Deadly Identity by Lindsay McKenna Page A

sadness over taking that life. Reaching out, she placed her gloved hand on his shoulder. “I’m really sorry that had to happen to you, Cade. I can’t imagine what I’d do if I’d been in your shoes.” She shivered.
    Quirking his mouth, Cade felt the butterfly touch of her hand, tentative on his shoulder. He twisted a look toward her. “I didn’t want to do it.” And then, the words came tumbling out of his mouth. “He was a local drug dealer in cocaine and knew that the feds had figured it all out. We were working with them and going to pick him up and charge him. I couldn’t believe it when he came out of his house firing that automatic weapon at all of us.” Stunned that he’d talk about something so personal, Cade was angry with himself. Was it her hand on his shoulder? Is that whathad caused this avalanche of personal information to come out?
    Her fingers tightened on his shoulder. How badly Rachel wanted to step closer, slide her arms around Cade and just hold him. Because right now, that’s exactly what he needed, a little protection from the storm of life and what it had handed him. “How do you know you killed him?”
    â€œI was the one who had walked up to the house,” he muttered, remembering that day too well. Helpless, Cade added, “I don’t know how he missed me, but later the coroner said he was pumped full of cocaine, he couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn the shape he was in.”
    Cade hungrily absorbed Rachel’s touch. Two years without a woman’s touch or voice had left him feeling raw and needy. Cade had had plenty of chances to start up a relationship, but no woman had interested him—until now. What was it about Rachel? Her gentleness? That wonderful vulnerability that she couldn’t hide from anyone? Her obvious love and affection for Jenny? Cade didn’t know. He swallowed hard.
    â€œI’m so sorry it happened, Cade. You didn’t deserve that.”
    Her soft, trembling voice cut through his sadness. In that moment, Cade saw and felt something else around Rachel as they stood together at the corral. His gut and heart told him something terribly tragichad happened to her. And then, that look in her expression and eyes disappeared. Her hand left his shoulder. “Bad things happen all the time to good people,” he offered gruffly as he searched her soft blue eyes. “In my job, we see that all the time. Even people who are bad, like this dude was, I didn’t want to shoot him. But I had to or he’d have taken me down. I had no choice.”
    Rachel nodded. “I understand, Cade.” More than he would ever know. Giving him a sad smile, she offered, “When bad things like that happen, it makes us appreciate the goodness that life can bring us.”
    Without meaning to, Cade reached out and grazed her hair with his glove. “Yes,” was all he managed to choke out. For whatever reason, Cade sensed that Rachel did understand on such a deep, visceral level that it shook him to his core. What was happening to him? To them?

CHAPTER EIGHT
    â€œI T’S ALREADY F EBRUARY fourteenth and law enforcement hasn’t found Dirk yet,” Rachel’s mother Daisy said, her voice despondent.
    Sighing, Rachel looked out the large plate-glass window that framed the Grand Tetons. “I know. I can’t believe it. No one has a clue where he is.”
    â€œAre you feeling anxious?” Daisy asked her daughter.
    â€œOf course. What’s worse is I’m with a wonderful family. A family I worry about. What if Dirk finds me? What will he do to them? Half the time I’m thinking of just disappearing one day. But I can’t, because of the baby I’m taking care of. I go through minutes of sheer terror followed by calm logic.”
    â€œI’m getting jumpier by the day myself,” Daisy murmured. “My handler said that Payson could target the farm