On The Run Read Online Free PDF Page A

She could make no guess on who had taken him out and destroyed that car.
    Or maybe she could.
    Robert had promised her he was on his way.
    So grab the chance he’d given her and get Frankie away from the farm.
    Where?
    Baker’s Horse Farm was five miles from here. She’d follow the woods until she was a few miles from the farm and then hit the road. She could hide in the barn at Baker’s place until she could contact Robert.
    She turned and ran back toward the blind.
             
    S he caught glimpses of the burning car on the road as she and Frankie ran through the woods. No sign of the bastards who had driven it.
    “Mom.” Frankie’s breath was coming in gasps. “Why?”
    Why had her life been turned upside down? Why had she been forced to witness her mother killing another human being? Why was she being hunted like an animal?
    “I’ll talk to you later— I can’t— I’m sorry, baby. I’ll try to make it right.” They had reached the curve of the road that couldn’t be seen from the farm. Grace glanced both ways. No one. “Come on. We can travel quicker on the road. We have to move fast and—”
    Headlights were suddenly bearing down on them.
    She reached for her gun and pushed Frankie to the side of the road. Grace followed her, fell flat, and lifted the gun, trying to see past the glare of lights to get a good shot.
    The car was stopping. “It’s okay, Grace.”
    She froze. She couldn’t see the driver, but God help her, she knew that voice.
    Kilmer.
    “Get in. I’ll make sure you’re safe now.”
    She closed her eyes. Get over the shock. She’d always known it would happen. “The hell you will.” She opened her eyes to see him kneeling beside her. The headlights were behind him and she couldn’t make out anything but an outline. She didn’t need to see him; she knew every line of his body, every feature of his face. “Your fault. This is all your fault, isn’t it?”
    “Get in the car. I have to get you out of here.” He turned to Frankie. “Hello, Frankie. I’m Jake Kilmer. I’m here to help you, and I promise no one will hurt you as long as I’m here.”
    Frankie shrank closer to Grace.
    Kilmer turned back to Grace. “Are you going to let her stay there in the mud or are you going to let me take care of her? I’m not the threat here.”
    No, he wasn’t. Not the immediate threat. But Kilmer was more dangerous than—
    Kilmer stood up. “I’m going to get back in the car. I’ll wait two minutes and then I’m leaving. Make up your mind.”
    He’d do it. Kilmer always did what he said he was going to do. That was one of the things that had drawn her to—
    He was getting into the driver’s seat.
    Two minutes.
    Make a decision.
    She got to her feet. “Come on, Frankie. Climb in the backseat. He won’t hurt us.”
    “You know him?” Frankie whispered.
    “Yes, I know him.” She took her daughter’s hand and led her toward the car. “I’ve known him for a long time.”
             
    T here’s a blanket on the seat, Frankie,” Kilmer said as he stepped on the accelerator. “Take off your poncho and wrap up.”
    “Should I?” Frankie was looking at Grace, who had climbed into the backseat with her.
    Grace nodded. “You’re sopping wet.” She reached for the blanket and wrapped it around her. “We have to get you dry, honey.” She turned to Kilmer. “Take us to town and drop us off at a motel.”
    “I’ll take you to town.” He glanced at her. “I’m not sure any motel would take you in. You look like you’ve been buried in a mudslide for a month.”
    “Then you can check me in before you leave us.” She was reaching for her phone. “I don’t need you for anything else.”
    “You’re calling Robert Blockman?”
    No time to wonder how he knew about Robert. “I have to make sure he’s all right. He was back at the farmhouse and I don’t know what kind of spot—”
    “He wasn’t at the farm.”
    She looked at him. “How do you—”