“Nah.” Jaxon took a step away and breathed in a long, slow breath of fresh mountain air. “I think I could use some time by myself.”
He didn’t miss the look his brothers exchanged. They were worried about him. Jaxon couldn’t blame them.
He’d returned home from deployment a different person than he’d been when he left. The things he experienced while in the Middle East had been a wakeup call. In some ways, he was still learning to live with himself. He’d once been social. Now he felt like a loner. He used to trust people. Now he trusted no one.
As he meandered along the riverbank, he climbed to the top of a boulder, scanned the river, and drew in a deep breath. He’d either find himself here or lose himself completely.
He was about to hop down when something farther up the river caught his eye.
Was that a person?
Jaxon narrowed his gaze, trying to figure out what it was he was seeing.
That definitely looked like a person. But he and his brothers were miles away from anything. Who else would be out here?
It didn’t matter. Maybe somebody else had escaped into the national forest to get some privacy, and Jaxon should leave them alone.
He started to turn away, but something stopped him. Something instinctual.
What if it wasn’t a person who’d come out here for privacy? What if it was someone who needed help?
Jaxon didn’t know the answer to that. The only way he would know was if he got closer. What could it hurt?
He jumped off the boulder and started across the stones, trying to keep his boots dry. The closer he got to the person, the more his worry grew.
The stranger appeared to be kneeling and holding their head.
No, make that her head.
Based on the long, dark hair and slim build, that looked like a woman out here alone.
Carefully, Jaxon continued to maneuver around the rocky river. He was getting closer now. He could clearly see a woman bent over as if in pain.
He sucked in breath. Was that blood on the back of her head?
He was nearly certain it was.
He quickened his steps, now desperate to know if she was okay. She was clearly in trouble. “Ma’am, can I help you?”
The woman glanced up, the look on her face reminding him of someone who’d been sucker punched. Her eyes were red with desperation. Her skin pale with pain. Her limbs shaky with shock.
Just as Jaxon reached her, she started to collapse. Jaxon caught her before she hit the rocks.
“Ma’am?”
Desperate eyes met his. With surprising strength, she grasped his arms, demanding his attention. “Please . . . don’t let him . . . find me . . .”
The next instant, she buckled in his arms.
Jaxon paced the hall at the hospital, unable to get the woman out of his mind. She’d been in with the doctors for the past two hours. Boone and Luke were here also, Luke waiting to take her statement as soon as the doctor cleared her.
What had happened to her? Her words haunted Jaxon.
Please don’t let him find me.
It almost felt as if God had handed him a second chance to make things right.
After Jaxon had found her, he’d taken the woman back to his brothers, and they’d called an emergency helicopter to come for a rescue operation. There was no other way to get her out of the remote location in her weakened state. Jaxon and his brothers had been too far away from help.
Luke leaned against the wall in the hallway, still dressed in camping attire, though he was officially on duty as of now. The waiting room was full, so they lingered here instead. A nurse had brought them a couple folding chairs.
Jaxon watched as Luke turned to him. His oldest brother had a tall, lean frame and chiseled features. His hair was dark and cut away from his face. He was traditional. A leader. Always dependable.
Those qualities had always defined Luke.
He’d been busy doing some paperwork and talking to the rescue crew. “So what did she say again?”
“She said, ‘Please don’t let him find me,’” Jaxon repeated, tension snaking down his spine as he remembered the woman’s desperate words.
“It sounds like she was running from someone.” Boone crossed his arms.
Boone was the middle brother. Slightly rebellious, with lighter hair that curled at the ends and was always a little too long. He was an outdoorsman who loved adventure. Right now, he wore his baseball cap backward, and the sleeves of his flannel shirt were rolled up his forearms.
“I didn’t see anyone else out there,” Luke said. “Did you?”
Jaxon shook his head. He’d mentally reviewed the scene more than once. “I didn’t see anyone all weekend. I have no idea where she came from. Then again, she obviously has a head injury, so maybe she’s delusional.”
“I guess we’ll find out when I talk to her.” As soon as Luke said the words, the door opened and a stout, gray-haired doctor stepped out.
Dr. Keagan, his jacket read. His gaze went right to Luke. “Ms. Michaels is still weak and a little confused, but she said she’d talk to you.”
“So she’s okay?” Luke asked, snapping into professional mode.
“All things considered, she’s doing pretty well. She has a mild concussion, as well as a few cuts and bruises. It’s a near miracle she didn’t break any bones.” Dr. Keagan nodded behind him. “Go on in and talk to her yourself.”
As Luke disappeared into the room, Jaxon sat down in one of the chairs that had been left against the hallway wall.
“That was some camping trip,” Boone muttered.
“You can say that again. Things are never boring when the Wilder brothers are around.”
Boone chuckled. “No, they’re not. We did manage to light the biggest bonfire this town had ever seen.”
“If dad hadn’t been sheriff, we would have probably been arrested.”
“We did get six months of community service.”
Jaxon smiled before glancing down the hallway. A shadow there caused him to bristle. It almost seemed like someone had been watching around the corner and then ducked to avoid being caught.
“Jaxon?” Boone asked.
Jaxon barely heard him. Something about that figure bothered him, beckoned his attention. “Excuse me a minute.”
Before anyone could stop him, Jaxon took off toward the movement. Given what had just happened, he wasn’t going to take any chances.
Chapter Four
Jaxon rushed down the hallway. Where had that person gone?
He hadn’t been imagining things. Someone had been there. His gut told him it was someone who was up to no good.
He darted around the corner, but this corridor was empty also—except for the stairway door that clicked shut at the end of the hallway.
Picking up his pace, Jaxon jogged toward it.
He reached for his waist, where he’d normally kept his gun. But he didn’t have it with him now. If there was a predator lurking in this hospital, he was going to have to face him unarmed.
He fisted his hands at the thought.
He reached the stairway and stepped inside cautiously.
No one was within eyesight.
He paused. Listened.
Nothing.
Then a slam.
Someone had just exited below him.
He rushed down the steps until he reached the first floor. As he stepped through the doorway, he saw swarms of people walking the hall there.
What . . . ?
It was a choir, he realized. They must be arriving to sing in the lobby. Sometimes this hospital brought in guests from the community to do things like that. He’d heard some nurses talking about it earlier.
Jaxon stepped through the crowd, still looking for the shadow.
But it was too late. The man was gone. Jaxon would never be able to figure out who he was in this crowd.
But he would be keeping his eyes open in the future.
Who was the guy? Why had he been
here?
Had someone been chasing that woman through the woods? A picture began forming in Jaxon’s head.
A picture of someone doing just that. Following the woman. Then realizing she wasn’t dead and coming here to the hospital to finish her off.
Was Jaxon reading too much into this?
He didn’t know.
But he didn’t like the theories that lingered in his mind.
He hurried back upstairs and sat down beside his brother.
“Everything okay?” Boone’s eyes narrowed with confusion.
Jaxon nodded. “Yeah, I thought I saw someone I knew. Must have slipped away before I could catch him.”
Boone’s gaze remained narrowed, as if he didn’t believe him.
Before he could press Jaxon anymore, Luke stepped from the woman’s room. His face looked serious and tight along with his shoulders.
Jaxon stood, anxious to hear an update. “Well?”
Luke paused in front of him and let out a breath. “She claims she just got lost in the woods.”
Jaxon wasn’t buying that. “What about her head injury?”
“She said she walked too close to a cliff and accidentally fell.” Luke rubbed his jaw. “But she didn’t mention anything strange was going on. Just that she was here for a personal retreat until the end of the week, maybe longer.”
Something about the story didn’t ring true for Jaxon. He’d seen the woman’s eyes and heard her voice. He knew there was more to this story. But what?
Luke’s radio beeped. He stepped away, muttered a few things into it before striding back toward them.
“There’s been an accident on Main Street. I need to get down there. My deputies are tied up right now with a domestic situation.” He frowned as he looked at Abby’s room, as if trying to figure out what to do with her.
Boone glanced at his watch. “I’d stay, but I told Brynlee I’d be home for dinner tonight. I’m sure if I call her, she’ll understand.”
Luke’s jaw flexed. “The doctor said Ms. Michaels would be cleared to go in about an hour. By then, one of my guys should be free to give her a ride.”
“I’ll drive her back to her place,” Jaxon offered.
His brothers turned to him, surprise written in their wide eyes. Jaxon wasn’t sure why they were treating him as if he were a stranger or fragile. There were clearly unspoken conversations between them.
“Are you sure?” Luke finally asked.
Jaxon shrugged. “I don’t mind. I don’t have anything else to do.”
Luke stared at him uncertainly for one more second before finally nodding. “If you’re okay with it, then I’m okay with it. Of course, Abby has to agree also.”
Abby . . . that seemed a fitting name for the woman. She looked like an Abby with her long, dark hair, her tanned skin, and her petite build.
“My truck is just down the street where I left it before the camping trip,” Jaxon said. “How about if I go grab it and bring it here? That way, I can take her back as soon as she’s ready.”
Luke clasped his shoulder. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. If you need anything else, let me know.”
Jaxon didn’t tell him, but he had ulterior motives for wanting to stay. He wanted to look this woman in the eyes and find out what was really going on. He couldn’t press it, but he felt certain that this woman was in danger.
Abby shivered. She hadn’t stopped shivering since she’d arrived at the hospital and regained consciousness. The flimsy sheet over her legs did nothing to help her.
She rubbed her head, feeling the ache there. The stitches. The familiar feeling of hopelessness echoed with every throb.
The Executioner had found her. The man actually called himself the Judge, Jury, and Executioner in the threats he sent her. Abby thought Executioner said enough.
Nausea gurgled in her stomach at the thought.
The police back home hadn’t been able to pinpoint who he was. They’d been hardly any help, probably in light of the media circus around her life. But Abby had known the man’s threats were real.
Abby had seen the man watching her. She’d felt his presence, even when no one else had seen him. He was the one who’d dug up dirt on her, who’d fed reporters even more lies in an effort to ruin her.
Right now, with little money and resources, running was a near impossibility. A new wave of anxiety rushed over her. How would she escape from this man?
A soft knock sounded at the door. She called, “Come in,” and a man stepped inside.
It took Abby a moment to realize who he was. This was the man who’d rescued her. How could she forget?
He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, with a squarish face and dark hair that was cut short. Something about him seemed mysterious, strong, and silent.
He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and stepped forward. “I’m Jaxon. Jaxon Wilder.”
“I’m Abby.” Her voice came out shakier than she wanted. “Thank you for your help earlier, and I’m sorry I had to put you through that. I heard you were out camping when you found me.”
“And I heard that you were out hiking.” He paused. “Barefooted.”
Warmth flooded her cheeks, and she looked down at her lap. She’d made up the story on the fly. If she’d told the sheriff what was really going on, he would’ve asked too many questions. People might find out who she was, and Abby couldn’t risk that.
“I know it seems flighty,” she said. “I should’ve known better. But I didn’t intend on being out long. It seemed like such a simple little walk until I finally realized that I had no idea where I was.”
Jaxon nodded slowly, almost as if he didn’t believe her. “You’re out this way by yourself then?”
The man was certainly asking a lot of questions. He wasn’t law enforcement—apparently, his brother held that position. Yet Jaxon seemed equally as inquisitive.
Abby wanted to shoo him away, to tell him it wasn’t his business. It wasn’t his business, but the man had saved her life, so she didn’t want to be nasty.
Thankfully, just then, the doctor came in with her discharge papers.
“You’re free to go,” he announced.
Surprise rippled through her. “Already? That’s . . . great.”
“Make sure you rest, avoid too much activity for the next twenty-four hours, and limit anything that triggers your symptoms,” the doctor said. “Take acetaminophen and try to stay on top of the pain.”
The next instant, Abby was on her feet. Thankfully, a nurse had come in earlier and helped to clean her up. Her head had been stitched, she’d been given some pain medication, and the hospital had found some new clothes for her to wear since hers were torn and wet.
She grabbed the bed railing to keep her balance. The questions swirling in her head—among other things—made her feel unsteady.
How was she going to get back to her cabin? Did she even want to go back there?
What if he was there?
She squeezed her eyes shut as fear did a wicked dance across her skin.
“I can give you a ride,” Jaxon said, as if reading her mind.
Abby glanced at him again. The man seemed laid-back and unassuming. But was he? She was a terrible judge of character.
She licked her lips. “I hate to put you out. I’ve already messed up your schedule.”
“We don’t exactly have Uber around here. Maybe I should think about being the first driver that they hire.” He shrugged, an almost boyish look about him.
Could Abby trust this man? The question seemed silly considering he’d just saved her life. Still, she didn’t like relying on strangers for help. What other choice did she have, though?
Finally, she nodded. “If you don’t mind, I’ll take you up on that offer. But I promise I’ll be out of your hair after that.”
Jaxon would drop her off, Abby would hop in her car, and she’d start to drive. She’d keep going for as long as she could, trying to outrun the Executioner. She saw no other options.
Abby wanted to argue, to say she didn’t need it. But then she would only make a bigger spectacle of herself. She’d come here because she hadn’t wanted to be seen. She needed to do whatever possible to keep a low profile now.
With a frown, she sat down. She desperately needed to recalculate.
But the biggest question in her mind was about the Executioner. Did he think Abby was dead? Or would he come back to finish what he started?
Her trembles started all over again.
As the nurse pushed Abby into the hallway, Abby’s gaze swerved to the left, then the right. She waited, expecting to see him again.
She saw no one.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t close.
Chapter Five
Jaxon gripped his steering wheel as he headed farther and farther into the heart of the mountains. Wherever Abby’s cabin was, it was isolated. Usually women coming to Fog Lake by themselves didn’t pick places so remote. They chose little cabins down by the lake or the hotel near the downtown area.
Questions continued to stir in his mind about the woman beside him. What was she hiding? Why had she looked so scared the moment she left that hospital room?
Right now, she sat quietly in his truck, staring out the window. She had a prescription bottle in one hand and instructions from the doctor in the other.
Who would help her tonight? Who would make sure nothing happened to her in her current state? After a head injury like that, she shouldn’t be left alone.
It wasn’t Jaxon’s business or concern. Yet Jaxon felt uneasy about the whole situation. The woman had secrets. She was scared. And, apparently, she was all alone.
Put that all together, and it equaled trouble.
“What brings you to this area?” Jaxon finally asked, trying to make small talk. He’d never been very good at it.
As soon as the question left his lips, Abby squirmed and glanced at him. As quickly as her telltale nerves had appeared, they vanished again. “I like to do personal retreats once a year. This area seemed just as good as any.”
Line of Duty Page 2