Untraceable

Survival Skill #44

“Yes.” He leans in and cups my face in his hands. Even though I divert my eyes, he finds them and grabs their attention. “But this isn’t about money for me. It’s about getting justice for my dad. You know that, right?”

I swallow, afraid to ask my question. “Okay, but how involved are you? Are you killing bears?”

Mo wrings his hands. “No, how can you even ask me that? I’d never be able to do that.”

“No. You just let them die. Without doing anything about it.”

His eyes water. “I was just trying to get close enough to find out who was the top guy. I swear.”

I cradle my head in my hands. It’s heavy with the information bogging it down. Too many free weights have been stacked on my shoulders. “I don’t know anything anymore, Mo. Especially not about you. You’ve lied to me this whole time.”

Mo refuses to believe me. “Crumbs, you’re the only person who knows me, Grace. The real me. Everything that’s happened between us is real. Not telling you about my dad and this group was my way of keeping you safe.”

I point to the cave we’re sitting in, then to my swollen face. “How’s it working for you?”

He shakes his head. “I know. But I tried to warn you.”

I jerk my head up as the main question pushes forward in a long line of inquiries crowding in my head. “So these guys kidnapped my dad?

He refuses to look at me when he answers. “Yes.”

A wave of energy jolts to life and pumps throughout my body in tandem with my blood. My breath escapes in short bursts of air. “Is he alive?” It takes him too long to answer so I stand and push him with both hands. “Tell me!”

Mo remains stiff. “I don’t know. They had him at the camp for a while. He escaped a couple times but they caught him.”

I almost smile thinking of Dad getting away. Must have been irritating for them. “Did they kill him? Just tell me.”

“I really don’t know. I haven’t seen him since then. But I promise, I’ll help you find out what happened, either way. These people took both of our dads from us. I’m going to make sure they pay for it. Okay?”

I shackle down any escaping emotions. This is not the time to crumble. I have to keep it together until I find out what happened for sure. “So now what?”

Mo rubs his hand over his mouth. “I don’t know. I can’t go back. As soon as they find out I killed Chief Reed, they’ll know I helped you. And if they find me now, they’ll kill me, especially if they think I told you anything. I need to keep you hidden for a few days until they leave. Then we can go to the authorities.”

“You can’t keep me prisoner here.”

He tugs on his hair in frustration and grits his teeth to keep from raising his voice. “Bloody hell. Is that what you think I’m doing? I’m saving your life.”

“Or are you saving yours?” I let the words hang in the air before saying more. “Besides, I’m not going to hide from these creeps. Lets go see Carl. He’s the police captain, and we can tell him everything.”

Mo raises his voice. “No, we can’t trust anyone but us. The whole town’s dirty.”

I almost laugh. “Believe me, you can trust Carl.” I think about how much by the book Carl has always been. “The guy doesn’t even know what it means to break a rule. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“Fine, but telling Carl only stops this group, and we may not find out where all the others are.” Mo thinks for a second. “I saw some maps back at the camp.”

I clutch onto his hand and squeeze. “If we can help Carl find these guys, we can shut this operation down.”

He massages his scalp as if he’s shifting thoughts around.

A glimmer of hope warms my heart when I realize he’s thinking about helping me. Maybe he isn’t bad after all. “Let’s go to Carl. Before someone else gets hurt. Please, do this for me. For us.”

He finally softens to my touch and leans his forehead against mine. His voice is almost too quiet to hear. “For what it’s worth, I’ve never killed any bears or anyone. Until that bloke was going to kill you first.”

This time, I don’t pull away. “I know.”

He clasps my face and kisses my cheeks. His eyes gleam with moisture. “In that moment, when I thought he would kill you, you were all I cared about. Grace, I don’t want to be without you.”

The armor around my heart unhinges. “Thank you for saving me.”

He strokes my hair as if he can’t believe I’m in front of him. “Can you ever forgive me?”

I rub his chin. “I know what it’s like to do what it takes for someone you love. Promise me you’re being honest now and that you’ll help me fix this.”

He smiles and holds up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.” Not even a second later, Mo’s face jerks toward the entrance. He places a finger to his lips and points.

My heart slams into my rib cage as I watch terror sweep over his face.

Something scuffles outside.

I grab onto Mo just about the time a group of men swarm the cave.