CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Two parked trucks blocked the turn-off to the creek road that led to Wes’s cabin. Gage pulled in beside them. Cleetus climbed out of his truck, his rifle in hand. Out of the other vehicle came his other deputies, Daniel and the youngest, Jason Clarke.
Dammit. The kid should be sound asleep after working all night. All his men knew they were putting themselves in harm’s way when they hired on, but Gage hated putting such a young officer in the line of fire.
Daniel met him eye-to-eye. “Figured Jason could stay here and keep anyone from stumbling into this mess. Prevent our prey from doubling back.”
Gage nodded and focused his attention on Jason. “You sure you’re good for this? The last thing I need is for you or someone else to get injured because you’ve fallen asleep.”
Jason’s face went completely serious and his eyes alert. “I’m good, sir. Daniel gave me coffee on the way over and I never go to bed before noon these days. You can count on me.”
“Good,” Gage said, clamping one of the younger man’s shoulders for a moment, no further reassurance needed. Then he turned slightly to address all three men. “What did Bobby tell you was going on?”
“She said to meet you here,” Cleetus said. “Something about a sniper after Wes and her sister Chloe?”
“Same here,” Daniel added. “Didn’t ask for more. Time seemed of the essence and figured you’d tell us details when we got here.”
Gage nodded. His men knew when to ask questions, when to act. “The only details I have is that Chloe’s been staying here with Wes the past few days because someone is stalking her. “
“That who we’re tracking?” Daniel asked.
This time Gage shook his head. “No. Not sure this has a damn thing to do with my sister-in-law’s stalker. We’re tracking Hannah from the café.”
“The waitress?”
“Tall, lanky red-head?”
“The new girl?”
If the situation wasn’t so serious Gage would’ve laughed at the surprised looks on his men’s faces. But lives were at stake and they needed to get moving. “The same. Earl saw her heading out this way with a sniper rifle this morning, dressed all in white. I wouldn’t think much of it, but Harriett called in saying she heard shots out this way.”
“Damn,” Daniel muttered, the others nodding in agreement.
The taciturn nurse hoarded words. And she never joked. If she called in about gunfire, there was gunfire. If she called the sheriff, it was serious business.
“So, we’re going to approach with upmost caution, got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Daniel and Cleetus answered.
“Daniel, you go left, Cleetus you’re on the right flank. I’ll take the center lead. Keep your eyes open and your sat phones at the ready. Also, keep an eye open for Harriett. I suspect she’s out here somewhere.”
The three of them headed up the road, scanning the area from right to left for any sign of movement. Gage just prayed Wes had Chloe hidden and was keeping her safe.
* * * * *
“So, we’re on the same page on this? Whoever is out there isn’t stalking me. They’re stalking you. Right?” Chloe asked, already reading the truth in his face.
He nodded, breaking off the connection to look back through the binoculars. “It would appear so, counselor.”
“Don’t do that,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Call you counselor? You are one.”
God, she wanted to yell in frustration, but couldn’t. “Don’t go all cold and dismissive on me, Deputy. You need to talk to me. We need to figure out who that is gunning for us before they get here and before Wöden dies.”
“I know who it is.”
She blinked at the quiet answer. “You do?”
“It was the war cry.” Anguish laden his voice.
“You’ve heard it before?”
He nodded. The muscle in his jaw tightening. This had to do with that last mission. She knew it in her heart.
“When?”
“The first real battle we had in Afghanistan. Snake made that same sound just before we charged. Scared the shit out of half our men and the other half were damn glad he was on our side. Afterwards, he told us his father taught him and his sister to make that sound. It was part of their family’s heritage from ancient warrior times.”
Sister.
“Snake?”
“Isaac Bridger.”
“Isaac was the red head in the photo, right?”
Wes lowered the binoculars and looked at her. “Yes. Why?”
“Remember I told you he looked familiar? It was the hair and the height. I’ve seen his sister before. Here in Westen.”
His brows drew down as he tried to follow her logic.
“At the café?” she prodded.
“The new waitress…Hannah.” His mouth hung open a moment in shock as the realization that he’d missed the connection. “You’re right. Why didn’t I see it before?”
“Because you weren’t looking for it,” she said softly. “You’d buried your friend thousands of miles away and years ago. How were you to even suspect his sister would come to Westen?”
“You saw the resemblance.”
“I knew I’d seen someone with that color of red hair before. It wasn’t until you said he had a sister that I remembered the waitress.” She moved to flank the window opposite him. “You think she blames you for her brother’s death?”
He didn’t say anything and Chloe chose to ignore the no-duh look he gave her. She was on a fact-finding mission and no amount of sarcasm, silent or not, was going to get her off topic.
“So, she’s waited, what five years?” She raised her brows at him.
“Six and a half.”
“Six and a half years. She searched until she found where you’re living and inserted herself quietly into your community to keep an eye on you, study you.” It hit Chloe hard. “She’s been stalking you like prey.”
“Yep.”
“How much trouble are we in here, Wes?”
His jaw was tight and he fixed his intense blue eyes on her, serious as a judge before passing sentence. “Her brother was a world class tracker and marksman. If she trained with him, which I remember him telling me she did, I’d say we’re in trouble.”
“How bad?” she asked, already knowing she wouldn’t like the answer.
“Somewhere between deep shit and royally fucked.”
Her heart slammed into her throat for a moment. “Wow, don’t try and sugar-coat it or anything.”
“I won’t ever lie to you, Chloe. I wouldn’t insult your intelligence that way. Besides, you wouldn’t want me to sugar-coat anything. It’s not in your make-up.”
Well, crap. As much as she wanted to spar with him, needed it to take the edge off her fear, she couldn’t argue with his assessment of her. It was spot on.
“There’s some beef jerky in that top tub and a bowl. Maybe you could see if Wöden will take some water and a bite to eat?” he asked, pulling out the phone from his pocket. She didn’t remember him slipping it in there earlier. “Dammit.”
“What’s wrong?” As if anything was going right.
“No cell service out here and I didn’t have one of the sheriff department’s sat phones to bring with us.”
“Sat phones?” she asked as she poured water from one of the bottles in his emergency stash into the shallow bowl and set it next to the injured wolf-dog. Wöden started lapping at it where he lay.
Wes was back to watching out the window with the binoculars. “Since cellular reception is a little tricky out here in the country, Gage’s dad invested in sat phones a few years ago for the department. They route calls through satellites, instead of cell towers, which are fewer out here than in a city.”
“Smart man.”
“Too bad they’re back at the station. We only sign them out when we’re on duty or there’s some sort of emergency or inclement weather is expected.”
“Like a blizzard?” she couldn’t help teasing him.
He chuckled, with a slight lift of the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, like a blizzard or crazed woman with revenge on her mind.”
“Or both at once?”
“Or all that and being trapped in a deer blind with a gorgeous attorney and a wounded wild animal.” He grinned, actually grinned at her. “Definitely a sat phone situation.”
She laughed, even as a little heat filled her cheeks at his compliment. He thought she was gorgeous. Given the situation she should think it an odd comment, as well as her reaction to it. She’d had many a man try flattery to get her attention over the years. Usually she let it slide like water off a wet balloon. Coming from this man—the one who had been a straight-shooter with her since the moment they met all those weeks ago—the admission of attraction thrilled her.
Giving herself a mental slap up the side of the head, she sobered. Whatever was going on between them would have wait for inspection later, if they survived this.
Quiet stretched between them as she gave Wöden small bits of the jerky.
“Do you trust me, Chloe?” Wes finally asked.
She raised her face to stare at his, all humor gone from his features, the intense blue gaze back once more. The one that said, I will always tell you the truth.
“Yes, I do.” And she realized she truly did. She trusted this man with her body, her mind, her fears, and her safety.
“One of us is going to have to get her attention, while the other goes for help.”
“I can’t shoot.”
“I figured as much,” he said, his gaze never wavering from hers.
“So, you want me to go out there and run for help. I don’t think I can find my way back to your cabin, much less town.”
“You can’t go that direction anyways. You’d run right into her. You’ll head north.”
“And where am I going?”
“To Harriett’s place. She lives up the road about a quarter of a mile.”
“Harriett. The woman you said the town believes worked for the CIA? The story you never told me? That Harriett?”
“Yep. That one.”
He set down the binoculars and dug around in the bottom box of his supplies, pulling out a flashlight and a compass. Then he took her hand, moving them to the opposite door they came in and pointed out the door.
“That’s due west.” He held up the compass in the flashlight. The north arrow pointed at ninety degrees from the door. “You’re going to go out about twenty feet or so. To that huge evergreen,” he said, pointing to the tree. “Get on the other side of it and turn right. Keep the compass with you and walk northwesterly. The river is to your left and meanders in and out towards Harriett’s place. You’ll know it when you get there. Have her get in contact with Gage.”
“You think her phone will work better than yours?”
“If I know Harriett she’s got forms of communication no matter the weather.”
“Because rumor has it, she’s ex-CIA.”
A shrug was all he gave her.
With a look at the wounded animal at her feet she nodded. “Ok. I’ll go, but only because there’s no other choice.” She pulled her gloves back on, stuffed a bottle of water and some jerky in her coat pockets then took the flashlight and compass from Wes. He caught her forearm and pulled her forward. Tilting her head, she stared up into his eyes.
“Keep close to the trees so your dark silhouette doesn’t stand out against the snow.”
“I will.”
“If I thought there was any other choice…” The anguish in his voice touched her heart. This big, strong man was scared. Scared for her safety.
She cupped his face with her free hand. “I understand.”
Pushing up on her toes, she captured his lips with hers in a deep hard kiss. One that spoke of her need for him. That he had to survive this. Then she broke away and hurried out into the woods due west, just like he’d instructed, blinking back the tears suddenly burning her eyes.
She did understand. There was no other option for them. One of them had to try to find help, the other had to confront the danger. All his experience told him what the outcome was going to be. One of them might die. He’d made his decision. He wasn’t going to let something happen to her. He’d rather sacrifice himself than be the survivor. That very thing spoke of his honor, his courage, and the reason she’d fallen in love with him.
Ducking behind the low-hanging branches of the huge fir tree, she paused to look back at the deer blind. Wes was just stepping back inside. He’d been watching her the entire way.
My protector.
Turning northwest, she started through the forest, keeping as close to the trees like he’d instructed. As close as the snow-hidden terrain beneath her feet would let her.
Dammit. Now was a stupid time to realize her heart belonged to Wes. If she wanted to test the waters with him, maybe have a future, it was up to her to save him. She just hoped she found this mysterious Harriett.
* * * * *
“Where are you?” Wes whispered, searching the forest in the direction of his cabin. “Show me just a glimpse.”
Knowing it was Isaac’s sister hunting him, he wanted to have some sympathy for her. She’d lost her brother, a man Wes had considered not only a good soldier, but a friend. If it was just him she was targeting, he’d give into those feelings and try to help her through them. He owed Isaac that much. But the moment she went after Chloe and Wöden—two innocents—she’d changed the rules.
Guilt ate at him.
It was his fault Chloe was in Hannah’s cross-hairs. He’d been so sure that the threat to her was in Cincinnati and bringing her to his cabin would keep her safe. After the wedding, his attention had been split. Half of it on filling in for Gage as sheriff, the other half watching and worrying about Chloe and her stalker. Because he hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings, he’d placed her in danger.
A whimper sounded at his feet.
Leaning down, he patted Wöden on the head and scratched behind his ears. “I know. I’m an arrogant ass and you’ve been the one hurt. I’m sorry, big guy.”
Opening the bag of jerky Chloe had left near the bowl of water, he gave the wolf-dog a few pieces, then pulled one big one out for himself. Wöden looked out the door that Chloe had exited, then stared up at him as if saying, “You sent her out there all alone?”
“I know. I put her in danger, sending her into the woods she doesn’t know, looking for help that may or may not be there, but what choice did I have? Her only chance of survival is not being here when Hannah starts shooting the place up.”
Lifting the top tray of medical supplies out of the bin, he pulled out the extra magazine for his Glock and set it on top of the bin. Not a ton of ammo, but hopefully enough. He knew Hannah had a sniper rifle. She’d have to in order to make the shots she’d made earlier. Question was, did she also have a sidearm? Next, he pulled out the two fixed-blade combat knives he’d stored in the tub and checked their sharpness. Satisfied, he placed all his arsenal within reach. He wasn’t wasting time hunting them once the battle started. Keeping Hannah focused on trying to kill him was the key to Chloe making good her escape.
A crack sounded south of the deer blind.
Wöden’s ears picked up and he growled, showing his teeth.
Wes grabbed the binoculars in one hand and his gun with the other.
“Come get me, bitch.”