She couldn’t defend herself, or Samuel, from her uncle. Most of the time he just stared at her. The hatred her father’s brother harbored for her battled another emotion she saw in his eyes. One that Cassie never wanted to acknowledge. Her uncle would kill her someday, but she feared what he would do to her before he took her life. However, none of that would matter after today. She would gather her precious items and head down the mountain and find a way to live free from fear.
Cassie gave a visible jump when the men rose from the table. She kept her eyes lowered and watched their feet, making sure to keep Samuel out of her uncle’s way. They left without a word. Nothing new there, but when she glanced up, the look her uncle and father threw at her before they left let her know her time had run out. Cassie drew a steadying breath and went about cleaning the kitchen as she would every morning in case they came back to check on her. It rarely happened, but sometimes her uncle returned. Those times terrified Cassie. The sun crested the ridge over the top of the mountain. Following the plan, she’d mentally rehearsed a thousand times, she opened the front door and stepped out into the sunshine still carrying Samuel. There was no birdsong. Someone or something was out there, close enough and big enough to stop the animal noises. She picked up the feed bucket and went about tending the chickens. Her eyes scanned the dense foliage the men had pushed back away from the house. Cassie finished her chore and went back inside. She grabbed the broom and went into the kitchen just as the front door slammed open. Her father walked into the kitchen and stood in the doorway staring at her.
Cassie backed up, moving to keep Samuel away from his eyes. “What do you need me to do?” She didn’t make the mistake of calling him father. She wasn’t his daughter anymore. He was convinced she was the spawn of hell and the reason his wife was dead.
“Die.” The man spun on his heel and exited the cabin. Cassie leaned out carefully to watch him walk away. Her entire body trembled with a fear so consuming she felt faint. She bent down and lifted the floorboard in the kitchen and pulled out her supplies. She grabbed a half loaf of bread and sliced off a huge chunk, slathered it in butter and ate it as she built a pack. She wouldn’t be here for the beating eating their food would bring. If they caught her, the food would be the least of her worries. Cassie ate and drank until she couldn’t consume anymore. God only knew how long she’d need to make the supplies she had last. She took Samuel out of the sling and changed him before she added the remainder of the homemade cloth diapers into the sling, adding warmth and padding to the thin material. She grabbed her essentials, filled the bottle with good well water and dropped everything except the knife into another sling that she draped across her chest and then dropped down her back. She went to the door and cracked it. A robin’s song caressed her ears. Cassie shut the door behind her and made her way around the area the chickens roosted as if she were hunting for eggs before she slid into the foliage and headed east. She kept her steps steady and fast, but not fast enough to cause destruction along the trail. If her uncle or father came after her, she wasn’t going to give them any indication of where she’d gone.
Van pulled the reins on his horse and stopped where the trail widened into a high valley. They’d made it up the mountain about halfway, but the sun was setting, and as soon as it dipped below the ridge in the west, it would be too dangerous to keep riding. He didn’t need to say anything to Travis. The man made his way to the flat area beside a stand of trees and got down to business. They had a fire started, and their gear readied for the night before darkness fell. After so many missions, splitting the workload came naturally. Van pulled off the tack from the animals and took them all to a small stream that cut through the middle of the meadow. He let the horses drink their fill before highlining them out for the night. They had room to forage for grass and still be close enough that Van and Travis could protect them from anything that thought horseflesh would make a good meal.
When he made it back to camp, Travis had two MREs open and steaming. Tablets dropped into pouches made the water they added boil and heat the meal inside.
“What did I draw?” Van sat down and stretched out his legs in front of him.”
Travis threw him the outside bag. “Beef stew for both of us, so I don’t want to hear any complaints.”
“Did you already eat my peanut butter?” Travis had probably consumed the crackers, too. The man was a bottomless pit.
“You don’t like peanut butter.”
“How the hell would I know? I never get to eat it.”
“You told me once.”
Travis handed him his pouch, and they fished out the packets of food. Eating MREs would add about twelve hundred calories to your day, but the meals were murder on the digestive system. They reclined against their saddles and fed the fire with the remnants of a small dead tree they’d found not too far from where they camped.
“Dude, it never ceases to amaze me the number of stars you can see away from the lights of a city. Reminds me of Kashmir.”
Van slid a look over at his best friend and purposefully ignored the Kashmir comment. He waved at the mountains as he spoke, “This whole country can make you feel small. I remember once when I was visiting my grand…” Van froze. Travis lifted away from his saddle, and the horse’s heads popped up, their ears twitching from the front to the side. “Did you hear that?”
Travis held up a hand and whispered, “I don’t know what the fuck it was, but I heard it.” They sat motionless for what seemed like an eternity before they heard it again. “Dude, that’s a baby’s cry.”
“No fucking way. Maybe a big cat? I’ve heard they can sound like a baby crying.” Van couldn’t imagine a baby out here in the wilderness. They waited, and once again the plaintive cry of an infant traveled across the meadow. “Fuck me. That is a kid.”
“Skipper?” Travis’s question echoed his own. What the fuck were they going to do? If that child’s cry this far out in the wilderness wasn’t a literal cry for help, he didn’t know what was.
Van pulled out his GPS and called up the satellite overview of where they were currently resting. Travis leaned over so he could see. “We’re here. There is a ridgeline there, I’d think maybe there would be a possibility of caves up there. If we have a family holed up in a bunch of caves, I’m sure the rangers and wardens in the area would want to know about it. Besides, Reichs gave us enough supplies to last over a week. We have two more days up here, max.”
“I’ll load the extra supplies on your horse.” Travis was making the same call as he was. After years of working together, they thought alike.
Van nodded. “You take the pack horse with you up to Valentines’ property and deliver the message. I’ll meet you here, tomorrow night at sundown.”
“We are staying in contact with the comms, Skipper. I got a bad feeling about this shit.” Travis drank the rest of his water out of his canteen cup and hunkered down on his saddle.
“Not sure how good the reception will be with the mountain between us.” Van glanced up at the glaring granite face of the mountain.
“Then pop off a round and I’ll hightail it back down here.” Travis rolled over, finished with the conversation. “Night, Skipper.”
Van stood first watch, adding firewood as the flames consumed the logs. He’d give Travis four solid hours before he woke him to take over. They’d be awake and ready to go when the sun crested.
He listened intently for another cry but was unable to hear anything except the normal song of the night. He hoped the family would welcome the welfare check and the addition of some supplies to whatever stores they had. He stood up and stretched, moving out to check on the horses. He spoke to them, low and soothing, so they knew he was approaching. He could see the camp and still carried all his weaponry as he searched the darkness for unseen threats. It was ingrained training that was as instinctual as breathing.
He rubbed the nose of the mount he’d been riding today. “Where the hell is that baby?” He whispered his question to th
e horse. It nuzzled into his hand. “The reports said the only people living up here were the Valentines, but someone else has to be up here. The cabin is another half-day’s ride from here. There’s no way that sound carried from where they are.” Van chuckled when the horse pushed him away with his head. “Alright, I’ll leave you alone. You’re obviously not a night owl.” He wandered over to a large outcropping of granite and stared into the darkness. His thoughts drifted to Cassie, as they usually did. The anger he used to feel had died, albeit slowly. The hurt…well, that hadn’t lessened. It lodged in the middle of his chest, and he lived with it every day.
He circled the camp and made his way back to where Travis slept. A simple hand on his shoulder brought Travis out of his sleep and instantly alert.
“All’s quiet.” Van laid his rifle down as Travis picked his up.
“No more crying?”
“Nothing.”
“Roger that. I’ll wake you in four.” Travis threw another log on the fire and drifted off into the darkness. Van listened to his quiet footfall recede. He closed his eyes and, with the practiced skill of countless missions, he slept.
Cassie wrapped her father’s lined flannel shirt that she’d used to build her backpack around both her and Samuel. Her back was against the wall of a small cave…more likely a slight indention in the face of the granite wall, but it had a small overhang, and she could see all the ways her uncle or father could approach. Before the sunset, she had a partial view of the valley below her. There were deer in the middle, grazing lazily until something startled them. They fled toward her, so the threat, probably an animal, was between her and freedom. She searched the area she could see for movement, but she saw nothing.
The moon's light painted the landscape with a glow that illuminated the granite. It reminded her of the long nights in Kashmir. She remembered every time Van had led her out away from the camp. The tender touches, soft kisses and warmth of his body holding her were as vivid tonight as they were over a year ago. She gently rocked her baby. He squirmed and chewed on his fist as her memories led her away from the Montana mountain top, back to a cave in a distant country.
Van had captured her heart. She had no defenses against the kindness and tenderness he’d lavished on her. Cassie smiled into the night as she remembered when she decided Van would be her first. Moisture grew in her eyes as she recalled making the decision. She wanted to have that experience with Van. She'd seen the way her uncle's eyes traveled after her and stripped her of any decency. In her gut she knew what he wanted. The thought of being violated by her own uncle was sickening and repulsive…and inevitable. But she’d had to come back to this mountain. There’d been no other option for her. There had never been. Her uncle or her father would have killed her mom if she hadn't returned.
She’d asked Van to make love to her because she trusted him to make it beautiful. Cassie wiped at the tears that fell and glanced up at the moon. That special night was hers and hers alone. For once in her life she’d been selfish. No amount of abuse could strip away the memories of his touch, the look in his eyes, or the safety she’d felt in the shelter of his body. She glanced down at her son. Unfortunately, Samuel was destined to pay the price. She glanced out over the meadow. Her escape must succeed.
Exhaustion haunted her, and Samuel was fussy, which was rare for the babe. He was used to being carried in the sling. She patted his back, talking to him in hushed whispers. The chill of the night air would carry her voice and any noises anyone following her would make. Cassie drank all the water in her bottle, knowing she could fill it tomorrow morning and use the tablet to chlorinate it and make the water safe for the last leg of her journey. There was a stream at the other end of the meadow. When Samuel let out a cry, Cassie hurriedly stripped out of her slings and tried to bare her breast. She bounced him gently, but her fingers fumbled in her rush. He cried out again, rooting at her chest, looking for her nipple. She shushed him and pulled at her shirt, lifting it, but Samuel wasn’t going to be pacified. His cry echoed loudly against the rock face she’d backed against. Cassie managed to free herself and snuggle her baby on her breast. She carefully held him with one arm while she grabbed her precious supplies with the other.
She had to move. If her uncle or father was following her, then Samuel had given them a compass to find her. Dark fell quickly. Cassie stopped at the end of the ghost trail she’d been following and searched for a place to hide for the night. The area didn’t provide many options. The tree line was thin, and there were too many open spaces—spaces that could be viewed from above. She worked her way into a gnarled mass of branches between a small stand of trees and prayed the branches would obscure them. She nursed and soothed Samuel until he fell asleep. Cassie placed him on her chest and burped him before she leaned back. The injuries to her face, ribs, and thigh ached, but the keeping little Samuel’s body warm was the only thing that mattered. She draped the sling holding the spare diapers over him and settled back.
She gazed up at the multitude of stars and wondered what life would have been like if she’d stayed with Van. She shook her head. Staying hadn’t been an option. Instead, Cassie had sentenced her mom to death when she fled down the mountain. Guilt and remorse ate at her. She wasn’t a murderer like her uncle claimed, but her mother’s death was a result of her actions, even though she hadn’t known her mother had followed. What had changed her mother’s mind? The tearful goodbye? The fervent plea for her mom to leave with her? Cassie shook her head as the questions she'd never have answered ricocheted through her mind. She’d been resolute about staying when Cassie’d left that morning.
Cassie heard a long scratching rattle of rocks to her left. Something large was coming down the mountain. The sound was distant, but in her gut, she knew it wasn’t an animal. She closed her eyes, hugged her son to her and prayed for a miracle.
Chapter 7
“You’re sure you don’t want to go up to the cabin, Skipper?” Travis mounted his horse and looked down at him as Van tightened the cinch on his saddle. “You could maybe get some answers.”
“I got all the answers I needed when she left me high and dry.” He grabbed the reins on his mount’s neck and lifted into the saddle. “You take the message to her. If she comes back with you, fine. If she doesn’t, then we did our job. I’m going to find that baby and make sure whoever is out here is alright.”
“Roger that.” Travis turned his horse and headed up the mountain. Before Van nudged his horse forward into the meadow, his friend called back over his shoulder. “Tonight. At sunset. Right here. If you aren’t waiting, I’ll call it in.”
“The same goes for you. Why are we having this conversation? Stop talking and start riding.” Van laughed at the middle finger Travis threw over his shoulder. Travis was a mother hen and that was what made him one hell of an XO. One day the guy would have his own team. It would suck for Van, but Travis deserved a team of his own. He needed to make that recommendation when he got back to civilization.
Van pulled up at the tree line and took in the massive granite face at the back end of the meadow. He could see a small trail, a feathering of lighter white on the face of the rock. If there were caves up there, he couldn’t see them, but that cry had to have come from somewhere. He pulled out his GPS again and reoriented himself with the topography. If he headed straight down the middle of the pasture, he might scare off the people he was looking to help. It figured if they were up here and hiding, seeing a person coming straight at them would send them hightailing it into areas he couldn’t follow. He turned his mount back into the trees and headed toward the creek. He’d follow the water through the trees as far as he could and then move to the west, keeping out of sight from above. The closer he could get to the family before they discovered him, the more likely he would be able to make contact.
Van tracked the stream for over an hour. The meandering cut of the water took him through some of the most gorgeous country he’d ever seen. He was downwind of the deer grazing in the m
eadow and was far enough away that they weren’t spooked as he slowly guided his horse through the trees. Granite outcroppings forced him to alter his route away from the water’s edge on numerous occasions, but the roundabout way kept him out of sight.
He would have made the bottom of the mountain if he’d ridden straight up the valley, but every instinct told him he needed to keep hidden. His gut told him that an infant this far up meant trouble. He didn’t know what he’d run into, but he would be ready. His sidearm rested comfortably in its holster, and his rifle wasn’t secured in its boot. He rode with the balls of his feet on the stirrups ready to kick out and dive off the horse should the parents of the baby have a sudden, violent objection to his arrival.
He skirted a clearing about three-quarters of the way down the huge meadow and stopped. A person was making his way down the face of the rock in front of him. Van lifted the rifle and looked through the scope. There was a determination in his stride as the man descended. He wasn’t pussyfooting around. He was making time, and he was coming fast. Instinctively he knew this man was dangerous. What if there wasn’t a family up here, but a woman who was escaping with a baby…from the man coming down the face of the cliff now. Fuck. There were too many variables. One thing Van did know for a fact, he wouldn’t be able to help anyone if he didn’t get closer. He nudged his horse into a trot and picked out the quickest way to the face of the rock without revealing himself.
Cassie woke with a start. She’d fallen asleep. Samuel lay on her chest; his long dark lashes lay delicately against his cheeks as he nursed on his fist as he slept. She could feel dampness from his diaper. Cassie carefully examined the area. The sun shone over the ridge to the east of the valley almost halfway up to the zenith. She must have slept for hours after nursing Samuel in the predawn morning. The last thing she remembered was thinking about Van, wishing for things that could never be.
Montana Guardian: A Guardian Security Novella (The Kings of Guardian) Page 5
