Chapter 17
I had a good sense of direction, especially in the outdoors. North was never lost to me, and by instinct I seemed to know what could be foraged and what couldn’t.
Despite all of that, I would be a fool not to admit how lucky I would need to be to get out of here in one piece. With wolves hunting me across a million acres of wilderness and no food to sustain me, that limitless energy of mine would deplete quickly.
I turned up the gas on the burning rage that had been at a low simmer for the last ten days. I would need that fire to get me through the journey ahead.
At one hour, I paused for a water break but I couldn’t relax. I was surprised I’d made it this far. Where was Kole? Where was the army of wolves I’d expected to come pounding after me?
Had Kallum sold me out? Had he been tricking me all along and only pretending to help me? Something wasn’t right…but I could do nothing now but press on. I picked up the pace, fast but steady.
North.
North could be a trap but north was the only way I could go. I could make it. If they didn’t catch up to me first, I could make it.
Dread set in. Dread of the unknown. I had no way of knowing whether they were on my trail.
I had no way of knowing if they were alive.
Perhaps the Gulfs had won and all the Maclays were lying dead and bloody somewhere.
I thought of Kole, eyes open and unseeing, his body cold.
The thought of it gagged me but I pushed it away.
He was going to hurt me. They all were. I had no choice.
It was also possible that I had a hundred warrior wolves gaining on me right now. I had to act as if that was the case.
Whoever was after me, Maclays, Gulfs, or both, they would expect me to go to the road.
But if I could get there before they found me, maybe I could find help.
My other option was getting lost in Yellowstone, and as much as I was at home in the outdoors, I wasn’t stupid.
Between everything that could kill me out here, I wouldn’t give myself more than a week, and that’s without the giant wolves on my tail.
Just keep running.
Branches whipped my face, the scent of the woods changed, suddenly it was less dense, and there…just up ahead I could see the break in the treeline. I made for it and burst free onto the road.
I’d made it!
Now what?
I decided to keep to the treeline and watch for headlights as I headed northwest, keeping a steady pace.
It didn’t take long. Thirty minutes went by, then an hour, when suddenly a twin pair of beams appeared.
I paused, hidden by the trees. It could be one of them patrolling for me.
If I stepped out I would be frogmarched back to those jail cells, but I had to take the risk.
There was nothing for it. I jumped out, waving my arms. The flat bed truck pulled to a stop in front of me.
I squinted, blinded by the headlights. I stepped out of the glare to get a look at the driver and immediately I knew this man was human.
He was too overweight to be a wolf, his eyes too dull, but his face was kind and he had a set of wheels so I didn’t give a damn what he looked like.
“Lord, are you alright? What are you?—”
“Can I get in? I need a ride. Please?”
The driver stared slack-jawed, no doubt surprised to find an Irish woman bursting out of the trees before the day had even dawned.
“Uh…of course. Get in.” He reached over, unlocking the passenger door. I climbed in, my legs trembling with relief as I sat.
“Drive. Hurry,” I panted, exertion from my run catching up with me now.
We set off, and with every passing second, I relaxed a little more.
On foot, they had the advantage, but now, with my scent cut off, they’d be lucky to find me.
Still, until I was on a plane out of this country, I wouldn’t be letting my guard down.
“I’m Oatis.”
“Hi Oatis. Thanks for picking me up.” I pulled off my back pack and put it in the footwell. I leaned back in my seat, my breathing settling now. If he’d noticed I’d avoided giving him my name he didn't mention it.
“What happened?” My saviour asked. “How did you end up out here?”
Lie. You don’t want to end up in a looney bin.
“I got lost hiking. I think something had a hold of my scent back there. It was chasing me.” Good, that was good. Now, appeal to his masculinity. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t found me.”
“Of course,” he beamed, his chest puffing with predictable pride, “though I’ve gotta say it’s a little reckless, a lady heading into those woods alone. There’s a lot of dangerous things out there, you know?”
“I know now. I’ll be sure to take a big, strong guy like you with me the next time.” I giggled, a sound that felt bizarre coming out of my mouth, but it seemed to do the trick.
“Are you hungry, sweetheart? There’s a candy bar in there.” He pointed at the glove compartment. I opened it, snagged the chocolate and tucked in. Just having some food in my hand was a balm on my frayed nerves.
“So, are you travelling alone?”
“Yes,” I answered without thinking. That was a bad thing to say to a strange man who had picked me up off the side of the road. “I mean, I was hiking alone but I’m travelling with my boyfriend.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, Sir.” Lie better, Iona. “Can you drive me into town please? He’s waiting for me, he’ll be worried sick.” I told him the name of the motel I’d stayed at. It was risky to go back there, it was one of the first places Kole would look for me, but I had to sound convincing.
“Sure thing.” He gave me an affable smile that did little to relax me. I’d seen enough affable smiles to know they didn’t mean shit.
“So, what are you doing out here at this time of night?” I needed to change the subject, keep his mind away from how easily he could take advantage of me.
“Picking up roadkill. I eat what I can, use the pelts when I can, get rid of what I can’t.” That explained the knife at his belt. A skinning knife. Though picking up roadkill seemed like an odd thing to do in the middle of the night.
“Do you do that for work?”
“I do a few things for work but that's one of them. It's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it and I don’t mind getting a little dirty. What about you, sweetheart? Do you mind getting a little dirty?” Dead silence hung between us. My palms began to sweat. I tried to figure out which way to go – fight, flight, or fake it. He made my decision for me as he chuckled. “Relax girl, I’m just playing with you.”
Fake it, it was. Fake playing along until he got me to safety. “I’m sorry, I guess I’m a little tense.”
“Well, here, this will calm you right down.” He reached into a pocket and passed me a flask.
“Thanks.” I pretended to take a sip of the whiskey and passed it back to him.
The road forked, and instead of heading straight on the main road, he turned right onto a smaller one.
“Shouldn’t we have gone that way? The main road gets us back to town, right?
” This road wasn’t on the map I’d studied but I didn’t need a map to know that to get to civilization you probably had to stay on the main road.
“That’s right, but I don’t have enough gas to get us there. I got a cabin out here with a canister I can fill up with.”
I looked at his tank symbol. It was half empty. Either the town was further away than I’d thought or he was lying to me.
He drove us further into the dense forest, taking one turn after another.
I was tempted to jump out and run, but fear of everything that was after me out there kept me in the truck.
Right now, this was my best bet. So, I sat, holding onto the hope that the guy was creepy but not psycho, and kept track of every turn as best I could.
I kept my eyes peeled as we drove, scanning the treeline for a flash of fur, but I saw nothing.
Eventually, he pulled into a clearing, and sure enough there was a cabin. An old, derelict place that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. Oatis turned off the engine, pocketing the keys.
“Come on, sweetheart.” He swung his door open, but I hesitated.
“It’s alright, I can wait here.” I really didn’t want to go in that cabin. He sat back in his seat, looking at me.
“Now, sweetheart, didn’t anyone ever teach you any manners?” There was that affable smile again, but this time it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I pick you up off the side of the road, feed you, save your life, and you won’t even help me get a gas canister?”
I stared at him, eyeing him in the dark.
I found myself wishing for the sunrise. It had been a long night and I was tired of the darkness.
But I wouldn’t let him see that. He’d changed the energy.
Now that I was at his cabin, he didn’t need to stand on ceremony anymore. I guess I didn’t need to either.
“Are you really trying to tell me you don’t have enough gas to get us into town? Why’re you lying to me?”
“I’m not the liar here,” he chuckled. “I know you don’t have a man waiting for you in town.
A new face shows up in town, everyone knows about it, and there’s no new man in town waiting on a missing Irish girl with a face as pretty as yours.
” His eyes ran over my body, turning my stomach over.
“Now, there was talk of a pretty Irish girl in town a week or two back, but I heard you’d left.
Room paid for, belongings gone. Everyone presumed you’d upped and changed your mind about venturing into Yellowstone alone to look for those giant grizzlies.
” He leaned forward, one arm resting on my seat, smiling at me.
“As far as I can tell, no one is missing you at all.”
I held his gaze, trying to pretend like I wasn’t frightened.
Usually I wouldn’t be. Usually, I carried a gun or a knife.
Tonight, the only knife I had was buried in my pack and this man wasn’t going to allow me the precious seconds I needed to open it up and find it buried in all my other hastily packed gear.
“You gonna get to the point?” I lifted my chin at him and, predictably, with his left hand, he reached for the buckle of his belt. I almost rolled my eyes as he opened his trousers.
“You don’t have to touch it,” he whispered, his voice lowered in what he probably imagined was a sexy, husky tone. “You just go on and open those thighs of yours. I’ll do all the heavy lifting.”
I grimaced, fighting the urge to throw up in my mouth.
“I think I’m gonna take my chances with the bears.
” One hand on my pack, I moved to open the door, but the locks slammed on.
“Let me out.” I almost sounded bored. I almost was bored.
I was exhausted. And I was scared of him, yes, but I was more scared of what would happen if the wolves found me. I didn’t have time for this shit.
I waited, forcing myself to stay calm as he reached for me, one clammy hand reaching for my breast. Before he could blink, I used the same move I’d used on Dinah, grabbing his pinky and yanking it back until it snapped with a satisfying crack.
He yelped in pain, rearing back and grabbing his hand. I used the distraction to reach across and open his door. He reeked of the cheap liquor in his flask, old cigarettes, and the stench of animal carcass clung to his clothes.
“You fucking—” His words cut out as he grabbed my shirt and landed a solid punch to my temple.
Dazed, his hands still on me, groping, I scrambled to climb over him and fell unceremoniously out of the truck, landing with a thud.
I swayed as I pushed myself to all fours, my ears ringing from the force of the punch, but before I could stand he was on me again.
His foot connected with my back and I felt another blow to the back of the head. I slumped, hitting the ground hard.
Sloppy, Iona. Very sloppy. I should have grabbed my knife before going for the door.
I should have taken his knife from his belt and used it on him.
But I was exhausted and I was letting it get the better of me.
I needed to get my shit together. I’d been hurt like this once before. I couldn’t let it happen again.
Dirt clung to my nose, my lips, and I moaned as he began dragging me to the cabin.
I let him, needing these precious seconds to get my equilibrium back. I didn’t scream, there was no point out here. My head spinning, I heard him unlock the cabin and then he shoved me inside, the door slamming behind us.
I lay face down on the floor, playing the meek and broken female. A thing I would never, ever be again. He grabbed me and I spun, taking him by surprise. I jammed my thumb in his eye. He sprang back, screaming and clasping his face. My foot connected with his crotch and he went down with a groan.
Panting hard, adrenaline coursing through my body, I looked around, grabbing the nearest heavy thing, a piece of wood for a long disused fireplace. With all my strength, I wacked him over the head with it, once, then twice for good measure.
Oatis lay on the floor, out cold, head bleeding. A quick check of his pulse told me he wasn’t dead and the bleeding wasn’t bad.
He would come to with a hell of a headache wondering where his truck had gone, but he wouldn’t die. I fumbled in his pocket and found the keys, grinning at the sight of the mini swiss army knife attached to them. I grabbed the knife from his hip too, attaching it to my own.
A quick look around the near empty cabin told me there was nothing here that I could use. Not even the fabled gas canister he’d mentioned.
Giving Oatis a final kick, I walked out.
I kept my ears and eyes open, searching for any sign of wolves nearby, but I heard nothing.
If I was lucky, the drive had got them off my scent.
But I couldn’t get comfortable. My scent was all over this place now…
if they found it…I didn’t want to think about what Kole would do to Oatis. Or me.
I jumped into his truck and took off, leaving him out cold in his cabin with the door wide open. If I was lucky, a cougar would get him, if I was unlucky, the police would get me for car theft and assault. That was a problem for later.
I set off, winding back in the direction we’d come in, aiming for the main road that would lead me to a town, but a howl brought me to a screeching halt. A howl that came from where I wanted to go, cutting me off.
Shit.
I had no choice now. I turned around, past the turning for the cabin, and drove away from the main road and further into Yellowstone, the belly of the two million acre beast that had a thousand ways to kill me.