Monroe, Melody S. - Verdict (Siren Publishing Classic) (27 page)

Stone uncovered the wound. “I think it’s clotting, but it hurts.” God, he hated acting like a wimp.

“We need to get you help.” Richard looked around. “Where’s Susan Chapman?”

“Dominick Francisco killed her.” If the FBI thought she was dead maybe whoever was after her would believe the story, too.

His mind fogged when the real pain crept up his leg.

Richard helped Stone to his feet. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Stone was surprised at the concern in Richard’s tone. Too bad. He and Susan couldn’t have Richard tag along.

He looped an arm over Richard’s shoulder and leaned heavily on him. Richard shoved his gun in his holster and slung an arm around Stone’s waist. He could take Richard down now but waited for the man to further drop his guard.

“What the hell are
you
doing out here anyway?” Stone asked with genuine interest. What he really wanted to know was how the hell had his location been compromised so quickly? The most logical explanation was the most painful. Tom had sold him out.

“Harrison figured you might be staying at Tom’s father’s place. I’m ashamed to admit that we got a picture that showed you hanging Gary Cho.”

Stone stepped away from Richard. “Me? You’re shitting me. You think I killed Cho?” He tapped his chest, carrying his acting skills to a new level.

“I didn’t want to believe it, but I saw a picture of you with one hand on the rope and Cho limp in your arms.”

He lowered his head as if to ponder the event. “How the hell did you get that picture?” Even Tom hadn’t known the source.

“Someone sent it to me on my iPhone, but I couldn’t trace the call. I wish to hell I knew who had been outside the cabin photographing you with Cho.”

Same story Tom relayed to him. Maybe it was true that Richard believed he was responsible for Cho’s death. He faced Richard. “Did you come all the way to Shepherd Hills to bring me in?” He tried to sound more taken aback than pissed.

“I wanted to hear your side of the story.”

Bullshit. “You come alone?”

“No. Harrison’s with the man you trapped. He’s getting him help.”

“I didn’t kill Cho, you know. I found him swinging and took him down.”

Richard’s shoulders slumped. “I know that now.”

“You do?” Richard’s sincerity had a ring of truth to it.

“We found Ronnie Stenoff.”

“Who?”

“The man you trapped in your snare. He told me Francisco killed Cho. Alone.”

“So why come after me if you know I had nothing to do with the hanging?”

“To tell you don’t need to run anymore.” He latched onto Stone’s arm a little too aggressively. “Come on back to the cabin. We’ll drive you to a hospital.”

Richard wouldn’t have known Stone knew the FBI was after him unless Tom had blabbed he’d told him. “Sounds good to me.” Stone pretended to stumble as they turned around. “Can you find me a stick or two to lean on?” He’d left his walking pole back with Susan.

“Sure.”

Stone limped to the side of the path and leaned against a tree. Richard’s light scoured the forest floor allowing him to follow the man’s every moment. A small animal darted across the path and his pulse skyrocketed. He needed to get a grip.

“Here ya go.” Richard handed Stone two four-foot-long sticks.

“Perfect.” Stone motioned Richard ahead.

The moment Richard’s back was turned Stone lifted the stick and swung, knocking Richard to the ground. “Sorry.”

Richard grabbed his neck and tried to get up. Before the agent could get to his feet, Stone used his rope to hogtie the man’s feet. He pulled Richard’s hands behind his back to secure them.

“What the hell are you doing?” Panic laced his words.

“I know you still think I had something to do with those murders, but I didn’t.”

“No. No. I know someone tried to frame you. You’ve got to believe me.” From the way his voice wavered, Stone was tempted to see it his way.

“Who?”

“I don’t know.”

Figures
. Stone took Richard’s gun. “As soon as I get out of here, I’ll send help for you.”

Richard rolled on his back. “You know you’ll lose your job over this.”

“Better than losing my life.”

Stone trotted off toward Susan, his leg suddenly in better shape with his newfound freedom. Given Richard was out of commission for a few hours, he chanced using Richard’s light once he was out of sight. He shone the beam down the slope to his right looking for their large rock, ignoring Richard’s yells for help.

For a moment, he questioned if he’d misjudged him. It was possible, but he couldn’t take the chance.

He spotted the rock where he’d left Susan, and half slid, half strode down the side of the hill. When he reached their hiding place, only his backpack was against the rock, and Susan was nowhere in sight.

Chapter Twenty-One

Stone’s heart nearly cracked. With his boss not far away, he couldn’t chance yelling her name, especially since he’d told Richard she was dead. He swept the light around the tall trees to get a clue where Susan might have gone. Pine scented the blowing wind, and icy cold air jammed down his throat. She was too bright to attempt to find her way out of the forest on her own. She didn’t know the paths, the forks, the cutoffs, or the direction of the highway. Without a map, she’d get hopelessly lost. Add in her fear of the dark, and he expected her to be balled up in the fetal position waiting for his return.

Oh, shit. Had she thought Richard had captured him, and her only hope for survival was to flee on her own? Or had she believed he and Richard were in cahoots to take her down? Surely she trusted him more than that.

She must have had a good reason to leave.

Other images of abandonment assaulted him. He could still see his mother lying with man after man, then her dead body collapsed on the floor of their small apartment, and both his aunt’s and grandmother’s refusal to take him in.

People were false. He grew up not being able to count on anyone or anything other than his gut instinct. When Richard showed up, he’d even wondered if Tom had betrayed him. How else had they found them?

Enough. Susan wasn’t like them. They had a connection. He knew her. Understood her essence. No. She wouldn’t have made love to him, twice in fact, if she didn’t believe in him. She was missing, and he wouldn’t abandon her, even if he’d just broken the law by leaving an FBI agent in the middle of the woods.

With her backpack missing, he assumed she’d taken off. No way would someone else be out here looking for her. He doubted Richard had notified the locals to keep a watch out for Susan and him. Even if he had, the sheriff would have been smart enough to hike in from the highway entrance. Is that what happened? Had Sheriff Stukes found Susan and escorted her out?

No. The good sheriff wouldn’t have believed the word of an FBI agent unless he checked with Tom or Hank Traynor first. Stone was like a local to the people of Shepherd Hills.

He chanced a call, loud enough for her to hear, assuming she was nearby, but not so loud for anyone else to hear. “Susan?”

He stilled, listening for some kind of movement. The trees creaked in the wind and blocked out most sound. Where the hell was she? Twigs cracked in front and to the right of him. Stone swung around and pointed the beam toward the copse of trees hoping to capture the animal in the light. From behind a large oak, Susan stepped into the open. She shielded her eyes.

His relief nearly dropped him to the ground. “Susan, it’s Stone.” He lowered the light’s ray to the ground.

“Stone?” She raced up to meet him and threw her arms around his neck. “I was so worried.”

“Where were you?” He hugged her tight. “You left our rock.”

“I had to take a pee. Tell me what happened with Thomason.”

He debated how much to tell her, not wanting her to be involved in his crime. “Let’s just say Richard Thomason won’t be bothering us.”

“You killed him?” She pushed away.

Her action stung. “No. I merely incapacitated him. Don’t worry. Harrison’s nearby.”

“Where?”

“Shh. He might hear us.”

“You left him to freeze to death?”

Ever the prosecutor. “He’ll be fine. When Richard doesn’t return with my head, Harrison will go looking for him. When that happens, they’re sure to come searching for us.”

“Do they still plan to bring you in?”

“Richard claimed he believed I had nothing to do with Cho’s death. That the blond fellow who attacked me said Francisco killed Cho, but after I attacked Thomason, they’ll be after my ass.”

She planted her hands on her hips in her usual “Susan” pose. “So now we have to avoid not only the FBI and the Caravello family, but also the Francisco family?”

“I’m afraid so.” He dragged a hand down her smooth cheek. “As soon as we get back to Washington, I’ll get some answers, and we’ll sort all of this out. You ready for the hike?”

She groaned. “Remind me never to go on a picnic with you again.”

He inwardly chuckled at her attempt at levity.

The next six hours were hell. His leg throbbed, and from the way she favored one leg, then the other, her feet were bothering her, but she didn’t complain. To keep from focusing on their injuries or what awaited them in the “real” world, they talked about the home comforts they missed the most, as well as their best and worst cases. He enjoyed seeing another side of Susan Chapman, lawyer extraordinaire.

Headlights flashed in the distance. He chanced his normal tone. “We’re getting close.”

“I can’t believe we’re going to make it. My legs are rubber and my muscles need a good massage.”

He’d been about to say he’d do the honors of rubbing down every delicious inch of her, but talking about their feelings or any future plans wasn’t appropriate, especially since their emotions were still so raw from all the deaths.

Hours after they’d started, they emerged from the forest and tromped down the wooden steps to the side of the road.

“We going to hitchhike?” she asked.

He smiled down at her. “You got a better idea?”

“No.” She slapped his arm, and he hid his smile.

The sun was now fully over the horizon. He wanted to get a ride before they became sitting ducks for any law enforcement agency.

“We need to head east,” he said more to himself than to inform Susan.

A truck passed them, and they stuck out their thumbs. The man slowed. An arm waved them on.

“Say goodbye to the forest,” Stone said.

“Good riddance.”

With that comment, he fell a little more in love with her.

“Sorry about the cramped space,” the mountain man said.

Stone had been hesitant to hitch a ride in a pickup with two large dogs caged in back, but a ride was a ride. Fugitives couldn’t be picky. He slid in first as he didn’t want Susan to have to sit next to Mr. Snaggletooth. Unfortunately, they had to go without their seat belts, given the front seat was designed for two.

She might be slim hipped, but she had to sit slightly sideways. Without asking, he lifted her left leg and placed it over his right to give them more room. She smiled, and he dropped his head back against the seat. He forced his mind away from the proximity of her leg to his cock. God, he wanted her.

“Where you going to?” the driver asked.

“As far as you can take us. We’re heading to the DC area.” No need to give specifics.

“I’m not going that far, but I can take you as far as Moorefield.”

He had no idea where that was, but east was east. “Perfect.”

Susan’s body began to relax. She dropped her head on his shoulders, and for the first time in a long time, he allowed his bunched muscles to release their grip.

The dogs barked in the back at the passing traffic. The driver knuckled the window separating the cab from the back.

“They can’t wait to go hunting.”

“Ah.”

Stone figured the less he said the better. He didn’t want the driver to remember much more than he picked up two hitchhikers. One with a bloodied leg and a large gash in his cheek.

Snaggletooth clicked on the radio. Country and western. No surprise. Stone closed his eyes and let his mind drift until the music ended and a man’s voice droned the news.

“…Stone Watson and Taylor Daniels are wanted in the connection of the murder of an FBI witness.”

Stone shot straight up, reached over and turned down the radio. “I’ve been thinking about getting me some dogs to hunt. What’s the best breed?”

The man sat up taller in the seat and started yammering about his dogs. Susan must have heard the radio announcement for her hand gripped his.

She straightened and leaned forward. “Sir?”

“Call me Randy.”

“Randy, I’m sorry to ask, but we’ve been hiking for several hours. Is there any way we could stop—”

“If you gotta take a leak, just say so, little lady. I’m not in a big hurry. Only the dogs are.”