Sheltered By The Soldier. Lisa Harris

to be to get as far away from here as she could.

      But where? The digital clock on the dash said it was a quarter to three. She could call her parents, but what could they do? They were currently enjoying Florida’s balmy weather and couldn’t exactly help her. She had friends that would take her in, but there was no way she was going to put someone else’s life at risk. And until she figured out who was behind this, she’d never be safe. Will was dead, and she had Mia to protect.

      Her mind shifted gears as she upped her speed and merged onto the freeway. There was one person who might be able to help her. She glanced at the phone laying in the console next to her. One person who might have the answers to whoever was behind this.

      Liam O’Callaghan.

      She tried to push the name out of her mind, and instead glanced at the line of cars behind her as each mile took her farther way from danger—and closer to the town of Timber Falls near where he lived. She hadn’t heard from Liam for several weeks. He and Will had been deployed together, then Liam had spent months in both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation with injuries from the blast that killed her husband. Over the past year and a half, he’d called at least once a month to check on her and make sure she was doing okay and had even come to see her several times. But she hadn’t missed the hint of guilt in his voice each time. As if what had happened to Will was somehow his fault. And she was clearly a reminder.

      She placed the call on the cheap smart phone she’d picked up yesterday before she had a chance to change her mind again. But instead of him answering, it switched to voice mail.

      “Liam, this is Gabby.” She paused, wondering if she was doing the right thing. Wondering why she felt so hesitant in asking for his help. She tried to shake off the tension in her voice. “Listen... I need to talk to you. It’s important. Please. Call me back as soon as you can on this number.”

      Gabby hung up the call, then glanced into the rearview mirror at the back seat where Mia sat in her car seat, playing with her stuffed giraffe. At least she’d stopped crying. When Gabby had found out she was pregnant, everything had seemed so perfect. She’d had the perfect marriage, perfect family, perfect life. Then in one life-altering moment, two uniformed officers had shown up at her front door and everything changed.

      Her phone rang, pulling her back into the present. She pushed the call-answer button on the steering wheel. “Liam?”

      “Gabby...are you okay?”

      “Not really.” She didn’t want to tell him what was going on—that would only make the situation more real—but neither could she put the life of her daughter at risk. “I need help, and I didn’t know who else to call.”

      She glanced back into the rearview mirror. Mia had thrown down the giraffe and was fussing again, but Gabby couldn’t stop the car. Couldn’t take any risks that might jeopardize her baby’s life more than she already had.

      “What happened?” he asked.

      She swallowed hard, trying to dismiss the feeling she was being followed. “I got home this afternoon and discovered someone had ransacked my place.”

      “Wait a minute... Have you called 911?”

      “I was scared and panicked. Afraid someone might still be in the house.”

      “I understand, but you need to call the authorities.”

      She hesitated. “I can’t.”

      “Why not?”

      The last thing she wanted to do was get Liam involved, but what other option did she have?

      “Gabby...what’s going on?”

      “There’s something I need to talk to you about. There have been other threats—”

      “Threats? Is that why you have a new number?”

      “I was afraid someone might have been tracking my phone, but I’d rather discuss everything in person.”

      “Where are you now?” he asked.

      She glanced at the clock. “I’m about twenty minutes from Timber Falls. If you could meet me in town—”

      “Of course. Or you could come out to the ranch.”

      “I don’t want to get your family involved.”

      “Will was my best friend. I promised him if anything ever happened to him, I’d make sure you and Mia were okay. I owe him my life. My family understands that.”

      She looked around, her chest still heaving. Sirens wailed from a wreck on the other side of the highway.

      “Is there a chance anyone is following you?” he asked.

      “I don’t think so, but I can’t be sure. Traffic’s pretty heavy, and it’s starting to snow.”

      “I’m out at the ranch, but I’ll head to town now. It will take me at least thirty minutes, but you can wait for me at the sheriff’s office on the edge of town. It’s well lit. You can’t miss it.”

      “Okay.”

      “Do you remember meeting my brother Griffin?”

      “Yes.”

      She’d met his entire family at Will’s funeral, and while most of that day was a blur, she remembered being impressed with the four brothers and their parents, whose ancestors had first settled in this area three generations ago.

      “I’ll call him. Griffin’s a deputy and on duty today. I’ll give him a heads-up.”

      She drew in a long, slow breath, trying to gather her nerves. “I’m scared, Liam. I don’t know what’s going on, or what I’m supposed to do.”

      “Don’t worry. We’re going to find a way to make sure you and Mia are safe until we figure out what’s going on.”

      She glanced in the rearview mirror, thankful that Mia was finally sleeping. Poor baby was missing her nap and was exhausted. Her gaze shifted slightly as something else caught her attention. There was a black pickup behind her, following too close. Had she seen the same vehicle earlier?

      Her fingers gripped the steering wheel. Five seconds later, the road straightened and headed down another narrow mountainous stretch. She pressed harder on the accelerator as she sucked in a deep breath and tried to talk herself down. No one had followed her out of her neighborhood. This was nothing more than her imagination playing tricks on her.

      She gave the car all the gas she could and flew back up the hill. A stab of pain shot through her head, and she realized she’d been clenching her jaw. The stress from the last few days had managed to consume her. She kept her eyes on the road, her hand steady on the wheel as she passed a sign to Timber Falls. All she had to do was get to the sleepy tourist town and she would be fine.

      “Gabby? Are you...there?”

      The call was breaking up.

      She glanced again in the rearview mirror. The black pickup was still there. “Liam...”

      “What’s...on... Gabby...”

      The car behind her smashed into her bumper. She fought to keep the car on the road as she pushed on the pedal. Mia woke up and started crying.

      For the first time in months, Gabby prayed God would intervene.

      * * *

      Liam pressed on the gas pedal, pushing the speed limit down the narrow two-lane road that led from the O’Callaghan Ranch toward Timber Falls, the nearest town from his family’s ten-thousand-plus acre ranch. He called Gabby back.

      Nothing.

      He tried to ignore the list of uncertainties simmering beneath the surface. He needed to stop worrying. Phone service around the ranch and the road leading into Timber Falls had always left holes of no reception in spite of recent upgrades over the past couple years. It didn’t