Freefall (18 page)

Javier clenched his hand into a fist.

“Adios, amigo.”

Javier watched his “friend” get into the van and drive away. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on him. If he’d killed Nick at the falls, he wouldn’t have attacked Faith, but they’d all be dead right now.

They were alive. This was a better outcome than he’d dreamed of. Javier was grateful to God, if not to Nick. But he also knew what he had to do. Staying with Faith was impossible. The police would question him, he’d get arrested and one of Gonzales’s relatives would shank him in jail. He had to disappear, like Alexia.

Javier didn’t have any desire to reunite with his ex-girlfriend. The only one he wanted was Faith. And he couldn’t have her.

He sat down beside her, smoothing the pine needles from her hair. His throat closed up with the realization that he’d never see her again. He had to leave in the next few minutes to avoid the authorities.

“Jay?” she murmured.

“Javier.”

“Javier.” She opened her eyes, but the sun was too bright. Groaning, she closed them. “Where am I?”

“You’re safe.”

“I need my sister.”

“She’ll be with you soon.”

“That guy—” She winced, touching her temple.

“Did he hurt you?”

“He...scared me.”

Javier smothered a fresh wave of fury. “He’s gone.”

“You killed him?”

“No. But I will, if you want me to.”

She moistened her lips. “You said you were done with all that.”

“I can make an exception.”

“Don’t.”

Javier murmured an agreement. “He won’t bother you again. My boss won’t, either. You don’t have to worry.”

“Will you stay with me?”

He glanced around, struggling to control his emotions. “I wish I could, but I’ve put you in enough danger already.” His voice broke on the last word, but he forced himself to continue. “I’m so sorry, Faith. It was all my fault. They used you to get to me.”

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

He took a deep breath. “When you feel well enough, walk alongside the road. Wave down a passing car, or knock on someone’s door.”

Her face crumpled. “Don’t leave.”

“I have to,” he said, hating himself for hurting her. He wished things could be different, but he couldn’t ask her to wait for him. It might be years before he came out of hiding and got his life together. Chest aching with regret, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Ojalá que nos encontremos otra vez.”

Javier got up before he could change his mind. He stumbled into the brush, his throat burning and his heart numb.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A
T
MIDMORNING
, Hope got a text from Dispatch.

Faith had been admitted to the E.R. She was groggy, but in good condition. She’d refused to talk to anyone except Hope.

After reading the message, Hope collapsed on her bed and wept for several minutes, overwhelmed with relief. Then she pulled herself together and drove to the hospital in Visalia. On the way there, her phone chirped again. It was Sam. She’d been avoiding his calls. He’d invited her to come back to the lodge for breakfast, and he actually seemed upset with her for sneaking out on him. His “attentive boyfriend” routine confused her; he’d fought their attraction every step of the way. Maybe he was willing to share his body with her, but his heart still belonged to a dead woman.

He wasn’t a good candidate for a relationship.

“Hi,” she answered.

“Any news?”

“She’s at the hospital, supposedly okay.”

“Thank God.”

“Yes.”

“Do you want me to come?”

“Let me see how she’s doing first.”

When Hope arrived at the hospital, she parked in the closest available space and rushed to the lobby, only to be told to wait in the lounge. After a few minutes, a slender woman in scrubs came out with a clipboard.

“Miss Banning?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Nurse Parker,” she said, leading Hope to a small consultation area. “Your sister was brought in by a local woman who found her wandering by the side of the road, wearing nothing but a bedsheet.”

Hope clapped a hand over her mouth, distraught.

“We ran a blood test, because she seems to have been drugged, but she wouldn’t consent to a vaginal swab.”

“Can I see her?”

“Right this way.”

The nurse showed her to a bed in the E.R. It wasn’t a private room, but there were no other patients nearby, and it had curtain partitions. Faith looked thin and pale in a faded hospital gown, her pretty face marked with scratches. Hope let out a strangled sob, embracing her sister. She was overjoyed and devastated at the same time.

“What happened?” she asked, smoothing Faith’s hair away from her forehead.

Her sister’s pupils were dilated, her brown eyes dull. The drugs might have taken the edge off, but she wasn’t blissfully unaware. “Get me out of here,” she said, her voice quavering with emotion.

Hope nodded. She’d provide Faith with comfort, solace or whatever else she needed. Anything her sister asked for, she’d deliver.

“We’re waiting for the results of the toxicology,” the nurse said. “I’ll check on that.”

They watched her go.

“Do you have any idea what they gave you?” Hope asked, lowering her voice.

“An injection.”

“Why didn’t you consent to the swab?”

“Because I consented to the
sex,
” Faith snapped.

Hope couldn’t hide her dismay.

Faith made a hurt face, hitting her fist against the mattress in a halfhearted punch. “He used a condom, anyway.”

“Who did?”

“Javier.”

“No one else touched you?”

She stared up at Hope, forlorn. “Not...inside.”

“Oh, Faith,” she said, aching for her.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You have to tell.”

“Why? They won’t get in trouble for groping me.”

“They kidnapped you.”

“I don’t care.”

As much as Hope wanted the men who’d abused her sister to pay for their actions, they were connected criminals. Talking to the police might put Faith in more danger. “What if they come after you again?”

“Javier said they wouldn’t.”

Hope fell silent. Although she was unsettled by Faith’s trust in a drug smuggler, she tried not to judge her. “Mom and Dad are on the way.”

Faith made a warbled protest. The plaintive sound was so identifiably
hers,
and Hope recognized all of the nuances in it. “Take me back to the woods. No, feed me to a bear. Anything but the ’rents.”

Hope bit her tongue to keep from laughing, but it was no use. She snorted, and that always set Faith off. They both dissolved in a mixture of giggles and tears. That’s how Special Agent Sharon Ling found them.

Ling had glossy black hair, sharp eyes and a sturdy figure in unflattering clothes. After introducing herself, she asked Faith a number of questions, but she didn’t get much information out of her. Faith couldn’t offer any specific details about her kidnappers or the location where she’d been held. Her responses became shorter and less helpful as the interview wore on. She looked and sounded exhausted.

“My sister is very tired,” Hope said.

Ling took a few photos from her briefcase and handed them to Hope. “This is Javier Del Norte, the man who infiltrated the rafting trip.”

The first image was grainy, showing a handsome, dark-haired man in sunglasses. He appeared to be boarding a private plane.

“He works for Hector Gonzales, the head of one of Las Vegas’s top cartels.”

Hope studied Gonzales, committing him to memory.

“The next photo is of Martin Hinojosa, now deceased.”

“I recognize him,” Hope said.

“Both Ted Harvey and Caleb Renfro identified him as the shooter.”

“How are they?” Faith asked.

“Lucky to be alive, like you. Renfro’s leg was broken in two places. They think he’ll walk with a limp.”

Faith closed her eyes, seeming both relieved and disturbed by this news. Hope came to the last picture. It featured a young man with shaggy brown hair. He might have been Poncho, but she wasn’t sure.

“We think this was Hinojosa’s companion.”

Hope returned the photos without further comment. Ling passed them to Faith, who examined each face. After pointing out Hinojosa as the man who shot Caleb Renfro, she paused on Del Norte. “Can I keep this?”

Special Agent Ling exchanged a glance with Hope. She probably thought Faith had Stockholm syndrome. “Keep them all,” she said, giving Faith a manila envelope. “My contact information is inside.”

Ling pulled Hope aside for a private conversation. “We can’t protect her unless she cooperates.”

“I’ll protect her,” Hope said.

“Who will protect you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just that you should lie low for a while. You shot a connected criminal, and they know who you are.”

“You think they’ll come after me?”

“No. I’m warning you not to go after
them.
”

Hope didn’t plan to. While she was on administrative leave, her weeks would be filled with counseling sessions and psychological evaluations, not vigilante justice. For the next few days, she wasn’t going to leave Faith’s side. Anyone who wanted to mess with her sister had to get through Hope first.

After the FBI agent left, Faith gazed at Javier’s picture for several moments. Then she put it away with the others. Nurse Parker reappeared, reporting that the sedative in Faith’s bloodstream should wear off soon.

“I want to go home,” Faith said. “My sister can drive me.”

The nurse agreed to start the discharge paperwork.

Hope’s cell phone vibrated with missed calls from their mother. She had to answer before her mother freaked out. “I’ll be right back,” Hope promised, returning to the lobby. As she made her way to the glass doors, someone said her name. She turned to see Doug Dixon rising from a chair in the waiting room. He was a handsome man, stocky and strong, his brown hair starting to gray. Maybe Sam’s criticisms of him were fresh in her mind, because he looked older than she remembered—and she’d just seen him last week.

Had Doug taken advantage of his power by pursuing a relationship with her? She’d never felt coerced. Their breakup had been amiable. He’d promoted her after their relationship was over, so she didn’t think he held a grudge.

“I came as soon as I heard,” he said.

Hope crossed her arms over her chest, unsure what to say.

“She’s okay, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Where was she?”

“She doesn’t know. She was blindfolded the whole time.” The exaggeration sprang to her lips with ease. Although Hope wasn’t a practiced liar, she was more interested in protecting Faith than telling the truth, even to her boss.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“You can catch the bastards who took her.”

“I’m working on it,” he said, his gaze narrow. “They’ve got some balls, kidnapping a woman in my park and shooting at one of my rangers.”

She was surprised by his language. He rarely cursed or became irate. “I tried to contact you on channel three.”

“When?”

“Before the shooting.”

He made an apologetic face. “I had no idea. I’ve been juggling a dozen different things. The sheriff, local media, NPS.” His cell phone rang, giving credence to the claim. “Sorry, Hope. I have to get back to the park now.”

She said goodbye and watched Doug stride away. He seemed like a different man. Maybe he’d changed. Maybe she had. She couldn’t remember why she’d been drawn to him. He was polite and attractive, but sort of bland.

Frowning, she stepped out of the E.R. to use her cell phone. Her parents were just outside town, so she couldn’t dissuade them from coming to the hospital. While she rubbed the tight muscles in her neck, trying to answer her mother’s frantic questions, she noticed Sam walking through the parking lot.

“Shit,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong, dear?”

“Nothing, Mom. I’ll see you soon.”

He was wearing the same clothes from last night, loose-fitting jeans and a polo shirt. His short, dark hair capped his head so closely it almost wasn’t there. It was spare, bare minimum, like the rest of him.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sight. She’d never reacted this way to Doug.

“How is she?” he asked.

“Okay,” she said, nibbling her lower lip. Sam wasn’t as easy to lie to. He looked closer. “She’s not...injured.”

Curiosity flickered in his eyes. He picked up on the nuances in her body language better than Doug had. Hope didn’t want to tell him that Faith might have been sexually assaulted. She felt sick about it. She should have been thinking about her sister last night, instead of begging Sam to “hurt” her.

God.

Between her and Faith, she didn’t know who had worse taste in men. Her sister had become infatuated with a drug smuggler. Hope was falling for a risk-addicted amnesiac. They were both crazy.

“Someone drugged her and dumped her by the side of the road.”

He swore under his breath. “Have they made any arrests?”

“Not that I know of.”

“What can I do?”

She sighed, shaking her head. Now that he was here, she felt an overwhelming urge to lean on him. “Come with me to the gift shop?”

He followed her inside, watching while she chose a pair of slippers, a soft T-shirt and some drawstring pants for Faith. When he put the charges on his credit card, she thanked him. He just shrugged, as if he’d bought her a cup of coffee.

Her parents were in the lobby. Her mother’s eyes lit up at the sight of her with a man. Even during a family crisis, Joy Banning could find a bright side.

Hope gave her parents a hug before introducing them.

Sam’s social skills weren’t as rusty as he let on. He shook her father’s hand with deference and smiled at her mother. They both radiated approval. Maybe they knew he was a former Olympian.

“We can’t thank you enough for saving Hope,” Joy said.

Sam acknowledged their appreciation with a nod, clearing his throat. His awkward sidelong glance plucked at Hope’s heartstrings. He stayed in the lounge while she took her parents to visit Faith. Her sister downplayed the incident, insisting that she was fine.

The hospital discharged her shortly after. Hope expected more interviews from different law enforcement agencies, but the sheriff’s department said she was free to go. They couldn’t prosecute her kidnappers if she never identified them. Faith didn’t know anything, so the chances of retaliation were slim.

Hope accompanied Faith to the restroom on the way out. “Sam is here,” she said while Faith changed into the gift shop clothes.

“Sam Rutherford?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It’s a long story,” Hope said, studying her reflection in the mirror. She looked as if she hadn’t brushed her hair for a week. “He bought you those clothes.”

“They’re hideous.”

“Do you want me to get rid of him?”

“Not until I check him out.”

Hope knew she couldn’t have a future with Sam, but she cared what Faith thought of him. Unlike her parents, Faith had an unfavorable opinion based on Hope’s miserable account of their one-night stand. The sisters rejoined their parents and they all walked to the lounge. Sam rose from a chair as soon as he saw them.

“This is Faith,” Hope said.

When Faith didn’t offer her hand, he dropped his own. His gaze moved back and forth between them, as if noting their similarities. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said to Faith. “Hope has told me a lot about you.”

“She told me a few things about you also.”

He had the grace to flush. Of course, he knew what Faith was alluding to. “It was nice to meet you,” he said, including her parents in the statement. After promising to call Hope later, he left.

Faith agreed to a meal in the cafeteria to placate their worried mother. The circles under her eyes stood out in stark relief under the harsh fluorescent lights. She picked at her food, taking a few bites of custard.

Joy suggested a hotel room for the night. “You can relax in the Jacuzzi.”

“I just want to go home,” Faith said.

“To Ojai?”

“To L.A.,” she clarified.

It was late afternoon when the Bannings finally bade them tearful goodbyes. As Hope climbed behind the wheel, she said, “Are you sure you want to go home?”

Faith found her sunglasses and put them on. “Yes, Mom.”

“I’m not trying to mother you.”

“I just want to feel normal again,” Faith said, looking out the window. “I want my makeup, and my shoes. I want smog, and traffic, and tall buildings.”

“Okay,” Hope said. “I don’t have to be back until Monday.”

“You can spend a long weekend with me. We’ll see art shows.”