Canyon Standoff

by Valerie Hansen

  If they were really holding Hannah, maybe he was their leverage. She’d never willingly participate in an illegal dig, but if she thought Eric was in danger...

  Eric stiffened his spine and looked straight into the eyes of the man who held his life in his hands. “I won’t cooperate if you kill her.”

  There was a flash of concern, then the man lifted the weapon higher. He stood out of Eric’s reach, but a brief flicker of uncertainty replaced his cold determination. “What makes you think you aren’t getting a bullet right after hers?”

  “Because you need me.” Boy, was this a long shot. He prayed he was right. “You have my sister, and she won’t cooperate with you if I’m dead. You have nothing without me.” Dots connected. Puzzle pieces clicked. That was why he was still alive. “You’ve come at me from fourteen different angles since I started to search for her, but not to kill me. It’s all been to show Hannah what you could do if she didn’t help you. Am I right?”

  The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed once, surging a feeling of triumph through Eric. “So here’s the deal. You kill the ranger, I come at both of you and give you no choice but to kill me. If I’m dead, you lose your cooperative expert. Then what are you going to do?”

  A flicker of uncertainty in the man’s eyes told him he’d guessed everything correctly. Without him, Hannah wouldn’t cooperate.

  In his peripheral vision, the woman stood, facing him but keeping her sidearm tight to Meghan’s forehead. “This is getting too complicated. Too much extra weight. It’s a snowball.”

  Not half as complicated as it was about to get, if Morgan would meet his eye and receive the signal he was sending.

  She looked up. Held his gaze. Glanced at the pistol and the woman who was foolish enough to get within arm’s reach of a trained ranger and then turn her back. With the slightest motion, Morgan’s chin dipped, then she pulled her good knee to her chest, preparing to launch on his signal.

  The timing would have to be exact. They had two guns in play and either of them could fire in the struggle and hit someone.

  It was a risk they had to take.

  Their captors were intent on a conversation Eric could hardly hear over the roar of adrenaline in his body. Eric and Morgan had to move now, before their focus shifted to the business at hand.

  With a quick prayer and a quicker nod, Eric dived at the man, who’d inched a bit too close, letting his gun get into Eric’s reach. With his right hand, Eric twisted the man’s wrist away while his left palm drove into the man’s chin, causing him to stumble backward to the ground, the gun dropping as he fell.

  It was a blur of seconds. Before his mind could process his actions, Eric was standing several feet from and above his former captor, pistol leveled at his chest. “Don’t even flinch.” A quick glance said he shouldn’t have bothered to speak. The guy was out, flat on his back.

  It wouldn’t last more than a minute, though. He whipped to the side, weapon at the ready.

  Morgan had apparently landed a solid upper kick to the other woman’s knee, enough to knock her off balance and cause her to drop the pistol. But the woman was already heading for Morgan, who was still defenseless on the ground.

  Eric fired a round into the air. “I wouldn’t take another step unless you want the next one to hit its target.”

  The woman froze, hands reflexively lifting.

  “Now move over here.”

  Behind him, the man groaned. Eric was running out of time. There was no way he could subdue two of them if they turned on him and, from the glean in the woman’s eye, she knew it. “Morgan? Gun?”

  “I’ve got it.”

  He glanced over to see her leverage herself against the rock and rise on her good foot, pistol leveled. She was pale and shaking. The gun wasn’t going to hold aim for long.

  With Morgan’s backup, he retrieved the zip ties from the ground and restrained the woman. He used her shoelaces to bind her feet to her hands, then fashioned field handcuffs and restrained the man, as well.

  With the threat neutralized, he jogged over to Morgan and she sagged against him as though her entire body had abandoned the fight. Something more was going on with her than the busted ankle. Maybe she was going into shock. He helped her to the boat, where he settled her into a seat. Her face was pale, her skin clammy. “You going to make it?”

  She nodded once, sinking against the side of the boat and closing her eyes. “Just find their radio. Get us out of here.” She spoke through gritted teeth.

  The words shot through him. Eric was where he longed to be, where he was most comfortable...in charge.

  Except he wasn’t. In reality, he’d done nothing to save them. He had only responded to the situations at hand. At no point had he formulated and put a plan into action.

  But God had.

  It wasn’t Eric’s job to save. It was his job to surrender and obey. In this case, to use what he had at hand to move forward.

  He had a job to do, not an operation to take charge of. It took only two seconds to find the radio in a side pouch of a backpack lashed into the boat. He passed Morgan the radio and a water bottle, took a long, satisfying swig from a second container, then turned to the two who were trussed on the beach.

  As Morgan called for help, Eric returned to the only link he had to Hannah’s location. The man was still groggy, so Eric turned to the woman. “Where’s my sister?”

  “She’s restrained at the dig site. Alone. Helpless.”

  Anger surged, hot and muddy through his veins. If she was telling the truth, Hannah could die if these two refused to talk while in custody. “Tell. Me. Where.”

  The woman smirked and turned her head away.

  No. He couldn’t come this close only to have her die... “I asked you a question.”

  “And I’m not answering.” She met his eye, defiant to the end. “You won’t shoot me. If you were going to, you’d have already done it. And if you do, you’ll never find her. You have nothing. No leverage at all.”

  “Eric!”

  He spun at Morgan’s feeble shout and stepped to the boat, keeping one eye on their prisoners.

  “Helicopter on the way. They’ll land above us, work their way down. Even better...” She held up a small device. “GPS. There are coordinates entered. I think it’s the...the dig site.” She pulled a waterproof map closer and weakly jabbed a finger at a spot less than a mile downriver, at the top of another mesa. “I passed the intel along. A team’s going...going in.”

  Eric turned and looked down at the woman who’d been taunting him only moments before. Gone was the defiance. In its place, worry reigned.

  They’d found Hannah. “What’s the ETA on help?” He didn’t want to leave these two where they could escape, but his entire being strained to find his sister and get both Hannah and Morgan to safety.

  He returned to the boat. Morgan looked even paler than she had before. He lifted his eyes to the sky and listened. In the distance, beyond the rise above them, the blessed sound of helicopter rotors grew louder. “They’re almost here. It’s almost over.”

  “Half a mile. Half a mile to Hannah.” Morgan shifted and planted herself in the boat, wincing as she laid a hand on her left side. “Smooth sailing. No rapids to navigate. We should go. We have their weapons.”

  Eric eyed their subdued attackers. They should stay here and make certain the pair was taken into custody.

  He turned to scan the placid waters downriver. But his sister...

  Even if he could get to the scene, he still wouldn’t be able to save her. Morgan would never be able to make the climb, and he wouldn’t leave her. Even if they beat the helicopters to the top, at best, they’d be in the way. At worst, his interference could get someone killed.

  No. He had to stay in place. Had to trust that his help really did come from the Lord.

  As though his tortured though
ts were heard, the roar of rotors grew louder, and a helicopter settled on the mesa above them in a cloud of dust and dirt. Two more thundered overhead. One hovered near the bend in the river, exactly where Morgan had indicated the dig site should be. The other disappeared, likely settling on the ground. Please, God. Let Hannah be alive.

  Ropes dropped down the canyon walls and a swarm of rangers rappelled to the bottom. Eric watched until their feet hit the beach, then turned toward the two downriver. What was going on? Did they have Hannah?

  While one ranger climbed into the boat beside Morgan, another approached Eric. “It’s good to see you’re safe, Staff Sergeant. Let’s get you geared up and out of here.”

  “I can’t. Not until I know...” He’d left once while Hannah was still lost in the wilderness. He couldn’t do it again.

  The ranger’s jaw hardened. He moved to speak, but the radio on his shoulder crackled to life. “We’ve got her. She’s safe. Evaccing now.”

  It was over. Hannah was safe. Morgan was safe. Now they could—

  “Chavez.” The sharp call turned Eric and the ranger both toward the boat. The ranger with Morgan cut a hard look at his partner.

  Morgan met Eric’s gaze, but it was as though she saw right through him. Her mouth opened, her eyes widened in panic and she grabbed at the ranger’s arm. Suddenly, she went limp against the boat, slipping to the side.

  ELEVEN

  Morgan blinked her eyes open, then closed them again. They were so heavy. In the distance, there were voices, footsteps... Smells assaulted her senses. Antiseptic. Medicinal.

  Hospital? She forced her eyes open and tried to turn her head. Why was she here?

  Where was Eric?

  “Hey, beautiful.” There was a rustle, the sound of something scraping on the floor, then he was beside her, his hand sliding gently under hers. “Thought you’d sleep all night.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Around six in the evening. You’ve been sleeping since they brought you out of surgery.” He swept hair off her forehead, then shifted so she could see him beside the bed.

  He was clean-shaven, freshly showered and dressed in a Denver Broncos T-shirt. How long had she been asleep? “What surgery?”

  His thumb drew lazy circles on her hand. “You ruptured your spleen. Had some internal bleeding, but the surgeons repaired it. It’s a good thing our would-be kidnappers came along when they did or...” He cleared his throat. “You’re safe.”

  Fumbling, Morgan found the buttons and raised the head of the bed a bit. An IV pumped fluids into her hand. Her foot was heavy with wrappings and elevated at the end of the bed. “Did I break it?”

  “Bad sprain. It’ll heal fast. As for your spleen...” Eric arched an eyebrow. “You’ll be on light duty for a while.”

  Right now, she didn’t care about duty, only about sleep.

  She studied Eric instead. Something about him was...different. In the set of his jaw. In the look in his eye. He looked... Peaceful.

  Which meant... “Hannah?”

  “She’s asleep up the hallway.” His smile brightened. “They raided the camp and rescued her. Our two ‘friends’ left her alone there overnight to come after us. I knew I recognized the guy. He was one of her former classmates. He’s been smuggling antiquities for months, but he’d exhausted the locations he knew about and brought Hannah in to point him to more. Took some shots at me to show her he could. Took some shots at the rangers to keep them busy on the rim and away from the search for Hannah in the canyon.”

  It was a diabolical plan, and it had nearly worked. “Why aren’t you with her?” He should be with the sister he’d believed in, searched for, prayed for... “You need to be with her.”

  Eric’s fingers tightened on hers. “I told her everything while you were in surgery. She knows we were married, and she’s a hopeless romantic who thinks I’m still in love with you and should be by your side.” He swallowed and his dark gaze pinned hers. “She’s right.”

  The jolt of his words spiked her heart monitor. Eric’s grin said he noticed.

  But she’d failed him. “I tried to get you to leave Hannah behind.” Safety had motivated her. How was that any different from running from crowds?

  He was bound to realize she was weak. The light that had dawned in his eyes the past few days would snuff out.

  He leaned closer, his face hovering near hers. “We’d have died out there on our own. Your calls were right, rational. Mine were emotional and... And, well, prideful.”

  When she dared to meet his gaze, it was gentle, though a hint of steel lurked behind it. “Morgan, you did everything right.” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “I don’t know what kind of number your ex did on you, but you’re stronger than you think. Also, you need to quit beating up the woman I love.”

  He didn’t blame her. Didn’t call her a mistake or a coward.

  He loved her.

  How was that possible?

  “Sweetheart—” he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead “—you are the bravest person I know. There is no one I’d rather have beside me out in the wild. We’re alive because you took charge and faced things that would send most people running for their lives. So what if crowds bother you? You’re not a coward. I’d like to find that ex of yours and have a man-to-man talk with him for messing with your head.”

  “I divorced you because I was scared of losing you. I should have gone with you.”

  Eric drew his lips between his teeth and studied her. “Would you do things differently today?”

  As she looked him in the eye, she knew she would. Fear had kept her from a good man, who loved her. Never again. The Park Service would find a place for her near him. If it didn’t, she’d find another way to make a living.

  She needed to surrender her life fully to Christ, which meant not letting fear dictate her decisions. She ran her tongue along her teeth. “I’d—”

  “Well, look who’s awake.” A nurse stepped into the room. “We were at the nurses’ station wondering if you were going to sleep until tomorrow.”

  Eric dropped a quick wink, then settled in his seat.

  This conversation wasn’t over. In fact, it was just beginning.

  * * *

  Go figure he’d find her here.

  Eric pulled into the small lot at the tucked-away overlook and parked next to Morgan’s SUV.

  She stood at the railing, the moments before sunrise illuminating her in a way that reminded him how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman.

  Grabbing the envelope from the passenger seat, he ran his thumb along the edge. Yeah. This was right.

  When he slammed the Jeep’s door, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Didn’t expect to see you until later. Shouldn’t you be packing?”

  His leave was over in two days, and his flight took off early tomorrow morning. Packing could wait, though. All he had was a couple of duffel bags. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

  It had been over a week since she’d been discharged. A week she’d spent chafing at not being able to drive, at being treated like an invalid, at being hovered over by both Eric and Hannah as she recovered from the injury that had nearly taken her life. It would be months before she could return to full duty.

  She’d chafed at that, too.

  But the week had given Eric and Morgan time to get to know each other again when their lives weren’t in the balance. Time for Hannah to come to grips with the fact her brother had once been married...and, as he’d told her yesterday, wanted to be married again.

  “You knew I’d be out here as soon as the doctor cleared me to drive.”

  Yeah, he knew. It was her favorite spot on the rim, a hidden overlook that allowed for a wide view of the sunrise. They’d spent more than one morning here together in the past.

  Eric stuffed the envelope in
to his hip pocket and leaned his forearms on the rail next to her, their shoulders touching. For long minutes, they said nothing as the world held its breath and the sun slipped over the horizon, changing everything.

  Kind of like God had changed him...when he really did send help from the hill above them. Like he’d changed Morgan when she finally realized she could trust in God’s love and Eric’s love without fear of being abandoned.

  When it was too bright to face the sun any longer, Eric turned and leaned his hip on the rail, watching her. There was so much he wanted to say, but it stuck in his chest behind a knot of uncertainty. He was about to announce a major life change, one that affected her, as well.

  She’d either accept or reject him.

  Morgan watched him from the corner of her eye. “You’ve got an ‘I know something you don’t’ look.”

  He probably did. How in the world was he speechless? Without flourish, he pulled the envelope from his pocket and handed it to her.

  She turned it over, then faced him with an eyebrow raised. “What’s this?”

  He could say “Open it and see,” but he wanted to speak the words. “I’m getting out of the army.”

  Her expression danced from joyful to incredulous to sad before she reset it to concern. Her forehead drew into deep lines and she returned the unopened envelope. “You can’t do this for me. You’ll resent me. I can’t ask—”

  “It’s not for you.” He shoved the envelope into his pocket and took her hand. “Day one out here with Hannah, before everything went south, I realized I want to serve differently. I’m tired. I’m losing myself. I want to...” He dragged his free hand over his head. He was doing this wrong. “I’m happiest here. In the canyon. I want to be with family... With you.” Did she grasp what he meant?

  Morgan stopped breathing and her eyes widened, lifting her eyebrows above her sunglasses. “What are you saying?”

  “It will take a few months, but I’m getting out. I’ve applied with the Park Service.” He squeezed her hand. “Not because of you. Not for you. For me. You being here is a bonus.”