Chapter 15
15
Hawk hadn’t reported in on the radio. Furious, Remi rubbed her arms. She thought he understood that if he didn’t, she would come looking for him. And he didn’t want her out there, did he? So, why in the world hadn’t he responded to his radio when she tried him?
Jo paced the small space, also eager to be free of the office prison, while they waited on law enforcement to arrive.
“I need to go look for him.” Going out into the storm meant leaving Jo, and it meant that something hadn’t gone right. Hawk could be hurt.
Or worse.
Remi had to help him if he was in trouble. She yanked her coat from the rack.
“If you go, then I’m going,” Jo said.
“You’re not in any condition to keep up.”
“I’m fine! Don’t treat me like an invalid. You think that I’m going to let being chained to a wall all day in that cold, dank bunker debilitate me? Put me out of commission? I’m not that mentally fragile. I’ve been through things ... before.”
Before what? Had Jo come to Cedar Trails to hide? To feel safe?
Jo shook her head as if shrugging it off. “Remi, you can’t look for Hawk. You’re the one that jerk is after. Just wait, okay? Hawk Beckett looks like a big boy who can take care of himself. Don’t you think?” She stared at Remi like she should know about Hawk.
And she did, sort of. “I guess so. I mean, if you count that he was a helicopter pilot in the Army and then a deputy who flew a helicopter for the King County Sheriff’s Department. If you count his background, then sure, he can take care of himself. On the other hand, Jo, skilled people still die, and he could be hurt out there and need help.” Remi hated that she’d just gone off on Jo. “Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“No, it’s okay. You’re worried about him and I get it.” Jo’s brown eyes grew huge. “Oh. Now I know where I’ve seen him before.” She snapped her fingers. “He’s that deputy who got fired. Something to do with a crash and someone died. It was all over the news a few weeks ago. You didn’t see it?”
For once, Remi regretted not watching the news. “No. Hawk Beckett was fired? Are you sure?”
“Yes. But I think ... I think—”
Remi snatched her gun from the desk and holstered it, then grabbed her coat. She wouldn’t wait to hear more. It didn’t matter.
“Remi, no.” Jo stepped forward.
A knock came at the door. Remi’s heart pounded and she pulled her handgun out, then waved Jo back. Jo moved over by the other door, and Remi pressed against the wall. She was about to peer through the window.
“It’s me.”
Hawk! Relief rushed through her as she unlocked then opened the door.
“Where have you been?” Maybe she sounded a little too demanding. “I was worried about you.”
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Tugged off his coat and dripped water on the entry mat. He turned to hang the jacket up, looking unsteady on his feet. His movements were slow. His hands shook. And...
Remi gasped. What in the world? “Hawk? Why do you have blood on your head?”
When he faced her, his eyes were dark and grave. She’d never seen him like this. She didn’t know him all that well, but the look on his face scared her.
He stared into space. Stunned? He was hurt. Oh ... Lord ...
“What happened?” Had he fallen? Or had a branch hit him in the head? Or worse ... “He was out there again. He attacked you, didn’t he?”
Hawk nodded, his face crinkling into severe distress. “Yeah.”
“You need to sit down for a minute while I grab my stuff. I’m driving both you and Jo to the hospital.” She tried to usher him to the sofa, but he was granite, just standing there.
Lord, what do I do? Remi’s heart palpitated, beating fast and irregular. Her limbs shook. This was no time to be weak. Before she could try again to persuade Hawk to at least sit down, another knock came at the door. Without hesitation, Hawk opened it as though he knew who was on the other side. Maybe that’s why he hadn’t moved from the door.
Deputy Hunter entered the office. Hawk closed the door.
“Who else is with you?” Remi asked.
“You’re looking at it.” The deputy had come alone.
“Ambulances have been called out to other locations. We have to prioritize those who are in life-threatening situations.”
Hunter’s eyes scanned the room, then she scrutinized each of them until her gaze landed on Jo and softened. “Are you the one who was abducted?”
“Yes,” both Hawk and Remi said.
“I’m Jo Cattrel, yes.”
“Do you need medical attention? If so, I can drive you to the hospital.”
Hello. Remi and Hawk could have done that, but Jo refused.
She shook her head. Lifted her hands, showing her palms. “I’m good. I promise. Even got the cuff off my ankle. I just got a little cold in that bunker, but I’m all warm now. Glad you didn’t waste an ambulance on me.”
“In the bunker?” The deputy’s eyes widened.
Someone knocked on the office door that led into the lodge.
“I’ll get it.” Hawk held his handgun to his side and opened the door.
A disheveled man wearing coveralls under his coat stepped inside. “Jo?”
“Pop!” Jo shouted and ran into his arms, then sobbed on his shoulder.
Deputy Hunter eyed Hawk, her gaze zeroing in on his head wound. “What happened to you?”
Hawk touched the wound, then winced. “It’s a long story.”
If the deputy was unhappy with Hawk’s answer, her expression gave nothing away. “ You need medical attention, and I’ll get you that as soon as possible. Looks like all the gang is here, so I’ll get right to the point. Without going into the details, I’ll just say we’re stretched real thin tonight. Let me get your statements. We’ll put out the warnings and whatnot and search for this guy as the weather permits. Now, we’ll get your statements and be quick about it.”
Over the next few minutes Remi, Hawk, and Jo gave their statements. Hunter made them all wait just outside the door, so she could take the statements in private, as if she thought she might catch someone telling a different story.
Deputy Hunter got her coat back on. “I’ll take Mr. Beckett to get his head examined.”
“I can drive myself.” He sent Remi a pleading look.
“I’ll take him,” Remi said. “The storm’s dying down a bit.”
“The break will only last a few hours until the next one blows in, so you’d better get to it,” Jo’s dad said. “I’ll hang out here at the lodge and help with whatever tasks are needed.” He glanced at his daughter with a protective look. “We’ll take care of the lodge, Remi.”
“But Jo should see a doctor too,” Remi insisted. “If for no other reason than she was drugged.”
“Okay, here’s what we’ll do,” Jo said. “Pop and I will square things away with Dylan and the remaining staff, and then he’ll take me to the clinic. If it’s crowded, we’re coming back. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time.”
“I’d advise you to go to the hospital instead,” Deputy Hunter said. “Tell them you want a toxicology report. I’ll check in with the hospital and follow up with you. You should go as soon as possible. Besides, at this hour, the clinic in Forestview is closed.”
Jo nodded at the deputy. “Works for me.”
Her father smiled at her, but Remi could see the severe pain he tried to hide, pain and anger at what had been done to his daughter, and from the sounds of it, not for the first time, though her previous experience could have been entirely different.
“Deputy Hunter, what about the guests and making sure they’re safe?” Remi asked. “I was expecting you to come with more deputies.”
“Deputy Carlson is en route. We’ll check things out.”
“Not if you’re taking Hawk to the hospital. Plus you’d have to give him a ride back,” Remi said. “I’ll make sure he gets the attention he needs.”
Deputy Hunter’s radio squawked with an indecipherable message, but she seemed to understand. “Carlson’s outside. I’m heading out and we’ll search the area, starting with the lodge. None of you had a description of him, except you, Hawk. He’s about five eleven, has thick brown hair, and brown eyes. Thirty-five.”
That news surprised Remi. So, he’d gotten the man’s mask off. Finally, a description.
“After we either apprehend him or make sure he’s out of the area, one of us will stick around until morning,” Deputy Hunter said.
Remi prayed it would be enough. It was all they could do.
“Come on, Hawk,” she said. “Let’s get you to the hospital.” Since the clinic was closed now, they’d have to drive to Woodhaven, almost an hour away.
Shawna entered with a tray of coffees to go.
“You’re working late.” Remi glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearing ten thirty.
“It’s been a long night. The guests are back in their rooms, and I was going home,” Shawna said. “But Erika sent me in with the coffee and to get an update. What’s happening?”
Remi gave Shawna the long-story-short version and took the coffees. Honestly, Remi hated sharing the traumatic events with Shawna, who’d already been through too much. She’d killed her husband in self-defense, and now she was here, on the other side of the country, escaping the pain and serving up coffee.
“Are you sure you’re up for the drive?” Hawk asked her, pulling her attention back.
No. She wasn’t sure of anything right now. “We’ll keep each other awake.”
Coffee cups in hand, raincoats donned, they made their way to her Bronco and climbed in. After cranking the heat and stripping off her rain jacket, she pulled out of the parking lot and steered along the slippery, muddy road out of Cedar Trails Lodge and Resort—so said the sign. Every time she saw it, she almost snorted a laugh. Backwoods and rustic and boasting no amenities, the lodge didn’t live up to the image of a resort.
Once she finally got onto the main highway, she headed south. On the road like this and away from the immediate threat, she could almost breathe. When she’d given her statement, she’d come clean and told Deputy Hunter about her amnesia. The deputy thought it might be a stretch until Remi told her about the puzzle pieces, which added substance to her conclusion. No more puzzle pieces had come to her yet, as far as she knew. Even if she had all the puzzle pieces put together to complete the picture, she wasn’t sure if it would help her remember or if she would recognize the place.
Hawk grunted as if in pain. “I don’t have time for this.”
He was moving and talking okay, so maybe he was all right, but she was glad he agreed to see a doctor at all. She couldn’t shake the sense that something was bothering him.
“Look, I know this has been a trying day,” she said. “I don’t know you all that well, but I can tell something is eating at you. What happened tonight? I mean, other than the obvious stuff that happened. Don’t forget, Hawk, you’re the guy who’s going to help me remember.” She hoped her not-so-subtle reminder would prompt him to open up about what he was keeping to himself.
“And have you remembered anything more?” He practically grunted out the question. “Because I think you have and you’re not telling me. Maybe you told the deputy.”
“I didn’t have a chance to tell you, all right? I had a flash back. It was like reliving the moment. I was told this is how the memories could come back to me. Like someone who has PTSD. A guy was hanging out of a helicopter, looking at me. He was reaching for me, to pull me up inside. We were already in the air.” Nausea threatened with the memory. The rush of contrasting emotions. Terror. Hope. Confusion. “It just seems crazy. I don’t know what I was doing there, but it’s in my head. It’s a memory, I’m sure of it.”
Remi’s throat tightened. “Hawk, you don’t think—he sounds like the man you described.”
“No. It could be anyone. Lots of people fit that description.”
“But it could make some sort of sense that the man who attacked me was with me during that missing week. I can’t be one hundred percent sure I’m remembering correctly. Repressed memories are a complex issue. Memories can’t really be trusted. Not completely. Your brain fills in the gaps, the holes. Fixes things, and sometimes it lies to you.”
Hawk shifted in the seat. “Do you remember his name? Anything else about him?”
“He was a soldier.”
Hawk’s expression tightened.
“Now that the door has opened, the memories of that time should start coming back to me. I need to see Dr. Holcomb as soon as possible. I’ve been a little busy tonight, though.” She accelerated on the lonely highway. The sooner they got to the hospital, the faster they could leave and she could get to Seattle. “You never told me what happened tonight. You obviously got his mask off.”
“He wasn’t wearing a mask. You already know he hit me in the head.”
“And that’s it? What else? I know you must have fought with him. But what aren’t you telling me?”
Remi risked a glance his way when she should have really been watching the road. In the dim light of the cab, she could make out the determined set to his jaw. Apprehension gripped her. Hawk had learned something vital. She could see it in his face.
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” he said.
“Just spit it out.” For crying out loud!
“I know him.”
“Wait. Just so we’re talking about the same guy—you know who?”
“The man who attacked you.”
Oh. She’d been hoping for a different answer. “Who is he, Hawk?”
For a few heartbeats, excruciating silence filled the cab.
Then... “He’s my brother.”
Remi slammed on the brakes.