An Unlikely Hero (1) (8 page)

Heather took a hesitant step toward the ranger. “Okay,” she said softly.

The ranger noticed a tiny cut. She stood and went to her backpack where she retrieved a first aid kit. “This might sting just a bit but at least you won’t get an infection and have to go to the doctor. I think if I do this you won’t have to get a shot.” Heather’s eyes widened at the word “shot” and nodded enthusiastically. The ranger gently cleaned the area and applied some antibiotic cream. “It just so happens I have some pretty cool bandages too. Would you like one to wear? That will remind your brothers to be more careful.” Heather nodded again, this time with a wide smile. The bandages had Disney princesses on them.

“That didn’t hurt a bit!”

“You see! Us girls are tough!” the ranger laughed as she stood. Her hazel eyes went to Robert. “She’ll be fine.”

Robert removed his hat and wiped his brow as if by doing so would remove the fright he’d suffered in the last ten minutes. “Thanks.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Robert Scott. This is our first day of vacation. Wouldn’t you know there’d be an accident right off the bat?”

His smile, the ranger noticed, was a little flirtatious. She didn’t mind. After all, Robert Scott was a very good looking man. Nearly six foot, Robert’s lean body looked like a tennis player. Although not muscular, he was in great shape. Neatly shaven, Robert’s skin looked tan and healthy. The narrow nose where his sunglasses rested gave his face an angular shape that spoke of masculinity. The hand that gripped hers was strong, accustomed to physical work. Her father had always said you could tell a lot about a man by his handshake. If this were true, Robert Scott might just turn out to be an interesting visitor to Lake Tahoe.

“I’m Ranger Lynch. Honey Lynch.” she said holding onto his hand a little longer than considered proper. “No Mrs. Scott?” she inquired looking back at the cabin.

Robert suddenly felt a little nervous. “No Mrs. Scott.” He smiled again looking down into the pretty face of the ranger. “I mean my wife may come later,” he stammered a little too quickly. “I insisted she take a few days for herself. You know, let me take care of the kids. I thought she’d appreciate the time off. She certainly deserves it,” he laughed as he glanced toward the kids watching with curiosity at the scene unfolding.

“Mom is eating lunch with friends and getting her nails done,” Daniel offered up the information with sarcasm.

“Really,” Honey said smiling down at the little boy then back at Robert.

“This is a test to see how Dad does with us,” Sean Patrick interjected.

“How’s he doing?” Honey asked with amused interest.

The kids looked at each other as if to confer. They all nodded. “So far so good,” Sean Patrick offered offhandedly as if his father wasn’t standing there.

“Go play, guys. Get some ice out of the cooler for Heather’s bump too! And watch out this time!” Robert warned as they ran back to the water’s edge.

Robert turned his eyes back to the pretty ranger. She looked like a no nonsense kind of person. Although petite her grip a moment ago revealed Honey could handle herself. She wore no makeup, only a little clear lip gloss. The natural, wholesome features of her face made her look like an ad for ski equipment.

“On foot?” Robert was still unclear about how the ranger had materialized. His radar was up and something made him sense caution.

Honey put her small hands on her hips. She wore a gun, Robert noticed. “No. My truck is parked just on the other side of that stand of trees. There’s an old logging road.”

“Looking for something?” Robert still didn’t understand why she was here.

Honey’s smile faded as she took out sunglasses from her shirt pocket and placed them on her delicate nose. “Actually, Mr. Scott,” Honey lowered her voice. “There has been a jail break in Carson City. The fugitives are on foot.”

“Geeze!” Robert sighed taking another look at his children. “Are they up here?”

Honey shrugged. “This is a good place to get lost if you don’t want to be found.” She followed his gaze toward the laughing children. “Don’t wander too far off the beaten path. There is plenty of law enforcement out looking for these guys. I’ll swing back by tonight to check on you. I’ll let others know you’re here. Got a phone?”

Robert removed his Blackberry from his hip pocket. “Can’t get very good service up here.”

Honey casually took his phone and pretended to inspect it.

“Daddy! I caught a fishy!” Heather screamed with delight. “Help me! Help me!”

Robert ran to her side to help reel in the four inch small mouth bass. The wiggling fish slopped water in Heather’s eyes. She squealed with delight as Robert removed the hook from its mouth.

“Why is it breathing like that, Daddy?” Heather’s look of concern made her reach out and stroke the little creature.

“It can’t breathe out of the water, sweetheart.”

“Oh no!” Heather sighed sympathetically. “It’s so little. Does it have a mommy?”

“Well, probably. Should we put it back in the water and send it home?”

Heather stuck out her lip in disappointment. “I guess so. I want to name it first.”

Robert nodded in agreement. His sons were now looking on, watching the ultimate release of the fish. “Swimmer. I name her Swimmer.”

“How do you know it’s a her?” Sean Patrick asked with a frown. Releasing a perfectly good fish was just ridiculous.

Heather squinted against the afternoon sun as she looked up at her brother. “How do you know it’s not? Besides it’s pretty so it has to be a girl.”

Sean Patrick threw up his hands in defeat as he turned back toward the ranger. He saw her close up his father’s phone. She smiled at him innocently. He eyed her with reserve as he watched her approach. The ranger wasn’t sure of his age but realized this one probably had watched enough American television to suspect anyone examining someone else’s phone.

“How’s the fishing this year?” She looked out over the tranquil blue waters and distant snowcapped peaks. Was there any place more beautiful than Tahoe?

“Are you really a ranger?” Sean Patrick inquired.

“Sure!” she laughed. “Do you think because I’m a girl I can’t be a ranger?”

Sean shook his head and picked up another rock only to skip it four times across the water. “Because you don’t know how the fishing is.”

“Well it changes from day to day. Any fisherman will tell you that.”

“You don’t look like a ranger either.” Sean Patrick looked up at Honey one eye closed against the bright sunlight.

“Really? What does a ranger look like?” Honey expected him to tell her how pretty she was or that most rangers looked like Smokey the Bear. She never tired of being complimented.

“They dress different than you.” Sean Patrick said matter of fact.

Honey could feel tightness in the back of her shoulders. Her fingers twitched nervously as she removed her hat and wiped her forehead against her sleeve. She didn’t respond to Sean Patrick’s observation.

“My friend Jose’s father is a ranger and his uniform is different than yours.”

“This is Nevada, you live in California. Our uniforms could be different.”

“How’d ya know I live in California?” Sean Patrick eyed her with increased suspicion.

Honey smiled and reached down to ruffle his dark hair. He looked like his handsome father. The eyes were a little sharper and his demeanor a little less trusting, but the resemblance was there. “Your license plates.” She nodded toward their car.

Sean Patrick looked back at the car then up at the ranger. “Oh.” he said simply. He then moved closer to the water seemingly forgetting about his concerns.

Kids! Honey thought. Why would anyone want them? They smell, eat you out of house and home, and can make you have the pediatrician on speed dial instead of your favorite restaurant. They wrecked your bank account, not to mention your figure.

Honey watched Robert stand up after releasing the fish. “Bravo! A job well done, Mr. Scott.”

“Please call me Robert.”

Honey handed back his phone. “Robert, I need to go. Look, I have a string of fish in my truck. They’re filleted, iced down and ready to go. I think this particular cabin has an outdoor gas grill. Why don’t I fix them for you guys tonight? If these felons aren’t caught I’ll have to look around this area again anyway.”

Robert shrugged. “That would be great. I have some potato salad and baked beans my wife fixed. We’ll have a feast!” his boyish smile made Honey offer her hand again and gave it an extra squeeze that seemed to make Robert withdraw his hand a little quickly. She waved to the kids and headed toward the stand of trees where she soon disappeared.

He watched her until she disappeared among the towering trees. Her sensuous walk must drive those boys at the ranger station crazy, Robert thought, remembering the suggestive farewell handshake. He smiled proudly. “Still got it,” he mumbled to himself, delighted that a sweet young thing like Honey had noticed him.

Honey picked up speed as she pushed through the low hanging branches. She nearly lost her hat but grabbed it just as it slipped onto the back of her neck. A breeze moaned softly through the top of the trees making them creak. Pine needles crunched beneath her boots. The warm afternoon smell of summer engulfed her suddenly. She began walking slowly, enjoying the sounds of branches moving in the wind and the solitude she rarely experienced. When the forest opened back up Honey saw that her government issued park truck had a low front tire on the passenger side. She’d need to take care of that before coming back up here tonight.

The road was already dusty from the lack of rain. Another lazy breeze picked up a cloud of red dust and swirled it up and over her head as she reached for the door handle of the truck. She quickly slid into the passenger seat and opened the glove box, looking for a map.

“So? Did you talk to him?” An unconcerned masculine voice broke the peaceful rhythm of the rustling trees and bird songs.

Honey looked at the driver. Short and stocky, her partner reminded her of Jabba the Hut from Star Wars. Unlike Jabba, this man was olive skinned with dark circles under his eyes. His nose was long and too big for his chubby face. The thick fingers that gripped the stirring wheel looked like burnt sausages. Several days of not shaving left a dark shadow encircling his face from ear to ear. His greasy black hair had been dampened and combed straight back. Honey could smell body odor. He repulsed her.

“Yeah. I’m going back tonight to cook dinner.”

The driver turned narrowed eyes to examine her beautiful body. He chuckled. “Keep him busy while I look around.”

“He’s married. There’s kids,” she snapped knowing he expected her to seduce Robert Scott.

“Fine. Make sure he has a little too much wine so he’ll sleep soundly.”

Honey frowned. “Let’s go, Mansur. By the way,” she said looking down at her map of California and Nevada. “What does Mansur mean?”

Mansur turned his emotionless eyes back to the road and started the engine. “Divinely led,” he said through a forced smile.

Chapter 7

Tessa knew how to pick the lock on a pair of handcuffs after reading the biography of Harry Houdini to a sixth grade class she’d volunteered in several years earlier. She offered the challenge for students to read three more biographies and promised to escape from a pair of handcuffs like Harry Houdini as a reward. Her research online and practice with a friend of the family who had been a Grass Valley policeman helped her learn the art of escape. It was simple really. All you needed was a bobby pin. If her hands had been cuffed behind her back the trick wouldn’t have worked. Then there was the advantage of having only one hand cuffed to the chair. She didn’t have a bobby pin but had managed to lift a paper clip from the desk next to her when the man in black’s eyes had looked away momentarily. When her captors left her alone Tessa got to work on the cuffs keeping one eye on the inner office where a heated conversation kept the attention off her.

Since the sparsely furnished office space where she had been forced to sit was dimly lit, Tessa felt confident she could slip out undetected. Unoccupied empty desks in the space, maybe ten or eleven showed no evidence of ever having been used. All were clean and unused. Chairs sat neatly against the lip of each desk like a display scene at Office Max. No trash. No waste baskets for that matter. No office supplies or computers. Empty gray walls, nondescript carpet and low ceiling tiles made the room seem less expansive than it really was. More importantly there were no other people except for her captors. If these people were Homeland Security why wasn’t this place bustling with nervous activity considering a dirty bomb was somewhere in the city?

Tessa knew these men were dangerous. Even that seemingly nice kid, Vernon, had a quirky look in his eye. Too eager to please, she thought. That scary man in black must have been a demon in another life. The icy stare he dropped on her had sent shivers up her spine. Then there was Chase Hunter. She wasn’t sure what to think of him. Obviously he commanded this group. But who was the suited man that reined them in? She gave him only a passing thought as she slowly rose from her chair and gave one final glance around the room that seemed to be a work in progress.