Ethan started the vehicle and looked over his shoulder at Lara. “Jake’s going to guide us along a little-used route out of the forest that doesn’t appear on publicly available maps of the forest.”
“Good thinking.”
The national forest vehicle pulled out, leading them away from the main exit and deeper into the woods. They soon took a turnoff onto a track so narrow that pine branches rasped against the sides of the pickup. The road was deeply shadowed by tree branches, and progress was slowed by ruts in the dirt road. The bouncing aggravated the knots in Lara’s stomach, but it didn’t seem to faze Maisy, who’d fallen fast asleep for her morning nap.
“In about twenty minutes,” Ethan said, “we should reach a paved county road that will take us into Cokeville. Since those goons we left behind in a ditch saw this truck, Terry’s going to call ahead, and a car dealer there should have a vehicle ready for us to switch out for the pickup. Then the dealer’s going to hide the truck until we give the all clear. Jake’s going to lie low in Cokeville, but we need to head on to Interstate 80. If we can make it to district headquarters in Cheyenne, we can take refuge there. It’ll be cots to sleep on and takeout to eat, because HQ isn’t set up for overnight guests, but we’ll make do in a pinch.”
Lara snorted a laugh. “I’ll take a cot and boxed lunches any day for the luxury of safety. If the Draytons discover where we are but see they can’t get to us, isn’t that going to drive them to desperate measures? My mom will be in more danger than ever.”
“You’ll have to trust the marshals service to look after her.”
Lara’s heart squeezed in on itself. Ethan had shared with her a scary and dangerous incident when he and his people had been betrayed by a frightened person under their protection, nearly costing many innocent lives. Yet, she had a glimmer of understanding what had driven the old man from Ethan’s story to make the fateful choice. Of course, the marshals service would do their utmost to protect her mother, Maisy and her, but the outcome was anything but guaranteed. As long as the Draytons remained at large, anything could happen, and the hunt for the criminals seemed no closer to ending than it had when this whole episode had begun.
“We’re almost out of the woods,” Ethan said with a slight chuckle at the obvious pun.
Lara spirits lifted. Brightness beckoned at the end of the narrow tunnel between the trees.
“Whoa!” Ethan cried out.
A sudden jerk threw Lara forward against her seat belt and brought a yip from Maisy, who startled awake. The truck abruptly halted nearly on top of Jake’s bumper. Lara peered ahead through Jake’s rear window. Her friend was motioning frantically for them to back up. Ethan flung his arm over the back of his seat and swiveled his head to the rear. The tires spun as the truck surged into retreat.
Pulse throbbing, Lara looked behind them. Ethan was going to have his hands full keeping them on the bumpy narrow track in fast reverse. She looked ahead of them, and her heart leaped into her throat. Beyond Jake’s pickup, a massive black SUV charged toward them. They were under attack!
* * *
Ethan fought to stay on the slim road. Clearly, their enemies had gained quick access to a nonpublic map of the forest that included the service roads, and here they were, waiting at the end of the trail. Drayton’s people probably had the forest surrounded.
A crash and screech of metal drew Ethan’s attention forward. Jake’s pickup was sideways across the track, and the oncoming enemy vehicle had collided with it. Had Jake turned his truck into a roadblock on purpose? There was no time or opportunity to investigate. Armed thugs were piling out of the SUV. Ethan swiveled his head and continued guiding their truck backward on the rutted road.
“What about Jake?” Lara cried.
Ethan’s heart wrung at the tremor in her voice. If only there were some way to aid the man who had helped them, but he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity Jake had given them to put distance between a crew of rabid thugs and his precious cargo.
“We can’t stop,” he said. “Hopefully, they won’t bother him in their haste to come after us.”
“We can’t back up all the way to our cabin. They’ll be waiting for us there, too.”
Nothing wrong with Lara’s deductive faculties.
“I saw a road even rougher than this one veering off to the left with a sign that said Dead End,” he told her. “We’ll follow it as far as we can go. Then we’ll have to hike. Jake put that infant harness he bought for us to use on our walks into the diaper bag. Dig it out and get ready to tote Maisy.”
Without another word, Lara got busy complying. If he could wipe the sadness from her eyes and ease the tension from her jaw, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
Soon, they came to that dead-end road he’d spotted. He backed the pickup past the entrance to it and then gunned ahead into the tree-crowded route. If the branches had been brushing them before, now metal met wood in groaning squeals. He powered the vehicle over a small fallen log. The bump jounced his head nearly to the roof of the cab. A small cry came from Lara, and Maisy began to fuss.
“Hang on. I see an end in sight. We aren’t going to be able to drive much farther.”
A moment later, they burst into a small clearing, and the road came to an end. The stone-ringed firepit in the center of the area suggested this was one of the rustic campsites offering no amenities for those who wanted the true backcountry experience.
He stopped the truck at the far edge of the clearing and got out with his backpack and the shotgun. Lara, wearing the infant harness, stepped out her door.
“We shouldn’t leave my go bag behind,” she said. “I’ve got some trail snacks in there and even rudimentary fishing equipment that could suffice in a pinch.” She slung the bag over her shoulder. “And we’ll have to take Maisy’s diaper bag and one of those gallon jugs of purified water for her bottles.”
“No need for the jug,” Ethan told her. “Jake filled all Maisy’s bottles with water before he put them in the diaper bag. They’re ready for mixing. She should have enough to last a day or two. My backpack has bottled water for us.”
“Prepared is your middle name.”
“Thank Jake. He loaded the stuff.”
At the mention of her friend, Lara’s gaze shadowed and she looked away. “There’s a footpath in that direction.” She pointed.
Ethan frowned. “I hate to take an obvious path, but on the other hand, I hate to head into unexplored territory. Who knows what trouble we could get into?”
“How could it be much worse than what’s pursuing us? But I vote for taking the human-made path to start with. Maybe an alternate route, like a deer trail, will present itself.”
Lara retrieved Maisy from her car seat, and Ethan helped her buckle the child into the harness. The gadget left Lara’s hands free while providing comfortable transportation for the baby. Judging by the smile on the little one’s face, despite her interrupted nap, Maisy was looking forward to a hike like those she’d gotten used to while they were staying at the cabin.
Ethan started up the footpath. They were heading slightly downhill. It might be a fair guess this trail would lead to a creek or even a small lake. His study of the forest map and their daily walks in the woods had shown him those were common in the area. They might be up against overwhelming numbers in this bid for escape, but they had one big thing going for them.
He looked over his shoulder at Lara, striding free and easy behind him. “If the hired guns behind us are anything like the ones who hunted us at that convenience store, they’re not going to be too comfortable in the woods. I was raised hunting and camping in the Great Smoky Mountains of Virginia, and you’re something of an expert on the Wyoming wilderness, so we should fare all right.”
She shot him a tight smile. “We need any advantage we can get.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
He glanced behind
them, and all appeared peaceful. They might have a small respite. It would take some time for the thugs in that SUV to run on foot the distance Lara, Maisy and he had covered in the truck.
Their little party trekked onward for another ten minutes or so. Ethan kept the shotgun in the crook of his arms, ready for use. There was still no sound of pursuit. Didn’t mean there wasn’t any—that would be hoping for too much. It just meant the armed thugs weren’t close enough to hear.
Maisy was talking soft baby-babble. During their walks, she’d proven herself to be an outdoors aficionado. That was a good thing, because a bawling infant would lead their enemies right to them. They just needed to be sure to keep Maisy happy and quiet, which meant, in a sense, that the smallest and youngest was the boss of their progress.
The forest abruptly ended at the shoreline of a pristine blue lake. Ethan sucked in a breath. It was impossible not to be awed by the sheer beauty around them, despite their dire situation. The water of the small lake was so clear that the mountain looming beyond was reflected in its depths, like a mirror. Wildflowers in vivid shades of red and yellow were strewed in grassy patches around the water, creating a vibrant frame for the tableau.
Lara came up beside him, gaping like he was. “Wow! When I was here before, I never found this location. I have got to come back here sometime and snap some shots and take video.”
At her positive words about a happier future, he smiled down at her golden head, and his chest warmed. The view he was looking at this instant was as breathtaking as the lake. But he couldn’t tell her that right now. Maybe never. They needed to move along.
He pulled the forest map out of a pocket of his backpack and spread it out. “I figure our pursuers are probably a good fifteen to twenty minutes behind us. They are likely on foot since their vehicle and Jake’s looked fairly wrecked by the collision.”
“But they’re surely calling in reinforcements.” Lara’s lips pressed into a thin line.
“No doubt, but those hired guns aren’t going to be any closer than the others. As far as I can tell, our current location is here.” He placed his finger on a spot that depicted a small lake with a rustic campsite nearby. “Here is the little-used route we took into the area, but there is a better access road on the other side of the lake that may be the direction from which those reinforcements you mentioned will come at us.”
“So we take a different way out of here entirely.”
“And fast.”
Lara turned in a slow one-eighty. “Deer path right there.” She pointed toward a spot on the east side of the lake with the barest suggestion of an opening in the woodland undergrowth.
“You’re right. There it is. Let’s go.”
Lara shot him a grin, and Ethan fell into step behind her, gaze sharp as he continually scanned the area for threat. How they were going to escape the net of well-resourced hostiles closing in around them, he had no idea, but Lara or Maisy falling into the hands of Drayton’s thugs was beyond unthinkable.
ELEVEN
Lara sang softly to Maisy as they trooped along in the cool shade of the forest canopy. The little girl was growing fussy as time wore on. The nap cut short by the excitement on the road had taken a toll on her disposition. There was no way the child could realize her crying might bring more danger down upon them. Hopefully, Maisy would nod off again soon and wake up happier. Well, once she’d been changed and fed, which was always the first order of business after a nap.
The deer path was rough and strewed with obstacles like fallen limbs and the tops of substantial boulders peeking up from the rich earth, as well as tree branches sticking out to impede and poke them. Lara was careful not to trip or to allow the sharp ends of the branches to scratch Maisy, who sat face-forward in her sling across Lara’s chest.
“Let me take point now,” Ethan said. “I can clear the way for you. I think we need to pick up the pace. Our pursuers may or may not be able to figure out which way we went, but I don’t want to risk any of them catching up to us.”
Lara stopped and faced him. “I’d say you’re right, if we even knew where we were going. This deer path helps keep us under the radar of those who are hunting us—for now—but we have no idea where the trail will lead. Eventually, we’re going to end up in a spot where a human being can go no farther, or else the path will take us to another area where people are. And where there are people, we can assume our enemies will be looking for us, also.”
Ethan produced a compass from his pack and consulted it. “From what I remember of the map, if we continue on this trajectory, we should come out very near one of the main campgrounds.”
“Right where Drayton’s people will be swarming.”
“But don’t forget law enforcement is also converging on the area. I anticipate a lot of standoffs taking place where the cops can’t actually arrest the obvious hard cases, because hanging around a campground or driving through a federal forest is not illegal. But on the other hand, the thugs won’t be comfortable sticking around certain areas where the cops are. We could use that tension to our advantage.”
“How?”
Her tone emerged sharper than she liked, but they had to have a better plan than slinking around in the forest until the bad guys went away. Maisy would need more formula well before the danger faded. Besides, they had no gear for living indefinitely in the outdoors, and should they get caught in a violent storm without shelter, the results could be disastrous—especially with an infant in tow. Not to mention the very real danger from wild animals like bears or cougars. It was a marvel they hadn’t yet seen anything more vicious than a pika, a small rabbit with round ears and no tail.
Ethan cupped Lara’s shoulder with a warm hand and tickled Maisy under the chin with the other. “I think we can handle ourselves in the forest until dusk starts to fall. Then I want us to creep in close to a main road. As soon as we spot a law enforcement vehicle, we’ll flag it down and let the cops drive us out of here.”
“Sounds simple.”
Ethan’s gaze bored into hers. “I hope it is, but the plan also depends on circumstances lining up to our advantage.”
“So we’d best pray. I’ll take you up on your offer to lead now.” She stepped to the side and motioned him ahead of her.
At least they had a plan, as tenuous as it might be, but it was better than having no idea what to do next. Running and hiding was getting very old. Their surroundings might be incredibly gorgeous, and every breath of fresh air rich with scents of moss and pine, but it was difficult to appreciate nature’s attractions when one never knew if the next second might hold a deadly ambush.
They trekked onward for about another ten minutes then Lara called a halt.
“We have to do something with Maisy. Her crying is getting louder.”
“Agreed.” Ethan set down his pack, propped the shotgun against a tree and then helped Lara undo the straps on the baby harness.
Once freed of the contraption, Lara was able to cuddle the baby and bounce her while speaking in a soothing tone. The fussing eased off a little.
“Would you mix one of those bottles for her?” Lara asked. “It’s not time for her next feeding, but it might help settle her down. Maybe even get her to fall asleep again.”
A few moments later, Lara perched on a rocky outcropping and eased the nipple into the child’s mouth. The crying tapered off and silence dropped like a feather around them. Lara scarcely dared breathe as she listened intently for any human-type noises that would indicate the baby’s fussing had led their enemies to them. Ethan also seemed frozen in place except for the swivel of his head as he searched their environment for threats.
Gradually, forest noises made themselves known to Lara’s senses... A rustle in the fallen pine needles nearby, probably a mouse. Little chirps and warbles from different species of birds. And the whisper of the wind sifting through the branches of the white-bark pin
e trees surrounding them.
The tense muscles around her spine began to relax.
Then a pair of sharp reports cracked through the air, distant but distinct, coming from a direction at a right angle to the path they were following. A shiver ran through Lara’s body.
“A hunter?” Lara ventured.
“I don’t think so.” Ethan shook his head. “Sounded like handgun fire to me, not a hunting rifle. Thankfully, the shooter wasn’t someone directly behind us on our trail, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a party converging on our location from another direction.”
“Who or what could they be shooting at?”
“I hope only a wild animal.” Ethan shrugged. “Or maybe one of Drayton’s big-city crew got spooked by a wilderness noise.”
Lara bit her lip against blurting out the possibility she didn’t want to consider. Maybe the tension between the cops and the thugs had turned violent. Again. How could she bear more bloodshed in their wake?
“I think we need to go now,” Ethan said, scooping up their belongings. “Just carry the baby in your arms and do whatever you can to keep her quiet.”
Lara offered a wordless nod and followed on his heels, allowing his bulk to part the branches ahead of them and offer safe passage for Maisy and her. The baby did go back to sleep until they stopped again at noon. They changed her and played with her, then they ate some of the trail snacks from Lara’s go bag and drank some of the water from Ethan’s backpack.
Soon they were on the trail again, now with Maisy back in her sling. Their route contained very few stretches of level terrain. It was mostly uphill or downhill, sometimes at a fairly steep grade, and Lara gratefully accepted Ethan’s steadying hand. Baby-on-board definitely affected her balance, and she didn’t care to risk taking a tumble with her precious cargo.
From time to time, other deer paths bisected the one they were on, and Ethan used his compass to select the route that kept them headed roughly for a road where they might find law enforcement vehicles. They also might find enemy transportation, but telling the difference by the markings—or lack thereof—shouldn’t be difficult. At least that’s what Lara kept telling herself.
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