no money, and so she could only take what she could easily hide, which wasn’t much given her flimsy shirt and burgeoning belly.
Making sure she wasn’t being watched, she walked toward the back. If there was no one in the rear of the store, she could simply duck out the service entrance with whatever she could grab fast.
When she was sure she was unobserved, she slipped a packet of ham in the elastic band at her waist. She reached for two more that she placed at her sides, disguised by the loose fit of her shirt.
Behind her, she heard the roll of a grocery cart, and she bolted for the doorway leading to the back of the store. Her fingers were on the door when a hand reached out and captured her wrist.
She let out a startled cry and stumbled back, staring up at the man who held her.
“Ma’am, would you come with me?” he asked politely.
Oh no. How had he seen her? Where had he come from? A policeman, of all things. To her further horror, the packages of ham slipped down her leg and fell out of her pants onto the floor.
He didn’t look angry. There was an odd expression in his eyes. He gently helped her to her feet, and to her further surprise, he led her out the back way instead of making her run the gauntlet to the front and onto the street where she would be in plain sight of anyone passing.
But her fear of discovery shattered her.
Numbly she allowed the officer to lead her out the back door into the cool spring morning air. Her gaze darted left and right, and she decided her best escape route was to her right where a clump of aspens led to a denser grove of trees.
Seizing her moment when his grip loosened on her wrist, she twisted and struck out with her foot, kicking him in the back of the knee. His leg buckled, and he let her go. She ran for the trees as if her very life depended on it.
Behind her, the policeman cursed and gave chase. She was nearly to the trees when he grabbed her arm and pulled her up short. She started to go down, but he cradled her body into his and rolled so that he took the brunt of the fall.
She landed on top of him and their eyes locked. She started to struggle, but he held on tight.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he bit out. “I didn’t want to haul you to my office in cuffs but if you don’t cease and desist immediately, I’ll not only cuff you but I’ll carry you back over my shoulder.”
She went still, her eyes welling with frustrated tears.
“Aw now, don’t cry,” he said in obvious discomfort.
He stood and helped her to her feet, maintaining a tight grip on her arm at all times. His scent hovered over her nostrils, strong and masculine—but there was something else, something faint that stirred a distant memory.
“My name is Duncan Kennedy. I’m the sheriff here. I’d like us to go to my office so we can have a talk about what you were doing back there.”
What was she going to do? He led her along the back side of several businesses before he ushered her inside the fourth building down. She quickly realized his “office” was in fact a cage where they kept humans.
She panicked, backing away, twisting her arm to try and gain her freedom. Duncan grabbed her around the middle, trapping her arms against her sides. Then he simply picked her up and carried her the rest of the way inside.
He set her down in a chair against the wall and then reached back to drag another one over until he sat directly in front of her, preventing her from getting up and going anywhere.
“Now, perhaps you can start by telling me your name.”
She stared back at him, the knot of fear swelling in her throat.
“No? Okay, then tell me why you were stealing food.”
When she remained silent, he let out a sound of exasperation.
“Look, lady, I can’t help you if you won’t cooperate.” He glanced down at her belly, and his gaze softened. “When are you due?”
How strange a question was that? Due for what? She focused on a point beyond his shoulder, refusing to meet his gaze again.
Duncan sighed. “I didn’t want to have to do this, damn it.”
He reached for a set of keys attached to his belt. Carefully lifting her arm, he pulled her upright and led her over to one of the human cages. He inserted the key and opened the door just as she realized his intention.
“Nooooo!”
Her wail caught him off guard, and she wrenched away from him, running for the back door. He caught up to her, placing his hand on the door in front of her face so she couldn’t get out.
He picked her up as she struggled and flailed. She hit at him, doubling her fist. He didn’t seem bothered by her resistance in the least. He strode back toward the cell and promptly set her down inside.
Before she could launch herself at him again, he shut the door with a clank and locked it.
She stood there stricken as he stared at her from the other side of bars. Her hands cupped her arms and moved up and down as a deep chill settled over her skin.
“It’s not my habit to lock up pregnant women. Especially one as desperate as you seem,” he said grimly. “But you haven’t given me a whole lot of choice in the matter. When you’re ready to give me some information, holler, and we’ll have a talk. Until then I’ll see about getting a meal sent over for you.”
She watched in anguish as he walked away. She ran to the bars, gripping them tightly in her hands. Shaking until the rattle echoed over the bare floors, she vented her frustration and her abject terror.
Once again, she was caged, deserted by humans, locked away like an animal. This time she had a child to nurture. Her hand went to her belly as panic flooded her all over again. What would happen to her baby?
She pressed her forehead between the bars and closed her eyes. Why hadn’t Hunter and Jericho come back to her? Why had they broken their promise?
The helicopter touched down a mile from the cabin. Hunter and Jericho both leaned forward in anticipation. K-man turned around to look at the two men.
“I don’t like this, damn it. You’re in no shape to be out of the hospital, much less for me to leave you alone on this damn mountain. If you need this Kaya so bad, let me go get her for you.”
“No,” both men said into their receivers.
“No,” Hunter said again. “We appreciate everything, K, but we gotta do this ourselves.”
K-man swore but he didn’t say anything more. Hunter and Jericho ducked painfully from the helicopter. Hunter glanced over at Jericho as they headed to where their truck was still parked. K-man lifted off, and soon the helicopter disappeared in the distance.
“You okay?” Hunter asked when they reached the truck.
Jericho was pale, his forehead beaded with sweat, but his lips were drawn tight in determination.
“I’m fine,” he said shortly. “Let’s get the hell back to the cabin.”
Hunter quickly switched out the battery, connected the cables then slid into the driver’s seat.
Neither man voiced his biggest concern, but it lay between them as Hunter drove up the switchback. When they reached the trail that led to the cabin, he turned off the road and bounced over the rocky terrain.
Jericho grunted but didn’t offer any complaint.
If they hadn’t both been so sick with worry over Kaya, Hunter would have never allowed Jericho out of a hospital bed. K-man hadn’t wanted either of them out of the hospital where they’d been pieced back together by talented surgeons, but Hunter could walk, and walk he had.
He breathed a sigh of relief when they topped the rise and the cabin came into view. He roared up to the front door and cut the engine. Jericho was already stumbling from his seat.
“Kaya!” Jericho called as he hurried inside.
Hunter went in behind him, but his nape prickled as soon as he entered the cabin.
He looked around as Jericho went to search the bedrooms, but he knew Kaya wasn’t here. The cabin was too still, too shut in. He went straight to the kitchen. His fingers clenched into tight fists when he saw the em
pty cabinets. A few cans lay on the counter, tipped over, and empty bread wrappers were piled neatly in the corner.
Jericho rushed into the kitchen behind him, his eyes wild.
“She’s not here, Hunter. Goddamn it, she’s not here!”
“She ran out of food,” Hunter said in a quiet voice. “She had to have gone hunting. She’ll be back.”
She had to be back.
“What the hell do we do? She’s out there alone, probably thinking we ditched her like her family did.”
The desperation in Jericho’s voice matched Hunter’s own mounting panic.
“You’re in no shape to go out after her,” Hunter said. “You stay here in case she comes back, and I’ll go out on the mountain to see if there are any tracks.”
“Find her, Hunter. Find her and bring her home.”
Hunter nodded and let himself out the back. It wasn’t as easy as it had been in winter with over a foot of snow on the ground to yield its secrets. He searched for hours, and only when it became too dark to see did he return to the cabin, praying the entire time that Kaya had returned ahead of him.
Jericho sat on the couch in the living room and looked bleakly up at Hunter when he walked in the door.
“She’s gone,” Jericho said. He covered his face with a hand and rubbed almost violently through his hair, hair that was still growing back. “She thinks we left her just like her family did. I wonder how long she stayed here, telling herself we were different.”
Hunter didn’t want to agree with Jericho. He wanted to argue, offer false hope, say stupid things like she’d be back in the morning, but Jericho was right.
“I searched the den, the mountain, every hiding place I could think of.”
Jericho nodded but turned his face away so Hunter couldn’t see the naked emotion burning in his eyes.
How the hell were they supposed to find her? She could be anywhere. She could have been shot by hunters. Killed by another mountain lion. Or she could have simply gone away, moved to another area. There was no way to know. No way to find out. She lived in a world where she didn’t exist.
The only thing they could do was stay here in case she returned. No way did he want her coming back to find the cabin deserted like she’d once found her childhood home.
“I’ll go into town in the morning for supplies,” Hunter said.
Jericho nodded, but neither of them said another word about Kaya. Theirs was a silent agreement that they would wait. As long as it took.
Chapter Twenty-Three
For Duncan Kennedy, it was another bad day, and it could only get worse. He stared across his desk to the jail cell that housed the young pregnant woman, and he felt like pond scum all over again.
Hell, he was probably doing her a favor, but all he could see was the abject terror in her eyes as he’d placed her in the cell.
The door opened and his deputy Nick strode in. He was halfway across the room before he took notice of the woman in the jail cell, then he did a rapid double-take. When he got to Duncan’s desk, he flopped down in the chair in front of him.
“We’re jailing pregnant women now? What the hell did she do?”
Duncan raised his brow at the anger in Nick’s voice. “For all you know she could be a serial killer.”
“Is she?”
“No.”
“Then what the hell is she doing in jail?”
Duncan sighed. “I wish I knew. Caught her stealing food. She freaked on me when I tried to talk to her. Tried to escape twice. She looked tired and hungry so I brought her here, but she hasn’t uttered a peep. I ran her fingerprints and got squat. She won’t tell me who she is or where she lives or if she has a place to live for that matter. I don’t want to just let her go. Hell, she’s barefooted.”
“Damn,” Nick muttered. “Is Aliyah still at her folks visiting?”
Duncan nodded.
“Too bad. Maybe another woman could talk to her. She might just be terrified of men.”
“I didn’t think of that,” Duncan murmured.
Nick chanced another look across the room at the woman huddled on the cot in the cell. “She looks scared to death.”
“Yeah, I know. I don’t know what the hell to do, to be honest. I can’t really hold her here. Margaret isn’t pressing charges for the packages of ham she tried to lift, but I feel like I’ll be doing the wrong thing if I just let her go. What if she has no place to go? I’d like to help her if she’d just talk to me.”
“Hell of a note when a pregnant woman ends up alone and having to steal food to eat,” Nick said darkly.
“Maybe I’ll do down and see Margaret. Your idea of having a woman talk to her is a good one. Margaret has a soft streak a mile wide.”
He stood and grabbed his hat, plunking it on his head as he started toward the door.
“Why don’t you see if you can get her to talk to you while I’m gone?”
Nick cast him a doubtful glance but nodded.
Hunter pulled up to the general store and cut the engine. He was beyond exhausted, and what he really wanted was about three straight days of sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw Kaya frightened and alone, thinking he and Jericho had abandoned her.
Would he sleep until they found her, and would they ever find her?
He nodded at Duncan Kennedy, the sheriff, when they entered the store at the same time.
“Hunter, it’s been a while. Have to say, you look like hammered horse manure.”
“Thanks,” Hunter said dryly. “Just got back from an assignment.”
“Get some rest. Looks like you need it. I’ll see you around, okay? I need to talk to Margaret.”
Hunter dipped his head in acknowledgement and then went to do his shopping. A few minutes later, he walked through the produce section to see Margaret stocking bananas while Duncan stood next to her, a frown on his face.
As he neared, he couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.
“If you could just come down and talk to her,” Duncan said. “I’m at my wit’s end. She won’t say a word to anyone. She just sits in that cell looking terrified.”
“Poor thing,” Margaret said, her face creased with pity. “Of course I’ll come down. You did tell her I wasn’t pressing charges for stealing food, didn’t you?”
An uneasy prickle took hold of Hunter’s neck. He edged closer, pretending interest in the apples.
“Yeah, I did, but I hate to let her go until I know who she is and that she has somewhere to go. I know she’s scared witless, but at least she has a dry place to stay and food to eat.”
The gnawing in his gut had become too much to bear. Dropping his basket, he bolted down the aisle toward the front door, Margaret’s and Duncan’s startled exclamations ringing in his ears.
He ran down the street toward the sheriff’s office, pain jolting up his spine the entire way. He heard Duncan’s shout from a distance, but he ignored it and burst through the doorway of the jail.
His gaze registered several things. Kaya lay huddled on a cot while a deputy stood over her, his hand reaching to touch her shoulder.
With a snarl, Hunter lunged for the open jail door, yanking it wider and leaping inside. The deputy tried to reach for his pistol, but Hunter was on him too fast.
“Get away from her,” he snapped.
His hands gripped the deputy’s shirt, and he slammed him against the bars opposite where Kaya lay. She didn’t even flinch.
“Hunter, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Duncan demanded.
Hunter looked up to see Duncan standing on the other side of the bars, his pistol raised and aimed at Hunter.
“Let him go. Now.”
Hunter slowly released the deputy and took a step back, purposely putting himself between them and Kaya.
“Nick, out of the cell.”
The deputy cast a wary glance in Hunter’s direction before heeding Duncan’s order.
“Now suppose you tell me what the hell’s going on,”
Duncan said when the cell had been cleared.
“She’s mine,” Hunter said in a near growl. Then, ignoring the gun pointed at him, he turned and fell to his knees in front of the cot.
“Kaya,” he whispered. “Kaya, honey, it’s me, Hunter.”
He ran his hand up her slight body and then stopped when he saw the delicate line of her distended belly.
“Oh God.”
Pregnant. They’d left her pregnant. Alone. No food.
Carefully he gathered her in his arms. Finally she turned her head, her amber eyes flashing with pain and recognition.
“Hunter,” she whispered. “I prayed you would come, but you never did.”
He held her tightly against his chest, his breaths coming out in stuttered hiccups.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, honey. We didn’t mean to frighten you. I swear if we’d known you were pregnant, we would’ve never left you. We’ll never leave you again.”
She clung desperately to him, her tears wetting his shirt. “I’m so scared. They kept me in this cage. I couldn’t escape. I think I’m in trouble.”
“No, honey. I’ll get you out of here, I promise.”
He turned to stare at Duncan who was watching them with interest. “I want her out of here. Now.”
Duncan sighed but backed away from the door, allowing Hunter to carry her out of the cell.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Duncan said. “You can take her into my office, but neither of you is going anywhere until I get some answers.”
Hunter glared at Duncan as he passed, but he didn’t try to walk out of the station. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner he could take her back home where she belonged.
Once in Duncan’s office, he eased Kaya into a chair. “Comfortable, honey?”
She nodded, but her eyes were still sad and wary. And very frightened.
Hunter stood and met Duncan at the door. “Any conversation we have will be outside this office. I won’t have her upset any more than she is.”
Duncan raised one brow but backed way and allowed Hunter to shut the door.
“Now suppose you tell me what the hell is going on here?” Duncan said when the two men were alone.
“Why is she in jail?” Hunter asked, ignoring Duncan’s question.
“I caught her stealing food. Truth is I had no intention of holding her. I wanted to help her, but she wouldn’t say a word, hasn’t said a word since I brought her in. No name, no nothing. I couldn’t in good conscience let a pregnant woman go when she’d been desperate enough to steal food. She doesn’t even have shoes, for God’s sake.”
He looked accusingly at Hunter as he said the last.
Hunter closed his eyes and sighed. “It’s a long, complicated story. One I’m not at liberty to divulge. Jericho and I left her in our cabin when we went on our last assignment. There was plenty of food to last the amount of time we thought we’d be gone. But a bomb changed our plans. As a result, we’ve been gone several months. We didn’t know she was pregnant when we left or we’d have never gone for any reason. But we’re back now, and we’re not going to leave her again.”