by Marnee Blake
Setting off into the woods, she kept her eyes on the ground, searching for a sharp stone.
* * * *
The burn wasn’t big.
From the plane, Dak saw the smoke plume and was thankful they’d been able to get to it so quickly. Their quick response time and the favorable wind conditions should keep the job short and minimize its impact. That said, the fire was in an area of dense brush. They needed to move quickly, to make sure it didn’t blossom in all that dry fuel.
The streamers were tossed, and he listened to the instructions about their landing. When they all indicated that they understood, Tim gave them the thumbs-up. Lance was Dak’s jump partner today, so he checked in on him to make sure he was solid. He needn’t have worried. Lance grinned at him. As always, he thrived in high-stress situations.
As the guys lined up, waiting their turn for the tap on the shoulder that would send them out into the atmosphere, Dak let the waves of euphoria and triumph wash over him.
The job that he did, nothing was better than that. Below them was a time bomb, minutes from exploding, and they had the ability to defuse it. It was the stuff of action hero movies. He didn’t do it alone, but together, with his team, they saved lives. They saved homes and property and wildlife. His life might’ve been a clusterfuck, but whatever path led him there, to that ability to help others, it was a ride he’d take again if it did this kind of good.
Lance finally sat in the doorway and Tim gave him the pat that sent him into the sky. Dak replaced him in the open door, and in a moment, he was off, too.
The first moments of free air were always the best. He hadn’t parachuted until he was nineteen, but like so many extreme activities, he’d fallen in love with the rush. Now, he took the second to savor that adrenaline before his parachute opened.
Then, he caught the pull in his stomach that indicated the chute had opened, and he was floating. From there, he guided himself to the side of the fire Tim had pointed out, following Lance below him.
As expected, the forest was thick, but he managed to avoid treeing himself. Good, that would save him the precious time of climbing down. He’d done it before, but not his favorite thing.
Lance didn’t have the same luck, though. A hundred yards away, he caught sight of his chute hanging down a tree trunk.
“You okay, man?” he yelled.
His friend’s cursing was the only answer. But he was on the ground in record time. All the smokejumpers could climb trees like experts.
They stowed their suits and chutes, and trekked off to meet up with the others. When they reached the group, they went about their assigned tasks. This jump, he was wielding the Pulaski.
As they all got to work, he fell into the routine of fighting the fire. While jumping was pretty exciting, and the smokejumpers were considered the elite of wildland firefighters, the actual work was backbreaking and physically demanding. As they cleared brush, trying to establish a fire line, he lost himself in the labor.
Maybe that’s why he didn’t hear the sound of an engine approaching.
The first shout, though, distracted him. He looked up, his Pulaski in mid-swing. When he caught sight of why his teammates were yelling, the ax dropped to the ground beside him.
His mother stood next to an ATV, dressed in hunting gear, and holding a handgun. Another gun was strapped to her thigh.
His teammates were backing away from her, their hands up. The confusion and anger on their faces was understandable. They were out there to fight a fire, to do a public service and take care of people and the land. This wasn’t the sort of place, in the middle of a national forest, for them to run into someone with a gun. Especially one pointed at them.
He lifted his hands, like the rest of the team, and stepped forward, putting himself between his mother and the rest of the jumpers. “Mom. Listen, you don’t want to do this.”
“I’m so sorry. I just couldn’t think of another way that I could get out of this mess. I regret that I needed to involve you like this, but I didn’t have another choice.” Considering the circumstances, he would have expected her hand to shake, her eyes to be wild. Some indication that she wasn’t well. Something that would give him a weakness, a way into her mind or heart.
Instead, she stood there, as steady as a stone. Her gaze remained on his, unwavering.
“What are you talking about?” He glanced toward where the fire was burning. “You did this, didn’t you?” It had been at the back of his mind since they got the call, that this could have been started by her. No one had seen or heard from her since she went missing. Add that to a fire and it was too much coincidence.
But holding them at gunpoint? This hadn’t been on his radar.
“Parrish,” Lizard said. “What’s going on here?”
As they all stood there frozen, the fire was burning. They didn’t have time for this. “Mom, what is it that you want?”
“I need an escape hatch.” The gun lowered the slightest bit, but she didn’t drop it. “I can’t go to jail. What I need you to do is radio back to the air center. Tell them that I need a plane.”
“A plane?”
“Yes. I’m going to get in a plane, with a pilot who’s going to take me wherever I want to go. Then, I’m going to let you guys go, and I’ll tell you where Heidi Sinclair is.”
His veins froze, icing through. “What do you mean, ‘where Heidi is?’”
“I have her. And no one will find her, not if I don’t get what I want.”
“Mom, no.” He stepped closer. This couldn’t be his mother, the woman who raised him. The one who’d kissed his bruises and cared for him. But, she only lifted the gun, pointing it at him. He stopped, lifting his hands higher. “Why did you bring Heidi into this? She hasn’t done anything to you.”
“No? She pushed hard on the investigation. She’s the one who dragged Jesse Broadridge into things, who got you involved. This got bad when she came.”
Her ramblings didn’t make sense. “She’s only uncovering the things you did.”
“Maybe.” She tilted her head, and the regret he’d seen earlier appeared again. “Besides, I know you feel something for her. That will make sure that you don’t let them let her go.”
“You picked her because of me?” The pain of it threatened to level him.
“Yes.” Her mouth tilted up in a wry grin. “So work fast. She’ll die if they don’t get me what I want.”
Chapter 18
Having a woman with a gun standing over them made the team work faster.
No one talked, they only dug in hard, aware that the sooner they finished, the sooner they could get back to the air center. Dak couldn’t be sure, but he figured the rest of his colleagues were worried about Heidi Sinclair’s safety as well.
Where was she? His mother had said she had taken her, but she hadn’t elaborated. Was she safe? He was sure she was scared, wherever she was.
He dug in deeper, working as fast as he could, despite the aches and pains in his body from going too hard. Heidi was counting on them.
This was his fault. She wouldn’t even be in this horrible situation if it wasn’t for him. She’d been nearly blown up and now kidnapped, because of her ties with him.
He couldn’t ignore how much it sounded like what she’d been through in DC. She’d said that her husband’s undercover work had almost gotten her killed, had made her lose their unborn child. Well, this time, she’d been dragged into this life-threatening situation because he’d fallen for her.
No wonder she hadn’t wanted to take a chance on him. He wouldn’t be surprised if she never wanted to take another chance on anyone ever again.
Except that’s not what he wanted for her. He wanted her to be happy. If anyone deserved it, it was Heidi.
Right now, all he wanted was to get her out, to know she was safe and healthy.
He wondered
what was happening back at their center. Lizard had radioed to tell them what was happening and relay his mother’s demands. They were smokejumpers, not conflict resolution officers.
He glanced toward the fire. They appeared to be making some progress. It had been small, and he would bet that his mother had started it to get their attention. Half an hour ago, an aerial team had dumped a load of retardant on it. With any luck, they would have it fully contained within the next hour.
The sound of a helicopter caused him to pause, look up. As he watched, it appeared on the tree line and swooped low overhead. His mother hurried to his side.
“What is that?” she demanded, waving the gun in the direction of where they could hear it, hovering to the east. “What is happening?”
“I don’t know.” He wiped his forehead with his sleeve, doing his best to keep the sweat out of his eyes. “I have no idea what’s happening. You listened to Lizard on the radio. And there’s no cell reception here so no one could have called anyone, sent for it. As I am sure you knew when you set this fire.”
She didn’t bother to correct him, which meant he was right. She had started this flame. Anger burst through him. She’d put them all at risk, just to save herself.
“You shouldn’t be surprised though. They weren’t just going to let you get away with all of this.”
Her lips pinched together. “You are coming with me.”
“Why? Are you going to use me for leverage, Mom? Your own son?”
Her mouth thinned. “I know you think I’m the bad guy and that’s regrettable. But trust me, you’ll see you’re better off when I’m gone.”
She nudged the ever-present handgun to her ATV. As he walked toward it in front of her, he replayed her words.
Better off when I’m gone.
“Get on the back. I’ll drive us over. But don’t do anything foolish. You’ll hurt us both.” She waved him toward the rack on the back of the ATV and he climbed on.
“Parrish,” Lance called, taking a few steps toward him. “Where are you going?”
“It’s okay.” He waved his friend off. God, don’t let Lance try to be the hero. It would be better for everyone if he could get his mother and her weapons away from them.
The rest of the team had stopped, their faces identical masks of anger and concern. He hated that they’d all be in danger because of him. He shook his head, holding his hands up.
“Guys. It’s okay. Radio back. Tell them what happened. That she wanted me to go with her.”
His mother didn’t give them a chance to respond, starting the ATV. They took off, and he glanced back, watching as his team watched him go. He breathed his first breath free of fear for them, even as the smoke from the nearby flame tainted the air.
When his mom finally paused, presumably to get her bearings, he asked, “What do you mean I’ll be better off when you’re gone? You can’t believe that.”
“I’ve been nothing but bad news for all of you for almost twenty years.” She killed the engine for a moment, listening for the sounds of the helicopter.
“But that can change—”
“Please. Dak. Don’t say that isn’t true. Think back. If you do, you’ll realize how many of the things that have gone wrong have been my fault.” Her voice cracked, and her eyes glistened as she put the protective shield of her helmet down, and turned the vehicle back on.
As they bounced along the uneven terrain, he took the time to consider exactly when she had changed. Their home in Washington had burned down. She’d almost burned their shed, and because of that, he’d gotten into a fight with their father and been kicked out. Since then, she’d started six other fires on the reservation and a wildfire nearby. When the woman he loved had gotten too close in her investigation, she’d blown up her car. Now, she’d started this fire and put his colleagues, men he now called friends, in harm’s way.
Why? Why had she done it?
They continued on until the ATV burst into a clearing where a helicopter rested with its propellers still spinning. Three men disembarked and Dak recognized one immediately.
His father.
His mom killed the ATV engine and slid off. He moved to follow her, but she halted him, grabbing his shirt to stop him next to her. She removed both of her pistols from her sides, pointing one at him and the other at the three men. They all froze, staring at each other.
The helicopter’s propellers were the only movement for a long moment. Finally, his father stepped forward, shouting over the noise. “Melinda. Please. You don’t want to do this.” He stretched out his hand, reaching for his wife. Devastation played over his face, bleak and hopeless.
Dak didn’t remember ever seeing anything like it before. Usually his father held himself apart from the rest of the mere mortals. That he’d deign to lower himself now, to show weakness there, spoke to how stark the situation was.
He must be terrified.
His mother clicked the safeties off both guns, firming her stance. “Lyle, you haven’t known what I’ve wanted for years.”
“Listen, we can talk about all of this. We can get you whatever you need.”
“We’ve never been able to talk. That’s always been the problem.” She snorted. “You told me that it would get better. That I only needed to try harder. When I wanted to talk to someone, you said that I could talk to you. But I couldn’t, because you didn’t hear me. You listened, but you didn’t hear me.” Her throat worked as she went on. “And the hospital, Lyle? For what? So they could poke and prod me. I needed medicine. I needed help. I needed you to set me free.”
“Baby—”
“No. Maybe we could have fixed it after the house in Washington. Except instead of helping me to fix it then, you hid me away, tucked it all away and whisked us here. Like some dark little secret.”
“That’s not it. At the hospital, I didn’t want them to take you away, to put you away. I didn’t want you to have to leave home—”
“You weren’t thinking of me,” she yelled, the color higher on her cheeks. “You were thinking of you. That a crazy wife would embarrass you.”
While she hadn’t been unsteady before, in the woods, she was now. Her hands shook and Dak couldn’t stop looking between them—his parents. What the hell had happened to them? Had he been so blind, growing up, that he couldn’t see how much his mother was struggling, how his father hadn’t been able to help? Or that his idea of help had been failing so badly?
“You aren’t crazy, Mom.” He didn’t yell, because he didn’t care if his father heard him. He only cared now that she did, that she knew that someone was listening to her. “You’re not crazy.”
She didn’t look at him, still shaking with her emotions, but a tear leaked out of her eye.
Maybe if he could keep talking, distract her, they could find a way to defuse this situation. “Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t see. I’m sorry.”
“Baby you were young.” Her response was curt, but still the tears flowed.
“Maybe. But I’m really sorry no one saw.”
He had no idea if he would have gotten through to her if he’d been able to keep talking because the officer with his father took that moment to lift his gun. “Mrs. Parrish, please drop your weapons.”
As he watched, her face hardened. Anything good he’d seen in there disappeared, and her fingers tightened on the pistols. “No. I had planned to leave by plane from the air center, but this will work instead.”
“You can’t leave. They won’t let you.” Lyle motioned to the officer.
“Then they’ll need to shoot me.”
She shifted, moving quickly, training both of her guns on the officers and Dak’s father. Must have decided they were a bigger threat to her. She hurried to the helicopter as the two officers barked at her to put down her weapons.
He was shouting, too, but he wasn’t sure what he was saying. W
hatever it was, he hoped it expressed how much he wanted her to stop, how he could see that this would end badly for her.
As she stepped closer, she moved her hand as if she would shoot.
Apparently the officer to his father’s left believed the same and he opened fire.
Dak was running before he realized it. Diving the last few feet, he attempted to put himself between the man and his mom as more gunfire split the air.
But his mother was already going down. She hit the ground in slow motion.
He scrambled toward her on all fours, checking her over. Blood appeared on her coat, on her lower left side. She clutched at it, dropping her pistol and gasping.
He gathered her against him, propping her head on his leg and pressing his hand against her wound. “Mom?”
Her pain-filled eyes met his, unseeing. Her mouth opened and closed, as if she didn’t understand what was happening. He called to her again.
Finally, she met his gaze, her eyes dilating in the afternoon sun. “Dak.”
“Mom. Stay with me here. We’re going to get you on the helicopter.” He glared at the officer who’d shot her. “We need to get her out of here. Help me get her on.”
The two officers snapped into motion, rushing to get the first aid kit. His father stood, though, as if paralyzed.
“Do something,” Dak ordered.
As if that jolted him, he nodded, hurried to the side of the helicopter and spoke with the officer there.
His mother’s fingers pressed against his throat and he looked down at her. There was blood on her lips, a bad sign. “Dak…tell your father—” She licked her lips, her voice scratchy and faint. “It’s at the place. The place where…” Her voice faded, and her eyes fluttered closed.
“What place, Mom?” He shook her gently, then suffered immediate guilt. But if he was right, he needed to know. “What place?”
She’d lost consciousness.
The two officers were there, then, and he helped them get her into the helicopter. He hopped in, but as they got farther and farther from the fire site, he got the impression they were leaving Heidi far behind.