Christy Barritt - Trained To Defend

He glanced down at it one more time and saw a tag on the side labeling the bag as Buzz’s. This must be dog supplies.

At that thought, he unzipped it, checking to see if there were items inside that he needed to take into his house for Buzz.

Instead, he saw money.

A lot of money.

Carefully, he prodded the bag open more. His eyes widened.

Just by looking, Colton would guess there was at least fifty thousand dollars there.

Where had Sarah gotten that money? He couldn’t even begin to imagine.

Had she gotten in with the wrong crowd? Had she done something illegal?

Colton didn’t like the conclusions that his mind started to form.

But he needed to be more cautious now than ever.

Colton climbed out of Sarah’s car, locked the doors and went back inside the house. He wandered into the kitchen and pulled out what food he had in his refrigerator. Maybe something to eat would help them sort out the situation.

He put some water on to boil for rice and found a can of gravy. This would work as dog food until he could get something else.

A few minutes later, Colton heard the water stop and the bathroom door open. The clothes disappeared from the hallway.

Colton’s pulse pounded at the thought of talking to Sarah again. It had been so long, and there was so much he wanted to say to her, to ask her. But he needed to keep himself in check. The last thing he wanted was to get hurt again.

Buzz lay at his feet, keeping a watchful eye on the house. “Long night, huh, buddy?”

The dog stared back at him, seeming to take everything in.

“Your food is almost ready,” Colton continued. “Maybe you could use something in your stomach too.”

Buzz raised his nose to the air and sniffed his approval.

Just then, Sarah emerged from the hallway, her hair wet and her skin flushed. Yet she looked adorable. She always did.

“Thank you for the clothes… I can’t believe you kept them.” She stopped at the kitchen counter, looking a touch self-conscious.

“I meant to get rid of them. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t.”

“I guess so.”

Colton nodded toward the kitchen table. “Look, why don’t you sit down? I’ll fix some breakfast.”

Her lips twisted down in an adorable half frown that Colton often thought about. It wasn’t just that expression. He often thought about Sarah. He thought about her too much, for that matter.

He knew he needed to move on—to find someone who’d be more committed to him than a career. But there was no one else like Sarah. Despite that, she was off-limits.

“If you don’t mind, then that sounds good. Thank you.” She glanced around. “This place looks really great, by the way. It’s rustic, but it’s got a bit of style to it. Did you make this live-edge table yourself?”

He nodded and began scrambling some eggs in a bowl. “As a matter of fact, I did.”

He liked working with his hands. It was quiet work that helped him to sort out his thoughts. He had a barn out back that he used as a workshop. He’d thought on more than one occasion about how much Sarah would enjoy a space like that to paint. The view of the mountains out the back was amazing.

As he poured the eggs into a sizzling pan, the timer went off. The rice was ready. He put the food in a bowl and waited for it to cool.

Buzz scooted a little closer, and Colton smiled, tossing down a small piece of egg for the dog to eat. A few minutes later, the omelets were finished, and Colton set the plates on the table so they could eat.

“Green onions, cheese and ham,” he said. “Is that still good?”

He was rewarded with a smile.

“It’s perfect,” Sarah said. “Thank you.”

He placed a bowl of rice and gravy on the floor for Buzz and then sat down. “So, how did you meet this Loretta woman?”

Sarah forced herself to swallow a bite of her breakfast, not hungry but trying to eat anyway. “It’s kind of a strange story. I was actually participating in an art show in Spokane. It was outdoors. I saw Buzz near my booth. He’d stepped on something. I went over to help him and found a rock had gotten lodged in his paw.”

“Poor guy.”

Sarah flashed a bittersweet smile at the dog. “Yeah, he wasn’t feeling too great. I decided to wait with him until his owner came back. Loretta showed up. Apparently, Buzz had gotten away from her. She was in her wheelchair and had attempted to take him out to the show. She offered me some money for my trouble. I told her I couldn’t accept anything. She ended up coming over to my booth and purchasing a painting instead. She talked to me a little about my work, and genuinely seemed to like it.”

“How did that lead to a job?”

Sarah put her fork down. “At that point, she knew my name and even my number—I’d given her my business card. She called me two months later and offered me a job as Buzz’s caretaker, as well as part-time personal assistant. She said the job would still allow me time to work on my art. It was like an answer to prayer.”

“It sounds like it.”

“It wasn’t always easy. Not at all. Loretta wasn’t the easiest to get along with. But I really respected the work she was doing in the medical community, and it was an honor to work for her. She was a medical researcher, and she developed a drug to help people with arthritis.”

“That’s great, Sarah.”

She picked up her fork again but looked uncertain. “I know this sounds weird, but could we turn on the TV? I want to see if they’re reporting Loretta’s death yet and what they’re saying about it if they are.”

“Of course.”

Colton flipped on the morning news. Breaking news aired over the station.

All the blood drained from Colton’s face when Sarah’s picture appeared on the screen. The headline proclaimed that Sarah Peterson, twenty-seven, was wanted for the murder of famed medical researcher Loretta Blanchard. The news anchor continued, saying that there was now a manhunt to find Sarah and warning viewers that she could be dangerous.

Sarah exchanged a look with Colton.

This was much, much worse than he’d imagined it would be.

Because not only was a killer potentially looking for Sarah, but so were the police.

“The police think I killed Loretta,” Sarah murmured, her head spinning. “Why would they think that? I would never hurt anyone.”

“Someone could have seen you run from the scene,” Colton told her. “It would be a natural assumption.”

She put her fork down, her thoughts clashing inside her until her head pounded. “You’re right. Of course I look guilty. I was the last person seen with her. Her blood was on my sweater.”

Colton squeezed her arm. “Don’t panic yet. We could talk to the police, explain what happened—”

“I told you, no police. I can’t risk it.” Especially now that Sarah knew they thought she was guilty.

“The police aren’t your enemy, Sarah.” Colton’s voice was quiet and calm—but also full of conviction.

“I didn’t say they were. But Loretta had reasons for everything. There was a reason she said that. She…she was one of the smartest women I’ve ever met.”

Colton frowned, looking as if he was trying to find the right words. “Not coming forward will only make you look more guilty.”

Sarah shrugged, knowing his words were true but unable to verbally agree with him. “I just don’t know what to say or do.”

Colton opened his mouth, like he was about to say more. Before he could, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and frowned again before answering.