The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn Page 5

  And then the sobs came, completely of their own volition, and she was powerless to stop them. Weak and ashamed of her weakness, she let herself cry, all the while keeping a listening ear for the sounds of footsteps behind her.

  Her own arms wrapped tightly around her middle against the icy, early morning air, and with her head leaning back against the tree trunk, she could almost fall asleep from the sheer physical and mental exhaustion of the last several hours.

  Almost.

  Suddenly feather-light footfalls to Kenzie’s left caught her attention. Holding her breath, she waited to see what approached. Expecting a wild bear, or worse—Myles Parsons—she laughed out loud as a deer darted in front of her, stopped and sniffed the air. The creature took a second whiff and bounded off.

  Relieved it was only a harmless doe, Kenzie began picking her way through the brush once again. Follow the road. Just follow the road and find another cabin. She could hardly wait for the sun to make its first appearance over the horizon and provide a touch of warmth to the frigid air.

  Suddenly a memory halted her in her tracks. In the car Myles had said something about deer. Was that one running from a mountain lion?

  A rustling of leaves and brush produced her answer almost immediately as yellow eyes glowed eerily to her left. The answer was a resounding yes.

  “Oh, God!” It was the only prayer she could offer before covering her eyes and backing up against the nearest tree.

  “That girl!” Myles snarled as his knee buckled beneath his weight yet again. Had she no sense of self-preservation? They were in the mountains—the weather was liable to change at any moment. And what about the wild animals out and about? The sun was hours away from its first appearance, so all of the nightly predators still roamed the area. She’d put herself in serious danger by running off like that—and leaving him in so much pain that he almost couldn’t go after her.

  But he’d promised himself he’d protect her. Because it was his job, of course. So he’d scraped himself off the floor and followed her trail.

  Of course Kenzie had kicked his injured knee. She must have seen him rubbing it in the car. He had to remember that she was both smarter and spicier than he originally gave her credit for.

  He grumbled under his breath at the tree branch that nicked his face as he hobbled along the trail Kenzie left. “God, I’m a little angry here,” he prayed in a tense whisper. “Could You please help me to calm down so I can find Kenzie and get her back to safety?”

  The breeze chilled him as he took a deep breath. Leaves rustled as small animals scurried away from night predators. He wondered where that tiny deer they had seen on the drive to the cabin was hiding. Was it still being chased by a mountain lion? Or had the mountain lion found new prey?

  As angry as he was, that question spurred him to a faster speed. He had to hurry. Kenzie had already been on the run far too long. It was dangerous out here. Once he got her to safety, he would explain as much as he could. If Nate chewed him out for it later, so be it.

  When he finally heard Kenzie’s stick-snapping footsteps, he knew that he was not far behind. Picking up his pace, he whizzed by a deer. It took a split second for the animal’s meaning to fully sink into his distracted mind.

  Deer. Mountain lion.

  Crud!

  Myles growled to himself as he picked up his pace, sneaking up to the small clearing ahead of him. In the darkness, he began to make out the purple of Kenzie’s sweater and the red curls of her hair. Her hands covered her face as she stood stock-still against the trunk of a tree.

  Opposite a large female mountain lion.

  The woman had no sense of self-preservation. And wasn’t it just his rotten luck that he was committed to keeping her around?

  That meant he was going to have to take some sort of action.

  God, protect me and this crazy woman!

  Without a second thought or prayer, he jumped in front of Kenzie’s shaking form, between her and the snarling cat crouched a few feet away.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered into his ear, clinging to his shoulders.

  Was she serious? He was saving her tail, whether or not she realized or liked it, and she picked that moment to start up a conversation?

  “Shush,” he whispered, barely audibly.

  The striped cougar hunched a little lower then bared its long, yellow teeth.

  “Is it going to attack?” she asked, her voice shaking with fear.

  “What do you think?”

  He could feel her head nodding into his right shoulder, her tiny fingers digging sharply into his shoulder blade and deltoid. Thankful for small miracles, he noted that she kept her fingernails short.

  “Why are you protecting me?”

  Myles sighed heavily. This was hardly the ideal moment for this conversation. But if something happened to him, she had a right to know she would still be in danger. And at least he could be certain that these woods weren’t bugged, unlike the car. “I’m an FBI agent. I was assigned to protect you inside the prison.”

  “What?” Her whisper spoke volumes of disbelief.

  “I’ll explain the details later.” Suddenly the cat shifted and growled deep in the back of its throat.

  “If we’re silent, will it leave us alone?”

  “I don’t know. We’re not being very silent, are we?” He did his best to keep his voice low, but it barely mattered. Of course the cat was going to attack. With one eye on the animal and one glancing into her face over his shoulder, he tried to offer a reassuring smile.

  She clamped both hands over her mouth, her eyes huge in the strained planes of her face as she realized that she was still talking.

  Myles almost laughed out loud. If he had been anywhere else in the world, he would have let out a great belly laugh at the look of panic and shock on Kenzie’s face. But this was not the time or place to ponder that expression. There would be time enough for that later, if they survived.

  Yellow eyes glowed in the moonlight as the fur on the mountain lion’s back began to stand up. Completely unprepared, Myles was about to fight a mountain lion to protect Kenzie Thorn. When had he gone insane?

  Suddenly he wished for the knife that Guard Whitestall had offered him back at the prison. But wishes don’t scare off mean, angry cougars.

  Kenzie gasped, squeezing him even tighter, and Myles knew it was time. This was it. Either God was going to spare his life, or he was going to meet his Maker.

  The cat lunged, teeth bared, claws spread wide, as it jumped toward his throat. He dodged left, simultaneously pushing Kenzie behind the tree, out of the path of the mountain lion. A searing pain shot through his right thigh as the force of the seventy-five-pound animal knocked him to the ground.

  On the ground, he lost most of the momentum of a blow, but with as much force as he could muster, he punched the animal in the tender flesh of its nose. The cat whined, then immediately growled, whipping its head from side to side.

  It was enough time for Myles to jump back up to his feet, digging in his pocket for the pocket knife that had snagged Kenzie’s sweater earlier in the night. He flicked it open as fast as he could and jabbed it into the cat’s cheek as it jumped at him again. The force of the animal’s momentum and Myles’s swinging arm shoved the knife completely into the tender flesh.

  Stunned and wounded, the cat dropped to the ground, trying to dislodge the offending object. It backed away slowly, head still swinging from side to side. Then it turned and bolted.

  Head spinning and physically drained, Myles dropped to his knees and fell forward on his face. He could barely make out the horrified expression on Kenzie’s face before everything went black.

  Kenzie threw herself onto the ground next to Myles’s lifeless form. She couldn’t tell if he was breathing, and blood pooled around the jagged gash in his thigh. She had to do something.

  Kneeling next to the body, wringing her hands, she thought about her options. Oh, she considered leaving him to fend for himself,
if he wasn’t dead already. After all, he was probably just out to kill or hurt her anyway. What he said about being an FBI agent was a lie anyway. Wasn’t it?

  She could make a run for it. Find safety and get back to her family.

  But if Myles was going to hurt her, then why did he save her from the mountain lion? Why put himself in such danger? Why offer such a far-fetched lie about who he was?

  She heaved a loud sigh, knowing that she couldn’t possibly leave him there. She reached out and gently touched his neck, feeling for a pulse. It was thready and weak. She didn’t have much time. But there was no possible way she could carry him back to the cabin.

  “God, I need some help here!” she cried out to the still air, trying to remember what she’d learned in the first-aid class they’d made her take at the prison.

  Suddenly she remembered. Stop or slow the flow of blood from the wound. She whipped off her cardigan sweater and tied it around his leg, just above the bleeding wound. The beautiful purple sweater immediately began turning crimson, but the blood pool on the ground stopped spreading.

  “Now, how to get him back to the cabin?” She rubbed her head, sizing up his tall frame and broad shoulders. She could not carry him back to the cabin. It had to be at least three miles back.

  Just then moonlight glinted off a silver object poking out the pocket of his jeans. Where had he gotten jeans and a T-shirt? Why hadn’t she noticed before that he wasn’t wearing his orange prison jumpsuit?

  There wasn’t time to analyze his clothes, so she snatched the key out of his pocket and sprinted the same way she had come. She ignored her ragged breathing and sharp pain in her chest, reaching the cabin in what seemed a split second.

  “Lenora! Lenora!” she yelled between gasped breaths. “It’s Myles! He’s been hurt!”

  Lenora’s round frame appeared in the doorway in seconds. Outfitted in her flannel shirt, sweat pants and slippers, she sailed toward Kenzie, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her just enough to pull her into reality. “What’s happened? Where’s Myles?”

  “He—There was a mountain lion. It was going to attack me, and he saved me!” Tears of frustration and overwhelming emotion poured down her cheeks. “He’s hurt,” she hiccupped. “Please help me!”

  Lenora nodded and grabbed the keys from her hand, sliding behind the wheel of the car as Kenzie dove into the passenger seat. The tires kicked up dirt and gravel as she floored the gas pedal in the direction that Kenzie indicated.

  When they arrived at the scene of the attack five minutes later, Lenora pulled the car as close to the still form on the ground as possible, dodging two tall pine trees.

  Kenzie raced around the car and whipped the back door open as Lenora ran to her injured grandson. Then, mustering all their strength, the two women grabbed Myles’s arms and dragged him to the car. Grunting and shoving, they managed to jostle him into the backseat. When his leg landed on the ancient upholstery, a crimson pool grew where it lay.

  The car couldn’t reach the cabin fast enough.

  When Lenora finally skidded to a halt, she and Kenzie again dragged Myles’s lifeless body toward the front door. The door was slightly ajar, so Kenzie kicked it all the way open as they tugged Myles up the two steps and through the door.

  Kenzie sucked in uneven breaths and leaned on her knees when he was finally deposited on the bed. Lenora sat on the edge of the wooden bed frame, leaning over Myles’s wan face.

  How had they been able to do that? If Kenzie thought about the impossibility of the task, she could not believe two women had actually gotten such a large man all the way back to the cabin and onto the bed.

  Right now, there was time only to think about getting things done. Myles’s wounds needed to be cleaned and bandaged. Determined to try to save his life, as he had done for her, she rolled up her sleeves and set to the task of helping Lenora patch him up.

  FIVE

  Kenzie sighed loudly, wiping her forehead with the back of her arm. She kept her hands, red and sticky with blood, away from her face. Myles lay motionless on the bed. He had only once regained consciousness for a few seconds while she and Lenora cleaned and dressed the seven-inch gash just above his right knee.

  Now sleep called her, as well, refusing to let her fight. Her body ached from sheer exhaustion as she stumbled to the sink in the small cabin’s kitchen and rinsed her hands. She barely made it to the wooden rocking chair before her eyes closed of their own accord. She felt Lenora lay a thick quilt over her just before she succumbed to the exhaustion that beckoned.

  Her rest was fitful, filled with images of Myles, memories of the touch of his hand in her classroom. His protection and rescue. Over and over her dreams played the scene as Myles jumped in front of her. The mountain lion’s bared fangs. Its attack. Myles’s lifeless form on the ground.

  “Ahh!” she screamed, waking herself up.

  Sweat dripping from her temples, she shuddered violently, effectively waking herself up completely. Her digital watch read 2:30 p.m. The afternoon sun streamed through the only window. She took a long look around the single room, taking in the rough wooden walls, large empty fireplace and door that led to the miniature bathroom.

  “Good afternoon,” Lenora greeted her softly. “Why don’t you get cleaned up, and I’ll make us some eggs for lunch?” Her smile was kind and Kenzie wished she had properly thanked her the night before.

  Standing on shaky legs, she staggered toward the bathroom, then leaned against the door. “God, please, let there be soap,” she mumbled.

  In the cracked, clouded mirror above the sink, she barely recognized the face staring back at her. She ran her fingers through her auburn hair, making it as presentable as possible. Never mind that there was no one to make it presentable for. Lenora and Myles could not possibly care less about her appearance. The angry red scratches on her cheeks and neck looked worse than they felt. And they definitely did not feel good.

  She poked at an especially jagged red line that ran from the corner of her mouth to her jaw line. Pressing her tongue into that part of her lower lip, she angled for a better look. A red smear pooled below it on her neck, but it didn’t seem to need stitches. Even if it did, there would be no acquiring them. Not here.

  Her face tender and her whole body aching, she gingerly bent to look for soap in the rough wooden cabinets beneath the sink.

  Score!

  Snatching the little bar of blue soap, she ran it beneath a steady stream of only slightly brown water pouring from the faucet. At least it was warm. And the soap worked up a good lather as she scrubbed under her fingernails. Then she gently rubbed her cheeks, forehead and neck.

  When she looked into the mirror five minutes later, she recognized the face shining back. And for the first time in almost twenty-four hours, the face smiled back at her, just so grateful to feel safe and clean.

  “It’s good to be human again,” she said to the mirror.

  As she walked back into the main room, her stomach growled loudly. “That was almost loud enough to wake Myles, I bet.” And then she did something she hadn’t done in more than a day. She giggled. It felt good to use those facial muscles again, to feel her lips twitch and return to old habits.

  She had almost forgotten that Lenora was even there, so her husky chuckle made Kenzie jump. “You must be starving. With all the excitement last night,” Lenora seemed to say to herself, “we didn’t even get to eat the beef stew I brought up. Oh, well. It’ll make a good dinner.” She smiled again as Kenzie’s stomach let out another grumble.

  Embarrassed, Kenzie wrapped her arms around her middle. She tried to return the older woman’s smile, but suddenly felt self-conscious.

  From her place by the little kitchen stove, Lenora asked, “Did you sleep well?”

  “Um…yes, fine, thanks.” Briefly scanning the room, she saw a few blankets spread on the floor next to the bed where Myles lay, and she realized what Lenora had sacrificed. “Did you sleep on the floor? I’m so sorry. I didn’t even thin
k!”

  “Don’t concern yourself about it. I’ve slept on the floor many times. When my boys were young and we would come here to hunt, I often slept on the floor. It wasn’t until my boys had boys of their own that they realized that I deserved the bed.” She chuckled to herself, apparently lost in fond memories.

  “Do you—do you live here?” Kenzie stumbled on the question, shuddering at even the thought of living so far from Evergreen all alone, so deep in the forest. She couldn’t remember passing any towns on the road the night before.

  Lenora laughed. “Oh, heavens no!” Her hand stirred a skillet of scrambled eggs with a skilled hand as she glanced over her shoulder at Kenzie. “I live in a Jack’s Hollow about a forty-five-minute drive away—the opposite direction from Evergreen. Myles asked me to check on his cabin a few times. Run the water a bit so it doesn’t get brown. That kind of thing. Said he was going to be out of town—I suppose he meant in prison.” She shook her head and laughed again. “That boy gets into the strangest situations. But he’s a good man.”

  Kenzie’s mind reeled. How on earth could a grandmother call prison a strange situation? Myles was a convicted felon. Who had kidnapped her. How could Lenora be so oblivious to reality? Unless Myles had told the truth about being an FBI agent. But that simply wasn’t possible. Was it?

  No. It couldn’t be.

  She opened her mouth to speak the thoughts screaming in her head, but Lenora spoke first. “I’m going to run outside and get some more firewood. We’re running low, so I’m going to have to hunt for some. I’ll be back in a while. Why don’t you check on Myles? Then go ahead and dish up some eggs for yourself. You look like a sturdy wind would blow you over.”

  Kenzie only managed a nod before Lenora hustled out the door. Her stomach, still growling, told her it was time to eat. But food would have to wait.

  This could be her only chance to escape. And she had to take it.

  Her keys sat next to the destroyed telephone—the only phone she’d seen in the cabin. The one that Myles had broken when he crashed to the ground after she kicked his knee. She hadn’t meant to eliminate a possible rescue opportunity. But how was she to know that he would land on the receiver, smashing it into five very unusable pieces?