Angel Fire, page 3
“Yeah. We spoke with her, didn’t we?”
“I think so.” Andrea sat down beside her and pulled Lola into her lap. “Well, this assignment will be different.”
“Yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve done any tracking like this.” Cameron sighed. “I’m going to miss the rig though.”
Andrea laughed. “You mean you’re going to miss your toys.”
“Yeah. Remind me to lock the computer room up tight.” She leaned forward and kissed Andrea lightly on the lips. “I had a very nice afternoon.”
Andrea smiled against her lips. “Good. So did I.” She brushed the sandy-blond hair away from Cameron’s eyes. “And you really need a trim.”
“I know. Looks like it will have to wait though.”
Chapter Five
Sam sat on the ground where he’d shoved her, contemplating making a run for it. It was the first time she’d been untied from him since they’d left the campground. Her hands, however, remained bound. She watched intently as he got a small fire going. If she did try to run, where would she go? Her hands were bound. He would catch her in an instant. He wasn’t a big man. Not much taller than herself. But he appeared muscular. Fit. His hair was dark and cut very short, military style. His clothes—black—and accessories—gun holster and knife sheath strapped to his thigh—also suggested military.
“Come closer if you’re cold,” he said brusquely. “That’s what it’s for. I won’t let it burn for long.”
She had no idea what time it was, but they had walked for a while after darkness fell, presumably to put as much distance between them and the campground. And Tori. But she was cold so she scooted closer to the fire, holding her hands out to the warmth.
“My…my name is Samantha,” she finally said.
He glanced over at her but made no comment.
“Can I at least know your name?”
“Why?”
“So that when we talk, I can address you,” she said.
He gave a quick smile. “What makes you think we’re going to talk?” His smile faded. “I’m a killer, remember? When I don’t need you anymore…well, you won’t need to know my name.”
She watched him as he opened up an MRE, another indication that he had ties to the military—meals ready to eat. Her stomach rumbled, but when he tried to hand her the meal she shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
“We’re not eating for pleasure, we’re eating for fuel. We’ll have a long hike tomorrow. Now eat.”
She took the package from him, staring at the brown mess that was supposed to be a beef stew. She grimaced at the taste and quickly chased it down with the water he’d given her.
“Easy on the water,” he warned. “It’s limited.”
She took another bite of the stew. “Why…why did you kill that young girl?”
“We’ll get along much better if you just keep quiet and stop asking questions.”
“I’m sorry.” She met his eyes in the firelight. “It’s…well…I’m…I’m a cop,” she said. “I ask questions.”
“A cop?” He looked at her skeptically. “You think pretending to be a cop is going to change the outcome? I hate cops.”
She swallowed nervously. “Dallas Police Department.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “My hostage is a cop? And I suppose you’re going to say your friend is too?”
“Her name is Leslie. Yes. She’s a cop too.”
“Great. And you two…are you like a couple or something?”
Sam shook her head. “Leslie is one of my best friends.” She took another bite of the stew, forcing herself to eat it. “We were there—vacation—with our partners though. Tori. Tori Hunter.” Just saying the name out loud brought her some comfort. “She’s my…my partner. She’s with the FBI,” she added.
His laugh surprised her. “My hostage is a cop and her lesbian lover is with the FBI. Wow,” he said dryly. He leaned closer. “And just where was this FBI agent when I showed up?”
“She and Casey went with one of the rangers. There was a…a shooting.” She paused. “I suppose that was you.”
“Yeah, I suppose it was.” He shook his head again. “A cop. Jesus,” he said almost to himself. He got up then, startling her. “Do I need to tie you up?”
She held her hands up, which were still bound. “What do you mean?”
“Do I need to worry about you running off into the woods? I’m not in the mood to chase you.”
She looked past their little campfire, seeing nothing but blackness. Where would she go? She turned back to him and shook her head.
“No, I don’t suppose you would run,” he said. “A mountain lion would get you and have you for dinner before I could find you.”
Sam stared at him blankly. Mountain lion? “I won’t run.”
He went to his backpack and untied what she assumed was a tent. He shook it out away from the fire, then quickly assembled it. She closed her eyes, silently begging for Tori to find her. She had no doubt that Tori was out right now, searching for her. Although she was a little discouraged that she’d heard no helicopters in the air earlier. Surely someone was searching for her. Of course, it was nearly dark when he’d taken her. Maybe they weren’t searching for her yet. Maybe they would wait until morning. What appetite she had vanished and she put the so-called stew down. She couldn’t swallow another bite.
“Finish it,” he said.
“It’s…it’s atrocious,” she said, causing him to laugh.
“Yeah, I know. But you get used to it.”
Sam looked up at him. “Ex-military?”
His smile vanished. “Eat it. Like I said, it’s not for pleasure, it’s for fuel.”
She picked up the stew again, wondering if she could force down any more of it. One more bite and she felt her stomach revolt. She put it down again. “I can’t.”
“Suit yourself,” he said.
He picked it up and, using her spoon, finished it off. He folded the empty container and put it into a small trash bag where he’d put his earlier. This he tied to a rope and swung it over a tree limb a short distance from their fire. She knew it was to prevent wild animals from finding it, which made her wonder what else was around besides mountain lions. Bears?
He came back over to the fire and kicked dirt on it, putting it out. Her world plunged into darkness then, and she squinted into the shadows. She looked overhead, but there was no moon.
“Come on.”
He grabbed her roughly and jerked her to her feet. She had a moment of panic as he was about to shove her inside the small tent.
“Wait,” she said. “I…I need to pee.”
He sighed. “Yes, I suppose you do.” He pointed at her. “Stay here.”
She did as she was told, waiting as he ducked into the tent. He came out with a roll of toilet paper. He wordlessly handed it to her, then pulled on the rope, leading her behind a tree.
“You’re going to…watch?”
“You’re testing my patience,” he said.
It was dark. He wouldn’t be able to see anything, she reasoned. She let out a heavy breath. “Can you at least turn around?”
He was silent and didn’t move for the longest time. Then, finally, the rope loosened and he let go of the slack and moved around the tree.
“Thank you.”
“Hurry up.”
She didn’t know if she was more embarrassed or humiliated at that moment. She squatted down beside the tree, hoping he wasn’t listening. At that thought, she rolled her eyes. Him listening to her pee was the least of her worries.
“Bring the toilet paper with you.”
“What? Gross.”
“Pick it up.”
The tone of his voice told her not to argue. She waited while he lowered the trash bag and she put the toilet paper in after he’d opened it. He then repeated the process of hanging it back in the tree.
Without another word, he jerked her hands and pulled her toward the tent. Panic set in again as he shoved her inside. She was his hostage. He could do what he pleased. But she closed her eyes, vowing to fight him. She would not go through that again. She opened her eyes when she heard a quiet click and saw that he’d turned on a small flashlight. Their eyes met and he frowned slightly. She wondered what look she had on her face to cause that.
“I only have the one sleeping bag,” he said. “Use your coat for cover. It gets cold at night.”
He took the rope that was tied around her wrists and tied it to his arm. “I’m a light sleeper. Don’t do anything stupid. Having a hostage helps my cause, but only a little. I’ll kill you in a second if you try anything.”
“Why do you need a hostage?”
“Because they’re less likely to come after me with guns blazing, that’s why.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to disappear if you were by yourself?”
He sighed. “Goodnight.”
She lay on her back, eyes wide open. How could she possibly sleep? She let out a quiet sigh of her own. How could this be happening to her? One minute, she and Leslie were discussing houses and the next, she was tied to a madman with a gun. And a knife, she reminded herself. She thought back over it all. Could she have done something? Should she have tried to get her weapon from the drawer? Should she have fought him? And on the heels of that, was Leslie okay? Was Tori okay? She could imagine how Tori was feeling. She pitied poor Casey, who had to put up with her. This brought a quick smile to her face. But it faded just as quickly.
She was in a tent in the middle of nowhere, tied to a man with a gun.
Chapter Six
Cameron stepped out of the truck, her gaze going first to the small motorhome, then to her right where crime scene tape was wrapped around a group of trees. The yellow tape nearly glowed from the truck’s headlights. She slid her heavy backpack to the ground.
“How did he get here?” she asked the sheriff’s deputy who had escorted them here. Murdock had said something about a car.
“The family’s car. We found it ditched down the road there, about two hundred yards.”
“Give me some kind of timeline, if you can,” she said.
“Sure.” He pulled out a small notepad from his shirt pocket, then walked into the light from his truck. “Call came in about the shooting at six twenty. The ranger came over here, took Agent Hunter and O’Connor—she’s with Dallas PD—with him to the scene. They got back here at seven ten.”
“That’s when they found the girl tied to the other police officer?” Andrea asked.
“Yes, ma’am. They called it in. Nothing was disturbed. There was evidence that Kennedy changed clothes and took a jacket.” He looked at his notes. “Hunter said she was wearing shorts when they left them. The shorts were in the bedroom and jeans and hiking boots were missing.”
“Nice of him to let her change,” Andrea said.
“It would just slow him down if she wasn’t equipped for hiking.” Her gaze slid to the still-dark forest. “How far he’ll go is anybody’s guess.”
“Where is Agent Hunter?” Andrea asked.
“Yeah, she’s in there,” he said, pointing to the motorhome. “She’s not real friendly. The other one, O’Connor, she’s nice.”
“You got our gear?” Cameron asked.
“Yes, it’s in the back of my truck.”
“I’m going to go check it out,” Cameron said to Andrea. She motioned with her head to the motorhome. “I’ll let you talk to Hunter.”
Andrea nodded and Cameron went around to the back of the truck. She let the tailgate down, then frowned. There were two packs, not just one. She pulled one closer to her and unzipped it, finding rations, two containers of water, some toiletries and little else. There was a sleeping bag and a tent strapped to the outside. She pulled over the other one, and it was equipped the same.
“Bare bones, Murdock,” she murmured. And as if saying his name was a signal, her phone rang. “Why two packs?” she asked immediately when she answered. “I told you I had my own.”
“And good morning to you too, Agent Ross. I trust you made it safely.”
“Just got here,” she said. “It’s not daylight yet.” She paused. “Two packs?”
“Yes. Well, Agent Hunter will accompany you.”
“The hell she will,” Cameron said loudly. “I won’t have time to babysit.”
“She’s a trained agent, Cameron.”
“Andrea and I work alone. I don’t need her.”
“I don’t suppose you do. But you know who the hostage is.”
“All the more reason for her not to go. This can’t be personal.”
He sighed. “Yeah. Well, I tried that approach with her too. And short of locking her up, there’s no way to keep her from joining you.”
Cameron glanced at the motorhome where she heard Andrea talking. “Come on, Murdock. You issue her an order. If she doesn’t follow it, file insubordination and haul her off.”
“Of course, Agent Ross, you know all about insubordination, don’t you?”
“Come on, Murdock.”
“Look, I already tried that. She threatened to quit the FBI and follow you anyway. Now if you can talk her into staying behind, fine. Use your charm on her,” he said with a laugh. “But there’s gear there for her to join you. She’s a trained agent,” he said again.
“Jesus, Murdock, this is not a great way to start a mission.”
“And we don’t have time to argue about it. The best we can do is hope Kennedy slows Angel down enough for you to catch up. Now, do you want air support? The locals are chomping at the bit to go after him. They’ve got a helicopter ready to go.”
“No. Not yet. Let me get a feel for where he’s going. Besides, we both know he can hide from a damn helicopter. Angel Figueroa is no amateur.”
“If he was alone, sure. Maybe not with a hostage. But you make the call. You check in with me and let me know your progress.”
“That’s assuming I can find his trail,” she said.
“I have no doubt that you will.”
The call ended and she pocketed her phone. She looked to the sky and saw the first signs of dawn. She headed toward the motorhome. Now the fun part. No way in hell was she letting Agent Hunter go with them.
* * *
Tori looked up as the other woman approached. She could tell by the look on her face that she was not happy.
“I’m Special Agent Ross. Who is Hunter?”
“I’m Hunter,” Tori said. She motioned to Casey. “This is O’Connor. Dallas PD.”
Agent Sullivan stepped forward with a slightly amused expression. “Cameron…this is Tori and Casey,” she said, pointing to each of them.
Agent Ross nodded. “I understand your…your colleague was injured.”
Casey’s eyebrows shot up. “Colleague? Is that what we’re calling it now?” She gave Agent Ross the sarcastic smile Tori knew well. “My partner, Leslie, is doing fine. In fact, I’m heading to the hospital as soon as you guys take off.”
“Good.” Ross turned to Tori. “And I imagine you’re going with her then?”
Tori shook her head. “As I told your man Murdock, I’m going with you.”
Ross narrowed her eyes. “The hell you are.”
Tori glared right back. “Yeah, the hell I am.”
Ross sighed. “Look, Hunter, you don’t have experience in this. We do. Let us do our job.”
“I’m going with you.”
“Goddamn it, Hunter, I don’t have time to argue with you. They’ve got at least a two-hour head start on us, provided he stopped at full dark. It may be three hours. Do you know how long it’s going to take to make up that time?” Ross shook her head. “You’re not going.”
“I’m not going to slow you down.”
“You’re not going,” Ross said again.
“The hell I’m not,” Tori said loudly. She pointed out to the woods. “That’s my goddamn life out there.”
“Then trust us to bring her back.”
“I don’t trust anyone but me,” Tori said emphatically as she pointed at her chest.
Cameron stepped closer. “I said no.”
Tori walked closer too. They were nearly nose to nose. “I don’t care what you say. I’m fucking going with you.”
Agent Sullivan put an arm between them. “Cameron.”
“What?” she asked sharply.
Sullivan gave Tori a quick, somewhat apologetic smile, before glancing at Ross. “Can I speak with you for a minute?”
Tori was shocked at the change in Ross’s demeanor as she nodded. When they walked away, Tori turned to Casey.
“I don’t like her. At all.”
Casey grinned. “I’m going to guess that the feeling is mutual.” She motioned to Ross and Sullivan who were speaking in quiet voices. “Looks like we’re not the only ones with colleagues.”
Tori nodded. “Les is getting discharged, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I guess we’re going to come back here and wait,” Casey said.
But Tori shook her head. “No. You guys take this thing and head back to Dallas. You don’t need to wait here. I don’t know how long it’ll be.”
“I don’t want to leave you here, Tori. You might need me.”
“If I need you, I’ll call you. And you’ll come, I know you will.”
“I can’t just leave, Tori. Sam is out there.”
“And we’re going to find her. I know that.” She touched her heart. “I feel that.”
Casey’s expression softened and Tori found herself in a tight hug. “I love you.”
Tori closed her eyes as she hugged Casey back. “I love you too.”
They stepped apart quickly and Tori met her eyes. “God, I’m glad no one was here to witness that,” she murmured.
They turned when Agent Sullivan approached. Tori raised her eyebrows questioningly.
“Grab your gear. There’s a backpack you can use.”
Tori let out a relieved breath. “Thank you.” Her gaze followed Ross as she walked the perimeter of their site. “I won’t slow you down.”
Chapter Seven
The sun was barely up, yet Sam trudged behind him, her hands still bound. The rope, like yesterday, was tied around his waist. They were climbing higher and the junipers and scrub brush were being replaced with pine trees and other large conifers. The morning was cool and crisp, and she wished she had better company to enjoy it with. Her stomach rumbled just then, and she longed for a cup of coffee and breakfast. A big breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast…the works. Maybe pancakes too. Oh, like those fluffy ones they got at Mike’s Diner. That would be good right about now.
