by Robin Perini
“It’s important, Mother. I need the truth, no matter what it is. We’re running a DNA comparison on Madison’s blood.”
“You can’t do that. I forbid it,” her mother snapped.
Riley had never heard her mother quite so panicked.
“Adrienne?” her father said. “What’s going on?”
“Just more of Riley’s excuses. I’m hanging up now.”
“Mother, if you help me, I might be able to find out what happened to Madison. Don’t you want to know? Finally?”
No click. Her mother hadn’t hung up.
“Adrienne. Tell her.”
Riley couldn’t remember ever hearing her father’s voice quite so firm.
“Adrienne. Do it now.”
“You want to know the truth, Alan. Fine. The treatments didn’t work. They never worked. Your sperm was weak. I told the clinic to mix the sperm with an anonymous donor and not tell me the results.”
The phone went silent. After several moments, Riley heard a soft click.
“Why did you have to do this, Riley?” her mother asked. “You’re always stirring up trouble. Do you take joy in making my life miserable?”
“It’s what I live for,” Riley said. “You want answers. Mother, I’m doing what I can to find my sister. I believe her biological father kidnapped her. What clinic did you go to? I need the man’s name.”
“Denver Fertility Solutions, but they went out of business in the nineties,” her mother retorted. “And don’t you blame me for Madison’s kidnapping. We know who’s to blame. If only you had said something when he took her, you could have saved your sister.”
Her mother slammed down the phone, leaving only a dial tone.
The words hit Riley in the gut, and she practically doubled over with pain. Thayne grabbed her shoulders and whirled her into his arms. “She’s wrong. You must know that.”
Riley nodded against his shoulder but allowed herself to sink into his warmth anyway. She had the answer she’d been afraid of.
The phone on the sheriff’s desk rang.
Thayne glanced down at the caller ID. “It’s a Colorado number,” he said.
Riley punched the speakerphone.
“Riley.” Her father’s voice filtered into the room. Of course she had to wonder if the man who raised her was her biological father or not.
“Dad? I’m so sorry. I had to ask—”
“No, Riley. Don’t you apologize to me. I’m the one who’s sorry. Sorry for not being the father you deserved all these years. Sorry for not defending you and having your back when I should have. I let Madison’s loss numb me to everything.”
Her throat thickened. “Daddy, it’s OK. I understand.”
“No, Riley, it’s not. Don’t listen to your mother, sweetheart. None of this was your fault. You were a little girl. I know you’ll do everything you can to find out what happened to your sister. You may not find the answer today or tomorrow or even in a year. You may never find her, and that’s OK. You’re enough, Riley. I’m proud of the woman you’ve become, and I’m ashamed I haven’t told you that before now. I love you, sweetheart. I just haven’t shown it. But that’s going to change.”
Riley choked back her tears and said raggedly, “I love you, too, Daddy.”
He paused for a moment. “Riley, whether or not my DNA runs through your body, you’re my daughter. Never forget that.”
“I kn-know.” She didn’t want to know. Not ever.
“And, sweetheart, whatever you find out, call me. Maybe I can come visit and we can have a long talk. Face-to-face.”
“I’d like that.” Her hand shaking, Riley ended the call. Her knees gave way, and she fell into the chair.
Thayne knelt in front of her. “You all right?”
“He said he loved me.” She raised her gaze to Thayne’s.
“You’re very lovable.”
She could hardly see him through blurred vision. She swiped at her eyes. “I’ll take this information to Agent Nolan. Maybe we can find a tie to this clinic.”
Thayne clasped her hands and rose, pulling her to her feet. He cupped her cheek. “You’re going to solve this, Riley. I can feel it.”
She looked into his eyes, marveling at the faith in him. “I hope so. Except now I have to call every one of the families who have lost their children and maybe bring up a secret no one wanted revealed.”
“If it means closure and discovering who took their child, isn’t it worth it?” he asked.
“Is it? Maybe some secrets are just better off buried?”
“The truth set your father free,” Thayne said. “Or at least woke him up.” He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. “Think of it this way. Without the secrets, would you have been able to connect these cases sooner?”
“Maybe.”
The door slammed open and Sheriff Blackwood raced into the room. “Jackson called. Kade just walked out of the woods covered in blood.”
Most Monday mornings, Singing River wasn’t a hotbed of activity. Not so today. Riley leaned forward in her seat as Thayne drove to the hospital. She reached for Thayne’s hand, and he linked his fingers with hers. She had no idea what Kade Lonebear had become involved with, but the last time she’d encountered him, he’d tried to kill pretty much anyone in his path.
Had he succeeded this time?
Thayne might trust his friend, but all Riley could see was the unpredictable nature of PTSD.
Thayne’s vehicle squealed to the side of the hospital where an ambulance had pulled up to the emergency entrance. The paramedics opened the rear door, and Jackson hopped out, his shirt and pants splattered red.
Riley and Thayne jumped out of the vehicle and ran toward them.
“So much blood,” she whispered. But whose?
Thayne tried to reach for her, but she scooted away. What if the blood were his sister’s? God. Her throat closed off, panic strangling her. Not because she couldn’t handle violence—she’d lived with violence most of her career—but if Cheyenne didn’t make it, how could she face the Blackwood family again? She’d be a reminder of their loss, and she refused to do that to anyone.
Jackson waved at them.
Thayne reached him first. “What the hell?” He grabbed his brother’s arms. “Are you hurt?”
Jackson shook his head. “Not me.”
Riley couldn’t believe Jackson wasn’t hurt covered in that much blood, until she got a look at Kade sitting in the back of the ambulance, the paramedics hovering nearby and uncertain. She could see why.
He’d secured a small boy in one arm and a rifle in the other. He held the wide-eyed child tight, but the left half of Kade’s shirt was soaked with red.
“Stay back,” Thayne warned her, throwing his arm out to block her path. “If Kade’s having a flashback . . .”
“Do you think he did this?” Riley asked under her breath. “Could he have?”
“I don’t know.”
A doctor and a couple of nurses sped out of the small hospital, then stopped, eyes wide. Thayne signaled them to hold.
Thayne eased closer to Kade. “Soldier? Status report,” he said.
“I found a print near the Riverton waterfall. Faint, but I tracked it and came upon them. I couldn’t help them both,” Kade said, his low voice filled with sorrow. “So hurt, but the other one crawled away to die. He hid and wouldn’t come with me. I couldn’t stay any longer. Under fire.”
Kade’s head bobbed, and his eyes lost focus.
“Location?”
“Three clicks from the Riverton mine. Due east.”
“That’s deep in the woods,” Thayne said to Riley. He hunkered down in front of Kade. “And who is this?”
The boy of about six clung to Kade, his eyes wide with fright. “Sam.”
Riley’s eyes took in the red-brown hair and features. She recognized him from Nolan’s list of missing boys. Her breathing quickened. “Sam Carlisle?”
He nodded.
“Sam was taken from For
t Collins, Colorado. He’s the last . . .” She didn’t finish the sentence, but inside her heart stuttered with hope. They were so close. Sam was the first victim to escape. She smiled at the boy. She had no idea how he could have done it at six. “Your mom is looking for you.”
The boy grinned and puffed out his chest with pride. “I knew she would. I told Kade my mom would never stop looking.”
Thayne placed his hand on Sam’s head, streaked with blood. “Are you hurt?”
He shook his head. “Kade is. They shot him when he rescued me.”
“Who did?”
“Father.” Sam’s lip trembled. “Only he’s not my dad. My dad’s in heaven. That man wanted to call me Micah. That’s not my name. I kept telling them it wasn’t my name.”
Sam’s voice rose in panic.
“It’s OK, Sam.”
Kade coughed, and Sam slipped a bit in his arms as Kade’s breathing grew more labored.
Thayne held out his arms. “Sam, come to me.”
Sam clung to Kade, who winced. “No. He needs me.”
“He needs a doctor now. You did good getting him here.” Riley kept her voice gentle. “See, they’re waiting to help him.”
Riley tried to meet Kade’s gaze, but the man had closed his eyes.
“Soldier?” Thayne barked. “What are your injuries?”
“Bullet lodged in my shoulder.” Kade’s voice had grown weak.
“You’re safe at base. I’m taking your rifle,” Thayne said. “You need medical attention.” He eased Kade’s rifle from his arm.
He didn’t protest and sagged to the side, unconscious.
“Medic!” Thayne shouted.
The doctor rushed in, followed by the nurse. Riley scooped up Sam. The boy clawed at her. “Kaaade!”
Riley held Sam tight against her chest. “Sam. Sam. He’ll be fine.”
“He saved me after Ian got hurt.” Sam bowed his head. “We gotta go back for Ian. Father will punish him if he finds him.”
A terrified shiver went through the boy.
“Is punishment bad?” Riley asked.
Sam nodded. “One girl—Hannah—was taken to punishment, and she didn’t come back.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Ian said she’s gone forever. Like forever, forever.”
Riley knelt in front of Sam. How much could a six-year-old tell them? She’d find out. “How far did you walk before Kade found you?”
“A long time. It was dark. Ian and I were running away. Then the lights chased us, and someone jumped out at Ian. They hurt him. He crawled away, but they went after him. Father came after me. Kade grabbed me and ran, but Father shot him.”
Tears rolled down Sam’s face. “Kade saved me,” he repeated.
“Do you know from which direction you came?” Thayne asked the boy.
“Down,” Sam said. “Ian said to go away from that big star up there. It looks like the handle of a cup.”
“They walked south,” Jackson offered, pulling out a map.
Hopefully he could pinpoint a search area.
“OK, Sam,” Riley said. “Why don’t we go inside and get you checked out?”
“I wanna see Kade.”
“In a little while. I promise,” Riley said.
“OK. I’m hungry. Where’s my mom? She’ll get me breakfast.”
“We’re going to call your mom right now.” Riley hugged the boy close. “I’m glad you’re OK, Sam.”
“I didn’t like it there. I liked Bethany, but she disappeared. Ian said we needed to leave because they wanted to be my family.” He yawned, and his head fell to her shoulder. “I told them I already have a mom, but they wouldn’t listen to me.”
Thick pine trees surrounded Riley. Another time, she might have taken time to breathe in the fresh mountain air, enjoy the pockets of wildflowers, and simply enjoy the blue sky peeking through the green canopy above her.
Instead, she crouched beside Thayne in the cover of a huge evergreen.
“What I wouldn’t give to have my SEAL team here,” he said softly.
A series of sheriff’s deputies and agents was scattered through the forest. Between Kade’s description and the blood splatter on the ground, they’d identified the location where he’d been shot.
Riley prayed the other boy was safe and alive nearby. Sam had called him Ian. She wondered what his real name might be. Evidently this Father character renamed his children when he took them.
She hadn’t wanted to leave the little boy, but he’d taken a shine to Jan and wouldn’t leave Kade’s bedside. Rules be damned.
Thayne eased forward. Riley followed. Every few feet, they stopped and listened. They’d gone at least a hundred yards when Riley picked up a weak cry. She raised her hand. Thayne placed his finger over his lips. He’d heard it, too.
“H-help me,” a feeble voice whispered.
Riley closed her eyes, trying to focus on where the sound had originated.
“H-help.”
Thayne lifted his hand, signaling Deputy Ironcloud to his right. It could be a trap, he mouthed. She nodded, palming the replacement Glock Thayne had given her.
They crawled through the underbrush. A deep hole appeared out of nowhere, and they froze. Riley peered into the hole. A boy lay there, unmoving, his leg bent at a strange angle, his body splattered with blood. She recognized him.
“Brian Anderson,” Riley whispered. “Sam’s Ian.”
Thayne tapped his radio to reach search headquarters. “Dad, we need a rescue unit. Covert if possible. Brian Anderson is at the bottom of what looks like a collapsed mine shaft. He’s at least thirty feet down. Broken leg. No telling what else.” He gave his father their coordinates.
“We got movement,” Ironcloud muttered in Riley’s earpiece.
She stilled, quickly scanning the perimeter. A grove of aspens quaked, and a man peered through the leaves.
Riley shot to her feet, weapon drawn, but not before he pointed a gun directly at her chest.
Thayne called out behind her, shouting at her to stop. He didn’t have to yell. She wasn’t moving.
She blinked at the man, his red hair very familiar. So like Madison’s. The side of Riley’s head throbbed. Her mind flashed to that night, fifteen years ago.
His features morphed into a younger version, threatening her.
“I remember you!” she shouted, lost in her own nightmare come to life. “You took Madison.”
His eyes widened, then he smiled, a twisted grin that made her shiver. “I came looking for my missing children and found another. You’re mine, you know. I should have taken you, too, but I have a rule. One child at a time. Your sister was the more gifted. We had to have her.”
“Where is she, you sick bastard!” Riley swallowed down the nausea threatening to rise in her throat. Her hands shook as she held the weapon on him.
His face froze into a dark mask. “That’s no way for a child to talk to her father. I’ve seen you on the news. This is all your fault. You’ve ruined the perfect life I created. Well, it won’t matter. I belong here, in these woods, but I can re-create our haven again. My children will help me. I’m not alone.”
“Drop your weapon.” She tensed, trying to get sight of any other threat.
He refocused his aim.
Before Riley could pull the trigger, a shot exploded from the distance. Riley dropped to the ground. Within seconds, Thayne was at her side.
“Riley! Are you hit?”
She shook her head. “I never pulled the trigger. Someone else shot him.”
The man called Father crumpled to his knees, his eyes wide, stunned. Blood seeped down the front of his shirt.
“Not possible,” he whispered. He fell to his side and closed his eyes. “It’s all supposed to be mine.”
Riley had no idea what he was talking about, but she didn’t care. Knees shaking, she stood. Thayne knelt by her side.
“Show yourself!” he shouted into the woods.
A woman, her red hair wild, held a gun i
n trembling hands. Five children ranging from the ages of around eight to eighteen hid behind her.
All with various shades of red hair.
The woman dropped her weapon.
“Thank God. You found us. Finally.”
And she sank to the ground.
Staring at the six figures huddled together at the edge of their base camp, not far from where they’d found Ian—or, rather, Brian Anderson—Thayne could easily see the resemblance among them. Even without the DNA tests, he would bet they were related to one another.
Riley sat across from the oldest of them all, Adelaide, trying to eke out information. She’d given them directions to what she called the compound. Jackson had gone to search for Cheyenne and anyone else who might have been left behind. They had files on almost twenty children. They’d found only eight.
Thayne couldn’t peg her age. She could be anywhere from twenty-three to thirty-three, but she’d refused to give her real name. In fact, she’d refused to answer any questions. All she’d wanted to know was if the man they called Father was alive or dead.
Thayne hoped he died on the operating table. Save the world some trouble.
The five kids sat strangely quiet behind her, obviously in a state of shock. None of them had said a word, and Riley hadn’t been able to coax anything from them. The trauma was obviously too great.
Thayne hunkered down beside Riley. “Did you get anything from them?” Anything about Cheyenne.
Riley shook her head.
His jaw clenched. He could keep it together. They were so close. Please be alive, Cheyenne. God, please let her be OK.
He forced a gentle smile on his face. “Transport is on the way, but it’ll be a while before we can get them down the mountain. We’re well off the beaten track.”
The woman’s gaze flew up to him. “Where are you taking us?”
Her voice trembled; her gaze darted to and fro. She’d clearly been abused. A scar had marred one side of her face. If she’d been taken from the age of twelve, she could have been held by their captor for up to twenty years.
“Back to Singing River,” Thayne said, keeping his tone low and calm.
Riley gave Adelaide a reassuring smile. “The hospital first, to check everyone out.”
“We have to stay together,” she said, her voice firm. “My family needs me. Family is everything.”
