Mountain Secrets

by Elizabeth Goddard

  Bracing herself, Jewel released her seat belt and grabbed his arm. He didn’t appear to be injured, but it could have been internal. He could simply be unconscious and would wake up with nothing more than a concussion. Jewel wished, hoped and prayed it so.

  Pebbles and dirt trickled down from above. The telltale sounds of someone coming, scrambling down, echoed.

  Oh, no!

  She shook the police officer. “He’s coming,” she whispered. “We have to get out of here.”

  But it was no use. Officer Roberts didn’t wake up.

  She searched for her purse, where she’d stuck the Glock, but it was out of sight and reach, crushed somewhere in the twisted vehicle. Officer Roberts was dressed in regular clothes. She hadn’t seen where he kept his weapon. Didn’t see it now, or any communication device. She’d search him if she had to, but she’d prefer if he woke up.

  She and Officer Roberts both had been fortunate to survive the initial impact and subsequent rolls, but how could they stay that way? If they couldn’t get out of this vehicle and away from the man who’d run them off the road, they both would die.

  Then he stirred.

  “We have to get out of here,” she whispered. “He’s coming.”

  Officer Roberts groaned. “Who? Who’s coming?”

  The man who pushed me into the falls. The man who attacked me in the attic. The man who killed Jed.

  “The man driving the Suburban just now. Don’t you remember? He pushed us over the edge. He’s coming to finish the job! Please, Officer Roberts... Matt...we have to get out.”

  Finally, he opened his eyes, though he squinted in pain and looked at her. Fear ripped across his features, then he stiffened, coming to himself, projecting himself as an officer of the law. He moved in the seat or tried to. Then his head fell back and he shut his eyes.

  “What’s wrong? Where are you hurt?”

  He glanced down and tried to pull his legs up. “My leg is... I think it’s broken...” His words trailed off as pain contorted his voice.

  Then he opened his eyes again and peered at her. “Go.”

  “No. I won’t leave you.”

  He pushed her. “You have to get out of here. I’m not going anywhere. But I can call for help. I have a weapon, so I can protect myself, but I can’t protect you. You’re in the line of fire, and you need to hide.”

  “Give me your gun and I’ll be the one to protect us both.”

  He shook his head, his face scrunching with the effort. “No. This could be your only chance to get away. You have to climb out and hide in the woods until help comes. Do as I say before it’s too late.”

  Jewel pressed her foot against the console for leverage and scrambled over the wheel. She tried to shove open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “How do I get out of here? I can’t open the door.”

  “Climb out the dash window.” He barely lifted his leg—the good one—and kicked the cracked window out. “Here, you take the Taser. This is a new toy for the department, and I don’t much like it anyway.”

  Jewel wrapped her hands around it. Uncertainty about leaving him behind slowed her exit.

  He nodded. “I’ll be okay. I’ll call for help while you hide. Do not let yourself be caught, and only use the Taser as a last resort. Now go.”

  Tears pooled in Jewel’s eyes. She hesitated.

  “We’ll both die for nothing if you don’t get out of here,” he said.

  What did he mean? He wasn’t expecting to die, was he? Looking at his face, she realized that that was exactly what he expected. And then Jewel knew she had to draw whoever was coming away from Officer Roberts. She didn’t want to leave him, but, if anything, she could save him by drawing the attacker away from him.

  Jewel climbed out, careful to avoid glass from the windshield. Clinging to the twisted hood of the now- destroyed Durango that she’d had for years, she listened. Nothing. She heard nothing. But she sensed someone watching. Goose bumps rose on her skin.

  Was she in his rifle’s sights? Is that how he would kill her now?

  Her only chance was to climb down from where the vehicle rested against the tree, practically hanging there as the ground dropped away. She studied the terrain. The road above her twisted and curved around a towering mountain that swept into a thick, old-growth forest with eight-hundred-year-old trees. Just beyond, only a few yards from her vehicle, was a granite cliff that dropped into a misty fjord.

  If not for the tree, Jewel and Officer Roberts would have gone over. Is that what the killer had intended? Jewel had to hurry. But she worried if she jumped from the Durango she’d slide the rest of the way over the cliff.

  Sensing that she had run out of time, Jewel sent up a quick prayer and leaped for her life.

  EIGHT

  Heart pounding, Jewel hit the ground. Her feet dug into the mossy earth, but they slid out from under her as her momentum pushed her toward the cliff’s edge. Dropping the Taser, she grabbed the thick ferns, fingers stripping away fronds. Still she slid. She sank her fingers into the ground, nails gouging the earthy loam.

  “Come on!”

  She rolled to her back to see her doom. Pebbles and rock and sticks dug into her back as she watched the approaching cliff. She was slowing down, but not enough to save her.

  A huge cedar grew off to the side of her path. It could stop her momentum. Just like the tree that had stopped the Durango. Just like the fallen trunk that had grabbed her from the river.

  That was her only hope. Jewel stretched and reached, could feel her stitches tearing apart, ripping skin. A scream tore from her mouth as pain sliced through her, but her arms caught the tree and she dug in, held tight as the bark grated across her arms.

  Jewel scrambled her legs up the side of the trunk and under her, craving the protection of the tree that had kept her from falling to her death. If only she could stay there.

  Pressing her face into bark, drawing in the scent of cedar, she almost wept. But she knew she had no time to catch her breath or gather her composure. Jewel crouched and watched the area near the Durango, searching for the man after her, but she saw no one. She scrambled forward on her knees until the ground leveled out enough that she could stand and took off running to the south toward town. Away from the cliff and the Durango. She could only hope that her absence from the Durango would draw the attacker after her and away from Officer Roberts, but at the same time she didn’t want to be found.

  With her injuries, fighting the dense undergrowth was no easy task, but the thick copse of spruce, cedar and hemlock would help her hide.

  This was the beauty that had drawn her to Alaska. This was the beauty that would keep her here and safe. She had to live another day to enjoy it. From tree to tree, around ferns and over mossy logs Jewel pressed as hard and as fast as the terrain would allow her.

  When she could run no more, she hid behind the trunk of a spruce as wide as a dining table. She leaned against the tree and slid to the base, resting for only a moment. Though she knew the tree could hide her from sight, her desperate pants for oxygen were too loud and would give her away.

  God, please don’t let him hear me. Please don’t let him find me. And please protect Officer Roberts.

  Jewel didn’t doubt God listened to prayers and answered them, but she wondered if maybe the mistakes she’d made and the secret she carried that had cost a life already and might cost more before this was over, kept Him from listening. Or kept the prayer from reaching Him. She didn’t have the answers, but she couldn’t lose hope.

  Jewel sucked in oxygen, breathed in the earthy scent of the ancient forest until finally her heart rate slowed. She was still alive for the moment.

  She listened. Whoever was after her didn’t seem to be running—she couldn’t hear any footsteps. Had he even followed?

  Finally, Jewel stood. Her body hurt, but she had to keep moving. Pres
sing her hands into her thighs, she bent over her knees, stretching her back.

  Was it Buck who had done this? She had suspected he was behind her attacks. But he was back at the house with Meral, wasn’t he? This new development messed with her suspicions, and the whole reason she’d been going to town to talk to Chief Winters.

  Footfalls crunched on needles.

  Jewel turned and pressed her body against the tree, leaned just enough to see beyond the trunk and not expose herself. She saw no one. But still she heard him coming.

  She pushed from the trunk and crept deeper into the woods. Fighting the greenery, especially since she tried to move quickly, made too much noise. If only she hadn’t dropped her weapon.

  How had it all gone so wrong so fast?

  She could ask questions later, but first she had to survive. All she had to do was stay alive until help arrived. Had Officer Roberts been able to call for help? Was he still alive?

  Her stitches hurt and her body ached afresh as though she’d come crawling from the river just this morning. She’d already tried using self-defense tactics against her attacker, but she was in pain and the man was much stronger. That didn’t lend her much confidence to try again, and instead, terror gripped her.

  She dropped next to another tree, catching her breath.

  “Who are you? What do you want from me?” Jewel yelled, and her voice cracked with a cry from deep inside she hadn’t expected. She sounded desperate and afraid—which she was, and now he knew it. She had revealed too much, proven that he had her just where he wanted her. The sound of her voice echoed through the forest, sounding eerie and like something from some twisted horror movie.

  And Jewel was crumbling.

  A cry broke from her throat. What was she doing except leading him right to her? Her questions didn’t matter. He could hear her movement, could see where she’d been. Could have caught up with her by now if he’d wanted. Why was he torturing her?

  Exhaustion and pain ate away at her resolve. She wanted to drop to the ground and wait for him to find her. After all, it was inevitable, wasn’t it? Why not wait here and hang on to what energy she had left to fight?

  Jewel reached deep down inside.

  Get.

  Up.

  And run.

  Hide.

  She knew the area—probably better than her attacker did. Knew the woods and could use that to her advantage somehow.

  She skirted the rocky outcropping and kept going. She had to make it back to the road up farther, closer to town, where her chances of running into someone and getting help would be greater. That would mean miles of running and hiking, but Jewel had spent the past two decades hiking in the woods. Participating in many of the outdoor activities her guests enjoyed, sometimes serving as a guide. She could likely outlast her pursuer.

  That was if she wasn’t already injured.

  As she continued on, pain lashed at torn stitches and her chest ached with every deep breath while doubts clawed at her. She came upon a hiking trail, which would make it easier for her. While she had the chance, she had to put as much distance as possible between her and the man after her. Once he found the trail, he could easily catch her.

  Jewel found that even on the trail she couldn’t move as fast as she’d hoped. She limped along, tried to keep from breathing so hard, but it was impossible. Her heart pounded too fast from exertion. From terror. And it all drained her energy much too quickly.

  All her plans to make it to the road, to use her knowledge of the area, wouldn’t work if she couldn’t move, but her legs felt as if they were stuck in concrete that was quickly drying.

  Pulling from what little reserve remained, Jewel limped harder and faster, pushing around the curve in the trail that led deeper into the dark canopy.

  She slammed into something.

  A body.

  A man.

  Heart palpitating, Jewel flailed away, fear stabbing through her.

  He gripped her arms. Jewel screamed and fought back. Moments ago, she’d felt as if her energy was gone, but in this moment adrenaline fueled her self-defense techniques. She stunned her attacker. And freed herself from the man’s grip.

  Surprised, she pushed away from him, but tripped and fell on the trail. She scrambled to her feet to run, fight-or-flight hormones surging through her.

  “Jewel!”

  Her brain caught up with her body, cleared away the panic and confusion.

  Chief Winters.

  Colin.

  She turned to see his approach. Then she collapsed against him.

  His arms held her tight, held her up. His words comforted her, calmed her racing heart. She was safe. How many times had she dreamed of being in his arms? Having them around her to comfort her? And how many times had she scolded herself for those forbidden thoughts? But this wasn’t the same thing. She could allow herself this. And for that, she was glad.

  Gathering her composure, Jewel leaned away, though he still held her. “It’s not safe here. He’s coming.”

  “Who, Jewel? Who is coming?”

  “The man who has been trying to kill me. Officer Roberts—”

  “Is fine. A crew is pulling him out of the vehicle even now.” Pain flashed in his eyes. “I’m glad you were able to escape. I wasn’t sure—”

  “What are you doing here?”

  Colin’s broad shoulders straightened. “Looking for you. I thought it would be quicker to head you off at this trail. I figured you would come this way because you know the area.”

  “But what about...the man after me?” Jewel had almost said Buck, but she had too many doubts about that. Especially now. He was with Meral, and the Suburban wasn’t his.

  “Two officers are searching the woods, following the direction Officer Roberts thought you’d taken.” He pulled her closer. “Jewel.”

  The way he said her name sent warmth flooding through her being. This wasn’t how police officers acted with those they were sworn to help. No. Jewel recognized it for what it was.

  That forbidden attraction they’d skirted for years. That Jewel had tried to ignore. With her energy focused on staying alive and solving this, the barriers protecting her heart were quickly crumbling. Her attraction to him—which went far beyond the physical—was taking hold.

  Her heart pounded harder, almost making her believe she could take the risk with him. A longing she’d forgotten threatened to pull her over and under. She squeezed her eyes shut, savoring the moment—a moment she’d never dreamed would happen. A moment she couldn’t allow to continue.

  It was wrong. All wrong.

  She stepped from his arms and immediately missed the strength and comfort of his embrace. A chill moved in fast. But she couldn’t risk the pain that she knew would follow eventually. Inevitably.

  It was a matter of survival.

  * * *

  Colin lifted his hand to cup her cheek, but the warning look in her gaze stopped him. Conflicting emotions filled her eyes—regret and longing—and those emotions nearly did him in.

  He cleared his throat and attempted to put his head and heart straight again. Should he apologize for wanting to comfort her? For wanting to be close?

  He hadn’t expected his own reaction. Hadn’t expected to lose control when she’d fallen into his arms, needing safety and comfort. Jewel was strong and self-sufficient and, even in this desperate crisis, he hadn’t expected her need to surface like this. Or maybe he had.

  Maybe he wanted her to need him.

  Enough with pretense, already. He wanted to hold and comfort Jewel Caraway. And so much more. He always had. But he couldn’t. From now on he should muster more control. Try harder.

  Because right now he hadn’t shored up his heart and mind enough. That much was clear. Already his heart was tripping and tumbling inside because she’d been attacked.

&n
bsp; “I’m just glad I found you. Are you all right, all things considered?”

  “I need to see Doc again, but I’m mostly fine. And I’m glad you found me, too.” She covered her eyes for a moment, then dropped her hands. “It’s not safe. He could still be out there.”

  “Did you see him this time?”

  She shook her head and searched the woods and trail, as did Colin. “No, I was too busy running, but I heard the footfalls. I even called out to him and asked what he wanted.”

  Colin held his weapon, prepared to use it and end this once and for all. He almost wished the man would show himself. But with his officers combing the woods from the opposite direction, it was likely the attacker had taken off.

  He used his radio to call his men. A vehicle matching the description of the black monster Suburban used in the attack had been stolen yesterday. As soon as Colin had heard the truck’s description, he had known it belonged to Jim Humphrey. Good man. Made his living as a commercial fisherman. He also knew that Jim was in the hospital fighting an infection.

  So far there was no sign of the truck. Colin’s officers had found nothing but tracks. He could work with tracks. There were only two ways on and off this side of the mountain, and neither involved four wheels.

  Colin reached for Jewel’s hand. “Come on. Let me get you out of here.” He paused and studied her. “Are you okay to walk?”

  She nodded.

  After everything she’d been through, he wasn’t so sure. He gently urged her ahead of him as he watched the woods surrounding them. They had no way of knowing if her pursuer was working with someone or working alone. Better to take no chances.

  If Jewel had someone like a bodyguard to stick with her all the time, maybe this would already be resolved.

  But he couldn’t be certain of that since an officer had been killed and another injured while watching over her. A lot of collateral damage considering the target was one smallish middle-aged blonde woman—beautiful and strong though she was.

  At the trailhead, Cobie and Adam Warren stood next to the minivan they’d purchased for the arrival of their baby. They looked ready for a hike. Colin smiled to himself. Seemed like they had plans for a bigger family. That thought stabbed him just a little. Reminded him of the big hole in his life.