Trapped with the Woodsman

by M. S. Parker

  The guys around us had started muttering to each other, and several of them were sliding Stilwell assessing looks.

  He sensed it because he turned his attention to the one closest to him – the young-looking guy who’d first voiced his unease over dealing with us. “Brad come on…you know me. I’m here to protect you guys. You know that.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m not feeling very protected right now,” he said, shaking his head.

  “We need to just let them go,” one of the others said, speaking up for the first time. He was staring determinedly at the ground.

  I had no idea if it was an attempt to make it harder for me to describe him or what, but even when one of the others spoke to him, he wouldn’t look up.

  “Hardy, what the fuck you think they are going to do if we let them go?” the man who’d caught us asked, voice thick with sarcasm. “Think they’ll just forget what they saw out here?”

  “Frank, I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t give a flying fuck at this point. I’m all for bagging a big moose, but I’m not going to get involved in…whatever it is you’re thinking.”

  “Sounds like at least a couple of you got brains in your head instead of just bullshit,” Roman said. His scathing tone made me twitch, and he wasn’t even speaking to me. Part of me wanted to tell him to shut the hell up, but I could already see the divide between the men growing wider. “You can’t really expect to come out of this without shit sticking to you. Not with her boss knowing where we are…and what brought us out here.”

  Stilwell paled, and I looked at Roman from the corner of my eye to see him staring directly at the other ranger.

  Stilwell tried to brush it off, laughing, but the sound itself was sharp-edged, either with nerves or anger. “Hawthorne already knows Lexi had a problem with me. She’s been lying about me to him for months, and he’s caught her at it more than once.”

  “You are so full of shit!” I breathed out, sounding almost amazed. “How in the hell do you even manage to walk around with that level of shit packed inside you?”

  “Before you go digging the hole any deeper, man, you might want to know that I already told your boss that I saw the snare – he knows there’s a poacher out here, and he told me he needed time to develop a case, but…” Roman heaved out a sigh, somehow managing to sound almost sympathetic to Stilwell as he added, “But you should probably start doing some serious self-reflection because you’re going to be out of a job soon. He knows you’re involved in this.”

  “How the fuck does he know that?” Stilwell demanded, his calm façade falling to pieces around him.

  “Because I told him.” Roman spoke in a matter of fact voice, like he was discussing the weather, while all around us, the guys started muttering amongst themselves once more. “You think this is the first time I’ve followed you out here, you dumb shit? I was on your backtrail when you went out on Sunday. And…well, let’s just say that I provided Hawthorne with some very interesting photographs.”

  “Son of a bitch,” the one called Frank said.

  The anger that had been buzzing around us was now directed at Stilwell.

  “How the fuck did he manage to find us?” It was Brad, the younger guy.

  “Did you let him follow you?” The man with the gun aimed at us was no longer watching Roman and me. He’d shifted his attention to Stilwell, and in the next second, unbelievably, he swung the gun away from us to point at Stilwell, a good ten feet away from us.

  Roman nudged me.

  I sucked in a breath as he took the next moment and lunged, moving faster than any man I’d ever seen.

  The gunman’s arm swung back toward him, but Roman caught his wrist and twisted. The weapon fell to the ground in the next second, and I watched in disbelief as Roman shifted again, this time bringing his elbow down on the back of the man in front of him.

  The poacher went down like a felled oak.

  Another one of the men fumbled for his weapon and Roman dipped down, scooping up the gun the tobacco-chewer had dropped and leveled it on the one opposite him, never once breaking rhythm.

  The man slowly raised his hands.

  Stilwell stirred, coming out of the daze that had settled over him at Roman’s sudden, decisive action.

  Before he could interfere, I tapped him on the shoulder. When he swung his head around to look at me, I slammed my fist into his nose. His head flew back, and he stumbled over something before falling backward. His head hit the ground, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

  One of the other men started toward Roman, and I lunged forward, moving fast.

  I tackled him, and we both went down. The fall and the suddenness of my attack stunned him, and I used those few, brief questions to grab a rock and clip him across the back of the head. I hoped I hadn’t done him any serious damage.

  Clambering to my feet, I looked around, braced to find somebody moving toward me.

  Roman had effectively disarmed or disabled almost all of them.

  I blinked, my brain not quite processing what was in front of me. Four men, including Stilwell, and the other guy I’d tackled lay completely motionless. One was the man who’d been holding the gun on us, while the fourth, nameless poacher lay curled up in a fetal position, clutching his middle.

  The other three men had their hands up and watched Roman with wary eyes.

  “Think you can find something to tie these clowns up with?” Roman asked, not once looking away from the men in front of him.

  I dumped my pack and hunkered down in front of it to start searching.

  Thirty-Three

  Roman

  The park’s law enforcement rangers, along with Hawthorne, finally arrived.

  Once Lexi had tied them up, using a variety of materials she’d had in her pack, I went around to check each one of them, making adjustments as needed and checking them all for weapons.

  Every one of them was carrying, and I made a mental note of who had been carrying each of the weapons. While Hawthorne was talking to Lexi, I singled out the guy who looked to be the superior among the law enforcement rangers and pointed to the weapons I’d stripped from each of the poachers.

  He took notes, going back and forth between me and the poachers to get names and identifying information.

  Some of them didn’t want to talk.

  Stilwell, however, was raging, insisting that he had been out here on his own when he came across all of us. He then insisted he had nothing to do with the men and that Alex was out of her mind.

  Lexi growled at him. “It’s Lexi, you douchebag.”

  “Hawthorne–”

  Hawthorne didn’t even look up from his notepad as he snapped, “Shut the hell up, Stilwell.”

  Under his breath, the man muttered, “Douchebag is an insult…to douches.”

  I smothered a smile. Lexi had her hand in front of her mouth, but I suspected she was trying to do the same thing.

  “What made you come out here looking for them, Lexi?” Hawthorne finally asked. He glanced at me. “And without following proper protocol.”

  There was an unspoken again that lingered, and I knew I wasn’t the only one who heard it.

  Before I could come to her defense, she said, “I tried to find you, but you were out at Fall River. I considered waiting for tomorrow, but I thought it wasn’t in the best interest to do that.”

  “Might I ask why?” Hawthorne fixed a penetrating gaze on her.

  She didn’t so much as blink as she reached into the side pocket on her cargo pants and pulled out the note she’d shown me. “Because of this. I found it in the breakroom. I figured out they were coordinates and dates. One of the dates was for today. I didn’t want to risk them deciding to relocate or something else that might make it harder to track them down again.”

  Hawthorne took the note and skimmed it, then shifted his attention to Stilwell. “This writing looks kind of familiar.”

  Stilwell must have realized he was trapped, because he looked away, shoulder
s slumped.

  Hawthorne turned his attention back to us and had us go through the whole story again, from top to bottom.

  Once we finished, he pointed us over to one of the rangers who’d accompanied him. “Ride with Grainger on the utility cart. You’re both going to the hospital to be checked out.”

  “But–”

  “No buts, Ranger Evers. I’m ordering you to get checked out, so I can include it in my report.” He narrowed his eyes and directed his gaze to me before adding, “And it would…expedite things if the civilian would do the same.”

  I wanted to argue but figured going along with Hawthorne’s politely worded order would make things easier on Lexi. Giving him a short nod, I hefted my pack from the ground and put it on. Lexi was still trying to talk Hawthorne out of the hospital visit so I grabbed her pack and moved to catch her elbow. “Come on. He’s just doing his job, Lexi.”

  We were still waiting in the emergency room when the cops arrived. They had all four of the poachers who’d been injured with them, and they all received a lot of attention as they were seated. One cop went to sign them in, while six others stood to form a perimeter around them.

  They were on the far side of the fairly large waiting room, but there was little question as to whether or not we’d been noticed.

  Stilwell glared at us balefully.

  I gave him a wide smile as Lexi shifted in the seat next to me, grumbling about the pointlessness of coming to the hospital.

  I reached over and rubbed her knee. “Hey, it could be worse.”

  “Yeah?” She sounded cranky, and I looked away from Stilwell to see her sitting in the seat with her arms folded and eyes closed.

  “You could be nursing a broken nose like your buddy over there.”

  Her eyes opened, and she looked around curiously until her gaze landed on Stilwell.

  She broke into a bright laugh, her sour mood fading away. “You’ve got a good point.” She covered my hand with hers, her eyes still on the man glaring at us. “I guess I should lighten up. You’re right. Things could definitely be a lot worse. One of us could have gotten hurt…or worse.”

  That last part prodded at a sore spot that I’d been trying to ignore.

  I wouldn’t be able to do it for much longer.

  Had she known?

  Back while we were at the poacher’s camp, had she known that I was terrified something would happen to her?

  I had tried to lash down all of the fear, knowing it wouldn’t help and it might just make things worse, but I had no idea if I’d managed to conceal it well enough.

  She rubbed her hand soothingly over mine, and although I didn’t look her way, I had a feeling she was aware of the turmoil inside me.

  I turned my hand over and laced my fingers with hers, staring at Stilwell until he finally averted his gaze.

  Lexi’s name was finally called.

  She stood up, then listed to the side, sucking in a surprised gasp.

  I immediately rose, gripping her arm to steady her.

  “What’s wrong?” I demanded.

  “My ankle went and stiffened up on me,” she said. I watched as she gingerly lowered it and put more weight on her foot.

  Even when she flashed me a relieved smile, I was reluctant to let her go. I walked alongside her, and at the door, the nurse gave me a sympathetic smile. “You’ll have to wait out here for now.”

  I wanted to argue.

  Lexi rose onto her toes and kissed my chin. “I’m fine. Besides, you’ve got to take your turn getting poked and prodded.” She rolled her eyes at the last part.

  Reluctantly, I let go.

  She wagged a finger at me. “I’m doing this. You better go back when you’re called, or we’ll have it out.”

  I managed a smile and nodded. “I’ll go back when they call me.”

  After the doors closed behind her, I shifted my attention to the cluster of officers still standing guard around the poachers.

  Stilwell’s eyes met mine, then hurriedly jumped away.

  I paced over and nodded to the cops. “I was there when these guys were caught.”

  One of them gave me a look from head to toe, then glanced at the bruised and battered men sitting there in handcuffs. Not one of them looked at me. Stilwell, in fact, had developed a rapt fascination with his designer-styled khaki hiking pants.

  “Is that a fact?” the officer close to me said. A grin split his face. “I heard it was a lady who clocked one of them.”

  “Two of them,” I clarified. I pointed them out, indicating Stilwell last. He still wasn’t looking at me. “Nice shiner you got there, Stilwell. I see Lexi’s name written all over it.”

  He finally shot me a look, malevolence now burning his eyes.

  I smiled at him. “You’re lucky she put you down so fast. If you’d still been on your feet when I got to you, I would have torn you apart.”

  “You going to let him stand there and threaten me?” Stilwell demanded, shifting his attention to the cop near me. His voice was nasal and thick, thanks to the damage Lexi had done to his nose.

  “Didn’t sound much like a threat to me.” The cop gave him a thorough study, then clicked his tongue. “You’re going to be wearing a souvenir from today for the rest of your life. That nose of yours is definitely broken.”

  Stilwell’s face twisted in rage, but only for a moment. He made a move like he was trying to touch his face – it had to be aching like a bitch. But with his hands cuffed behind him, he couldn’t do much of anything.

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “I do believe you’re right, officer. Stilwell, every day, for the rest of your life, you’re going to look in the mirror and see your not-so-perfect nose, and I hope you think of Lexi every time.”

  “I’m sure I will,” Stilwell said, his voice taut, eyes glittering.

  “Probably be a good thing that you’re likely to be spending a little while in prison. You know, with hunting on protected property being a federal crime and all. You’ll have some time to cool off.”

  His lids flickered, but some of his normal arrogance showed as he stated, “You’re so sure I’m going to prison.”

  “I’d bet my right nut on it. See…you being a ranger means they’re going to hold you to a higher standard. These dumbasses, maybe their lawyers can argue outright stupidity motivated them.” I looked at the one who’d held the gun on Lexi and me. A medic had put a temporary splint on his lower forearm to stabilize the break, but it was pretty clear he was still in pain. “And that’s a maybe, seeing as how all of you were hiding, so you knew you were walking on dangerous ground. But, Stilwell, you don’t even have a chance of taking that route. And I’ll be there to watch while you’re in court. Matter of fact, I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Fuck you,” he said shortly.

  I just grinned at him.

  Just as I turned, somebody called my name. The same nurse who’d taken Lexi back just moments ago stood there, waiting. She smiled at me. “Looks like you get to go back after all.”

  Thirty-Four

  Lexi

  I followed Roman into the small stable and watched with a grin as one of the horses pushed her head out over the railing and neighed. It sounded very much like a reprimand.

  After we’d been discharged from the hospital, I’d asked Roman if he’d come home with me, but he’d told me he had to check on his horses. I’d been disappointed, until he took my hand and pulled me closer. “Maybe you could come home with me,” he said, the words cautious.

  I’d been delighted and was even more so now.

  I loved horses, although I didn’t ride as much as I liked.

  “Aren’t you a beauty?” I said to the one closest to me.

  “That’s Cap – short for Captain America.”

  “He’s beautiful,” I said softly, holding out a hand.

  “She is beautiful,” he corrected me.

  “Ah.” I rubbed the mare’s nose, loving the velvety feel of it. She lowered her head and hea
ved out an equine sigh of pleasure. “Why not Captain Marvel?”

  “Ryan and I were nine when our parents bought them for us,” he said, sounding a little sheepish. “I wasn’t much concerned about shit like that.” He nodded at the other horse, a dappled gray. “That poor girl is Hellboy. She was Ryan’s.”

  Sadness tinged his voice, and I watched as he moved over to rub the horse’s neck. “You miss him, too, don’t you, girl?”

  As if she understood every word Roman had said, Hellboy arched her head up, then rested her neck on Roman’s shoulder.

  It was like they were hugging.

  The sight made my heart ache, and I reached up to rub at my chest just as Roman turned around. He caught sight of me and asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I summoned up a bright smile. “Right as rain.”

  He looked like he wanted to call me on it, so before he could, I asked, “Why don’t you show me how you feed them? I’ve ridden horses before, but I’ve never taken care of them.”

  “Alright.” He jerked his head toward the back of the barn. “Come on. Let’s go get some feed for them.”

  As we walked, I asked, “Do you still ride much?”

  “No.” He caught my hand and squeezed lightly. “They’re getting a little too old for it. And…” His voice trailed off.

  I rubbed my thumb against his hand. “It makes you miss him even more.”

  “I always miss him more.” He let go of my hand and grabbed a big bucket, turning it over to me. “Some days, like our birthday, it’s worse than others. But it never goes away.”

  “No.” I’d come to that understanding on my own in the years since my dad passed away. “You just learn to live with it – with that piece of you missing.”

  He nodded, then, voice gruff, he told me how much feed to put in the bucket, then showed me the feeding troughs. While I was dealing with that, he gave them fresh water.

  Cap nudged him with her nose, and he smiled at her.

  I turned away and tried to calm my breathing down. It wasn’t easy. My emotions were raging in and out of control and had been ever since I’d finally forced myself to relax while we’d been waiting for reinforcements. We were both safe, and the poachers were restrained. I wouldn’t call them harmless. Two of them, including the guy who’d discovered us in the trees, had muttered threats and shot us hateful looks the entire time.