Evan blocked her. “Could be a killer.”
“True, but it could be a camper.”
She got the pointed look. “In January?”
“Maybe, if it’s legal to bow hunt in the park. It’s deer season.” For once Jody hoped it would be someone safe. Her nerves were shot, she was afraid and flat-out exhausted, but there was no going back now. She was a target, too. “Do you have a gun? Mine got lost in the river.”
“I put my Sig in the waterproof pack inside. It’s safe. But I don’t have a lot of bullets and the big weapons I lifted from the cabin were lost in the river.”
What she wouldn’t give for Wilder’s arsenal right now. The wood smoke was intense. Her senses were on high alert and threatening a migraine—the last thing she needed right now. God, since we’re talking again, I’m asking for help.
“We may not need bullets. We have the advantage. Let’s get closer and scope it out.”
They used the trees as camouflage as they crept up on the small navy pup tent. Leaning against it was a crossbow with a quiver of arrows—the same kind used to attack them.
Jody’s hope deflated. Probably not a coincidence. On a line running from one tree to another were a couple of dead squirrels. Guess the guy was in survivalist mode with no intention of packing it in until he found Evan and Jody. Wonder if he knew two others were also out here and not only working to kill their targets but the competition, as well.
The guy had a camouflage hunting cap on, and wiry gray hair poked out. His belly was round and his face weathered. He looked like someone’s grandpa, not a predator. “Let’s go guns blazing,” Jody whispered.
“Gun blazing. We have a gun not guns.” Evan winked. Nice to see he still had some humor. Jody lost hers in the river with her Sig Sauer. And this might only take one bullet. Evan was a crack shot. “Let’s scare him half to death, get some information, and then we’ll figure out what to do with him. We can’t let him go if he’s a killer, and we can’t drag him with us, either.”
Jody was for the good guys winning and taking down bad guys, but she preferred to take them in alive. “Okay, you take the lead as I have no gun.”
Evan nodded. “Let’s go give grandpa a surprise.”
“Surprise, Evan. Not heart attack. He might really be camping.”
Cocking his head, he squinted. “You don’t believe that do you?”
“I want to.”
“Me, too. But the upside is we’re down two hit men. We might only be up against the two men from the cave. We got this.”
Twigs a few feet away snapped. Maybe the old man wasn’t alone.
Gramps, the possible assassin, still sat in front of the fire warming himself.
Jody held her breath. Blood pounded in her ears as Evan kept her shielded next to him as they crouched low, listening...waiting.
Whatever or whoever snapped the twigs came closer...
Closer...
They might have to use those bullets.
Evan’s breathing was slow and even.
Waiting.
The noise came from behind a tree about five feet away.
Evan pointed, aimed.
A gray fluffy rabbit hopped through the leaves and Evan breathed a laugh. “I don’t think Bugs has access to the hit site, do you?”
“Who knows at this point? Death by a rabbit. Anything is possible.”
“Killer might have sicced a rabies-infested fluff ball on us.” Evan buried his face in his forearm to suppress a laugh. They were delirious, plotting their own ridiculous demise. But a possible killer sat about ten feet away, and they needed information and hopefully a phone.
“Let’s go have a chat with Mr. Crossbow.”
“It’s a nice crossbow, Jo. When we leave this site, I’m taking it with us.” Evan grinned and it shocked her how much she could respond to him with everything else going on.
Evan aimed the gun on his target and he and Jody charged ahead, startling the old man, who scrambled for his crossbow. “This bullet is a lot faster than you, sir. I suggest you press Pause and put your hands up.”
The old man slowly raised his hands, eyes wide. Maybe he was a camper. “We know what you’re in these woods doing. I have a tear in my backpack to prove it,” Evan said. “If you want to live, I suggest you tell us everything you know.” Evan glanced down at the fire. “And pour us a cup of that coffee you’re brewing.”
Jody bit the inside of her cheek. Evan’s cool demeanor and nonchalance with a criminal always surprised her. Of course, this man wouldn’t scare a mouse. So why was he out here trying to kill them?
“P-p-please... I’m just hunting squirrels.”
“With a crossbow?” Evan asked, and cocked his head.
The man eyed Jody before swinging his gaze back to Evan. His cheeks grew ruddier, and tears sprang in his eyes. Evan glanced at Jody. “I didn’t even say anything that threatening.”
She shook her head. “Sir, explain yourself. Why are you out here trying to kill us, and how did you know where to find us?” A whiff of Old Spice hit her. What poor man remembered to splash a little aftershave before a kill? This man was clearly not a trained assassin.
“I had to do it. I need the money.”
How would a guy his age even know about the dark web and how to maneuver through it? “How did you hear about the hit?”
“Look,” he said as tears continued to leak, “I needed some special help. My wife has cancer. I heard about these online places where you can buy...you know...drugs.” He whispered the last words. Yes, saying drugs might be taboo, but taking out two human beings with a bow and arrow was okay. “I wanted to ease her pain. But then I discovered there’s a lot of things on these sites. You wouldn’t believe it.”
“I assure you we would,” Evan said drily. “And that’s how you found a site that would pay you two million dollars to take me out.”
He pointed to Jody. “Plus a million for her.”
Jody’s knees turned to water. “Go on,” she said to the man.
“It said you’d last been spotted in this park. Gave a general location, but there was nothing but ashes there.”
Must be the cabin. “So you decided to track us. You do realize we’re not squirrels and you’re going to prison for attempted murder.”
The man crumpled, face to the ground. “My wife is dying! We’re drowning in medical debt—”
“We were drowning in that icy river!” she hollered.
“I’m desperate,” the man pleaded as his nose ran and his eyes swelled from tears. “I can’t go to prison. Who will take care of my wife? It’s just us.”
“I guess you should have thought about that before you decided to become a murderer.” What were they gonna do with this guy?
“Do you have a cell phone?” Evan asked.
The man nodded. He was a broken mess, but Jody was having a tough time feeling sorry for him after he’d sent an arsenal of arrows their way, forcing them into the river to die. But still...crises could turn you into someone you weren’t. Or bring out who you really were.
Jody snatched the man’s phone. Only a couple of bars, but it’d do. She dialed Wilder’s number. He answered on the first ring.
“Wilder Flynn.”
“It’s me.”
“I was hoping so. Whose phone are you on? Never mind, Wheezer’s tracing it now. You safe?”
“Yes. We’re south of the cabin. It’s been burned to the ground.”
“I know. When you wouldn’t answer the phone, we rode out there. Beckett is tracking you on foot now. But I’ve got a map on me. There’s a clearing where I can land a chopper. I’m coming to get you.”
Relief washed over Jody. “Beckett’s tracking us,” she said to Evan while Wilder gave her coordinates. She rattled them off to Evan. All they had to do was use the compass and head southea
st. The river would take them to the rendezvous point. “I don’t know how far we are from there. Or who we might encounter next.” She told them how many miles south they’d trekked since the cave.
“According to the map, you’re about ten miles from the cave. And twelve from the clearing. Without any interference, how fast can you hike? You injured?” Wilder asked.
“We can get there in two-and-a-half hours. And we’re in working order.”
“I texted Beckett. He found your cave dwelling already and has followed your trail. But you’ve got a few miles on him. I’ll keep him tracking and watching your back. He found two dead men off a trail near the cave. Shot execution style.”
Jody gave him the short version of their last forty-eight hours.
“Let me talk to Evan.”
Jody rolled her eyes but passed him the cell phone.
Wilder’s voice could be heard and Jody listened in. He was updating Evan on the site. Jody was a target. For a million. They already knew that. Wheezer had been working tirelessly to hack in and crack the account and dissolve the money, but he’d only made it through the first twelve layers of encryption. The account appeared to have many more. Time was running out.
Evan grunted, a hard expression on his face. “Okay. Time to switch gears then.”
ELEVEN
Evan glanced at Jody. She was listening to every word Wilder said. He turned his back—not that it would help, but he’d noticed in the past few hours she was hanging by a thread. He wanted to shield her, protect her. Instead, he’d gotten her tossed onto a hit list. He shouldn’t have climbed in that SUV with her but run the opposite direction into the woods and away from CCM. Away from her.
The only way to save her now was to do what he’d protested earlier. They’d have to fake their deaths. She’d never fake hers alone and leave him to run from the law without her, but that’s what needed to happen.
He crushed the phone to his ear. “It’s time to die. The both of us.”
“What?” Jody belted and spun him around. “Now that I’m in the mix, you’ve changed your mind? I don’t want to fake my death and lay low. I want to catch Lawman1.”
Now she knew how he felt. But she was safer if they thought she was dead.
“Now is not the time to argue, Jo.”
“Jody!” she insisted. Only because she was mad.
“Hey,” Wilder said. “Something else you need to know before you two die to the world. Wheezer did some searching. Did you know Terry Pratt was stationed in the Philippines for two years?”
“No,” Evan said. “But that’s where the ghost gun suppliers are from.”
“Yeah. He may have a personal connection and be in deeper than we originally suspected. How did he get on your task force? You choose him?”
“He asked and we’re friends. We play in a weekly basketball league. He’s a family guy.”
“Well, did you know that in the past four months he paid off his house and bought a boat?”
Evan pinched the bridge of his nose. “I did know he bought a boat, but it’s nothing fancy. Nothing that would raise a red flag.” Didn’t look good for Terry, though.
“Something else,” Wilder said. “Wheezer found spyware on your phone. I’m guessing this Lawman1 used one of your inside agents—Terry Pratt is number one on my list—to get it on there.”
The shock knocked Evan’s breath from his lungs. This meant Lawman1 had access to all of Evan’s personal and private information, including his bank accounts and passwords he kept stored in his phone. That’s how he could create an offshore account and make it appear like Evan had sent the message to Lawman1 ratting out his task force in return for money. The setup had been easy on Lawman1’s part. Evan thought his encryptions on his own phone were foolproof. But this explained how he’d been tracked and duped. He could kick himself.
“I can’t believe this.”
“You weren’t searching for it,” Wilder said, “and Wheezer said it was deeply embedded. Top-shelf spyware. Not available to the average joe.”
“What about the Suburban? Did you find a tracker or anything on it?”
“No, it was clean. But that only means someone could have removed it so there wouldn’t be any evidence.”
Evan shook his head and looked at the man still hiccupping through tears. “What exact information did the site give about our location? The park, or was it detailed coordinates?”
“The first time I looked, it said the park but to check back for more information later. I didn’t get a chance to check again.”
Jody’s nose was scrunched the way it always was when she was in deep thought. Her eyes widened. “What do you carry on you at all times that would seem insignificant?” Jody asked. “Gun?”
“I’d have noticed something on my gun.”
Jody frowned. “Check it anyway. If someone could get your phone, then they could get other items you keep with it. Like your gun.”
Evan kept his gun in his drawer, locked with his phone and his... He dug into the backpack, into the waterproof bag and grabbed his wallet. He combed through it meticulously, and there, tucked deep into one of the credit card folds, was a tiny tracking chip.
Jody’s lip curled. “That’s how they’re doing it. And it confirms once again someone in your office is working for the wrong side.”
Evan destroyed the chip and tossed it.
“Who has access to your desk?” Jody asked.
“Anyone. Everyone. But I keep my drawer locked.” Could have been picked though when he was in another office, the hall, at the coffeepot. The magnitude of betrayal sent his gut into a spiral.
“Hey,” Wilder said. “Meet us at the rendezvous point—”
“Evan!” Jody was already running.
Grandpa Hitman was barreling through the woods. He must have used their small argument when they weren’t paying attention to make a run for it.
“What’s going on?” Wilder demanded.
“Nothing.” He hollered for Jody to stop. “A loose cannon. We’ll make the rendezvous point.”
“She better be in one piece, Novak.”
“She will be.” He hung up, pocketed the phone and ran after Jody. “Jo!” He got her to stop about forty feet away. “Let him go.” What were they going to do with him anyway?
“He tried to kill us. He might try again!”
Evan rested his hands on her shoulders. “No, he won’t. He’s not a cold-blooded killer. Besides, he left everything behind. I’ve got his phone. He isn’t getting away, but for now he isn’t our biggest issue. Killing ourselves is.” And finding a way to prove Evan’s innocence.
“Evan, just because we fake our deaths doesn’t mean you can tuck me somewhere to hide while you go rogue, and it doesn’t mean it will even work. Lawman1 is so far ahead of us, he might know it’s a faked death!”
Evan had already thought of that. As much as he wanted Jody to go lay low somewhere, it might not be possible. And he wanted to protect her. To show her he could. To regain her trust. “I’m sticking by your side. I know I didn’t in the past when it counted. But I’m not leaving again. I’ll prove it to you.” He prayed his words were true. Dad had asked for the same chances.
And failed.
But he had to try. Even if in the end it wouldn’t change anything between them. Maybe...maybe they could part as friends. Although, he wasn’t sure he could.
He wanted more.
Jody studied his face, then nodded. “Okay. Since we’re being honest, I’m really worried. We’re being hedged in on every side.”
His insides shattered and he drew her to his chest and embraced her, caressing her hair. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to fake our deaths, send the photos to Wheezer and let him upload them onto the site and receive the Bitcoin payment. We’re going to make it to the rendezvous point, get somew
here safe and find out who Lawman1 is and bring down him and Terry Pratt. The truth will come out. We win. Besides, the Bible says we’re hard-pressed on every side but not crushed.” So far they weren’t struck down.
They had to keep going. Keep fighting.
She burrowed against him and he relished her warmth. They’d made strides from the day of the convention. But that only made it harder to separate—for him to go his own way once they made it out of this.
“You make it sound easy. But none of this has been easy. Not physically—” she peered up at him “—not emotionally.”
He ran his thumb across her high cheekbone, a smattering of dirt coming with him. “I know,” he whispered. “One step at a time. We trust God. Right?” She’d made a few strides with Him, too, hadn’t she?
She nodded. “Right. Funny, I never thought I’d ever say that again and I sure never expected you to.”
Evan chuckled. “Me, either.”
Jody pointed at the dead squirrels hanging on the tree. “Let’s use the crossbow.” She crossed to the tent and claimed it. “Lay down. I’m gonna make it look like you took one to the chest. Then you can do the same with me.” She scrunched her nose as she approached the squirrel.
“Of all the things I pictured us doing together, this is certainly not one of them.” He lay down. “One day we’ll look back and laugh as we reminisce. ‘Hey, remember that time we faked our deaths in the woods?’”
“Real funny.” She knelt over him, upper lip curled. “Hold still. Look deader than that.”
When the deed was done and uploaded from the old man’s phone to Wheezer, they set off on their trek to Wilder. Evan had to admit he felt more secure knowing Beckett Marsh wasn’t far behind them, tracking them, being their eyes and ears. Jody explained he had excellent tracking skills.
“According to the compass, we should be about half a mile from the clearing. My thigh is on fire.” Jody rubbed at it and winced.
The trees began to thin out and a clearing came into view.
Where was Wilder?
Secret Service Setup Page 13
