Collins shook his head. “Not in this weather. I don’t know what got into their heads to try to fly yesterday.” His eyes went to the left again and Paul wondered what he was holding back.
“Press know this?”
“No.” Collins looked like a beaten dog.
“Gonna mention it in your next conference?”
Collins winced. “Don’t know. Their families need to be told first. And those boys weren’t part of this process. They were acting on their own.”
“Looks like you’ve got another rescue to organize.”
Anger flashed in the sheriff’s eyes. “I don’t know that they went down for sure. I’ve got people on the phone trying to find them. They might be holed up in a hotel with a couple of pretty women, waiting out the storm.”
Paul almost missed the flicker of skepticism in the sheriff’s eyes. Collins was a lousy liar. That could be a good trait or a bad trait in a cop.
In Paul’s opinion it was usually bad.
“Let me know what you hear.”
“Will do.” Collins marched back to his RV.
Paul knew he was lying again. The sheriff wouldn’t tell him any information until it was absolutely necessary. He watched the retreating back of Collins’s parka, the big Madison County Search and Rescue name and logo clearly visible through the snowfall. Collins hadn’t mentioned Darrin Besand or either of the search groups. Everything was in a holding pattern. Until the damned snow and wind let up, no one was finding anything. He rubbed at his frozen nose, thinking of Kinton spending the night in the woods. He hoped he froze his balls off. Paul was still trying to accept the fact that Kinton had attached himself to the search group.
Kinton couldn’t have guessed his connection to Darrin. There was no way.
So why the fuck had he gone to such lengths?
Paul grabbed the broom he’d leaned against his truck and swept vigorously at his hood. Powdery snow flew. Kinton was out to get him. He could feel it. He’d heard the rumors. Kinton asking questions. Kinton nosing around, asking about Darrin and his transport coverage. If Darrin had left Kinton’s brother alone, they’d never be in this mess. Kinton wouldn’t have looked twice at Darrin, but Darrin killed the relative of the one guy who had the tenacity of a hungry dog staring at the last bone in the world.
Damn it.
This transport was supposed to have been Darrin’s last flight. But not in a plane crash sort of last flight. It was a last flight to get
Darrin off his back, give him what he needed to walk away and stay out of Paul’s life. If Darrin hadn’t survived, that was OK. It solved the problem. If Darrin had survived and crossed paths with Kinton…
Paul had warned Darrin, several times, to cool it. He’d known what Darrin was doing. He’d known his tastes and habits. He’d read about the cases in the paper, talked to the detectives. To Paul it was like Darrin had signed his name to his victims.
But Darrin had gotten away with it for so long.
And Darrin knew that he knew.
Paul hadn’t needed a reminder to keep his mouth shut.
He valued his wife and his expensive home. He valued his way of life.
Darrin could destroy it all with one sentence.
Alex Kinton could be the person to pull that sentence out of Darrin.
How had he missed that?
Alex and Jim hadn’t been looking up as they checked the men in the cockpit. And they especially hadn’t been looking at the ceiling, but both men stared at it now.
“Could the pilots reach…”
“There’s no way.” Jim’s voice was flat.
Alex already knew that. “Yesterday, did you look—”
“I can’t remember. I’ve been racking my brain since I saw it. I don’t know if I looked up there yesterday or not.”
“It’s gotta be new.” Alex reached out to touch the blood on the ceiling. Dry. But dry from twenty-four hours ago or last night? Or this morning?
His hand shook as he slowly lowered his arm.
“He didn’t finish writing his words. Maybe we scared him off before he finished.”
“It’s finished,” Alex whispered. He couldn’t swallow. His throat was completely dry. But his heartbeat rivaled a rock band.
“‘A man’…that part doesn’t look finished. What was he going to write after ‘A man’?”
“A-man is me.”
Jim pulled his startled gaze from the bloody writing on the ceiling. “You?”
“That’s what he called me. ‘A-man.’A is for Alex.”
“You had fucking nicknames for each other?” Jim sounded ready to puke.
Alex shot him a level look. “I didn’t call him anything but murderer.”
“Did he ever say the other part of this sentence?”
Alex read it again. He didn’t need to. The second he saw it, he knew exactly what it meant and who it was for. “That’s how he referred to his victims. The younger ones, anyway. The nurses. He was particular about their looks. Took pride in his selection.”
He watched Jim’s Adam’s apple bob. His hands were in tight fists, and Alex didn’t blame him one bit. Alex was feeling like he’d been sucker punched in the head. Several times.
“He’s seen you up here. He wrote this for you. About Brynn. But he can’t know that she’s a nurse. How could he?”
Alex shook his head. “He doesn’t know. He just knows she’s beautiful. That’s enough for him.”
“We’ve got to get out of here.” Jim spoke through clenched teeth, but Alex could hear his panic.
Alex nodded. He didn’t know if Jim meant the cockpit or the forest. It didn’t matter; they just had to move. The men checked their weapons and turned to leave, but Alex couldn’t stop himself from taking one last look at the writing on the ceiling.
Beautiful girl, A-man.
His hand tightened around his gun.
She hadn’t seen Alex that morning. He and Jim had snuck away before anyone else woke. But when she’d stepped outside to look for the men, she’d seen two sets of footprints heading down toward the cockpit. Together. It didn’t surprise her one bit. They were a paranoid pair. How many times had she caught Alex studying the terrain around them? And she’d known he wasn’t admiring the trees. He had a haunted look, make that a hunted look about him. He might be after someone, but he acted like he was being followed.
She touched Ryan’s forehead and flinched. He was hot. When he woke up, she’d see if he could keep down some ibuprofen. It wasn’t the fastest for bringing down fevers, but it was all she had. Hopefully, his stomach had settled. She’d watched him carefully last night. He’d only nibbled at the bar she gave him.
Thomas had been awake when she stepped back in the plane. He’d nodded to her and vanished out the door, surprisingly with Kiana at his heels. Usually the dog kept some distance from Thomas. She glanced at her watch. Those two had been gone about five minutes.
She sighed.
They needed to head out today. She wished they had a more accurate idea of how far off the railroad trestle was. She didn’t know if Ryan could go. And the plane was so comfortable compared to the tents. Tent, she corrected. All five of them and Kiana would be in one tent if they had to camp another night. Not good.
Maybe some of them should stay behind.
She bit her lip. Jim would hate to split the team. But with Ryan ill, they might have no choice. She’d stay behind with Ryan. Wait for a helicopter or better weather for him to hike out. Jim and Thomas moving together could travel fast and tell Collins exactly where to find them. And Alex…
She didn’t know what she wanted Alex to do. He was probably strong enough to move out with Thomas and Jim. But it’d be nice to have one more person if she needed help with Ryan. Plus he was armed. She shivered. Ever since Alex had said Besand’s name, she just hadn’t felt secure.
Alex made her feel safe.
More than Ryan or Jim or Thomas and all their guns. She stared at Ryan awkwardly sleeping upright in the seat. She’d known him for years and Jim for even longer. Why did a deputy marshal that she’d known for two days rate higher than her friends?
She cleared her thoughts, uncomfortable with their direction.
Ryan was going to have a stiff neck when he woke. It was tight, uncomfortable quarters for everybody. No one could stand up straight in the tiny plane.
Jim had stretched his legs as he and Brynn sat in the comfy chairs and talked while everyone drifted off last night. Alex had fallen asleep in the cargo area. He’d said he couldn’t sleep in a chair.
“I’m so tired I can’t see straight,” Jim had muttered.
“It’s been a hell of a day. We all need some rest.” She’d glanced at Ryan.
“How’s he doing?”
“We’ll see in the morning.”
“Think he’ll be up to hiking out?”
Brynn had shrugged.
“You feeling OK?” His tone was too light.
She’d narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m worn out like everyone else. I already told you I’m not pregnant.” He’d looked down at his hands.
“Besides…”
He’d waited. “Besides what?”
“It’s nothing,” she’d mumbled, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut.
“What is it? What’s going on with Liam?” Jim knew her too well.
“It’s over.”
“You guys are over? You broke up?” He’d looked horrified. Jim had always thought Liam was the best guy she’d ever dated. Jim had always been on the lookout for someone he thought could “take care of her.” Of course, looking over her dating history, Liam did look pretty good. But that didn’t mean she had to settle.
“He’s been living with Tyrone for over a month.”
“What? I had no idea. Does Anna know about this?”
Brynn had shaken her head. “We haven’t told anyone yet. He keeps saying we can work things out. But I know it’s over. We just don’t want the same things.”
“He’s crazy about you, Brynn. He’d do anything for you.”
She’d turned to him earnestly. “That’s what I mean. He absolutely smothers me. I had to sneak out for this job because we’d had a fight about my volunteer rescue work. He didn’t want me going on any more missions.”
“He’s worried for your safety. After last time—”
“That could’ve happened to anyone. You know me, Jim. You know I can’t walk away from this kind of work. It’s a part of me. I have to do this stuff. To ask me—let me correct that—to tell me I can’t go on any more missions simply shows me how much he doesn’t know about me. How could you tell someone you love and respect that they’re not allowed to do what they love?”
Jim had blinked hard and started to speak several times, but he’d finally given up. He’d slumped in his seat. “You’re right. I just didn’t want to see it. Even Anna thought he was too controlling for you. But some women like that.”
She’d raised a brow and wrinkled her nose. “Do you honestly see me as one of those women?”
“Hell, no. But I saw how worried Anna was when you got hurt last year. I guess I’d hoped Liam could protect you better.”
“Liam needs a little woman at home to greet him with a freshly baked apple pie as he comes in the door.”
Jim had grinned. “He would love that, wouldn’t he? But God, he’ll be bored to death. As much as he hates your risk taking, I think it was part of what attracted him to you in the first place. You guys are a lot alike in that manner.”
“He wants to get married,” Brynn had whispered, her eyes staring into the night.
“Can you blame him? You two have been together for a while now.”
“You know I can’t.”
“Not with him,” Jim had stated quietly. “Don’t completely write off marriage simply because of what you saw with your parents, Brynn. I never dreamed I’d be the type to settle down, but I thank God for dropping Anna in my path. It just takes the right person to spin your brain around. Then you find yourself doing things you never dreamed possible.” He’d shaken his head. “I never thought I’d buy a minivan. But damn it, with two kids that thing is awesome.”
“Yeah, but you haven’t given up your Mustang.”
“I’m saving it for Chris when he gets older.”
Brynn had studied him. Jim had a wistful smile on his face, like he was imagining handing over the Mustang’s keys to a teenage son. He hadn’t looked horrified to be letting go of his most precious possession.
She and Jim had both had trouble keeping their eyes open and decided to lie down in the cargo area. She’d lain awake for a long time, thinking about Liam and about Alex.
Now inside the plane, Brynn suddenly heard Jim and Alex coming back. She could hear panting and running footsteps in the snow. Were they running a race? Uphill in the snow?
Alex shouldn’t be running. He’d had a terrible shock to his system. The huffing from the race outside grew louder, and Brynn jumped at the force with which Jim yanked open the cargo door.