Her stomach coiled at the memory of the van hitting the water, the feel of her wrists straining against the cuffs as the river crept in.But I survived it, she told herself.
Because Gideon dropped everything and risked his neck to save you.
The terror of that moment pressed in again, along with the exquisite relief she’d felt when she saw Gideon swimming through that flooded police van to get to her.
She blinked and refocused the lenses.
Nothing untoward caught her attention. Did it mean they had been wrong about Kevin’s intentions? Might there really be selfless people in Oakleaf, innocent bystanders oblivious of Bullseye’s criminal machine?
She’d nearly lowered the binoculars when something snagged her attention. A shine, as Gideon would say, a shape that didn’t blend in with the bushes, someone screening the exit to the bridge.
Eyes burning, she peered through the lenses. Branches, wet leaves, trickles of silver rain ... there.
The silhouette of a shoulder, an arm, the orange glowing tip of a cigarette, a man with long red hair contained in a braid down his back. A chill settled deeper into her bones. How close they’d come to allowing themselves to be delivered right into the hands of whoever was watching the Jeep. She continued to scan, searching for other concealed men, but found no one.
Quickly, she drew back along the trail until she was out of sight and ran as fast as she could manage back to the ATV.
Kevin was sitting on the ground, his back to the vehicle, while Gideon stood a few feet away.
“There’s a guy down there, tucked out of sight, watching the Jeep,” she said. “Not Al or Jerry. I think he’s alone.”
Gideon stared hard at Kevin. “Waiting for you to roll on down there with two little prize pigeons. Nice trap. Almost worked.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do it.” Tears shone in his eyes.
“Then why did you? Looking to collect a bounty?” Gideon said.
Kevin shook his head. “No. Nothing like that. I helped a couple of strangers out of the river, is all. But after the stables, I went back to my trailer and I got a visit. Al and Jerry. Their message was that I should find you and make sure you reached the bridge where someone would be waiting. I was hoping the other people would get to you first, but I had to make it look like I was cooperating.”
“Why? What did they threaten you with?”
His cheeks went ruby red. “My wife and kids. I know what will happen to them if I don’t cooperate.”
Kevin had proven himself to be a liar, but she could tell this part was the truth. Of course Bullseye would threaten Kevin’s family like Lorraine was sure he’d do to her mother.
“You know they’re going to murder us. And you’d go back to your happy home life without telling your wife and kids that you delivered us to our executioners?” Gideon’s expression was like granite as Kevin sagged.
“I didn’t have a choice,” he said to the ground.
“There’s always a choice,” Gideon snapped. “Take hisphone from the ATV, Zee, and our packs. Grab me the duct tape.”
She did so.
“What are you going to do with me?” Kevin’s voice trembled with fear.
“I’m going to save your life,” Gideon said, and before Kevin could answer, he punched him in the jaw. While she stood in shock, he hauled the groaning Kevin to his feet, sat him sideways in the rear seat, and taped his wrists and feet.
“Obviously, you aren’t any good at self-defense,” Gideon said. “We figured out your plan, attacked you, stole your phone, and tied you up. You couldn’t text or call to warn the guy down below, not that there’s any signal worth a darn around here anyway. We got away. You’re going to explain all this when they find you, and then you’re going to leave town. There shouldn’t be any reason for Bullseye to come after your family. You cooperated, for all he knows.”
Kevin almost sobbed. “But he might track us down anyway.”
“Best I can do for you, Kevin.”
“Do you know his real name?” Mackenzie said.
Kevin shook his head. Lie or not, she could see he wasn’t going to say anything further on the matter. “Don’t leave me here.”
Mackenzie felt a mixture of disgust and compassion for the man who was trying to keep his family safe.
