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“Thank you. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do with our force for a long time. We’re a pretty quiet town, but every once in a while, that kind of thing would help a lot.”
Did that mean he appreciated her? Why did that make her stomach flip? And why did she feel talented and worthy, whereas other men had been quick to point out her flaws? She hadn’t even proven herself yet, and he was ready to hire her.
The sign to the park came into view on the nearest hill and Heather braced herself to drive inside. There was no turning back now. Whatever was waiting for them in the park, she’d have to face it.
“Here we are,” she held her trepidation in check. Allen shouldn’t have to worry about her any more than he already was.
“I’m going to go past the entrance gates to the main parking area. We’re to meet George in the back.” He glanced at his watch. “And we’re right on time.”
Allen flashed his badge at the woman in the booth at the entrance, and she waved him through. They’d obviously arranged entry in advance. Heather zipped her coat and prayed as Allen parked the car. She had no weapon and didn’t want to carry one without knowing how to use it. At least the two men with her would be armed.
Allen turned to her and touched her shoulder. Even through her coat, warmth spread down her arm. “I want you to promise me that if anything happens, you stick with either me or George.”
She nodded, already knowing she would stick close to Allen. “I will.” There was no way she would intentionally get separated from either of them. Finding her way out of the park without guidance would be incredibly foolish. She might not be able to find her way out if she got too far from the road. It wasn’t like she looked at her coordinates every time she trekked through the park to take photos.
“It will be weird walking through this place without the intent to take pictures.” She looked around the area for any of the rangers she knew.
“Oh, I think you should plan to. Use your phone and take images as we go along. If you get lost or separated, you can find your way out by backtracking from those.”
She hadn’t thought of that because she was too distracted by worry about herself and her father. “True. I’ve got a full charge thanks to the cabin with the weird electrical system.” She grinned because the light in her room had randomly turned on in the middle of the night, scaring her awake where she’d curled up on the couch after talking to Allen most of the night.
She knew he’d only done that because she needed the reassurance that he was doing everything in his power to look for her father. He didn’t hold a grudge, which was another mark in his favor.
George, or who she assumed to be George, came around the building and waved to Allen. Within minutes, she was inside a private area in the main building just inside the park. A few yards away, visitors were buying souvenirs and planning maps while she was gearing up for a hike that would hopefully take her to find her father.
“Ready?” George looked between them. His olive-green and brown uniform stood out, even with all the gear he had to wear to protect him from the rocks.
She gave a nod. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Allen gave one nod. Decked out in gear, he was even more formidable, and far too attractive. His broad shoulders and muscular arms stood out against the fitted gear. She turned away from him. This was about Dad, not Allen. Yes, he was helpful, but she couldn’t let him distract her from her purpose. Maybe Allen was right. She needed to stick to one of them and George might have to be the one she chose for her heart’s safety.
* * *
Allen followedGeorge to a ranger vehicle that clearly denoted it was with the Park Service. He let Heather sit in the front with George, since she knew the park better than he did. He’d never been in a situation where he’d second-guessed himself so much.
Why couldn’t he focus on the task at hand? Getting Heather’s father back and keeping her from the clutches of whoever wanted information—then to probably kill her—was priority one. He shouldn’t be thinking about recruiting her to work for him. He shouldn’t be thinking about taking a hike with her after this was over to get her perspective of the park. Those were things he couldn’t ever do. Not with his secrets and not with Ed feeling as he did. She would take it as the ultimate in disrespect to ignore her father’s dislike.
At least he was pretty sure Heather didn’t know what those secrets were, but her father did. How he’d known was a mystery. One he didn’t want to think about when he needed all his brain space to work on this case. His daughter obviously respected her father’s opinion if she was willing to carry campaign signs for him and had defended him multiple times.
George drove for about forty-five minutes on the longer loop around the park, then pulled into a scenic overlook where there were quite a few parking places. That early in the morning, it was completely empty other than them.
He watched Heather get out of the truck and slide on protective gloves. She wore a helmet, and her hair hung in a golden braid down her back. Pensively, she glanced over the horizon. “Where do we climb down from here?”
“We don’t,” George answered. “We have to walk down the road a little, to a spot where the road dips. If we tried descending here, we’d hurt ourselves and the rocks.”
Allen followed orders, knowing not only that he had little power within the park, he was out of his element. Other than a few rides through, he’d never explored. The Badlands were picturesque and a great place to see antelope, but that’s all he’d really noted.
George led them down the narrow road, though they stayed off to the side wherever possible. The curvy pavement put them in danger of getting hit by people going faster than the speed limit as drivers headed through. Finally, they reached the point where they would leave the road and head into the places usually deemed off-limits.
Heather gasped, catching Allen’s full attention. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
She slowly shook her head as she lowered to crouch just off the trail. “Look.” She pointed to a spot that was much more trodden than he would’ve expected.
“That’s blood.” The drops weren’t fresh, having dried to a brownish crust over the crumbly rock, but it was clearly blood. “We don’t know if it’s your father’s.” He wanted to immediately reassure her. “It could be animal. It could’ve been from a hiker days ago. We don’t know.” Even though he’d told her from the beginning to be prepared for the worst, now he wanted to give her hope.
Allen glanced further down the obvious trail. “I would guess this marks the way. They didn’t hide from us.”
George’s expression changed in an instant. “The difficulty will be keeping to the trail they’ve left for us, while also watching for an attack. If this weren’t here, they wouldn’t have any idea which way we’d be coming from. I’d be shocked if they weren’t keeping watch for us, especially since you said they wrote the coordinates on the threatening postcard.”