Wilderness Reunion

His features shadowed in the darkness, Alice couldn’t see the gray in his eyes, but she could feel his gaze piercing her all the same, and she could feel the strength in the arms that had stopped her mid-run. His warmth, his presence. She calmed her breathing, let her frustration and fear slip away, and leaned into him.

Pressed against his chest she could feel his heart beating wildly like hers. Even though it was too fast, it beat strong and steady—and after a moment, the rhythm slowed, calming her.

“He might not be alone—it’s too dangerous to go after him. Let’s get back inside in case he tries anything else.” Griffin spoke quietly, his tone not demanding, but persuasive nonetheless.

She let him tug her up the stairs into the apartment. Then watched him push the dresser out of the bedroom and shove it in front of the door to barricade it.

“Nobody’s getting through that,” she said.

Hands on his hips, he wiped his brow, then looked at her. “Well, that’s one door, anyway.”

She shook her head. “I can’t live like this.”

“You won’t have to for more than tonight. Tomorrow everything will be over. My uncle will hike into the woods to the marijuana garden and destroy it. Catch the bad guys and lock them away.”

“Tomorrow? It took Marie and me three days to hike there. There aren’t any roads—you can’t drive there.” She had no idea if the sheriff planned to use helicopters or what, but that would negate a surprise approach and allow the criminals to scurry away like roaches and hide.

“My point is that your life will be your own again after it’s over. I’m going to be here with you to keep you safe, and stand vigil until the sheriff comes in the morning. Just promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

He moved closer, his eyes peering down at her, studying, measuring. Could he read her? If he could, he knew more than she did about her own thoughts and emotions right now.

“Don’t ever pull that again.”

“You mean...”

“I mean running after a killer with a gun into the woods. Running after danger like that.”

She thought of the moment when he’d prevented her from following, and had pulled her against him into his arms. The sound of his pounding heart, scared for her and the situation. Griffin this close to her, in the flesh...

How was it that he was in this with her now? It seemed surreal. Made her dizzy.

No, no, no... She couldn’t let this man stir her like this. Even though she was grateful not to be facing this alone, it was just pure misfortune that Griffin was the one by her side—that this situation had landed him back into her life again.

“You asked if I was crazy. The truth is, I don’t know why I did it. It seems pretty stupid now that I think about it, but I was determined to stop him. I can’t let him torture me like this. I need to be proactive.”

“Well, whether or not you had a moment of insanity, you’re making me crazy now.” Griffin grabbed and held her gently at arm’s length. “Chasing after this guy just puts you in more danger. If you want to be proactive, do it by helping the sheriff catch him. You say he knew you. It would go a very long way if you can remember him. Put a name with a face.”

With or without his name, her life was in danger.

FOUR (#ud0a7ff43-fa53-5cbb-b1de-43fd46b79e5c)

Alice woke up and splashed water on her face, ran her fingers through her hair and secured it in her ponytail. Used one of the extra toothbrushes kept at the apartment for convenience, then hurried downstairs. Men’s disputing voices had drifted up through the walls into the apartment and woken her.

Rushing to meet the guys below, she bounded down the stairs to find them in the office where Griffin had stayed last night. She could see them through the window in the office door. Griffin stood next to his uncle, the sheriff, and across from the two deputies the sheriff had brought. They were caught up in an intense discussion, and she didn’t think they’d noticed her yet. Seeing Griffin there unsettled her all over again. It was strange. She hesitated before entering. Rubbed her eyes and tried to shove the exhaustion away, which was pointless.

She’d been a coward when he’d apologized—she should have asked him why he’d never come back. But she was afraid of his answer. Afraid to hear him actually say that she hadn’t meant anything to him before, even though it was obvious. Now she felt like even more of an idiot for begging him not to go off to Kenya for that exposé. And for all those months after when she held on to hope he would return, or that she would hear from him again.

She had truly better forget about what happened before and let go of every unwanted emotion surrounding Griffin Slater. Once she told the sheriff everything, then he and Griffin would be off to eradicate the illegal marijuana operation—the menace to society and the danger to innocent hikers—and Alice would be done with the whole ordeal as well as with Griffin. He’d be gone for good. Again.

Drawing in a breath, she turned the knob and entered the office. All eyes looked to her—the law enforcement presence intimidating. Griffin’s eyes turned dark as he held her gaze.

“Good morning, Alice. Just the person I came to see.” Sheriff Kruse gestured for her to come all the way in. Funny, considering the office was hers, not his. “I want to hear everything you can tell me. What you saw and where you saw it.”

With the sheriff and two deputies focused on her, her shoulders tensed.

“There’s no need to be nervous. This is Deputy Reed and Deputy Edwards.” Each of the men nodded. Deputy Reed was tall and skinny, like his name implied, and Edwards was average weight and height, and appeared to be in shape. Up to the task. Both men looked in their midthirties, same as Griffin. Alice had just turned thirty this year.

The sheriff pointed to a chair, and Alice took it and the steaming cup of coffee Griffin offered with a smile. She saw he’d added just enough creamer. His thoughtfulness along with his grin would normally have eased her anxiety. But she reminded herself she couldn’t let down her guard. Little acts of thoughtfulness were his default. She shouldn’t read too much into them and fool herself into thinking he cared more than he really did. On the contrary, she reinforced the wall she’d already built.

“Griffin filled us in on what happened last night with the man who approached the apartment. I’ll get a deputy to look into it. Do you think it’s related to what you saw?”

“Yes.” Both she and Griffin answered.

“It had to be the man she saw in the woods,” Griffin said.

“I want to hear it from Alice.” Sheriff Kruse’s gaze drilled into her. His eyes reminded her of Griffin’s.

She pushed those thoughts aside and focused. “Someone followed me as I walked into town last night. It happened just as Griffin got here.”

“I could tell something had spooked her,” Griffin said.

Sheriff Kruse sent Griffin a warning look to let Alice speak. Then his eyes shifted back to her.

“I decided not to stay in the house in case the man knew where I lived. But obviously he watched us come here and stay.”

The sheriff nodded, taking it all in.

“Okay, then. Let me hear the details of what happened in the woods on your hike.” Sheriff Kruse took a seat for himself and gestured for Griffin to sit, as well.

The deputies stood against the wall. Alice realized the gravity of the situation. That Sheriff Kruse had pulled two deputies from the county already strapped to focus on this. A knot lodged in her throat.

Sipping her coffee at intervals, Alice tried to remember and share every detail, while all the men listened intently. Griffin had heard the story from her last night, but he watched and listened like it was the first time.

When she finished she released a long exhale and looked at him.

Had she forgotten anything?

He gave a subtle, approving nod.

“I’m sorry to hear you believe the man recognized you, Alice.” The sheriff poured himself some more coffee. “That puts you in additional danger until we take care of things. And you can’t place him?”

“No, though I’m sure I’ve seen him before. He could have been in Gideon—a tourist, or someone who has come through Wilderness, Inc. But I can’t put a name to his face.”

“All things considered, I agree with your assessment the man you confronted last night could be the same man you faced in the wilderness, or at least someone involved with that operation, but we can’t be sure of that. I suppose we will learn soon enough. If I recall, you guys take pictures of the groups that go out. Of your clients. Have you thought of looking through those?”

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I guess I should have.”