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anyone like her since his wife died. If she found out who he really was and who he had ties to, she’d bolt in a heartbeat.
    According to the files he’d been privileged to, the FBI had tried several times over the years to get her to talk. They had female undercover agents befriend her, try to give her enough confidence to seek police protection. But she wouldn’t take the chance with her young son’s life. And he honestly didn’t blame her.
    Steven Prichard was an evil man. Ryan learned from his own investigating that whenever Makayla left the house on her own, the boy stayed behind either with Steven or his goons. The FBI agents on the case thought she was tied into the money laundering and trafficking schemes, but Steven’s using the boy as collateral was all the proof Ryan needed to verify she was just a pawn in this madman’s dirty little games.
    That’s where Ryan came in. A former FBI agent on the Prichard case, as well as too many others to count over the years, he’d made the transition to a private investigator/bounty hunter in order to save his sanity. His decision ended up being just what the doctor ordered. He could watch from a distance. Wait for the perfect opportunity to show itself and then pounce. And pounce he did.
    It still baffled him how she managed to leave the estate with Michael in tow. He wanted to know the details of what happened after he last saw her at the mall. She’d had a taxi outside waiting to take them to the airport and he’d followed not long after incapacitating Steven’s goon, Ricky. But how much he could expect Steven to be aware of worried him. How big of a head start did they actually have?
    “I’m hungry,” Michael said squirming in the backseat.
    “Hang in there, little man. We’ll be in the next town in about ten minutes.”
    Makayla didn’t look at Ryan as she twisted on the seat to make it easier to see her son. Ryan’s tone was calm and upbeat as he spoke to her son and he could tell she was intrigued. Only hours before when they first ran into each other, he’d been gruff and unconcerned about her little boy’s needs. Not to mention downright rude and inconsiderate if the truth be told. He’d been worried Steven was already at the airport. Didn’t know how much time they had. Now he was trying to settle into his role. A role she had no intention of letting him audition for much less be cast in. This wasn’t going to be easy.
    She watched her son fiddle with the buckle on the seatbelt. “No. Leave it buckled and sit still, sweetheart. It won’t be much longer.”
    In the rearview mirror, Ryan saw Michael huff in frustration, his tiny arms crossed against his chest. But the little boy said nothing else as he rocked back and forth against the seat.
    “What is the next town?” The leather shifted beneath her weight as she plopped back around to face the front. He flicked a concerned look her way. He didn’t like her tone. She was planning. He could tell by the look on her face.
    “Goldfield. But it’s small, really just a hole in the road. There’s a gas station with nice restrooms and plenty of snack foods that will hold us till Indian Springs.”
    “Been this way often?” She was studying him now. Her right brow lifted inquisitively.
    Damn. He’d slipped. He had little knowledge of Goldfield or Indian Springs for that matter, except what he had been told by the FBI when his surveillance orders turned into delivery orders. Goldfield was an old gold mining town and used to be Nevada’s largest city until the ore ran out. Now the town’s claim to fame was one very haunted Goldfield Hotel. He planned to make their visit brief. Ghosts were not high up on any of his lists. He had way too many past demons of his own to deal with.
    He wanted an answer that wasn’t a lie. “No. Can’t say that I have. But I’ve been told it’s a nice place to stretch your legs.” There, that was the truth.
    “Is there a working pay phone? My cell’s dead and I