Cowboy Protector (13 page)

At the entrance into Misty’s room she heaved a breath, forced a smile to her lips, hoping it reached into her eyes, and thrust open the child’s door.

“Hannah, look at my arm!” Misty held it up, waving it. “And this.” She pointed toward her leg immobilizer.

“That looks great to me.” She crossed the bedroom to the wheelchair and kissed the girl on the top of her head. “It won’t be long before this will come off, too.” Gesturing toward the immobilizer that encompassed her whole leg, she gave Misty a hug, wishing she could hold her the rest of the night.

But the sheriff waited.

“What happened to your face?”

Hannah touched her cheek. “I wasn’t looking where I was going and fell in the forest.”

“Daddy said you went to the lake. Did you see any animals?”

“Yes, some elk, ducks, geese. And I heard an owl but couldn’t find him.”

“When I get my cast off, can we go to the lake for a picnic?”

“That sounds nice,” Hannah said because she wouldn’t promise something she didn’t know she could do.

Caroline came into the room. “Hey, I’m ready for a game of Go Fish. How about it, Misty?”

“Sure, Granny. I can hold the cards better now.”

“I’ve got to leave you for a while, but I’ll be back later.” Hannah hugged the child one more time, then left while Caroline settled into a chair nearby to play Go Fish.

When Hannah entered the living room, Gil and Austin stopped talking. She lowered herself down next to Austin on the couch. His hand immediately covered hers on the cushion between them.

“Austin was just telling me about what happened when he found you. I’d like you to tell me what happened, especially before Austin appeared.” Gil held a pen, and a pad sat on his thigh.

“I fell asleep at the lake. When I woke up, I noticed it was getting late so I decided to head back to the house.”

“So what happened next?”

“I headed into the woods. Not too far in, I heard some men talking in low voices. I thought they might be lost like the other one, so I went to check them out.” She slanted a glance at Austin, whose expression grew tense. “Or hunters who were hunting something illegally.”

“Were you planning on saying anything to them?”

Hannah tried to think back to the time before everything exploded and she had to run for her life. “I don’t know.”

“Austin said the one he shot talked about an Eloise.”

“Yes, they mentioned looking for an Eloise Hill. One of the men had a rifle and the other a handgun. I thought that was strange even if they were trespassing.”

“Did you hear what they were talking about?”

“Some. They talked about getting their mark and this Eloise Hill.”

After scribbling something on the paper, Gil asked, “You don’t know anyone by that name?”

“No. You don’t know anyone in the county called Eloise Hill?”

“No, and Austin said he didn’t, either.”

“So who is Eloise Hill?” Austin tightened his hold on her hand.

“That’s a good question because it looks like someone wants her dead.”

She leaned toward the sheriff. “You’ve got to warn this woman.” She remembered her own terror in the woods and never wanted another to go through that.

“I’ll be asking around. Make sure she isn’t here on vacation. I’ll put something out to other law enforcement agencies in the state. Maybe they had the wrong location.”

“A case of mistaken identity?” Austin leaned back on the couch, pulling Hannah close as though he would protect.

“That would be my guess. You said the guy said Hannah looked like this Eloise Hill.”

“Who is the guy?” As Austin slung his arm around her shoulder, cradling her against him, she relaxed some of the tension building in her.

“Harry Milton from Chicago. He clammed up and asked for a lawyer. I couldn’t even get the name of the guy with him or where he had been staying while here.”

“Chicago? That’s a long way from Montana.” Austin drew slow circles on her upper arm.

“That’s what I’m thinking. I’m gonna do a little checking up on this dude while he’s getting patched up at the hospital. I know someone with the Chicago police. I’ll call him and see what he can run down for me.” Gil rolled the pen between his forefinger and thumb.

“Hannah, anything else you can think of?”

“They took one look at me and pursued me so I must really look like this Eloise Hill. I’d be dead if Austin hadn’t shot the man. He’d already shot at me once.”

“If either one of you think of anything else, please call.” The sheriff rose and put his pad in his shirt pocket. “I’ll keep you informed about what’s going on.” He peered right at Austin. “I’m posting two deputies outside. I don’t think either one of you are in danger because I’m sure Harry’s partner is long gone, but I like to cover all my bases.”

Austin shook Gil’s hand. “Thanks. Anything you can do is appreciated.”

A memory flashed into her mind. “Wait, Sheriff. I have thought of something else. They also mentioned something about messing up before and not wanting to make their boss angry.”

“So they could have killed or attempted to kill before. I’ll check about unsolved murders recently and see what I can find out.” He tipped his hat toward Hannah. “You’ve been a big help.”

While Austin walked the sheriff to the front door, Hannah paced. Maybe the sheriff could find out if those two women were murdered and if it appeared as though the killings were a professional hit. If she could, she would flee the ranch and Montana right now, but she couldn’t with two deputies guarding them and a hit man still on the loose. So the next best thing was discovering all she could about Eloise.

When Austin reentered the living room, he took one look at her and asked, “What have you thought of?”

“I want to do an Internet search for an Eloise Hill. What do you think?”

“That’s a great idea. Let’s go into my office and see what we can come up with.”

“It’ll probably take a while.”

“You can start the search while I shower and pop in to
talk to Misty, then let Granny know what’s going on. We’ll take a break for dinner, but even if it takes all night, I want to track down all references to an Eloise Hill on the Net.”

Well past midnight Hannah finally found something on Austin’s computer that interested her. “Take a look at this,” she said when he came back into his office with two mugs of hot chocolate.

He hovered behind her right shoulder, placing her drink on the coaster next to the computer. “This reference is about an Eloise Hill in Chicago who testified against Salvatore ‘No Conscience’ Martino twenty-two years ago in a murder and extortion trial. After the trial she disappeared.”

Hannah pointed at the screen. “The mafia kingpin is still alive. It doesn’t look like for long, though. It says the old don served five years and got out on a technicality. Some people wondered what happened to Eloise.” Clasping her mug in her cold hands, Hannah twisted around to look up at Austin. “Did Salvatore’s thugs get rid of her? Or are they searching for her in Montana?”

“T
his could be the Eloise Hill they’re looking for.” Austin settled his hand on her shoulder. “Or not.”

“This is the best possibility so far. They’re from Chicago and so was this Eloise woman, but I know Chicago is a big town.” She turned back to the screen and printed the information concerning Eloise Hill who had gone missing years before.

“There is another thought. What if she went into the Witness Protection Program?”

Hannah tensed, her eyes squeezing closed. The words he uttered struck too close for comfort. Why was there a hit out on this Eloise Hill after twenty-two years? What had changed? Was she still in the Witness Protection Program? Were the U.S. Marshals protecting her somewhere or did she flee their protection like Hannah had? And what about the possible leak? The questions triggered fear. “It’s definitely a possibility.”

“First thing tomorrow morning I’ll call Gil. He can give the U.S. Marshal’s office a call about what happened. Who knows? If she’s in federal protection, his call will alert them that someone is looking for her. It might save a life.”

“That’s what’s important.” She wanted to tell Austin not to call Gil because there could be a leak in the U.S. Marshal’s office, but what reason could she give? Maybe, though, if the sheriff stressed that Hannah wasn’t Eloise Hill, whoever leaked the information would let the Martino crime family know she wasn’t the woman they were searching for.

She brought her mug to her lips and took several sips, hoping her quavering hands weren’t visible to Austin. Those thugs hadn’t been after her, but that could have been her as the target if Devon Madison ever found her.

Austin reached around her and picked up the sheets she’d run off. “You know, this old picture sure does look like you.”

Hannah laughed shakily. “Yeah, but she’s probably ten or twelve years older than me. I don’t think I’m flattered that those thugs mistook me for a woman who has to be forty at the very least.”

“What makes me wonder is how those men ever picked up on you in the first place?”

She wanted this conversation to come to an end. It was moving into uncomfortable territory with questions she had no answers to. She wished she did, but she didn’t want Austin or the sheriff delving too much into her background. There was no long-term background for Hannah Williams.

Hannah rose, cradling her mug between her hands. “Did one of your employees say something about a truck parked off the highway near your property? They tracked the other shooter back to some tire tracks.”

“That’s right. I think that was the black Ford-150 I saw on the way home from Misty’s doctor.”

“Last night in Sweet Creek I saw the same kind of truck
parked a block away from where your car was. There were two men in it. I was sure they were staring at us, but then they drove off.” She started for the kitchen. “Do you think they spotted me in town and thought they had found the Eloise Hill they were hunting?”

“I guess they could have. But why Sweet Creek? I know we aren’t too far from Missoula and it could have all been a coincidence, but still…” He left unsaid all the doubts she had about the whole situation.

In the hallway she angled toward Austin. “We may never know the whole story. Harry isn’t talking, and if he works for the mob, I doubt he will. By now his lawyer has probably arrived.”

“Then we need to make sure the sheriff gets it across to Harry and his lawyer that you aren’t this Eloise Hill.”

“That might not convince them.”

“You’re at least ten years younger. If they got an up-close look at you, they would see their error. And one thing about our good sheriff. He’s mighty convincing.” Austin plucked the mug from her hands. “You go to bed. I’ll put these up in the kitchen. We may know more tomorrow. And don’t forget we have two deputies guarding the house and a manhunt out for the other shooter.”

She stifled a yawn. “My day off didn’t quite turn out as relaxing as I thought it was gonna be.” Traversing the length of the hall to her bedroom, she leaned against her doorjamb. “Next time you offer me a day off, I think I’ll stick to working. Besides, being with Misty and helping her and Caroline isn’t what I consider work.” She bent toward Austin, getting a good whiff of his masculine scent. “But don’t tell my boss that. He might expect me to work for free.”

“Oh, I don’t think you need to worry about that. I hear he’s a pushover for a beautiful woman.”

The heat of a blush stained her cheeks.

He brushed a finger over those cheeks. “I think you could even persuade him to allow you to sleep in tomorrow. You certainly deserve it.”

The mind-shattering sensations assailing her from all angles at his mere touch nearly overwhelmed her. She clutched the doorjamb tighter. “I’ll take that under advisement. I’m so tired, but I don’t know if I can sleep much. I’m afraid every time I shut my eyes I’ll relive that man chasing me through the woods.”

He tweaked her nose and stepped away. “If that’s the case, I’ll know where to find you. In the kitchen warming some milk. I may be joining you. It isn’t every day I shoot a man.”

She studied the almost neutral expression on his face—except she glimpsed the regret and remorse in his eyes. She wouldn’t expect anything less from Austin. He wouldn’t be a man who could take a life easily, even when it was justified. “You didn’t have much of a choice, and this woman is very happy you did. I’m just glad you had a rifle with you.”

“I always do when I go too far from the main house. Every once in a while I’ve encountered a bear on my property. Sometimes wolves or a mountain lion. A shot in the air will scare them off and that will be the end of it. The lake area has always been safe, but it’s a habit to take my gun more now than a necessity.”

“I hope they find that man’s partner. I’d feel better if they do.”

“So will I. I gave Gil a pretty good description of the truck I saw parked off the road not too far from the
Triple T turnoff. He sent that information out immediately. Maybe something will come of that.”

Tears threatened when she thought again of what could have happened today if Austin hadn’t come to her rescue or if he’d been killed trying to help her. She didn’t understand the thugs coming after her even with the information she read about Eloise Hill. She didn’t even know if that woman was the same one they had been after.

She did realize she could never put Austin in danger and needed to leave sooner rather than later. She had some thinking to do in the next day or so. It wouldn’t be easy for her to leave with no means of transportation and an ongoing investigation being conducted with her at the center.

“Good night, Austin. I’m so sorry this happened today.”

As she turned to go into her bedroom, he stopped her, moving close, his hands clasping her upper arms. “Why are you apologizing? You had no control over what went down today. If I hadn’t come in time, do you realize what I would have felt like, finding you shot on my property?”

Through a blurry mist, she took in the anguish in his expression. A pressure in her chest expanded outward. No, she didn’t have anything to do with what was going on with Eloise Hill, but she had been in the Witness Protection Program, probably the same as the woman the thugs were after today. The earlier incident made her realize she needed to leave, not put people she loved in danger. She could and had lived with the constant fear, but she couldn’t live with herself if something happened to Austin, Misty or Caroline.

“Hannah, please tell me you aren’t blaming yourself for what happened.” Austin framed her face with his large, work-toughened hands, his thumbs smoothing away the tears leaking from her eyes.

“I wish I could. But I do.”

“You have no control of what those men thought. I can see from a distance you look like this Eloise, but up close they would have seen you’re too young. I think the one I shot had figured that out when he finally got a good look at you, but the other was at least a hundred yards or more away.”

“And he’s still out there. I should leave here.”
I’m used to running and hiding. The only thing different is that it will be two I will be running from
.

“And do what? Go where?”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Anger flared into his eyes. “I don’t!” His voice lowered, a hard edge to it. “What kind of man do you think I am that I would let you go off by yourself and try to deal with this on your own?”

“One who is alive. That’s what!”

“Do you not realize I’m in this as deep as you are? I was just as involved as you were out there in the woods. There are two deputies in this house. I know the ranch and I can defend it. If you were somewhere new, you might not know what is normal, who to trust. Here you do. You can trust me.”

His fury blasted her in her face. She blinked the last of her tears from her eyes and lifted her chin. “What about Misty?”

“I’m taking her and Granny to my sister’s in Missoula tomorrow. They’ll stay there for a few days. By then we’ll know what we’re dealing with. My grandmother and, for that matter, Misty would never forgive me if I turned you out to fend for yourself.”

Hannah sank back against the doorjamb, so tired her brain felt like mush. “I don’t know what to think anymore.

I…” She couldn’t even finish the thought, all words flying from her mind.

“Are we clear about what we’re going to do for the next few days?”

She nodded. For the time being she would see what the sheriff could do and what he heard back from the U.S. Marshal’s office.

Lord, as today, it’s in Your hands.

“Good, because I’ve come to care about you a lot and don’t want anything to happen to you. Just remember you had nothing to do with causing this. We’ll get through this together.”

Tell him.

She would have to soon when she wasn’t so wiped out. She trusted him with her life; she would trust him with the truth about who she really was.

He drew her to him and encircled her in his embrace. “You saved my daughter’s life in the barn. Let me protect you. I owe you.”

She pressed herself against him, wishing she never had to let him go. But there would come a time when she would. Soon.

Light leaked into Hannah’s bedroom from the slit in the curtains. She groaned and rolled over, seeing the time. Eight-thirty and yet she felt like she’d wrestled with a grizzly all night long.

Throwing the covers back, she dragged herself from the bed and padded to the window, pushing the drapes back to allow more light into the room. A snowy white landscape greeted her. The storm had finally arrived, and big flakes fell as she looked out onto the pristine scene. In the distance she glimpsed the new barn. It had been
Austin’s priority to have it finished before the snow came that the forecasters had been predicting all week, so he could stable as many of the horses as possible.

Quickly she dressed, feeling guilty that she’d slept in a couple of extra hours even if Austin had told her to. If Misty and Caroline were going to Missoula, she wanted to ride with them and say goodbye because there was a good chance she wouldn’t be here when they returned.

She found the family in the kitchen, all sitting at the table finishing up breakfast. “Good morning.” Hannah poured herself a big mug of black coffee and hoped the caffeine would sweep the cobwebs from her mind.

“You’re up. Daddy is taking us to Missoula to see Aunt Kim. We’re gonna stay a few days.” Misty drank the last of her milk.

“You sound pretty excited.” Hannah sat in the empty chair across from Austin.

“I have two cousins I can play with. Of course, they’re boys.” She arranged her features into a look of tolerance.

Hannah chuckled. “How old are they?”

“One is four and the other is eight.” Austin lifted his drink and took a sip. “I talked with my sister, and she was happy to have a couple of visitors. Granny and you will have fun.” He directed his last statement to his daughter.

“Hannah isn’t coming, too?” Misty asked, popping into her mouth the last of her strawberry jam covered toast.

“Not enough room at Aunt Kim’s.” Austin finished the last of his scrambled eggs.

“She can share a bed with me.”

“That’ll make it a bit crowded. You and I are sharing a guest bedroom and there’s only twin beds.” Caroline stood and took her empty plate, utensils and glass to the sink. “I’m
going to pack my bag then yours. Want to come help, Misty?”

Misty maneuvered her wheelchair toward the door, stopped at the entrance and glanced back. “You are gonna ride with us to Aunt Kim’s?”

“I wouldn’t miss the trip,” Hannah said around the lump lodged in her throat. She was going to miss the child.

Misty beamed. “Great!”

When the child left, Hannah looked at Austin. “Will Kim be okay taking care of Misty?”

“Yes. She’s looking forward to it. You can show her what you do and the exercises the doctor sent home for Misty to do with her arm.”

“Does she know what happened here?”

“Yes.” Austin scraped back his chair and stood. “More coffee?”

“In a bit. What about the weather?”

“We’ll be ahead of the worst of the storm. What fell last night wasn’t much. As soon as Granny has packed we’ll leave, and on the way back from Missoula Gil wants us to stop by the station. They have a lead on the second man, and hopefully he’ll be in custody by then. You need to ID him. I didn’t get a good look at him like you did.”

“That’s great. If they get him, Misty might not be gone long at all.”

“That’ll depend partially on the storm. The reports I’ve heard this morning aren’t good. By night it is supposed to increase a lot. They’re even talking about blizzard conditions.”

Hannah glanced out the window at the light snow still falling. “I’ll go help Misty with her things. We should get on the road.”

“I hated saying goodbye to Misty.” Hours later, Hannah stared out the SUV’s windshield at the snow continuing to fall. She was glad she wasn’t driving, and that Austin seemed so capable and not frazzled by it.

He slid a glance toward her. “It’s not goodbye for long.”

Yes, it was
. The thought only made her want to cry. “I’m glad Gil called a few minutes ago to let us know they’ve picked up the other man.” She shifted to stare out the back at the deputy’s car following them. “I imagine they’ll be eager to get home, too.”