Black Ghost Runner (8 page)

Fortunately for Sally, Jim went back to his customers. She was able to get everything into the truck without falling down, without thinking what she was doing, since her mind was on something else. She was in the truck and back on the road when it dawned on her to look at the speedometer. She was doing eighty. She hadn’t realized the old truck could even go that fast as she removed her foot from the gas pedal.

Sally let the truck pull off the road for a moment until she quit shaking. She needed to think things through. Not every black wild cat in the world would mean it was
him
. Besides, other than in a dream state, she hadn’t really seen him shift.

Still, as she got back on the road, she could only think of gold eyes. She hated to leave Jim out in the cold the same way the last bookkeeper had done, but she didn’t see that she had a choice. She didn’t want to take a chance for two reasons. She didn’t want to get into trouble with the law by laundering his money. Second, she didn’t want to go through the erotic sensation of what had happened when the bastard bit her. She wasn’t going to let either one happen again.

Even if this was some poor lost bobcat, she was not sticking around to find out. She parked the truck, went in through the back door, and left a sticky note on the computer screen.

Sorry Jim, you were great. I have problems, so I am out of here. Sally

From there, she went to her apartment packed her tote and backpack. Sally left anything that did not fit comfortably. She took what cash she had hidden, went down the back stairs across the lot behind, and turned down the alley to the next county road. She walked on the county road until she got close to the edge of town. A pickup truck pulled up.

“Hey, Sally, need a ride?”

She looked over to find it was one of the guys that helped Jim once in a while. He was from the reservation, so he was probably heading home.

“Yes, I need to get up to the Casino, but the bus service doesn’t go there. Jim’s old truck finally went bonzo. He’s out with a fishing tour, so it’s up to me. I don’t want to let him down.” She smiled at him.

“Well, I wasn’t going to go that far, but what the hell, it won’t take that long, get in. I’ll run you up.”

She dumped her stuff in back and got in as he took off. “So, what? Jim sending you up there to wait for some tourists? I hate the ones that come in up there. Too much money and too little sense.”

She laughed at him as she agreed. “I’m tired already, plus he has me taking them some of their equipment. These guys are real losers. How are things going?”

Sally sat back, letting him talk. She tried to give the right comments at the right time. She already had a reputation of not being a talker, so he was apparently happy to spend the next couple of hours complaining to a willing ear. Finally, he pulled into the giant parking lot of the glaring Casino. Lights were already blaring to draw in the crowds from the main highway.

“Hey, don’t fight the crowds, leave me off here.” She thanked him as she got out. Grabbing her stuff, she headed towards the front doors. When she was sure her ride was out of sight, she took a long walk around to the rear of the building where the deliveries were made. She saw a couple of trucks unloading. One was from a commercial bakery, while the other was a refrigerator truck. She decided to wait by the bakery truck, and when the driver came out, she approached him.

“Hi.”

He looked over at her giving her a head to toe inspection. “Hey, sweetheart, what cha’ up to?”

“I am out of money. I need a ride.”

He nodded his head. “Company policy. Can’t take on passengers, but I can give you five bucks for supper.”

“No, thanks, I need the ride. I’ll try the guy with the ice cream.” She started around the front of his truck.

“Hey, look, I am going to leave my door open. Get in. Just keep your head down until we’re on the road. When we reach the city limits of Buffalo, you’ll have to get out, and you’re on your own.” He went to the back of his truck without another word.

Sally knew it was time to change identities. She looked around, and when she didn’t see anyone, she threw her stuff up onto the seat and grabbed the handle. She was into the truck as fast as possible. She tucked her items on the floor so that she could settle down on them. Actually, it was pretty comfortable, as there was a lot of room under the dash once she released the seat and slid it back. She didn’t say anything when the driver returned, not even looking at her as he settled in, belted up and changed gears to pull out. She was smart enough not to say anything, not to move until he reached over, turned on the radio, and nodded.

“Okay, sweetheart, get up and relax because in this truck, we have a couple of hours drive before I kick you out. I don’t talk when I drive, so catch a nap.”

It was as he said. The music was western, and low, the truck was smooth on the highway so she settled down. She didn’t sleep, but she did relax.

Two hours later, the driver pulled over. Sally rose up, looked around, and saw that they were in an industrial area.

“Look, this is fairly safe, just don’t hang around here. We are in between work shifts, so it will seem a little quiet. About two blocks that way will take you to a couple of main streets. You can find a bus station not too far away. Good luck.”

“Thanks so much, you got a good heart.” She slid down from the truck, pulling her two bags behind her. The truck rumbled forward, then immediately turned down a side street. She heard another rumble right behind the truck.

Sally swung around with her tote at her feet, her backpack only half way on. The big black bike was right there. Evidently, he had followed the truck. He was so close the driver either hadn’t seen him in the mirrors or just hadn’t paid any attention.

She actually took a second to look around, thinking she might run, but then sucked in a deep breath. She froze instead as he got off, walked around, and reached down, taking her bags. Turning his back to her, he tied them to the back of the bike on each side. He returned to the other side and swung his long legs over. Although he had on dark glasses, she knew he was staring at her.

“Come around to this side to get on.”

Sally felt her identity going back to one he knew.
Beth
. His words also were not a request.

She wasn’t sure which would take more fortitude—to get on that bike, or try to run. She knew she could not out run him, so finally she walked around. He held out a bent arm that she could hang onto in order to swing over the seat behind him.

He showed her where to place her feet. “Your best bet is to put your arms around me. Hang on tight, because I drive fast.” That was the only warning he gave her, but it was correct. Sally barely had her arms around him when he applied the speed. She gripped as hard as her muscles could and laid her head against the leather on his back.

So, here she was—the very place she didn’t want to be. Sally hated motorcycles, she hated
him
, and she hated being out of control and being used. Right this moment, she
hated
her life. She would give anything for a stiff drink of that Jack Daniels she had given the Chief.

The day was quickly fading as the bike sped down a highway that was going north. She was now
Beth
as she saw road signs that said
I-90
, so she knew when they crossed into Montana. She ducked back down, protected from the wind that was beginning to get cold, as night settled in. She wondered where he was taking her.

They passed quickly through a couple of small towns. They turned onto a side road, still paved, that led through the hills covered with forests, making the night darker. They passed homes that were set back as they traveled. The homes were further and further apart. He pulled into a driveway, then up in front of a house that, in the dark, was just a large black shadow. He stopped the bike and killed the motor.

Beth
was shocked as the vibration that had been pulsing through her body quit, but her ass still tingled. He moved around her to begin to take her two items from the bike, so she slipped off the side that tilted downward. He was ignoring her as he took her things and walked up the steps entering the house. She stood, smelling the last of the exhaust drift away. The sweet smell of the large oak trees was adding to the deep darkness overhead.

There was a low light that came on inside, so she decided to go on in to see where this nightmare was going to take her.

The house was small. An old A-frame, probably made in the Fifties when A-frames had become popular. This one was in good shape. Someone had done a nice job on the inside. It was small, but complete with the open design of the A-frames. The first level, even though small, felt large because of the high pointed ceiling. The open room sat back under the second level. Under that second level was the kitchen with a couple of doors closed. She later found that thus led to a storage room led out to the back porch. The porch was very large, only partially covered by the extended overhang created by the balcony from the upper level bedroom with the free hanging roof.

Beth saw that he had just dumped her bags on the floor. He was moving to the rough wooden table by the kitchen bar. There was a fat folder on the table. He pulled it over.

“Beth, I have created a problem for you that I am sorry about.”

She looked over at him. This was not what she had expected. He was talking like a normal human. His voice, although low and still sexy, wasn’t threatening. She put her thumbs into her back pockets and sucked on her bottom lip, wondering what the hell was going on.

She felt his eyes on her for a long moment.

“Please do not look so enticing. I am trying to do something for you. I am trying to get out of here without throwing you over my shoulder to take you upstairs. Now, help me and listen.” He looked back down at the folder as he opened it.

His word,
upstairs,
hung her up. She knew that
upstairs
had to contain a bed. Shit.

“Come on Beth, help me. Come over here and let me explain.”

Okay, she was here in the middle of
BF
with an animal in man’s clothes. What else could go wrong? She moved over to the other end of the small table.

“There are people after us. Because I used you to get money, they think you might know something about us.”

She looked up from the papers. “You mean there are more like you?”

He looked across at her. “What, you think I was hatched on a rock?” He spread the papers. “Now, I have given you a new identity. Better than what you got on line, so here is a birth certificate, a driver’s license from Ohio, and some credit cards.”

“Wait, who is after you? Better still, who is after
me
?”

Noble took a deep breath and ran his hand through his long hair. “Sometimes it seems easier to ask who is
no
t after us. Right now, you are lucky. A rich mogul from Europe that is trying to take over the world is after us. He thinks if he could live forever, always young, it would help. He has had a bunch of doctors and scientists trying to clone his body parts so that if any of them wear out, they can replace it easily. He is looking for vampires, werewolves, and shifters. Mostly, his people have been convinced that there really are not any of these things in the world, but any time he gets a hint, out go his hunters. They get paid a lot to hunt, so they want to keep their job. They don’t care if they believe, they just want to hunt and get paid. They have hurt many innocent people and if they get their hands on you, they won’t care that you can’t tell them anything. They will hurt you, and then to keep you from telling anyone what they did to you, they will kill you.”

Beth felt her knees grow weak. She pulled out the chair from under the table and sank down carefully into it.

“But I really don’t know anything. I have some guesses, but you scare the hell out of me.”

“I know, Beth. I have tried to keep it that way to protect you, but we can’t undo what has already been done. Let me show you what I have done for you.” He spread some of the papers. “This house is in your name, and paid for. You inherited it from an aunt, your last living relative, who wasn’t that old. She died in an accident in California. There is a new jeep. I know you like those, so it is next to the house. You paid for it from your Aunt’s insurance. Here is proof that the insurance company paid out.”

Noble was pulling out more papers, some looking older with folded wrinkles. “You have had a checking account for two years at a local bank. Pretend to know the locals. In this small folder, there are photos and bios on locals. Memorize them, then burn them in the fireplace. Make sure you stir the ashes. Hunters look through ashes to put pieces together.”

He went over to the kitchen counter. “Here is your cell. It still has your aunt’s phone number. You just hadn’t the heart to wipe it off. There are a lot of others including Chief George, because you do study Indian History. You will notice some Indian Artifacts in the house. Get to know them. Make sure you know where you got them, then get rid of the evidence.”

Beth was sitting there in a daze, studying all the paperwork, looking at the keys, examining the cards. What was he doing for her—or to her? “How long do I stay here?”

He smiled. She thought it was the first time she had seen this expression. His face was too good to look at with that smile. “Hopefully, for as long as you want. You have enough money in the bank to decide when you want to go to work. The University has a branch close by with a good section on Indian History. You might want to get involved, but stay away from studying shifters.”

He turned, heading for the door.

“Wait.” She rose up, hanging onto the table.

“Believe me, Beth, you don’t want me to stay.”

“But I have a thousand questions.”

She heard the sigh even though he had his back to her, hesitating with his hand on the door. “On your cell are three doctor’s phone numbers listed. One is for an ob-gyn. If you call it, you will find that he has had to close his office and is referring his patients on to another doctor’s office. I will call you back as soon as possible after you call that number. Don’t use it unless it is an emergency. If I’m not close, I will have someone else who will check you out. Study your papers. Remember to stir the ashes.”