Page 15

He froze midstep, his gaze swiveling to me. The intensity of his focus on Victor softened, and a different type of fire lit in his eyes. “Lieutenant Bryant?”

Victor rolled his shoulders back, glared between us. “We’ll resume this conversation another time.”

He turned toward the driveway, but as he was about to pass by, Captain Warren Hayes held out a hand to stop him. He towered over the elder man, and he pushed him gently in the chest, a subtle threat that made it clear to both of us that he had seen Victor corner me.

Shame and relief raged inside me.

“Is there a problem here?” Warren asked me. There was a fierceness to his expression that warmed me to the core and set me at ease. The fear and danger I’d been drowning in only a few heartbeats before was replaced by confidence that the captain of the Ghost Riders had my back.

I had no idea what had brought him here, but at least just for a few minutes I had someone in my corner, even if Sheriff Lowe and the rest of Baker County were in Victor’s.

“No problem at all.” Victor offered his signature grin and shook his head, which drew Warren’s skeptical gaze to him. “Just a friendly conversation between neighbors.” He then spat, “Captain.”

Warren looked at me for confirmation, not taking the man at his word.

I just wanted Victor to go away. I nodded ever so slightly. I couldn’t wrap my thoughts around anything else aside from Warren standing before me, half a world and hundreds of bloody days away from the airfield in Germany.

He looked exactly as I recalled, aside from the civilian attire and day-old stubble. His light green eyes were warm. Even without his stripes and pressed slacks, he carried himself with a straight back and an air of authority.

Warren turned to face Victor and lowered his voice. “I’d better not catch a whiff of another friendly neighbor conversation like this.”

Victor’s demeanor went stiff and cold, as if seeing something he hadn’t expected in Warren’s gaze.

I bit back a smile, thinking of all the soldiers I’d met over the past five years and the extraordinary bravery and strength I’d witnessed. Victor was nothing compared to the dangers that these soldiers had seen. Especially Warren, who had led his men behind enemy lines for two years.

On the other hand, Victor’s money, his connections, the bank debt I faced . . . those were things that still scared me.

Warren dropped his hand, allowing my neighbor to flee without another word. Then he strode up to me, his presence soothing the gaping wound left from this morning’s funeral.

His lips curled into a charming smile, and faint dimples appeared on his cheeks. His wrinkled brow smoothed as he took in my face. “I’m surprised to see you, Eva.”

Shivers raced down my spine as he spoke my name. Of course I hadn’t forgotten him or the time we’d shared in Germany. But he remembered me?

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

Excitement and playfulness took over his expression, and his shoulders lifted in delight. “Come see.” He motioned for me to follow as he walked toward the driveway.

As we stepped into the sunlight, I was grateful to see my circular driveway empty of Victor’s car. But the one vehicle there—a dust-covered, new Ford truck—had a horse trailer behind it.

A horse? Curiosity pricked at my limbs, and I ran to the domed metal trailer, stepped on the side fenders, and peeked through the open slats to get a better view of the horse. Inside, a gray horse paced the metal box with sweat coursing down his neck and haunches. Even without seeing the mark on his shoulder, I knew who it was.

“Phantom.” The earth spun below me, my breath caught in my throat and my heart humming. I thought he’d been lost to me.

Like a lightning strike, the realization hit me.

“You were the other bidder,” I said, standing on the wheel cover and looking down at Warren.

“Other bidder?” He looked up, using one hand to shade his eyes from the harsh sun. “You were at the auction in Virginia?”

How had we not bumped into each other? What might have been different if we had?

None of that mattered now. Through the narrow windows of the trailer, I studied Phantom. He looked thinner than when I’d last seen him. His eyes were wild and his nostrils flared as he paced the small quarters of the trailer, untied.

“What about Mira? Have you found her?”

“No.” Warren’s smile faltered. “But I’m working on it still.”

“Me too,” I said. “Perhaps I’ll beat you to that one.”