then she’d head to her grandmother’s best friend’s house. Another neighbor had said Mrs. C. had been gone for a couple months, but she was due back from visiting her son sometime today. Maybe the woman had evidence against Drew that Erin had started gathering while Jamie was out gallivanting with her friends? Surely Mrs. Cecily could give Jamie some insight into...something...
Maybe.
The weight of her battles pushed against her shoulders. Putting up with teenage attitudes, she could handle. Investigating a killer and possible drug pusher, though, was she good enough?
Yeah, her job. Only three years in the classroom and after all her questionable choices lately, she might never be allowed inside a school again. Thankfully she was on summer break, so she didn’t have to consider having a meeting with her boss. At least, not until August. She prayed her boss would show understanding and welcome her back when Jamie put Drew away. If.
Jamie flattened her palms on her stomach. A few minutes of nothingness and then she’d start planning her next move. For a few moments, she just needed...to be.
Something interfered with the brightness of the sun. A shiver scaled her spine. She jerked upright and scanned her surroundings.
A blue jay chirped above her.
She tossed the tent opening to one side and grabbed the baseball bat one of her star students had given her when he got accepted to his favorite college with a baseball scholarship. Wrapping her fingers around the base, she slid behind the biggest tree trunk nearby. Could Drew have found her? But she’d been so careful.
Faint hints of movement within her camping space broke down her confidence.
Did she dare peer around the trunk?
With the bat hanging over her shoulder, she inched forward enough to see an empty spot. She moved a little farther.
But the bat stayed still. “Your time on the run is up.”
Her heart jumped. She jerked her head around. Before her stood what looked like close to two hundred pounds of muscle. The man from the internet café two days ago. The injured one. The handsome bounty hunter. A hint of relief spread out through her chest. At least it wasn’t Drew.
Still, ways to escape his custody surged through her mind as she glanced around him. She’d done it before. She could do it again. Hopefully. Although this time he had her pinned to the trunk of a tree. A hint of cologne or soap drifted to her nose.
“I see the look in your eyes.” He tugged the bat out of her hands and tossed it behind him. It landed by her backpack. “But you’re not going anywhere except to jail.”
Anger for the way she’d left him at the café should have been visible through his expression, but he studied her with calm determination. He was bigger than she’d first thought the other day, wider in the chest. Stronger, probably. Intimidating, definitely.
Yet she didn’t fear for her life.
Jamie swallowed the lump in her throat. How would she get out of this? “Who are you?”
After taking a couple of steps back, he propped his hands on the waistband of his cargo pants. “My name’s Zack Owen. I’m a bounty hunter.”
One man trying to finish her off and one trying to bring her in. Great. As if her life wasn’t complicated enough.
“How’d you find me?” She’d thought she’d been doing well staying off the grid.
“I asked questions. People around the internet café, people on the bus routes, others by the beach and in the park...they all gave you up.”
“How’s the woman from the other day? I didn’t mean to hurt her. It’s just...there’s a lot at stake.”
“Like you trying to blame everyone else for your behavior?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
She lifted her chin. “Not everyone else. Just the man responsible.”
“The courts can sort all that out.” Leaning forward, he took a loose hold of her arm. “Let’s go.”
She couldn’t explain it, but something about him made her want to trust him, to reach out to him for assistance. Maybe going with him could work in her favor. She spent enough time guiding teenagers to her side of the bargaining table. She could do the same thing with this guy.
Except Zack Owen was no sixteen-year-old. The bottom line was she didn’t know this man. Her heart might be urging her to take a chance, but her brain knew better.
She dug in her heels. He stilled, staring down at her with piercing green eyes the color of an Irish countryside. “Look, I won’t put the cuffs on you if you can act like a civil human being.”
“You can’t—”
“Yes, I can.” His grip tightened. “Now what’s it going to be?”
She nipped her bottom lip. Several seconds ticked by. Think of something.
“Come on.” He tugged her toward the camping site parking lot, fifty, sixty yards away.
Jamie froze. Two of Drew’s men stalked toward them. She couldn’t be caught. Charlotte needed her. At least with the bounty hunter she had a chance.
Zack stilled, looked from her to the men. “You know them?”
“Yes. How did they find me?”
“Probably the same way I did.”
She gripped his arm. “I’ll go with you, but let’s go in the other direction.” And she’d pick up her backpack on the way. She couldn’t leave her most treasured items behind.
“Why?”
“Later.” She tried to drag him toward the tent, but the stubborn man wouldn’t move.
Big beefy Charlie, an off-duty deputy, closed in. “There you are.”
Jamie had seen the man next to him once or twice with Drew. Ben was his name. He pointed at her. “We’ve wasted a lot of time looking for you.”
“Who are you guys?” Zack braced his stance.
Jamie inched closer to him until their arms touched. She wanted to take hold of his hand, but she kept to herself. “They’re deputies from my brother-in-law’s office.”
As though the bounty hunter wasn’t even there, Charlie closed the distance between her and himself. “You know what we’re here for, Jamie. The kid. Where is she?”
“I’ll never give up my niece.” She’d die first.
“Sorry, but Jamie’s coming with me.” The bounty hunter slid her behind him. A wave of relief rolled through her. She pressed her palms to his back.
“Not too many people say no to Charlie.” Ben snickered.
Charlie straightened to his full height, only around five feet eight inches, but his bulk made up for
