Page 37 of Hunted in Hope Town

Ellis swore. Fishy didn’t begin to cover it. “Your PI?”

“She’s following her.”

Ellis began to pace. The snow was high and his pants were getting wet, his boots weren’t going to fair much better, but he had to move. Everything was wrong. But it was a lead. God, he hoped it was an answer to this so they could go back to…

But if Kirsten knew now, if she was starting to remember, nothing would ever go back. If anything…it would just all be over.

Ellis had to try to numb the pain of that realization and focus on what Zach was saying.

“I’m running a background as we speak. The PI is going to observe what she can. Even if Dr. Leigh doesn’t have anything to do with this, the assistant might be finding out information under her nose. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“Yeah, good.” It was fishy. It was weird. But what if it was another dead end? How long did they stay up here waiting?

Especially if Kirsten was going to keep trying to kiss him.

The sound of something crashing had Ellis reaching for the gun he wore on an ankle holster, so Kirsten didn’t see it and get worried. But he quickly saw it was just snow and ice falling off the eaves of the barn across the way where the morning sun shone down on it.

He swore inwardly, dialed back into the conversation as he tried to get his heart rate back down to normal.

“You’re sure you’ve got eyes on all the ways in and out of here?” he demanded of Zach.

“Yes. The snow would make it nearly impossible for anyone to get up there anyway. You’re safe.”

Ellis believed him, but he sure didn’t like the word nearly in this situation.

“I’ve got to get back to doing a background on this assistant,” Zach said. “I’ll email what I find to you and keep you up-to-date on the PI’s findings. Just stay out of the way. We’ve got it covered.”

Ellis glanced back at the cabin, wondering what Kirsten was up to in there. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep her up here. She’s…” Antsy wasn’t the right word. But what was? And how much of this was really about him being uncomfortable with all the ways she wanted to push the envelope?

Because by God, he’d happily spend the next year doing nothing but kissing her if he thought it was that easy. If he thought someday the memories wouldn’t come screaming back and he’d be unceremoniously and deservedly kicked to the curb.

“At some point, we can’t keep hiding from her life. It isn’t right.” That was why they’d spent the last two years in Hope Town. He couldn’t forget that now.

“Let’s see where the assistant leads us and go from there. I’ll be in touch.”

Ellis ended the call with Zach but stood there in the cold, snow making his pants wet, his feet colder and colder. His nose hurt from it. He scanned the woods around them, took a deep breath of crisp mountain air.

It was such a surreal moment—all this wintry, quiet peace. Everything in his life in a new kind of turmoil.

Two years ago, turmoil had felt like normal. The only way to be steady was to have some kind of professional challenge. Two years ago, he had needed the job, the challenge, the danger.

You were afraid of becoming a father.

He scowled at the thought. They’d never had that fight. He’d never had that thought. So why did that accusation she’d laid at him that she clearly misremembered bother him so much?

Sure, he didn’t really remember his dad. Some random little snatches of a happy man who gave hugs freely. But Jason had been a decent enough stepdad. Maybe not warm or affectionate. Maybe not ever…connected or bonded in any way. Ellis was sure he’d never made the man proud, and they’d never known what to do with each other after Mom died.

But Jason had kept him, and wasn’t that love…after a fashion? There had been other family members he could have been cast off to. But Jason had kept him, gotten him through high school. Kept him on the straight and narrow.

He’d made a success out of Ellis.

And he’d never once been proud.

Why was he out here thinking about this when there was some mystery assistant who might be feeding his and Kirsten’s whereabouts to someone who wanted them dead? It was damn pointless.

The only thing that mattered was getting to the bottom of this so Kirsten could be safe.

And that wasn’t running away.