Page 8

8

L ogan’s kiss was better than she’d expected. It had been a long time since she’d been held in a man’s arms. Maybe too long. She hadn’t made time to date or have any sort of personal life since her parents’ death. And even then, she wouldn’t have chosen Logan based on their history.

Now she was second-guessing her decision. Their kiss ended far too quickly when Teddy pressed his body between them to break them apart. She shot her dog an exasperated glance, unsure if she should be glad the dog had brought her back to her senses or upset with him for butting in.

“I, uh, sorry.” Logan looked adorably flustered. “I shouldn’t have taken advantage of the situation.”

“You didn’t.” Well, he sort of had, but she could have stopped him. In truth, she’d wanted to kiss him. Their relationship had changed over the past twenty-four hours. From friends to something more. Something she didn’t care to name. “I’m sorry about Teddy.”

“He’s protective of you.” Logan patted her K9 on the head. “And that’s a good thing.”

Normally, she’d agree. But the entire interaction had knocked her off balance. She glanced around, realizing they were still standing outside the back of the Lumberjack Inn. She suddenly remembered how Doug Bridges had nearly been shot in this same spot back in January. The thought made her shiver. “Let’s get inside.”

“Yeah.” He turned to move across the parking lot toward the front of the hotel.

Minutes later, they were inside the spacious lobby. There was a rustic fireplace that emanated warmth. She stayed close to Logan as they approached the front desk. The clerk was a younger woman who eyed them warily. “May I help you?”

“We need a room with two beds,” Logan said. “And I need to pay cash since I lost my credit card.”

The clerk’s gaze darted from Logan to her. Jess managed a smile. “I don’t have a credit card either, sorry. But I promise we won’t cause any damage.”

“I don’t think I’m allowed to accept cash.” The clerk gnawed on her lower lip. Then she consulted her computer. After a long moment, she looked up. “I can only take cash if you provide an extra hundred dollars as a deposit against damage.”

“That’s no problem.” Logan pulled the cash from his pocket. “Thanks for doing this.”

The woman asked for their names. Before Logan could say anything, she spoke up. “I’m Claire Martinson, and this is my husband, Dan.”

Logan’s face flushed when she alleged they were married, but he didn’t say anything to correct her. He simply passed a portion of the cash Craig Benton had given him across the desk.

“Thank you.” The clerk took the money and handed over two room keys. “You’re in room 126.”

“Thanks,” Logan said, avoiding the clerk’s gaze. Jess hid a smile as she followed him down the hall toward their room.

“This is nice.” She glanced around the room with the rustic western motif.

“I was afraid to ask how much a suite would cost.” Logan shrugged out of his backpack, dropping it onto the floor near the bed farthest from the bathroom. “Besides, I thought that would be suspicious considering we claimed to have lost our credit cards.”

“We’ll be fine.” Oddly, much like the suite, this room also seemed more intimate than sharing the tent. She dropped her backpack down with a sense of relief. Then she took off her coat and hat. She ran her fingers through her long blond hair, wishing again that she had toiletries to take a shower. “I’ll need to call Chase soon. Knowing the grapevine around here, he may have heard about the shooting incident at the park.”

Logan removed his winter gear, then bent to pull their new phones from his pack. “Okay. It won’t take too long to get these ready to go.”

She sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Teddy sniffed the room with interest. He spent so much time sniffing the table between the two beds that she feared he’d alert on the scent of drugs. But he soon lost interest and returned to stretch out at her feet.

“Good boy.” She stroked his fur as Logan worked on the phones. “You did a good job today.”

Teddy’s tail thumped against the carpet.

“Okay, these are being charged up now.” Logan sat on the edge of the bed. “Your brother is not going to be happy that we were found at the Elk Lodge.”

“True.” She sighed. “I don’t know how we could have anticipated Benton had the ability to track our phones.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.” Logan turned on the edge of the bed to face her. “Whatever Benton is doing up on the mountain must be something big. A massive drug operation of some sort to justify these attempts to find and kill us.”

She nodded slowly. “You’re probably right. This can’t be just a simple drug handoff between willing participants. They’re doing something up on that mountain that they don’t want anyone to know about.”

“Exactly.” Logan scrubbed his hands over his bearded chin. “The more I consider the options, the less I like the idea of you and Teddy being involved in searching for Benton or his drugs.”

“There’s no other way to find them.” Deep down, she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of putting her dog in harm’s way either. “I can’t imagine the site will be easy to find without Teddy’s keen nose.”

“We have no idea how many people are involved in this.” Logan scowled. “Benton, sure, but there could easily be several others.”

It was hard to argue his point. She gestured to the phones. “Is there enough of a charge for a quick call?”

He arched a brow. “You really think calling your brother will be quick? He’s going to grill you for information.”

“He will, but it’s not like we know very much. Other than the guy used nine-millimeter ammo.” She truly wasn’t looking forward to the conversation with Chase and was anxious to get it over with.

“Okay, here.” He pulled one phone off the charger. “It’s halfway charged.”

“Thanks.” She punched in Chase’s number. Good thing Chase had insisted they memorize each other’s numbers. On search and rescue missions, they often had to borrow satellite phones to get through to the rest of the team. And there was no way to preprogram them with their individual numbers. No surprise her call from a strange number went straight to her brother’s voice mail. She left a brief message. “Chase, this is Jess, using a different phone. We’re fine, not hurt, but there was another incident of gunfire, so we had to go on the move. And get new phones. Call me when you can at this number. Thanks.”

Logan winced. “He’s going to freak when he hears that.”

“I told him we were fine.” She stared at the device in her hand. Less than ten seconds later, the phone rang. “Hi, Chase.”

“What happened?” her brother demanded.

She quickly filled him in on the recent event. “We’re fine. Teddy alerted us to the danger in time. Then he also found the nine-millimeter shell casing. We moved to a new location and ditched our phones as an extra precaution.”

“This isn’t good, Jess,” Chase said somberly. “I don’t like leaving you and Logan hanging in the wind.”

“We walked here cutting through streets to stay off the main roads and used cash for the room. That reminds me. Please let Shane know his SUV is at the Elk Lodge.”

“The SUV is the least of our worries. And that could be how you were found at the hotel.” Chase’s tone was grim. “The shooter at Logan’s place may have used his rifle scope to get the license plate.”

“That’s possible. Or he tracked our phones. Benton called Logan’s phone to arrange for the charter.” She hesitated, then added, “Logan and I think there must be a fairly big drug operation going on to justify these attacks.”

“Doug and Maya will be home soon. After their original flight was delayed, they caught a red-eye from the Big Island in Hawaii last night.”

She sighed. “I hope they didn’t choose the red-eye because of me.”

“Maya probably insisted. You know how stubborn she can be.”

She rolled her eyes. “We’re all stubborn, Chase. It’s a Sullivan family trait.”

“Yup. So you know there was nothing I could do to convince them to wait for the next daytime flight. The fact is, Doug will be able to reach out to his DEA colleagues when he gets here. And from there, we can determine our next steps.”

“Sounds good.” She gave Logan a reassuring smile. “Ask Doug to call me when he’s home.”

“Will do. Is Logan there?” Chase asked.

“You know he is. Hang on.” She held out the phone. Logan took it.

“Hey, Chase.” Logan listened intently to whatever Chase was saying for a long minute. “There’s no need for that, but thanks for the offer. Don’t worry. I think we’re safe here. And yes, I’ll protect her and so will Teddy. We’ll be in touch.” He ended the call, then plugged the phone back into the charger. “Your brother is worried about you.”

“He takes his role as the head of the household seriously.” She shrugged. “Maya does too. To their credit, they held the family together after we lost our parents. Mostly for Kendra’s sake.” Thinking of her parents only reminded her of the tail piece they’d been forced to leave behind with Logan’s plane.

When this was over, she wanted to get the tail fin examined by an expert. If it was a part of their parents’ plane, she’d head back up to the mountain to search for the rest of the debris.

It was well past time to get some answers as to what happened that fateful day five and a half years ago.

Logan hadn’t needed Chase’s warning to take care of Jessica. That was something he’d do regardless. However, the conversation with Chase was a stern reminder that kissing her again was off-limits.

Now and during the foreseeable future.

Just because he’d wanted to kiss her since they were in high school didn’t mean he should have acted on the impulse. Especially considering how they’d been standing outside the hotel where the shooter could have easily made another attempt to kill them.

Could he be more of an idiot? He needed to keep his head screwed on straight. Jessica was in danger because of him. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by his tangled-up-in-knots feelings for her.

Feelings he’d have sworn weren’t returned in kind—until the moment she’d kissed him back. Her embrace had nearly knocked him off his feet.

And made him long for more.

Enough. He gave himself a mental shake, knowing he needed to stay focused on keeping Jessica safe as promised. Logan stood and moved to the window. He peered through the narrow opening between the sheer drapes. Their room overlooked the back of the hotel, which was the way they’d come in, cutting through the parking lot of the pharmacy. He scanned the parking lot, then pulled the darker shades together to keep anyone from seeing inside their room. The resulting dimness made him turn on the desk lamp.

He turned to look at Jess. Chase had assured him that he’d be reimbursed for the room, not that he’d been worried about that. He remembered the bit of conversation he’d overheard between Jess and her brother. “What was that about Doug and Maya?”

“Oh yeah. Their original flight was canceled, so they jumped on a red-eye to get home quicker. They’ll back at the ranch sometime today.” She frowned. “Doug is going to reach out to his DEA contacts to see if they know anything about Benton or drugs being in the Bighorn Mountains.”

“It would be nice if Benton was a known alias.” He doubted it would be so easy to find the guy. “I can’t imagine why on earth Benton had decided to start up a drug operation in the mountains either. It’s not easy to get in and out of the place except by flying or hiking. You’d think they’d want to be somewhere closer to the action.”

“Maybe it’s a staging area,” Jess suggested.

“Could be.” He had to admit that someone needed to get back up on that mountain and soon. Anyone other than Jess , he thought wearily. He rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I’m going to walk to the pharmacy to pick up a few things, like a razor. Do you want anything?”

“Yes. I’m dying to take a shower.” She shot to her feet. “I’ll go with you.”

He hesitated, then realized she may need personal items, too, and decided not to argue. “Okay. Let’s go, then.”

“We might want to pick up something to eat.” She gestured to the microwave. “It’s not a suite, but at least we can heat up something for lunch.”

“Okay.” He reached for his coat, trying not to think about the long afternoon stretching before them. As strange as it sounded, he’d rather be outside camping in the snow than cooped up in a hotel room with Jess.

Even Teddy wasn’t enough of a distraction.

“Hold on.” He quickly bent and grabbed their partially charged phones. They weren’t going far, but he didn’t want to be caught off guard again. “Let’s take these with us.”

They hadn’t even reached the door when one of the phones rang. Knowing the only person so far who had their number was Jess’s family, he quickly answered it. “Hello?”

“Logan? It’s Chase. Sergeant Wayne Carter is looking for you.”

“Why?” He grimaced at the way his tone sounded suspicious. “I mean, we already told him everything we know.”

“For one thing, he claims you promised to provide your new number. The other issue is that he has a few more questions.”

Jessica whispered, “What’s going on?”

He held up his hand. “Okay, we’ll call him. But I don’t want anyone to know where we’re staying. So if he has more questions, we’ll need to meet in a neutral location.”

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” Chase said. “I understand your desire to stay off-grid. I didn’t even ask Jess where you were staying.”

“It’s fine if you know we’re at the Lumberjack Inn.” Logan glanced at his watch. “I’ll call Wayne and agree to meet with him in an hour or so.” He flashed Jess a reassuring smile. “He can spring for lunch.”

“Don’t forget, we’ll reimburse you for all expenses,” Chase said. “I don’t care what it takes to keep Jess safe.”

“I know. It’s fine. Thanks for the update.” He ended the call. “Let’s head over to the pharmacy. I’ll call Wayne once we return.”

“I wonder why he wants to talk to us so soon,” Jess said as they headed outside. Teddy trotted between them, his head up and ears pricked forward. “It’s barely been a half hour since we left him.”

“I have no idea.” Although Logan was afraid that whatever had come up wasn’t good news.

Thankfully, they didn’t see a single person as they cut across the rear parking lot to the drugstore. He grabbed what he needed, then waited at the register for Jessica. Even though they’d each only gotten the essentials, the bill was still higher than he’d expected.

He hid a wince. At this rate, he’d be out of cash before the end of the day.

They hurried back to the Lumberjack Inn. “You go first,” he said. “I’ll call Wayne.”

“Thanks.” Jess carried her bag of toiletries into the bathroom. Left behind, Teddy heaved a sigh as he stretched out in front of the bathroom door.

Wayne answered on the first ring. “Sergeant Carter.”

“It’s Logan. You may want to make a note of this number.”

“It’s about time you called,” Wayne groused. “Where are you?”

“Our location doesn’t matter. Chase mentioned you wanted to talk. Why? Has something happened?”

“I do want to talk to you and Jessica,” Wayne said without answering his question. “Tell me where you are and I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

He frowned, wondering what could have happened to cause this sudden request. “How about we meet you for lunch, say in an hour?”

“Lunch?” Wayne repeated.

“Yeah, you know, the midday meal? We’re hungry. And if you want to interview us again in person, you’ll need to meet us at the Hitching Post. We’ll walk there rather than ride in a squad.”

There was a long pause, as if Wayne was facing a monumental decision.

“Look, if you don’t want to meet in person, we can talk over the phone,” Logan said. “I’d like to understand what’s going on. I can put the call on speaker so Jessica can be a part of the conversation.”

“I’d rather meet in person,” Wayne said. “I’ll meet you and Jessica at the Post in an hour.”

“See you then.” Logan lowered the phone with a feeling of unease. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Wayne was suddenly treating them like suspects.

Rather than victims of multiple attempts to kill them.

What could have changed? He stood and found the TV remote. Turning it on, he found a news station.

The TV anchors were discussing the upcoming Easter holiday. He had to increase the volume a bit when Jess turned on the blow-dryer.

He was disappointed there weren’t any breaking news stories.

“Your turn,” Jess announced as she emerged from the bathroom. She eyed the TV curiously. “What’s up?”

“Nothing new from what I can tell.” He left the TV on and reached for his bag of toiletries. “We’re meeting with Wayne at the Post for lunch. He didn’t fill me in about why he was so anxious to have another in-person interview, so I was hoping to catch something on the news.”

She stepped over Teddy, who finally scrambled to his feet, and came over to join him. “That’s odd.”

“Yeah. Maybe you should keep watching for a while.”

“I will.” She dropped down on the edge of the bed. “Here, Teddy.”

The dog once again stretched out beside her. Logan brushed past them to head into the bathroom. The enticing scent of Jessica’s shampoo teased his senses, but he reminded himself to stay focused.

He made quick work of his shower and shave. He wished he had clean clothes to change into, but that was a luxury he couldn’t afford to spend cash on.

Old clothes would have to do. Even if they smelled like smoke from their campfire the night before.

A scent he’d now associate with Jessica , he thought wryly.

He opened the bathroom door and nearly tripped over Teddy. He was surprised to see the dog outside the door. “I thought he was protecting you.”

“He was. Then he decided to protect you.” She gestured to the TV. “Sorry to say there’s been nothing exciting in the news.”

“Maybe the police are keeping whatever happened under wraps,” he said. “Not easy to do in a small town full of gossips.”

“More likely we’re overreacting to Wayne’s request for a meeting.” Jess stood. “I think we should leave now. Better to get there well before the cops arrive.”

She had a point about both the overreacting and getting to the Hitching Post early. Although his nerves were still on edge over the upcoming meeting. He forced a smile. “Okay, let’s go. And we’ll plan on taking the back roads again.”

“That works for me.” She shrugged into her coat, glancing down at her K9. “Poor Teddy just wants to rest, and we keep dragging him around town.”

He didn’t think the dog looked too tired. Logan drew on his coat and then disconnected the phones, handing one to her. She turned the TV off, then reached for the door.

Retracing their earlier steps, they crossed the parking lot to the drugstore. From there, they cut through another street, before making a large loop around town to reach the Hitching Post.

There was no sign of a squad out front when they approached. The bad news was that Jessica and Teddy tended to attract attention. Several customers smiled when they saw the dog, who tended to look happy when he wasn’t barking.

The Post was a seat-yourself kind of place. He hadn’t been there in years, but he was glad to see it hadn’t changed much. Spying a booth in the back, he quickly headed toward it. Jessica and Teddy followed. Teddy immediately stretched out on the floor beneath the table and went to sleep.

Maybe he was tired.

A moment later, a harried-looking server approached. “What would ya like to drink?”

“Coffee,” he and Jess answered simultaneously.

When she’d filled their mugs, they placed their lunch orders, then sipped their coffee in silence. Five minutes before the designated meeting time, Sergeant Wayne Carter strode into the café. He stood looking around for a moment before spotting them.

“Thanks for coming,” Wayne said in a brisk tone.

Logan was tempted to point out that they didn’t have much of a choice but held his tongue as the cop settled into the booth beside him. Wayne asked for coffee too. It didn’t take long for him to get straight to the point.

“You didn’t mention the fact that your girlfriend died of a drug overdose.” Wayne’s gaze bored into Logan’s.

“Why would I? That was eight years ago.” He didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “That has nothing to do with what’s going on now.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Wayne drawled. “Tell me again why you assumed this Benton guy had drugs on the plane?”

“Teddy alerted,” Jessica said. “He’s trained to alert on the scent of drugs.”

“Yeah, but you said yourself he’s been cross-trained to scent other items,” Wayne pointed out. “He found the shell casing.”

Jess flushed and glanced at Logan. “Yes, but that’s because I told him to search for gold. That’s the term we use for gun powder and gun oil.”

“Okay, but it seems to me the dog could have alerted on the scent of a gun in the plane,” Wayne said.

“I guess that’s possible,” Jess admitted. “Based on the glove that he found, it could be that Benton held a gun while wearing it. Or had the gun in his pocket with the glove.”

Logan didn’t like where this was going. “Are you saying you don’t think this is about drugs?”

“Oh, I absolutely think this is about drugs,” Wayne said. “I just wanted to understand why you jumped on the drug bandwagon. Then I heard from the chief about how Ella Dover had died of a drug overdose while dating you, Logan.”

He wondered if he’d ever be able to shake off his connection to Ella’s death. “I had nothing to do with that. I didn’t even know she was on drugs.”

“I didn’t know that either, and I was her friend,” Jessica added.

“So it would surprise both of you to learn her brother, Ethan, died of a drug overdose earlier today?” Wayne asked.

Logan’s jaw dropped. He turned to stare at Jessica who looked just as horrified by the news.

Ethan Dover overdosed on drugs? What did that mean? Had Ethan been involved in drugs back when his sister overdosed?

Or was this something that he’d recently gotten tangled up in?

Either way, it was clear that Ethan’s death was part of whatever was going on now.