“What’s going on, Dominic?” Kendra broke the long silence as Dom navigated the highway. She would have rather had Smoky in the back crate area, but he had chosen to jump into Justin’s car rather than drive her own. “Why are you heading back to Billings?”
He didn’t answer for a long moment. “I almost got you and your brother killed.” He shot her a quick glance, his expression grim. “And for what? A handful of gold coins?”
She frowned, then understood. “You think this is about the Krugerrand.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “Don’t you see? Stuart Ramsey’s confession started this, but it was the Krugerrand he’d given to Helen that ramped up the danger. Bartoli must have figured out that my father had Krugerrand. For all we know, my dad stole it.”
“I’m sure he didn’t steal it.” Even as she said the words, though, she realized it was possible. Why else would Gary Lakeland have kept the Krugerrand for so many years? Or had he used some along the way? Maybe he’d use some of the gold to support his charter business.
“I didn’t know my father at all.” Dom’s expression was harsh. “I have no idea what he was capable of.”
“If your father did take some Krugerrand, it was only to help secure a future for you.” Kendra strove to sound positive. “Don’t judge him for wanting to keep you safe.”
Dom shook his head. “I don’t know what to think. Other than I almost got you killed.”
“I’m fine and so is Justin.” She reached out to touch his arm. He glanced at her hand, then shook her off. She tried to hide the flash of hurt. “This isn’t your fault.”
He shrugged without saying anything. Kendra stared blindly out the passenger-side window. She didn’t appreciate Dom keeping an emotional distance from her. As if they hadn’t worked together to survive over the past twenty-four hours.
As if she hadn’t fallen in love with him.
Talk about a stupid move on her part. She knew better than to open herself up to heartache. It wasn’t as if Dominic would pick up his life and move to the Sullivan ranch.
Maybe she could offer to move to Billings?
The idea filled her with sadness. She’d miss her family.
The almost two-hour drive back to Billings, Montana, passed with excruciating slowness. Every time she tried to talk, Dom responded with one-word answers. By the time Dominic drove into the driveway of what she assumed was his father’s home, she’d wished she’d stayed back at the log cabin.
Dom barely looked at her as he slid out of the car. Feeling like a barnacle he longed to scrape off, she called Smoky from the car and followed him inside.
“Nice place.” She wasn’t surprised he kept the place neat and tidy. Smoky sniffed the air with interest. “Where do we start?”
Dom sighed. “I have no clue. If my dad hid the Krugerrand, it could be anywhere.”
“No safe or anything obvious, huh?” She tried to smile to break the tension.
“No. Although—” Dom stopped mid-sentence, turned, and walked through the connecting door to what she assumed was a large garage. He didn’t wait for her, letting the door close loudly behind him.
Kendra glanced down at Smoky, who was still sniffing the air. Then the dog trotted over to the connecting door, sniffing along the baseboard. Her K9 sat and barked.
Kendra’s blood turned to ice. She pulled her weapon and wrenched the door open. Dom didn’t seem to notice, but looking beyond him, she saw a dark shadow moving along the back of what she now realized was a large plane hangar. It looked very similar to the one Jessica’s husband, Logan, had built on the ranch. “Get down!”
At her command, Dom dropped to the ground just as Levy turned and fired wildly in their direction. He held something under his arm. What, Kendra couldn’t tell. She fired three shots, one after the other, the way her oldest brother, Chase, had taught her.
Levy howled and hit the ground, dropping the box he held under his arm and his weapon.
Kendra rushed forward, kicking the gun away from Levy’s outstretched hand. The box split open, revealing a spilled pile of gold coins. Then she noticed the blood pooling beneath Levy’s body. Swallowing hard at the thought she may have killed a man, she lowered herself to one knee, feeling for a pulse. Levy was alive. For the moment.
Dom dropped beside the marshal, pulling the edges of Levy’s coat together as a pressure dressing. “Go get help. I should have waited to see if Smoky would alert.”
“Yeah, you should have.” Before she could pull out the disposable phone Justin had given her, she heard a car engine. Fearing Levy had Bartoli with him, she jumped up and headed to the side door. When she saw Raine and Justin, she relaxed. Pushing open the door, she gestured for them to come in. “Levy’s down. We need an ambulance.”
Justin glared at her as Raine made the call. But she ignored her brother’s annoyance.
This time, the danger was over for good.
“You should have waited for us.” Anger flashed in Justin’s eyes. “I called several times. What if Levy had shot you both? Then what?”
