Tracker

Max West, the Special Agent in Charge, checking on him again.

“Cheetah’s picked up something, sir. I heard voices on the other side of one of the main trails heading east. Headed that way now.”

“I’ll send some backup. We got nothing here.”

After ending the call, Zeke put his phone away and listened. There. Again. Shouts into the still, dry air. A woman’s scream.

Cheetah growled low and alerted. Zeke’s heart pumped new energy into his tired body. They hurried through the scrub brush and outcroppings, but he couldn’t decide if he was relieved or if this dread burdening his soul would overtake him.

Help me make the right decisions, Lord.

* * *

Jake clamped a sweaty hand over her mouth. “That was a big mistake,” he said, his tone full of rage. “But I doubt anyone heard you. You’re so predictable, Penny, hanging around out in the woods with people trying to have a wilderness adventure. I’ve been watching you for days, getting a handle on your routine. No one will ever find you out here.” He dropped his hand. “But if you scream again, you’ll regret it.”

He was right.

Penny blinked away tears of frustration and looked around frantically at the deserted trail. No one in sight. She’d finished guiding a wilderness tour over an hour ago and watched the busload of about twenty people head out in the other direction. Tired and hot and not as alert as she should have been, she’d started hiking the couple of miles toward home, her mind on seeing Kevin. Jake had waylaid her near the small town of Iris Rock, where her son was safe inside the Wild Iris Inn with the owner, Claire Crayton.

Claire knew what to do. Penny had explained when she first moved into the boardinghouse that her ex-boyfriend might show up and try to cause trouble. Under no circumstance was the older woman to allow Kevin to go with anyone except Penny. Claire had nodded toward the shotgun she kept behind the check-in counter and promised her she’d take care of Kevin, no matter what.

Now Penny wished she’d warned Claire that the father of her child might be armed and dangerous and wanted by the law. But she’d never dreamed Jake would hold a gun on her or threaten her life.

Please, God, keep Kevin safe.

Penny entreated that simple prayer over and over while she looked around for a way to escape. Since she’d been a trained guide for years, she knew this basin better than most. She knew the nooks and crannies, the hills, valleys and meadows and all the streams and waterfalls; knew the animals and the seasons. If she could make it across the trailhead to the open meadow, she’d be able to hide in the tall grass and inch her way toward the foothills.

“Don’t even think about it, sweetheart,” Jake said, his breath hissing like a snake against her neck. “You’re smart and I have no doubt that you can survive out here. But it would be stupid to try and outrun me.”

Penny glanced at the semiautomatic handgun he pressed into her ribs as a reminder, her heart pumping adrenaline while she thought of her sweet little boy. Kevin had his daddy’s dark blond hair and deep blue eyes.

“What happened to you, Jake?” she asked, stalling but also wanting some answers. “Why would you risk everything and ruin your career? I’ve heard rumors—”

“Later,” he snarled. “I’m not going to explain all of that right now. Besides, what do you care? You ran out on me.”

Pushing her forward, his anger shimmering from every pore, he checked both ways along the path into the woods.

He wasn’t going to talk, and he was too wired to tolerate her feeble attempts to save herself. Penny cast a desperate glance over the vast open country between the surrounding hills, the August heat burning her. Her only chance was to try to run as fast as she possibly could. She waited for Jake to loosen his grip on her arm before she broke free and plowed through the brush, only to stumble on a jutting rock and fall face-first into the dry bramble.

He caught up with her and jerked her back up. “Nice try.” Stroking a gentle finger against her cheekbone, he said, “Now you’re bleeding. Next time, things might get even worse.”

* * *

Zeke followed the sound of voices, Cheetah taking him back into the woods. A woman. A scream. Even if this didn’t involve Jake, someone could be in trouble. Not many people hung around here this late unless they were camping or had gotten lost on one of the many trails. The sun would be setting in about an hour. Needing to think this through, he halted Cheetah to get his bearings and hurriedly checked the map coordinates on his phone. They were about two miles from the small town of Iris Rock.

The town where Penny Potter used to rent a house.

Penny had been Jake’s girlfriend and she was now the mother of his child. But she was so off the radar, no one had been able to find her. Could Jake have come back here looking for her and his son, one last time? While that didn’t make much sense, Zeke’s gut burned with the sure knowledge that someone was in trouble up ahead.

“Let’s go,” he said to Cheetah. The animal took off in an eager run, straight toward those echoing voices.

Then Zeke heard something else off in the distance. The hum of a vehicle hitting ruts in the dirt. Hopefully, his backup had arrived.

* * *

“We’ll keep walking,” Jake explained. “I have someone coming with a vehicle full of supplies to pick us up just over that north ridge. We’ll have our son and we can leave tonight. I have plenty of money hidden away, baby. We can go somewhere warm and tropical, a place where they will never find us. I’ll take care of both of you.” His husky whispers sent a cold chill down her spine. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Now he was trying to sweet-talk her? Penny closed her eyes and swallowed back the painful knot lodged inside her throat. Resolve and revulsion overtook any sympathy she might have once had for him. She was strong now, strong in her newfound faith and strong in her love for her child. “I’m not going anywhere with you, Jake, and neither is Kevin.”

“He’s my son.”

The words held a threat.

She had to make a move.

Penny practiced self-defense on a regular basis since her job required her to be out in the middle of nowhere with strangers following her around and wild animals approaching unexpectedly. But could she take down a six-foot-three-inch muscular man? A deranged, desperate fugitive who didn’t have anything to lose?

Except the one person he loved in the world. His son.

Her heart swelled when she thought about Kevin. So innocent and precious. He’d never know his father. But if she didn’t make a move, he’d never have his mother, either.

“Quit stalling, Penny,” Jake said, his voice as hard and dry as the surrounding countryside. She stared at the flat, brown land leading to the distant woods and hills and spotted a lone scarlet-colored fairy trumpet. The pretty flower beckoned her. It had survived the hot summer. She would, too.

Lord, help me in my time of need. Give me the strength to do what I need to do.

With a grunt and all the energy she could muster, she whirled and elbowed Jake in the ribs, one booted foot latching against his left calf so she could trip him. Still in motion, she jabbed at his eyes with two fingers, surprising him.

He put a hand to his face and went down with a groan, giving her just enough time to slip out of his grip and slam her heavy backpack against his head.

Clutching the bag against her as protection, she spun away from his crumbled body and took off toward the forest about fifty yards across the meadow. If she could make it to the tree line, she could hide up in the hills until nightfall. Or longer if necessary. But she couldn’t hide. She had to call the boardinghouse and warn Claire before Jake got to Kevin.

But right now she had to outrun the man she once loved. Her heart hammering in her chest, she pushed with all her might and took off, her hiking boots kicking up dust.

Thinking she’d made it, Penny glanced back when she was about ten yards from the thick stand of ponderosa pines and aspens leading to another trail. Jake stumbled toward her, his gun raised.

He wasn’t going to let her live.

TWO (#u3ca50513-3288-5fb6-81ca-7826ef7c1554)

A gunshot echoed through the meadow just beyond the woods.

Zeke started running.

“Search,” he commanded, letting Cheetah’s leash go. The dog took off toward the area where they’d heard the shots, Zeke jogging behind him. Cheetah must have picked up some kind of scent that he recognized. But had it come from the same vicinity as that gunshot?

The showdown that Zeke had been waiting for for close to six months could be about to happen. And none too soon. Roaming all over the country trying to track down leads, desperately trying to rescue his older half brother, only to discover that the man he’d always worshipped had turned traitor, had taken its toll on him and the entire team. He’d even taken a bullet recently and still had the sore spot on his upper left arm to prove it. Thanks to his brother, he’d have a nice scar as a permanent reminder.

But nothing was going to stop Zeke from trying to track down Jake. Maybe he could at least keep him alive and in prison instead of dead and gone. If Jake was willing to give them vital information that could finish off the last dregs of the Dupree syndicate, maybe they could work out a plea bargain at least.