Never Gonna Tell (23 page)

He smiles warmly, pulling up a seat next to my wheelchair in the hospital lobby. “Hi, Reagan. I’m Detective Rathborne. Your mom here has told me a lot about you.”

“Listen, absolutely no offense to you, but how do I know I can trust you? The Calottas ...” Bile rises in my throat just saying the name and thinking of Nicky aiming that gun in my face.

He folds his hands in his lap. I study his body language, looking for any tells that he’s lying, but he appears calm and relaxed. “You’re completely justified in feeling that way. If I had gone through everything you did, I’d be skeptical of me, too.” He raises his head, meeting my eyes. “Several years ago I was based in Chicago, working on the case to put Nicky away. He got away. The system failed and he got away. And he killed a good kid—someone I really respected and admired—in the process.”

“Tony,” I whisper.

Detective Rathborne nods. “Yeah. Antonio was a great kid. He was so brave to defy his family like that. After we found his body, I vowed to make Nicky pay. I put in for a transfer and left Chicago—all my friends and family—to move to Hope Mills to do just that.” He takes my hands in his own. “You have every right not to trust me, Reagan, but I promise I’m going to get justice for Antonio and every other person Nicky Calotta has ever hurt. Including you.”

I turn away, unable to look at him as tears spill over the brim of my eyes. The intensity and passion of his words are palpable. If he’s lying, then he deserves an Oscar.

I wipe my eyes with my sleeve. “Thank you.”

“We’re going to get him, Reagan. I won’t rest until we do.”

I look down at my lap, biting my lip as I try to hold back more tears. After a few minutes trying to regain my composure, I take a breath and look up. “Okay. Let’s go. Let’s go try to save Marco and let’s go get the bastard who did this to him. To us.”

Our group takes two cars up to the ranger station. Detective Rathborne rides in his own car as my family takes our Suburban. Mom refuses to let me leave her side, insisting Dad and Charlie ride in the front seat while she coddles me in the back. Like feeling my forehead twenty times an hour will somehow keep me healthy.

During the arduous two hour trek creeping slowly up the mountain, Charlie fills me in on what happened after Marco took me.

“You were all over the news. They issued an Amber Alert and everything. It was crazy,” Charlie explains.

My face reddens. “Oh god…”

“Kally’s been blowing up my phone with worry. She visited several times while you were in the coma. She even brought healing stones or something and put them all over you last night.”

I turn to my mom. “Really? And you didn’t object.”

Mom smoothes my hair behind my ear. “I would have done anything to get you better, sweetie. If Kally asked me to dance naked around a fire pit while chanting, I would have.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. “Okay then. That’s enough of that image.” I check my watch, wondering why it’s taking so long. We should have been there by now. “C’mon, Dad! If you went any slower you’d be in reverse. The gas is on the right.” I am ready to jump out of the car and walk. I could probably get there faster than how Dad’s driving.

He only tightens his grip on the steering wheel. “This is not the easiest road to drive, and I’m not going to risk you getting tossed around back there. You have enough injuries, and I’ll be damned if I allow you to get one more.”

“I’m fine, Dad. Really.” I’m glad he can’t see my face, or he’d know I was full of it. Now that the painkillers are wearing off my whole body is aching. I want nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep for a week. Not that I could ever admit that. Dad would turn this car around without hesitation and I can’t let that happen. I just need to keep reminding myself that the pain is temporary. “Just get us there as soon as possible. We’re losing daylight and searching the woods will be that much harder if we’re having to do it with flashlights.”

Switching to first gear, we cruise along at a whopping thirty miles per hour. It’s better than the twelve he was driving, so I can’t really complain. At long last, I see a sign indicating the ranger’s station is ahead one mile. As we pull up, the ranger steps out and meets us at the stairs.

“Howdy there, folks.” The ranger shakes my parents’ hands, followed by the detective. Charlie and I stay in the car, windows rolled down listening in. Mom refuses to let me do any more activity than is absolutely necessary. “I’m Norman McDowell. Pleasure to meet you folks.”

“I’m Detective Rathborne, this is ADA Wilcox and her husband. Thanks so much for helping us out here.” He takes out a small notepad from his pocket and a pen, clicking the top off and on. The man hasn’t said more than a dozen words since arriving at the hospital, but his eyes never stop moving. He takes everything in. I’m glad my mom called him; I can tell he’s really good at his job.

Ranger Norman turns, inviting the group up onto the porch. “Happy to. I was able to get through to the man who brought your daughter down from the mountain while you were on your way. He gave me a few coordinates to the cabin where he found her and I should be able to find it okay. There’s not a whole lot of activity up there this time of year, so it’ll be easy to spot any fresh tracks from ATVs or trucks. With any luck, we’ll find the place where she was held pretty quickly.”

Charlie and I smile at each other, exchanging high fives at the good news before turning back to listen further.

“What’s the easiest way to get up there?” Mom asks the ranger.

“We’ll need to travel by ATV. Is your daughter up for that?”

I can’t stay in the car any longer, pushing the door open and sliding out. “Yes, I’m up for it.”

Mom doesn’t look so sure. “I don’t know. Maybe you ought to stay here at the station. We can radio you with any information, and you can tell us what you remember and if we’re close.”

I shake my head. “No way. I’m going with you.” I turn to the ranger. “How much further up the mountain do we need to go?”

Norman takes off his hat and scratches his head. “It’s not far, probably only about six miles or so, but it’s isolated. The trek will be difficult since there are so few roads up there.”

“I’m up to it,” I insist, hoping my bravado is convincing to everyone. “Besides, I’m positive that there is a dirt road leading to the cabin where I was held, so as long as we stay on roads I’ll be able to recognize it when I see it.”

“Well, all right.” Norman smiles, looking at my parents for confirmation. “Let’s get started.”

We take three ATVs. I ride behind the ranger in the lead vehicle, followed by my dad and Charlie on a second while my mom and Detective Rathborne pull up the rear in a custom “search and rescue” ATV complete with a rescue stretcher, portable oxygen, IV kit and fluids, and other medical devices. I pray we’ll need these instead of a phone to call the coroner’s office.

The ride is hard, and even though he’s taking it slow I’m still clinging to the ranger and most likely leaving him with bruises as we bounce around.

“You okay back there? Need me to slow down?”

“No, keep going.” I insist, gritting my teeth against the pain of my broken ribs being jolted around. Where’s a morphine drip when you need one?

“We’re less than a mile from the coordinates where you were found,” he explains. “So let me know if you start to recognize anything.”

I scan the area, searching for anything familiar but all the trees look the same. Nothing is standing out. I focus on every little detail: a broken twig, a moss-covered rock, even the way the leaves have fallen. Nothing looks even remotely familiar. I am so mad at myself for not paying better attention when I was fleeing. I was so concerned with not getting caught that I never bothered to think about needing to know where to send help for Marco. And now, nothing.

The ranger slows, the ATV idling. “Anything look familiar yet?”

I ball my fists, my fingernails biting into my palms.
I’m such an idiot! So stupid. I was so sure I could do this.
“Nothing.” My voice quivers and I want to cry. “It all looks the same. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.”

The others pull up beside us, cutting the engines. Charlie takes one look at my face and offers me a half-smile. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s not like there’s street signs up here, Rea.”

“I know. I just thought that if I came up here it would all come back to me.” I arch my head up, staring at the sky. The sounds of nature surround us. A squirrel scurries along the ground, rustling leaves. Several birds are chirping in a nearby tree. At least someone is happy today. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot something that jogs my memory.

“Hey, Marshall. Are there a lot of those trees around?”

He looks in the direction I’m pointing. “Which tree?”

“There.” I point. “The purple ones to your left. I remember seeing purple leaves when I was trying to figure out which direction I was going based on where the sun was in the sky. It stuck out in my head because you don’t see a lot of leaves that color. Usually they turn red or yellow.”

Marshall shades his eyes with his hand as he checks out the trees. “That’s a Crimson King Maple,” he explains. “They’re not even native to this part of the country, so to answer your question no, there aren’t a lot of those trees around.”

I want to jump for joy. We’re close! I close my eyes, remembering as many details from my getaway as possible. “Okay, so I remember that the trees were to my left as I was running, so now they need to be on our right.” I whip my head around my eyes scouring every inch. “Take that path there. It’s got to be that one.”

Everyone jumps back on the ATVs, spirits revitalized with my revelation and none more than mine. Marshall revs the engine once more and we take off. I’m riding on so much adrenaline my blood is practically Red Bull. My eyes never stop scanning, searching for any sliver of a clue when suddenly I spot…“THERE! It’s there!”

Marshall cuts the choke, gliding us to a stop. He helps me off carefully as everyone catches up behind us. “Look, there’s the roof. I can see the cabin. We need to get up there now!”

Detective Rathborne pulls out his sidearm from the holster and cocks it, loading a bullet into the chamber. The ranger pulls out his own shotgun.

“Ranger, I’ll head up first. You stay here to protect these folks.” He turns to us. “I’m gonna need you folks to stay back and absolutely quiet until I can clear the area. I highly doubt he stuck around, but if Nicky Calotta is still up there, he will most certainly be armed.”

Being so close to rescuing Marco and having to wait even a few minutes longer makes me want to pull my hair out with frustration, but I understand his need for caution. I’ve seen firsthand how dangerous Nicky can be, and I don’t want to be face to face with him again until he’s safely behind bars.

The ranger hands Detective Rathborne a walkie talkie before cocking his gun, puffing his chest a little and squaring his jaw. The detective takes off toward the cabin. From where we’re waiting, there’s no way to see through the woods what’s happening. The only thing we can do now is wait.

My leg bounces up and down involuntarily as I stare at the walkie talkie, willing it to come to life with word on Marco. No one is talking, everyone’s eyes trained on the path ahead. I’m pretty sure if I yelled “Boo,” they’d all jump four feet in the air with how intense things are right now.

Abruptly, the radio flickers to life; a staticky voice speaks on the other end. “All clear. No sign of Nicky. He must have fled.”

“Copy that,” the ranger replies.

I grab the radio from him. “What about Marco? Is he there? Is he okay?”

My eyes are glued to the little black box, practically begging it to answer. After several long moments it flickers back on. “We’re going to need the medical examiner’s office up here. I’m counting at least three bodies. No signs of survivors. I’m sorry, Reagan.”

MY BODY CRUMBLES to the ground as everything around me blurs out of focus, grief overtaking my senses. I stop listening. I stop seeing. I stop feeling. People are talking and moving around me, but I can’t bring myself to pay them any mind.

After everything that Marco did for me, after everything he risked, I wasn’t able to do the same for him. I couldn’t save him. Guilt racks my body and tightens my chest, making it hard to breathe. I don’t fight the pain it brings. I deserve it.

Through the haze, a voice calls out to me, but I can’t bring myself to focus on what they’re saying. My knees buckle, and I sink farther until I’m lying on the damp, cold ground. A twig pokes me in the back, but I don’t move it away.

“Reagan! Sit up and listen to me!”

Ugh. I don’t want to. Nothing they have to say can bring Marco back. I just want some time to wallow here on the ground. Is that too much to ask?

“Reagan Margaret, snap out of it!” Charlie demands shaking my shoulders. His hands slide up to cup my face, forcing me to look him in the eye. I blink, tears falling away. “Listen to me, Reagan. They found him. He’s alive. Barely, but he’s alive.”

I blink, my brows furrowing, unsure I’m hearing him correctly. “Alive?”

Charlie lets go of my face, rocking back slightly. “Yes. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Detective Rathborne found him. He was hidden in a closet in some sort of makeshift bed. That’s how they missed him at first. There were boxes and blankets piled around him. He’s got a pretty gnarly head wound and he’s got a bunch of bruises on his torso that the ranger thinks might be internal bleeding, but someone wrapped his wounds and he had some pills next to him. Those must have helped keep him alive. They’re strapping him to the rescue stretcher now so we can bring him back down to the ranger station. The detective has already called ahead for a helicopter to Life-Flight him to the hospital.”