Love in a Nutshell - Janet Evanovich [88]
Which was the least of his worries. “But what about Kate? Did she and Chuck get out okay?”
“That’s why I asked Captain Norm if I could be the one to call you. Kate’s car is out front, but there’s no sign of her or your dog in the house.”
“Did you check the outbuildings?”
“All we found was Harley Bagger’s car parked behind your pole barn. The police, including your sister, are on the way, but I was kind of hoping you’d heard from Kate?”
“No.”
“Okay,” Ella said. “Well, let’s not worry before we have to. It could be that everything’s just fine.”
Matt’s gut was telling him otherwise.
Sunday, when he’d dropped in on Harley to offer him a loan, it had been a mess. Harley had been angry and insulted, and Matt had ended up feeling like a jerk. If Harley had come out to Matt’s place just to talk to him, he wouldn’t have parked behind the pole barn. And if he’d come to do something more, Kate might be in danger.
Again.
“Ella, I have to hang up now. I need you to find Clete and tell him I said that Harley is his man.”
“I’ll do that,” she said.
* * *
THE WIND was pushing through the woods. And Harley had taken to muttering to himself. Kate was trying to be a big, strong dog who could jump high, but she was scared. Very scared.
She needed to focus on the positive. Someone had to be looking for her by now. Her car had been right in front of Matt’s house. And she couldn’t be all that far away, either. She would be no easy drag for a man in Harley’s shape. Plus, with all her scrapes and aches, and all the grunge clinging to her, she had to have left a trail.
Harley sprang to attention, his voice shrill. “Did you hear that?”
She’d definitely liked it better when he’d been ignoring her. “Hear what?”
“That!”
Kate picked up the distant sound of underbrush crackling.
“It was a deer, maybe,” she said, though she was hoping for something better armed than Bambi. Say, like the police.
Harley moved to the blind’s doorway. He gripped his gun in two shaking hands and aimed. At what, she wasn’t sure.
“He has a gun,” Kate shouted.
Harley jumped, and a shot went off. Whatever was heading their way rolled on through the leaves.
“Woof!”
Kate laughed with relief. “It’s Chuck!”
Harley didn’t seem to have the same level of happiness. He lowered the gun and started muttering to himself again.
“Woof!”
Chuck clambered past Harley and went to Kate.
Kate wrapped her arms around the dog. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”
“Woof!”
Kate flinched. “I’m having sort of a headache issue. Could you keep it down?”
“Woof!”
Harley waved his gun at her. “Make that dog shut up!”
“If I could, I would,” she said.
“Woof!”
“Do it, now!”
“Woof! Woof!”
Harley swung his arm violently, waving the gun. “Get out of here, mutt!”
“Hey! Do not threaten the dog.” Kate got up on her knees and urged Chuck toward the doorway. “Just go on out there, dude. I’m right here, and pretty soon Matt will be here to take us to Stella.”
“Woof! Woof!”
Harley gave him a boot to the rear, and Chuck yelped.
Something inside Kate snapped, the same way it had when her ex admitted he’d dumped Stella.
“Nice, Harley. Kicking a three-legged dog. This is your day for proving just how low you can go, isn’t it?”
Chuck advanced on Harley. The dog’s cheerful bark had been replaced by a vicious growl. His hair stood up along his spine, and he eyed Harley as though he were a Porterhouse steak.
“Back off!” Harley screamed at the dog. He aimed the gun at Chuck.
As a former sensible city girl, Kate had taken a self-defense course. “Use your strongest weapons against his weakest targets,” her instructor had said. Kate’s strongest weapon was surprise. Or anger. It didn’t matter which, because Harley was about to get hammered by both.
Kate scrambled to her feet and went in low.
Cut him off at the knees, then go for the throat.
Together, they hit the cold earth outside the crumbling shack with a hard jolt. She heard the swoosh! of the wind being knocked from Harley. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the gun go skittering. No way was he getting near it again. Still on top of him,