“I-it was an accident. Boyd was scouting ahead when it started to rain. When he didn’t come back, we figured he’d holed up somewhere till the storm was over. We didn’t realize what had happened until we saw the chopper. We followed it, and there he was, dead, pinned in the rocks below.”
“Who hired Peters to follow us?” Gage asked.
“Boyd did. I wanted to go back when I realized Boyd was dead, but Ray refused to quit, and I couldn’t get back on my own.”
Gage nodded sagely. “I get it. Rock and a hard place, right? Next time, consider the consequences before you do something stupid.” Gage looked over at the big bald guy. “Your buddy over there . . . what’s his name?”
“He’s not my buddy. He’s a friend of Ray’s. His name is Mack Ringo. He’s from Phoenix. I helped you, okay? So will you put in a good word for me with the cops?”
“That’s up to Abby.” He turned toward her. “We need to talk.”
“I got this,” Kyle said, his grip relaxed on the pistol he kept pointed at the men.
Gage walked Abby to a place at the edge of camp where they were out of sight behind a formidable stack of boulders.
“You okay?” he asked.
A trembly breath whispered out. “I’m okay.” It was only half true; her legs still felt shaky.
“When I saw you with that gun pointed at your head . . .” Gage swallowed. He glanced away, then back. “Peters could have killed you, Abby. One second you’re alive, the next you’re dead, and there’s no going back, no way to change things.”
She thought that he was talking about the past as well as the present, and her heart went out to him.
He shook his head. “Just thinking about it makes my stomach crawl. I don’t want anything to happen to you, honey. I couldn’t handle it. Not again.”
She brought his big hand to her lips and pressed a kiss into his palm. “I’m okay. With all of us working together, we took care of the situation. We make a good team, Gage. Surely you can see that.”
Gage made no reply, but his fingers wrapped around the hand holding his, and he drew her against him, leaned down, and kissed her, a soft press of his lips over hers, gently coaxing yet unbelievably compelling. Abby melted into him, pressing her body the length of his, absorbing his heat and solid strength.
Gage was a man she could depend on. He had proven it again today.
Some of her tension drained away. Gage had a way of making her feel safe and protected. Though she knew the consequences of her increasing need for him, Abby rested her hands on his shoulders, leaned up, and deepened the kiss, stirring a hot lash of hunger that burned right through her. She wanted to touch him—all of him—wanted to be back at the pool, naked with Gage inside her.
The kiss lingered a moment more, then gentled. He kissed her one last time and eased away, but the heat in his blue eyes didn’t lessen. Abby finally came back to herself enough to hear the whop-whop-whop of the approaching helicopter.
Gage’s mouth curved up. “If we don’t stop now, love, the sheriff is liable to arrest us instead of them.”
Abby managed to smile, which wasn’t easy with her body still on fire.
Gage reached out and ran a finger down her cheek. “We’ll have time together once we get back. You can stay at my place till you decide your next move.”
Abby let the comment pass. She didn’t want to tell him she already knew her next move. She was going to Mexico to finish what she had started. She hoped he would go with her—she needed him now more than ever—but either way, she wasn’t quitting.
She was King Farrell’s granddaughter. She wasn’t going to let him down. Or herself. Not after coming this far.
She took a deep breath and walked with Gage back to camp.
They still had to face the sheriff. Then a hard, two-day journey out of the mountains to the second rendezvous point, where Walt would pick them up.
Denver was still days away. Abby couldn’t wait to get there.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
AFTER SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES FINISHED WHAT SEEMED HOURS OF ENDLESSquestions, they took the three men into custody, the charges ranging from assault with a deadly weapon to attempted armed robbery. Gage and their small band finally set out for home but made little progress before nightfall.
Everyone was edgy after their run-in with Peters and his men, and exhausted from the letdown of not finding the Devil’s Gold. Anxious to get out of the mountains, they rose early the next morning and headed out beneath a brutal sun.
The two-day trek was uneventful, or maybe Abby was just getting used to the harsh terrain and living on packaged dried food. At least no one was shooting at them.
