“He didn’t have to. I already know.” Devin gritted his teeth and groaned as he grasped his right knee with both hands. “Just get me out.”
“Did you tell Nora about it?”
“Beth Harper did.” He hissed through his teeth. “Elijah, hurry up, will you?”
“I don’t want to make a wrong move and end up crushing your leg.”
“That’d be bad.” He sniffed and looked up at the sky, streaked now with high clouds. “I wanted to make sure Nora was okay. I didn’t bug her. I just-I keep a daypack with a bivy sac in my truck. I slept under the stars a little ways down some from where she camped.”
“Did she know?” Elijah asked as he inspected every inch he could get to of the boulder that had Devin pinned.
“Probably. I think so. I tried not to scare her. She left at first light, while I was still asleep.” He blinked back tears, embarrassed, angry. “I would never hurt her, Elijah, and I’m not a thief.”
“Are you dehydrated? Cold?”
“No. I’m fine. Just get me out.”
Elijah paused and looked at Devin. “You’ll talk to me?”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
“Where’s your pack?”
“It’s up in the trees. My walking stick, too. I set them down when I heard something. I thought it might be Nora.”
“You got me instead. No wonder you went ass over teakettle.”
Devin attempted a smile, but he made a face and groaned. “Crap. Not her.”
Jo. Elijah followed Devin’s gaze and, sure enough, there she was under the oak tree he had just vacated on the other side of the falls. She gave them a critical look, then disappeared back through the trees. Elijah stood up and eyed Devin, who probably would have shrunk himself to slug size and slithered under the boulder if he could have. Elijah couldn’t blame him. “Two minutes until the law arrives,” he said. “Anything you want to tell me in the meantime?”
“I’m sorry I ran.”
“Yeah.” Elijah saw Jo already charging down toward them and thought of her smile at eighteen-the hope, love and promises it held-then shifted back to Devin. “Sometimes it’s just easier to run.”
“I bet you never run.”
“We all run, Devin. At some point in our lives,” he said, squatting back down, “we all run. Let’s get you out of here.”
Jo arrived and immediately assessed the situation with an air of authority and competence that didn’t surprise Elijah. “What happened?” she asked.
“I slipped,” Devin said. “It was an accident. Elijah startled me.”
“Let’s get him unstuck,” Elijah said. “Then we can sort out the rest.”
Jo got down into the muck to help but kept up with the questions. “Did you see any other hikers?”
Devin winced. “I’m in pain, Jo.”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “You don’t want to lie to me, Devin.”
“Jo.” Elijah kept his voice even, but he decided he’d been indulging in too many fantasies and regrets. She wasn’t eighteen anymore. She wasn’t in love with him anymore. She was a federal agent who could hold her own when it came to shooting and fighting. “You want to help, or you want to interrogate him?”
She bit off a sigh. “All right. You’re the expert. Tell me what you need me to do.”
“Stand there and look pretty.”
She glared at him.
He grinned, then turned back to Devin, who wasn’t so far gone he was going to say anything provocative in front of a Secret Service agent. He didn’t even let out a curse.
Jo got behind Devin and tucked her hands under his arms.
“Devin,” Elijah said, “I need to make sure your leg isn’t broken.”
“It’s fine-just some scrapes. I can wiggle my toes and everything. I could get out of here on my own.”
“How?” Jo asked. “By carving off your leg with a jackknife?”
“If I had to. I’ve got one in my back pocket.”
“I could throw you both off the mountain,” Elijah said. “Devin, when I pick up this rock, Jo’s going to pull you up. Go with the momentum. Don’t fight her. But don’t do more than you can manage.”
He nodded. “Okay. Come on. Let’s just hurry.”
Elijah ignored him and positioned his arms under the boulder. As he lifted, Jo moved fast, helping Devin get his lower leg free. He yelled and swore, pounding the muck with his fists, which Elijah interpreted as his way of getting over a rush of pain.
“Does he need an ambulance?” Jo asked.
“Nah. He’s fine.” Elijah bent over him. “You going to be okay, Dev?”
He grabbed a fistful of muck and hurled it into the water.
Elijah shrugged at Jo. “I’m taking that as a yes.”
Devin rolled onto his back and hissed through clenched teeth. “Damn, that hurt. Jo, what kind of fingernails do you have? They’re like finishing nails or something. I think you took a chunk out of my underarms.”
She showed him her hands. “No fingernails to speak of.”
“Well, it was your fingertips digging into me, then.” He sat up, breathing hard, sweat creating streaks on his dirty face. “I can get myself back to the lodge.”
“I’m taking you back,” Elijah said.
Devin looked at Jo, then nodded, obviously concluding that Elijah was a better bet than a no-nonsense Secret Service agent.
Elijah turned to Jo. “You can go on and finish your hike.”
“I’m not hiking.” She settled her federal-agent gaze on Devin. “Did you spend the night up here? With Nora?”
He wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist, smearing dirt and sweat. “Why? She hasn’t done anything to upset the Secret Service, has she?”
“Have you seen her?”
“No.”
“Yes, you have.”
“Technically, no, I haven’t. And it doesn’t matter. She wants to be alone.” Devin got unsteadily to his feet, groaning in pain, but shaking off any help from Elijah. “She didn’t tell me that. As I said, I never saw her. But she’s okay. She’s just getting away from everyone. Me, included.”
“How do you know if you didn’t speak to her?” Jo asked sharply.
“I just do.” Devin stared at the water and shivered once. “I followed her last night and camped nearby. I’m not sure she even knew I was there. She was gone when I woke up.”
“Then you weren’t invited-”
“I’m getting out of here. I don’t have to answer any more of your questions.”
He took a couple of steps up the hillside, limping. Elijah hoisted his backpack on his shoulder. “Let’s get your pack,” he said, falling in behind Devin.
“I’ll get it later.” He stumbled and yelled, swearing, then continued up the hill.
“He’s hurt,” Jo said tightly behind Elijah. “And he’s got attitude.”
Elijah glanced down at her, noted her mix of concern and irritation. “Pain will do that,” he said. “I’ll find out what I can. Meantime, you should come with me back to the lodge. You don’t need to be out here alone and run the risk of having to be rescued yourself.”
If she wanted to argue with him, she didn’t. “I’ll check the campsite and see if I can pick up Nora’s trail.” She scrutinized him a moment. “I’m not missing anything, am I? You didn’t come up here last night, did you?”
“Nope.” He adjusted his pack. “I stayed in my toasty-warm bed thinking about you a couple hundred yards away in your toasty-warm bed.”
“My bed wasn’t warm.” But she obviously regretted her words as soon as they were out of her mouth. “Never mind. Can you get Devin back to the lodge by yourself?”
“Yes, but I’d rather you came with us.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“What about Rigby? Any idea what he’s up to?”
“None. He could be on a different mountain altogether, or sitting in town drinking coffee. I’ll have a look around and meet you back at the lodge. I have my cell phone, Elijah. It should work out here. I’m wasting time.”
He didn’t know why he felt such a protective impulse toward her. It’d happened that morning, too, when he’d spotted Rigby at her place.