Her Colton Lawman

by Carla Cassidy

  “The danger is over.” Mike yelled to be heard. “The hijacker has fled and Chief of Police Colton and several other officers are hunting for him.” The crowd quieted to listen, and Grace reached for Nina’s hand and squeezed tight.

  “The children are all safe, and we’re going to unload the bus in an orderly fashion,” Dana said. “We’ll let the students off one at a time. If a parent is here, then the child will be released immediately into their custody. If no parent or legal guardian is present, then the child will remain with us until we can contact the appropriate person.”

  Thus began an agonizingly slow process. As each child was taken off the bus and reunited with a parent, Grace’s hand squeezed Nina’s tighter. Her visceral need to have her son in her arms was transferred to Nina, whose stomach was in a million hard knots.

  They were too far away to see the children still on the bus, and as the beginning of dusk moved in, the wooded area took on the shadows of night and made it more difficult to see how many were left.

  Dana turned on the school bus lights, which cut a swatch through the encroaching darkness as the bus continued to be emptied and the crowd around it grew smaller.

  “There can’t be that many more left on board,” Grace said frantically. “Why hasn’t Billy come off yet?”

  “It will be just our luck that he’ll be the last one off,” Nina replied, but the knots in her stomach twisted tighter. It appeared to her as if there were only a couple of children left. Billy had to be one of them.

  Grace dropped Nina’s hand and moved closer to the bus. Now that the crowd had greatly diminished, she managed to get right up to the side of the bus. She rose on her tiptoes to peek through one of the windows. She moved frantically from window to window and then back to Nina, her eyes wide and filled with horror.

  “He’s not here,” she cried out. “Billy isn’t here.” She turned to Mike and Dana with wild eyes. “My son, Billy, rides this bus and he isn’t here.” She pushed past Mike and took a step into the bus. “Billy!” she cried and when there was no response, she half fell off the bus.

  Nina ran to her side, her heart beating a rhythm of terror as she kept Grace from falling to the ground.

  “He took one,” Alma said, her features a study in torture. “The gunman, he took one of the kids with him but I didn’t see who it was. I tried to stop him but that’s when he hit me and I fell to the floor. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I tried to protect them all.”

  “Billy. He has my Billy.” Grace fell into Mike’s arms and began to weep.

  “Does Flint know about this?” Nina asked, fighting against the horror that filled her heart.

  Mike nodded. “He didn’t know who, but he knew a child had been taken.” He patted Grace’s back awkwardly. “Don’t worry, Grace, Flint and his men will find them and get your son back safely.”

  “You stay here with Mike and Dana,” Nina said to Grace.

  “What are you going to do?” Grace asked amid tears.

  “What I’m trained to do,” Nina replied. She walked out to the road where she knew she could get the strongest cell phone signal and made four quick phone calls to the people who were trained to work search and rescue with her.

  They would arrive with high-power flashlights, ropes and other equipment that would not only help in searching through the ever-growing darkness, but also might prove handy in navigating the uneven terrain.

  She knew that Flint and his men would be doing everything in their power to find the man, who she could only believe was Hank Bittard. But the woods were vast and the search team could help in the effort.

  Although the search team would do nothing to confront Hank and Billy, if they found them then the team could call in a specific location for the officers to respond to.

  As she waited for the team to arrive, her heart cried out in fear, in anguish. Billy. She fought back the burn of tears. Why had he taken Billy? He had to be so scared. If she thought about the boy too much she’d drop to her knees in despair and be no good to anyone.

  Once the other members of the search and rescue group arrived, she’d have Mike contact Flint to let him know the team was working the area.

  The last thing they needed was an accident where one of the good guys got hurt by another good guy. She leaned down and picked up a handful of rocks and worked them in her hand like worry beads as she anxiously waited.

  Flint would probably be angry that she was out here, but he’d have to just get over it. There was no way she could have just sat in her diner and done nothing when she’d heard that children were at risk. And now that she knew Billy was the missing child, nothing and nobody would make her leave here.

  She didn’t want to be out here hunting for a child she loved. She wanted him seated in the diner eating a brownie. She wanted him at a pizza party she’d planned, enjoying his contagious giggles.

  She wasn’t afraid of coming face-to-face with Hank Bittard, not if it meant somehow saving Billy. She’d give her life for that little boy with his laughing eyes and infectious happiness.

  * * *

  The minute Flint got word about the hijacked school bus, he urgently mobilized every one of his deputies. It had been Alma who had called in, letting him know that the bus had been taken over by a masked, armed man who had driven it into the woods and then grabbed a child and disappeared.

  His blood had chilled as he thought of those children, terrified by a gunman who, according to Alma, had jumped on the bus as the last student had gotten on.

  It hadn’t taken them long to locate the bus, where they found Alma seated inside with the door locked and bleeding profusely from a head wound.

  Alma refused medical treatment for her injury and had also refused to leave the scene until each and every child was safe and united with their family.

  Confused by the blow to the head, traumatized by the entire event, she’d been unable to tell them which child had been taken. After the armed man had left, she’d locked herself in with the rest of the children and had done her best to keep them as calm as possible.

  There was little question in Flint’s mind that the gunman was Hank Bittard, although the motive for this particular action was murky to Flint.

  Did he really believe that by using a child as a hostage he might be able to get himself out of town? Out from under the quarantine? This had been a bold, reckless move that nobody had seen coming.

  At the moment, motive didn’t matter. What mattered was finding the bastard and getting the child safely away from him and then taking Hank down once and for all.

  He and his men had fanned out from the bus, all of them aware that this was more than just a wanted killer on the loose, but a hostage situation with a young child. They were armed with guns and flashlights, but had been given orders not to fire unless they had a clear shot at the man and were confident the child would not be harmed.

  It was after darkness had fallen that he got a call from Mike that the search and rescue team had arrived and had begun to work the woods in a grid pattern on the south side. Mike also informed him that Billy Willard was the child who had been taken.

  Flint’s blood froze at the news that the little hostage was Billy, and then a new fear filled him. “Is Nina here with search and rescue?” he asked.

  “Yeah, she is,” Mike replied with a touch of reluctance.

  Flint silently cursed. He’d hoped she would have sense enough to stay at the diner where she’d be safe. Now he not only had to worry about the safety of Billy, but Nina’s safety, as well.

  He nearly stumbled over a half-exposed vine as a new thought struck him. Had Billy been a random choice for Bittard to grab, or had the murderer somehow known of Nina’s special relationship with the boy? Had he known that taking Billy would force a mistake on Nina’s part? That she would come out here to help and ignore her own safety
?

  If this had all been a ruse to pull Nina out in the open alone and unarmed, then it had worked. With this thought in mind, Flint continued the search with an additional urgency.

  Now he had two people at risk in the woods, in the dark, and a killer he feared would stop at nothing to achieve whatever goal he desired.

  As he walked along, he could see flashlights cutting through the darkness on either side of him. He didn’t dare call out to Billy, afraid that if the boy tried to answer, Hank would hurt him. He’d also told his men not to call out to Billy. He feared that if Billy tried to respond, he’d be punished in some way.

  It was eerie, men and women silently creeping through the woods, their flashlight beams appearing like ghost lights in the darkness. And someplace out there was a little boy and a woman he loved.

  Despite all the years in law enforcement, Flint found it impossible not to second-guess what Hank’s intention might be. If his goal was to use Billy as a hostage to get out of town, then they should be moving toward the opposite edge of the woods where he could seek freedom with his gun and a kid.

  He could kill a CDC guard, and others might be afraid to respond in kind if he used Billy as a shield.

  If his goal was to encounter Nina, then he could be anywhere, just waiting for an opportunity to use Billy to lure her close and then shut her up forever.

  Flint should be livid that Nina had put herself in the potential path of danger, but it was difficult to be angry with her knowing that it was her love for Billy that had brought her here. It was simply who she was at her very core.

  Still, he wished she was at the diner, serving up a meal to customers rather than in these woods where evil had peaked and still ran rampant.

  He walked a few steps and then stopped to listen, but each time he stopped he heard nothing to indicate that any of his men had encountered Bittard and Billy.

  He moved toward the south, in the direction where the search team had indicated they were working. He would feel a hell of a lot better if he could get Nina in his sight.

  He knew there was no way he would be able to convince her to abandon the search and get out of here, but he’d feel a little bit of relief if he could get her close enough to him that he could keep a watchful eye on her and make sure she wasn’t the one who encountered Bittard.

  Pausing by a thick tree, he pulled out his cell phone and checked in with each of the men. They all had radios, but had agreed to use their phones because they were quieter.

  Thankfully, there were only a couple of places on the far outer edges of the woods where the cell phone service was weak. He managed to touch base with everyone, unsurprised that none of them had stumbled on Bittard and Billy.

  He thought about calling Nina, but not only did he not want her distracted, he also couldn’t be sure that she had her phone set to vibrate. A ringtone in the woods would be like a spotlight on her back. He couldn’t take a chance of doing something that might draw any attention to her.

  He knew how the search and rescue team worked and took some comfort in the fact that they stayed in visual proximity to each other. They were trained not just to look for lost people, but also to make sure none of them became lost.

  Failure.

  The word whispered through his head and for a moment, he leaned weakly against the tree trunk. He had a child in danger and a known killer who would love to silence Nina forever.

  Failure. It burned deep in his soul.

  He pushed himself off the tree with a surge of determined resolve. In this particular case, failure was simply not an option.

  Chapter 14

  Nina held tight to her flashlight in one hand and the rocks she’d picked up off the side of the road in her other. The flashlight beam was strong and steady in lighting her way while she worked the rocks in her hand with nervous energy.

  To her right she could see the flashlight beam of a fellow search and rescue member and beyond that, another light from another volunteer as they worked methodically in moving forward and checking every space they passed.

  She tried to keep Billy out of her head, but it was impossible. As time passed and the darkness of the woods grew more profound, it was difficult not to think of Billy’s terror.

  She could only hope that he was a valuable pawn in whatever game Bittard was playing and therefore wouldn’t be harmed. Grace wasn’t the only one who would be shattered if anything happened to her son.

  Her vision blurred with tears as she thought of all the plans she’d made earlier in the day for a pizza party and treasure hunt. Memories of his hugs, of the little boy scent of him only made her tears more profuse.

  Her tears weren’t just for herself and Billy, but also for Grace, who had to be completely crazy with fear by now. Her heart ached for her friend.

  Had Billy just been a convenient target? The kid sitting close enough to the door to grab as Bittard had exited the bus? Or had Billy been specifically targeted because somehow Bittard knew of Nina’s love for him?

  At this point it didn’t matter. All she wanted was Billy safe and back in his mother’s arms where he belonged. If that meant Nina would have to face her demon, then so be it. She would gladly face off with Bittard to save Billy.

  It felt as if they’d been in the woods forever. Time no longer existed as the team moved slowly, methodically and in a gridlike fashion.

  Why hadn’t anyone spotted them yet? She knew that in addition to the search and rescue crew, there had to be at least a dozen officers searching, as well.

  Where are you, you murdering creep? And where was her sweet Billy? Was Hank on the run, or was he holed up someplace just waiting for her to show up?

  She never saw the ravine. All she knew was that one minute she stood on firm ground and the next minute she was airborne. She hit the hard earth below and rolled, banging into thick roots, small saplings and finally coming to rest on her back with the wind knocked out of her.

  Surprised to discover that she had both her flashlight and the rocks still in her hands, she remained on her back until she finally caught her breath.

  Only then did she slowly get to her feet. Her hip ached from making contact with something, and her blouse was torn at the elbow, but she wasn’t about to let a few aches and pains stop her.

  Thank God she had managed to keep hold of her flashlight, she thought as she began to walk down the jet-black ravine until she found a spot where she could pull herself up the embankment. When she did, she realized that she’d rolled far enough down the ravine that she’d lost the other members of the team.

  She paused for a moment to get her bearings and someplace nearby heard the sound of soft crying. She flashed her light in the general direction she thought the sound had come from.

  “Billy?” she called softly. “Billy, is that you? It’s me, Nina.”

  A beam of light hit her in her eyes as a deep voice rumbled with laughter. “Well, if this isn’t a big slice of perfect on a plate for me.”

  He lowered his light from her eyes, letting her see that he stood about six feet in front of her and he had Billy by the back of his jacket and pulled tight against the front of him. His features were hidden beneath the black ski mask he wore.

  “I knew you’d show up out here sooner or later, and I was afraid I’d have to wander around all night before I finally found you, but here you are, like a plum dropped off a tree right at my feet,” he said.

  “Let him go,” Nina said. “He’s just a child. He has nothing to do with this.” Her heart beat so hard her ribs ached, and she couldn’t be sure if it was from her fall down the ravine or the fear that pressed tight in her chest.

  “He’s the kid who got you here.” He yanked Billy closer. “Everyone in town knows how you dote on this kid. I figured he was a good worm to get you hooked.”

  “Don’t be
ridiculous,” she scoffed. “He’s nothing but a sniffling, irritating kid I’ve got to put up with because his mother works for me.” She didn’t look at Billy, and hoped and prayed he understood the reason for her saying such a thing.

  “Doesn’t matter one way or the other to me what you think about him. He got you here, and that’s all that’s important to me.”

  “Hijacking and terrifying an entire school bus of children was a terrible thing to do,” Nina replied angrily.

  “It got me what I wanted, here with you, and if you even think about screaming or doing anything to draw any attention from anyone else, I’ll snap this kid’s neck like a dried twig.”

  Nina didn’t think it was possible for her blood to grow colder, but it did as she knew he was capable of just such an act of violence.

  “You should have just kept driving on by that night and minded your own damn business,” he said, his voice deepening with anger. “That two-timing floozy Jolene Tate got exactly what she deserved. She played me for a fool one too many times.”

  “Just let Billy go. This is between you and me. He has nothing to do with any of it. He’s just an innocent child. I’m here now, and you don’t need him.” Nina tried to keep the utter desperation out of her voice.

  Billy was the only person who mattered out here. All she wanted was for him to get away and live a wonderful life, and if things went bad for her, she hoped Grace would remind Billy that he’d once had a favorite auntie who had loved him dearly.

  Hank didn’t appear to have a weapon, although she could only assume he had a gun tucked somewhere on his person. He held the flashlight in one hand and Billy with the other. But Nina couldn’t underestimate his muscular strength. He could easily follow through on his threat to break Billy’s neck. She needed to get Billy away from him. “Let him go,” she repeated.

  Her mind whirled and she kept her focus away from Billy’s face, knowing that to see him so scared might have her make a mistake, and she had no room to make any mistakes. Both of their lives depended on it.