Free Reckless Passion by Stephanie James Page A

Canada and across a couple of state lines...."
    "What sort of 'something'? Drugs?"
    "She's right quick, ain't she?" Sam Tyler offered admiringly to Yale as if complimenting him on a well-trained horse.
    "A little too quick at times, I'm afraid," Yale growled, shooting Dara a withering glance. "At any rate, Hank removed the stuff and then put out a quiet warning to friends at a few stops. They didn't spill it on the CB because he had hopes of catching the guy when he came looking for his stuff."
    “Why didn't Hank go straight to the police with it when he found it?" Dara demanded, brows drawing together across her nose.
    Once again Yale and Sam traded glances, and Yale finally said quietly, "There were reasons. Besides, it was just a small, er , personal amount...."
    "We all figure it's a one-man maneuver. It's been done before, " Sam tossed in helpfully, "the logical place for the pickup is somewhere south of the California-Oregon border...."
    "After it's been driven across the state fine," Dara put in.
    "Right. But it didn't happen that way. The guy came for his pickup at the first stop Hank hit after letting you two off. Even though they weren't really expecting him that soon, Hank and a friend damned near caught him." Sam hesitated. "They did get a description of him which, after what you might call due consideration"—he grinned—"they turned over to the police. The sonova —pardon me, ma'am—the joker's got both the cops and half the folks on the Interstate watching for him now. Sooner or later he'll turn up."
    "The situation seems to be under control," Yale murmured, clearly waiting for a punch line. Sam delivered it.
    "Hank's pretty sure the guy will be picked up soon. Which will be a great relief to all concerned, naturally.... "
    "Naturally." Yale grinned, and once again Dara had the feeling she wasn't being told everything.
    "But it occurred to him that if this, uh, joker's monitoring the CB jabber it might explain why he came for his stuff before it crossed the border...." Sam let the sentence trail off suggestively.
    "Damn CB gossip!" Yale muttered.
    "Okay, guys," Dara began vengefuUy . "Let's not lose the 'quick' one in the crowd just as she's beginning to catch up! What's the real problem? Why is Hank sending messages back to us?"
    Sam looked at Yale and lifted a huge shoulder. Yale nodded and turned to Dara .
    "Shortly after he let us off last night, at the very next stop, in fact, someone came looking for the 'cargo'...."
    "And...?" It was like pulling teeth, she decided grimly, but her pride wasn't going to get in the way of her overriding curiosity. Dara was determined to get all the answers.
    "By then the shipment had been removed," Yale went on gently.
    "Obviously! You said Hank removed it at once!'
    "And you and I constitute the main alteration in
    Hank's normal routine on the Interstate through Oregon. Whoever taped that staff on the truck wouldn't have had much trouble learning that Hank had given a lift to a couple of strangers. He might have come to check that the cargo was still in place after the Mtchhikers got off. Finding it gone, a disinterested observer might be excused for wondering if the cargo had gotten off with us."
    "Oh," Dara muttered weakly as the light dawned. "The guy might think we hijacked his drugs?"
    "A perverted thinker who didn't know our sterling characters might have come to that conclusion, yes," Yale said patiently. "Eat your eggs, they're getting cold."
    "I'm not hungry," Dara said absently, her mind churning with the unexpected news. "You meant that creep might come after us?"
    "A lot of folks heard about you on the air last night," Sam put in kindly. "Frankly, we don't figure it's very likely the guy will bother chasing you down. In the first place, the cargo wasn't that, er , large. And in the second place, if he's still listening to the CB he knows he's being hunted. If he's got any sense he'll fade into the sunset."
    "I'll keep an eye on her until we know for sure