Hunted (31 page)

They cleared the trees, leaves brushing the tail as they floated to the ground. She wasn’t prepared for the jolt when the back of the plane touched down. The ground tossed them around as she clung to the seat and tried to look out the window, the view obscured by their shaking.

“
Son of a bitch
,” Will said through gritted teeth as the nose lowered, the vibration increasing. “Bend over and cover your head!”

She obeyed him as the plane bounced off the ground, landing with an impact that rattled her head.

“Come on. Come on,” Will mumbled. His knuckles whitened from his grip on the yoke.

The plane slowed and the vibrating lessened. She began to think they might make it out alive when the nose pitched forward and to the side. The collision threw Emma into the door, her head smashing into the metal frame of the window. A sharp pain shot through her skull. Then nothingness.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Will hung from his seatbelt for several seconds before he realized they had come to a halt. The plane leaned forward and to the right, nose tilted down. Emma slumped against the door. Her arms dangled and her hair hung over her face. “Emma.”

His chest constricted when she didn’t respond. He reached for her shoulder. “Emma!”

She groaned and shifted her weight.

He released his breath. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Her hand reached to her head. “I just have a headache. Did we stop?”

“Yeah, but we need to get out of here. I’m going to get my pack, then we’re going to try to go out your door, okay?”

She nodded, pressing harder on her temple.

Will unbuckled his seatbelt and braced his feet against the floor. The plane creaked and groaned as he reached into the back. He grasped blindly on the floor until he found a nylon strap and pulled the backpack onto his lap. “Can you open the door?”

She fumbled with the latch, her movements sluggish.

His heart beat faster. He had to get her out of the plane and figure out if she was really hurt or not. He reached his arm around her waist and held onto her as the door popped open. Her body sagged and his grip tightened. “I don’t want you to fall out. Can you see how far down the ground is?”

She paused. “It’s close, but I don’t think the door will open all the way,” she mumbled.

“We only need to open it far enough to climb out. I’ll undo your seatbelt and you step down.”

She nodded again and his thumb pressed the metallic button. After a moment of hesitation, she stepped down and ducked through the opening, standing next to the plane.

Bracing his arms on the dashboard and the chair back, he swung his legs down through the door. He bent down, clearing the door and the wing overhead.

Moonlight found a break in the clouds and lit the field. The plane had ended in a shallow ditch, nose forward. Will searched the vast grassland that lay in all directions for any signs of life then looked at Emma. Blood covered the right side of her face and drenched her shirt. Swiping it with her hand, she rubbed the blood on her jeans.

“Got another piece of gauze?” She tried to grin, but her lips turned into a pucker and her non-bloodied cheek appeared pale in the moonlight.

Trying to keep calm, he picked her up in his arms and moved away from the plane.

“Will, I can walk.”

But he noticed that she didn’t protest with her usual vehemence.

The fuel tanks were empty, so he doubted he needed to be concerned about an explosion. But he didn’t care to press his luck. When he thought they were a safe distance away, he dropped her legs. “Emma, sit down and let me look at your head.”

She sank to the ground, facing the plane. “Thanks for keeping us alive.”

He reached into his backpack as he knelt beside her. “I told you I’d land the plane.”

“So you did.”

Will pulled out the first aid kit and removed several gauze squares, wishing for a bottle of water to wash off the blood. His fingers cradled her chin as he gently lifted, her eyes searching his. He turned his gaze to her cheek, dabbing the smeared blood.

“Why am I always cleaning you up?” he asked, his finger carefully lifting the hair matted to her face.

The encroaching clouds obscured the moonlight so he pulled out the flashlight. Her pupils were even and reactive—no concussion—but he found an inch-long gash close to her hairline. A scar ran close to it, healed but slightly pink in the harsh light. Had it only been a month ago that he had tended to her nearly the same way?

Will cleaned and patched the wound as best as he could with what he had. When he finished, he lifted her chin again, inspecting his patch job. “You scared the shit out of me too many times to count tonight,” he whispered.

She smiled. “You scared the shit out of me too, so we’re even. Let’s go. What’s your plan?”

Pride filled him that she trusted him to have a plan. “I glanced at the GPS going down. There’s a small town to the northeast. I’ll call James and tell him to meet us there.”

“How far?” she asked.

“Hard to say. At least five, maybe ten miles.”

Determination hardened her face. “Then let’s get going. We’ve got a long walk ahead of us.”

Will reached down a hand to help her up. He called James, the call broken by the spotty cell phone coverage, but good enough to get the message through.

Following Will’s compass, they headed northeast. The grass was only knee high, but the trek was rough going in the dark. Emma stumbled several times, Will there to grab her arm and keep her upright. Clouds rolled in and the wind gusted. They had reached a good stride when the rain began, a light pitter-patter that turned into a downpour. Emma trudged on, but he could tell she was tiring. He was surprised she lasted this long.

Lightning streaked the western horizon. An outcrop of rocky hills rose to the east and Will steered her in that direction. Thunder rolled across the valley as they neared the hills and Will hoped that they could find shelter in time. They risked getting struck by lightning out here.

He found a hollowed area, deep enough for them to climb into and get out of the rain. Emma crawled in first and Will followed behind as thunder shook the ground. The space was just large enough for them to sit with their legs tucked in. He wished they had dry clothes to change into or wood to start a fire, but he had neither. Not even a blanket.

“Emma, take off your shirt.” He reached the bottom edge of her t-shirt, tugging upward.

“I know I rarely say this, Will, but I’m really not in the mood,” she said but lifted her arms.

Her banter eased his mind a little as he pulled the shirt over her head and tossed it aside. “Aw, just when I found the perfect getaway spot.” His soon joined hers and he leaned back against the rocky wall, pulling her to his chest. “This isn’t much, but it will help warm you up.”

“I’m warmer already,” she murmured into his chest, her breath soaking into his skin and settling into his soul. “Should we look at the book?”

“Not now, we can look at it tomorrow.” He kissed the damp hair above her forehead, careful to avoid her gash. “Go to sleep. You need to rest.”

Her body melded into his as her muscles relaxed. “Will?” she asked, her voice nearly lost in the storm now raging outside their enclosure.

“Yes?” He murmured into her head.

“Thank you.”

His arms tightened around her. “You don’t have to thank me, Emma.”

“Maybe so, but I can still say thanks.”

He smiled in the dark as he closed his eyes. Only after he knew she drifted off did the tension in his shoulders slip away, and he fell into a troubled sleep.

***

She was first aware of the birds tweeting outside the enclosure, followed by the pounding in her head. She groaned as she shifted, a rock poking into her thigh. The backpack lay behind her head as a pillow, with Will nowhere in sight. She felt a momentary panic but quickly calmed herself. He had to be close by. Will would never leave her there alone.

She groped around the dirt floor for her shirt, finding only gravel. She crawled out more stiff and sore than she expected, the gash on her forehead throbbing. The cool morning air hit her nearly naked upper half and damp jeans. Wrapping her arms across her front, she scanned the empty field then looked up on top of the bluff. The sun peeked around the edge of the thirty-foot rock formation, forcing her to shield her eyes. Will stood on top, his feet spread apart and a pair of binoculars held to his eyes. She watched him and an unfamiliar feeling swept over her, catching her by surprise. What was it? Pride? Respect? Possession?

He lowered the field glasses and lowered his gaze to her, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Good morning.”

“You’re up early.”

“Just enjoying the view.” But he stared down at her.

“I see you have your shirt on. Care to tell me where mine is?”

“And spoil the view?” He laughed. “Around the corner of the rocks, in the sun.”

She trudged around the bluff and found it hanging from a rock ledge. The t-shirt was still damp but she pulled it over her head anyway as Will climbed down.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Other than a killer headache, a throbbing forehead, and a variety of aches and pains, never better.”

“At least you still have a sense of humor.” He wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked back to their shelter. “I talked to James and he’s in Wyoming and headed to the nearest town to pick us up.”

“How far is it?”

“Probably three miles.”

“Then let’s get going.”

Will grabbed his pack and they hiked through the grass. Will reached over and laced Emma’s hand with his. She looked up at him in surprise but didn’t pull away. Curling her fingers around his, he smiled and pulled her closer to kiss the top of her head as they walked.

By the time they got to the edge of town, Emma was more worn out than she cared to admit and her stomach grumbled in protest. Will called James to coordinate their whereabouts and they met him on a deserted two-lane road. He parked the car on the shoulder and stood next to the open door with his arms crossed, smirking. “Need a ride?”

Emma ignored him and crawled into the backseat. She leaned her head against the back, closing her eyes as Will sat next to James.

“What the hell happened?” James asked, pulling back onto the road.

Will filled him in. “Did you have any trouble getting away?” Will asked.

James shook his head. “Nah, it was almost too easy. I set the pipe bomb to go off and crawled under the fence. Halfway back to the car I heard the explosion. No one ever followed me, not that I know of anyway. I drove around until I got your phone call an hour later.”

“And no one followed you after that?”

“Not unless you count the raccoons that darted in front of my path a few times.”

Will grabbed the road map from the seat. “Kramer said Alex had Jake in Montana. I say we head up 90.”

“I hate to be a party killer here, but
where
in Montana? If you take a look at the map, it’s a hell of a big state.”

Will ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know yet.”

“Again, I hate—”

Will looked over his shoulder at her. “Can you try to talk to Jake? Maybe he can help us.”

Emma sighed. “I don’t know. He’s never answered me since Colorado. But the other day…” Her voice trailed off as she remembered him tracing the heart in her hand. “He might talk to me if I tell him how close we are.”

“Um...” James’s hands twisted on the steering wheel. “If you can call him, why can’t we figure out where he is? I’ll just trace the number.”

“She’s not going to
call
him,” Will answered.

James was silent for a moment. “Oh, fuck. Mumbo jumbo shit.”

Emma glared at the back of his head before she closed her eyes. “Can we get some food soon?”

“We can get something in town before we head to the highway.”

She nodded then delved deeper into her mind, focusing on Jake. She could feel him out there. If only she could get him to answer.

***

Jake played with the scrambled eggs on his plate, twirling the spoon in his hand. He hadn’t been given a fork for days, not since he sent the last one flying through the air, narrowly missing Duncan’s head. Jake smirked. Didn’t they know he was only playing with them? If he wanted to kill Duncan, he wouldn’t have missed.

His interest perked up when he heard the commotion in the hall. He’d grown used to their reactions and this one meant Alex was on his way in. Jake slouched over the card table they’d set up in the bedroom in which they’d locked him, plastering on a bored expression. The door opened and Alex strutted in, reminding Jake of the peacocks he’d seen at the Fort Worth zoo before they moved again. The memory of holding Mommy’s hand brought tears to his eyes. He missed her so much. His resolve weakened, sadness slamming him with an unexpected force. Then he reminded himself these people were the ones who took him from her and resentment bubbled in his chest.

He
hadn’t talked to Jake in days, not since Jake slept beside Mommy in his dreams. Jake could escape anytime he wanted and his patience had worn thin.