Page 19 of Manhunt in the Narrows
“We leave in ten minutes. I suggest you eat something and get some fluids in you.” The killer retraced his steps back to that rock she’d found him on upon waking and tossed her backpackat her. The bag landed at her feet, supplies shifting out of order. He’d gone through it. Most likely took her multi-tool to keep her from attacking him. “We’re not stopping until you get me out of this hellhole.”
She closed her hand around the sharpened rock. From the looks of the cave, he’d gone out of his way to ensure there wouldn’t be anything she could use against him. But he hadn’t planned for her fall to break off a chunk. Rangers fought against damaging the park’s natural features, but she couldn’t miss this opportunity, either. Her gaze cut to the entrance. She just needed to buy herself more time. Think this through while keeping her makeshift weapon to herself. “It’s still raining. The trail is flooded. It’s too dangerous—”
“Then what good are you?” Collecting his own supplies, he slung his pack over his shoulders and stared her down. Daring her to disobey.
Sayles shifted the rock behind her, pinning it between her low back and the cave wall. “You won’t get far with a captive in tow. The FBI is going to catch up to you.”
“Maybe.” Another shrug. “Or maybe I leave your body for him to find. That would slow your agent down, don’t you think?”
Elias wasn’t hers. She was fairly certain he didn’t even like her, which fit her plans to avoid federal agents and men in general as long as she lived. But that lonely part of her—the one who’d always wanted and believed in happily-ever-afters—protested at her decision to isolate herself in the middle of a national park in the name of freedom. And it’d certainly enjoyed waking up plastered against his chest this morning.
“Seven minutes.” He set himself against the arched entrance, arms folded across that massive chest. Waiting. “You’re wasting time, Ranger Green. I will drag you out of this cave if I have to because I know you can still navigate while bleeding.”
“Fine.” Did she have any other choice in her current circumstances? He had a point. She wouldn’t get far on an empty stomach and dehydration. Hikers had died in this very park with more in their stomachs than she had right now. After rummaging through her supply pack, Sayles discovered he had indeed taken her multi-tool. She extracted a bag of dried protein oatmeal and downed it as fast as she could, following it up with a couple swigs of water. Carefully repacking her bag with one hand, she shifted the severed rock into her pack without notice. And left something else behind. Elias had no idea what kind of monster they were hunting. This was her chance to find out. Sayles pushed herself to her feet and slung her drenched pack into place. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Fourteen
She was gone.
Elias blinked up into that dark, raging sky. Cliffs angled into his vision. Hell. His body ached. He couldn’t feel his toes or fingers. Something was digging into his back. Rain pattered against his face as he raised his upper body off the ground. The river receded from the slot canyon a few feet away, its icy fingers trying to take him with it. Water sprayed into his face from above. That waterfall. The one they’d stopped under before the killer had tried to shoot them. At least he knew where he’d ended up.
He remembered jumping in after Sayles. And then… Nothing. He should’ve been swept downstream with her. Maybe if he’d spent the past few months in the gym instead of stalking convenience stores along the interstate for signs of their killer—and, let’s be honest, road snacks—he might’ve been. Thank heaven for the extra few pounds he’d gained on this case.
“Damn it.” Pain seared through his rib cage as he twisted. Blood. Debris. Elias sucked in a deep breath as he pulled at the stained edges of his shirt to get a better view. A twig, no more than six inches in length and about as round as his little finger, had embedded itself between two ribs. Thankfully not deep enough to deflate a lung. He set himself back down. Thought about what to do next.
Sayles was out here. Because of him. Because of his insistence of taking this trail to escape the shooter. It’d been a bad call that might cost the ranger her life.
He’d abandoned his pack in the slot canyon. The winding maze of rock and smooth lines kept him from spotting it from here, but he couldn’t risk going back onto the main trail without it. Lifting his head again, he pinched the middle of the twig. And pulled.
Agony ripped through his torso. His scream bounced off the surrounding rock and shot it straight into the clouds above. Staring at the wound, he counted off the seconds. Waiting. It didn’t seem to be—
Blood bubbled to fill the hole the twig had left behind, and he clamped a hand to apply pressure. Little humor coated the laugh rocking through him. “Well, now you’re going to bleed to death. Great work, Broyles.”
Damn it. He needed Sayles. Her know-how, her first aid kit. Elias hauled himself to his feet, stumbling as a rush of dizziness attacked. Pea-size rocks shifted beneath his feet. He spotted thousands of them between him and his pack now that the slot canyon had drained, each one working to slow him down. One hand pressed into his side, he followed the winding path to the area where he’d dropped his pack.
Memories of Sayles’s scream, his name tearing from her throat, as she tried to reach for his hand threatened to convince him to turn around. Forget about the pack. Go after her. But he wouldn’t make it far without addressing his wound. He needed that pack. Setting his foot against a blocklike section of stone, Elias tried to climb one-handed. Wouldn’t work. The angles and the slick surface of rock worked against him, but taking pressure off his wound guaranteed he’d bleed out that much faster.
There was no other way.
The section of the trail where he’d left his pack was at least eight feet above. He’d have to two-hand it and pray the damn thing hadn’t been washed away. He could do this. He had to do this. For Sayles. He wasn’t going to lose another life on his watch. He’d promised to keep her alive. To make up for the past by protecting her throughout this manhunt. Nothing would stop him from finding her. Focused on how he’d get up the incline, he took short breaths, hyping himself up. “Come on.”
He released the pressure on his wound. Blood instantly swarmed to the surface and spread through the soaked material of his shirt. Ignoring the bleeding, he shoved off the foothold and stretched one hand overhead, locking onto a handhold above. His other hand braced against the wall to his left. Now he just had to climb. The pain swelled. His heart rate skyrocketed. Warm liquid pooled along the waistband of his pants with every inch he climbed.
Seconds stretched into minutes. Minutes into an hour. His fingers ached as he tightened his hold against slick rock determined to buck him free. Finally, Elias threw himself over the lip of the incline, sprawling out across the cold stone with nothing left to give. And faced a miniature cliff off the other side. The world threatened to tear out from under him as he caught himself from going over the twenty-foot-plus drop.
His pack dug into his shoulder. Luck. Pure luck he hadn’t kicked it over. Dragging himself back from the edge, he focused on stopping the leak from his side. Elias extracted his first aid kit and popped the lid. His vision wavered as he pressed his hand deeper into the wound. What had Sayles said about these waters being infested? Something about water toxins. He had to clean the wound first. Make sure it didn’t get infected. That was what she’d done on his thigh. All right. He’d have to use his drinking water.
“Clean the wound.” He could do that. Lifting his shirt, he pressed the hem beneath his chin to pinch it against his chest. Brown bits of dirt and crusted blood clung to the edges. He unscrewed the top to his water bottle and irrigated the hole as best as he could. The angle didn’t give him complete visibility to ensure everything had been cleaned out, but it would have to work for now. Time was running out. No burn this time. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He used the gauze pads in the kit to dry around the twig hole, sprayed the blood-clotting spray and replaced the old gauze with a new layer before taping it down. “Okay. You might not die today.”
He couldn’t say the same for his partner.
Repacking everything as quickly as he could, Elias dragged his pack after him since Sayles had cut the straps in order to save his life. He descended the drop. The pain in his rib cage downgraded from a throb to an annoyance, but there was no telling if he’d done any of it right to avoid infection. He retraced his steps toward the main trail.
The river hadn’t finished throwing its temper tantrum. Water levels were still much too high to navigate it safely, but the time for hesitation had passed. He had to find Sayles. Had to avoid getting shot, too. He patted the holster at his back. Hell. His gun. Scanning the area in tight circles, he couldn’t see where the weapon had gone. Which created a whole lot of problems in and of itself. He couldn’t risk hunting the Hitchhiker Killer without some form of protection or having some kid find a gun along a very public and popular trail when the park reopened. “Now’s not the time.”
Elias dove straight back into the river’s grip, taking it downstream. Sayles had known. She’d told him the risks of getting caught in the slot canyon during a flash flood, and he hadn’t listened. Now she was the one paying the price. That pressure kept him moving. Kept him angry. “Sayles!”
No sign of her natural-colored uniform or pack. No body caught on one of the many logs stretching across the trail or rocks. The current forced him to pick up his pace when his body wanted nothing more than to rest after being thrown around as much as he had been on this trail. One thing was for sure. Once he caught the killer, he’d never hike this trail again.
