Secret Service Setup

by Jessica R. Patch

  No.

  “Evan!” Fight. Come on. Fight.

  Thirty seconds passed.

  A minute.

  Blood whooshed in Jody’s ears. She frantically scanned the waters, searching for any sign of Evan.

  “Evan! Evan!” she hollered, not caring that they were being hunted. Stalked. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking out, a strangled sob erupting from her throat.

  God, I trust You!

  A heavy weight tugged on the branch.

  Her eyes popped open.

  Evan’s head surfaced and the sound of his lungs greedily taking in air rose over the water. Over the blood in her ears.

  Thank You, God. Thank You!

  Jody yanked on the limb, drawing Evan in until he reached the shore and crumpled beside her, weak. Drenched. Heaving breaths.

  She wrapped her arms around him. He was alive. Alive and right here safe on the shore.

  Sobs forced their way from her mouth and she clung to him. “I forgive you. I forgive you, Evan. But if you ever scare me like that again, I’ll hold it against you forever.”

  He hacked and coughed, raised his head to peer into her eyes. “You forgive me?” he asked breathlessly.

  “I forgive you.”

  He brushed the hair from her eyes. “Thank you. Who knew all I had to do was have a near-death experience.” A lopsided grin turned her heart upside down.

  He continued to lock his eyes on hers.

  “Jo,” he whispered.

  If he asked permission to kiss her she’d cave and lie here on the shores freezing to death. But her lips would be warm and her insides ablaze. She couldn’t kiss him. Forgiveness did not equal trust. And while she knew without a shadow of a doubt he’d protect her from danger, she still didn’t trust him with her heart. She couldn’t.

  “Yeah?”

  “We have to get somewhere warm. Get dry.”

  Right. He wasn’t even thinking about kisses. He’d wanted her forgiveness and she’d given it. But he’d agreed with her earlier that they didn’t have a future together. He stood, then helped her to her feet. “We don’t know how much time we have.”

  Between hunters and the elements, and them soaking wet—not much.

  “We have dry clothes in the waterproof bags,” Jody said.

  A crack split the atmosphere.

  Jody felt the force hit her. “I’ve been hit!”

  Evan grabbed her, hauled her into the forest.

  “No...my backpack’s been hit,” she said as they ran for cover. “It must have struck the canned goods.”

  Several bullets fired.

  “Stay low!” Evan hollered and trailed close behind, shielding her. “They don’t care who they hit.”

  Jody had noticed that earlier. Before, Evan was clearly the target. Now it seemed it didn’t matter. The thought slammed into her as hard as that bullet had made impact with her backpack. Could Jody have been added to the hit list?

  Jody moved so fast her feet almost came out from under her.

  Safety. Safety. God, lead us to safety.

  The smells of earth and iron smacked her senses. Iron...her leg must be bleeding again. She must have pulled the stitches loose or something. Still, she pushed forward, weaving through the woods. No rhyme or reason to it. No destination.

  Up ahead lay a rocky crag covered in dense gnarly kudzu branches and moss. “Do you see that?” Jody pointed to the hole in the center of the crag. Big enough for a man to fit inside. “Looks like the mouth of a cave.” There were many caves in Georgia, but this small opening seemed abandoned, which meant it was off-limits to the public due to hazards inside.

  No choice for them.

  “Get down in there. Go!” Evan shoved her into the small opening. She wiggled through into the darkness. Decomp. Stagnant water. Earth. Must. She pulled the vapor rub from her zipped pocket and smeared a little under her nose. She couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face.

  Something touched her shoulder and she jumped.

  “It’s me. Sit tight. I’m going to pull those limbs across the opening. Just in case.” She needed to reach out, touch something solid, but fear held her back. Bugs. Bats. Any creepy crawler living in the darkness kept her hands to her sides.

  Evan grunted as scraping sounded at the lip of the cave. “Got it,” he whispered, and a few seconds later she smelled his scent and felt his touch to her shoulder. “I have a lighter in the waterproof bag but I’m afraid to move or make noise right now.”

  If they were heard, they were dead.

  If the opening was spotted and the killers were smart enough to know they’d taken their chances on a cave that might house dangerous animals—they were dead.

  If one of those animals sniffed them out...

  All Jody could think about was the fact that any minute they might be dead.

  TEN

  Evan shivered next to Jody until it was clear they were safe for the time being. His fingers could barely work due to the cold. His eyes wouldn’t adjust. Too dark. He fumbled in his backpack and found the lighter. Pulling it from the waterproof bag, he sparked it and everything illuminated before him. Which was what he’d expected to happen in his heart when Jody had breathed words of forgiveness on the shore earlier.

  For a moment he was ecstatic, but as the minutes ticked by while he stood quietly waiting for the killers to move on, those same old whispers hissed into his ears. He was exactly like Dad. A Judas. A man who hurt the woman he claimed to love—which Evan had already done to Jody, proving those whispers to be true. Giving his life to God may have saved him eternally, but it hadn’t changed his DNA.

  “We have to get dry and warm, Evan. I’m freezing and hypothermia is going to set in. My joints already feel paralyzed.”

  Evan agreed and held up a few broken branches he’d grabbed when covering the opening. “We may have to start a fire.” Risky, but necessary. He cast the lighter and surveyed the cave. About eight feet high at the mouth, but it tapered off farther in. Five feet across. The space was tight. He forced his feet to work and moved deeper inside, Jody on his heels clinging to the little light. Limestone walls covered with guano. A few bats hung asleep. Bugs skittered across the cold, stone floor and up walls. “Okay, here’s how this is gonna work. You go back behind that rock. I’m going to move to the lip of the cave, and we’re going to change into dry clothes. Then we’re going to move farther back. Hopefully it’ll open up into a larger cavern and we can start a fire. We have to get warm. Take our chances.”

  Jody nodded and the lights went out. When Jody gave the okay, Evan returned with the flicker of the lighter and brought some sight to the place. “Watch your step. Hang on to my shirt if you need to. How’s your leg?”

  She gripped a fistful of his shirt. “I’m so cold I don’t know if I’m in pain or not. Guess I’ll know when I thaw.”

  Evan continued on. “Watch your head.” Stalactites hung like piercing spears from the ceiling of the cave. The walls closed in and he grimaced. Tight spaces didn’t ring his bell. If it didn’t widen soon, they’d have to turn back or come up with a new plan for warmth.

  About twenty feet ahead, his shoulders relaxed. Space. Precious space.

  The cave opened into an alcove about ten feet across, and two tunnels flanked either side of the cave. Now to start a fire. It wasn’t exactly safe. There could be acidic gases in the air. “Jo, what do you smell?”

  “Animal droppings, stagnant water, death...”

  “Sulfur? And if so, how strong is it to someone like me?”

  “A normal smeller?” She half laughed as she wrapped her arms around her middle and rubbed her upper arms, then inhaled. “I can smell it, but it’s not repulsive or super heavy. I think we’re safe lighting a fire.”

  “You don’t think it’ll ignite?”

  “I don�
��t think so, but I’m no speleologist.” She surveyed their surroundings. “Okay. Here’s to not blowing ourselves up.”

  Evan chuckled, but it wasn’t too off base or funny. He breathed a prayer, lit the wood and flames came to life, shadows dancing off the ceiling and walls. Eerie.

  Jody knelt by the fire and thrust her hands over it. “I can’t tell you how good this feels.”

  “Believe me, I know.” Evan mimicked her and they warmed their bones in silence. The feeling came back to his fingers and toes in a burning sensation. The fire wouldn’t last forever, though. He might have to go back out for more wood or burn something in their packs, which would cause a lot of smoke, but they had to stay warm.

  “Thank you,” he said after a while.

  “For what?” she whispered. “Forgiving you or saving your life?”

  Evan grinned. “Both.” If only the words had brought the balm he desperately needed to his soul. “Because I really am sorry for what I did, though I know excuses are lame and don’t change anything.”

  Jody hugged her knees. “No,” she murmured. “Forgiveness doesn’t renew trust, Evan. That takes time. A lot of time.”

  “I know.” He cared about Jody more than anyone, and the best way to keep her heart intact was to steer clear of trying to secure it again. When he was twelve, his father had been dry for about six months. Mom had laughed a lot during that time and light had been in her eyes. But one night Dad came home and it was clear he’d been drinking. Evan had covered his head with a pillow and tried to tune out the arguing. The next day Dad had blamed his relapse on everything under the sun and apologized. But Evan knew he’d do it again. He would hurt Mom again. Hurt Evan. He stopped listening to excuses and apologies after that night.

  He was sorry for what he’d done to Jody, but he wouldn’t give himself the chance to hurt her again. “You feeling okay?”

  “Yeah. Exhaustion is hitting me, though.”

  “I wish we knew what was happening.”

  “Me, too,” she said.

  “Hey, Jo?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why didn’t you read the letter? And...will you now?” He’d poured everything into it. Wrote it dozens of times until he had the right words. Knew each one now by heart.

  Jody sighed. “I can’t.”

  “Why? If you’ve forgiven me.”

  “I ripped it up and threw it away.”

  “Oh... I guess I can’t blame you.”

  “I’m sorry. I wish I had read it.” She sniffed. “How’s your mom?”

  A personal question. Those had been few and far between these past days. Mom had always liked Jody. Told Evan to hang on to her.

  “Good. She’s seeing someone. A nice guy. I hope it works out and she’s not alone anymore. I want her to be happy.”

  “That’s nice to hear.”

  “Your mom? Doing well?” The small talk was strange.

  “Mmm-hmm. I see her every other weekend. She’s doing better each day without Daddy, but we miss him. Locke doesn’t get out to visit much. But that’s Locke.” She rolled her eyes.

  Evan had always liked Jody’s younger brother, but he was an adrenaline junkie. “Is he ever gonna settle down?”

  Jody laughed, and the rich alto tone echoed through the alcove. “Doubtful. He’s in Alaska right now. Hoping to capture an avalanche on film. Mama stays in a state of panic over him. She wants him to get married, have 2.5 kids and become a wedding photographer—something safe.” She laughed again. “He’ll never do any of those things.”

  Evan would like to be a husband and father. If he could come out from under his family curse.

  “But he can take a gorgeous photo of nature.” Jody shrugged.

  “Too bad he doesn’t stick to meadows or prairies.”

  “He’d be happy to if it came with an F5 tornado in it,” Jody quipped, then sat up straight. “I hear something,” she whispered.

  Evan heard it, too. Footsteps. Murmurs. His heart lurched into his throat and he jumped up. He pointed to a small crevice above. “Up. Go. We’ll throw them off. Make them think we took one of those tunnels.”

  Jody’s eyes widened. “What if something’s up there?”

  “Well, something is definitely down here and headed our way.”

  “Good point.”

  “I’ll make it look like we’ve gone through that opening.” Evan scrambled and dropped a wrapper inside the opening, then traced his footprints back to the site. Jody was already hoisting herself into the crevice on the rocky ledge.

  Evan stomped out the final embers of the fire and used his lighter to make his way to the slippery limestone ledge, where he boosted himself up. “I don’t think there’s room in this space for the both of us,” he whispered.

  “Lay on your belly and back into it. That’s what I did. Then roll on your side. If we face each other, we’ll fit. But, Evan...it’s a seriously tight space. Take a deep breath, okay?”

  Blood whooshed in Evan’s temples, but he pocketed the lighter and slowly backed into the ledge, the space narrowing until he felt the cold, slippery wall cut into his left shoulder and Jody’s body rest against his right.

  “Flip, Evan, or you’ll wedge us in!” Jody hissed.

  He shimmied and wiggled, but the space was tight already. Finally he managed to roll onto his left side, Jody’s nose pressed against his, her breath blowing across his skin.

  The alcove had excellent acoustics and whispers reached their ears.

  A flashlight fanned across the cavernous walls and they pressed farther down. His lips grazed hers, but now was not the time to think romantically.

  “Which way do you think they went?” a man whispered.

  “I don’t know. Should we split up? Gives us a better shot in case they have. Taking down one is better than none. I want the money.” Another voice hissed.

  Taking down one is better than none? The hit was on Evan.

  Jody’s breath faltered.

  She was onto Evan’s train of thought.

  Jody had become a target. Had Lawman1 upgraded, offered more money and included her? Why?

  “I want them both dead. I didn’t off those two morons on dirt bikes to let one of these targets go.”

  They had killed the two men on motorbikes.

  “Well, they definitely have been here. Started a fire. It’s still warm, so they ain’t been gone too long. Guess the update is correct. They’re in this park. Somewhere.”

  Evan pressed his forehead into hers, as much to comfort her as to seek comfort. Their suspicions about their whereabouts being posted online was correct. These killers confirmed it.

  “We can take ’em,” Jody whispered, her mouth moving against his and sending tingles down his spine. His arm was wedged across her waist. He could feel her chest rise and fall as she breathed.

  “No.” They would see it coming with their flashlights. There was a time to fight and a time to play it safe. Now was time to be safe. Listen. Hope for more information and that they’d follow the trails without finding them up in this crevice.

  “You think they’d split up?” one of the men asked.

  “I don’t know. Site said they’re both former soldiers and agents in law enforcement, so it won’t be like she’s scared to be alone. But we don’t know how far in these tunnels go.”

  “Hey! Look. Footprints and brush. They went this way.”

  Footsteps and silence.

  “Or they made it look like they did and they went inside that one. They’ll be smart. Try to throw us off. By now they know they’re as good as dead. Motorbikes and guns give it away. Morons, I say again. Let’s go the opposite tunnel.”

  Footsteps sounded. When nothing could be heard, Evan touched her arm. “Let’s get out of here.” He wiggled and scooted until he was free from the crevice. His pulse immedia
tely regulated. Jody squirmed her way out and dropped onto her good leg.

  They hurried through the cave and came to the opening. Evan peered out.

  Coast seemed clear.

  But with their location and a huge sum of money on a hit site, it wouldn’t stay clear for long.

  * * *

  Jody followed Evan, using trees as coverage, her chest pounding. Now she was a full-blown target. She’d shielded Evan at the convention center, been the source to identify a shooter at the hotel and she’d gotten him safely out of CCM. Looked like Lawman1 had had enough and thrown in Jody as a mark. It would make it easier to take down Evan if she were out of the picture.

  They’d been trekking through the woods for about thirty minutes. Unable to stay along the river and out in the open, they still headed south toward the ranger’s station. Every second in this park was a second closer to death. But it was good to be out of the cave, out of the crevice where she’d been entirely too close to Evan. Nose to nose. Mouth to mouth.

  “Evan, can we slow down? My thigh is on fire.”

  Evan slackened his pace, then stopped and pulled a bottle of water from his pack. She was out, so he passed her the bottle for a sip. “Wilder is probably going out of his gourd, but he’ll have some measure of comfort in the fact that our corpses aren’t on the site and the Bitcoin is still sitting in that online wallet.”

  “True.” Evan placed the water bottle back inside the pack. “I’m sure Wheezer has been monitoring that site 24/7. I wonder if he’s gotten any closer to hacking into it and dissolving the account, or if he’s made any headway with the offshore account Lawman1 made to look like mine.”

  Jody rubbed around the tender area on her leg. “I don’t know, but we might be stupid for going to the ranger’s station. If they’ve seen the news and your picture, they’ll call the authorities the second they recognize you. Have you thought about that?”

  “You may have to go alone and give them a cover story to use the phone and send Wilder in to help us. Since we haven’t heard or seen any helicopters or drones, law enforcement hasn’t discovered the cabin.” Evan motioned for them to get moving again.

  “Yet. They haven’t figured it out yet.” Jody smelled roasting meat and the hint of coffee brewing, then she detected smoke billowing from a campfire up ahead.