by R. C. Ryan
“Why are we way up here?” She hated the fact that her teeth were chattering and her voice was weak with nerves.
“My truck wouldn’t get a mile on the interstate before it would be pulled over. By now, the sheriff will have the state boys joining in the manhunt. By using the back roads, I’ll buy some time.”
“Time for what?”
“To make a clean getaway. I’ll stop at a small town, buy some hair dye, and get myself some wheels.” He was talking to himself now, as though he’d already dismissed Ally as too insignificant to bother with. “I’ll settle in a big city, where I can get lost in the crowd.”
“What will you do for money?”
“I’ve got enough. Cash. No credit cards that can trip me up. I’ll get a new identity. A job.”
“Most employers run background checks before hiring.”
“Shut up. I’ve got to think. I’ve made enough connections among the scum I’ve arrested over the years; one of them will be able to get me some documents with a new name.” He floored the accelerator, pushing the truck to its limit. The vehicle flew along the narrow dirt road, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.
As the truck climbed higher, Ally could see the Malloy ranch far below, with great herds of cattle darkening the pastures as they were being driven along trails, some in cattle-haulers, others in long lines of animals and wranglers.
Reed was somewhere in these hills. The thought brought a lump to her throat as she realized that he would never know what had happened to her or where Archer had buried her body.
He would do his best to find her. But in time he would move on with his life. He would have no other choice. He would marry. Have a family.
Family. Poor little Kyle. He deserved to be part of a loving family. Instead…
Once again, it was Kyle who would suffer the most.
Glen Lloyd had known that threatening to make her son an orphan was the perfect taunt. Nothing could hurt her more than the thought of Kyle growing up completely alone. No father or mother, no siblings, nor even a distant relative to offer him comfort and support.
One little boy, completely alone in this world.
The thought of it shattered her poor heart.
As the truck crested the hill and began its descent into a heavily wooded area of wilderness, Ally braced herself for what was to come. She looked longingly at the open window of the passenger side. How she would love to jump, if only she could get her hand free. She would prepare herself to fight if backed into a corner. She would do whatever it took to stay alive and return to Kyle.
But first, she had to try to stay one step ahead of Archer.
Desperate, she dipped her free hand into the pocket of her smock and felt the sheets of labels. She couldn’t imagine anyone finding them in this desolate wilderness, but it was all she had. If she were to drop them at regular intervals, would they form a trail for someone to follow? Or would the breeze take them?
No matter. She had to do whatever she could. Praying Archer wouldn’t hear the rustle of paper, she removed a sheet of labels and stuck her hand out the window, keeping it low enough that it wouldn’t blow back inside the truck.
She held her breath, trying not to be caught staring at either Archer or at the back window of the truck. When they’d gone some distance, she removed a second sheet and did the same.
Her heart was pounding, afraid that any moment Archer would look in his rearview mirror and catch sight of the white sheets. But as they continued climbing, he seemed lost in his own plans for escape.
Though she knew it was a long shot, Ally continued dropping them at regular intervals, desperate to do something, anything, to mark their trail.
She would watch and listen, and pray. And whenever Archer decided to stop and kill her, she would have to be ready to fight with everything she had.
He was sick, of course. Absolutely mad.
But right now, as she dipped her hand in her pocket yet again and contemplated her next move, it seemed as if the whole world had gone mad with him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sheriff Eugene Graystoke was ready for war. He drove his SUV equipped with all the bells and whistles at speeds up to one hundred miles an hour as he headed along the interstate. He slowed only when he turned off onto an asphalt side road.
He pulled up to the Malloy ranch to find the entire Malloy family on the back porch, passing around rifles and bullets.
“Hold on now.” He slid out of his vehicle and strode authoritatively up the steps. “I know you’re all feeling protective of Ally Shaw, but with my deputy involved, this is strictly police business.”
“Like hell it is.” Reed accepted a pouch of bullets from his grandfather. “With Archer on the run with a hostage, you need all the help you can get.”
“The state police are on their way. They promised a team of sharpshooters and aerial surveillance as soon as they could be assembled.”
“And in the meantime?” Reed asked. “Are we supposed to just sit on our hands and hope they find Ally in time to save her life?”
“You don’t know that Archer will hurt her.”
“Are you talking about the Archer Stone we know? We’re all aware of his hair-trigger temper, Eugene.”
The sheriff turned to Frank Malloy. “Talk some sense into your grandson.”
“Why should I? I agree. We need to get on Archer’s trail as fast as possible, before he crosses into Canada and we’re held up waiting for permission to hunt him down.”
It was clear the older man had hit a nerve with the sheriff. “I’ve thought of that. I’ve already asked the state boys to check the border crossings.”
“I doubt Archer will stop and ask permission to leave the country.” Reed touched a hand to his grandmother. “You may want to stay with Great One and Yancy and the children, Gram Gracie.”
She lifted her chin. “This may surprise you, Reed darlin’, but Ally has come to mean as much to me as she does to you. Frankie and I have already agreed to take up the Cessna and see if we can spot Archer’s truck.”
Reed leaned close to kiss her cheek. “Thanks, Gram Gracie. I love you.”
“I love you more. Now let’s stop the chatter and get started.”
Reed slung his rifle over his shoulder and started down the steps. “I’m going now.”
Colin touched a hand to his nephew’s shoulder. “I’ll ride with you.”
“Thanks, Colin. But if you don’t mind, I need to be alone.”
Colin nodded. “I understand. I’ll follow in one of the ranch trucks.” He trailed along behind.
The sheriff called to his back, “You don’t even know where to start.”
Reed never paused. “I’m starting on the back roads. I doubt Archer is dumb enough to try outrunning the state police on the interstate.”
Frank took Grace’s hand. “Come on, Gracie girl. The heavens are calling.”
As they headed toward the barn that served as a hangar, Nessa and Ingrid stepped out the back door, dressed in denims and hiking boots.
Nessa caught up with Matt. “I’m riding with you.”
“There’s no telling how long we’ll be on the road.”
“It doesn’t matter.” She looped her arm through his. “I need to be there for Ally.”
Ingrid stopped Luke. “Great One and Yancy will watch Lily and Kyle.”
“What about you?”
She wrapped an arm around his waist. “We’re a team. Remember?”
“Yeah.” He draped an arm over her shoulder. “And don’t you ever forget it, babe.”
Burke turned to the sheriff. “I’m heading out, too, Eugene. Let the state police know we expect to be kept in the loop.”
Sheriff Graystoke nodded. “I should have known I wouldn’t be able to talk the Malloy family into letting me do my job without them.”
“This is personal, Eugene.”
“It’s personal for me, too, Burke. Archer has been my deputy for more than twenty years. And now he�
�s gone rogue…”
He turned to see Burke already striding away, carrying a rifle as he rushed toward the vehicle barn.
Even Jeremy and Gemma were running to Jeremy’s truck to join in the search.
“What the hell.” Eugene was muttering to himself as he climbed into his police cruiser and contacted the state police. “Sheriff Eugene Graystoke here. From now on, I’d like all means of communication turned to oh five hundred, our police call letters. That way, we’ll all get the latest information at the same time.”
From the Cessna he heard Frank Malloy acknowledge. Then he spoke into his cell phone and ordered those in trucks to keep their cell phones on speaker so he could relay any information.
From the various trucks came the voices of the other family members and friends as they acknowledged his instructions.
Alone in his truck, Reed muttered an acknowledgment as he steered toward a dirt trail that led away from civilization and snaked in a circuitous route to the very highest hills in the distance.
While he drove, he thought about what Kyle had accidentally found in Archer’s treasure box. A ring once owned by his great-grandmother and given to his mother on the day she died. How had Archer Stone come by such a thing? What was his connection to the death of the two people so deeply loved by everyone in the Malloy family?
Maybe someday, when he had time to think about it, he would ponder what strange force in the universe had directed one little boy to the very place where such a treasure had been hidden for more than twenty years. It had to be fate that brought Kyle to come upon Archer’s precious secret.
Was that the cause of Archer’s hatred for all things Malloy?
For now, he was more concerned with what had happened to cause Archer to turn that hatred on Ally.
Ally.
Reed could see in his mind the gorgeous woman who had turned his life upside down. The minute they met, everything had changed. His carefree lifestyle had suddenly lost its charm. His obsession with becoming the most successful rancher in the state of Montana had lost its appeal. His love of solitude had morphed into a desire to share every minute of his life with Ally and Kyle. And the strangest fact of all was that he didn’t mind the changes. He welcomed them.
He was happy just to be in Ally’s presence. Hearing her voice. Seeing her smile. Making her son giggle. Spending time with the two of them felt right. His whole life felt right. He experienced a contentment he’d have never believed possible. But there it was.
She had forever changed him.
Because he simply loved her.
And right now, he was terrified that he would be too late, and the rare and wonderful light he’d found would go out of his life forever.
While Frank piloted the Cessna, Grace kept her gaze on the hills below.
This land, which had captured her heart all those years ago, held her so firmly she wasn’t even willing to return to join her class for her college commencement. This land had brought her the man of her dreams and the family they’d made together. But right now, this land, with its hills and valleys, meadows and wooded hilltops, was hiding a monster and a frightened young woman who had come to mean so much to all of them.
“This all seems like a bad dream, Frankie. Ally kidnapped by Archer Stone. Her own uncle. Why? What could she have done to enrage him so?”
“The better question should be, what was Archer doing with your mother’s ring? Could it have anything to do with what’s happening today?”
She shook her head, unable to fathom such a thing. “I know this much. Bernie was so thrilled with that gift, she told me she was never taking it off. There’s no way she parted with it willingly.”
“How could Archer steal it from her finger without her knowledge?”
Grace sighed. “That’s what I keep asking myself. It simply isn’t possible. So the logical answer is, he had to have taken it from her after…” Her voice trailed off. Even after twenty-plus years, she couldn’t bring herself to speak of her son’s death and that of his beloved wife. The loss to their family, the void in their lives, was always with them.
Frank caught her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “Hold on, Gracie girl. We’re going to find Ally alive. And then we’re going to have our answers.”
“Oh, I hope so.” Tears filled her eyes and she blinked hard before returning her attention to the ground below.
“Believe it, my girl. We couldn’t save Patrick and Bernie, but we’ve been given a second chance.” He lifted her hand to his mouth, pressing a tender kiss to her palm. “No matter how slim this second chance is, we’ll take it and make it work.”
Reed drove across a meadow alive with wildflowers and wanted to curse every one of them for looking pretty and clean and ordinary on such a day. How could flowers bloom and birds sing when the woman he loved was being held by a madman? How could the sun shine on such a dark, cruel day?
For the first time in his life he felt like cursing the ranch that had demanded his time when he should have been with Ally, keeping her safe. All his life he’d worked circles around his brothers, always keeping his goals plainly in sight. Stupid goals, he thought morosely. Doubling the size of the ranch. Raising the finest cattle in the land. Making the Malloy name famous the world over. And all to atone for the fact that his father and mother had died too young, without the chance to reach their own goals. Hadn’t he always known why he pushed himself so hard? It had started with that terrible loss, and continued to this day.
And so he’d driven himself from the age of nine, thinking hard work and success would be an antidote for the pain of his loss.
Loss.
He couldn’t lose Ally, too.
His childhood pain would be nothing compared to what he was suffering now and would continue to suffer the rest of his life if he didn’t find her in time. If Archer hurt her…
He swore and turned up the volume on his cell phone, listening to the chatter among his family members and the state police already in the air and on the ground, crisscrossing the area, looking for any sign of Archer’s truck.
“…Cloud of dust on Rooftop Ridge,” Grandpop Frankie’s voice intoned. “It could be coming from a vehicle moving fast.”
“Circle that area and let us know how many ways we can get there,” came Matt’s voice over the phone.
“Will do.” Frank’s tone was thoughtful.
Reed turned his truck toward a distant road carved through the wilderness. It was little more than a trail formed by the wheels of some of their heavy equipment during roundup, when they brought in cattle-haulers to convey some of the herd to the lowlands.
As he started along the trail, his gaze swept the area, searching for any sign of recent use. Tire marks. Crushed greenery. Anything that would hint of a vehicle having gone this way.
He passed a flutter of white and continued driving. When he passed a second, and then a third, he hit the brakes and leapt out of the truck.
He picked up a white sheet and studied it. It was too clean to have been outside for any length of time. He turned it over and over in his hands, tearing off one of the simple white squares with a wavy red border. It was clearly a sheet of labels, much like the kind used as name tags at church events. He’d seen these recently.
His heart nearly stopped. Of course he’d seen these.
At Ally’s shop. On the day of her grand opening.
She’d been preparing for her grand reopening when Archer had abducted her.
He raced ahead and found another, and another.
He ran back to his truck and picked up his phone.
“This is Reed. Following up on the report of dust that could have been made by a fast-moving vehicle. I’m on a wilderness trail that leads to Rooftop Ridge, on the backside of my family ranch. There are no herds in this area, which means there are no wranglers. It’s completely isolated.”
He heard the buzz of conversation as the others began to comment, and the sheriff began issuing orders.
Reed
broke in and there was a sudden, ominous silence as he added, “I’ve come across a trail of paper labels. They appear at regular intervals. I could be wrong, but I’m convinced Archer Stone has passed this way with Ally and that she’s trying to signal their presence. Rooftop Ridge is the perfect place to commit a crime and hide the evidence, before getting away without a trace.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Reed drove like a madman, taking the twists and turns of the dirt trail without a thought to the fact that there were no guardrails, no protective fencing to keep a vehicle from going over the edge. The single track had a sheer drop-off of hundreds of feet into a steep, rocky ravine.
As he came up over a ridge, he saw the telltale cloud of dust in the distance, signaling another vehicle.
Archer. He had absolutely no doubt the deputy was up ahead. And with him, Ally.
After passing the information along to the others, Reed’s mind was already working overtime to think of a way not only to catch up but also to force a confrontation.
Turning the wheel sharply, he veered off the trail and drove through a thick stand of evergreens, hoping to find a shortcut that might get him to the summit ahead of Archer.
Archer could feel his reflexes, always sharp and steady when fueled by liquor, beginning to dull. He craved another drink. There was a bottle stashed beneath the seat of his truck, but he couldn’t risk losing his concentration as he navigated the narrow trail.
As he rounded another curve, he heard the sound of a plane’s engines. Looking up, he saw the aircraft flying low in a circular pattern. With a vicious oath he hit the brakes.
Seeing a stand of trees to one side, he turned the wheel and drove slowly into the center of the woods, where his vehicle would be shielded from view.
He opened the door and stepped down before reaching under the seat for the bottle and taking a long, satisfying pull of whiskey. The familiar heat started low in his gut, burning a path of fire through his veins. And with it, a blaze of hatred.
