Hunted in the Wilderness, page 14
“Yeah.” The word came out as a mere breath.
“I haven’t felt like that in a long time. Not since...” His dead wife’s name hovered between them, unspoken. But instead of clouding over with sorrow, his eyes stayed clear, like he wasn’t looking at the past anymore but rather toward the future. “But when I’m with you, Haley, I feel alive. Whole. I—” He broke off, staring down at his hands for a moment, then rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, words aren’t helping me out right now.”
Her heart thudded inside her chest as she rested a hand on his arm. What exactly was he saying? What did she want him to say? He’d opened up to her—that fact alone made joy surge through her insides. “No, I get it. I get what you mean. I haven’t gone through the same things you have, but I’ve spent my life searching for something. Trying to find the place where I fit in, where I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and now...”
Her voice trailed away as her brain caught up to her mouth. What on earth was she saying? That she finally felt at home, in this gorgeous place? But it wasn’t really about the place, was it?
She cut off the thought before it could go any farther. There was no reason to indulge in this line of thinking, not when everything was already a horrible mess. Put out one fire at a time, Haley. Don’t start a new one. Remember Xander? Maybe everything with Ezra would change once they weren’t in this high-stress situation.
His voice, low and rough, cut into her disorderly thoughts. “I hope you can find the right path, Haley. The one that brings you peace.”
As if to punctuate his words, the high whirring of an airplane engine echoed across the valley. A dark speck moved against the bright backdrop of blue ever closer from the south.
Ezra glanced at his wristwatch then nodded toward it. “We’d better get moving. That’s probably your friend.”
Words hovered on her tongue, heavy and unspoken, but the approaching aircraft seemed to steal them away. Truth was, she had nothing to say. Not even, I hope you find the right path too, because the moment was lost, and Ezra was standing up and holding out his hand for her without meeting her eyes.
She slipped her socks and boots back on, tied up the laces and let him lead the way toward the airplane that would take her out of his life forever.
* * *
Ezra kept his gaze anywhere but on Haley as they climbed off the bus near the dirt road leading to the Stehekin airstrip. She’d already confirmed what he’d suspected—the small, low-winged Cirrus plane belonged to Ford Anderson.
Of course, given the other thing she’d confirmed—that she was ready to move on with her life, apart from him—this fact shouldn’t have created such a dogged sense of disappointment. Maybe sharing his emotions so openly had been a bad idea, especially given his own uncertainties about even the possibility of a relationship, but it hadn’t seemed honest to keep it all to himself. No, he’d at least needed to see what she was thinking and feeling, and she’d made it abundantly clear.
Everything she’d said had been about her career and finding the right fit, nothing about him or how she felt with him. He hadn’t even known her a week, and he could tell her a thing or two about herself—like to turn over that position as CEO to someone else. Let them have all the stress while she could live her dream of doing research. Yet she stubbornly clung onto what she thought everyone else wanted from her.
There wasn’t any point getting riled up about what decisions Haley made though, because she was about to walk out of his life for good. A tiny part of him silently rejoiced. His love for Sarah and Kaitlyn—the family they’d created, the memories they’d shared—those were safe forever. No new woman could steal them away. But that tiny part wasn’t enough to remove this heavy feeling of dread weighing down each step as they walked toward the taxiing plane.
They waited in silence near the edge of the airstrip until the plane stopped moving. The engine still hummed loudly as one of the doors popped open over a wing and an older man climbed out. Between his gray business suit and meticulously styled salt-and-pepper hair, he looked like one of those store-window models for the Men’s Wearhouse. Another one of the beautiful people of the world, like Haley, who moved in the top circles of society and had enough money to buy his own private plane.
Ezra dug into the ground with the toe of his boot. No wonder Haley didn’t need him. He cleared his throat and glanced between her and the man. “Is that him? Your father’s lawyer?”
She nodded, a sheen of moisture glistening in her eyes. So happy to be free of her experience here.
“Haley!” the man called over the noise of the engine as he walked up to them. He pressed a kiss to each of her cheeks, then stood back, examining her with both hands on her shoulders. “You all right, my dear?”
“Yes.” She blinked, swiping covertly at her cheeks. “Thanks to Ezra. He’s a park ranger here. Ezra, this is Ford Anderson.”
Ford extended a hand and shook Ezra’s firmly. “Thank you for looking after her. I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.” He seemed like a capable, confident man, but the words felt like a dismissal. You’ve done your part, now get back to work. He turned to Haley. “Ready to go?”
“Just give me a minute...to say goodbye.” Her throat bobbed, and the words came out thick, like all the emotion she’d kept pent up during their ordeal was finally about to break loose now that she was with Ford. His heart twisted despite himself—he’d done everything he could to keep her safe, and now he had to turn her over to someone else and watch her walk away.
The older man glanced between the two of them and nodded toward the plane. “I’ll be waiting.”
“Ezra...” Haley paused, like she was searching for the right words. But nothing made goodbye any easier, did it? Besides acting like you were fine?
“Here.” He fished the backup flash drive out of his pocket and pressed it into her hand. “Don’t forget this. God go with you, Haley. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
She nodded, blinking again. “Thank you. For everything. I... I’ll...” Her head dropped and she stared at her feet for a moment.
From the plane, Ford called, “We’d better get moving. No time to lose.”
For a second, some wild part of him wanted to take her in his arms, sweep her off her feet and kiss her breathless. Then tell her he never wanted to be away from her again. But how could he follow that impulse when their lives were so different? And that part of him that would always tie him to Sarah and Kaitlyn...how could he offer something he couldn’t truly give?
He stuffed his hands deep into his pockets. “Goodbye, Haley.”
“Goodbye, Ezra.” Her throat bobbed again, and she backed up a few steps closer to the plane. She turned away, but just as he thought she would head for the plane, she pivoted to face him once more.
She crossed the distance between them, stopping just in front of him and stealing the air from his lungs. They stood frozen for the span of a heartbeat until she leaned forward, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to his cheek. Her face was stricken as she pulled back. He reached for her, more out of impulse than any conscious thought, but she’d already turned away to the plane.
This time she didn’t look back.
FOURTEEN
Haley choked back the sob threatening to burst out and forced her attention onto the mountains and forest ahead. Anywhere but looking down at the green jewel of a valley, where a man stood holding a piece of her heart.
“Are you all right, Haley?” Ford asked, his voice filled with concern. “You’ve been missing for days. Did you get hurt?”
Only her heart, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. Instead, she drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “No, nothing beyond some blisters, bruises and sore muscles, thankfully.”
He glanced away from the front window to eye her critically. “What about the camera?”
“I lost it. Chris’s men caught up with us last night. But I’ve got this backup we made.” She held out the flash drive. He took it and slipped it into his suit jacket.
“Good. I’ve already arranged a meeting with your father and an FBI agent at the office, since you’re concerned about the police. We’ll untangle this mess. Do you have any idea who he’s working with?”
“I think it’s the same Swiss company who offered the deal on the new engine prototype last year, the one that my father thought was a front for the Russian government. Those men after us were well-trained and well-armed, plus at least two of them were Russian. They kept referring to their boss. It’s got to be Chris.”
Ford sucked on his lower lip. “Sounds plausible. He was angry about getting passed over as CEO, so he opted for revenge and money instead.”
“Exactly.”
She settled back into the seat, letting her mind churn over the problem at hand and the facts of the case. Anything other than Ezra Dalton.
Everything was going to work out fine now. She’d accomplished what she wanted. She was safe in Ford’s plane, with assurance of his help, and soon her father and the authorities would understand how Chris had deceived them. Thanks, Lord.
But as the Seattle skyline, with its tall, glass-covered buildings and distinctive Space Needle, came into view, uneasiness nudged her stomach. Yes, she was going back, but she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to. This whole time she’d been looking to escape the wilderness, and she hadn’t realized how the wilderness had actually been an escape. Now she had to face it all again—the hectic, stress-filled days, the demanding schedule, the nights without sleep. Her empty apartment. The lack of time for God or deep human connection.
That pastry she’d eaten sat like a rock inside her stomach.
The flight was short, and before she was ready, Ford had eased the plane down onto the same runway she’d departed from only a few days before. Her heart twinged as she glanced at the family hangar. She’d never pull into it again in her same little Cessna. She’d left its wreckage behind along with that piece of her heart in the North Cascades.
A black car was waiting outside the hangar. Anxiety prickled like sharp nails as she watched to see if anyone would unroll the windows and start shooting, but no one did. Thank You, Lord. Hopefully her pursuers had no idea she’d returned to Seattle.
And as illogical as it was, just being with Ford made her feel like everything was going to be okay. He’d always been a role model to her, like her father—a man who moved confidently through life, doing and getting exactly what he wanted, perfectly at ease no matter the situation. Not bluffing his way through, the way she was.
She slipped inside the empty hangar to wash her face in the restroom. Her business suit was still folded up in one of the lockers—she could change her clothes and at least pretend to have things under control. But what was the point now? Besides, this Cascades T-shirt was all she had left of Ezra. A soft, woodsy scent of cedar still clung to it.
She swallowed the lump in her throat as she climbed into the back seat of the car next to Ford. Her sense of dread grew with each mile as they approached her father’s office. Probably because she would have to face her father, explain everything, answer all their questions, on top of already feeling beat-up and exhausted. But she’d get used to being back here. She would.
Rather than pulling up a side street to the front entrance, the driver turned into the garage. Haley raised an eyebrow at Ford as the dim, orange glow of artificial lighting replaced late-afternoon sunshine.
“We wanted to avoid the press, along with what’s left of the office crowd,” he said, “so we’ll take the elevator directly from the lower level rather than go through the lobby.”
Probably wise, although it had to be well after 6:00 p.m. by now. That meant they’d be avoiding security too, as they could use a key card to enter the building and access the elevator.
The car descended to the lowest level of the garage, pulling to a stop in front of the access door to sublevel B. Haley only entered this way when she came in at odd hours—she preferred to enter through the lobby, which felt far more professional and less clandestine than a dingy white metal door leading into a cinder-block sublevel.
Ford held the car door for her as she climbed out. She waited as he swiped his card, then followed him inside toward the elevator. The building had several, all accessed from the lobby, but only one descended this far.
As they approached, the door dinged open on its own. A lone man stepped out, impeccably dressed in a navy blue suit and red tie, but his build was all wrong to be her father.
Her muscles froze. It was Chris Collins.
* * *
Ezra wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Haley’s plane had vanished into the bright blue expanse of the sky. He’d stood watching for a long time after she climbed into the cockpit. As the plane whirred past him, building up speed and lifting into the air. As it changed from a giant locust to a bumblebee to a tiny gnat, then vanished.
Even then he had stared, as if in a dream, at the fluffy white clouds drifting past like cotton balls. Until finally he’d faced the truth—she was gone now, heading back to her life. It was time to head back to his.
He turned away from the airstrip and wandered back toward the dirt road, opting to walk back to Stehekin rather than catch a ride on the bus. Rob would be waiting for him, with the horse trailer, at the trailhead tomorrow evening. But with no supplies and those men on the trail, it made more sense to head to the ranger station and call for a chopper ride out than hike back. He’d have to explain everything anyway, and the sooner he did, the sooner they could start searching for Rob’s horses.
Every step felt like lifting a rock rather than one of his own feet. The dirt road was empty by the time he reached it, and he tried to force himself to pick up the pace, mentally rehearsing the explanation he’d give his boss as he walked. His heart nearly leaped out of his chest when he heard a plane engine, but it was only a float plane. Not Haley.
By the time he reached the end of the lake, where the trees crowded the right side of the road, the sun was already slipping behind the mountains to the west. Surely Haley must be back in Seattle by now. At least it looked like Ford was taking her that direction. She’d never told him her plans beyond the rendezvous, had she?
He stepped off the road and into the trees as the bus trundled past again on another one of its runs up the valley. After the dust had cleared, he trudged back out onto the road.
Suddenly a dark form in camo fatigues stepped from out of the bushes, stopping directly in front of him, gun aimed at his chest. It was the blond Russian, Belsky. His three comrades followed immediately after him, surrounding Ezra before he realized what was happening.
“Got you this time,” Belsky said, sneering.
Ezra raised his hands. “You’re too late, she’s already gone. You may as well let me go and give up.”
The leader of the group zip-tied his hands together again and gripped his upper arm. “I don’t think so. See, you’re in deep enough the boss wants to see you. Guess that makes you special, doesn’t it?”
The brown-haired one, Petrov, took his arm and dragged him across the empty road toward the lake. The float plane he’d seen land earlier was tied up a short distance away.
He dug in his heels, pulling back against Petrov’s grasp. His odds of survival weren’t great, but they’d be reduced to nil if the men flew off with him. At least out here somebody might overhear and be able to help.
But the second he resisted, something blunt crashed into the back of his head. Stars flickered as Ezra’s vision grew dark. His fading consciousness clung like a lichen on a rock to one last thought. At least Haley is safe.
* * *
Haley’s stomach dropped to her knees at the sight of Chris. Her brain scrambled to make the computation.
How did he know they were coming...?
Ford?
Chris’s lips curled into a sneer. “Surprised to see me? Poor, innocent Haley, so convinced everyone is as dedicated to your father and his vision as you are.”
She backed up instinctively but bumped into Ford, who wrapped his hands around her shoulders. “Sorry, my girl, I really do feel bad things had to work out this way. Betrayal is so pedestrian, but you walked right into my hands.”
Her heart climbed into her throat. No. “But...but...” she stammered, “I trusted you. And my dad. After all these years, how could you...?” There had to be some mistake, yet here he was, clutching her shoulders and pushing her toward Chris.
“An unfortunate side effect of not having the same goals in mind.” He smiled, snakelike, sending a shiver slithering up her spine.
Chris tipped his head toward the whitewashed, cinder-block hallway. “Let’s get her into the room.”
Her mind whirled as he and Ford each took an arm and dragged her away from the elevator. Two armed guards, very much like the party she’d just left behind in the Cascades, materialized out of nowhere to follow them.
Had Ford been faking friendship with her father this whole time? She’d looked up to him all these years, and here he was, betraying their family. Had all of it been a lie?
“I don’t get it,” she insisted, anything to buy time while she figured out what they wanted. “How could you do this to us? To Dad?”
“Oh, James is a good man. He’s been my friend since college. But people change, Haley, and they don’t always see eye to eye.” Ford barked a short laugh. “I told him to get off his moral high horse and take the deal. The payment would’ve been enough to make Whitcombe Aerotech the forerunner of its competitors, the Fortune 500 company I could’ve been at right now if I hadn’t invested so much of my career in him. But no. He refused, our stocks plunged, and with the company in a precarious position, he picks you as his replacement. Despite half the board supporting Chris.”
