Angel Fire, page 4
“Hungry?”
God, could he read her mind?
“I heard your stomach,” he explained. “I told you to eat the stew.”
“Yes,” she said. “But I couldn’t eat it. I was close to throwing up what I’d already eaten.”
He slowed his pace. “We’ll stop in a bit. Down the next ridge, we’ll dip into the canyon. There’s a stream there. We’ll fill up our water bottles and get something to eat.”
“A stream? You’ve been out this way before?”
He didn’t answer.
“You know, you never did tell me your name.”
“I thought I explained that.”
“What’s it going to hurt to tell me your name?”
Again, silence. She sighed, letting it go. She looked behind her, wondering if someone—Tori—was already on their trail. Surely. Yes, surely they were. But how much time did she have? How long before he felt safe without her? She tried not to think about that. Instead, she looked around her, not really seeing the beauty of the tall pine trees that they were hiking among. Because she wasn’t really hiking. Not really, she thought, as her gaze went to the rope linking her with her captive. Well, if someone was following, she wanted to make sure they could find their trail. She kicked over an occasional rock, hoping he wouldn’t get suspicious.
When he stopped suddenly, she bumped into him from the back. She took a step away from him and cocked her head, listening like he was.
“What is it?” she whispered. Even though the sun was up and getting higher in the sky, there were still shadows among the trees. Was a mountain lion stalking them? Or a bear?
“I thought I heard something,” he said quietly.
She swallowed nervously and moved closer to him again. “Like…like a mountain lion?” She looked around them quickly, side to side, but saw no movement.
He stared at her for a moment and she watched as his expression changed from one of concern to amusement. He almost—almost—smiled.
“Angel.”
She frowned. “What?”
“My name. It’s Angel.”
At that, she did smile. “Now was that so hard?”
He looked past her, his gaze going to where they’d come from. Was he looking for a mountain lion? Or perhaps he thought someone was chasing after them. She hoped it was the latter.
“Come on.”
She followed after him again, keeping up with his long strides. “Are you going to tell me anything else?” She heard him sigh. “Like…where you’re from,” she prompted.
“From?”
“You know, I’m from Dallas,” she said. “I’m assuming you’re ex-military.”
He laughed. “You deduced all of that, huh? You must be a detective.”
“You’re making fun of me,” she stated.
“Yes.”
After a little while, she said, “So…Angel is a nice name.”
He laughed loudly but didn’t comment.
She wondered why she was trying to make conversation with this man who held her hostage. Maybe it was simply her nervousness that kept her talking.
“My given name is Samantha, but everyone calls me Sam.” She smiled. “Well, now they do. I used to hate it. But Tori, she…well, I think she called me Sam just to piss me off,” she said. “I remember exactly what she said when we were first assigned as partners. She said, ‘Do your friends call you Sam?’” Sam laughed slightly at the memory. “I told her ‘not if they expect me to answer them.’ But she called me Sam from that moment on.” She paused. “Everyone calls me Sam now.”
She assumed he would not comment on that either and she was surprised when he did.
“I’m sure your police department frowned on your personal relationship. Didn’t they?”
“Well, yeah. But I was dating Robert at the time,” she said. “He wanted to marry me.”
He snorted. “So this Tori person…what? Converted you to the dark side?”
She nearly smiled as she recognized amusement in his voice. “Not converted,” she said. “How about she showed me the light?” She tried to loosen the rope around her wrists where it rubbed against her skin. “It wasn’t like it was instantaneous, you know. We became friends. I was…well, I was attracted to her and I wasn’t really sure what to do about it.”
He stopped again suddenly and stared behind them as he’d done earlier. She did the same.
“You know, you’re really starting to scare me,” she said.
He stared at her. “I’m just now starting? I must be losing my touch.”
“What do you hear?”
“I’m not sure.”
She again took a step closer to him. “Do mountain lions attack in the daylight?” she asked quietly.
“Not usually, no.”
“Bears?”
He shook his head. “Bears will be the least of your worries,” he said as he started walking again.
She kept quiet as she followed him. She knew what that remark was intended to mean.
Chapter Eight
“Are you sure she knows what she’s doing?” Tori asked skeptically as Agent Ross crisscrossed back and forth in front of them. Her pack looked heavy, especially with a rifle strapped to the back of it, but Ross didn’t seem hampered by the weight.
“She’s making sure there’s no false trail,” Andrea said.
“I thought she’d already found the trail,” she said as they followed behind. “Seems like we’re wasting time.”
“Agent Hunter, we’ll be wasting time if we get off his mark and have to backtrack,” Ross called from up ahead.
Tori glanced at Andrea and noted the amused expression on her face. “I don’t think I like her,” she said quietly.
“She grows on you,” Andrea said.
Tori tried to curb her impatience as Agent Ross stopped and bent down, picking up a rock and studying it. She was very nearly tapping her foot at the delay. She wanted to bolt into the woods and start calling for Sam. She could almost feel the clock ticking.
“Shouldn’t we have helicopters out?”
“No. Cameron says not yet.”
“Why? That seems logical,” she said.
Ross motioned for them to follow. Finally. Ross had her head down and Tori followed close behind. She had to admit, she had no clue as to what trail they were following. She could see nothing to indicate the area was disturbed.
“He would assume helicopters would be looking for him,” Ross said.
“And?”
“And when they’re not, it’ll confuse him.”
“Are we trying to goddamn confuse him or are we trying to rescue Sam?”
“Our mission is to rescue Samantha Kennedy,” Ross said. She stopped and turned. “If there are no helicopters out, I’m hoping he slows his pace.”
“If there are no helicopters out, he might decide he doesn’t need a hostage after all,” Tori said. “For Sam’s sake, wouldn’t it be better for him to think that we’re on his trail?”
“It’s a chance we have to take. He’s got a good head start on us. If we have any hope of catching up to them, he’s got to slow his pace. Angel Figueroa is an expert at this.”
“I still think we should have an air search going on,” she said.
“I’m well aware of what you think, Agent Hunter. But it’s not your call. Even if we had a helicopter right on top of him, they’d never see him. I know this guy. He’s a ghost.”
Tori had to bite her lip to keep from replying. There didn’t seem to be a sense of urgency in Agent Ross’s actions. And Tori really, really needed urgency. She turned to Agent Sullivan, who gave her a slight shrug.
“Cameron, how far do you think they could have traveled last night?” Andrea asked.
Tori felt like the question was staged. Surely they had already discussed that.
“There was no moon so I would imagine he had to stop at full dark.” Agent Ross looked directly at Tori. “And if we can stop discussing it and get on the move, perhaps we can make up some ground.”
Tori narrowed her eyes. “Then lead on.” Damn. Arrogant…obnoxious. She stepped aside, letting Andrea go first. The farther away she was from Cameron Ross, the better.
* * *
“Is it safe to drink?” Sam asked as he filled their water bottles at the stream.
“I wouldn’t chance it without purification tablets,” he said. “You worried about getting a little diarrhea?”
She nodded as she chewed the energy bar he’d given her. “Considering the limited bathroom options I have…yes.”
As he’d been filling the water, she’d made scuff marks in the dirt where she sat. She’d dropped the wrapper to the energy bar behind the rock she sat on, hoping he didn’t notice.
He sat down beside her and shook each water bottle several times. She assumed that was to dissolve the tablets. He was close to her and her eyes were drawn to the sheath—and the knife—strapped to his thigh. He followed her gaze, then shifted away from her.
“That knife will cut through flesh like soft butter,” he said quietly with only a hint of a threat in his voice.
“I’m…I’m sure it can,” she said. Although if she had to choose, she’d rather have a bullet to the head than have her throat cut. She mentally rolled her eyes at her morbid thought. Tori would find her before that. Right?
“So…Samantha, this partner of yours. You said you met at Dallas PD, yet you say she’s FBI.”
“Yes. And please, it’s Sam,” she said. “After Tori and I became…well, became involved, I transferred to CIU. That’s Criminal Investigative Unit,” she explained. “Tori and John became partners. John Sikes. They used to hate each other,” she said with a smile, remembering their constant bickering. “Anyway, they had a horrible case. Identical twin brothers.” She shook her head. “John almost died. He had his throat cut,” she said as her eyes drifted to his knife again. “Tori, well, she had a really hard time with it and needed a change.” She shrugged. “So FBI.”
“And you think she’s looking for you now?”
“Of course.”
He shook his head. “We’re not on a trail. We’re bushwhacking. I don’t think there’s anyone following.”
She met his gaze. “She’s coming for me,” she said with confidence.
His gaze went to the sky and he scanned overhead. “I am kinda wondering why we haven’t had helicopters buzzing around though.” He looked back at her. “Aren’t you?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Why do you think that is?”
She felt her heart sink. “They think we’re in a vehicle. On the road.”
His smile had a touch of smugness to it. “I imagine they have roadblocks set up in all directions.”
Fear set in again. “Which means you don’t really need me then.”
He shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, I’ll keep you around for another day or so. They’ll eventually figure out we’re on foot. It’ll be too late by then, of course.”
Too late for her, in other words. She looked away from him, wondering how she could possibly escape. She was still tied to him. And even if she did run, he would most certainly catch her. Or shoot her in the back. Or a mountain lion would get her. God, she wished he’d never mentioned the damn mountain lion to begin with. Every twig that snapped in the woods she expected to see one about to attack them.
She watched as he pulled what appeared to be a map from his back pocket. He unfolded it and studied it for a bit, nodding ever so slightly. He folded it up neatly again and slipped it back into his pocket.
He stood then and pulled her up. “Time to move,” he said.
She grimaced as the rope cut into the blisters on her wrist. She followed behind him, noticing that one of them had begun to bleed. Great. One more thing to attract a mountain lion.
They walked on without speaking, her following behind him. She wondered if she picked up a rock, could she use it to smash his skull? Could she knock him out long enough for her to escape? She had no clue as to where they were. Could she hide from him? Would Tori find her before he did? Or before a mountain lion did? She blew out her breath, feeling helpless. The silence between them wasn’t helping. Sam couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Angel? Can I ask you something?”
“I don’t know. Can you?”
“Smart-ass,” she murmured. “May I?” she clarified.
“Ask away. Can’t promise I’ll answer.”
“Why are you running?” She paused. “I mean, I know you killed that girl. What else?” His pace slowed just a bit but still, she didn’t think he was going to answer her.
“I killed…a lot of people.” He stopped and glanced back at her. “That girl and her family being just four.”
“Her family? You killed…a family?”
“I needed a distraction,” he said as he continued on.
“From what?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I told you, I’m a cop, I ask questions.”
But he said no more, just continued on through the trees. They had been climbing again since they’d left the stream and she looked up, wondering how high they were. Her breathing was a bit labored. She chanced looking behind her, hoping…well, hoping someone—Tori—was coming for her. Instead, all she saw was trees and rocks, the yellowish hues of autumn turning the landscape a pretty golden color.
There was no sign of Tori.
Chapter Nine
“It’s too early to stop,” Agent Hunter said. “There’s still daylight.”
Cameron sighed and bit back her retort. She’d promised Andrea she would be nice. But really, Hunter was getting on her last nerve. As if she was the one doing the goddamn tracking.
“We’ve made good time,” she said. “I don’t want to ruin that by getting off his mark.”
“You said Sam was leaving tracks,” Hunter said. “We found the wrapper by the stream. We can keep—”
“We can’t, Hunter. Okay? Will you just trust me?”
“We’re wasting time, goddamn it!”
“Jesus Christ, we’re not wasting time,” she said loudly. “There are too many shadows.” She tossed her backpack down with more force than was necessary. “We’re tired. We’re hungry. We’ll pick up in the morning.”
“I just think—”
“I don’t care what you think,” Cameron shot back.
Andrea raised her hands. “Will you two stop already? You’re driving me insane with your constant arguing.” She glared at Cameron. “Can we please try to get along?”
Cameron raised her eyebrows. Andrea was mad at her? No way. Hunter was the one being an ass about it. Hunter was the one who had questioned her every move all damn day. But the look in Andi’s eyes told her not to argue. So she nodded, then flicked her glance to Hunter.
“I need to rest,” she said. “It’s mentally exhausting trying to follow their trail when there really isn’t a trail.”
Hunter nodded too. “Sorry. I guess I didn’t think about it like that.” She ran her hands through her short hair. “I’m just…I’m not used to feeling helpless like this.”
“I’m sure you’re not. And the only reason you’re even on this trip is because Andrea told me to put myself in your shoes. So yeah, I’d have told Murdock to fuck himself and I’d have gone after her too.”
She turned away and started gathering up firewood. She saw Andi doing the same. Hunter finally took off her backpack and tossed it to the ground as well.
“It feels good to get that off,” Hunter said. “I’m not used to this. I’m a city girl.”
“I was a city girl too,” Andrea said. “Los Angeles. I moved to Sedona—that’s in Arizona—and grew to love hiking.” She looked at Cameron. “Cameron is the backpacker though. Military.”
Hunter gave a quick laugh. “I should have known.”
Cameron bristled. “What does that mean?”
“Bossy.”
Andrea laughed too. “Oh, trust me. That’s not the military talking.”
Cameron looked at her. “What are you saying?”
“Oh, sweetheart, you know exactly what I’m saying.”
Sweetheart? So Andi didn’t feel the need to keep their relationship a secret? Hunter was FBI. And not that Murdock was oblivious, but it wasn’t anything they talked about. Ever. They didn’t know Hunter. Certainly not enough to trust her with this. She looked at Andrea with a question in her eyes, and Andrea gave her the “don’t be stupid” look. Yeah. They were sharing a tent. Hunter obviously knew they were more than just work partners.
Okay then.
* * *
“We’ll stop here for the night,” Angel said.
Sam glanced up, noting the sun was still streaking through the trees. As if reading her mind, he motioned to a cleared-out area with a previous fire ring.
“Flat ground. Not many rocks.”
“Oh. That’s good. Because I slept like crap last night.” Then she smirked. “Not that I actually slept,” she added. He looked at her blankly and she held her bound wrists up. “Uncomfortable.” She didn’t mention that sleeping next to him, with his gun and knife, was even more uncomfortable.
He pulled her arms up, his brow furrowed. “You’re bleeding. Why didn’t you say something?”
She shrugged. “You intend to kill me. I didn’t think you’d be concerned with blisters on my wrists.”
He met her eyes briefly, then quickly pulled his knife from its sheath. She took a step back, wondering if she’d said the wrong thing.
“For the rope,” he explained.
So she held her arms out and he cut the rope from each wrist with surprising gentleness. She did note that the knife cut through the rope as if it were little more than thread. She immediately rubbed her wrists, then stretched her arms out to each side. She gave a satisfied moan as her muscles released some tension.
