by Nicole Helm
There was a violent glint in the man’s eye, but he didn’t reach for his gun, which was still strapped to his back. Cam figured he could at least reach his in the same amount of time it would take this man to get to his. They’d likely shoot each other and bleed out in the middle of nowhere.
It was a depressing thought, one that had his hand stopping its move toward the gun. He’d stay alert, stay ready, but actually shooting the man and escaping was unlikely as of yet.
“What if your wife isn’t who she says she is?” the man said, slowly folding his arms over his chest.
“Who else would she be?”
“The name Hillary Simmons mean anything to you?”
Simmons. Hillary was the name Laurel had said was on the tape, but she hadn’t mentioned Simmons. Ethan had been the other name they’d been able to hear. “No,” Cam said truthfully. “If you think my wife is her, I can guarantee you you’re wrong.”
“How can you guarantee me?”
“Huh?”
“How long have you known each other?”
Cam could have lied. He should have lied, and quickly, but this line of questioning threw him off. The fact the man hadn’t dragged him back to camp, and had seemed baffled and irritated by Hilly’s disappearance in the face of the women back at the decoy camp, only confused Cam more.
“Who are you? Really?” Cam demanded.
The man made the same snorting noise Cam had made earlier. “I know where she is. I know where they have her. What I don’t know is why.”
“You think I do?”
“I think you know something. Something you’re not giving me.” He ran an irritable hand through his hair. “What law enforcement agency are you with?”
“I told you. I’m not with any agency.”
“I know you’re not who you say. You might as well tell me the truth.”
The thing Cam couldn’t figure, in a long line of unfigurable things, was that the man had a weapon strapped to him and wasn’t using it to threaten or force answers. It was possible he knew Cam was armed and didn’t want to end up in the whole bleeding-to-death scenario, but the man hadn’t even grabbed for the gun.
Cam stood, and when the man still didn’t grab for his gun, Cam didn’t hesitate to take a threatening step forward. “If you’ve hurt her—”
“They won’t have hurt her. Yet.”
Cam couldn’t understand the faint line of concern on the man’s forehead. He had to be kidding himself. It wasn’t concern. Couldn’t be.
But he did understand he had said you, and the man had said they. Maybe it was reading too far into things, but that seemed telling. It didn’t put him at any kind of ease, because he didn’t know what kind of allegiances this man had, who the men who had Hilly were or anything.
All he knew was he had to get Hilly. He had to figure a way out of this. Cam thought briefly of rushing the man, but again, there was too much potential for them both to do a whole lot of damage to each other and end up dead. He had to be strategic.
He took a step back, and then another. The man rolled his eyes. “You’re not running again.”
“You going to stop me?” Cam nodded to the gun.
“I’m not going to shoot you,” the man grumbled. “I don’t want to hurt you or your wife.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Justice,” the man said, nearly under his breath. He jerked his chin toward the four-wheeler he’d ridden up on. “You want to find your wife, you’re going to have to come with me.”
“I can find her just fine on my own.”
“No, you can’t,” the man said flatly. “And I can’t let you. So, your choices are come with me or I tie you up and take you back to the camp you were just at to let those vulture women do what they want with you.”
Like hell.
The man let out a sharp whistle and Free nearly jumped over the rock. “In,” the man ordered, and Free followed the order, hopping into the bed of the four-wheeler.
Cam could not believe his eyes. “Free,” he commanded, but the dog stayed resolutely in this stranger’s vehicle.
“If you want to see your wife, I suggest you follow the dog’s example.”
Cam scowled, eyed the four-wheeler, the world around him and thought about his own internal clock. Hilly had been gone forty-five minutes at most, twenty-five minutes at least. He had to get to her. This man had a vehicle and knew where he was going. He also, supposedly, didn’t want to hurt him or Hilly.
On an oath, and then a prayer that he wasn’t totally miscalculating, Cam strode over and got in the seat next to the man. “You got a name?” he asked gruffly as the engine roared to life again.
“You can call me Zach.”
* * *
TIME TICKED BY in unidentifiable terms and Hilly felt herself slowly stumbling toward insanity. The dark. The heavy, stale air that seemed to suck as much oxygen from her as it gave. Her father’s labored breathing, and some awful truth blooming in the middle of it.
They think I kept her and secretly raised her as my own instead.
Dad hadn’t said anything since then, and though she had a million questions for him, there were men outside. Anyone could be listening. And worse, so much worse, she didn’t want to know.
They think I kept her and secretly raised her as my own instead.
The words were a constant loop, making her question everything, including if any of this was actually happening or if it was just a very vivid dream.
She felt something brush against her, winced away until she heard Dad’s gentle shush. “Why are you here?” he whispered, so low she had to strain and think to make out the words.
“For you.”
“Leave me.”
“How can I do that?” she choked out, the fear clogging her throat making it harder to whisper. “You’re all I have. They burned down the cabin.”
“No. That wasn’t them.”
“What?”
Dad sighed. “Can’t explain.”
“You have to explain,” she replied, too loud she knew, but she needed answers. Her life as she knew it was completely upended and she needed to know how and why, so she could... So she could... Something. Do something that would make sense if she understood this.
She thought about Cam. Was he okay? If he was, he’d be trying to find her. Would he get himself hurt in the process? She knew he’d do whatever it took to find her, to save her. It was who he was.
She realized, with a sickening roll of her gut, she didn’t know that about her father, or whoever this man was. She didn’t know what he believed, who he was loyal to. She understood nothing about it.
How could she be so in the dark about the man who’d raised her, and be so certain about a man she’d only known a few days?
Maybe if she had more energy she’d talk herself out of that, but tied up and in grave danger, she could only trust her gut.
“We have to find a way to get you out of here,” Dad whispered.
Cam would get her out of here. She didn’t know why she believed that, why it seemed impossible he could be hurt and incapacitated like her. But she could only trust that—
Clanging metal stopped her thoughts, and she moved toward the sound. Something thumped, and then a door opened—not the door they’d been pushed in either. This was to the back.
Just a sliver of light shone through as it opened a crack. Hilly tried to think how she could fight off anyone with her arms tied behind her back. Her boots were hard, and with enough leverage she could deliver a hard kick and—
“Hilly?”
“Cam.” Her knees nearly gave out as she moved for the light.
Before she could figure out how, Cam was inside, pulling her to him. He held her to his chest. It was only a brief second, but she felt his relief. She felt his care. Dad had told her not to tru
st the outside world, but he’d also told her she was his daughter. He’d kept her isolated and in the dark.
Cam had given her choices. Cam had trusted her, and she couldn’t help but trust him in return. She didn’t question him. She wouldn’t.
“Come on,” he said, taking her elbow and pulling her toward that light.
Hilly pulled away. “Someone will see you. They’ll shoot.”
“I’ve got a diversion going, but we only have five safe minutes. Come on.” He bent over and pulled a knife out of his boot. Quickly, he cut the ties on her arms and started leading her to the door.
“Cam. Wait. My father.” She looked back at where he stood in the corner, bruised and stoic. “We can’t leave him.”
Cam’s expression was grim, but she couldn’t let that stop her.
“Please.” She gripped his shirt, ignoring the pain and ache in her wrists and arms. “Please, Cam. He’s hurt. I...” She looked at her father in the swath of light. “I think they’ll kill him.”
“I’ll stay,” Dad said firmly.
“She wants you to go. You’ll go,” Cam replied. There was something hard in his voice she didn’t recognize.
“I don’t know who you are, boy, but—”
Cam crossed over to her father then, and without another word or argument, cut the ties on his wrists. Then he pushed him toward the door. “Let’s go.”
“I’m not going with you.”
“Dad. Please. We don’t have time for this. We have to get out of here.”
Some unknown war raged on her father’s face as he studied her. He jerked a chin toward Cam. “Who is he?”
“He’s the man who saved me when you left me helpless and alone,” Hilly shot back, tears stinging her eyes. “I know you’re used to calling the shots, but you’re the one who got us into this mess. So now? You’ll do as we say.”
“Just leave me,” Dad said wearily. “Save yourselves.”
“Not today,” Cam said, nudging her father toward the door again. “Hilly. You’re first. You have to run. Straight west, just follow the sun. Run and don’t stop.”
“But—”
He grabbed her by the arms, squeezing. “You have to, Hilly.” He was so fiercely serious. “We have to get you out of here. Nothing adds up the way it should, which means we need to get you far, far away. They think you’re someone else. I need you to run. I’ll follow with your dad.”
She wanted to tell Cam what Dad had said, but there was no time as Cam shook his head and gave her a nudge out the door. “Run. Don’t stop. Don’t look back. Just run. We’ll be as close behind you as we can be. Free’s out there at the tree line. She’ll protect you.”
I want you to protect me.
But she couldn’t indulge that want right now. She nodded sharply, and stepped into the threshold of the door. She waited for Cam’s signal, and when he said, “Go,” she took off.
He’d told her not to look back, but she couldn’t help herself. Cam could outrun her, and yet she could feel him losing ground.
She glanced back once. Dad was struggling, huffing and puffing and running with a bit of a limp, but Cam stayed behind him, as if protecting him from anything that might come from the compound.
Something big and sweet bloomed in her chest, a wave of affection for the man who’d put himself at risk to protect someone simply because she’d asked him to.
She decided to let that feeling grow, wallow in it instead of the burning in her lungs as she faced forward again, upping her pace to the limits her body could endure.
No shots rang out. No one came running after them. Hilly wanted to believe that meant they were free. That everything would be okay from here on out.
But she knew it wasn’t true.
Chapter Fifteen
Cam had hoped to get farther, but even at a walk now he was afraid Hilly’s father was going to keel over.
“Let’s take a break,” he offered.
“Not on my account,” the man huffed in return.
“On all our accounts.” Cam stopped, pulling Hilly onto a rock. Free whimpered and curled up at her feet. They all needed water, but they wouldn’t be able to get any until they got to their destination.
“Dad, sit,” Hilly implored, and the man finally took a seat next to her on the rock.
Cam pulled the map Zach had given him out of his pocket. It looked like they had a few miles to go yet before they reached the cabin Zach had assured him would be a safe place to stay.
It didn’t sit right with Cam. It was still hard to trust Zach entirely, even though he had orchestrated the escape by calling an emergency meeting at the compound. And they’d escaped. Here they were, all three of them safe and sound.
Was Zach?
He shook his head. Hilly was his prime concern, and because her father was her prime concern, Cam had to care about the two of them over anyone else.
“Quick break, then back to walking. We’re heading for a small cabin, so you’ll want to keep an eye out. Best to get there before dark.”
“Whose cabin?” Hilly asked, scratching Free behind the ears.
“The man who helped us escape. This is going to sound a little strange, but the guy who found us earlier today? He helped me. I don’t know that I trust him fully, but he didn’t want to hurt us. He led me to you, and he created the diversion so we could escape.” Cam let out a breath. “None of this makes sense,” he muttered. It rankled, but his focus had to be getting them to safety. Then he could work it out. Once Hilly was tucked away and safe.
“You shouldn’t have stuck your nose in it,” Hilly’s father muttered irritably.
In the daylight, Cam could see how badly he’d been hurt. Which was the only thing that kept Cam from making his own snide comment. He glanced at Hilly. Okay, not the only thing. He’d do just about anything for Hilly.
The intensity of that feeling was concerning, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it. “We should get back to it if we’re going to make it before sundown.” He held out a hand to Hilly and helped her up off the rock.
“There will be food and water and supplies there. So, we just have to grit it out a few more miles.”
Hilly didn’t withdraw her hand from his. Instead she leaned against him on a sigh. She was exhausted—physically and no doubt mentally. She needed comfort and he so desperately wanted to be the one to give it to her.
He brushed his mouth across her temple. It felt...necessary. Right to give her that physical comfort. Even if it wasn’t. “You’re holding up like a champ,” he murmured.
She leaned harder, sighing against his neck. God, what he wouldn’t give for some non-dangerous time with this woman.
On a deep breath, she straightened, seeming to draw some strength from him. Which pleased him far too much. “All right. Let’s get going,” she said with a nod to her father.
The man was still sitting, glaring at Cam. Which didn’t concern Cam much, considering the man was the reason they were in this mess. Maybe he could learn a thing or two about how to take care of his daughter.
Cam looked forward, focusing on the task at hand. He consulted the map once more before heading out across the rocky, uneven ground. The primary objective was safety before sundown. So, he kept them headed west. He noted the landmarks Zach had outlined for him, and then, with the sun nearly gone, the cabin appeared on a rocky rise.
No one said anything. They just kept up their grim hiking until they reached the door. Cam counted the boards, up then over, just as Zach had instructed, then pulled a key out of a small indentation between the boards.
Cam unlocked the door and stepped inside first.
Inside, the cabin was small but cozy. There was a case of water bottles in the corner of the tiny galley kitchen and Cam pointed to it.
“Hydrate,” he demanded, already searching the cupboards for a bowl fo
r Free while Hilly handed her father a bottle and then one to Cam. Cam poured half of his in the metal bowl he’d found and put it on the floor for Free.
The dog drank greedily, and Cam finished his own bottle off in no time flat. Hilly and her father sipped theirs, both eyeing the cabin suspiciously.
There was a living area off to the side of the kitchen, then two doors—both open to show a tiny bathroom and a small bedroom mostly taken up by a bed.
When Hilly’s gaze met his, she looked at him a little helplessly. Except she wasn’t helpless. She was getting through all of this as though she was trained for intense physical demands, confusing, dangerous situations and even attacks on her person.
Because the idea of anyone laying a hand on her made him white-hot with rage, he compartmentalized that thought and emotion away. He’d deal with it later, when there was time to be angry. Right now it would only get him, and more important, Hilly, in trouble.
“What now?” she asked quietly.
“We wait.” He didn’t tell her that if Zach didn’t appear by morning, Cam was going back for him. That could wait. “We’ll spend the night here and decide what to do in the morning.”
“They’ll come after me,” Hilly’s father said gruffly.
Cam nodded. “Undoubtedly, but I left behind some confusing clues that should keep them busy elsewhere, at least for a while.” He and Zach had laid fake tracks back to the vehicle Zach had used to bring them to the compound.
He could only hope they followed those tracks rather than search the back of the building and find the other real ones and that the encroaching dark would halt their efforts.
“We’ll eat and then we’ll take turns sleeping, always having two people on lookout. We won’t take any chances. Once we get back to Bent we can figure out the whys. For tonight, we rest, we recharge and we prepare to get home in one piece.”
“I’ll figure out the food,” Hilly said, moving for the kitchen. “Both of you sit.”
