Stopping the truck abruptly, he yanked out his flashlight from the glove compartment. "Come on. Quick." He pulled Haley out the driver's side, and then because she looked so damn petrified, he gave her a quick, hard kiss and took her hand. "Hurry."
"Hurry?"
The pop of a gunshot above their heads had her complying as they ducked and sprinted into the woods.
Chapter 12
Running wasn't easy in the dark, but having been shot at was great motivation. Within a few seconds, the woods had completely swallowed up Haley and Cam, surrounding them in an eerie, echoing darkness.
Though he couldn't hear signs they'd been followed, Cam forced them to keep moving, knowing they shouldn't stop.
Deeper and deeper they went, up the mountain. "Hurry." Mercilessly, he tugged the panting Haley over rocks and branches, through trees, farther into the black woods. "Come on."
When she fell suddenly, she nearly tore his arm out of its socket. He dropped to his knees, groping for her. "Haley?" he whispered, frantic.
"I'm okay."
She didn't sound it, but he knew it was too soon to slow down. The sudden rustling of bushes from where they'd just come reinforced that feeling. "Can you walk?"
She surged to her knees, bumping her head on his chin so hard he saw stars. "Oh, Cam, I'm sorry!" She reached for him with chilled hands.
He took them in his, gritted his teeth against the pain in his chin and pulled her to her feet. "Farther."
She groaned but moved, and they continued on. The sounds of their ragged breathing seemed loud to Cam's ears, but he couldn't control it. He could hardly see in the moonless night but he could hear the running water of the creek. The tall trees blocked any light the stars would have afforded. Twice he stopped to listen, pulling Haley close while he concentrated. A haunting silence filled the air; the kind of unworldly quiet that precedes a storm-just what they didn't need.
But finally there was no sign that they were being followed. Still, they ran. Near the creek, they stopped for a third time. Haley bumped into him from behind, gasping for breath. Turning, he held her tightly, alarmed by how cold she was, how she shivered despite their exertion.
"I think we've lost him." She nodded and pulled closer, burrowing her face and icy nose into his neck.
And right there in the dark, in the most dangerous situation of his life, his heart swelled with such an overwhelming protectiveness, it took his breath away.
"He couldn't have followed us this far without a light, could he?" she asked.
"No." He hugged her close for a moment, then made them go a little farther to a small clearing that was lined with sharp, jutting rocks. "We can't go back," he said. "Not until the sun comes up. It isn't safe." He pointed to the rocky side of a ravine close to them. "See over there? Some of those rocks cover shallow caves. We'll rest there."
He helped Haley climb up the rocks-not an easy feat in the dark. Several times he caught her as she slipped, saving her from a nasty fall. Finally, at the top, they settled with their backs against the sheer granite, covered overhead by an outreach of stone. Darkness loomed around them, so complete that Cam couldn't ascertain exactly how big an area their small cave afforded them. But if they didn't light a fire and they kept their voices down, no one could see them, even if someone passed directly beneath them in the bush.
Pulling Haley into the crook of his arm, Cam stared at the opening of their cave, his heart still thundering from their escape. When he could breathe normally again, he gave Haley a slight squeeze. "You okay?"
He felt her nod against his shoulder and he wished it weren't so damn dark. "We're safe enough for now." She shivered and he ran his hand up and down her arm, pulling her closer.
"He'll find us in the morning."
"Haley-"
She jerked back from him. "You're still mad at me, I suppose. I'm sorry, Cam. I know I deserve this, but you don't."
"You don't deserve- Come back here." His stretching fingers couldn't find her. "Where are you, dammit?" He crawled forward, found her huddled against the back wall. On his knees before her, he cursed the dark that made it impossible to see her expression clearly. "What the hell did you mean you deserve this? No one deserves to be chased with a gun through the wilderness, hunted down like an animal."
"I brought this on you," she said softly. "When all I ever wanted was to protect you. And the others. Where're Nellie and Jason? And Zach, Cam. Where are they?"
"They're safe. We heard your phone conversation. Jason took Nellie into town. And Zach was supposed to get help and be at the airport-"
"To arrest me."
"To protect you."
"You were going to turn me in."
"I wanted you safe, dammit."
"It doesn't matter. I would have turned myself in long ago, if it was that simple. I'm afraid for you. I wanted to draw him away from Colorado." Her voice sounded bitter. "But now we won't know if Zach, Jason and Nellie are safe, really safe, until we get back there. God, if something happened to them, any of them, it'll be all my fault."
"No." He believed, had to believe, that Zach had gotten out. "Zach will be all right. He knows how to take care of himself."
"You have every right to hate me."
He touched her, found her sitting cross-legged, her head in her hands. "Hate you?" He slid his fingers into her hair and held her face, trying to blink away the darkness, struggling to see more than just her outline. "For someone so smart, Haley, you can be incredibly slow-witted. I told you how I felt about you."
She shoved his hands away. "You can't still mean it."
Flowing adrenaline had his usually nonexistent temper kicking in. "Stop it." Again he reached for her, but she'd started to scramble away. "Come back here."
"Too bad we don't have the cell phone. You could call the cops on me from here." He lunged after her but she evaded him. "I should leave, Cam. Now. It would keep the others safe if I did."
"No." One last tug and her heel clipped him hard on the chin. "Dammit, Haley." She rose. He yanked, pulling her down to the hard, gritty floor, ignoring the fight she put up-until she managed to knee him.
He sucked in a sharp breath of air and lost his grip on her.
Haley surged up to her knees, preparing to worm away from him, but he let out a pained breath and flattened her down with his hands. By the time he flipped her onto her back, they were both panting and furious. The dark prevented him from seeing her face clearly, but he had no trouble tasting her frustration.
"Let me go," she choked out.
"You're not going anywhere without me tonight, Haley. Not until this thing is over." Crawling up the length of her, he held her prisoner, but she renewed the fight. A flailing hand hit his chin, the chin she'd already bruised. Swearing, he gathered her hands together, then yanked her wrists over her head, anchoring them there. She squirmed and struggled beneath him, to no avail.
"Hold still a minute, would you?" he panted, resting his forehead on the ground beside her. "Please, don't scream." Who would have thought such a tiny thing could fight so nasty?
"I'm not a complete idiot," she retorted, giving up bitterly.
Beneath him, her chest rose and fell harshly, her breathing uneven and raspy. Warmed from their wrestling, she no longer shivered. But now that she'd stopped fighting him, her body became soft and pliant under his, and he had to quell the urge to turn their position into something sexual.
He must not have been entirely successful.
"Dammit." Her hands flexed in his as their hips slid together. "Let me go."
He lifted his head, but could still see nothing of her expression. "Not until you stop this. I told you, I would have used the police's help, yes, I'd do anything-anything-to keep you safe."