Angie ran the windows down and turned the key to off. The sound of the engine died, and Hannah heard the chatter of birds overhead and, in the distance, the whine of a vehicle tearing down the hill. She caught her breath and waited. Would he notice the turnoff? He’d grown up around here too, and he might remember this place.
She opened the car door and peered through the foliage hiding them. A flash of metal showed through the other side of the covered bridge. A tire thunked on wood. “He’s coming!” Panic closed her throat, and she looked wildly around for some place to hide.
“Get back in the car! I’ll get us out of here.” Angie started the car.
Hannah jumped back inside and closed the door with as little sound as possible. She didn’t put her seat belt on in case she would have to jump and run to escape Reece. The thought of him laying hands on her again made her head swim. She pushed away the weakness. Never again would she let a man hurt her like he had.
Holding her breath, she watched the truck rumble past up the narrow dirt road. Maybe he thought they’d cut through to the other road that way. “Hang on,” she said. “Maybe he won’t see us.” But even as she spoke, she saw his brake lights flash. “He’s spotted us!”
Angie accelerated away from their hiding spot and back onto the covered bridge. “You sure this bridge is built to take us running back and forth?” she muttered.
Plunging into the river would be better than facing Reece again. Hannah turned in her seat to peer behind them. “Yes.” Would she ever really escape him?
The car emerged from the bridge into the sunlight. “Back to town,” she said. “Let’s try to make it to the jail.”
Angie’s speedometer hit seventy by the time they crested the hill. The truck followed them, gaining every second.
“Faster!” Hannah cried. Her pulse battered the flesh in her throat. It seemed inevitable that she would have to face Reece. Maybe now was the time.
“I’ve got the accelerator clear to the floor.”
The city limit was just ahead. “We’re almost there.”
The truck gained on them until their bumpers were almost touching. Angie made a sharp turn down the street toward Matt’s office, even running a red light. The truck didn’t manage the turn, though the tires squealed as it tried. Angie turned at the next street and wove around until they were in front of the jail.
Just as she slammed on the brakes and parked, Reece’s truck came from a side street. He pulled in behind them and ran his window down. “Are you okay, hon? We need to talk,” he called. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Hannah’s hands shook, and she trembled all over. She threw open the door and tottered out. Breathing deeply, she tried to gather enough strength to run into the building. She couldn’t bear to look at his face.
The car door slammed behind her, then Angie was at her side, taking her elbow. “Let’s get inside.” She turned and faced Reece. “I’ve gotten a restraining order on you—get out of here before you’re arrested.”
Hannah dared a peek at him. He had a beard coming in. It was about an inch long. Was it to give weight to his lie about converting to the Amish faith? She could see the slash of dark suspenders against the white shirt he wore.
He waved and accelerated out of the parking lot. “You’ll have to talk to me sooner or later, Hannah.” The words rang through the open window before his tires squealed on the pavement and the truck zoomed away.
Hannah’s shaking began to wane, and anger took its place. He couldn’t do this to her, not anymore. Men like Reece always got away with their crimes. And she could have kicked herself now that it was over. She’d let her fear drive her. If only she’d mastered it and confronted him, maybe she would know more about the little girl. She needed to find some backbone.
MATT STUDIED THE women. Both were clearly shaken. Hannah was pale, and she stood twisting her hands together. Tears pooled in her eyes. Even her friend Angie paced the sidewalk, her black hair bouncing and her brows drawn together as though she wanted to bite someone.
She stopped and pointed a red-tipped finger at him. “So, Officer, what are you going to do to protect Hannah from that madman?”
He thought about correcting her. Detective. He’d fought hard for that title. “I’ll put out a warrant for his arrest, bring him in, and talk to him.”
“Talk to him? What good will that do? Talk rolls off the back of a man like him. You’re just protecting him because he’s one of you!”
Matt spread his hands out, palms up. “He’s not one of us. We’ll bring him in and tell him he can’t break the restraining order.” His gut said Hannah needed protection. He had one dead body, and he didn’t want another murder on his desk. “I’ll arrange for a car to drive by.” Besides, he wanted Reece out of commission and as far away from Caitlin as possible.
Hannah tipped up her chin. “Surveillance isn’t going to stop Reece.” Ajax pressed against her leg and whined. She rubbed his ears, and her shoulders relaxed.
“It might discourage him,” Blake put in. He put his pen away.
She shook her head. “He has total contempt for law enforcement. He thinks he’s above it all because he was a deputy himself once.”
Maybe he still was. “What’s he doing now?”
“Last I heard he was a guard for a big corporation in Detroit. He lost his job on the police force there after he beat up a drunk. If it’s true he joined the Amish church in a district in Shipshewana—which I doubt—he would have to be doing something else.”
“Do you believe him?” he asked her.
She didn’t answer right away. When he thought she was going to refuse to talk about it, she finally gave a tiny shrug. “I don’t want to believe him, but he might have.”
“Why would he do that?” The man Matt knew hated being told what to do. Matt couldn’t see Reece taking orders from a bishop.
“He thinks it would add to the pressure to make me go back to him.”
Matt didn’t ask her if the pressure would work. The torment on her face made it clear that such a circumstance would make her decision harder. “So where are you staying? You still at your aunt’s?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to bring more trouble on her head. She has enough with her son’s murder and the Molotov cocktail last night.” Hannah glanced down the street. “I could stay at the bed-and-breakfast out at the maple farm.”
“Too remote. And it’s probably not good to stay with your aunt either. She’s in the middle of nowhere too.” He thought for a minute. His rental cottage was one block over with plenty of nosy neighbors. It was empty right now. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out his keys. “I own a rental close to the station. There are two bedrooms and neighbors who would shoot an intruder on sight. You can stay there.”
She shifted from one foot to the other and looked down at the keys in his hand. “Thank you. I’ll pay you for it.”
“It will only be a few days.” He pressed the key into her hand. “It’s over on Water Street. 303. White with blue shutters. Wait, I’d better go with you so the neighbors don’t call me to tell me someone has broken into the place.” He walked to his SUV, then got Ajax loaded in the back.
“Hope you know what you’re doing, partner,” Blake said.
“You got any other ideas?”
“She’s not your responsibility. We do the best we can.”
Matt shot him a look of disgust. “And maybe get another dead body. I don’t understand what’s happening yet, but I intend to.”
Blake shrugged. “We can’t play bodyguard for everyone.”
“You’re all heart, Blake.” But what did he expect from a guy who would cheat on his wife? He pushed away the thought of his lies to Hannah. That was different. “Follow me,” he told the women. He got in his vehicle, then waited until they climbed back into their car before leading them the short distance to his house.
Parking in front, he saw that the grass needed to be cut and the shutters could use a new coat of paint. Funny how he hadn’t noticed until he was bringing guests. He let Ajax out, and the dog raced to sniff at the other car’s wheels.