by Robin Perini
His phone rang and he tapped the screen.
“You’re nearing the turnoff,” Ransom announced over the speakerphone. “Zane’s cast a little computer voodoo. We’ve got Faith’s phone on a satellite tracker. We’ll be able to ping her location anywhere, as long as it doesn’t get too cloudy.”
The Guadalupe Mountains loomed ahead, and he veered the vehicle toward the hiking trail.
“What about backup?” Stefan asked.
“Sheriff Galloway will be your closest resource. I’ll have a helicopter on standby in Trouble, Texas, in an hour. They’ll be able to reach you in less than thirty minutes. The rest of the team is on their way, but they’re two-plus hours out. Unless you can delay.”
“No can do.” Stefan cleared his throat. “They didn’t have to drop everything.”
“You’ve saved their lives more than once. You’re part of CTC. You always will be. No matter what happens. We’re family. Besides, I couldn’t stop them trying.”
With that, Ransom ended the call.
“You have good friends,” Faith said.
“They have my back.” Stefan eyed his odometer. They should be getting close.
Sure enough, two vehicles sat off to the side of the road. He pulled next to the sheriff’s car, behind a second SUV.
Sheriff Garrett Galloway exited his car and walked around to the side. Stefan rolled down his window, and Garrett dropped the keys into his hand. “Gassed and ready,” he said.
“Thanks, Sheriff.”
“I’m taking a side route. I’ll be nearby. Just send up a smoke signal. I’ll get there as quickly as I can.”
Stefan exited the SUV, leaving it running. He met Faith’s gaze. She looked scared, but determined.
“You won’t be alone,” he said.
She slid into the driver’s side. “I know.”
Stefan leaned into the open window, grabbed her face and kissed her. “I promise. Come nightfall, Zoe will be back with you.”
She smiled weakly. “I know.”
* * *
THE WEST TEXAS road snaked across the desert with shrub bushes peppering the landscape. Faith’s fingers ached from her grip on the steering wheel. She was close to the base of the large mountains.
Burke could very well kill her the moment she arrived. She knew that. Stefan knew that. The only thing that gave Faith comfort was the fact that Stefan would see to it that Zoe was safe.
She pulled over to the mile marker that Burke had mentioned in his last text. The hot sun pounded her through the windshield. She waited. And waited.
Moments ticked by. Fifteen minutes. A half hour.
Where was he?
She wished she knew where Stefan was located. She believed he was watching. She had to believe it.
Finally, a truck pulled over. An old man looked at her from the driver’s side.
“You Faith?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Your husband said he’s waiting for you at the mile two marker of the Guadalupe Peak Trail.”
“Where is that?”
“Up fifteen miles. Veer to the right. You’ll see a small visitor’s center. There’s a trail that leads up toward Guadalupe Peak. It’ll take a while to walk, but you’ll find him.”
The man cleared his throat. “He told me your cell phone doesn’t work. He wants you to give it to me.”
“What?”
“He said you have to give your cell phone to me or you won’t be able to meet him.” The guy stroked his beard. “Seemed a bit weird to me, but he wants us to trade phones.”
She forced a smile. Was he watching? She glanced behind her. She didn’t have a choice. At least if Stefan followed her phone, he’d get the information of where she’d gone.
She handed the phone over and the old man dropped an old flip-style cell in her hand.
“Good luck.” He shuffled toward his vehicle.
Faith bit her lip. “Ummm...what did the man who gave you the directions look like?”
“Don’t you know your own husband?”
What was she supposed to say to that?
“Can’t be too careful these days.”
“Brown hair. Scar on his face.”
In other words, not Burke. He’d left nothing to tie him to her. No witnesses. And she had no way to contact Stefan, unless she used Burke’s phone. Could she risk it?
Before she could respond, the phone rang.
“You received the instructions?” Burke asked.
“Yes. Is Zoe okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t she be? Now drive.”
The old man had heaved himself into his truck and his engine gunned to life.
She pulled off the highway. “What now?”
“Follow his instructions.” Burke paused. “And Faith. Don’t detour, don’t contact anyone. I’ll know. This is between you and me, no one else. I need your promise.”
A promise used to mean something in their marriage. Faith had never broken her word to Burke. This would be the first time. “I promise.”
“Excellent.”
A loud explosion pierced the sky. Faith’s hands jerked the steering wheel. Behind her a pillow of black smoke erupted into the sky.
“Throw the phone out of the car. Now.”
Oh, God. Had Burke killed the old man?
“I’ll only say this once more. Get rid of the phone. If you’re not at the mile marker in thirty minutes, you’ll be too late,” Burke said. “You’ll never see Zoe again.”
He was watching. Where was he? Not that it mattered.
She couldn’t believe he’d blown up the car. The poor man. And her phone was destroyed.
Which meant Stefan had no way to track her.
She tossed Burke’s phone along with an earring out of the car. She drove on the side of the road, hoping Stefan or Garrett or someone might see which direction she was going.
The odometer ticked away the miles. Every couple miles she tossed something else out of the car. Another earring; a lipstick, anything she could find that he’d be able to recognize as possibly hers. After thirteen miles, her entire body reminded her of a tightly wound rubber band ready to break. She tossed out a hair tie of Zoe’s just as she turned off to the visitor’s center.
Around her, shrub bushes and pine trees lined the building. She didn’t go inside. Why bother? There were no cars, no people, no nothing.
Deserted. No one to see her enter the national park. She glanced at her watch. She was running out of time. Uncertain if Stefan had seen any of her signs, she had to trust him and his ability.
A wooden sign delineated the trail’s beginning. She could make an arrow with rocks, but it would be obvious. If Burke brought her back this way, he’d know what she was doing. Instead, she used her foot to scratch an arrow in the dirt.
She started up the trail, walking slowly, digging into a baggie of Zoe’s clips and elastics she kept in her purse, dropping them like a trail of breadcrumbs. If Stefan were looking for her, he’d know which direction to head.
About a quarter mile into the walk she made a show of slipping on the trail to offer another sign, then struggled to get back up. She brushed off her pants and hiked another mile. Fifteen minutes later, she rounded a curve in the trail.
A figure stood at the top of the hill. She hadn’t seen him in months. Just the sight of him made her gut twist in revulsion.
Burke waited for her, arms crossed, his dark hair perfectly slicked back, his khaki pants ironed with a stiff crease, and his button-down starched just as he preferred. Perfect. Cool, composed and calm.
Who went hiking dressed like that? A crazy serial killer, that’s who.
Faith stared at him, trying to see behind him.
“Where’s Zoe?”
Burke grinned, a smile that at one time ha
d blinded her to the deadness behind his eyes.
“She’s not here.” He raised his hand. “Before you start, she’s safe. I decided you and I should have a reunion first. Just the two of us. We have a few things to discuss.”
Chapter Twelve
This place was worse than the ugly house her mom had made her stay in. Zoe took Catcher out of her backpack. The puppy wriggled in her arms. She hugged his soft fur and buried her face deep. She wanted her mom.
The man—Orren was his name—had practically dragged her up the mountain. Her father shouldn’t have made her go away. Not with this man.
Zoe frowned at the tall figure glaring at her. He didn’t like being stuck in this wooden hut, either.
Catcher whined in her arms and nibbled at her finger.
“Ouch,” she muttered. “Your teeth are sharp.”
“Keep the dog quiet,” the man rumbled in a low voice.
“He’s just a baby.”
Orren muttered something under his breath. “Burke has lost it.” He paced back and forth like Zoe’s mom did when she was worried.
“What do we do now?” Zoe asked.
“None of your business. Just sit on the floor and stay quiet. Your dad will be here soon.”
“You were supposed to give us something to eat,” Zoe said.
He whipped around and growled at her, like a wolf. “Shut up and sit down or you’ll be sorry.”
Catcher wiggled in her arms and jumped out of them. The puppy charged at Orren with a loud yip. The high-pitched bark hurt Zoe’s ears.
Orren pulled a big gun out of his pants—just like on television. He pointed it at Catcher. “Shut up, dog!”
“No, you can’t hurt him.” Zoe ran over and grabbed the man’s arm.
“That dog will ruin everything,” the man said, shaking Zoe off. “I’m not losing my payday. Not for a mutt.”
He kicked out at Catcher. Zoe gasped and dove for the puppy. The man’s boot hit her shoulder, but Catcher didn’t get hurt.
Zoe’s back throbbed. Orren’s face had turned red. He looked real mad. She wasn’t staying here.
With a shout, she scooped up the puppy. The man lunged for her. No way would she let him hurt Catcher.
Zoe scooted backward across the old wood floor. Orren loomed over her, his arms reaching for her like a monster. She kept scooching until she caught sight of a missing board that left a gap in the side of the shack. She wasn’t staying here. She had to find her daddy. Orren wasn’t nice. He was bad.
He bent over close. She held her breath, hugged Catcher and squeezed through the opening.
Orren yelled a very bad word. “Kid! Come back here.”
Zoe didn’t look back. She held on tight to Catcher and ran as fast as she could.
The man slammed open the front door. “Stop, kid. Your dad will be mad. You can’t run away.”
No way was Zoe answering him. She remembered what Léon had taught her. She darted between some big trees and bushes and searched for a place to hide. A wall of rocks shot up into the sky. She squinted through all the grass and saw a small cave just at the bottom.
The man’s huge footsteps were chasing her. They pounded somewhere behind her. She couldn’t outrun him, even if she was faster than Danny. Orren was a grown-up.
She darted into the hole and took a few steps inside. It curved around. Her eyes widened. The room got really big and very dark. She held Catcher tight.
“Go inside my backpack, Catcher. I need both hands.”
She couldn’t lose him or she’d never find him in this scary place. He whimpered, but settled in okay. She slipped the backpack on and took a step forward.
The ground below her crumbled and disappeared.
“Mommy!”
* * *
SMOKE BILLOWED INTO the sky from the explosion. The blast had stopped Stefan’s heart. His SUV skidded up to a blazing truck in the middle of the road. He slammed on the brakes. The fire charred the metal and his entire body went numb.
“You’re sure this is the last location of her phone?” He could barely enunciate the words.
“Yeah.” Ransom’s voice was solemn. “Then we lost all signal.”
“What’s Faith’s phone doing in a truck?”
He didn’t want to think, didn’t want to move. His mind kept flashing to another burned-out home. The Jennings house. He’d lost all of them, including the bastard who’d blown them up. Jenny and her kids. They hadn’t deserved to die, and he’d been too late to stop it.
Shoving the past out of his mind, he stepped closer. A wall of heat slammed at him. This wasn’t her vehicle. It couldn’t be her.
He squinted at the charred body inside and his eyes centered on the metal socket in the man’s shoulder.
“Not Faith.”
His knees shook and he stumbled back to his car. He sucked in a couple of deep breaths. Their plan had gone to hell.
“It’s not her,” he said, his voice choked. He slammed his fist into the side of the vehicle.
“Thank God.” Ransom barked some orders on his side of the phone. “We’ll trace the signal backward as far as we can.”
“I promised her, Ransom. I promised her I’d keep them safe.”
“We’ll find them.”
Ransom’s words were a jumbled mess. Stefan’s head swirled with fury. Burke had done this. Covering his tracks. He had to track her down.
“...stopped at mile marker twelve,” Ransom said through the phone. “The phone reversed direction. We assumed he was testing for a tail.”
“I’m headed for the mile marker where she stopped. Call everyone in. We’ve got to find her.”
Stefan drove down the deserted West Texas road like he’d entered Le Mans. When the marker was ten feet ahead of him, he stopped. Faith’s car wasn’t in sight.
He strode down the road, searching for anything out of place. A glint of silver caught his eye.
An old flip phone. And something else next to it.
His breath caught. He knelt down and picked up a gold hoop earring and squeezed it tight. Oh, yeah, baby.
She’d been wearing these the day they’d met at the library. She’d never taken them off, probably because they were her only pair. She’d been here. He scanned the gravel at the edge of the road.
One thing about Faith, she could think on her feet. He walked on the side of the road for a half mile.
The other earring gleamed from the black tar.
He scooped it up, activated his phone and ran back to the SUV. “She’s headed toward the mountains. She left me a damn trail of breadcrumbs.
“Call Daniel. Have him bring Trouble. We might need the dog if I can’t find her fast.”
Stefan jumped in and started toward the mountains. Every mile he caught sight of a small clue. When he saw the lipstick he practically cheered.
“I’ll find you, Faith. I promise.”
He drove along the side of the road and paused at an obvious turnoff, but he didn’t see any signs of recent activity or of a car turning off. The weeds growing in the middle of the road hadn’t been disturbed.
He was taking a chance, but Faith was smart. If she could, she’d guide him. That was a big if. Maybe Burke had stopped her. Maybe he’d forced her into the back seat.
Shoving the worst case into the recesses of his mind, Stefan tried to treat this like any other mission, except it wasn’t. He’d fallen for Faith. More and harder than he’d ever imagined. Not to mention Zoe. That little girl held his heart in her baseball glove.
After a couple miles of nothing, he almost stopped. Should he retrace his steps? Maybe try that turn? His foot tapped the brakes just as a glint shined in the road ahead.
A hundred feet later he hit pay dirt. A compact. He’d seen her use it when they’d been driving to his campsite.
He
could breathe again.
Man, she was tough.
Another couple miles and a white SUV appeared abandoned near a small building. Stefan palmed his weapon and slowly pulled up to the vehicle. He peered into the back and called Ransom. “She left her car at the base of Guadalupe Peak Trail. She’s not here, but she started hiking.”
“How far behind her do you think you are?”
Stefan knelt down beside the arrow she’d scratched into the hiking trail and the pattern of grass and oxidation beneath her steps. “Too long. No sign of a second set of prints, though. She was alone.”
“The team is still an hour away. Unless you want Garrett to fly in on the chopper.”
“I don’t want him spooked until I’m in position. Give me a half hour. If you don’t hear from me, send in the cavalry.”
“You got it.” Ransom paused. “And Stefan. Don’t get dead.”
“Will do.”
Stefan ended the call and trudged up the trail, searching for any more signs from Faith. Every so often he’d pick up a tie for Zoe’s hair, a button. At the top of a hill two miles in he stopped. A man’s shoe print. Size eleven.
Burke.
Stefan clutched his weapon and followed the trail until the footprints ended. He swept the area of pinyon pine and Southwestern white pine on each side.
Above him, thunder cracked across the afternoon sky. Black clouds hovered over the mountain, streaks of gray dropped to earth. A hell of a summer storm high up, which meant flash floods heading down.
“Where’s Zoe, Burke?”
Faith’s shout pierced the air from Stefan’s left. He raced toward the sound and burst into a clearing.
Burke hovered over Faith. Blood zigzagged across her forehead.
Stefan raised his gun.
“You move, and you’re a dead man.” He glanced at the bruise darkening Faith’s cheek. “Hell, I may just kill you anyway.”
Faith scrambled to her feet and stood between Stefan and Burke, holding her hands up.
Stefan froze. “What are you doing?”
She swiped her face and the blood smeared across her forehead. “Zoe’s not here and Burke’s the only one who knows where she is.”