Soldier's Promise

by Cindi Myers

  “You interrupted me before I had been hunting very long,” she said. “If you give me time, I can find more for you.”

  “I have other things in mind for you.” He motioned with the gun. “Get up.”

  Sophie stood and brushed off her knees, which stung from their impact with the hard ground. “Where are you taking me?” she asked.

  But the man didn’t answer. He had turned toward where Starfall and Hunter had been standing—except now there were only piles of rock. Starfall was gone. Now Sophie was alone with the big man and more afraid than she had ever been in her life.

  * * *

  CARMEN HAD VOLUNTEERED one summer at the tribal clinic where her aunt worked—or rather, her mother had signed her up for the job, then told Carmen it was her duty to help out. She had spent most of her time escorting elderly men and women into the exam rooms, filing charts and cleaning up rooms between patient visits. Not difficult work, but not very exciting, either. And while her aunt had tried to interest her in assisting with blood draws and learning how to bandage wounds, Carmen had decided very quickly that she wanted nothing to do with the messy, bloody side of medicine.

  So she couldn’t say she was completely comfortable with the idea of escorting Jake and his mom to Phoenix’s appointment at the Montrose clinic. But however ill at ease she felt, it was nothing compared to the grim expression on Jake’s face and the look of abject terror in Phoenix’s eyes. As the three of them walked into the clinic, Phoenix took hold of Carmen’s hand and refused to let go.

  Jake let the receptionist know they were there, then settled into a chair that looked too small for him, hands gripping the arms white-knuckled. Carmen wanted to swat his arm and tell him he wasn’t helping his mother by looking as if he was waiting for his turn in the torture chamber. “My aunt’s clinic is a lot like this,” Carmen said, trying to sound a lot more cheerful than she felt. “She’s been working there so long she knows the name of everyone who comes in the door. Sometimes it’s more like a reunion than a doctor’s visit, what with everyone catching up on each other’s news.”

  “I want you to go into the room with me,” Phoenix said. She still had a death grip on Carmen’s hand.

  “Oh. Well, I—” Carmen shot a desperate look to Jake. “Wouldn’t you rather Jake—?”

  “He can’t go in with me.” Phoenix was clearly horrified at the idea.

  “I can’t go in with her,” Jake agreed.

  Okay. Maybe Carmen could see her point. What woman wanted to wear one of those drafty gowns in front of her grown son? “All right,” she said. “I’ll go with you.”

  They didn’t have to wait long. A woman in purple scrubs called for Phoenix. She stood, tugging Carmen up alongside her, and they followed the nurse or tech or whatever she was into an exam room.

  Phoenix didn’t let go of Carmen’s hand until the woman in scrubs asked her to sit on the paper-covered table. Carmen took the only other seat in the room, a folding chair in the corner, and studied the artwork on the walls, while Phoenix submitted to having her blood pressure and temperature checked.

  “Sophie wasn’t too happy about being left at home,” Phoenix said, when she and Carmen were alone again.

  “She’s worried about you,” Carmen said. “She’ll be fine by the time you get back to camp.”

  “She worries too much,” Phoenix said. “I shouldn’t have put her in that position. She’s still just a kid. She should be focused on kid problems, not adult ones.”

  “She’s very mature for her age,” Carmen said.

  Phoenix slumped, perched on the edge of the table, feet dangling. “I did that to Jake, too,” she said. “He had to practically raise himself, I was so caught up in my own problems. But I’ve tried to be a better mother to Sophie.”

  “Jake turned out all right,” Carmen said. More than all right, if things had been as rough as he had hinted at. “And he loves you and Sophie very much.”

  Phoenix sniffed. “He does, doesn’t he? I don’t really deserve it, I guess, but he does.”

  “Of course you deserve it,” Carmen said. “You did the best you could.”

  “But sometimes my best wasn’t very good at all.” She plucked at the edge of her blouse—they hadn’t asked her to change into a gown after all. “I don’t want to leave the camp. I know it’s hard for him to understand, but I like it there. I feel safe.”

  “Jake would do his best to keep you safe wherever you went with him,” Carmen said. “And if you need more medical care, it would be easier to get in a town. And Sophie could go to school and have friends her own age.”

  Phoenix sighed. “That’s what Jake says. I don’t know. I’ve never set a lot of importance on doing things just because they were easy or what other people thought was normal.”

  Carmen was saved from having to make a reply by the entrance of the doctor, an efficient, middle-aged woman who introduced herself, then conducted what seemed to Carmen’s eyes to be a thorough exam. After several minutes of probing and asking questions, she stepped back. “The first step is to do some blood work,” she said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re a little anemic, and we might spot some other insufficiencies, but we’ll wait until we get the results back in a day or two and address those.” She patted Phoenix’s arms. “After we draw your blood, I want you to go back home and rest, and try not to worry.”

  Phoenix sat up straighter, a little color in her cheeks. “You’re not going to put me in the hospital?” she asked.

  “I don’t see any need for that,” the doctor said. “Do you want to go to the hospital?”

  “No!” Phoenix shook her head. “I want to go home to my daughter.”

  “You do that, and I’ll be in touch with a plan once I see the blood work.”

  “Thank you,” Phoenix said. She turned to Carmen. “I can go home.”

  Carmen hugged her. “That's great news.”

  A medical assistant came in and drew Phoenix’s blood, then Carmen walked with the older woman to the waiting room. Jake stood to meet them “Well?” he asked.

  “She drew some blood, and she told me to go home and rest,” Phoenix said as she moved past him toward the door.

  “But what did the doctor say?” He followed his mother and Carmen into the parking lot. “What does she think is wrong?”

  “I might be anemic. It might be something else.” Phoenix grabbed the door handle of the truck. “Unlock this so we can go home.”

  Jake unlocked the truck and hurried around to the driver’s side. “That’s it?” He looked to Carmen for confirmation.

  “That’s about it,” Carmen said. She slid into the passenger seat, with Phoenix between her and Jake. “She’ll know more when she gets the results of the blood tests.”

  “Okay.” He sagged back against the seat. “So now I guess we wait.”

  “Now we go home.” Phoenix prodded him with her elbow. “Start the truck, and let’s go.”

  He turned the key in the ignition. “Do you want to go somewhere for lunch or something first?” he asked.

  “No. I want to go home.”

  Jake looked across at Carmen and shrugged, then put the truck in gear and backed out of his parking space. No one said much on the way back to camp. Carmen thought Phoenix might have nodded off. Poor thing probably hadn’t slept much last night.

  The ring of Jake’s phone was jarring in the silence. He hit the button to answer the call. “This is Jake.”

  “It’s Marco at Ranger headquarters.” Marco Cruz said. “Can you head this way?”

  “What’s up?” Jake asked.

  “Starfall just showed up here in a panic. She says some Russian guy has your sister.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cars filled the parking lot at Ranger headquarters. Jake even spotted a TV-news van. “How did the media get wind of this already?” Carmen a
sked, as Jake slid into a spot at the back of the lot. He had his door open before the engine had even fallen silent. Carmen was right behind him, one arm around Phoenix, who looked as if she might collapse any minute. Carmen hadn’t said much since Marco’s call, but her presence steadied Jake. She wasn’t freaking out about this, so neither would he.

  At least a dozen people waited at headquarters, and everyone seemed to be talking at once. At Jake’s entrance, the noise level dropped. Marco hurried to him. “Starfall is back here,” he said, motioning toward the conference room. “I’ll let her tell you what happened.”

  Starfall sat at the conference table, flanked by officers Ethan Reynolds and Simon Woolridge. She cradled her baby, murmuring softly to him. When Carmen, Phoenix and Jake stepped into the room, she rose. “I wouldn’t have left her with him if I had had any other choice,” she said. “I had to go for help. You see that, don’t you?”

  The idea that she had left Sophie—a child—at the mercy of a strange man made Jake’s vision cloud. He took a deep breath, fighting for control. He couldn’t help Sophie unless he stayed calm. “Tell me what happened,” he said and sat in the chair across from her.

  Starfall’s gaze shifted to Carmen, who was settling Phoenix in the chair next to Jake, and her bottom lip trembled, but she sat and made an effort to control her emotions. “Sophie came to me this morning, after you left to take Phoenix to the doctor. She asked if we could go look for cactus.”

  “We should have taken her with us,” Phoenix said. “She wanted to go and, if we hadn’t left her in camp, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  “This is the kidnapper’s fault, not yours,” Jake said. He turned back to Starfall. “Why did she want to look for cactus?”

  “I promised her ten dollars—half of what Werner said he would pay me—for every cactus she found,” Starfall said. “She wanted to earn money to help pay Phoenix’s medical bills.”

  Phoenix broke down sobbing. Carmen comforted her. Maybe Jake should have been the one to try to calm her, but Sophie needed him more now. “I told her I’d pay for everything,” he said. “She didn’t have to worry about that.”

  “I don’t know anything about that,” Starfall said. “Anyway, we set out. I was carrying Hunter and Sophie had my backpack. We headed toward the area where you were camped before. I remembered you said you saw some of those cactus there.”

  Jake glanced at Ethan and Simon. “I don’t know what the area is called, but I can show you on a map,” he said.

  Simon nodded. “We’ll get Randall and his dog out there. If Lotte can pick up a scent, she might be able to lead us to him.”

  “You don’t even know what you’re looking for yet,” Starfall said. “Do you want me to finish my story or not?”

  “Go ahead,” Jake said.

  She settled back in her chair. “Sophie found some of the cactus and was digging them up, when this big guy steps out from behind a rock and points this huge gun at us. He had a Russian accent, and he told us if we tried anything, he would kill us. I think he would have, too.”

  “How do you know the accent was Russian?” Simon asked.

  “Because it was. I mean, it wasn’t German like Werner’s, or French or Spanish. It was Russian.” She looked to Jake again. “He was really big—over six feet, with broad shoulders. But he had a gut on him, too.”

  “How old was he?” Ethan asked.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Maybe fifty? Not young. He was really solid.”

  “What did he say?” Jake asked. “What did he want with you?”

  “He asked about the cactus. Sophie told him we were collecting them to sell to Werner, but he could have them if he wanted. I thought maybe we could make a deal and he’d let us go, but that didn’t work.”

  “How did you get away?” Carmen asked.

  “Sophie started talking to him, keeping his attention on her. But she motioned to me behind her back. I was so frightened it took me a little bit to realize she was motioning for me to run away. I didn’t want to leave her, but I had my baby to think of and, if I got away, I knew I could get help.”

  “What did you do?” Carmen asked.

  “At first, I ducked behind the rock. When he didn’t react, I started moving away, going from rock to tree, trying to hide. Every second I kept expecting him to shoot me in the back. But he never did. When I was far enough away that I was sure he couldn’t see me, I took off running. I ran to camp, got my car and came here.”

  “You did the right thing,” Carmen said. She looked at Jake when she said the words, and he nodded. If Starfall hadn’t run when she had the chance, Jake probably still wouldn’t know that Sophie was missing. The Russian would have an even bigger head start.

  “What did this Russian say he wanted with you and Sophie?” he asked.

  “He didn’t,” Starfall said. “He just said he had plans for us.” Her eyes shone with tears. “You don’t think he’ll hurt her, do you? She’s just a girl. A very brave girl.”

  “Jake, what are you going to do?” Phoenix clutched at his arm. “You can’t let him hurt her.”

  Jake leaned across the table, his eyes locked on Starfall’s. “Did this Russian have a car? Did you see one anywhere nearby?”

  She shook her head. “All I saw was the gun. And a backpack!” She sat up straighter. “He was wearing a backpack. The big kind, like campers use, with a bedroll and other stuff tied on it. Does that help?”

  Jake nodded. “Werner said the Russian was camping. If he had to hike a ways to get to a car, that would slow him down. We might even get lucky, and he’s still in the area.”

  “Then you can find her,” Phoenix said. “She’ll be all right.”

  He patted his mother’s arm. “That’s the plan.” No point mentioning that Sophie and her captor might be anywhere in the thousands of acres of wilderness in the area. Finding them wasn’t as simple as heading to the nearest campground.

  A commotion outside the conference room distracted him. Marco was already moving toward the door when it burst open, and Daniel Metwater stumbled in. “I came as soon as I heard,” he said.

  Phoenix rose. “I should have known you’d be concerned about one of your disciples,” she said.

  Metwater ignored her and turned to Jake. “I told you the Russian mafia was after me,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you listen? You’ve got to stop him, or I’ll be next.”

  “Why do you think this has anything to do with you?” Jake asked.

  “Isn’t it obvious? They knew Sophie was special to me, so they took her. It’s the way they do things—they want to send me a warning. To make me afraid.”

  Jake hadn’t even realized he had made a fist and had his arm drawn back, ready to punch Metwater, when Carmen took hold of his arm. “He’s not worth it,” she said softly.

  Jake studied the so-called Prophet, his hair a tangle, his shirt half-unbuttoned. He was so focused on himself, he couldn’t even find concern for a child who had been kidnapped. But he might be useful to them after all. “Have you had any other ‘messages’ from the Russian?” he asked. “Any communications at all—letters, visits?”

  Metwater shook his head.

  “What about Werner Altbusser?” Carmen asked. “Have you talked to him since he was in your camp the day before yesterday?”

  Metwater flicked his gaze to her. “Werner has nothing to do with this,” he said.

  “Maybe he and the Russian are working together,” Starfall said.

  Everyone turned to stare at her. “It makes sense,” she continued. “Werner didn’t want to pay me for the cactus, so he sent the Russian to collect them.”

  “But you offered to give them to the Russian, didn’t you?” Jake asked. “Why bother kidnapping Sophie?”

  “She told him we would sell him the cactus,” Starfall said. “Of course, since he had the gun, we would have had to
give them to him. Werner would have known that—the big cheat.”

  “I told you, he took Sophie because of me,” Metwater said. “Why are you standing here wasting time? You have to go after him.”

  “We’re getting together a search party to go out now,” Marco told Jake. “Do you and Carmen want to come?”

  “I’ll catch up with you in a little while. I have something else to do first.” Jake turned to Carmen. “Can you take Mom back to the camp for me?”

  “Of course.” Carmen looked into his eyes, searching. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to see Werner. He knows this Russian better than any of us. He might have an idea where he’s camping.”

  “That’s a good idea,” she said. “Do you want me to go with you?”

  He shook his head. “I need you to look after Mom. And I know Sophie trusts you. In case they find her before I get back, I’d like you there with her.”

  “All right.” She gripped his hand. “Be careful.”

  “I will.” But he wasn’t going to leave Werner until he knew everything the German could tell him about his Russian “friend.”

  * * *

  SOPHIE TRUDGED ALONG in the hot sun, her gaze focused on the broad back of her captor. When he had discovered Starfall had run away, he had yelled a lot—some in English, and some in what she guessed was Russian. Sophie watched him rant and didn’t say anything. He waved the gun at her a lot, but he never actually shot it. She knew that he could—that he might shoot her still. But for now, he had only tied her up, then tied one end of the rope around his waist and led her off across the wilderness. He muttered a lot under his breath—words she couldn’t understand—and, every so often, he glared at her over his shoulder and tugged on the rope to make her go faster, as if she was a dog.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked.

  He didn’t answer.

  “Who are you?” she asked. “What do you want with me?”

  Still no answer. Her gaze shifted to Starfall’s backpack, which he had tied to his own pack. “I can find some more of those cactus for you, if you want,” she said.