Waving to Kara, he then went to the car, retrieved their backpacks as Al removed his pack from the bike. After Jace secured their belongings, he felt an unexpected surge of emotion.
How many years had he longed for his father’s respect while growing up? If not for Rafe and his family, he’d never have known love or compassion. Al had changed in prison. Rafe tried to warn him.
As Kara made her way toward them, he shook his head. “Still can’t believe you’re working for Rafe.”
Al smiled. “Let’s just say the moment I figured out my son was undercover with the DP as a federal officer, I wanted to help all I could and do anything to protect him, keep him safe.”
His father’s smile dropped as Kara joined them. “I did a pretty crappy job with him growing up. I know I can’t make up for that, but I had to try.”
Al shuffled his feet as Jace explained to Kara the change in plans. Probably his father wondered if Jace would introduce him. Jace licked his lips.
“Kara, this is...my dad. Al Beckett.”
Al stuck out a hand, which she shook. Kara didn’t look shocked or confused, but graciously said hello. Relief surged through him.
Al glanced backward. “You’d best get going, before those fools catch up to you.”
He went to turn, and Jace acted on impulse. Catching him by the leader-clad shoulder, he drew in a breath.
“Thanks...Dad. I mean it. Thank you.”
Al shook his hand. “Wish I could have done more.”
Jace handed Kara the helmet. “Here. Get on. Use the helmet and when we get into town, I’ll get another for myself. But right now, we need to get the hell out of here.”
They roared out of the rest stop. In the rearview mirror, he kept glancing at his old man standing on the sidewalk, until Al became a tiny dot and vanished altogether.
Chapter 20
Kara had promised the cabin was remote. Uncle Phil certainly believed in being alone.
Deep in the woods, the cabin was nine miles from town, but could be accessed by a long, narrow road with twists and turns through the mountains. He followed the instructions he’d memorized because the phone GPS didn’t work in the mountains, and came to a dirt road leading to a wide, open field with three sturdy cabins. He rode to the middle cabin, a wood structure nestled against a flowing creek and a thicket of tall trees. He parked in the gravel space by the cabin and stopped her from getting off. An older model green pickup truck sat in the parking space by the cabin.
“That’s Phil’s truck. He leaves it here for hunting trips. Keys are inside.”
“Wait here until I check things out,” he instructed.
After using the combination Phil texted, he opened the door and inspected the cabin. Clean, perhaps a little musty. Basic furniture, one bedroom with a queen bed and a dresser, washer and dryer hidden in a closet. Tidy, cozy and well-kept. Sofa, coffee table, full kitchen and even a television set with a satellite dish. The back porch overlooked the creek, and trees marched upward in a slope from the creek.
He went out the back door and walked around the cabin. Pretty here, with the crystal-clear creek set against the mountain slope, the pine and maple and oak trees, and a bed of moss. Two chairs were set before a firepit. Jace inspected the back of the cabin’s exterior. The porch ran the length of the cabin, and concrete blocks supported the back half of the cabin, which was built on an incline. Great place for animals to hide. Squatting down, he saw a paper wasps’ nest in the corner. Had to be careful, but wasps were the least of his concerns.
He returned to Kara, sitting patiently on the bike.
“Wasps’ nest under the porch,” he told her.
Jace assessed their situation. Phil owned all three cabins and had put a hold on renting them out.
Much as he appreciated the gesture, knowing it cost Phil plenty of money during tourist season, this place didn’t sit right. It was too open, too accessible from the road. Anyone could come up the main road, park and take potshots at them through the trees.
He consulted his phone. No cell service, either.
Kara watched him. “Phil has a dish service and an emergency landline.”
Terrific. If they got into trouble, he had a rotary phone. “Ever try to text from a rotary phone?”
Her tremulous smile wobbled. “Not recently.”
“One way in, one way out. Where does that road lead to?”
“There’s two, maybe three other cabins up there and the road dead ends. Uncle Phil said there’s a hiking trail there leading to caves, where it’s rumored the Cherokee hid from taking the trail of tears, when they were forced out of their homes and into a death march to reservations.”
Hiking trail, and the other main road with the double yellow lines also dead ended. He felt like they were sitting ducks.
“We should leave, go to a hotel if we can find a room.”
Even as he said the words, he knew it was pointless. Hotels made Kara vulnerable. Too many sets of eyes on her, and mouths that would gossip about the pretty blonde and the grim man with her. Until Rafe discovered who Marcus was and nabbed him, Kara remained in extreme danger.
“Who’s going to know we’re here except for Uncle Phil? Maybe we might run into a local who turns curious, or a hungry bear, but that’s about it. Not in this section of woods.”
Sweet, sensible Kara. But here in the deep woods, without any backup or reinforcements, he didn’t like it. He turned to her. “I’ll take my chances on the bear more than the locals. Does Uncle Phil have any guns?”
“Hunting rifles, and a shotgun in the bedroom closet. He owns the woods around the cabins and hunts during deer season.”
“Good.” At least the extra weapons and ammo might come in handy.
Breathing in the pine-scented air, he felt a little tension ease. Certainly, it was cooler here, and during normal circumstances, he’d enjoy hiking in these woods. Jace helped her dismount.
“Have I told you lately how great you’re doing and how much I appreciate you riding on a bike and trusting me?” he asked as they took their backpacks and went up the steps.
