side, Walker spun the wheel.More shots rang out, heheard a thunk as a bullet hit metal, and then he was acceleratingpast the Escalade, the truck’s tires kicking up gravel as it soughtpurchase on the shoulder.There was a moment when Walker thoughthe’d end up in the ravine, but the big tires grabbed hold and hewas hurtling down the road.
He kept an eye on his mirrors as hesped down the highway, wind whistling through the holes in thewindows.He didn’t see lights behind him.He had to assume thosetwo knew him and where he lived, but on the off chance they didn’t,he wasn’t leading them to the turnoff that went not only to hisplace, but Laney and Clara’s as well.
