He came back over to the fire and kicked dirt on it, putting it out. Her world plunged into darkness then, and she squinted into the shadows. She looked overhead, but there was no moon.

“Come on.”

He grabbed her roughly and jerked her to her feet. She had a moment of panic as he was about to shove her inside the small tent.

“Wait,” she said. “I…I need to pee.”

He sighed. “Yes, I suppose you do.” He pointed at her. “Stay here.”

She did as she was told, waiting as he ducked into the tent. He came out with a roll of toilet paper. He wordlessly handed it to her, then pulled on the rope, leading her behind a tree.

“You’re going to…watch?”

“You’re testing my patience,” he said.

It was dark. He wouldn’t be able to see anything, she reasoned. She let out a heavy breath. “Can you at least turn around?”

He was silent and didn’t move for the longest time. Then, finally, the rope loosened and he let go of the slack and moved around the tree.

“Thank you.”

“Hurry up.”

She didn’t know if she was more embarrassed or humiliated at that moment. She squatted down beside the tree, hoping he wasn’t listening. At that thought, she rolled her eyes. Him listening to her pee was the least of her worries.

“Bring the toilet paper with you.”

“What? Gross.”

“Pick it up.”

The tone of his voice told her not to argue. She waited while he lowered the trash bag and she put the toilet paper in after he’d opened it. He then repeated the process of hanging it back in the tree.

Without another word, he jerked her hands and pulled her toward the tent. Panic set in again as he shoved her inside. She was his hostage. He could do what he pleased. But she closed her eyes, vowing to fight him. She would not go through that again. She opened her eyes when she heard a quiet click and saw that he’d turned on a small flashlight. Their eyes met and he frowned slightly. She wondered what look she had on her face to cause that.

“I only have the one sleeping bag,” he said. “Use your coat for cover. It gets cold at night.”

He took the rope that was tied around her wrists and tied it to his arm. “I’m a light sleeper. Don’t do anything stupid. Having a hostage helps my cause, but only a little. I’ll kill you in a second if you try anything.”

“Why do you need a hostage?”

“Because they’re less likely to come after me with guns blazing, that’s why.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier for you to disappear if you were by yourself?”

He sighed. “Goodnight.”

She lay on her back, eyes wide open. How could she possibly sleep? She let out a quiet sigh of her own. How could this be happening to her? One minute, she and Leslie were discussing houses and the next, she was tied to a madman with a gun. And a knife, she reminded herself. She thought back over it all. Could she have done something? Should she have tried to get her weapon from the drawer? Should she have fought him? And on the heels of that, was Leslie okay? Was Tori okay? She could imagine how Tori was feeling. She pitied poor Casey, who had to put up with her. This brought a quick smile to her face. But it faded just as quickly.

She was in a tent in the middle of nowhere, tied to a man with a gun.




Chapter Six



Cameron stepped out of the truck, her gaze going first to the small motorhome, then to her right where crime scene tape was wrapped around a group of trees. The yellow tape nearly glowed from the truck’s headlights. She slid her heavy backpack to the ground.

“How did he get here?” she asked the sheriff’s deputy who had escorted them here. Murdock had said something about a car.

“The family’s car. We found it ditched down the road there, about two hundred yards.”

“Give me some kind of timeline, if you can,” she said.

“Sure.” He pulled out a small notepad from his shirt pocket, then walked into the light from his truck. “Call came in about the shooting at six twenty. The ranger came over here, took Agent Hunter and O’Connor—she’s with Dallas PD—with him to the scene. They got back here at seven ten.”

“That’s when they found the girl tied to the other police officer?” Andrea asked.

“Yes, ma’am. They called it in. Nothing was disturbed. There was evidence that Kennedy changed clothes and took a jacket.” He looked at his notes. “Hunter said she was wearing shorts when they left them. The shorts were in the bedroom and jeans and hiking boots were missing.”

“Nice of him to let her change,” Andrea said.

“It would just slow him down if she wasn’t equipped for hiking.” Her gaze slid to the still-dark forest. “How far he’ll go is anybody’s guess.”

“Where is Agent Hunter?” Andrea asked.

“Yeah, she’s in there,” he said, pointing to the motorhome. “She’s not real friendly. The other one, O’Connor, she’s nice.”

“You got our gear?” Cameron asked.

“Yes, it’s in the back of my truck.”

“I’m going to go check it out,” Cameron said to Andrea. She motioned with her head to the motorhome. “I’ll let you talk to Hunter.”

Andrea nodded and Cameron went around to the back of the truck. She let the tailgate down, then frowned. There were two packs, not just one. She pulled one closer to her and unzipped it, finding rations, two containers of water, some toiletries and little else. There was a sleeping bag and a tent strapped to the outside. She pulled over the other one, and it was equipped the same.

“Bare bones, Murdock,” she murmured. And as if saying his name was a signal, her phone rang. “Why two packs?” she asked immediately when she answered. “I told you I had my own.”

“And good morning to you too, Agent Ross. I trust you made it safely.”

“Just got here,” she said. “It’s not daylight yet.” She paused. “Two packs?”

“Yes. Well, Agent Hunter will accompany you.”

“The hell she will,” Cameron said loudly. “I won’t have time to babysit.”

“She’s a trained agent, Cameron.”

“Andrea and I work alone. I don’t need her.”

“I don’t suppose you do. But you know who the hostage is.”

“All the more reason for her not to go. This can’t be personal.”

He sighed. “Yeah. Well, I tried that approach with her too. And short of locking her up, there’s no way to keep her from joining you.”

Cameron glanced at the motorhome where she heard Andrea talking. “Come on, Murdock. You issue her an order. If she doesn’t follow it, file insubordination and haul her off.”

“Of course, Agent Ross, you know all about insubordination, don’t you?”

“Come on, Murdock.”

“Look, I already tried that. She threatened to quit the FBI and follow you anyway. Now if you can talk her into staying behind, fine. Use your charm on her,” he said with a laugh. “But there’s gear there for her to join you. She’s a trained agent,” he said again.

“Jesus, Murdock, this is not a great way to start a mission.”

“And we don’t have time to argue about it. The best we can do is hope Kennedy slows Angel down enough for you to catch up. Now, do you want air support? The locals are chomping at the bit to go after him. They’ve got a helicopter ready to go.”

“No. Not yet. Let me get a feel for where he’s going. Besides, we both know he can hide from a damn helicopter. Angel Figueroa is no amateur.”

“If he was alone, sure. Maybe not with a hostage. But you make the call. You check in with me and let me know your progress.”

“That’s assuming I can find his trail,” she said.

“I have no doubt that you will.”

The call ended and she pocketed her phone. She looked to the sky and saw the first signs of dawn. She headed toward the motorhome. Now the fun part. No way in hell was she letting Agent Hunter go with them.

* * *

Tori looked up as the other woman approached. She could tell by the look on her face that she was not happy.

“I’m Special Agent Ross. Who is Hunter?”

“I’m Hunter,” Tori said. She motioned to Casey. “This is O’Connor. Dallas PD.”

Agent Sullivan stepped forward with a slightly amused expression. “Cameron…this is Tori and Casey,” she said, pointing to each of them.

Agent Ross nodded. “I understand your…your colleague was injured.”

Casey’s eyebrows shot up. “Colleague? Is that what we’re calling it now?” She gave Agent Ross the sarcastic smile Tori knew well. “My partner, Leslie, is doing fine. In fact, I’m heading to the hospital as soon as you guys take off.”

“Good.” Ross turned to Tori. “And I imagine you’re going with her then?”

Tori shook her head. “As I told your man Murdock, I’m going with you.”

Ross narrowed her eyes. “The hell you are.”

Tori glared right back. “Yeah, the hell I am.”

Ross sighed. “Look, Hunter, you don’t have experience in this. We do. Let us do our job.”

“I’m going with you.”

“Goddamn it, Hunter, I don’t have time to argue with you. They’ve got at least a two-hour head start on us, provided he stopped at full dark. It may be three hours. Do you know how long it’s going to take to make up that time?” Ross shook her head. “You’re not going.”

“I’m not going to slow you down.”

“You’re not going,” Ross said again.

“The hell I’m not,” Tori said loudly. She pointed out to the woods. “That’s my goddamn life out there.”

“Then trust us to bring her back.”

“I don’t trust anyone but me,” Tori said emphatically as she pointed at her chest.

Cameron stepped closer. “I said no.”

Tori walked closer too. They were nearly nose to nose. “I don’t care what you say. I’m fucking going with you.”

Agent Sullivan put an arm between them. “Cameron.”

“What?” she asked sharply.

Sullivan gave Tori a quick, somewhat apologetic smile, before glancing at Ross. “Can I speak with you for a minute?”