Witness on the Run

by Susan Cliff

  She glanced around the airport terminal warily. She could hide in the bathroom if Cam showed up. Her stomach clenched at the thought. She’d run away from the only person who wanted to help her.

  Damn it.

  She wished she wasn’t in love with him. She wished he hadn’t been so good to her. It was incredibly difficult to accept this turn of events. How could he spend the night in her arms, making her die with pleasure, and then go behind her back in the morning?

  Maybe he’d been shady all along. Maybe he wasn’t who he seemed. All she knew for sure was that he’d hurt her. When a man hurt her, she ran.

  It occurred to her that he might not come looking for her. She’d mentioned staying in Prudhoe Bay to work. She’d left without saying goodbye. That was a big deal to him. Frowning, she rifled through the zippered pocket of her backpack. She had several quarters, and a business card with Cam’s phone number on it.

  She stood abruptly, taking a deep breath. There was a pay phone in the corner. She walked toward it and dialed a number. Not Cam’s. Her mother’s. After she inserted the required amount of change, the call went through.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Mom. It’s me.”

  “Tala?”

  “Yes.”

  “You haven’t called in so long! I was getting worried.”

  Tala swallowed back a surge of guilt. Her mother sounded surprised and excited, not disapproving. She held the receiver in a tight grip, unsure what to say.

  “How are you?”

  “I’m okay,” she hedged.

  “How’s Duane?”

  “Uh... I don’t know. I left him six months ago.”

  Her mother gasped. “Why?”

  “He hit me.”

  “Oh, no,” she said, as if it pained her to imagine. She repeated the phrase several times. Then, with resolve: “I’m going to send Clark.”

  “No, Mom.”

  “I’ll send Clark and Bear.”

  Tears sprang into Tala’s eyes at her mother’s protective attitude. Tala didn’t want anyone to beat up Duane on her behalf, but she appreciated the offer. “That’s not a good idea.”

  “We’ll all come. Where are you?”

  “I’m in Alaska. Prudhoe Bay.”

  “What are you doing in Alaska?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “Do you need anything? How can I help, nitânis?”

  The term of endearment brought tears from her eyes. “I just wanted to hear your voice.”

  “It’s nice to hear yours.”

  “I was wondering...did Dad ever mistreat you?”

  “He never laid a hand on me. We just argued a lot.”

  “About what?”

  “Oh, many things. We were so young when we got married. I thought it would be romantic to live in the wilderness with him. Instead I was cold and lonely and bored. I didn’t have any friends. The other women hated me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they all wanted your father! He was the best-looking man in Yellowknife, and I was an outsider. A silly city girl.”

  “You weren’t ever happy?”

  “I was happy after you were born. I loved you so much, but I didn’t love him. I couldn’t forgive him for keeping you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It was against tribal law for me to take you away from Yellowknife without his permission, and he wouldn’t give it. I couldn’t get full custody. Equal custody would have interrupted your schooling. You wanted to stay with him, so I had to let you go.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “You were little.”

  She wondered why her mother hadn’t told her this before. Maybe, as a rebellious teenager, she wouldn’t have listened. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It was better for you to spend those years with him. He was taken too soon. Now he’s gone, but I am here. You can come to Billings. There will always be a place in my home for you.”

  Tala’s throat closed up with emotion. “Okay.”

  “You’ll come?”

  She blinked the tears from her eyes. It felt good to know her mother wanted her around. If Tala needed to go to Montana, she could. This knowledge helped soothe her overwrought feelings about Cam.

  “Right now, I’m waiting for a ride to Fairbanks. I’ll call you after I get there. We can plan a visit.”

  “Be careful, nitânis.”

  She promised she would and said goodbye. She hadn’t expected her mother to be so sympathetic. She’d anticipated doubt and criticism. Living with Duane had brainwashed her into assuming the worst of people.

  Which brought her back to Cam. She had to give him a chance to explain. He was her only way out of this place, and she needed to face her emotions. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, noticing a broad-shouldered figure at the entrance. He opened the door and located her in seconds. He looked relieved, and more than a little bewildered. She waited, heart pounding, as he strode toward her.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. Her hands were shaking. She didn’t like confrontations, but they needed to hash this out. She deserved some answers, and he deserved an explanation.

  “Why did you run?” he asked.

  “I heard you on the phone.”

  He didn’t make any excuses, or offer any denials. “You could’ve asked me about it instead of taking off. What were you going to do, stow away on a plane?”

  Her cheeks heated at his sarcasm. “I called my mother.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She said I could come to Montana.”

  “Is that what you want?”

  She gave a stiff shrug.

  “I can’t believe you left without saying goodbye.”

  “I can’t believe you talked to the police without my consent!”

  “I was talking to my brother.”

  “Your brother?”

  “He’s a detective in Seattle.”

  She sat on the bench again, her knees weak.

  He took the space next to her. “I should have told you about him. I was wrong.”

  She gaped at him, stunned by the admission. He’d actually said he was wrong.

  “I called him after you were attacked in Fairbanks. You begged me not to call the police, so I called him.” He raked a hand through his hair, seeming chagrined. “I asked him to run a background check on you.”

  The breath sucked out of her lungs. “You didn’t.”

  “I was worried about you.”

  Tala struggled out of her parka, flushing. She remembered his pointed questions in the weight room. He’d interrogated her just like a cop. “You knew about my record and warrants. You knew before I told you.”

  He inclined his head.

  “What else do you know?”

  “I know the dead guy they found in Willow had a receipt for Walt’s Diner in his pocket. He was a career criminal.”

  “Do they think I killed him?”

  “I’m pretty sure you’re not a suspect. You left your purse at the scene. That indicates a terrified witness, not a cold-blooded killer.”

  She fell silent, trying to process the disturbing news.

  “Look, I asked Mason not to give your name to the police. He needed a reason. That’s why I had to tell him everything this morning.” His steady gaze met hers. “It started off innocent, and sort of snowballed.”

  She hugged her parka to her chest. He’d lied to her, or at least misrepresented the truth. He’d promised not to call the police, but he’d called his brother, a detective. If she’d been thinking clearly, she would have anticipated this. Cam was a former cop, after all. She should have left him in Coldfoot after he’d admitted to his law enforcement background. She could have hitched a ride back to Fairbanks with that tour group. Instead, sh
e’d stayed with him and let her hormones take over.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

  “You took my choices away, just like Duane used to. You decided what was best for me, and now I’m trapped.”

  His jaw clenched with anger. “That’s not fair.”

  “Isn’t it?”

  “No, it isn’t. I’m not Duane. I’ll never be like Duane.”

  “Did you search through my things?”

  He flinched at the accusation. “Not really.”

  “Not really?”

  “I saw the ID you stole, if that’s what you mean.”

  “You invaded my privacy.”

  “You robbed someone at my place of work!”

  She flushed with guilt. She shouldn’t have done that, but two wrongs didn’t make a right. She still felt betrayed by him.

  “I’m not holding you against your will,” Cam said, lowering his voice. “You don’t have to run away from me like you ran away from Duane. You want to go to Montana, go to Montana. Maybe you’ll be safe there.”

  She heard the warning in his “maybe.” He was trying to suggest the opposite, that she wouldn’t be safe in Montana. She might be putting her family at risk by hiding there. It was a chilling realization. “You think I’ll be safe if I talk to the police, but they won’t protect me. They’ll send me back to Canada and I’ll go to prison.”

  “You won’t go to prison. That’s for longer sentences. If anything, you’ll go to jail.”

  She leapt to her feet. “You’re not helping, Cam.”

  He rose with her, grasping her arm. “All you have to do is tell the truth about what happened at the rally. They’ll probably dismiss the charges against you and arrest Duane. Then he’ll go to jail, where he belongs.”

  She pulled away from him in frustration. He didn’t understand how difficult it would be for her to point the finger at Duane. The last time she saw her husband, he’d beaten her unconscious. It wasn’t fair to ask her to make a statement that would infuriate him. Or one that would put her in the crosshairs of hardcore criminals, for that matter. She didn’t have any faith in the system. When there were men like Duane in uniform, it was hard to believe in justice.

  “You make it sound so easy,” she said. “All I have to do is be honest and everything will work out.”

  “It’s better than running forever.”

  “When are you going to stop running?”

  His eyes darkened. “What do you mean?”

  She gestured at the bleak landscape, visible through the terminal windows. “You don’t belong here. You’re not an Alaskan recluse, or a trucker. You came to escape, just like I did.” She paused, studying him. “Or maybe you came to die.”

  “That’s ridiculous. I don’t want to die.”

  “Then why did you choose this job, above all others? Why this road?”

  “It’s not that dangerous.”

  She laughed harshly. “You’re in denial. You should be saving lives at accident scenes or whatever you used to do. Instead you’re courting death in hopes of getting reunited with your precious Jenny.”

  “I don’t want to reunite with Jenny,” he growled, closing the distance between them. “I want to be with you.”

  “For how long?”

  His eyes darkened at the question. He fell silent, unable to answer.

  She wasn’t surprised by his reluctance to make promises. He was as gun-shy about relationships as she was. “Even if I clear my name and the police catch the killers, I’m still married. I’ll have to go back to Canada and take care of my legal issues.”

  “Can we focus on the next few days?” he asked. “Let’s make it to Seattle first.”

  She turned away from him, her heart aching. She couldn’t imagine a happy ending for them. He was a former-cop-turned-extreme-driver. He liked her right now because they were on an adventure. He liked to chase danger, even if he didn’t admit it. When the ice melted and the excitement died down, he’d lose interest.

  “At the very least, come with me to Fairbanks,” Cam said. “You can’t stay here.”

  She couldn’t argue with him anymore, so she stared out the terminal window. The oil refineries in the distance puffed out chutes of smoke, and snow flurries danced through the air like poisoned ashes. Polluted before they even hit the ground.

  Cam wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to her hair. His embrace felt warm and reassuring. He was hard and strong and unyielding. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to forget her troubles, and escape into a fantasy in which love conquered all.

  “I’ll keep you safe,” he said against her ear. “I promise.”

  She leaned into his chest, eyes closed.

  “If you stop running, I’ll stop with you. I’ll fight for you, if you let me.”

  “Okay,” she murmured, giving in. She couldn’t resist him. She’d play along, for now. She’d hope for the best but prepare for the worst. She’d stay alert.

  And if she had to run again—she’d run.

  Chapter 18

  They were back on the road by noon.

  Storm clouds gathered across the sky, intersected with clear spots of blue. Brilliant sunshine shone through the patches, illuminating the slabs of ice beneath the spinning wheels. The road appeared to have been made from shards of crystals, crosshatched into a giant puzzle on top of a gently sloshing ocean. Later in the season the top layer would turn to slush.

  Tala didn’t speak while they were on the ice. She stared out the window, her face pale. Cam couldn’t blame her. It was an unsettling experience.

  He filled his gas tank in Deadhorse before they moved on. He didn’t check in with the office for fear of being stopped and questioned about yesterday’s accident. The possibility of getting pulled over by a supervisor truck or patrol vehicle loomed. There was nothing he could do to prevent it, so he focused on other things. His rig, the road, the weather, the woman beside him.

  The woman he wanted, who didn’t trust him.

  He knew he’d screwed up this morning. He should have told her he’d been talking to Mason. He’d taken a gamble and lost. He’d apologized for the mistake, and she’d seemed willing to forgive him, but he wasn’t convinced she would cooperate with the police. She might run away at the first opportunity.

  He considered some solutions to her legal problems. He believed she’d be exonerated if she told the truth about Duane and the murder in Willow. She didn’t have to stay in Canada. He had an apartment in Anchorage. She could live with him.

  Cam stayed quiet about this option. It was too much, too soon. She’d rushed into a bad situation with Duane. She wouldn’t be eager to tie herself down again, and they hadn’t known each other long enough to take that plunge. Even so, the idea of sleeping next to her every night appealed to him. He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. He wasn’t going to change his mind.

  For the rest of the day, they avoided contentious topics. He didn’t press her about going to Seattle, or talking to his brother. He considered telling her that Mason was coming to meet him in Fairbanks, but decided not to worry her. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it. He was afraid of setting her off again.

  Most of the hours passed in silence. She curled up in the berth and went to sleep. He drank coffee to stay awake. Twilight faded into endless night. He drove on and on, into the snow-laced dark. They passed Nightmare Corner and Avalanche Alley. Before he knew it, they were in Coldfoot. He’d made excellent time, and he didn’t want to stop to rest. The other truckers would grill him about the rescue, and Tala. He decided to blow through camp and continue to Fairbanks.

  “Wait,” Tala said, before he passed by. “I have to return the ID.”

  “To who?”

  “The front office. I can say I found it in the parking lot.”

  Cam had a better id
ea. “I’ll put it in the mailbox.”

  She shrugged, so he went ahead and took care of it for her. They didn’t stay in Coldfoot long. After a light dinner of soup and crackers, they were on the road again. When they were about two hours from Fairbanks, he remembered something important.

  “My gun,” he said.

  “What gun?”

  “It’s in a locked box under the bed.” He found the key and handed it to her. “We should keep it close.”

  “You think we’ll need it?”

  “I doubt it. I just want to have it within reach before we get to Fairbanks.” He couldn’t protect her without a weapon. The killers were armed. They might still be in the area, waiting for his truck to cruise down the main drag.

  “Is it loaded?”

  “No.”

  She retrieved the metal box and brought it up front. After fitting the key into the lock, she opened the lid. His 9 mm handgun was inside, under a pile of photos he hadn’t looked at in years. The first was of Jenny frolicking at the beach in California. She was dripping wet and smiling in a skimpy striped bikini.

  “Sorry,” he said gruffly. “I forgot those photos were in there.”

  “Did you stare at these and stroke your gun?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Her face revealed a mixture of sympathy and horror. Cam realized she’d been using “gun” in the literal sense.

  “I mean, no,” he said, flushing. “The gun is for protection only. I thought you were talking about...something else.”

  “Why are the pictures in here?”

  “I locked them up so I wouldn’t look at them anymore. I was spending too much time wallowing in grief.”

  She removed the gun and the clip, leaving the photos in the box without browsing through them. He was relieved. They weren’t all sexy pics, but there were a couple of nudes mixed in with holiday photos and vacation shots. An embarrassing assortment. She studied the gun carefully before loading it.

  “You know how to use that?” he asked.

  “I’ve handled a 9 mm before. Where should I put it?”

  “Here,” he said, indicating the pocket next to his seat.