Chapter 20

CHAPTER

TWENTY

Stephen and Heidi had been navigating the mountainous forest for three hours.

With each step, they disappeared deeper and deeper into the wilderness.

The sun was already beginning to sink, and soon it would be dark and cold outside.

The good news was that he hadn't heard any signs that those men were on their tail. Not yet.

But as the day drew on, Stephen sensed Heidi was growing exhausted. He had a feeling all she'd eaten today was that peanut butter sandwich at the house, and she hadn't even finished that. They were nearing the end of their limits and would need to stop soon.

They reached a heavily wooded area, and he paused. The trees would offer protection.

"Let's stop here a moment," he murmured.

Heidi leaned against a large oak tree and sucked in several deep breaths. Her cheeks were flushed with exertion.

As she caught her breath, he turned the radio on again. He couldn't afford to keep it on as they hiked. The sound of it would be a dead giveaway.

"We lost them," one of the men said, his voice staticky.

"What do you want us to do?" another guy said.

"We'll have to resume the search in the morning. Maybe get a plane out, if possible, and see if we can find them. We chased them deeper into the heart of the mountains. There's no way they're going to get out, especially not if we surround them."

Did these guys not realize that one of their radios was missing? Maybe they assumed it had fallen off a nearby cliff or something. They were certainly speaking freely.

Or maybe everything they said was a scam. Maybe these men were manipulating the conversation so Stephen and Heidi would think they were safe when they weren't.

Stephen needed to keep these things in mind to be on the safe side.

Clipping the radio back to his belt, he grabbed his phone. He frowned when he saw there was only one bar of service. Would that be enough for him to get in touch with Gage?

Calling him was risky, especially considering the chance his phone might ring.

Instead, he sent Gage a text message.

Where are you? We're safe. But we need an escape plan.

He stared at the message, hoping he might get an instant reply.

He didn't. There was no indication the message had been read and no bubbles indicating Gage was responding.

Stephen prayed his friend was okay.

He put the phone away and glanced back at Heidi.

Apprehension showed in the knot between her eyes. But at least she wasn't breathing as heavily. Her cheeks weren't quite as red.

"Are we going to keep moving?" she asked.

He glanced around, his jaw tightening. "It's too dangerous. It's getting dark, and we don't know our way around this wilderness well enough. We should stop for the night and start again in the morning."

"From the sounds of it, these guys are going to keep looking for us."

"We'll start earlier than they do," Stephen said. "Right now, we have an advantage because we have one of their radios. I'm not sure I want to trust everything they're saying, however. But right now, their conversation makes sense."

Heidi nodded before glancing around at the grove of trees surrounding them. "So we're staying here?"

"The trees will provide cover for the night. Plus, we're high enough that we have a small signal on my cell. I'm hoping to hear back from Gage so we can develop some type of plan."

"Even if we're able to get in touch with him, how would he get us out of these mountains? There are no roads. No rivers where a boat might even be able to pick us up. We have no food or water."

Stephen knew the situation was dire.

"I have a little water, but I'd like to save it. When that runs out, we can find a creek if we need. I have a protein bar in my backpack you can have. Otherwise, our bodies will survive without food for one night."

"I know that but . . ." A frown tugged at her lips. "To be honest, I'm scared."

He reached for her then rubbed her arm in an effort to offer some comfort. "It's okay to be scared. The circumstances we've found ourselves in right now are extraordinary."

"Extraordinarily bad you mean?"

He let out an airy chuckle. "Yes, I suppose that is what I mean."

"I don't like any of this. These guys are determined to kill us. Or to kill me. They don't even know you're with me, I suppose."

"They are determined. Someone wants you dead, and they'll do anything to make sure that happens."

"But it doesn't make sense why."

"Unless there's something you know that is worth killing you over. But what would that be?"

She raked a hand through her hair before shaking her head. "I wish I knew."

"We need to figure it out. Maybe it's something that seems innocuous. But whatever it is, it's a threat."

"A threat to who?"

Stephen frowned again. "That's also something that we have to figure out."

Heidi scooted closer to the fire.

She was amazed Stephen had been able to find enough pieces of dry wood to start a nice-sized fire. He told her the flames couldn't be too large, however. He didn't want to be spotted because of it.

However, the temperature had probably dropped down into the forties this evening.

She wasn't sure how the sleeping situation would work tonight. They had no blankets, and she had no jacket. Just the fire. She supposed she would be able to use her arm as a pillow and sleep close to the warm flames.

At least Stephen was here. He sat on the ground beside her, staring into the fire.

She was hungry, but she hadn't asked for that protein bar yet.

They could still be out in the woods all day tomorrow. If that was the case, she would need the food more then than she needed it now.

"How's your shoulder?" he asked.

She moved it, felt the tautness there. "It's okay. I'm just glad that tracker is gone."

His expression tightened. "Listen, Heidi. I'm sorry you've been pulled into the middle of this."

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who took this job." She let out a long sigh. "This all feels very surreal."

"Believe me, I never expected any of this either." He paused. "You know, I never told you this, but you're the reason I'm the person I am today."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He let out a breath. "When we went to the office for our debriefs, I saw a plaque you had hanging behind your desk. It said, ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.'"

"James 1:2–4. It's my favorite verse. It reminds me to be strong."

"I hadn't really thought much about Jesus or the Bible. But that verse made me curious. I went out, bought a Bible, and started reading it."

"That's great."

"It made sense to me. My neighbor was always leaving for church on Sunday mornings, so I started asking questions. My life changed after that."

"All that started from a little plaque I had hanging up, huh?"

He nodded. "It did."

She studied his strong profile. "How did you get involved with these people, Stephen? You seem better than this."

His jaw twitched as he stared at the fire. "As you probably remember, Rafferty tasked me with being one of Monarch's guards for personal protection."

"I do remember. That was right before you left Blackstone." The whole thing had been confusing, and Rafferty hadn't offered any details, of course.

"Until that day, I was pretty much resigned that I'd do this for the rest of my life, that I'd work these jobs for Rafferty. I didn't really think much about it."

"What changed?"

"Nathan died."

She frowned at the memory. "But he died from sudden cardiac arrest."

Stephen's cheek twitched, and his voice was notably more stoic as he said, "That's what someone made it look like. But I don't buy it. I think someone killed him. That's what happens when people get too close to the truth. There were a number of warning signs I tried to ignore. But that became nearly impossible after a while."

"So that was it? You had suspicions about his death, so you quit?"

Stephen shook his head, the movement heavy with emotion—and maybe regret. "I met some other guys who were like me, only they worked for a different organization. They told me what they'd discovered about the trackers and heart implants. Then I learned Rafferty's background. Though I knew some of it beforehand, there was a lot he hadn't disclosed. That's when I knew without a doubt he was up to no good."

"So you just left?" She liked a man who was decisive and who had conviction.

"I didn't just leave. But we were in a situation where I had to pick sides. Rocky showed up."

Rocky Velasquez—who'd also gone by Alfie—had been another Blackstone operative.

"What happened to him?" Heidi asked. "Rafferty was tight-lipped about his disappearance."

"He disappeared around the same time the devices near our hearts were activated," Stephen said. "That was when I knew I had to figure out what was really going on. I had to put a stop to it, especially if there are guys out there willing to do whatever Rafferty tells them—no matter the cost."

"Most of the jobs we get seem pretty cut-and-dried," Heidi said.

"They do. But that doesn't mean there aren't things going on behind the scenes."

"I guess you're right."

Stephen turned to study her now, and she wondered what he was thinking. What kind of questions were on his mind.

She didn't ask. He'd bring them up when, and if, he wanted to.

Instead, he cleared his throat and looked away. "Enough about that for now. What about you, Heidi? Why did you take this job?"

"I'd been working as the administrative assistant for a CEO in Atlanta. I thought it was what I wanted to do until my mom was injured in a car accident and required around-the-clock care. Though insurance covered some expenses, it didn't cover everything. I didn't want to put her in a facility, so I began looking for a job where I could work at home and take care of her at the same time. That was five years ago."

"Did you see a job listing with Blackstone?"

"Actually, Rafferty approached me. He said he was looking for someone and that a headhunter had recommended me, even though I hadn't actually hired this headhunter. At the time, it seemed a little weird but not incredibly suspicious. I figured the headhunter must have seen my résumé posted online. I know things like that do happen sometimes, and I figured this person would probably get some type of payment from Rafferty."

"So he interviewed you after that?"

"He did. He seemed a little intimidating to be honest." The memory of that meeting flooded back to her. "I told him what had happened with my mom and that I was taking care of her. He wasn't bothered by that. Said it was honorable, actually. He offered to pay me a very nice annual salary and said I could work at home most of the time, that I'd only need to be in the office a few hours a week. The job offer felt like an answer to prayer."

Stephen narrowed his eyes as if annoyed. "Rafferty can be very convincing."

"He was. For a long time, he seemed like a decent boss. I mean, he wasn't always nice, and some of the assignments made me cringe. But I figured that was the nature of a private security firm."

He shifted in his seat. "Tell me about your mom—if you don't mind."

Heidi glanced at her hands as the memories flooded her. There was still a hole in her heart from her mom's absence in her life, and she knew there always would be.

The two of them had been close. They even looked alike.

They'd only had each other to rely on since Heidi's father had died of a heart attack before she was born. Her mom had always told her how much he would have loved her.

Her throat burned at the thought.

"She passed away last year," Heidi finally said.

"I thought I heard something about that." His voice softened. "But I was out on an assignment at the time. I didn't know how to bring it up to you the next time I saw you, but I am sorry."

"Thank you. It's weird when you give four years of your life to taking care of someone full-time, and suddenly they're no longer there. That's not to mention the twenty-five other years that were spent with her taking care of me. I mean, I suppose after I went to college there was a little bit less of that. But a mother is always a mother. The role reversal was a bit jarring."

"I can only imagine."

She listened to the crackle of the fire for another moment. "I guess you didn't grow up with your parents?"

Stephen grabbed a stick and poked the fire. "No, like most of the guys in the program, my parents are out of the picture. Mine actually gave me up when I was less than a year old."

"So, you were adopted?" She wasn't sure why that fact surprised her, but it did.

She'd figured he'd probably been in foster care or placed in a children's home. Adoption could mean a loving home, which didn't fit what she knew about the guys at Blackstone.

"Yes, I was adopted by a very nice couple. When I was eleven they both got cancer within a year of each other and died. I was put into foster care for several months. Eventually, my adoptive mother's sister took me in. But we never really bonded. I'm not even sure why she ended up adopting me because she never seemed to want to be a mom. She pretty much just let me do my own thing."

"I'm sorry." She lowered her voice. "I know that must have been difficult."

"It was. But there's nothing I can do to change any of that. I just have to believe it made me into the person I am today."

"And it made you a perfect target for Rafferty." Heidi frowned as she said the words. But a surge of protectiveness rose in her.

"I suppose it did. But I'm ready for things to change."

She glanced up at him, her heart growing tender. "I can only imagine that's true."

"On more than one level," he murmured. "On more than one level."