“I don’t want you to be hurt either.” She glanced at him, then focused back on the road. “Seriously, Dom, don’t you think we’re safer together?”
“Not really.” He shifted in his seat, trying to make more leg room. “You’re safer on your own, without me.”
“You don’t know that.” Kendra sighed. “Let’s just say this shooter has come after you because he thinks you know his identity. Or the identity of the man who hired Stuart Ramsey. Maybe he believes the confession included more details about the crime. By now, he’ll assume we’ve talked and that I know everything you do.”
He hated to admit she had a point. “But we don’t know anything.”
“Yeah, see, I’m not sure that matters.” She glanced at him. “The sooner we do know what’s going on, the better. And that’s why we need to work together on this.”
Normally, Dom was known as a team player. He led his software team without difficulty.
But maybe she was right about this shooter assuming they knew more than they did. Otherwise, why come after him with literally guns blazing?
“Fine. We’ll work together.”
“Good.” Kendra held his gaze. “We’re going to figure this out.”
He nodded without saying anything more. All he could do was hope that sticking with Kendra and Smoky wasn’t a huge mistake.
Kendra took several turns through town, doubling back more than once to make sure they weren’t followed. Clearly, her attempt to avoid being followed from Greybull hadn’t been good enough. She’d thought that by encouraging cars behind her to pass would work. But she must have been followed anyway.
She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
It irked her to think she’d inadvertently allowed this guy to find them. She was sure her older siblings would have done a better job, which only made her more determined to get to the bottom of this mess.
She’d repeatedly informed her family she wasn’t a kid anymore. It was time to prove it. To them, but more so to herself. She and Dom would crack the case, making sure the man who’d hired Stuart Ramsey would be found and arrested.
The Great Frontier Hotel wasn’t quite as nice as the Elk Lodge, but it would do. She pulled in and parked along the back of the property, making sure her SUV couldn’t be seen from the road.
Wordlessly, they emerged from the SUV. A quick glance around proved there were no dark trucks in sight.
“Come, Smoky.” Kendra pulled her backpack from the SUV, looping it over her shoulder. Good thing she had a change of clothes. Smoky went to get busy, before coming over to stand beside her. Dominic pulled his overnight case from the back seat and joined her.
Together, they headed inside. The sudden bright lights of the lobby made her squint. Dom towered over her, and his long stride had him reaching the counter first. “Do you have a suite available?”
“Yes.” The clerk smiled. “What’s your name?”
“Sullivan,” Kendra said quickly. “Put the reservation under Sullivan.”
“Of course.” The clerk tapped the name into her computer.
Dom frowned but didn’t argue. She knew it wasn’t much of a disguise, but she hoped that leaving Dominic’s name off the reservation might help. His scowl deepened when she handed the clerk her credit card.
“I’m not here to mooch off you,” he said in a low voice. “I would rather pay my own way.”
“I know that. You bought dinner after all. This is an attempt to keep you safe.” She took the keys and led the way down the hall to their first-floor suite. “Besides, I’m the one who insisted on sticking close.”
He didn’t respond, simply standing aside as she unlocked the door. She hoped he wasn’t going to be cranky all evening.
The suite had two bedrooms. She headed to the one to the right, leaving him to claim the other. Smoky followed her inside, sniffing the perimeter with interest. Kendra set her backpack down, then removed the collapsible water bowl and the .38.
“You have a gun?” Dom gaped in surprise.
“It was in my backpack.” She felt a little foolish for not mentioning it sooner, especially under the circumstances. “Chase trained me to hit what I’m aiming for. But obviously, having it tucked away wasn’t the smartest move on my part. I have a belt holster I can use from this point forward.”
“My dad taught me to shoot when I was a kid.” Dom grimaced. “Now that I know he was murdered, I’m looking at everything we did back then in a different light. Makes me wonder if he suspected he might be in danger someday.”
She nodded thoughtfully, filling the bowl with water and setting it down for Smoky. “Was your dad always a charter pilot?”
