Page 90 of Deadly Target (Rocky Mountain Courage 2)

THIRTY-EIGHT

Erin rode with Nathan as he drove them back to town.

Darkness pressed down on her. That night she’d been running from for so long and had only imagined she’d put to rest had finally caught up to her.

The memory played over and over in her messed-up mind.

Mom shook her. “Why didn’t you listen? ... I told you not to do this.”

Nathan hit a pothole, and it jarred her out of the past. After Detective Munson’s revelation that what happened in Seattle was about her, after all, Erin would insist her mother come with her to a safe house. Or rather, safer than her own home. With the danger factors increasing—almost daily—Erin and her mother could both be in real trouble.

Her temples throbbed, and her heart rate inched up.

A neighbor and a deputy weren’t enough.

Her mind went right back to that day Mom packed their things into the trunk of the car and left their small neighborhood in Wisconsin behind. Erin hadn’t known they would never come back. She hadn’t paid attention to how her mother had handled all that went into disappearing. She’d been too young.

God, I don’t want to vanish again.

Nathan gave her a paper sack. Confused, she stared at it. Oh. “Am I?”

“Just breathe.”

She took the sack and breathed into it. Her breathing slowed. She hadn’t realized she’d been gasping. This time she wouldn’t run and hide. There was no need. Erin was an adult, and she would be the one to protect Mom from the strangers who had inexplicably arisen out of the night long ago.

Her cell buzzed, dragging her thoughts back to the moment. “It’s Terra, returning my call,” she said to Nathan, then answered. “Hey, thanks for calling me back.”

“You sounded upset in your voice mail. Erin, what’s going on?” Terra asked.

Erin eyed Nathan.

He nodded vehemently and glared at her. Pointed at her and mouthed, “You do it or I do it.”

“I have a situation. Nathan thinks Mom and I need to stay somewhere.”

“I ... see. I’m glad you’re finally coming to that conclusion. You can use the ranch. Gramps won’t mind at all. He’s on a big cruise anyway and won’t be back for another four days.”

Gramps, Terra’s deceased mother’s father who raised her, had always been so good to both Erin and Alex when they would hang out at the ranch. Terra was fortunate to have known her grandparents.

“You haven’t even heard what’s going on. I mean, the new stuff.”

“More than what’s already happened?”

“Yes, and once you hear that, you might not agree.”

“Doesn’t matter. You know I’m here for you. The ranch is like a fortress now since Gramps installed a state-of-the-art security system to replace the last failed one. What about protection?”

“I’m sure Nathan will take care of that. Right now, I need someplace besides my own home, and I think the ranch will do. Now if I can just talk Mom into it.”

“You think that’ll be a problem?”

“I hope not.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. Though Erin hadn’t been able to convince Mom to move to Seattle, this wasn’t a permanent setup. “Terra, I can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s me, Erin. You don’t need to thank me. Oh, and I forgot to mention, Alex is here. I called to tell him about the memorial vandalism, and he said he would try to take some time off and head this way. The next thing I knew, he was here. Maybe on the other side of this we can all hang out again for a bit.”

Alex? Erin’s heart warmed at the thought. “I’d love to see him. We don’t see him often enough. But right now ... I just can’t think straight.” Especially with Nathan next to her, listening intently as he drove. Nathan got along with everyone, but he’d been kind of jealous of Alex when she and Nathan dated before. And then Alex got angry with Nathan. Alex didn’t understand that Erin was the one to break things off. And Nathan didn’t understand that Alex really was like a brother to her, albeit a mysterious, hard-to-reach brother.

“Are you coming right away?” Terra’s question pulled her thoughts back.