Wrong Number (30 page)

Who is Hank?
Aubree wondered, but her thoughts were cut short by the sound of a boot scraping against rock. As he was talking, he had shimmied his way into the cavern.

“I’m just lucky I’m willing to bet your life on it, instead of mine.” His voice moved closer to her hiding spot.

A deafening shot ricocheted against the cavern, and Aubree covered a scream. Hot tears slid down her icy cheeks as she realized there would be no more running.

T
WENTY-SEVEN

T
HE ADRENALINE COURSED THROUGH
her body now, and she didn’t know what to do. He had missed his shot, but she didn’t know if he could 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. Then 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 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.

“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.

“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 officer glared at her. “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 said.

“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.