chips that accompanied it, paid for her meal and hugged Judy on her way out the door.
Going from homeless and broke, with nothing more than the wedding dress on her back, she now had an apartment, a job and a full stomach. Life was looking up. As she left Bob’s Diner, she looked both ways on Main Street, wondering which way she should go to get to Rider Grayson’s auto repair shop. With thirty minutes to spare before Jackson arrived at her apartment to drive her to the Ugly Stick Saloon, she had time to find the auto shop and maybe buy a few groceries. Removing the body would have to wait until after the town of Hellfire went to sleep. Then she’d have to start her life of crime by breaking and entering into the auto shop and figuring out how to move the body of a one-hundred-eighty-pound man.
Phoebe wondered if her personal trainer had a program for heavy lifting for the criminally inclined. Though she found nothing humorous in her situation, she couldn’t help a bark of laughter as she wandered through the streets of Hellfire.
Finally, she came to a building with Grayson’s Auto Repairs written in bold lettering on a sign positioned over the door. The only light inside came from a single bulb shining in the back of the building.
A dark sedan drove by on the street behind her, slowing as it approached where Phoebe stood.
She hunched her shoulders and continued down the sidewalk. In a small town, everyone knew or wanted to know everyone else’s business. If she stood too long in front of a building, she’d draw attention. Oh, hell, who was she kidding? The new girl in town would draw attention no matter what. Phoebe walked on.
The sedan kept pace. After a few steps, tingling spread down Phoebe’s spine. Had her father’s bodyguards or private investigators caught up with her? She walked faster. At the next corner, she made a quick left, ducking onto a street with only one street light halfway down the block.
Before the sedan had a chance to make that same turn, Phoebe sprinted to the end of a commercial building and turned into the back alley. As soon as she did, it was as if the light had been snuffed. Using only the moonlight and the distant and somewhat sporadic lights from nearby homes, she hurried through a maze of trash bins and pallet stacks. Footsteps behind her made her move faster, until she was running, leaping and stumbling over the obstacles in her path. Finally, she threw herself between a large metal rubbish container and the brick wall of a building.
Her breathing came in swift, shallow breaths, as she strained past the noise of her pulse pounding against her eardrums, and listened for the footsteps. By the sound of it, two people hurried her way, accompanied by an occasional curse and a loud crash as one or both of her pursuers crashed into some hidden object.
Hunkering low in the shadows, she hid and waited, praying the two would pass her by and abandon their search. The low tones of their voices indicated they were men. One paused on the other side of the container.
“Where did she go?” he whispered.
“How the hell do I know?” the other guy said. “I can’t see a damned thing.”
“Get moving. We have to find her,” the first guy said, moving farther away.
Phoebe waited a few more minutes before poking her head out of her hiding place. Her vision had adjusted to the deep gloom. Nothing moved in the alley except a stray cat casually strolling through as if nothing scared him.
Turning back the way she’d come, she hurried toward the rear of the auto repair shop and pressed her nose to the window, peering through the dingy glass. She could make out a couple cars with hoods open and parts lying on the floor of the shop.
God, she hoped Rider hadn’t found the body in the trunk. She suspected that whoever chased her down the alley had something to do with the body in the trunk. The only reason they would want her was because she must know Ryan was in there.
Then again, she
Going from homeless and broke, with nothing more than the wedding dress on her back, she now had an apartment, a job and a full stomach. Life was looking up. As she left Bob’s Diner, she looked both ways on Main Street, wondering which way she should go to get to Rider Grayson’s auto repair shop. With thirty minutes to spare before Jackson arrived at her apartment to drive her to the Ugly Stick Saloon, she had time to find the auto shop and maybe buy a few groceries. Removing the body would have to wait until after the town of Hellfire went to sleep. Then she’d have to start her life of crime by breaking and entering into the auto shop and figuring out how to move the body of a one-hundred-eighty-pound man.
Phoebe wondered if her personal trainer had a program for heavy lifting for the criminally inclined. Though she found nothing humorous in her situation, she couldn’t help a bark of laughter as she wandered through the streets of Hellfire.
Finally, she came to a building with Grayson’s Auto Repairs written in bold lettering on a sign positioned over the door. The only light inside came from a single bulb shining in the back of the building.
A dark sedan drove by on the street behind her, slowing as it approached where Phoebe stood.
She hunched her shoulders and continued down the sidewalk. In a small town, everyone knew or wanted to know everyone else’s business. If she stood too long in front of a building, she’d draw attention. Oh, hell, who was she kidding? The new girl in town would draw attention no matter what. Phoebe walked on.
The sedan kept pace. After a few steps, tingling spread down Phoebe’s spine. Had her father’s bodyguards or private investigators caught up with her? She walked faster. At the next corner, she made a quick left, ducking onto a street with only one street light halfway down the block.
Before the sedan had a chance to make that same turn, Phoebe sprinted to the end of a commercial building and turned into the back alley. As soon as she did, it was as if the light had been snuffed. Using only the moonlight and the distant and somewhat sporadic lights from nearby homes, she hurried through a maze of trash bins and pallet stacks. Footsteps behind her made her move faster, until she was running, leaping and stumbling over the obstacles in her path. Finally, she threw herself between a large metal rubbish container and the brick wall of a building.
Her breathing came in swift, shallow breaths, as she strained past the noise of her pulse pounding against her eardrums, and listened for the footsteps. By the sound of it, two people hurried her way, accompanied by an occasional curse and a loud crash as one or both of her pursuers crashed into some hidden object.
Hunkering low in the shadows, she hid and waited, praying the two would pass her by and abandon their search. The low tones of their voices indicated they were men. One paused on the other side of the container.
“Where did she go?” he whispered.
“How the hell do I know?” the other guy said. “I can’t see a damned thing.”
“Get moving. We have to find her,” the first guy said, moving farther away.
Phoebe waited a few more minutes before poking her head out of her hiding place. Her vision had adjusted to the deep gloom. Nothing moved in the alley except a stray cat casually strolling through as if nothing scared him.
Turning back the way she’d come, she hurried toward the rear of the auto repair shop and pressed her nose to the window, peering through the dingy glass. She could make out a couple cars with hoods open and parts lying on the floor of the shop.
God, she hoped Rider hadn’t found the body in the trunk. She suspected that whoever chased her down the alley had something to do with the body in the trunk. The only reason they would want her was because she must know Ryan was in there.
Then again, she
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