A Secret In Conard County. Rachel Lee

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СКАЧАТЬ another four thousand or so scattered all over the county. There are smaller towns in Wyoming, but bigger ones, too. We’re big enough to be on the map.”

      That description brought another faint smile to her face. “But small enough for some good gossip?”

      “It fills a lot of hours,” he admitted.

      “It won’t cause you any trouble to be seen having a meal here with a strange woman?”

      He shrugged. “What are they going to say? This couldn’t be any more public.”

      “True.”

      “And it’s not as if I’m married.”

      Her smile widened a shade as the calories began to hit her system. “Well, that takes all the juice out of the gossip.”

      “Maybe. Or it could rev it up.” He shrugged again and took another bite of his sandwich. “So, do you have any idea where you’re going?”

      “No,” she admitted. “I just wanted to get away from Chicago, and figured I could wander through the West, take in the sights. What I didn’t count on was the pull of the mountains. I wanted to reach them, once I started seeing them, and...I drove too long today.”

      “Well, you’ve reached them now. Hang around a few days and I’ll be glad to take you for a drive to some really spectacular views.”

      Quite a nice offer, but it made her feel uneasy. Was she leaving one mess behind, however temporarily, to make another one? She didn’t want to. Instead of answering, she looked out the window again and noticed how flattened everything looked. Apparently the sun had slipped behind the mountains, and while the sky remained bright overhead, the shadows that added dimension were gone. Curious. She liked it. It seemed to suit her rather unpleasant mood.

      But then, weary or not, she realized she was being rude to a man who was only trying to help her out. He didn’t deserve it, and while he might put it down to her being unwell, it still wasn’t right.

      She turned to him again. “It’s a pretty little town,” she offered.

      “A bit worn about the edges. When the resort was getting ready to open, they started sprucing us up a bit. New sidewalks, new streetlights, maybe some paint...but it hardly got started before the landslide shut them down.”

      She managed another bite of the sandwich, knowing she needed the energy. “Are they going to try again?”

      “I don’t know. They were almost ready to open, but there was a lot of destruction. Nobody knows if they’ll write it off now. Thing is, one of their people lives in town now. He said that landslide was a freak of some bad weather. The company hired him on again to recheck the geology up there. That landslide may have been a onetime thing, and if so...” He shrugged.

      “So everything’s on hold.”

      “It’s been on hold more years than I can count. We’ve had at least five companies interested. This last one came closer than anyone has. They even finished building a new runway to handle more air traffic.” He shrugged. “Still, who can say when a project becomes more trouble than it’s worth?”

      “Not being in the business, I couldn’t venture a guess.”

      He nodded and pushed his plate aside. His sandwich was gone and he’d ignored the fries. Erin took another bite of hers, finally feeling the restorative effects of the food. “If you’re in a hurry,” she said tentatively.

      That drew a broad smile from him. “We’re rarely in a hurry around here. Oh, we get our share of problems, everything from toxic dumping to a serial killer, but it’s not constant. Small-town policing is pretty laid-back usually.”

      “You like it?”

      “After ten years in Denver, I love it.”

      “Did you grow up here?”

      “I sure did. My dad was a schoolteacher.”

      “So you still have family here?”

      “My aunt Maria, bless her heart.” He leaned back as his coffee cup was refilled by the inimitable Maude, who then glared at Erin to ask, “Another latte?”

      “Please.”

      The woman stomped off.

      Erin pushed her own plate aside. “I guess I’m going to need a doggie bag.”

      Lance leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “No problem. You know what you said about a bad confrontation with a bad guy?”

      She stiffened, barely nodding.

      “I had something similar happen to me. Hence the small-town policing. Some things you never want to experience twice.”

      Wow, she thought. Instantly she liked him even more. He’d walked in her shoes and there was probably very little she had to tell him, because he understood.

      Except maybe he didn’t understand this running part. Well, it wasn’t exactly running. She wasn’t fit for duty yet, and the Bureau had wanted to put her in protection. Instead she’d chosen to clear out for a while, since the bad guy was still on the loose. No, not exactly running, she assured herself. Merely taking a wise evasive maneuver.

      The fresh latte arrived along with a foam box for her leftovers. Apart from being a Gorgon, Maude seemed to read minds. Not a word passed, not a query about whether she wanted to take that half sandwich with her. Of course, maybe it never occurred to the woman that anyone would leave her cooking behind.

      “You’re looking tired again,” Lance said suddenly. “Let’s go. I’ll help you move into the motel and get you registered.”

      “I need to pay.”

      “I run a tab with Maude, so forget it. As for the motel, no payment required until you leave.”

      Erin felt her brows rise. “That’s a great way to get ripped off.”

      He smiled again. “It would be if they let everyone do that. FBI? I think they’ll give you the same courtesy they’d give me.”

      She was beginning to feel as if she’d gone down the rabbit hole to a very different universe.

Chapter 2

      Erin awoke early in the morning, and for a blessed few minutes nothing hurt. The TV ran quietly, creating background noise to mask the engine roars from the truck stop. The half-finished latte stood on the nightstand. The clock told her she’d slept fourteen hours. Fourteen. And without a pain pill.

      She didn’t want to move. As soon as she stirred, the pain would return, at least some of it. She needed to get on the road again. The guy who’d nearly killed her was off the grid, and she had to stay off it, too, as much as possible. Keep moving, use cash wherever possible and wait for the phone call to tell her he was caught, or until she felt well enough to resume duty. She’d chosen this over protective custody, and every single day asked herself why. But she knew why. She felt safer in the middle of nowhere, СКАЧАТЬ