“From that cheating asshole Cruz?” The anger in Todd’s voice warmed her heart, even as she cringed.
Why had she told him about it again?
“Right.” She’d needed a break from the gossip at volleyball, the worry that she’d run into Cruz at the mall, the constant reminders of what a fool she’d been to stay with him.
She’d originally hoped this trip would give her a chance to hit the refresh button and go back to LA in a new frame of mind. Now, she was just ready to go home.
“You know a guy like that doesn’t deserve your energy,” Todd said.
“I know.” Lindsey sighed. “Easier said than done though. I’ll be beating myself up over it for a while.”
“Trust me. I understand.”
She wanted to ask what he meant, but they’d reached the trailhead and a dirt parking lot with a smattering of cars. Her heart thudded. They were so close to getting help.
Ten minutes later, they walked across a lonely highway and followed Center Street, the main road lined with several small shops, a diner, a bakery, and a Mexican restaurant. Two smaller streets ran perpendicular to form the core of downtown, with a park at the far end.
The streets were pretty quiet. A trio of twenty-something men sporting beards, large frame packs, and snap-back Patagonia hats passed them with friendly nods.
In the road, several men and a woman wearing maintenance uniforms stood around a hole in the asphalt, talking and laughing. The woman’s blond ponytail swung wildly as she did a double take at Todd. Who could blame her?
Lindsey licked her lips. They still tingled. She’d been lucky enough to kiss him today. Maybe she’d have more good luck and Megan would be back with her by nightfall.
Grabbing Lindsey’s hand, he tugged her to the end of the street where it dead-ended into a park about the size of two football fields. A white gazebo sat in the middle of the grassy expanse, like something out of a Hallmark movie.
“This way,” he said, heading left with her in tow. Was he so eager to get rid of her that he could no longer hide his impatience?
“How do you know where it is?”
“I don’t. I’m following the flag pole.” He pointed to the US and Montana flags snapping loudly above the brick buildings.
Sure enough, they rounded the corner and found a complex that housed a town hall, the sheriff’s office, a post office, and an elementary school that proclaimed itself “Home of the Foxes.”
Todd reached for the door handle and froze. Lindsey nearly crashed into his back, stepping aside just in time.
But the sign on the door nearly made her legs give out.
CHAPTER FIVE
TODD STARED AT the “WANTED” poster that had stopped him in his tracks.Mother fuckity fuck.
A sketch of him and a captioned photo of Lindsey dominated the top half. The bottom half explained that they were wanted for an attack on county Sheriff John Joseph Decker and deputy Kendall Harris the day before that had left Harris dead.
Todd went cold. What the hell? That stocky motherfucker had been alive when they’d left him on the trail, and his injuries had hardly been fatal.
Lindsey gripped his arm. “JJ is the sheriff?” Horror filled her eyes. “Megan and I were kidnapped bythe sheriff?”
“Looks like it.” Todd released the door handle and guided her away from the building as casually as possible. “I’m assuming the picture and info are from your driver’s license. It won’t be long before they find one of the hotels where I stayed and get all of my info too.”
She nodded. “JJ’s guys took my backpack at the compound, but he can explain it by saying I dropped it during our ‘altercation’ on the trail.”
“Exactly.”
“I’m confused, though,” she said. “We didn’t kill Harris.”
“I have no idea.” They were in some deep shit. “Maybe he fell…”
“Or we’re being framed.” Her grip on his hand tightened.
