Free Hunted by Beverly Long Page A

will cover up their tracks and I won’t be able to get to the information that I need. I have to move quickly. I know it’s a lot to ask, but could you take me as far as Glenwood Springs? I know that’s west when I need to go east, but there I should be able to rent a car at least.”
    “You’re going to drive back to Denver? The roads are getting bad.”
    “I’ll be all right,” she said, dismissing his concern.
    Mountain passes blew shut all the time. It would be dangerous. “You can’t rent a car,” he said. “You’ll have to show your driver’s license, your credit card.”
    She sighed and he understood. She wasn’t frustrated with him, just with her situation. “I’m kind of bad at this, aren’t I?” She paused. “Okay, this is even more to ask. Would you be willing to use your credit card to rent the car for me? I promise that I’ll pay you back.”
    “No.”
    He could almost feel the disappointment roll off her. “I understand. I do. This is a mess. You’re smart to stay out of it. There must be a bus that goes from Glenwood Springs to Denver. I’ll take that.”
    “You don’t need a damn bus. I’ll take you.”
    “No.” Her refusal came fast. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
    “You didn’t ask. I offered.”
    She was silent for a long minute. There was just enough light that he could see her put the binoculars up to her eyes once again. She watched the scene for several long minutes. When her head jerked, he got nervous.
    “What?” he asked.
    She handed him the binoculars. An SUV had pulled up and a young woman wearing a big coat and knee-high boots was standing next to the vehicle. She was pointing to a young man who was carrying a camera and a tripod.
    “Local news,” he said. “It would have taken them a while to get here. Probably the biggest story they’ve had since the summer fires.”
    “This is getting worse by the minute,” she said. “I have to get to Denver. Right away. Before the story becomes any bigger.”
    “Okay. Maybe we’ll beat the worst of it.”
    Or maybe they were about to walk right into the worst of it.

Chapter Six
    The snow intensified as they headed toward Denver and the wind started really blowing. Even though they were on an interstate, there had been very little traffic and for the past twenty minutes, they hadn’t seen another car.
    “It should start getting light soon,” Chandler said. Not that light would necessarily help the situation. But she felt the need to say something. There had been no conversation for some time, probably because they were both exhausted.
    Except for the short rest they’d gotten before the cabin exploded, they’d been up all night. At least she was warm and dry. Before walking back to the truck, she’d put on the dry socks Ethan had carried. Of course, they were wet by the time she’d climbed into the cab of the truck. Ethan had given her another pair of dry socks and aimed the heater vent at her wet jeans. Once they were on their way, she’d pawed through the box of supplies and made them both peanut butter sandwiches. They’d drunk orange juice straight from the bottle because they didn’t have any cups.
    She’d been grateful for the food, but after her hunger had been somewhat satisfied, it made it even harder to stay awake and several times she’d caught herself closing her eyes and drifting off for just a minute. She’d woken with a start, grateful that Ethan was able to stay alert.
    He had to be just as tired, if not more. He’d had the additional stress of keeping the truck on the snow-covered road.
    She felt horrible that she’d dragged him into this situation. He could still be warm in his bed, asleep.
    No. Instead, he was battling with many inches of snow and a sharp wind that was creating drifts that the truck was having trouble plowing through. Several times, the back end had started sliding and she knew that it was only Ethan’s superior reflexes that were keeping them on the