Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Ashley

“S hit.”

They were headed to this mystery place that Carter had found for them to hide out in when he suddenly swore, pulling her attention to him.

“What?” Ashley turned to face him.

They hadn’t been on the road for long, hadn’t even made it all the way out of the city.

“We need to make a detour to the airport.”

“I thought we weren’t going to fly up there?” It wasn’t that long of a drive.

“Let me change lanes, give me a second.” His tone was gruff, but she didn’t argue. They were in heavy traffic and he was clearly trying to focus.

After he got all the way to the far lane, he finally spoke to her again.

“There’s a tracker on you somewhere. Matt’s tracking us right now through it and we didn’t put it there.”

“Julian?”

“Unless you know who else might have done it.”

Ashley shook her head. She had the urge to panic like there was a bug crawling on her and she needed to brush at her whole body to get rid of it.

“We are getting a new car, leaving this one at the airport and your phone in it.”

That made sense. Of course, it was her phone. She couldn’t think of a time when Julian would have had access to it, though. Her phone stayed on her and she didn’t hand it to anyone. Everyone had their own.

Carter must have realized what she was thinking because his next words eased her mind. “It could be an app, something he sent through text and you didn’t even know. They’re good at getting past people. Probably looked like a real text or a photo attachment.”

Ashley thought that over. “He did send me a photo once from the bar when I refused to go.”

He only nodded. “Leave it on, just stick it in the glove box and we’ll leave it here.”

Getting in and out of the airport took a while, but they were back on the road before long. Carter didn’t let her out of his sight the whole time, and it was annoying, making her bristle, but she kept herself under control.

She knew he was just trying to keep her safe. That and the girls hadn’t been far off from the truth yesterday when they’d assumed she had the hots for Carter, but nothing was going to come of it.

The unstable truce they’d formed last night was holding, and Carter seemed to be telling her everything. He didn’t give her a choice on this whole airport thing, but she didn’t have a better idea either.

“Relax,” he told her. “It’s a six-hour ride and we are just getting started.”

“Right, because I’m such a relaxed person,” she said sarcastically.

Carter snorted. “Put something on the radio and pretend you’re alone. I won’t bother you for a while.”

“I’d normally play on my phone.” She wasn’t annoyed with Carter about that one. No, that was Julian’s fault.

“Use mine.” He handed it over. “Don’t close out the GPS, but we have several hours before we need to worry about when to get off the highway.”

Shocked, she took the phone from him and logged in to her e-book account, opening a book she’d been reading. All romance and high heat. She used a blanket they had borrowed from her brother to cover up and snuggle in to.

Hours passed as she flipped the electronic pages of her book. The sound of the GPS telling them their exit was in a mile made her jump and nearly drop the phone.

Ashley quickly closed out of the reading app and put his phone where he could see it.

“Thanks. Good book?”

Her face flamed. Had he seen what she’d been reading? She nodded.

“That’s the quietest you’ve been even in your sleep. I’ll make sure we get you a ton of books for while we’re here.”

Right. Like she was going to tell him what books she was reading. Nope. “Sure,” she muttered, knowing there was no argument that didn’t end with her being embarrassed.

“The cabin has some clothes for you and already has food stocked. Is there anything else we might need? I hate to stop on the way there, but we can if we absolutely need to.”

“Not that I can think of. I’ll be happy to get out of the car.”

“Me too,” he agreed.

They passed the rest of the time with idle chatter until they started down a narrow side road when Ashley let the conversation lull. She took in all the trees around them and the beauty of nature. This was a place she’d live eventually. Away from the city and all the people, just her and a dog in the woods.

“You good?” Carter asked. “That was a heavy sigh.”

“I’m fine. I was just thinking how pretty it is here.”

The cabin came into view, and she bit her lip to not sigh again. It was small, made out of logs, or at least it looked like it was, set off in a clearing, and there was smoke coming from the chimney already.

“This us?”

“Yep. Looks like someone was getting it warmed up.” He parked and got out before turning to her. “Don’t move.” He pulled a gun from its holster and walked toward the cabin.

Ashley watched as he slowly opened the door and stepped inside. She continued to watch the door after he disappeared, hoping that everything was fine.

He returned shortly after with the gun holstered again and a smile. Carter opened her door and motioned for her to get out.

“They got us all set. We both owe Ryker a huge thank you for his because this cabin wasn’t like this the last time I was here.”

“What do you mean?” She let him guide her inside.

The fire warmed the whole room, and it smelled of some sort of spice mixing with the scent of the burning logs. A sofa faced the fireplace, and two doors lined the far wall. Other than that, it was a big, open area with a small kitchen and table.

It was neither big nor small in here, and she loved it right away. The place was also sparkling clean.

“Last time I was here, it was covered in dust and, frankly, stunk. I’m impressed that someone pulled things off the way they have.”

“It’s very nice in here,” she told him.

“The door to the left is the bathroom. The other is the bedroom. I’d imagine you have things in there already.”

Ashley nodded. “I’m going to check the fridge first.” She was starved now that she’d moved for half a second and was no longer engrossed in her book.

“Probably some sandwich stuff in there we can throw together real fast. Stay in here, I’m going to go get my bag.”

She didn’t acknowledge him as he left the cabin. Digging around in the fridge turned up a lot of things, all quick to eat and some ingredients if they wanted to cook. She hoped he was hungry because they had a lot of food.

Carter returned as she was pulling meat and condiments out of the fridge to make a sandwich.

“We don’t have bread,” she commented, still looking.

“That’s weird.” He joined her and started opening cabinets.

“Tortillas.” She held up a bag she found. “Unopened, so I guess they’re for us. Looks like we are having wraps.”

Carter shrugged. “Food is food.”

They stood side by side in the small kitchen area and made themselves a snack. He asked what all she’d found and she told him.

“Yeah, I owe Ryker big time. This place is fully stocked for weeks. Wouldn’t surprise me if he has a grocery delivery scheduled for later, too.”

Ashley laughed because he was probably right. “So what was your plan then? Get me up here to a dirty cabin with no food?”

He scoffed. “Of course not, I just didn’t expect all this. It’s like we’re living the high life instead of roughing it.”

They were still roughing it some. She had no idea what she was going to do to pass the time, but she’d figure it out somehow.

“Get me a list of anything you need and I’ll let Matt know, and Ryker will find a way to get it to us.”

“A new phone would be nice,” she mentioned.

“I can work on that, but no social media or contacting anyone.”

“No argument. I guess what I really need is an e-reader. I don’t care about social media, and there’s no one I need to talk to. Just thinking that since I have the time, I can work through my Tbr list.”

“Wouldn’t you prefer physical books?”

“No.” This was discreet. “I like instant gratification. I don’t suppose we even have internet here?”

Carter nodded as he swallowed his last bite of food. “Satellite internet.”

“Oh, maybe something I can watch shows on. Just a tablet would work, to be honest.”

“I’ll let them know. You are welcome to use my phone some in the meantime. I just need to know if Matt or Ryker reaches out.”

“Thanks.”

Carter looked around as he stuck his hands in his pockets. The conversational lull was growing awkward, but she was comforted by the fact that he felt it too.

“How about we go for a walk? It’ll be good for you to get the lay of the land in case you need to know.”

“Let’s hope I don’t, but I’d love a walk after all that time in the car.”

They wasted no time in heading out, and Carter kept his eyes trained on everything around them. She watched as he casually scanned the area constantly. He probably didn’t even know he did it.

“So, you were in the military?” Ashley asked to fill the silence.

“Yeah. I got out recently, and then this opportunity landed in my lap while I was trying to figure out what to do next.”

“That’s convenient.” She didn’t know what else to say.

“It certainly was. I live on a ranch out in Montana, and while I’m happy to return to ranch life, I’m not sure that I’m fully ready for that yet. It was more of a case of knowing I was done with the military.”

“Isn’t this the same but not?”

“Similarities, sure, but there’s a lot going on, and if I can keep you safe, then I might stay on and move to just training people instead.”

They walked a bit farther, and Carter pointed out a few landmarks that she probably wouldn’t remember. She was studying the man, not the land, and wondering what he was like when he wasn’t working.

“Tell me about your ranch,” she asked.

And he did. He talked the rest of the time they were walking out to a spot where they could look down at everything below them on the mountain and then back to the cabin. He told her about the horses and cattle, the people, the house, and so much more.

What struck her was how much he seemed to miss the place but had chosen to leave after getting home again. When she asked, he confided about the deal that Ryker had been offering.

“That’s amazing.” She was excited for him; it sounded like everything he wanted.

“It really is, but almost too good to be true. I don’t know if I want to do that and take on all that responsibility again.”

“How is that different than this?”

“Well, you are a training exercise. Now I know if I take the job, I’ll need to have clients escape and hide.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I didn’t hide. But if you ever need a client to get away from the trainees, I’m your girl.”

They both laughed, and Ashley realized how relaxed she had been with Carter since they’d gotten here. It wasn’t exhausting to talk to him, and she didn’t feel the need to fake excitement near him. Simply, she liked being around him.