Lone Defender. Shirlee McCoy
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not much for taking medicine. I’ll let the fever burn itself out.” She thrust the medicine back, but he folded her fingers over the pills.
“It’s a couple aspirin, Grady. It won’t kill you, and it might make the night a little more comfortable.”
She nodded, fumbling to open the water bottle. Aspirin she could do. It was other things she had to avoid. Hardcore painkillers had taken her mother twenty years ago, had almost taken Skylar seventeen years after that. She’d been a hair’s breath from addiction in the months after she’d been shot and nearly killed in the line of duty. If not for Kane Dougherty, she might have chosen the path of least resistance, gone the way of her forefathers.
She owed him big for what he’d done.
Then again, he owed her big for sending her to Cave Creek and into a boatload of trouble.
She’d tell him as much once she made it back to civilization.
She yanked at the bottle top, scowling when it still refused to open. It was a water bottle, for goodness’ sake. Not a combination lock. All she needed to do was twist, but her fingers were still clumsy from cold and exertion, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t manage the simple task.
“Let me.” Jonas eased the bottle from her hand, opened it, then returned it, his fingers brushing her knuckles, the contact spreading warmth through her chilled skin. She wanted to lean close, let his heat seep into her icy body. Instead, she took a swig from the bottle to help swallow the aspirin, pulled the Mylar blanket close, trying to stave off the tremors that racked her body.
“Thanks.”
“Maybe you should save the thanks for after I get you to the airport and on the plane back to New York.”
“That might take a while, seeing as how I have a score to settle and I’m not leaving town until I do it.” She took another sip of water, pulled the gun from her waistband and set it on the ground. She had firepower, and she wasn’t alone. She’d managed to free-climb the mesa without falling to her death.
Things were definitely looking up.
“It might not take as long as you think. I have express orders to get you out of the desert and onto the next plane back to New York.”
“Funny, you don’t seem like the kind of guy who takes orders.”
“Depends on who is doing the ordering. When it’s a good friend who’s concerned about his employee, I’m willing to go along with the plan.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not.” She set the water bottle on the ground, tried to see Jonas’s face through the darkness. She had the sense of harnessed energy and restrained strength, of corded muscle and irritation. He’d come to her aid, and he expected her to want to be rescued.
And she did.
From the wilderness. From her six-day nightmare, but not from her obligation to follow up on the case she’d been investigating. Certainly not from her obligation to find the person who’d tried to kill her.
Was still trying to kill her.
“You may not have a choice, Grady. You’re done in. Sticking around town, searching for answers when you’re sick and exhausted could get you killed.”
“Not if I’m careful.”
“Were you being careful when someone knocked you out and drove you out into the desert?”
“How about we have this argument after we’re back in civilization?”
“Avoiding the question doesn’t change the answer.”
“And asking it doesn’t change my mind. I’m sticking around until I figure out who wants me dead and why.”
“Kane said you were stubborn.”
“I see that as one of my better qualities.”
“Good to know.” He chuckled, the sound rusty and dry.
“You should also know that after we get out of here, I’m planning on doing things my way. No trip to New York. No hiding away while someone else solves my problems.”
“We’ll see.” He moved away, leaving her shivering under the Mylar blanket.
“Where are you going?”
“Just checking on our friends.”
“Do you really think you’ll be able to spot them?” She pulled the blanket around her shoulders and followed him to the mouth of the cave. Rain blew in on a gust of air, and her teeth chattered, but she was not going to lie on the floor of the cave while Jonas did what she should be doing herself.
“Maybe.”
“And you’re sure they found our trail?” She peered out into the darkness, seeing nothing but gray-black night.
“Yes.”
“I’d ask you why, but you’d probably just say ‘because.'”
He chuckled again. “They followed my trail for at least two days. I don’t think they’ll have any trouble following it here.”
“The rain might have washed our tracks away.”
“Possibly, but they’ll know we were heading this way, and the only thing here is the mesa.”
“So, they could be on their way up.”
“Not with the storm still raging and not until they know for sure where we climbed.”
“So, we’re safe until the rain stops.”
“Safe enough for you to lie down and rest.”
“I don’t need rest. I need answers. I came to Arizona to find a deadbeat dad who owed twenty thousand dollars back child support. Now I’m running for my life. I want to know why.” She stared out into the darkness, rain splattering her face, icy against her overheated skin.
“Could be the dad doesn’t want to pay up.”
“And decided to commit murder to avoid it?”
“People have committed murder for less reason.”
“True, but not this time. My brain might not be functioning on full capacity, but it’s still working well enough for me to know that. I hadn’t even found the guy. He had no reason to think I would. He ran from New York two years ago. Ran from Chicago seven months ago. Every time the police close in on him, he runs. Why stop running now?”
“Good question, but you won’t find your answer tonight. Come on.” He led her back into the depth of the cave, urged her to lie down again.
She wanted to protest.
Couldn’t.
Her body felt leaden, her legs weak, and all she could do was exactly what he wanted—lie down, close her eyes, sink into darkness.
He brushed sopping hair from her cheek, felt her forehead again, and she let him. Let him take care of her in a way she hadn’t let anyone take care of her in a very long time.
She didn’t like it, felt helpless to do anything else.
Jonas lifted her head, slid his pack beneath it and she opened her eyes, looked into his face.
“Who are you, Jonas Sampson?” she asked, the question stumbling out without thought.
He hesitated, the shrugged. “Just a friend of your boss.”
“Kane wouldn’t have called in someone who was just a friend to do this job.”
“No. I guess he wouldn’t have. Get some sleep, Grady. We may have a long night ahead of us. I’m going to see if I can get some reception and call for transport. With any luck, we’ll have a ride out of here by first light.” He moved away, and she didn’t have the strength