Chapter Thirteen
ANA
The idea that I would have traveled with Nate to Syria started off as an absolute joke. I didn’t want to go to that place, but I did have something to offer him with my knowledge of the area. I wasn’t exactly sure how I had expected him to respond, but certainly not the way he had.
He made me feel like I was just some ditzy blonde who couldn’t add two and two together. I had outrun him for two weeks and could have easily strangled him out in the shed the other day. I wasn’t just a helpless woman who couldn’t take care of herself.
Sure, I had hidden in a closet to avoid a raccoon, but how was I to know it wasn’t an actual person breaking in? Nate could have handled my offer in a much better way.
The next morning, I was still fuming with anger toward him so I got up and went for my run without Nate. I didn’t need him to run with me; in fact, he only held me back. I slowed down when I ran with him so he didn’t feel bad being left behind. Except for the first day when I had run home way ahead of him, the rest of the days I had slowed my pace so we could run together.
But that morning I ran full out. I cleared my head and just let my body go into overdrive as I ran over the hills and as far as my body could go before I had to stop. The trail had ended and I was running between the trees and bushes when I finally decided to sit down and catch my breath.
The clearing that I stopped at was magnificent. It had two-foot high grass that stretched out over a mile-wide prairie. I fought to catch my breath as I watched the grass blow in the breeze.
My chest heaved with the morning air and it took me a good twenty minutes before I felt like I had started to breath normally again. I was a long way from the cabin, much farther than we had gone before, and I regretted taking myself so far away without any way of communicating or any water to drink.
I made my way back the same route I had come in search of the end of the trail that Nate had made through the woods. It seemed to take me forever before I found what I thought was the trail again, and by that time, I was tired and my adrenaline exhausted me, so I chose to walk instead of run.
My thoughts drifted to Nate and what had happened the night before. Certainly he wasn’t a bad guy, and I was going to try and not hold his words against him too much. It was ridiculous that I had even suggested it, but in that moment, I felt so vulnerable when he had laughed at me and dismissed the idea. Saying that it wasn’t allowed would have been simple enough. But instead he hadn’t handled it well at all.
Relationships weren’t my thing. I hadn’t had a long-term one and I certainly hadn’t lived with a guy before. As angry as I had been the night before, my run and walk had cleared my head. At least I could try and talk to him again before he left and smooth things over. I didn’t want him to go overseas with us in some sort of weird place.
As I continued to walk, I realized that where I was didn’t seem familiar to me. We had run on Nate’s trail for almost two weeks straight and the curves had become like second nature to me; wherever I was at that moment was foreign.
There was certainly a trail that I was following, it just wasn’t the one Nate had made. This trail had turned into a very narrow path that would have been impossible for two people to run on together.
In the distance, I saw what looked like a cabin. I made my way toward it in an effort to see if anyone was home. Perhaps, if they were home, they could give me directions to Nate’s cabin. I was sure it had to be somewhere near there, I just didn’t know quiet which angle I needed to be walking in.
The cabin was dark, but it looked like someone had been there recently. There was a light on inside, but no cars around the building. I knocked and waited to see if anyone answered before I started to look through the windows. There were an enormous amount of pictures hanging on one wall with a map that looked like it was of the woods. I moved around to a different window to see if I could get a better look at the pictures.
My eyes focused and then refocused on the pictures that I saw on the wall. There were pictures of Nate’s cabin, of Nate, of me, and of Nate’s Jeep. I closed my eyes for a second and then opened them and looked again. Was it possible my mind was playing a trick on me? Who could be at this cabin?
Suddenly, I didn’t feel safe at all. I turned around in fear. Every muscle in my body felt like it was tingling and my hands felt like they weren’t even attached to my body. I needed to get out of there.
Quickly, I ran back down the path the way I had come. I jumped over bushes and moved quickly around trees. I kept looking back expecting to see someone chasing me, but there was no one there. Faster and faster I ran, hoping that I would find Nate’s trail and be able to get myself back to the cabin. After running for at least twenty minutes, I finally came to a split in the trail and turned right onto the path that looked like it was Nate’s. I wasn’t sure though. I had no confidence at all that I was going the right way, but I knew I needed to keep moving. I had to tell Nate about what I saw. We had to get out of there as soon as possible.
The adrenaline rushed through my body and was the only thing that kept my legs moving forward. My surroundings started to look more familiar to me and I picked up the pace and ran faster the closer I got to the cabin. I still glanced back to make sure there was no one there, but I stayed focused on getting to the cabin. It had to be near noon by then and I was sure that Nate would be worried sick about me.
I blasted through the front door to find Nate sprawled out on the couch and reading through his intel material.
“They’re coming for me, Nate. They have been watching us. They’re in a cabin up that way and they have photos of us. We need to leave right now,” I said as I ran to my room and started to pack my things.
Nate followed me to my room and leaned against the door in a relaxed way as I hurriedly threw my things into the suitcase.
“What are you talking about, Ana? Are you all right?”
“Nate, grab your things. Get that moneybox and anything else you need. We have to get out of here.”
My frantic words fell flat on Nate though, and I started to get angry. Did he seriously think that I was so useless that I couldn’t even tell what had been in that cabin? I had seen the pictures myself. I knew what I was talking about. Stephano had sent men for me and they were going to kill me, and probably Nate too.
“Where was this cabin? I haven’t seen any cabins within three miles of here.”
“It was out by the grasslands. I ran past the end of your trail, and then when I started to walk back, I got lost. Then I looked up and saw the cabin. I went up there to see if someone could give me directions, and when I looked in the window, I saw pictures of us on the wall.”
Now Nate seemed to take notice of what I had said and paid attention. His eyes zeroed in on me and he moved into the room.
“What exactly did you see?”
“I saw about a dozen pictures on the wall and a map of the woods. They had a picture of your Jeep and a close up of the license plate. They had a picture of me working out in the garden and a close up of you in your shed working out.”
“Ana, are you sure what you saw was real?”
The question would have infuriated me if I hadn’t thought it myself. I wasn’t sure. But only because the night the raccoon pillaged through the garbage, I had felt like it was so real. I didn’t trust my own mind at all, and as much as I wanted to think everything I had seen was real, I couldn’t be one hundred percent.
“I think it was. I’m sorry. I really do, but after the other night I don’t know.”
“What color were the curtains? You said you had to look through a window. What color were the curtains?”
“They were blue.”
“Okay, finish packing as quickly as possible. It will take me three minutes to grab the essentials, and we will leave. Don’t go outside the door until I am ready. Just pack your things and wait right here.”
I had no idea why the color of the curtains seemed to matter to Nate, but I was happy he believed me and we were leaving. I grabbed all my things and threw them into the suitcase and then stood in the hallway as I waited for Nate.
He had a black pack under his bed that was already packed with things, but then he went into his closet and grabbed a second bag that he filled with items, including the cashbox that he had on the floor. I also saw him grab what looked like a gun out of his nightstand. He flung both black duffel bags over one shoulder and we headed toward the front door.
Nate took a minute to look out each direction from the house before he went out to the Jeep and dropped it right up to the front door. I closed the door to the house and locked it before I rushed to his Jeep and got in.
My heart was pounding with the excitement of what we were doing. I couldn’t help but think that it was entirely possible that we were being followed though. But I knew I was in good hands with Nate. Even if my own paranoia wasn’t letting me see what was going on in a clear light, I knew Nate could see what to do.
“Are we going to Jordan’s house?” I asked as we pulled onto the main road.
“No, if they are following us, we can’t go anywhere near Chase and Jordan. It’s not safe. I’ll buy a burner phone and get a message to Chase through his assistant though.”
The way Nate talked was incredible. He was calm and seemed like he knew exactly what to do. I wished I could think so clearly in times of stress. But for me, stress often brought about such confusion that I didn’t do anything but freeze. This happened to me long before everything went down with Stephano. I just was never really able to handle stressful situations.
I always longed to be one of those people who could be a private investigator or a security officer like Nate was. I loved watching spy movies and imagining what it would be like to run and escape the evil guys. I just lacked the skills and confidence to ever do such a job. Nate was right about one thing: I was just a skinny blonde who didn’t know what she was doing and it wasn’t likely I could save myself, and certainly not anyone else.
“So, where are we going?”
“Let’s just wait and see. I can’t be certain this car is safe. We need to get rid of it.”
“What? What do you mean this car isn’t safe?” I asked as I looked around the vehicle in search of a bomb or something.
“I just think they might have a tracker on this, so they know where we are at. I’ve got a friend who owns a car dealership. We will leave this one at the police station and then walk to the dealership and get an inconspicuous car. Are you good to carry your bag?”
Nate looked at me and knew I was exhausted. I wasn’t exactly sure how far I had run out to the meadow and back, but my legs felt like Jell-O. It didn’t matter. I would do whatever was necessary to keep up with Nate and get to wherever we needed to go.
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll need to run into the police station to make a quick phone call when we get there. You can grab some water and use the restroom. I’m not sure how long we will be on the road and I won’t want to stop.”
His words were firm, and I could tell I would need to have a delicate balance between staying hydrated and using the restroom. I certainly didn’t want to have to make him stop for a potty break when we were on the run from men trying to kill me. My thoughts started to swirl as I tried to remember when the last time I ate or drank anything was. But then, as if reading my mind, Nate grabbed a bottle of water from behind his seat and handed it to me.
“Drink this now, then fill it up at the police station. I’ve got a protein bar in the bag; find it and eat it now. How long was your run this morning?”
“Probably ten miles or so.”
“Yeah, eat something, please, and drink that water.”
I did as he asked and then sat quietly as he drove us straight to the police station in Atlanta. I had expected him to take twists and turns to avoid being followed, but he didn’t seem to think it was necessary. I trusted Nate. No matter what was coming for me, I knew I was in the best hands possible.