Ken doubted he would ever be able to completely resist touching her, even out in public as he’d already done today. He’d be careful, of course, because not doing so would be unacceptable. He had to protect his woman at all costs, even from himself. He would never make her an object of gossip, so he’d keep his touches as platonic as possible.
But he knew, at the end of the day, no matter what, if he needed her, Alice would never turn him away. And he wouldn’t turn her away, either. They already had their balance pretty much as three people living in a ménage. Soon, very soon he was certain, they’d find their rhythm as well.
* * * *
“It’s pretty country here,” Alice said.
They’d left Waco behind, headed for their next adventure. She felt a lot better now, since leaving the restaurant. She didn’t know why she’d had that strange experience during that short meeting with Cam Drake. At one point, she’d felt as if someone had been staring at her. But when she’d peered around, no one had stood out.
Well, except the moron who chose to wear a green ball cap with that nicely tailored blue suit. Some guys thought if you pulled the tie off, as that man had, it made what you were wearing as casual as jeans and a tee. So not true.
“It is pretty country. I plan to do a bit more research into the geologic history of this area.” Ken loved research as much as Alice did, and it sure showed in the tone of his voice. “Do you know they actually found prehistoric bones in some of the caves hereabouts? I’d heard there’d been the remains of a mastodon in one of them.”
“Uh-oh. Would that trigger your ‘ick alarm,’ baby girl?” Ian asked.
Alice laughed. “No, I think dinosaur bones would be cool, though I don’t know for certain if mastodons are considered dinosaurs. But still.”
“So, what kinds of things would really trigger that alarm for you?”
Something in the way Ian asked that question had the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. His voice had changed subtly, and as she looked over at his grip on the steering wheel, she saw his knuckles were white.
“Well, for one thing, a nervous or worried driver with white knuckles.”
Ian shot her a glance. “Busted. I think we’re being followed. The same dun-colored Ford has been behind us for a while, but in the last few seconds, it looks like he’s gaining on us.”
“Alice, check your seatbelt.”
Ken’s command from the back seat had her hands moving before her brain registered the words.
They had just turned onto this FM road a mile back. Ahead, it remained wide enough for two lanes, although the land was becoming hillier. She hadn’t noticed much traffic in the last few minutes. She hadn’t seen any houses, either. Alice checked the passenger side mirror and saw that the car behind them was indeed gaining on them.
Her breathing sped up, and her heart began to pound. No one said a word as the Ford continued to speed up and close the distance between them.
“Hang on.” Ian’s words came out between clenched teeth. The Ford pulled into the other lane and sped up. As it was nearly beside them, Ian stepped on the brake.
Their vehicle slowed to a crawl as the Ford shot past. And kept on going.
Unless the brake lights weren’t working, the driver didn’t even touch them. He just kept on going as if nothing had just happened. And maybe, nothing had.
“I’m going to pull over for a moment.”
Ian did just that. Alice waited until he put the shifter in park. Then she unbuckled her seatbelt and slid closer to him. She ran her hand across the back of his shoulders but let him have his moment. His head bowed, his eyes closed, Ian fought to get his control back.
“I’d laugh at myself for being paranoid,” he said after a couple of minutes, “but my gut tells me I’m not.”
“I didn’t get a good look at the driver,” Ken said.
“Me neither. Ball cap and sunglasses were all I saw,” Alice said. “And I don’t think he even looked at us as he passed.”
“Yeah, ball cap and shades. That description matches just about every male we know except cousin Adam—at least while he’s still on duty.” Ian exhaled deeply.
“Want me to take over the wheel?” Ken asked.
“No, I’m good, thanks. It’s only another six or seven miles.”
“Here.” Alice handed him a bottle of water. He took a moment to take a good, long pull. He handed it back and gave her a sweet kiss. “Thanks, baby girl.”
He leaned his head back against the seat and took another few moments. Ken reached for her, and she gave him her hand. She squeezed to let him know she was all right.
“Maybe I did overreact,” Ian said.
“So? I had a similar sense of something being off earlier in the restaurant.” Alice smiled when Ian frowned at her. She knew he was asking himself why he hadn’t noticed her few minutes of concern. If he says anything, I’ll tell him that while he’s my superman he doesn’t have x-ray vision or a red cape. “I could have sworn someone was staring at me. But it passed, and this will too. We’re all three of us on edge and likely will be until we know for certain where Baker is.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Then he looked at her. “You’re certain nothing was off?”
“Just some guy with the extremely bad taste to wear a green hat with a blue custom-made suit.”
“He was a treat for the eyes, wasn’t he?” Ken asked.
She looked back at Ken and understood that he’d not only been aware of her distraction at the time but he’d seen the guy, too.
“That’s one way to put it.” She grinned, and he
