Broken Trust (3 page)

Mac frowned. “I know, boy. We’ll
find her, don’t worry.”

He hobbled over to the edge of the
cliff. Sympathy poured over him as he stood next to Dad. Together, they turned
the beams of their flashlights down the cliff. They panned across the barren
rocks and further out on the pulsing water of the lake.

Nothing.

“Where is she? We ought to be able
to see her body,” Dad said.

Mac squinted in the dark, his gaze
moving slow and methodically over the rocks. “Maybe she rolled on the cliffs
and splashed into the lake. The current could have pulled her out into deep
water.”

“Doubtful. She’d need a lot of
momentum to reach the water. It’s too far out.”

And then, Mac saw her. Not crushed.
Not broken. She sat curled against the protective lee of rock half-way down the
cliff. Her pale face and arms gleamed in the moonlight. They’d been looking too
far out.

“There!” He pointed.

As their light skimmed over her,
she shrank back against the rock wall. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes
from the bright light and her whimper of fear shredded Mac’s heart. He could
barely make out her face. “It’s okay, lady. We’re here to help. Are you all
right?”

No answer. She was probably in
shock.

Grunt groaned, his body wriggling
with anticipation. He licked his chops and gave a low, gurgling wheeze.

“We mean to help you,” Mac
reiterated. “Just hold real still. Don’t move. We’re gonna get you out of
there.”

Mac hoped the woman heard him. She
could be dazed, knocked senseless from her fall. Or she also could be scared to
death.

The fifty foot length of rope Mac
kept in the bottom of his pack should be long enough to reach her. Depending on
her injuries, they’d have her safely back at the cabin within an hour, and then
Mom could help tend her wounds. Trained as an EMT, Mac could stabilize her
until they could make the four-hour journey to the nearest medical doctor in
Las Vegas. The sleepy town of Clarkston didn’t have such amenities. Without
electricity or a telephone connection at the cabin, they couldn’t even call for
help or notify the sheriff.

They were on their own.

“What’s your name?” he called,
trying to distract her from panicking as he handed Dad the rope.

He couldn’t believe she’d survived
the fall. The chances must be one in five zillion that she’d land on that
outcropping of rock.

A low moan captured his attention.
He peered across the cliffs, trying to make out her features. Something about
her seemed vaguely familiar. The tilt of her head and silhouette of her delicate
profile. “It won’t be much longer. Hang on.”

He caught her slight nod. “Help me.
Get me out of here. Please!”

A tremor of terror and exhaustion
filled her voice. Like she’d been crying or screaming. Maybe both.

“We’ll get you on safe ground. Just
sit very still,” Mac said.

“Hold this, Mac.” Dad handed him a
carabiner clip and climbing harness.

“Mac, is that you?” The woman’s
gravelly voice reached him and he poked his head over the side of the cliff
again.

“Yeah! Who are you?”

“Oh, thank the Lord.” She stared up
at him, moonlight bathing her pale, tear-streaked face.

Toni!

Mac tensed, finally recognizing
her.

Dad’s eyes widened and he stared at
Mac with surprise. “Toni? Is that really you?”

“Yes.” Her voice quavered.

“What are you doing here?”

“Get…get me out of here, please,”
she said.

Toni Hamilton, his ex-fiancée. The
last time Mac had seen her had been at her brother’s funeral three weeks
earlier. He’d forced himself to go, out of respect for Eric. After what had
happened that night east of Kabul, Mac could hardly stand to live with himself
anymore.

After Eric’s funeral, Mac hadn’t
followed his doctor’s orders and gone to his parent’s home in Las Vegas to
recover. Instead, he’d retired to Thorne Mountain where he sought peace from
his troubled mind. He hadn’t found it, yet. If only he had another chance to
change what had happened that night Eric died. Ten seconds was all he needed to
make things right.

To bring Eric home safe.

“Did you come to the mountains all
alone? You could have been killed.” He clenched his hands, allowing his remorse
to turn to anger. He was certain he’d heard gunshots. But who had fired the
gun? Obviously Toni wasn’t up here on the mountain alone.

“I had to see you. We…we need to
talk.”

He tensed, hating the thought of
hearing accusations or seeing anguish in Toni’s eyes. In spite of breaking off
their engagement and going their separate ways a year earlier, he’d never
stopped loving her. At that time, he’d been so selfish, putting his career
goals ahead of her. He’d changed since then, but it was too late. If she knew
the truth, she wouldn’t want him now.

“You can talk later,” Dad
interjected. “Let’s get her up on safe ground, first.”

“Stay where you are and I’ll be
right back,” Mac called down to Toni.

“As if I could go anywhere.” Her
hoarse whisper held a hint of sarcasm.

He resisted the urge to smile, but
felt grateful she still had a sense of humor.

“Be careful,” she called. “A man
tried to kill me. He’s up there somewhere with a gun.”

Mac caught the shred of fear in her
voice. “He’s gone. We’re keeping watch in case he returns.”

As he turned to rummage around in
his backpack, Mac gritted his teeth. He didn’t understand how she’d gotten here
or why someone would try to kill her, but the answers would have to wait.

Chapter Three

Mac handed Dad the length of rope
and watched as Hank tied it around a tall pine tree close by. After he jerked
on his leather gloves, Mac propped their flashlights so they cast their beams
across the top of the cliff. Looping the rope around his hands, he fed it
through his fingers over the ledge. “Dad, my leg won’t hold my weight if I try
to go down to Toni. Can you do it? I can hold here.”

Dad nodded, his gray eyes gleaming.
From his grim expression, Mac realized his father still felt protective of him.
Neither of his parents wanted him hurt again. He’d gone to Eric’s funeral
against their wishes, sitting alone in a wheelchair as he watched Toni and her
family sob their anguish. When they saw Mac, they had all welcomed and embraced
him. Even Toni. If they knew the truth, they would have shunned him with horror
and outrage.

His honor had kept him there. He’d
made a promise to Eric that he’d care for his family if anything ever happened
to him, and Mac intended to keep it. He just wasn’t sure how.

Now, Hank MacKenzie tugged on his
leather gloves before taking hold of the rope and stepping over the edge of the
cliff. He braced his booted feet against the rock wall, still lean and strong
for a man of fifty-five years. A real live mountain man who’d been decorated
for valor.

After college, it seemed only
natural for Mac to join the military. He’d met Eric Hamilton in elementary
school and they’d become fast friends. Over the past six years, they’d come to
rely on one another, watching each other’s backs, trusting their lives to each
other.

Brothers in arms.

Down Hank went, slow and careful,
until he reached the short outcropping of rock where Toni sat hunched in a
tight ball. Mac tensed his shoulders. If she moved mere inches to the right or
left, she’d tumble to her death.

Luck or God had been with her
today.

Sudden bitterness swept Mac when he
thought of God. He’d settle for luck. The last time he’d prayed, the thunder of
mortar and gunfire had filled his ears along with the screams of dying men.
Most of them good friends.

Since then, Mac had given up on
prayer. His Heavenly Father hadn’t answered when he’d needed Him most and Mac
wouldn’t give God a second chance. What good would it do?

It wouldn’t bring Eric back.

As Dad helped Toni click on the
harness, he talked to her in soothing tones. Gratitude suffused Mac’s mind. Dad
was a tough man, but gentle in his own gruff way. Mom seemed the complete
opposite. Just as sweet, generous, and forgiving as a woman could be. Sometimes
she found it difficult to leave their home in Vegas and stay out here in the
mountains every summer with Dad, living without electricity and modern
conveniences. She did it because Dad loved it and she loved Dad.

From above, Mac heard Toni’s ragged
breath of relief. Moonlight played across her face as she rested her head
against the rock wall. It reminded him of the day one year earlier when he’d
ended their engagement. He’d wanted a career in the military and she wanted a
family. Bouncing around the world, raising their children on military bases,
didn’t appeal to her. Neither one of them would compromise.

Their romance ended.

Eric had continued to try and get
them back together, but both Mac and Toni resisted. After what had happened in
Afghanistan, the doctor told Mac he’d probably walk with a limp the rest of his
life. His career in the military had taken a drastic turn. Maybe his breakup
with Toni was for the best. She’d never accept him if he told her what really
happened in Afghanistan.

Dad waved a hand and shouted.
“Okay, Mac! Pull her up.”

Mac braced himself against the
boulder. As he applied pressure to his injured leg, it trembled, pounding like
a bass drum.

Hand-over-hand, he reeled in the
line. For the first time in his life, he appreciated the hours he’d spent
increasing his upper body strength. On the battlefield, he’d tossed injured men
over his shoulder and run for their lives in a rush of adrenaline. This time
the stakes were just as high.

He’d failed to save Eric, but he
wouldn’t fail Toni.

Finally, she crested the ledge and
clawed at the dirt as she pulled herself up. He reached to help as her head
rolled against the soft-packed dirt, her body going limp.

“Toni!” A blaze of terror coursed
through him as he knelt beside her and cupped her face in his hands.

He brushed his fingers across a
trickle of blood at her temple. Even in the dark, he saw her ragged and
bloodied fingernails. Tears trembled on her lashes like morning dew. She
groaned and cradled her side with one arm.

His heart squeezed as he checked
her for concussion. “Where do you live? What’s your address?”

She blinked. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure you’re alert.”

“I’m alert. I live in Las Vegas,
Nevada.”

He stared into her eyes, looking to
see if they focused on him, checking her reflexes, searching for broken bones.
If anything happened to her….

“Stop that! I’m fine.”

“Can you say your middle name for
me?”

She snorted. “You know my name
better than anyone. I don’t have a concussion, Mac. I’m tired, hungry, and I
want to go home. Please get me out of here.”

He would have chuckled at her
demands, but her voice sounded thin and raw. She was done in, frightened and
hurting. “Okay, I’ll take you home right now.”

“Thank you.” Her frayed voice held
such trust that he didn’t know what to think.

When he touched her side, she
sucked in a breath.

“Hurts, huh?” he asked.

She nodded, biting her bottom lip.
“I slammed against the rocks when I fell, but I held on and I think it saved my
life.”

“Good girl. You may have a cracked
rib. We’ve got some binding back at the cabin and I can wrap it for you. You’re
gonna be okay, but you probably ought to have an X-ray.”

“Right now, I’d settle for three
aspirin and a good night’s sleep.”

“How did you find us without
getting lost in the forest?” he asked.

She locked her jaw. “I know the
way. I was fine until I pulled over to let another driver pass me on the dirt
road. He cut me off and stopped, then got out of his truck and shot at me. I
ran and the Lord took care of the rest.”

Her faith amazed him. First her parents
died last year in a terrible car accident, leaving her to raise her teenage
sister. Now her brother had died in Afghanistan. At the age of twenty-four, she
had more reason than most people to resent God, yet she clung to her faith like
a lifeline. A part of Mac wished he could feel the same. Instead, he felt lost
and empty inside.

“Did you know the guy that shot at
you?” he asked.

“No, and I have no idea why he
tried to kill me. Road rage at its best, I suppose. I took off running.”

Mac bit his tongue as she went on
to explain what the man looked like.

“Definitely not a local.” He
grunted, a lump of tension settling at the base of his throat. “If Dad and I
hadn’t heard your screams, you could have died out here and no one would have
found you for ages.”

She touched his arm and her
beautiful blue eyes regarded him with conviction. “But I didn’t. God sent you
to find me.”

Something softened inside him.
Seeing her, talking with her, renewed his spirits. For three short seconds, it
made him believe in the possibility of redemption. Then, he came back to
reality.

He helped her remove the climbing
harness, then clasped her hand and helped her stand. The warmth of her soft
skin tingled up his arm. He felt nostalgic with her here. She was his last
connection to Eric and a normal life. He longed to open up his heart and share
his own anguish, something he hadn’t done even with his parents. At one time,
he’d confided everything to this woman.

The truth held him back.

Grunt nudged Toni’s arm. She gave a
startled yelp and pressed closer to Mac. “That’s the dog that attacked the man
shooting at me. The guy took off into the forest.” Her gaze darted about,
searching the trees for signs of someone hiding within the shadows. “Do you…do
you think the man’s still out there?”

Mac squeezed her arm. “Don’t worry.
You’re safe with us. This is my new dog, Grunt. If the man returns, he’ll give
us an alarm.” Mac patted the mastiff’s head.