Morgan's Hunter (27 page)

Two down, but he couldn’t find Robert. Where was the bastard? He bent forward, picking up the binoculars he’d dropped, catching a movement out of the corner of his eye just as Morgan screamed.

Robert lunged around the side of the rocks, aimed his gun. Instinct kicked in and Hunter jumped into a high spin kick, knocking the pistol away. “Get the gun, Morgan!”

Morgan sprinted forward, picking the weapon up. With trembling hands, she turned, aimed at Robert as he lunged toward Hunter again. Her finger moved to the trigger just as Hunter used Robert’s momentum to throw him over his shoulder to the ground. In the blink of an eye, Hunter knelt down, struck Robert with an elbow to the chest, jammed the heel of his hand into his face. Robert lay motionless.

Morgan’s breath shuddered in and out. “Did you—did you kill him?”

Hunter glanced up. Morgan still held the pistol. “Put the gun down before you shoot me.”

She stared at the weapon as if she had no idea how it got in her hand, dropped it to her side. “You didn’t answer me. Is he dead?”

“No, but he’ll be out for awhile.” He stood, took the pistol she held limp.

“You’re-you’re bleeding.”

“Just a little.” He swiped at his cheek with his shoulder again.

Standing on tiptoes, Morgan took a closer look. Her cool, clammy fingers brushed the skin of Hunter’s face. “We’ll have to clean these cuts.” Her thumb traced his cheekbone, making two small circles. “You’ll have some bruising.”

Her gentle fingers soothed as he met her gaze. They didn’t have time for this. “We’ll take care of it later.”

Hunter dug through Morgan’s pack, cut a piece of the rope from the shower bag, tied Robert’s hands behind his back. “Let’s get out of here. Stay behind the rocks until I tell you.”

“Okay.”

Hunter peered over the boulders. The police officers lay where they’d landed, writhing and moaning in pain. He stood, breaking cover, aimed both guns in their direction. “Listen to me, you bastards. I didn’t shoot to kill, but I will if I so much as see you move. Let’s go, Morgan.”

She stood, shouldered her pack. Hunter walked backwards, shielding her body. He held both weapons trained on the officers, keeping aim until they vanished from his sight. He holstered his gun, secured the safety on Robert’s, shoved the muzzle in the back waist of his pants.

“Run, Morgan, hurry. We need to get to the station before Robert comes to.”

They ran as fast as they could. Hunter held Morgan’s hand, pulling her along, knowing they had very little time.

“Screw our stuff,” Hunter said. “Let’s get to the car.”

“What about the keys?”

“I’ll hotwire the damn thing. We have to get to the airport.”

They made it to the parking lot minutes later. The tires on the car had been slashed. “Fuck, let’s go to the station.” Hunter yanked Morgan back toward the trail. “We’ll take one of the pickups.”

But when they got to the cabin, it was clear they wouldn’t be taking one of the trucks either. The rims of the wheels rested stubbornly against the dirt of the small driveway.

“Okay, I guess we’ll hike.” Hunter looked at Morgan. “Grab food. Get more first-aid supplies from the bathroom. You know what to do. I’ll call this in to the Bureau. Hurry.”

Miles walked from the woods as they took the first step to the door. Morgan gasped, stumbled back. “Oh, God, Miles, you scared me.”

“Geez, sorry, Morgan. I just got off duty. You guys are back early. We weren’t expecting you for a day or two yet.”

With a smile, Hunter walked over to Miles, extended his hand. Reaching out, Miles returned the gesture. Hunter grabbed hold, pivoted, elbowing Miles hard in the solar plexus. Groaning, the ranger fell forward. Hunter’s elbow connected with Miles’s chin next, sending him to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Morgan stepped back, staring at Hunter in disbelief. “Why did you do that? Why did you hurt him? He could’ve helped us.”

“Because I don’t know if he’s working with them. Get the stuff, Morgan. Hurry up.”

When she opened the door, Hunter dragged Miles inside, left him on the office floor.

Chewing her lip, Morgan hesitated next to Miles’s limp body. She looked up and Hunter held her gaze, watching the internal struggle play out in her big green eyes.

“Having second thoughts about whose side you’re on, Morgan? This would be a bad time to decide you don’t trust me anymore.” After everything they’d been through, the thought that she didn’t burned deep.

Her gaze never faltered. “Of course I trust you, Hunter. How could I not?”

He nodded. “We’re running out of time.”

They started down the hall, stopping short when the police scanner in the office belched out, “Two officers down by the northeast ranger’s station, Yellowstone. Be advised and on the lookout for—” Descriptions matching Morgan and Hunter blared through the speaker.

“Move, Morgan, move. We have to go.” Hunter hurried to the bedroom as Morgan ran to the bathroom.

Hunter stepped out of Robert and Miles’s room, stopping short of slamming into Morgan as she emerged from the bathroom, loaded down with supplies.

“I didn’t get the food. I need a couple more minutes.”

“That’s all we’ve got. This place will be surrounded in fifteen minutes or less. I’m guessing less. The fact we’re out in the middle of nowhere is working on our side.”

Morgan dashed to the kitchen, opening and slamming cupboards. She appeared moments later with boxes of pasta and canned goods. She shoved them into Hunter’s pack, headed back for more.

Hunter placed a call to California. Sarah’s friendly voice answered on the second ring. “Sarah, it’s Hunter. Don’t talk, just listen.”

“Okay.”

“You need to take Kylee to your parents. Don’t go back to your house until I call and say it’s okay.”

“Hunter, I have a full schedule of photo shoots tomorrow, and my parents are out of town.”

“Cancel your appointments. Go to Ethan’s.”

“I can’t just—”

“
Do
it.” He took a deep breath. “Please, Sarah, I’ve gotten myself into a hell of a mess and may’ve put you and Kylee in danger. I called you on phones that might be tapped. Don’t go to my house. Pack a quick bag. Have Ethan go back for the rest. Tell him I’ll call as soon as I can. I really have to go. Promise you’ll do it. I’m sure I’m overreacting, but I need to know you’re safe.”

“Okay, I promise. I love you, Hunter. Be careful.”

“I will. I love you too.” He hung up.

As Morgan yanked dirty items from their bags and stuffed their packs with fresh clothes, Hunter placed the next call.

“Parks and Conservation Bureau. Dean Jenkins.”

“This is Hunter Phillips. I need to talk to Stanley Taylor immediately. It’s an emergency.”

“I’m sorry. He’s in a meeting.”

“Interrupt him.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Listen to me, Dean. I don’t know who the hell you are but—”

Morgan ripped the phone from his hand.

“Dean, it’s Morgan.”

“Hello, Morgan, is everything all right?”

“Actually, it’s not. You’re going to have to take a message. It’s life or death.”

“Morgan, what are you talking about?”

“Dean,” she snapped, “just listen. We found an illegal gold mining operation in the park on the northeast side of Montana, on the Slough River. I can’t get you exact coordinates, but the authorities won’t have any problems finding it. I think that’s why the team was killed. The guards must’ve gotten to them. We need to be picked up from the park; it’s—”

Hunter took the phone back. “Listen carefully, Dean. We need to be picked up in Tower Junction, Wyoming in three days.”

“What kind of mess are you in? What if you don’t make it in that time frame?”

“We will. Just have someone there.”

“How will we find you?”

“I’ll find you.”

“Wouldn’t it just be easier to find a way to the airport?”

“You’d think, but I don’t know who the hell I can trust anymore. There’s at least one dirty ranger and two cops involved with the operation. I don’t know how far up the chain this thing goes. An APB has been issued on Morgan and me. If you or Stanley could call and explain the situation to the cops, it would take some of the heat off of us here. We’ll stay in the wilderness until we find the Bureau agent. Three days, Dean. We’ve gotta go.” Hunter hung up.

Moments later, Stanley returned to his office. “Dean, what are you doing here?”

“I stopped by to see if you’d like to join me for dinner.”

“Great idea. Ilene has a commitment tonight. A night out with an old pal sounds good.”

Dean smiled. “Perfect. I’ll drive. You just missed Morgan’s call.”

“You answered my phone?” Stanley looked at Dean as he gathered items from his desk, transferred them to his briefcase.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds, but I knew it was your personal line. I thought I would take a message for you.”

“No, no, that’s fine. What did she say?”

“Oh, nothing much—just that she and the bodyguard weren’t having a whole lot of luck with the lynx. She’s going back out into the wilderness first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Ah well, that’s a hard animal to track down.” Stanley snapped the case closed, stepped from behind his desk.

“Yes, it is. Let’s go get ourselves a bite to eat.” Dean waited next to Stanley while he locked his office for the evening. “Oh, by the way, Stan, I have to go out of town for a couple of days. Connie’s brother is having some trouble. We’re going to give him a hand. I’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.”

Chapter 23

H
UNTER AND MORGAN SECURED THEIR packs and took off into the night. The distant wail of sirens echoed off the surrounding mountains, following them deep into the forest.

Thick, ominous clouds moved across the sky, covering what should have been a half moon. Wisps of fog snaked among the trees, hovering just above the ground. Minutes after they left the station, a chilly drizzle began to fall.

Without the light of the moon, Hunter had little choice but to shine the beam of his flashlight along the path he created. “I know it’s hard to see, but we have to hurry. They’ll have canine units searching for us before long. I want to stay in the vegetation, but we can move faster if we get to the edge of the clearing.”

In the true country black-of-night, Morgan held tight to the back of Hunter’s pack, following behind. “Dean would’ve interrupted my dad’s meeting immediately. He should be calling the authorities by now if he hasn’t already.”

“It’ll take time to get word down to the local level. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a German shepherd snacking on my arm while we wait, so we’ll keep moving for now.”

Morgan tripped over a rock jutting from the dirt. Hunter reached behind, grabbing her before she went over. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I can’t see where I’m stepping, and I’m a little tired, but I’m fine.”

If she was actually admitting it, she was way past a little tired. “I know you are. As soon as I think we’re in a good place, we can stop. I imagine we have a small window before they call out the helicopters. They’ll try to find us on foot first, then they’ll call in the big guns.”

“Why haven’t they already? That’s what they do on those cop shows.”

“Procedures are a little different in rural areas. The dogs have a better chance of picking up our scent out here versus a helicopter spotting us. We’re like a needle in a haystack. We should stop, get into our thermals and raingear, or we’ll freeze our asses off and have even bigger problems.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

Hunter guided Morgan deeper into the trees, where they quickly dug into their packs for thermal underwear, rain pants and the Gor-Tex shells for their jackets.

Changed and as warm and waterproof as they were going to get, they continued.

Mile after mile, they walked as quick as the miserable conditions would allow. The light drizzle turned to a steady rain, creating muddy, slippery surfaces. The open space and easy maneuverability of the valley terrain vanished as they climbed. Sharp rocks, thick tree cover, and dangerously deep drops promised to break bones or worse.

By ten, their pace slowed to a crawl. The police had yet to find them, but it was still too risky to attempt headlamps. They continued to work by the tiny beam of Hunter’s small flashlight.

Shivering, Morgan’s teeth chattered. “Are we far enough away to stop for a few minutes? I need to change my socks and layer up some more. I’m getting cold.”

“Yeah, I think we should be able—” The thump of chopper blades in the distance cut Hunter off. “What the hell? They’re still looking for us?” He grabbed Morgan’s hand, moved deeper into the cover of tall pines. He turned off the flashlight, and they braced themselves as close to the tree as possible, waiting for the bright, bold searchlight of the helicopter to pass by.

“We’ve been out here for a couple of hours at least. My dad should’ve taken care of this by now.”

It was hard to miss the weariness in Morgan’s voice. Hunter gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Yeah, he should’ve.” Something wasn’t right. “All we can do is keep going. There’s probably been a little snag.” He needed to get to a phone and call Ethan.

Morgan changed her socks, retied her boots. Rain began to fall in unrelenting sheets as the wind gusted with a violent howl. She looked up, blinking rapidly. “Hunter, I’m beginning to think things aren’t going to go well for us tonight.”

Rain whipped against his face like cold needles. Despite the hellish conditions, he couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t know where you’d get an impression like that. You’re such a pessimist.”

Morgan smiled back.

“Things are actually looking up. They’ll have to land the helicopter. They don’t fly well in this weather. We’ll take the rain. Let’s keep moving.”

The blinding rains and strong winds continued into the night. The battle with the unrelenting elements and brutal terrain were beginning to wear on him. If he was tired, Morgan had to be toast.

“We’ll stop for a little while,” Hunter yelled into a gust of wind.