She shook her head, breathing hard. “I don’t think so. Maybe your brother got thirsty and stopped for a drink.”

  “How about you?” Finn asked. “Thirsty?” He was already offering her a bottle of water from the truck.

  “Thanks.” This time, she wouldn’t give anything to her K-9 because she knew from experience that he’d refuse while working.

  Three quick swallows was all Selena got before Scout decided on a direction and began tugging on the leash. She handed the plastic bottle back to Finn to free her hands and took off after her dog.

  They crossed at the next intersection, turning left on the far side and leaving Finn in the wrong lane to follow. Selena held Scout in check, waiting for the SUV to find a legal way to reverse direction and keep her in sight.

  Finn drove through the intersection, changed lanes and positioned himself to make a U-turn. Only he didn’t.

  Scout was straining at the leash. Selena held him back. Her pulse had already been elevated by running. Now it raced.

  She saw the driver’s door of the SUV start to open. Finn leaned out, looking down and to the front. Straightening, he waved at her and pointed to one of the tires.

  Traffic was too heavy and ambient noise too loud to shout at him and be heard. Selena made a wild gesture with her free arm, motioning him to proceed. When he didn’t, she used her radio, knowing Finn would hear her on the unit in her vehicle.

  “Drive.”

  She saw him shake his head and wave back. Thought she heard him holler, “Flat!”

  Accidental? Her blood ran cold. Unlikely. Their team SUVs not only used the best tires; they were checked regularly.

  Passing traffic contained more than one dark-colored pickup truck, not to mention myriad cars that could also harbor assailants. Tourists had thinned out now that skiing season was over, but there were still plenty of nonlocals filling the streets and complicating driving. Any one of them could be a threat, given past experiences.

  “Drive on it,” Selena shouted into the radio. “Get over here now.”

  She saw Finn start to comply, easing slowly into his planned turn and making for the lane next to the curb. The tire was more than low, it was so flat the rim nearly touched the pavement. Even if he had picked up a nail somewhere, it wouldn’t have lost that much air in the half block they’d traveled from the gas station parking lot.

  On him before he had time to leave the damaged vehicle, Selena slapped her hand against the driver’s door. “Stay in there and keep your head down. I’ll radio for backup.”

  “For a flat?”

  Shaking her head she pointed. “Not just a flat. I see two small holes on the sidewall.”

  “But...” Finn climbed out, ignoring her protests, and crouched to look. “You weren’t kidding.”

  “I didn’t hear any shots, did you?” she asked, scanning their surroundings as if trapped in a war zone.

  “No, but it’s pretty noisy out here.”

  “Yes.” Selena gave his shoulder a shove. “Back in the car. And roll up all the windows. They’re bullet resistant.”

  “What about Sean?”

  “He’s not a target.”

  “We can’t be sure of that.”

  “No,” she countered, circling and climbing into the passenger seat, “but I’m positive you are, and it’s my job to keep you alive, okay?” A hand signal sent Scout over the center console and onto the second seat, where he lay down.

  The set of Finn’s jaw told Selena how upset he was.

  “We’ll find Sean,” she said, “As soon as we get help, I’ll see about using Scout again. Right now, we keep our heads down and wait.”

  “I’ve been waiting for three years,” Finn said, obviously alluding to his jail time.

  What Selena wanted to say was that she had been waiting to be reunited with him for ten years. She didn’t say so, of course, but that didn’t keep her heart from insisting how true the thought was. It was as if a light had suddenly focused on Finn the way the beam of the flashlight in the cave had.

  The pull of Finn’s persona was palpable inside the closed vehicle. What Selena wanted to do was embrace him the way she once had and keep him from harm by sheer willpower. That was silly, of course. So was trying to keep from picturing them as a couple, although those images insisted on plaguing her.

  A far less acceptable scenario pushed its way into her consciousness, causing actual physical pain. She recalled Angela’s funeral and the vitriol spewed at her by her grieving parents. Their own funerals followed two and three years later, brought on by what doctors labeled broken hearts and self-medication with alcohol.

  Those memories brought a wave of sadness. So much loss. So much needless pain and abject loneliness. If it hadn’t been for her faith coming to the rescue, she supposed she could have gone the same way her parents had, drowning in a sea of hopelessness instead of reaching out to her heavenly Father for solace and trusting Him to stay with her despite so many people letting her down.

  And now there was Finn. Could he be the answer to her prayers? Did she dare even consider that? She’d felt alone for so long and gotten so comfortable that she was afraid to imagine lifelong companionship. Sensing the presence of God in her life was different than having a real person sitting next to her. Truth to tell, the Ruler of the Universe wasn’t half as scary as this living, breathing human being was.

  Flashing lights behind them jolted Selena and ended the random thoughts. She acknowledged the arrival of a sheriff’s unit by radio, then reached for the door handle.

  “Selena.” Finn touched her hand and she didn’t pull away. His deep voice was soothing, his fingers atop hers warm and comforting.

  She hesitated. “Yes?”

  “Be careful. Please,” he said quietly.

  There was unspoken affection in those simple words, and when Selena chanced to meet his gaze, she was astounded to see the same tenderness she’d been feeling was mirrored there.

  Tears she’d been able to hold at bay crested her lower lashes and began to trickle down her cheeks.

  Finn had turned in his seat. With his left hand, he cradled her face, and with his thumb, he whisked away stray tears.

  No words were necessary to melt her heart for him, to tie together more broken threads of their relationship until she feared she might weep in front of fellow officers.

  There was a light knock on the window behind her. Swallowing hard and sniffling, she opened the door and got out.

  Thirteen

  Within minutes, Finn was transferred to the sheriff’s car to follow along safely, and Selena was on her way on foot once more. Finn wasn’t crazy about being treated like a prisoner and having to ride in the back, but he was willing to bear any indignity for the sake of his baby brother.

  This time, extra units escorted them as if they were dignitaries on the way to a summit meeting. Selena was allowed to pull ahead with the K-9, which he didn’t much like, but at least she had armed backup if she needed it.

  He knew enough about Sagebrush to know they weren’t headed for the Double Y Ranch, so he assumed Sean was going home. At least he hoped so. Not only was there an advantage to be tracking someone on a bicycle, it also helped that the teen couldn’t easily reach outlying areas under his own power because they were more mountainous. Pedaling up and down steep, curving roads would have been difficult for even the most fit cross-country cyclist.

  Ahead, Selena had stopped and was waving with her whole arm. Finn leaned forward. “She’s found him?”

  No one commented. Finn didn’t care as long as they kept going and joined her ASAP. If he hadn’t been locked in, he would have jumped out and run to her.

  The patrol car eased to the curb and stopped in front of a modest home surrounded by similar others. It was old but well tended, and spring flowers were starting to bloom by the porch steps. The place wasn’t familiar to Finn, yet it somehow reminded him of his mother. Sean’s bike lay on the lawn, and he could see the teenager sitting on the porch.

  Selena waited until one of the deputies got out to accompany her, then approached the boy.

  Seeing Sean stand and step back, Finn gripped the grid in the car with both hands and rattled it. “I need to get out.”

  Although the remaining deputy laughed, he did radio Selena. Her reply of “Yes, check the area, then let him go” was music to Finn’s ears.

  He also did his own appraisal of the house and yard, scanning the quiet neighborhood while he waited to be released. Making light of the flat tire had been his way of soothing Selena, but he was no fool. He knew someone, perhaps multiple people, wanted him out of that vehicle. On foot, he’d make an easier target as well as lose the protection of the metal and tempered glass. If he had been an assailant, that was exactly the move he would have made.

  Jogging to the porch, he met his younger brother with force and grabbed a handful of his red jacket. “Why didn’t you go in?”

  “I did, when I hid from the other cops. Mom’s gone.”

  “She would be,” Selena told him. “Witness protection took her while we were chasing a stubborn kid all over town.”

  Finn realized she had to be right. He scowled at his teenage brother. “See why we wanted you to stay put? You could have gone with Mom.”

  “Yeah, but...”

  “No buts,” Finn said, his voice low, his tone as menacing as he could make it, considering how worried he’d been and how relieved he now felt. “Like I keep telling you, I get it. I do. I was just like you when I was your age. Everybody else was wrong and I was right. They picked on me. Didn’t treat me fairly. Caused me to act up when I should have been listening to sensible advice instead.”

  Without releasing his possessive hold on the teen’s shoulders, Finn glanced at Selena. “What now? We can’t just leave him here, and we sure don’t want him on the loose. We can’t trust him.”

  She was shaking her head and starting to smile. “We can trust him—to misbehave. I’ll check with the sheriff and see what he wants us to do.”

  Left with Sean while she stepped aside to radio, Finn continued to monitor the street. Police cars parked at the curb were probably enough to deter an assassin for the present. Later, when he went back to Selena’s house, there would also be the other K-9 officers and that tech-support woman. That was bound to help, although nobody could stop a bullet once it was fired.

  “Look,” Finn said, addressing his brother, “here’s how it is, okay? When you ran away, you put me in more danger.”

  “How?” Judging by the face Sean was making, he thought Finn was exaggerating.

  “Know why I didn’t arrive in Selena’s SUV? The tire was shot out on the way, that’s why. She let me drive while Scout followed your scent, and somebody flattened the tire to make me get out so they could shoot me.”

  “Naw, no way.”

  What Finn wanted to do was grab both of his brother’s skinny shoulders and give him a good shake. Instead, he stared at him. “Yes, way. We told you about the van wreck. That’s when it all started. Selena outwitted those shooters, but it’s not over. Whoever wants to get rid of me keeps showing up. I didn’t want to believe it at first, either, but I can’t deny it anymore and neither should you.” He paused for emphasis. “If you truly want to help me, and I think you do, then you need to back off, do as you’re told and let the authorities handle it.”

  Judging by the younger man’s continuing pout, he was far from capitulating. He did, however, refrain from arguing anymore.

  By the time Selena returned to the porch and knocked, Finn had convinced Sean to go inside. He opened the door. “Come in.”

  “We’re not staying,” she said. “The sheriff wants me to take you both back to my place. We’ll wait there until Sean can be safely sent to join Mary.”

  “Why wait?” Hearing Sean start to object, Finn stopped him with a raised hand.

  “It has to be handled secretly,” Selena explained. “If they try to move him right away, especially since he’s brought you out into the open and caused another attempt on your life, any activity is far more dangerous. For everybody.”

  “You were serious?” Sean gaped at his big brother.

  “Deadly serious,” Finn said. “Are you starting to get the picture?” Instead of a verbal answer, he got a reluctant nod. That was a start. It would do for now. His impressionable brother had had years to form erroneous opinions of the law and of authority figures. He wasn’t likely to do away with them all after a couple of lectures, no matter how sincere.

  “What about your MCK9 vehicle?”

  “It’s being towed to a police garage where they can inspect it for further damage and try to recover the bullets that flattened the tire. I’ll get it back as soon as forensics is done. It shouldn’t take long.” She gestured at the quiet street outside. “In the meantime, we’ll hitch a ride with Kyle as soon as he arrives.”

  “What about the others?”

  “Meadow and Isla are at the house, and hopefully Isla’s doing the cooking.” She rolled her eyes. “Remember how well I do in the kitchen? Well, Meadow’s not much better.”

  That brought a smile. “I do remember. I had hoped you’d have improved since those picnics we used to have.”

  “I still make a mean PBJ,” Selena quipped. “Other than that, if you want a hot meal, I’ll toast the bread.”

  “Fair enough.” Finn noticed the wary looks his brother was giving both of them. “What?”

  “Are you two...?”

  Selena was already shaking her head no by the time Finn did the same. “We had a history,” he said. “That’s all.”

  The teen’s drawn-out “Sure” did nothing to prove he bought the excuse.

  Finn understood. He wasn’t any more convinced than his baby brother was, and a sidelong glance at Selena for confirmation didn’t help one bit. Her expression was as confusing and ambivalent as he felt, all the way to the tips of his toes.

  * * *

  Supper was almost ready, the K-9s had been fed and were out in the fenced yard, and the kitchen was filled with the aroma of Italian food, thanks to Isla Jiminez.

  “They found another bullet hole in the SUV. Rear door on the driver’s side, .22 caliber,” Selena told Finn and the others as she ended a phone call. “Ballistics doesn’t have a match with anything on record. That’s the bad news.”

  Meadow looked across at her. “What about good news?”

  “The 9 mm slug taken out of Luke Randall was a match to the RMK shootings. At least that tells us it was our killer, not just an enemy of Randall’s using the RMK’s MO.”

  “So, you’ll be leaving Sagebrush?” Finn asked.

  Shrugging, Selena looked to her fellow team members. “Isla is heading back tomorrow, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Kyle, you and Meadow have a few more loose ends to tie up, and I understand you’re supposed to keep searching for Cowgirl.”

  “Those were our last orders,” Kyle said.

  Sounding eager and way too excited to suit Selena, Sean butted in. “Because you think your killer took her, huh?”

  She would have preferred the teenager not join their conversation, particularly since he shouldn’t even be listening. Unfortunately, before she could stop Isla, the tech expert answered, “Yes.”

  “That case has nothing to do with your brother’s,” Selena told the youth. “The only reason we’re involved in helping Finn is because I was assigned to escort the van after he left prison.”

  “Kinda handy, huh?” Sean was smiling.

  “I prefer to think of it as providential,” Selena countered. “It wasn’t planned.”

  “Ooookay.”

  “Might as well give up trying to convince him of anything,” Finn said. “I haven’t been able to.”

  “Yes, you have. He came back here with us, and so far he’s behaving himself.” She made an effort to smile at the teen in the hope of winning his cooperation.

  Sean’s nonchalant shrug reminded her of Finn. Actually, pretty much everything drew her thoughts back to her old flame. Poignant moments that had occurred years before returned as bright and clear as if they had just happened. So did the accompanying emotional baggage.

  Distracted, Selena almost let Sean’s next comment slip past her. “So, does that lying witness still work for dear old Uncle Edward?”

  Finn replied. “Who does or doesn’t work at the ranch is no business of yours. Got that? None. Forget you ever heard about anybody telling lies. And keep in mind that Edward is my uncle, not yours. You have no genetic ties to him.”

  “From what I’ve heard Mom say lately, that’s a good thing. “Why did you go to work for him in the first place?”

  “I wanted to get to know my birth family,” Finn said.

  “My dad is—was—a great guy,” Sean offered.

  “Yes. James Donovan was a fine man. You should be proud to be his son.”

  “You can claim him, too. He adopted you.”

  “I do claim him. And I honor his memory as best I can,” Finn said with tenderness. “He was a wonderful dad. The thing is, we inherit certain characteristics from our parents.”

  “How come Edward and Zeb were so different?”

  “Good question,” Finn told his brother. “Zeb was a kind, intelligent, fair man.” Selena had to repress a shiver when Finn said, “I pray all the time that I take after him, not Edward.”

  Wanting to reassure Finn that she saw nothing of Edward in his persona, she simply said, “No worries. You don’t.”

  * * *

  Encouraged, Finn explained in more detail. “I’m not sure how soon Edward figured out the genetic connections after I was hired at the ranch, but I suspect it didn’t take him long, especially since I have some of the quirks Zeb had, like the way I tilt my head when I’m thinking and my being left-handed.”