* * *
Isabel splashed water on her face and stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She pulled a strand of blond hair behind her ear. So that was it. She’d opened her heart to Jason, let herself feel something for him and he was pushing her away.
Of course, it wasn’t realistic that they go into witness protection together. They’d known each other less than a week, but he acted like he didn’t want to be with her at all. He’d kept her safe so far. Maybe he was just looking for an excuse to push her away. He could be scared of his feelings for her or he might have just been caught up in the moment when he kissed her. It didn’t matter. The point was she wasn’t going to open herself up to this kind of stinging pain. Not ever again.
She reached for a towel. The back door opened. Jason must have been coming back inside. She’d heard him step out earlier.
She patted her face dry, covering her eyes. Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
She wasn’t about to call out to Jason. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to him.
She replaced the towel on the bar, then realized she hadn’t heard the back door close. The bathroom door swung open. Before she could turn, a gun pressed into the middle of her back.
“Thought you’d get away from me, huh? You scream, I’ll shoot.” Nick wrapped his arm around her waist and pointed the gun at her head. “Lover boy is distracted right now. Don’t expect him to come rescue you.”
He pulled her through the door. Nick had her in such a tight hold, she couldn’t move.
He half lifted, half dragged her through the snow into one of the other incomplete houses. He pushed her onto the plywood floor and pulled a bandanna out of his pocket. Diving to the floor, he grabbed hold of her hair. “Hold still.”
Her head stung where he’d yanked on her ponytail.
In the distance, she heard Jason call her name. He sounded so very far away.
Nick must have heard the cry, as well. Panic filled his words. He pointed the gun at her. “Cry out and you’re dead.” The tone of his voice told her he wasn’t lying. “Give me your hands.”
She flipped over and tried to crawl away, knowing he would overpower her, but at least it bought her some time.
Jason and the agent would most likely go through the front door of the safe house and search there first. In the minutes it took them to find the tracks and drag marks at the back of the house, Nick would be able to escape with her if he had a vehicle nearby.
Nick pounced on her again, flipping her around and tying the bandanna around her wrists. He pulled her to her feet and pushed her through the empty house, their footsteps echoing on the plywood subfloor. He pushed her out the back of the house.
She heard the sound of a diesel truck before she saw it. Nick had left it running for a quick escape. He led her around to the side of the house and shoved her in the driver’s seat. “Scoot over.” And then he jumped behind the wheel.
The truck eased through the deep snow.
Isabel lifted her head to look out the back window. The truck bed was covered with a tarp.
“Stay down,” Nick barked.
She reached for the door handle, seeking to escape before the truck was going too fast. Though her hands were bound, she was able to wrap fingers around the door handle. Nick grabbed the collar of her robe and pulled her back.
“Don’t even.” He pulled a gun from his waist and pointed it at her. “Just in case you want to try that again.” Nick pressed the accelerator, trying to go faster, which only made the wheels of the truck spin. He cursed.
The truck gained some traction and he sped toward the road.
The Bureau had taken great pains to make sure they weren’t followed to the safe house. “How did you find me?”
“You pay someone enough money and they will tell you anything.”
So one of the agents had turned on them. The investigation was even more tainted.
“Everyone has a price, Blondie.” Nick sped up a winding country road. “Once we figured out the Feds were following us, it just took a little research to figure out who would turn because of debt and a gambling problem.”
“Which agent?”
Nick shook his head. “I’m not telling you.” He grinned. “After I deal with you, it won’t take much to get rid of lover boy too.”
Ice replaced the blood in her veins. Nick was going to kill Jason, as well, and she had no way to warn him that one of the agents was dirty. “Where are you taking me?”
“Someplace where they won’t find you until spring, if ever. And it will look like an accident. Just like you suggested on the ski hill.” Nick stared at the road ahead as a sinister smile spread across his face. “Got to hand it to you, Blondie—you have some good ideas. We could have been such a great team. Living large.” He turned to look at her as the road straightened out and his eyes were as cold as stone. “Now you won’t live at all.”
Terror crushed her lungs, making it hard to take in even a shallow breath.
SIXTEEN
Jason wrapped his arms around himself and drew his knees up to his chest. Even with his ski jacket on, it was chilly underneath the tarp of Nick’s truck, where he’d hidden.
The truck had been rolling away as he’d jumped in the back, too fast for him to get to the cab and pull Isabel free. If the passenger-side door was locked, he would have lost his chance altogether. Nick had been distracted by Isabel trying to escape when Jason climbed in the back.
The bed of the truck vibrated as it rumbled up a hill and slipped into a curve. Once Nick stopped, Jason would have a chance to get to Isabel. It had been at least twenty minutes and Nick hadn’t even slowed down.
Jason eased toward the side of the truck and peeked out at the winter landscape. Nick must be taking Isabel deep into the hills far from witnesses. He checked his pocket. Though he’d been issued another phone, he’d left it on the kitchen counter of the safe house.
He rolled back to the middle of the truck bed. His hand wrapped around a tire iron. That might come in handy.
He focused on the rhythm of the wheels turning for what must have been another twenty minutes.
Finally, the truck lurched to a stop. He heard the driver’s-side door open and slam shut. Then the passenger door eased open. He waited for at least three minutes before lifting the tarp and peering above the rim of the truck bed.
He didn’t see Nick or Isabel, but their tracks were easy enough to follow. They’d gone toward a cluster of trees. He grabbed the tire iron and jumped to the ground, pressing close to the truck to avoid being seen if they came back out.
He ran toward the forest, then dashed from tree to tree. Nick shouted something at Isabel, disturbing the quiet forest. Fearing for her life, Jason sprinted through the evergreens. An old log cabin leaning to one side stood in a clearing. Nick stomped past a glassless window. Jason lifted his head but couldn’t see Isabel anywhere.
Jason edged closer as fear was embedded in every muscle of his body. What if he was too late? He dashed toward another tree and then crouched as he approached the house. At least he hadn’t heard a gunshot.
Nick’s voice rose above the sound of scuffling. “If they ever find you, it will look like you froze to death. My hands will be clean. We are miles from everything. No one comes up this road this time of year.”
Jason raised his head above the rim of the window. Isabel lay on the floor with Nick kneeling beside her, removing the bandanna that bound her hands.
Isabel was still in pajamas and a robe. Her feet must be icicles by now in the slippers she wore.
His tire iron was no match for the gun he saw in Nick’s waistband. Because he’d just gotten up less than an hour ago, he hadn’t had time to grab his own gun.
If he could surprise Nick, Jason might be able to overtake him. Nick stepped through the door on the opposite wall from where Jason was hidden.
Isabel rose to her feet.
Jason made a hissing noise to try to get her attention. She saw him just as Nick, standing in the doorway, turned in the direction of the sound. Jason ducked down behind the cabin wall.
“Did you say something, Isabel?” Nick’s voice dripped with suspicion.
“Sorry I made that noise. I just wish you’d reconsider what you’re doing here,” Isabel said.
Nick stomped back into the doorway. “No one betrays me and gets away with it. You stay in this cabin while I drive away.” He lifted the gun and pointed it at her. “Don’t try to follow me.”
Jason pressed against the cabin wall, waiting for the sound of Nick’s retreating footsteps. A long heavy silence followed. Nick halted.
“You win,” said Isabel.
The answer must have satisfied Nick because he stomped away. Jason hurried around the side of the cabin. Nick was still in view with his back to the cabin. Isabel’s footsteps pounded inside the cabin.
Nick spun around. Jason shrank back along the side wall, hoping he hadn’t been spotted.
“I said stay in there. Go sit in a corner,” Nick said. His voice filled with rage.
Nick must be able to see Isabel through the glassless windows.
Isabel’s light footfall padded on the wood floor of the cabin.
Jason pressed against the wall, unable to gauge where Nick was at. The guy had almost a sixth sense for when he was under threat. Jason needed to wait, but if they waited too long, they would miss their ride out of here.
He peered out from the side of the cabin. Nick was nowhere in sight. The trees hid the view of the truck.
He dashed to the front of the cabin and stuck his head in the door. “Hurry.”
She ran toward him. He reached a hand out for her.
Through the trees, the sound of the diesel truck starting up reached them. Isabel seemed to understand the plan without his having to explain. If they couldn’t get under that tarp without being spotted, they would both freeze out here.
He slipped behind a tree.
Nick would take a few minutes to let the engine warm up before taking off down the road. They’d have to jump in once the truck was rolling and Nick’s focus was on his driving.
The grind of gears shifting reached Jason’s ears. He ran out toward the tailgate. The truck couldn’t be going faster than five miles an hour. Still, it was a challenge to climb over the tailgate quietly. He reached out a hand for Isabel, who struggled to run in her sheepskin slippers. She leaped and got a foothold on the bumper, then piled in. Glancing over his shoulder to a view of the back of Nick’s head, Jason lifted the tarp and they rolled under it. He drew her close so they were completely covered.
She was shivering. He unzipped his coat, drew her to his chest and wrapped the coat around her.
He listened to the rumbling of the truck motor. Her soft hair brushed his chin as her shivering subsided.
“Are your feet cold?”
“Some. The sheepskin lining is pretty warm,” she whispered.
He prayed Nick would stop at a gas station soon. Somewhere public so they could slip out before Nick noticed the extra lumps beside his toolbox underneath the tarp.
“Jason, one of the agents is dirty. That’s how Nick found the safe house.”
“Really?” Not Michael, surely not Michael. Yet they couldn’t take a chance until they knew for sure. They were on their own for now.
The truck continued to rumble on, though the change in pitch of the rolling tires told him the road had gone from snow packed to paved. They must be getting close to something.
The truck slowed and the road changed again. Judging from the sound the tires made, they might be on dirt. Finally, Nick braked and turned off the engine. The truck door eased open and slammed shut. Jason didn’t hear any retreating footsteps.
Jason tensed, fearing they’d been spotted beneath the tarp.
Isabel gasped. She pressed closer to him.
Tension covered them like a shroud as they lay still, clinging to each other and praying.
The vague padding of footsteps in snow pressed on his ears. He remained still, not even daring to breathe yet.
When he could hear no more noise, he rolled free of Isabel, turned over and lifted the tarp just enough to see above the edge of the truck. Isabel scooted beside him to watch, as well. They were parked in what was in the summertime a recreation area with picnic tables, playground equipment and a lake. But this time of year, it was completely abandoned.
Nick had walked less than twelve feet away from the truck, too close for them to risk climbing out. The closest hiding place was a cluster of bare bushes by the lake.
Nick’s back was to them. He checked something on his phone and peered toward the road as if waiting for someone. A car appeared around the curve leading into the parking lot. It stopped, and Nick walked toward it as a woman in a uniform, maybe a maid’s, got out. She handed Nick an envelope.
Now was their chance, while Nick was distracted. Isabel followed as Jason crawled under the tarp to the far side of the truck away from Nick.
Jason slipped out from beneath the tarp. He was exposed for only a second as he swung his leg over the side of the truck and crouched down. As Isabel did the same, Jason could hear the car starting up and speeding out of the snowy parking lot.
Nick got into his truck and started it up. The motor ran for several minutes warming up while both of them crouched close to the passenger side. Isabel rested her hand on Jason’s back. They’d be seen if they made a run for it now.
If Nick pulled out and didn’t look back, they’d have a chance.
Jason’s gaze darted from the picnic table to the bushes a little farther away.
The truck eased forward. Heart racing, Jason glued his gaze to the back of Nick’s head. Even the slightest movement meant they were dead.
Isabel dashed toward the picnic table. Nick’s head tilted as though he were checking his rearview mirror. His truck continued to roll forward.
Jason froze. He was exposed, but movement might alarm Nick, as well. The truck reached the edge of the parking lot.
Isabel crouched on the far side of the picnic table, which didn’t entirely conceal her. She was probably cold again. It wasn’t that far back to the edge of town, but it would be an arduous journey for her dressed the way she was.
Nick’s truck rumbled as it pulled out onto the road.
Jason raced toward the picnic table. The truck disappeared around the curve.
He reached Isabel. “There’s a hiking trail on the other side of the lake. Houses at the end of it.”
They sprinted through the snow. He was grateful it was only a few inches deep.
They both heard the rumble of the diesel truck at the same time.
Nick had turned around and was headed straight for them. His big truck lumbered over the barriers in the parking lot and bore down on them.
They edged toward the frozen lake, running along the bank. Nick’s truck turned around. The driver’s-side window rolled down.
Jason caught the glint of metal just before the first shot was fired. He stepped out onto the frozen lake. The ice looked thick and solid. Across was the fastest way to get to the trailhead and the shelter of the trees there. He knew the lake was solid. Kids played hockey on it.
Nick got out of his truck and fired several more shots.
Isabel reached for Jason’s hand. The ice cracked around her where a shot was fired.
“Hurry.” He could see the trailhead not more than twenty yards away. Nick fired another shot.
An eerie quiet descended around them, their feet tapping on the ice the only noise. He looked over his shoulder. Nick was headed back up the bank toward his truck. Probably to swing around to the road to try to catch them on the trailhead before they could get to a house.
They came to the edge of the lake. “We’ll have to cut through the trees. He’ll be waiting for us at the end of the trailhead.”
The trees were more like tall bare bushes. Within minutes, the menacing sound of the diesel truck reached Jason’s ears. Would Nick come in after them or just wait for them to emerge?
The brush became thick and hard to navigate through.
“We can’t go back.” Isabel’s whisper filled with panic.
The bright colors of Jason’s coat would be easy enough to see if Nick chose to come in after them.
“Get low,” Jason whispered as he squeezed between two bushes. They worked their way through the labyrinth of bare branches and brush.
When he lifted his head, he saw smoke rising up through the air. Someone’s woodstove.
The brush ended at the edge of a property. A small cottage-like house with a barn beside it was a welcome sight.
Isabel let out a breath. “We made it.” She rushed toward the door and knocked.
Jason stood beside her. “We’ll get warmed up and I’ll call a friend to come get us. I don’t think we should go back to my place or yours.”
She cast her gaze downward. “I’m sure Nick or whoever he works for will have people watching.”
A woman of about forty opened the door. She was short and round with granny glasses. She held a coffee cup in her hand. Her expression changed from confused to fearful as her eyes grew wide. “Can I help you?”
“Please,” Isabel said. “I know this looks crazy.” She touched her robe. “It’s a long story. We just need to get warmed up and use your phone.”
“I can have a friend here to pick us up in ten minutes,” Jason said, hoping to allay the woman’s understandable wariness.
The woman’s gaze traveled from Isabel to Jason and then back to Isabel. “Okay, come in and sit by the fire.”
Jason glanced from side to side, not seeing any sign of Nick or his truck. That didn’t mean they were in the clear. Nick knew they were both alive. Sooner or later he’d come for them.
Mountain Secrets Page 32