“I think we both need to go after him.”
Keith moved to get up. “I think I can start walking out of here.”
Jonas helped the husband to his feet. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I think so. I feel like I’ve been hit by a brick, but no dizziness or shortness of breath.”
Jonas dug a pair of shorts and a T-shirt out of his backpack. “It won’t keep you particularly warm, but it will help. And you can take my jacket.”
“I couldn’t do that.”
“Yes, you can. It’s fine.” He removed his badge then handed over the jacket.
“What if he comes back?” Amy asked.
“I don’t think he will,” Madison said. “If he thought you were worth something to him, he wouldn’t have let you go. He knows we’re right behind. At this point just be thankful you’re alive.”
“We could use your map though,” Jonas said.
“Of course.” Amy pulled out the map from her back pocket. “Do you even know where you are?”
Madison glanced at Jonas, then shook her head.
Amy handed her the map. “Welcome to Idaho.”
They parted ways with the hikers before heading down a trail. Madison jogged beside Jonas, hoping they could catch up with Barrick and unable to forget that the man who had killed someone with a shiv now had both a gun and a knife. She’d seen the desperation in the man’s eyes when he’d tackled her near the river. As far as she was concerned, he’d killed before, and he’d kill again.
“So much for being creative,” she said. “He decided to do things the old-fashioned way.”
“So what would you do now if you were him?” Jonas asked.
It was a scenario she’d played out a hundred times. Get into the fugitive’s mind. Figure out their next move. “Time is crucial. Get as far away as possible as quick as possible. He’ll take the car, but not for very long. He knows we’re behind him, so he also knows we’ll probably expect him to take the car.”
“His options?”
“He drives it until he can find another car.” She shrugged. “Or he could hitchhike. People are trusting for the most part. He’s no longer in his prison uniform, which means he has the ability to blend in. He also doesn’t particularly look like a felon, which is another plus for him. And because we’re so isolated, he knows it’s going to take law enforcement time to get here.”
Jonas held up his hand for her to stop.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing. I thought I heard something, but I think I’m just getting paranoid.”
Something he had every right to be. They kept moving at a slow jog while she waded through possible scenarios in her head. What she did know was that Barrick would do whatever it took to ensure he wasn’t caught again.
“What if Barrick decided not to head to the end of the trail like we’re assuming?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I glanced at this map.” She stopped at the edge of a clearing, pulling out Amy’s map. “There should be a ranch located just across this valley at the edge of the forest. I can see a couple outbuildings, and it looks like there’s a trail leading that direction ahead. What if he went there?”
“It is closer, and if nothing else, they should have cell service, so I can call for backup.”
They followed the trail toward the ranch through a narrow ridge with outcroppings of rocks on either side.
Someone shouted from above them. “I’ve got my rifle aimed at you. Weapons on the ground, then hands in the air and don’t move.”
Madison glanced at Jonas, then hesitated as three more men stepped out of the brush in front of them, each one armed.
The tallest, heavily bearded and aiming his rifle at her heart, rested his finger on the trigger. “Hands in the air now, both of you, or I swear, I’ll shoot you.”
Eleven
Madison felt a shot of adrenaline rush through her as the men circled tighter around them, each one holding his weapon steady on her and Jonas. Somehow their shortcut had just landed them in the middle of a hornet’s nest.
“I mean what I said,” the man repeated. “Hands in the air or I will shoot.”
She studied the face of the man who was clearly in charge, then slowly raised her hands. Jonas set his gun on the ground.
“I don’t know what’s going on here,” Jonas said, “but you need to know that we’re with the US Marshals—”
“We already know who you are, and you certainly aren’t marshals.”
She glanced at Jonas,