Chapter 19
19
Heart pounding, Remi had let Hawk take the wheel of her Bronco, and it felt like she was letting him take charge of her life too. She remained unsure if that was a good decision or not, but this entire situation was unfolding on her faster than she could keep up. Her life was at the mercy of this fierce storm blowing through her.
He sped around the curvy two-lane road so fast she thought her Bronco might fly right off the road, and after the experience they’d just had, her anxiety was sky-high. She should say something to him. Tell him to slow down, but his expression was intense as he squeezed the steering wheel. Breaking his concentration could be a bad move. In Remi’s opinion, Hawk drove entirely too fast for a man running on no sleep, who’d been hit in the head. To be fair, he was trying to get her as far away from Cole as he could. She should be grateful.
The events of the last many hours seemed to have infused him with adrenaline, the same as her, only now she was crashing. She couldn’t seem to let go of the intense fear and shock of the county vehicle rolling, and those same gripping emotions mingled with the intensity of the flashback she’d had earlier that night.
The image of the man reaching for her from the helicopter, the darkness surrounding her, kept flashing in and out of her mind, fuzzy one moment and clear the next, but then gone so fast she couldn’t wrap her thoughts around it. She’d give anything to lose the gut-wrenching sensations that came with the flickers of memory.
Anything.
Lord, can I just remember without reliving it?
Memories can’t hurt you. Memories can’t hurt you.
That’s what Dr. Holcomb had told her. True enough. Those events themselves couldn’t harm Remi now. They were over. Done. But she still faced an unknown danger stemming from what had happened.
“I know it’s almost four thirty in the morning, but I don’t care. I’m going to call my doctor and tell her I’m coming. She’ll understand. I have a signal here, but in about three miles, as we get deeper into the Olympic National Forest, I’ll have zero bars.”
Hawk said nothing. She got on her cell, but she didn’t want to make the call until—“I’m telling you this to confirm that’s where we’re going. Because if not, let me off at the lodge. I’ll do this myself.”
He glanced her way intermittently while driving. What was he thinking? Why wouldn’t he say something?
“Can you please slow down?” she asked.
“No. I want to get us off this road as fast as I can.”
“I understand that, but what good is it if we’re killed while doing it?”
“The longer we’re on this road, the more danger we’re in. We have to get somewhere that he isn’t watching and can’t follow us. I’ll take you to see your doctor if you believe it’s important, but how well do you know her? Can you trust her?”
Her pulse skyrocketed. Seriously? Incredulous, Remi looked at him while she used her cell to contact Dr. Holcomb. “I know her better than I know you. Of course I trust her. What kind of question is that? And I need you to pull over before the signal’s lost.”
Hawk grumbled under his breath but found a turnout and slowed to a stop. Mr. Lumberjack and his blue eyes and broad shoulders reassured her that she was in good hands. It felt good to have someone at her back, someone she could trust—at least, in Hawk’s case, wanted to trust.
God, please help me trust him if I should. Show me the way out if I shouldn’t.
As they sat on the turnout, exposed if Cole should show back up, she was well aware of the seconds that ticked by as she waited for the call to finally connect with voicemail. “This is Remi. I’m on my way to Seattle. Call me back. I won’t have cell service for a while. I need to see you, or at least talk to you, immediately. Someone’s trying to kill me.” What more could she say? Those words had to get Dr. Holcomb’s attention and hopefully a quick response. It was Remi’s greatest fear come true.
Hawk pulled from the turnout and back onto 101.
“Please just text—” The call dropped. “Wait. What are you doing? I wasn’t finished.”
“Time’s up. We’ve been here too long and so we’re leaving now.” He stared at the road, his brows deeply furrowed.
“It’ll take us four or five hours to get to Seattle,” she said. “Let’s stop at the lodge and rest first. I need to make sure everything’s running smoothly. Check on Jo.”
“No. Jo, Erika, Dylan—your whole gang is trained to take care of things. You’ve made sure of that. Going back there just puts not only you in danger but your staff and your guests. So we’re not going to the lodge.”
But...
He was right. She was stupid to suggest it. “Where are you taking me, then?”
“To switch vehicles.”
She let that soak in. At least Hawk was thinking things through.
“I never could have imagined this scenario. I wish I knew why someone wants me dead.”
“You do. By now you must realize that you witnessed something, know something that someone is willing to kill you for and someone else wants you to remember.”
“You’re right, but I meant details. I don’t know the details behind why.” She rubbed her temples. “I think we both need sustenance and sleep.” She’d been going strong for close to twenty-four hours. Hawk too. They had the training to keep going. “I want to be fully coherent, given what I might face. What’s coming.”
“I agree.”
He steered through Forestview, then to the outskirts, where he pulled up to a small clapboard house probably built in the seventies, but a few renovations gave it an updated look.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“This is the place I rented before the cabin became available.” He pulled right into the garage, then got out and heaved the door shut.
She hopped out of the Bronco and glanced around the old, musty garage. “I thought you said we were switching vehicles.”
“We are. But you’re right. We need a few hours of sleep. I don’t know if the power went off, but it’s on now. I have stuff to make sandwiches, and even if the power went off, it’s probably still good.”
He clomped up the steps and unlocked the door into the house, and she followed him inside.
“And you’re not worried about Cole following or finding us here?”
“He didn’t follow, and he wouldn’t know about this house.”
She wished she had a duffel bag with clothes. She should have planned ahead and stashed a go bag at the bus station like they did in the movies. Forget clothes. Her priority now was the sandwich he mentioned, then crashing on a sofa. Shoot, she’d even take the cold hardwood floor.
The place was old and musty like the garage. “Oh, it’s cute.”
“Nothing is mine. Nothing is fancy. Just an old sofa, couple of chairs, and a bed. Not much.” He washed his hands in the kitchen sink. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Then he peered inside the fridge. “We have Black Forest ham or smoked turkey.”
“Turkey.”
“Mustard or mayo?”
“Plain?”
“That’s kind of boring, isn’t it?”
“Maybe. Just surprise me.”
She settled on the sofa and sank right in. It was old and well-worn but comfortable. She’d almost drifted off to sleep when Hawk offered her a plate with two loaded sandwiches. “Eat now, sleep later.”
She lifted the bread to peek inside. “Mayo and mustard on both.”
“Ah, now you know my secret sauce.”
“Whatever. I’m hungry.”
“You get the bed. I’ll take the sofa.”
“I couldn’t,” she said around a bite. In her stupor, the explosion of flavors was lost on her.
“No, really you can.” Had he eaten that entire sandwich in two bites?
She hadn’t finished the first one. “Because you’re a gentleman?”
With his mouth full of sandwich, he only shrugged in response. Remi guzzled the bottled water he handed off. “Okay, I’m heading to the bed. I’m going to crash, and even with a bad guy like Cole Mercer trying to kill me, I’ll probably sleep like the dead.” Maybe she wouldn’t dream or have nightmares about the terror that chased her. The clock read 4:52, but it was winter and still dark outside.
A few hours later, she woke to the aroma of bacon and eggs. After rubbing her eyes, she took in her surroundings. The musty smell reminded her she was in Hawk’s rental house. The clock read 8:30 a.m. She’d gotten just over three hours, so she’d be running on a deficit, but she was glad Hawk woke her with breakfast smells.
She scrambled out of bed and cleaned up as best she could in the bathroom. Finger-combed her hair and rinsed out her mouth. If she was going to meet Dr. Holcomb, she really wanted to clean up first.
“Remi, you awake?” Hawk’s voice sounded gentle.
And comforting. What would it be like to wake up to that voice every day? Remi pinched her face. She had to knock those thoughts into oblivion.
“I’m coming.” She exited the restroom. “I wish we could stop at the lodge. I need clothes if I’m going to meet Dr. Holcomb.”
“We’ve been here too long. Cole could be in town searching for you even now. We’re leaving the vicinity after we finish breakfast. You look fine.”
Focused on eating quickly, they ate in silence. He put the dishes in the sink and didn’t even bother washing them out. “Time to get out of here.”
“You wish we hadn’t stopped, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“You brought us here for me? So I could rest and eat? I could have kept going.”
“Like you said, we need to be coherent and have the energy to face the day. So here we are.” He stood at the back door and opened it for her.
She was curious about the ride. A monster truck? Lord, I hope it’s a Hummer built like a tank.
She stepped through the door and into the cold, wet, rainy day.
Remi couldn’t move.
Her gut clenched. No. “I can’t.”