Hunter didn’t want to agree with Jericho. He wanted to argue, offer false hope, say stupid things like she’d be back in the morning, but Jericho was right.
“I searched the den, the mountain, every hiding place I could think of.”
Jericho nodded but turned his face away so Hunter couldn’t see the naked emotion burning in his eyes.
How the hell were they supposed to find her? She could be anywhere. She could have been shot by hunters. Killed by another mountain lion. Or she could have simply gone away, moved to another area. There was no way to know. No way to find out. She lived in a world where she didn’t exist.
The only thing they could do was stay here in case she returned. No way did he want her coming back to find the cabin deserted like she’d once found her childhood home.
“I’ll go into town in the morning for supplies,” Hunter said.
Jericho nodded, but neither of them said another word about Kaya. Theirs was a silent agreement that they would wait. As long as it took.
Chapter Twenty-Three
For Duncan Kennedy, it was another bad day, and it could only get worse. He stared across his desk to the jail cell that housed the young pregnant woman, and he felt like pond scum all over again.
Hell, he was probably doing her a favor, but all he could see was the abject terror in her eyes as he’d placed her in the cell.
The door opened and his deputy Nick strode in. He was halfway across the room before he took notice of the woman in the jail cell, then he did a rapid double-take. When he got to Duncan’s desk, he flopped down in the chair in front of him.
“We’re jailing pregnant women now? What the hell did she do?”
Duncan raised his brow at the anger in Nick’s voice. “For all you know she could be a serial killer.”
“Is she?”
“No.”
“Then what the hell is she doing in jail?”
Duncan sighed. “I wish I knew. Caught her stealing food. She freaked on me when I tried to talk to her. Tried to escape twice. She looked tired and hungry so I brought her here, but she hasn’t uttered a peep. I ran her fingerprints and got squat. She won’t tell me who she is or where she lives or if she has a place to live for that matter. I don’t want to just let her go. Hell, she’s barefooted.”
“Damn,” Nick muttered. “Is Aliyah still at her folks visiting?”
Duncan nodded.
“Too bad. Maybe another woman could talk to her. She might just be terrified of men.”
“I didn’t think of that,” Duncan murmured.
Nick chanced another look across the room at the woman huddled on the cot in the cell. “She looks scared to death.”
“Yeah, I know. I don’t know what the hell to do, to be honest. I can’t really hold her here. Margaret isn’t pressing charges for the packages of ham she tried to lift, but I feel like I’ll be doing the wrong thing if I just let her go. What if she has no place to go? I’d like to help her if she’d just talk to me.”
“Hell of a note when a pregnant woman ends up alone and having to steal food to eat,” Nick said darkly.
“Maybe I’ll do down and see Margaret. Your idea of having a woman talk to her is a good one. Margaret has a soft streak a mile wide.”
He stood and grabbed his hat, plunking it on his head as he started toward the door.
“Why don’t you see if you can get her to talk to you while I’m gone?”
Nick cast him a doubtful glance but nodded.
Hunter pulled up to the general store and cut the engine. He was beyond exhausted, and what he really wanted was about three straight days of sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw Kaya frightened and alone, thinking he and Jericho had abandoned her.
Would he sleep until they found her, and would they ever find her?
He nodded at Duncan Kennedy, the sheriff, when they entered the store at the same time.
“Hunter, it’s been a while. Have to say, you look like hammered horse manure.”
“Thanks,” Hunter said dryly. “Just got back from an assignment.”
“Get some rest. Looks like you need it. I’ll see you around, okay? I need to talk to Margaret.”
Hunter dipped his head in acknowledgement and then went to do his shopping. A few minutes later, he walked through the produce section to see Margaret stocking bananas while Duncan stood next to her, a frown on his face.
As he neared, he couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.
“If you could just come down and talk to her,” Duncan said. “I’m at my wit’s end. She won’t say a word to anyone. She just sits in that cell looking terrified.”
“Poor thing,” Margaret said, her face creased with pity. “Of course I’ll come down. You did tell her I wasn’t pressing charges for stealing food, didn’t you?”
An uneasy prickle took hold of Hunter’s neck. He edged closer, pretending interest in the apples.
“Yeah, I did, but I hate to let her go until I know who she is and that she has somewhere to go. I know she’s scared witless, but at least she has a dry place to stay and food to eat.”
The gnawing in his gut had become too much to bear. Dropping his basket, he bolted down the aisle toward the front door, Margaret’s and Duncan’s startled exclamations ringing in his ears.
He ran down the street toward the sheriff’s office, pain jolting up his spine the entire way. He heard Duncan’s shout from a distance, but he ignored it and burst through the doorway of the jail.
His gaze registered several things. Kaya lay huddled on a cot while a deputy stood over her, his hand reaching to touch her shoulder.
With a snarl, Hunter lunged for the open jail door, yanking it wider and leaping inside. The deputy tried to reach for his pistol, but Hunter was on him too fast.
“Get away from her,” he snapped.
His hands gripped the deputy’s shirt, and he slammed him against the bars opposite where Kaya lay. She didn’t even flinch.
“Hunter, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Duncan demanded.
Hunter looked up to see Duncan standing on the other side of the bars, his pistol raised and aimed at Hunter.
“Let him go. Now.”
Hunter slowly released the deputy and took a step back, purposely putting himself between them and Kaya.
“Nick, out of the cell.”
The deputy cast a wary glance in Hunter’s direction before heeding Duncan’s order.
“Now suppose you tell me what the hell’s going on,”
Duncan said when the cell had been cleared.
“She’s mine,” Hunter said in a near growl. Then, ignoring the gun pointed at him, he turned and fell to his knees in front of the cot.
“Kaya,” he whispered. “Kaya, honey, it’s me, Hunter.”
He ran his hand up her slight body and then stopped when he saw the delicate line of her distended belly.
“Oh God.”
Pregnant. They’d left her pregnant. Alone. No food.
Carefully he gathered her in his arms. Finally she turned her head, her amber eyes flashing with pain and recognition.
“Hunter,” she whispered. “I prayed you would come, but you never did.”
He held her tightly against his chest, his breaths coming out in stuttered hiccups.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, honey. We didn’t mean to frighten you. I swear if we’d known you were pregnant, we would’ve never left you. We’ll never leave you again.”
She clung desperately to him, her tears wetting his shirt. “I’m so scared. They kept me in this cage. I couldn’t escape. I think I’m in trouble.”
“No, honey. I’ll get you out of here, I promise.”
He turned to stare at Duncan who was watching them with interest. “I want her out of here. Now.”
Duncan sighed but backed away from the door, allowing Hunter to carry her out of the cell.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Duncan said. “You can take her into my office, but neither of you is going anywhere until I get some answers.”
Hunter glared at Duncan as he passed, but he didn’t try to walk out of the station. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner he could take her back home where she belonged.
Once in Duncan’s office, he eased Kaya into a chair. “Comfortable, honey?”
She nodded, but her eyes were still sad and wary. And very frightened.
Hunter stood and met Duncan at the door. “Any conversation we have will be outside this office. I won’t have her upset any more than she is.”
Duncan raised one brow but backed way and allowed Hunter to shut the door.
“Now suppose you tell me what the hell is going on here?” Duncan said when the two men were alone.
“Why is she in jail?” Hunter asked, ignoring Duncan’s question.
“I caught her stealing food. Truth is I had no intention of holding her. I wanted to help her, but she wouldn’t say a word, hasn’t said a word since I brought her in. No name, no nothing. I couldn’t in good conscience let a pregnant woman go when she’d been desperate enough to steal food. She doesn’t even have shoes, for God’s sake.”
He looked accusingly at Hunter as he said the last.
Hunter closed his eyes and sighed. “It’s a long, complicated story. One I’m not at liberty to divulge. Jericho and I left her in our cabin when we went on our last assignment. There was plenty of food to last the amount of time we thought we’d be gone. But a bomb changed our plans. As a result, we’ve been gone several months. We didn’t know she was pregnant when we left or we’d have never gone for any reason. But we’re back now, and we’re not going to leave her again.”