by Terry Spear
He hated leaving her in this way. He wanted to kiss her and say good bye. He wanted to tell her again he’d come back and repay her for her kindness to him. But when the first car rolled to a stop and the trooper hurried out of the car, Leyton faded into the forest and was gone.
* * *
The excitement Kate felt thrumming through her veins that she was being rescued was quashed by the realization Leyton must have believed he had to run. She knew her place was back home in Yuma Town with her friends and taking care of those who needed her medical skills, yet her heart reached out to Leyton. He couldn’t believe she’d turn him in for taking her hostage, could he?
She felt sick and heartbroken, when she should have only felt relief and joy. Looking like he was ready to kill Leyton, but needing mostly to comfort her, Stryker rushed out of his car to take charge of her. She broke into tears all over his smartly pressed uniform.
“We need to know where he is,” Stryker said, his brow furrowed as she continued to sob.
Oh, God, Stryker probably thought she’d been so terrified of the ordeal he was going to kill her abductor.
She tried to control her tears, but it was like a dam had broken, and she couldn’t stop them no matter what.
“I found some men’s clothes over here,” a trooper said from the woods.
“Shit,” Stryker said. He knew that Leyton had shifted and run.
“I offered to take him with me camping, Stryker Hill,” she blurted out, not caring that she lied. Leyton was one of the good guys and at every turn, he’d been decent to her, as long as she discounted his tying her up and making her sleep with him the first night.
“He took you hostage,” Stryker growled.
“My car went off a cliff,” she growled right back. “He helped me to get here. I was driving and I took the wrong road. I swerved to miss a mother bear and her cubs, and we sailed off the cliff. He had nothing to do with it! And he has survival skills and put them to good use to keep us alive all this time.”
Stryker glowered at her.
Then she took a deep breath and wiped her tears away. “Where’s Dan?”
“I’ve called it in that we found you and that your abductor has made his escape.”
“Is Dan here?”
“Fifteen minutes away.”
“I’ll ride home with him.”
“Kate…”
She pulled free from him and glowered.
“Are you injured in any way, Dr. Parker?” one of the troopers asked, as if Stryker was too personally involved in this and wasn’t asking the right questions.
Kate was still glowering at Stryker. “I’ve had whiplash and my back is killing me.”
“I’m sorry, Kate,” Stryker said, reaching for her arm.
She sat down on the stone bench and stared gloomily at the ground. She wished she could have said good bye to Leyton, just one last time.
12
Kate was eating a microwave lasagna after work when she got a call from Dottie Brown, their police dispatcher. Kate hadn’t wanted to see anyone socially since she had returned home. Her car insurance had paid for the totaled car and she’d found a replacement. Dan and his deputies, and a few others, had gallantly returned to pick up her stuff from the car and given it to her, packed up in boxes.
She hadn’t had the heart to sort through everything and wash or put it away because everything reminded her of Leyton, and she wasn’t ready to wash him out of her life just yet.
“Kate? A bunch of us women wanted to get together and have lunch at my place. Or eat out or something. We’re sorry you missed your vacation, and, well, we thought since it’s been a week since you returned home safe and sound, you might be feeling like getting together with us.”
Kate hadn’t wanted to. They’d all be talking about their babies. Although she totally adored all of them, having delivered them herself and felt as though she was part of each and every family, everything reminded her of Leyton now, and what she wished she could have with him.
“Or…we could wait a little longer.”
Kate was afraid they’d want to know more about Leyton, get the skinny on what had really happened between them. The guys would have smelled her sleeping bag, and that she and Leyton had sex. It was just a part of who they were, nothing wrong with it. Everyone was walking on eggshells around her, and she didn’t want them to.
Yet, she felt touchy and protective of Leyton, and she didn’t want anyone prying into that part of her life. She realized then, she’d never had a secret like him. A lover who she cherished and wanted back in her life. He’d made her feel special and needed and loved.
“Okay, well, I guess some other time. But we’re not letting you off the hook,” Dottie said, comforting, yet stern too.
Kate chuckled, though tears welled up in her eyes. She loved the town and all its members. They were her family too. “Night, Dottie, and thanks.”
* * *
Still running as a cougar, Leyton headed in the direction of the cabin where Butch had shot him, hoping not to repeat that situation, and planning to investigate the place when he got a whiff of Butch in the vicinity. Leyton was maybe five miles from the cabin near cliffs overlooking a river. His heart was pounding with excitement with the knowledge he could catch the criminal and take him down.
When he finally reached the treed cliffs and could peer down below, he saw the bastard fishing in his human form, camo pants and shirt, hiking boots, pole in hand. His hair was blond again, growing out, shaggy around the back of his neck and ears. He was sitting on a camping chair on a small bit of rocky beach, relaxed, enjoying the seclusion. Leyton wanted in the worst way to bound down the cliffs and take him out. But right next to Butch’s camo colored camping chair rested a cooler and a rifle.
Leyton didn’t believe he was feeling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but he sure was having a hell of a time convincing himself he had to make his way down the cliffs and take Butch out. His gaze kept shifting to the damn rifle.
If only Butch would catch a nibble so that the fish would fully snag his attention. Right now, he was relaxed, but like any big cat, he would be listening to all the sounds around him, watching for any sign of movement. Leyton had to make sure that when he started the climb down, he was behind Butch at all times, completely out of his peripheral vision. Butch would know that Leyton would continue to come after him, so he’d remain alert. Unless he thought Leyton had left him alone for so long because he had been mortally wounded.
Silently, Leyton began to move to the right a little more, keeping to the cover of the spruces and underbrush, picking the first ledge he’d jump to and several below that when he heard voices behind him.
Two men. Even though the season for hunting cougars wasn’t until November 17th through March 31st of the next year, it didn’t mean someone hiking with a rifle, for protection, might use the excuse that the cougar in their sights had tried to attack him.
Leyton turned to listen, his ears moving to pinpoint the exact location of where the men were. They were moving away from his location. Good. He turned back to make his descent when he saw that Butch was gone. His rifle was still resting on the beach next to the cooler, fishing pole lying down, fishing line still in the water.
Leyton’s heartbeat ratcheting up several notches, he listened, watching, hoping that the bastard was just taking a leak when he saw the cougar bounding up the cliffs in his direction.
Leyton prepared for the assault. Butch didn’t attack him, but raced off along the cliffs. Damn it. The guy knew the woods like he knew his own heartbeat and Leyton could see himself in a similar bind as before. Days of chasing until Butch took him just where he wanted and then he’d ambush Leyton again.
Not this time. Leyton was damned determined to end this now. He took chase, diving around trees, leaping over rocks and shrubs, keeping the cougar in his sight.
Rocks rose in his path, no trees or shrubs, but perfect for a cougar to scale. Butch bolted up them, leaping with his
powerful legs, and Leyton hesitated. He knew Butch was baiting him. He thought of going around the rock formation, but how far out of his way would he have to go? And he’d be below Butch, which could spell disaster for him. So he raced up the rocks after Butch, expecting an ambush and getting just that.
Naturally, Butch was above Leyton when he pounced. They snarled and teeth clashed, fish-hook claws grabbing hold as they tore into each other. Butch was relentless, strong, uninjured like Leyton was, though his shoulder was getting better by the day.
But Leyton was just as vicious, just as unyielding, just as tough. And damn determined. Neither managed to take the advantage, no matter how hard they tried. They were too well-matched in strength. The slight lead Butch had over Leyton in the beginning by using a higher vantage point to attack was gone. As angry as Leyton was, he didn’t feel any pain in his shoulder right now, though he imagined he might later.
All his focus was on killing Butch, not even just taking him down so he could learn where he had hidden the gun that had Leyton’s fingerprints on it. He’d have to find it later. But Butch was just too dangerous to leave alive.
Thankfully, because of his power, even though he couldn’t overwhelm Butch, the cougar hadn’t managed to injure him other than a few shallow bites. Leyton bit Butch on the neck and drew blood. Confident he could take the bastard out, he thrust his teeth at Butch’s neck again. But Butch swung his head around and stopped him.
They were standing on their hind legs, forelegs gripping each other, tooth enamel clashing against each other’s teeth when he felt the rocks give near the edge of the cliff. If they hadn’t had their claws dug into each other’s shoulders, they would have leapt away before they fell. Or they could have recovered on a ledge below. Instead, they fell to the river rushing below them.
As soon as he hit the cold water, he realized he’d lost hold of Butch, the other cat releasing him at some point when they freefell. All cougars could swim, so for a moment, Leyton paddled, his head held high above the flowing river, searching for any sign of Butch. He didn’t know if he’d fallen behind him or ahead of him. There was no beach along here, though with their powerful claws, they could pull themselves up on the rocks beside the water and begin the climb up the cliffs. While Leyton was trying to keep his head above water in the rapid, he couldn’t see the cougar in either direction.
Leyton caught hold of a boulder and pulled himself out, then sat on top, looking from the new vantage point to see if he could locate him. If Butch had been behind Leyton, he would have seen him carried on past Leyton’s vantage point by now. No sign of him. If Butch had been ahead of him, he could easily have been swept around the bend in the river, then continued on downriver, or climbed up on the cliff out of Leyton’s view, and taken off.
Unless he’d been behind him and done the same thing. Leyton hated being indecisive. If he went up to the top of the cliffs, he could run downstream and attempt to catch Butch’s scent. But what if Butch returned to his fishing site and grabbed his gear? That would be more likely.
Decision made, Leyton climbed to the top of the cliffs and raced back to where Butch had left his fishing gear and rifle. But when he peered down at the spot where the gear was sitting, he found it was still there. Was Butch hiding out of sight against the cliff, waiting for Leyton to investigate?
Leyton risked checking it out and headed down the cliff. When he neared the bottom, he saw no sign of Butch, damn it. But Leyton wasn’t going to let the bastard return for his stuff either. Leyton shifted, then tossed the rifle, clothes, and fishing pole into the swiftly flowing water. It would all sink to the bottom. Though he hated littering of any kind, he couldn’t allow Butch to have his clothes or rifle back. Butch could walk out of there later as if he’d just been fishing. This way, he had to keep moving as a cougar until he could get hold of another stash of clothes. And the rifle? He imagined Butch had more weapons at his disposal, but just knowing Leyton had ruined one of them, maybe even the one Butch had already used on him, gave Leyton a bit of satisfaction.
Covered in bloody bite marks and claw marks, Leyton shifted. He assumed if he went to the cabin, he might find the same trouble as before. Butch ready with a rifle in hand. But if the cougar had continued to allow the river to carry him further downstream, maybe not.
Still, Leyton figured he’d have a better chance at catching Butch there than if Butch just continued downstream. Unless he’d been badly injured. Maybe he had broken a leg or cracked his skull. Leyton could only hope, envisioning the cat drowning or too injured to climb.
Leyton loped toward the cabin, watching, listening for any sign that Butch was also headed in that direction. When he reached the cabin, he saw no sign of movement, heard no sounds inside. He waited, diligent, just watching, listening, circling, looking for a better vantage point. After about twenty minutes, Leyton left the relative shelter of the forest and raced toward the cabin. If he could get close to the siding, anyone inside wouldn’t be able to shoot him.
No response, no sounds.
Leyton couldn’t peer in the blind-covered windows, so he headed around to the door, shifted, prayed he wasn’t making the worst mistake of his life and twisted the handle. The door was unlocked and Leyton shoved it open, leaping out of the path of the entryway at the same time.
No reaction from inside.
With his heart pounding, Leyton shifted again, better able to leap at his attacker as a cougar if Butch was inside, waiting with rifle in hand. Leyton leapt inside, but Butch wasn’t here. Leyton slammed the door shut, shifted, and locked it. Then he began to search the one-room cabin for signs of weapons, or any indication as to where Butch might go next.
He smelled Butch’s scent here, but left here some hours ago, probably when he went fishing. And two other men’s scents were also in the cabin. Cougars too. He hadn’t found any other weapons, but lots of clothes.
Finding no evidence to help him, Leyton removed any clothes he could find stashed in a chest and left littered about the place. Then he put all of it in a fire ring outside and set it on fire. Anything he could do to create problems for Butch, he had to do. Then he shifted and climbed into a tree to wait and watch, just in case Butch returned. He would be prepared.
As he watched the flames flick higher at the cool night air, Leyton thought back to when he sat fireside with Kate, holding her in his arms, feeling her warmth, listening to her heartbeat, loving the intimacy. Though he had to remain vigilant here, knowing Butch could return at any time as a cougar, or he might have managed to clothe and arm himself with another rifle, Leyton couldn’t help thinking of Kate and wishing he was with her.
As soon as the clothes had burned to ashes, making sure the fire was completely extinguished before he left, and with no sign of Butch about, Leyton decided it was time to return to Travis’s house. He would get cleaned up, eat a hearty meal, sleep, grab his car and gun, and return to the area to search for Butch until he located him.
* * *
Kate had worked busily in the clinic for over two weeks since her return. She hadn’t heard from Leyton, and still, she hoped she would. She’d never felt like that with any man in her life before. She couldn’t believe how much he had intrigued her and despite all their harrowing experiences, excited her. She finally had agreed to have lunch at Hal’s ranch with all of the gals. She couldn’t keep putting it off because Dottie wouldn’t let her.
Everyone had sitters for the afternoon while the ladies cooked steak shish-kabobs on the grill. Everyone had been talking about food and kids, everything but what she knew they were dying to hear about.
All the ladies were married to deputies, or in Dottie’s case, not dating, but close to it with Dan, the sheriff. Plus, she was the police dispatcher, so Kate knew they were waiting to hear what had gone on between her and Leyton. She realized she didn’t even know where he was from or his last name. She sighed and sat down with the other ladies on the deck to eat.
“Are you going camping at the same location…,�
�� Tracey Haverton said, pausing. She was Hal’s wife, and helped run his ranch when she wasn’t chasing down wildlife exploiters. Her cheeks reddened a bit, and she said, “I mean, where you normally camp.”
Everyone looked from her to Kate, waiting to hear her answer.
“Oh sure. Why wouldn’t I? I love it there. I fish, camp, run as a big cat in the middle of the night when other campers are sound asleep. Love the peaceful setting.”
Silence.
Kate was sure the men would have told their mates that she had sex in the car and the sleeping bag, so there was really no hiding anything from the ladies anyway. She sighed. “Okay, what do you want to ask?”
Dottie smiled. “We swore we wouldn’t ask anything about him when we got together. Maybe a few months from now, but…” She shrugged. “We really promised each other we wouldn’t put you on the spot.”
“We did,” Shannon Buchanan, Chase’s wife, said. “We are really trying to let you get through this ordeal without questioning you because we know the guys have been doing so as part of their investigation into what happened.”
“I helped him out. Leyton that is. He was wounded and going in my direction. I helped him out as anyone in my shoes would have done.”
She would never say he took her hostage. No matter how much everyone asked her.
“But you like the guy, more than just in wanting to help out a fellow cougar,” Shannon said.
“Yeah, we were in a couple of bad binds.” Kate explained about the trouble with the bears, and the women were all agog.
“Ohmigod, I would have had a heart attack,” Shannon said.
Dottie and Tracey agreed.
But at every turn, Leyton had been there for her, protective and caring.
“Then, the storms hit.” Kate told them about the one that had swept their tent away. She noticed the raised brows as soon as she said the word “their.” Of course it hadn’t been Leyton’s tent too, but since they had shared it, it seemed natural to tell the story that way. “It was awful. I was so afraid he’d been drowned, and here I am, hanging onto the tree for dear life, knowing if I let go, I wasn’t strong enough to move to the next tree on higher ground. And I was rapidly becoming hypothermic as cold as the water was. Then like a god appearing in the slanting rain, he was beside me.”