by Sharon Dunn
Jason hurried down the hallway in the direction he’d heard Isabel’s footsteps retreating. When he felt for his phone in his shirt pocket it was gone. It must have fallen out in the fight. There was no time to search for it now. He reached out a hand to the textured wall to orient himself. Up ahead he saw light.
The whiteness of the overcast sky provided some illumination through the glass dome of the library. It looked like the storm was letting up. Isabel was pulling books off the shelf and flipping through them. A stack already sat on the floor that she or the thieves had worked through.
She turned toward him. “Quick—lock the door.”
He shut the door and turned the latch.
“You don’t remember which book?”
“I know I put them away in this area here.” She swept her hand across a section of shelves.
“Any sign that the thieves were here?”
She pointed across the room. The library was round with books that ran from the floor to the edge of the glass dome. “Those books over there are arranged by size and color. Don’t ask. It’s a rich-people thing.” She grabbed another book off the shelf and filed through it. “Anyway, they are out of place. Those guys must have gone through those books searching. I got to hand it to them. They are tidy.”
Maybe the thieves wouldn’t get as big a payday if there was any evidence of a break-in. During the other jobs, the thieves had used lock picks or had known the security codes and nothing had been disturbed.
With a backward glance at the door, Jason grabbed a book and riffled through it. “Is there another way out of here in case we have to make a speedy exit?”
She pointed to a door. “It leads to another balcony. This one has stairs. No way could we drop four floors and live.”
He grabbed another book and leafed through it. If he lifted it toward the dome, he could see better. He put the volume back in place and grabbed another. At best, they had minutes before the thief on the floor below came to and headed toward them.
Isabel pulled books and flipped through them at a furious pace.
Someone banged on the door and wiggled the handle.
Jason worked even faster. “It’s got to be here somewhere.”
The pounding stopped. Jason moved closer to the door and listened. “He’s picking the lock.” He stalked back to the bookshelf and pulled another hardback.
Isabel slid a book back into place and grabbed another. She bent the spine of the hardback. A shiny object fell to the floor. She picked it up.
“Jason,” she said. She had found it.
“Let’s go,” he said. She shoved the bookmark in the pocket of the coat he’d given her and zipped it.
The door burst open as they raced toward the balcony. The short muscular man raised his gun and fired off a shot. Isabel grabbed Jason’s hand.
Jason pushed open the door that led to the balcony.
They descended with the armed man at their heels. Another shot blasted through the silent night but it went wide. Even with the flashlight, the man couldn’t see much better than they could.
Jason could hear the footfalls behind him. They had to find a way to shake this guy and find a hiding place. Isabel held tight to his hand. She understood the importance of not getting separated.
He stayed close to the house, running the full length of it. They ended up in the driveway beside his useless van. He crouched low and Isabel slipped in beside him. Footsteps pounded past and then faded.
“He might come back,” she whispered.
Jason hurried to the side of the van and eased the passenger door open. “Get in. I suspect he’ll go in the house to get his accomplice first.”
She complied.
“Crawl toward the back and stay low.”
He got in behind her. His surveillance equipment was stacked in a corner though barely visible in the near darkness.
“How long do you think we should stay here?” Isabel kept her voice to a whisper.
“Not long.” He rifled around in the dark, taking the time to lock each door. “I have another coat in here, extra hat and gloves.” He slipped into the heavier coat and tossed the gloves and hat toward Isabel.
He dug through another pile of stuff to find a hat and pair of gloves for himself. It wasn’t his first day at camp. He always had lots of cold-weather gear on hand.
He grabbed his keys out of the ignition. The key ring had a small flashlight on it that might be useful.
He pulled the gun out from his waistband and stared at it. Though he went to the range every week, he had never had to use the gun while working. It might come down to that tonight.
Jason could not see Isabel’s expression in the darkness, but he sensed the tension that had invaded the tiny space.
“Detectives carry guns. That’s just how it is.” He held out his hand. “Can I see the bookmark?”
Suspicion clouded her voice. “Why?”
Jason’s stomach coiled into a tight knot. Here they were, back at square one again. If she didn’t trust him, they might not survive the night. They had to work together. Both their lives depended on it.
Why was it so hard to win her trust?
FIVE
Isabel looked at what appeared to be a computer screen and keyboard. “What is all this stuff? Surveillance equipment?” So far, Jason had done nothing to harm her and had risked his own safety to help her. Maybe he really was a detective. That didn’t mean he was an honest detective. Past experience told her not to be too quick to trust. Jason was keeping secrets, and she didn’t like that. What was he hiding? She touched the pocket where she’d placed the bookmark.
Jason let out a heavy breath and shook his head. “Hold on to the bookmark if you want.”
Her chest squeezed tight with indecision. “I don’t like liars.” The intensity of her words surprised her. The pain of what she had been through with Nick was still very close to the surface despite how long it had been—she still had not let any man into her life or heart. But she had started to think Jason might be okay. That scared her. How had he managed find the chink in her armor in such a short time? So what if he was protective and kept her safe. He was still a man and men always let you down in the end.
“I don’t like liars either, Isabel, but if I tell you what is going on, it puts you at greater risk.”
Jason’s voice had a soothing quality, not the anger or impatience she would have expected. She laced her fingers together and clenched her jaw.
Don’t be taken in.
He turned from side to side, searching. “At least put some cardboard around it. If it gets damaged, it loses its value.”
“Maybe you are a detective, but I think you are on the take.” Her accusation lacked conviction. She could feel her resolve to not trust him weakening in the face of his gentle response.
He tore a section of cardboard off an empty box. “Give me the bookmark. I promise to give it back to you if that’s what you want.”
She unzipped the coat and slipped her hand into the inside pocket.
“I promise,” he repeated.
How many times had she heard that?
She grasped the bookmark and handed it to him. Their fingers touched briefly. He placed it carefully in the folded cardboard. She tensed, waiting for the moment when he’d shove it in his pocket and pull the gun on her.
He held it out for her to take.
She let out a breath. “Keep it.” So he’d kept one small promise. He still had a lot of explaining to do.
A light flashed outside.
“He’s coming this way.”
The light had shone through the windshield.
Jason touched her arm. “Out the back. Hurry.”
He pushed open the van doors. They bolted toward the house, pressing against the brick walls. The eaves of the roof provided even more
darkness to hide in as footsteps pounded around the van and drew closer.
Jason pushed on Isabel’s shoulder, indicating she should keep moving. The cold seeped into her face as she made her way along the outside wall. They needed to find a good hiding place.
Isabel thought about the layout of the house. The wine cellar in the basement had a stairway leading up to the outside. They wouldn’t be trapped if they hid there and needed to make a run for it.
“This way.” She tugged on the sleeve of his coat and led him around to a side entrance.
Isabel pressed her hand against the exposed brick and struggled to get her bearings in the dark house as they moved down a set of stairs. Footsteps pounded on the floor above them. They’d lost their pursuer for now.
Her heart raced as she felt along the wall, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She pushed open a door. The shelves of wine were barely discernible.
Jason slipped in beside her. His shoulder pressed against hers. A tense silence fell around them, interrupted by footsteps above them that came in short bursts.
“They’re still looking,” she whispered.
“It’s just a matter of time. We have to find a way to get out of here. They have a car parked somewhere close by.”
“We could freeze trying to find it.”
“We need a sure thing. Aren’t there any neighbors close by?”
Isabel shook her head. “The nearest one might be miles away. They are up the road, not down. This is the first house in the subdivision.” Though the storm had let up, it was still dark and cold out there. She squeezed her eyes shut, mulling over what Jason had said. A sure thing. There were no other vehicles on the property or houses close by, but... “There’s a communal building. That is one of the perks of this subdivision.”
“This is a subdivision?”
“Yes, but the houses are miles apart.”
“What’s in the building?”
“I’ve only seen it on a map. But it’s like a clubhouse where you can have get-togethers, and there’s a building with snowmobiles and ATVs. My boss explained to me what the building was used for.”
“How far is it from here?”
“I’d estimate less than a mile. We can use the trees for cover but we’ll get lost if we don’t keep the road in sight.” In these conditions, she’d be guessing at the location of the building.
His voice dropped half an octave. “That’s a long way to go in the cold.”
Footsteps pounded down the stairs. Both of them pressed deeper into the shadows. The footsteps drew closer. Doors opened and shut. The thief was searching all of the rooms in the basement, making his way down the hallway. Isabel’s heart beat so loudly she feared it would give them away.
They had only seconds to make a decision. “We stay here, they will find and kill us.” His hand slipped into hers as he led the way up the stairs to the door that took them back out into the cold night.
A blast of cold air hit her face, causing her cheeks to tingle. His gloved hand gripped hers.
“Which way?”
She pointed as the chill settled on her exposed skin. He ran toward the trees. She held on to his hand. When she glanced over her shoulder, she saw light glowing in the dome and a silhouetted figure.
By the door through which they’d just exited a light also bobbed. It loomed toward them for some time and then stopped. Would they give up the chase that easily? Somehow, she doubted it.
The trees grew thicker as the outline of the house disappeared. She focused on the sound of her feet padding on the soft snow. Her breath came out in vapory puffs as she struggled to keep pace with Jason.
Doubt plagued her every footstep. Would they be able to get into the clubhouse garage? She wasn’t sure they’d even find the place in the dark.
She heard the sound of a motor, a car on the road.
The clang of an engine revving up landed on her ears. Headlights cut through the trees behind her. The thieves had gone back for their car. She quickened her pace. Jason grabbed her and pulled her into the trees as the thieves’ car drew near.
* * *
Heart shifting into high gear, Jason climbed uphill through the trees to get off the road. Isabel remained close beside him.
The car motor grew louder, more menacing. The headlights flashed by them and then the motor settled into an idle. Voices were raised, commands shouted. A car door slammed and then the car eased down the road. One man must have gotten out to search on foot while the other moved past them.
Out of breath, Jason kept pushing uphill. He craned his neck, catching just a flash of light through the thick trees.
Isabel caught up to him. She spoke between deep breaths. They both kept climbing. “They must have seen us on the road.”
Jason glanced around, not able to discern much of anything. They needed a hiding place, time to catch their breath. How were they going to find the clubhouse if they couldn’t navigate by the road?
The car rolled by again on the road. This time headed in the direction of the house.
Jason sprinted faster, though his legs were screaming from the effort of moving uphill. The man on foot with the flashlight was still at the bottom of the hill, looking up in their direction.
Jason ran up to a large evergreen, gesturing toward Isabel and speaking in a whisper. “Scoot down toward the trunk. The boughs will hide us.”
She complied with his order. He crawled in beside her. Both of them were out of breath. The tree sheltered them from the wind and snow.
“We need to get back down to the road,” she leaned close and whispered. Her breath warmed his ear.
He nodded.
Branches creaked around them in the wind. Down below, the car continued to go back and forth on the road. He could not see the headlights anymore but heard the engine grow louder and then dim.
A distinctly human grunt emanated below them. A tree branch cracked, probably the searcher stepping on deadfall. Footsteps seemed to surround them. Isabel pressed closer to him. He could see nothing through the darkness and thick foliage.
The footsteps seemed to fade and then grow louder. He couldn’t hear the car engine any longer. Had the driver decided to search farther down the road?
His breathing slowed. They huddled in the darkness...waiting. He heard noises that were most likely human.
Isabel had pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her head was tilted. After several minutes of silence in the forest, she spoke up. “Do you think he’s gone?”
Five, maybe ten, minutes had passed since he’d heard any sound that might have come from their pursuers.
“Stay put.” He crawled on all fours to get out from under the tree, then remained crouching, listening and watching. Though it was still snowing, the wind had died down.
He signaled for Isabel to come out. When she was close, he whispered, “We’ll walk parallel to the road but use the trees for cover. Until we can find a safe spot to emerge.”
She nodded as he rose and walked in a serpentine pattern through the trees. Always, his ears tuned for any out-of-place sound. Isabel stayed close to him.
The trees thinned, and he could see the road below. The thieves must have a pretty heavy-duty vehicle to be driving on the unplowed roads. At least five or six inches must have fallen since the start of the storm. Enough moonlight shone through to give the snow the appearance of being garnished with diamonds.
The quiet was deceptive. He knew he needed to stay on his guard. The two thieves were close, even if he couldn’t hear or see them. Every step they took brought them closer to danger.
SIX
Isabel tried to ignore the tight knot in her stomach by focusing on the back of Jason’s head. In the darkness, she could just make out the band of white on his knit hat. She took in an intense breath and looked side to si
de. They could be walking right into the thieves’ path.
She heard a noise to the side of her. Jason kept walking. She reached for the hem of his coat. Then she saw the glint of light up the hill. He wrapped his arms around her and guided her behind one of the larger trees.
Her heart thudded in her ears. As they faced each other, she tilted her head and looked up at Jason, whose posture indicated he was still on high alert. He turned and angled around the tree, then looked back at her and lifted his chin, indicating they should keep moving.
He worked his way down toward more level ground and spurred himself into a jog. It would be hard to find the clubhouse, a place she’d never been to. What if they overshot it altogether? They could be wandering for hours. The cold was as much an enemy as the two thieves.
The trees thinned and the ground became more level.
Jason slowed so she could catch up. “We must be getting close.”
The evergreens were so far apart they didn’t provide any cover. They made their way toward the road. Tracks indicated that the thieves’ car had come this far.
She stopped to scan the trees behind her, seeing nothing.
Jason picked up the pace. She sprinted beside him as a sense of urgency pressed in on her from all sides. Now they were out in the open, exposed. They needed to hurry. The tracks left by the car ended where the thief had turned around. A good sign that the men weren’t waiting to ambush them at the clubhouse.
Up ahead she spotted a cluster of trees and the faint outline of what might be a building. Jason veered in that direction. She sprinted to keep up with him, scanning their surroundings.
Gradually two buildings came into view. Picnic tables outside were covered in snow. The clubhouse was about fifty yards from the road.
Isabel quickened her pace as she prayed they’d be able to access the snowmobiles. She ran ahead of Jason but slowed as she got close to the garage. There was a padlock on the door. She shook the doorknob out of frustration as her hope vaporized.
“Now what are we going to do?” Her eyes warmed with tears.