Raine on Me (21 page)

Brit held her tongue, realizing River would be too stubborn to listen to her. He didn’t know her ex-father-in-law the way she did. Kevin made Kyle seem like a harmless puppy in comparison. Where her ex-husband had been short-tempered and mean, his father had to be the coldest, cruelest, most devious person in existence. There would be no way he’d allow her or River to keep breathing when his precious and only child wasn’t.

“It’s going to be fine,” River assured her softly. “We’ll fire up the motor home and I’ll take you to my favorite fishing spot. No one but my brothers will be able to find us until that asshole is locked up tight.”

“That sounds great. Good plan.” Drake stood. “My friends in law enforcement are all over his ass and he won’t be able to stay off the grid for long since they froze all his assets. Rich people are helpless without funds.”

Ryder nodded. “I’ll pack up food supplies while you grab some clothes.” He crossed the kitchen. “We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come home.”

“And I’ll keep Nav and Trina at my place where they are out of harm’s way.” Drake pulled out his cell phone and smiled tightly. “It will be over before we know it.”

11
They have no clue how devious and cagey Kevin is
, Brit thought, keeping it to herself.

She feared River wouldn’t listen. The longer she stayed at the ranch, the more danger she put the Raines in. Her gaze locked on the handsome man standing before her and her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. He’d put his life in danger to save hers. She had to do the same.

She forced a smile she didn’t feel when River lowered his chin to gaze at her face.

“That sounds good but we should move my car. If it’s gone it makes it appear that I’ve left already and if someone shows up looking for me, they won’t try to search your land.”

“Good idea,” Ryder called out from across the kitchen while he shoved canned food into a plastic bag. “I’ll drive it over to Trip’s house and park it in that big shed he has.”

River hesitated and then he released her. “Go upstairs and just toss some of our clothes into my bag. I have to deal with your distributor cap.”

So that’s what he did
to my engine.
“That’s it? You loosened it? I could have probably fixed that.”

His shook his head. “I hid the damn thing. I didn’t want to take a chance on you knowing your way around an engine and be able to fix your car just by fiddling with it.

Hurry up. I want to get us settled in a camping spot and comfortable before the sun goes down. We napped most of the day away.”

Brit jogged upstairs, her mind working on how to save River. Even if they managed to locate Kevin and lock him up, that didn’t mean he couldn’t hire another killer to go after River. The only way to keep him safe was if Kevin had no reason to hate the man she loved.

She paused at the top of the stairs, acknowledging just how deeply she’d fallen for River Raine. If anything happened to him she wouldn’t be able to take the guilt or heartache. She’d rather set him free than bury the man who owned her heart. A plan formed. She could only think of one thing to do to make sure Kevin left River alone.

11
Chapter Thirteen

Brit froze inside River’s room, her gaze fixed on the spot where her ex-husband had died. Someone had cleaned away the blood but the memory of him slumped against the wall remained. Her emotions see-sawed between guilt at not being sorry over his death and the sheer relief that he’d never stalk her again.

She forced her gaze from the spot and moved toward her bag. The last thing she wanted to do was leave the Raine ranch but options weren’t on her side. She needed to deal with Kevin before there could be a chance of her having any kind of future contact with River. It only took her minutes to shove her things together since she hadn’t unpacked much.

When she reached the door she paused and turned to stare at the big canopy bed where she’d slept with River. Pain tore at her heart as memories of their time together flashed through her mind but then she forced her legs to move. Kevin would kill River and the only way to stop that would be to get away from him, contact her worst enemy, and lie about Kyle’s death.

Ryder had put two bags of groceries on the table and gave her a tense smile when she entered the room. “I didn’t pack any meat but Drake is getting a shotgun and shells for you guys to take with you. I don’t know if you hunt but River does from time to time and won’t let you starve. He’s a good shot.”

Brit remembered that fact since he’d gotten the drop on her ex-husband, thankfully.

“It sounds adventurous.”

Ryder chuckled. “Speaking of, you want me to come along?” His dark eyes lowered down her body. “Two men are better than one to make sure you’re taken care of.”

The sexual innuendo wasn’t missed by Brit. “No thanks. I’m a one-man kind of woman.”

“Too bad.” Ryder turned away, striding to the back door. “I told River I’d check the tires on that land boat of his. He’s taking you into the hills and the last damn thing you need is a flat out there.”

She paced, her mind working, until the back door opened again. She held her breath when River paused inside the door. He held up dirty, grease-smeared hands.

“Let me wash up and then we’ll head out. Did you grab me some clothes too?”

“I repacked your bag,” she lied. “I only carried mine down in case you wanted to add something to yours.” The smile she forced hurt and she hoped her pain didn’t show in her eyes while she stared into his beautiful, dark gaze. “You saved my life last night and now you’re in danger because of it.”

11“They’ll arrest that asshole. You heard Drake. He’s got a lot of friends who owe him favors. He’s forever assisting them with cases and has racked up a shitload of brownie points with them. They will go all out to track down Marthum and put him behind bars where he belongs.”

“Even in prison Kevin won’t let this go. You should have allowed me to tell the police I shot my ex. Kevin actually hired a hit man to come after you. You don’t think he could do that from prison?”

“They screen prisoner calls and visits. He’d be a moron to try to hire someone else with every word he says being monitored. Besides that, you heard Drake about Marthum having a bad heart. He won’t last long in there.”

River wouldn’t hear reason. He seemed to be counting on a lot of “what ifs”
—if
the prison actually paid attention to what Kevin did and
if
his heart gave out, he wouldn’t be able to try to get back at them. Brit knew nothing she could say would penetrate River’s hopeful mindset. He didn’t see how much danger her ex-father-in-law would be to him unless she did something to change it.

She dropped her bag and closed the distance between them, gripping his bared upper arms by curling her fingers around the muscles of his biceps. She rose on tiptoe and stared into his eyes. “Thank you. You not only saved my life but you’ve shown me that I’m not dead inside. You make me feel, River.”

His arms moved to wrap around her but then he jerked his hands back, grinning. “I don’t want to get you dirty but hold that thought. Heroes get kisses and then some, right?”

“You can kiss me now.”

River’s head lowered and she tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and sadness tinged her heart at the soft brush of his lips. When he pulled back she stared up into his handsome face.

“Hold that thought for about half an hour until we get set up at camp. I’ll show you a kiss and a hell of a lot more.”

She feverishly wished she’d be there to enjoy whatever he wanted to do to her.

“Okay. I am going to wait for you outside. I could use a little fresh air.”

“I’ll hurry. I’m just going to scrub this gunk off my hands and it will only take me a minute to grab my bag and the stuff my brothers put together for us.”

Brit hesitated to let him go. “I’m so glad I met you, River.” She meant that from the bottom of her heart. “I want you to know how much you mean to me.”

Something flickered in his dark gaze. “Hold that thought too. Tonight we’re going to have a long conversation about us. There are some things we need to discuss.”

“Okay.” With regret, she released his warm skin, dropped flat on her heels and stepped back.

River winked and then he left the kitchen to go wash up and retrieve the bag he believed she’d packed. She waited until she heard his boot loudly tap the bottom stair 11before she spun, leaned down, and grabbed her bag. Her free hand gripped her keys as she straightened and rushed to the back door. Time wasn’t on her side.

Luck graced Brit when no one waited outside as she exited the Raine home. She picked up her pace, ran to her car, and just threw her heavy bag onto the passenger side as she dropped into the driver’s seat. Her hands shook slightly when she shoved the key into the ignition and slammed the door shut. The engine started right up and she grabbed for the gear shift on the steering wheel.

Brit turned her head and stared up at the second floor of the house. She didn’t want to do this, knew she’d regret it, but River would stop her from trying to get Kevin to come after her instead of River. Her foot left the brake and the car shot forward.

* * * * *

“I can’t believe she did that,” River muttered, holding the mug of hot coffee Drake pushed into his hands. “She left me.”

“That’s what women do,” Ryder sighed. He sat down at the table across from his brother. “I’m sorry, bro. Maybe it’s for the best. Women are nothing but trouble.”

Anger burned through his shock at finding Brit and her car gone. He’d only been upstairs for a few minutes. Walking outside to discover her gone had stunned him at first, then enraged him. She hadn’t even said goodbye or left him a note. He’d rushed back to his room to check. The woman had just fled. Again.

“We’ll find her,” Drake swore.

“Maybe she was taken.” That thought left River cold. He released the cup and stood so fast his chair hit the floor. “Maybe someone grabbed her. I have to find her.”

“I saw her go,” Ryder admitted softly. “She was alone.”

“You just let her go?” River glared at his twin. “Why the hell didn’t you try to stop her?”

“I wasn’t close enough and I doubt she saw me. I was crouched down looking at your damn tires on that land boat of yours. She ran out the back door, jerked open her car door, tossed her shit inside, and took off like a bat out of hell. What did you want me to do? Try to chase her down by running after her? I didn’t even have my keys with me.”

“Yes!”

“Calm down.” Drake reached out a hand and gripped his younger brother’s

shoulder. “I called in another damn favor for you. I think by the time I get home I’m going to owe them. She is worried about your safety and she thinks Marthum is going to have a hard-on for killing you. Maybe she thinks if she isn’t around that he’ll go after her instead. She loves you.”

River’s mouth fell open. “What? She doesn’t love me. She couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

11“You’re dense.” Drake shook his head, letting his hand drop. “You didn’t notice the way she looks at you? I think you spend too damn much time with horses or maybe you landed on your head one too many times when you rode bulls. That woman is insanely nuts about you. She didn’t cut and run because she’s sick of you. She’s wrong but she thinks she’s doing the best thing for you. If she didn’t give a shit she wouldn’t have cared if you got hurt or not. She’d have stayed put and allowed us to protect her.

I’ve dealt with a lot of women in my life and I haven’t met one yet who wouldn’t use a guy she didn’t give a damn about if her life were on the line. She is putting distance between you because she knows she’s got a bull’s-eye on her back and wants you clear when a bullet comes at her.”

“Hey, she turned me down flat when I hit on her so she must love your ass.” Ryder smiled. “I’m much cuter than you are and way better in bed.”

“Damn it.” River ignored his brother’s bad joke. Helpless frustration gripped him so hard it hurt to breathe. “She’s out there alone and until Marthum is caught she could get killed.”

“I told you to handcuff her to your damn bed.” Ryder shrugged his broad

shoulders. “It’s about the only way a woman will stay with one of us Raines.”

“Shut up,” Drake ordered. “You’re not helping.”

“I’m just saying our track records with women suck.” Ryder walked to the fridge and pulled out a beer. “Instead of wedding rings, we need to put shackles on them. It would have changed my life if I’d locked my girl up. Drake, your wife wouldn’t have been able to divorce you. Hell, I bet Trip wishes he’d tied his wife to the bed too since she took off on him.”

“If I get her back that’s what I’ll do,” River promised. “And she’ll be lucky if I don’t spank her ass.”

“Kinky,” Ryder chuckled. “Can I watch?”

River lifted his middle finger, flipping him off. “No.”

“Enough, children,” Drake looked disgusted. “I just hope our side finds Brit before someone from Marthum’s side does.”

“Fuck,” River cursed. “I can’t just stand here doing nothing.”

* * * * *

“Are you listening to me?” Brit gripped the bars, watching the police officer who had pulled her over and arrested her. “What are the charges? I demand to know why I’m here.”

The station had to be the tiniest one ever, just a large room with a few desks and two holding cells. Brit couldn’t even pee in private, which irritated her. The police officer had left the room once to give her that private moment but it still irritated her deeply that he ignored her while reading the newspaper.

11“Hello? Can you hear me? I have rights, you know. I want an attorney or something.”

That got the man to lower his paper to glare at her over the rim of it. “Do you ever shut up?”

She glared back. “Not when I have no idea why you arrested me. I was only going four miles over the speed limit. Last I heard that only meant getting a ticket. My license, registration, and insurance are all up to date.”

“I allowed you to make a phone call. Don’t I get a few hours of silence for that?

You’re starting to give me a headache. I already told you that the judge has gone fishing and tomorrow you’ll get an arraignment.”