Manhunt (A Rocky Mountain Thriller Book 1) Page 11

  “I did too, as part of my retirement package. Same with most of Talbot’s employees. As long as the mill opens, it will be a huge boon.”

  “And the mines?”

  “The mines are a different story.”

  “How so?”

  “Debt. Both mines are drowning in it. But Talbot doesn’t have a very big investment in either one. I recommended Talbot pull out its investment of the Hell’s Half Acre mine.”

  “So maybe that’s it.”

  “That I recommended they pull the company out?” She shook her head. “I don’t see how that could have a bearing on anything.”

  “What if the company that owns the mine goes out of business?”

  She shook her head. All this risking their necks and brainstorming and they’d come up with nothing. “If Heritage Mining goes under, there will be jobs lost. But that doesn’t really hurt Talbot in any way. I don’t see why Mr. Barstow would care.”

  “The little guy suffers, but as long as Barstow can still afford his vacation homes…” The bitterness in Jace’s voice was unmistakable.

  At least now she knew where it came from. “Who knows, if they can get the mill up and running, they might even be able to turn the mines around. There isn’t much refining capacity in—”

  Jace held up a hand. He touched his index finger to his lips and shot her a warning look.

  She sucked in a breath and held it.

  The low rumble of a man’s voice emanated from the hall outside. “I’m checking again right now. If it’s not here, it has to be somewhere in her apartment. I’ll call you back.”

  Shanna sucked in a breath. She knew that voice, that whisper. The last time she’d heard it, she was hiding under a shelf of rock on Gusset Ridge.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  SHANNA’S MOUTH WENT DRY. HER heart launched into double-time. Mr. Barstow was outside her office. He was here.

  She looked down at her computer. It would take too long to shut it down. She closed the file she’d been examining, hit the off button, and bolted out of her chair. Motioning for Jace to follow, she made for the door that led to the office of Mr. Davis’s assistant.

  Jace followed.

  Before closing the door, Shanna took one last glance back. The file cabinet was closed, the computer off. Unless Mr. Barstow turned on her computer, he’d never know she hadn’t shut it down properly. Even then, he couldn’t be sure it had been her who did it. At least not right away. That should give them at least enough time to clear the building….

  Her gaze landed on the picture frame.

  It lay on her desk, right where she’d left it when she’d removed Em’s photo.

  A wave of nausea washed through her. Mr. Barstow would see it. He’d have to. And then he’d know.

  She took a reflexive step back into the office.

  Jace grabbed her hand.

  The hall door’s knob turned.

  Shanna reversed direction, pulling herself back with Jace’s help, and ducked back into the executive assistant’s office.

  “The picture. He’ll know.” She mouthed the words more than voiced them, but Jace seemed to understand.

  He launched into motion, racing across the room, then paused at the far side, as if unsure which door to choose.

  Shanna took the lead, racing out the door that connected this part of the suite to the main hall. They reached the main hall. Jace flattened his back to the doorjamb and peered around the corner. He nodded to signal the hall was clear, then another nod to let her know he would follow.

  Blood hummed in Shanna’s ears. She forced herself to think. To focus.

  If Mr. Barstow was on to them, he’d expect them in the elevator or the closest staircase. They couldn’t do what he expected. It was a longer run to the far stairs, but once they reached the bottom, they’d almost be outside. They’d also come out smack in the middle of the protestors.

  Perfect.

  Shanna slipped into the hall and ran. She felt Jace’s glance as she dashed past the first staircase. To his credit, he didn’t falter, didn’t slow.

  She reached the far stairs and yanked open the stairwell door. Just as they slipped inside, she heard a noise behind them. Footsteps. A shout.

  She gripped the cold railing. Moving her feet as fast as she could, she concentrated on hitting each step. The last thing she needed to do was fall. It would be all over then.

  By the time they reached the bottom, her lungs burned for oxygen. She burst from the staircase, Jace right behind. She raced for the morning sun streaming in through the glass.

  Voices erupted from behind. Dirk, another security guard, Mr. Barstow—she couldn’t tell. She didn’t care. No matter who it was, she wasn’t about to stop.

  She pushed through two sets of glass doors and raced into the daylight. Protestors gathered around the entrance, placards raised for the cameras.

  There was no way Mr. Barstow could follow them through this crowd. As soon as the protestors spotted him, they’d pounce.

  She headed right for the middle. She could feel Jace on her heels. She didn’t know where the news camera was or if it caught their escape. She supposed it didn’t matter. Mr. Barstow knew she was in Palmer. He knew she was working to find the truth. And now that he knew, the sheriff would know, as well.

  She had already run out of time.

  They reached the bikes, climbed on and started the engines. They raced down streets and around corners, putting distance between them and Talbot, them and Barstow. The shrill little motor buzzed in Shanna’s ears, finally drowning out the thrum of her pulse.

  Jace pulled alongside and motioned for her to follow. She let him take the lead. They crossed the river. At the far side of the bridge, he slowed to a crawl and jumped off. He wheeled the motorbike off the side of the road and stopped in the shelter of the bridge.

  Shanna stopped beside him. Her legs felt weak. Her throat was impossibly dry. She stood and panted, unable to do anything else.

  Jace’s dark eyes drilled into her. “What’s in your apartment? What is Barstow looking for?”

  She leaned against her bike. If she didn’t have it to hold on to, she would have fallen over, she would have collapsed to the rocky ground in a heap. “I don’t know.”

  “Think. Did you bring something home from the office? Files? Paperwork?”

  Shanna forced herself to breathe slowly, deeply. “I work on my laptop. I have some files on my laptop.”

  “Is it in your apartment?”

  She nodded. She could see right where it was. “My bedroom closet.”

  Jace frowned, as if what she’d said didn’t add up. “The police should have gone through your apartment right away. I would think they’d have taken it.”

  Shanna tried to remember what she’d done before she’d left on the hunting trip. “Maybe they just haven’t seen it.”

  “More likely they’re waiting on a search warrant. Or…” Jace nodded as if he’d figured out the answer. “Barstow might have even asked the sheriff to delay the official search until he finds the laptop. And you know what that means?”

  Shanna’s mind was still back in her office, back waiting for Mr. Barstow to step through that door. She shook her head.

  “It means I’m going to get it before they do.”

  His words ripped through Shanna with the force of a bullet. “You can’t. They’ll catch you.”

  He held out his hand. “Key?”

  Shanna slipped her hand into her pocket and touched her apartment key. She didn’t pull it out. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “If it is, I’ll drive away. They don’t know me. Not unless I run into the sheriff himself… or your guard friend didn’t give them my description. In fact, in case he did…” He pulled his hat off his head and placed it on Shanna’s. “Keep it safe for me, would you?”

  “You can’t take a chance like that. Not for my sake.”

  “I’m already taking a chance.”

  “Not like this.” She had to make hi
m see what he was doing. “Just last night you were afraid I was going to sell you out. Now you’re walking into my apartment in front of the police?”

  “You said it yourself, Shanna. If we can find the answers—the answers Barstow seems to believe are on your laptop—all of this goes away. The threat to you. The threat to me. The threat to your daughter. Think about it. Now that Barstow knows you’re here in Palmer, what do you think he’s going to do?”

  Her heart stuttered.

  “He’ll go after Emily. He’ll use her to get to you.”

  She held up a shaking hand. “Stop.”

  “I think protecting Emily is worth taking a chance, don’t you?” He held out his hand once more. “The key.”

  What could she do? She pulled her key from her pocket and dropped it into his open hand, then she recited the address. “Be careful. Please.”

  “Sure will.” Jace stuffed the key into his own pocket and leaned toward her. Slipping his hand around the back of her head, he brought his lips to hers.

  His kiss was quick, yet the heat behind it burned to her toes. When he released her, she stepped backward, her lips hot, her skin tingling from his light stubble. She propped herself up with the dirt bike, unable to regain her balance, unable to catch her breath.

  “I’ll see you at the cabin.” Jace climbed up the bank to the road and threw a leg over his bike. A flick of the switch and the motor revved to life. He buzzed onto the road and out of sight.

  Shanna brought her fingertips to her lips. She had to trust Jace would be okay, that he wouldn’t take unnecessary risks, that he’d return to the cabin. She couldn’t worry about him. Not now. Because he was right. Emily was in danger.

  And Shanna would do whatever it took to protect her little girl.

  ______

  Jace spotted the unmarked police car from a block away.

  When he was a detective, he’d often driven his own car for that very reason. Any thug worth spit could spot an unmarked. He guessed now that he was working on the other side of what passed for the law, he must have developed the same skill.

  What a proud moment.

  He slipped into an alley three buildings down and left the dirt bike leaning against the bear fence surrounding a garbage Dumpster. From there, it was only a matter of traipsing through backyards to reach the rear entrance of Shanna’s building, use the key she’d given him to let himself in, find apartment 2B, get the laptop and get out—all without attracting the notice of the boys out front.

  Piece of cake.

  Jace made it into the building without being spotted. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and found Shanna’s apartment. He turned the key in the door marked 2B and let himself in.

  So far, so good.

  The air felt heavy, as if no life had stirred it for a while. But that was the only thing about the place was seemed lifeless. Although the walls were still standard apartment white, artwork was everywhere, from colorful depictions of unchecked childhood imagination covering the refrigerator to prints inspired by the beautiful Wyoming landscape hung on the living-room walls, every surface felt hopeful and upbeat.

  Like Shanna herself.

  He pressed his lips together. He shouldn’t have kissed her, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself. She’d honestly seemed worried about him. Not because of what he could do for her, but because she cared. Really cared.

  He shook his head. He shouldn’t be so trusting, so eager to believe she felt something for him. Not that he thought Shanna was deceptive—she was one of the most honest women he’d ever met—but he’d witnessed her play up to good old Dirk to get what she needed. She was capable of manipulation. That was clear. The thing that confused him was why he felt so sure her feelings for him were real.

  Wishful thinking?

  He moved past the living room and kitchen and walked down the hall toward the bedrooms. If the shit ever hit the fan, Shanna’s feelings wouldn’t really matter. Darla had loved him, of that he had no doubt. Yet when she had no other options, she’d still thrown him under the bus. He knew the decision she’d been forced to make would haunt her the rest of her life, but that didn’t change anything. Her kids came first, as well they should.

  It would be the same with Shanna.

  Reaching the first bedroom door, he slowed his steps and peered inside. A riotous explosion of pink and green flowers danced on the walls. A frilly white bedspread and stuffed animals covered the narrow bed. And on one wall, a poster of the Power Rangers stared back at him.

  Jace reached a hand into his coat pocket. His fingers brushed the little plastic man.

  He might be crazy for coming to Shanna’s apartment, for stretching his neck out. But maybe that was the price you paid for having a little girl look at you as if you were some kind of hero. Maybe you start doing crazy things just to avoid letting her—and her mother—down.

  He continued down the hall to the last room. The first thing he focused on was the bed. Queen-sized. Lush. Soft with a down comforter and, he’d wager, a feather bed underneath.

  The perfect kind of bed for making love.

  He shook the thought from his mind. Not only was it stupid to torture himself with fantasies that would never come true, it was a waste of time. And right now, he didn’t have an extra second.

  Pulling his eyes from the bed, he stepped into the room and made for the closet.

  Down the hall behind him, a key rattled in the apartment door.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  One ring… two…

  Shanna clasped the receiver of the only pay phone left in town to her ear and prayed Linda hadn’t already left to take Emily to the babysitter. Shanna would have driven to Linda’s house, but she’d been afraid she wouldn’t make it in time. Not that calling wasn’t a huge risk. From where she was standing, she could see the convenience store’s security camera recording her image.

  She tried to angle her head downward, using the brim of Jace’s hat to hide her features. She had to warn Linda. There was no telling how much danger Shanna had gotten her friend in.

  Three rings…four…

  “Hello?”

  “Linda. You’ve got to listen.”

  “Shanna? Where are you? What’s going on?” Linda sounded more shaken than she had the night before.

  Guilt nibbled at the back of Shanna’s still-aching neck. “You can’t go in to work today.”

  “What?”

  “You can’t go to Talbot.”

  “What happened?”

  “They know I was there. They know I used your card.”

  “Shanna! You said no one will know, you said—”

  “I know what I said, and I’m sorry. Things didn’t go as smoothly as I planned.” Understatement of the year. She’d screwed up big-time. She just hoped to God she didn’t drag her friend down with her. “Mr. Barstow arrived while Jace and I were going through the records in my office.”

  “Did he know you were there? Does he know you used my card?”

  “I don’t know what Mr. Barstow knows about your card. But he knows I was there. He might find out how I got in. Or at least how I tried to get in.”

  “Okay, now you’ve totally lost me.”

  Across the store, the clerk checked her out. Shanna pressed the phone closer to her mouth. She knew the guy probably wasn’t reading her lips. He likely didn’t even recognize her, not with her new hair and the cowboy hat covering most of her face. But she worried all the same. “Remember Dirk Simon? The security guard? I couldn’t get your card to work. I think I must have sent off some kind of alarm in the computer system. Dirk was the guard who responded. He agreed to help me.”

  “You explained the situation to him? The whole thing?”

  “Yes. And he believed me.”

  “Are you sure? Sounds like Dirk could be the reason Mr. Barstow showed up so conveniently.”

  She imagined Jace would agree with Linda’s assessment. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I don’t know why, but I feel l
ike Dirk was serious about helping me.”

  Linda made a humming noise in the phone, as if she wasn’t so sure.

  “You know he likes me.”

  “Wanting to get into your pants and agreeing to help a person wanted for a double murder are two different things, Shanna.”

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  “First you’re relying on that cowboy, now a security guard. There are no heroes in this world. You should know that better than anyone.”

  Shanna could imagine what Linda would say if she knew about Jace’s kiss. Too bad Shanna be keeping that detail to herself.

  In the background, Shanna could hear Emily’s voice. “Is that Mommy?”

  She sounded so little. Like a baby. A sweet, vulnerable baby.

  Tears clogged Shanna’s throat and distorted her vision. She opened her eyes wide so they wouldn’t spill down her cheeks.

  “Are you still there?” Linda demanded.

  Shanna cleared her throat. “This will be over soon, Linda. I promise.”

  “Will I still have my job?” Linda’s voice rang hard over the phone.

  “I’m so sorry, Linda. I didn’t mean to bring you into this.”

  “No, I’m sorry.” Linda’s voice was softer. “I know you didn’t do it on purpose. I know none of this is your fault.”

  “Can you go somewhere, Linda? A place no one will find you?”

  “Just leave?”

  “Yes. With Emily. Is there somewhere you could take her?”

  Linda was silent for a moment.

  Shanna eyed the clerk, who was now openly staring at her. She tilted the hat brim a little lower. She had to get her point across to Linda and then get out of there before the guy called the police. “You have to leave, Linda. You have to hide. You and Emily.”

  “I suppose I could go to my mother’s.”

  Shanna’s stomach tightened. Linda hated her mother. Hated the tiny trailer she lived in. Hated the poverty and hopelessness of the bleak little corner of the small town where she’d grown up. Yet she was willing to go there to keep Emily safe. Because of the danger Shanna had put them both in. And only Shanna knew how much that decision would cost her friend. “Thank you, Lin. I owe you.”