“Why’s that? You don’t think I’d enjoy being stuck with a pretty woman and her child in a remote cabin?”
Cold flushed through her, tightening into heat in her throat. She shuddered, closing her eyes in a fight to remain strong. “No … I’m just worried you wouldn’t make it. It gets muddy and there are a lot of creeks to cross. It’s … dangerous.” That part, she could believe. She’d never felt safe at this cabin.
“Well, thanks for worrying about me, pretty girl. You let Ben know to hole up for a few days and I’ll call him later to discuss new arrangements.”
Lillian glanced at Ben, hoping he could hear Kevin’s conversation. Holing up meant not killing her. At least, not yet. That would give her more time to formulate her own plan.
“Yes, sir. We have plenty of rations to last at least a week.”
“Good. Good. Let me talk to Ben.”
“You know that none of this matters, right?” she asked, deciding to be brave and lay it all on the line.
“None of what matters?”
“The fact this FBI agent is involved. I realize it’s an inconvenience, but I’m willing to pay you more money for the trouble. The only reason he’s helping is because he’s Jake’s friend. He’s retired, and Jake will grow bored and stop looking for us if he doesn’t go to jail first. He’s an addict, and he’ll soon fall into his addiction. Neither of them will be a problem for long.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Will you be a problem?”
“No. I—”
“You’ve been a problem in the past. Changing our deal.”
“I panicked.”
“What if you panic again?”
Lillian had panicked after Amy had been found, and she’d considered backing out of their deal entirely. At this point, she’d doubted this man would have ever let her back out.
She couldn’t afford to think of the plans Kevin had for her daughter. He’d find a better home for her, and Lillian could start a new life where nobody knew her. Perhaps she could pay Kevin to give her a new identity and she could start over somewhere else.
“Ben was the one who screwed up, not me,” Lillian said.
“I’ll take care of Ben. And I’ll take care of you.”
• • •
Jake grabbed Winona when she came back in. She was drenched from the rain, and Reagan brought her a towel and clothes.
He wrapped his arms around her and planted his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes. He wanted to reassure her that this wasn’t her fault. He didn’t blame her, and she shouldn’t blame herself. It would have happened no matter what. Lillian had a plan, and she’d see to it that her plan succeeded. If Jake had still been in Wyoming, the cops would have arrested him, Garret wouldn’t be here to help, and Amy would still be missing.
Things happened for a reason. They were here now, and he planned to find Amy.
And Lillian.
Winona didn’t hug him. Her body remained stiff. He pulled away to arm’s distance and kept his hands on her shoulders. “Whatever you’re thinking, this is not your fault.”
She nodded once and rolled her eyes upward.
“Winona.” He gave her a little shake.
“We should have gone back.”
“No. I’d probably be in jail if we went back. We didn’t go back. Stop blaming yourself.”
She nodded again, but he wasn’t sure she believed him. He understood. He blamed himself constantly for the things that had recently happened.
His phone shrilled and he jerked away to dig it out of his pocket. The number said unavailable, and he wasted no time answering.
“Hello?”
“Jake!” Lillian said in a whispery soft shrill. “Jake!”
His heart stopped, then pounded with a force he thought would knock him to the floor.
“Lillian?” He glanced at Garret, snapped his fingers, and mouthed her name. He wasn’t sure how all the high-end fancy-smancy police tracing worked, but he needed a trace on this call. “Where the hell are you?”
“I don’t know.” Her words gurgled like she was in an underground well that was filling with water.
“Is Amy with you? Is she okay?”
“Yes. Yes, she’s okay.” Her voice sounded desperate but far away.
“What happened? Your car was found on the side of the road.”
“I was having car problems. I pulled over, and some guy pulled over, too. He put a gun to my head and told me and Amy to get out and come with him. I didn’t know what to do.”
Doubt flashed like a hot wire, revving with suspicion. He didn’t know if she’d had car trouble, but that could easily be checked. He still suspected she had something to do with this.
“I think Brandon was involved in something terrible,” Lillian whispered.
“Why would you think that?” he growled. He didn’t like where this was headed. Lillian was definitely involved, and now she’d sully Brandon’s name to get out of her predicament.
“I mean, why do this? Isn’t it a bit strange? He’s killed, Amy is kidnapped. Again.”
“Where are you?” he asked again.
Lillian hesitated. The silence amplified the pounding of his heart. His frayed nerves culminated into dizziness. He closed his eyes, but the blackness was too terrifying. “Lillian?”
“He took us to Brandon’s favorite place in the whole world. Brandon had always wanted to retire here and spend his life fishing. But we’re stuck on this mountain. Even if I figured out a way to get us out of here, the rain will make it impossible to leave.”
This time, Jake closed his eyes and kept them closed. Let the blackness hit. He knew exactly where they were going, and it wasn’t going to be easy to get there.
“How can you deny he wasn’t involved in something that didn’t get him killed?” Lillian whispered.
“I’m not denying that. He was involved with you, wasn’t he?”
“Fuck you.” Venom dulled her voice. He’d taken the antidote years ago. Replaced it with hatred. It took every ounce of his control not to respond. Amy’s safety was in her hands.
This wasn’t Brandon’s doing. He hadn’t been involved in anything that would harm his daughter. No way in hell. Brandon’s morality was absolute. He’d never—never. The only mistake he’d ever made in life was hooking up with Lillian, but Lillian had reeled him in with her pregnancy. And he’d have never turned his back on his child.
He glanced at Garret. His best choice was to give the phone to Garret, let him talk sense to Lillian. Help her get out of there, away from this guy.
“I … oh shit,” Lillian whispered, her voice warbling higher in fear. “I stole the guy’s phone. I’ve got to go before he catches me.”
She ended the call, leaving him standing there, lost and terrified. Three pair of eyes watched him. Winona, who still hadn’t changed into dry clothes. Garret’s, whose quizzical arch implied Jake would solve it all now that Lillian had called, and Reagan, who looked just as confused and worried as ever.
“That was Lillian,” he said.
“We’re tracing the call now,” Garret said. “We’ll pinpoint her location soon.”
That seemed to get Winona going. She ran to the bathroom with her clothes, probably to change. Jake hit send on his phone to redial the number, but nothing happened.
“I know where they are.”
“Where?”
“She said Brandon’s favorite place. The place he wants to retire. He owned a small cabin on a mountain that’s virtually impassable in the snow without a snowmobile. Heavy rains like this make it difficult. The trailhead is small, covered with trees and branches. Very backwoods. Lots of forests. The trail gets muddy when it rains. There’s a public road that takes you up to the trail, but creeks run the gamut of them. It takes a lot to make ’em rise but when they rise, you can’t cross.”
“We’ll take the helicopter.”
Jake shook his head. “I could get there
faster. Besides, a helicopter might get you close, but not close enough. I’m going in.”
“You wait. We’ll figure out a game plan.”
“I don’t have time to wait. My game plan is to drive up there, save Amy, and get the hell out before the creeks rise. She said it was raining, but it takes more than this. I’ve been there before. Been stuck there before.”
“You don’t know how much it’s rained there. Could have been more than here, and it’s already rained a lot.”
Jake shrugged and turned. “Maybe. But it’s a risk I’ll take.”
“No. Dammit, Jake, you wait.” Garret grabbed his phone. “I’ll make a few quick calls.”
“You go ahead and do that. I’ve got something to check in my truck. Be right back.”
Jake walked out the door with no intention of returning. Winona must have guessed that, because she grabbed her tote and followed.
“I’m going with you.”
“No.”
She grabbed his elbow and forced him to turn and face her. Rain assaulted them, falling in rivulets down their face.
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Too dangerous to go alone. And I’m more than capable.” She thrust Chayton’s keys to Jake’s chest. “But I think we should take Chayton’s Jeep.”
What, she wasn’t going to take away more of Jake’s manhood by demanding he let her drive?
“The weather sucks. It’s iffy we’ll even make it up the mountain, much less down.”
“That’s why we take Chayton’s Jeep. Come on,” she said, when Garret opened the door of the house and hollered.
They scampered to Chayton’s Jeep. Jake revved the engine. Garret ran out of the house, arms flailing. Jake chuckled, but it wasn’t a funny laugh.
This whole arrangement sucked. Big time. There was no right or wrong decision to make. All decisions, at this point, were wrong in his mind.
The phone shrilled. “Yeah, Garret,” Jake said. “I know you don’t like my decision. But your feds can follow me with their helicopter and wait for me at the edge of the mountain. We’ll get Amy and meet you.”
Garret garbled words about why his idea wouldn’t work, but Jake didn’t listen. He handed the phone to Winona, focusing on the road. Which was where his focus should be. Not on Garret and his irritation.
Thank God this cabin was only an hour away and he could get there quickly, but that was in good weather. Rain drizzled off and on, enough to keep the windshield wipers thumping and keep his speed limit slower than he’d like.
“We’ll keep in touch,” Winona told Garret and hung up. Sighing, she rested her head on the seat’s headrest.
He glanced at Winona and patted her lap. “Don’t tell yourself this is your fault. It’s not.”
She met his gaze a moment, her whiskey-colored eyes inebriating him with fervor and heartache. If something went wrong—he didn’t want to lose her or Amy.
“Shut up and drive, Jake.”
Chapter Twenty
The Jeep bounced along the road, up steep mountain slopes, as rain fell in sheets. Winona gasped as the Jeep slid through slick channels of mud, but Jake managed to hold it tight. The roads were spongy, absorbing water, then wringing it out in a collection of goo.
She imagined water gushing around her. Imagined falling to their death. Being sucked into the earth by sludge. The sky had turned dark, merciless, and she couldn’t see a damn thing but the Jeep lights soaking an otherwise indistinguishable trail. The wind clamored across the ragtop as if it wasn’t even attached.
“We’re almost there,” Jake had assured her several times as she clenched the grab handle. They had made it past the public roads just fine, and she felt this trail was way worse than he’d described. “It feels worse than it is,” he continued. “I’ve traveled this road hundreds of times.”
“We should wait for backup.” She checked her phone yet again but had no service. She couldn’t call Garret to find out what was going on at his end, and none of her texts was going through. As a private investigator, she’d done many stupid things alone. This ranked top of her list.
She opened the glove compartment. Searched under the seats, behind the seats.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking to see if Chayton has any ammo or guns in his Jeep. Knowing my brother, he doesn’t.”
Her arsenal consisted of the .380 she’d hidden in her pants and the 9mm she kept in her purse. She’d feel much better if she had an assault rifle as backup, or at least her shotgun. Not that she could handle any more than two at a time anyway, if she was lucky to handle more than one.
Jake cracked his knuckles. “The only ammo I need is right here.”
Winona settled in her seat and faced him. He continued to peer out the window as the heavy downpour seemed to crack the Jeep’s ragtop. But the Jeep held steady. “Really, Jake?”
“Yep. That and adrenaline.”
“So your fists, your arms, will help you dodge bullets? You don’t think that whoever we meet at this cabin won’t have their adrenaline? You know we could be heading into a trap, right?”
“You think I care about that right now? All I care about is my little girl.”
“How do we know she’s even there? Lillian could be lying to you. Setting you up. If she had anything to do with Brandon’s murder, anything at all, then—”
“You didn’t have to come!”
“We can’t just go in there without a plan.”
“I have a plan.”
“We don’t even know who’s there. How many are there. If Amy is even there.”
“I know that cabin like the back of my hand. We’re close, and I’m damn sure not stopping or turning around.”
She squared her shoulders, digging in her purse for the 9mm. She checked the clip and handed it to him.
“Do you at least know how to shoot?”
“Are you kidding me, Winona?”
“No, I’m not kidding you. If it comes down to it, can you shoot a living, breathing human being if he’s threatening your life or those you love?”
“Maybe you’re a tough street chick who carries a couple of guns everywhere she goes. I can picture you with an AK on your back and a belt of bullets strapped around your chest. But I can hold my own. I might not be a cop, but I’m probably a better marksman than most. I was four years old when I shot my dad’s rifle for the first time. I grew up around hunting and fishing, spitting and shooting.”
“Hunting is a lot different than killing a person.”
“And you would know better than me how?”
“Well, I’ve never had to kill anyone. Most of my PI work didn’t involve danger.”
Jake glanced at her. Shadows deepened the hard lines of his face, making him appear lethal. But the last time a friend had helped in an investigation, he’d ended up dead.
In many ways Jake reminded her of Naomi’s ex, Caleb. Caleb had become addicted to alcohol, ruined his relationship with Naomi, and Winona had befriended him when he came to Montana to try to win Naomi back. He was trying to change, trying to get better, when he was shot outside the police station by the cronies who wanted to kill Garret.
Caleb had died because of quick and irrational decisions. At the time, she had been holed up safely with her mother and she knew it was nobody’s fault. But she knew they hadn’t thought things through, and she worried the same thing was about to happen again.
“If my life or the life of anyone I care about is in danger, I will shoot. If you threatened Amy, I’d shoot you.” Jake patted her on the leg before returning his hands to the wheel. “You worry too much. Stop worrying.” He turned off the lights and drove.
“What are you doing?” Winona squinted through the gray. It shouldn’t be dark yet, but the unrelenting skies held the sun hostage.
Jake pulled under a tree and shut off the engine.
“I think it’s best if we walk the rest of the way.”
“Walk? I didn’t exactly bring my hiking gear.”
Jake glanced down at her tennis shoes. “Those will have to do.”
• • •
“Listen to Mommy, Amy.” Lilly tucked her hand under Amy’s chin and made her look at her. Amy thought her mom was pretty when she first woke up in the morning and wasn’t wearing all that makeup on her face. But right now, that makeup kind of made her look like one of those dancers on television.
Amy was confused. Lilly didn’t like to be called Mommy. So Amy thought maybe she was in trouble. And Mommy was strapped to the bathtub rail with some kind of ties. Now she sat in the bathtub without water. She had fought when he tied her, and Amy cowered in the corner. He’d threatened to tie her, too.
Daddy had told her that rail was there for safety reasons. She was supposed to hold it when she stepped out of the bathtub so she wouldn’t fall. But Lilly didn’t look safe.
Lilly kept yelling at that guy. That guy named Ben. And Ben threatened to shoot them with that gun. Daddy said guns were bad. Way bad. The news said Daddy had been shot with a gun. She wondered if that was why he was in heaven.
Ben was nicer the last time she’d met him. He’d wanted to play hide and seek all the time. She’d hide, and she must have hid real good because it took him a long time to find her. But she had a hard time finding him, too. Then he’d let her watch TV and she got to stay up as late as she wanted. All she ate was popcorn and chocolate and he let her drink as many sodas as she wanted. They even went swimming, but it wasn’t fun without Jake and her daddy. And she’d still felt nervous around Ben, even when he was nice to her.
“Amy, are you listening?”
“Yes, Mo—uh, Lilly.”
“You can call me Mommy right now, okay, baby girl?”
Amy nodded, still confused. She was scared. Ben said he’d strapped Lilly to the bathtub rail because she’d misbehaved, but that didn’t seem like a fair time-out. Ben was walking around, talking like crazy. He’d been waving a gun around, but now it set on the dresser in the bedroom. He chattered about nothing, and she wasn’t even sure who he was talking to. He didn’t have a phone or anything.
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