The adrenaline coursed through her body now, and she didn’t know what to do. He had missed his shot. Could he even see her? Aubree didn’t dare lift her head to see where he was. She tried to quiet her breathing. Her ears were ringing from the echoes of the gunshot, and she knew Chief Ferrin was moving closer. Her chest hurt from holding her breath, and the tension pounded in her head.
She heard movement a few feet in front of her and shrank against the rock.
“I’m tired of playing hide and seek—found you.” His light landed on her foot sticking out from behind the boulder.
Aubree looked up and screamed. When the beam of light moved, she saw the glint of a gun in his hand. He was going to kill her.
“You picked the perfect spot to hide a dead body—better than a manhole.” His deadpan voice punctuated the stillness.
Someone grunted, and Aubree heard rocks skitter across the ground. Then she heard Wyatt’s voice shout, “Aubree, move!”
The light tilted. Chief Ferrin looked toward Wyatt’s voice and pointed his gun. Stifling a scream, Aubree dove to the other side of the boulder as gunshots reverberated through the chamber. She covered her head with her hands. The gunshots ceased and she crawled toward Wyatt’s voice and the only way out of the cavern.
Someone moaned. Aubree sat still for a minute to get her bearings and listened.
“Aubree, hurry. I don’t know if I hit him.” Wyatt’s voice sounded strained and frantic.
She crawled as fast as she could against the jagged rocks, trying not to cry out as the frozen earth dug at her skin. She didn’t know where Chief Ferrin was, and she couldn’t hear anything from behind. She headed for the beam from the flashlight on the ground and hurried to pick it up, shining it around to see where Wyatt and Ferrin were.
The light illuminated a body sprawled in front of the boulder she had been hiding behind. Chief Ferrin wasn’t moving. She focused the light on his body, but it was too dim to see any blood or gunshot wounds. She turned back to Wyatt.
“I can’t tell if he’s alive—” She stopped when the light fell on Wyatt’s legs covered in blood. “Did he shoot you?” Her voice caught in her throat.
“It looks worse than it is, but I need you to help me get out of here,” he whispered. “It’s my leg. I don’t know where the bullet hit me, but I’m losing a lot of blood.”
She felt the color draining from her face but hurried to his side. The low ceiling of the ice cave crowded the small space where he lay just inside the cavern. “What should I do?”
“Get out and then help pull me out where we can see my injury.” Wyatt groaned.
Aubree pointed the flashlight at his right leg and gasped. She pulled the boot from his left foot and then peeled off his sock.
“What are you doing?” He winced and groaned with pain.
“I’ve got to stop the bleeding before I try to move you,” Aubree explained through chattering teeth. She wasn’t sure if the cold or the shock was making her shake, but the skin on her hands hurt as the freezing air touched it.
“Wrap it around the wound. If it’s not gushing, it’ll slow the bleeding,” Wyatt’s words were laced with pain.
She made a makeshift bandage with Wyatt’s sock, tying it around his leg, and then climbed over him toward the opening of the cavern. She tossed the flashlight out in front of her and then reached back for Wyatt’s arm.
“Try to push yourself forward with your other arm.” The opening to the cave was too shallow to stand, so Aubree propped herself up on her elbow and pulled. Wyatt’s muscular build only moved a few inches, and Aubree groaned. “I’m not strong enough.”
“Use both hands,” Wyatt said. “I’ll push myself with my good leg.” He grunted and reached for her. She scooted closer to the opening and pulled as Wyatt pushed against the rocks. They moved a few more inches, and Aubree’s head stuck out of the jagged opening. Wyatt breathed heavily. “Now get out and reach back in. You’ll be able to pull me out from a standing position.”
She scooted across the floor of the cave, gasping every time her arms touched the sharp rocks. Then she positioned her feet on solid ground and pulled, using all the strength she had. He only moved a few more inches and cried out in pain.
“I’m sorry, Wyatt. I’m just not strong enough.”
“Try grabbing me under the armpits and count to three,” Wyatt gasped. “I’ll push as you pull.”
She grabbed his torso, counted, and heaved him out of the cavern. She stumbled back and barely caught herself before she tripped into the frozen pool of water.
Wyatt sucked in air and clenched his fists to keep from crying out. She noticed his gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans and reached for it. With shaking hands, she set the gun on the ground beside them and crouched by his leg. Wyatt grabbed her arm.
“I think you should go for help.”
“I can’t leave you here alone. What about the other guy in the car?”
“There were two others. Chief Ferrin must have come from somewhere else.” He closed his eyes and took another ragged breath. “I shot one guy, and I think the other one is still looking for me. I hid in the trees on the side of the road and threw a bunch of rocks around to make noise and then snuck back here.”
“Oh my goodness, Wyatt. He could be coming right now,” Aubree said.
“No, we’re going to make it out of here,” Wyatt replied. “I was coming to get you, but then I heard Ferrin talking. I couldn’t see where he was at first, and then I figured he’d gone in looking for you.”
Aubree scooted closer to Wyatt’s leg and lifted the leg of his pants. He winced.
“Don’t pull up my pant legs. Get my pocketknife and cut it open by the seam,” he said through gritted teeth.
Aubree followed his instructions and inspected his wound. Blood oozed from a gash that revealed muscle fibers. She gagged and looked away.
“I don’t know what to do.” She tried to calm her trembling voice. “But I got a call out earlier, and someone must be coming. Maybe I can try the cell phone again to see if help is on the way. I don’t want to leave you.”
His skin looked pale, but he squeezed her hand and whispered, “That’s a great idea. But be careful.”
“I won’t go far.” She put a hand on his cheek and hurried out of the cave. The sunlight blinded her for a second, and she shielded her eyes. There was no one in sight. Flipping open the cell phone, she walked to higher ground, willing the bars to increase and give her a strong signal. She took a few steps to the side of the cave but stopped when she heard the sound of tires crunching on gravel and sirens whining.
She rushed back to the front of the ice cave and cried out, “Wyatt, the police are here, and there’s an ambulance coming.” The first police truck stopped beside Wyatt’s pickup and the silver Corolla. The officer stepped out to check the vehicles and Aubree waved her arms and screamed, “Help! We’re up here. Wyatt’s been shot!”
The police officer jumped back and dashed to his vehicle. Aubree could see an ambulance wasn’t far behind the police pickup. She stood on the outcropping of rock outside of the cave for a moment longer as the police approached. A third vehicle, a police cruiser, created clouds of dust as it raced along the dirt road behind the ambulance.
“Wyatt, the police are coming now,” she shouted, and then she hurried to meet them. Aubree could feel the adrenaline pumping through the air as police officers spread out in the parking area.
“Bring a stretcher. He’s shot in the leg.” Aubree shouted at them.
The first police officer approached her with wary eyes. “Is anyone still armed inside?”
“There’s a man inside the hidden cavern of the ice cave. He was trying to kill me, and Wyatt shot him. I don’t know if he’s still alive.” Aubree hesitated, trying to think how to explain the situation. These police officers would definitely not take kindly to seeing one of their own shot. “He killed my husband a year ago. He was a dirty cop. He had two other men with him. They shot at us earlier.”
The officer bristled. “Miss, I’d like you to go on down to the patrol car and wait.” He pulled his radio from the clip on his shoulder and yammered out a bunch of police code Aubree didn’t understand. She could see he already thought of her as a possible suspect.
“But Wyatt is in there. I was in the witness protection program, and Chief Ferrin found me and was going to kill me.”
The officer stopped speaking and glared at her. “Go down to the patrol car.”
Two more policemen ran up the path, followed by a couple EMTs. “We’ve got a possible armed and dangerous man and a cop down inside.” The first officer said and pulled out his gun.
Aubree’s lip trembled, and she stepped out of the officer’s way as he hurried inside. She looked out at the patrol cars parked next to the ice cave, and her stomach clenched. What if Chief Ferrin could convince these guys that she and Wyatt were at fault?
Another police officer stepped toward her. “Do you know anything about the man in the car down there?” He pointed at the Corolla, and Aubree recognized the slumped form of one of the men who had shot at her and Wyatt earlier.
“Is he dead?” she asked.
The police frowned. “Yes. Do you know how that happened?”
Aubree’s eyes narrowed. “He was trying to kill me and my friend, and there’s still someone out there with a gun.”
“I need you to come with me.” The police officer reached for her arm, and she flinched. He paused when more sirens cut through the commotion.
Aubree shaded her eyes against the sun and blinked rapidly, and then she screamed. “It’s the FBI!” She knew that the black Hummer rambling up the road toward the cave with sirens blaring, followed by three other unmarked vehicles, had to be federal agents.
The police officer stepped back and pulled out his radio, speaking rapidly. “We’ve got a possible armed and dangerous man loose near the Paris Springs Campground, requesting back-up.”
Aubree ignored him and once again waved her arms toward the convoy of federal agents. When the Hummer screeched to a stop and Jason jumped out, Aubree stepped away from the police officer and slumped onto a nearby rock. Agents rushed past her into the ice cave with guns drawn.
Within minutes, Jason had learned the morning’s events from Aubree, and three of the agents were crawling inside the cavern to retrieve Chief Ferrin. Jason crouched beside Aubree. “Are you hurt?”
“Just some scrapes. Jason, they think I’m a suspect.” She pointed at the police officer.
Jason stood and glared at the police officer coming out of the cave. “This is a federal investigation. Tell your men not to touch the chief.”
“Where’s Scarlett?” Jason’s eyes widened, and he surveyed the area.
“She’s safe. She’s not here,” Aubree answered.
“Are you sure she’s safe? Do you need me to check on her?” Jason asked, still looking around as if he might see a baby hiding in the bushes somewhere.
“I’m sure, thank you,” Aubree said and then turned her head toward the cave. She wasn’t ready to reveal Scarlett’s location to anyone. “Please, make sure they don’t hurt Wyatt.”
“I’ll make sure, but I need you to stay right here.”
Jason ran back and forth between Aubree and Wyatt. He shouted orders to the local police officers to leave Chief Ferrin alone and find the missing gunman.
Aubree continued to shiver even though the sun beat down on her. After what seemed like an eternity, Jason walked back to where she sat. He was talking on his cell phone. He interrupted his conversation to say, “I want you to come with me. Let’s take a look at those scrapes.”
“What about Wyatt?”
“The paramedics are taking care of him. They’ll bring him out of the cave in a minute.” He motioned with his head for her to follow as he continued talking on his cell. Aubree followed him to the Hummer where he looked her over. Other than several surface abrasions from the jagged rocks in the caves, she was fine.
When the EMTs hauled Wyatt out on a backboard, Aubree followed them to the ambulance. Wyatt’s skin looked gray, and she averted her gaze from his bandaged leg. “Can I ride with him?” she asked and reached for his hand.
Jason cleared his throat. “I have strict orders not to let you out of my sight.” He made eye contact with Wyatt and frowned.
“But—” Aubree protested.
“He might be in surgery for a few hours. You can wait at the hospital with me, and we’ll debrief.”
They lifted Wyatt into the ambulance, and Aubree scrambled inside. “I just want to say something to him,” she told Jason.
She leaned over Wyatt. “I want to come with you, but they won’t let me,” she whispered.
“They’re taking me to the Logan hospital,” Wyatt said, and then he grinned at her. “I like your outfit.”
Aubree looked down at her shirt covered in blood and dirt. “If you weren’t already shot, I’d smack you.” She leaned over and kissed him instead.
“Hmm, I think I’m gonna live.” He closed his eyes and squeezed her hand.
“I’ll see you soon, okay?” She ran her fingers through his hair and touched his cheek. Wyatt nodded and gave her a half-smile. Whatever pain medicine they’d injected him with was beginning to take effect.
She stepped down from the ambulance and followed Jason to the Hummer. As she climbed inside, she noticed several police officers and agents at the mouth of the cave dragging out the body of Chief Ferrin. Aubree cried out and covered her face with her hands.
“I’m sorry you had to see that. I meant to get you out of here sooner. He bled out in the cave from a gunshot wound to the chest.” Jason put the Hummer in reverse and backed away from the ice cave.
Aubree’s hands shook, and she felt overwhelmed with every emotion that had played out in the ice cave over the last hour. Jason reached behind her seat and handed her a blanket and a water bottle.
“Put this on and take some deep breaths. You’re experiencing some shock.” He spoke in a low voice and continued to talk to her as they drove away from the campground and out onto the main road. The ambulance carrying Wyatt had left before them, and Aubree concentrated on him and tried to shake off the aftereffects of the adrenaline rush she’d been feeling.
“Did they find the other gunman?” she asked.
Jason chuckled. “Yeah. He was lying in the creek bed with a broken leg. He fell out of a tree. I think he was trying to get a visual from high ground to shoot your park ranger.” Jason glanced at Aubree. “It’s a good thing Wyatt knew his way around this place, or you might not have been so lucky.”
Aubree pursed her lips. “I know.”
“Looks like we got here a little late. I’m sorry about everything,” Jason said. He kept his eyes on the road as they drove past Bear Lake.
“Actually it was just in time. I was afraid that police officer was going to arrest me. How did you find me anyway?”
“You have so little faith in the FBI, don’t you?” Jason smiled, and Aubree rolled her eyes. “Well, we’re pretty efficient. But it would’ve been easier if you had told me.” He shook his head. “My office has been trying to hack into the mainframe of Ferrin’s tracking system since shortly after you called yesterday. We acted fast, but he disappeared faster.
“When you mentioned Ferrin and then green, not the color, but GREANE, it was like every alarm in the whole building went off. We went straight to Ferrin’s home and found a tracking system only used by the FBI—it’s new. Somehow he’d gained access to the full system with the tracker in place.”
Aubree shivered and pulled the blanket tighter. “I know. He explained all of it to me in the cave to distract me so that he could climb inside the cavern and kill me.”
“You’re just lucky Wyatt was a good shot. Sometime you’ll have to tell me the story of how you ended up with a park ranger.” Jason glanced at her and then back at the road.
She blushed and touched her lips, thinking of the last kiss she’d given Wyatt.
Jason paused for a second and cleared his throat. “I guess he’ll be taking care of you now?”
Aubree looked at Jason. His jaw was set in a rigid line, and his face was flushed. She felt warmth creep up her neck as she realized that Jason’s feelings for her were deeper than she’d understood. She pulled the blanket tighter. How many indicators had she missed that he didn’t want to just be her FBI agent? She reached over and touched his hand. “He’s a good man. A lot like you. I fell in love with him.”
She watched him swallow, and then he nodded. Aubree looked out the window and watched the forest rushing past.
Jason cleared his throat again. “It took all of our techs to discover how Ferrin found you so quickly, and then we knew it would still be heads or tails whether we could get to you first.
“While they were still trying to bust into the mainframe, I headed out and got to Bear Lake last night around midnight. We’ve been canvassing the area since—praying our techs could break through in time.” He reached across the cab and pulled the blanket over her shoulders.
“Of course you had to pick one of the most remote campgrounds around.” He shook his head. “You did well.”
“I could’ve stayed there a long time too,” Aubree said. “I got a nice trailer.”
Jason clicked his tongue and looked at her. “You know we’ve had our eye on the governor ever since Hank Dennison switched his allegiance from Ohio to Nebraska.”
“That’s the name. Hank. Chief Ferrin said something about him and I didn’t know what he was talking about,” Aubree said.
“Hank Dennison is the secretary of agriculture.” Jason whistled. “It’s what we suspected. Now we’ll have the proof we need.”
“What do you mean?” Aubree asked.
“Ferrin wanted to kill you because he thought you knew more than you did. Maybe he thought you heard more of the conversation that day on the phone, but he thought you knew that Hank Dennison accepted bribes from Governor Ferrin to award Nebraska the pilot program of GREANE.
“It’s what we’ve been trying to prove for months now, but we could never get the evidence to convict.” Jason smiled. “Thanks to Chief Ferrin, we don’t need that now. But what I’d like to know is how in the world did you figure out your case was involved with the GREANE program?” Then he shook his head. “Actually, what made you think green was something other than money in the first place?”
Aubree gave him a sideways glance. “Google and a blogger with some great inside information.” She folded her arms and tried to keep her knees from shaking. “I kept writing out the conversation, trying to remember every word. Then when I did a keyword search, I realized the original conversation was “in the green” not “in the money” like I’d reported. I just wish I’d remembered the word sooner. It would’ve given you the push in the right direction you needed to investigate Ferrin.”
“So you do have some confidence in us, then,” Jason said.
“I guess so.” Aubree smiled. “What will happen next?” She asked the question she’d worried about all day.
“We’ve got to find out who else Ferrin was working with. I guess he wasn’t involved with Miranda and her operation at all—other than for buying information. But I think you’re safe now. Ferrin was looking for you to protect himself. You aren’t a threat to anyone else involved.”
Aubree looked at him and swallowed hard. “But what about Dennison? Will I have to testify?” Aubree gripped the armrests with the little strength she had left.
“Not if I have anything to do with it. I think when Ferrin and Hank see the evidence, they’ll plea bargain their way out of this and implicate each other in a hurry.” Jason checked his rearview mirror. “I want to keep you out of this, and I don’t think that’ll be too difficult.”
“You really think so?”
Jason nodded. “We’ll take some precautions while we finish out the investigation, but yes, I think it’s time you stopped running.”
Leaning her head back against the seat, Aubree felt something inside her break free. The tears escaped from the sides of her eyes, and she didn’t wipe them away. Jason said the very words she’d dreamed about for a year. She was ready to stand still and feel safe.