But on the bright side, he’d managed to keep the dismal thought to himself this time.
Lindsey stopped and faced him. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
She scoffed. “There’s no ‘of course’ about it. I’m so sorry you got sucked into this with me.”
“Not your fault. I’m sorry you and Megan landed in this shit in the first place.”
“It’s my fault she’s still there. I left without her, and now she’s the one suffering for it.” Lindsey’s pretty eyes blazed.
He placed his hands on her shoulders, unprepared for the jolt of lust that hit him when he touched her. Foolish, because it happened every time. “Don’t beat yourself up. Given the circumstances, you did everything you could.”
She sighed and crossed her arms. “You make it sound so simple to let go.”
If only. “Simple, sure. Never easy.” Todd knew that as well as anyone.
Reluctantly releasing her, he opened his senses to the world around them, looking, listening,feeling, as they started walking again. There might not be a single person hunting for them right now. Or JJ might have mobilized a hundred-man posse with tracker dogs who would be on them within the hour.
The way Todd saw it, they only had a few choices: go after Megan, run, or turn themselves in. But without Megan, it would be difficult to prove they were innocent.
They might be able to prove she was missing, but that meant nothing. Worse, if she was found dead, JJ could accuse Todd or Lindsey. If Todd were the sheriff, he’d frame Lindsey for the murder and say the women were fighting over Todd. That, or say Lindsey convinced Todd to do it.
Either way, he couldn’t prove he didn’t already know the women. Plus, it’d be a simple enough thing for JJ or one of his deputies to kill Todd and Lindsey in a “shootout.” The two of them were now considered a threat to law enforcement.
No one would question the sheriff’s use of lethal force.
Lindsey wanted so badly to see things Todd’s way, to believe that she’d made the right choice by leaving Megan behind and going for help. But she could hardly think straight while she digested that they were wanted for murder, that the world now thought they’d attacked the sheriff and killed his deputy.
Her stomach threatened to revolt.
JJ had painted an enormous target on her back, and she couldn’t stop shaking.
Being with Todd was the only thing keeping her from going off the deep end into hysteria. She had no real skills to protect herself, no experience as a fugitive, and no idea how to prove she was innocent if they didn’t find Megan.
It surefeltlike the end of the world.
But he helped her focus, even forget a little. And somehow, he seemed to understand what she’d gone through. No surprise. Surely as a PJ and a bodyguard he’d faced tough calls. Far worse than any she’d had to make.
“Can I ask you a question?” She let some low-hanging pine boughs scrape their little spikes across her palm.
“Sure.”
“What’s the big regret that you can’t let go of?”
Todd’s laugh held no humor. “My list is far too long to get into now, but Idon’tregret pulling you off the side of a mountain.”
His response warmed her, and Lindsey decided to let him sidestep the question. Something specific was definitely eating at him—beyond their current situation—but it was none of her business. He didn’t owe her his private pain. Especially since he was wanted by the police for doing nothing more than saving her life.
He was a freaking hero on so many levels and he’d proven himself to her in every way possible. He deserved better than to be on the run for having the bad luck to run into her on the trail.
“This is going to sound selfish,” she said, her feet protesting as she tromped through thick grass, “but as bad as I feel about you getting caught up in my drama, I’m grateful you’re with me.” Her cheeks heated and she kept her gaze firmly on the barely visible path of depressed plants in front of them.
“Drama,” he scoffed. “You make it sound like a feud with an ex or something.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do.” He snagged her hand and pulled her to a stop, his intense gaze making her heart stutter. “I’m glad that neither of us has to face this alone. We can’t change the circumstances, but our chances are better if we stick together.”
