“You always have a choice.”
A slight nod of acknowledgment was all he needed to thread their fingers together again and move away from the road.He kept his voice low when he asked, “How many are there?”
“Three that I know of,” she whispered.
“I’m guessing you have no idea who these people are.”He slowed his pace to listen.Beau hadn’t been back to this campsite since he was a kid.Some of his memories of the place were sharp.Others were fuzzy.If he could trust his recollections, a pond would be coming up in front of them.There’d been a few paddle boats.Nothing that would help them escape the folks seeking Ivy.
“You would be correct,” she confirmed.“I know two of their names.Royce and Clay.That’s all I have.”She gave a quick and dirty explanation of how she’d ended up there.
“Does your father live in Austin, as well?”he asked.
Ivy nodded.“He’s the reason I moved back.I wanted to be closer to him.”
“What about your mother?”
A twig snapped to their left.
Beau lifted his finger to his lips, indicating they should be very quiet and very still.And then he reached behind him for the gun.
3
Ivy crouched down, making herself as small as possible.Royce and Clay hadn’t used guns earlier, which didn’t necessarily mean they didn’t have them.She hadn’t gotten a good enough look at them to take inventory, and she wasn’t in the mood to take chances.
Beau was the epitome of tall and handsome.A twinge of sadness in those beautiful eyes of his connected with the sadness in her at the soul level.He’d seen pain.He’d experienced pain.He’d survived pain.
Ivy could relate.
Broad shoulders and muscles for days accompanied a face made of hard angles and a jawline that could crack concrete.His white teeth were almost perfectly straight.A half-inch razor-like scar above his left eyebrow was barely noticeable.She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened.
“This bitch has to be somewhere out here,” Clay said.The twig snap must have been him stomping through the thicket.Of course, they went toward the road, expecting her to walk to freedom.No one in their right mind would get lost in these woods, not on purpose.
Did Beau know the area?He must have some knowledge since he’d stashed his truck nearby and gone into the woods to…what?…survey the campsite?The fact that his mother was missing, along with her father, brought an onslaught of questions.This wasn’t the time.
Beau palmed the handgun.Ivy was a city girl.Austin was considered outdoorsy, if you liked running along the Colorado River or going for walks outside.There were plenty of parks and nature preserves, all of which were crowded with people.Even in nature, you were never alone.Plus, her version of spending time outdoors was going to Barton Springs Pool in Zilker Park and throwing a blanket down underneath a shade tree.Having black hair hadn’t given her olive skin.She burned in the sun, so she avoided it as much as possible, considering she lived in Texas, where the sidewalk was so hot it could almost melt your flipflops.The middle part on the crown of her head would get burned walking around campus when she’d been putting herself through school if she hadn’t worn a hat.
“Look over here, Royce,” Clay shouted.
More twigs snapped.“What is it?”
“Somebody lost their cell phone,” Clay said.
It couldn’t be Ivy’s since they’d tossed hers out the window.Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Beau pat his pocket.The way he exhaled said that his was exactly where he’d thought it would be.
“What should we do with it?”Royce asked.
“Take it to Talon and see if he wants to keep it or toss it,” Clay said.
Talon.Talon.Talon.Ivy searched her memory for anyone by that name, but came up empty.Was it a nickname?
She locked gazes with Beau for a second longer than was smart.Electricity hummed in her body.She flexed her fingers a few times to stop them from reaching out to him.Making noise, even accidentally, could get them caught.
One look was all it took for her to realize he’d thought the same thing; the cell might belong to one of their parents.
Were the two of them together?Had they escaped?Was her father in bad shape?
A growing part of her wanted to borrow Beau’s gun so she could confront the bastards and demand to see her father.The other, more reasonable part of her, knew that doing so would be a bad idea.She would be giving up their location and the fact that she was with Beau.
Beau’s eyes lit up.He held up a finger, like he’d done before.She gave a quick nod of agreement.She would stay put and be quiet, no matter how much it pained her.
