Chapter Forty-Three
“I’m going now,” Maya said, standing. Juniper left Hope’s side after seeing her handler getting ready to go. “Five minutes,
okay? Give me five minutes and then get out of here.”
Hope wasn’t acknowledging her. Maya checked her watch. They were running out of time. If her plan was going to work, she had
to get going.
“I’ll see you later. I promise,” Maya said, turning to leave.
“Wait,” Hope said.
Maya hesitated, glancing at her watch again. “Yes?”
“Thank you for saving me.”
A little surprised by that, Maya said, “You’re welcome. I’ll see you soon.”
Then she did an about-face and walked away. Maybe there was a part of Maya that didn’t want to leave either. Couldn’t they
still escape Abigail together? If Abigail was waiting at the canyon rock formation, then they might have enough time to get
around the lake and make the call to dispatch for the chopper. But Abigail would hear it. She would still come after them.
And this was personal. Abigail had taken not only Maya’s mother from her, but also her grandmother.
Maybe even Josh. There would be no more casualties.
This had to end. Today. Abigail was going to learn that she couldn’t get away with anything she wanted.
At some point, there had to be justice and now was the time to serve it.
Maya realized this was a battle she’d wanted for a long time, which should have scared her, but it didn’t.
Taking a deep breath, she shut out the rest of the world and focused.
Maya unclipped Juniper’s leash. Everything had to go according to plan. She had to get Abigail to come through the small canyon
so Juniper could apprehend her. But it was tight. The canyon was just like a hallway in that it was a fatal funnel. There
wouldn’t be a good place to take cover. But Abigail would have the same problem.
They hiked toward the trail. Maya could see flames rising into the air. The fire was close, but it hadn’t taken off the way
she expected. It was like the fire knew she had to do this too.
As they approached, Maya studied the area. There was a stand of trees off to the side. That would be a better place for Juniper.
She took Juniper over there and put her on a stay. The Mal sat, but her weight was already leaning forward onto her front
end, waiting to take off.
“Stay.” Maya added in a hand signal and then backed away.
She went over to the area that formed the small canyon and stood against the rock.
Maya peered around and didn’t see anyone.
That didn’t mean that Abigail wasn’t there.
She glanced at her watch. The five minutes was up.
Hope needed to be walking around the lake.
Would she do it? If not, she was probably safe where she was, but Maya preferred her to be as far away as possible.
Taking a deep breath, Maya held her gun in ready position. She peeked around the rock formation again. There was no one in
the canyon. She crossed the opening, ready for gunfire, but there was nothing. Had Abigail fallen for the bait to come here
or was she going after Hope again?
Then she heard a rock roll down a hill, bouncing a couple times. Abigail was here.
Maya controlled her breathing, watching her dog. Juniper was perfect and stayed in place. She’d never lost eye contact with
Maya. The Mal watched her every move, ready for the fun, as Juniper always thought of it, to begin. Maya was proud of her
dog, but still worried that she didn’t have her protective vest. With the way Maya’s shirt and body armor was soaked in sweat,
though, it was good that Juniper wasn’t wearing hers. How was she going to get Abigail to go to where she needed her to? She
had convinced herself that the plan was perfect, but now it showed its flaws.
Abigail was there. She could sense it. How long would Abigail wait? Maya wanted to make something happen. She peeked around
the rocks again. This time she saw Abigail staring back at her. Maya went back to hiding up against the rock.
“Why don’t you just come out and talk, Maya?”
Maya shook her head. Abigail was always trying to manipulate. “I don’t think you have any interest in talking.”
“I’ve gone to great lengths to get you here with me. What makes you think I don’t want to talk?”
“I don’t get you,” Maya said. “You escape federal prison while you’re being detained waiting for trial. Then you do this elaborate
plan to kidnap a teenager all so you can talk with me? Why didn’t you just call? Or write? Or escape prison and show up at
my house?”
“Well, this was a lot more fun,” Abigail said. “Thanks to you, I had time to plan while being detained. And how fun it is
to let you know you have a family and then take them away from you. I think your brother and sister are quite accepting of
you, but if you don’t save Hope, that might change. I don’t know. It’s been fun to play with you and your father. And showing
up at your house? Really? With two officers and a K-9 who would like to bite me, that wouldn’t work.”
“Seems unlike you to not be up for a challenge,” Maya said. “Breaking and entering a home with a K-9 seems like a great opportunity
to come up with a fun plan.”
Abigail laughed and it echoed down the canyon. “Speaking of your lovely dog, where is she?”
“Too hot out. She’s not with me.”
“Yeah, right.”
While they’d been talking, Maya was trying to rethink her plan.
She needed to get on the other side of the canyon and ambush Abigail.
Would Juniper wait? Or would that put her dog in danger?
Maya used her hand signal to have Juniper stay.
If she could get over to the other side of the canyon without going through it, she might be able to set Juniper up to help her.
Maya started climbing over some rocks. She quickly realized she’d need both hands and holstered her gun. She got to the top
of the canyon and dropped on her stomach. It had been a long time since she’d done a belly crawl. Juniper was waiting, but
straining to see where Maya was. Juniper spotted her up above on the rocks. Maya gave her a reminder signal to stay. All the
obedience they’d worked on was paying off.
Maya continued to shimmy along the rocks on her belly. Her uniform was catching and ripping, but at this point, she didn’t
care. Getting over to the other side, Maya could see Abigail. She was on the opposite section of the small canyon. Slowly,
inch by inch, Maya snuck her way back down. Her legs, arms and back ached from the exertion and lack of water. But she didn’t
care. She was finishing this. After today, Abigail would never hurt or kill her or her loved ones again.
Maya inched along the boulders, hoping Abigail wouldn’t see her until the last minute. She was careful where she put her feet
as she didn’t want to kick a stone and have it roll off the rocks, giving away her position. She was finally on the same side
of the canyon across from Abigail. Juniper couldn’t see Maya anymore and she hoped the dog would stay until she could give
her the command to apprehend.
She slipped down from the rock and onto firm ground.
There was a spot behind a boulder where she could take cover if needed.
And it was probably going to be needed. Maya pulled her gun out of her holster and took a deep breath.
This was for everyone Abigail had taken from her or had tried to harm. This time, Maya was going to win.
She stepped out and said, “Drop the gun and put your hands in the air.”