The Lawman's Last Stand. Vickie Taylor
me stranded in the middle of nowhere.”
Damn him. He had known. And yet he’d said nothing. How did he do it? Stay so blasted calm, so indifferent? Years of practice, she decided. That, and not having any feelings to begin with.
She recognized that as a lie before she’d fully formed the coherent thought. He’d felt something last night, when he’d kissed her. And he’d made her feel it, too.
Double damn him.
He pried the metal file out of her hand. “How far did you think you’d get? If that guy in the Mercedes didn’t chase you down, I would.”
“You make it sound like I’m the criminal here.”
“I’m still not sure you aren’t.”
“I told you I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“And I’m trying real hard to believe it—so hard that I just helped you cross state lines. Do you know how much trouble that could get me in if you really are a fugitive?” He dragged the hair off his forehead with his fingers and sighed. “I really want to believe you’re an innocent victim in all this. But you aren’t making it easy.”
His argument threw her. He was risking his life and his career to help her without even knowing who she really was, with only her word as proof that she hadn’t done anything to deserve the trouble following her, and all she could think of was getting away from him.
Well, maybe that wasn’t quite all she could think of. She lowered her gaze to the file in her hand. He thought she carried it for him. In a way, she did.
To protect him.
The notion was foolish, she recognized. The only way to truly protect Shane was to get away from him.
But even that probably wouldn’t work. She couldn’t see him giving up that easily. If she escaped, no doubt he’d feel compelled to come after her. And that would put him in the path of a killer.
Gigi was cornered. Her only choice was to let him turn her over to his friend in the Justice Department. It was the only way he would leave her alone. The only way he would be safe.
And the one thing most likely to get her killed.
She hung her head. “I said I’d go to Phoenix,” she said, watching numbly as he pulled the file from her stiff fingers and ignoring the tingle of sensation that erupted where he touched her. “I’ll go to Phoenix.”
“Damn right you will,” he grumbled.
She glared at him. “I’ll listen to what your friend has to say. After that, all bets are off.”
“Fine by me.”
“Until then, though, no more questions. I’m not telling you anything until we’ve met your friend and I’ve made up my mind what to do.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Still don’t trust me, huh?”
She gathered her strength, meeting his gaze directly. The harder she could be on him, the better. She didn’t want him feeling anything for her. The less he liked her, the more likely he was to leave her. “Don’t take it personally,” she said coldly. “I don’t trust anyone. Especially cops.”
“Great. You don’t trust me, I won’t trust you. We ought to get along just peachy.”
They settled into the Jeep. “For what it’s worth,” Shane said, his expression unreadable as he pulled onto the highway. “I wasn’t calling ahead to Phoenix. I called back to Utah to see if Bailey had caught the guy in the Mercedes.”
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