Rocky Mountain Manhunt

“If you don’t finish your greens, no dessert. That’s what my mother always used to say.”

The mention of Elizabeth Carradine-Rowe reminded Liam of his mission. He needed to get Kate out of here.

Glancing through the sheltering trees, he saw that dusk had begun to settle. Soon it would be too dark for him to attempt a takeoff in the Cub. “I can’t leave after dark,” he said. “I can’t see the hazards to the plane.”

“Tonight will be dark,” she agreed. “It’s a new moon tonight, only a skinny crescent.”

“Come with me. We can go now while there’s still enough light.”

“How many times do I have to say no?”

“I won’t leave without you.”

“Then we have a standoff,” she said. “You can’t force me to come with you. And, it seems that I can’t make you go.”

He set his plate aside and leaned back against the boulder, settling in. “Guess I’ll have to spend the night.”

For an instant, her eyes sparkled. He could tell that she was enjoying his company, no matter how resistant she pretended to be. “Don’t think—for one minute—that you’ll be sharing my sleeping bag.”

She stacked his plate on top of her own and went about her business, briskly informing him about the rules of the camp. No more wood on the fire. Food scraps must be carried far away and buried so they wouldn’t attract animals during the night. “And if you need to, um, relieve yourself, go a long way from camp. I don’t want the smell around here.”

“We don’t have to do this,” he said.

“I’m sure there are other ways, but I prefer—”

“Come back to Denver with me,” he said. “Tonight you could sleep in a bed. With a soft comforter. You could take a long, hot shower.”

“Not interested.”

The light was fading. He had only a few minutes to convince her. “What about your memory? A psychiatrist could get it back. Hypnosis or something.”

“It might be better if I don’t remember.” Her words held a disturbing ring of truth. “All I need to know, deep in my heart, is that I’m in danger. I’m the prey, and there are hunters coming after me. Can you trust me about this?”

“I trust you, Rain.”

Her face lit up. “You called me Rain.”

“The name suits you.”

He was drawn toward her by a compelling force. More than anything, he wanted to make her smile again and again. He wanted to hold her, to protect her from danger—be it real or imagined.

As she sat near him, the faint glow of sunset and the dying campfire illuminated the planes of her face. Her full lips parted as she breathed, softly and steadily. Gentle shadows outlined her high cheekbones and her sharp jawline.

Rain. He was struck by the realization that he liked this feral woman. He admired her gritty determination, no matter how misguided.

“Just for the sake of argument,” she said, “tell me what you know about Kate’s family.”

“The Carradines are a legend in Denver. Old money.”

She gave him her full attention. “So we’re rich.”

“Very.”

Liam tried to remember all that he could. In the early 1900s, the Carradines started with a general store. Kate’s grandfather turned it into a successful franchise of outdoor-sporting-goods outlets, Rocky Mountain Suppliers.

“And my father?”

“He took the business worldwide.”

From RMS, the Carradines built an empire with varied dealings in land development and housing, both in Denver and the mountain resorts. Though they sponsored charity events, RMS wasn’t known for their efforts to protect the environment.

“That can’t be right,” she said. “My dad was concerned about the environment. And so am I. In fact, I was working on a project. It was a wilderness camp for disadvantaged kids. My primary contact person was Rachel Robertson, a fantastic woman who runs a homeless shelter.”

“Like I said, RMS is involved in charities.”

“What else?”

Unfortunately, Liam had run out of things to tell her. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the photographs. “This is you. And Wayne.”

She stared for a full minute at the photo of herself, then she sighed. “You’re right. I am pretty. At least in this picture.”

Then she looked at Wayne Silverman. “He’s an attorney, but I don’t think he was ever my boyfriend. Maybe we dated.”

“When you disappeared, you were planning to spend the weekend with him.”

“Camping.” She looked up at him. “That doesn’t mean we were sleeping together.”

“Do you have any idea where he is?”

Her expression turned guarded. “Not a clue.”

Liam knew she was keeping something from him, and her secret was connected to Wayne Silverman.

She crossed the small clearing and grabbed the strap of her backpack, which she pulled deeper inside her cave, where he couldn’t see. Was she trying to keep the pack away from him?

She emerged carrying a silver solar blanket which she held toward him. “You’re sleeping on the ground tonight. But you can use this to ward off the chill.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Me neither. But after it’s dark, we need to sleep, to keep strong for another day of foraging.”

That was what she thought. But if Liam had his way, tomorrow would be the day when she finally went home.

RAIN AWOKE AT DAWN AND opened her eyes only a slit, just as she had last night when Liam had crept into her cave. She’d seen him sneaking toward her and noticed how his eyes focused on the backpack that rested at her feet. His intentions seemed clear: he’d planned to rifle through the backpack.

Searching for information? Or had he known about the jewels and cash? As she had lain inside the sleeping bag, her muscles had tensed.

Then he’d turned around and left her cave.