Another mosquito buzzed around his neck. So the guy knew the sheriff. Big deal. “And that matters because…?”
“Because if we get the local law involved, our asses will be in trouble.”
Tim was such a worrier. Always had been. They’d been partners since they were barely legal, and the guy always fretted.Dude, we just need to get the job done. Make our delivery and get paid.End of story. “I don’t like nature.”
“I know.” A long sigh. “But I’m in Halfway, and I did some checking. The sheriff is supposed to hit some charity event at a nearby town this evening. When he’s gone, we’ll attack.”
“No. Waiting is a bad idea.” They needed to move, now.
“Uh, no, it isn’t. It’s genius.”
Tim had never gotten a genius idea in his life. “I think he saw me.”
“Who? The sheriff?”
Jesus.Nate rolled his eyes. “The guy hiding Jacqueline. He chased me through the woods.”
“If he chased you, then hedefinitelysaw you.”
Smartass. “Yeah, fine, he definitely saw me. Happy now?”
“I’m not gonna be happy until we get paid.”
That made two of them. But Nate could tell that Tim had started to consider other attack possibilities. Being spotted meant that now their new enemy would be on alert. The big bruiser would be watching. Ready.
“What do we know about him?” Nate asked. “Other than the fact that the hoss is big.”
“The bartender in town told me that the guy is some kind of artist.”
Nate grunted. “Didn’t look like an artist to me.” He’d looked like trouble. “And the way he was acting with her—I think they’re involved.” There had been something about the way the big jerk had positioned his body near Jacqueline’s. And he’d sure hauled her into his arms fast enough and rushed with her back to the cabin.
That was when I made my exit.
“Bullshit. They can’t be involved. She just met him. I found the truck driver who dropped her off, and he said she didn’t even have a destination in mind. She’s here by chance and—”
“If the guy is not fucking her already,” Nate cut in to say. “He will be.” Utter certainty.
“The truck driver is not fucking Jacqueline.”
Nate had to squeeze his eyes shut and count for patience. “Were you dropped on your head when you were younger? Or maybe just straight slammed down on your head? Something like that?”
“That is not funny,” Tim huffed.
“I didn’t mean the truck driver,” he gritted out as he exercised supreme self-control.This asshole drives me crazy. This will be our last job. The last.“I meant the artist. I suspect they’re cuddled up in the cabin as we speak. They’re either fucking or they will be fucking.”
“You think that’s how she got him to give her shelter? She offered to screw him?” A low whistle. “Oh, Preston is not gonna like that.”
Understatement. Nate could all too easily imagine their boss’s rage. “Maybe we leave that out of the report?”
“Uh, I don’t think so. He finds out we lied to him, andwe’llbe the ones hunted.”
Tim wasn’t wrong. “Preston is gonna lose his shit.”
“Yeah, he loses his shit every other day. But he pays well.” A beat of silence. “Only one road leads to the cabin.”
And they’d switched to a new topic. Typical Tim. “Yeah.”
“So we just stake out the end of that road. We don’t let them leave. And if they haven’t run into us by nightfall,thenwe make our move. The sheriff will be gone, so we’ll be free and clear.” No mistaking the smugness in Tim’s voice. He was proud of his plan.