Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Dean
I kept driving until I was sure no one else was following us, then pulled off where I had several miles of view.
Keira was still breathing hard in the passenger seat, her right hand gripping the dashboard while her left was cradled against her in its sling. Her expression was dazed.
I pushed my hair back from my face and unbuckled my seatbelt. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She took a deep breath, clearly trying to steady herself. “Yeah, I’m okay. That was some driving.”
“Lots of practice on icy mountain roads. Are you sure you’re not hurt? You didn’t hit your head? Let me see your eyes.”
She narrowed her dark brown eyes at me. “Dean, I’m fine.”
Everything inside me had gone quiet while I was trying to keep us alive and get us out of there, but now emotion started to creep back. Anger that blurred my vision. Fear that something could’ve happened to her.
I had to touch her.
I reached out, smoothing my hand down her cheek. As if I were making sure I hadn’t truly lost her this time. And to my surprise, Keira reached back. She grabbed my arm and tucked her face against my shoulder. She was shaking.
My lips pressed to her hairline, and I inhaled the scent of gardenias.
Longing made my stomach swoop.
“The mask on the driver?” I asked, barely keeping my voice steady. “Was it definitely the same?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“We should probably call this in to the sheriff’s department. Second time they’ve tried to go after you. They could’ve killed you.”
She lifted her head. “Killed us. But we already know these people are careful. Owen’s investigation hasn’t gone anywhere, and it seems like Phelan is basically untouchable.
By the time the sheriff gets a car to that crash site, the driver and any trace of evidence will be gone.
No. We’re doing this ourselves. We wanted to provoke a reaction, and we did. ”
“But are you still up for this?” I asked.
She scoffed. “Of course I am. Are you? Or are you going to drop me off at home and make the decision for both of us? Take off and leave me behind again?”
I didn’t like the thought of continuing to put her in danger. But we’d both known the risks.
“No.”
Slowly, I forced myself to sit back and stop touching her. Stop breathing her in.
I certainly wasn’t going to leave her unprotected. It was my fault she even thought I was capable of that.
“I’m not taking you home at all.”
“Where are we going?”
“Someplace we can regroup and figure out how to respond. Where they won’t find us. Just for tonight.”
“For tonight?”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“A hotel?” Keira glanced at me from the corner of her eye.
Sharing a hotel room with her… That really wasn’t an image I needed in my head.
“No, it’s somewhere else.”
I buckled my seatbelt again and put the car in gear.
We pulled up to the ranch house about forty-five minutes later. The sun was sinking, painting the sky in shades of amber and red. Long shadows stretched across the grass from the mountains in the distance. She’d been quiet on the drive. Pensive.
Keira finally asked, “Where are we?”
Fuck me. Now I had to explain.
“A property I own.”
“A…wait, what?”
“A property.”
“Yeah, I know what property means. But that’s a house.” She pointed. “That’s yours?”
I nodded.
“You own a house,” she said evenly.
“Yes, Keira.”
“This is your house. Here in Hart County.”
“Now we’re starting to sound like an old-timey comedy routine. Who’s on first…”
She glared, showing my joke was not appreciated. Or funny.
“It was purchased under an LLC,” I said, “so my personal name isn’t on it. It’s safe.”
“I’m not focused on the safety part. It’s…” She shook her head. “This is where you’ve been staying since you arrived in Colorado?”
“It is.”
With a huff, she pushed the truck door open and got out.
My head dropped back against the seat. So far, this was not going well.
I brushed loose strands of hair from my face. The last thing I’d expected this morning was to be bringing Keira to this place. Since returning to Colorado, I’d already revealed secrets about myself that I’d never imagined confessing to her.
Yet somehow, showing her this house meant…more. And she was already pissed about it. That was clear. But I knew we’d be safe here, which was what counted.
Grow a pair, Reynolds, I told myself. Get out there and face her.
How was this scarier than fleeing for our lives while some maniac tried to force us to crash into a ravine?
Taking a deep breath, I jumped out and closed the door of the truck. When I caught up with her, she was glancing around hesitantly at the porch.
“The wooden trim needs paint,” I said, “and I haven’t gotten around to fixing all the porch steps. It’s on the list.”
Keira just kept staring, ignoring my lame attempt at focusing on the details of the place instead of, you know, the fact that it existed.
“I had no idea you owned anything that couldn’t fit in a couple of suitcases, and it turns out you own an entire house. And the land it’s sitting on, I guess.”
“Fifty acres.”
Her eyes widened. “Fifty? Wow. You didn’t hold back, huh?”
“The price was good.”
“Are you sure? You’re not going to tell me next that you’re a billionaire or something?”
“Afraid not.”
“Who even are you?”
I sighed. “I’m me, Keira. Same guy I’ve always been. You’re just seeing the messy parts I didn’t used to let you see.”
She blinked a few times.
Then she waved her right hand. “Well, go ahead and show me around your top-secret hideaway, Mr. Assassin.”
I chuckled. “You don’t want to sit down for a while? We were just in a car chase. That would rattle anyone, and you’re already injured.”
“Show me the damn house, Dean,” she said through gritted teeth. “Or I’ll show it to myself.”
The house was two stories, not counting the cellar storage area. One bedroom on the ground floor, two more on the second.
I hadn’t touched the upper-floor bedrooms yet, so it didn’t take us long to walk through. Keira peered into the rooms from the hallway. The bathroom up here was functional but nothing pretty.
Downstairs, tools and tarps were lying around, paint cans stacked in corners.
It had some nice details though, if you looked past the mess.
High ceilings with old crown molding. Wide windows that would let in good light once I replaced the cracked panes.
Hardwood floors that would be beautiful once I finished sanding and staining them.
If I managed to get around to it.
Paying someone else to do all the work would be expensive, and while I had plenty of money saved up, I’d always been indecisive when it came to this property. Deciding what the hell to do with it. Trying to understand why I’d bought it in the first place.
I wondered what Keira thought of it. What she saw.
“I’ve got internet. I can give you the wi-fi password, since cell coverage is shit. Did you want to let your mom and Brynn know where you are?”
“Not now, Dean,” she muttered. “I want to see the rest.”
The kitchen was next. The electrical and gas were running, and I had appliances now. Along with some dishes and cooking stuff, which I’d picked up from a thrift store on Hartley’s Main Street.
I also pointed out the downstairs bathroom, mentioning I had a first aid kit and pain meds if she needed them after being jostled around.
The sun was nearly down now, and the interior of the house was fading into dimness. I switched on a couple lights.
“That’s everything?” she asked quietly.
“There’s, uh, a third bedroom. It’s down this way.”
When I reached the end of the hall, I went inside to switch on a lamp. Then stepped out again and let Keira go inside.
I leaned against the doorframe. Waiting. Fucking holding my breath.
This room was nothing like the rest of the house. It was finished and ready to live in. The lamp cast a warm yellow glow over the blue-painted walls and the simple, modern curtains. The bed was a queen, dressed in white sheets and a navy comforter. Two mismatched nightstands flanked it.
A worn leather chair sat in the corner by the window, and an armoire of plain dark wood stood against the far wall since the house was old and there was no original closet in here.
It wasn’t fancy. The only real decoration was an art print I’d picked up already framed. But the place looked nice. At least, I thought so.
I hoped she thought so too.
Keira stopped by the window, which had the curtains pulled closed. She stayed there with her back to me, even though there was nothing to look at. Was she hiding her face from me?
I stuck my hands in my pockets. “What do you think?”
She didn’t turn around. “Hardly matters what I think.”
“Sure it does. Matters to me.”
“Yet you didn’t even bother to tell me about it,” she said hoarsely. “The only reason you brought me here is somebody tried to kill us today.”
This was true. Completely true.
Maybe I’d had a vague idea of bringing her here at some point, but not yet. The state of it right now made me feel exposed, like parts of me were laid bare that I wasn’t ready for.
So much had happened today, and this was still the thing that was throwing me. Really?
Keira turned around. “How long have you owned it?”
“Bought it about three years ago. While I was living here before.”
“I don’t get it, Dean. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. There’s so much about you I still don’t know. Makes me wonder who you really are.”
“Sometimes I wonder that too.”
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” Keira shook her head. “When you left, you said you’d stayed too long. That you’re not the type of person who sticks around. But you bought a house? How the hell does that make sense?”
I scratched my head. If only I could explain it, even to myself. “It was supposed to be an investment. I didn’t think I’d actually live here.”
“Oh,” she murmured. “Then maybe it does make sense.” Her smile appeared, but it didn’t reach her normally expressive brown eyes.
Those were flat. Distant. “I’m sure it’ll make a lovely home for someone someday.
Once you’re finished and you rent it out.
We’re lucky it’s available as a safe house for now. Highly convenient.”
“But you do like it?”
“Just told you I did.”
“I’m glad,” I said softly.
“But I’m still kinda pissed you didn’t tell me about it.”
“You being pissed off at me seems to be a common occurrence these days.”
“Yeah. Because I finally realized how damn annoying you are. I’m getting to know the real you.” She brushed past me as she left the room.