of being a private investigator.
He needed to get Chloe somewhere safe. This road was too isolated and too exposed for her to be sitting here in the dark.
So he hurried things up with the two patrolmen and then called Blain to give him an update and waited to see what the first responders had found in the dense foliage along the hillside down to the bay.
“The vehicle is empty,” he heard one of the EMTs telling the responding officer. “We checked all around. One door is open, so if anyone was inside, they either managed to get out or they drowned.”
Hunter had heard enough. He’d done all he could here and he didn’t need to be in on any further searches. His truck had been moved off the road. The tow truck could have it for now to take in as evidence.
He made a call to Alec and then opened the passenger-side door and looked into Chloe’s wide eyes. “C’mon. I’ve got a friend coming to give us a ride to a safe place.”
She took the hand he offered and hopped down. “You seem to have a lot of friends.”
“Just three that I can count on.”
She didn’t ask any more questions. They stood by the truck, the damp cold night air surrounding them while the water lapped at the shore down below.
“Those men got away, didn’t they?” she asked, a shiver tapping down her spine. “There had to be at least two, right? One driver and one gunman.”
He leaned down and swiped at his bangs. “You must watch a lot of crime shows.”
“I’m just being logical.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. These kinds of underlings always travel in pairs.”
“And the ones who first showed up at the bar would have taken me or shot me right there if you hadn’t been there with me,” she said. “But you stopped them.”
“You should have stayed in Oklahoma and let the locals figure this out.”
“The locals don’t care.”
He gave her a hard stare, but his whisper was raw and low. “And you think I do?”
His question hadn’t fooled her. She stared up at him with wide-open eyes. “I know you do. You’ve proven that over and over today.”
She had him there, but Hunter wasn’t ready to concede. “I didn’t have much of a choice. I couldn’t let you get hurt or worse. I won’t have that on my conscience.”
“You’re right,” she said, a cold disappointment cresting in her expression. “You were just doing your job.”
Thankfully, Alec pulled up in a sleek SUV and saved Hunter from having to analyze things too deeply. Best to just go with it and not think about how this woman was cramping his style and messing with his head.
“Ride’s here,” he said, taking her by the arm to put her in the backseat.
Chloe gave him a questioning look as she got in the vehicle but she didn’t say anything.
Hunter got in the front. “Alec Caldwell, meet Chloe Conrad.”
Alec turned around and offered his hand. “Nice to meet you. Sorry about the circumstances.”
Chloe stared at his extended hand for a moment and then shook it. He was different from Hunter. More clean-cut and upper-crust. “Same here. Thank you for helping us.”
“You’re welcome,” Alec said. Then he turned and faced Hunter. “Where to?”
“About that, bro,” Hunter said. “We need one more favor, but it’s a big one.”
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