by Dale Mayer
“I don’t know, but answer the question so I can find out,” he said in frustration.
“At least an hour I’d say. I know she was talking about getting some food.”
“The mess tent is gone. No food until we get to the new base.”
“It’s down to rations again?” Dr. Robertson grimaced. “I’ll wait for mess tent food. As for Caitlyn, she’s got to be here somewhere.”
Ryder watched as the doctor argued with somebody stacking up bags. Presumably Dr. Robertson’s own. Swearing under his breath, Ryder pulled out his phone only to realize he still didn’t have any reception. He couldn’t contact the rest of his team. He picked up his pace.
He found Corey first. “Have you seen Caitlyn? Nobody has seen her in the last hour.”
Corey shook his head.
Ryder explained what one of the soldier’s had said in his interview.
Corey slowly stopped what he was doing and stood up. “You think something’s happened to her?”
“I have no idea.” Ryder raised both hands in frustration, followed by a grimace of pain. “Why would they take her and not Dr. Robertson?”
Just then there was a harsh crack. Ryder glanced around. “Was that a gunshot?”
At the uproar behind him, he spun and saw Dr. Robertson collapse to the ground. “Shit.” He raced back toward the doctor.
With several people helping Dr. Robertson sit up as he arrived, Ryder could see fresh blood across his shoulder. Dr. Robertson caught sight of Ryder. “I don’t know what the hell happened,” he said, “but you need to find Caitlyn fast.”
Corey was already veering away from the crowd. “The shot came from the left, the trees up on the far side.”
The whole camp was now on high alert, weapons ready, as they raced to finish the move. Dr. Robertson was injured but holding his own as they prepped him for the next helicopter ride.
Easton showed up behind Ryder. He yelled, “We have to go. They must have Caitlyn.”
Easton said, “Can you be sure of that? I’m all for going after her, but we have to make sure it’s not a wild goose chase.”
Ryder shook his head. “I don’t know where she is. I just know she’s not here.”
“Damn it, Ryder.” Easton shook his head, activated his comm unit. “Ryder and Easton on the move to retrieve possible kidnapped victim Caitlyn. Corey and Devlin, let the brass know so a full headcount is done before we lose someone else in the chaos, before rendezvousing with us in the far east section of the trees.”
Ryder and Easton raced through the woods, heading in the direction where the shot had been fired. Teams formed down below, and another team was on guard as the rest of the men packed up the last of the camp. They’d be out of here in fifteen minutes.
But Ryder wasn’t going without Caitlyn. And as long as the teams knew they were out looking, somebody would stay behind. The dust was in his face, the sun beating down over the treetops. He didn’t slow his pace. If Caitlyn was up ahead, the rebels would be moving fast. Sure enough, a plume of dust rose ahead of him. They had wheels. Dammit, he didn’t have any.
Just then he heard an engine. He turned around to see Corey and Devlin driving one of the jeeps toward him. He waited until they were beside him before he and Easton joined Corey in the back. It didn’t take long to update them. The plan was rough, but it was to get ahead and cut off the kidnappers. It was the only way they could stop them from disappearing into the hills. Once that happened, it would be hell to find her again, particularly since the rebels had wheels and could move fast. They had places to hide which Ryder’s team didn’t know about. He’d track her down, but speed was paramount.
He’d never give up searching for her. As soon as the rebels were done with her, the men would shoot her and bury her in the sand. Mother Nature would take care of the rest.
Leaning forward, he urged Devlin to drive faster.
Devlin said, “Hang on, Ryder. We’ll get her.”
Ryder sat back and caught sight of something moving to the left. He stood up in the back of the open-air jeep and studied the plumes. The other vehicle was escaping. “We have to go faster. We can’t come in ahead of them at this rate.”
Corey handed Ryder a long-range semiautomatic rifle. He picked it up with his good arm and awkwardly put it into position. This was much better. If nothing else, this gave them a little bit of a chance. Taking a shot at the driver while moving was not the same as a shot when he was stationary, but it was all Ryder had.
Just then they hit a rock. Devlin lurched to the side, pulling the wheel hard. Ryder grabbed on but was still tossed from one side to the other. His arm jarred, sending shards of pain up his shoulder.
“Sit down,” Corey urged. “Calm down. We’ll get her.”
Ryder’s fingers locked on the weapon in his hand as he kept telling Caitlyn, Hang on, girl. Hang on. I’m coming. Inside his stomach knotted tighter. But adrenaline kicked his blood to pump faster. He just wished he was driving.
The jeep rounded a corner, came up over a crest, taking to the air before landing hard. Ryder wasn’t sure where Devlin was going. As they came around the corner, they saw the other vehicle catch sight of them and yanked to the side, gaining slightly. Immediately Ryder stood, took aim and fired. But his vehicle bounced, and his shot went wide. He could see a woman in the back of the vehicle and knew they had Caitlyn. But it would be hard to get close enough to get them. What they needed to do was stop the vehicle without making it flip; otherwise Caitlyn could get hurt in the crash.
There was also a chance the vehicle ahead was riding toward a rebel army. A group of trees were coming up where the road split. The enemy went to the left, Devlin went to the right. With his heart in his throat, Ryder tried to see through the brush, but there was no visibility. Devlin flattened out the gas pedal and poured in as much effort as he could into making up time and moving faster and faster. The huge dust cloud rising around them made it impossible to see where the other vehicle was. Ryder knew they were in danger of coming up against an entire army, and they could be picked off easily.
Finally the road curved to the right, but, instead of taking it, Devlin took a turn to the left and drove cross-country. There was a little bit of a rise up ahead. He hit the brakes hard, and everybody swept from the vehicle, weapons ready. A second enemy vehicle came racing forward. But the men were ready. The first shot took out the driver; the second shot took out his passenger riding shotgun. Several more shots took out the wheels. They had it surrounded within minutes.
Only to find Caitlyn wasn’t there.
The vehicle was empty except for the dead guys.
“Shit.” Ryder stared in anger and frustration. “Where the hell is she?”
“They had to have met up with someone.”
“Or they dumped her out.”
At that the men bolted back into the vehicle. “That’s why we managed to get ahead of them. They stopped.”
Devlin jumped into the driver’s seat a hair faster than Ryder. He drove, following the other vehicle’s tracks. Ryder’s biggest worry was, if this enemy vehicle had been a diversion, another rebel vehicle carried Caitlyn farther away even now.
They couldn’t go as fast this time because they needed to see where the other vehicle might have stopped. The slower pace chafed at him. Ryder realized another problem. Fuel. They were almost out of gas.
Chapter 18
Caitlyn opened her eyes, and terror slammed into her at the sight of an enemy soldier sitting beside her. Her body was being jostled from side to side; pain drummed through her skull. It seemed like every part of her had been pounded into hamburger. She had no idea what had happened or what was still happening, but panic coursed through her, and hot acid fought to escape her mouth. She was in the back of some kind of vehicle. Although she wasn’t tied up, she wasn’t alone. Soldiers sat beside her. But not in uniforms she recognized. She’d been taken prisoner again.
She closed her eyes so nobody would know she was awake. But t
hey yelled and screamed at each other and made gestures. She desperately wanted to lift her head and see if somebody was following, possibly already searching, but didn’t dare. There was a reason her head hurt now. There was a reason the rest of her throbbed. She doubted anybody had given a crap as to how gently they had treated her. And all the yelling made her head pound even worse. She wanted to cry. She could feel the hot tears burning the corners of her eyes. But letting them drop would mean they would know she was awake. And that couldn’t happen at any cost.
Finally the noises quieted. The men reduced their tones to something more like shouting instead of screaming in a mad panic. She took that as a bad sign. She was quite happy to share what she knew, but it wouldn’t make anyone happy. She expected a bullet to the back of her head, followed by a shallow grave somewhere in the sand. But she wasn’t giving up yet. Not now that she had Ryder back in her life. She didn’t know what it would take to stay alive, but there had to be something she could do.
Through her lashes she studied what she could see without moving a muscle. The man beside her leaned forward and talked to somebody, pointing between the driver and passenger. The sun wasn’t high yet, so it was still morning. She was supposed to be out of the camp. How long had she been gone? At least one, maybe two, hours. Hell, it could be three or four. She wasn’t very good at navigating and still couldn’t get east and west within a city straight. She understood when the sun was high, but other than that she was lost.
The man seated beside her held a rifle. It looked like a semiautomatic and was pointed in her direction. But he wasn’t paying attention.
Just then the vehicle slowed, and her heart jumped to her throat. The brakes were slammed on, and she was covered in a blanket of dust. Doors opened, and she was dragged out, tossed over somebody’s shoulder. She was jostled, her head smashing, and the pain …
When she woke up again, she was trussed up under a tree. She rested in place, figuring out exactly where she was. She was hot, tired, her throat clogged with dust, and she could barely get enough saliva to moisten the inside her mouth. The hot tears refused to be held back this time. Instead, they ran in rivulets down her cheeks. She blinked, furious at herself. She wanted to sit up and look around, see if she was under guard. Find a way to free herself and get the hell out of here, but she was too scared to move. She listened intently.
Was she alone? Had they taken off and left her to die? God, wouldn’t that be brutal. How far could she get without water? The answer didn’t really matter because it would not be enough regardless. She slowly twisted and turned to see where she might be. She was grateful for a little bit of shade, but it wouldn’t last long.
Her hands were tied behind her. She managed to shuffle until she sat against the tree trunk. She studied her surroundings. This was not how she’d planned her day. She could see footprints leading her here, and then they walked away. A single set only. The tracks headed off to the left. She studied them. They climbed over a rise and disappeared. It wasn’t like she had much of a chance of getting away, but they hadn’t even left a guard with her, which was both good and bad. It was great they didn’t consider her a threat, but it was also incredibly scary to consider she had been abandoned. Or was left for bait to ambush Ryder’s team. Or was left without food and water to lower her resistance before the leader came to interrogate her.
The rebels could come back and get her at any time … That thought spurred her on. Or they planned for the desert to kill her, after they got what they wanted from her. She struggled to free her hands and could feel her blood making her wrists slippery, but still it was useless. She did manage to hook her arms under her butt and, after much struggling, got them in front of her. She then started working on the knots with her teeth.
It was just an old frayed rope. Surely with time she could untie her hands. She just didn’t know how much time she had. And then there were her bound feet to deal with. An hour later, frustrated and angry and so damn alone, she took a break and bowed her head against her arms. She caught her breath and asked herself what Ryder would do in a situation like this?
Of course the answer was Ryder wouldn’t be in a situation like this. And, if he did find himself in the unlikely position, he’d get himself out of it. So why the hell couldn’t she? She stared down at the ropes on her feet and realized they weren’t tied as tightly as the one around her hands. Using her fingers, she quickly untied the knots around her ankles. With her feet free, she bounded to a standing position, and, with her arms still tied in front, she stared out in all directions, but saw nothing but dirt and sand and brush for miles.
There were the footprints that had retreated and had to lead to vehicle tracks. They were, however, tracks made by her kidnappers, which were the last people she wanted to find. But those tracks were the only ones she could see. And they had to lead somewhere.
Somewhere was better than being nowhere.
She took off at a dead run. She hadn’t gotten far when she realized she had to slow down. Her throat was dry, and she was burning through her energy too fast. But the tracks had led her down and around one hill already.
There was still no sign of anyone. Up ahead she could see what passed for a road. Or at least tracks the vehicles had traveled.
That was her goal. Her biggest problem would be if the enemy came upon her first. But she heard no sounds of a vehicle. Nor was there a plume of dust as far as she could see in any direction. She kept putting one foot in front of the other. She’d heard of tricks like putting rocks in her mouth to keep the saliva flowing to stop the parched sensation, but it offered minimal relief at best.
The heat beat down on her, baking her face and scalp. A grove of trees was up on the far side. She headed toward it, needing the coolness of the shade. When she reached it, she slumped down, waiting for the heat to ease and for her breathing to calm. There had to be a way to contact somebody. She had no cell phone, no matches, no gun, no knife … She had nothing. She’d never felt so unprepared for the reality of where she found herself. She studied the tree line and realized more trees were farther up a hill. Maybe at least there she could find something to signal someone.
Taking a chance with a bit more of her energy, which she was running quickly out of, she raced up the hillside to the trees. There, hidden deep inside the grove, she studied the ground below. On the far side she could see a vehicle approaching. But she didn’t know whose it was. She also didn’t think she could catch it in time. If she’d stayed where she had been, she would have. With her heart in her throat she watched as the vehicle came to where she’d gotten off the path and gone to the first grove of trees.
It wasn’t until it passed that she realized the skin color of the people in the vehicle was white.
“Help,” she screamed. “Help.” And she raced down the hill, but it was too late.
The jeep was long gone.
*
“Stop. There are tracks heading off to the side.”
The vehicle was going so fast they were already up and over the hill before Devlin had a chance to register and hit the brakes. Ryder was out of the vehicle and racing back to the tracks. He motioned to the others coming behind him.
There was no guarantee it was Caitlyn they were following, but the tracks belonged to a lighter-weight person with small feet. With the sand filling in the footsteps, he couldn’t confirm what kind of shoe the person wore.
Once again he raced up to the first set of trees and saw the tracks going to the far side. As he sat here hidden, he let his gaze wander, trying to pick up the proof of someone, anyone, up ahead. Going from one group of trees to the next would leave him open.
And then he saw her. She’d collapsed under a tree. With her back against the trunk, she stared at the sky. But he could see her face. He signaled to the others, watched as their gazes lit on her, and he took off. He had his water bottle out of the side holder before he’d even reached her. He dropped to his knees. “Caitlyn, can you hear me?”
Bu
t she didn’t respond. He could see the blood on the side of her head, but a quick search didn’t show any other injuries. With the water spout open, he poured water gently into her mouth, trying to revive her. She coughed and choked, but it was music to his ears. He eased her into a sitting position.
“Caitlyn, it’s me, Ryder. Take it easy.” She coughed several times and then reached for the water bottle. He had to hold her back or she would have drunk it all in one go. “Take it easy. You can’t have too much right away.”
She pushed it against him. “Oh, my God,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper, followed by a cough. “I thought I was done for.”
“I’d never leave you here,” he reassured her. “We just didn’t have a clue what happened.”
“Neither did I.” She coughed again, as if clearing the sand from her throat. “I stepped out of the way while they took down the tents”—she forced a swallow, then grimaced—“and somebody called me. … That’s the last thing I remember.”
He nodded. “With all the vehicles in the area and everybody taking down camp, snatching you and secreting you away wouldn’t have been hard. Particularly if more than one person was involved.” He held up the water bottle, and she grabbed it again, drinking greedily. By the time she returned it to him, she was half a bottle down, and he’d had a chance to assess her newest head injury. “Looks like they hit you over the head and knocked you out.”
“My head’s hurting,” she admitted. “But I can’t tell if that’s the heat or my injuries. All of me hurts, in fact,” she admitted. “I really want to go home.”
He gave her a gentle hug and then helped her to her feet. “Soon,” he promised. “We need to get back to the vehicle and out of here before they come looking for you.” He glanced around. “Have you seen anyone else?”
She motioned in the direction she’d come from. “No, they dumped me back there, and then they took off. I didn’t want to be there when they got back.”
