Hot Target. Elle James

the open. She hadn’t ridden it in a month and the last time she had, it had been slow to start. She’d had to charge the battery and probably needed to buy a new one, but she didn’t have time now. She’d promised to meet the sheriff in fifteen minutes. Already five had passed.

      The next five minutes, she did everything she knew to start the vehicle and it refused.

      Just when she was about to give up and call the sheriff, a small engine’s roar sounded outside the barn.

      She walked out and shook her head.

      Caveman sat on a newer-model ATV. “Ready?”

      “Where did you get that?”

      “My boss dropped it off.” He checked the instruments, revved the throttle and looked up. “I thought you’d be gone by now.”

      “I can’t get mine to start, and we’re supposed to be there in five minutes.”

      “Let me take a look.” He killed the engine and entered the barn.

      Okay, so she wasn’t that knowledgeable about mechanics. She knew Wally, who had a small-engine repair shop in his barn. He fixed anything she had issues with. That didn’t mean she couldn’t take care of herself.

      “Your battery is dead.” Caveman glanced around. “You got another handy?”

      She shook her head. “No. Fresh out.”

      “Got a helmet?”

      She nodded. “Yeah, but I won’t need it if I can’t get my ATV started.”

      He spun and headed for the barn door. “You can ride on the back of mine,” he called out over his shoulder.

      Grace’s heart fluttered at the thought riding behind Caveman, holding him around the waist to keep from falling off. “No, thanks. Those trails are dangerous.” She suspected the danger was more in how her pulse quickened around the man than the possibility of plunging over the edge of a drop-off.

      “I grew up riding horses and four-wheelers on rugged mountain trails. I won’t let you fall off a cliff.” He held up a hand. “Promise.”

      She frowned. But she knew she only had a few minutes to get to the meeting location and relented, sighing. “Okay. I guess I’ll put my life in your hands.” She followed him out of the barn and closed the door behind her. “Although I don’t know why I should trust you. I don’t even know you.”

       Chapter Three

      Caveman settled on the seat of the ATV and tipped his head toward the rear. “Hop on.”

      Grace fitted her helmet on her head and buckled the strap beneath her chin. “Wouldn’t it make more sense for me to drive, since I know the way?”

      “Actually, it does.” He grinned, scooted to the back of the seat and glanced toward her, raising his brows in challenge.

      Still, Grace hesitated for a moment, gnawing on her bottom lip.

      God, when she did that, Caveman’s groin clenched and he fought the urge to kiss that worried lip and suck it into his mouth. The woman probably had no clue how crazy she could make a man. And he was no exception.

      Finally, she slid onto the seat in front of Caveman. “Hold on.” She thumbed the throttle and the four-wheeler leaped forward.

      Caveman wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his chest to her back. Oh, yeah, this was much better than driving.

      Grace aimed for the back gate to the pasture, blew through and followed a dirt road up into the hills, zigzagging through fields and gullies until she crossed a highway and ended up on the road leading to Khalig’s truck and trailer. Another truck and trailer stood beside the original, this one marked with the county sheriff logo. Sheriff Scott and Deputy Pierce were mounted on four-wheelers.

      Grace nodded as she passed them, leading the way up the side of a mountain, the trail narrowing significantly. There was no way a full-size truck or even an SUV could navigate the trajectories. Barely wide enough for the four-wheeler, the path clung to the side of a bluff. The downhill side was so steep it might as well be considered a drop-off. Anyone who fell over the edge wouldn’t stop until they hit the bottom a hundred or more feet below.

      Now not so sure he’d chosen the right position, Caveman wished he had control of steering the ATV. He tightened his arms around Grace’s slim waist, wondering if she had the strength to keep them both on the vehicle if they hit a really big bump.

      Caveman vowed to be the driver on the way back down the mountain. In the meantime, he concentrated on leaning into the curves and staying on the ATV.

      As they neared the top of a steep hill, Grace slowed and rolled to a stop. “This is where I tied off my horse.”

      The sheriff and deputy pulled up beside them. Everyone dismounted.

      Fighting the urge to drop to a prone position on the ground and kiss the earth, Caveman stood and pretended the ride up the treacherous trail hadn’t been a big deal at all. “You rode your horse down that trail?”

      She nodded. “Normally, I take it slowly. But I had a gunman taking shots at me. I let Bear have his head. I have to admit, I wanted to close my eyes several times on the way down.”

      The sheriff nodded toward the ridgeline. “Was that your vantage point?”

      She nodded, but didn’t move toward the top. “The shooter was on the ridge to the north.”

      Sheriff Scott and the deputy drew their weapons and climbed. As they neared the top, they dropped to their bellies and low-crawled the rest of the way. The sheriff lifted binoculars to his eyes.

      Caveman stayed with Grace in case the shooter was watching for her.

      A couple minutes later, Sheriff Scott waved. “All clear. Grace, I need you to show me what you were talking about.”

      Grace frowned, scrambled up to the top and squatted beside the sheriff.

      Caveman followed, his gaze taking in the valley below and the ridge to the north. Nothing moved and nothing stood out as not belonging.

      Grace pointed to the opposite hilltop. “The shooter was over there.” Then she glanced down at the valley, her frown deepening. “The man he shot was in the valley just to the right of that pine.”

      The sheriff raised his binoculars to his eyes again. “He’s not there.”

      “What?” She held out her hand. “Let me see.”

      Sheriff Scott handed her the binoculars. Grace adjusted them and stared down at the valley below. “I don’t understand. He was in that valley. Hell, his truck and trailer are still parked back at the road. Where could he have gone?” She handed the binoculars back to the sheriff. “Do you think he was only wounded and crawled beneath a bush or something?” She was on her feet and headed back to the ATV. “We need to get down there. If that man is still alive, he could be in a bad way.”

      The sheriff hurried to catch up to her. “Grace, I want you to stay up here with Mr. Decker.”

      She’d reached the ATV and had thrown her leg over the seat before she turned to stare at the sheriff. “Are you kidding? I left him once, when I could have saved him.”

      The sheriff shook his head. “You don’t know that. You could have ended up a second victim, and nobody would have known where to find either one of you.” He touched her arm. “You did the right thing by coming straight to my office.”

      When the lawman turned away, Grace captured his hand. “Sheriff, I need to know. I feel like I could have done something to stop that man from shooting the other guy. I know it’s irrational, but somehow I feel responsible.”

      The way she stared at the sheriff with her soft gray eyes made