Love Inspired Suspense June 2014 Bundle 2 of 2: Forced Alliance\Out for Justice\No Place to Run (48 page)

“You shouldn't be alone.” Matt hated the thought of her being isolated in the country, especially now that someone had blown up her car. He hadn't seen another vehicle on her property.

“I'll be all right.”

“No. The situation is escalating way too fast. We need to discover who's behind these attacks, especially since you're now without transportation to even try to get away if someone comes after you. I don't want our next visit to be in the morgue.” If she was going to be obstinate, he'd have to scare her into doing the right thing.

Lorie gulped.

“Matt's right. If you won't stay with us, what about your parents?”

“I can't take this danger to them any more than to you. I'll stay in a motel if I have to, but I don't want to put any of you at risk.”

Jen shook her head.

“A motel won't let you bring your pets.” Matt hoped he'd said the one thing that would get through to the stubborn little mule. “I'll run you out to your place, we can pick them up and then I'll take you someplace safe.”

“Where?”

“My family's ranch.”

“No way.”

“Way or else.” The words his nieces and nephews used so often popped out before he could stop them.

Jen nodded. “Great idea.”

“No. Jen!” The tone in Lorie's voice was desperate.

“It's safe, and they have plenty of room, what with all the guesthouses. It couldn't be better.”

“But I don't want—”

Matt interrupted. “I'll stay there, too, to keep an eye on things, so everyone will be under police protection. You won't be putting anyone in danger. You can call your parents from there, or we can stop by, if you prefer.” He grinned. “And we take pets.”

“I can't afford the Rob Roy Ranch.”

“That's the beauty of it. As one of the owners, I can put you up for free.”

Matt could see Lorie's hackles rise. “I don't take charity.”

“This isn't charity. This is official protection.”

“But—” Lorie winced as Jen backhanded her upper arm. “Ow!”

“Will you just take the man up on it?” Jen sounded irritated. She probably was. She should have been home at least ten minutes ago. Jen dug out her cell phone as the fire chief walked over from the smoldering hunk of melted metal and plastic that had once been Lorie's car.

“Fire's out, ma'am, but I have a few questions.” He nodded at Matt. “Mac. Good to see you.”

They bumped fists.

“Can it wait until morning, George? I think Ms. Narramore's about done in.”

“I'd rather take care of it now, but I can see you're right. Let me know where I can find you, Ms. Narramore.”

“Thank you.” Relief colored her voice.

“She'll be at Rob Roy Ranch in one of the guesthouses.”

Kershaw nodded. “I'll call you in the morning, then. You have a cell phone?”

Lorie rattled off the number, then reached out and touched the chief's arm to stop his departure. “What about my car?”

“Total loss, I'm afraid.”

Tears welled up in Lorie's eyes. She must really have loved that car. Matt knew they'd made the trip all the way from San Diego together. In a few minutes it had gone from being a piece of home to a pile of smoldering rubble.

“I guess I'd better get my purse.”

“You mean this?” Jen slipped Lorie's shoulder bag off and held it out to her. “I picked
it
up after I picked
you
up.”

“Thanks.” Lorie clutched the bag as if it were a life preserver. Matt noticed that Jen had clipped to the shoulder strap Lorie's now-useless car keys, which must have fallen from her hand in the explosion.

“Let's go round up your pets.”

Lorie blinked at him for a moment. Being in shock, he expected it would take her a while to return to reality.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

“Keep her safe.” With a couple of chirps, Jen opened her own car door. Nothing happened except the lights came on. “Guess my car's fine.”

“I wonder how they knew to target mine....”

Matt placed a hand on her shoulder and steered her at a leisurely pace toward his SuperCrew F-150. “You still had California plates.”

Lorie nodded.

“My insurance company isn't going to be happy.”

“Don't worry about that tonight. You need to get somewhere safe so you can rest. You can think about things again tomorrow.”

As she clicked the seat belt into place, she looked over at him, a wry expression on her face, visible from the cab's overhead light.

“You're right. But I still have to call my folks and let them know about this before they hear it on the news. Not to mention...” Her voice trailed off as Matt started the engine.

She didn't tell him what she meant, but he could imagine. She was probably worried about her parents' reaction when they heard she was in protective custody on Rob Roy Ranch.

The dusk-to-dawn lights were shining when Matt drove Lorie up to her old farmhouse. The dog ran at his pickup, barking. Matt stopped the truck when it looked as though Colleen would throw herself under the wheels.

Matt got out, went around to Lorie's side of the pickup and opened the door. He held out a hand.

“You didn't have to do that.”

“You're hurt, and besides, I'm a gentleman.” He grinned. “I know that's a foreign term these days, but my family brought me up right. At the risk of being hit with handbags, I still open doors for ladies.”

Lorie chuckled and accepted his hand. Once again, electricity coursed through his arm. Matt wondered whether she felt it, too.

Maybe she had. Her voice was a little breathless as she stepped down from the running board. “I won't be long.”

“Let me go in first—I need to check the place out for you. Remember, they know where you live. Then I'll help you round up the animals.”

Colleen pushed her nose into Lorie's hand. “Hey, girl.” Lorie petted her and started when Colleen whimpered and backed out of reach. Lorie pulled her bloodied hand away in shock. She looked up at Matt. “She's hurt.”

A premonition clutched at Matt. If Lorie's attacker had been to the house and hurt the dog, then more damage was likely. What would they be facing inside the house?

“Careful.”

Lorie unlocked the front door and switched on the living room lights. Gasping for breath, she froze in the doorway.

The place had been wrecked.

“Stay back.” Matt drew his sidearm and proceeded into the living room, picking his way through the broken bric-a-brac that littered the thin rugs covering the wide plank floor.

Behind him, Lorie was checking on the dog, making little crooning noises.

Aside from the contents being trashed, there didn't appear to be any serious structural damage. Matt switched on lights as he went from room to room, taking in the destruction.

Her bedroom was a large room on the east end of the house. In the middle of the bed, pinned to the shredded remains of a quilt with a long, thin knife, a note screamed:

EVERYTHING YOU HOLD DEAR IS FORFEIT.

Senses on alert, Matt felt rather than saw Lorie enter the room.

“No, stay back.”

“I—oh. My quilt...” Her voice was mournful.

He glanced at her. The dog stood at her side, blood visible on the shaggy coat.

“They've done all this and all you can say is ‘my quilt'?”

“Mamaw made it. For my tenth birthday.” Her hand flew up to cover her mouth, as if she could hold back the sorrow.

“We've got to get you out of here and under protection immediately.”

Lorie nodded. “If they've left me any clothes, I'll get packed.”

The overturned walnut armoire held nothing but rags. The perp had even broken the heels off her shoes.

“Overkill.” Matt's voice held contempt. “If they'd just wanted to make a point, they could have gone to a lot less trouble. They just did this to be cruel.”

Lorie let out a sharp sigh. She sounded frustrated. “Well, I obviously can't get anything else out of here. Everything seems to be badly damaged—including Colleen. I don't even know where the cats are. I'm afraid they're either hiding or dead.... Please, Lord, don't let them be dead.”

Lorie's launch into prayer in the middle of speaking with him encouraged Matt.

Rubbing her eyes as though she could wipe out the desolation surrounding her, Lorie set her shoulders back. “We might as well go. Maybe you can stop by the Supercenter and let me pick up a couple of things for the night. Then we can drop Colleen off at the animal hospital.”

“Let's look for your cats first.”

She actually smiled at him, a real smile this time. With a hand on the dog's side, she walked through the rest of the old house, calling her cats' names as she picked her way through the debris.

The kitchen door stood open, the screen door unlatched. Lorie poked her head out the door and called, but the cats made no response.

“I think they must have escaped through the screen door when whoever did this showed up. At least I hope and pray so!”

Matt nodded, holstering his gun but remaining alert. When they'd locked the doors again, Matt phoned the situation in from the pickup. The night dispatch listened intently, and said to call back if there were any further developments.

Lorie fastened Colleen's collar through the seat belt in the truck's backseat before climbing in next to Matt. She seemed dazed and exhausted. Matt wanted to tell her everything would be all right...

But he couldn't lie to her like that. The creep who was after her was escalating his attacks. And things would get worse before they got better.

SEVEN

A
s they drove toward the outskirts of Daingerville, Lorie tried to focus on her surroundings, the vehicle lights zipping by, but her mind replayed everything that had happened over the past few days. Would the nightmare never end?

Matt stopped the car at the animal hospital. It was way after hours, but someone was usually there in case of emergency. As Lorie got Colleen out of the truck, Matt rang the after-hours bell.

“Come on, girl. I know it hurts.”

Lorie felt like throttling whoever had injured her dog and scared off her cats, not to mention shooting at her, trashing her house and blowing up her car.

There's been enough violence and destruction. Lord, please, help me. I don't want to feel this way. The fear and unforgiveness are too much for me.

The door opened as Lorie led Colleen up the concrete walkway.

“You have an emergency?”

Lorie looked into the friendly face of a former classmate. Ginny Travis had always been an animal lover.

“Hi, Ginny. Mom told me you'd become a vet, but I didn't know you worked here.”

Ginny smiled. “Yep, I'm Doc Travis these days. Good to see you, Lorie.” She brushed a strand of flyaway strawberry-blond hair out of her eyes. “What's the trouble?”

Matt spoke before Lorie could. “Somebody broke into Lorie's house and hurt the dog.”

“Oh, no! Let's see.” She looked down at Colleen, assessing her in the security lights. “This looks bad. What happened?”

“I'm not sure exactly. I think Colleen must have tried to stop the intruder.”

Concern and warm competence glowed in Ginny's face. “Bring her on in to Exam Room 1. We'll be able to see better in there.”

Daingerville Animal Hospital was bigger than Lorie remembered—though admittedly, she hadn't been there in years. Since the dog had already had all her shots when her parents presented Lorie with her, there'd been no occasion to visit the vet. She followed Ginny and Matt, bringing Colleen, who appeared to be upset by the various medicinal smells.

“It's okay, girl. I'll be right here with you.”

Colleen whimpered as she accompanied them into the exam room. The three of them managed to get her up onto the table, which Ginny had draped with a large towel to keep the dog from getting cold.

Ginny got a good look at Lorie. “Looks like someone hurt you, too.”

“Yeah, well, it hasn't been a banner day. How's Colleen?”

In the bright examining lights, Lorie could see where someone had hit Colleen with something sharp. It probably had been enough to send the dog running for cover.

“Well, the good news is that it doesn't seem life threatening. It doesn't look as if she'll need stitches, either. The bad news is, aside from the cut, she also has a lump. We'll clean the wound, put on some medicine which she won't like a bit, and then we'll bandage it. How does that sound?”

“Like a plan.”

“You have vet insurance?”

“I wish.”

Ginny chuckled. “That's what they all say. If you have animals, it's worth considering.”

Lorie and Matt held Colleen still as Ginny went through the treatment. It wasn't as bad as Lorie had feared, but Colleen did squirm and protest. In addition to the bandage, Ginny put a cone collar around her neck to keep her from biting the bandage away.

Ginny checked Colleen's eyes and tested her reflexes, before nodding.

When it was done, they lifted Colleen down off the table.

“I don't think it's a serious injury, but keep an eye on her if you can over the weekend. If she starts showing signs of concussion—dizziness, upset stomach—either give me a call or bring her back in. And you should be able to take the collar off her in a few days. We'll make a follow-up appointment for next week to make sure she's healing properly.”

“Okay.”

“Let's run this through the computer, now that she's taken care of. I'll get the paperwork in order. I should have done that first, but I can't stand to make an animal wait while its people fill out forms. They don't understand.”

Lorie smiled. “You always did care more about the animals than people.”

“Some people, for sure.”

Lorie filled out a new-patient form for Colleen, putting in all her contact information, most of which would be wrong for the next few days, until it was safe for her to go home again. If it ever was.

“At least the cell phone number is right. I'll be staying at Rob Roy Ranch until things settle down.”

Ginny brightened at that news. “That's good. Colleen should be happy there.”

“And safe.” Matt's voice warmed Lorie like hot chocolate on a cold night.

“Let's set the appointment for next Friday at—two o'clock okay for you?”

Lorie nodded as she handed Ginny a credit card. After it cleared, they were ready to go.

Ginny gave Lorie a smile as she handed back the card. “Now that I know your number, let's get together for coffee.”

“You may want to rethink that until after they catch whoever it is who's threatening me.”

“We'll get together for coffee.” No hint of compromise in her voice. Ginny reached out and petted Colleen. “After church Sunday morning good for you?”

Lorie smiled. “I may not be able to make it Sunday, but soon.”

“Great! I'm so glad you're back in town.”

“Thanks, Ginny. Me, too.”
Despite everything.

As Lorie fastened Colleen back into the truck seat, a sense of connection with Matt flowed through her. Maybe it was all the talk about church. Maybe it was relief that Colleen was going to be okay. For a brief moment, Lorie let herself relax, ignoring the intensifying pain in her arms.

They cruised through Daingerville, passing the collection of shops and buildings around the town square. At this hour, everything was closed and shuttered. The old gaslights glowed softly, illuminating their hanging baskets of multicolored petunias. Matt headed the pickup toward the Supercenter on the highway.

A few minutes later, Matt pulled into the parking lot and circled slowly, looking for a place.

“I'll come in with you.”

Lorie shook her head. “I won't be long. Somebody needs to stay with Colleen.”

In the glare of the overhead lights, Matt's eyes were warm and concerned. “I don't feel right about your going in alone.”

“Then take me on to the ranch. I'll get what I need in the morning.”

“You'll need some basic stuff tonight.”

Since she hadn't found a single undamaged piece of clothing in the house, Lorie knew Matt was right. The ranch guesthouse probably had amenities like toothpaste and shampoo, but not nightclothes or slippers. What to wear to work on Monday loomed large in her thoughts. Lorie didn't ordinarily buy work clothes at the Supercenter, but she could make an exception for now.

“Let me go in by myself. I'll be fine. They have all those cameras. If anybody tries to bother me, I'll call for help.”

Matt slid the car into a parking spot and turned off the engine.

“Hand me your cell phone.”

Puzzled, Lorie handed it over. Matt punched a few buttons. A moment later, apparently satisfied, he handed it back.

“You didn't have anything special on speed-dial 9. Now you do. If you need me, call 9. I'll be right in.”

A little glow of warmth touched Lorie's heart. She hadn't expected Matt to go that extra mile. Of course, maybe he was just doing his job, preventing her from being attacked. Maybe it was only a little deputy work. Sure. That must be it.

“Thanks.” Lorie stuffed the phone into her pocket and activated the Bluetooth device at her ear. “It shouldn't take long. Maybe twenty minutes. Ten if I hurry and don't get stuck in a long line. Oh, should I get a few groceries while I'm here?”

“See, that's why I should come with you. I could point out the things you won't find at the ranch.”

“Honestly, I'll feel much better with you keeping an eye on Colleen.” Lorie peered over the backseat. Colleen stretched and lay down, sighing.

“Hurry back.”

Lorie nodded. She had no intention of dawdling.

Once inside the store, Lorie grabbed a bag of Colleen's favorite dog food, then headed for the women's department.

As she moved through the selection of Misses sizes looking for a shirt and skirt, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Recognizing the sensation for the warning it was, Lorie stopped to look around. Someone was watching her.

After one complete circle, Lorie hadn't spotted anyone staring in her direction, and started to feel grateful that her initial panic hadn't made her phone Matt. Would he have come charging in here, gun drawn, scaring everybody?

Glancing up, she noticed one of the smoked-glass camera globes. Well,
naturally
she was being watched. Everyone was.

Not that there were too many people here on a Friday night after 10:00 p.m. Lorie shook off the spooky feeling and chose a couple of shirts in her size without trying them on. She might not feel like shopping tomorrow after everything that had happened today.

Picking out a skirt and a pair of jeans, nightclothes and underwear, Lorie moved to the limited selection of dressier items. She found something immediately. She wondered what Mom would say if she showed up at First Church in a dress from the Supercenter. In spite of everything, she smiled at the thought. First had a reputation for stuffiness.

Her own church wouldn't mind. Wolf Hollow Community was a little church, and, being out in the country, people often showed up in work clothes. Of course, she might not be going to her own church on Sunday. Matt might insist she accompany him to his. A little trickle of warmth settled in her interior at the thought.

Lorie shook herself, went to the shoe department and grabbed house slippers, shower shoes and a pair of dressy gold sandals for Sunday, in case she couldn't shop tomorrow.

Lorie's cell phone started playing Mozart in her ear, and she jumped.

Lord, I'm nervous as a feral cat. Please keep me safe.

She pressed the button on her Bluetooth earpiece. “Hello?”

“Are you all right? It's been twenty minutes.”

Matt. Lorie sighed with relief.

“Yes. I'm sorry. It's taking longer than I thought.”

“Did you remember your vitamins, makeup, little stuff like that?”

“No. I was concentrating on the big stuff.” The memory of seeing her makeup, toothpaste and toiletries smeared all over her bathroom, not to mention the stench of three combined perfumes overpowering the spilled shampoo, washed over her again.

Some unknown enemy had gone into her house and deliberately ruined all of her things. Someone had left three threatening notes. An enemy had shot at her, blown up her car. Someone who hated her
had injured Colleen.

Apparently the silence on her end made Matt nervous.

“Do you need me?”

Yes.
But she didn't want to need him. Didn't want to have to need anyone in order to feel safe.

“How's Colleen?”

“Sleeping soundly. She'll be fine if I leave her.”

Lorie hesitated only for a moment. The sense of being watched was too strong to ignore, security cameras or no security cameras.

“Okay. I'll meet you by the vitamins.”

“Be right there.”

A couple of chirps from her earpiece let her know he'd disconnected. As
Lorie aimed her basket toward the front of the store, the sensation of being under observation heightened. All the fine hair on the back of her neck rose to attention.

Rules from the self-defense courses she'd taken in California echoed in her brain.
Always walk purposefully, as though you have a definite goal and destination in mind. Look confident. Criminals would rather attack people who appear weak or frightened.

Straightening her spine, Lorie strode toward the pharmacy. If someone was going to bother her, she refused to be an easy target.

At this hour, most of the people she saw in the store were employees, though a few tired parents pushed carts with cranky babies on board. Nobody seemed to be at all interested in her. Still, if it wouldn't have looked weird to run, Lorie would have flown down the aisles to the pharmacy.

* * *

Matt looked up from the multivitamin shelf as Lorie raced toward him with a shopping cart. She had to be breaking the speed limit. Fortunately, no one was in her way.

“In a hurry?”

Lorie screeched to a halt two seconds before the cart would have hit him.

“Um. No. Not really.”

Matt gave her a look. “What's really going on?”

“Nothing. I mean, it felt like someone was watching me, but I didn't see anybody.”

Matt gave the aisles behind Lorie a quick once-over. No one there. His senses jumped to high alert.

No one had asked Matt to look after Lorie, officially, but it was something he'd had to do. The Lord had nudged him as surely as if He'd been standing at his shoulder when Matt made the offer of a cabin at the guest ranch.

“The sooner we get out of here, the better.”

“You're not laughing at me?” Her voice sounded relieved.

“No. I'm not humoring you, either. Grab some vitamins and a toothbrush, and we'll get out of here.”

“But—”

“No buts. Groceries can wait. We always have plenty of food in the ranch kitchen.”

Lorie nodded.

The young cashier at the nearest checkout counter looked tired, the purple spikes of his hair matching the shadows under his eyes.

“Find everything you needed?”

“Yes, thanks.”

Lorie ran everything through the checkout without speaking. Maybe she was more spooked than he'd thought. Given the day she'd put in, he could understand.

It was a relief to walk outside into the velvety night.

Matt was on high alert as he helped Lorie carry the bags out to the truck, but couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. If someone had been following her, his presence must have frightened them off.