“Did he act as if he knew you?”
“He just referred to me as a rich bitch. When he told me to stop, I panicked and hit the gas instead. He tried to kick my foot off the accelerator. That’s when we left the blacktop. We were headed right for a bridge. I hit the ravine just before I hit the railing.”
Langston joined her at the table. “You’re lucky to be alive.”
She looked up and let her eyes meet his. His gaze was still piercing, but shadowed now. She dropped her eyes and focused on his hands. No longer the hands of a rancher, she noticed. They were smooth. And there was no wedding ring on his left hand. It didn’t matter. She couldn’t let it.
“I wasn’t hurt in the wreck other than sore muscles and a few bruises. The carjacker didn’t have on his seat belt and was knocked out when his head hit the side window. A car pulled up and stopped on the side of the road. I thought he’d just happened by and saw the wreck, but it was an off-duty detective.”
“Gary Packard.”
She nodded. “He said he’d seen us speeding recklessly down the exit ramp when we left the highway. He thought I was drunk, then got close enough that he recognized my abductor as someone he’d questioned before.”
“So he followed you?”
“Right, but he didn’t see the pistol pressing into my rib cage and didn’t realize I’d been abducted. He just wanted to see what we were up to.”
“How did he come to kill Rivers instead of arresting him?”
“Buck Rivers came to while I was explaining the situation to the detective. He took off running and Detective Packard gave chase. I ran to the car, retrieved my cell phone from my handbag and made a 9-1-1 call. When I heard gunfire, I panicked again and hid in the woods until a state trooper responding to my call showed up.”
“So you didn’t see the shootout?”
“No. The detective came wandering out of the woods after the trooper arrived. He said he’d shot the carjacker in self-defense.”
“How did you go from saved by a cop to thinking he is trying to take you out?”
“I’d like to know that myself. We hung around for a long time while the detective and the trooper searched the area. I guess they were looking for clues. Then when I refused to go to the hospital, the detective drove me back into town, asking questions the whole way. I had the feeling even then that he didn’t really believe I was a random victim.”
“Meaning?”
“I think he still thought I might have willingly been with Rivers. But he let it go and dropped me off at the car rental agency to get a replacement vehicle. He said mine would be towed, impounded and searched for clues even though the detective had spent a lot of time searching it while we were at the scene.”
“What kind of clues? They already knew who abducted you and he was dead.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t argue with him. I was still in shock at that point and just glad it was over. At least I thought it was over. Turned out I was badly mistaken. I got a phone call the next day demanding I return the video that Buck Rivers had left with me. When I told the caller I didn’t have it, he called me a few obscene names and said if I was lying, I was dead.”
“Did the caller give his name?”
“No. But when he first called I would have sworn I was talking to Detective Packard, but that he had a cold or something.”
“What did you do?”
“I called Packard and told him about it. Then he questioned me about having a video. I’m not sure he believed that I didn’t. But then he blew the whole thing off and said if there was no video then it was probably a crank call and that I should ignore it unless I heard from the man again. I didn’t hear from him so I thought I was home-free.”
“And then someone broke into your house last night.”
“Selena told you?”
“No, I went to your place first. It’s trashed.”
“My house is trashed?”
“Didn’t you know?”
“No. I left rather quickly after I rammed a screwdriver into the intruder’s face.”
“Keep talking.”
She explained the situation as best she could. It had all happened so fast that she was short of facts.
“Why didn’t you call the cops once you got away instead of coming here to hide out?”
She hesitated. Selena had thought she was paranoid. Langston would likely think she was plain crazy, but… “I think Gary Packard was the man who broke in my house.”
“You couldn’t tell?”
“He was wearing a ski mask. Look, I know this sounds crazy, but when I saw the intruder, I thought it was the detective. He had the same build, the same voice, but more gruff—like he was trying to disguise it, the same as the man had sounded on the phone.”
“You can’t just accuse a cop of trying to kill you, Trish.”
“I know that.” Her frustration level skyrocketed. “But I can’t ignore all my instincts, either.”
Langston nodded and pushed back from the table. “It’s too late to try to figure this out tonight, but I’ll make a few calls and get some men on it first thing in the morning.”
“There’s no reason for you to get involved in this, Langston.”
“You asked for my help.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You sent Gina to me.”
“I was hoping you’d keep her safe while I got this figured out. I didn’t mean for you to come looking for me.”
He stood as if the conversation were finished. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
“Langston, you really don’t have to get involved. I’m handling this.”
“You’re hiding in the woods. That was a wise escape plan. It’s not a solution.”
He’d been cocky at nineteen. He was downright bossy now. But he was right, She didn’t have a plan and had no clue how to come up with one. She’d faced a lot in her life, but at least before, the cops had been the good guys.
He looked about the cabin. “Is there anything around here to eat?”
“Apples and potato chips that I picked up when I stopped to get gas. Fortunately, I got out of the house with my purse. That was it, except for the clothes I had on and my keys.”
“Which makes me doubly glad I raided Mom’s refrigerator before I left.” Langston took his cell phone from the leather holder at his waist and tossed it to her. “Call your daughter and tell her you’re safe while I get the groceries out of the car. She’s worried sick about you.”
“I’ve already tried to use my cell phone. There’s no service out here.”
“Mine’s satellite. It will work. The number’s programmed in under Mom.”
Mom. Jack’s Bluff. Names Trish remembered from years ago. The Collingsworths were a strong Texas family with wealth and political influence. That was Langston’s reality.
And if she let him into her life, if he found out the truth about her and her past, that reality might become her destruction. So no matter how tempting it might be to let him come to her rescue, it was a risk she couldn’t afford.
IT WAS TEN AFTER TWO in the morning, and Langston was yet to close his eyes or even to lie down. He really wanted to believe Trish, but her story was full of serious holes. The biggest