“Mostly deer in February,” the woman said, eyeing him in a way that made him wonder if she was suspicious of his request. “You might see a bobcat, though, the female had cubs last year. They’re about grown now.”
“That’s great.” He injected enthusiasm into his tone as he pulled out his wallet. He was running low on cash, despite the fact that Rex had given him two grand to use for emergencies. He still needed to buy some food for the next day or two as well. “Thanks so much. I hope you don’t mind if we pay in cash.” He lowered his voice. “My wife maxed out our credit card, so I shredded it.”
To his relief, the woman shrugged as if it didn’t matter one way or the other. “Cash works for me.”
Five minutes later, he was back in the stolen car. He handed Lauren one of the keys to cabin number 7. “We’re set until tomorrow morning.”
She arched a brow. “Just one night?”
“Yeah. For now.” He drove around the main lodge to the cabins located behind it. They should be safe enough staying here for the rest of the day and through the night until morning. Since he still wasn’t sure how the kidnappers had tracked them all the way to the outlet mall in Wisconsin, he didn’t dare make long-term plans. Better to take things day by day.
While hoping and praying he could keep Lauren and Lucy safe until they understood the source of the threat.
* * *
Lauren was holdingon to her composure by a thread. She’d never in her life broken the law, and she could barely comprehend that she’d participated in stealing a car! Granted, she’d gladly reimburse the owner, but for all she knew, they’d left the owner stranded inside one of the stores without any means of getting home. What if the owner had kids? What if taking the car meant the owner couldn’t go to work?
The endless possibilities zipped around in her mind until she wanted to scream. But of course, she didn’t. Instead, she opened the back door of the stolen car to let Lucy out as Grady headed up to unlock the cabin door.
Lauren hunched her shoulders at the chill in the room. Grady found the thermostat, cranked it up, then crossed the room to start a fire. The interior of the cabin was rustic but nice. Wooden floors were covered with colorful rugs, and the furniture was simple yet comfortable. There was a small kitchenette, and for the first time in hours, she belatedly realized she was hungry.
“We’ll need to get some groceries.” She crossed the room to peer into the two bedrooms. One held a queen-sized bed, and the other had two twin beds. Satisfied, she turned to head back into the main living area. They needed food for lunch, dinner, and breakfast the following morning. How much that would cost, she had no clue.
“I know. We’ll head there next.” Grady didn’t appear concerned about their financial situation. “I just want to get our phones charged and ready to go. We’ll make our calls when we’re back in town.”
She nodded, belatedly remembering her determination to call the local police back in Chicago. The shooting event from the middle of the night seemed like eons ago rather than hours. And what about Clara? Their long-term housekeeper didn’t live in the penthouse with them, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t in danger. Someone could easily try to use force against Clara to obtain information about her daughter.
Just for easy money? Or was this about something else? But what? It didn’t make any sense. There was absolutely no reason to go after Lucy other than to force her or her father to pay a ransom.
The only person who could be seeking revenge was her ex-husband, Nelson Derringer. He wouldn’t have nearly enough money to pay someone to do this.
Unless the person involved had negotiated a portion of the ransom as payment.
She swallowed hard and turned her attention to Lucy. Her daughter was at the living room window, gazing out at the snowy landscape. Her daughter frowned, then shot Lauren a look of reproach. “I thought we’d see wild animals here.”
“The lady in charge said there’s a bobcat family that lives in the woods nearby. But I don’t think you’ll see them until dusk. Or dawn,” Grady said. “She also mentioned there are a lot of white-tailed deer in the area.”
“Bobcats?” Lauren paled. “Are you sure it’s safe here?”
“Yes, don’t worry.” He shot her an amused glance. “They won’t bother us. They prey on small animals, not people.”
Easy for him to say, she thought darkly. There hadn’t been any bobcats at the Big Cedar Lake in Missouri. At least, not that she was aware of.
When Grady finished with the phones, he handed her one. “Do you know the number of the police station? If not, I can use the computer to find it.”
“I don’t have the number memorized, so please look it up for me.” She felt foolish, but really, how many people in the world knew their local police department phone numbers by heart? Especially in this age of smartphones?
Less than a minute later, Grady had the number. She entered it into her phone but didn’t put the call through. She knew he wanted her to wait until they were away from the cabin.
Grady pocketed his phone. “Ready to go?”
She nodded. “Lucy, let’s decide what you want for lunch and dinner, okay?”
“How about pepperoni pizza?” Lucy and Grady both said at the exact same time.
She couldn’t help but smile as her daughter dissolved into a fit of giggles. Lauren rolled her eyes and threw up her hands in surrender. “Captain Jack’s pizza it is.”
Lauren wondered how big of a risk they were taking by heading back into the town of Fullerton. She felt as if they were driving a car that had stolen written across the back window in neon paint. But surprisingly, they didn’t pass a single police car on the road.
