She was asleep within minutes, leaving Wyatt alone to think about who could be after her and why. And what he could do to help. How would they investigate who she’d been decades ago when she had no ties to her old life, no inkling of where she’d come from?
How did she handle not having any links to her past? He wondered if she’d experienced trauma at a young age. Considering the danger she was in now, maybe it was better that she didn’t have those links.
The time went by quickly in the quiet of night, as Wyatt kept his eyes open and his ears tuned to any unusual sounds in the woods. After two hours had passed, he debated not waking Elsie, but knew she’d be frustrated if he didn’t stick to the plan. So he reached for her shoulder and gently nudged it.
She was awake in seconds, eyes wide, blinking.
“It’s your turn. But if you’d rather keep sleeping...” He let his voice trail off.
She moved into a sitting position, shook her head. “No, I’m good. You take a rest now.”
So he lay down on a jacket he’d wadded up to use as a pillow. He knew sleep wouldn’t come easily. The pain in his head was less than it had been earlier, but he still wasn’t comfortable, and he had too many thoughts running through his mind.
It was enough to overwhelm him if he let it, so Wyatt tried not to focus on it. Tried to just fall asleep. And eventually felt himself drifting off.
Screams tore the air. Panicked screams of pain or terror or possibly both.
Elsie’s eyes flew open. She’d thought she’d been awake, but she found herself slumped over and startled by the sound. She’d accidentally fallen asleep during her hour to watch. A couple of feet away from her, Wyatt stirred.
“What’s going on?” he whispered.
“I don’t know.” Humiliated, she admitted, “I fell asleep. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, can’t change it now. Was that a woman? Not a bird, some kind of wildlife...?”
Another scream. Indisputably human.
Willow growled.
“What if it’s our missing person?” Elsie asked. “Shouldn’t we try to save her?”
“You’re search and rescue and I’m a pilot. We’re not a tactical team. That’s a job for SWAT, maybe the Troopers. Us getting hurt or worse won’t help her or law enforcement.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Elsie...”
She heard him, she really did. And she seriously considered staying where she was, not risking her life any more than she already had. She had to admit that the person who was after her was here on the island and wanted her dead.
But what if their missing hiker had met with foul play because Elsie had been the one sent to search for her? What if her would-be attacker had come upon the missing woman in the woods just now and harmed her, thinking she was Elsie?
It would be difficult if not nearly impossible to live with that on her conscience.
“Elsie... Where are you?”
That voice. It came from the woods. Familiar, threatening, the same she’d heard twice before.
She moved closer to Wyatt. Fear gripped her throat and chest. “That’s him.”
He pulled a revolver of some sort out of a holster and she felt a small amount of relief. The most dangerous weapon she had on her was bear spray, which would be effective on a human, though technically that use was illegal.
But he didn’t shoot it.
“What are you doing?”
“I can’t shoot without a target.” Frustration colored his tone.
“Where are you, Elsie?” the voice called. “You can’t get away this time. He was always going to find you.”
She frowned. He? The man who was after her was separate from the person who wanted her dead or hurt, it seemed.
Her throat closed a little more and she felt herself struggle to stay calm. To breathe.
“What do we do?” she asked Wyatt, wanting to feel less alone. “Stay here? Run?”
This had seemed like a safe place to spend the night, but now she realized that they were sitting ducks.
But the woods weren’t far.
The woman who’d screamed was still out there somewhere, too.
Those facts made Elsie’s decision for her. She started to tense. “We have to run,” she whispered to Wyatt, knowing Willow would read her movements and respond accordingly.
“Elsie, no—” Wyatt started, but she was already sprinting across the beach for the trees opposite where she thought the attacker was. Willow moved with her, the two of them running for the trees and safety. When she was in the shadows and the darkness, not silhouetted in the moonlight, Elsie started to breathe again. Even more so when she heard Wyatt behind her.
“You should’ve stayed put.”
“The voice was getting closer. He was coming for us.” Elsie’s sense of powerlessness and frustration overwhelmed her. She knew she’d taken a chance running into the woods for cover, but she wasn’t sure it was a bad move. “And we have to find the woman who screamed.”
