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“He’s dead.”
“Let me go!”
When he relinquished his hold, oddly, Hadley almost wished he hadn’t. She crept to the edge and vertigo hit her. She forced herself to look down, searching, but when she swayed on her feet, he gently gripped her arm and tugged her back.
“I don’t see him.”
“The river took him.”
“Then he could still be alive.”
“No, he couldn’t.”
“But you don’t know that.”
“Look. He’s dead, all right?”
“I don’t know.” Wouldn’t she feel safer if he was dead? Instead, she didn’t feel safe at all. “He seemed so invincible. I can’t believe the fall would kill him. Is there a chance that he could have survived, no matter how small?”
He produced a sigh as if giving up. “Yes. There’s always a chance. Of course, there is. It’s doubtful, but anything is possible.”
Okay, so there was that possibility. And another equally as terrifying.
Hadley opened her eyes. “You heard him. It doesn’t matter if he’s dead. Someone else will come.”
Deep lines creased his forehead. He studied her as if he were sifting through her insides, looking for anything good and coming up short. Now she’d done it.
Why had she blurted that out?
“Who was he? Why does he want to kill you?”
“I don’t know.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, she thrust her hands in her hair and fisted them, wanting this to end. Wanting to curl into a ball and cry. But that wasn’t an option.
She couldn’t afford to reveal anything but her strong side. Hated that this stranger saw her moment of weakness. Except she needed this chance to release the anguish.
Though her knees shook, limbs trembled, she wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t release the racking sobs building up inside.
She needed to force strength into her shaky legs and walk out of here. Grab her gear at the place she’d rented—a remote cabin that the killer should never have been able to find. If she hadn’t seen him from a distance, she wouldn’t have been able to make a run for it into the wilderness.
That run for her life had only gained her a few moments, yet that had been enough time for an unexpected warrior to appear and fight on her behalf.
Drawing in a calming breath, she opened her eyes. The man was grimacing, and his own eyes were closed. Hadley focused on him instead of herself. He must have been stabbed or injured in some way.
“Where are you hurt?”
He opened his eyes. She could clearly see the pain in them, but it wasn’t physical. It looked like something more. Something deeper. “I asked if you’re hurt,” she repeated.
“Not in any way that can be fixed. What about you?”
She could have answered in the same way. “I’m okay.”
“Then let’s get you out of here.”
He grabbed her arm, but Hadley had no intention of going anywhere with him. “Let me go.”
He did as she asked.
She sucked in a breath. “Thank you for helping me. You saved my life.”
“You were holding your own there.”
“Barely. He would have killed me if you hadn’t come. Now, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get back to whatever you were doing and I’ll just be on my way.”
“Hold on.” He caught her again, and this time tightened his grip. “You sure you don’t know who he was or why he was trying to kill you? That man wasn’t just anyone. He was a trained killer. I want some answers. And you can’t just run off. We have to report what happened. A man is dead.”
Trust no one.
She couldn’t trust the police. But how did she explain this to her rescuer? He’d helped her...but she couldn’t rely on him. And even if she had been willing to trust him, she had no right to pull him into her troubles. It would be better and safer for them both if she pushed him away.
Hadley stared at his hand on her arm. “Like I said, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me go now. You know I can fight you if I have to.”
Immediately he released her. “I’m just trying to help. Let’s call the sheriff. I need to report what happened. That...someone fell over a cliff.” A deep agony edged his tone.
Hadley searched the woods for the direction she should hike. She didn’t like the way he was hanging on, trying to prevent her from escaping, though she could tell he meant well.
“I can’t wait around.”
The man stiffened at that. “Look, I’m no idiot. I know I just fought with an assassin, and likely what’s going on here is more than a backcountry sheriff can handle, but there are still channels to go through.”
Hadley had slowly started putting distance between them. The sooner she left him behind the better. But he seemed to be on to her plan and stepped forward. He held his palms out. “Don’t I have the right to know if by helping you that I’ve involved myself in something? What if someone is going to come looking for me now, too?”
His words reached across the way and grabbed her throat. Squeezed a few tears up into her eyes. Her father. The cabdriver. No more. No one else could die.
“That’s why I have to get out of here. Just stay away from me!” Hadley turned and ran toward the deeper woods.
“Look, what’s your name?” he called. “At least give me that. I’ll go first. My name is Cooper Wilde. I own and run Wilderness, Inc.”
She slowed then. Turned to face him. Please, don’t tell me any more. She couldn’t get further entangled with him.
Hadley had a few ideas of what sort of business that might be, but she wasn’t sure what name she could give him. Her alias? Or her real name? “Look. You’re a good guy, I can see that. But I need to disappear. I don’t know you and I can’t trust you. I can’t trust anyone. I don’t want to get you involved and risk getting you killed because of me.”
“I’m already involved. I just dispatched the bad guy, in case you hadn’t noticed.” His voice turned curt.
Sounded like he was running out of patience.
“And don’t make me have to fight the good guys, too. Okay?” Hadley started back the way she’d come, pushing through the brush, reminiscing each terrifying moment she’d spent trying to outsmart, outrun and out-hide a man who was trying to kill her, all because of her father.
Even he hadn’t known who was targeting them. Could only guess at a revenge contract.
What would it hurt to have someone to lean on? Someone she could trust?
But she didn’t know who that would be.
She glanced over her shoulder and didn’t see Cooper following her. The sharp pain of disappointment stabbed her, but she couldn’t let herself depend on anyone else.
To depend on someone else could be deadly.
THREE (#ulink_af4bfdda-3a61-54c6-b2c6-4f9aef570fea)
Thirst drove her worse than her exhaustion as she hiked every miserable mile back to the rental cabin. This time, she failed to even bother to search the area for anyone waiting there to kill her.
With not one ounce of energy left, she couldn’t bring herself to care.
Finally, there it was, tucked away in the greenery like something from a postcard. Seeing the cabin revived her. There, she could sit. Massage her aching feet. Drink a gallon of water.
She crept onto the porch. Cautiously, she pushed through the door, thinking back to that moment when she’d spotted the man who meant to kill her. She’d seen it in his stance, his prowling around the cabin, and then in his eyes.
But he wasn’t a problem right now. Even if he’d survived the fall, he had to be badly injured, and would need a recovery period before he could attack again. If someone else came for her, she was counting on that taking some time. Either way, she had a little breathing room—which was a very good thing. She needed a chance to catch her breath. Get her feet under her.
Hadley dropped in the old rickety chair in the corner and hugged herself, her insides turning over. She gulped the old musty air in the room. If she wasn’t safe here, in the middle of this wild backcountry—then where could she go?
But she had to leave now, because that man—Cooper Wilde—would bring the local authorities to her door. The sheriff’s office had to investigate the report of the death of an assassin and his attempt to kill Hadley. Then she would be questioned. And if they discovered she had a fake passport and a bag of cash, they would get even more suspicious if not take her into custody. She could already be wanted for questioning in her father’s death, especially since she ran from the scene after calling the police to begin with.
And once in custody, she would be an easy target for a contract killer.
No. She couldn’t let that happen.
She had to find a solid hiding place or keep moving, at least until she knew who was behind this. So far, she’d been simply trying to survive. She hadn’t had time to worry about discovering who was after her. Yet she had a feeling none of this would end until the person who wanted her dead was truly unmasked.
But that was a problem for another day. Today, her focus was on staying alive.
Drawing on strength she didn’t feel, Hadley gathered the few items she’d purchased in Medford. She thought back to how she’d gotten to Gideon, Oregon, the small town smack in the middle of the Wild Rogue Wilderness.
Once she had arrived at the Portland airport, she’d learned from the agent at the ticketing counter that the next available flight was to Medford, Oregon. Hadley had almost gasped. That was perfect. From there she could drive to Gideon. Hadn’t she always wanted to spend time in the Wild Rogue Wilderness? She could hide out and paint.
But her attempt to salvage her dream hadn’t lasted long. She hadn’t been here a day when the assassin had shown up to kill her.
She grabbed the backpack with the cash and her new identity. How had he tracked her? Had he known the name on her passport? If so, then she’d need a new one. But Hadley didn’t have a clue how to change her identity.
With a quick intake of breath, she let the pack slip to the floor and thought back to those last moments with her father. She couldn’t get them out of her head.
He’d taught her skills. Yes. The self-defense training had kept her alive. But why hadn’t he taught her other skills—like how to hide, or create a false identity? She had no experience with deception—but her father, it seemed, was a master. He wasn’t the man she had thought he was. There was so much more she wished she had known, and now she never would.
Had he lied about her mother, too? Hadley had been told that her parents had lived happily in that small house on the Oregon Coast until her mother died in childbirth. What was the real story behind the house where they spent Christmas every year? Was it all a sham?
Oh, God. What do I do now? This wasn’t supposed to happen. Why couldn’t You at least have let my father live, so we could have run away together? He could have protected me.
She had to pull herself together to survive another day.
Hadley could do this. She must if she wanted to live.
She picked up the pack and pulled it on again. If only she had the luxury of telling her story to the sheriff like a normal person experiencing a normal crime.
But there wasn’t anything about this situation that was normal. Her father had said she should trust no one and she would adhere to his advice for now. There was nothing anyone could do for her, not even Cooper Wilde, the assassin killer.
She thought back to the wild intensity in his eyes, the visible strength of his body springing into action. A protector on steroids.
He had skills. Part of her regretted leaving him so abruptly. But surely it was for the best.
A faint noise, the hint of a sound, drew her attention. She held her breath and listened.
Not-so-subtle footfalls clunked on the porch.
Her biggest regret was that she hadn’t had a chance to grab her weapon like her father had told her. Nor had she had a chance to buy a new one.
She’d give anything for that protection now.
Clunk, clunk, clunk.
If it was another assassin, he could shoot her right through the wall. Fear gripped her. She held still and kept quiet. She wouldn’t give herself away if it weren’t already too late.
Someone knocked. “Are you there? It’s Cooper.”
Sweat bled from her palms. If only they were wrapped around her Glock.
Trust no one.
Never mind this man had saved her life. Maybe he was a threat to her, maybe he wasn’t. Right now, what bothered her was that he’d found her too quickly and easily. Why was it so hard to disappear?
* * *
“What do you want?”
Cooper scraped a hand down his face, wishing he’d had a chance to clean up.
“To talk. That’s all.”
“Is the sheriff with you?”
He leaned against the door, wanting to break through, but that would send her running quicker than anything. “No.”
Not yet.
He’d called once he’d gotten a signal but there wasn’t a deputy on duty for another four hours. The county seat where the sheriff’s office resided was sixty miles from Gideon. Still, the dispatcher said she’d make some calls and see if she could get someone out to Cooper.
Good thing the town wasn’t under siege. The joy of living in an actual designated wilderness region.
