Chapter 11 #3
“I hope you’re right.” She sighed, then stopped at the side of the road. “Which way?”
“The Haven Suites.” He gestured toward the hotel sign that was clearly visible from here. “We’ll use my Jeep to drive to the rental car facility. Rex is arranging for a buddy of ours to rent an SUV for us.”
“Okay.” She eyed him curiously. “I take it you’re trying to minimize the paper trail, but we’ll still need to give our driver’s license information, right?”
“Yeah.” That was a technicality they couldn’t bypass. Not without fake IDs, which they didn’t have time to obtain. He scanned the road for any sign of the black truck. “Stay close, Evie. We don’t have to run, but we need to hurry.”
She didn’t argue, no doubt hoping—the same way he was—that being so close to the police department would work in their favor. There’s no logical reason the killer would risk being seen this close to the authorities.
The walk to his Jeep took almost fifteen minutes. When they reached the Jeep, he took a moment to look over the vehicle to make sure it hadn’t been tampered with.
“What are you looking for?” Evie frowned at him in confusion.
“Anything suspicious.” He ran his hand along the underside of the Jeep, making sure a tracking device hadn’t been placed on it.
Then he wiggled beneath the vehicle and used his phone as a flashlight to examine it further.
He wasn’t a mechanic, but he’d learned enough from his deployment overseas to satisfy himself that the killer hadn’t sabotaged it.
“Don’t worry,” he said, crawling back out. “It’s clean.”
“You’re scaring me.” Evie looked around the parking lot with apprehension.
“That’s not my intent. Think of it as taking extra precautions.” He offered a reassuring smile as he spent the next few minutes snapping the canvas top in place to protect Bruno from potentially falling out as they drove.
Once that was in place, he dug his keys from the backpack. Thankfully, he’d kept them close. Evie glanced at him as he opened the back door for Bruno.
“He’d be safer in a crate area.” She frowned as she slid into the passenger seat. “But I guess there’s no point in whining about it. The rental won’t have a crate either.”
“Sorry about that.” He understood her concern for Bruno’s safety, especially after the near collision on the highway. “The good news is that the killer won’t know what we’re driving.”
“But he might assume we have a rental.” She clicked her seatbelt into place as he slid in behind the wheel. “He might see this Jeep in the parking lot.”
“Actually, I hope to leave the Jeep at the Lighthouse Motel.” He braced himself for an argument.
“Why on earth would you do that?”
“Because it’s time we set a trap for this guy.” He glanced at her as he drove out of the parking lot toward the only rental car facility in town. “I’m sick of waiting for him to strike again, Evie. Aren’t you?”
“No, I think that’s a bad idea.” Evie’s eyes widened with apprehension. “Please don’t do that, Cam. Don’t leave me and Bruno alone.”
His heart squeezed at her words. “Evie, there’s no way this guy can find you at the rental house. You’ll have a clean vehicle and a place to stay where you won’t be found.”
“You don’t know that.” Her voice rose in agitation. “What if he does find me? Why would you take that risk?”
He winced and reluctantly nodded. “Okay, let me see if I can get one of my teammates here to back you up.”
Evie bit her lip and looked away, clearly not happy with the plan. He fought back a wave of guilt. The truth was, he’d never forgive himself if this guy hurt Evie or Bruno. He was used to putting his life on the line for others. Evie wasn’t.
Yet sitting around and waiting for Rueger to find and arrest the killer wasn’t an option either.
The investigation could take days. Maybe even weeks.
And as much as he wanted to continue searching the nature preserve with Bruno, he needed to keep Evie safe.
She probably needed to get back to work soon as well.
They rode in silence until they reached the Enterprise Rental Agency. He threw the gearshift into park and turned in his seat to face her. “I won’t leave you alone. I’ll make sure someone is watching over you.”
“Someone?” She frowned. “I only trust you, Cam.”
He wanted to reassure her that all the former soldiers he’d served overseas with, including the women, were well trained and fully capable of protecting her. Yet he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze from hers.
“Okay, we’ll work something out.” He forced a smile. “Let’s get our replacement car.”
She nodded, her blue gaze still troubled as she pushed open her passenger-side door. “Come, Bruno,” she called as she stood. The large shepherd didn’t need to be asked twice.
Cam followed more slowly, forced to admit that he was helpless to deny Evie anything.
At the time, he’d thought he’d loved Glynna. Now he knew that wasn’t the case. His feelings for Glynna were nothing compared to what he felt for Evie. He’d do anything for her.
Anything.
A dangerous realization, considering they’d go their separate ways once this nightmare was over.