Buch lesen: «Montana Standoff»

TWO

From the moment she’d pulled the mask off one of her abductors, Sarah had sensed that the hours of her life were numbered. Now as they dragged her deeper into the forest, she knew she was nearing the end. The men were not bothering with the masks anymore. Clear evidence that she wasn’t coming out of this forest alive.

One of the men—the muscular one with the deep voice—pushed hard on her back. “Where is he?”

They still hadn’t given up their line of questioning. Some sort of last-ditch effort to get the information they’d kidnapped her for in the first place. Their desperation and rage had escalated since her second escape attempt.

She spoke between gasps. “I...don’t...know...where my brother is.” Her wrists hurt from where the rope cut into her skin. This time they’d made sure her bindings were tight.

Deep Voice grabbed her hair, pulled her close and hissed in her ear. “You’re his sister.” He shoved her forward. “You should know.”

Sarah stumbled from the force of the push. “He doesn’t have a phone. He lives all over the place.” Though she and her brother had been raised in foster care together, their lives had gone in very different directions. The last time she’d seen Crew, he had not been in good shape. He was sober, but rail-thin and shaking, probably from withdrawal.

“He talks about you,” said the second kidnapper, a skinny man with acne scars whose eyes were still red from his dose of pepper spray. His words made Sarah frown. How well did Crew know these men? How had he gotten mixed up with people who were so clearly dangerous?

“I’m telling you, I haven’t seen him in a month, and I don’t know how to get in touch with him.”

“You’re lying.” Deep Voice grabbed her arm at the elbow and swung her around, which made the rope dig even deeper into her wrist. “Where have you hidden him?”

She lowered her head and angled away from the criminal. “I’m not hiding him. Why won’t you believe me?”

“You’ve got thirty seconds to tell me.” She heard the slide on a gun click back. Even under the threat of death, she couldn’t tell them. Why wouldn’t they believe her?

“Yeah, stop protecting him.” Acne Scars grabbed her shoulder and pushed her to the ground. She landed on her knees.

“Twenty seconds,” said Deep Voice.

The menacing tone in his voice told her that he would have no qualms about shooting her.

Sarah closed her eyes. Oh, God, please take me quickly.

“Ten seconds.”

Her whole body shook and she tasted bile. “I don’t know where he is.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m telling you the truth.”

Please, God, send help. I don’t want to die.

“Ten. Nine.”

“You got anything to say?” said Acne Scars.

She shook her head. A cry rose up in her throat. “No, I can’t tell you where he is because I don’t know.” Her stomach somersaulted. She couldn’t contain her anguish. “Please believe me.”

“Six. Five. Four.”

As she leaned forward, every muscle in her body tensed. Tears formed. “Please.”

“Three. Two. One.”

She lurched at the boom of the gunshot as her body went rigid. No pain came. She took in a ragged breath.

She heard Deep Voice’s harsh laughter. “That was a warning shot.” Cold hard metal touched her temple. “Next time, it’s for real. Put the blindfold back on her so she can’t see it coming.”

The hood went back over her head. A cold hand touched the back of her neck. The low voice was seductive. “Where is Crew Langston? Did you put him on a bus, help him get out of town?”

She shook her head, unable to form the words. Her heart pounded. She couldn’t stop shaking.

“All right, lady, this is it.” The hard gun barrel pressed against her temple.

Braced for another gunshot, she startled when she heard a thwacking sound, like a hard object making contact with flesh. One of the men groaned, and the gun was no longer pressed against her head. Flesh smacked against flesh. Men grunted. A body hit the ground close to her. Sarah struggled to get to her feet. Strong hands wrapped around her upper arm, warming her skin.

“Let’s get you out of here and to a safe place.” The voice sounded vaguely familiar. A hand grazed her forehead, lifting the hood off.

Her rescuer’s eyes grew wide with recognition as her breath caught. Bryan Keyes. The man she thought she’d never see again. The man who had broken her heart into a thousand pieces.

The larger of the two assailants, curled up on the ground, stirred.

“Come on, we’ve gotta move. I’ll cut you loose as soon as I can.” Bryan glanced around. He was probably looking for the gun or the best direction to run.

Acne Scars lay facedown, not moving. A log not too far from him must have been used to knock him out. But Deep Voice had started opening his eyes. They couldn’t wait any longer—they needed to move.

Bryan must have reached the same conclusion because he shook his head and then pulled Sarah toward the trees. She ran, hindered by her hands still tied behind her back. Bryan held her arm to steady her.

He pulled her deeper into the trees until they came to a steep incline.

“No way can I climb that with my hands tied,” she protested.

He glanced over his shoulder, pulled a pocketknife out of his worn jeans and cut the ropes that bound her wrists together.

“Better?” His fingers brushed over her wrist where the rope had dug in. Even after ten years, his touch had the power to make her heart flutter.

She stepped away. “Wait, what if we tried to get to the car they parked by the lake?” The shouts of Deep Voice barking orders to Acne Scars reached her ears.

“We’d run right into them.” He scrambled partway up the rock and turned back, holding his hand out to her. She took his help. They climbed until they came to a steep rock face.

“I’ll boost you up and then you can pull me up,” he said.

Down below, she caught a flash of movement. Deep Voice was wearing a bright yellow shirt, easy to see amongst the evergreens. And easy to realize that he was catching up. “Where are you taking me?”

“Some place safe where we can call for help.” He glanced down the mountain.

She hesitated.

“Trust me, I know this part of the forest,” he said. “Come on, we can’t stop.” He laced his fingers together, indicating that she should put her foot in them.

What choice did she have? She’d prayed for God to send help and He had. Now it was up to her to make the most of it. Sarah put her foot in Bryan’s hands. He pushed upward as she reached out for a handhold. God must have a sense of humor. Of all the people in the world, He’d sent Bryan. Ten years was a long time. She’d been a sophomore in high school and he a senior when they’d fallen in love. Or what passes for love in a sixteen-year-old’s heart. She couldn’t say now if she had loved him or had just been desperate to be loved. But at the time, it sure had felt real.

With Bryan pushing her up from below, she reached for a gnarled tree sprouting up close to the rock. She pulled herself up, gripping the tree with both hands. Bryan gave her a final push. She turned and reached down for him.

“I think I can get a foothold.” He grabbed her hand, their eyes meeting momentarily.

The love between them had shattered when she became pregnant. They had agreed that the best thing for their little girl was adoption. But Bryan had been so angry afterward, had blamed her as though the decision hadn’t been made together.

Bryan strained to get up the cliff face. “Other hand,” he groaned.

She held both his hands and pulled as he struggled to get some traction with his feet. The muscles in her arms strained. “Almost there.”

She pulled with all her strength, dragging him to the flat top of the cliff face. She leaned back, breathless from the exertion. Bryan scrambled to his feet.

“Come on.” He held his hand out to her. The August sun beat down on them, the air thick with heat. Down below, the two thugs were weaving their way up the mountain, choosing an easier but less direct path.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Sarah still hadn’t caught her breath.

“We need to get help, call the sheriff,” he said.

She stared up at the rocky terrain. “Isn’t there an easier way?”

“Sarah, would you trust me? I work here—I know where I’m going. Those guys won’t be able to follow us. They’ll give up.”

It was the first time he’d said her name. The warmth in his voice only reminded her of ten-year-old wounds. “I really don’t have a choice here. I’ll do what you say.” She wasn’t so sure about the men giving up, though.

They crawled over rocks and through thick brush. A branch flicked across her forehead. She kept moving despite the stinging pain and the warm ooze of blood. The fire tower came into sight. So, he was some kind of forest ranger? By the time he’d left town to go to college, he hadn’t spoken to her in months.

He led her up the narrow metal stairs into the tower, then stepped over to a small stand that contained the radio. He keyed the radio explaining that he needed a replacement and then said something about notifying the sheriff. He gave a brief but accurate description of the two thugs and their car.

While he talked, Sarah wandered around the sparse room. A double burner for cooking rested on a counter. Canned goods and gallons of water were stacked against the wall. An instrument of some sort with a map was in the dead center of the circular room. There was a desk and a chair in one corner, a cot in another. She sat down on the chair. A stack of books rested by the bed. He must stay up here weeks at a time. Yet, the place was utterly impersonal. Why had Bryan chosen such a solitary life? What had happened in the ten years since she’d seen him?

Bryan signed off and placed the radio back on the hook. He turned to face her. Those same warm brown eyes looked out at her, though they were edged with crow’s-feet and worry lines now, and there was a hint of weariness in his expression that hadn’t been there ten years ago. They had both been so naive and full of hope back then.

“What now?” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

He walked over to the windows, picked up the binoculars and peered down the mountain. “We catch our breath.”

“We wait?” Fear returned, sending a shock through her system. Those men meant to kill her.

“The forest service will notify the sheriff’s department. They’ll get those guys.”

The memory of the gun pressed against her temple returned. Her throat constricted and her heart raced. “Do you think it’s a good idea to just sit here?”

“We’re not just sitting here.” He handed her the binoculars. “Look, they’ve already left. I figured they would give up.”

She walked over to the windows and peered through the binoculars at the shimmering water below. No car. She focused on the road where she saw the light-colored SUV heading away from the lake. So he was right. “Can they drive up here?”

“It will take them over an hour. And if they don’t know these roads, they’ll never find us.” His voice was filled with reassurance.

Sarah let out a breath, relaxing a little.

He leaned close to her and touched her forehead where the tree branch had cut the skin. “I’ve got something for that. Go sit down.” He pointed toward the cot.

Sarah put the binoculars down and wandered to the cot. She tried to take in a deep breath. Those men had meant to kill her. Would they give up that easily? After grabbing the first-aid kit from a storage box, Bryan walked across the room and sat close to her. She could feel his body heat.

He handed her a piece of leather. “Tie your hair back, so it’s out of the way.”

She gathered her hair into a ponytail.

He pulled disinfectant out of the first-aid kit and touched the end of the tube lightly to her forehead. “It’s going to be okay, but we should get moving. After I deal with this cut, we’ll hike over to my truck.”

She closed her eyes as he gently pressed the bandage against her forehead. Memories of his touch all those years ago awakened old feelings. The power of the attraction made her forget the pain of how everything had ended...for a moment.

“There’s a little country store eight miles up the road. You can call for a friend to come and get you.” He wadded up the packaging the bandage had come in. “By that time, the sheriff will catch those guys.”

The warm feelings evaporated. So he meant to ditch her as quickly as he could, just like old times. He’d only been doing his duty. It was the kind of person he was. But now that his duty was finished, he wanted nothing more to do with her. “I suppose I should go to the police.” She hoped her voice didn’t give away the hurt she felt.

“Yeah, you’ll want to report this.” His voice was tainted with a bitterness she didn’t understand. “But not to the city police. This happened in the county. You’ll want to talk to the sheriff.”

“But they grabbed me at my house...in town.”

He rose to his feet and ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair. He spoke without turning back to look at her. “If you don’t mind my asking, why were those guys trying to kill you? What did you do?”

His tone was disconcerting. Did he actually think she was mixed up with something illegal? It had been a sore spot with them when they dated. His parents had never thought she was good enough for their football star son. His lawyer mother and business-owner father viewed her as the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. By that time, Crew was already having problems, too.

It didn’t matter that she had been a good student and never been in trouble. She didn’t have the wrong pedigree. She had no pedigree.

She took a deep breath and idly picked up one of the books in his stack. “They were looking for Crew.”

Bryan’s face brightened. “How is Crew?”

“I wish I could tell you. He has a drug and alcohol habit. Sometimes he has a place to live, sometimes not.” Now she was the one who sounded bitter. Crew, two years older than her, had been her protector when they were kids. But years of having to be an adult too soon had worn him down. He’d started out a petty thief and picked up a drug habit along the way.

Bryan stroked his chin. “I always liked Crew. I liked the way he looked out for you.”

Sarah felt a stab to her heart. Crew had made bad choices; she knew that. But the image that burned in her mind of her brother was of him offering her his last morsel of bread when they’d run away from an abusive foster home and hidden in the forest. Her heart warmed toward Bryan that he could remember the most positive thing about Crew, the reason she still loved her brother.

“I keep hoping he’ll turn things around.” And she wouldn’t give up that hope no matter how bad things looked.

Bryan stepped away from the window. “Sometimes people do, you know. Get their lives together.” He rested his gaze on her long enough to make her feel self-conscious. His look could still send an electric charge through her.

Sarah glanced down at the book she had picked up. C. S. Lewis, one of her favorite authors. But what was Bryan doing with a book like this? He’d never been interested in books with faith messages when she’d known him. Maybe his comment about people getting their lives together had been as much about himself as her brother. She hoped so. She’d found faith at the home where she stayed while she was pregnant. She’d gotten her life back on track at Naomi’s Place. Maybe somewhere along the road Bryan had had a similar transformation. She’d never stopped praying for him.