Chapter 37
37
Coat snug, hood tight, Remi jumped out of the fancy flying machine. While it was cushier than Hawk’s personal bird, she hadn’t enjoyed that trip. Planting her feet on the ground, she relished the feeling of the earth beneath her.
Bracing against the wind and rain, she started to walk toward the trees. Hawk rushed around the helicopter and gripped her arms, his eyes wide.
Another helicopter buzzed over them. She and Hawk both reflexively ducked. “You couldn’t lose him?”
“He’s determined.” Frown lines deepened in his forehead. He shoved his wet hair back out of his face and searched the woods. “But I’m more determined.”
With those words, he ushered her away from the old helipad and into the cover of the forest. Releasing her arm, he hovered near, protective, on high alert. The blue-eyed pilot sent a thrill through her even as dread engulfed her. This was absolutely the wrong time to be into this guy.
Hawk appeared fierce and ready to battle it out, but he wouldn’t want Remi anywhere near the confrontation with Cole.
Frenetic waves crashed nearby. She drew in a deep breath to clear her head and squashed the urge to go find the cliffside view. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the sounds and smells of the tumultuous Pacific Ocean. The scent of salt water was stronger here than in the city, where the pungent scents of exhaust and oil and the dense population near Puget Sound overshadowed nature. She’d been a farm girl and maybe she was still a nature girl, at the very least.
Under the thick greenery, the rain and wind lessened but only a little. She hugged herself, drops sliding down her face. “Well, here we are again. In the woods, waiting out a storm. What do you think your brother is going to do? Can he land here?”
Hawk drew close, fear and dread apparent in the contours of his face. “I don’t intend to wait around to find out. Let’s get to the road so we can head Jo off.” He tugged Remi closer and held her hand as they weaved their way between the trees and sword ferns, stepping over gnarly roots that jutted out.
A rutted vehicle path came into view and Remi started forward, but Hawk pulled her back. “We need to keep to the trees.”
“Like he can’t figure out where we’re going?” she asked.
Around the curve in the road, the grille of a truck emerged from the forest, and the engine rumbled when the driver accelerated. Hawk stepped out of the woods with Remi, and Jo slammed on the brakes. The truck slid in the mud.
She opened the door. “What’s wrong?”
No time to explain, Remi rushed around to the passenger side and got in. She slid over to the middle of the bench seat, but Hawk remained standing outside and shut the door. She lowered the window. “Get in. What are you doing?”
He leveled his gaze on Jo. “Get her out of here. I need to deal with this.”
“No, wait!” Remi shouted.
But Hawk had already taken off, bolting into the woods, cutting through them in the direction they’d just come.
“What’s he going to do?” Jo maneuvered the truck to turn around in a tight space.
“He’s going to face the guy who abducted you and attacked me. His name is Cole, not Collin Barclay. He followed us. This can’t end well, and I don’t want Hawk to do it.”
“Remi, wait.” Jo held her arm so she couldn’t get out. “I have a lot to tell you. It’s important and has to do with everything. Let Hawk take care of this.”
When they’d started for the lodge earlier this afternoon, she had imagined a much different arrival. God, please keep Hawk safe. Fear gripped her chest and squeezed. She couldn’t hide her feelings. Didn’t care if Jo saw.
“I know you’re worried about him, but what can you do, Remi?”
Jo was right. “End this, that’s what.” She buckled up. “Let’s go.”
After skillfully turning the truck around, Jo sped south to the lodge. Remi stared out the window at the lush mossy greenery of the Olympic National Forest.
“There’s something else. Cole ... Cole is Hawk’s brother,” Remi said.
“His brother ?” Jo sounded incredulous.
Remi shared with Jo about Cole, what little she knew. “Yeah, it’s complicated.”
“Have you remembered?”
“Some of it.” She didn’t want to put Jo in more danger than she already had. “You said you had a lot to tell me.”
Jo swerved into the parking lot at Cedar Trails Lodge. “Better yet, I’ll show you.”
They jumped out of her truck and then rushed across the lot until they were at the entrance to Remi’s office. Jo fumbled with the keys but got the door open, and Remi followed her into her office. “Please tell me everything has been running smoothly here.”
“Everything’s fine,” Jo said. “But you’ve been missed, even if it was only a few days. It’s good to have you back. I wish I could say you’re safe, but sounds like this isn’t over yet.”
Remi was beginning to doubt it would ever be. “I’m so sorry about everything that’s happened to you, Jo, because of me. Are you okay?”
“I scheduled an appointment with someone. She’s booked out, of course. It is what it is. I’ll be fine.” Jo sent her a smile. “I’ve been through stuff before. I’m good.”
Jo unlocked the desk drawer and pulled out the package. “I found this in the trash.”
The packaging was the same size, and Remi could feel a box inside like the two other boxes.
“I’d say someone thought it was junk mail,” Jo said. “But I don’t think that’s what’s going on here.”
Remi would question Jo more on that response, but right now she focused on the package. She tore into the paper and found the same box as before. Then she opened the box to find more pieces of the puzzle. All the rest of the pieces of the puzzle. She counted twenty in total. She grabbed the two pieces she kept in the drawer.
Her pulse raced. “Hurry, help me with this.”
But she had a feeling she knew what the picture would show. “You probably shouldn’t be here to see it.” Though it would mean nothing to Jo if it was simply the cathedral, but Remi sensed there was more to see. Something she’d missed.
“I’m in this, Remi. I’m in it already. Just ... let’s do this.”