Cowboy In The Crossfire(25)

With Ethan still clinging to him, Blake led her to a small, formal living room off the great room. Because it faced the back of the house, they were out of sight.

Blake knelt down, but Ethan just wrapped his arms tighter around Blake's neck. He sat on an oddly shaped sofa, looking much too big for the furniture, and planted Ethan on his lap.

"We're safe, buddy. That noise was just an old car."

Ethan peered up at Blake, his expression solemn. "Not a gun? You're not going to get dead like Uncle Vince?"

Amanda bit her lip to keep a cry from escaping. She started toward him, but Blake sent her a small shake of his head, and she paused.

"Where's your truck, buddy?"

Ethan stuck his thumb in his mouth. "In the tent."

Blake met Amanda's gaze, and she nodded. She didn't know what he was planning, but Ethan had started talking a bit about that night for the first time outside of his nightmares. She strode down the hall and after locating the truck headed back to the living room.

"I need your help, buddy," Blake said, his voice echoing from the formal living room. "Tell me what happened that night."

Amanda's breath caught as she hurried into the room. Ethan's frightened gaze flew to his mother's and he shook his head. "I can't talk about it."

"I need you to tell me, Ethan."

He shook his head back and forth. "I can't. I can't."

Amanda knelt beside the sofa and pulled Ethan into her arms. "That's enough," she hissed. "It's too much for him."

"We need to know," Blake said, his hand on her arm. "Until we do, we're sitting ducks."

"There's got to be another way," Amanda said.

She pushed the truck at Ethan to try to distract him, but he shoved it away and crawled off the couch to a small nook beneath an end table. He wrapped his arms around himself and rocked back and forth, muttering, "Don't talk. Be quiet."

He repeated the phrase over and over. Leo plopped down beside Ethan and whined, but even the dog couldn't offer her son any comfort. Amanda's heart ached for him. She scooted closer and gazed up at Blake. "Find another way," she repeated.

He shoved his hand through his hair as he stared at Ethan. "There's only one other option. I could go to Austin and search Vince's house."

Amanda reeled back on her heels. The idea of returning there... "We can't. It's too dangerous."

"You're not going anywhere. I know of a safe place you can stay. I'll go."

Half of her wanted to huddle with Ethan--protected and hidden--and to convince Blake to go with them, but his resolute expression was unbending.

"What if they're waiting for you?"

"I'm a cop, Amanda. I can handle myself. Besides, I have no choice. I have to go to Austin if you and Ethan want a chance at a normal life."

Amanda stroked her son's head, knowing what she had to do. "You can't search the entire house by yourself." She paused. "This place you want us to hide. It's really safe?"

"Logan's ranch is a fortress."

"You trust him."

"With my life."

"With Ethan?"

Blake nodded carefully. "What are you thinking, Amanda?"

She stood up and faced him, her own resolve strengthening. Now was the time to show her belief in Blake. To show Ethan his mother would protect him. "How long will the trip take?"

"If Logan loaned us a plane and pilot, we can be there and back in a half day."

Amanda took a deep breath. "Then I'm going with you. Now that I know Vince was hiding something, I can look for what's out of place. It'll take a lot less time than you on your own."

"It could be dangerous."

She shivered at the intensity of his gaze. "Any more than what we've already faced?"

Blake let out a long, slow sigh. "Probably not."

"Then I'm going. For Ethan's future. For the future Joey never had. Besides, you'll protect me. Right?"

"With my life." Blake grabbed his Glock. "Gather up everything. First thing tomorrow, we'll head to Austin and find that evidence."





Chapter Six


Early morning light slipped through the wooden slats of the Redmond barn. "That damn horse should be put down," Johnson muttered as he sidestepped the open stalls down the barn's aisle. He gave the one beast in the abandoned building a wide berth. "Last time, the thing almost killed me."

"Yeah. He came in handy, though," Detective Farraday chuckled. "Got rid of a suspicious witness, and drove Blake back to this Podunk town all in one shot."

Johnson shivered at the satisfied expression in the homicide cop's eyes. The man scared him. He didn't know how Farraday had passed the mental exam for the police department. He was one step removed from a psychopath. Maybe less than a step. Farraday liked hurting people. Liked watching them die. He and that horse should get a house together.

For a countless time in the last few days, Johnson's instincts fired another warning. He had to find a way out of this mess. The horse whinnied and pounded his hooves against the ground of his stall. If Johnson got out of this barn alive.

"I'm going through every inch of this hay-infested nightmare," Farraday said. "Be just like Blake to hide the evidence with this devil horse."