Page 6 of Valor (Long Hot Summer: Christian Romantic Suspense #2)

CHAPTER SIX

Owen took the dirt road back to the front of the Elk Horn Lodge, then onto the main highway. It was incredibly difficult not to glance at cabin 9 using the rearview mirror. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Emily. The truth was that he didn’t trust himself.

He had no doubt Emily would give him the hour he’d requested.

She cared about him far more than she should.

He couldn’t understand why he was struggling with the idea of leaving her behind. She deserved a normal life, a man who could love her and give her the family she deserved.

Yet he kept thinking about how on earth the bad guys had found them at the Greybull motel. Had their timely arrival been a simple process of elimination? Greybull wasn’t that big and only had three motels. Or had they somehow figured out that he’d stolen the truck? Maybe the owner had reported it stolen quicker than they’d anticipated.

He told himself there was no reason to worry. Emily was safe in the cabin, especially as it was tucked so far back on the property. They’d paid cash to keep her off-grid. Plus, he’d taken the truck to move on. If the bad guys could somehow track the vehicle, they’d continue to follow him.

After going barely two miles, he realized he couldn’t do it. Remembering how he’d left Emily at her house but had stayed close to watch the place in case someone showed, he decided he needed to do the same thing now. After all, a bad guy had broken into Emily’s home and tried to kill her.

What if that happened again?

It wasn’t as if he had a firm destination in mind. No reason he couldn’t stay back long enough to make sure Emily was picked up by her brother, Doug. Decision made, he abruptly pulled over to the side of the road and executed a three-point turn. As he drove, he scanned the side of the road and found a place to pull off that would hide the stolen truck. He took a few minutes to make sure the truck’s location was well hidden, getting rid of the tire tracks and putting several branches around the vehicle to keep anyone from seeing it. Then he pushed through the woods back toward cabin 9.

Walking through the woods in the dark wasn’t easy. He tripped often and had to slow his pace to avoid falling flat on his face. But he figured it was better to be hidden from view than to walk along the highway where a passing car could see him.

The two-mile walk back to cabin 9 took so long he considered giving up and heading back to the truck. Sheer stubbornness pushed him onward. Yet as he trekked through the woods, he asked himself if he was really doing this because he was concerned about Emily’s safety or because he wanted to see her one last time?

With a grimace, he secretly admitted both options were pushing him forward. Pathetic as it was, he just couldn’t move on until he knew for sure she was safe. The minute he caught sight of Emily with her brother, Doug, he’d disappear for good.

Owen walked for what seemed like forever before he caught sight of a light in the distance. Not headlights from a car, the glow was stationary, not moving with the hills and curves of the highway. He couldn’t tell if the light was from the lodge itself or one of the cabins.

At least he was getting closer. He kept his gaze focused on the light and slowed his pace so he wouldn’t accidentally stumble out into a clearing.

When he almost walked into one of the brown cabins, he had to swallow the urge to laugh. If it had been a snake, it would have bitten him. Placing his hand on the side of the cabin, he tried to get his bearings. They’d passed three cabins on this side of the road before reaching the one they’d been assigned. He was fairly certain this was the second of the three.

Easing along the side of the building, he peered around the corner. This close he could see the glow of light was coming from one of the lodge windows. He spotted the cabin number six and realized he was closer than he’d realized.

He scooted backward until he was in the woods. Then he adjusted his angle to reach Emily’s cabin.

Fifteen minutes later, he found it. He frowned when he realized the place was dark. Not even the light of a phone could be seen through the windows. Had she somehow already left the Elk Horn Lodge with her brother? No, that was impossible. He glanced at his watch, realizing only ninety minutes had passed since he’d left her. No way could Doug have driven all the way from the Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue Ranch so quickly. And if the guy had flown there, Owen would have heard the plane or helicopter.

She was probably asleep. She had worked three night shifts in a row and had barely gotten three hours of sleep in before they’d been forced to go on the run.

Yet he wouldn’t be able to relax without knowing she was okay.

Moving slowly, he crept toward the window closest to the bed. The last thing he wanted was to wake Bear. Or Emily for that matter.

Hearing nothing from inside the cabin, he pressed his back against the wall and took a deep breath. Then he edged closer to peer inside. It took a moment for him to see Emily curled up in the bed, with Bear tucked in beside her.

They painted a poignant picture. The flash of relief that she was unharmed morphed into longing. His heart ached for something he’d never have. Owen had to force himself to turn away, to follow through on his promise of ensuring Emily’s safety.

Not satisfying his own selfish wishes. With steely resolve, he silently retraced his steps until he was hidden in the shelter of the woods.

The light in the main lodge abruptly turned off. He stood for a moment, waiting for his eyes to adjust. Then he continued moving through the foliage until he found a spot where he could keep an eye on both the front door of the cabin and the window closest to where Emily and Bear were sleeping. Then he settled on the ground, bracing his back against the base of a thick tree trunk.

Maybe this was an exercise in futility, but now that he’d made it this far, he might as well stick around for a while. Hopefully, Doug Bridges was already on his way. Sure, it would take another hour or two for the DEA agent to get there, but that was okay.

He could wait.

Resting his head back against the tree trunk, he closed his eyes and tried to relax his tense muscles. Around him, the night scents and sounds filled his senses. Buzzing insects, the evergreen scent, the occasional throaty belch from a bullfrog and the hoot of an owl.

Owen hadn’t spent much time outdoors until this past year. His dad was in the army, and he and Oliver had moved from one base to the next every few years. It wasn’t easy to start over, making new friends, but a lot of the other kids on base were in the same predicament. That had only lasted until his seventeenth birthday when his parents had separated. A few months later, they’d reconciled but then his dad had unexpectedly died of a brain aneurysm. After burying his father, his mother had made her home in Denver, Colorado.

Owen had graduated from high school, then got a job building houses. He’d liked working with his hands, creating something that would last. Then his mom had gotten sick. His brother, Oliver, had turned twenty-one but was still living at home. Unbeknownst to Owen, Oliver, who was three years younger than he was, had made the bad decision to join the local drug ring to make easy cash. By the time Owen had found out what was going on, their mother had passed away from her pancreatic cancer, and Oliver was in way over his head. Owen had urged his brother to break free, to get out of the drug trade. Oliver had mentioned his boss, Domingo Hernandez, and had sounded scared to death of the guy.

Three short months later, Oliver had been found with his throat slashed, his body left on the front porch of his mother’s old house in a clear message.

Nobody walks away from Domingo Hernandez.

Owen must have dozed off because the sound of a twig cracking startled him. He opened his eyes and carefully scanned his surroundings without moving a muscle.

That was when he’d realized the night sounds of insects, frogs, and owls had gone silent.

His pulse kicked into high gear. Yet he tried not to overreact. He couldn’t see anything alarming nearby. Cabin 9 remained dark and quiet.

Another muffled footfall convinced him he wasn’t imagining things. Someone was out there.

Doug Bridges? Or someone else?

Moving with exaggerated slowness, he slowly pushed himself up and into a crouch. He still had his weapon, but only half the bullets were left. He didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary. He’d already killed two men, and that did not include the number of drug overdose deaths he may have been partially responsible for.

Domingo Hernandez was the real culprit. But Owen knew he wasn’t innocent either.

Another footstep reached his ears. This time he could tell it came from his left side. As if someone was stealthily coming up the dirt road toward the cabin.

There would be no reason for Doug to skulk around like that. The DEA agent would come barreling up in one of those Sullivan SUVs, likely having broken every known speed record to get there.

Owen narrowed his gaze, watching the road. When he saw a man dressed in black moving down the dirt track straight toward cabin 9, his gut clenched. He slowly lifted his weapon, holding it in two hands as he waited for the man to come closer, needing to be sure he wasn’t Doug.

The light in the lodge window popped on, and the man spun toward it, lifting his weapon. Owen used the distraction to take a few steps closer to the cabin. When the man dressed in black turned back around, Owen caught a glimpse of his facial features.

Not Doug. And no one else he recognized either.

Adrenaline coursed through him. He held his weapon steady and decided to give the guy one chance to do the right thing. Even though it was illegal, he decided to pretend to be a cop.

“Police! Stay back or I’ll shoot!”

The figure ducked and fired off two rounds in his general direction. Thankfully, they went high and wide. Swallowing a curse, Owen fired back.

The guy let out a cry, dropped his weapon, and crumpled to the ground. Then he grabbed his leg and rolled around, screaming in pain.

Lights flashed from the other cabins now, and he could hear Bear barking too. He quickly ran toward the fallen man to kick his gun away. He pointed the muzzle at the man’s face.

“Are you alone?”

The guy’s eyes widened, and he nodded. Owen wasn’t sure he believed him. He spun from the gunman, glad to know he would survive, and ran toward Emily who was standing in the open door of her cabin.

“Get back inside.” His voice was terse as he ran toward her. “We need to get out of here.”

She gaped in shock at seeing him but didn’t argue. He closed and locked the door behind him. Turning, he took a moment to grab one of the dog’s dishes and the half-full bag of dog food. That would have to be good enough. Emily was shoving her feet into her shoes while slipping her phone into her pocket.

“Wait.” The phone nagged at him. What if that was the source of how they were tracked? “Leave your phone here.”

Emily pulled the device from her pocket and tossed it onto the bed. Her eyes were wide with fear as she cradled Bear close.

He urged her forward. “We’re going out the back window, okay?”

She nodded and quickly lifted the sash. He waited for her to get out first, then quickly followed. When he gestured toward the woods, she didn’t complain. Moments later, they were swallowed into the brush.

The only good thing about this mess was that he’d come back to check on Emily. If he hadn’t, she’d likely be dead.

* * *

Emily had been sound asleep when the sound of gunfire had awoken her. She’d been confused at first, until Bear began to bark.

That’s when it all came tumbling back. Seeing Owen, the man who’d tried to choke her, running from gunfire.

And here they were running from danger again. When Owen had told her to leave her phone behind, she’d understood his concern.

But doing so meant severing all contact with her brother, Doug. She wished she’d called him the minute Owen had driven away, rather than waiting the hour she’d promised Owen. To be honest, she’d waited an hour and fifteen minutes before calling Doug. He’d answered right away and promised to be there soon. She’d stretched out to wait and promptly fallen asleep.

She felt sick knowing her brother would arrive at the Elk Horn Lodge to an empty cabin except for her phone.

“Wait.” She snagged Owen’s arm, stopping their forward momentum through the dense woods. She kept her voice a whisper. “Is this really necessary?”

“There’s a man back there with a gun who tried to shoot me, so yeah. It’s necessary.” His exasperated expression portrayed his annoyance. “We need to keep going. The truck is roughly two miles away.”

Two miles? She swallowed a groan. She hadn’t even gotten much sleep, and now she had to hike through the woods for two miles while carrying Bear. The puppy wasn’t heavy, but he squirmed in her arms, desperate to get down.

“Soon, boy, soon,” she whispered in his ear.

Owen pushed forward, ignoring the dog’s whimper. After what seemed like forever, he finally slowed to a stop. “Put him down to do his thing but make it quick.”

She had to bite back a snarky reply. Bending over, she set Bear on the ground. “Go on, boy. Get busy.” The phrase get busy was used by the Sullivan family with their respective K9s, and she rather liked it. Bear didn’t need the encouragement. He squatted to pee for a long minute before running in a circle, his ears flapping with excitement.

“We need to keep moving,” Owen said.

“I know, I heard you the first time.” She sighed and scooped Bear back into her arms. Owen took the lead, and trusting his sense of direction more so than hers, she didn’t argue. After another fifteen minutes of walking, she asked, “Why did you come back?”

He shrugged and glanced back at her. “Overly paranoid I guess. Good thing I did, though.”

“Yes. Thank you.” For the second time in two days, Owen had saved her life. “You really think he found me via the phone?”

Owen sighed, then lowered his voice to a whisper. “Yes, but we can discuss this in more detail later. Voices carry through the woods, and I don’t know if there are other bad guys nearby. We need to reach the truck without being heard, okay?”

She grimaced, nodded in agreement, and followed his path without saying anything more. She personally thought their movements were far from stealthy, despite her attempt to move quietly. If someone was out there, she had a hard time believing they wouldn’t be heard going back to the truck.

As they walked, she considered the possibility that her phone had led the gunman to her cabin. It seemed unlikely that a drug dealer could do something that high tech. She may have given up her phone for no good reason. Even so, it was too late to go back for the device now.

All she could do was hope and pray Doug would understand that she was still with Owen and not kidnapped again by other bad guys.

Granted, in Doug’s mind, Owen was a bad guy. Her brother’s furious text and phone messages had made that perfectly clear. Their conversation had been brief and tense. She’d promised to explain everything, yet her brother had made it clear that Owen was lower than scum.

Doug was wrong about that. She knew the truth. That Owen might have done bad things in his life, not least of which killing two men to keep her safe, but deep down, he was a good man. One who cared enough about her to come back to watch over the cabin while she’d slept.

Something she’d never imagined he’d do. When he’d driven away, she was convinced she’d never see him again.

Maybe this was God’s way of giving her more time to convince Owen it wasn’t too late to change his mind about going straight. Maybe it was wishful thinking on her part, but she felt as if he were close. That deep down, Owen wanted to do the right thing. For her part, she’d try everything possible to convince Doug not to throw the book at Owen. That he should cut Owen a break for the fact that he’d saved her life. Not just once, but three times now.

Or was it four? Sadly, she was having trouble keeping track.

Either way, she felt as if Owen’s actions in keeping her safe had to count for something.

Owen kept a steady pace through the woods. She carried the puppy close as she followed his lead. She was glad Bear stopped struggling in her arms. The pup always found a way to let her know when he needed to go out. For however long the Martins had cared for Bear, they’d done a good job of training him. She’d only cared for the dog for a few short hours, but she already loved the little guy.

Almost as much as she loved Owen.

Wait, that wasn’t right. She couldn’t possibly love a criminal. No way, no how. Care about him, sure. He had saved her life. But love? No. She would not be that foolish.

Falling for Owen was a path to heartbreak. She didn’t even know his last name!

Yet even as she continued following Owen through the thick brush, she knew she was on the brink of letting her emotions get the better of her. She lifted her gaze to the starry sky, asking for God’s strength and guidance that she would do the right thing.

That she would not lose her heart to an outlaw who had made it clear he fully intended to go back to his old ways.

They walked for another twenty minutes before Owen lifted his hand, indicating they could take a break. For some reason, she felt more exhausted now than she had earlier. The nurse side of her knew the adrenaline rush that had flooded her bloodstream was fading away, leaving a mixture of her lack of sleep and physical exertion to drag her down.

She dropped to the base of a tree, letting Bear go beside her. The puppy immediately grabbed a stick and ran around with a proud look on his face.

To her surprise, Owen lowered himself beside her. “We have roughly one mile to go.”

She winced and did her best not to groan. Whining about her fatigue and lack of sleep wouldn’t get them to the truck any faster. Besides, Owen had already made the trip from the truck to her cabin once already. If he could do it twice, she could manage it once.

Their rest break was over far too soon. She pushed herself upright, determined to keep up with Owen. Bear enjoyed running around playing with his stick, but thankfully, he didn’t seem to mind when she picked him up again. Except for the sound of gunfire, the little guy didn’t bark much, which she thought was odd. Maybe it was because puppies didn’t recognize threats the same way older dogs did. Or maybe it was a training thing. Maya’s dog, Zion, hardly barked at all. But Chase’s dog, Rocky, brayed like a hound. She’d learned over the past few months that Chase’s dog had a mind of his own.

It would be nice if she could train Bear to only bark at threats rather than at every squirrel or bunny that passed by. People or large animal threats. Could a dog understand the difference? She had no clue.

It was something she’d have to ask Maya about once this was over.

Owen slowed and lifted his hand again. She frowned, knowing it was too soon to be taking another break. She stopped beside him, listening intently. She didn’t hear or see anything alarming.

After a long moment, Owen started forward again. She quickly followed, hoping they’d reach the truck very soon.

Owen glanced back at her and gestured to his right. She looked that way but didn’t see anything. Just trees and more trees.

Then she abruptly realized he must be telling her that’s where the road was located. Which made sense, as he’d have left the truck parked somewhere near the highway.

With a renewed burst of energy, she followed Owen as he angled toward the road. She strained to listen but didn’t hear any traffic noise. Not surprising considering they were in the middle of the mountains in the middle of the night.

Owen picked up the pace for several minutes, before slowing down again. She was impressed by how he was able to find his way through the woods in the darkness. How he’d kept track of their path was a mystery.

After another five minutes, he lifted his hand and gestured to a fallen log. Understanding he wanted her to wait there, she dropped down onto the branch, keeping Bear in her lap. The puppy turned in her lap, then settled back down without making a sound.

He was such a good boy.

Giving her a nod of approval, Owen kept going. He’d only taken a few steps when she noticed that he was moving a large tree branch.

Then another. The large branches had been used to cover the truck.

She would have gladly helped him uncover the vehicle, but she stayed where she was, well out of the way. Before Owen could move to the other side of the vehicle to remove the tree branches from that side, he stopped and dropped into a crouch.

Her breath caught in her throat. What did he see? An approaching vehicle?

The gunman’s accomplices?

Or maybe the driver of the oncoming car was Doug searching for her. That option seemed less likely given the time frame of her call, but not impossible. She moved from the tree, intending to head over to whisper her thoughts to Owen, when he gave her a hard look.

The glow of lights on the horizon had her dropping back to the ground. And as they grew brighter and brighter, she grimly realized if the oncoming car was one of the bad guys, she and Owen might be stuck out there all night.