by Mayer, Dale
Glancing around, she frowned. What was that? She studied the slight flare of color in the brush. Slowly she approached it.
And did a little dance. It was her sweater. Woot!
She shook it out and brushed the leaves off. She quickly slipped it on over her shoulders. She huddled into the warmth and smiled. Now that was so much better. As much as she loved the sweater, she was just happy to find she’d made it back here. She wasn’t lost. If she made it this far she could make her way back to the cabin. Or rather give the cabin a wide berth and come out on the road. Maybe even steal the truck they had parked way back.
She liked the sound of that.
Warmth and safety appealed. She also needed food in a big way.
Now if only she’d thought to pocket a few of the apples before she left.
She slowly picked her way back through the woods, wondering how far she dare go. Damn it.
In the dark her sweater was going to glow neon bright.
Shit. She stopped to consider that, then had a simple but odd solution. She quickly stripped off her thin sweater and her shirt. Then she put the sweater on first and her t-shirt over it. The t-shirt was big enough to go over the sweater easily. And she was warm this way. The dark navy hid the sweater except for the sleeves. She quickly folded the cuffs back, and pushed them up her arm. At least there’d only be a small band this way.
She started moving again. And hit that odd light of dusk and her energy sagged yet again. She needed to stop and rest and she needed to eat.
But neither was going to happen. She kept going, forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other regardless of where she was going.
By the time night settled she was shivering against the wind. When she wavered in place, she knew she was done. She collapsed against a huge tree trunk.
She’d avoided voicing the truth.
Only now she couldn’t avoid it any longer. She didn’t recognize anything about where she was.
Somehow she’d gotten twisted around.
She should have been back at the cabin by now. And there was no sign that she was still on the correct path. The truth was she was well and truly lost.
She huddled in a tight ball and closed her eyes.
Please let there be someone out looking for her.
*
“She has to be out there somewhere,” Markus said to Jake. “Are you sure you didn’t see any sign of her?”
Jake shook his head. “Nope. I found the men. Took them out but didn’t see any sign of her.”
“Damn it.”
“I’m more worried about my daughter. We’ll worry about the young one later.”
Markus understood. But with three men down and just the one man left inside they’d already wasted several hours, and she could be anywhere by now. He had finally gotten through to the rest of his team. Good thing as they’d been searching for him.
Like he needed that.
They were on their way and Markus studied the two men bound on the ground. They were a good hundred yards from the cabin and just off the driveway. Out of sight but not so far out that he couldn’t see anyone leaving the cabin.
He had no way to confirm at this point that there were only two women and one male left inside, and he was kicking himself for not asking the guy in the pump house. As soon as the men were picked up he could go after the young woman. The two men at his feet were unconscious so they couldn’t give him answers.
With a warning to Jake to stand guard he slipped up to the truck and peered into the front. No keys left in the ignition. That was fine, it was easy enough to disable it. He just needed a moment under the dash. Easing the door open he quickly disabled the truck, then closing the passenger door, he slipped to the front of the truck.
After a quick look around, he raced up the road along the tree line. They’d had to walk in as the road was more bog than gravel here.
Up close, he could see no sign of anyone in the front. He made his way around to the back of the house studying the rooms from each angle. At a kitchen window he could see the boss sitting at the table. A table loaded with guns and ammunition. He was making more.
This guy was well-armed for bear. Markus didn’t know what he was up to, but it wasn’t going to be good for anyone around here.
He needed to get in and surprise him. Take him out before the man dug in for a siege.
From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Hawk and Shadow.
The men slipped up beside him, took one look at the interior of the house and their faces closed down.
“Where are the women?”
He motioned to the corner of the kitchen that was hidden. “And then there is the one who ran into the woods.” He hated he hadn’t gone after her.
Hawk studied him, reading his face correctly. “Go after her. I’ll follow as soon as we get this set up. We can handle the one guy. You go after her.”
Markus frowned. Hawk was the better tracker with Shadow being the next, but he was no slouch in that department either. On the other hand, he’d been chafing at the bit to go after her from the first moment he’d seen her run for her freedom. Gutsy. He liked that.
Shadow gave him a push. “Go. We’ll follow soon. She might need you now.”
With one last look, Markus took off in the direction he’d seen her disappear.
Chapter 6
Now where the hell was she?
Damn it. She swore she was going to stay in one spot. And somehow that good intention was shot to shit when a loud bird had cried out overhead sending her running. It didn’t matter what direction or where she’d gone because she was already lost.
And thirsty. She could barely swallow. She remembered too late that she’d thought she’d heard water close by while she’d been in the house. She should have run in that direction. But she’d been so damn glad to be free she’d bolted without considering what direction to go.
Of course a rescue topped all her wants. But only by the good guys. She wasn’t ready to throw in the towel and let one of those assholes get her again. Although she might be warm and fed if she did. But the alternative was so much worse. Still there was hope. She’d caught a glimpse of Mary’s father out there, and he had more bush smarts than anyone. All it took was one person to help get those men and have the women tell the rescuers where she’d gone.
The irony hit her.
Her justification for running had been to get help for the others. But apparently circumstances had turned that on its tail. She needed a rescue herself.
If she wasn’t in so much danger she’d laugh. She knew the women would tease her when they saw her again. But in the meantime…she might have done something monumentally stupid even if it was also understandable. Maybe the kidnappers had planned to shoot her after they ate her damn baking.
She sat down at the base of a tree and closed her eyes.
Why the hell had she left?
She was just nodding off to sleep, the cold seeping into her bones like only Mother Nature could when she heard something crackle on the left.
Hunkering lower, holding her breath, she waited. There were few trees here to climb, but if it was a four-legged predator she’d pick out one in a heartbeat. Although if it was a bear, chances were good the tree would be no protection at all. Depended on the bear. Too many damn grizzlies out here to count on that.
A branch crackled.
Shit. She closed her eyes and shuddered.
“Want some company or are you happy to just sit here and enjoy the evening.”
The voice was so gentle, so understanding, she figured it had to be from her imagination. She opened her eyes slowly to see a soldier crouched down studying her. Thank God. But was he friend or foe? She felt that gaze assess and determine in a flash if she was hurt or in need. When he pulled a canteen out from a strap and opened it for her, she knew he had seen and judged her correctly.
“Sorry,” she whispered, her teeth chattering.
“For what? Taking a chance on life
instead of death – don’t be. Getting away from the men was a good idea as long as it worked. Racing blind out into the woods – not so much.”
She laughed, grateful he knew who she was and what she’d done. But then she was pouring water down her throat and the laughter died behind the ravaging thirst. She drank and drank.
He let her instead of warning her to not be sick. She appreciated that. She drank a lot of water on a regular basis and after today, well…
Finally she could feel her body was tanked up enough to lower the canteen and realized she’d almost emptied it on him. “I’m sorry, I should have thought of you too.”
“Not an issue. I have more.”
“Thank God.”
“You okay?”
She knew what he was asking. She was pale and thin, her skin still recuperating from the lovely drug treatments she’d been through and didn’t have the robust color or fullness that a healthy person had. Instead it was thin and transparent. Her hair wasn’t much better. Even in the moonlight she’d look more ghostly than a real specter.
“I am now,” she said, but her teeth were still chattering. He had his jacket off and wrapped around her shoulders, instantly enveloping her in a huge warm hug.
She moaned in joy as heat seeped into her bones. “It’s summer. How can it be so cold out?”
“When the sun goes down the cold races in when you’re north this far. The heat doesn’t stay like it does when you’re more south.”
He gently reached out and rubbed her arms. “Can you move?”
She nodded and tried to scramble to her feet. And tripped. He held her firm while she regained her footing. “Sorry, I’m more frozen than I expected.”
“You’ve been out here for hours,” he said, his voice soothing. “Your muscles need a moment to get the blood recirculating.”
“Yeah, not what I expected either. I’m new to Alaska and hadn’t expected the sheer vastness of the area.”
“No one really does unless you live here,” he said.
“I knew if I escaped that I’d be heading into the wilderness but before leaving I thought I’d heard a river or water close by and had intended to head in that direction. But honestly, once on the loose I ran and never did think of my original plan.”
“Don’t blame yourself. You got away. That’s what counts.”
“Are the other women free?”
“In progress.”
“Good, although I’d hoped you’d say the assholes had been captured, or better yet – dead.” She smiled up at him. “When I saw you at first, I wasn’t sure if you were one of the bad guys or the good guys.”
“I’m one of the good guys all the time.” He laughed. “Haven’t had an update on the situation at the cabin yet, but I trust my team. They will do what needs to be done.”
“I hope Betsy and Mary are all right. I hated to leave them.”
“I’m sure they hated to see you go, too.” He grinned, the smile lighting up the dark shadow on his face. “Especially if they know the country and understand the desolation of being out here alone.”
“Yeah, they probably think I’m a fool.” She tilted her face to the sky. “At least it’s not raining.”
Just then droplets hit her face. She gasped in outrage and glared at the sky. “Really? Haven’t I been through enough? Do you have to soak me too?”
The soldier in front of her chuckled. She turned to study his face. “My name is Bree Henderson.”
“I’m Markus Donner. And I’m part of a military operation training here. We just happened to be doing an exercise when Jake found me and asked for help.”
“Lucky for us. Or fate,” she added in a low voice, sending a wary glance to the sky. “Or a higher power.”
“Whatever works for you.” His voice deepened into neutral tones.
“You don’t believe.” She laughed. “Not sure I blame you.”
“I used to think about it. Then I didn’t.” But he didn’t offer any more.
“Sometimes I wonder if there is any point to this thing we call life. But I’m still here and don’t deserve to be. So I have to make the best of it.”
Markus stopped to look at her.
She smiled up at him.
“Don’t deserve to be?” he asked cautiously.
“I almost died a year ago. Surgery, aggressive medical treatment and a slow recovery, and lo and behold I find myself still standing.”
He reached out and tucked the jacket tighter around her shoulders. “Then we don’t want to lose you out here.”
“That would be a foolish way to die after all I’ve been through.” She gave him a perky smile.
“I’m afraid there are way too many foolish deaths out there.”
There was something in his voice that made her pause. She searched his face, the shadows of the night highlighting his cheekbones, the depths of that gaze obsidian. He was beautiful in a raw way. Not refined. But big, bad…and yeah…beautiful.
Then she realized what it was in his tone that caught her. The haunting. The memory. He had lost someone dear.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, understanding his hurt.
“For what?” he sounded surprised but that gaze was wary.
“That you lost someone in a stupid way.”
His gaze dropped to the ground. “There is no smart death for those left behind.”
She reached up and stroked his steel cut jaw. “And some deaths are more stupid than others.”
He turned to look at the night around them. “Are you still sick? Do you need medication?”
“No, just food,” she admitted. “I have no energy these days. It was hard to get back to the business of life when still recovering, but I have no money so my choices are limited.”
“No medical insurance.”
“When I had a job, yes,” she said lightly. “Then when I lost that job, I lost my benefits.”
“Did they know you were sick?” he asked, his voice harsh.
“They did.” She shrugged lightly. “They also expected me to die sooner than later.”
“They had no right to take–”
She placed a finger on his lips. “No, but that’s one of the things you learn when you hit a rough patch. Many times people would rather ditch you than help you. They didn’t want to see what I was going through. It was costing them and that was something else they were trying to avoid. If I died early, all the better. If I was around them while dying, it made it harder on them. It made them see their own mortality.”
“You could have fought back,” he said in a hard tone.
“Sure, but I was involved in a much bigger fight at the time.” She waved her arm. “One that took precedence over anything else. The treatment was all consuming. Healing was a full-time job. There was no option to fight the petty people looking to cut ties before I caused them any damage. Sad to say but there it is.”
“Yet they gave you treatment? Didn’t withhold it because you couldn’t pay?”
“I sold my condo, drained my savings account, and eventually my old car to clear up the last of the bills. I found myself standing on a street corner after they drove away with my car and all I had were the clothes on my back. Sure I could have kept the furniture maybe as I didn’t get much for it, and I got rid of all my clothes…voluntarily.” She smiled and glanced down at her frame completely swallowed in his jacket. “They didn’t fit anymore and I’m months if not years away from filling them out properly and now that I no longer have a job like I did, I no longer have any reason to keep those kind of clothes.” She laughed and kicked out her foot, the old sneaker showing wear and tear. “I couldn’t even fit in my shoes. Who knew losing that amount of weight meant your shoes wouldn’t fit?”
“It happens,” he said, his gaze more distant.
Right. Back to that losing someone issue.
“Well, I’m regaining my strength and relearning a new appreciation for my life. It’s like being reborn. And I’m grateful for every day I have.�
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Markus nodded slowly, then reached around to his pack. “I don’t have much but I do have a protein bar, if that appeals.”
“The packaging appeals I’m so hungry,” she whispered in delight. “I can’t get full and when I do, I’m hungry within an hour again.” She accepted the small bar and ripped it open, taking a bite immediately. It didn’t taste the best, but it was food and she needed that.
“You’ve placed a lot of demands on your body. Healing is hard, and if you lost muscle then the body is working to do twice the work with only half the strength.” He lifted the collar on his jacket and pulled it around her neck tighter. “Let’s get you back. With any luck, you might still sleep in a real bed for the rest of the night and have a big breakfast in the morning – or noon depending on when you wake up.” He motioned at her to step forward but she shook her head. “I need to finish the bar first.”
The bar was done in just a few bites and with her mouth lamenting the loss of food and her stomach resigned to accepting the little bit it received, she stepped out expecting him to follow.
Her arm was grabbed gently. She turned to stare at him, one eyebrow raised.
“This way,” he said and motioned to the opposite direction.
She sighed. “Figures.”
*
Her skin was so pale. He’d seen dead people with more color. And her hands were icy. He worried about hypothermia, but she was moving along at a decent clip. Although he felt it was bravado without substance. That her energy would fail quickly, and she’d be unable to keep on her own two feet. He studied the sky. The rain held at a light drizzle, but the moon hid behind clouds and the air was heavy. A storm was brewing. And would likely dump on them before too long.
He could hole up and let the ugly weather pass. He figured they were eight miles out. She wasn’t going to make it.
