Beautifully Broken Pieces

by Catherine Cowles

  I took another step, and a crunch sounded. That was me, right? Dry leaves beneath my sneakers? I glanced down, seeing nothing but dirt and pine needles. My heart rate picked up its pace. I slowed, searching the woods all around me for any signs of life.

  Another rustle sounded to my right. Shit, shit, shit. I tried to remember if the hiking book said anything about possible encounters with wild animals. Did cougars stalk their prey? Was I supposed to freeze, play dead, or run if I came across one? My palms were slick with sweat. I frantically tried to adjust my grip on the bear spray. Would bear repellent work on cougars? My heart began to rattle against my ribs, and blood pounded in my eardrums.

  A twig snapped even closer, and I froze. My breathing and the wind were the only things I could hear before a crack filled the air. Bark spit back from the tree mere inches from my face. What the hell? On instinct, I reared back. Something went whizzing by.

  Holy crap. Someone was shooting at me. Bullets. Real, life-ending bullets headed straight for me. I didn’t think, I just ran. Skirting the edge of the ravine, I kept my hands out in front of me in an attempt to protect my face from the onslaught of branches.

  The sounds of someone crashing through the underbrush came from behind me, and I pushed myself harder, not looking back. I begged my legs to not give up on me now. My harsh breaths cut through the mountain air.

  I turned my head just slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of how close my invisible attacker was when my foot caught on a tree branch and I began to fall.

  25

  Walker

  I gripped my phone so tightly, I worried it might break. “What do you mean you think Taylor might be missing?”

  The sound of Jensen clearing her throat drifted across the line. An old, anxious habit. “Well…she called early this morning. Said she wanted to get in a hike before she tutored Noah and asked if she could push back our meeting time. I said that was fine, but she was supposed to be here over two hours ago.”

  My stomach churned. This was not fucking good. Jensen kept talking, a nervous vomit of words. “I’ve called, and it goes straight to voicemail. I even put Noah in the car and drove over to the guest cabin. Her car’s gone. And I, uh, let myself in. I know it was invading her privacy, but I was worried. She wasn’t there, but all her stuff is, other than her keys, phone, and the basics.”

  I squeezed the foam back of my office chair. It wasn’t fulfilling the need I had to break something, though. I hissed a breath through my clenched teeth, and the forced air made a whistling sound. “You knew she was going hiking alone?” The words were low, a guttural threat.

  “I-I wasn’t sure. You know she’s been pulling away from us, so I didn’t want to push. And it isn’t like she’s not a grown adult.”

  I shot my chair across the room. “But she didn’t grow up here, J. She grew up in a fucking city. She’s only lived in fucking cities. You grew up here. You know the kinds of trouble someone can get into while hiking alone.”

  “I’m sorry, Walk.” Jensen’s voice was ragged and resigned. “I fucked up. And if we don’t find her without a hair on her head harmed, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  The guilt in Jensen’s words took all the bluster out of my sails. “It’ll be okay, J. We’ll find her. Did she mention an area specifically?”

  “No. And I’m kicking myself for not asking.”

  “All right,” I grabbed my desk phone off the receiver. “I’m going to put out an APB on Taylor and her car, see if we can find out what trail she’s on. I’m also going to call Tuck and have him put the word out with the Forest Service guys.”

  “Okay. I’m going to trailer two horses so that you and I can search on horseback whenever we find her car.” There was steel in her voice now.

  “Thanks. But, J?”

  “Yeah?”

  I swallowed roughly. “Be fucking careful. Taylor isn’t the only girl missing. Caitlin’s parents and friends haven’t seen her in over three days.”

  “What the hell is going on, Walker?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m sure as hell going to find out.” My mind began compiling all the things I needed to do. “I gotta go, but careful, yeah?”

  “I’ll be careful. Promise.”

  “’Kay. I’ll keep you in the loop.”

  “Thanks.”

  I punched end on my screen and immediately dialed dispatch from my landline. After getting the word out for yet another APB in a thirty-minute period, I called Tuck. He didn’t answer. “Call me whenever you get this. It’s important. I’ll have my cell.”

  I slammed the phone down in its receiver. “Why do you have to be so fucking stubborn, Taylor?” My office gave me no answers. I ground my teeth and tried to think through where Taylor would have gone. The possibilities were practically endless.

  She needed to be back in time to tutor Noah, so she wouldn’t have driven more than thirty minutes away, an hour tops. I drummed my fingers against my desk and pulled out a map. I drew a large circle over the area she’d most likely stick to and then studied my options.

  Taylor loved the water. Gravitated towards it as if she’d been a mermaid in a past life. That narrowed the possibilities down to three options. I picked up my desk phone again and hit the extension for dispatch. “Send officers to check the trailheads at the lake, the falls, and the Creek Line trail for Taylor Lawson’s car. It’s a navy Mercedes SUV with California plates. Thanks.”

  I studied the map more closely. Was there something else I was missing? My cell buzzed in my hand. I answered without looking at the screen. “Cole.”

  “Walk, it’s Tuck. What’s up?” He sounded slightly winded.

  “I need your help. Taylor’s missing.”

  “What?”

  “She went for a hike this morning and didn’t come back when she was supposed to. I’ve narrowed it down to three likely areas. The lake, the falls, and Creek Line. Probably not the lake because there’s a lot of people there, and it’d be easy to get help if something went sideways.”

  Tuck muttered a curse. “Didn’t you tell her not to go out on her own?”

  I began to pace back and forth behind my desk. “What do you think?”

  “Right. You definitely told her. She’s a stubborn wildcat, that one.”

  I shook my head and stared up at the ceiling. “That she is. Now, we need to find her.”

  “On it. I’ll put the word out with my guys, and I’m not far from Creek Line now. I’ll start searching for any signs of her.”

  The tight grip on my chest loosened a bit. Tuck was the best tracker in the county. If anyone could find Taylor, it would be Tuck. I just prayed she was in the Creek Line area and not somewhere else I hadn’t even thought of. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate it.”

  “Of course. Keep me in the loop.”

  “Will do.” I ended the call just as my landline rang. “Cole,” I answered.

  “It’s dispatch. They’ve found the vehicle belonging to Taylor Lawson at the trailhead for Creek Line trail.”

  My chest loosened even further, but my gut still churned. Anything could have happened to her. “Thanks. Call in search and rescue. Let them know that Tucker is searching the area on foot and that Jensen and I will be on horseback.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  I hung up and shot off a text to Tuck, letting him know that Taylor was in the area. Then I dialed Jensen. She picked up on the second ring. “Find her?”

  “Not her, but we did find her car. Can you meet me at Creek Line with the horses?”

  “I’m on my way.”

  “See you soon.” I ended the call. I just hoped we got there in time.

  26

  Taylor

  A quick look back could cost me everything. I knew if I went down, whoever was hot on my heels would be right on top of me. I tried frantically to right myself, wind-milling my arms, attempting to find purchase on anything. I caught only air.

  The overcompensation sent me careening to the left. Shit,
shit, shit. I landed with a thud, and then I was sliding—over the side of the fucking ravine, I realized. Downed branches and tree roots gouged at my body as I continued in a half slide, half roll. I did my best to shield my face with one arm and grapple to slow myself with the other.

  What I assumed was a rock jabbed me in the tailbone, right before I was sent into what felt like an overgrown Brillo pad. I lay frozen. I strained to hear the sounds of anyone following me down the incline. I heard only the gurgling of the creek, and a bird call overhead. At least at the bottom of the valley, I had gained some distance from the psycho hot on my trail.

  Ever so slowly, I pulled my hand away from my face. Dry, thorny branches scraped against my arm, and my skin burned like a million fire ants had bitten me all over. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the brightness. Apparently, I’d lost my sunglasses on the way down. And my water. Shit.

  Taking in my surroundings, I realized that I had landed in the middle of a patch of some sort of briar bush. I peered through the brambles at the ridgeline above. There was no one. I ran my gaze along the rim of the ravine as far as I could see. Nothing.

  My breath came in quick pants. What should I do? Stay where I was, or get out of here as fast as humanly possible? The crazy had a gun. What if he were lying in wait for me to leave my cover so he could shoot me dead?

  I forced myself to slow my breathing. I counted as I inhaled for three, then when I exhaled for three until my heart began to slow, as well. “Think, Taylor,” I said quietly to myself. “Use your brain to figure a way out of this.”

  I took a moment to get the best look I could through the bush’s branches. Maybe I could army-crawl towards the creek and then let it carry me downstream? That way, at least I wouldn’t be a standing target. I shivered at the thought of how cold I would be once the sun went down. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.

  The sound of a snapping branch had my spine going ramrod straight, and my heartbeat seeming to trip over itself. Tears of fear and frustration leaked from the corners of my eyes. This was it. I was going to die. I would’ve thought I’d almost welcome death, feel relieved that maybe, just maybe, I’d be reunited with my mom.

  My breathing picked up its pace again as I realized that I really didn’t want my life to end, even if dying meant seeing my mom again. I wanted to keep learning how to play bridge with Arthur and Clint. Help Noah fall in love with reading. Have too many tequila shots with Jensen. Be subjected to another of Irma’s schemes. Hear Walker call me “Short-stack” with a smile in his voice.

  I wanted more of this life I was building.

  Attempting to stay as still as possible, I tried to silently count my breaths again. It didn’t work this time. I was too freaked.

  I tried to see who or what was coming, but I didn’t have a good angle. Footsteps grew closer, and I held my breath, my lungs burning.

  “Taylor? What are you doing in the bushes?” It was a voice I recognized. Tuck.

  I shot from the brambles and launched myself at him so fast, you would have thought I was an Olympic sprinter. Tuck caught me with a grunt, stumbling back a few steps. I then proceeded to burst into tears.

  Tuck patted my back awkwardly. “There, there now. Everything’s okay. You’re not lost anymore.”

  I started hyperventilating at the reminder that I hadn’t only been lost, I’d been shot at. I pushed away from Tuck. “We have to go. Someone’s after me.” Tuck’s brows pulled together in a look that was part concern, part disbelief. I tugged on his arm. “I mean it. Someone was shooting at me!”

  That had his shoulders straightening and his gaze moving to the ridgeline. Mine followed. Just as I was about to beg him to get us out of there, I heard a gruff shout. “Tuck!” Two people on horseback appeared a ways down the creek, and as they got closer, I saw that it was Walker and Jensen.

  I let out a sigh of relief that turned my muscles into mush. Just as Walker slid off his horse, I started to crumple to the ground. He reached me just as my knees were about to hit the dirt. “Fuck,” he barked, pulling me into his arms. Turning to Tuck, he asked, “What the hell happened?”

  “I don’t know. I just got here about sixty seconds before you did. She says someone shot at her.” The last statement had the two of them eying one another, having some sort of silent conversation.

  Walker carried me over to a smooth boulder. Gently setting me down, he turned to Jensen, who was in the process of dismounting. “J, grab me some water, a granola bar, and the first-aid kit.” Walker’s gaze came back to me, roaming over my face in a way that was full of warmth and comfort. “Are you okay?”

  “I-I think so.”

  Jensen was by Walker’s side in a matter of seconds, carrying all the items he’d asked for. She studied my face while opening a water bottle. “Here you go,” she said, handing me the container.

  As I reached out to take it, my hand shook. I willed it to stop, to steady, but it wouldn’t obey. “Thank you.” It came out as a whisper. I took a small sip and then a larger swallow, it tasted like heaven.

  “Go slow,” Walker warned. “You don’t want to get sick.”

  I nodded and paused my chugging. Walker broke off a small piece of the granola bar and handed it to me. “Eat this. You’re in mild shock. The sugar will help.”

  I said nothing, just took the offered bite and chewed. It tasted marvelous. Walker then began to open the first-aid kit, examining its contents. “Tuck, will you radio in that we’ve found her and tell them to call off search and rescue?”

  “No problem.” Tuck walked off, speaking into a radio in muted tones.

  Walker gently grasped my chin in his fingers, turning my head first one way and then the other so he could examine both sides of my face. “What hurts?”

  I swallowed another sip of water. “Um, everything?” Everything did hurt. Not in a way that made me think I had any life-threatening injuries, but like I would be one giant bruise by tomorrow.

  That got me a small grin. “Anything feel broken?”

  “Maybe my ass.” He raised a single eyebrow, and I went on to explain. “I fell down the side of the ravine when the guy was chasing me. A rock jabbed me in the ass on the way down.”

  Walker’s entire demeanor changed in a flash. His eyes turned hard, glinting in the afternoon light. His shoulders straightened, and his jaw tensed. “What do you mean when the guy was chasing you?”

  I glanced down at my hands, not wanting to meet Walker’s gaze. “I was stupid. I went off the trail to try and catch a view of the lake from above, but I didn’t pay close enough attention to where I was going and then couldn’t find my way back. I had finally found the edge of the ravine when a bullet hit the tree right in front of me. Whoever it was shot at least once more, and I took off running. I could hear them behind me, but when I tried to look back, I tripped and went over the side. I landed in those bushes.” I pointed towards the briar patch.

  Forcing myself to suck in air before I continued, I counted the seconds of my inhale and exhale. “I tried to see if the psycho was still up there, but I couldn’t spot anyone. I wasn’t sure what to do. Didn’t know if I should stay hidden or try to run. I just didn’t know. But then Tuck found me.” I brought my gaze to Tuck’s. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

  Tuck forced a smile when he said, “Always happy to help a damsel in distress.”

  Walker whirled on Tuck. “This isn’t something to joke about. She could have been killed!”

  Tuck clamped a hand on Walker’s shoulder. “I know, Walk. I was just trying to ease a little of the tension. Bad move.”

  There was some sort of stare-down slash silent conversation again. After a few moments, they both jerked their heads in a nod, ending the standoff. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

  Tuck’s gaze continued to roam the area as if looking at a map that no one else could see. “If you can get Taylor home on your own, I’m going to see if I can find any signs of our shooter. Maybe I can tra
ck him back to wherever he came from.”

  “I’ve got Taylor, but you need to be careful. This guy could be lying in wait somewhere.”

  Tuck slapped Walker on the back. “You know I’m always careful. I’ll call you if I find anything.”

  “Call me when you’re back either way. We can debrief.”

  “Will do.” Tuck took off towards the wall of the gorge and began climbing it like a spider monkey.

  I glanced up at Jensen, who was watching him with apprehension as she nibbled on a thumbnail. I reached up and squeezed her free hand. She jolted slightly, turning her gaze to me. “He shouldn’t be going off by himself when there’s a crazy person out there.”

  Walker shook his head. “You know he likes to track alone. He says bringing anyone else with him just confuses the trail and distracts him.”

  Jensen let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s stupid.”

  “It’s Tuck,” Walker replied. Jensen had nothing to say to that. Walker turned back to me. “I’m going to clean the scrapes on your face, but everything else will have to wait until we get back.”

  “That’s fine.” I looked at the two horses waiting patiently at the creek’s edge and then back to Walker and Jensen. “How am I getting back?”

  “You’ll ride with me,” Walker answered.

  I swallowed hard. “I’m not the fondest of horses. Maybe I could just walk?”

  Walker shook his head. “It’s too far for you to walk, and you’re exhausted. You’ll ride to the trailhead with me, and you’re not driving home either.” Before I could get in a word of protest, he continued. “You could have a concussion. I’ll send someone back to pick up your car and bring it to the cabin.”

  I bit back any arguments and nodded. “Okay.”

  Walker ripped open an alcohol wipe. “This might sting a little.”