Summer's Indiscretion(Divine Creek Ranch 7)(46)
“Hello?” Her soft voice held a trace of unease in it that made the alpha in Ace want to fix the situation and the fucker currently riding her bumper.
“Kitten, it’s Ace. You okay?” he asked cautiously as he began to slow down by barely perceptible degrees, closing the distance between the Hummer and the Miata.
It wouldn’t take much of a nudge for the big black SUV to have her rolling down the incline to the side of the highway they were driving on. His heart did a flip-flop as he recalled the accident he and Rachel had been involved in. After the impact with the deer and his SUV, her little car had made an awful noise as it had rolled down into the river bottom below.
“Yes, I’m okay, but I’m getting a little nervous.”
“Completely understandable, kitten. Don’t slow down, okay?”
“Okay.” They continued down the road, approaching another incline. Even though the highway was divided and vehicles had two lanes to choose from, the SUV had stayed behind her the whole time. If he continued slowing, he’d eventually be right beside her.
“Does your little car have a manual transmission?”
“Yes. Why?”
“The driver of that SUV doesn’t recognize my vehicle, so he thinks he’s got you. When my front bumper is even with yours, I want you to downshift and put the accelerator on the floor. Got that?”
“Yes. When we’re even you want me to nail it. What are you going to do?”
“Cut him off from following you farther. If we’re lucky, have a little talk. We’ll stay on the line with you, so don’t hang up.”
“Okay.” She sounded a little steadier. They continued down the road, getting closer and closer to the steep incline ahead. The Miata had its light weight and agility on its side. The SUV would need greater horsepower to make it up the incline, and that would be Ace’s chance to slip in between them. “Kemp, you get the plates?”
“Obscured. Windows are darkly tinted, too.”
“This is our guy,” Ace said softly.
The vehicles barreled through the very bottom between the two hills as he stayed right ahead of Summer in the outside lane. They started up the incline, and he allowed her to begin to catch up to him.
“Get ready, kitten.”
Chapter Twelve
“Ready.”
Her car gained on his vehicle, and as she drew even with Ace’s front bumper, he said, “Nail it.”
Ace watched Summer’s nimble fingers as she gripped the shifter and did as he asked, her little sports car jumping ahead. “Good girl, keep going.”
Just like with his vehicle, the SUV needed a bit more time to get up to speed on the steep hill, and as soon as her rear bumper cleared Ace’s, he veered into the other lane.
Kemp gripped the dash and said, “She’s doing great. Keep going, Summer.”
“Okay!”
Ace cursed when he saw that the SUV had already slammed on its brakes and made a U-turn on the deserted highway. He made a corresponding move and tried to catch up with the SUV. He was pissed off with how long it was taking to get to the bottom of this case and was determined to not lose this guy. The SUV turned off on a densely wooded, winding, narrow county road and gave them a merry chase for a few miles before that was exactly what happened. They lost him.
“Damn it!” Ace said as he pounded the wheel.
“Guys?”
Ace sighed heavily and said, “We lost him, kitten.”
“Oh. Are you okay?”
“Yes, baby,” Kemp responded. “Where are you right now?”
“I’m almost in Divine.”
“Okay. Why don’t you meet us at O’Reilley’s?”
They pulled in beside her car ten minutes later and found her waiting in the entry. She looked like she’d seen a ghost. On top of everything else that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, now she had this to deal with. Ace held out his arms to her, and she rushed into them. It felt good to hold her again after what they’d just been through. He’d hated the feeling of powerlessness, knowing that the SUV could’ve run her off that highway at any time prior to his intervention.
“No sign of him?”
“No. He lost us on a twisting, turning back road. I’m sorry, Summer. We’re going to get to the bottom of this. I promise.”
Summer looked up at him with expressive, hazel eyes and nodded. “I know you will.”
The smiling hostess approached them with three menus in her hands and led them to a comfortable booth in one corner of the main dining room. There weren’t many people there, as it was early on a Sunday evening.
After they placed their orders, Summer sighed heavily and sat back against the cushioned seat. Ace reached for her hand under the table and noticed Kemp made the same gesture as well. Summer looked up at Ace and smiled, but he could see the weariness in her eyes and he wanted to take care of her. His stronger desire was to get her home so she could unwind and feel safe rather than getting her home so they could fool around again. She brought out all his protective instincts. The other, more intimate stuff still had to wait. He was going to show her that they wanted more than that with her. He wanted her company, too.