Hostage Rescue

TWO

There was no time to react. The realization they were being shot at had just barely registered in Gwen’s mind when Caden grabbed her hand and pulled her behind the trunk of a spindly tree for cover. A second shot rang out, this time hitting the bark above them.

He signaled at her to stay down, then fired two shots in the direction of the shooter before ducking back behind the tree beside her. “We need to keep going.”

She nodded, then followed him down the steep incline. Her mind spun as it tried to process everything that had happened. The men grabbing them. Slipping off the trail and tumbling down the side of the canyon. Realizing whoever had just shot at them also had her brother. It was like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.

But he was right. With at least one shooter after them, they couldn’t stop now.

Adrenaline masked most of the pain as she followed his lead. All it would take was one slight misstep, and she could slip again. And this time, there might not be anything to stop her fall.

“You can’t hide out here,” the man shouted from above them, rustling through the brush as he made his way closer. “I will find you.”

Caden pulled her into a small, hollowed-out depression just big enough for the two of them and signaled for her to be quiet.

Heart pounding, she listened for movement. A small avalanche of stones trickled over the lip of the hollowed-out area above them. Her mouth went dry. The shooter was there, somewhere above them. Looking. Searching. She could hear rustling in the brush. Another small shower of rocks.

Then suddenly everything was silent. She waited, holding her breath until her lungs began to burn, then slowly let out the air.

Where was he?

“Do you think he’s gone?” she whispered.

“It sounded like he headed back toward the trail.”

She glanced up at the sunlight drenching the top of the canyon, but where they were, shadows had already begun to move in. Before long, it would be dark, and the terrain would be too dangerous to navigate. A bird called out, echoing below them, as every unfamiliar sound around them sent her heart racing. She tried to shake off the layer of fear that had settled over her, but it was impossible.

“Do you think you can keep going?” he asked. “We can still take it slow, but I don’t want to make this descent after dark, and we’ll quickly run out of daylight if we don’t start moving.”

She nodded, determined to keep up with him despite the pain. She started down beside him in silence, ignoring the sounds around them that echoed off the canyon walls, focusing instead on each step. And she listened for any signs that the shooter was still out there. But with every minute that passed, there was nothing to indicate they were being followed.

Then where were they? Had the men given up? Were they planning to use her brother as leverage to get to her? There was no way to know the men’s endgame. All she could do now was make it to the bottom of the canyon, then find a way out of here alive.

By the time they got to Caden’s camp, she was exhausted and hurting. A one-man tent had been set up on the edge of a small clearing a few dozen feet from the nearby river. Canyon walls surrounded them, reaching toward the cloudy spring sky that was already chasing away the last bits of light. It was the untamed wilderness, with its scattering of scrub oak, sagebrush and aspen, that made it a favorite for people wanting to escape the modern world for a short time. And that was the reason she’d chosen to come here.

“This is a beautiful spot,” she said.

“I camp here every year. Spend a few days hiking by myself. Gives me some time to reevaluate things.” He helped her sit down on a sleeping mat. “I’ll go grab my first-aid kit.”

As she watched him head inside the tent, she struggled to pinpoint what was different about him from the last time she’d seen him. He was still quiet and serious, and he looked the same with his brown hair, blue-gray eyes and tall, muscular frame. Even she couldn’t deny the appeal of his rugged stature, with his cowboy hat and the start of a beard. But that wasn’t what had changed. Instead, he seemed more…calm. Focused. Not that it really mattered. She’d seen him walk out on Cammie, and while she was grateful he’d saved her life, she’d never fall for a guy she couldn’t trust not to do the same to her.

He came back out with the small kit and opened it. “You’re going to need some painkillers. There should also be some antiseptic wipes in here for any cuts, and I’ve got clean water if you’re out.”

“I should have some water in my backpack, as well as some food.”

The last thing she wanted was to make him think she expected him to take care of her out here. She’d come prepared for anything. Well…almost anything.

“Good, then we should have plenty to last us through tomorrow.” He nodded at her backpack. “Go ahead and drink some more water. We need to stay hydrated.”

She followed his instructions and took a long swig, while he pulled out what they needed. The same awkwardness that had followed them down the canyon settled in between them again. They’d been silent most of the way down, and when they had spoken to each other, they’d never gotten beyond the basic small talk. Which, in all honestly, had been fine with her.

“How long were you planning to stay out here?” Caden asked.

“We were just going to hike down and back up in one day.”

Caden, on the other hand, was clearly prepared for a week out in the wilderness.

“I can rig a splint for your ankle, but that and the pain medicine is really all we can do at this point, other than clean you up,” he said.

“I don’t think I need a splint, but I will take the pain medicine.” She grabbed the two pills he offered her and popped them into her mouth.

He pulled out an antiseptic pad and quickly cleaned up the smaller scrapes on her forehead and arms, then grabbed a second one for the larger cut on her calf.

“Do you think it needs stitches?” she asked.

“I don’t think so. It will leave a scar, but you should be okay.”

“Where’d you get your medical training?”

“After college I joined the army.”

His answer didn’t surprise her. She remembered he’d been organized and efficient when she’d known him in college, along with a number of other things she’d rather forget. But she wasn’t too stubborn to recognize the fact that she needed him.

Her jaw tightened as he cleaned the gash. “Thank you. For rescuing me.”

“It’s not over yet, but by this time tomorrow we should be out of here, in touch with the authorities and hopefully have found your brother.”

“I’m worried about him,” she said.

“I know. We’ll find him.” Caden took another couple of minutes to finish, then stood up. “I want you to lie down and keep your foot elevated while I get some dinner going.”

“Wait…there’s something you need to know first,” she said.

“Okay.” He sat back down and caught her gaze. “What’s that?”

She hesitated to bring up the matter that had been plaguing her since the attack, but he needed to know. “I don’t think this was random.”

“Did you know those men?”

“No, but I think I know who sent them.”

“Who?”

She drew in a deep breath. “I believe it’s connected with my job.”

“As a prosecutor?”

She nodded. “His name is Carter Steele. He was arrested for domestic abuse, drug trafficking and child endangerment. I reported the threat he made toward me in the courtroom, but didn’t think he could actually follow through. Not from prison. But this… I can’t just dismiss this as a coincidence. Which also means I’m sorry for the entire situation I just roped you into.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Maybe not, but you’ve still been dragged into it. Threats like this have increased over the past few years, and while most won’t follow through, this… I think this has to be related.”

“You think he wants you dead?”

“Whoever was out there shot at us, so it seems likely. What I don’t understand is why didn’t they just break into my apartment or run me off the road on the highway. This whole setup was extremely dangerous.”

“It was, but it also makes sense on one level,” Caden said. “An accident here would be easy to cover up. A couple of hikers fall off the rim, bodies are found a few days or months later, or not at all. Everyone would simply believe it was an accident.”

She felt a shudder run through her. If that had been their plan, and she was still alive…

“So they grabbed my brother…for what? To use as leverage?”

“Maybe, and then they came after you because they need to make sure you’re dead.”

“If that’s what they want, then we have to assume they’ll be back.”

Caden nodded. “Which means we need to be ready.”

Twenty minutes later, Caden dumped the dry pasta into the boiling water on top of his small propane stove. So much for his five days of solitude in the mountains. He worked to rein in his irritation over the entire situation. It wasn’t that he minded helping out a fellow hiker—it was simply that he’d managed to run into her. But feeding his irritation was only going to make him even more agitated, and there was no reason to let her control how he felt.

He flicked a fly off his pant leg and frowned. Had he let Cammie’s betrayal affect him so much that he’d managed to shut himself off from feeling or caring for anyone again? He loved working on the ranch, because it made him feel free. He didn’t have to concern himself with anyone else. Just him and the open range. But what if he really wasn’t as free as he thought he was? What if he was still running because of Cammie?

He glanced at Gwen’s profile. While he hadn’t known her well, they had hung out a few times with his fiancée and several of their other friends. Until the night Cammie had called off their wedding and walked out on him, blaming the break up on him.

At the time, he hadn’t even seen it coming, and Cammie had caught him completely off guard. Though, looking back, all the signs had been there. Unfortunately, he’d been young, and somehow thought Cammie’s devotion to their relationship had been as strong as his. That had proven to be just one of many lies Cammie had told him.

But for now, none of that mattered. He’d formulated a plan. While the distance to the top of the canyon was just over a mile, the vertical drop was so steep, experts estimated it took double or even triple the descent time when going back up. He’d noted how long it had taken them to make it to the bottom. Going up would be even slower for her, if not impossible. The only alternate route was the river, but even that came with its own set of issues. The shoreline was often narrow and bordered with slippery rocks. Rafters frequently tackled the challenge, but there were sections that should only be attempted by those with experience. More than one overconfident person had lost his life from a foolish move on the water. But Caden believed she’d be able to handle the water route better than trying to hike back up the canyon.

Gwen walked toward him across the small campsite as he was adjusting the propane bottle, then sat down on one of the logs across from him.

“How are you feeling?” Caden asked, not missing the frown on her face.

“Sore, but thankfully the pain medicine is finally starting to kick in.”

“Good.” He bent down and looked at her ankle. “It’s still a bit swollen, but that’s expected considering you just walked down the canyon on an injured ankle. You still need to keep it elevated, but it should be better by tomorrow.”

“I know I should be lying down, but I just felt so restless,” she said. “I was wondering if you had a plan?”

His hand automatically touched the butt of his weapon. “Until morning, we’re going to have to keep our guard up. Then I’m hoping we can find a group of rafters to join so we can head downriver. That would be the easiest way out for you.”

“But still dangerous.”

He nodded.

“What about my brother?”

“He’s another reason we need to get out of here as soon as possible, so we can let the authorities know what’s going on. Even if I wasn’t worried about your ankle, we can’t go after your brother in the dark.”

“I know, I just—I just need to do something.” She picked up a small stick and snapped it in two. “Tell me what I can do to help with dinner in the meantime.”

“Well, I wasn’t planning on company, but pasta alfredo with salmon was on the menu for tonight.” He’d already grabbed the ingredients for the meal that had been neatly packed in a plastic Ziploc in his bear-resistant canister. “I don’t think it will be a stretch to feed two.”

“Pasta alfredo with smoked salmon?” she asked.

He hesitated. “You don’t like salmon?”

“No… I mean, yes. Salmon’s fine, but is this how you always eat on the trail? That sounds like a gourmet meal.”

“What did you expect?”

“I don’t know—ramen noodles and a packet of tuna fish.”

He chuckled. “I like to cook and realized years ago that just because I’m not standing in the middle of my kitchen doesn’t mean I can’t eat well on the trail. Tonight’s pasta, but I can also make a mean chili from sun-dried tomatoes and dehydrated kidney beans.”

She shot him an unexpected smile. “All I can say is I’m impressed.”

He shoved off the compliment and started organizing the food. He’d also learned early on that an hour or two of food prep before he hit the trail translated into a much more enjoyable trip. And as long as the food was light and quick to fix—meaning no cooking, just boiled water—it wasn’t that difficult to carry.

He handed her a small bunch of fresh basil from his mother’s garden along with a knife. “If you’ll mince this, I’ll get the pasta going. Then we’ll just have to add the ingredients for the sauce I already put together back at the house.”

“Of course you did.”

This time he wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or complimentary, but she was smiling, so he decided to go with the latter. He dumped the pasta into the water, and for a moment, working beside her seemed oddly…normal. While he loved the solitude of the trail and a solo hike, there were times when he missed the sound of another human’s voice. If only he could forget not only that someone was after them, but also who she was, he might actually enjoy tonight.

A noise behind them seized his attention.

He took a step back from the stove and shifted his concentration to the shadows filtering down the canyon wall. He scanned the surrounding vegetation, senses on alert, but the movement was just a squirrel. He let out a huff of air.

“What if they come back?” she asked.

“I’ve already thought about that.”

“And?”

“While you were lying down, I rigged a trip wire around the camp.”

“An alarm in case they find us?”

Caden nodded.

“How’d you do that?”

“Fishing wire and key-chain alarm. It’s pretty rudimentary, but it should do the trick if they show up.” He stirred the pasta, then tested it to see if it was done. “I don’t usually set one, but I’d say we have reason tonight.”

“I agree.”

“I also don’t want either of us sleeping in the tent. If they show up, that’s where they’re going to assume we are.”

She nodded as they worked side by side for the next few minutes, mixing the dry sauce ingredients with water and letting it simmer, then combining it with the pasta, freeze-dried corn, smoked salmon and the fresh basil.

“This is delicious,” she said, once they’d dished up the food.

“You look surprised.”

“Most guys I know could never pull this off.”

“My mother ensured all of us boys knew our way around the kitchen.”

“Well, I’m impressed.” She took another bite. “I remember you had brothers. Three of them, right?”

Caden nodded.

“What do they do now?” she asked.

“Reid works for the local fire department in Timber Falls. Liam is in the army and is married with a daughter and has another one on the way.”

“That’s exciting. And number three?”

“Griffin is a deputy and getting married in December.”

“And you—you left the military?”

“My father had a bout with cancer a couple years ago, and while he’s made a full recovery, I was at a place in my career that I felt like it was time to walk away and help. I’ve been running the ranch with him ever since.”

“I remember you talking about your ranch when we were in school. It always sounded so beautiful.”

“It is.”

“Do you ever regret your decision?”

He shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with all her personal questions. “There are things I miss about the military, but I love working on the land every day. I just decided if I was going to do it, I wouldn’t look back.”

“Still, that had to be hard.”

“It was. And to be honest, it still is sometimes, but I love what I do.” He stood and headed for his bear barrel, needing a distraction from her questions. “How about some chocolate cookie bars?”

“Why am I not surprised? That would top off a perfect meal.”

He grabbed two, then handed her one. “You said you’re a prosecutor. What kind of cases do you work on?”

“I focus primarily on family law.”

“Do you like it?”

“I do, though the cases can be tough. I represent children most of the time.”

“I bet you’re good at it.”

“It has its rewarding moments.”

He took a bite of his cookie and frowned. He hadn’t planned on giving her a compliment, even though he’d meant it. But smoked-salmon pasta and chocolate couldn’t make him forget whom he was sitting next to.

“I guess you heard Cammie got married,” she said without warning.

He set down his dessert and frowned at the news. For a moment, he could have almost imagined that they were simply old friends catching up. But now, hearing his ex-fiancée’s name made him want to run.

“I did,” he said finally. “Do you ever see her?”

“We used to get together several times a year, but they moved to Dallas, and I haven’t seen her as much since then.”

“Is she happy?”

He frowned, wondering why he’d asked the question. Why it even mattered after all this time. She was a part of his past, and he was content to leave her there.

“She seems happy. Rick’s a decent guy.”

The unspoken tension hung between them. He knew what Gwen was thinking. Knew she’d probably never forgiven him for what she thought he’d done. She’d made it clear that night exactly what she thought about him, and he hadn’t tried to convince her otherwise. At the time, it didn’t seem to matter. He’d known the truth wasn’t going to change anything. Cammie would have walked away no matter what he said.

“So you never married?” he asked.

She glanced at her left hand. “I came close once, but in the end our goals ended up being too different. I guess I was looking for something more.”

He thought he’d found that something more with Cammie. He knew her friends had blamed him for the breakup the night before their wedding, but he’d decided that was fine with him. He knew the truth, and in the end, that was all that really mattered.

As far as he was concerned, he was okay with being the bad guy in the whole scenario. He’d gone on with his life, and while he still might not be able to trust his judgment when it came to picking women, at least he could live with his conscience.

He caught the fatigue in her eyes as she yawned beside him. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep. I’ll stay up.”

“You can’t stay awake all night.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” He could tell she wanted to argue with him, but he didn’t miss the exhaustion in her eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

“Wake me up in a few hours and I’ll keep watch. You’re going to need your rest just as much as me.”

Twenty minutes later, she was asleep, and he was going through his gear, needing to be prepared to run if the men showed up. If he’d been on his own, he would have approached the situation differently, but he wasn’t looking for another confrontation against armed men with Gwen’s safety at stake.

He finished packing a go bag, then pulled out his Bible. He settled in on his camping chair, aware of the night noises around him as he stared up at the sliver of stars above him, and started praying that he’d be able to get her out of here before the men found them. Praying that Gwen wouldn’t get under his skin. He didn’t even know he’d fallen asleep until the blare of his trip wire going off jolted him awake.

THREE

Gwen heard the screech of an alarm go off, then quickly fought to dig herself out of the dream and orient herself. A couple seconds later, Caden was hovering over her.

“They found us. We have to leave. Now.”

He grabbed her hand and helped her up, as everything rushed through her in one terrifying flash of memory. She could hear the men yelling at each other in the middle of the camp as they ran toward the tent, shouting her name. There was no doubt they were looking for her. No doubt Caden’s plan had bought them the extra seconds they needed to escape.

She stumbled to her feet beside him, thankful not only for his suggestion to sleep in her shoes, but also for the full moon high above them. The problem was, even with the moon out, there was still barely enough light to see where they were going because of the tree cover. Pain shot up her calf as she rushed through the brush with him, but she refused to let it slow her down. She knew how this could play out if they didn’t run. Those men were armed, and from everything she knew, they planned to kill her when they found her.

Caden kept his arm around her, steadying her on the rugged path as the voices in the camp faded.

“What time is it?” she whispered.

“Just past two.”

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“There’s a shallow spot in the river nearby. We need to cross over, then head downstream on the other side. After I set the trip wire, I left a trail of false tracks heading upstream. Hopefully they’ll follow them and buy us more time.”

And then what? She knew she couldn’t keep running. Not for long. She glanced up at his profile as he tightened his arm around her. As much as she didn’t like it, Caden O’Callaghan held her life in his hands, and she was going to have to trust him.

She struggled to catch her breath as he led her into the icy river water. She’d known that he’d planned on trying to catch a ride down the river in the morning, but there was one thing she hadn’t mentioned. Her fear of water. Panic swallowed her. She gripped his hand harder but wasn’t going to let him see the fear. The water was shallow here, like he’d told her, but it still rushed across her calves, almost to her knees. She took another step, and another, fear of the men behind her compelling her forward.

At the middle point of the river, she glanced back toward the camp. Beams of light hit the tree line. The men were still rummaging for clues as to where they’d gone. Confirmation they were at the right place. But it wouldn’t be long before they extended the perimeter of their search. Her foot slipped on a rock—she couldn’t allow herself to be dragged into the water. All it would take was one misstep, and she’d end up sucked into the current.