Elisa
She might still have that burner in her pocket. He’d put traces on the phones, after what had happed to the Trasks and their girlfriends.
He could log into it on his laptop and see if she’d caught a bus out of town. Or if she’d been dragged away by Clemens.
Either way, he had to catch her. Fast.
10
Shit. The bus was stopping again. This time at a little nowhere town called Baird’s Corner. Elisa pressed her hands to her eyes, swallowing over the ache in her throat as some people got off and others got on. It had started to rain. Or snow. The sky couldn’t seem to decide which.
While on the run, she could only sleep in a moving bus. Hotel rooms felt like death traps. Buses were better, until they stopped moving. Then her eyes popped open like an electrical wire was being held to her body.
“Elisa.”
The low voice made her jerk violently in her seat. She looked to see Nate standing there in the aisle, still in his gray suit and overcoat. His eyes blazed with intensity.
“Nate! What the hell are you doing here?”
“Come with me,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “Quick.”
She shrank back. “No, Nate,” she said. “Back off. Please. Go home.”
“Please.” His dark eyes were full of intensity. “You’re Louisa Roarke, and you’re running from your husband, Gil Clemens. Running for your life. Am I right?”
She gazed at him, openmouthed. “How…but…”
“I saw him in Shaw’s Crossing this morning. He tossed your apartment. I was afraid that he’d already taken you. He was looking for something in there. I saw him asking Willow at the Bakery Café who did the chalk drawings. He’s on to you. And he’s right behind you.”
“Oh God,” she whispered. “How…?”
“You won’t stay ahead of him on this bus,” he went on. “It goes forty miles an hour at best on this road, and there’s freezing rain today. He’ll be on you before you get two more stops. Get off with me and let me help you stay ahead of that bastard.” He paused. “I hated him on sight, by the way. Even before I knew he was a problem for you. I could tell he was a dick.”
“Um, that’s gratifying,” she said, distracted. “Good instincts. Better than mine.” Her mind raced. Nate knew. So there was no way to protect him anymore. Shit.
“Come now,” he urged. “Or you won’t make it through the day.”
Well, hell. She’d tried to keep him out of it, but he’d made his own decision. Now it was time to make hers, and the decision was made before she even thought about it. She wanted to live. Urgently. Passionately.
She got up and followed him. Because he was right. Getting help was now her only chance.
“Do you have a bag?” he asked.
“Just what I’m carrying.” She followed him down the steps. “I saw him out of my apartment window, so I left my suitcase there. It would have slowed me down.”
She’d never seen the car he led her to, a bright blue Jeep. She got into it, hugging her computer bag with arms that trembled.
“So,” he said finally. “Louisa? Elisa? What do I call you now?”
“Stick with Elisa,” she said. “I’m used to it. I like the person I’ve been with this name. I don’t want to be Louisa ever again.”
“So where do you—fuck. Get down!”
He pushed her head down over the center console. “What the hell?” she asked.
“Clemens. His black Audi. He’s here, with two of his guys. He must have had the same thought I did, after seeing your note to Demi. That you’d try to catch a bus.”
She lurched back against the seat as he accelerated out of the parking lot. “What’s he doing now?”
“Parking his car. He’ll check the passengers, and talk to the driver. Tell me something, Elisa. Did that guy ever hurt you? Physically hurt you?”
“With his own hands, no,” she said. “But he did hire someone to kill me. If that counts.”
He hissed through his teeth. “Yeah, that fucking counts. I’ll go back and end this right now. If I go for the goons first, I might be able to take them all down.”
“No!” she burst out. “Don’t attack him!”
Nate gave her a cautious look. “Why?” he asked, after a moment’s pause. His voice was harder now. “Are you still in love with this guy?”
“Oh, God, no. He’s a devil straight out of hell. But he’s got those two guys, and I’m sure they’re armed, so that’s three against one. And he has my little brother. If you hurt Gil, my brother Josh dies. So please. Don’t touch him.”
“Fuck.” Nate pulled out onto the road, picking up speed. “Fuck.”
“Can I sit up yet?”
“No. Stay down until we’re farther away.”
Elisa sank down to the floor, curling her legs up and resting her arms on the car seat. They drove for what felt like forever, but was probably less than a half hour. She stared at the side of his leg, and his big hand on the gearshift, inches from her eyes. They slowed down as the terrain beneath the car wheels changed. A bumper road. Then gravel, with a steep grade. Off-road bouncing—and the car stopped.
She gave him a questioning look. He answered with a nod. “You can get up.”
She clambered back up onto the seat and looked around at a sea of green. He’d driven off the highway and out onto a logging road.
“Relax,” he said. “No one can see us here unless they’re watching via satellite.”
Nate got out of the car and hiked over to a break in the trees. He stood looking out over the valley below, his arms folded over his chest. His back radiated tension.
Elisa got out and just stood there for a while. She had to hold onto the Jeep for balance. The cold was sweet, bracing. It smelled like snow.
Everything seemed so sharp and distinct, after her slow, lumbering bus to nowhere. She walked over to stand next to Nate. Her legs felt loose. Unsteady.
Nate turned to her, his eyes fierce. “What happens if he finds you?”
“I die,” she said simply. “He’s tried before. He’s killed before.”
“You should have told us a long time ago,” Nate said. “All of it.”
Elisa shook her head. “No. I should never have stayed in Shaw’s Crossing in the first place. It was sloppy and stupid. Now I’ve put you all in danger.”
“Fuck that. Who would even notice a little more danger at this point?”
“Trust me,” she said fervently. “You’d notice. I tried to keep you out of it. I really did. But you kept on tempting me and tantalizing me.”
“Jesus, Elisa,” he burst out. “We could have been working on a solution for this problem together. But you had to shut me out. And now that prick is breathing right down our necks, and I am unprepared!”
“I didn’t want you mixed up in it at all! I wanted to protect you!”
“Guess what?” he snarled. “I want the same fucking thing for you!”
“Don’t think that just because we had sex, that you’re responsible for me now,” she said.