44
Almost at their destination, Ethan grasped Zoë’s hand and lifted it to his lips, keeping his eyes trained on the road as he drove. He’d planned to head out early in the morning, already having asked Skip to tend to the chores by himself, but had awakened to a horny Zoë. They’d snoozed again after, had brunch, and then headed out. The provincial park would be crowded with families by now but he hoped the hiking trails, his intended destination, would be fairly empty.
“I know you said you wanted a change of pace,” she told him, “and to do something new, but well, shit it’s just more prairie.”
He couldn’t suppress a chuckle. That it was, prairie as far as the eye could see. Still, the park had a lake and some gorgeous views from the trails. “Well, if I turned the truck around, I could have you in the Rockies in around four hours or so.”
“Now that would be a date.”
He laughed. She made him laugh often, enough for him to realize how he normally wouldn’t do so. Her appearance sparked many changes on the ranch, the way the men ate, certainly, but the changes in him were the truly profound ones. He hadn’t seen what a stodgy man he’d become. She’d changed him, dramatically in some ways, and he embraced each one as readily as he did her. Moments like this made it easy to forget she’d lied to him, and was still hiding her past from him.
Checking the rearview again, he scowled. The cars were still behind him, the first one since he and Zoë had first left Bison Bluffs, the second joining in shortly after.
As he slowed down and signalled to pull into the parking lot, the cars slowed too. He drove through the lot to a fairly empty section and pulled the truck into a space. Sure enough, the cars drove past him and parked down the aisle from where he’d stopped the truck. He’d left the engine running and noted they did, too. Something wasn’t right, and the feeling had been gnawing at him for most of the journey, ever since he noticed the car behind him was clean but had a license plate completely coated by mud. Getting a better look at the vehicles now, taking in the tinted windows and the muddy plates on the second car, he reached into his pocket for his cellphone.
“What are you doing?” Zoë questioned.
“Phoning the police. Those two cars,” he motioned in their direction with his head, “were behind us the entire way here. Heading in the same direction on the highway is one thing, having the same destination, is another, and I don’t like the look of them.”
She leaned forward to see around him, and paled considerably. “Leave. Now. Just drive.”
“What?” He dropped the phone back into his pocket as he turned to face her. The raw fear in her eyes had his heart racing. “Do you know who they are?”
“Ethan, please, just drive. As fast as you can, you have to lose them.”
Her voice was so panicked, he instantly reversed the truck, turned it, and sped to the exit. The cars followed, not that he was surprised. At the exit, he waited until approaching cars were close and then shot out in front of them, hearing blaring horns, but knowing he’d delayed the two cars from following them, at least for a minute or two. Picking up speed on the highway, he glanced at Zoë to see her rifling through her purse.
“Who are they? Is that who you’re running from?”
Ignoring him, she opened her wallet and he saw her thumbing the edges of a wad of cash. It was a lot of money to have on hand.
“Zoë? Who are they?”
“Did you lose them?”
He glanced in the rearview and swore. “They’re still behind us.”
“Lose them, and then take me to a bus station.” Her voice was shaky with fear.
“What? Who are they?”
He floored the truck, passing slower vehicles when he could. The cars stayed the same distance behind. Then he slowed down considerably.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a terrified voice. “Go! You have to lose them!”
The cars slowed down, keeping the same distance behind him. Convinced they wouldn’t try anything in public and were intent on following Zoë and him home, he knew he couldn’t return to Bison Bluffs with them tailing him. Driving at the speed limit, he scanned the road ahead, seeing Zoë’s astounded face in his peripheral vision.
“Ethan, please, speed up. You have to get away from them.”
“And drop you off at a bus station, right? So you can run again?”
Angry, he stole a glance at her before training his eyes on the road again. She looked absolutely petrified, and it hurt him to see it, but there was no way he was letting her run.
“Please, you don’t understand. You don’t know what they’ll do. Just speed up. You can outrun them in this truck, please, just go!”
Spotting a sign for an upcoming RCMP division, he drifted into the turn-off lane and heard her breath hitch.
“What are you doing? You have to stay on the highway!”
Ignoring her, he pulled off the highway, and, a few moments later, into the parking lot of the division, bringing the truck to a stop near the front doors. Turning in his seat, he watched the two cars slowly drive by the entrance to the parking lot. Knowing they wouldn’t attempt to engage him in front of an RCMP building, he then pulled out his cellphone.
“Who are you calling?”
“Myles.”
“You can’t. Ethan, please, please, you can’t involve the police.”
“I can, and I will.”
Her shoulders slumped as she dropped her head. She nervously twisted her fingers in her lap and the sight stung his heart. His wondrous, brave Zoë was so frightened. She wanted to flee again, obviously terrified by whoever was in the cars, but he couldn’t let her. If he needed to, he’d haul her kicking and screaming into the division and have them deal with the problem.
“Hey, Ethan, what’s up?” came Myles’s voice over the line.
“I’ve got a problem here. Zoë and I are being followed by two cars.” He outlined the makes and models of the vehicles, including the description of the tinted windows and obscured plates.
“Mafia?” came Myles’s astounded guess.
“I think so.”
“Shit. Okay, are you two safe right now?”
“Yeah, we’re parked in front of a division. I’m not coming back to town until I know it’s safe to, though.”
“No, don’t, stay there. I’m going to make some calls. You two should go into the building, to be safer.”
“We will, but Myles, I have reason to believe law enforcement might be involved. How large a net can you cast discretely, without going through proper channels?”
“Fuck.” Myles’s weighty sigh came over the line. “Okay, my constables only then, and I’ll recruit the guys. I know Boone’s in town, he’ll be my first call. We’ll get lots of eyes out there and look for these people. I’ll call you back as soon as I can. Stay safe.”
Myles disconnected the call, and Ethan slipped his phone back into his pocket. He glanced around again but couldn’t see any sign of the cars. Zoë hadn’t budged during his call and when he looked to her, his throat went dry. She looked lost.
“Tell me who’s after you,” he demanded, a little rougher than he’d intended but his patience was wearing thin.
“I can’t. I can’t involve you in this.”
“I’m already involved, Zoë, or whatever your real name is.”
She jerked her head up and looked to him with wide eyes. “What did you just say?”
“I know your name isn’t actually Zoë Pennell. It’s time you told me exactly what’s going on here.”
“I can’t. I won’t involve you. Just, please, take me to a bus station.”
He snorted angrily. She wouldn’t talk, not even now, when they were both obviously in danger. Despite her assertions about not wanting him involved, he was deeply involved now, and would see this through to its conclusion, and ensure she stayed safe. It would be easier to do so if she’d tell him what the hell was going on, but she was shutting down more by the minute. Even her voice wasn’t scared any longer. Now she sounded dull and listless. He understood her fear, but she wanted to run again, this time away from him. Had all they shared meant nothing to her?
“We’re going into the building.” When she opened her mouth, he held up a silencing hand. “You don’t have a choice. We’re going in, and you’re going to paste a smile on your face and pretend to be my loving girlfriend, got it? You’re good at pretending, this should be a breeze for you.”
Tears filled her eyes but she blinked them away. The sight sliced through his heart, never having seen her this upset before. Forget it. It’s over between you and her and you know it. Just do what you can to keep her safe until Myles comes up with a plan. Exiting the truck, he slammed his door and then rounded the truck to hold hers open. She stepped out and he examined her face. Before his eyes, her lost, frightened look turned to a stony one. Not exactly the smile he’d requested, but a far cry from a face that would raise questions in a police division.
“Okay, I’m going to go in, identify myself as a retired officer, flash my ID, and then ask them for a tour of the building. See you, my girlfriend, just found out about my career with them and are extremely interested to know what I did. They may not have time for a tour, but I guarantee they’ll end up chatting to us for a while. We just need to kill some time until Myles calls me back, and this is the safest place to be. Understand?”
She nodded. Assured she’d go along with his plan, he took her hand in his. It was limp and he closed his eyes with what it signaled. It was truly over between them.