As if by sheer will, one corner of his mouth kicked up. “Well, now Iknowyou’re strange.”
The tension around them popped like a bubble and the moment to dig deeper into what was bothering him evaporated. She was half resentful, half relieved. Lifting her hands to her ears, she waggled her fingers and stuck out her tongue.
He chuckled. “Exactly.”
Taking a deep breath, she prepared to bring down the mood again. “So, I know we couldn’t report Megan’s kidnapping at the sheriff’s office, but is there a reason we can’t call it in now that we have phones?”
Todd crossed his arms and scanned the picnic area, as he’d been doing pretty much nonstop. “We can try. We’ll have to turn off the phone because once someone on JJ’s crew realizes it was us, they’ll try to track it. Dispatch will also be able to see our location, which means they’ll know where we are, and can probably get our description from someone here pretty easily. It’ll blow my disguise.”
Damn. Lindsey sat down hard on the bench. Why was everything about this so difficult?
“It would be worth the risk,” Todd said, “if we could guarantee an honest sheriff’s response. But if one of JJ’s guys takes the call from dispatch, he can report back that there was no sign of her. And if she’s still alive, it might push them to…take drastic measures.”
“So, basically, it would tip our hand and possibly endanger her more.”
Todd curled his fingers around her hand and squeezed gently. “That’s my take, but I’m willing to give it a try.”
His response warmed her heart, and she shook her head. “No. I think you’re right. The risk is too great.” Talking the situation out with someone who had a different perspective had helped. Why was it so hard to find a man willing to do that without mocking or ignoring her? Was her judgment that poor, or was Todd really that rare?
Or maybe he’d simply turn into a Cruz if they were together long enough. Except that made no sense. He had no motive to pretend her opinion mattered. And thinking back, her former boyfriend had displayed his tendencies early on. She’d just viewed them differently at the time.
In the early stages of her relationship with Cruz, his scorn had come across as teasing, part of their playful banter. Only later did he unleash his cruelty to tear down her self-esteem and gaslight her nonstop.
She gave a mental head shake and stood, gathering her food waste. Enough of that crap. “Ready to get moving?”
Todd nodded, finished off his sandwich in three bites, and tossed his wrapper and cup in the trash. “Let’s do it.”
Keeping an eye out for law enforcement, they crossed the highway and turned south toward the nearest entrance to the trail network they’d identified while waiting for his hair to turn brown. It actually put them closer to the compound, so their hike up should be faster than the hike down. Especially since she was feeling a thousand times better than the day before.
After following the road for about a mile, the side street leading to the trail appeared. Two sheriff’s cars had angled into the parking lot, partially blocking the entrance.
“Act normal.”
Sure, no problem. The minute she focused on her body, her limbs turned jerky and awkward. “We have to get on the trail.”
“We will.” Todd’s unshakeable certainty soothed her nerves a little. “Keep walking as if this wasn’t our destination.”
Her heart pounded. They might be able to pass other hikers without serious scrutiny, but they’d never get through a police checkpoint.
They marched along the narrow path that paralleled the highway until they rounded a bend.
Todd stopped and jerked his head toward the mountain to their left. “How about we head up here?”
She glanced up the steep, forested incline. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a goat.”
A brief smile crossed his face as he grabbed her hand. “Come on.”
Like she’d say no.
Keeping a line of trees between them and the deputies, Todd forged a trail up the hillside, using tree roots and jagged rocks as toeholds. The route was steep and inconvenient but not as impassable as it had first appeared. A better thigh burn than a stair stepper, but her legs were strong from playing in the sand for twenty years. Score one for volleyball.
“You doing okay?” Todd asked, pausing on a natural shelf to make sure they both drank enough water.
Her ribs and feet ached, and her legs were turning rubbery, but she knew how to push past the pain. Megan was counting on her. “Fine. You?”
“I’d rather be soaking in a hot tub right now, but it beats jail. Or death by cop.”
“When you put it that way…”
