“That’s not a cabin,” Mia said in a sleepy voice. “That’s ahotel.”
Joaquin chuckled along with Hunter and Darcangelo. The housewashuge. It had its own two-story library, a gym, a home theater, a five-car heated garage, and a back deck that looked out on some of the most beautiful scenery inColorado.
“My sister married into one of the wealthiest families in the state,” Hunter explained. “All of this land you see outside your window is part of the ranch. Jack and Nate run Angus cattle and breed quarterhorses.”
“Huh.” Mia still lookedconfused.
Yeah, the poorchulawasgone.
From behind them, West flashed hisbrights.
Hunter pulled over, let West pass him, then followed. “They’re putting the two of you up in their guest cabin. Jack thought Mia might want some privacy after all of this, rather than having to hang out with people she doesn’tknow.”
Joaquin hadn’t known they had a guest cabin, but then the ranch washuge.
They passed the great house, drove behind it heading south for a while, then turned up a snowy road. They came around the bend, and Joaquin saw it—a log cabin large enough to hold his condo, Mia’s condo, and possibly this SUV. The porch light was on, the windows glowing with welcominglight.
Jack stepped away from a pile of firewood, ax in hand, andwaved.
“There’s the cabin,” Mia said, still notunderstanding.
Hunter parked, and he and Darcangelo got out and went to say hello to Jack, who welcomed them with bear hugs and a bigsmile.
Joaquin helped Mia out of her seatbelt. “You wait here. Don’t get out on your own. I’ll come around and helpyou.”
“Okay.”
Joaquin climbed out, went around the back of the vehicle, and opened Mia’s door. She slipped almost boneless into his arms. “I’ve gotyou.”
Arm around her shoulders, he guided her over to their host. “Hey,Jack.”
“Ramirez, good to see youagain.”
“This is my friend Mia Starr. She served a couple of tours of duty in Iraq and was my cousin Elena’s captain during Elena’s first year in the Army. She’s pretty out of it on Vicodin rightnow.”
Jack took Mia’s hand. “Welcome, Mia. It’s an honor to have you as ourguest.”
* * *
Mia.Mia. Mia, youbitch.
He sat in the old bus he now called home, pressing gauze from an old first aid kit against the graze on his inner thigh. She had almost shot his ballsoff.
Fuckingcunt!
How had she known he was there? One moment he’d been about to blow a fist-sized hole in her head with a 9 mm hollow-point round, and thenext…
He squeezed his eyes shut, the pain behind them worse than the bulletwound.
Needles. Needles. Needles in myskull.
He ought to have killedherfirst. She was smarter than the others, smarter even than that old fart-sack Frank. It wasn’t going to be easy to get close to her again. The bitchwasinvolved with a guy. The bastard must begay.
He could have gottenyou.
Yeah, but a guy like him wouldn’t be armed. Rather than chasing him like a real man, the twat had sped away. Chickenshit.
He was supposed to have finished this tonight. He’d planned to celebrate by putting a bullet through his own brain and ending this endless pain.But somehow, he’d fired six shots at five yards and hadn’t managed to kill her. Maybe he was too out of it on Oxy, or maybe she had eyes in the back of herhead.