Smoky Mountains Ranger
Her face flushed guiltily. “He drew a gun on me. I wasn’t happy about that. Things did get a bit...heated...with him demanding to know why I’d snuck up on him. Which, of course, I hadn’t. But looking back, I can see how it appeared that way to him.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze. Subterfuge obviously didn’t come naturally to her. So why was she covering for this guy? Or was she covering for both of them?
He tried again, working hard to inject patience into his tone. “You were arguing with each other over him putting the gun down?”
She cleared her throat. “Yes, pretty much.” Another nervous laugh.
Her story had more holes in it than a white-tailed fawn had spots. Instead of rescuing her from a domestic dispute between a couple, had he interrupted a disagreement between a couple of criminals? Were they out here doing something illegal and they’d turned on each other? Or maybe whatever they’d planned was still to come, something far worse than trespassing on a closed trail or carrying a gun into a national park. Adam backed up the path several feet so he could keep Jody—if that was her real name—in his line of sight at a safer distance, just in case she and Tattoo Guy decided to join forces against him.
“Let me guess,” he said. “You don’t have ID on you, either?”
She cleared her throat again. “Actually, no. I don’t. I left my purse in my car, at the trailhead. All I have with me are my keys and my phone.”
“Empty your pockets.”
Her brow furrowed, and she finally looked at him. “Excuse me?”
“Would you prefer that I pat you down like I did your friend?”
Twin spots of color darkened her cheeks, making her freckles stand out in stark contrast to her pale complexion. Her eyes flashed with anger. “I assure you, he’s not my friend.”
That statement, at least, appeared to be true. But he could tell she immediately regretted her outburst by the way her teeth tugged at her full lower lip.
His prisoner’s eyes narrowed at her, as if in warning. Something was definitely rotten in the state of Denmark, or in this case, the Smoky Mountains. And Adam was determined to get to the bottom of it.
“Your pockets, ma’am?”
Without a word, she pulled her phone out of one pocket, a set of keys out of the other. Clutching them both in one hand, she turned out the lining of her pockets to show they were empty. “That’s it. There’s nothing else.”
“Back pockets, too.”
Her mouth tightened but she turned around and turned those pockets inside out.
“All right,” Adam conceded. “You can turn around.” To perform a complete search, he should pat down her bra. But his years of reading people told him that wasn’t necessary. She wasn’t carrying.
“Where do you live?”
Again, another look at the handcuffed man as she shoved her keys and phone back into her pockets. “Not far from here. I’ve got an apartment in town.”
“Gatlinburg?”
Again, she hesitated. “Yes.”
“Why were you two up here today?”
She chewed her bottom lip.
Tattoo Guy simply stared at him, eyes narrowed with the promise of retribution over Adam’s interference in whatever was going on.
“Maybe my question wasn’t clear,” Adam said. “Why were you both on a closed trail?”
“Closed?” The man sounded shocked. “Really? Miss Ingram, did you see any signs saying the trail was closed?” Laughter was heavy in his voice as he watched her.
“N...no.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I didn’t. I guess I was...enjoying nature too much and wasn’t paying attention.”
Disgusted with both of them, Adam flipped the radio on again. “Ranger McKenzie to base. Come in. Over.” He tried two more times, then gave up.
“I don’t know what you two are hiding. But at a minimum you’re guilty of criminal trespass. This trail is closed for a reason. The recent wildfires have burned away brush that used to hold the topsoil in place. What the high winds and fire didn’t destroy, recent rains did. Entire sections of the trail have been washed away. Trees have been toppled, their roots ripping up most of what was left. The trail is more a memory than a reality anymore. The part we’re standing on is one of the best sections left. But it’s the exception rather than the rule. You already know that, of course. Because you had to climb over and around some of the damage on your way up. No way you missed it.”
He waited for their response and wasn’t surprised when neither of them said anything.
“It’s also against the law for civilians to carry guns into the park. Care to explain why you had a loaded pistol up here, sir?”
“Protection, of course. I’ve heard there are all kinds of dangers in these mountains.” He kept his gaze fastened on Jody.
As if she felt his eyes on her, she shivered.
What the heck was going on? Had Tattoo Guy just given the woman a veiled threat? Was he one of the dangers he’d just mentioned? Even though Adam had zero doubt that Jody Ingram was covering something, his instincts were telling him that she was a victim here. But since neither of them would talk, he had no choice but to bring both of them in.
“Am I under arrest, Ranger?” The man drew out Adam’s title into several extra syllables, then chuckled. He wasn’t the first to make fun of the ranger title. But Adam wasn’t inclined to care. He just wanted this guy off the mountain before he hurt someone.
“For now, you’re just being detained, for everyone’s safety. We’ll sort it all out at headquarters. Those are prison tats on your arms, aren’t they? I’m sure your fingerprints are on file. Won’t take but a minute to find out who you are once I get you back to base. And if you’re a felon with a gun, well, we’ll just have to deal with that issue, won’t we?”
If looks could kill, Adam would be six feet under right now.
He’d dealt with all types over the years, the worst of the worst back when he’d first started out in law enforcement as a beat cop in some of the rougher parts of Memphis. But because of Adam’s own intimidating size, he could count on one hand the number of men who made him uncomfortable. This man was one of them. There was something sinister, jaded, so...empty about him. As if long ago he’d poured out his soul and filled the emptiness with pure evil.
He motioned for him to start down the trail, in the direction toward the Appalachian Trail intersection and Clingmans Dome—a famous lookout point high in the Smoky Mountains. “Take it slow and easy.”
His prisoner calmly pushed away from the rock wall. As he started walking down the path, he whistled the same tune that Adam had whistled earlier, “Highway to Hell.”
Jody watched him go, fear and trepidation playing a game of tug-of-war across her face. Adam wanted to reassure her. But she’d done nothing but lie to him. Trusting her would be a mistake. Instead, he gestured for her to fall in beside him and they started down the steep incline about ten feet behind his prisoner.
“He can’t hear you now.” Adam kept his voice low as they carefully stepped around boulders and climbed over downed trees. “What was really going on back there?”
She accepted his hand to help her over a pile of rocks and busted branches. There were pieces of splintered wood and rocks everywhere, making it slow going. The prisoner up ahead navigated the same obstacles with surprising ease for a man with his hands behind him. There was now twelve feet of space between them. Adam frowned and motioned for Jody to speed up.
“Well?” he prodded, watching Tattoo Guy’s back.
“I already told you. I didn’t see the closed-trail signs and I was walking through the park enjoying the scenery. I rounded a curve and scared that man. He drew his gun. I’m sure he would have put it away, but then you came up and things got...complicated.”
“That’s how you’re going to play this?”
She stared straight ahead.
Frustration curled inside him. “You don’t have to be afraid of him. I can protect you, help you find a way out of whatever trouble you’re in. Just tell me the truth.”
She made a choked sound, then cleared her throat. “I am telling you the truth.”
He let out a deep sigh. This was going to be a very long day.
Up ahead, the rock wall made a sharp curve to the left.
“Hold it,” Adam called out to Tattoo Guy. “The trail gets much steeper and more treacherous there. I’ll have to help you.”
The man took off running.
Adam grabbed his pistol out of the holster. “Stay here!” He sprinted after his prisoner.
Chapter Three
Stay here? Was he worried that she’d run after the bad guy? It took courage to chase a man who’d pointed a pistol at you and made threats. She wasn’t courageous. If she was, she would have fought harder after the auditor absolved her adoptive father of any wrongdoing in regards to her trust. She would have taken back what she believed he’d stolen from her. But she hadn’t. She wouldn’t. Because she was a coward. Being courageous and fighting back had never done her any good. It had only made things worse. So somewhere along the line, just giving in had become a habit.
Still, not at least checking on the ranger seemed wrong. So she kept moving forward, toward where he’d disappeared, even though she had no idea what she’d do if he needed help. She certainly hadn’t done anything to help her best friend, the friend who was the only reason she’d survived her awful foster, later turned adoptive, family.
Where are you, Tracy? That man had to be lying. You have to be hiding somewhere, safe, not some thug’s prisoner.
The curve where the ranger and his prisoner had disappeared loomed up ahead. What was the officer’s name? Adam something. McKenzie, maybe? Yes, that was it. Cool name for a hot guy. Of course, she hadn’t been thinking about his good looks during that frightening standoff. She’d stared up into those deep blue eyes and all she could think was that her friend Tracy was about to die, because of Jody’s own stupidity. Her only chance to save her friend had been to lie, or so she’d thought. But she hadn’t lied convincingly. She’d been too dang scared to pull it off.
Hysterical laughter bubbled up in her chest. Pull what off? What had she thought she could do? Convince a police officer that someone pointing a gun at someone else was no more significant than changing lanes on a highway without signaling? That Adam McKenzie would give them a warning and let them go on their merry way?
Once again, she’d had a choice to make. Once again, she’d made the wrong one. What she should have done was be honest, tell the ranger exactly what was going on. The time for going it alone had evaporated the second a man with scary tattoos had pulled a gun on her. What was she supposed to do now? If she told McKenzie the truth, would that sign Tracy’s death warrant? Probably. Maybe. All she knew for sure was that Tracy needed help. But when help had arrived, in the form of a handsome, dark-haired ranger, she’d squandered the opportunity. And put him in danger, too.
Why hadn’t he come back yet?
She stopped and peered down the trail, or what was left of it. McKenzie hadn’t exaggerated its hazardous condition. She’d leaped over rock slides and logs a dozen times as she’d run from the man with the gun. He’d caught her, of course. Had she really thought she’d get away? Just like one of those too-stupid-to-live women in a horror movie, she’d run up the stairs instead of out of the house. Or, in this case, up the trail instead of back to her car.
Idiot. Stupid, cowardly idiot.
Her hands fisted at her sides. To be fair, she couldn’t have reached her car. He was standing in the way, and there really had been nowhere else to go. Self-recriminations weren’t helping. She was in deep, deep trouble and had no clue how to fix it, or even whether it could be fixed. But she at least needed to try. Standing here, waiting, wasn’t accomplishing anything. It certainly wasn’t finding her missing friend or saving an officer who might be in trouble.
She took a hesitant step toward the curve, then another. Her hand itched for the security of her pistol. But, of course, the one time she actually needed her gun it was locked in the safe in her apartment. That decision, at least, she couldn’t feel bad about. There was no way she could have predicted what would happen when she drove up here in response to Tracy’s text. That she might be in danger had never entered her mind.
When she reached the curve, she squatted down by the wall of rock and peered around the edge. Her stomach sank, as if she’d plummeted down a steep roller-coaster drop. McKenzie no longer had his gun. Instead, he stood about twenty feet away from her, hands in the air. And directly in front of him was another man pointing a pistol directly at McKenzie’s chest.
The man McKenzie had handcuffed was still cuffed. But he was leaning against a tree another ten feet beyond the ranger and the other gunman. His face bore an angry, impatient expression as he watched the standoff.
McKenzie shifted slightly, revealing some bloody cuts on the right side of his face. She drew a sharp breath. All three men jerked their heads toward her. She pressed a hand to her throat, belatedly realizing she must have made a sound.
“Nice of you to join us, Jody,” the handcuffed man called out, his earlier cocky grin back in place. “Stay right where you are. Remember what I told you.” He half turned, looking over his shoulder at the other gunman as he flexed his hands. “Owen, just get the dang keys already and get these things off me. Officer Mayberry can wait.”
Jody swallowed, his earlier threats running through her mind. Somehow he’d gotten it into his head that she had something he wanted. And he was using Tracy as leverage. It stood to reason that she could do the opposite, couldn’t she? Leverage whatever he thought she had in return for Tracy’s safety? If she helped McKenzie, wouldn’t the bad guy have to keep Tracy alive until he got what he wanted?
She curled her nails against her palms. Why was she even debating with herself? It wasn’t like she could just run away. No matter what, she couldn’t ignore the fact that Adam McKenzie was right here, unarmed and outnumbered, with a gun pointed at him. He needed help. She had to do something. But what could she do?
The man named Owen had keys in his left hand now, keys that he must have taken from McKenzie. His gaze stayed on the ranger as he trained the pistol on him and backed toward the tree.
McKenzie’s gaze locked on Jody. He glanced to the right, toward the curve of rock wall and subtly jerked his head. Clearly, he wanted her to run up the path, to escape while she could.
She shook her head, even though she really, really wanted to give in to her cowardice and do exactly that—retreat, run, hide. But she’d just had this particular argument with herself. And lost.
His jaw clenched. He obviously wasn’t happy with her response. He jerked his head again.
Ignoring his unspoken command, she studied the other two men. The one with the gun was fumbling with the set of keys. Their attention was temporarily diverted. McKenzie must have realized the same thing. He edged toward her. One foot. Two feet. When he was about ten feet away, he took off running toward her.
A shout sounded behind him. He grabbed Jody’s arm and yanked her around the corner as more shouts and curses sounded.
“The cuffs, the cuffs! Hurry!” The handcuffed guy was apparently ordering Owen to remove the cuffs before they took off in pursuit.
“Go, go, go!” McKenzie’s fingers tightened around her upper arm, pulling her up the trail. When a downed tree blocked their way, he lifted her up as if she weighed nothing and leaped over the tree. He set her on her feet and they took off again.
The clomp-clomp of boots pounding up the path sounded behind them. She looked over her shoulder. The first gunman didn’t have his hands cuffed anymore. The short delay of removing them had given her and McKenzie a head start. But their lead was dwindling.
“Come on.” McKenzie pulled her around rocks, over branches, at an impossibly fast pace.
“I’m trying,” she gasped, struggling to match his long strides. She already knew she couldn’t outrun the man behind them going uphill. She’d tried once and failed. Keeping up with the tall, long-legged McKenzie was impossible.
“Stop or we’ll shoot!” the man named Owen yelled at them.
She started to look over her shoulder again. But McKenzie tugged her forward.
“Don’t look back. It’ll only slow you down.” He yanked her around another curve in the trail.
A shot rang out. Jody instinctively ducked. But McKenzie was already pulling her under some thick branches from another downed tree. He came out the other side, hopped over more branches, then lifted her over.
A bullet whined past them. She let out a startled gasp and pressed a hand to her galloping heart. Good grief, that was close. McKenzie didn’t react at all. Was the man used to getting shot at? He pulled her behind a huge boulder that was clustered with several others and pushed her down. He scanned the area around them, up the trail, out toward the open vista of mountains that alternated between blackened bald spots and new spring greenery poking up through the ashes.
The twin peaks of the Chimney Tops, two of the higher mountains in the park, stood out in stark relief from the destruction around them. She’d never even been in the park before, other than sitting in a car looking out the window as her adoptive father wheeled and dealed for yet another parcel of land. The only reason she recognized that particular landmark was because a new client had shown her pictures of them a few weeks ago and was considering hiring her to take new ones for a tourist brochure. What she didn’t understand was why McKenzie was looking at the Chimney Tops. It wasn’t like they had a helicopter and could magically fly to them and escape.
His gaze flicked back to her. “I need to know whether I can trust you.”
The cuts on his face had guilt flooding through her. “I could have run when you told me to. But I didn’t leave you behind. Isn’t that proof enough?”
He seemed to consider that, then shrugged. “For now, you’re going to have to trust me.”
She gave a nervous laugh. “Well, I certainly don’t trust the guys shooting at us. Where are they?” She tried to peek around the largest boulder. He stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t. They’ve hunkered down behind the last tree we jumped over, about forty feet back. I imagine they’re waiting to see if I’m going to pull a weapon from my backpack, since they made me toss my pistol into the ravine and took Tattoo Guy’s pistol away from me.”
Hope unfurled in her chest. “Do you? Have a backup gun?”
He shook his head. “I’ve got a hunting knife. But you know the saying about bringing a knife to a gunfight.”
“I’m really good with a knife. I could throw it at them. All I’d need is some kind of diversion to get one of them to stand up and give me a clear target.”
As soon as she said it, she realized she’d made a mistake. He was looking at her with open suspicion again.
“In college,” she rushed to explain, “I hired a guy who ran a gun range to teach me to defend myself. He taught me to shoot. But he also taught me how to throw a knife.”
“Ever thrown a knife at a real, live person?”
“No, of course not, but—”
Bam! Bam!
They both ducked at the shockingly loud sound of pistol fire.
She drew a shaky breath. “Well?” She held out her hand for the knife.
“I’m not giving up my only weapon just yet.”
She dropped her hand. “You have a better suggestion?”
He looked toward the Chimney Tops again. “I’m considering a few possibilities.”
“Is one of them to crouch down and use these boulders to block them from seeing us retreat up the path, back the way you came? We might be able to get pretty far up the trail before they realize we’re gone.”
“That’s a good suggestion, except for one problem.” He shrugged out of his backpack and unzipped the top. “The trail straightens out after that next curve, with no cover of any kind for about three hundred yards. It’s also unstable. There’s a lot of debris but nothing sizable enough to hide us from view. The odds of us making it that far before those guys work up the courage to storm our little hideout are too low to make it worth the risk.” He pulled out a length of white nylon rope and the knife he’d mentioned earlier.
She was about to argue with him, but the rope made her pause. “What’s the rope for?”
“So we don’t die.”
It took several seconds for her to realize he wasn’t going to expand on his cryptic answer. Instead, he shoved the knife into a leather holder and tucked it into his backpack. After slipping the pack onto his shoulders, he connected some extra straps on the pack that he hadn’t bothered to fasten earlier. One went over his chest. Two more attached the pack to his belt loops with metal clips. She thought they might be called carabiners, like she’d used when Tracy had badgered her into going on a zip-lining trip in Pigeon Forge to celebrate Jody’s new, second job at Campbell Investigations.
“What are you doing?” she tried again.
He picked up the length of rope that he’d cut. His fingers fairly flew as he tied knots and created loops.
She watched him with growing frustration. The gunmen could be creeping up on them this very minute. So why was he tying knots? She hated being kept in the dark. Her life was on the line just as much as his.
And Tracy’s.
He pulled on one of the loops as if testing it, then let out a few more inches, making it larger.
“Are you going to tie them up or try to lasso them or what?” she snapped, unable to hide her frustration any longer.
For the first time since he’d appeared on the trail with a goofy, dumb-as-a-rock grin, he gave her a genuine smile. It lit up his eyes and made him look years younger than the thirty-one or -two that she’d assumed him to be. Maybe he was only in his late twenties?
“Lasso them? Can’t say that’s ever been part of my law enforcement training. Might be a good skill to learn, though.”
He continued to work the rope through the metal clips. “Hypothetical. We figure out a way to get Owen or Tattoo Guy to stand up and give us a clear target. You do a Wonder Woman move and take him out. That leaves the second thug with two pistols, and potentially other weapons we don’t even know about. We’re left without even a knife to defend ourselves. What would we do then?”
“Maybe I do another Wonder Woman move and lasso the second guy.”
His lips twitched as if he was trying not to laugh. He looped the rope through one of the backpack’s metal clips.
She curled her fingers against her thighs. It was either that or shake him. She closed her eyes for a moment and drew deep, calming breaths. Their lives were on the line and this man was pushing all her buttons. What she needed to do was calm down and think. There had to be something they could do instead of just waiting here playing with a rope. She opened her eyes again, then frowned. “What are you doing?”
He swept the ground between them clear of debris, scattering several broken pieces of branches and twigs, then motioned for her to move toward him. Exasperated, but curious enough to see if he actually had some kind of plan, she scooted toward him on her knees. He closed the distance and slid the rope through one of the belt loops on her shorts.
“McKenzie. What are—”
“Give me a minute.”
She blew out an irritated breath and held her hands out of the way as he threaded the rope through all the loops on her shorts. When he was done, he tied the end of the rope to another metal loop on his backpack, effectively anchoring them to each other, with just a few feet in between.
“McKenzie?”
He tilted her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. “Is your name really Jody?”
