When I Find You: A Trust No One Novel (29 page)

“What do you mean? Where’s my baby?” Emma’s voice rose and two women, just getting into their car, craned their necks to see what was going on. Cooper squeezed her arm until she whimpered and fell silent.

“That’s better. Now, Emma, we’re going for a little walk. Darcy will go ahead of us and meet someone on the trail. That’s where you and little Shiloh come in. If Darcy gets smart and tries to warn the man she’s meeting, I’m going to kill you first. Of course, that means poor little Shiloh will probably drown when the tide comes in. If everything goes as planned, I’ll tell you where your baby is and you can go on your way. If not, all three of you die. Do you understand me, Emma?”

She nodded, but her dazed expression worried Darcy. Emma had the blank stare of someone who’d reached the level of terror where self-preservation no longer kicked in. Darcy knew exactly what that looked like. If she got an opportunity to wrestle control from Cooper, hopefully the girl could get it together enough to stay out of the way.

“Darcy, do you understand?”

“You bastard.” She looked away from his cold eyes. There was no way he’d let any of them live, but she couldn’t tell Emma that. The girl was nearly shut down now. What would Cooper do if Emma became useless? She tried to catch Emma’s eyes to reassure her in some way, but the girl stared at the ground, a soft hiccup bubbling from her throat every few seconds.

The two women in the car pulled out of the parking area. Darcy glanced toward the bus as the two male passengers reboarded. The driver revved the engine, flipped them off, and headed for the highway. For a moment, the suffocating smell of diesel exhaust hung heavy in the air. They were completely alone. She hadn’t expected help from anyone on the bus, but as it disappeared from sight, she couldn’t stop the shiver that traveled the length of her. On her own now, there was no sense in feeling sorry for herself. Her life, as well as Emma’s, Shiloh’s, and Johnny’s, depended on her being ready when an opportunity presented itself. She allowed loneliness and concern for Walker five seconds to undermine what little courage remained before she caught herself and forced the insidious thoughts aside.

“Let’s get moving.” Cooper shoved her toward the other side of the parking lot. “You know what to do, Darcy. Stay on that trail just like Johnny told you. Emma and I will hold back far enough he won’t suspect anything. Try to warn him and Emma dies first.”

“I get it.” Darcy glared at him as she turned toward the trailhead.

The moment she stepped off the pavement into the forest, the world hushed around her. A hundred feet down the path, it was like not another soul existed. Overhanging Sitka spruce and Douglas fir trees swallowed up the trail. An eerie silence surrounded her, muffling her footsteps. Damp soil and rotting wood created an earthy aroma she would have enjoyed under different circumstances. Cooper was behind her somewhere, dragging the nearly catatonic Emma with him, but she couldn’t hear any sounds of movement.

How was she going to get out of this? If she tried to run or warn Johnny, Cooper would kill Emma and probably the baby. If she did nothing and Johnny didn’t see someone was following her, Cooper would ambush him. Then he’d kill her and Emma so there’d be no one left to testify against him.

There had to be some way to sneak back around and catch him off guard. If she could get his gun, she could force him to tell them where the baby was. Even though it was an impossible plan, she ran through it again, evaluating the pros and cons. The pros didn’t take very long, but it was the only plan she could think of that had a chance of working. The other scenarios all ended with someone dead.

To her right, a squirrel broke the eerie silence with noisy chatter, scolding her as she invaded its territory. The briny sea air and the aroma of pine swirled in on the gentle wind as it rustled through the tops of the trees. The ground, damp and spongy from constant rain, absorbed all sounds and created an otherworldly feel. She slowed, looking for a place to leave the trail and circle back. The next instant, someone grabbed her from behind with arms of steel, clamped a hand over her mouth, and pulled her off the trail.

“Thought you were going to wait for me.” Walker’s whispered words next to her ear nearly made her faint with relief.

Instantly, Darcy stopped struggling and leaned into him as she tried to catch her breath. When he released her, she whirled and flung her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. He crushed her to him for a moment, long enough for her to realize how hard and metallic he felt. When he pushed her back a step and she got a good look at him, Darcy understood why.

Dressed in camouflage from head-to-toe, he nearly blended into the small grove of young pine trees he’d pulled her into. His hair, always neatly tied back, now hung down to his shoulders, kept out of his eyes by a black bandana tied around his forehead. A leather strap crisscrossed his chest and the barrel of a rifle stuck up over his shoulder. A handgun rested in a holster on one hip and a wicked-looking knife balanced him out on the other. The wide belt he wore, barely visible beneath his vest, held dozens of large caliber shells, probably for the rifle, and pre-loaded clips stuck out of his vest pockets.

It was his eyes that made her stop and stare with her mouth open. This wasn’t the Walker who held her and made love to her last night. It wasn’t even the man who shot Grant and rescued her after being cracked on the skull with a tree branch for his efforts. There was nothing personal in the gaze he settled on her. His expression was hard, cold, and deadly. She shuddered and took another step back.

His gaze dropped from her face. His eyes were anguished and, instantly, she understood. She’d been afraid of him for a split second—and he knew. It must have been written all over her face. Forcing herself to get a grip and close her mouth, she stepped back into his arms. “What took you so long?”

He blinked and smiled then, softening the steel gray of his eyes for a moment. “I didn’t want to walk into a tree branch this time.” He put his finger in front of his mouth and seemed to be listening to something. It was a few seconds before Darcy realized he had some kind of wireless communication device in his ear.

“Wait here and don’t make a sound.” He pulled her deeper into the trees.

“Wait. Cooper has a hostage. A girl . . . he hid her baby somewhere.” Darcy couldn’t tell if she was making any sense.

He put his finger over her lips again. “I know. We’ll find the baby, but first I need to make sure you’re safe, then we’ll get the girl away from Cooper. Now, promise me you’ll wait right here until I come back for you.”

His eyes warmed when she nodded. He kissed her lingeringly, with gentleness that belied his appearance. Then he turned and, within seconds, disappeared into the silent forest.

Chapter Twenty

“W
E’RE APPROACHING THE
scumbag now. The hostage is beside him. We’ll try to split them up enough to grab the girl.” Joe’s voice came clearly through Walker’s earpiece.

“I’m almost there. Cara, you get the hell out of there if this goes bad.” Walker moved quietly through the trees. The only sound besides their whispered voices was the wind moving through the branches above his head.

“And miss all the fun?”

Damn. She was getting too cocky for her own good. He’d have to show her how much she had left to learn the next time they trained together. Walker glided through the forest, parallel to the trail, until Cooper and the girl came into view as they crested a hill above him. He stepped forward a few more feet and waited in the shadow of a huge old-growth fir tree.

Cooper glanced nervously over his shoulder a couple times and then dragged the girl to the edge of the path as Joe and Cara jogged into view behind him.

“Good morning.” Cara’s cheerful greeting echoed in stereo through Walker’s earpiece until he plucked it from his ear and shoved it in his pocket.

Cooper plastered a phony smile on his face. “Mornin’. Nice day for a run.” He jerked the girl’s arm, apparently expecting her to say something, but she appeared too terrified to speak. Her gaze rested at her feet.

“It sure is.” Joe followed Cara single file as they jogged by on the narrow path. A dozen feet down the trail, Joe and Cara halted and turned to face them. “Wait.” Joe looked directly at the girl. “I know you. You work at the hardware store in Bandon. Right? Honey, this is that girl I was telling you about.” They both moved closer to the couple. “What’s your name again? Jenny? Or Jane? I’m sorry. I’m lousy with names.” They stopped two strides away from Cooper and the girl.

Working his way closer, Walker could make out the wary expression on Cooper’s face and practically feel the confusion, bordering on panic, emanating from the girl.

“It’s true. He even forgets my name sometimes.” Cara laughed. “But when he came home that day, he couldn’t say enough good things about you and the way you helped him find that . . . well, whatever it was he was looking for.” She stepped forward and stuck out her hand. “I’m Cara.”

The girl finally raised her eyes and leaned forward to take Cara’s hand. Cooper had no choice but to release her arm. The instant Cara had the girl’s hand in hers, she jerked her away from Cooper toward the trees on the other side of the path.

Joe drew his gun at the same time Walker stepped into view. Cooper went for his weapon, evidently thought better of it, and raised his hands.

“Drop your gun and kick it over here.” Walker drew his weapon as he moved closer.

Cooper glared scornfully but did as he was told. “Johnny means nothing to you. Maybe we could make a deal.”

“All deals left the table when you kidnapped Darcy.”

Cooper shook his head. “Man, she really did a number on you. What do you think will come of that? You think that sweet, young thing would give someone like you or me the time of day? Not without a little persuasion, I guarantee you. You can’t get involved, Walker. People are disposable. I would have killed her and never lost a minute’s sleep.”

Walker felt Joe’s gaze and fought down the fury that surged through his body.

“Make sure Cara and the girl are okay.” Joe caught his eye and nodded toward the trees.

Walker hesitated a moment before holstering his gun. Joe was right. This bastard wasn’t worth the effort. Whoever he was, he’d spend the rest of his life in prison for the murders of U.S. Marshal Evans and the real Deputy Cooper if one of the feds didn’t take him out before he got that far. Darcy was okay and that was all that mattered.

As he turned away, he caught the glint of metal. Joe didn’t react when Cooper pulled the knife. Walker’s shout of warning was a split second too late. Cooper swung the knife in an arc for Joe’s neck. Joe ducked to the side, taking the slash across the top of his shoulder, the knife missing his carotid artery by fractions of an inch. Walker opened fire, hitting Cooper in the side, below the rib cage. Cooper made a lunge for his gun, rolled, and got off a wild shot in Walker’s direction, then jumped to his feet and disappeared into the dense forest.

“Cara, take care of Joe!” Walker disappeared into the trees behind Cooper. Letting him escape and continue to be a threat to Darcy wasn’t an option. This ended here. The terrain, the thick vegetation, and the wet conditions slowed Walker down and made tracking difficult. He followed the blood trail that led back toward the campground for several minutes before he lost it and then walked in ever-widening circles around the last splotch of blood to pick up the trail again, to no avail. The man had vanished.

D
ARCY SHOULD HAVE
been relieved, hidden safely away, no longer faced with certain death, but her anxiety increased with each passing minute. What was taking so long? Shouldn’t there be some noise? Shouting? Gunshots? Surely Walker didn’t expect her to stay hidden here all day. What if he was hurt and needed her?

She jumped as a shout rent the silence and two gunshots rang out in quick succession, the sounds muffled by the thick forest. Darcy couldn’t tell how far away they were. Another shot, from a smaller caliber gun, brought her out of hiding to stare down the empty trail.

The forest went chillingly still. Darcy ducked back into the trees and knelt down, waiting and listening. She hated not knowing what was happening, but she’d promised Walker, so here she was, hiding like a scared rabbit in the woods, while he fought her battles for her. She should have gone with him. She might have been able to help. If Walker or Emma got hurt because of her, she’d never forgive herself.

A squirrel chattered somewhere behind her. She froze, listening. Someone pushed their way through the low-growing brush and ferns, allowing the wet shrubbery to slap back with each step. Whoever it was came straight toward her hiding place. Her heart leapt. It had to be Walker. Finally.

Darcy stood and stepped from the cover of the trees . . . and came face-to-face with Cooper. He seemed as surprised as she was. Blood stained the side of his shirt and his eyes, bloodshot and wild, gave away his pain and desperation as he raised his gun and looked down the barrel at her. She held her breath and waited.
Run! Scream! Don’t stand here frozen in place waiting for him to pull the trigger.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came from her dry throat. Her legs refused to move. All she could do was stare at him.

A smile crept over Cooper’s face. “Looks like it’s my lucky day.”

“F
UCK!”
W
ALKER PACED
back and forth in front of the chopper where Joe had landed on a small spot of secluded beach. Fifteen minutes from the time he left Darcy until he went back to get her, and she was gone. How in the hell did Cooper find her? “I can’t believe this! That son of a bitch has her and we don’t have one fucking clue where to start looking!” He slammed his hands against the fuselage and swore again. He shouldn’t have left her.

Impatience had made him short-tempered while they searched for the baby. Its mother insisted the infant had to be on the beach near the rest area because she’d seen Cooper returning from there. A mother’s instinct is almost always right. It didn’t take them long to find her. If the beach hadn’t been deserted, someone would have stumbled upon her long before the surf started lapping at her carrier. At least one thing worked out the way it was supposed to.