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“Don’t you work here?” Gavin asked.
Malachi shook his head. “This is Loyalsock State Forest. I work for Worlds End State Park. We all work for DCNR, but we’re separate entities.”
“Let’s figure out where it’s coming from.” Gray wet a finger and held it up to figure out wind direction.
Malachi narrowed his eyes. “I’m not sure that’ll help.”
“Worth a shot.” Gavin shrugged.
Becky chewed on her ragged fingernails as she stood over the sleeping woman. During her snooping last night, she’d found the map she’d left for Malachi packed away in his papers. She doubted Malachi’s girlfriend had somehow stumbled on the community, but when Samantha called her father-in-law before she turned in for the night, Becky had been eavesdropping. The woman mentioned Loyalsock State Forest. It might be a coincidence, but what if it wasn’t?
It wasn’t likely, but if Reece somehow had Cate, she was dead. No way he’d keep her alive. He didn’t torture his enemies, he eliminated them. With cold, calculated efficiency.
Samantha’s eyes flew open. “Becky. You scared me.”
“Found something. It might be important.”
“All right. Give me a minute to use the bathroom, and I’ll come into the kitchen so you can show me what you think you have.” Her tone of voice betrayed her skepticism.
Well, that was fine. Maybe Becky was wrong. That would be the best-case scenario, but she couldn’t sit on information that might help Malachi. Not that she cared an iota about the red-haired beauty queen, but she cared about Malachi. He was her only son and if Ezekiel wouldn’t cooperate, he was her only chance of getting back into leadership in the community. If he came back to Jade, she would be important again. But she was pretty sure he wasn’t going to return. From what she’d seen, he liked his life outside of her world, and she doubted she’d be able to persuade him to return. Even for his own mother. The woman who’d given him life.
Well, if the girl made him happy, then he should have her. At least she could do that much for him. But if Reece got to Cate first, her body would never be found.
Samantha met her in the kitchen as promised, and Becky explained to her what she was looking at. “We need to call the guys.”
“Like you said last night. The parks and forests around here don’t get great cell service. I don’t know if they’ll have a signal. Reece uses a booster in his camper to get one.”
“Let’s give it a try. If we can’t reach them, I’ll call my father-in-law. With his connections, we can have state police and FBI swarming the place within the hour.”
The idea of so much law-enforcement made Becky’s stomach lurch. Maybe it was the right thing to do. But it couldn’t be, could it? Her mind traveled back to West Virginia the night when her whole world had split apart, sending everyone she loved scattering into different directions. Zeke to prison. Everyone else to various towns and states across the country. She could see it happening all over again. And it had taken so long to rebuild. Seeing it torn apart again would be too much to bear. Why couldn’t they just get rid of Reece? And save the girl? Without law-enforcement interference?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The road back toward the forest was bumpy. But this might be the only chance Cate got. She twisted in her seat to make sure Clarence wasn’t watching and used her tied hands to pull the door handle. The rough texture of the cold metal felt foreign. She’d rarely been in vehicles like this one. An older model. With no shocks apparently. More potholes didn’t slow her captor down. He sailed over them, jarring her teeth in her skull. She’d tried to open the door overnight to no avail, but that morning, he’d let her out of the car briefly so she could use the restroom. With any luck at all, he’d forgotten to relock her door.
Something was keeping him distracted. And his possessive comment about Becky kept replaying itself in her mind. He wasn’t happy that his boss had summoned them away from his objective. But she couldn’t count on the mercy of either of these men. They didn’t have her best interests in mind. She had to rely on herself and God.
Lifting a prayer heavenward, she pulled the handle. The door opened and a rush of air met her as she flung herself backward out of the moving vehicle. The rear tires missed her, but not by much. Her hip made the initial impact before her head hit, leaving her stunned. A sense of urgency sliced through her head even as she reached up and felt blood pouring from her skull. It reminded her to get moving.
Rocks and debris bit into her skin. A sharp pain knifed through her shin. She ignored the agony, rose to her feet, and ran. Faster. Branches clawed her. Brakes squealed. Footsteps. Shouting. “Cate! You won’t get away from me.”
She hid in the base of a pine tree. Damp leaves released a musty odor. If he smelled it, she could be discovered. It was her best chance of survival. If she moved, he’d hear her, and continuing to run was out of the question. Her asthma would kill her if her captors didn’t.
Clarence’s footsteps. Twigs snapped under his feet. “All you’ll have to show for your bravery will be cuts and bruises.” He was nearby. A few trees stood between them. Her ragged breathing would give her away. She held in a cough. Her asthma brought on coughing fits. Once she started it was hard to stop. A cough now could be detrimental to her survival.
Another crunch. Leaves underfoot. He was closer. Too close. “I know you didn’t get far. Come out now and I won’t have to hurt you.”
Seconds past. Then she heard him again. He’d passed her position. She lifted up another prayer of thanksgiving and asked that God would keep him going in the wrong direction. Then waited. Slow deep breaths. Her asthma was giving her fits, but with no inhaler, she had to practice controlled breathing, and hoped she could avoid detection. When she thought Clarence was out of earshot, she tried to figure out which way she needed to go to get to her own truck.
She’d left it off the side of the road in a pull-off. Not too far from the deer trail she’d hiked to get to the bear den. If it was close enough, it might be the best place to go. There was an inhaler in her glove box. But she had no idea how much farther it was. It could be a mile hike or it might be ten miles. They’d been headed back to the campsite where she’d been kept in the tent, but she didn’t know how close they’d gotten before she took her dive.
She reached for her compass knowing it would help her to head in the right direction. It wasn’t on her zipper. She’d left it in Malachi’s car. Another challenge she’d need to overcome, but she could do it. Spring made some things clear. She should be able to tell direction by new growth. It was overcast, making it difficult to tell the direction of the sun at present, but they’d had strong sunshine several days over the past few weeks. If she paid close attention to the greenery and budding leaves, she’d find her way back. With the Lord’s help.
She studied her surroundings and decided the best thing to do would be to follow the road, but stay far enough off it to keep from being detected. Creeping back the way she’d come, she stopped when she heard footsteps. They weren’t close, but she needed to hurry. Scrambling back across the road, she scurried into the forest, but lost her footing on the slope and slid several feet before she was able to stop herself. A stream. She used the sharp edge of a stone to cut the ropes binding her wrists and then clenched and unclenched her hands as the feeling returned, leaving her with pins and needles. Making a cup from her hands, she got water. Then took several sips.
Crashing branches. Clarence closing in on her position. She’d thought she would be safe on this side of the road, but he’d found her. His taunts drew closer. “You can’t hide forever.” A crow squawked above as if agreeing with her tormentor. “I will find you.” She hid behind a boulder the size of a small car and lifted another prayer.
Becky scowled as she listened to Samantha making calls at Malachi’s kitchen table. It sounded like she was coordinating an army of uniformed men and women to take down her community. Yes, she wanted Reece taken down, but not at the cost of the rest of her friends; the only family she had besides Malachi, and she barely knew him anymore. The government couldn’t be trusted. They’d destroy everything. Same as they had before.
