The Target (12 page)

“You cannot sleep in here,” Sara insisted.

“Why not? You’re wide awake because you’re afraid, and I’m wide awake because I’m way the hell back there and I’m worried about what might happen to you,” Jaime reasoned.

“I am not afraid.”

“Then why are you still awake?”

Sara moved her sleeping bag to give Jaime room. “Maybe your damn ghost story is running through my mind.”

Jaime grinned. “I made that story up, so try again,” Jaime said as she spread out her sleeping bag next to Sara’s. She settled down, tucking her gun under her side.

“You have a gun?”

“Of course I have a gun.”

“I don’t feel comfortable sleeping with a gun.”

“You’re not sleeping with a gun. I am.”

Sara lay down and jerked the sleeping bag over her. Obnoxious woman. God, she was actually sharing her tent with her. She shifted, moving as far away as possible.

“I don’t bite,” Jaime whispered. “Get some sleep. We need to head out early.”

Sara took a deep breath. “Are you planning on telling them?”

“I don’t know. Like you said, let’s play it by ear.”

Sara closed her eyes, hating the fact that she felt comforted by Jaime’s presence. But she did. She had no doubt that if the other woman was not there, she would get precious little sleep. She also hated the fact that she was cold. She turned her head, noting the few feet that separated them. Jaime appeared to already be asleep and Sara chanced inching closer.

“Cold?” Jaime murmured.

“A little.”
Damn!

Jaime rolled over and unzipped her bag then tried to do the same to Sara’s.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“You’re cold. I’m cold,” Jaime said as she lay back down, now so close they were touching. “Roll over.”

“What?”

Jaime sighed. “Just roll over.
Geez
.”

Sara did, facing away from Jaime. Then she jerked as she felt Jaime move behind her, pressing her warm body to her own. One arm snaked around her and pulled her close and she trembled. She could feel Jaime’s breasts against her back and she closed her eyes.

She should protest, she knew she should. Sleeping this way was far too intimate but she didn’t have the willpower to pull out of the embrace. It felt too good. Sara sighed, relaxing as she felt Jaime’s warm breath on her neck. She felt safe.

By dawn, they were completely entangled and she was horrified to find that she’d brought Jaime’s hand to her breast. Her own hand still covered Jaime’s.
Oh my God. Are you insane?

A new warmth settled over her as she frantically thought of ways to remove the offending hand without waking Jaime. She would die of embarrassment if Jaime woke up. And no doubt the other woman would try to turn it into something it wasn’t. For her part, it was a totally innocent gesture made without conscious thought while she slept. Suddenly the warm hand covering her breast squeezed and she stifled a moan as she felt her heart jump in her chest, but Jaime’s even breathing told Sara that she was still fast asleep.

Finally, she took a deep breath, intending to just roll over and pretend nothing was wrong when she felt Jaime stir. The hand tightened once again then stilled. She could hear Jaime’s sharp intake of breath and she was certain that Jaime could feel the pounding of her heart against her hand. She jerked her hand away and Jaime sat up.

“I’m
so
sorry. Really I am. I … I had no … no idea,” she stammered.

Sara rolled over, her eyes meeting Jaime’s in the dim light of the tent. In that split second, Sara made a choice. She could pretend outrage and bar Jaime from her tent for the duration or she could accept responsibility because she knew by the way she’d been gripping Jaime’s hand that she’d pulled it to her. Or … “What the hell are you talking about?” she murmured.

Jaime blinked several times then swallowed nervously. “I … well … I think I may have …”

“Are you always this incoherent in the morning?”

Jaime rubbed her face with both hands, shaking her head. “No. Not normally.” She stared at Sara, looking for some sign of anger but saw none. Apparently, she’d pulled her hand away before Sara woke. She could only imagine the scene had she been caught.

Jesus! What were you thinking?

“What time is it, anyway?”

Jaime looked at her watch. “Five thirty. I wanted to be on the trail before daylight but I don’t guess we’re going to make it.” She cleared her throat. “How did you sleep?”

“Good. Warm.” Sara felt herself blushing. “I guess I should thank you.”

“Yeah, you should. Beats freezing to death.” Jaime grabbed the edge of Sara’s sleeping bag and pulled it off her. “Rise and shine.”

She escaped out the tent before Sara could throw a boot at her.

Her smile faded as she stared toward the mountain. As darkness still hovered over the canyon, she could make out a campfire through the trees. She stuck her head back inside. “Get dressed. Hurry. He’s already up.”

“What?”

“I can see a fire. Hurry. I’ll get the others up.”

He sat close to the fire, warming his hands. Yes, he’d had enough of the cold. They weren’t paying him enough for this shit.

He would do it today. If he couldn’t get a clean shot at Michaels, he’d pick them off one by one if necessary. And he’d start with the old cow that normally lagged behind.

He laughed quietly. Yeah. He could do them one by one.

That’d be fun.

The sun was breaking over the mountain when they climbed the next ridge. Sara intended to keep on but Jaime stopped.

“Hey, how about a rest?”

“Man, she’s like a drill instructor today,” Celia said. “You know, I haven’t even peed yet.”

“And I haven’t had breakfast,” Sandra complained. She punched Jaime on the arm. “You scared the shit out of me when you woke us up.”

“Sorry.”

“I thought we had a bear in camp or something.”

Jaime smiled then looked over at Sara. Their eyes met and for the first time, she saw fear in Sara’s. Pulling out her binoculars, she waved at them. “You go on ahead,” she said. “I’m going to see if I can find … some birds.” She looked at Sara, who nodded.

“Come on, ladies. Let’s give our birdwatcher a little privacy.”

“Are we going to have breakfast?” Sandra asked.

“No. But we’ll stop early for lunch. Promise.” Sara looked back once, silently telling Jaime to be careful.

Jaime nodded and as soon as the group moved away, she left the trail and moved behind boulders, trying to find a secluded spot.

Her only consolation was that they had started out nearly two hours earlier than normal. She hoped the man following them assumed they would stick to their routine. With any luck, he would still be on the other mountain, waiting.

She stayed nearly thirty minutes, scanning the entire mountainside for movement and saw none. No reflections, no sound.

Nothing. It was simply a gorgeous morning with autumn crispness still in the air. It was a beautiful time to be in the mountains, the colors just exploding around her. A perfect time if you liked solitude.

Very few backpackers chanced the mountains this late in the year. She sighed. And that was why they were sitting ducks. They’d been on the trail nine days now and had yet to see another person other than their stalker.

After another hour, Sara finally stopped. She didn’t want to get too far ahead of Jaime. She let her backpack fall to the ground and rubbed her shoulders while she looked down the trail. It was so beautiful out here—she had a hard time accepting that someone might be following them. But after this morning, she trusted Jaime. The constant teasing and flirting did nothing to change that. Jaime was a cop and if she said they were in danger, Sara would believe her. She shook her head. Still, it made no sense. She was estranged from her father. Her death would mean nothing to him. Her mother, yes. But him? He would probably thank the killer. One less lesbian daughter to account for during the debates.

“Ms. Michaels? Sara? Are you okay?” Abby asked.

Sara jerked her head, just now noticing the other woman. “I’m fine, Abby. And please, no more Ms. Michaels. Just Sara.”

“Okay. But you’ve been acting strange this morning. So has Jaime, for that matter,” she said, then lowered her voice. “Did she . . . did she make a pass at you last night or something?”

Sara smiled then laughed. “No, Abby. I can handle myself.”

“Well, she’s made it no secret, you know, that she likes you.”

“Likes me?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Jaime just likes to flirt. She means no harm.”

“Okay, then.” Abby shrugged. “I like her. I mean, if I were gay, God, she’d turn me to jelly.”

Sara smiled. Abby, like all the others, had already been reduced to putty by Jaime’s charm, gay or not. She slid her eyes back down the trail, looking for the familiar sight of the other woman. The trail was empty. She took a deep breath.

“Everyone ready?”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Jaime?” Sandra asked.

“Let’s go a little farther, then we’ll stop for lunch. Jaime will catch up with us.”

Amid groans, they all picked up their backpacks again and headed out, single file. The trail was going down the mountain and Sara felt no need to hurry. Until Jaime caught up with them, there was nothing she could do but go forward. Hopefully, they’d left early enough to lose their uninvited guest. But since they were simply following the trail, it wouldn’t be hard for him to track them. She wondered if Jaime thought they could outrun him.

Jaime paused at the top of a ridge, turning to scan the area behind her. She’d still seen no sign of anyone. She looked at her watch. It had been an hour and a half since she’d left the group and she was beginning to worry. If he wasn’t behind them, surely to God he hadn’t made his way across the mountain to intercept them. No. Impossible. She’d seen his campfire.

And she knew they couldn’t go on much longer like this. She would catch up with them, make sure they were okay then take off on her own. She had to confront this guy and find out what he wanted. And if he was the killer, she’d … what? Arrest him?

“Sure, Jaime, read him his rights,” she murmured.
Shit.
A dead-

end assignment that was supposed to be a vacation. A hoax. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on Special Agent Ramsey.

After looking behind her one last time, she hurried down the trail, almost running. She didn’t pause to notice the colors of the aspens or the chipmunks she roused. She kept her eyes on the trail except for an occasional glance behind her.

She was completely out of breath when she saw them, some fifty yards or more ahead of her. They were stopped, sitting down and she assumed they’d talked Sara into lunch. She stopped, resting on a rock as she caught her breath. Loosening the straps on her pack, she stretched her shoulders, thinking a soak in the hot springs would be just the ticket. Unfortunately, until they stopped this guy, they couldn’t afford the luxury.

Finally, when her breathing was back to normal, she tightened her straps and shoved off the rock, walking nonchalantly toward the group. Sandra saw her first and waved.

“I was starting to worry,” the older woman called.

“Oh? Was the Sarge double-timing it, trying to lose me?” Jaime found Sara’s eyes, noting the relief she saw there.

“She was doing something. I was practically running to keep up.”

Jaime grinned. “Trying to get rid of me, huh?”

“Obviously, we weren’t quick enough,” Sara said and returned her smile.

Jaime let her pack slide off her shoulders as she made her way over to her. She sat down in front of Sara and pointed to her shoulders.

“Could use a little shoulder rub there.”

“In your dreams,” Sara murmured.

“Yes, you’ve definitely been there,” Jaime teased. She rolled her shoulders several times, trying to loosen them up. Jogging with a full pack was not much fun. She felt like she’d hiked a full day already. She nearly jumped when warm hands touched her shoulders and began to squeeze.

“Not one word or I’ll stop,” Sara whispered.

Jaime nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. It was heavenly and the first moan escaped before she could stop it. “Sorry.”

“Uh-huh.” But Sara kept up her ministrations, squeezing the strong shoulders under her hands. She looked up once and saw the satisfied smile that Celia sported and she very nearly stopped. But it was another groan from Jaime stilled her hands. “That’s enough. You’ll get spoiled.”

“Wow. You sure know how to use your hands. Are you that good at everything?”

“Can you behave for one second?” Sara asked quietly. “Did you see anything?”

Jaime shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Then maybe we lost him?”

Jaime turned around. “How? We’re still on the trail. All he has to do is follow it.”

“Then what do you want to do?”

“We need to get off the trail, Sara. But I don’t think this group can handle it.”

“If there’s no alternative then they have to handle it.”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about something,” Jaime said. She turned around and faced Sara, putting her back to the others. “We can’t just keep running from him. I need to find him. I need to … disable him.”

“
What?
Are you crazy?”

“No, I’m not crazy. Crazy would be to keep going like we’ve been. Eventually, something’s got to give. We can’t just sit around and wait for it to happen.”

“You cannot go out there alone. It’s too dangerous,” Sara insisted.

Jaime grinned. “You’re worried about me.” She reached out and tugged playfully on Sara’s jeans. “Thanks. I didn’t think you cared.”

“Of course I care. Who’s going to keep me warm if something happens to you?”

“Ah. So we’re talking body heat here. Well, I’m glad I’m good for something.”

“Seriously, I don’t think you should go out alone. Safety in numbers, right?”

“Sometimes. But not this time. I know this area. I can find him. You just stay on the trail until dark. I’ll catch up with you eventually.”

“I don’t like it. What if something happens to you?”