“You . . . you . . . you bastard,” Webb managed to spit out.
“You don’t know the half of it.” Frank smirked. “I warned you, kid. You can’t say I didn’t. Crossin’ me is the dumbest thing you coulda done. Now it’s time for you to get what’s comin’ to you.”
Before Webb could move, Frank fired the gun into his chest. For the briefest of moments, Webb couldn’t feel anything and wondered if the man had missed. Then, growing in intensity until it felt as if he’d been probed with a hot poker, pain washed over him and he knew he was going to die.
“Hurts like a bitch, don’t it?” Frank asked as he leaned down into Webb’s face. “But it ain’t gonna kill you just yet. You’ll lay here and bleed to death, which is more than you deserve.”
Frank laughed and walked away, leaving Webb to die in the rain.
Chapter 27
SIMON! SIMON, WHAT HAPPENED?!”
The words slowly penetrated down into the murky darkness that had once again swallowed up his thoughts. The pain was intense; it was as if a thousand church bells had decided to peal at the same time inside his head. His arms felt disjointed, wobbly, swimming around on their own. For the moment, standing was out of the question. He knelt in the pounding rain. The rain mixed with blood and ran down the sides of his face.
“Answer me! Where are Nona and Maggie?”
Nona! Memories of seeing Nona being dragged into the night flooded back into Simon’s mind. The bastards had come back to finish their job . . . to get their dirty hands on Harold’s stolen money! He had to get to his feet. He had to get to Nona.
“Simon! Talk to me!”
Turning his head slowly, Simon tried to focus his eyes on whoever stood next to him. Through his glassy sight and the rain, he finally made out Mabel’s lined and worried face.
“It’s Nona . . . The bastards took Nona,” he stammered, his tongue feeling as thick as a cinder block in his mouth. Even when he spoke, the dull ringing in his ears wouldn’t stop. He had a concussion; he hoped it was a slight one. “They grabbed Nona when she left my cabin and coldcocked me when I came out after her. I saw her break loose and run.”
“I’d fallen asleep in my chair when a gunshot startled me awake. When I ran out here, I found you like this. Oh, Lord! I shouldn’t have been sleeping.”
“It’s all right, Mabel,” Simon interjected. His head throbbed like a jackhammer. “What matters is finding Nona.”
“What about Maggie? Where is she?”
“I sent her to get Jack. I’ll need his help to go after them,” Simon explained as he tried to rise from his knees. When he reached his feet, the whole world swam in front of his eyes and he swayed from side to side, nearly falling back to the ground. Mabel put one steadying hand on his shoulder. “I can’t let them get away.”
“You shouldn’t be going after them at all.” Mabel frowned. “You’re hurt, Simon. Hurt badly. In the shape you’re in, if you somehow did manage to catch up to them you’d be in no condition to protect yourself or Nona. You’d end up getting both of you killed.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll manage. These men will kill Nona if she doesn’t tell them what they want to know.”
“What are you talking about?” Mabel repeated. “What could Nona possibly know that they would want?”
Ignoring Mabel’s questions, Simon turned and staggered back into his cabin. He couldn’t tell her now. It would take too long.
With every step, he felt a bit better. His head was still foggy, but his vision was improving and the ringing in his ears had begun to fade to a dull roar. Mabel was right about one thing: If he were to catch up to the men, he’d need to have his full faculties to help Nona. Anything less and they’d both be dead. He needed to be prepared.
Yanking open the top drawer of his dresser, he pulled out a pair of pistols. After checking both to make sure they were loaded, he slipped one into the waistband of his pants. Mabel entered with Dusty beside her, soaking wet and slightly winded from running. His hair was plastered to his head.
“What happened?” Dusty asked.
Simon handed the boy his rifle. “I need you to keep an eye on things while I’m gone. If there are more of them, and there could be, they’ll be coming for Maggie. Stay near her, and whatever you do, don’t let her out of your sight. I guess you’ve used one of these before?”
“Yes, exactly like this one,” Dusty explained. “Hunting’s a way of life in these parts. I’m no stranger when it comes to guns.”
“Good.” Simon nodded. Turning to Mabel, he added, “Try to reach the sheriff’s office and tell them what’s happened. I hope the lines haven’t gone down in the storm.”
Back outside, they discovered that the weather had worsened. The wind, in particular, had grown rough with gusts nearly strong enough to knock a man off his feet. In this weather, the criminals couldn’t have traveled far, not when they had to haul Nona along, but finding them was going to be difficult. They had headed north; he’d start that way.
“I’m worried about your head . . . ,” Mabel said.
“I’ll be all right. When Maggie returns with Jack, tell him which direction I’m going and that I’m just a few minutes ahead of him. He’ll know what to do. Stay together and keep your eyes open.” With that, Simon took off into the night on unsteady legs.
“Jack! Help!”
Before the chilling words could even sink in, Jack had rushed across the room and jerked open the door to LeAnn’s bedroom. LeAnn was sitting up in the small bed, the covers pulled up around her neck. Confused and concerned, Jack went to her.
“What is it?” Jack managed to blurt out. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry if I scared you but I didn’t want you to leave.” Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of red, and sweat stood out on her forehead. Her breathing was ragged, nearly panicked. Where her hand gripped the blanket, her knuckles were bone-white. “It’s just that . . . ,” she started to say, but a look of intense pain crossed her face, and she sucked in her breath through clenched teeth.
“She’s having the baby.” Maggie, beside Jack, spoke matter-of-factly.
“’Fraid so.” LeAnn winced and smiled at the same time.
“Now?” Jack asked incredulously. “I thought you weren’t due until September!”
“Well, it’s not like you can plan these things!” Maggie said confidently.
“It’s definitely now,” LeAnn admitted. “I wasn’t feeling all that well earlier. I had pains in my back and hoped it was just nerves or something I ate. But while I was lying here, listening to the storm, it got worse. Then my water broke and I knew for sure.”
Jack knew he had a hard choice to make, but when the time came to make up his mind, he found the choice wasn’t hard at all. “Maggie,” he said calmly. “Go get Mabel. Tell her LeAnn is having the baby. She’ll know what to bring.”
“What? But what about . . .”
“Now.”
“But Simon told me to come and get you! Nona needs you . . .”
“That’s why you have to go and get Mabel,” Jack said. He looked and spoke calmly. “Go as quickly as you can. I’ll stay here until you two get back, and then I’ll go find Simon.”
Excited, Maggie hurried to the door. Before she stepped outside of the room, she turned back and asked, “Will you be all right here? Do you know anything about babies?”
“I’ve birthed foals and calves back on my ranch,” Jack said, trying to smile. “Not quite the same thing, but it’s a start. Go get Mabel.”
“Right,” Maggie said and was gone.
Jack sat down in the rickety chair at the side of LeAnn’s bed. He could see that she was hurting and trying not to let him know. But the pain in her eyes gave her away. He took one of her hands in his and held it tightly.
“What was Maggie saying about Simon and Nona? Is everything all right?”
“Don’t worry about a thing.” Jack’s smile came easily. “Simon needs me to help him with something. A boat loose
from the dock, I suppose, but it can wait until Mabel gets here.” He felt slightly uncomfortable about lying, but the last thing he wanted to do was upset LeAnn. She had enough to think about without worrying about Nona. This baby was coming early, and that could mean complications.
“Well, as long as it’s not too important.”
“LeAnn . . . there’s no place I’d rather be right now than here with you.”
How could this have happened to me? I never intended to fall in love with her, or with anyone. A pregnant woman whose husband hasn’t been dead a week or two has completely captured my heart. I wish to God this baby was mine. If we could have been married before it was born, it would have been mine legally. I’m not sure how she feels about me, but she is comfortable with me and doesn’t seem to be as scared when she is with me. I wish we had had more time together before her baby was born, but that’s not to be.
“I have to admit . . . ,” LeAnn started, drawing his eyes down to her, but another wave of pain washed over her, and in another minute she couldn’t speak. Quick bursts of air hissed through her teeth as she squeezed Jack’s hand with surprising strength. Finally the pain subsided enough for her to relax slightly.
“A bad one?” Jack asked.
“Uh-huh. I’m glad you’re here with me.” She smiled sheepishly. “Although it embarrasses me for you to see me like this.”
Jack raised her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “You needn’t be embarrassed. It’s the most natural thing in the world for a woman to give birth.”
“But . . . I’m not your wife. But . . .”
He interrupted. “Don’t talk like that,” he said sternly. “I had hoped that we could get better acquainted and have an understanding between us before the baby came. I told you that I’d stay by you no matter what the circumstances, and I’m sure not going to change my tune now.” As he settled in to wait for Maggie to return with Mabel, he silently prayed that Simon could manage without him for just a little while.
Simon moved as quickly as he could across the camp grounds. The pouring rain had turned the earth to a muddy soup beneath him, and twice he fell to the ground. Filthy and soaking wet, he searched for any sign of the men and Nona. They’d moved off toward the tree line and away from the roads that serviced the camp. He was reasonably sure that they hadn’t gotten into a vehicle and driven away. He saw no tracks in the mud. Somewhere, in the raging storm and the dark woods, Nona needed him desperately.
Moving along the tree line and peering intently at the ground, Simon soon found footprints in the fresh mud. He couldn’t be sure how many there were, but certainly more than one set. With his gun held out in front of him, he pushed between a pair of tall bushes and was soon enveloped by the woods.
As he pressed forward cautiously, Simon calculated all the odds that were stacked against him. The bastards had succeeded in keeping Maggie hidden in the woods for days, undetectable to the dozens of men who had been out looking for her. If not for Dusty, she might never have escaped. What hope did he have of finding Nona now, especially after the blow to his head?
“Dammit,” he muttered.
Passing under a low-hanging branch that swayed menacingly in the heavy wind, he entered a small clearing littered with fallen trees. There, in the mud, were the clear signs of a struggle. It looked to Simon as if someone had been thrown to the ground. Had Nona struggled against them? Had they hurt her for her defiance? Preferring not to dwell on such a possibility, Simon pushed farther into the forest.
Time moved slowly. As the lightning and thunder played in tandem, Simon moved down a thin path between the imposing trees. It was hard to see all the way to the ground, but he was fairly certain that he was following the right set of tracks.
“Oh, God!” a voice coughed out.
Simon froze in place, his heart pounding. He strained to hear a sound other than the rain and whistling wind, something so he could be certain he hadn’t imagined it. Unsure of himself, he could only wait.
“Somebody . . . help me . . .”
This time, Simon heard the voice clearly. It had come from a spot ahead of him and to the left, off the narrow path and into the brush. Gripping the pistol tightly, he stepped into the soaking greenery and moved toward the cry.
Off the path, his visibility was even worse. Even with the frequent flashes of lightning, little of the light penetrated the tree cover. For a moment, he worried that he would stumble over the person who had moaned, so he slowed even more. Finally, as he rounded the trunk of a large tree and came into a clearing, he saw a shape lying sprawled in the grass. As he waited, the shape coughed and lifted a hand.
“Help me,” a man’s voice said weakly.
Cautiously, his eyes open for any signs of a trap, Simon made his way over to where the man lay on his back, his hands on his stomach. Even in the near-darkness, he could see the bright stain that had spread across the belly of the man’s shirt. The coppery smell of blood was strong.
“What happened?” Simon asked. “Where’s Nona?”
After another fit of coughing, the man said, “Is that you, Wright?”
Shocked, Simon answered, “Yes. Where’s Nona?”
The man didn’t answer for a long while. His body twitched with pain, his hands laced over his blood-covered midsection. Simon had the sudden fear that the man would die before he could tell him what had happened, before he could tell him where they’d taken Nona. He needed answers.
“How do you know who I am?” Simon repeated.
“We’ve been . . . been watching the camp for weeks. All . . . I . . . wanted was the money . . . I didn’t want anybody to get hurt. He just wouldn’t . . . wouldn’t listen. He’ll hurt . . . hurt her bad.”
“Who are you talking about? Who’s going to hurt her?”
“Frank . . . Frank will hurt her. He . . . shot me when I tried . . . tried to stop him from choking her. I couldn’t . . . couldn’t hit him . . . I couldn’t . . . make him quit. He’s . . . crazy.”
A sickening feeling spread throughout Simon’s gut. Frank had shot this man and left him to die. Frank was now alone with Nona somewhere in these woods. He had to find them soon. “Where did they go?”
“You’ll never . . . never find them in . . . this storm.”
“Goddammit! I said, where did they go?” Simon demanded. Time was running out with every passing second. His blood turned cold with dread. “Come on, man, tell me which way they went!”
Even as Simon raged at him, the man remained still. Was he keeping silent out of choice or was he too weak to answer? Finally, he slowly raised a shaky arm and pointed back toward the path that Simon had been traveling.
“He took her . . . that way . . . ,” the man managed to say. “We had a cabin . . . about five miles . . . to the north. It . . . it looks abandoned . . . from the outside. He’ll take her there . . . to make her talk . . . hurt her if she . . . don’t.”
Without another word, Simon began to move back toward the path. He knew that there was nothing he could do for the man; his wounds were too severe and he’d soon bleed to death. Nona was his only concern.
“I’m . . . I’m sorry,” the man croaked out before Simon was out of earshot.
“Not as sorry as that son of a bitch is going to be.”
Chapter 28
AS THE POUNDING RAIN CONTINUED to fall, Nona rubbed her wet arms for heat. Although the action didn’t warm her, something about it was comforting. Comfort was what she needed; the last hour had been one long nightmare. After being roughly slapped awake, she’d been horrified to learn that Frank had shot the other man and had left him behind to die. She’d wanted to do something for him, but Frank would have none of it, and with a snarl and a shove, he’d pushed her farther into the woods.
Silently, she cursed herself for the weakness she felt overwhelming her. She hadn’t wanted to cry, but her tears mixed with the rain as it washed down her cheeks. This man is a heartless killer! He’d kidnapped Maggie and shot a man in cold blood without the
slightest hint of remorse. Nona could only imagine what he had in store for her if she failed to give him what he wanted.
But what can I do? she thought frantically.
Even if she were to run, to try to break free, where would she go? Frank and the other man had spent days, maybe weeks, scouting out the area around the lodge grounds. He was familiar with the terrain. He would find her. Then there was the matter of her damaged leg. She was sure she hadn’t broken anything, but her knee hurt as if it had been hit with a sledgehammer. She wouldn’t get very far on it. If, by some miracle, she were to find a road, what were the odds that someone else would be on it as well? Slim to none, she guessed.
“Just get that idea outta your pretty little red head,” Frank warned.
“Get what out?”
“Any thoughts about runnin’ off. I ain’t in any mood to go chasin’ after you in this shit,” he said as he waved the pistol at the storm above. “I’d rather just shoot you and take another crack at your sister.”
Nona swallowed the bile that was building in her throat. Every time Frank opened his mouth, he revolted her. The things he said, especially about Maggie, made her skin crawl. Why won’t he just shut up?! I can’t stand to . . . Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. If she could keep him talking, it might make it easier for someone to find them. If Simon were looking for her, he’d hear the bastard’s voice. It wasn’t much, but she had to try.
“Maggie said you wanted money,” she prodded.
“You know it ain’t just any old money.” Frank laughed. “This ain’t about pocket change or Grandma’s family jewelry! You ask me, I think there ain’t no doubt you know what this whole mess is about. I’m bettin’ you’re a touch smarter than that sister of yours.”
“If I did know,” Nona continued, happy that he hadn’t told her to keep her mouth shut, “don’t you think I’d just tell you and be done with it?”
On Tall Pine Lake Page 23
