“Yeah. He said you and your sister disappeared and he was looking for you both.”
Egan thought that that was strange, and wondered why Sable would leave his wife and child behind to look for Egan. “I’ll call him now. Thank you.”
Egan pulled out his phone, rolling his eyes at the massive number of texts and voicemails he’d received. Almost all of them were from Sable. He dialed the phone and Sable picked up on the first right.
“Hey it’s Egan.”
“Holy shit Egan, where are you?”
“In the woods. I wanted to tell you, but she was in danger and I needed some time to think. Where are you? I need to explain the situation with Grace. She didn’t have any part in it and I don’t want her going to jail. Is that why you’re here looking for me?”
“Where? I’m at our home in Florida. I haven’t left because I was hoping you would turn up and I didn’t want to leave you behind.”
“No, this guy is telling me that my brother was here looking for me. Did you send someone?”
“Of course not. I knew you were after your fated mate. I wish you’d come to me for help, but I knew that you would figure it out. Where are you?”
“The Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma. Hold on.”
Egan motioned to the clerk, who had gone back to his counter when Egan called his brother. “Did that man tell you his name?”
“Oh yes. Hold on, he gave me his phone number too. I almost didn’t take it, but he was pretty adamant.” The clerk fished his wallet out of his pocket and searched through the jumble of wadded papers and folded business cards. “Here it is.” He handed the card over to Egan, who scanned it for a moment before reality dawned on him. It was Tom.
“Egan what’s going on?” Sable asked in his ear.
“Did any of Laskin’s men escape?”
“Yes, two of them, but we don’t know who they are for certain. Grace said there was a man named Tom that kidnapped her, but she didn’t know if that was his real name.”
“It is. At least it’s the name he gave to the man at this store.”
“Just take the girl and run then. Come home and we’ll fix this.”
“I can’t. I left her in the woods for her own safety. I have to go. I have to figure out where Tom is and stop him.”
“Hold on. Grace wants to talk to you.”
Egan groaned. He apologized to the clerk, leaving the basket behind and heading out the door and back up the road.
Grace’s voice was soft and ragged when she got on the line. “Egan. You have to save her. This man Tom, he’s Satan himself in the flesh. If you don’t get to her before he does, there’s no telling what he’ll do to her.”
“I will. Grace, she’s so sorry for what happened.”
“Tell her not to be. I know she had no choice and she was scared. She’s young, practically a child. I didn’t expect her to stand up to all those people and put her own life in danger. No one blames her. Egan, find her and bring her back home. We’ll figure everything else out together.”
Egan thanked her and hung up. He was nearly to the trailhead, but part of him wondered if it was too late. Tom was in town the day before, looking for them. Could he have found her already? Egan hoped not. The refuge was vast, but only a small portion of it was completely off-limits to the public. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is exactly where Egan and Cambria would have gone.
When Egan reached the tree line, he took off at a fast pace, pushing his body up the hill and onto the outcropping of boulders. Just over a week before, he and Cambria had stood in this very place, but it seemed like an eternity had passed. His body screamed in pain as he shifted, pushing himself to transform as quickly as possible. His clothes tore and fell to the ground beneath him, though his pack remained on his back. As soon as he completed the shift, he took off into the forest at full-speed. His massive paws tore up the distance, bounding up steep hill and over boulders and streams more quickly than his human body could have.
But his progress was still infuriatingly slow and he couldn’t help but think that it was already too late.
CHAPTER 12
Cambria spread the last of their clothes on a rock, looking around the campsite and admiring her work. She was starting to get the hang of this mountain woman thing, working through supplies and cleaning every scrap of clothing she’d found. Only the clothes she was wearing were left, but she’d only put those on a few hours ago when she’d woken up long after Egan had left for town, and they were still clean.
Still, it had been awhile since the sun was out for so long and so warm against her skin. It could start raining again tonight and who knew when she would get another chance like this. Throwing caution to the wind and feeling a bit giddy, she stripped out of her clothes and set them on an unused rock new the streams edge. The stream moved quickly here, the water rushing down the hill so quickly that Cambria had yet to notice any fish or other wildlife trying to swim in its rapid current.
At only a foot or two in depth, it was enough for her to get clean without worrying about being swept downstream to the waterfall that spilled over the edge and into the valley. She tested the water with the tip of her toes, shivering when the cold crept up her foot and ankle. It was bearable, but Cambria would definitely say it was brisk. She decided to go for it, stepping in and sitting quickly before she changed her mind. The water came up just over her breasts and was much colder than Cambria had first thought. She squealed in delight then laughed at the childlike outburst.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so free.
Cambria dipped her hands into the water, scooping up a small handful of sand and working it over her skin. They hadn’t brought soap of any kind, and Cambria longed for the coconut scented shampoo from their last hotel. But the sand was doing its work, scrubbing the dirt and grime from her work around the campsite away. She dipped her head back, soaking her hair before using the sand again, using it to scrub her scalp clean before dipping her entire head back into the water. She used her fingers to work the tiny granules out of her hair.
Cambria was shocked by how clean she felt already, but she was loath to get out of the water. Her body had grown used to the temperature, and the water rushing around her was invigorating. She found herself lost in thought, amazed by how much her life had changed so quickly. Cambria wouldn’t admit it to Egan, but she was falling in love with him. If she was honest with herself, it had started on the drive from Florida to Oklahoma, though she couldn’t pinpoint the exact time.
At some point, she’d gone from wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible to enjoying his company. Maybe that wasn’t how most people defined love, but for Cambria, it was better than any relationship she’d ever been in.
Her hair was starting to dry and her skin was wrinkling when she finally dragged herself out of the stream and onto the rock where she’d left her cloths. The flat boulder was sun-warmed, the wind crisp but not chilly. Her skin dried quickly and she began dressing slowly. She had just pulled her pants on when she heard a rustling down the trail. Running her fingers through her hair to quickly work out the tangles, she watched the trail with a smile on her face. Egan was back so soon, though she really had no idea what time he’d left. She’d been fast asleep.
When he stepped from the trees she waved. “Hey! I’m glad you’re here already!” she called, jumping up and picking her way around the rocky trail in her bare feet.
He looked up and Cambria froze.
It wasn’t Egan. Her heart stopped and her body screamed at her to run when she looked into Tom’s familiar face. She weighed her options, wondering how quickly she could get down into the valley when she saw the gun in his hand.
“Cambria, it’s so good to see you. I was worried about you.”
He smiled warmly, but the expression never reached his eyes. There was nothing genuine about him in any way, but there was something more. The Tom she knew had been self-centered and egotistical, but Cambri
a saw something else that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Tom closed the distance between them and Cambria stood her ground, hoping that Egan was somewhere, lurking in the shadows and ready to spring into action at any moment. Tom kept the gun trained on her even though his smile remained.
Cambria’s mouth was dry and she had to swallow twice before she could speak. “Put the gun away, Tom. He’s not here.”
Tom blinked at her and looked down into his hand. He seemed surprised to see the gun there and quickly put it in the holster. He took in her bare feet, her wet hair and the campsite around them.
“Where are your shoes?” he asked, as if that was the most pressing matter.
“I was bathing. I’m here alone, Tom. I’ve been hiding here all week, trying to lose him so I could get back to the compound.”
Tom nodded, as if that made all the sense in the world. Cambria wracked her brain, trying to remember if Egan had left anything of his behind to give her away. Aside from his clothes, which looked exactly like hers, just bigger, there was nothing that screamed Egan in the campsite.
“He’s close, Cammy. We have to leave.”
Cammy? Cambria shook her head. Tom seemed off, and she wasn’t about to go anywhere with him. “I’m fine on my own. There’s no one here but me. And you, but you’re the first person I’ve seen in a long time.”
He pulled the gun out again, his eyes wide and his expression frantic. “No!” he shouted at her. “We have to leave now. We’re all that’s left and we have to rebuild the army.” He was pointing the gun at her stomach, his hand trembling almost imperceptibly.
Cambria put her hands up. “Okay. It’s okay. Let me get my things and we’ll go.” She plastered a glowing smile on her face and hoped he believed her when she said, “I’m so happy you came for me. I thought I’d been forgotten.”
“You should have known that I would never let you go, Cammy. I’ve been searching for you since the day after the battle. It took so long, but I finally found you.”
“How did you know where to look in the woods?” she asked. She was killing time, hoping that Egan would show up any minute and rescued her.
“It was easy. I checked the roster for campers. When I didn’t see you on there, I knew you would go where no one was allowed. I found a place on the map that looked like a place I would set up a long-term camp and I started hiking.”
Cambria groaned inwardly. Basically, it was dumb luck that had brought him to her. She couldn’t believe that he’d managed to trace them all the way here and somehow found her in the woods. But he was there, gun still held out in front of him, though it was pointing to the ground now.
“If we’re going to leave I need to get my things, put my boots on. I can’t walk all the way out without shoes.”
He nodded. Eyeing her tent he asked, “Is there a canteen in there?”
“Yes. I have one.” Carefully, she walked to the tree beside the tent, standing on her tiptoes and retrieving it from where it hung. “You can fill it while I get my boots on and get my coat.” She tossed it to him and he caught it, dropping the gun in the process. The gun went off with a loud boom that echoed off the rocks before fading; a tree several feet from her splintered when the bullet lodged into a low branch.
“Shit,” Tom said under his breath, engaging the safety before shoving the gun back into the holster.
He unscrewed the cap and took the canteen to the stream. Cambria wanted to make a run for it, but she was outgunned and she knew that she couldn’t outrun him barefoot. Instead, she ducked into the tent and grabbed her jacket. She looked over her shoulder to make sure he wasn’t watching her and reached into a hidden pocket in the tent, pulling out the money she’d stolen from Egan and placing it back in the lining of her jacket. For now, she was going to have to go with Tom to save her life. But if they got off the mountain before Egan rescued her, she would have money to run when the opportunity presented itself.
It wasn’t the best-laid plan, but at the moment, it was all she had.
She pulled the jacket on and zipped it up before pulling her last clean pair of socks out of the bag and putting them on. She called to Tom, who was squatting beside the stream, his head tilted quizzically as he watched the stream rush by.
“Can you hand me my boots, please?”
He stood abruptly, searching the area before his eyes landed on the boots. He hurried to hand them to her, beaming like a proud child when he did. Cambria wondered again what was going on in the man’s head while she laced her sturdy boots. He helped her up, pointing out a trail that ran perpendicular to the one he’d appeared from.
“That trail should lead directly to my car. Well, not my car, but my car now.”
Cambria didn’t know what to make of his statement, but she wasn’t going to ask. The more he talked, the more she realized that his grasp on sanity was tenuous at best. She wasn’t going to push him over the edge by asking the wrong question.
She started down the trail, taking her time and letting Tom follow her. Having him behind her was unnerving, but Egan would likely come from the back when he did. It would be easier for him to deal with Tom if she wasn’t in the way. But a look at the sun’s position confirmed what she’d been denying. Even though it felt like an eternity since she woke up, the truth was that Egan would probably be reaching town right about now, if he’d gotten that far already. It would be hours before he returned to the campsite. By the time he did, they’d be long gone and she’d be in the car with Tom.
She shuddered at the thought. She couldn’t let herself get into the car with Tom, no matter what. She had to think of something, some way to stall him and give Egan a chance to catch up. Cambria looked at the ground ahead of her, carefully picking her way over the tree roots and rocks sticking up in their way. The trail was steep, her steps jarring as she struggled to stay upright. Tom was not far behind her, scanning the trees and waiting for Egan to appear out of the surrounding forest.
Suddenly coming up with a plan, Cambria let her toe catch on a rock, pitching her forward and onto the ground. She slid down the hill a ways before she came to a stop, laying on the ground and gasping as if she couldn’t catch her breath.
Tom ran to her, careful not to tumble down the trail and join her. He ran his hands over her, his face worried and his words frantic. “Are you hurt? Oh my gosh, Cammy, you have to be careful.” His hand ran over her ankle and she sucked in her breath. The ankle wasn’t injured, but she hoped he would fall for it. “Let me see it. Maybe it’s just twisted and you can walk it off.”
“No don’t!” she shouted, then softened her voice, “You should never remove a boot from a sprained ankle when you have to walk out. I’ll be alright, I’ll just have to push through the pain.”
She looked up at him, her expression tough with just a hint of unshed tears. He helped her up and she put on a good show, limping along slowly and wincing now and then. Tom held her hand, steadying her as she went along. Her skin crawled where he touched her, but she gritted her teeth against the revulsion she felt. With his shooting hand helping her along, he wasn’t able to draw his gun. It might not be enough, but at the very least, it would slow them down significantly.
They walked several miles before coming to a clearing. Tom stopped her, indicating that she should rest on the large boulder for a moment. “We’re close. I can hear the highway in the distance. If my calculations are correct, the ranger’s station is about another mile or so ahead, which is where I’ve parked my car. We’re almost there, then we’ll be on our way.”
Cambria forced the bile down that rose in her throat. They were so far from the campsite and she hadn’t been able to leave any clue as to their direction. She hoped that Egan was a good tracker. If he weren't, all the time in the world wouldn’t help him find her. The wilderness was vast and there was so much ground to cover.
Tom looked at Cambria, his expression odd as he watched her. She was afraid he was going to ask her what she was thinking about, and
she didn’t know what to say. But Tom, ever the narcissist had never wondered what another person was feeling before in his life and he wasn’t about to start now.
“How did you get away from him?”
“Excuse me?” She pretended not to hear him to buy time so she could come up with a good story.
“How did you get away from the shifter? How is it possible that he hasn’t found you yet?”
Cambria shrugged. “He went to sleep in the hotel room in town. I was handcuffed to him. I picked the lock and handcuffed him to the bed while he was sleeping and I ran.” She wanted to kick herself. It was a horrible story, but it’s the first thing that came to mind. Tom was right, how would she have evaded the man for days in the wilderness?
Tom looked at her again, his expression guarded. When he finally spoke, his words surprised her. “Kiss me.”
He waited expectantly, but didn’t move towards her. Her stomach flip flopped inside her and bile rose again. The last thing she wanted to do was kiss Tom, but she knew her life was at stake. He didn’t believe her, and she was going to have to prove to him that she wasn’t lying. She leaned forward, planting a chaste kiss on his lips before pulling away. He grabbed the back of her head, pulling her in and kissing her roughly. He jammed his tongue into her mouth, causing her to gag reflexively.
He pulled her away by her hair and backhanded her across the face. The force of the blow knocked her off the rock and onto the ground. “You lie!” he declared, his face wild with rage.
“No, I’m not. I promise. I don’t want him. I want you.”
“I don’t believe you, but it doesn’t matter. I will have you as I once did. You will learn to love it or not, I don’t really care which. But you will be mine.” He yanked her roughly to her feet and shoved her down the trail ahead of him. She tried to hold onto the fake limp, but he was pushing her too fast. She either walked normal or risked falling for real.
Tom didn’t mention her miraculous recovery and Cambria wondered for the umpteenth time if he was completely broken from reality. Already, his rage had faded and he was pushing her along with urgency but seemed to have lost sight of his purpose.
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