by Susan Stoker
“You’re pretty amazing yourself, Conor,” she said softly, and he relaxed.
“Sleep, Erin.”
She took a deep breath against him, then went boneless. “Good night, Conor.” Her lips touched his chest before her cheek rested against him once more.
It took a while for him to fall asleep, but it wasn’t his uncomfortable erection that kept him awake. He couldn’t sleep because he didn’t want to miss a second of the satisfied feeling coursing through his veins. Holding Erin in his arms, having her trust him to satisfy her in such an intimate way after everything she’d been through, made him feel ten feet tall.
16
“I’ll see you probably around six-thirty,” Conor told Erin over the phone.
“Sounds good. I’m leaving here in about thirty minutes. I’ll get the campsite set up and lasagna will be ready and waiting for you when you get there.”
“I’m more than excited about this trip.”
“Me too,” Erin agreed. And she was. After their fight, and their incredible night together when Conor showed her how amazing oral sex could be, she was ready to move forward with their sexual relationship. And this week was the perfect time to do it. They could concentrate on each other, and she wouldn’t have to worry about the harsh lights of the modern world.
For the first time in her life, she wanted a man to see her. All of her. Conor had proved himself time and time again. He wouldn’t be repulsed by her scars. He wouldn’t care that she still had a stomach pooch that she couldn’t seem to get rid of or that her boobs sagged a bit more than she thought they should. She loved him and he loved her. The week was going to be perfect.
They’d chosen a campsite all the way at the northern end of the park called Hermit’s Shack Camp Area. It was actually still closed to campers this early in the season, but Conor called in a favor from the game warden who worked in that area. They’d graduated from the same class, and the woman had called the person in charge of reservations to make special arrangements for Conor and her to be able to camp there. They’d have the area all to themselves. She couldn’t wait.
“Drive safe, and shoot me a text when you leave and when you get there,” Conor ordered. “I won’t be able to answer most likely, but I’ll see it and know you’re safe.”
“I will. Good luck today.”
“Thanks. From what I understand from the ASPCA coordinator, they have enough pictures to make sure the guy doesn’t get the reptiles back.”
“Good.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you tonight, bright eyes.”
“Later.”
Erin hung up and couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She had another surprise for Conor that night. Not only was she going to tell him she was ready to make love with him, she wanted to do it without condoms. She’d been to her gynecologist last month and had started on birth control. She knew Conor was clean because he’d told her he’d gotten tested, just to put her at ease since they were “playing” in bed more and more. He wanted her to know that he wouldn’t put her in danger.
She wanted Conor with nothing between them. Wanted her first time to be as memorable as possible. It wasn’t often a woman got to make love for the very first time with the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
Whistling, Erin made sure she had plenty of fruit and salad packed for her. The meat was already in the cooler. She thought she had everything she needed. She tightened the laces of her boots, smiling at seeing the flint her dad had given her so long ago.
Conor had given that to her. Instead of feeling sad when she looked at the paracord shoelaces and flint, she could finally focus on only the good memories. She hoped her dad would be proud of her if he could see her today.
It took three trips to her Jeep to get everything packed, but finally Erin was on her way. She shot off a quick text letting Conor know she was leaving and pulled out onto the road, not able to keep the goofy, excited smile off her face.
Conor drove slowly down the narrow road that wound through the Hill Country State Natural Area, his brows drawn down in worry. He tried to tamp it down, but the sick feeling in his gut churned, making it impossible to concentrate.
He’d texted Erin right before he’d left San Antonio. The ASPCA had won the right to keep, rehabilitate, and rehome the reptiles taken from the animal hoarder. Conor’s testimony about what he’d found and what a healthy alligator, turtle, and snake should look like went a long way toward the judge ruling in the animal shelter’s favor.
She’d responded immediately, sharing his excitement with half a dozen emojis, and including a picture of the lasagna she was just then putting into the pit she’d dug in the ground. She’d lined it with charcoal and told him it would cook for an hour and a half on the low heat and should be perfect by the time he arrived.
Conor had looked forward to the camping trip for the last couple months, but especially over the past week as the date had neared. After the fight, and making up with Erin, he’d been more than ready to spend some quality time alone with her in one of his favorite places on the planet.
It was crazy, but the fight had only seemed to bring them closer. He hoped after this week, Erin would feel comfortable enough to let him make love to her. He wasn’t going to hold his breath for getting any while camping. Even though they’d be isolated from the other campers, he wasn’t sure a woman would think making love in a tent was sexy. Especially for her first time.
But he wasn’t counting out other intimate things they could do. They’d played quite a bit, and had both given and received orgasms. And each and every time only made Conor love and want Erin more.
He’d stopped to top off his gas tank and had shot off another text, letting Erin know where he was and updating his ETA, but she hadn’t responded. Then he’d tried to call her when he’d gotten close to the park…but she hadn’t answered. The phone had rung six times and gone to voicemail.
Conor tried to tell himself it was because she was busy, but deep down he had a bad feeling.
Pulling up to the Hermit’s Shack Camp Area, he sighed in relief. Erin’s Jeep was sitting in the designated parking spot for the camping area. He parked alongside it and threw his bag over his shoulder. He jogged the hundred or so feet down to where the campsites were. He immediately saw that Erin had set up their tent at the far end of the small field. There were bluebonnets blooming everywhere, as was typical for this part of Texas this time of year.
As he got closer to the campsite, Conor frowned. He didn’t see Erin anywhere.
He put his bag down on the picnic table next to the fire ring. There was a plastic tablecloth hooked to it, but she hadn’t gotten any plates or silverware out yet. Looking around, he found where Erin had dug a hole to make the in-ground oven for the Dutch oven.
“Erin?” he called, but got no response. He strode over to the tent and unzipped it, looking inside, hoping she was simply taking a nap. Empty. She’d blown up an air mattress and made what looked like quite a love nest for them. She’d used real sheets, along with the comforter he recognized from her own bed. The pillows were lying neatly at the head of the bed. Her duffle bag was on the floor, still zipped.
Conor went back to the hole in the ground and used the nearby shovel to dig up the dirt covering it. As soon as he did, he could smell burnt food. Pulling the iron pot out of the ground by its long metal handle, he carefully lifted the lid. The pasta on the edges of the pot was black and smoke rose in a big plume.
He was really alarmed now. Erin would never have let the food burn like this. She’d known when he would be arriving and had said herself that she’d have the meal waiting for him. Erin wasn’t one to waste food, and she knew what she was doing when it came to camp cooking.
Putting the lid back on the pot, he placed the Dutch oven on the ground and didn’t give it another thought. He immediately went into officer mode.
The area was eerily quiet, he could only hear one bird chirping overhead. The tent had been placed on a grassy area off
to the side of the picnic table and on the edge of the empty field. His eyes scanned the area, every sense alert. He didn’t see anything amiss at first glance. He walked over to the edge of the area where the scrub bushes and trees started. He called her name again. “Erin?” Nothing but silence followed.
He pulled out his phone and called the game warden who had helped them with the campsite.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Winston, it’s Paxton.”
“Hey. You set up yet?”
“That’s the thing. I’m here, but Erin’s not.”
“What do you mean?” Juliette Winston asked, the concern clear in her tone.
“Just that. The tent is here. Her Jeep is up at the parking area. The food was still cooking, burnt. But she’s not here.”
“Let me make a quick call to the ranger on duty at the gate. See if he saw anything.”
“Call me right back.”
“I will.”
Conor hung up, feeling a little more settled now that he’d talked to a fellow officer. He narrowed his eyes, somehow sensing that he was missing something. His gaze went from the tent, to the fire pit, to where she’d buried their dinner to cook, and back to the picnic table. Everything looked normal. He dropped his chin and stared at his feet, trying to gain his composure.
That’s when he saw it.
The dirt at his feet was scuffed.
Taking a giant step back so as not to disturb anything more than he already had, Conor concentrated on the ground.
As if the dirt could speak, he immediately saw what had happened—and it chilled his blood. It looked like Erin had been standing next to the table, probably clamping the tablecloth down, and someone had come up behind her.
Erin was tall at five nine, and strong, but if taken by surprise, she could easily be overwhelmed.
He could tell where her feet had tried to gain purchase in the dirt, there was one long scuff that went under the seat of the picnic table, and a lot of disturbed dirt directly behind it. Since they were the only people who had been in this area since the fall, the dirt should be pristine, like it was on the other side of the table.
Conor carefully made his way around the table and did another sweep of the area.
There. A footprint. Too big to be Erin’s, and he hadn’t walked in that area. Conor took pictures with his cell phone. He turned his head this way and that, trying to figure out where whoever had caught Erin unawares had taken her. The grass in the field only showed two sets of footprints…his and presumably Erin’s. It looked like she’d taken at least two trips back and forth with the supplies.
But whoever had taken her had to have come from somewhere. He concentrated harder, finally finding footprints in the dirt in the trees behind the table. He’d snuck up on Erin from the wilderness side. No wonder she hadn’t seen him coming. Who would think someone would enter the camp from that side?
His phone rang.
“Paxton.”
“The ranger said only two vehicles have entered or left in the last hour. Your truck and a minivan with a family. Mom, dad, and three small kids. Oh, and a dog. No one else.”
“Someone’s taken her,” Conor told the other warden. “Snuck up through the scrub, caught her by surprise from behind.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“What do you need?”
Conor was relieved his old friend didn’t question him or otherwise tell him he might be wrong. He knew deep down he wasn’t. Someone had taken Erin. He had no idea what they wanted from her, or wanted to do to her, but whatever it was couldn’t be good.
“Call Alamo Search and Rescue. And SAR in Boerne. The sooner we get looking, the sooner we’ll find them.”
“You think he walked with her out of there?”
“I’m not sure. But whoever he is, he knew what he was doing. He got in and out without leaving any obvious traces. Erin isn’t a small woman. She’s tall, and while not overweight, she’s not exactly a lightweight. He had to have some sort of vehicle nearby to transport her.”
“On it.”
“I’m staying here. Just in case she manages to get away from him and comes back here or to her vehicle. Send everyone back here to the Hermit campsite.”
“I will. We’re going to find her,” Juliette said.
“Damn right we are,” Conor answered. He couldn’t afford to be pessimistic. Not when it was the woman he loved whose life was on the line.
“I’ll call when they’re on their way.”
“Ten-four.” Conor clicked off his phone. He hesitated then turned to the last text he’d received from Erin.
Erin: YAY! I knew you’d kick that guy’s ass. Lasagna has another hour & a half to go. It’ll be perfect when you get here. Drive safe. Love you.
She’d included a picture of the Dutch oven and half a dozen emojis of different kinds of reptiles. His gut twisted.
Not letting himself wonder whether she was hurt or what she was thinking, Conor clicked on a name in his address book.
“Hey, Conor. Aren’t you supposed to going off the grid with your woman this week?”
“Listen, Beth. Something’s happened to Erin. I need your help.”
“Talk to me,” Beth said immediately, all business.
Conor explained what he knew and felt better when Beth said she’d get back to him after tracking Erin’s phone.
“Want me to call the others?” she asked before hanging up.
“Yeah, I have a feeling I’m going to need all the help I can get,” Conor told her. He had no compunction about calling on every resource he could think of to help find Erin. FBI, Texas Rangers, firefighters, SAPD…it didn’t matter how many markers he owed by the time this was all over. As long as Erin was safe and sound, he wouldn’t care.
Backing away from the crime scene, Conor’s eyes took in the campsite that should’ve held memories of one of the best weeks on his life, but instead was the beginning of a nightmare. He wanted to believe Erin would pop out from behind a tree, blushing as she told him she’d wandered off to pee and had simply gotten lost. But he knew she wouldn’t. Someone had taken her.
He wouldn’t get away with it. Conor would find her and they’d get on with their lives…together. He had to believe that, otherwise he wouldn’t be any good to anyone.
Spinning on his heel, he stalked back toward the parking area. He needed to check Erin’s Jeep and see if by chance there were any clues there. Then he’d wait for the search teams to arrive.
“Hang on, bright eyes,” Conor whispered as he strode toward the two lone vehicles in the parking area. “Hang on.”
17
Erin groaned as she tried to turn onto her side. She was stopped short with a sharp tug on her wrist. She frowned and pried her eyes open. Her lids felt as if they were ten times their normal weight.
She was lying on a cot under what looked like a green tarp converted into a tent. She turned her head and saw a man sitting across the small area. His head was shaved and his skin was deeply tanned…either that or extremely dirty. He had on a pair of camouflage pants and a shirt. They looked like what soldiers in the Army used to wear before the uniform was digitized.
It was dark, a single lantern all that lit up the inside of the shelter.
She shifted and tried to move her legs, but groaned again when a sharp pain shot through her ankle. Erin looked down and blinked in confusion. Both her ankles had rope tied around them. She tugged again, realizing that she was tied to the cot. Her ankle hurt, not from the rope around it, but in a more internal way, as if it was sprained.
She shivered—and suddenly realized that it wasn’t simply because it was chilly. She was wearing nothing but her bra and panties. As if it wasn’t bad enough to be tied to the cot with a man she’d never seen before, she was practically naked.
Feeling more vulnerable than she ever had before, she began to frantically tug on her bindings.
“You’re awake.”
The deep voice scar
ed her and Erin flinched. Her eyes flew upward, and she saw the man who had been across the tent was standing over her. He was tall and intimidating.
“W-where am I?” she croaked, the cotton feeling in her mouth preventing her from swallowing.
“Here, have some water,” the man said quietly, grabbing a cup from a makeshift table next to her and bringing it to her mouth.
Erin turned her head and refused, even though she was dying of thirst. “Who are you? Where am I?” she asked again.
The man sighed as if annoyed. “You don’t need to know either of those things. All you need to do is concentrate on healing.”
“Healing?”
“Yes. You hurt your ankle earlier tonight. It was my fault, really, I underestimated what a wild creature could do when confined.”
Erin wrinkled her brow. She couldn’t think straight. She had no idea what he was talking about.
The man took a sip of the liquid in the cup then said, “See? It’s not drugged. You need to stay hydrated. It’s important.”
He held the cup back to her mouth and lifted her head with his other hand, assisting her. The need for liquid overrode any other objection she had at the moment, so Erin drank. She finished the cup and the man gently put her head back down on the cot.
“Where are my clothes? Untie me,” Erin demanded.
The man ignored her and walked back to the table where he’d been sitting. He picked something up and returned to crouch at her side. She saw then he was holding an MRE, a military meal-ready-to-eat. He scooped up a spoonful of food and held it out to her.
Erin recoiled in horror. MREs were notorious for having a ton of calories. They needed to in order for the soldiers who ate them to be able to continue to function while out in the field.
“You must eat. Keep your strength up.”
Erin was starting to be able to think more clearly now. She closed her eyes for a moment. Camping. Dinner. Lasagna. Conor. Her lids flew up and she struggled against the ropes at her feet, ignoring the pain that shot through her right ankle. “Let me go!”