Читать книгу Wilderness Secrets - Sharon Dunn - Страница 15

With the rain still falling, Abigail ventured out of the trees to look at the plane wreckage. She was grateful for the baseball hat she wore and the waterproof jacket. Though it was spring, the mountain temperatures could still dip into the teens. She had dressed in layers. She was grateful to be warm and mostly dry.

Jesse followed behind her as they stepped out into the open. The plane was smoldering, and the stench of smoke and melting plastic was still heavy in the air. Her eyes watered.

She removed the bandanna from around her neck and placed it over her mouth.

Jesse coughed. “You think of everything, don’t you?”

“It’s called being prepared.” There was a slight edge to her voice that caught her by surprise. Searching a drug plane for something that might help them survive with a man who might be a criminal was not her idea of a good time. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound snippy.”

“It’s all right.” He touched her shoulder. “I should have listened better when you gave me instructions before we left town for this trek.”

Again, that stab to her heart sent waves of anger and sadness through her. Brent had destroyed her ability to trust her own judgment. She had no idea if Jesse was being honest with her or not about being framed. He seemed apologetic and almost...nice. She clenched her jaw. Nothing is as it appears.

She was certain of only one thing—they needed to work as a team if they were going to get back to town. When she stepped into the plane, the toxic smell of burnt plastic was even stronger.

Jesse drew up his jacket collar over his nose and mouth. “Whoa, we better get this over with as quickly as possible. I’m sure breathing this stuff isn’t good for our lungs. I’ll look toward the back. You search the front.”

She opened a box behind the copilot’s seat and the storage pouches beside each of the seats. After searching for several minutes, she came up with a water bottle, several packages of candy and a hat. She tossed the hat toward Jesse. “Put that on. It will help keep the rain and sun out. What did you come up with?”

He caught the hat and placed it on his head. He pointed at the tarp that covered the drugs. “We could use that for shelter if we had to.”

The drugs looked like they had been only partially damaged. The fire had consumed some of the plastic the bricks were packaged in. She shivered but not from the cold. How had she gotten connected to drugs and drug dealers? She had lived a really sheltered life and hadn’t even rebelled as a teenager like her brothers had. All of this was so out of her frame of reference. Maybe if she hadn’t been so naive, she would have realized what a player Brent was. And maybe she wouldn’t be in this mess with Jesse. “Yes,” she said, “bring the tarp.”

She grabbed a lined jacket that was hanging over the back of the copilot seat. She could fashion a makeshift backpack out of it.

“Also, I found this.” He held up an unopened energy drink and a bowie knife. He put the energy drink in his pocket and zipped it shut.

The knife gave her the shivers all over again. “Let’s get out of here.” She pushed open the pilot’s door and jumped out.

Jesse didn’t follow her. He must have still been searching for something—what, she didn’t know. A cold wave of fear washed over her. Was he looking for drug money?

She tilted her head toward the sky. Dark clouds all around, no sign of blue sky. The storm was probably going to last awhile.

Abigail retreated toward the trees. She pulled out her Swiss Army knife and slit the lining of the jacket she’d grabbed at the bottom hem. She cut holes at the ends of the sleeves and in the shoulders.

Jesse finally joined her.

“Find what you were looking for?”

“No,” he said.

So, he wasn’t going to be forthcoming about what he was searching for. “Turns out those paper clips you had in your pocket might come in handy.”

He dug through his pockets. “Well, what do you know.” He handed them to her. His fingers brushed over her palm. “Maybe I’ll earn my MacGyver certificate after all.”

She straightened the paper clips and then drew them through the holes she’d cut in the jacket, so the ends of the sleeves were attached to the shoulders. She put the candy and the water bottle in the backpack she’d just made. “Toss that knife in here, too.”

Admiration spread across his face. “Wow, I’m impressed.” He stepped toward her and placed the knife and drink in her pack. “What about the tarp?”

She handed him her knife. “Cut a hole in it and use it for a rain poncho. This storm is going to last for a bit.”

As if to confirm her prediction, lightning flashed in the sky, followed by thunder a few seconds later.

He slit an opening into the center of the tarp. “What about you? Won’t you get wet?”

She was touched by his concern for her. “My coat is waterproof.”

“We better get moving.” A wave of fear passed through her. “Those other men will catch up with us sooner or later, right?”

He nodded and tipped the brim of his hat to her.

They stepped out of the forest into the downpour. Abigail assessed where they were based on the mountain peaks. She didn’t doubt her ability to get them back on the trail, but it would take some doing. She wasn’t familiar with this part of the forest, but she knew if they moved in the general direction of the mountain peak referred to as Angel’s Peak, they would intersect with the trail. When they got closer and the immediate landscape became familiar, she would pinpoint the trail’s location with more accuracy and then figure out the best way to avoid the men. Maybe by staying close to the trail but not on it.

For now, all they had to do was keep Angel’s Peak in front of them.

They stepped out into the downpour, hiked across the wide-open strip of land where the plane had gone down and entered the forest on the other side.

They walked side by side without speaking, their footsteps pounding out a rhythm. Fear and doubt played at the corners of her mind. Heading back to the trail was the quickest way to get back to town, but it was also the most obvious. Those three men had followed her and Jesse up the mountain without being spotted, so it was clear they had some tracking skills and were in good shape.

In her mind, she saw the different topographical maps she’d studied of the various areas she’d camped and all the places she’d taken clients in these mountains over the few months she’d worked for Big Sky Outfitters. She still wasn’t sure what the best strategy for avoiding the men was. Trying to come up with a less obvious way down the mountain could get them lost. They did not have the food or gear for that.

The forest thinned as the rain pelted her hat and drizzled from the trees. They stepped out into a flat area, where it looked like a forest fire had passed through. The grass had not grown back in yet. The ground was muddy, causing her hiking boots to make a suctioning sound with every step.

Jesse slid, his legs going into a split before he righted himself. “Kind of slippery out here.”

“Yes, watch your step.”

They trudged on through the slick mud. Jesse’s tarp poncho made swishing noises as he moved. The rain tapped out a rhythm.

He did a double step to catch up with her. “Look, I’m an extrovert. This silence is killing me.”

He’d been plenty talkative on his way up here, mostly about the sports he played and music he liked. Nothing in his conversation had hinted that he was in law enforcement.

She had spent most of her time trying to teach him how to read the landscape. Since she had thought he would be hiking out alone, she’d tried to explain possible scenarios he might encounter and what to do.

She didn’t really see the point of getting to know him better. “I’m an introvert. I like the silence.”

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged and kept pace with her. A moment later, he started to hum what sounded like the annoying theme song from a children’s program her niece watched.

“Okay,” she said. “You win. If it will stop you from humming that song, we can talk.”

He smiled. “Good.” He glanced over his shoulder. His smile turned grim and his voice dropped half an octave. “Never mind.”

She spun around. Behind them, at the other end of the muddy field, two of their three pursuers barreled toward them.

Jesse scanned the landscape around them.

Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.

They were out in the open, exposed. Some rocks at the edge of the field looked to be their only option.

“Get over there as fast as you can,” he said, directing Abigail toward the rocks.

The mud bogged them down. And now the hillside slanted up.

Abigail glanced over her shoulder. “Those trees are closer. It’s easier to go across than up in this sticky gumbo.” Abigail had already redirected her steps.

Where the wilderness was concerned, he’d trust her choices over his. He slipped a few paces behind her. “We shouldn’t bunch together.” Better to have two targets than one.

Abigail jogged through the mud in a sure-footed way. He stumbled behind, running in a zigzag pattern so it would be harder to shoot him. The tarp he wore as a rain poncho slowed him down.

The men had changed course, as well. Eddy had stopped to line up a shot, while Pretty Boy sprinted toward them. He wondered what had become of the third man, the one with the dark, slicked-back hair. Cell phones didn’t work in the high mountains. But what if the men had some other way to communicate to bring in even more men to the hunt?

The special phone Abigail had given him in case he got lost on his way down was in his backpack. Lost forever, or maybe the men had found it and used it.

Abigail drew nearer to the trees.

The percussive bang of the rifle shot leaving the barrel of the gun pummeled his eardrums, but he did not hear the bullet hit, which meant it must have sunk into the mud. Abigail disappeared into the trees with a backward glance at him. His feet felt weighted down by the amount of mud on them. He lifted his legs, pumping fast and hard even as the mud suctioned around his boots. Pretty Boy had closed the distance between them and Eddy had run a dozen yards in order to line up another shot.

The trees were ten yards away. He saw no sign of Abigail—she must have kept running. He sprinted, fixing his gaze on the edge of the forest. The trees grew larger in his field of vision. Another bullet from the rifle traveled through the air. This one split the bark of the tree inches in front of him just as he entered the forest.

His heart beat a little faster, knowing how close he’d come to taking a bullet. A vibrating branch indicated the direction in which Abigail had run. There was no trail to follow in this part of the forest. The ground cover of pine needles, leaves and broken branches was thick. Some of the mud came off his boots, but he still felt like he was running with weights on his feet.

He caught sight of Abigail’s blond braid flying as she ran. He hurried to catch up with her. He could hear the thugs yelling at each other as they entered the forest.

Abigail traveled steadily uphill. She must have had some kind of plan or route in mind that would throw off the pursuers. As the trees thinned, the terrain grew drier, populated with tiny pebbles and then rocks. He caught up with Abigail.

His words came out between gasping breaths. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“Just getting away,” she said, out of breath, as well.

Somehow, he’d hoped she had a better plan than haphazardly running away. He spotted some brush up ahead that was tall enough to hide behind. “Keep going,” he said. “I’ll try to stop them.”

He crouched behind the brush, peering out to see if he could spot the two other men. Pretty Boy was the first to emerge from the trees. Eddy was probably slowed down by having to carry the rifle. Pretty Boy glanced in one direction, darted a few paces in the other and then ran up the mountain. Abigail was in plain sight. But she was too far away for Pretty Boy to get a decent shot with just a handgun.

Jesse waited with his gun drawn. Pretty Boy’s attention was on Abigail as he ran toward her. At best, Jesse would get one shot before Pretty Boy had time to react. He had to make it count. The blond man continued to fix his gaze on Abigail as she made her way up the mountain.

Eddy emerged from the trees and took the same path as Pretty Boy, though he moved slower, bracing the rifle on his shoulder.

Pretty Boy drew closer to the brush where Jesse was hiding. Jesse waited, gripping his gun and listening to his own heartbeat drumming in his ears. Pretty Boy’s footsteps grew louder, more intense. Jesse peered through the brush, which was just starting to leaf out.

He jumped up, located his target and fired off a shot. Knowing that Pretty Boy could just as easily shoot him, he took off running before assessing if he’d hit his target.

He heard a yelp behind him. Either Pretty Boy was injured or angry or both.

Abigail had reached the top of the hill and disappeared over the other side. Jesse willed his legs to move faster. His ears detected another rifle shot just as he edged toward the top of the hill. His heart pounded from the effort of running uphill and from the threat of death that pressed ever closer.

The other side of the hill was a boulder field that led to a river bottom, and beyond that a forest. He caught up with Abigail just as another rifle shot shattered the silence around them. The men had made it to the top of the hill. He grabbed her sleeve and pulled her toward a larger rock.

Both of them gasped for air, taking only a moment to rest before running again. He could hear the men’s footfalls on the rocks as they closed in. Abigail headed toward the river. He couldn’t see a bridge anywhere.

She approached the river’s edge, glanced over her shoulder as the two men gained on them, then turned back and dived into the rushing waters. He watched her as she was carried downstream. That didn’t seem like much of an escape plan.

What choice did he have? He jumped in, as well. The freezing water shocked his system. He drifted downstream, still stunned by the cold that enveloped him. Behind him he could hear rifle shots.

Abigail dived underwater. The tarp he was using as a rain poncho weighed him down and made it hard to maneuver against the current. He dived underwater and slipped out of it but held on to it as the river carried him farther along.

When he resurfaced, the river had taken him around a bend. He could no longer see the pursuers. Only one of the men had been hauling a smaller backpack. Would they jump in after them or try to find another way across the river?

He watched as Abigail swam toward the opposite shore. As the water grew shallower, she stood up and dragged herself onto the bank, flopping down in the grass on her stomach.

The current pulled him farther downstream as he struggled to get to shore. He grabbed hold of a tree limb that hung over the water and strained to pull himself up the steep embankment. He clawed the ground and reached out to grab onto any vegetation that grew close to the shore.

He shivered, and his body seemed to be vibrating from the exertion of the run and plunge into the cold water. He pushed himself to his feet and headed back upriver, where Abigail had come ashore.

As he moved through the forest, the cold seemed to seep down to the marrow of his bones. It was early evening and springtime, but the water in the mountain stream had been freezing.

Jesse heard Abigail before he saw her. It sounded like she was banging sticks together. When he found her in a clearing, she was gathering logs and twigs. Water dripped off her wet clothes. “We need to get a fire started.”

“Was there no other option besides jumping in a freezing river?” His teeth chattered from the cold.

“Yes, there was another option, Jesse—dying from a bullet wound.” She glared at him. “I made the best choice I could in a tough situation.”

It was the first time she’d used his first name. All the way up the mountain before they had encountered the three men, she’d called him Mr. Santorum.

“I would appreciate some help gathering some tinder.” She held up a trembling hand. “I’m freezing, too.”

“They might see the smoke rising up.” He was still concerned about their safety.

“Or they can find our frozen corpses.” Maybe it was just because she was cold and exhausted, but she didn’t seem to like being questioned about her decision. Her voice softened. “We’ll keep the fire small and build it in an area that can’t be seen from far away. A lot of this wood is wet from all the spring rain, but stuff in sheltered areas is likely to be drier.” With the handful of sticks she’d gathered, she moved deeper into the trees.

He searched the area, finding some twigs and a couple of smaller logs that seemed pretty dry. He found her in a clearing where the trees created a sort of canopy that shielded the fire from view.

She had gathered moss and a few twigs. She blew on the flickering flames before putting a few bigger twigs on the fire. He sat down beside her as she put some bigger logs on the fire. It smoked a bit from the dampness of the logs.

He laid down the logs he’d found and sat beside her.

The fire began to throw some heat. He put his palms up to it.

She picked up the tarp from where he’d dropped it, then peeled off her coat and the vest underneath. She threw them on a nearby log, where the heat from the fire would dry them out. Then she turned toward him. “Hand me your coat. You’ll dry out faster this way.”

He took off his coat and tossed it toward her.

Still dripping wet, she perched close to the fire on her knees and crossed her arms over her body. “You know, I’ve been part of a team that found lost hunters in the most impossible places, and I’ve guided people to safety under extreme weather conditions. No one has ever died or been seriously injured on my watch.”

He wasn’t sure why she was telling him this. “I can appreciate that.”

“I have worked as a guide since I was a teenager. I come from a family of guides. Eighty percent of the people who want to come up to these remote regions are men, and every single time, I have to prove myself and be questioned in a way that I’ve never seen happen to male guides.”

The fire crackled with a rhythm that was harmonious and comforting. As it grew, the heat surrounded him. He stared at the flames. Now he knew why she was so upset with him. “I’m sorry I questioned your choice.”

“I don’t have a chip on my shoulder. It’s just that it gets old after a while. What I did back there probably kept us alive.”

This wasn’t even her fight. It was his mess to untangle, and yet she felt a responsibility to get him out of the mountains at the risk of her own life. “I never should have dragged you into all this. It’s just that I couldn’t get up here on my own. I would have died.”

In that moment, he felt how alone he was in the world. Lee had so thoroughly smeared his name that he didn’t know if anyone at the DEA would believe his innocence. He’d worked with those men and women for close to seven years, but there was no way to discern who would turn him in and who would rely on what they knew about his character.

She stared at the fire. Her voice grew softer. “Well, whether I like it or not, we are in this together. I can’t in good conscience just walk away from you, and I kind of think those men would kill me just as fast as they would kill you, given what I know and what I’ve seen.”

He felt a rush of gratitude toward her. “Thank you, Abigail.”

“I will get you off this mountain alive,” she said.

He felt a new appreciation for her and how she had taken on such a responsibility in the face of so much danger.

He hated that he’d put her at risk. That had not been his intention. Everything was so tenuous and uncertain. Abigail could identify the men who had come after them. Would she even be safe once they got back to Fort Madison...if they got back to Fort Madison?