Fatal Recall. Carol J. Post
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jacket was tied around her waist. Judging from the scrapes on her arms, she’d run or rolled through some nasty thorns.
Was she simply unconscious or... No, she didn’t have that pallidness of death. He’d seen it on enough occasions to know. The first time was up close and personal at eight years old.
Just to be sure, he placed two fingers against her neck, where her pulse beat strong. He released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. She was alive but needed help. She could have head trauma or internal injuries.
He pulled his phone from his pocket. No service. Not surprising, so far from civilization. His gaze dipped to the woman again, and his jaw tightened. Were the people he’d assumed hunters shooting at her? Had any of the bullets found their mark?
He leaned over her to check her back. There were no patches of moisture on the black tank she wore. She wasn’t bleeding from her left side, either.
Maybe the right or front. Twenty minutes had passed since he’d heard her scream. He needed to turn her over. She could have spinal injuries, but if blood was pouring from a bullet wound, she wouldn’t last long enough to worry about possible paralysis.
Decision made, he gently rolled her onto her back. She released a small moan but didn’t open her eyes. Her chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm. There were no signs of blood.
He expelled a breath. No one had shot her. Maybe no one had tried. Maybe the shots really had come from hunters.
He looked beyond her to where the ground rose sharply. Had she been hiking and lost her footing, emitting a brief scream of panic as she’d tumbled downward?
It was possible. The Appalachian Trail crossed Highway 19 at the Nantahala Outdoor Center some distance northeast of where they were. He’d seen it when he’d left his truck there, before Colton had taken him to the launch site several miles upstream. Maybe the woman had ventured off the trail.
He gave her a gentle shake. “Can you hear me?”
No response.
Another shake. “Ma’am?”
Her eyes snapped open, the dark brown of their irises almost disappearing into the pupils. She sat up and tried to scramble away. But a boulder at her back stopped her. If someone had been after her, that boulder had likely saved her, shielding her from the view of anyone above.
He held up a hand. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Her fear-filled eyes widened further, and she released a blood-chilling scream. The next moment she was on her feet, running away from him. She apparently didn’t have any of those spinal injuries he’d worried about.
“Hold up.” He took off after her. No way was he leaving her to fend for herself. He’d thought she might be a hiker who’d wandered off the trail and fallen. Now his gut told him it was a lot more. And he always listened to his gut.
He closed the distance between them. It wasn’t difficult. Her balance was off, her gait faltering. He wrapped both arms around her from behind, clamping a hand over her mouth to cut off a second scream. Though she was a good head shorter than him, she was firm and athletic. He could tell she was an outdoor kind of woman, based on the build and the tan.
An elbow came back to jab him in the ribs at the same time a boot caught him in the shin. He released a grunt, thankful she wasn’t functioning at 100 percent. When he tightened his hold, she struggled harder. The other elbow shot back, but this time he avoided it.
“Stop fighting me.” He hissed the words in her ear. “I won’t hurt you. I came to help you. I’m...” He hesitated. “A nice guy.”
He’d almost said cop. But if it was her own bad deeds that had gotten her into trouble, gaining her trust as law enforcement wasn’t going to happen.
“We need to get you out of here. But no more screaming. We don’t want to give whoever you’re running from any more hints of your whereabouts.” He paused, letting his words penetrate her panic. “I’m taking my hand away now.”
He loosened his hold but didn’t relax his vigilance. If she tried to scream or run, he’d have her back in his embrace before she could draw another breath.
She turned to face him. Her eyes still held wildness, and she looked ready to bolt. But she nodded agreement.
“I’m going to get you to safety.”
He retrieved the water, and when he offered it to her, she drank almost all of it without stopping to breathe. While she finished, he looked around them. He needed to get her medical aid as soon as possible. Since he’d found her unconscious, she obviously had a head injury. Without cell service, he had no option but to walk her out of the woods. Once they made it to the highway, they could flag someone down and catch a ride to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. After an ambulance arrived, he’d ask a Good Samaritan to give him a ride back to where he’d left Colton’s kayak.
Of course, that was all contingent on someone stopping. Actually, there was a more serious problem. If someone was after the woman, he’d expect her to hike toward the highway. They could walk into a trap. Maybe the kayak was their best option.
After he took her empty bottle, he waited while she untied her jacket and slipped her arms into the sleeves. Then he extended his arm, palm up. “Let me help you.”
Her gaze dipped to his hand, and indecision filled her eyes. She’d apparently experienced something traumatic. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been so terrified of him.
As they walked, she kept her hand in his. Her grip was firm. Strength had to be a good sign. Or maybe the firm grip meant she felt unsteady. Whatever the case, she wasn’t much of a conversationalist.
He offered her a friendly smile. “I’m Tanner.” His tone was just above a whisper.
One side of her mouth lifted a sliver. “Hi, Tanner.”
She didn’t give him her name. Maybe his hunch she might be running from crimes of her own was dead-on.
Right now, that didn’t matter. His responsibility was to get her to safety, which meant a hospital so she could be checked out. It would be up to local authorities to decide what to do with her after release.
As they walked, he kept scanning the woods. He’d left his pistol in the glove box of his Silverado, never dreaming he’d need it kayaking. What he wouldn’t give to have a weapon now. The three-inch blade on his multi-tool didn’t count.
When they reached the river, he heaved a sigh of relief. They’d made it. Almost. He still had to get her to a working phone. Fortunately, whoever was after her likely wouldn’t look for her on the river.
After lowering the kayak into the water, he helped her into the front and took the seat at the rear. Colton had bought the small boat with his wife in mind, so it was a two-seater.
“Keep an eye out.” The command was probably unnecessary. He couldn’t see the woman’s face, but her head slowly pivoted side to side.
A half minute later, they rounded the bend, and a long stretch of white water lay ahead. Theirs was the only boat in either direction. In another month or two, activity would pick up, but April was early. Though the sun was shining, the air still held some bite.
Over the next several minutes, he split his attention between navigating the rapids and scanning the trees that bordered both sides of the river. A gasp drew his attention to the front. The woman had twisted and sat looking over her right shoulder.
He followed her gaze. “Did you see something?”
“I thought I did. Now I don’t.”
He didn’t, either. Without slowing his pace, he gave hard looks in that direction. Pines, firs and other evergreens stood interspersed among trees budding with new spring growth.
Then there was movement. Something dark, out of place with the greens of nature. He continued his powerful