by Sharon Dunn
“Have a good night.” He offered her a bolstering smile. “Your room is on the second floor at the back.”
Before she left the lobby, she peered out the window that faced Main Street. Don’s car was still parked across the street by the Jefferson Expeditions office. She shuddered and backed away.
She turned to face the clerk. “This place is fairly secure, isn’t it?” The vibration in her voice gave away her fear.
He studied her a moment. “Sure, there’ll be someone at the front desk all night. I’ll be locking the side doors in ten or fifteen minutes.” His voice was filled with compassion.
She hurried down the hall and up the stairs. Her hand was still shaking when she stuck the key in the hole. After locking and bolting the door, locking the windows and pulling the shades, Clarissa collapsed on the bed.
Now you can cry.
She stared at the ceiling while the warm tears flowed down her face. How had her life gotten to this point? The words of her would-be murderer came back to her. She had no family. No one to come looking for her if she went missing. She’d never known her mother, and her father had died of acute alcoholism when she was five. There had been a shining moment when she was fifteen. She’d met a boy who said he loved her, and she had believed him. She’d thought she’d never have to be alone again. Once she became pregnant, though, he had disappeared. In the end, she had miscarried, the pain of that loss almost unbearable. After that, her heart had closed off and she’d thrown herself into working hard, knowing that the only person she could depend on was herself.
Sleep came slowly, but every rattling of the window or noise in the hallway woke her. All she had to do was make it through this night. Sondra would be here in the morning. If Don was still across the street, she’d call her friend and change the pickup point. Chances were, with daylight and the streets filled with people, he wouldn’t try anything. It would be best, though, that he not see her get into Sondra’s car.
In the darkness of the room, Clarissa placed her hand over her throat. Don’s beefy hands had almost robbed her of her last breath.
Back at the airport, Don had originally said that he wanted to take her back to California...to talk to Max. Thinking about it now, Clarissa decided that that had probably been a lie. Whether it happened in California or here, Max’s intention had been to have her killed.
THREE
Ezra pulled the Jefferson Expeditions van up to the curb by his office. He’d taken it out early in the morning to get it gassed up and pick up some final supplies. An older man with salt-and-pepper hair stood outside the door.
Ezra shut the van door and called over to him, “Can I help you?”
“My name is Leonard Stillman, and if it’s not too late, I’d like to sign up for your survival school that’s headed out this morning.”
Another client would really help his bottom line. It seemed a little odd, though, that the man was showing up at the last minute. “Where did you hear about Jefferson Expeditions?”
“Saw the flyer at the bait shop. I came out here for some fall fishing, but I think this survival school would be much more my speed. I like a challenge,” said Leonard.
“Sure, go on inside.” Ezra moved toward the door and pulled out his keys to unlock it. “Have a seat and we’ll get the paperwork done. I need to get a few things out of the back of the van, but then I’ll be right with you.”
Leonard went inside, and Ezra opened the hatch to grab the length of rope and water filters he’d picked up at the store. He glanced across the street at the Black Bear Inn. In a little less than an hour, Jan, Ken and Bruce would be joining Leonard for a life-changing adventure.
Clarissa came out of the inn just then, glanced around and settled on a bench. Ezra waved at her, and she waved back. He went into his office, shaking his head and wondering why she looked so nervous.
* * *
Clarissa checked her watch for the third time in ten minutes. Sondra was late, and she wasn’t answering her phone. Clarissa tried to free herself of the awful sinking feeling that invaded her mind.
Sondra wasn’t going to show. She shouldn’t have depended on her. Clarissa jumped up from the bench and paced back and forth.
If Sondra didn’t show, she’d have to come up with a new plan to escape from Max. Though she hadn’t seen him yet today, she was sure Don was still lurking around somewhere, waiting to catch her. She sat back down on the bench, twisting the straps of her purse.
Sondra had been a friend. Clarissa couldn’t have read the signals wrong. She’d picked up on the concern in her voice when they’d spoken on the phone. Sondra wouldn’t let her down.
She leaned against the wall of the Black Bear Inn and stared at her phone. There were probably places in Wyoming with no cell phone service. Maybe Sondra had been delayed, but couldn’t call.
Clarissa checked her watch again. She’d wait twenty more minutes. She couldn’t stay out here much longer, where Max’s thug could easily spot her. A car rolled by slowly and pulled to the curb half a block away. Clarissa rose to her feet, expecting to see Sondra. Disappointment raged through her when an older man using a cane stepped to the curb.
Gazing across the street, she watched through the window of Ezra’s office as he picked up backpacks and sorted through a pile of items she couldn’t make out from this distance. An older man sat in a chair across from him, reading a piece of paper.
She slumped down on the bench again, clutching her purse to her chest. She had to come up with a new plan. Max’s hired muscle had tried to kill her last night. That was something she could report. She would swallow her distrust of law enforcement. Ezra had pointed up the street when he’d suggested she go to the police. She walked quite a while before the station came into view, a two-story brick structure with parking lots on three sides.
She took a breath and went over in her head what she would tell them as she made her way toward the steps. But when the door of the station swung open and a man stepped out, the sight of him made Clarissa’s breath hitch. She ducked behind a car. Max stood on the steps, shaking hands with a man dressed in a suit.
As she pressed herself against the back of the car, she pushed down the terror that threatened to paralyze her. That man was probably the police chief or some other law enforcement official.
Shielding herself from view by darting from car to car, Clarissa ran through the possibilities of what she could do. Max was here. And he clearly had fooled the police here just as he had in California. Any hopes that the law would actually listen to her disappeared. There was no one she could trust. She had to get out of this town and fast.
She needed time to figure out why Max wanted her dead, or she’d never be safe again. As she raced up the street, she realized she needed to hide somewhere Max would never find her, until she could work through all that had happened.
* * *
Ezra ran through a last-minute checklist of everything he needed for the survival school. He’d taken the van around to the back entrance. When he opened the door, Jan and Kenneth had already arrived to start loading their packs.
Ezra sat down at his desk and thumbed through the waivers he’d collected. With the addition of Leonard, he had four clients. Six would allow him to do more than pay the bills, but four—along with the clients Jack would be taking out—was enough to keep Jefferson Expeditions going until the next school.
The front door opened and Clarissa, his stowaway from last night, stepped in. “I’d like to go on your survival school,” she stated. He thought he detected fear in her voice.
She’d changed out of the gray suit and high heels she’d been wearing into a pair of jeans, hiking boots, a light blue button-down shirt and fleece jacket. The outfit looked as if she’d just pulled it off a store rack, and yet it showed off her curves almost as nicely as the suit had.
“Your frien
d didn’t show up, huh?”
She glanced toward the door as though she was expecting someone to burst through it. “Please, how much does the school cost? I can pay cash.”
Ezra thought for a moment. Another client would be nice, but he wasn’t so sure it should be Clarissa. Trouble seemed to be following her, and his survival class was challenging enough without exposing his clients to additional danger. And just what was she mixed up in anyway? She didn’t seem like the criminal type. In fact, there was an almost fragile china-doll quality to her. Maybe it was just her delicate features. He’d been deceived before by appearances.
When he’d done his tour of duty in Iraq, he had thought his fiancée, Emma, would be faithful to him. But she’d broken his heart when she’d made the excuse that she could never be married to a man who ran a wilderness survival school. Nothing was ever what it appeared to be on the surface.
Ezra straightened a pile of papers. “This is kind of last-minute.” He was torn between saying yes to her and turning her away.
The back door burst open, and Jan stepped inside. “Oh, Clarissa, so good to see you. I like your outfit.”
“Thanks, I just bought it this morning.” Clarissa cut a sideways glance toward Ezra.
Jan turned to face him. “It’s so nice to have another woman on the expedition.”
A smile brightened Clarissa’s face. “Yes, I’m sure it would be hard to be the only female.” She raised an eyebrow toward Ezra.
She had a point. Jan would be far less likely to give up and want to go home if she wasn’t the only woman. And if Jan asked for a refund, then Kenneth probably would, too.
“So are you all ready to go?” asked Jan.
Clarissa turned back toward Ezra, amusement coloring her voice as she said, “I was just settling my bill with Mr. Jefferson, wasn’t I?”
It was nice to see a playful side to her. She’d seemed so burdened by worry when he’d first met her. Whatever it was, the load she carried must be a heavy one. Would it weigh down their group? He couldn’t be sure.
Ezra sighed and shook his head. “Yes, she was just getting everything in order.” He hoped he wasn’t making a mistake.
Jan patted her shoulder. “Good. We’ll see you two in a minute. Everyone else is loaded into the van.” She pulled open the back door and disappeared.
Clarissa turned to face him, her blue eyes shining. “How much do I owe you?”
Ezra placed a hand on his hip. “Are we agreed that was a little manipulative?”
“You weren’t totally set on saying no to me.” Her voice had a coy quality.
“That’s true,” he said. “The cost is twelve hundred dollars. That includes all your supplies and a stay at a remote lodge. I’ll understand if you don’t have that kind of cash.”
She didn’t blink at the price. “No, I can pay it.” She opened her purse and pulled out a stack of bills.
He tensed as suspicions rose to the surface again. Why would she have that much cash on her? He grabbed her hand. “Promise me one thing. I can’t take you on this expedition if you are in trouble with the law.”
She looked him in the eyes. “You don’t need to hear my whole long, pathetic story. Just know that I’m not a criminal.”
The steadiness of her voice and her unwavering gaze told him she was telling the truth. “Good. Let’s get you geared up.”
Ten minutes later, she slipped into the front passenger seat of the van. After locking up the office, Ezra got behind the wheel. He turned toward the back. “I assume everyone has been introduced.” Bruce, Jan and Kenneth nodded. “Clarissa, probably the only person you don’t know is Leonard. He signed up a few hours before you.”
Clarissa turned to shake the hand of the fiftyish man with the salt-and-pepper hair and deep tan.
“Well, people, the next seven days will be brutal. You’ll learn how to survive in the wilderness, how and where to find food and make a shelter. But you won’t be doing it alone. One of the keys to survival is learning how to work with others. Okay, we’ve got a long drive up to the trailhead. This is your last chance to jump ship.”
Ezra looked into the eyes of each of his clients. From his interactions with them, he’d begun to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Bruce knew more about survival in theory than in practice. Though in good shape for a man his age, Leonard could be a little overbearing, not a team player. It would be good to see Jan and Ken learn to rely on the other team members instead of just each other. Hopefully, the bond Jan had seemed to form with Clarissa would help with that.
Ezra turned to face the windshield, after glancing briefly at Clarissa. She was a mystery. He wasn’t sure how she’d fit in. She struck him as a pampered city girl, but there was an inner strength there, as well. She’d piqued his curiosity. He had a feeling he wouldn’t mind hearing the long pathetic story of why she needed to go on this expedition. He wouldn’t mind getting to know a little more about Clarissa Jones. He only hoped that what he found out wouldn’t be disastrous for this expedition.
* * *
With each mile they got farther out of town, Clarissa relaxed a little more. She checked the back window several times. No one had followed them up the winding mountain road. She pulled out her phone.
“Cell service out here is spotty at best,” Ezra said.
“I’m just checking some things on my calendar.” She hoped by reviewing what she and Max had worked on before he’d fired her, she might be able to figure out why he wanted her dead.
“Actually, I should have confiscated that back at the office. Everyone is required to go low-tech.”
Clarissa drew her phone protectively to her chest.
Ezra chuckled at her response. “You’ll only miss it for the first couple of days. After that, your hands will stop shaking from withdrawal.”
Leonard leaned forward in the seat and spoke in her ear. “Actually, I think it’s going to be kind of nice to get away from all that. Start looking at people’s faces instead of screens.”
“I think I’m going to like the quiet,” said Ken.
“What if there’s an emergency?” Jan asked.
“I do have a satellite phone if for any reason I need to get help to us quickly. I’ve never had to use it,” Ezra assured them.
“I promise to leave the phone in the van.” Clarissa checked her calendar itinerary quickly. Nothing stood out. “So no electronics.” What else would she be giving up? She’d been so focused on finding a hiding place from Max, she hadn’t really thought about what she’d signed up for.
“You can handle that, right?” Ezra tightened his grip on the wheel as the road grew steeper and more treacherous but his eyes met hers for a second.
His eyes had a bright, dancing quality that she hadn’t noticed before. If leaving town made her feel safer, it seemed to make him more cheerful.
The van wound down a mountain and came out at a lake. Ezra brought the van to a stop. “This is Bridger Lake, folks—our starting point. Everyone grab your pack, double-check what you have against the inventory sheet. I always bring a few extra supplies. Limit yourself to three personal items. Leave everything else in the van. It’ll be locked up. I’ve never had a problem with theft. My partner will come up here to check on it while we’re gone.”
“Three personal items,” said Bruce. “It’s like that riddle about being stranded on a desert island. You know, what would you take with you?”
Clarissa pushed open the door. At the back of the van, Ezra handed her a backpack. “You missed going over what’s in here. I grabbed a prepacked one for you. I’ll get you up to speed when we have a moment.”
She was struck by the kindness she saw in his eyes. “Thanks.” Clarissa put her pack down a little distance from the others, who chattered idly with each other. They all seemed to have bonded already. She felt like t
he outsider. With her background, that was nothing new.
She opened her purse. She’d be hard-pressed to come up with three items that mattered to her. She removed a brown food package and a space blanket, and tucked the money at the bottom of one of the smaller compartments. Then she put the change of undergarments and shirt she’d bought in the pack, as well.
She had a picture of herself with two friends from Naomi’s Place. The ten-year-old photo was worn and creased. Even though the pain of her miscarriage had caused her to run from there, the memory of the friendship she’d had with two other girls, Rochelle and Sarah, still warmed her heart. She placed the photo in one of the smaller compartments on the backpack. All her worldly treasures.
She watched Ezra, kneeling close to the van, place a small Bible in his pack. So he was a kindred spirit in that way. His faith probably ran much deeper than hers. Hers was so brand-new, and now doubt over the situation she was in had poked holes in it. She’d done the right thing by refusing Max’s advances and telling his wife, and she’d lost everything because of it. She hadn’t even had time to grab the Bible Sondra had given her. Uneasiness about Sondra’s no-show still plagued her. What if she’d been in a car accident?
Ezra swung his backpack on. “All right, people, suit up. We leave in three minutes.”
Clarissa grabbed the toothbrush and other toiletries she’d purchased that morning and packed them away. She lifted the backpack, surprised by the weight. She slipped one arm through a strap, but struggled with the other.
“Here, let me help you with that.” Ezra lifted her pack from the bottom so she could slip her arm in without having to wrestle with the weight.
“Thanks.”
He leaned toward her and pointed. “Belly strap.”
“Oh, right.” She turned slightly, looking for the other end.
He grabbed both strap ends and snapped them together. She felt the pressure of his fingers against her stomach as she met his gaze.
“You’ve never been on a hike before in your life, have you?” His voice held a note of humor, not condemnation.
