Guarding Hope

“Daughter? I didn’t know he had a daughter,” he muttered, unsure if it was even true because his eyes had been on the woman following him. She had to be stalking him.

“I did, but Hope’s a fucking adult, and she’s only been missing a few hours. Something smells fishier than the gulf. I could use your contacts in tracking her down.”

“I wouldn’t touch anything to do with Baxter Cummings with a ten-foot pole.”

His eyes moved with her all through the racks of goodies and snacks as she randomly picked up treats with hardly a glance at the items in her hand. He wondered if she enjoyed the ones she selected, or was she just as preoccupied as he felt?

“I know, but I think she’s in danger, and fuck if I can let that go. Call it whatever you will, but I can’t in good conscience let this go.”

“I understand you. What the fuck is she doing here?” Gage finally blurted out to Dax.

“She? She who?”

“When I arrived at the market, a pretty redhead was watching me, and now she’s in the gas station. She’s lurking, and I’m curious why.”

“Be careful. She could be a lure.”

“She’s fucking alluring all right. I’m gonna call you back later. I need to pay for my shit and see what happens. I’m not worried about the mini little thing. I’ll send you my friend’s info when I get back to the ranch,” Gage whispered, ending the call. He tucked his phone in his pocket and took his beer to the register and paid.

Hope couldn’t believe this was a coincidence that the man from the square was here. He had to have followed her. She tried to take a deep breath, but her emotions were too wild to steady herself. She dumped her treats onto the newspaper stand next to the register, and then scurried to the restrooms in the back of the store, needing to hide out until he was gone. The bus driver had given them fifteen minutes before he was pulling out again. That was all the time she would have, but maybe it would be enough.

Five minutes later, she exited the bathroom to see that the six-foot-two handsome man with short black hair and broad shoulders in a cowboy hat and boots was outside filling up a black-on-black SUV.

She grabbed a few items and headed to the register to pay for them, unaware that she’d now become stranded. The bus had pulled away just two minutes earlier.

“She’s on a Greyhound bus to Oklahoma,” Jimmy informed Cummings. He personally wanted to find the bitch who ran out on him at the doctor’s office. She’d gotten fucking lucky that there was a woman going into labor in the middle of the damn waiting room, sending everyone into full-on panic mode.

“Good. Can you get the route and tail her before she gets off?”

“Even better. I know the driver. I can get him to make an unexpected pit stop for us to get her alone.”

The first smile Cummings had since she escaped this morning stretched over his face. He stood up, headed over to his liquor sideboard, and poured himself a glass of aged bourbon. “Good. Call it in and hurry the fuck up. Navarro isn’t interested in waiting much longer. Don’t fucking come back empty-handed. Understood?”

“Gotcha.” Jimmy left the office and called his cousin to set up the plan. She would be in his vehicle in less than an hour later. He rubbed his hands together in angry anticipation. Fuck, he couldn’t wait to get his hands on the little bitch who could ruin everything for him.

Chapter 6

Gage had been watching the entrance to the gas station, waiting for her to come out. The bus pulled away, so the little doubt he had about the random tourist visit couldn’t work. It seemed like forever, so Gage decided to take a seat by an outdoor seating area to the side of the gas station store out of sight. He wanted to catch her looking for him, so he moved over to the benches with a large umbrella that gave him some shade, keeping the sun out of his eyes.

A few minutes later, a ding from the front door caught his attention. It had to be her. She came out and walked around for a moment with a surprised expression on her face. An audible gasp could be heard from her as she scanned around the empty gas station lot. She must be searching for the bus.

“Shit,” she muttered just as a vehicle pulled in. She darted between two pumps where the garbage can sat. She leaned against the frame of the pump next, plastering herself to the side so they couldn’t see her.

Gage noticed something peculiar was going on. She ducked behind his SUV the second they pulled into a parking spot in front of the convenience store. The two men that stepped out of the car were too obvious to be missed in their suits and sunglasses, standing out like sore thumbs.