Chapter Fifteen
Fatigue was a real bitch.
Every muscle she’d forgotten she owned—all of which she’d memorized during years of medical school—screamed in protest with each step forward.
Drennan had lost sight of any hint of a trail an hour ago, heading through miles and miles of tall trees, jagged rocks and the biggest mountains she’d ever seen.
More than an hour? Time had no meaning out here in the middle of nowhere.
She wasn’t sure which direction she’d run, how far or how long.
At the time, all she’d been thinking about was escape.
Well, she’d done a hell of a job at that.
She was so turned around, not even a killer could find her out here.
But she didn’t dare stop. No matter how hard her stomach twisted with hunger, how blistered her feet or burned her scalp and face.
How could she have been so blind? She was lost. In the middle of a national park with no food, no water, no supplies of any kind.
She’d never been allowed to join the Girl Scouts or go camping with the other girls in her local church.
She didn’t know the first thing about wilderness survival, except apparently what not to do.
Sweat had stopped beading at her hairline and the back of her neck and had now gotten trapped in her clothing and gear.
Fall brought lower temperatures in most areas of the country.
In Ohio this time of year, it’d be on the low end of forties, but Zion itself was so far south, it felt like she’d descended straight into hell.
Tendrils of scrub brush scraped against her waterproof bodysuit, slowing her down.
Her gear was weighing her down, draining her of the last remnants of energy.
And, thanks to the baby, she didn’t have that much to begin with.
Not like she’d had any real choice. Running had been the only option.
Otherwise, her body might’ve been the next Harvey found on the trail.
Drennan forced herself to take the next step.
And the one after that. But her shoe slipped off the smooth surface of the rock underfoot and jutted to one side.
Her whole ankle angled outward, taking her body weight, and she went down.
The ground rushed up to meet her, and she threw her bound hands out, doing what she could to avoid face-planting.
The impact jarred through her right side.
Gravel and dirt embedded in her palms, and pain lightninged into her right hip.
She’d managed to absorb most of the fall onto one side instead of her middle, but the agony refused to relent.
Insects quieted at the sound of her gasp, throwing her into bone-chilling silence.
If the killer had been following her, he’d most likely heard it.
Peeling herself from the ground, Drennan spit the dirt that’d forced its way into her mouth.
Her weight shifted enough to reignite the pain in her side.
One of the jagged rocks she’d been trying to avoid had cut through her waterproof suit.
No signs of blood. That was good. The chances of infection out here—without a first aid kit—were higher than she wanted to think about, but the injury would slow her down nonetheless.
Hell. She didn’t even know where she was going.
Which direction she’d started running. She remembered one of the psychologists back in Ohio checking a patient for cognitive issues who’d taken a tumble down Mount Airy—the only real mountain hiking around Cincinnati—telling nurses about the brain’s tendency to walk in circles in open spaces.
Even with use of all five senses and determination to walk a straight line, humans had a tendency to veer right or left, bringing them in circles.
Was that what was happening now? Drennan didn’t think so, but it was impossible to tell which rocks she’d already passed, if that was the same tree she’d passed before or if she was putting herself back in range of a man determined to use her to get to his first victim.
She wished Harvey was here.
Dryness coated the back of her throat. The sinking sensation that came with that thought pulsed in time with the beat in her right hip.
He’d know what to do. He’d have supplies to help.
Because it was literally his job. He’d keep her focused, help her get back to civilization.
He’d make her feel safe, as he had that night in the bar.
She hadn’t told him, but she’d known he would’ve stepped in if she’d needed help warning off the guy who’d approached her.
That was just the kind of man he was. Aware of others.
Ready to take action if needed. He was a good man, even if he didn’t believe it himself.
She didn’t know any abusers who would’ve taken her home to give her time to recover from passing out, and the ones she did would’ve ensured that a small price was paid later down the line, hanging that favor over her head for eternity.
But that wasn’t Harvey. He hadn’t asked for anything from her in return or gone out of his way to remind her of what he’d done for her benefit, and she…
wasn’t used to that. Being taken care of by someone else was new, but she liked it. She liked him.
Testing her weight on her ankle, Drennan nearly buckled a second time, catching herself against a tree. Rough bark cut into her palms along with the gravel and dirt already doing their job.
She’d screwed this up so bad. Dr. Yarrow had sent her on a simple assignment.
Collect any personal items or evidence their victim might’ve left behind at the scene to help identify the remains.
Instead, she’d gotten herself abducted and now couldn’t hike her way out of a wet paper bag.
If she didn’t come across a ranger or another hiker—something, anything—soon, she would die out here.
There was no question. She pressed one hand over the cut in her suit, aggravating the sensitive tissue underneath.
Most likely a bone bruise. Not lethal but intense enough to steal her breath.
She would live. For a little while longer, anyway.
“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get out of here.
” Her hand automatically smoothed across her midsection.
Directly above that little bundle of cells with the power to change her life.
Had changed her life. Whether that change was for worse or better, she didn’t know yet.
But she wanted to find out. She wanted the opportunity, to have something that was just hers.
A chance to love something unconditionally without the threat of it being taken away or used against her. She wanted a family again.
So she had to stop, to think about this.
Continuing on through Zion’s backcountry without any supplies or food would only kill her faster.
Adrenaline had long worn off. She hadn’t registered any hints of the killer for the past hour, though she was sure it wasn’t hard for even a novice hunter to follow her tracks at this point.
Maybe he’d given up. Decided she wasn’t worth it.
But that only meant he’d turn his deadly intentions onto Dr. Yarrow. Or Harvey.
Drennan sank back against the tree. Sharp edges dug into her spine as she slid onto her rear.
The sun angled into the canyon, built by two impossibly tall walls of sheer red rock, from her left.
Okay. That meant the sun was arching into the west, right?
So it was past noon, and she was facing…
north. Though there wasn’t much to see from her current position.
She’d been running east with the sun at her back, she didn’t know how long, but it had to have been three hours—maybe four—at least. She’d parked at the visitor’s center around ten in the morning and gotten to the upper emerald pool around eleven.
She tried recalling the layout of the park from the few times she’d picked up a map and thought about getting out into nature as part of this whole new life thing she had going, but that’d been months ago. It was no use.
Someone had to realize she was missing, right?
Dread pooled at the base of her spine. Dr. Yarrow would clock out precisely at five and most likely assume she’d done the same after collecting whatever evidence she could find from the trail.
Or presume she’d needed more recovery time from yesterday due to the pregnancy he was very much aware of.
No one had been at the base of the trail or at the scene when she’d arrived.
Only signs had designated the Emerald Pools trail closed to the public until the ME’s office and the law enforcement rangers had what they needed for the investigation into the victim’s death.
And Harvey… She hadn’t heard from him since she’d walked out his front door last night.
She’d wanted to give him time to think about this whole them-having-a-baby-thing, but what she’d really done was run away from potential rejection like the coward her mother had always accused her of being.
Nobody knew she was out here.
Nobody would know she was missing.
And the voicemail her only remaining parent—a woman who was supposed to love her—had left on her phone the night she’d been driven to the bar replayed in her head.
You’re going to die alone. Nobody will care that you’re gone.
You think you get to be happy by leaving me here all alone?
Your father believed in fairy tales, too. Look what happened to him.
Well, her mom was finally right about something, wasn’t she?
She closed her eyes against the vile words stuck in her head, setting her head back against the tree bark.
Her mother hadn’t always been so bitter.
She’d been happy once, in love. Whole. There’d been weekend road trips to the lakes and the movies, big birthday parties and Christmases, family dinners every night and help with homework when she needed it.
Smiles and laughter, inside jokes and flirtatious teasing.
Drennan had always feigned gagging when her parents had kissed, but deep down, she’d wanted that too someday.
Her own family and all the joy that came with it.
But grief did terrible things to the heart and soul.
It corrupted all those happy memories into someone Drennan didn’t recognize anymore. Someone who’d turned on her own daughter because the pain had become too much to handle alone.
A twig snapped nearby.
Drennan forced her eyes open despite her body being more than happy to give in to the tug of sleep, and a surge of awareness gave her new energy.
Every sense she owned strained for the hint of something tangible to grab onto, but the trees were still.
The insects had gone quiet again. Nothing moved.
She wanted to trust her senses, but her brain was telling her to get up. To run.
Pressure built in her chest the longer she dared to hold her breath. Putting weight into her left leg, she bit against the flare of discomfort and slid herself back up the tree. The ache was deeper now, swelling through her entire hip, but she couldn’t think about that right now.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
Drennan backed away from the tree she’d collapsed against, blindly navigating into the open. It might not be the smartest move, but she’d have a much better chance of running without having to maneuver through packed trees or going too far off course.
Keeping her gaze on the surrounding wilderness, she let the tension bleed out of her shoulders. There wasn’t anyone there. Just a falling branch or—
“Hello, Dr. Hawes.” Muscled arms pulled her against a wall of human granite. Her scream cut off with a slap of her attacker’s hand over her mouth. “I’ve been looking for you.”