The Wolf Code

“It’s only a matter of time before they realize that I am not coming back for my bag,” she said.  “We should get going.  Eventually, they’re going to realize that we went this way and come after us.”

“They won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“You’ll see.”

“Do you ever just say what you mean without resorting to speaking in riddles?”

“All the time, but this is more fun.”

“You’re exasperating.”

“And you’re beautiful when you’re mad, and you just fell two stories to the ground.”

His lips brushed her cheek so fast that she didn’t have a chance to step back.  Her skin burned where he’d kissed her almost impulsively.  Her hand went to the spot, and she looked at him, shocked by the gesture.

“What was that for?”

“For being so brave.  You’re amazing.”

“I’m a Federal Agent.”

“And a damn good one.  Now, let’s get going.  We have a lot of ground to cover before they bring out the four-wheelers and get serious about finding us.”

“Four-wheelers?”

“They won’t get here in time unless we stand around talking all day.”

She narrowed her eyes, and he laughed, then started walking deeper into the woods without waiting to see if she was going to follow.  She watched him for a moment then fell into step behind him, jogging to keep up with his long stride every few yards.

“I can slow down,” he offered.

“I’ll manage.  At least there’s a breeze on this part of the trail.”

“There’s a reason for that,” he said.

The tone of his voice set her on edge.  He sounded amused, and so far, that hadn’t boded well for Senora.

She heard the raging waters before she saw anything.  When he stopped, she moved to the side to stand beside him only to have his arm shoot out and grab her. 

“What?” she said, then she caught sight of the ledge before them, and her eyes trailed down the steep cliff until she saw the river below.  “We’re trapped.  There’s no way we can get down that.”

“Yes, we can,” he said.  “Just go where I go and step where I step.”

She shook her head.

“There has to be a better way.”

“This is the only way.”  He pointed to a narrow wooden bridge that ran across the river to the other side.  “We must be on the other side of the river before they find us or we’re screwed.”

“What’s on the other side of the river?”

“Immunity.”

Chapter 7

“She’s not here, Sheriff,” the Deputy said, coming out of the bathroom after looking in the closets and every other possible hiding place in the room.  “Are we sure this is her room?”

“Quite sure,” he said.  “After she made the reservation I updated it and got my own key.”

The Deputy arched an eyebrow, but he didn’t question the Sheriff.  No one ever did.  At least, they hadn’t since the last fool had come at him, guns ablaze, claiming he had information that would end him.  He’d laughed in the man’s face as he lay at the end of a dirt road, hands up, begging and pleading for his life right before the Sheriff had pulled the trigger.  The bullet had gone through, and with a callousness that shocked even him, the Sheriff had turned the dying man on his side, dug the bullet out of the rock it had embedded itself in and picked up the casing. 

Then, he’d walked away without a backward glance, leaving the man to bleed out slowly after pushing his car into the Squaw Creek Reservoir.  There were plenty of wild animals to take care of the body, and the farm at the end of the dirt road had been vacant for almost twenty years. 

That was five years ago, and neither the car nor the dead man had been found in that time.  And the Sheriff had enjoyed years of running his town how he saw fit without any pushback. 

Until now.

This Federal Agent was putting a damper on his well-laid plans, and she was going to have to be dealt with.  He would have to be careful about it, since she was a Federal Agent.  But it wasn’t anything that the Sheriff couldn’t handle.

The Deputy got closer, pitching his voice low so that the other officers couldn’t hear him.

“Dale, do you think she knows?” he asked.

The Sheriff smirked.

“She stole Robin’s files on Addie, but there’s nothing in there that’s going to make sense to her.  She doesn’t know a damn thing, Keith.”

“I hope not.”

Keith stood up, nodding at an officer that walked past with the overnight bag that Senora had left near her bed.  When that officer and the other one had gone out the door, Keith leaned over to the Sheriff again, his voice low in case the officers returned unannounced.

“Do you think Ty is still with her?  How are you going to deal with her if she’s with him?”

The Sheriff’s face turned red, the urge to backhand Keith strong.

“I have it under control,” Dale said through clenched teeth as he adjusted his uniform collar.  “You should know better than to question my abilities.”

“I’m not questioning that,” Keith insisted quickly.  “But Ty does throw a wrench in the plans.”

“Ty won’t bother with her.  He only looks out for his own, and she’s a stranger.  She might be with him now, but she’ll break away soon enough, and I’ll take care of her then.”

“Won’t the FBI come looking for her?”

One of the other officers walked back into the room just then, and Dale forced himself to smile calmly and let go of Keith’s words.  It had been years since they had had to tie up a loose end, and Addie’s disappearance hadn’t gone as planned.  Because they’d been operating without incident for so long, Keith was nervous and his nerves were getting the better of him.  Dale was going to have to figure out a way to rein him in and quick.  They couldn’t handle any more mistakes, and Dale didn’t want to have to take out one of his own Deputies. 

 Dale and Keith milled about the room for a moment, making a show of digging through drawers and looking under pillows and behind the dresser while the officer was still in the room.  Unaware that anything was amiss, the officer continued to look around the room while Keith cast nervous glances in Dale’s direction now and then.  Dale ignored him and busied himself with the closet even though it had already been cleared. 

“Sheriff, over here,” the officer said with some urgency.

Dale perked up, going to the back window where the officer had pulled the curtain open.  The window was closed but for a finger’s width of space, and there was no screen.

“Could they have gone that way?” Keith whispered in awe under his breath.

Dale looked down at the ground below and shook his head. 

“There’s no way she would have survived that distance without a broken leg.  And how did the window get closed again?  There’s nowhere to stand while you close it.  It was left open.  I’m sure she saw us pull up when she was already in the hallway and just went out the back or something.  There’s a window at the end of the hall, and it has a clear line of sight to the parking lot.  It wouldn’t take a gigantic mental leap for her to figure out that we were coming here to talk to her.