Page 37 of Dawn Skies (Stormcloud Station)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

KEE DECIDED THAT Wazza had a stare like a blue-eyed hawk when he got angry. And boy, was he angry now. She could tell he was reining in his emotions, probably for Benni’s sake as much as her own, but his knuckles were white where he gripped the steering wheel, and his scowl was deep and dangerous.

“Look, Kee,” he said, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “I know this wasn’t part of the plan, but things have changed. You’re in imminent danger now. I can’t let you face that guy alone.” He never took his eyes off the road—which was a good thing because he was driving like they had the devil on their tail, and perhaps they did.

Oh, God. What had they done?Was Bruno after them this very moment? Or was he still lying unconscious on the pavement?

“I know the back roads in this area. I can keep us off the main drag and out of sight. Take the dirt tracks and find the unused camping spots, so he’ll never find us.” Without getting us lost. He didn’t need to say the words, the implication was there for her to hear. She glowered at him. How dare he suggest she wasn’t up to the task? But then again, perhaps she wasn’t, because she had got lost.

There was another reason she shouldn’t let Wazza join her. That damn attraction sizzling just beneath the surface. She’d already kissed him twice now, the second time, she’d even instigated it. If she didn’t want things to go further, then the absolute last thing she should be doing was sitting in a car with him for the next three or four days. She wasn’t about to get involved with another man, not when she was running for her life. Not when all she cared about was keeping Benni safely by her side. There was zero room in her world for a romantic liaison right now. Even if the cowboy sitting beside her set the blood zinging through her veins and did something strange to her guts every time he gave her that crooked little smile.

Her thoughts skittered across her mind like a drop of water on a hot griddle pan. What to do? The image of Bruno carrying Benni away replayed over and over in her mind. She’d nearly lost her daughter. Bruno had nearly succeeded in taking her. What would she have done if Wazza hadn’t been there?

“Is Mr. Cowboy coming with us?” Benni asked from the back seat, startling Kee out of her musings.

She stared at Wazza’s profile, biting her lip. Jaw set, eyebrows lowered, he looked as serious as she’d ever seen him. And dammit, now wasn’t the time to decide that he was perhaps even more sexy when he was serious than when he was smiling. Concentrate on the problem at hand. That Wazza was trying to railroad her into taking him with her. She didn’t like to be backed into a corner. She didn’t want him to think that he could just come in and take over. Because she’d had enough of men thinking they could order her around, telling her what to do. She also had to remind herself that he wasn’t Jakov, however. Or Bruno. Needed to remind herself that Wazza was kind and generous, and only had her and Benni’s safety as his utmost motivation. She knew that Wazza would stop the car and get out if that’s what she demanded of him. Stand by the side of the road and watch her drive away, if that’s what she really wanted.

He glanced in her direction, blue eyes finding hers, spearing her with his resolve. Trust. Trust and accept help. That’s what their conversation had been about last night. And that’s what she needed to do now.

“Yes, okay,” Kee replied, closing her eyes for a second. God, was she doing the right thing? “As far as the border, then,” she qualified.

“Thank you,” Wazza said, with a grim smile that acknowledged how hard the decision had been for her.

“Yay. He’ll keep the bad people away,” Benni said, a little subdued, the commotion with Bruno clearly still top of her mind. Until that second, Kee hadn’t really thought about how her daughter saw this whole crazy situation. She hadn’t told her about her father being in jail. Hadn’t mentioned anything at all about them being on the run from the police and Jakov’s family. Benni hadn’t asked too many questions, either, happy to go along with Kee’s version of them being on an adventure, on the surface at least. Kee had tried to keep her stress and fear hidden from her daughter, but maybe enough had permeated through so that Benni knew something was inexplicably wrong. And there was no hiding what had just happened at the auto shop. Benni had been terrified. Perhaps that was why Benni had taken to Wazza so quickly and was clinging to him now. She saw him as a sort of knight in shining armor, someone who could help keep the bad people away, as she’d put it, even if she had no idea who they might be. Kee suddenly realized she could no longer hide their plight from Benni. Her poor little girl was making assumptions about what was going on around her, whether Kee wanted her to or not. It was beyond time Kee sat down and had a proper chat with her daughter, but now was not the place. Later tonight, once they’d found a safe spot to camp, Kee promised herself.

“Oh, no,” Benni cried out.

“What?” Benni whipped around, worried that her daughter had been more badly hurt by Bruno than she first let on.

“My blue hat. We left my blue hat in Wazza’s car. We need to go back and get it.”

Kee let out her breath in a gust of relief. Was that all? “I’m sorry we left it behind, bunny. But we can’t go back and get it. Not with…” Kee left the sentence unfinished. She’d also left her new hat behind, but that couldn’t be helped.

“But I need my blue hat.” Benni’s eyes filled with tears, and Kee felt torn. She was sorry for her daughter, she really loved that hat. But her overwhelming emotion was irritation. The nightmare of Bruno and the past half hour crushing her beneath the weight of what-ifs, turning her fear into anger. She wanted to snap at her daughter that it was only a hat and they’d been lucky to get away with their lives.

Before Kee could say anything she might regret, Wazza interrupted, saying, “I promise to try and get you a new one at the next big town we stop in. Okay?”

Benni nodded, but wasn’t completely mollified, continuing to pout for the next half an hour.

“I need to call Steve on the sat phone. Let him know what’s happened,” Wazza said, interrupting her thoughts.

Kee nodded and rummaged around on the floor at her feet to find the phone he’d dumped down there when he’d jumped back into the car.

“Can you dial Steve’s number for me? It’s button number one.”

She did as he requested, then put the phone on speaker and lay it in his lap.

Her heart was still racing, and she pushed a hand on her chest to try and calm it as she listened to Wazza relate the happenings of the past half an hour to his boss. Steve took the news with relative calm—but then Steve seemed to take everything in his stride. Wazza told him the complete truth, not leaving out any details. Said that he was committed to helping Kee, and he didn’t know when he’d be back, and apologized for leaving them a man short, especially with another muster looming.

“A man has to do what a man has to do,” Steve said. “You keep Kee and that gorgeous little girl safe and let me worry about running Stormcloud.”

“Thanks, boss.” Wazza’s voice was gruff, and perhaps Kee was imagining the slight edge of emotion in his tone. “Before you go, can I pick your brain about road conditions up there near the border? What about Nine Mile Road? That should be open this time of year, shouldn’t it?”

“Sure,” Steve replied, and began to spout names of places, which roads were better to take, which turnoffs to look for, and likely spots they could use for a campsite. His information was probably priceless, but most of it went over the top of Kee’s head. She pretended to listen anyway, not wanting to interrupt him. Finally, after ten long minutes, Wazza ended the call, promising to keep in touch.

“Good. That’s good.” He seemed to be talking to himself, so Kee didn’t answer immediately. “Did you understand any of that?” he asked.

“Not really,” she admitted.

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