by Tanya Stowe
He searched the area. Nothing. No place to hide or shield them.
Thunder cracked right over their heads and Goldie jumped, skittering to the side. Joss almost lost her seat. He kicked Patches ahead to catch her. At the last minute she managed to right herself, but lightning crackled and Goldie skittered again. He slowed his pace and stayed right beside Joss as lightning and thunder boomed around them, keeping the horses skittish and jumpy.
I have to find shelter. We can’t keep this up.
The clouds opened and rain poured on them. In seconds, Joss was soaked. Her T-shirt clung to her body, and her ponytail sagged down her back. Dylan’s cowboy hat gave her some protection, but soon water poured off the brims of both their hats, blinding them. The rain lightened somewhat, but the wind whipped up, slanting the rain sideways so that it pounded them like little splinters.
The horses were almost ready to bolt. “Get off, Joss,” he shouted. “Walk Goldie and talk to him. He’s afraid.”
Not even trying to answer, she slid off the animal. Grasping the reins, she comforted the horse and stroked his muzzle. Dylan followed her actions and strode on, barely able to see through the growing gloom of the storm-darkened skies.
Finally he found a massive outcropping of boulders that was surrounded by trees. It didn’t provide an overhang for them to shelter beneath, but it did have a leeward side...away from the pelting rain. He motioned to Joss and hurried forward. As soon as he rounded the boulder, the piercing rain was broken. He breathed a sigh and turned Patches so the horse stood sideways, pressed against the rear of the shelter. Joss did the same and soon they were lined up, back-to-back, facing their horses, comforting them and speaking in low tones.
The rain pounded on and on. Dylan glanced over his shoulder to check on Joss, but that’s all the attention he could give her. She had a good handle on the horse, but she was sagging, tired and worn-out. He called himself another choice name.
This high on the mountain, maybe he could get service on his cell phone. With one hand he flipped out his phone and searched for a signal. Nothing. Patches neighed and sidled again, so he slid the phone into his belt and barely managed to get a hold of the horse.
Aided by the cloudy sky, the temperature dropped. The rain eased to a drizzle. The horses calmed and Dylan was able to give Joss more attention. Shivering, she leaned against Goldie, barely able to stand, weary from riding and wrangling the spooked horse. She needed to rest before they started riding again. She wouldn’t make it without a break. He tied Patches to a nearby tree, then went for Goldie. Taking the reins from Joss’s cold fingers he pushed her toward the rock. “Sit. Rest.”
She put her arms around herself and slid to the ground, leaning against the boulder.
As soon as Goldie was tied off, he hurried back. Sitting beside Joss, he wrapped his arm around her and held her close. At first she resisted, but her body was cold and he was warmer. After a moment she eased into him. He pressed his lips to the top of her head. She buried her face in his neck.
“Bad things happen after a storm. My father was killed after a storm like this.” Her teeth chattered around the words.
He rubbed his hands up and down her back, chafing them for heat. “I’m glad you’re remembering things, but this has nothing to do with a storm. It’s my fault. I never should have agreed to the ride. I just thought I could steal a few more minutes with you.”
She looked up, her eyes wide and full of want. “I’d give you all my minutes if you’d let me.”
Her lips were almost blue and so close, he couldn’t resist. He dipped his head and kissed her cold, cold mouth. She tasted cool and sweet like the rain, and her body felt soft in his arms.
It was all he could do to break the kiss and turn his gaze away. “Believe me, you don’t want that, Joss. It would only mean more trouble for you. Look what happened. I let my guard down and once again the person I care about most in the world is in danger. If that’s not God telling me to stay focused, I don’t know what is.”
Joss shook her head and tried to speak, but a violent shiver shook her. He tightened his arms around her, trying to warm her.
He wanted to apologize, to say he was sorry again. But saying sorry wouldn’t get them over the mountain. What was needed now was his legendary focus. His determination. He needed to get her to safety. So he said nothing.
Into the silence came the sound of all-terrain vehicles. The gang must have transported them in the backs of their trucks. The whine of the quads’ winding engines echoed through the forest. Joss turned to him, her eyes wide and frightened.
“Let’s go.” He lurched to his feet and pulled her up. They ran to the horses and untied them. He was in his seat like a flash, and watched as Joss clambered more slowly into her saddle. Just as she settled into it, he slapped Goldie on the flank and the animal jolted up the mountainside. Dylan kicked Patches into motion and took the lead. He grabbed Goldie’s reins. “Hang on!”
Pulling the horse forward, he kicked Patches again. They lunged up the steep bank, dodging trees, weaving in and out of shrubs. The going was tough where rain-slicked leaves made the horses’ hooves slip. They were forced to slow until they reached clear ground. Then Dylan kicked them for speed. And always the whine of the ATVs followed, growing closer and closer. As best as he could tell there were four vehicles.
Climbing at such a breakneck speed was hard on the animals. Their sides heaved with effort. Joss barely clung to the saddle horn as they bounced and jostled. He looked up. If they could make it to the peak... Not far on the other side was a ranger station and cabins. They could find help if they could reach the top.
A shot rang out and the bullet hit a tree to their left. Joss screamed. Goldie reared slightly. Dylan jerked on the reins, pulling to the right just before another shot rang out. This time the bullet went far and wide. Where did it land? He didn’t hear or see it. He let the horses go for a few more paces, and then he turned them to the right. He had to zigzag. Keep them changing direction so the shooter or shooters couldn’t zero in on them.
The next shot hit a tree on their right. Too close. The shooter had figured out their pattern and was anticipating their direction.
Go straight. Break the pattern again.
He kicked Patches and the sturdy horse bolted right through a six-foot-high brush...and straight out of the concealing forest. No trees to shelter them to the right or left, just a patch of rock and boulders leading to the peak. Even in the dusk of the cloud-filled sky, the gang could spot Joss’s white T-shirt. She would be an easy target on top of the horse.
Dylan pointed Patches toward the nearest pile of rocks, then pulled both horses to an abrupt halt. After sliding off, he turned Patches loose and slapped him on the rump. The animal raced away. Reaching up, he pulled Joss out of the saddle and pushed her toward the rocks. Then he set Goldie free. The horse galloped away as a bullet pinged off a rock beside Dylan.
If he could hold them off until darkness fell...
He worked his way to the highest point of the cluster of boulders. He slipped off his dark shirt and gave it to Joss to cover her white T-shirt, ignoring the fact that his white T-shirt, which he had on under his dark shirt, now made him an easy target.
“Run for that peak.” He pointed out where he wanted her to go. “I’ll hold them off. You should be able to see the ranger station. Head for that.”
“No. I won’t leave you.”
He grasped both of her arms. “You have to. Have you forgotten your brother and Maria? If Vibora gets his hands on you, he will use you to drive your brother out of hiding and he won’t make it easy on you or Jason.”
She shook her head. “I won’t leave you behind.”
“We’re here because of me. Give me the chance to make it right.”
She shook her head again. He pushed her away. “Go before it’s too late for both of us.”
She took a few steps, b
ut then halted.
“Go, Joss, now! I’ll never forgive myself if you die.”
Sobbing, she spun and ran up the hill. Dylan prayed the storm would protect her. Then he turned to face a line of bushes below him. From the sound of it, the ATVs were almost there. Gripping his wrist, he slowed his breathing and prepared to take aim.
An ATV broke through the brush. Not far behind was another. Dylan aimed at the lead rider and fired. The man cried out and fell off the quad. The machine shot off into the forest, riderless, with the engine still thrumming.
The driver behind screeched his vehicle to a halt, kicking up dirt and dust. The second man on the back jumped off. He grabbed the man on the ground and dragged him to the clump of bushes while the driver flipped the vehicle around and sped back the way he’d come. Dylan fired at him but missed.
Make those count. You don’t have enough bullets for wild shots.
The engines died and there was a momentary silence.
Good. They hadn’t realized he was armed until he had fired. His shot sent a clear warning and slowed their pace. Now they were trying to figure out what to do. That would give Joss more time to reach the peak.
The engines started up again. Dylan tensed. Why now? What did they see that spurred them into action so quickly?
Turning to look behind him, he spotted Joss on the precipice of the peak, silhouetted against the gray sky.
He spun back. The ATVs shot out of the bushes, rushing his location. He fired a shot and hit one man. He didn’t fall off his quad but he cried out. Dylan missed another. A shot pinged the rock next to him and he had to duck, but just for a moment. He popped out again. Two of the vehicles were closer.
While he fired at the two vehicles, the third ATV shot around the other side of the cluster of boulders, headed for the top. Dylan spun and fired at the two men on the machine but missed. The vehicle wove in and out of trees, and he couldn’t get a clear shot.
He ran to the end of the boulders as the engine slowed. He couldn’t see Joss, but he heard a scream echo over the mountainside. The engine revved again and the sound traveled farther and farther away.
They got her! The men on the quad got her. Dylan sagged against the rock. The other ATVs shot by him, heading for the top. Now that they had Joss, they didn’t waste time or bullets on him. They left Dylan alone...stranded on the mountain.
He’d failed. He pounded his fist against the rock and cried out. His anguished scream was lost in the ascending motors of the ATVs.
Why? Why God? Why do You let me fail when it means the most to me?
Because you believe you deserve it.
Joss’s words echoed in his mind. She was right. It wasn’t God punishing him, denying him happiness and a life outside of his work. God had given him Joss. A beautiful gift. A companion in his life, a bright memory amongst all the dark ones. But Dylan was too stubborn, too stuck on his own guilt to recognize what he’d been given.
All the time Joss had been dealing with her guilt, the Lord was talking to Dylan too, trying to show him how to let go of his own blame. Instead he’d shoved her guilt back at her, accused her of wrongdoing and made everything worse.
The words of Joss’s scripture came to him. Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
How he wished he’d listened. But now it was too late. He’d lost his chance. Vibora had Joss, and he would make her pay...and there was no way Dylan could stop it.
The image of Beth in her coffin popped into his mind; only this time, Joss lay inside. Dylan cried out and dropped to his knees. His body sagged. His weapon tumbled to the ground, and tears mixed with the rain on his cheeks.
* * *
Joss was squeezed between the two men on the quad. The man behind her had a knife pressed against her throat, and every movement, every bump of the machine caused the sharp, flat blade to pierce her skin. She was terrified, shaking so much that she bumped against the edge on her own. Blood dripped from her neck onto Dylan’s shirt as they descended the other side of the mountain.
It didn’t make sense. Where were they taking her? They had tried to kill her twice. Now they wanted her alive. What had changed?
Where was Dylan? Had he been shot? Was he lying somewhere on the hill? She closed her eyes as trembling took over her body. The man behind her laughed, a cruel, vicious chuckle that made tears run down her cheeks.
There would be no help there. She couldn’t expect an ounce of compassion from the gang members. She was on her own.
The man in front had headphones over his head with an attached microphone. He spoke into the thin microphone, giving someone their location and telling them where to meet them. She guessed the vehicles she and Dylan had seen in the distance would be waiting for them at the base of the mountain.
This side of the peak had much more vegetation. The quad wove in and out of trees and shrubs. It took longer to descend. Ahead she could see a cluster of buildings. The ranger station.
The cloudy sky decreased visibility, but there was some daylight. Maybe someone would see them. Hope rippled over her skin like a shiver.
But the driver turned away, skirting far from the buildings. The man behind her pulled her against him and pressed the flat, sharp blade to her throat.
“Yell for help, chica. Make me happy.”
Joss froze. They passed the gathering of buildings and Joss didn’t move, didn’t even breathe. The man’s sinister chuckle echoed in her ear before he lowered the knife.
Finally they reached a paved road at the base of the hill, where a tan SUV waited. The men on the quad pulled up. Several others jumped out of the vehicle, including the man with the shaved head and snake tattoo on his neck, the one Dylan called Snake Man. None too gently he bound Joss’s hands with plastic ties, gagged her and bundled her into the back of the SUV.
The men climbed into the front seat and sped away. Joss silently shivered and trembled. Had she survived just so she would be back where she’d started? Had Dylan sacrificed...?
No. She wouldn’t go there. He couldn’t be dead. God wouldn’t let it happen. They had come too far to let it end this way. Dylan was alive and he was coming for her.
She needed to stay strong, to fight her captors every step of the way. Determination filled her. Slowly but surely she controlled her trembling. She needed to see where they were going. She wanted to remember where they were taking her. Never again did she want to have the helpless, hopeless feeling of not knowing.
With her hands tied behind her, she couldn’t use them to lift herself, so she twisted until her feet were against one side and her back against the other. Then she wedged herself up so she could look out the window.
They’d driven into the city of Sierra Vista. The streets were full of cars and people. The SUV stopped at a stoplight. In the lane beside them a man sat in his car, with the windows rolled down. If she could get his attention... She began to make muffled noises and kick the window. If he would just look up and see the gag in her mouth, he might report it to the police!
“Shut her up!” the man in the front seat yelled, and Snake Man bent over the seat and pushed her down, pressing her face into the carpet so hard, she could barely breathe. After a moment she grew light-headed and stopped struggling. The man released her. She lay very still, sucking in air.
They drove for a long while. The sounds of the city faded. They traveled over hills and dips. She thought they might be driving through the hilly country of Patagonia. That meant they were headed to Nogales. Were they taking her someplace across the border to be shot and left in the vast deserts, where she would never be found? Her heart pounded so hard, she felt nauseous. If she threw up now, with the gag in her mouth, she could very well choke to death. Closing her eyes, she slowed her breathing.
The nausea abated. Her heart stopped racing. She rested, gathering her strength for what came next.
&nb
sp; They pulled off to the side of the road. The men stepped out. She wedged herself up to see. They milled around, talking and...waiting. For what?
It seemed like hours had passed. Joss needed a drink. Her hands were numb, her senses dulled, and still they waited. Finally a car pulled up and stopped. A man came to the back and opened the hatch.
They’re going to kill me and dump me in the woods.
Not without a fight!
Gathering her energy after hours of immobility, she kicked at the man at the hatch until Snake Man climbed into the back seat and placed a gun against her temple.
“Be still, little girl, or my friend will be cleaning up a mess in his car.” His voice was low and raspy, like sandpaper. Just the sound of it, let alone the words, stopped her cold.
The man at the back dragged her across the carpet of the hatch and pulled her out. Another car had pulled up behind them. The car’s headlights nearly blinded her. She ducked her head and wobbled as her captor stood her on her feet, which were numb. The passenger-side door opened. A man climbed out. Short. Wiry. He walked toward her with a swagger that set alarm bells ringing in her head.
She knew that walk. Memories flooded into her mind...of Vibora leaning over her, screaming, Where did your traitor brother take my sister?
She kept her eyes lowered and ducked away from the headlights.
Vibora dipped his head low, trying to see her eyes. When she didn’t look up, he grasped her chin in a vicious grip and forced it up. She refused to show him fear, so she schooled her features.
He studied her for a long while. “They say you do not remember me.”
Something sank inside of her. She knew this man’s reputation, knew his viciousness made an imprint everywhere he went. No way would she give in, show him the fear he wanted to see. He released her chin and leaned in close. “Where is your brother? Where did he hide my sisters and mother?”
She shook her head. Vibora motioned the man holding her arms to remove the gag.
The sudden release of the tight binding brought tears to her eyes. She tried to lick her lips, but they were so dry, the motion hurt.
