Chapter 7
“Let her go!” Nathan yelled as he pulled his gun from his back holster.
“You stay out of this. She’s wanted for questioning,” the cop said. Nathan took in the shoulder patch identifying the man as a deputy for the city police. He was inches away from the guy when Sampson went for the hand holding the gun, clamping onto the deputy’s wrist. This time the scream wasn’t from Haley, but the cop and Nathan didn’t call Sampson off until he was able to retrieve the dropped gun. “Down,” he said and Sampson released the deputy’s arm and took one step back. His hackles still raised, the hound growled deep in his throat, looking every bit the trained tracker and combat dog he was.
“Let her go,” Nathan repeated and steadied his aim at the deputy. The cop’s shocked expression turned to wariness and he released Haley, who retreated back onto the truck seat and nearer the driver’s side. “Step away from the truck.” Nathan gestured with his free hand and took a step back so the cop could comply. As he did, he noted the ATV parked near the edge of the road, along with the pile of packages neatly stacked against a pine tree. So that was what had brought them. Someone had spilled the beans about the pick up.
“You’re going to be in some trouble, you know,” the deputy said as he kept his hands spread and low, near his beltline. Nathan gestured toward the packages.
“Put them in the back of the truck,” he said and pointed to the packages.
“You’re making a mistake, man. She’s trouble. You don’t want to get mixed up with her.”
“Really? What’s the deal?”
“She’s wanted for fraud and robbery. More if the evidence we have pans out.” The guy wanted to talk and if he could do it while loading their supplies, Nathan had no problem with it. He gestured toward the packages and told him to load them again. As the guy made trip after trip with the food and other supplies, he provided more information than Nathan could have hoped for. And gave him a clear idea of what he’d have to do next.
By the time the goods were loaded, Haley had calmed down and was at the opened door, her eyes on the two men. Nathan looked at the off-road vehicle and pondered for a minute. If he took the keys, the cop might still be able to hot wire it. So, he did the next best thing. After handcuffing the deputy with his own cuffs, pocketing the key and relieving the guy of any other weapons and communication devices, including radio and phone, he pulled his knife from his belt and went to work on the gas and brake lines. They could be repaired but it’d take a while.
At the deputy’s curse, he turned to him where he’d secured him to a low tree branch. “Hey, man. It’s fixable.”
“I’ll see you soon,” the cop said as Nathan released the cuffs, pulled him away from the tree and then refixed the cuffs.
“Deal. If you keep walking down this road, take the road to the right, you should be home by morning. Or on the main road, anyway.” Nathan eyed the man’s boots. “You’ll make it if you don’t go off trail. The bears and cats generally stay in the woods this time of year.”
“Man, you’ll hear from me,” the deputy roared as Nathan turned and headed back to the truck. He lifted a hand and kept his expression pleasant as he climbed inside. Once the truck was engaged, though, he let his worry and displeasure show.
“We need to get off the road.”
Haley looked at him. “Because he found us? Isn’t the pick up point out of the way? I thought that was why you chose it.”
“It is but he wasn’t the only one who was at the pick up point.” Nathan glanced in the rear-view mirror and then turned onto a track near the road. The remnants of a wagon trail, the road was overgrown with weeds and bushes but clear enough for him to pull into the mainly level space and park. As he exited the truck, he sensed Haley scoot out the door behind him. “So why are we leaving the road so soon? Couldn’ he catch up with us?”
He pulled the packages out of the truck bed and tossed them on the ground. “Open those up, will ya?” As he finished he looked at her. “We need to see if there are any tracking devices on these and repack.”
She stared at him for a minute then knelt and started untying the packages. Nathan noted she twined the rope and folded the paper as she went. When she didn’t question him any further, he relaxed a little and started going through the stuff.
When she noticed him pitching things into two piles, she asked, “What are we doing?”
“We’re going to go into the woods.”
“Aren’t we already there?” She asked and glanced around them. The path, small and rutted, was surrounded by trees and bushes. Thick rhododendron covered the rest of the wagon trail, making it impassable to any but small four-legged creatures. That, along with brambles, rocks and, about three feet away, a drop of at least twenty feet would force anyone who’d ventured this far to go either up the mountain or retreat back to the road. Nathan held the small tracking disk up for her to examine then tossed it into the bushes before returning to his search.
“Let’s get this stuff packed up.” He opened the toolbox and retrieved a couple of backpacks. “Put the stuff in this pile in the smaller pack. I’ll do the larger one.”
As they worked, Nathan couldn’t help but feel the press of time. If he was smart the deputy would have started down the road as soon as they’d left. It would take him all night and into the next day to get to the main road, assuming he didn’t run into any trouble. The wildlife in this part of the mountains were wary of humans, so that shouldn’t prove dangerous for the guy, if he wasn’t stupid. But that only accounted for the cop. The ash had been left there for Nathan to find, he realized. It had been too perfect, too untouched, to have been casually missed when policing the trash. Ephram had left it for him.
“The pack is done.” Haley’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he nodded. “Good. I’m almost finished.”
“Did you find any more trackers?” she asked and lifted the pack with one hand. Good. She might be able to handle that one.
“No, but we’ll go through it again later.” He didn’t think any other trackers had been planted but further, more extensive searching needed to be done. If they could do it at the cabin, good, but he was doubtful.
He hustled her back into the truck and then pulled back on to the road. A few minutes later, he had his answer. A new set of tracks leading to the dirt road told him they weren’t the only ones on the mountain. He took the next track off the road and started down again. As she held onto the grab bar, Haley looked ahead. “We aren’t going to be able to go back to the cabin, are we?”
“No. We’ve got to leave the truck and go on foot.”
Haley swallowed and prayed she’d be able to face the next part of this journey. “Where are we going to go?”
“Into the woods,” he said again and she realized his meaning. Staying at the cabin had been a luxury. They’d be outside and open to the elements now. And she’d never done anything like that.
She held on to the bar as he scraped and bounced the truck further into the trees, going over low bushes, gullies and at one point, a small rock outcropping. She wondered if he was willing to wreck the truck before he stopped and said a quick prayer for his abilities as well. After what seemed like an hour but was more likely a few minutes, he came to a jarring stop at the edge of a cliff.
“What, we’re stopping now? Why not deploy the parachute?” she said in a dry whisper. He caught the words and grinned. “Didn’t I tell you I like off roading?”
She swiped at him after she was sure he’d taken his hand off the steering wheel and then released the grab bar. “Are we ditching the truck here?”
He nodded. “You’re wearing running shoes, right?”
She bent her knee to show him her shoe, proud her legs weren’t visibly shaking. “Most of the time outside of work.”
“Good. They’ll work. Let’s get the stuff.”
He opened his door and gestured for her to slide over. “There’s a drop off on your side.”
Haley glanced out of her window and saw the top of a pine tree at eye level and gulped. She’d been staring out the front windshield, when her eyes were open, on the trip through the woods. Now she was thankful she hadn’t looked out the passenger window. She might have lost what little was in her stomach.
By the time she’d crawled over the gear shift and scrambled out of the truck Nathan had the bed gate down and was in the back of the truck. He opened the toolbox and extracted several rolled items, one of which he was holding out to her. “Here, start a pile.”
She took the roll and then another one, the backpacks they’d filled and then another satchel. By the time Nathan had closed the box, climbed down from the truck and secured the gate, the pile was almost to her waist. “How are we going to take all of this?” she asked, her stomach falling at the idea.
“We’ll manage,” he said and fastened a webbed belt around his waist. Then he looked at her. “Have you ever hiked?” She shook her head and he gave her a single nod. “Quick lesson. You’ll follow me. No going off trail, no stopping without telling me. If you get tired or out of breath, tell me. If you get dizzy, tell me. If you see something that scares you, tell me.” He looked her up and down and Haley felt very small, thinking of the large rolls they’d unpacked. “Turn around.”
She must have looked terrified as he smiled. “I’m just seeing how long your back is. I need to know so we can fit the backpack correctly.” She sighed and turned around, staring at the cliff. When he tapped her on the shoulder, she glanced over at him and he twirled his finger. “Back this way.”
She watched him adjust some straps on the backpack and then hold it out to her. She slipped it on like she’d put on a sweater and had to adjust her stance to keep from tilting backwards. It was heavy but not horribly so. As he clipped a clasp at her waist, the load shifted and she felt steadier, more evenly distributed. She nodded at him. “Okay, I’m good.”
When he turned away from her and started loading up the other backpack, hooking the satchel to the pack on the side, and then the two rolls, and even fitted Sampson with a small saddle pack holding his treats and some food, she frowned. “Aren’t you giving me one of the rolls?”
He grinned at her. “See how you do with that load, then we’ll talk.”
She huffed. “I’m strong.”
He grinned then sobered. With a tilt of his head, he said. “Yeah, you are. We’re going this way.” He started out with Sampson a step behind him.
She held her tongue and started after him, making sure she followed his steps exactly. One step at a time, she reminded herself. If she thought of more than that, she thought she might cry.