by Mary Stone
No. He wasn’t a hero.
But he had to try.
35
Vader growled, low and deep in his throat.
Kylie blinked and lifted her head, instantly wishing that she hadn’t moved.
What had happened? Where was she?
Then memory hit her like a slap.
The car bumping into her. The explosion of the tire. Tumbling down into nothingness.
The sound of steel being crushed and trees snapping.
Then…nothing. She couldn’t remember anything after that.
Vader growled again, and the hair raised on Kylie’s arms. She tried to orient herself, to find where her good boy was, but there was only layer upon layer of darkness.
“Vader.” His name came out as a rasp, so she licked her dry lips and tried again. “Vader.” The sound was louder this time, making her head pound even more.
Warm breath heated her ear, and Vader’s wet nose pressed into her cheek.
Another growl…longer, deeper, more intense.
If Kylie hadn’t known her dog so well, she would have sworn he’d been replaced by a bear.
“What is it, boy? Are you okay?”
Turning as best as she could in the mangled mess of her car, she put her hands on him, feeling for any injuries. He whined a little when she touched his left shoulder, but the sounds transformed into another growl very quickly.
She held her breath, listening for approaching danger. It was raining harder, filtering through the trees, drumming on the metal of her car. She couldn’t hear anything else.
The windshield was shattered, and her jeans and coat were soaked, her hair hanging in wet strands on her cheeks. Her body was sore from the impact of the accident. And her head…god, her head.
She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to get the pounding to stop.
How long had she been unconscious? She had no idea.
She tried to move her legs, but they wouldn’t move. She wasn’t paralyzed, she knew, because she could feel the metal pressing into her jeans. She was pinned. Knowing she was trapped sent a surge of panic through her system.
Her phone.
Feeling around in the darkness, she willed the device to appear in her hand. She nearly cried in relief when her hand wrapped around it, and she prayed for service as she attempted to turn it on.
Nothing.
A sob escaped her lips, but she pressed them together, refusing to cry.
She had to stay calm and think if she was going to get herself and Vader out of this mess.
Another growl came from the big dog.
That, more than anything else, was terrifying.
Giving up on the phone, she tried to extract her legs, but stopped when sharp metal pressed into her thigh. She didn’t think she had any wounds, but she would if she wasn’t careful.
Did blood attract bears in the woods like it did sharks in the water? She didn’t know and didn’t want to find out.
As she was moving about, her keyring jingled, and she remembered one of the gifts her mother had given her several Christmases ago. Pulling the keys out of the ignition, she held the tiniest, most useless flashlight on earth in her hands.
But it was all she had.
Turning it on, she smiled as the tiny beam of light illuminated the inside of the car. She stopped smiling as she saw just how mangled everything was. Her poor little Mazda. She’d have to mourn the loss of it later.
She turned the spotlight onto Vader, who had his nose pressed to the rear window, his hackles raised as he growled again.
The sound was like ice sliding down her spinal cord.
“What is it, boy?”
But truth be told, she really didn’t want to know.
Whatever it was, she wouldn’t be able to fight it, trapped as she was.
She needed to extricate herself. That was the number one thing on her to-do list.
Shivering from the cold, she shone the light through the window. The little flashlight was strong enough to show her a small swath of uprooted trees and flattened bushes she’d taken down. Kylie stared at it in disbelief. She’d come down that? It looked like nearly a sixty-degree angle. Was it even possible to climb that without equipment?
Focus.
She wouldn’t be climbing anything if she couldn’t get herself out of this car. Feeling around the back seat, she found a bag of drive-through trash, several empty paper coffee cups, and a whole bunch of junk she’d forgotten to clean out, but nothing useful. Under the seat she found the little first aid kit she’d bought after her run-in with the snakebite couple. Oh, and her dry cleaning. She made a mental note to never buy anything Dry Clean Only again.
She slumped back into her seat. As if dry cleaning was her only problem.
Kylie nearly laughed at herself. Doom and gloom had never been her thing. She wasn’t usually so fatalistic. But her head hurt. Heck, her everything hurt. And she was so very, very tired.
Even with the rain dripping in on her, all she could think about was how nice it would be to have a little nap. Just a little one.
It was nearly bedtime, after all. Yes, she would just settle down here, cover herself with her dirty dry cleaning, and then worry about hiking out of the woods in the morning when she could see better.
Grrrr…
Her own hackles rose at Vader’s menacing growl.
Then she heard another sound. And another. Another.
A bear? Or something else? Someone else?
“Vader . . .” she said cautiously, straining to see past the few feet the little flashlight illuminated. “What is it, boy?”
Grrrr…
Vader might not be the genius SAR dog that Storm was, but he had a good sense when it came to these things. If he sensed something was wrong, it was wrong.
And whatever was out there, it wasn’t friendly.
And there was something out there. Vader could feel it. She could feel it.
Now, spending tonight in the car didn’t seem all that wonderful.
“Vad—”
Grrrr…
He was perfectly still as he stared out the window. She let out an uneasy breath and began working to free her legs again, crying out as a piece of something sharp stabbed her through her jeans.
Then there was another sound. Kylie held her breath, listening hard. It was a scraping sound, almost like someone was scrabbling through some gravel. A branch snapped. Another.
Vader barked, the sound like a gunshot in the little car.
Kylie covered her ears, her head pounding furiously now. She screamed when something hit the side of the Mazda, then something else.
Rocks?
Vader’s barking became furious, and he began lunging at the window like he was a battering ram in canine form. She’d never seen him like this. He was terrifying.
Through her fear, one thought immerged. Was someone climbing down, trying to help them? Was Vader simply barking like crazy at a stranger? Would he scare the person off?
Or was it something else? She thought of the driver who’d been behind her. Were they climbing down to finish off the job?
Would someone be that reckless?
What should she do?
“Who’s there?” she shouted, scrabbling for the first aid kit she’d tossed into the passenger seat. Bug spray. All she had was bug spray. “I’ve got a gun,” she lied, holding the can like a pistol, “and I’ll shoot if you don’t identify yourself.”
Over the sound of Vader’s frantic barking, she heard no answer.
Oh, how she wished she really did have a weapon.
Adrenaline making her stronger, she pushed at the dash, pulled on her legs, ignored the bites of pain as metal ripped into her skin.
She needed out of there.
Friend or foe, she needed to get untrapped to either climb or fight.
Then she smelled it.
There was no mistaking the scent for anything but what it was.
Gasoline.
At first,
she thought it was her imagination. Then she thought maybe the gas line had been cut in the accident. But as the smell became overpowering, she fought more furiously to extricate herself.
Someone was dousing the car.
Methodically, deliberating pouring gas all around.
Unable to stop herself, Kylie screamed.
36
Linc wasn’t sure how far down the embankment he was when he heard the sound of frantic barking. Then a scream.
He froze.
Kylie. Vader.
And someone else.
The thought spurred him on. Though his grip on the rope in the wet weather wasn’t sure, Linc went faster, loosening his gloved hand and sliding down as quickly as he could, trying to be watchful of the craggy rocks and trees that were everywhere.
The ravine was steep, and his feet scrabbled for purchase when they hit the ground. He stumbled but quickly regained his balance.
Vader’s barking was fierce, but even over the sound, he heard Kylie scream again.
His flashlight was in his pocket, but he didn’t turn it on. Whoever was down there, terrifying Kylie, didn’t need to see him coming. Plus, his night vision was excellent. He didn’t want it ruined with a flash of light.
Muscle memory kicked into gear, and he began to move in military mode, using the trees and rocks to propel him, avoiding the forest floor with its dried leaves and twigs as much as possible. Silence was his friend.
The barking was closer, and so was something else.
He scented the air as Storm would have done if she’d been by his side.
Gasoline.
Another surge of adrenaline dumped through Linc’s system as he crept closer, assessing the situation. The car was a mangled mess, held up by a pair of young trees that had thankfully broken the rest of her fall. Looking down, he knew Kylie wouldn’t have survived the rest of the plunge.
In the shadows, Linc saw movement, and he crouched, trying to understand what the man was doing. The man carried a flashlight, which seemed to be tucked under his armpit. He was also holding a large container. When the flashlight slipped to the ground, shining up to illuminate the scene, understanding dawned.
Fury burned through his brain as the man’s purpose became clear.
Time was not his friend, and silence was no longer needed since the dog’s barking would cover any noise made by his movements.
He needed speed.
Pulling the heavy flashlight from his pocket, he hoped the bastard couldn’t hear his heart race as he crept up behind him. As careful as he was being, a twig snapped under his shoe, but before the man could turn around, Linc brought his makeshift weapon down on the man’s head. The asshole dropped like his legs had been cut out from beneath him.
He exhaled. Easy enough.
The gas can hit the ground too, then began to roll the rest of the way down the ravine. He needed to let the emergency crew know of its approximate location.
Later.
Right then, the smell was almost overwhelming, but the rain had picked up again, already diluting the scent a little. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Terrific.
He needed to hurry.
Scrambling over the hood of the car, Linc turned on his flashlight, using it now for its intended purpose, and caught his first sight of Kylie.
She was alive. Terrified but alive. And she was holding something like it was a weapon.
He laughed in spite of the circumstances. Bug spray.
Leave it to Kylie Hatfield to bring a can bug spray to a gun fight, metaphorically speaking.
“Linc!”
There was a waver in her voice and tears were streaking down her cheeks when she smiled, happy and relieved to see him. Bedraggled as she was, she looked so achingly beautiful it made his heart squeeze.
Vader had stopped his yapping and was now lolling his tongue out, looking exhausted but happy to see him too.
Holding on to a tree, Linc made it to the driver’s side of the car, but try as he might, he couldn’t get the door to open. Climbing back onto the hood, he cursed when the car moved under his weight.
The two trees holding the car up were bending more sharply now. That, together with the rain, could cause the car to slide.
Time wasn’t on his side.
“Are you hurt?”
Her hand went automatically to her head, and a large bump already forming on her forehead. “I’m good enough.”
He thought that was a fair statement.
“Grab my hand,” he yelled. “I’ll help you out.”
Kylie pulled at her legs, then cried out as something clearly caused her pain. “I’m stuck.”
Shit.
Reaching through the busted window, Linc tossed a piece of clothing over her face. “Cover yourself, face and eyes.”
She didn’t even question him, which was a miracle unto itself. Opening one of the zippers of his backpack, he pulled out a safety hammer and broke out the rest of the glass, using his gloved hand to remove any sharp pieces.
Ducking inside, he moved the flashlight to where her legs were stuck. There was blood there, from a piece of metal gouging through her jeans, but the injury didn’t look too extensive.
Her hand went to his face. “You’re here. I can’t believe you’re here.”
Grinning, he leaned over and kissed her hard on the lips. “Of course I’m here.”
But they didn’t have time to chat. Bracing his feet on the dashboard, he pushed with all his might, Vader licking the side of his face in support.
It gave only a little.
He tried again but couldn’t get a good enough angle to make much difference. He needed a different plan.
He moved to climb back out of the window, but Kylie pulled at his clothes, stopping him. “Where are you going?”
“Trying a different way to get you out.”
She let him go, nodding vigorously, then pressed her fingers to her head at the movement. Probably a concussion. Her pupils had looked huge and the knot on her forehead seemed painful.
She was probably also in shock or getting very close to it.
Going as fast as he could, he slid from the hood, then checked on the man he’d knocked out, doing a quick pat down for any weapons, which he should have already done. That, in itself, told him how frantic he’d been to get to Kylie’s side.
It had been a stupid thing to forget, and he cursed himself as he checked every pocket. The man groaned when he turned him over onto his back. He shined the light on the bastard’s face. He didn’t recognize him.
He found a wallet, and as curious as he was to know who the man was, it wasn’t pressing. It would have to wait.
Patting him down further, he found a pistol in his jacket and relieved him of the weapon. There was a small knife in the front pocket of his pants but that seemed to be about it.
The man groaned again, and Linc pulled a couple zip ties from his backpack, glad he kept some in there just in case. After binding his hands, he used a third one to secure him to a small tree. The mother wasn’t going anywhere.
That job done, he tucked the weapons into a pocket of his backpack and pulled out a small lantern with enough lumens to blind someone who stared too long. Placing the lantern on the hood, he pocketed the flashlight, giving him back the use of both hands, then started moving toward the back of the car, intent on opening the hatchback.
If he could get inside, he could lay Kylie’s seat down as far as it would go. From that angle, he might have a better chance of pulling her to safety.
“Hurry,” he muttered to the emergency personnel, listening hard for any sound of sirens.
Only thunder rumbled, getting closer.
Dammit.
Vader began clawing at the back window, then barking his fool head off again. Linc’s hand was on the trunk, ready to open it, when he heard it…
Ch-chunk. The unmistakable sound of a shotgun being racked.
The big dog went crazy as Linc tried to locate the po
sition of the sound, his mind whirling through the possible options. There weren’t many, especially since the shooter had higher ground.
“Raise your hands.”
It was a female voice, which surprised him. It shouldn’t have since the Spotlight Killer had been female too.
Evil didn’t discriminate, it seemed.
Very slowly, Linc raised his hands, but before he did, he finished releasing the latch on the hatchback door. Moving his body so that the door remained closed, he slowly turned to face the enemy.
The light from the lamp illuminated her just enough to get a glimpse of her features. She would have been pretty if not for the bright red lipstick that looked like a bloody slash across her face. Mid-thirties or later, he figured.
Her hands shook in fear even as her face was stiff in resolve.
Her hoodie, for a moment, looked like a traditional hijab.
It was her, come back from the dead.
No.
Heart pounding even harder at the tricks his mind wanted to play, Linc forced himself to focus. Focus, dammit. He was a freaking soldier. He had training. He needed to remember that.
What makes you think you can be a hero after what you did?
He willed the voice away.
“What do you want?” he asked, his voice less steady than he would have liked.
The woman raised her chin, the angle of the gun going with it. Good. She didn’t appear to be a trained marksman, but with a shotgun, you didn’t necessarily have to have good aim.
“Where’s Dustin?”
And with the question, a piece of the puzzle clicked into place.
“Here!” Linc’s father’s assistant’s assistant called from where he was zip tied to the tree. “Denise! I’m here.”
Linc remembered that name. Denise Summers. Emma Jennings’s assistant. The stool incident. But how were she and his father’s employee connected? And what about Nate?
Denise kept her gun pointed at Linc as she worked her way over the rugged terrain to where Dustin Weiss was seated. Without the use of her hands, the going was treacherous, and Linc prayed she’d slip and slide down the side of this damn mountain on her ass.
She was careful, though, taking her time. The woman wasn’t stupid.