themselves and what they could accomplish.
The headlights ate up the yellow line on the highway as the warm glow of a thousand lights indicated that they were nearing Discovery.
He glanced one more time at the woman in the middle seat. Was the guy back at the airport an angry boyfriend?
Ezra still wasn’t sure what impulse had made him not turn her over to the gruff man with more muscles than social skills.
His experience in the wild had taught him to read the signals for when an animal would charge or run away. And something about that man gave off a dangerous vibe that seemed to say his intention was to hurt the woman. Getting her away from him had seemed the only option.
That said, Ezra had no desire to get involved with whatever trouble she’d brought with her. The slight build and soft features reminded him of his little sister. Melissa had been the only girl in a family of four boys. They’d doted on her, spoiled her, loved her. But it hadn’t been enough. Neither he nor his brothers had been aware of how controlling the man she was dating was...until it was too late. Melissa had married and moved to another state, cutting off all contact with the family.
It still broke Ezra’s heart. He hadn’t been able to protect his little sister. Was he trying to make up for it by helping this woman? He’d like to think he could have made a difference for Melissa if he’d acted earlier—but he couldn’t change that now. Helping this woman wouldn’t bring his sister back. And besides, he knew nothing about her. It wasn’t his place to interfere in her life or her problems.
He glanced into the rearview mirror one more time. She was scared and alone. He could at least give her a ride into town. His kindness didn’t need to extend any further than that.
He slowed down as he entered the city limits. He drove past a pizza place full of late-night activity, along with offices, art galleries and boutiques. Discovery was known as the gateway to Yellowstone Park, but the town was surrounded by wilderness. People bought vacation homes here to take advantage of the skiing in winter and hiking in the summer. The core population hovered around fifty thousand.
He pulled up beside the Jefferson Expeditions office. After coming to a stop, he turned to face the people in the van. “Okay, folks, get a good night’s sleep. The Black Bear Inn is just across the street. Those of you doing the weekend school, my partner, Jack, will meet up with you in the hotel lobby at 0900. The people signed up for the one-week school will meet me back here at 0800 so we can get you equipped and go over some survival basics.”
The blonde woman looked away, refusing to make eye contact. Doors were pushed open, and people eased out of the van. Ezra opened the hatch and pulled out suitcases.
He handed Jan her suitcase.
“That’s the last time you are going to carry our luggage for us, right?” she joked.
Ezra shook his head and laughed. “You’ll have fun, trust me.”
One by one, the clients headed up the sidewalk, the wheels of their suitcases bumping over the concrete. The blonde woman was not with them. When he looked around, there was no sign of her. He shrugged off a nagging sense of worry for her. He’d gotten her safely to town. She could probably take care of herself now. Besides, he’d be heading off to the wilderness in the morning—the last place a city girl like her belonged. Surely he’d done all for her that he could.
Clarissa slipped down the first alley she came to. She didn’t want to involve Ezra any further in this tangled mess. Maybe it was just because she had been on her own since she was fourteen, but she’d gotten into the habit of not expecting help from anyone. She could fix this by herself. She’d find another job. She’d get a new start somewhere else.
She shifted her handbag to her shoulder and walked on. Maybe she should go to the police. And tell them what? she wondered. They couldn’t fix what had taken place in California.
She had a natural distrust of the police from her teen years, and knowing that the police had been dismissive of her claims in California made her worry that they would do the same here. Really, she had known from the moment Max fired her that she should cut her losses rather than try to take on the legal and financial resources Max had access to. She just had no idea he would go so far as to send Don after her. It didn’t make any sense. Why couldn’t Max be happy with her leaving the state? Why did he want her to come back?
She stepped out onto a side street. Things looked different after ten years. But then, she supposed she was different, too. For one thing, she’d found faith in the time since she’d been gone. And that reminded her of the friend who had helped with that—a friend she hoped could help her again now.
Sondra had been a maid employed in Max’s house. Because she had started out on Max’s cleaning crew, Clarissa had felt a kinship to her. But Sondra had been more than a friend. She was the person who had taken the seeds of faith that had been planted in Clarissa ten years ago, when she’d been a scared, pregnant teenager here in Discovery, and helped them flower. Clarissa had witnessed love and grace at Naomi’s Place, a home for pregnant teens, but it had taken a decade for the message to sink in. And it never could have happened without Sondra.
She’d been fired about the time Clarissa had gotten her promotion. Sondra had cleaned Max’s office on a Tuesday, when it was supposed to be cleaned on a Wednesday. Right before she’d left, Sondra had pressed a piece of paper with her phone number and address on it into Clarissa’s hand. “If you ever need anything, give me a call.”
At the time, Clarissa had wondered why Sondra’s words were so filled with desperation. As someone who worked in his mansion, maybe she had known what kind of man Max really was.
Clarissa wandered through the town, trying to remember the location of things. First, she needed to find a safe, quiet place to call Sondra. The streets were nearly abandoned at this hour and most places were closed. Her heart squeezed tight as anxiety returned. Would Max’s thug follow her here? He must have figured out she was in the van. It would take him a while to get a rental car or taxi. That bought her some time.
Why had she come back to Discovery anyway? She’d stood at the airport counter in LAX. The attendant had asked her where she wanted to go, his gaze heavy and demanding. She had blurted out Discovery without thinking.
Sondra lived about a day’s drive away, in Wyoming. Glancing nervously up and down the alley, Clarissa pulled out her phone and searched for the crumpled piece of paper. She walked a couple more blocks until she spotted a coffee shop. She ordered a herbal tea and found a secluded booth away from the only other patrons. The posted hours said they closed in twenty minutes.
She stared at her phone. It was late. Would Sondra even pick up? Clarissa pressed the numbers and put the phone to her ear.
“Hello.”
She let out a sigh of relief when she heard her friend’s voice. “Sondra, it’s me, Clarissa.” She gripped the phone a little tighter. Asking for help had always been hard for her.
“Hey, kiddo, it’s good to hear from you.”
The welcoming tone in Sondra’s voice made Clarissa smile. Sondra had been a true friend. Clarissa wasn’t sure why Sondra called her kiddo; they were maybe ten years apart, but it made her feel cared for, as if she was someone Sondra wanted to look after.
