Chapter fourteen. The boy's too close, she thought

The boy's too close, she thought. Too close. I'll hit him for sure.

" You've got to take the shot, McCoy, " Perkins whispered. " You're the goddamn sharpshooter."

" He's too close, " she said. " I can't."

The man pulled the boy with him, the gun pressed firmly against his head, the boy crying in terror, screaming for his mother.

" Let... him... go! " Jake yelled. " He's just a boy, for Christ's sake! "

" Fuck you! " the man spat. " I ain't dying today! "

" The hell you're not! "

He laughed and jerked the boy by the neck, making him scream. " You gonna shoot me, bitch? "

The sirens got closer, just a block away now and Jake felt some relief. There was nowhere for the man to run, nowhere to go. He had to give it up. Jake walked with them, barely twenty yards away, Perkins just behind her. The man pulled the boy behind the garbage cans, kicking at them with his foot, nearing the corner. They heard the screech of tires, heard voices yelling, and Jake met the angry eyes of the man. He nodded at her and smiled, then she saw his finger go to the trigger, saw the gun press into the boy's soft forehead.

" No! " she yelled.

" No! No... I can't, " she cried, her arms flailing at her sides. " I'll shoot the boy! " she yelled.

Nicole sat up, watching Jake's movements, the jerking of her arms, the twitching of her legs. A dream.

" I'll fucking kill you."

Oh dear God. What does that mean?

Nicole moved farther away, wishing she had a flashlight, some-thing, to see Jake's face. She'll shoot? She'll fucking kill? Who?

" Oh my God, " she whispered. " She's a killer. She's an... assassin." Just my luck.

Jake sat up too, rubbing her eyes. " Shit."

" You... okay? " Nicole asked hesitantly.

" Yeah. I'm sorry. Damn dream."

" Yeah."

Jake lay back down, silently cursing herself. She'd probably scared the poor woman to death. She reached out a hand, pulling Nicole down beside her and wrapping her arms around her again.

Nicole tried to relax. Just a dream, for God's sake. But something about the way Jake had said the words made Nicole realize that she'd said them before, perhaps many times. But still, the arm around her shoulders was warm, secure. Jesus, it was the same woman who'd made love to her for most of the day, the same woman that Nicole had touched, had brought to orgasm more times than she could count. She let her breath out. The same woman who had made her delirious with desire, made her scream out with pleasure time and again, made her sink to her knees from the satisfaction of it all.

A stranger.

A woman she knew absolutely nothing about. A woman who could be a killer, for God's sake! She knew she wouldn't get another minute's sleep. Her eyes were wide open as she stared at the dark figure of the woman next to her, a woman who had fallen fast asleep again, a woman whose arms were still holding her.

Great, Nicole. Let your hair down for once. Why don't you pick an assassin? That'd make things interesting.

She closed her eyes, trying to relax, trying to find the same contentment she'd had when they'd finally crawled into the tent at dusk, totally exhausted, but still not able to stop touching. Even in her most vivid dreams, she never imagined she could spend an entire day having sex. Jesus, having sex with a stranger. But she had. And, damn, she'd enjoyed every second of it.

But now, now that reality was creeping in, now that she realized this stranger could be a hired killer or something, now she wanted to escape. And escape gracefully. After all, this woman had taken her places she'd never been before. Now that's an understatement.

Hours later, as she still fought a fitful sleep, dawn thankfully was creeping into the canyon. She pulled out of Jake's arms, careful not to wake her. As she unzipped the tent, she found herself face to face with Cheyenne, who had obediently slept outside.

" Hi, girl, " she whispered and was rewarded with a quick wag of the tail. She reached out and rubbed the dog's ear, then pulled her-self from the tent and zipped it up again. Sore muscles protested as she stood, and she was surprised she was even able to walk.

After a quick trip to the woods, Nicole gathered firewood and got a fire going, warming herself as she held both hands over it. It was probably the coldest morning yet, and she contemplated a dip in the hot springs. But, if Jake should wake up and find her out there, Nicole knew she'd not be able to resist, hired killer or not. So, she settled for the fire and hot coffee.

The sun was already up by the time Jake stirred. Nicole had taken her tent down and packed. The only thing she needed to add to her backpack was her coffee cup.

Jake crawled out of the tent, every muscle in her body sore. God, who would have thought? Cheyenne was lying close to the tent, front legs crossed and Nicole was sitting by the fire, twirling her coffee cup. At first glance, Jake knew something was wrong.

" Morning, " she murmured as she got to her feet.

" Ah... yeah, morning."

Jake hesitated, then motioned to the woods. " Be right back."

Something about Nicole's demeanor indicated that, well, something was wrong. And maybe it was just embarrassment or something. After all, they'd spent the better part of yesterday having sex. Jake scratched her head with both hands as she went into the woods to relieve herself. She absently noted that she was only slightly limping and had not even thought to take her cane.

When she got back to camp, Nicole was standing by her backpack, nervously kicking at a rock.

" You okay this morning? "

Nicole turned, having a difficult time meeting Jake's eyes. Jake just stared, waiting for Nicole to speak.

" I think I should probably head out. I mean, I'm really behind schedule."

Jake nodded slowly, wondering at Nicole's nervousness. Had she done something wrong? She walked to the fire, still watching the other woman. " Sure. I understand. But, you seem a little upset. You want to talk about it? "

" No, no. I'm not upset. It's just... well, " Nicole paused, shifting the ball cap over her hair. " I don't make a habit of doing this, " she said quietly. " In fact, I've never done this."

Jake nodded. " I understand. But, " she shrugged. " We're two consenting adults who had a little fun. At least I did. I hope you did." She watched as Nicole turned nearly scarlet, and she couldn't hide her smile.

" You don't really have to ask, do you? "

" But you're going to run away? "

Nicole nodded. " Yes. I'm going to run away. Provided, of course, that you'll give me directions."

Jake stared at her, again noticing the nervousness as Nicole's hands clenched together. Jesus, she'd apparently freaked the woman out. So, she sat down near the fire and held out her hand. " Show me your map."

Nicole produced it from the back pocket of her jeans and handed it over. Jake pointed to the rock next to her, motioning for Nicole to sit.

" Do you have a pen? "

Nicole found one in her backpack, and she sat quietly as Jake studied the map.

" Here we are, " Jake said, making a circle on the map. " See the indication for the falls? "

Nicole nodded as she leaned forward, watching as Jake's fingers moved over the map.

" Follow Grizzly Gulch downstream. It'll feed into Cottonwood Creek. You'll know you're there because Cottonwood is twice as wide as Grizzly. Continue downstream, that'll be to your left, and you'll come upon Cottonwood Lake." Jake drew a mark on the map. " The Colorado Trail is on the opposite side of the lake. Once you hook up with that, you're about a day and a half from St. Elmo."

Nicole found herself staring at Jake instead of the map and when brown eyes captured her own, she finally looked away.

" I think I can find my way now."

" Good." Jake leaned forward, brushing her lips against Nicole's. " Because I'd hate to think of you lost somewhere."

Nicole had to restrain herself from taking those lips and begging for more. Jesus Christ! Surely twenty orgasms with the woman was enough! She closed her eyes for a second, gathering herself, then stood.

" Thank you for... for rescuing me, I guess."

" Rescuing? " Jake grinned. " I should be thanking you. "

Nicole blushed again as she shouldered her pack, taking a step backward, away from Jake. She walked around the fire, reaching down to pet Cheyenne.

" It was... it was nice meeting you, " Nicole said awkwardly as she walked away.

Jake watched her leave, feeling a sense of regret. " You, too, " she murmured. As Nicole disappeared into the forest, Jake became aware of Cheyenne as the dog leaned against her. " Hungry? "

Jake took one last look into the woods, then turned around, pulling out her pot and stove from her pack. She still had not had coffee.

" Well, it's just us again, girl." She scratched Cheyenne's head, then lit the stove. Once water was heating, Jake walked toward the springs, stripping off her sweatpants as she went. She sunk under the warm water, her mind on nothing but Nicole.

Nicole methodically set up her tent, moving away from Cottonwood Creek and into the forest. She had hiked well past sunset, not relishing the prospect of an evening alone. Not after the last two days.

You're pathetic.

She ignored the little voice in her head and instead set up her stove to heat water for her dinner. She sat, staring into the darkening forest, trying to recall her hike today. It was but a blur. Her mind had been totally on Jake. So she had a shady background? Was that any reason to jump to conclusions that she was a killer?

" There was the dream, " she reminded herself out loud.

She rolled her eyes, convinced that she'd overreacted. Jake's touch was too gentle, too loving to be that of a killer. Loving? No, Jake probably did that sort of thing all the time. Probably preyed upon stranded women and used her skills to tame them.

It didn't matter. It was time for her to leave anyway. She would simply look back on this trip with fond memories and that was all. Jake was still a stranger.

She let out a heavy sigh, trying to work up the energy for a campfire, wishing she could forget about the hot springs. Wishing she could forget about Jake.