Hot Target. Elle James
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over the back of the seat and touched his shoulder. “Take me to the sheriff’s office.”
Caveman frowned. “Lady, you need to see a doctor. You were out cold.”
“My name is Grace, and I know what I need. And that’s to see the sheriff. Now.”
He glanced at her face in the mirror. “Okay, but if you pass out, I’m taking you to the clinic. No argument.”
“Deal.” She nodded toward the road ahead. “You’d better slow down or you’ll miss the turn.”
Caveman slammed on his brakes in time to pull into the parking lot.
Grace braced her hands on the backs of the seats and swayed with the vehicle as it made the sharp turn. “I was okay, until you nearly gave me whiplash.” She didn’t wait for him to come to a complete stop before she pushed open her door and dropped down from the truck, crumpling to the ground.
Out of the truck and around the front, Caveman bent to help, sliding his hands beneath her thighs. “We’re going to the clinic.”
She pushed him away. “I don’t need to be carried. I can stand on my own.”
“As you have so clearly demonstrated.” He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “Fine. At least let me help you stand upright.” He slipped an arm around her waist and lifted her to her feet.
When she was standing on her own, she nodded. “I’ve got it now.”
“Uh-huh. Prove it.” He let go of her for a brief moment.
Grace swayed and would have fallen if he’d let her. But he didn’t. Instead he wrapped his arm around her waist again and led her into the sheriff’s office.
With his help, she made it inside to the front desk.
The deputy on the other side glanced up with a slight frown, his gaze on Caveman. “May I help you?” His frown deepened as he looked toward the woman leaning on Caveman. “Grace?” He popped up from his desk. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Johnny. Is Sheriff Scott in? I need to talk to him ASAP.”
“Yeah. I’ll get him.” He glanced from her to Caveman and back. “As long as you’re okay.”
Anger simmered beneath the surface. Caveman glanced at the man’s name tag. “Deputy Pierce, just get the damn sheriff. I’m not going to hurt her. If I was, I would have left her lying where her horse threw her.”
The deputy’s lips twitched. “Going.” He spun on his heels and hurried through a door and down a hallway. A moment later, he returned with an older man, dressed in a similar tan shirt and brown slacks. “Grace, Johnny said you were thrown by your horse.” He held out his hand. “Shouldn’t you be at the clinic?”
Grace took the proffered hand and shook her head. “I don’t need to see a doctor. I need you and your men to follow me back out to the trail I was on. Now.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” Sheriff Scott squeezed her hand between both of his. “The wolves in trouble?”
“It’s not the wolves I’m worried about right now.” She drew in a deep breath. “There was a man. Actually there were two men.” She stiffened in the curve of Caveman’s arm. “Hell, Sheriff, I witnessed a murder.” She let her hand drop to her side as she sagged against Caveman. “I saw it all happen...and I was too far away...to do anything to stop it.” She sniffed. “You have to get out there. Just in case he isn’t dead. It’ll get dark soon. The wolves will find him.”
“Is that why you were riding your horse like you were?” Caveman asked.
She nodded. “That, and someone was shooting at me. That’s why Bear threw me.” Her head came up and she stared at the sheriff. “I need to find Bear. He’s running around out there, probably scared out of his mind.”
Sheriff Scott touched her arm. “I’ll send someone out to look for him and bring him back to your place.” He glanced at Caveman. “And you are?”
“Max Decker. But my friends call me Caveman.”
The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “And what do you have to do with all of this?”
Grace leaned back and stared up at the man she’d been leaning on. “Yeah, why were you out in the middle of nowhere?”
“I was sent to check on a Mr. Khalig, a pipeline inspector for Rocky Mountain Pipeline Inc. I was told he’d been receiving threats.”
“RJ Khalig?” the sheriff asked.
Caveman nodded. “That’s the one.”
“He’s been a regular at the Blue Moose Tavern since he arrived in town a couple weeks ago. He’s staying at Mama Jo’s Bed-and-Breakfast,” Sheriff Scott added.
Grace shook her head. “I’ll bet he’s the man I saw get shot. He appeared to be checking some device in a valley when the shooter took him down.”
“What exactly did you see?” Sheriff Scott asked.
“Yeah,” Caveman said. “I’d like to know, as well.”
* * *
GRACE’S INSIDES CLENCHED and her pulse sped up. “I was searching for one of the wolves we’d collared last spring. His transponder still works, but hasn’t moved in the past two days. Either he’s lost his collar, or he’s dead. I needed to know.” Grace took a breath and let it out, the horror of the scene she’d witnessed threatening to overwhelm her.
“I was coming up to the top of a hill, hoping to see the wolf pack in the valley below, so I tied my horse to a tree short of the crown of the ridge. When I climbed to the crest, I saw a vehicle on a hilltop on the other side of the valley. It was an all-terrain vehicle, a four-wheeler. I thought maybe the rider had fallen off or was hurt, so I looked for him and spotted him in the shade of a tree, lying in the prone position on the ground, and he was aiming a rifle at something in the valley.” She twisted her fingers. “My first thought was of the wolves. But when I glanced down into the valley, the wolf pack wasn’t there. A man was squatting near the ground, looking at a handheld device.
“When I realized what was about to happen, I yelled. But not soon enough. The shooter fired his shot at the same time. The man in the valley didn’t have a chance.” She met the sheriff’s gaze. “I couldn’t even go check on him because the shooter must have heard my shout. The next thing I knew, he was aiming his rifle at me.” She shivered. “I got on my horse and raced to the bottom of the mountain.”
“And he followed?”
She nodded. “He shot at me a couple of times. I thought I might have outrun him, but he caught up about the time I reached the truck and trailer Mr. Decker mentioned. He shot at me, hit the truck, my horse threw me and I woke up in the backseat of Mr. Decker’s truck.” She inhaled deeply and let it all out. “We have to go back to that valley. If there’s even a chance Mr. Khalig is alive, he won’t be by morning.”
“I’ll take my men and check it out.”
Grace touched his arm. “I’m going with you. It’ll take less time for you to find him if I show you the exact location.”
“You need to see a doctor,” the sheriff said. “As you said, I don’t have time to wait for that.” He glanced at Caveman. “Do you want me to have one of my deputies take you to the clinic?”
Grace’s lips firmed into a straight line. “I’m not going to a clinic. I’m going back to check on that man. I won’t rest until I know what happened to him. If you won’t take me, I’ll get on my own four-wheeler and go up there. You’re going to need all-terrain vehicles, anyway. Your truck won’t make it up those trails.”
The sheriff nodded toward his deputy. “Load up the trailer with the two four-wheelers. We’re going into the mountains.” He faced