"Okay." Rhi broke away, but as she was walking up the stairs, she turned back with a wicked grin. "By the way, you were right on both counts."
Marika broke out laughing, watching affectionately as the younger woman disappeared into their bedroom. Turning to the fridge, she began to take items out, a huge smile on her face. "I think I've created a monster."
Dreamily, she stood at the counter, the hot dogs, buns and condiments sitting forgotten on the tray in front of her. Lost in thought and memory, she didn't notice Rhi coming back down the stairs, dressed in clean, dry clothes, until a soft, loving voice sounded beside her.
"Woolgathering, sweetheart?"
Marika smiled and cupped her lover's face. "Just thinking."
"Hmm, looked like pretty good thoughts."
"The best...they were all about you...about us."
Rhi looked at her seriously. "Are you happy?"
Marika returned her gaze with equal gravity. "I don't remember ever in my life being happier. Thank you, my love." She staggered a little as small, strong arms suddenly wrapped around her and hugged her fiercely, but she matched her lover, holding the younger woman tightly as tears of joy filled her eyes.
"You know, at this rate, we're never going to get through all the food we bought."
The muffled voice quavered suspiciously, and Marika smiled gently, feeling Rhi snuffle against her chest. Planting a kiss on tawny hair, she suggested, "Well, I did promise to demonstrate my fire-starting skills, and you were pretty keen on roasting some marshmallows."
Rhi drew a deep breath and pulled back a little, brushing at her wet eyes with the back of her hand. Her brilliant smile reassured Marika that her lover was fine, just somewhat overcome with emotion. The lawyer knew that feeling well. She'd been alternating between euphoria, exhilaration and exhaustion for the last 24 hours or so herself.
Gently she nudged the smaller woman and pointed to the tray. "Why don't you take that down to the fire pit, and I'll grab the matches, some newspaper and the toasting sticks."
Rhi did so, and Marika turned back to find the matches on top of the fridge. Gathering what she needed, she went to join her lover, keeping her fingers crossed that she'd recall, from her long ago Girl Guide days, how to build a bonfire.
* * *
Gao growled exultantly as he watched the small woman help her tall companion out of the canoe. "Get us out of here," he ordered, and Perry increased their speed as they roared away.
They'd spent the entire afternoon cruising up and down the waterways, Perry driving while Gao scanned the shoreline for familiar faces. As the hours wore away, the Asian man began to question whether this had been the right strategy after all, but the hours of searching had finally paid off on the third pass of this part of the lake.
"Where to?" Perry asked, his pasty skin burned bright red from the unprotected hours on the water.
"Back to the dock. We'll turn in the boat and take the car," Gao ordered, as he consulted the map and marked the approximate position of his prey's cabin.
Once back at the rental dock, they turned in the boat and climbed the hill to the parking lot. Much to Gao's amazement, Perry balked at getting back into the car.
"No. I'm not going along with you on this. I've never killed anyone," Perry protested weakly, his eyes flitting nervously from Gao to the surrounding cars and the few others in the parking lot.
"I have," Gao snarled in a low voice. "Now get in the car."
"Nuh uh," Perry said, his voice scared, but determined. "I'll wait for you back at the motel."
Gao stared at him, torn between anger and exasperation. Finally, he snapped, "Fine. You would undoubtedly be more of a hindrance than help. Give me the keys."
Perry slid them across the roof of the car and backed away. Ignoring him, the Asian walked around and slid into the driver's seat, adjusting the seat for his shorter frame. Starting the ignition, he rolled down the window. "I won't be long, and I won't wait for you if you're not ready...Is that understood?"
The electronics expert nodded mutely, and Gao put the car in gear. Glancing in the rearview mirror as he drove away, he saw Perry slouching off in the direction of the street, then dismissed the man from his thoughts. What he'd said was accurate, and in truth, he preferred to carry out his mission unhindered by a reluctant assistant. Perry had served his purpose...now the rest was up to him.
Squinting, Gao momentarily cursed his unreliable eyesight. Unfortunately he would need Perry to make the trip back to Calgary, so abandoning him at the motel was not an option. Hours of straining his good eye with the binoculars to compensate for the fuzzy vision in his other one had aggravated his ever-present headache and left him tired. However knowing he was so close to his goal pushed back his exhaustion. As he turned onto the main highway that circumnavigated the Lakes, he smiled in anticipation.
The boat rentals were on a different arm of the lake, and he estimated it would take him at least forty-five minutes to get to the arm where the women's cabin was, but that too suited him as the sun's rays faded. It wouldn't be dark by the time he got there, but it wouldn't be full light either, the twilight--along with the element of surprise-giving him the advantage.
* * *
Grinning, Marika watched Rhi strip her fifth blackened marshmallow from the toasting stick. The younger woman lacked her lover's patience, and rather than staying over the embers to toast the white confections to a golden brown, she preferred plunging the marshmallows into the flames for a quick charcoal effect.
The lawyer chuckled at the sticky white tendrils that coated her companion's chin. Rhi tried to clean them off, but only managed to smear the marshmallow over her fingers as well.
"I think I'd better go get cleaned up," she said ruefully, popping one marshmallow covered finger in her mouth.
"The lake's right there," Marika suggested, vastly amused by her lover's antics.
"I think this is going to require soap too," Rhi answered, rising from the stump on which she'd been perched.
Half a dozen stumps served as makeshift seats surrounding the fire pit, and the women had been contentedly sitting side-by-side comparing roasting techniques as they enjoyed the bonfire. Rhi leaned over with a grin and tried to buss her companion, but Marika shrieked with laughter and held her at bay, grateful for her longer arms as she did so.
"Go get cleaned up, brat! Or no more kisses for you!"
"Oh sure! You didn't mind kissing me when I was all sticky this afternoon."
Marika chuckled. "I don't mind that kind of sticky one bit, sweetheart."
Rhi chortled and started up the trail to the cabin. Marika called after her, "Can you bring the cell back with you, love? I want to call Lee early so she doesn't interrupt us later."
"I like the way you think, Rika," Rhi called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the cabin.
Marika smiled and turned back to watch the flames, feeling a certain pride in her handiwork. It had only taken her five matches to get the kindling started, and Rhi had been admirably silent during her efforts, rewarding her with a long kiss once the fire was snapping strongly.
The lawyer looked up at the sky, enjoying the faintly emerging stars. She knew that later in the evening they'd illuminate the night sky brilliantly. Sighing with a deep sense of well being, her eyes returned to the fire, enjoying the sound and colours of the flames as she waited for her lover to return.
It wasn't long before Rhi returned, considerably cleaner and carrying the cell phone. Marika accepted the phone and the kiss that went with it, almost getting lost in the soft sensations of her companion's lips. With a small moan she pulled away.
"If we keep doing that, I'm going to forget to phone again."
Rhi chuckled and sat down beside her, laying one hand on the lawyer's thigh. "Yeah, Lee's timing left something to be desired last night, so best to check in with mom first."
"Mom?" Marika laughed as she punched in Lee's speed dial. "She'd be cuffing you upside the head if she heard that one
." The line was busy, so she set the phone down on the ground beside her, concentrating instead on the delightful way her lover's hand was tracing circles on her leg. Reaching one hand behind Rhi's neck, she gently rubbed the nape, having learned the previous night what a sensitive area that was for the small woman.
They leaned towards each other and just as their lips met, the phone rang, startling them into jumping apart.
"Damn! Told you she had lousy timing," Rhi muttered, as Marika reached down to pick up the phone.
"Hi, Lee," Marika said with amusement, winking at her slightly frustrated lover.
"Marika! You've got to get out of there!"
Shocked at Lee's frantic tone, Marika asked, "What? Lee, what are you..."
"Get out! Leave everything and get the hell out of there! Gao knows where you two are!"
Marika shot upright and Rhi stood too, eyes wide as she tried to decipher what was going on.
"What do you mean he knows? How could he?"
"David just called. Tupper inadvertently told an Asian man with a cast on his hand and a bandage on his forehead where you two were. He doesn't know precisely, Rika, but you've got to get out of there as fast as you can. Go to the RCMP detachment in Sicamous. I'll have Marc call them right away to tell them what's going on. Don't stop to pack, just get moving. And call me when you're there!"
Instantly Marika closed the connection, grabbed Rhi's hand and started running for the cabin. Rhi didn't stop to ask, but matched her stride. Slamming through the door, Marika dropped her lover's hand and raced up the stairs to get the car keys. She was back in under a minute, noting with approval that Rhi had turned off the lights.
"Gao's coming?"
Rhi's tense question came as she stood at the edge of a window, scanning the area around the cabin in the fading light.
"Yes. We're going to the RCMP right now." Marika knew her voice was sharp with tension, but Rhi followed her unquestioningly as they left the cabin and rounded the corner, heading for the Buick at the back of the A-frame.
Marika stopped short and frantically backpedaled. She whispered harshly, "There's a car coming down the road with its lights off." Frantically she cast her eyes about, trying to decide which was the best way to flee.
Rhi grabbed one of the paddles they'd leaned against the wall when they'd returned earlier. Marika pointed in the direction they'd first walked the previous night. "That way. Neighbour's closer."
They ran down the hill to the beach, hearing the unmistakable crack of a gun just as they dodged behind the wood hut. It was only a few metres between the edge of the hut and the bush, but Marika felt like it was a mile of open prairie as they ducked and scampered frantically for the cover of the trees. They heard another crack as they plunged into the thick underbrush, Rhi holding the paddle high to keep it from becoming entangled.
Marika had no idea how long they ran, but when Rhi pulled her to a halt, her lungs were burning and her legs were trembling. Bent double as she sucked in air, she managed to gasp, "We should head up the hill for the road."
"Rika, listen to me," Rhi panted. "We have to stop him."
Marika stared at her companion incredulously, barely able to make out her features in the gloom of falling night and thick forest. "Are you nuts! We have to get out of here!"
"Listen, love...we can get away, but by the time the police come, he'll be long gone, and he'll come after us again and again. He'll never stop unless we stop him," Rhi insisted, one hand wrapped around Marika's upper arm, shaking her slightly.
"He's got a gun. We've got a paddle," Marika pointed out harshly. She wanted nothing more than to grab her lover's hand and drag her away from the danger that she had caused.
Rhi dropped the paddle and grabbed the older woman with both hands. "We can do this, love, we can! No more running, Rika...never again!"
Marika couldn't believe she was even listening, but even in the twilight, she could see the intensity in her lover's eyes and hear the fervor in her hushed voice. There was silence as Rhi let her make up her own mind.
"How?" Even as the question was out of her mouth Marika couldn't believe she'd said it, but something inside her...no, something within her lover, compelled absolute trust and belief.
Flashing a grin, Rhi quickly laid out her plan.
* * *
It had taken Gao longer than he'd estimated to find the cabin, but as the car drove at a turtle's pace along the narrow, rutted road, he felt the growing anticipation of the chase. He passed four turn-offs before his headlights illuminated a sign reading 'O'Reilly'.
"O'Reilly? O'Reilly?" Gao swore as he realized he'd dropped the critical first letter when he'd instituted his search of the phone book when they'd first arrived. He cursed his aching head and unreliable memory, allowing himself a moment to wonder if he could have found them sooner, before discarding the thought as irrelevant. All that mattered was that he'd found them now.
Extinguishing the headlights, he turned down the trail leading to a cabin he could see dimly through the trees. Parking behind a white Buick, he picked up his gun, opened the car door and soundlessly eased it shut. Walking rapidly, he made his way along the side of the cabin. Rounding the corner, he saw two figures running across the beach. For a split second he froze in confusion; then as he saw the tall, slender blonde in the lead glance over her shoulder directly at him, her fearful expression illuminated by the dancing light of the campfire, he realized his prey were getting away from him.
Furious, he raised the gun and, barely aiming, shot in their direction. They disappeared behind a hut and then reappeared as they dashed for the forest. He fired again, and began to run after them. By the time he reached the bush, they'd disappeared and he cursed them, their parentage and the children they would never have if he had his way.
Plunging into the bush, he followed them. He was a city boy, born and bred, but even he couldn't miss the snapped branches and broken foliage. However the deeper he got into the forest, the harder it got to see, and he had to backtrack several times.
He thought he had lost the track when he caught a glimpse of something red through the trees ahead. Firing another shot, he called, "Stop!" Somewhat to his surprise, the figure did so and slowly stepped out into view. It was the smaller woman, and Gao's eyes narrowed.
"Your friend...where is she?" he demanded, raising his gun threateningly.
"Long gone." The small woman's tone was taunting. "She's out of your reach and she'll have the police down on you so fast, you'll be rotting in Drumheller before you know it. You lost, asshole. She beat you, you low-life loser. Your boss is going to be so pissed at you. Hell, you'll probably be fish food before you ever make it to the pen."
Rage made his hand tremble, as Gao spat, "But at least you'll be dead."
Everything happened at once. His target dove to one side as he fired, and a scream echoed in his ears as something slammed down on his gun hand. He howled and dropped to his knees, scrabbling after the fallen gun. Another blow slammed into his kidneys, leaving him writhing in pain and unable to move as the smaller woman raced to the gun and picked it up.
Through teary eyes, he saw her hold out one hand and the lawyer come around him to take it, still holding the paddle that she'd used against him. The little one pointed the gun at him as she asked her companion, "Are you okay?"
The tall woman's voice was slightly hysterical. "Am I okay? You're the one dodging bullets!" She threw one arm over the small one's shoulders, and the other woman soothed her, never taking her eyes off Gao.
Using every bit of will, Gao pulled himself to his knees, groaning as the pain rippled through him. Panting, he stared at the women, trying to focus on the gun wielder.
"You can't shoot," he challenged, unwilling to concede these women their victory.
Slipping an arm around the waist of the taller woman, the little one said with absolute certainty, "I can, and will, if I have to. There's nothing I wouldn't do to protect her."
He believed her. He heard the
certitude in her voice. Slumping back to the forest floor, Gao shook his head numbly, cradling his newly injured left hand with the cast on his right hand. He could barely breathe from the agony in his back, but the sharpest wound was to his pride. They had won. They had beaten him, just as the little one said. And looking up as they held onto each other, he accepted that fact, finally letting the rage that had consumed him ebb away on the waves of pain wracking his body.
Chapter Twenty-eight
"I REALLY APPRECIATE you letting me watch this," Lee said, as she followed Marc into the outer interrogation room.
"No problem, Sarge. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have Gao in custody. I just thought you might enjoy seeing the fruits of your labours." Marc smiled at her, then nodded towards the other man in the room who was sipping a coffee as he watched the Asian and Keith Judson through the one-way mirror.
"Lee, this is Constable Eade from the Sicamous RCMP division. He and his partner brought Gao back to Calgary."
The young man offered his hand with a smile. "Bill, please. So it was your friends who caught this snake?"
Lee shook his hand, inwardly marveling at the size of the man who resembled a linebacker, with massive shoulders that merged directly into his head. "Yeah, that was them. I'm just glad I found out he was on his way in time to warn them."
The constable chuckled. "I got the feeling those two could handle themselves pretty well. When my partner Ty and I got to the cabin, they were calmly sitting by the bonfire, with this guy across from them, trussed up nice as could be. They'd used duct tape to bind his arms behind his back and knotted his shoelaces together so he couldn't walk. Mind you, the little one had his gun pointed right at him, and she didn't look afraid to use it."
Shaking her head in amusement, Lee felt a resurgence of the relief she'd experienced when Marika had finally called her back. It had been the worst forty-three minutes of her life, wondering if they'd made it out safely. From the moment David had called, alarmed when he'd found out what Tucker had inadvertently done, until the moment her old friend reported that they were both safe and Gao was in custody, she and Dana had been terrified. Worse, she'd felt completely helpless once she'd notified Marc, who alerted the Sicamous RCMP.
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