Читать книгу Rocky Mountain Manhunt - Cassie Miles - Страница 12

As Liam studied the defiant woman who stood before him, he realized that handling Kate Carradine would require a delicate touch. He couldn’t fling her over his shoulder and haul her out of the forest. He needed to overcome her resistance and convince her to cooperate. Not an easy proposition.

When he’d worked for the Denver district attorney, he’d honed his skills in interrogation, and he was pretty damn good at knowing when someone was telling the truth. But how could he deal with amnesia? He wasn’t a psychologist. “You don’t remember anything?”

“Nothing about the immediate past.” She squared her thin shoulders and gave a diffident shrug. “It’s not really important.”

“The hell it isn’t.”

“If I can’t remember, what difference does it make?”

“Let’s start with the obvious fact that Wayne Silverman is still missing. Your memory might be able to explain what happened to him.”

“I can’t tell you.” Her gaze flickered, but she didn’t look away. “I’m sorry that my disappearance triggered a search-and-rescue effort. And I’m sorry that I caused people to worry. But I didn’t have a choice. I’m in danger.”

“From a person or persons unknown.”

“That’s right,” she said.

He sensed that her amnesia masked darker, more sinister events. Something traumatic had happened to her—something too terrible to remember.

If he hoped to uncover the truth, he needed to keep her talking. “Fill me in on what you do remember. You came here twenty-eight days ago. Wounded.”

“I wasn’t exactly here,” she said. “It took me a while to find this perfect little cave.”

“But you don’t remember where you came from.”

“I was on the run.”

“But you didn’t plan to go into hiding,” he said. “You only had enough food for a week.”

“That’s when the MREs ran out,” she said.

“So you lived off the land,” he said. “How did you know which plants were edible?”

“It’s not difficult. There are obvious ones to stay away from. Vetch. Locoweed. And the state flower, the columbine.” As she talked, she returned to her food-preparation tasks, lifting a cover of leaves from an expertly filleted trout and placing the fish in the boiling water to poach. “There are ways to see if a plant is poisonous.”

“Like what?”

“Cut off a little piece and put it between your teeth and your gums. If it starts to sting or cause some other reaction, spit it out.”

Her story intrigued him. He was familiar with mountain-survival techniques but had never known anybody who actually lived off the land. “How did you learn all this?”

“My dad,” she said. “He used to take me backpacking and we’d forage for dinner.”

“Makes sense. Your father was the head of RMS, Rocky Mountain Suppliers.” He hadn’t taken that piece of her background into account. “He specialized in outdoor equipment.”

“I remember.” The minute she mentioned her father, her attitude brightened. “When we went camping, we were always testing some kind of gear. Dad used to say he was the luckiest man in the world because camping was a business trip for him. He loved the mountains.”

“Eric Carradine,” Liam said. “And you’re his daughter, Kate.”

“Rain,” she said. “Call me Rain.”

“Okay. It’s Rain.” He decided to humor her. So what if she wanted to call herself Rain? Or Moon? Or Ruby-Throated Hummingbird? After all these days in the wild and a dose of amnesia, some delusional thinking was to be expected.

Besides, her Rain persona appealed to him. He respected and appreciated her gutsy stamina. In her identity as Kate Carradine, he expected her to be a socialite, a pampered society woman who arranged flower bouquets rather than eating them for dinner.

“There’s plenty of food out here,” she said. “Look at all these trees. Inside the new branches is a soft, woody part that’s edible. If you roast pinecones in the fire, then break them open, these little nuts fall out.”

“Sounds like a lot of effort.”

“Oh, it is,” she said. “I spend most of the daylight hours foraging. And I have to hike all over the place to do it because I don’t want to completely wipe out the ecosystem in front of my cave.”

“Because it’s bad for the environment?”

“And I didn’t want anybody to find me.” She poked at the fish in her cooking pot. “Why don’t you sit down and relax?”

Though he had the feeling that he was losing focus on his goal of getting her away from this place, Liam allowed himself to be seduced. He sat on a flat rock at the opposite side of the fire pit and watched as she efficiently arranged leaves and stems on a woven plate made from twigs.

“You made those plates,” he said.

“When I figured out how easy it was to weave young branches and reeds, I made a bunch of things. It gave me something to do at night, when I couldn’t forage.”

Given enough time out here, he suspected she might really create a home for herself. Her little space was swept clean, and she’d placed dried flowers among the rocks for decoration. He pointed to a tall woven vase just inside her cave. “What’s that?”

“My calendar.” She brought the woven vessel closer so he could see inside. “There’s one pebble for every day I’ve been here. I try to choose a rock that looks like the day.”

He reached inside and ran his fingers through the stones. “I see several black ones.”

“Dark days.” Hunkered down opposite him, she plucked out a caramel-colored stone. “This is today. It reminded me of a tiger, and that seemed appropriate because today I caught a fish. I was a huntress.”

“And you held me at bay,” he said.

“Yeah.” She gave a self-deprecating wink. “I’m really fearsome, huh?”

“I wouldn’t use that word to describe you.”

“No? What word would you use?”

“Resourceful,” he said. “Smart.”

She cocked her head to one side and grinned. “Keep going.”

When she wasn’t holding a gun on him, she had a vivid charm and enthusiasm. “Pretty.”

She rolled her eyes. “Now you’re making fun of me.”

“I’m not,” he said. “You look good to me.”

“Apparently,” she drawled, “you don’t get out much.”

But he wasn’t lying. He thought she had a great, expressive smile. And he liked the healthy tan color of her skin that contrasted with her cornflower-blue eyes. Even the weird hairdo worked for him. With the dark roots, and blond on top, she reminded him of some kind of exotic, tufted bird.

She passed him a plate with a miniscule shred of trout and weedy leaves. He took a taste. The flavor of the roughage was a cross between grazing and gnawing on a tree limb, but it’d be ungrateful not to eat the food she’d gone to such trouble to gather and prepare.

Rain attacked her plate with gusto. Though she wasn’t transported into ecstasy, like when she’d eaten the candy, she took regular bites and chewed thoroughly.

She glanced at his plate and raised an eyebrow. “Not hungry?”

“I eat slow.”

“If you don’t finish your greens, no dessert. That’s what my mother always used to say.”

The mention of Elizabeth Carradine-Rowe reminded Liam of his mission. He needed to get Kate out of here.

Glancing through the sheltering trees, he saw that dusk had begun to settle. Soon it would be too dark for him to attempt a takeoff in the Cub. “I can’t leave after dark,” he said. “I can’t see the hazards to the plane.”

“Tonight will be dark,” she agreed. “It’s a new moon tonight, only a skinny crescent.”

“Come with me. We can go now while there’s still enough light.”

“How many times do I have to say no?”

“I won’t leave without you.”

“Then we have a standoff,” she said. “You can’t force me to come with you. And, it seems that I can’t make you go.”

He set his plate aside and leaned back against the boulder, settling in. “Guess I’ll have to spend the night.”

For an instant, her eyes sparkled. He could tell that she was enjoying his company, no matter how resistant she pretended to be. “Don’t think—for one minute—that you’ll be sharing my sleeping bag.”

She stacked his plate on top of her own and went about her business, briskly informing him about the rules of the camp. No more wood on the fire. Food scraps must be carried far away and buried so they wouldn’t attract animals during the night. “And if you need to, um, relieve yourself, go a long way from camp. I don’t want the smell around here.”

“We don’t have to do this,” he said.

“I’m sure there are other ways, but I prefer—”

“Come back to Denver with me,” he said. “Tonight you could sleep in a bed. With a soft comforter. You could take a long, hot shower.”

“Not interested.”

The light was fading. He had only a few minutes to convince her. “What about your memory? A psychiatrist could get it back. Hypnosis or something.”

“It might be better if I don’t remember.” Her words held a disturbing ring of truth. “All I need to know, deep in my heart, is that I’m in danger. I’m the prey, and there are hunters coming after me. Can you trust me about this?”

“I trust you, Rain.”

Her face lit up. “You called me Rain.”

“The name suits you.”

He was drawn toward her by a compelling force. More than anything, he wanted to make her smile again and again. He wanted to hold her, to protect her from danger—be it real or imagined.

As she sat near him, the faint glow of sunset and the dying campfire illuminated the planes of her face. Her full lips parted as she breathed, softly and steadily. Gentle shadows outlined her high cheekbones and her sharp jawline.

Rain. He was struck by the realization that he liked this feral woman. He admired her gritty determination, no matter how misguided.

“Just for the sake of argument,” she said, “tell me what you know about Kate’s family.”

“The Carradines are a legend in Denver. Old money.”

She gave him her full attention. “So we’re rich.”

“Very.”

Liam tried to remember all that he could. In the early 1900s, the Carradines started with a general store. Kate’s grandfather turned it into a successful franchise of outdoor-sporting-goods outlets, Rocky Mountain Suppliers.

“And my father?”

“He took the business worldwide.”

From RMS, the Carradines built an empire with varied dealings in land development and housing, both in Denver and the mountain resorts. Though they sponsored charity events, RMS wasn’t known for their efforts to protect the environment.

“That can’t be right,” she said. “My dad was concerned about the environment. And so am I. In fact, I was working on a project. It was a wilderness camp for disadvantaged kids. My primary contact person was Rachel Robertson, a fantastic woman who runs a homeless shelter.”

“Like I said, RMS is involved in charities.”

“What else?”

Unfortunately, Liam had run out of things to tell her. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the photographs. “This is you. And Wayne.”

She stared for a full minute at the photo of herself, then she sighed. “You’re right. I am pretty. At least in this picture.”

Then she looked at Wayne Silverman. “He’s an attorney, but I don’t think he was ever my boyfriend. Maybe we dated.”

“When you disappeared, you were planning to spend the weekend with him.”

“Camping.” She looked up at him. “That doesn’t mean we were sleeping together.”

“Do you have any idea where he is?”

Her expression turned guarded. “Not a clue.”

Liam knew she was keeping something from him, and her secret was connected to Wayne Silverman.

She crossed the small clearing and grabbed the strap of her backpack, which she pulled deeper inside her cave, where he couldn’t see. Was she trying to keep the pack away from him?

She emerged carrying a silver solar blanket which she held toward him. “You’re sleeping on the ground tonight. But you can use this to ward off the chill.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Me neither. But after it’s dark, we need to sleep, to keep strong for another day of foraging.”

That was what she thought. But if Liam had his way, tomorrow would be the day when she finally went home.

RAIN AWOKE AT DAWN AND opened her eyes only a slit, just as she had last night when Liam had crept into her cave. She’d seen him sneaking toward her and noticed how his eyes focused on the backpack that rested at her feet. His intentions seemed clear: he’d planned to rifle through the backpack.

Searching for information? Or had he known about the jewels and cash? As she had lain inside the sleeping bag, her muscles had tensed.

Then he’d turned around and left her cave.

She’d spent a couple of sleepless hours trying to figure out why he hadn’t grabbed her backpack. Even if she’d tried to stop him, they’d already established that he was physically superior and capable of taking control. Why had he backed off?

The reason, she’d finally decided, was simple: Liam was a decent person who respected her privacy. Even though he was incredibly curious, even though he wanted her to return to Denver, he wouldn’t force his opinion upon her.

Her eyelids opened wider. The soft, pinkish glow of dawn flowed into her cave, and a hint of dewy moisture hung in the air. Such a fine way to start the day! She would miss these mornings.

Nonetheless, Rain knew it was time to leave her mountain habitat; she couldn’t deny that she was Kate Carradine from an old-money family in Denver. While Liam had talked and shown her the photographs, memories of her former life had taken root in her consciousness. She had to go home, to face whatever awaited her in the city.

After sleeping on it, her decision was made. It was time.

Rolling to her stomach, she gazed across the cleared area to where Liam should have been sleeping under the silver solar blanket. She didn’t see him.

Where was he? Throwing aside the sleeping bag, she emerged from her cave and went to the three boulders that sheltered her campsite. After a quick scan of the meadow, she spotted Liam’s red plaid shirt down by the stream. Even at this distance, she noticed the breadth of his shoulders. A mountain man. He was comfortable here…almost as much as she was.

Rain decided to use this time alone in camp to handle an important task. Returning to her cave, she knelt before the backpack and unzipped the bottom pouch. Stacks of hundred-dollar bills tumbled onto the earthen floor. Though she’d already used some of this paper money for kindling, the cash made a good-sized package when she wrapped it tightly in a T-shirt. At the deepest part of her cave, she crammed the bundle into a crevice, then added the pouch full of diamonds and gold. For extra security, she rolled a heavy rock in front of the hiding place, then smoothed the dirt with her hands.

This stash was her insurance policy. If she’d stolen it herself, the treasure was safely tucked away from the police. If, on the other hand, the hunters wanted to get their hands on the cash and jewelry, she had a bargaining chip. Only she would know where it was hidden.

As she came out of the cave dusting off her hands, Liam returned. He looked at her dirty fingers. “Making mud pies for breakfast?”

“Just tidying up,” she said. “After thinking about everything you told me last night, I’ve made my decision. It’s time for me to pack up and leave.”

He rewarded her with a huge smile, and she thought for a moment that he was going to hug her. “You made the right decision, Rain.”

With a sigh, she said, “I guess you should start calling me Kate.”

“All right, Kate. By coming back, you’re going to make a lot of people happy.”

“Not everybody.” For the hunters, her return would not be cause for celebration. “If you don’t mind, I think I should ease back into civilization gradually.”

“Not a problem,” he said. “We’ll go to my cabin first. It’s fairly remote. You can take a shower, have some solid food and get your bearings.”

“I can’t wait.”

BY THE TIME LIAM BROUGHT his Super Cub around for a landing on an unmanned airstrip in the mountains, Kate was bubbling with excitement, unable to decide which delightful thing to do first.

“I want bacon and eggs for breakfast,” she said. “And a candy bar for dessert.”

“We can do that.”

She beamed. All the food in the world was available to her. The idea of going to a grocery store and picking out whatever she wanted seemed utterly astonishing.

“And a shower,” she said. “And clean clothes.”

“You got it.”

Liam would also make sure her family was notified that she was safe and well. He wondered why she hadn’t immediately thought of them but chalked her indifference up to amnesia.

The Cub touched down lightly and slowed. Liam maneuvered until he had the small plane backed up in front of a rough, wooden shed with a door wide enough for the wingspan. He cut the engines. “I’m not going to put her in the hangar. I’ve got my Land Rover parked in back. I was doing a little work on her.”

She peered through the windshield. “Is this your property?”

“The cabin’s back there in the trees.”

When her feet touched the packed gravel, she felt weightless, as though they were still in the air. Kate hitched up her baggy jeans and followed him toward a neat little two-story log cabin with a sloped shake-shingle roof and a wide porch across the front.

“Very nice,” she said, echoing his comment when he’d seen her cave.

“Like I said, it’s remote.”

The terrain was rugged, little more than a clearing in a dense conifer forest. A craggy cliff side formed a natural boundary at the western edge of the grassy field.

She noticed a battered old Jeep with a snowplow attached to the front. “I thought your car was in the hangar.”

“The Rover is parked indoors. I only use this Jeep to clear the road and the airstrip. I’m on the edge of national forest, and the regular plows don’t come up here.”

“The end of the road,” she said. “You like your solitude.”

“Love it.” On the porch, he pulled his keys from his jeans pocket and unlocked the front door. “What do you want to do first? Food or shower?”

“Shower,” she said emphatically. “I haven’t felt hot water in twenty-eight days.”

He whisked her through a living room with a stone fireplace and heavy furniture. “The bathroom is back here. Take your time.”

“I don’t suppose you have any clothes that might fit me.”

“As a matter of fact, my twelve-year-old nephew was up here for a week. I think he left some stuff.” He opened the door to a linen closet and rummaged through the lowest shelf. “Here we go. Jeans and a T-shirt.”

One glance at the tiny jeans convinced her that they’d never fit. And the T-shirt was emblazoned with voluptuous blue lips and gothic-style print. “Does that say Death Wormer?”

“I think it’s Darth Vermin,” Liam said. “They’re not his favorite band anymore. Which is why the shirt was left behind.”

Though she doubted the little-boy clothes would fit, she accepted them with thanks and entered the bathroom. Hesitantly, Kate sidled toward the mirror above the sink. She wasn’t going to be a pretty sight. For twenty-eight days she’d been without moisturizer, body wash, shampoo or conditioner. Her only cleansing products were toothpaste—thank goodness she’d had that—and a large bar of soap which she’d used sparingly, to make it last.

Avoiding the inevitable moment when she confronted her reflection, she turned on the water faucet. Hot water was a luxury she would never take for granted again. She held her hands beneath the flow and slowly washed away the dirt. Her palms felt rough and calloused.

Slowly, she lifted her chin and faced her reflection. Her matted, multicolored hair looked like porcupine quills. Her skin was dirty brown and her eyes seemed huge and wild. She was skinny, seriously scrawny. There was no meat on her cheeks, and the line of her jaw was razor sharp. Her neck was a twig.

She peeled off her clothing. Her hip bones jutted out. Her breasts were almost nonexistent.

Apparently, living off the land was a terrific weight-loss program. However, if the end result meant looking like this, Kate doubted anyone would rush to sign up for a wilderness health spa.

“It could be worse,” she told her reflection. “You could have turned green and grown scales.”

But she didn’t hate the way she looked. In her eyes, she saw a brand new confidence that she’d never had before. Her twenty-eight days in the mountains had given her time for growth. She was wiser—strengthened by the knowledge that she could take care of herself and survive against overwhelming odds.

Life would be different now. She was Kate Carradine, a pampered heiress who had regular appointments for facials, manicures and stylists.

She reached toward her reflection. Her fingers touched the mirror. “Goodbye, Rain.”