Page 17 of Montana Mystery

“You’re welcome to stay here,” I said. “It’s a long drive, and it’s already late.”

She was back to not looking at me again. No wonder, since I’d seen children craft better lies. “I’ll be fine. Thank you. And thank you for the information. I hope you find them soon.”

The silence spun out between us. She’d driven all the way here again. Was terrified of something that she couldn’t make herself talk about. Whatever it was, it hadn’t disappeared because she’d driven up here and petted a horse.

“Kate,” I said quietly. “If you need help, I want you to know that you’re free to come back here at any time. Even if you don’t need help and you just need a friend.”

Her eyes locked with mine, and I swore electricity crackled in the air, just like those moments they talked about in movies. Kate stared at me so long I wondered if we’d frozen time.

Then she unlocked the door to her car and got in. But she stared until she absolutely had to turn away.

* * *

Kate

I’d lied.

Noah knew it too. There’s no way he didn’t. Telling me I could come back for help was too pointed. He absolutely knew something was wrong, and I was exhausted.

The little motel on the edge of Garnet Bend was good enough for the night. It was cheap, and most importantly, it was far away from my destroyed apartment. There was no way they knew where I was now, right?

The thought had me shivering even as I took the keys from the bored man at the front desk.

This was one of those motels where the rooms opened directly to the outside. Not exactly the bastion of safety my mind craved right now, but it would have to do.

I showered quickly, the feeling of clean clothes a small comfort. But I put on regular clothes. Not pajamas. What if I had to move quickly?

I wasn’t built for this kind of thing.

I stared at the ceiling, trapped in some kind of nightmare. How had they known where we lived? Gambling was one thing, but I hadn’t thought Brandon would just give out our address to people like that. Especially since he lived with me.

Had he told them I lived there too? Anything about me? God, I hoped not. I didn’t want them looking for me.

But if Brandon hadn’t told them where we lived, that meant that they’d found our address. Of course it wasn’t very hard to dig for personal information if you knew how to do it. I just never imagined I’d be on this side of it.

Stop being ridiculous, Kate.

I was being dramatic. There was no way they knew where I was. They hadn’t known I was in the apartment, so they hadn’t followed me here. But if they were watching Brandon, they could know I existed. If they were watching him, they could be watching me. They could have seen that I’d charged my credit card here.

Stop. It.

Turning away from the light, I closed my eyes. My body was exhausted, sinking down into the bed. But every few minutes my eyes opened and took in the shadows. They jumped out at me, making me question whether I was seeing things or not.

Shapes formed and jumped and I rolled over onto my back again. Frustrated. Exhausted. I couldn’t do this. There was no way I could sleep here when I felt like I had to keep one eye open.

My mind kept telling me it was nothing while every part of my subconscious disagreed.

Noah had said to come back to the ranch if I needed help. Was this help? Would it count? At the very least, I needed to try.

I pulled on my shoes and grabbed my suitcase, locking the door behind me. I would keep the key just in case I couldn’t get into Resting Warrior. Worst-case scenario, I would come back here and barricade myself in the bathroom.

The moon over the mountains painted everything silver. Without the light pollution of the city, you could see so many stars it was hard to fathom. There was something beautiful about being out here with nothing around, if also a little terrifying. I wasn’t used to the completeness of the silence that was a part of the rural countryside. But I didn’t question why this was a place people chose to recover in.

Ahead, the gate was open. I took a breath in relief. Resting Warrior had walls like I’d never seen at any other ranch. Most of them had the bare minimum, just to keep the cattle from escaping. Resting Warrior had walls that were nearly ten feet tall, and I didn’t doubt that they had other hidden security measures.

It made sense, given who their clients were and their own background. And because of that, I’d assumed that the gate to the ranch—equally intimidating—would be closed. I didn’t know why it wasn’t or if Noah left it open on purpose, but either way, I was grateful.

I parked in front of the lodge again. Noah’s truck was gone. Even if I had to sleep in my car here, I felt safer than in the hotel room.

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