Christa Sinclair - Fugitive Pursuit

Nah. Just because he hadn’t been out on the hunt in almost four weeks, he couldn’t let his brain freeze. Besides, the courts called Jamie Carter a criminal who needed to be brought to justice. He had to follow the law.

* * *

Two days later, Jamie sat on the blanket she’d set beside her tent and leaned her head against the tree. Excited voices of adult campers and children around her helped to calm her heart. Yes, she could’ve hidden farther into the woods, where no one would find her, but the complete human stillness would leave her with too much time to think. Guilt had a way of creeping through silence.

What was she doing? By walking away from her sister and having fun on a vacation, she’d managed to let one of the most important people in her life get hurt. No, both people if she thought about it. Her sister was dead and her niece had no parents. Well, technically Charlotte still had a father, but if Jamie had her way, the man would never see his little girl again. Drew wasn’t fit to be a father.

Giving up her comfort in her apartment once she’d gone on the run had been a no-brainer. But she hadn’t been prepared for life as a fugitive. She constantly looked over her shoulder, and in another night or two, she’d have to move again to another campground. Too much time in one place made her an easier target to find.

When she and Erin were little, they used to put up tents in the backyard and treat their evening like a grand adventure. These days she was also on a journey but one of a whole different kind.

When she took Charlotte and jumped bail, she knew she had to let go of anything normal—no cell phone, no personal computer, no familiar places. She had grabbed the basics for survival, dropped her niece off with a friend willing to help and pitched her tent in the city park. With a beach on one side and summer campers on the other, she hid out, hoping for the guilt inside her to tamp down in her brain long enough for her to find a way out of the mess she was in.

As a soft breeze floated through the leaves, she glanced around the trees. Sunshine created streaks of light across the dirt paths, reminding her of the joy and happiness bubbling throughout her and Erin’s adventures all those years ago. Soft and comfy sleeping bags had cradled her and her dreams.

Now, she was alone.

Once she put Drew behind bars, she and Charlotte would camp throughout New England, hitting all the best-known parks. Jamie would make sure to share her sister’s love of camping with the little one.

She scrubbed her palm over her face and shifted her gaze to the wallet-sized picture of her, Erin and Charlotte that she kept in her backpack. Inside the bag were a few changes of clothes, all the money she had in her savings account and everything she held dear: pictures, Erin’s favorite Bible, trinkets that friends and family had given Jamie over the years, her own journal documenting her emotions as well as her ideas about Drew’s failings as a sheriff...and as a man.

Men were supposed to love their families, take care of them, cherish them.

Drew protected himself and his reputation.

Her thoughts drifted to the bounty hunter who’d tried to capture her the other day. He was probably good to his family. He seemed to care about following the law, not abusing it. What would it be like to have a man like him in her corner? She pressed her back to the thick tree stump as the image of the man flooded her brain. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes.

But Jamie had no time for romance. Thoughts of Mr. Bounty Hunter were a luxury she couldn’t afford. She needed to stay focused on making up for her mistake, for not being there when Erin needed her most.

Jamie hadn’t heard her ringing phone while at breakfast with her friends on the last day of vacation. Before she got on the road to return home, she’d listened to Erin’s message.

She was ready to leave the marriage, she’d found some incriminating evidence of Drew selling drugs and she needed Jamie ASAP. Noises in the background made Erin whisper and rush her words. She told Jamie she loved her. She started saying something about Mrs. C., an old family friend, but her words were cut off, then the phone had gone dead.

Charlotte, though, the most important person in Jamie’s world, was safe. Jamie wished she could stop by her friend’s house to spend some time with the girl, but she’d never put the child in unnecessary danger. Plus, Greta lived in Massachusetts. The time it would take to get there was precious. Jamie needed to stay focused.

With a heavy sigh, she returned the picture to her backpack, then stretched out on her back. Sunshine through the leaves cast heat and brightness over her. Jamie closed her eyes and willed herself to relax.

With so much pain in her heart, such weariness in her muscles and so many unanswered questions, being at ease seemed a million miles away. Hey, God, do You think You could guide me through this journey so I can protect Charlotte and honor my sister? She was pretty sure He didn’t care about her, but Charlotte? Surely God could come through for a beautiful child.

For a few hours, she’d rest, then she’d head to her grandmother’s best friend’s house. Another neighbor had said Mrs. C. had been gone for a couple months, but she was due back from visiting her son sometime today. Maybe the woman had evidence against Drew that Erin had started gathering while Jamie was out gallivanting with her friends? Surely Mrs. Cecily could give Jamie some insight into...something...

Maybe.

The weight of her battles pushed against her shoulders. Putting up with teenage attitudes, she could handle. Investigating a killer and possible drug pusher, though, was she good enough?

Yeah, her job. Only three years in the classroom and after all her questionable choices lately, she might never be allowed inside a school again. Thankfully she was on summer break, so she didn’t have to consider having a meeting with her boss. At least, not until August. She prayed her boss would show understanding and welcome her back when Jamie put Drew away. If.

Jamie flattened her palms on her stomach. A few minutes of nothingness and then she’d start planning her next move. For a few moments, she just needed...to be.

Something interfered with the brightness of the sun. A shiver scaled her spine. She jerked upright and scanned her surroundings.

A blue jay chirped above her.

She tossed the tent opening to one side and grabbed the baseball bat one of her star students had given her when he got accepted to his favorite college with a baseball scholarship. Wrapping her fingers around the base, she slid behind the biggest tree trunk nearby. Could Drew have found her? But she’d been so careful.

Faint hints of movement within her camping space broke down her confidence.

Did she dare peer around the trunk?

With the bat hanging over her shoulder, she inched forward enough to see an empty spot. She moved a little farther.

But the bat stayed still. “Your time on the run is up.”

Her heart jumped. She jerked her head around. Before her stood what looked like close to two hundred pounds of muscle. The man from the internet café two days ago. The injured one. The handsome bounty hunter. A hint of relief spread out through her chest. At least it wasn’t Drew.

Still, ways to escape his custody surged through her mind as she glanced around him. She’d done it before. She could do it again. Hopefully. Although this time he had her pinned to the trunk of a tree. A hint of cologne or soap drifted to her nose.

“I see the look in your eyes.” He tugged the bat out of her hands and tossed it behind him. It landed by her backpack. “But you’re not going anywhere except to jail.”