Out For Justice. Susan Kearney

didn’t like the idea of Kelly getting discouraged. Not when she’d done such a good job of keeping herself together.

      “Hey, chin up. Today’s only the first day. You’re doing great.”

      “Maybe I should ask Daddy to hire a private investigator.”

      “You could.”

      “But?”

      “He’d be a stranger to Mustang Valley, and the folks here don’t open up to outsiders.” And then Wade wouldn’t have an excuse to spend more time with her.

      “I imagine you hear all kinds of gossip in your saloon.” She hit him with one of those innocent-sounding, sideways comments that made it difficult to anticipate where she was taking the conversation.

      “We’ve been busy lately. That means I have to draft lots of beer and rustle up my Texas-famous chili. You stop by sometime and I’ll serve you up a bowl—on the house.”

      “Thanks.” As if uncomfortable with the notion of them spending time together for any reason other than Andrew, she changed the subject. “So what hot buttons have stirred up the town lately? Does Tony Barker have a shot at defeating Mayor Daniels?”

      “I doubt it.”

      “That’s what Cara said, too. Tony was a friend of Andrew’s, I should probably stop by and see him.”

      “Even Andrew, as much as he liked the underdog, didn’t think Tony had a chance of defeating the mayor. Daniels’s contributors have deep pockets, and the town isn’t much interested in local politics these days. Folks are more concerned about the price of beef, land, oil and—”

      “What’s wrong?”

      “Maybe nothing.”

      She caught him scanning his rearview mirror, glanced over her shoulder, spied the tow truck with its flashing yellow lights. “It’s Aaron’s Towing. Probably someone broke down in the rain.”

      Wade checked his speedometer. Fifty-five. The tow truck must be barreling down the highway at eighty mph to be closing the distance between them so fast. It wasn’t as if the truck was an emergency vehicle with lives at stake, so to be driving at that speed in the stormy weather wasn’t just reckless, but brainless.

      Wade pulled over, steering his tires onto the shoulder to give the big truck ample room to pass.

      “Wade! He’s not passing.” Kelly tightened her seat belt and braced her feet on the dash. “He’s going to hit us.”

      Wade overrode his first instinct to hit the brakes. A collision at a slower speed would cause a more forceful impact. Instead he jammed his foot on the gas and took satisfaction as his truck lunged forward.

      Kelly tugged on his arm. “Are you crazy?”

      “I’m not racing him. I’m trying to avoid a crash.” In his mirror he glimpsed the tow truck gaining on him and shook her hand off his arm. “Let me drive.”

      “He’s catching us. I thought this truck was fast.”

      “It is. But he had a head start.” Wade checked the mirror. The tow truck couldn’t be more than a few car lengths behind. “Hold on.”

      “Like I have something else to do?” she muttered.

      Wade prayed his truck could pick up enough speed to avoid a crash. But he hadn’t recognized the threat soon enough. His late reaction might get them both killed.

      “Do something else,” Kelly insisted.

      He yanked the wheel. Tires screeched and burned rubber. He steered the truck off the road and thanked God for the flat and rolling land of Texas. They smacked through the guardrail and suddenly the truck was airborne. Kelly let out a gasp. He braced for impact, praying the truck wouldn’t roll. Praying the tow truck wouldn’t come down on top of them. Praying Kelly and he would survive.

      Before death, one’s entire life was supposed to flash before him. But all Wade could think about was failing in his promise to Andrew—that he’d failed to take care of Kelly McGovern.

      The truck bounced hard. Rolled. Crunched. A vortex of metal spun them and then spit him out.

      WADE DIDN’T REMEMBER the truck stopping. Why was he out of the truck when he’d been wearing his seat belt? He’d come to, flat on his back with the rain pelting his face. He had no idea how long he’d been unconscious, but he was soaked to the skin and shivering. The thunderstorm still raged full force, and the sky had darkened with the sun setting behind the clouds.

      For a moment he was tempted to just lie there. But then the accident came rushing back. Kelly. He had to find her. She might need him.

      He tasted blood, sat up and spit. Despite his seat belt, he’d been thrown out of the truck. Every muscle in his body roared in pain, but he forced himself to his feet, staggered to his truck.

      His truck lay upside down, the cab crushed inward, the windshield a spiderweb of cracks on one side, the passenger’s window long gone. Bending and dreading what he would find, Wade peered inside. Between the rain and the fading light, he wondered if he could be hallucinating.

      The truck was empty.

      Just to make sure, he crawled inside, praying her body wasn’t wedged against the floorboards. His hand caught on the seat belt strap and tugged free. The end had clearly been slashed with a sharp object, probably leaving just a few frail threads intact, which had torn during the crash.

      The chance of one seat belt failing had to be astronomically high. The chance of both of them failing at the same time meant that someone had wanted them dead.

      A prickle of ice stabbed down his spine. Wade crawled deeper inside the cab. He felt around, ignoring the bits of glass that sliced his flesh.

      Nada.

      He wriggled back out, confused and breathing hard.

      Think.

      His cell phone had been crushed. Calling for help wasn’t an option.

      The tow truck was nowhere to be seen. The highway stretched empty ahead and behind as far as he could see.

      Perhaps Kelly had been thrown out of the vehicle like he’d been. She could be lying by the road hurt…or worse. Wade pried open his toolbox and retrieved his flashlight.

      After a thorough search, he slumped next to his truck in despair.

      No one had passed by in all that time, and he hadn’t found any sign of Kelly at all. She was gone.