Utah, page 5
Liza laid the handgun across her lap.
Utah slipped behind the wheel, closed the door and shifted into drive. He glanced in his rearview mirror. “Damn,” he muttered and jammed his foot on the accelerator.
Liza glanced over her shoulder. A beam of light shined around the curve in the road. A vehicle shot into the open, roaring around the bend.
Had they remained where they were parked for a moment longer, the oncoming vehicle would have slammed into the back of Utah’s truck.
Bright headlights glared, lighting the interior of the cab.
Liza ducked low in her seat. What if the guards, Spike or Commander had caught up with her? Her heart hammered hard in her chest.
She turned her face toward Utah.
He squinted at the bright light blinding him in the rearview mirror. “Dim your lights, dude,” he muttered and adjusted the rearview mirror to deflect the glare from hitting him in the eyes.
Utah drove the highway, winding along the curvy road, going slower than Liza would have liked. Then again, she couldn’t see what he was seeing or dealing with.
When the road finally straightened, the vehicle behind them roared around them, matched their pace for a few seconds and then shot around Utah’s truck.
Once they’d passed, Liza sat up straight and watched as the taillights disappeared around yet another sharp bend.
“Look, you’re obviously running from someone?” Utah glanced her way. “Who is he? An abusive boyfriend or husband?”
Liza shook her head slowly. “No boyfriend. Never married.”
“A drug dealer you stole money from?”
She frowned. “I have a daughter. I don’t do or sell drugs.”
“If I’m going to help you, I need to know who you’re scared of—who to watch for. Who you’re running from?”
She turned away, staring at the window and her reflection looking back at her. Utah’s face was there as well. He wouldn’t stop asking until she told him something. Why not the truth? “I’m running from people who abducted Tayla and me ten months ago.”
“Jesus,” Utah said, lifting his foot from the accelerator. “Why did you ditch your truck?”
“It wasn’t my truck,” she said. “I stole it. They might have a tracker on it. They could follow me. I only needed it to get as far as I could before we abandoned it.” She gave him a crooked smile. “Thank you for helping me hide.”
His lips pressed into a thin line. “You could have warned me before almost going over the edge with it.”
“I didn’t think you would be keen on the idea.”
“Are the people who abducted you the same ones who put the bullet holes in the truck?”
Liza nodded, her gut clenching again as images of the guards at the gate flashed through her memory like an action-adventure or thriller movie. The other memory echoing through her thoughts was of Commander standing before all the recruits and trainers after they’d brought Teej’s body back into the compound. Commander had stared at the people gathered, his eyes narrowed, his face set in stone. “No one escapes. No. One.”
She hadn’t realized she’d repeated the words aloud until Utah responded, “But you did.”
“Yeah, until they find us.”
“Who are these people?” Utah asked.
Liza gave a bark of laughter. “I don’t know who they are. We weren’t allowed to call them by their given names. They used nicknames or callsigns. My trainer was Spike. The man in charge of The Camp was Commander. They called me Fly.”
“Fly?” Utah’s brow dipped. “Why?”
Liza shrugged. “I don’t know,” she lied. She knew they’d called her Fly because of her skill at throwing knives. She could make them fly through the air with the smoothest and deadliest precision. She still wore the pouch tied to her thigh. Her long jacket covered the knives. She was surprised Utah hadn’t felt them when he’d pulled her up from the cliff or when he’d scooped her up and sat her in the passenger seat of his truck.
Utah frowned. “You need to take this to the police.
Liza shook her head. “They can’t know where I am. If I go to the police, they’ll know where I am. They’ll find Tayla and me. They have a network across the whole state of Montana. Probably even into neighboring states. They’re watching. Someone will find out I’ve leaked information about the compound. They’ll come for us.”
Liza shook her head. “I can’t let them find me. I sure as hell can’t let them find Tayla.”
“Well, if your name isn’t Fly, what is your name?”
She snorted softly. “It doesn’t matter. That person no longer exists. She was wiped off the face of the earth ten months ago.”
Utah slapped his hand on the steering wheel. “It damned sure does matter. And you’re still the same person you were before this started. Just more…seasoned.” He gave her a gentle smile. “Tell me your name. Your family deserves to know you’re alive.”
She laughed. “The only family I have is here in the truck.”
He looked at her sharply. “What about your parents?”
“Dead,” she said, her tone flat. Emotionless. Spike would have been proud. Not that she gave a damn about the man who’d made her life miserable and then forced her to throw a knife at her daughter. He could rot in hell for all she cared.
“Siblings?” Utah pressed.
“None,” she replied.
His mouth twisted. “We have that in common. I’m an only child.”
“I wasn’t an only child,” Liza said. “My older brother died in Syria. He was in the Army. It broke my father’s heart. He wasn’t the same after they brought Ryan home in a box.”
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “What about Tayla’s father? Doesn’t he care to know his daughter is alive and well?”
“Ha,” Liza said. “She doesn’t exist to Nathan. He doesn’t exist to her. I prefer it that way. It’s better than having to explain to Tayla that she has a deadbeat father who never wanted her and would never visit. Better to have no dad at all.”
Utah nodded. “You and Tayla are on the run, but you can’t hide forever. If you take this information to the police or sheriff and lead them back to where they held you captive, they can shut them down.”
She leveled a tight gaze at Utah. “What part of they have people everywhere do you not understand? I don’t know how many training sites they have all over the region. One of those sites was overrun recently. They just moved to others. Some of their people came to the compound where we were being held. These people are like ants. You take them out in one location, and they’ll pop up in another.” Her hands curled into fists. “And they don’t just let you leave. I guarantee that they’re looking for me now.”
“Okay, okay. So, you don’t want to notify the police. What about a private company that can keep your whereabouts confidential?”
Liza shook her head. “I have to lay low to protect Tayla. That little girl is all I have. And I’m all she has.”
Utah stared straight ahead, his thumb tapping against the steering wheel. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything.
Liza was glad. She was done answering questions and needed time to think about what she would do next and where she and Tayla would go.
Finally, Utah turned toward her. “Let me help.”
When Liza opened her mouth to protest, he held up one hand.
“At least for one night. We can consider options tomorrow.”
She shook her head. “What was it you said earlier? You have a wedding to prepare?”
Utah muttered a curse under his breath. “You’re right. I can’t believe I forgot. But I promise that after the wedding, I can give you my undivided attention. We can figure out some kind of game plan.”
Liza’s heart warmed at the thought of this man, who didn’t know anything about them, offering to help them. Part of her wondered what was in it for him. “You’re not responsible for what happens to Tayla and me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Utah shot back.
“How so?”
“Have you never heard that when a man saves another person’s life, he’s responsible for that person from that point forward?” He poked his thumb toward his own chest. “I saved your life. Therefore, I have to make sure nothing happens to you or Tayla.”
“That’s a slick line of bullshit you’re spreading.” She turned in her seat to face him. “You don’t know us. You don’t owe me anything. If anything, I owe you my life. Why are you doing this?”
He shook his head back and forth, his lips curling in a sardonic grin. “Damned if it’s because of who I am.”
She stared at him, her brow puckering. “I don’t understand.”
“After ten years in the military, I left and went into private security, guarding contractors in Afghanistan. When I was done with that gig, I swore I wouldn’t go back into any kind of protection service. I came to Eagle Rock to shoot nails, not bullets. I was hired to help with the renovations of the Lucky Lady Lodge. I even turned down a job with a damned good protective service that provides security to individuals who need it. I didn’t want to go into that line of work. I came to work with my hands and rebuild a lodge.”
Liza frowned. “Then why do you feel like you have to provide our security?”
Utah laughed. “I can’t get away from it. It’s who I am. When someone is in trouble, I can’t stand by and do nothing. And sweetheart, it sounds like you and your little girl are in a whole heap of trouble.”
Liza stared ahead as they approached a town.
“That’s Eagle Rock,” Utah said. “We have to pass through and head out the other side to get to the lodge.”
Her pulse increased the closer they came to the sleepy little town. Before they passed beneath the glow of streetlights, Liza ducked low. The people who lived there might be asleep, but she couldn’t be sure. Better to err on the side of being too cautious than to show her face to a potential member of her captors’ network.
Utah slowed as they entered town and traversed the length of Main Street. From what she could see from her crouched position, the town was quaint, with a tavern, the usual banks and a real estate office. It didn’t take long to go from the southernmost point of town to the northernmost. Then they left the streetlights behind and continued until they reached a road to the left. Flanked on either side by overhanging trees, the path wound through a forest.
Soon, the trees thinned and eventually opened to a clearing with a huge mountain at one end and an old-time lodge perched against the side of the mountain’s rocky edifice.
“That’s her,” Utah said with pride in his voice. “We’ve been working on the Lady for the past few months. The renovations are nearing completion. Most of what’s left to do is in some of the guest rooms and a couple of the meeting rooms.”
“We?” she asked.
“Me and my team.” Utah grinned. “You’ll meet them tomorrow.”
Liza shook her head. “I’m serious, the fewer people who see me, the less likely someone will either intentionally or unintentionally say something about the woman and her small daughter who showed up in the middle of the night.”
Utah nodded. “I could introduce you as my cousin or something, who came in for Murdock’s wedding. It might throw off the network of informants.”
Liza’s brow knit. She wanted to take Tayla and disappear. With no money and no transport, she didn’t see how that could happen. Her head hurt, and she was so tired her thoughts were nothing more than a murky fog. She pinched the bridge of her nose.
Utah reached across the console and touched her arm. “Don’t think about it now. We’ll get in late enough that no one will see you enter the lodge. You and Tayla can stay in my room until morning. I’ll find somewhere else to sleep.”
She looked down at his hand, gently touching her arm and tried to remember the last time someone had been kind to her.
Her eyes burned, but she refused to cry. The situation was tough, but she’d learned to be tougher. Tayla needed a mama bear willing to fight to protect her from harm.
Her little girl also needed a safe place to sleep.
Sleep… As tired as Liza was, how could she sleep knowing Commander, Spike and their entire network would be looking for her and Tayla?
If Utah really was one of the good guys, could she trust him long enough to get some sleep?
Chapter 5
Utah parked on the far end of the Lucky Lady Lodge’s parking lot, away from the front lobby.
The building’s 1800s charm always made him proud of the work he was doing inside. Restoring such a beautiful structure gave him a lot more satisfaction than shooting evil terrorists. Although, ridding the world of terrorists had been rewarding.
He glanced across at Fly and shook his head. “You really need to tell me your name. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to call you Fly or Tayla’s Mama.”
She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “This place is beautiful,” she said. “A place I would love to come to for a vacation, not to hide out in case someone sees me and reports back to Commander.” She turned to face him. “Liza. My name is Liza.” Her hand rose to cover her mouth. “That felt weird to share even that little bit about myself. I had the distinct urge to look over my shoulder to see if anyone overheard me.”
“You really didn’t share names with others?”
Liza shook her head. “Punishment was harsh. I was horsewhipped for speaking out against my trainer when he slapped one of the women so hard he knocked her down.”
Utah’s hands tightened around the steering wheel, rage firing through his system. “Jesus, Liza, we need to notify law enforcement. These people need to be stopped.”
Liza glanced over her shoulder at her daughter without saying another word.
“Okay. We won’t talk about your options until the morning when you both have had a chance to sleep.”
“And you’ve set up for a wedding,” she said softly.
The wedding. How had he let himself get talked into helping?
Because he was the only one with any sense of style among his friends. He’d had his mother to thank for that. She’d been an interior designer and had dragged him around to many of her client’s homes and offices when he’d been a kid.
An only child, he’d spent more time with adults than other children. He really didn’t know what to do with kids, and even less with babies. Hell, he’d never thought about having any of his own. Anytime he was around friends with little ones of their own, he felt awkward. What did he have to say to a small boy or girl?
He looked at the sleeping child in the back seat. Thankfully, her mother was there to take care of her.
Liza stared at the building in front of her. “Are there security cameras?”
Utah nodded. “A brand-new system was installed just last week.”
“Is it tied to the internet?”
“I believe so.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “How good is the firewall to keep someone from hacking into the system?”
“I don’t know.” He reached behind her seat, fished a ball cap out of the pocket and handed it to her. “If you’re worried about being picked up on the cameras, wear this and keep your head down. The cameras are on the corners of the building. I don’t think anyone will be awake now, looking out the window—but just in case, you’ll be covered.”
She gave him a weak smile. “Thanks.” She tucked her blond braid into the cap and pulled it down low on her forehead, making her look like a young boy instead of the mother of a three-year-old. “How’s this?” she asked, looking up at him, her blue eyes round.
Something about her hit him square in the gut. She was too damned cute.
He frowned. “It’ll work. Let’s get inside. Morning will be here before we know it.” Utah pushed open his door and dropped down from the pickup. He rounded the front to the passenger side.
Liza still sat in the truck, staring at the building.
He opened her door. “It’s going to be okay,” he said. “Look, I trust everyone who lives and works here with my life.”
“That’s you,” she said softly. “For the past ten months, I’ve been with people who would just as soon end my life and threaten Tayla’s to get me to do what they want. That gives me some real trust issues.”
Utah nodded. “I get that. And you don’t know me from Adam.” He held up his fingers like a Boy Scout. “But I promise—”
“I know,” she cut in. “You’re one of the good guys.”
He grinned. “True, but that’s not what I was going to say. I promise to look after you and Tayla. I don’t expect you to trust me. But I’m thinking that little girl needs a warm bed and a decent night’s sleep. I don’t know much about kids. I’m betting that what you two have been through will leave its mark.”
Liza pressed a hand to her chest. “That’s what I’m afraid of. The best I can do is get her somewhere safe and let her know she’s loved.”
Utah held out his hand.
Liza hesitated, then laid her palm in his.
“Hang onto the gun,” he reminded her.
Her cheeks heated as she grabbed the weapon with her other hand.
Utah fought back a smile. He could have taken that gun from her several times, but if it made her feel safer, she could have it.
He helped her to the ground and then carefully opened the back door, knowing Tayla had been leaning against it. He unbuckled the seatbelt and gathered the wad of child and bulky jacket into his arms.
Liza held out her hands. “I’ll take her.”
Utah shook his head. “Let me,” he said. “I’m just going to carry her inside. You’ll be right next to me, holding the gun. I’m not going to steal her away or hurt her.” He glanced toward the end of the building. “If you don’t want the cameras to pick up the fact you’re holding a gun, you might want to tuck it into your pocket.”
Liza shoved the pistol into her pocket, keeping her hand inside with it.
She didn’t look happy he was carrying her daughter in his arms. He tried to look at everything from her point of view. Hell, he was a stranger. Why would she be comfortable or happy about it? For all she knew, he could be leading her into yet another nightmare, like the one she’d escaped.
