Chapter Twenty-Two
Mason’s eyes widened and he crossed the water, keeping low and trying not to slosh. When he reached me, he grabbed my arm and pulled me with him toward his bag. “Promise me you won’t try and give yourself up to him. No matter what happens.”
“Mason—”
“Rose.” His face hardened. “If you don’t promise me that you’ll do everything in your power to hide, I’ll stand up right now and tell Crocker I’m here. At least then you’ll have the chance to run.”
I reached for him, my nails digging into the back of his hand. “Mason, no!”
He grabbed my face with both hands. “I can’t worry that you’re going to do something stupid like turning yourself over in an attempt to save me. We need to be united if we have any hope of surviving. Agreed?”
I nodded, choking on my tears. “I’m just scared for you, Mason.”
“And I’m scared for you, which is why I’ll do everything in my power to keep him from getting you, and obviously you’re willing to do the same for me. But we have to work together.”
I heard brush breaking on the hill below us.
“Okay.”
He gave me a quick kiss and then spun around to grab the gun and blanket I’d left behind, stuffing both into his bag. “Let’s go.” He slung the bag over his shoulder. Moving past me, he picked his way through the leaves, trying to keep to the bare spots. I followed his lead, having a hard time getting my numb feet to cooperate.
We moved quietly, heading for a cliff that rose ten to twelve feet.
“There’s nothing up here, Crocker!” a voice shouted from behind us. I resisted the urge to turn and look for him.
Crocker’s voice drifted up, faint. “Keep looking!”
The cliff edge angled back, creating a space hidden from the creek. Mason searched for a scalable section of the slope then reached for me, determination making his face hard. “Climb.”
I scaled the rocks, fumbling to find a foothold since I couldn’t feel my feet. The cliff was only about ten feet high in this section, but if we could get to the top and lie flat, Crocker’s man probably wouldn’t see us. However, I struggled to climb even three feet, shivering so hard that I couldn’t get a grip on the rocks above me.
Mason moved past me and climbed to a ledge four feet up, squatting before reaching down and pulling me up. He scaled the remaining six feet of cliff and slid over the top edge. He looked down at the creek and panic filled his eyes as he held his hand out for me. “Hurry!” he grunted.
I grabbed his hands and he jerked me up and over the edge, the rocks scraping my stomach. We scooted back, lying flat on our stomachs. My heart raced as I fought to catch my breath, my whole body still shaking. Mason rubbed my back in soothing strokes while he looked down below.
I listened for signs of the man who was tracking us and heard nothing, but the way Mason’s head was moving, I knew he was watching the tracker. We lay there for at least ten minutes. Each of my limbs felt like it weighed fifty pounds. Even my eyelids started to feel heavy and I succumbed to an overwhelming sleepiness.
“Rose,” Mason whispered in my ear.
I blinked, wondering why I was lying on the ground.
“Rose, wake up.”
He rolled me to my side and I looked up into his face. Tiny snowflakes floated around his head.
“He’s gone. We need to move.”
I blinked again. Where were we? Then the danger we were facing sunk in and I sat upright with a start but found myself clumsy and stiff.
He grabbed my upper arm. “He’s gone and they’ve headed south. Our plan worked. Partially thanks to Muffy.”
Crocker had sent Deputy Miller after her. Which meant that my vision about them had come true. I sent a silent prayer of thanks. “So we need to keep going?”
“Yeah.” He sounded worried. “How are you feeling?”
“Sleepy and cold.”
“You’re showing signs of hypothermia, but it’ll help if we get you moving. And I’ll give you back the blanket as soon as we’re off this cliff.”
We scooted to the edge. Getting down was going to be more difficult than climbing up had been, especially with my new lack of coordination.
Mason turned and lowered his legs before dropping to his feet. I mimicked him and he grabbed my waist, helping me steady my feet. He scrambled down the loose rocks, holding my hand to help guide me down.
“Do we have to go down the other hill we climbed?”
“No, not yet. We can walk along this ridge for a while.”
My feet felt like I was lugging bags of potatoes.
Mason opened his bag and pulled out the two blankets. He draped one around my shoulders, looking into my eyes as he did it. “We’ll try to find a house, like we talked about. We need to get out of the cold.” He slung the bag over his shoulder. After interlacing his fingers with mine, he began to walk. While his hands were cold, they felt warmer than mine and helped me regain some feeling in my fingers.
The hill was flat and mostly covered in pine trees, which helped keep us hidden from down below. After we’d traveled for thirty minutes or so, the land began to slope sideways. I started to slide, but Mason held me tightly to his side.
“I think it’s time to go down.”
He was right, but the incline was steep. As clumsy as I was, I didn’t see how I could get down gracefully.
Mason started the descent first, still holding my hand, but I pulled away. He turned to me in surprise.
“I’ll make us both fall. I have another way.” I offered him a smile in case he was worried I’d lost my mind. “Violet and I used to roam my aunt and uncle’s land, and they had some hills like these. We’d climb up, and then I’d be too scared to climb back down. Violet wasn’t, but she never called me a baby. She would just take my hand and say it was a slide and that we could slide down together.”
“So you plan to slide down on your butt?”
“Yeah. It beats falling flat on my face.”
He shook his head with a grin. “I have a better idea. How about you grab one tree and then reach for another?”
I smirked. “It’s worth a try.”
I reached for a tree several feet beneath me and wrapped my arms around it, picking out which tree to lunge for next.
“So Violet wasn’t always jealous of you?” Mason asked, standing by a tree next to mine.
I nearly slid past the next tree. “No, she used to be my best friend. I guess she always was until I met Neely Kate.”
Mason ran several feet past me and then looked back up at me.
“Show-off.”
“Were you her best friend?”
I lunged for another tree. “I’m not sure. I used to think so, but you know what they say about hindsight.”
“Despite everything, I know she loves you, Rose.”
“I know…” While I knew it was true, I still struggled with her behavior.
“Jealousy makes people do funny things.”
We’d made it down about ten feet with another twenty feet to go.
“She hurt me, Mason. All this time I thought she was helping me, but she was really trying to hold me back.”
“Maybe she thought she was helping you.”
“She’s always insisted that she acts the way she does to protect me. Joe told me that she was hurting me by not letting me face the world on my own two feet.”
Mason held onto the tree next to me, looking into my face. “And which do you think it was?”
I slid down to the next tree. “Maybe a combination. I really don’t think she ever set out to hurt me, at least up until she let everyone believe I’d stolen her money. But before that, I think she thought she was helping.”
“It’s all in the intent, Rose. When I file charges against someone, especially in murder cases, I have to look at the intent.”
“I’m not sure I can ever totally forgive her. We gave up everything for her and she’s still sneaking around and purposefully hurting me.” I reached for the next tree, realizing we only had ten feet left.
Mason followed behind me. “What do you mean we gave up everything for her?”
My mouth dropped open. Why had I let that slip? I couldn’t lie to him, but I didn’t want to hurt him. I hurried down the hill, not stopping between trees.
He reached the bottom before I did. “Rose, who is we?”
Mason deserved the truth, even though I worried about his reaction. “Joe and me.”
He blinked, all expression fading from his face. “What did you give up?”
“Mason, there’s something you don’t know.”
“Obviously.” There was no anger behind the word, but I could see a storm brewing behind his eyes. Not that I could blame him.
“You know that Joe’s father forced him to run for the senate, but I didn’t tell you how.”
“I always presumed his father had used his past against him.”
Now that we were standing still, the wind cut through my wet clothes, making me shudder.
Mason tugged my blanket more closely around me. “You can tell me while we walk.”
I shook my head and grabbed his hands. “No, I need to look at you when I say this.”
Worry pinched his mouth. “It sounds serious.”
I took a breath. “Joe’s father blackmailed him, but he did it by using me. And Violet and Mike.”
“What does that mean?”
“He fabricated evidence that Mike had bribed county officials to get contracts and permits for his business.”
His jaw clenched. “What else?”
“He had photos of Violet coming out of a motel with Brody MacIntosh.”
“The mayor?”
I nodded.
“What did he have on you?”
I inhaled and released a long breath. “He planted evidence that made it look like I hired Daniel Crocker to murder Momma. He told Joe that he would make sure I was arrested.”
Mason pulled his hands from mine. “So Joe had to break up with you and run for the senate to prevent his dad from releasing the information to the public?”
“No, he had to run, but his parents relented and said he could still marry me as long as I met their conditions.” Now didn’t seem like the time to discuss this, but it was too late to turn back. “I would have needed to dress and act a certain way. To disown Bruce Wayne and Jonah and probably Neely Kate. And all the while, I’d know that if I didn’t do everything they said, they’d release the information. They’d release it anyway if Joe didn’t agree to run.”
“And you couldn’t do it, right? But you told me that Joe broke up with you.”
I shut my eyes for a long moment before opening them again. “He asked me to agree and then ended it when he realized I couldn’t do it.”
Mason watched me. “If the information was fabricated, it never would have held up in court.” His voice rose. “Hell, I’m the assistant DA, Rose. I’d have to file the charges, and you know I wouldn’t do it.” His eyes widened. “Which means he must have found something true.” He paused and his voice softened. “Violet is having an affair with Brody.”
I didn’t answer.
“Okay.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “So neither one of you wanted to break up? You were blackmailed into it?” I heard the pain in his voice.
“Mason.”
He turned back to look at me, anger in his eyes. “I deserve an answer, Rose.”
“Yes, you do.” I reached for his hands and held onto him. “You’re right. Neither one of us wanted to break up. But after I started talking to Jonah, I realized something… Joe wasn’t strong enough to stand up to his parents and fight for me. I don’t doubt that his father would have carried through on his threats, but Joe was the one who got himself into the situation in the first place. And then there’s the fact that he always goes back to Hilary. Even after everything she’s done. That’s why I agreed to talk to him in the nursery. I knew he was engaged to Hilary, and when I saw them together, I knew they were sleeping together. I told Joe that I could forgive a lot of things, but I couldn’t forgive him for that. Not after what had happened to Savannah, and not after my vision.”
“What vision?”
“When I was in the hospital last month, I had a vision of Joe. I saw him winning an election, but he was married to Hilary and she was pregnant.”
He didn’t say anything.
“When we were at the nursery, he told me that he wanted me back. I said no, Mason.”
He still didn’t say anything and fear raced through my blood.
“Mason, I want to be with you. You have to believe that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about all of this?”
“I told you. I was scared of how you’d react.”
His anger rose. “What on earth did you think I’d do? Get mad at you? Shout?”
“No, but Joe’s family has already done enough damage to yours. I didn’t want you to get involved.” My voice broke. “I didn’t want your career to be hurt any more than it already has with Savannah.”
His face softened. “Rose.”
“I know what Joe’s father is capable of doing, Mason. And I knew that you wouldn’t let him get away with any of it. Joe’s father got you transferred to Fenton County. He got me out of jail when you and Joe couldn’t. I can’t even imagine what he’d do to you if you tried to fight him.”
“Rose, that’s my job.”
“I couldn’t risk it, Mason. You mean too much to me.”
He reached around me and pulled me to his chest. “Do you realize that this is what Joe’s visit to your nursery was all about? His father was dangling you in front of Joe to remind him of why he needs to behave.” Mason paused and inhaled deeply. “Rose, as long as J.R. Simmons sits on this information, you’re forever in limbo, just waiting for Joe to step out of line. You can’t live like that. I can’t live with that.”
“I know, but I don’t know what to do.” I looked up into his face. “I’m scared for you if you try to intervene.”
“And I’m scared for you if I don’t.” He pressed a kiss to my cold lips. “Let’s get moving. Once this whole Crocker mess is taken care of, we’ll find out exactly what J.R. Simmons has and figure out how to refute it.” I started to protest, but he put a finger on my lips. “We’ll do it so quietly that he won’t know what hit him until it blows up in his face.”
It was no use to argue and I relished the thought of being free of the threat.
“But no more secrets. Tell me if you’re in trouble. Your safety will always supersede my anger. Okay?”
“Okay.”
We trudged along for what seemed like an eternity. My legs chafed from the wet jeans clinging to my thighs and my toes were still numb and throbbing, but I felt warmer moving and my sleepiness had faded. “How far do you think we’ve gone?” I finally asked, desperate for the end to be in sight.
Mason paused, picking his way around a pile of rocks. “It’s hard to say since walking in the woods isn’t like walking down the street. It takes longer to get around the obstacles—”
“How far, Mason?”
“Maybe two miles. Heading east first took some time and distance.”
My heart sank. “And you think it’s ten miles to the border? And then how far until we find a house?”
He slowed and took my hand in his. “I don’t know. If I remember the terrain correctly, the forest is dense along the border.”
I was tired and freezing, but stopping wasn’t an option and complaining wouldn’t do any good. “Okay.”
“I’m hoping we’ll find something before too long,” Mason said, scanning the trees in front of us. “If we can’t find a home with a phone, maybe we can find an outbuilding where we can warm up.”
“I’d rather just keep going.” I didn’t want to sit around and wait for Crocker to find us.
“You can’t feel your feet and neither can I. It would be smarter to stop.”
“Well, we’ll have to find someplace first and we’ll never do it standing here. Let’s go.”
The snow had started and stopped in fits. But it was heavier now and the sky was beginning to darken. Mason picked up the pace. “With the sky this overcast, we’ll be stumbling around in the dark on uneven terrain before we know it. With this terrain, that could be dangerous.”
We had been staying on high ground to lose Crocker in case he picked up our tracks, but we began to descend, hoping to find some sign of civilization. We finally reached a valley with overgrown fields. The snow had begun to accumulate and about an inch covered the ground. There were several clustered buildings in the distance. Hope soared in my heart. A farm. But it soon became apparent that the place was deserted.
As we approached the dilapidated-looking house, Mason lifted his rifle but kept the tip pointing downward. “Rose, walk behind me.”
His change in stance turned my blood from cold to icy, and I did as he requested. “Do you expect any trouble?”
“No, but we’re in the hollows of southern Arkansas and this place might be remote for a reason. It’s better to be safe.”
One thing was certain, the house had seen better days. The wood porch was rotten and several windows were broken.
When we were within twenty feet of the house, Mason stopped. “Hello!” His voice echoed in the valley. “Anyone here? We need help.”
“Do you really think there could be people inside?” I asked in a low voice. The barn behind the house looked to be in worse shape.
“Who knows? It’s remote and deserted. Squatters could live here without running the risk of getting caught.”
“But the house looks like it’s about to fall in on itself. Wouldn’t they fix it up?”
“I guess that depends on how long they planned on staying.”
The wind swirled the snow on the ground and I shivered.
He called out again. “Hello! Is anyone home? We’re lost in the woods and we need to call someone for help.”
No one answered.
Mason climbed the four steps to the porch, stepping over one loose board and around a hole. He knocked on the screen door, which was hanging from one rusty hinge. When no one answered he opened it and turned the doorknob on the front door. It gave without him needing to apply extra force and he stepped halfway through the doorway, calling out to possible residents.
I stood at the bottom of the steps as he disappeared inside. Moments later, I heard a high-pitched cry. “Mason!” I shouted.
He appeared in the doorway. “It’s okay. I disturbed a cat. I think the only squatters are a few stray animals.”
I made my way onto the porch and through the front door, letting my eyes adjust to the dark room. The house was empty except for a kitchen chair with broken spindles and a couple of cross-stitched pictures on the walls—There ain’t no lovin’ like country lovin’ and Possum—America’s dark meat. After I read them, I understood why they had been left behind. We wandered to the back of the house. The kitchen was ransacked—half the cabinets were missing and the doors of the remaining ones were hanging open. Most of the light fixtures were gone.
“What happened here?”
“Probably a foreclosure. The owners realize they’re losing everything so they take anything they think they can sell.”
I couldn’t imagine being that desperate.
“Let’s check the rest of the house.”
We moved to the second floor and I was surprised that the staircase was in such good shape. We found three empty bedrooms and a bathroom that was missing the toilet, sink, and light fixture.
Mason stood in the hallway, taking in the upstairs one more time. “This seems like a good place for us to stay the night. We can rest and warm up and set out first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, we don’t have any food, but I do have a bottle of water in my bag we can share.”
I nodded. “I guess we could use that broken chair to build a fire in the fireplace. And there might be more wood outside.”
“We can’t build a fire, Rose. Let’s not give Crocker’s men any reason to investigate this place.”
“But they think we went south.”
“They’ll figure out we didn’t soon enough, and then they’ll fan out and look in other directions. Sure, it seems like finding us would be like finding a needle in a haystack, but we left footprints in the snow. We could be leading them straight here.”
My breath caught. “Then we might as well build a fire and get warm, right? If they might find us anyway?” Now that I’d thought of building a fire, I couldn’t give up the chance to get warm. “It’s not like we’re the only people who would build a fire on a cold, snowy night. There are other houses around. We just haven’t found them.”
“True…” He was wavering.
“Will they keep searching for us in the dark?”
He shook his head. “I’m not really sure. It would be difficult, and under normal circumstances, I’d say no. But we both know Daniel Crocker is anything but normal. Still, even if they look, they’ll be more likely to miss our tracks in the dark.”
“So let’s build a fire right after the sun sets and let it die out before we go to sleep. I don’t want to spend the night shivering and starving. We might not be able to take care of the starving part, but at least we can get warm.”
He stared into my eyes.
“I’m frozen, Mason. I’ll have a better chance of moving faster tomorrow if we warm up.”
“You have a point.” He kissed me softly.
I smiled against his lips. “So I get a fire?”
His gaze turned serious. “Do you think I could ever deny you anything?”
My smile faded. “Yes, if you thought it would protect me.”
He wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me close, kissing me so intensely that I had to cling to him to stay upright.
He smiled down at me. “Let’s build you that fire.”