“You know her?” the first guy asks.
I give my head a quick shake, hoping that any affectionJesse ever had for me will get him to hold his tongue right now.
But he was always a disappointment back then, and he’s still one today.
“Yes, I know her,” Jesse says, sounding surprised and indignant. “That’s my wife!”
“Go,” I mumble to Burgundy. “Drive. Now!”
She does so as the driver calls out, “Wait! Stop!”
I turn back and, with the guard’s gun, shoot out the truck’s tires. One. Two. And even a third before we’re out of range.
An exhale bursts out of me, half sigh and half sob. Damn it all to hell. Just my luck.
Jesse. In exactly the wrong place.
“Good job with those tires. Was that really your husband?” Burgundy asks as she drives. She’s very good on the motorcycle. Better than me.
“He’s not my husband anymore.”
“But he’s a Holy Roller now, I guess. And any woman they claim is theirs for perpetuity. Thank God we got away.”
I gulp. “For now.”
“What do you mean? They can’t follow with blown tires, and by the time they gather reinforcements, we’ll be long gone.”
“But Jesse knows where I live.”
Shit.
Damn, damn, damn, damn.
That’s my home. My camper in its own spot in the woods. Gone for good.
It will never be safe again. Not if Jesse knows where he can find me.
“Oh no.”
“Maybe he won’t come after me.”
“Of course he will. He’ll have to. There will be too much pressure from the other men. If you’re his wife—even if it’s just in his own head—he’ll have to come. And he’ll probably bring others to help.”
It’s a horrible thought, and it’s too much to fully process. “We need to go there anyway. That’s where Micah and my dog are waiting.”
“Then we’ll head there first. Then we can go to Logan. He’s the only one who’ll be able to help you.”
“Why would he help me? He doesn’t even know me.”
“He’ll owe you. For rescuing me. He’ll help, Kat. I promise. You’re not going to lose your home because you got me out of that place. I promise.”
She clearly believes this is true, and I want to believe it too.
But life has never been good to me, and I don’t really know if I do.
25
We make good time.Better time than I did on the way there. Burgundy is a skilled driver, and she is obviously familiar with these roads. She veers around pot holes and takes curves in a practiced manner and maintains an impressive speed.
