Read Online Secret Identity by Paula Graves - Free Book Online

she bumped into Rick’s chest. “I don’t see them out there anymore.”
“They didn’t have a clear line of sight once I pulled you behind the bush,” he murmured, enjoying the feel of her small, round backside pressed against his thighs. For a second, he found himself immersed in the memory of that moment they’d shared back in the motel room, when years had seemed to melt into nothing, taking them back to a time where finding pleasure in each other’s bodies had seemed as natural as breathing.
He eased away from her before his body betrayed him. “Do you want to take a shot at locating the car? If it’s still where I hid it, and they haven’t located it, we could get out of here before they found us.”
“I’ll go. You head for the highway—go to the hamburger place where you got dinner. I’ll find the car and come get you.” She held out her hand. “Keys?”
He couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle. “Not on your life.”
One eyebrow arched. “You don’t trust me?”
“You haven’t exactly given me any reason to.”
“I could say the same of you,” she pointed out. “You call me and within hours, I’m getting shot at and chased away from my own home—”
“Funny—I’m the only one who actually took a bullet.”
She made a small sound of frustration. “So we go together, then. Probably smarter that way.”
“Together,” he agreed. He looked at the cave entrance. “I’m going to scout out there first, make sure the coast is clear. The last thing we want to do is walk into an ambush.”
She looked as if she wanted to protest, but she finally gave a nod. “Okay. Hurry.”
Outside, night had already begun to fall, casting the evening sky in deep shades of crimson and purple. It was almost 6:00 p.m., he saw with a quick glance at his watch. He edged toward the mountain-laurel bush where he’d hidden before, stopping at the sound of a faint snapping noise ahead.
Crouching behind the bush, he waited.
There. Movement about fifty yards ahead through the trees and underbrush. In the twilight, the man in black almost blended in with the woods.
Almost.
Moving at a snail’s pace, Rick edged backward toward the cave entrance, keeping his eye out for more men in black. He finally reached the narrow slit in the rock and hurried back inside. “There’s at least one of them still out there,” he whispered to Amanda.
He heard her soft exhalation. “Damn it.”
“We could be in worse shape,” he pointed out. “You’ve got water in your pack. Probably more food. We have extra clothes if the temps drop overnight. A roof over our heads.”
“So we’re staying in this cave tonight?” She sounded so defeated, he thought. Pushed to her limit.
“Can’t be much worse than the motel room,” he pointed out, deliberately keeping his voice light.
Her gaze slanted his way, and in the faint light from outside, he saw her lips curve. “I’ll give you that,” she answered, sounding stronger.
“Let’s figure out what supplies we have,” he suggested. “Ration it out so we have some food and water left over for tomorrow if we have to stay here beyond the night.”
With a nod, she picked up the duffel bag and backed deeper into the cave. Finding a place to sit, she unzipped the bag and started digging inside.
“Four twelve-ounce bottles of water,” she whispered as he sat down across from her. “Six protein bars.”
“Okay—that’s one bottle apiece for tonight and one bottle tomorrow. We had protein bars earlier, so we’ll save those for tomorrow. Two a day—that’ll get us through tomorrow and into the next day.”
“I have one of your boxes of ammo.”
“I know. I have another box, and if we can get to the car without incident, I have more packed in the trunk.”
“What if they find your car?”
It was a possibility, he had to concede. The Charger was hidden from sight on the road, and he’d covered it with some loose limbs he’d foraged from the woods around where he’d parked. But if