Beverly Barton - The Outcast

She hadn't bought the story of his rendezvous with Luanne and she hadn't believed him capable of brutalizing her. He had to face the facts. Elizabeth Mallory, for whatever misguided reasons, was determined to stand by his side, to march head-on into disaster, to go the limit to help him prove his innocence. What had he ever done to deserve the loyalty and trust of a woman like Elizabeth?

Did he dare believe what she believed? That they were predestined to meet? That she and she alone could save him?

Whether he believed or didn't wasn't the point. The point was that Elizabeth was in his life and in it to stay. Now, the question was, what the hell was he going to do with her?

Elizabeth snuggled against him, resting her head on his shoulder, cuddling her body into his. Swallowing, Reece opened his eyes and looked at her. She was asleep, and practically in his arms. Strange thing was that as many women as he'd bedded over the years, he'd never slept the whole night with one. Not ever.

A narrow ridge of illumination filtered through the window where the flowery drapes didn't quite meet, a combination of moonlight and fluorescent motel sign. Rising up on one elbow, Reece gazed down at Elizabeth. For a split second his heart stopped. She was so incredibly lovely, and he wanted her desperately.

Her dark hair looked like black silk in the shadowy room. Reece lifted a strand and brought it to his lips, then dropped it, watching it fall back to her shoulder. Her eyelashes were long and thick, her cheekbones high and only slightly rounded. And her lips-those full, luscious lips. The memory of how those lips had felt when he'd kissed her was enough to arouse him.

When she nestled more snugly against him, Reece slipped his arm under her, lifting her even closer to his side. Still asleep, she laid her arm across his chest, her fingers curling around his hair. He sucked in a deep breath.

He touched her cheek with his fingertip, tracing the lines of her face, slowly, lovingly. She moaned in her sleep, pressing her body into his. He leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips, then drew her securely into his arms.

Whatever tomorrow brought, Reece knew one thing for certain. He wasn't going to let anything or anyone hurt this woman. Not ever. And that included him.

Chapter 7

The jarring ring of the telephone woke Reece instantly. Instinctively reaching toward the nightstand, he grabbed the phone. Suddenly he realized that there was a woman in the bed with him, a woman lying there beside him, her head resting on his arm. Elizabeth! She opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"Answer the phone," she said.

Glancing from her sleep-fresh face to the phone in his hand, Reece growled at the caller. "Yeah?"

"It's Flossie, sugar."

"Flossie?" Reece sat upright in the bed.

"Look, you've got to hightail it out of there as fast as you can. Luanne just called me and said she remembered where she'd seen you-that Mr. Jones in number nineteen was that Landry fellow who killed old man Stanton."

"Dammit!" Reece jumped out of bed. "Can you trust her to keep her mouth shut?"

"Not hardly," Flossie said. "Not where there's money involved. Guess you didn't know that your half brother has put up a fifty-thousand-dollar reward for information leading to your capture."

"Hell!" Reece held his hand over the bottom half of the phone and turned to Elizabeth. "Get our stuff together. Quick. We're leaving."

"Look, sugar, I tried to persuade Luanne that she was wrong, but she said she planned on calling the sheriff just in case she was right. They're liable to show up here any minute now. I'll do whatever I can to stall them, but-"

"Thanks, Flossie. I owe you one," Reece said.

"You don't owe me nothing, sugar. I just wish you hadn't come back to Newell. They're all out to get you, and the Stantons won't rest until you're back behind bars."

"I won't let that happen."

"You got some place you can go?'' Flossie asked.

"B.K.'s old hunting lodge."

"I wouldn't go there. The sheriff might not check it out, but you don't need to take any chances. Kenny's liable to remember you've been to the lodge. You need some place the law would never look."

"What about your old place on Lilac Road?" Reece asked.

"That place has been condemned for nearly a year," Flossie told him. "Besides, the sheriff is bound to check out any place you've ever been connected with."

Reece hadn't thought beyond his plan to hide out at B.K.'s cabin, but he realized that Flossie was right. Any place the law could connect him to would be suspect.

"I've got it! The Burtons' summer house up at the lake in Spruce Pine."

"Perfect," Flossie agreed. "Get going, boy, and good luck. If there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know."

"I've got a friend with me." Reece watched Elizabeth stuff their belongings into their bags. "If she ever needs anything, Flossie, I'd appreciate your looking out for her."

"Sure thing, sugar. What's her name?"

"Elizabeth." Reece hung up the phone, grabbed his jeans and shirt as Elizabeth threw them across the bed, and dressed hurriedly. By the time he was fully clothed, she was pulling on her boots.

Reece grabbed her by the shoulders. "Do you still feel the way you did last night? Are you still determined to stay with me and help me prove who killed my father?"

"You know I am."

"Okay, then, listen carefully. I'm going to take your Jeep and drive out to Spruce Pine. An acquaintance of mine took me to her parents' summer house up there once. No one ever uses the place in the winter." At least, he hoped no one would be using it while he and Elizabeth were there. Tracy Burton Stanton occasionally used her parents' summer cottage during the off-season as a hideaway to take her lovers. She'd taken him there once.

"I'll follow right behind you," Elizabeth said.

"The place is pretty isolated, so we should be safe there, at least for a few days." Reece knew Tracy would never tell a soul that her brother-in-law knew where her parents' summer house was located. After all, she'd have to explain why she'd taken him there. "Don't follow me right away. Just in case. Do you understand?"

Elizabeth nodded her head.

"After I leave, you drive around to the office and tell Flossie who you are. She'll give you directions to the Burtons' summer place. She's been up there a few times herself, entertaining old man Burton and his friends."

"Can you trust this Flossie?" Elizabeth wondered what sort of woman the former madam was, and why Reece was acting out of character by letting the woman know his whereabouts.

"A man would be a fool to trust Flossie with his money or his heart, but he can trust her not to turn him in to the law." Reece cradled Elizabeth's chin in the curve of his thumb and index finger. "We'll need some supplies. Stop at a store on the way and get whatever you think we'll need to last a few days. Once we're safely hidden away, we'll plan our strategy."

"I'll follow your instructions." Elizabeth threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. "I'll meet you as soon as I can."

Reece pulled out of her embrace. "I've got to go, Lizzie." He threw his bag over his shoulder, opened the door and walked outside.

"Please be careful." She stood in the doorway, watching him get into the Jeep and drive away.

Elizabeth closed the motel door behind her, walked out to Sam's vintage T-Bird and put her bag in the trunk. She glanced toward the office, near the main entrance to the motel. Four sheriff's vehicles screeched into the driveway. A man she assumed was the sheriff emerged from the first car and went inside the office. Elizabeth got into her car and drove around toward the office, parking and waiting until the sheriff came out and walked around to the car directly behind him. Elizabeth was too far away to hear what was being said, but she knew they were discussing Reece. She sensed the high tension, the raised level of adrenaline in the officers forming the search party.