He continued to fall back into the thick trees and shrubs, glad for the nearby river that fed much of this vegetation with the groundwater. There were other spots in the forest that he wouldn’t have this much cover. Worried that his striped jail clothing might give him away, he was also glad he didn’t have on the stereotypical bright orange scrubs. That would be like waving a flag out in the woods. There was a reason hunters wore bright orange vests.
The couple passed him, close enough for Josh to see their faces. They weren’t dressed for the mountains, especially as the temperatures dropped when the sun set. The man had on a T-shirt and Josh spotted the tattoo. It was a Dark Angels skull with wings and blood drops. This did tie into Sydney’s case. They were looking for him.
They were also carrying a sawed-off shotgun.
Josh needed to get away from them. He wasn’t armed, but he had an advantage. He knew these mountains a lot better than they did. After moving from Chicago, it took him a while, but now he felt more at home here than anywhere else. Plus, hiking and exploring the wilderness with Maya had only added to his knowledge. He had to get somewhere he could call for help and warn the first responders they might be in danger.
He also had a pretty good idea now who was doing the dirty work. But if that was the case, was the senator involved? Tony? Ian? Or had Sydney started working with a gang with her drug business? But one of their own was already in prison, so there had to be more to this than just Sydney dealing drugs. There were too many questions to answer, but Josh did know one thing—they wouldn’t stop until they found him and Elena Pierce. They were both liabilities because they knew too much.
And another thought hit him—what if they retaliated against Maya? Sure, she had Juniper, but there would be a point where it didn’t matter. If the gang members had guns, Maya and Juniper could quickly become their next victims. He’d given her the evidence and pulled her into this. Damn it. If something happened to Maya, he’d never forgive himself.
Maybe he could get to the road and warn whoever responded first.
As Josh started to navigate his way toward the river and another route to the road where he would come out farther up from the crash site, he heard a gunshot. His heart dropped. He’d been hoping this wouldn’t be the case, but the Dark Angels weren’t leaving any survivors or witnesses. Josh went to plan B.
Normally he’d turn himself in and get help, but right now, he might be better on the run. Just like he’d never thought he’d ride in a jail transport, he also never thought he’d be a fugitive.
* * *
Elena stifled a scream. She couldn’t give away her position or even let these people know she was there. Not after what she’d witnessed.
Closing her eyes, she tried to erase the vision of the man taking the gun, a shotgun, she thought, and shooting the guard that had moved. The other two men weren’t moving, but they’d shot them as well.
She had to get out of here. Trying to figure out her next move now that she knew she wasn’t safe here either, Elena spotted some movement back along the stream she’d thought would take her to safety. How wrong she’d been.
Who was that? Another person out hunting for prison guards?
Taking cover behind a large bush, she watched and waited. The person came out of the heavy vegetation and sprinted away from everything. A prisoner. She was sure of it. No one in their right mind would wear scrubs with stripes like that.
Great. She had finally found help and it was a crashed prison transport van. The man turned and glanced over his shoulder. Was that…? Could it be? Josh Colten?
Elena hadn’t seen many pictures of him, but she had found a few when Amber said he might have evidence. Had he been arrested for killing Amber?
She started to follow him, despite her instincts telling her that this could be a mistake. He’d killed Amber, so wouldn’t he have been working with the people who shot the guards? Instead, he seemed like he was leaving too.
Going against her better judgment, Elena decided to follow him. If nothing else, he knew this forest and he would know how to get help. Or to disappear. But if he wanted to disappear, he’d need to change out of those jail scrubs. They screamed prisoner and the white stripes made it easy to trail him.
Maybe he could answer some questions. Maybe he knew what was going on and why this case was so explosive, other than powerful people being involved. Following him seemed crazy, but also like her best option. The road would lead to people with long guns shooting prison guards.
But Elena knew she couldn’t trust Josh. She stopped and grabbed the knife she’d taken from the cabin. The blade was clean after she’d rinsed it in the stream. It was as if it had never hurt anyone. There was a reason she was in the courtroom and not a cop—she hated blood. It only reminded her of the night her mother died.
Clutching the knife, Elena continued to follow Josh.
He had longer legs than her and covered more ground. Adrenaline helped fuel her and the desire for answers.
But she hoped she wouldn’t have to pursue him all night. She didn’t know how much more she had in her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
For a while, Maya and Pops sat together drinking some coffee in silence. Juniper lay by Maya’s feet. The wind howled outside, although it was starting to calm down as night arrived. The wind was probably bringing in the storm system that would dump another round of snow.
If that storm moved in and Elena Pierce hadn’t been found, then she would be as good as dead. Unless she’d found a random place to get out of the weather. Maya wanted to find her for many reasons, but that was another one.
“I’m sorry,” Pops said breaking the silence. “I know how hard this is for you. My trial and now Josh.”
“I’ve been through worse battles,” Maya said, trying to sound strong, but inwardly knowing that what she said wasn’t totally true. Yes, there had been horrible moments in Afghanistan. She’d lost friends and people she cared for tremendously. But none of them had been like Josh. And this was different. This time, Maya knew she might be the only person who believed in Josh’s innocence. Even Lucas seemed to believe that Josh was guilty, which Maya suspected was why he wouldn’t look her in the eye. The CBI was now cooperating with the Chicago PD to see if Josh was possibly Sydney’s killer. Things just kept getting worse. “He’s innocent, though, Pops.”
“I know. I believe that too.”
