Rocky Mountain Pursuit. Mary Alford
She looked away. “Not exactly.”
“What does ‘not exactly’ mean?” The noise of approaching vehicles grew louder. As much as he needed to know more about the danger she’d brought to his door, it would have to wait.
He blew out a blustery sigh. “We need to leave now. There are multiple vehicles heading our way.”
“Let me take a look at your shoulder first.”
“There’s no time,” he said in a hard tone. He added quietly, “It can wait. I’ll be fine.” He grabbed a couple of thick wool jackets from the hall closet and stuffed a small towel inside his shirt to absorb the blood.
Jase handed her one of the jackets. “Here, put this on. It’ll help in keeping them from tracking you through thermal imagery. Wool helps to conceal body heat.”
She slipped into the oversize jacket. “They must have followed me somehow.” She unknowingly confirmed what he suspected. “But I was so careful.”
“Did you tell anyone you were coming here?” She’d seemed so innocent with her story of Eddie, but what if she was just a tool to get to him all along?
“No...and I did everything I could to make sure I wasn’t being tailed.”
“They found you some way.” His eyes flicked to her face.
“No one knows I’m here, Jase,” she assured him. “I did call my friend Sara once I arrived in Defiance to let her know I was okay... That’s her car down the mountain, which I borrowed because I was worried they’d find a way to track mine. I trust Sara completely. She’s my best friend. I never would have made it through Eddie’s death without her. But I never told anyone—her included—where I was going.” He was impressed. She’d put some thought into her getaway.
It might be the worst mistake of his life, but Jase believed her. “Give me your phone.”
She made no move to do so. “Why?”
“They had to track you somehow, Reyna. I’m guessing it may have been through your phone call.”
“That’s not possible. No one has the number...”
“Except for your friend,” he pointed out. “Maybe they traced the call you made to her. Either way, we need to get rid of it.”
She dug into her tote bag and handed him the phone. Jase didn’t hesitate. He tossed it into the fire, grabbed her arm and headed for the back of the house. “We have to get out of here now. They’ll be here soon.”
“Where are you going? Why aren’t we taking the Jeep?”
“It’s destroyed. They took it out to keep us from getting away.” He tossed his answer over his shoulder without looking at her. “Thankfully, they have no way of knowing I have another vehicle stashed down the mountain.”
She followed him to the back door and waited while he donned the second jacket. “Here, hold on to me. We can’t risk using the flashlight. Do your best to stay as quiet as you can. Noise carries for miles up here.”
She clasped the hand he held out to her. The tremors in hers betrayed her fear and Jase’s heart went out to her. He would do whatever it took to protect Eddie’s widow or he’d die trying.
He stepped off the back deck and she followed. “We’ll have to take it slow. There’s some pretty rough terrain back here,” his whispered against her ear. “Just stay close and don’t let go of my hand. It’s going to be okay.”
They headed past the storage shed at the back of the house and slowly down the mountain. They’d covered a quarter of a mile before he stopped to listen for a second. He couldn’t hear the noise of the engines anymore. The men had reached the house. It wouldn’t take them long to realize he and Reyna had escaped out the back.
Jase flinched as he tested his shoulder. It hurt like crazy, making him aware of every little move he made. Reyna saw his pain and she came closer and unbuttoned his jacket and shirt. He tensed as she examined the wound with gentle fingers. She took the towel, snugged it as tight as she could to stem the bleeding, then closed his shirt and jacket back up. “It should be okay until we reach the vehicle.”
“Thanks,” he gritted out. “We have to hurry. They’re at the house. It won’t be long before they come after us. It’s not much farther to the Land Cruiser.”
Reyna nodded, but he could see she was exhausted already. She’d been through enough to send most people to the breaking point and this night wasn’t close to being over.
They continued their treacherous trek through the woods, but finding the stashed vehicle in the dark in the middle of a snowstorm was next to impossible. He’d deliberately hid it well. It took him a few minutes to gain his bearings and then he whispered a prayer of gratitude when he finally spotted it.
“This way.” He pointed at the dark shape to his left. He glanced behind them and saw a half dozen flashlights fanning out behind his house.
“They’re coming. Hurry, Reyna.” She looked over her shoulder and saw what he did.
He let go of her hand and she followed him over to the camouflaged tarp covering the vehicle. Jase went about removing the tarp as quickly as possible.
One of the men with flashlights yelled to his comrades, “Hey, back here. I see them. They have another vehicle. They’re getting away!”
“Hop in and buckle up. It’s going to be a rough trip downhill,” Jase told her, and waited while Reyna braced one foot against the running board and boosted herself inside.
He rushed to the driver’s side. Behind them, he could hear engines firing once more. He started the SUV and shoved it into Drive.
Reyna reached for the grab handle above her door and braced herself against the jarring ride. She glanced back behind them. “Jase, they’re still coming,” she said in a tense tone.
He tried to reassure her. “We’ll be okay. We have the advantage. I know the layout of the land. They don’t. Hang on!”
The Land Cruiser bounced along the rough terrain lurching over brush and dead tree parts. Jase clenched his jaw to keep from grunting in pain. He checked the rearview mirror and could see five sets of headlights.
“So far, they’re not gaining on us. No doubt they’re taking it slow until they get familiar with the landscape.” He glanced her way. “That won’t take long. They appear to be highly trained. Probably former military.”
“They’re not going to give up. They’ll keep coming until they have what they want,” she said desperately. “We can’t let that happen.”
“I’m not going to let those thugs hurt you, Reyna.”
She stared at him for a moment, then slowly nodded. She believed him.
Jase had a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel, his shoulder wound throbbing every inch of the way. He jerked the wheel in time to dodge a stump only to be launched into midair by a rock he’d completely forgotten.
The SUV shot the rest of the way off the mountain and onto a gravel road. Jase killed the lights and floored the gas pedal. They needed to put as much distance as they could if his plan was going to work.
“Hang tight, I have an idea. This road leads to a small town called Glazer. We’re going to head that way and then go off-road and circle back. If I’m good at concealing our tracks, I’m hoping those men will think we continued on to Glazer.”
“Don’t you need the lights to see? It’s pitch-black out.” Reyna shot him worried look.
“We can’t afford to use them,” he said, keeping his focus on the darkness in front of them. “They’ll see the lights and follow us.”
He drove another five or six miles down the gravel road to Glazer