not to think of that.
Even though her body always reminded her of it whenever she was within breathing distance of him. Thankfully, over the past decade or so there had been plenty of distance between them, but she couldn’t rely on that any longer. Not with them both in the same small town.
“Toby Gambil,” Colt repeated. “Yeah, that’s right. Anything suspicious on him, like maybe an arrest warrant?”
She couldn’t hear what Reed said, but judging from the way Colt’s mouth relaxed, the answer was no. Nothing suspicious. Well, nothing except for his behavior after he’d crashed into her with his truck.
“I’m on Ezell Road right now. I’ll be bringing both Gambil and Elise Nichols in to take their statements about a car accident,” Colt said to Reed. “Run a quick check on Gambil for me. And have a medic come to the station.” He paused. “No, but Elise might need a few stitches.”
She certainly hadn’t forgotten about the cut on her head. It was still throbbing. But a few stitches were the least of her concerns.
Colt ended the call, put his truck into gear and flashed his headlights to let Gambil know they were about to leave. Elise held her breath, to see what the man would do, but Gambil eased out onto the road, and Colt followed right behind him.
It seemed, well, normal.
“You think I’m crazy,” she mumbled. Heck, she was beginning to think that, too.
But the words had barely had time to leave her mouth when she heard the sound that she didn’t want to hear. Tires screeching on the asphalt.
Ahead of them, Gambil’s truck sped away.
“Hell.” Colt tossed his phone into her lap and slammed on the accelerator, too. “Call Reed. Tell him we might have a problem.”
Elise didn’t have time to feel even an ounce of justification that she’d been right about this situation. Ahead of them, Gambil fishtailed, his back tires skirting across the wintery road, but he quickly corrected the truck and went even faster.
Colt was right behind him.
“Let Reed know that I’m in pursuit of Gambil’s vehicle,” Colt said, his attention nailed to the road and the truck.
Even though her hands were shaking, Elise managed to pick through the numbers and find Reed’s. The deputy answered on the first ring, and she began to relay Colt’s message.
“Tell Colt to back off,” Reed said before she’d even finished talking. “I believe Toby Gambil is an alias. I don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
Elise knew. They were dealing with a man who’d tried to kill her. A man who was now trying to flee the scene. A man who’d likely given a fake name to a deputy sheriff who was questioning him.
There weren’t many good reasons for a person to do that. She relayed what Reed had said to Colt.
“He could be dangerous,” Reed added. “I’m on my way out there now, and I’ll see about setting up a roadblock.”
The moment Elise pressed the end call button, Gambil slammed on his brakes. Colt cursed again, hit his brakes, too, but had to swerve into the oncoming lane to stop himself from plowing right into the back of Gambil’s truck.
“Don’t you dare say I told you so,” Colt grumbled.
The thought hadn’t crossed her mind. Right now, she was only worried about what Gambil might do next. After all, the man was armed, and Colt’s and his trucks were now practically dead level with each other. Gambil could fire right into the cab and kill them both.
That’s probably why Colt threw his truck into Reverse to drop back behind Gambil. But they didn’t hold that position for long. Gambil hit the accelerator again, shooting forward like a bullet.
“Go after him,” Elise insisted.
Yes, she was scared. Terrified, actually. But if he got away, they might never know who he really was and why he’d come after her like that.
Colt seemed to have a split-second debate with himself about what to do, but she must have convinced him, because he took off after Gambil.
“Watch for Reed,” he told her.
She would. And she’d also try to watch for other cars. Elise prayed that everyone in Sweetwater Springs had stayed in tonight because with the way Gambil was driving, he could run into someone who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
There was a flash of red ahead of them. Gambil’s brake lights. And he turned onto another road. But not just any road. The one that led to Miller’s Creek Bridge where he’d first rammed into her.
“Why’s he doing this?” she mumbled. “Why would he go back there?”
Colt only shook his head and kept following the man. However, they had only gone about a quarter of a mile when she heard the sound. As if the truck had backfired.
Almost immediately, Gambil started to swerve. And it got worse. His truck pitched to the right, heading straight for the ditch.
“Hold on,” Colt said just as he put on his brakes. He had to careen around Gambil, but he somehow managed to avoid another collision.
Gambil wasn’t so lucky.
His truck left the road, going airborne when it vaulted over the raised shoulder, and the front end slammed into a cluster of small trees.
Elise had braced herself for something bad to happen, but she certainly hadn’t expected that.
Colt and she sat there. Breaths sawing. Her heartbeat going like crazy. But Gambil didn’t get out of the truck.
“Call Reed again,” Colt told her. “Let him know where we are.” And with that, he shifted his gun and opened his door.
“You’re not going out there.” However, she was talking to the wind because Colt was indeed going out there.
“If you move, I’ll arrest you,” Colt growled at her. He also shot her a warning scowl to go along with that and started toward Gambil.
Only then did Elise remember that Colt still had her gun, and she didn’t like the idea of him not having some kind of backup.
Not that she would be of much help.
At best she was a lousy shot, a disgrace for someone raised on a Texas ranch, but if Gambil came out with guns blazing, she might have been able to scare him by firing over his head or something.
Now, she didn’t even have that option.
With her stomach churning and her heart in her throat, she watched as Colt approached the truck. He took slow, cautious steps, his attention pinned to the driver’s side.
His gun, too.
He had it pointed right at Gambil.
Gambil’s headlights were
