Page 86 of Trail to Trouble

“You don’t need to...”

“Yes,” Lee said, cutting off Hunter’s words.

There was no use arguing with Lee. His mind was made up.

Katrina looked across the table, beyond Hunter and into the living room. A large elk mount took up most of the area in the peaked area of the vaulted ceiling. It was a six-by-six.

Katrina looked at Lee. “Nice elk.”

“You should tell Heidi that. It’s hers. I could have never made that shot.”

Heat rose in Katrina’s cheeks. She just assumed it was Lee’s.

Heidi’s smile beamed. “Yes, you could have.”

“She’s too modest to tell you that six-by-six was shot at five hundred and seventy-five yards. She practiced and practiced before we went out to Colorado, and all the practicing paid off.”

Lee winked at Heidi, who gazed at him lovingly.

“Aunt Heidi shows us all up. Hits the bullseye on the target all the time,” Hunter added.

Heidi blushed. “You guys.”

Heidi stood and cleared the table.

Katrina drained her coffee, then loaded the dishwasher.

“We’ll take my truck to town. Keep any attention deflected that your truck may cause,” Lee said.

Hunter ran back up the stairs and returned with the pistol case. Once in the garage, Hunter pulled the rifle case from his truck and put it into his uncle’s. Lee loaded two more long guns into the back of his truck.

Good heavens, she hoped none of that was needed. But she knew differently.

ChapterTwenty-Three

Katrina tookin the sights of Iron City as Lee drove. The small town was picturesque, like something out of a Hallmark movie. But for her, this little city was anything but that. She recalled frantically running down the street, tired and bruised, as she made her way to the city hall to get Chief Ricco to help Hunter. The memory of the horrible things that happened outweighed the kindness of the people who’d helped her, Hunter, and Bianca.

Lee parked in a stall on the street in front of City Hall. The building hadn’t changed one iota since she’d last seen it.

“Wait!” Hunter said as she’d reached for her door handle.

“What?”

“You should text Bianca before we go in.”

“I thought we were going to talk to Chief Ricco before we did that to see what he thought of our plan.”

Hunter studied her for a moment. “If we do it before we go in there, the plan will be in place and he won’t be able to talk us out of it.”

That was true and manipulative.

Hunter’s gaze hit the floor, indicating he was aware of that as well.

Lee and Heidi stared at her and Hunter from the front seat.

“I think you should. We need to stop this maniac before he hurts you or anyone else. Chief Ricco is going to tell you not to do it. That’s probably what he should tell you. Sebastián shouldn’t be on the street. He’s dangerous. It’s obvious he’s coming for you. He needs to be stopped,” Heidi said.

Katrina couldn’t help but notice the surprised expressions Hunter and Lee wore when Heidi spoke. What was that about? Hunter had said his aunt was a quiet person. Was it her firm opinion about the matter that shocked them or the fact that she weighed in? It didn’t really matter; the woman was right. It came down to her or him, and she wanted to live. Yes, she wholeheartedly believed she would die by his hand if she didn’t do something.