Colton's Fugitive Family Read online

  “A gun was found buried in his backyard. It’s the same gun used to kill some of the victims, but there were no prints.”

  That further interested her. She resisted. This was Lucas Gage, Bo’s brother and her longtime enemy and professional competitor. He could be playing her until he found Wolf—his nephew—and subdued her long enough to take her into custody. He had ample reason to want to get her, and get her good.

  A gust of wind reminded her a storm was underway. If she didn’t make a move now, she’d never get away. She walked into the kitchen and stopped at the counter with her back to Lucas. Blocking his sight of the monitor, she slid it between the coffee maker and the toaster oven. Then she turned to face him.

  “That’s very compelling, Lucas, but I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  * * *

  When Lucas had first seen Demi from his vantage point on the floor, he hadn’t recognized her. He’d thought he’d wound up at another dead end, breaking into a strange woman’s cabin. Then the changes registered, the shorter hair she’d colored dark, the baggy hippie-like clothes. Her pretty green eyes were still the same, all full of fiery courage and defiance. She was the most fearless woman he’d ever met. The most competitive, too. She annoyed him as much as she intrigued him. He was sure she felt the same about him.

  He still sat at the kitchen island and she stood on the other side, distrusting, still holding the gun. She might dress up as a hippie, but she looked casual but modern right now. The jeans flattered her shape, long legs and narrow hips. A soft blue thermal top was both practical on this cold night and attractive, molding to her form and reminding him that he’d always been attracted to those breasts.

  He’d been so relieved when he realized he’d finally found her, relieved that she was the woman supposedly named Chelsey Carter whom he’d been tracking, and unable to deny that his relief stemmed from something much more emotional. She could handle herself and he felt bad for doubting her innocence, for going after her with more determination than he’d ever had for any other fugitive. Devlin Harrington had proved himself very dangerous, paying off fake witnesses and killing all those grooms. He’d do anything to preserve his evil way of life. More than he wanted to make amends for doubting her, Lucas wanted to protect Demi until the real Groom Killer was captured. One problem with that? Demi hadn’t liked him before he started hunting for her.

  “How did you find me?” Demi asked.

  Her demeanor had changed. She’d softened. Had she begun to believe him? He studied her unreadable mouth and the slight angle of her face. Were her eyebrows raised a little more? The easing of tension would do that. But Lucas knew this woman more than she realized. She might have dropped some of her guard, but she most definitely did not believe him.

  “Do you mind putting that gun away?”

  She still held it aimed at him.

  “If I was going to hurt you, or bring you back to Red Ridge against your will, I’d have already done it, Demi.”

  “You always were so sure of yourself.”

  He was a good bounty hunter. “I could say the same about you.”

  Her eyebrows twitched as though she hadn’t expected him to say that, as though doubting his subtle compliment.

  “How did you find me?” she asked again.

  He moved away from the window and the Christmas tree, nearly certain she wouldn’t shoot him. He took in her cabin. Simply furnished, but tastefully done, she’d made herself a home while she hid. At the kitchen island, he pulled a stool out and sat.

  Demi stayed where she was with her gun still ready, waiting for an answer.

  “I checked new and recent residents of surrounding towns and only one name came up as having no history until a few years ago—Chelsey Carter. The timing was off, of course, since you’ve only been on the run for a year. But I knew you could have found a way to fudge dates, so it was worth checking out. I wasn’t sure if it was you,” he said.

  “That explains why you seemed surprised to see me,” she said.

  “How did you manage to get set up here? The false name. This cabin.” He glanced around. “This is nice.”

  “I didn’t have to fudge dates. I helped a fugitive escape a few years ago. She was innocent. This cabin belonged to her under a false name. She helped me the way I helped her.”

  “What fugitive?”

  “Maddie Morrison. When she was on the run, she came here. One of her family members gave her enough money to buy this place and helped her clear her name. I assumed her fake identity, the one she set up for herself as Chelsey Carter. She took all the furniture with her when she left, so all I had to do was furnish and decorate.”

  “Didn’t anyone in town get suspicious about another Chelsey Carter appearing every now and then?”

  Demi smiled. “I went to town in disguise. I bought some hippie attire and a wig so I looked more like Chelsey. We have the same eye color. She’s a little shorter than me, but not by much. Also, Chelsey didn’t go into town very much, just to buy food. She never talked to anyone, either. No one noticed me, at least, not in a suspicious or curious way.”

  There was only one question left to ask.

  Where was the baby?

  Police had found a positive pregnancy test in her bathroom the day she’d fled. And just a few months ago, when she’d texted her brother from a burner phone to declare her innocence, Shane Colton had asked how the baby was, and Demi replied that he was fine.

  Lucas looked around and saw no sign an infant lived here. He would have found her sooner if she’d had the baby under her own name. She must have gone to the hospital as Chelsey Carter. For months, until Demi had confirmed it herself via that text, her being pregnant, giving birth on the run, were rumors. He’d always hoped the rumors were true—and that the father of the baby was Bo, her ex-fiancé, his late brother. When he’d believed her guilty, he’d thought Bo getting her pregnant and then dumping her served as great motive to want to kill him. After he realized she hadn’t killed his brother, he’d wanted the rumors to be true. A part of Bo would live on. Lucas’s nephew.

  “Where’s the baby?” he asked.

  “What baby?”

  He watched her face closely. She’d answered deadpan. But he knew about her text to her brother Shane, who worked closely with the RRPD. Why was she lying?

  “Is it Bo’s?” he asked as though he didn’t believe her.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  There it was, that ever-so-slight flinch of her eyes. She often did that when he made her falter.

  “Come on, Demi, everyone knows you were pregnant when you fled. You were spotted—definitely pregnant—before you came here.”

  Could she have lied to her brother about the baby? Maybe she’d lost the baby. He swallowed.

  “I did move a lot, from hotel to hotel and town to town. I adopted disguises.”

  She’d disguised herself as a pregnant woman? Disappointment filled him. So, there was no baby? No nephew? Bo would be gone forever, leaving no trace of the younger man with whom Lucas had been so close.

  But what about the pregnancy test?

  She put the pistol down on the counter and leaned her hip against the edge. She seemed entirely too relaxed. He began to suspect an act.

  “I’m a little chilled.” She rubbed her arms and left the kitchen. “I’m just going to get a sweater.”

  He watched her disappear down the hall. He leaned to the right but couldn’t see all the way to the end. Standing, he walked to the threshold. A light was on in one room. Another door led to a bathroom and the one next to it must be for a second bedroom. Passing the bathroom, he peered into the first bedroom. It contained a twin bed and a dresser and not much more. It was a small room. At the end of the hall, he looked into the lit bedroom. A queen-sized bed with a colorful quilt, dresser and chair filled it. He looked back towa
rd the entrance to the spare bedroom. The wall ended before the linen closet.

  Where had Demi gone?

  He entered her bedroom. There was no bathroom off this room. He opened the closet. Just clothes hanging and some folded on an upper shelf. Shoes lined the floor. He parted the clothes. No passage there. Hurrying to the hall, he opened the linen closet. Nothing unusual here.

  In the spare bedroom he noticed there was no window on the left wall and the window straight ahead was right at the room’s corner. He went there and looked outside. Snow fell much thicker now, but when he looked left, he saw the house extended farther than this room.

  Going back to Demi’s closet, he shoved the clothes aside and searched the back wall. There had to be a hidden entrance in here. He felt the paneling until his fingers caught on a latch. Opening that, he found himself inside a nursery. The cradle was empty and the barred window was open. He shut it to keep out the cold.

  He ran to the front of the cabin. Bursting through the front door, he saw Demi running for the Jeep through the heavy fall of snow. She held a bundle in front of her—the baby.

  She had lied to him. She did have a baby.

  “Demi! Wait!” he shouted.

  Just then, gunfire erupted through the blowing wind and snow. Demi shrieked and had to duck in front of the Jeep. Lucas took out his gun and tried to determine the location of the gunman. It was difficult to see.

  More bullets followed. Glass shattered and the Jeep sank as its front tire was blown out.

  Lucas shot in the general direction of the gunfire. The gunman returned fire. Lucas pulled his head behind the pillar of the front porch where he’d taken cover, then leaned out and shot back several times.

  Taking shelter again, he heard no more gunshots. He left the protection of the post and ran for the woods, seeing Demi with a crying baby still crouched in front of the Jeep.

  Lucas slowed at the origin of the gunshots and saw footprints.

  Chapter 2

  Wolf’s cries overpowered Demi’s fear. Holding him against her in the baby carrier pack she’d put on, she tried to calm him and keep him quiet. How had Devlin found her? Had Lucas led him here?

  The Jeep was useless with a flat tire. She’d have to change it, and how would she do that without being noticed or being killed? Had she been able to reach the Jeep before the gunfire exploded, Wolf wouldn’t be in tears and she’d be gone. Now only her baby’s safety mattered. She had to get back to the cabin.

  If she could find Lucas’s keys, she could still get away, but that would have to wait. Her conscience nettled her that she’d be leaving him here with a killer. No matter what he said, he intended to hand her over to authorities. What else could she do? She had to think of Wolf. If she was arrested, what would happen to him?

  Seeing Lucas disappear into the woods, she ran to the cabin, going in the front. She took a moment to calm Wolf, rocking him and looking down into his teary green eyes. He had red hair and a cute face. Right now his cheeks were bulbous with his open and crying mouth.

  “I’m sorry.” She kissed his head. “I’m sorry.” This was all Devlin’s fault. Her son should not have to endure this. He should be sleeping in his crib, warm, safe and dry.

  The baby began to quiet, looking up at her in a way that always melted her, with such trust and love. His sleepy eyes closed and opened. She’d put him to bed once she was sure he felt safe again.

  Demi looked around the cabin. Lucas had left nothing behind. She went to the window he’d broken in through and looked outside. There was a backpack there.

  She covered Wolf in the soft blanket and checked her surroundings on the porch, making sure the gunman had fled. Lucas had no doubt chased him through the woods. She hurried to the side of the cabin. Crouching at the backpack, holding Wolf securely against her, even though the baby carrier did that for her, she saw he’d fallen asleep. She dug through the contents of Lucas’s bag. The main compartment held nothing but extra clothes and water bottles. The smaller pockets held other essentials like trail mix, a GPS and a small first aid kit. No mobile phone. No handcuffs. No keys.

  Standing, she returned to the front, not seeing Lucas and not hearing any gunfire. He had his keys on him. She was trapped here. She closed and locked the door and put Wolf to bed. Seeing that Lucas had closed the window, she locked it and then the secret door before going back into the living room. It was cold in the cabin. She went to the window he’d compromised and closed and locked that. Getting duct tape from the kitchen junk drawer that served as her tool box, she taped up the hole in the glass. Before closing the drapes, she saw that two or three inches of fresh snow already covered the ground.

  A knock on the front door told her Lucas had returned. He’d spent a while out there, tracking the shooter.

  She went to the door and said, “Just go away, Lucas.”

  “I can’t leave, Demi, especially now. Devlin got away.”

  He was that sure it was Devlin who’d shot at them? Devlin could afford to hire a gunman. He’d hired witnesses. Why not a hit man?

  “Go away.”

  “Let me in.”

  “No.”

  “Demi...”

  “No! Go away. You should have never come here.” She kept her voice low enough not to disturb Wolf but loud enough for Lucas to hear her.

  “You need me. Let me in.”

  “I don’t need you,” she snapped, her defenses flaring. What made him think she needed him?

  “You have a baby. You need help. You can’t defend him on your own. Surely you can see that. I can protect you both.”

  A few months ago, when she responded to Shane’s text saying that the baby was okay, she’d immediately known she’d made a mistake. She could trust her brother, but he worked with cops. They’d know to look for a woman and infant. That had been a rare error on her part.

  And Lucas did have a good point. When the shooter had fired at her, she’d gone wild with anxiety that Wolf would be harmed.

  But this was Lucas offering his protection.

  “How can I be sure you’re going to help me?”

  “You won’t be. This storm is getting bad and you have a flat tire and broken windows in your Jeep. You need a vehicle. You can’t stay here anymore, Demi. Once the storm clears, I’ll get you out of here.”

  Did he speak with a silver tongue? Although she could not argue his points. Would she be better off finding another way to get herself and Wolf somewhere else?

  “Let me in. We can talk about what to do in the morning. Devlin won’t try to come back tonight. If he does, he’ll be trapped in this storm.”

  With them? No, Devlin or his hit man would kill her and possibly Wolf. Then he could just take shelter in her cabin until the storm passed. The thought of Wolf hurt like that, or dead, made her sick.

  Lucas could make it to town before the storm really got bad, but he’d return once the roads were passable again and she’d be hard-pressed to get away before he did. On the other hand, if she allowed him to stay, she could ride the storm out and wait for another opportunity to escape. She could take his keys while he slept. He’d be okay in the cabin until he found a way out. An outdoorsman like him could hike to the road or even town. By then she’d be long gone.

  She unlocked the door, pulled it open and stepped back.

  Lucas stood with snowflakes covering him, his gun held down at his side and his pack slung over his other shoulder. He looked manly and strong and sexier than she’d ever seen him.

  “I knew you’d see reason.” He grinned.

  “This doesn’t mean I trust you.” She folded her arms.

  He walked inside. “Oh, believe me, I know.” He brushed the snow off himself and stomped his feet. He looked around. “Where is the baby?”

  “In bed.”

  He looked at her. “Can I see him?” He put his pack down.
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br />   Indecision gnawed her. He must be wondering if the baby was Bo’s child—if he had a nephew. What harm would it be to allow him a look?

  She led him to her bedroom and the secret door, which she unlocked to allow him inside.

  “This is a little overkill, isn’t it?” he asked as he walked to the crib.

  “You think it’s overkill after being shot at tonight?” She came to stand at the foot of the crib. Wolf lay sleeping on his back, the blanket up to his chin.

  Lucas turned on the light on the side table. Then he used his finger to pull the blanket farther down. He gazed at Wolf for endless seconds. Then his eyes lifted to catch hers. She saw the unvoiced question. Was the baby his nephew? Next she saw the pain of loss and a wish for some kind of link to his dead brother.

  Empathy took her by surprise. She met his eyes for a while, flustered and reeling. This felt like a connection, but there could be none because this was her enemy.

  To her amazement, Lucas averted his eyes first. “What’s his name?”

  “Wolf.”

  He returned to his silent and reverent study of the baby.

  Demi looked down at Wolf, befuddled over what was transpiring. Could it be that Lucas had come here to help her? Or had seeing his nephew in the flesh confused him?

  She folded her arms, feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable. Wolf was the most important thing in her life now. She’d had no way of predicting his importance before he was born. He’d been important as he’d grown inside her, but as soon as he came out into the world and gave that first cry, something had changed in her. When he’d been placed in her arms, she knew she’d never be the same. Every move he made, every twitch of his tiny arms, every shift of his head, was miraculous. When his newborn eyes met hers, she’d melted with love.

  This man could take all of that from her.

  When he looked up at her, she sensed he’d ask more questions.

  “Let’s let him sleep.” Demi moved to the door and waited for Lucas to leave the room ahead of her.

  He walked to the door and stopped, meeting her eyes as though guessing she didn’t want to talk about Wolf’s father.