Janie Crouch - In The Lawman's Protection

“I see. Well, do you prefer Atlanta over Philadelphia?”

Atlanta would be less cold and didn’t tend to get snow. “Sure. Atlanta. But just...it’s important that I leave as soon as possible.”

Lily nodded, a little more solemn. “Okay, hon. Let me see what I can find.”

Natalie waited as Lily began typing. After a few moments, a frown marred her forehead and a minute after that she began to grumble.

“Is there a problem?” Natalie finally asked.

“There’s a California drivers’ strike affecting buses from both LA and San Francisco. So neither of those are available for the next few days.”

“Okay. What about Vegas?”

Lily nodded. “I’m checking that now.”

The woman’s fingers flew along the keyboard. Her grimace didn’t reassure Natalie. “Completely full until Saturday. I’m so sorry, honey. What about flights? I know our municipal airport isn’t much, but they have some flights. Or renting a car?”

Natalie could feel the panic clawing up inside her again. Neither of those would work; both required identification that would put her in the system, making note of where she started and where she ended.

To her utter dismay she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. God, she could not lose it in the middle of this tiny busy station. She just needed to get out. She would hitchhike or walk.

“No, that won’t work. Thanks for your help,” she muttered, trying to wipe her eyes before the tears fell.

She was almost to the door when Lily called out. “Hang on there a second, hon, do you have any problems with trains?”

Natalie stopped and turned slowly. “Trains?”

Lily motioned for her to come back to the window and she did. “Look, you can’t mention this to anyone here, and we need to handle it before George gets back from his big promotion or whatever.”

“The bus station sells train tickets?”

She shook her head. “No, but we have access to information and ticketing about flights and trains in case of emergencies. Normally I wouldn’t even mention it, but since you need to leave today and can’t get out on a bus...”

“I didn’t even know there were trains around here.”

“Yeah, this one is a little weird. It’s actually a freight train, but it has one passenger car. Sells up to twelve seats that can recline for sleeping. It’s no frills...you have to bring food or grab some at the scheduled stops. One shared bathroom. But it’s not too bad. My cousin took it a couple months ago—she’s afraid of flying—and enjoyed it. Goes from here to Saint Louis. Takes four days.”

A train. Natalie had never even thought of that possibility.

“What would I need to get a ticket?”

“Just cash or a credit card, just like a bus ticket.” Lily quoted the price, which wasn’t much more than a bus. “It only runs on Wednesdays, so you’re pretty lucky. But if you’re really trying to get out of here today, it sounds like it’s your best bet. As long as you don’t mind not having many people to talk to.”

“Actually, that sounds kind of perfect. I just need some time to myself.”

Lily grinned. “Every woman does at one time or another, sweetie.”

Within five minutes Lily had printed her a ticket and given her directions to the train station. Natalie had to walk quickly to grab a sandwich and snacks at the grocery store and make it to the south side of town in time for departure. She was pretty nervous when she arrived at the train yard, hoping she hadn’t made a huge mistake. But an employee pointed her in the right direction and a few minutes later she was climbing into the passenger car with just five minutes to spare.

She could barely believe her luck. It was perfect. Wide seats in groups of four—two each facing each other—with a table in the middle. They would be much more comfortable than the cramped constraints of a bus. Plus large windows where she’d be able to see as they crossed the country. There were three groups of seats, and Natalie’s ticket was for one of the empty groups. Even better. Maybe no one else would get on.

There were only three other passengers. Across the aisle was an older woman reading a book and a younger man in a hoodie with headphones on sitting across from her. Natalie shifted so she could see the seats behind her.

Her breath caught in her throat at the man sitting in the seat. He looked up from the papers and computer on the table in front of him to glance out the window as a whistle blew, giving Natalie a view of his carved jaw and strong chin. His brown hair was thick and full, a little messy like he’d been running his fingers through it.

She knew she was staring but couldn’t quite help herself. There was a ruggedness about his face that drew her. He looked away from the window, catching her ogling, his green eyes pinning hers. Before she could look away with embarrassment, he nodded slightly, then resumed the reading of his papers.

At that moment the train gave a little jerk as it started forward. Natalie took her seat and watched out the window as she left Santa Barbara behind.

No one knew she was here. No one knew where she was going.

Then why did she feel like she was in more danger than ever?

Chapter Four

Lillian Muir deserved an Oscar. Ren had watched as the woman quite deftly handled George even though Natalie had beat her to the bus station by a couple of minutes. If Lillian hadn’t been able to get George out of the office she would’ve never been able to lie to Natalie about all the buses and get her on this train.

Score one for Omega Sector. And given how Lillian Muir didn’t usually do undercover—she was a kick-ass SWAT team member who could kill any given person a dozen different ways with her tiny bare hands—she truly had been amazing. The perfect blend of friendly and business that had sold Natalie on this venture.

A venture that wouldn’t have even been an option without the funding of Joe Matarazzo, another member of Omega Sector who also happened to be a multimillionaire. Joe wanted Freihof caught and behind bars so he and his pregnant wife could live in peace without worrying that they were next in line for a madman to attack. Funding this little field trip had been a no-brainer for Joe.

They’d been on the train nearly thirty-six hours. Natalie had kept to herself all of that time, mostly just staring out the window. The other two people in the car were both Omega personnel. The older woman, Madeline, was a retired agent who now worked as an analyst. The younger guy was Philip Carnell, not Ren’s first choice, but he was someone who wanted Freihof off the streets pretty badly after getting stabbed a few weeks ago by one of the villain’s cronies.

Natalie hadn’t spoken to either of them. And, after looking at Ren that one time as the train left Santa Barbara, hadn’t interacted with him, either. Not that he’d expected her to be the life of the party.

The train had stopped once at its scheduled point, east of Las Vegas. Everyone had gotten out and bought food and any supplies they needed. Agents had been following Natalie discreetly in case she bolted, but she’d actually been the first one back on the train.

They hadn’t gotten very far before Philip, still dressed in a hoodie, swung casually across the aisle and sat right next to Natalie. Ren leaned a little toward them so he could see what was happening more clearly. She had already stiffened and was leaning away from Philip, not looking at him at all.

Exactly what they had been hoping for when they’d come up with the plan of Philip turning on the obnoxious.

“Hey, you want some of my sandwich?” He was barely understandable over his chewing.

“No, thank you.” Natalie didn’t look away from the window. “I bought food at the stop.”