Page 6 of Hunted

“Mama!” Thomas shouted. She turned. Suzie was carrying him from the store, and he stretched out his pudgy little arms toward her. She smiled at her son, remembering her responsibilities and tucking away her desires. He held out the buffalo stuffed toy to her, and she smiled at Suzie, taking her son from the other woman.

“Thank you for watching him,” Leila said to Suzie. “I’ve got him now.”

“My pleasure,” Suzie said, starting off back toward her tiny shop. “He’s a sweetheart. Let me know if you ever need my help again.”

“Will do.” She waved to the older woman then took a deep breath to get herself back on track. “So, when can we schedule the next lesson? I’d like to get this done as soon as possible.”

“Tomorrow work for you?” Clint asked, popping off her hubcap and setting it aside then grabbing the tire iron to remove the lug nuts. “I can make time for you whenever.”

There he was being so good to her. She couldn’t let it go to her head. She brushed the hair from Thomas’s eyes with her fingers, a silent reminder to herself of what was important. Handsome, helpful former SEALs weren’t on the list. Unfortunately.

“I have to work in the morning,” she said, “but I could come in the afternoon before I have to pick Thomas up at day care. Would that be okay?”

“We’ll make it work.” Clint pulled off the slashed tire and set it aside, then slid the spare into place.

She studied him as he tightened the bolts. Despite herself, she was curious about him. She’d noted the lack of a wedding band, and there were no pictures of women or kids in his office. Just his buddies. Was he lonely? She wanted to ask but she knew she shouldn’t. It was best she not get close to him.

“That’ll do it,” he said, rising and putting the tools back in her vehicle. He turned to her, his eyes assessing. “Don’t drive too long on the spare.”

“I won’t,” she said, even as she tried to figure out how long she could stretch it before shelling out for a new tire. The repair would have to wait at least a few days. She wouldn’t have any money to spare until her next paycheck, especially since she was spending so much on the gun.Thatexpense was non-negotiable. Just thinking about that made her square her shoulders. Taking an offered kindness from a near stranger was okay for now, but she was in this mess with her ex-husband alone.. She’d take Clint’s lessons and learn what she needed to—and then, she would leave him behind. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Leila, if you need something else…” Something about the way he said it made her think she could ask him for anything. Again, she fought down the temptation to tell him more.

“I’m good. Thanks.” She put Thomas in his seat and got on the road for the five-mile drive. She checked her mirrors constantly. The slashed tire meant that Mike or someone in his gang had found her.

And she knew from experience that they wouldn’t back off.

4

The next morning was not turning out to be any less hectic for Leila than the previous one. She was currently fiddling with Thomas’s car seat in the back of the car while talking to her mom on the phone, thanking God for the millionth time that her phone plan included unlimited calls to Puerto Rico.

“Don’t worry about us, Mama,” she said, straightening up the mess of toys and snacks left over after she’d dropped her son off at day care on her way to her job as a dental hygienist. The spare tire was holding out, thankfully, but she knew she needed to take it in. She could have really done without that extra expense this month, which was probably exactly why Mike had chosen to slash her brand-new tire, the bastard. “Seriously. We’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”

She did her best to sound more confident than she felt.

Still, her mother saw right through the charade. “Don’t pull that with me, chica. That criminal of an ex of yours is nothing to mess around with. For my peace of mind, I wish you and Thomaswould move down here with me. There’s room at the condo and we could watch over you. Protect you.”

“I don’t need protection, Mama.” Okay, shedidneed protection, but there was nothing her middle-aged mother and the set of elderly grandparents Mama cared for back home could do to help with that. If she moved home, Leila would have to worry about keepingallof them safe, not just her and Thomas. No. Staying in Nevada was the best course of action for all of them. Even though her mother brought up the idea of her coming home during every conversation they had. “Look, I’m going to get a gun and I’m learning how to shoot. I won’t let anything happen to my son. We’ll be fine, I promise.” She finished fussing with the car seat, then straightened to close the car door and lock the vehicle. “I need to go now, Mama, or I’ll be late for work. Talk to you later. Love you.”

“Love you too, chica,” her mother said, her words tearful. “Please be careful.”

“Always.” Leila ended the call and grabbed her bag from the front seat. She had a busy day ahead of her. Her schedule was full with patients, then later, with her lesson with Clint.

“Leila,” a voice said behind her, making her jump.

Her blood froze and her pulse stumbled. Mike. Her ex was here. A million thoughts whirled through her mind at once.Run. Hide. Fight. Flee.None of those options seemed feasible in the parking lot when he had her blocked in between her SUV, a van parked next to her, and him. He’d caught her at a vulnerable moment. Damn him.

Mike was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.

Swallowing hard, Leila swiveled to face him. He looked harder than ever after his stint in prison for drug and weapons trafficking. Same angry green eyes, same gang tattoos covering his arms and creeping up his neck from beneath his army-green T-shirt. There was a tightness around his mouth, a hint of the tension that always skimmed right below his surface. His fists were clenched at his sides and a muscle ticked near his tight jaw. He was beyond pissed. Leila knew all the signs. He could go off on her right there, risking her life and the lives of anyone who happened by. Mike was a man who didn’t give a shit about consequences anymore, for himself or others. That made him all the more dangerous.

Leila inhaled slowly and repeated the mantra they’d taught her in self-defense—stay cool, stay calm, defuse the situation if you can. She didn’t have much hope that she’d be able to talk him down, but she had to try. “What do you want, Mike?”

He took a step closer. “What I want to know is why you waited until I was locked up before you filed for divorce and took my son away from me, you bitch!”

She maintained eye contact with him although it took everything in her to do so. “You knew things weren’t working out between us. I told you I wanted to leave. There was no surprise about that.”

“You belong to me, Leila. You and Thomas.”

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