and crouched down. The SUV slowed as it reached the crossroads. Alex hoped it would turn but it rolled right through, speeding up again. He pressed himself against a tree, knowing his dark clothing would blend in.
The chances that the driver would realize this was the driveway he’d turned off on were slim. He was prepared regardless. They sped past. He squinted, hoping for a glimpse of the license plate. It was a fruitless attempt to gain information. It was too dark to make out anything. The vehicle continued on with no sign of slowing down.
He raced back to Claire. Flinging the door open, he slid inside.
“We lost them?” Claire demanded as they took off.
When they reached the edge of the driveway, taillights glowed red in the far distance.
“Looks that way.”
Alex maneuvered onto the gravel road. He backtracked to the crossroads their pursuers had avoided. He took a right, not sure where they were headed but not really caring. Once on this deserted stretch he flipped the headlights on.
He felt Claire’s gaze burning into him.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” she said.
He shot her a wry look. “I could say the same for you.”
Claire read the description of the campground to Alex as he drove. Using his phone, she’d scanned several of them before finding one she thought might be a good fit.
“That one should work,” he said as he flicked another glance into the rearview mirror.
Though they’d been driving without incident for half an hour now, she appreciated his vigilance.
“I think so, too,” she agreed. “They accept dogs and it’s less than an hour away, near the Tillamook State Forest.” She read off the directions before sliding his smartphone into the Jeep’s cup holder.
For weeks she had been fervently praying, asking God to help her. She had not anticipated help to arrive in the form of her ex-fiancé. Claire hadn’t seen Alex in years. He’d left her at the worst possible time. He’d had no way of knowing she was pregnant with Mia. She hadn’t figured it out herself until after he’d disappeared. She had no idea how he was going to react to finding out he had a daughter.
Having him barge back into her life was surreal. She kept sneaking glances, assuring herself it was really him.
Alex had spent years serving as an Army Ranger. After a mission gone horribly wrong, he had changed. During his last deployment, a suicide bomber had blown up a school in an area he was supposed to be protecting. Men, women and far too many children had died. Though Claire had no doubt Alex had done everything by the book, he still blamed himself.
When he was discharged, he’d taken a job with an elite security company. It seemed to Claire he’d always put himself in harm’s way. It was more than being an adrenaline junkie. It was as though he’d thought he could make up for the past if he pushed himself hard enough.
The problem was, no matter what he did, no matter how many lives he saved, it was never enough. He could never get over the lives that had been lost.
He’d fallen into a pit of self-loathing and despair. No matter how Claire had tried, she hadn’t been able to help him. She hadn’t been able to save Alex from himself, nor had she been able to save their relationship. Claiming she was better off without him, he’d walked away from her, from the plans they’d made, and he’d never looked back. Years ago she’d come to terms with the realization that she might never see him again. That’s why his unexpected appearance was so hard to grasp.
Now that they had a plan of action for the night, she was ready to get some answers.
“How does Beth play into this?” she demanded. How had her sister been able to find him when Claire had spent months searching for Alex? Granted, that was years ago. At the time she’d exhausted every resource she had. Alex had been nowhere to be found. Emotionally drained and heartbroken, she’d given up the search and hadn’t picked it up again. “I can’t believe she was able to find you.”
“She didn’t find me. I contacted her.”
After a moment of stunned silence she asked, “Why would you do that?”
“I came in on an international flight this morning. As I was walking through the airport I saw your face on a television screen.” He cast a glance her way. “I stopped to listen to the news report. There aren’t a lot of things that shock me these days, but that report was definitely one of them. I went home, did some quick research and realized you were in way over your head.”
She couldn’t argue. She needed help. If Alex was offering, it would be stupid and prideful to refuse. As much as seeing him had thrown her, she knew that if anyone could help her, it would be him.
“There’s a warrant out for your arrest, you’re on the run and the media is pushing the idea you crossed the border into Canada,” he said, his tone matter of fact.
She turned to study his profile, barely illuminated by the dashboard lights. Earlier, when demanding the key, he’d said Claire was framed. “I didn’t kill Jared.”
“I know you didn’t.” His voice was calm and steady.
She knew that. She had been surprised to hear him say it.
“How do you know?” she demanded.
Alex held her gaze in his for a few silent heartbeats before returning his attention to the road. “We were together for a few years, Claire. Like it or not, I know you better than just about anyone. You couldn’t have killed your husband, or anyone else for that matter. You don’t have it in you. I saw you whip the gun into the trees at the shack. You’d rather risk your life than use it to defend yourself.” He gave her another pointed look.
She turned from him, unable to bear the intensity of his stare. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the seat. Alex believed her. Beth believed her. Her sister hadn’t hesitated in taking Mia, so Claire could work at proving her innocence. Maybe the rest of the world was against her, but knowing she had two people on her side gave her strength.
“I called Beth to ask if there was anything I could do to help,” he continued. “She told me that you were framed. She said you were on the run, trying to gather evidence against the real murderer. She was on a roll and kept talking.”
Claire wasn’t surprised. Beth had probably known she’d had to take advantage of Alex’s attention while she’d had it. Otherwise he might drop off the face of the world again, disappearing for another three years or more.
“She said you were hiding from a powerful man.” His tone hardened. “She insisted your life was in danger. Then she told me about the shack, location and all. Beth said she wasn’t positive that’s where you’d gone, but she suspected.”
“I didn’t tell her,” Claire said, “because I knew there was a warrant out for my arrest. I didn’t want her involved any more than she had to be. I was sure the police would question her. I didn’t want her to lie. Suspecting and knowing are very different things.”
The hunting shack had belonged to their grandfather. He’d sold it over a decade ago to the couple who owned the adjoining land. They’d wanted to increase their acreage but had no interest in the shack. The building was rundown, and hadn’t been used in years. When Claire had first arrived, it had been a mess. She’d cleaned it as best she could and turned it into a place of refuge.
“When we were kids, we used to say that if we ever ran away from home, that’s where we’d go. I couldn’t flat-out tell her that’s where I was headed, but I was fairly certain she would figure it out.”
“I get it.” Alex tapped his fingers against