She was beyond exhaustion, almost beyond fear after what felt like endless hiking up rocky trails. From the way the sun hit her face, she knew they were headed northwest. She kept waiting to hear a shout, or to hear twigs snap and feel Jesse’s quiet touch.
He was out there somewhere. She was certain of it. And when he appeared she would be ready.
Her foot struck a loose rock and she pitched forward to her knees. With her hands bound behind her it was hard to keep her balance on the rough trail. A man cursed at her in English, and his voice held no accent. She recorded this like the other facts.
They used code words for names. Ace, Duke and Primo.
Primo was the one who cursed at her as her shoulder hit the earth. She rolled slightly, gravel in her face.
A boot heel dug into the small of her back. “Get up and walk. If you keep falling, I’ll leave you here with two bullets.”
Gritting her teeth, Sara stood up. At least they were taking her somewhere. She prayed Hannah and her friend would be waiting when they stopped.
And despite their threats they hadn’t shot her, Sara thought grimly.
Yet.
* * *
Jesse watched them below on the trail, watched the tall man press his boot against Sara’s back.
Anger blurred his vision as he saw her struggle to her feet. His hands clenched on the rope looped over his shoulder and he fought the urge to pick off her captors one by one.
But he had to let these men lead him to their hiding place. If he went in now, they would almost certainly shoot Sara. So he followed silently and prayed that Liz Stone and Sara’s sister were alive somewhere up the trail.
With his climbing skills rusty, his last cliff ascent had strained the wound in his leg, but Jesse knew he could go on climbing for a week. He would not rest until Sara and the others were safe. Then he was going to take a great deal of pleasure in bagging and tagging the men walking beside Sara down on the trail.
* * *
Jesse followed in silence, a shadow unnoticed as the men wound up through the rugged terrain, heading northwest. Finally the group stopped. Crouched in the grass nearby, Jesse heard the leader giving orders to one of the others.
“We’ll be at Eagle Crossing within the hour. Radio ahead and tell them to get everyone ready. There’s no reason to stay. We got what we needed back at the house.”
“We shouldn’t have gone back,” the shorter man said, shaking his head. “It’s too dangerous. I don’t care how much cash or how many credit cards the old lady had, we need to reach the pickup point in Kingman. We’re wasting time.”
“You call this wasting time?” Laughing harshly, the other man waved a handful of credit cards and a wad of money. “If you don’t want your cut, that’s fine with me. I’ll keep all of it.”
They stopped arguing as a third man gestured to them from the top of the trail.
The man with the stolen credit cards waved back. “Where are the others?” he called.
“I’ve got ’em locked up in the canyon.”
In the distance, Jesse heard the low drone of a helicopter. He was almost certain that a chopper had been dispatched from Flagstaff. He needed to move before these men turned antsy and did something stupid.
“Let’s go.” The man with the cash and credit cards vanished around a bend in the trail. The other man turned, staring north. It was clear that he had heard the helicopter.
As the man studied the tree line, Jesse tackled him and took him down hard, one hand clamped over his mouth. They struggled in the dust, but Jesse was bigger and faster. He left the man bound and gagged, tied to a tree twenty yards off the trail. Then he circled up the slope.
Two more smugglers were walking nearby. One was directly up the hill, and one was on the trail to his left. How many others were there? And where were the captives being held?
Jesse continued up the slope, staying parallel to the trail. With luck he would come across more men. He would take them out one by one.
Something bumped his leg. He froze, snapping a look down into the underbrush, startled to see a brown shape half-hidden by deer grass.
Marlow?
The big dog was flat on the ground, looking up at him alertly. He must have followed Sara when she was taken up the trail. Then he had tracked Jesse here, in full service mode.
Jesse reached down and scratched the big dog behind his ears. He leaned closer, whispering, “Stay. Stay, Marlow.”
The dog was well trained. He would obey a clear order from someone he trusted.
Jesse took a step and halted, surprised to feel Marlow’s teeth close gently on his wrist. The dog stayed right where he was, holding Jesse in place. Then Marlow began backing up. The dog’s behavior made no sense until Jesse saw a faint trail leading up the slope to the right. He hesitated and then allowed Marlow to pull him a few feet back. Once the dog was sure Jesse was behind him, he trotted off into the brush, obviously tracking something. Jesse stayed close, moving at a crouch as the trail grew wider, snaking back and forth between boulders and low overhangs.
Suddenly Marlow stopped.
He looked forward, his head cocked.
Without a sound he turned and launched his paws against Jesse’s chest, forcing him down. A man emerged from behind a cliff at the top of the trail, speaking into a walkie-talkie and looking at his watch. Thanks to Marlow’s warning, Jesse had time to pick his spot, waiting until the man was nearly below him, then dropping down to tackle him.
Within minutes another captive was tied and gagged, then pulled away off the trail.
When Jesse looked around, Marlow was gone.
* * *
They forced Sara up the trail into a cabin. She stumbled at the threshold and went down hard. She heard the man behind her laughing as she fell.
Then she heard something else. Off in the distance she was certain she caught the drone of a helicopter. She prayed it was headed their way, dispatched by Jesse or the deputy back at Hannah’s cabin.
She gasped as she was shoved forward and the dirty blindfold was yanked away from her eyes. A man in a dark ski mask gestured to her.
She squinted, trying to see him clearly as her eyes adjusted to the light.
“You’ll stay here and shut up.” He pointed across the dusty floor of a small room. “If you make any trouble, you’ll end up like her.”
Sara stared into the gloom. The room had one window, but big planks of wood had been nailed randomly over the glass. She couldn’t see anything except a shadowy shape, propped against the opposite wall. Her heart leaped into her throat.
It was Hannah.
The man banged outside, and Sara heard the loud snap of a padlock being shoved in place on the door. All she could think about was her sister as she scooted closer. Hannah turned, unable to see behind her blindfold. Even in the gloom, Sara saw three big bruises on her face and neck.
“It’s me, Hannah. I’m here, honey. What have they done to you?”
Behind the gag her sister bit back a sob.
“Thank God you’ve come.” Her words were muffled but Sara knew what she said. She couldn’t do much with her hands bound behind her, but she leaned against her sister, speaking softly. Sara was overcome by a rush of love for her sister, and heartsick to see her helpless and immobilized. Hannah had so many good plans, and a new dream that would touch the lives of hundreds of people.
Somehow they had to find a way to escape.
* * *
Marlow lay silent at Jesse’s feet.
Jesse calmed him with a hand on the head, then turned to study the rickety shed. The wooden door was peeling and there were big gaps between the rough plank walls. Jesse was surprised to see a dented bottle of water sitting on the single step outside.
Marlow kept watching Jesse.
; As Jesse crept closer to the little shed, he felt Marlow right beside him. The dog’s head rose as he sniffed the air. His tail banged against Jesse’s leg. It was all the signal Jesse needed.
He pushed open the door silently, and his mouth flattened when he saw Liz Stone stretched out in the gloom. Her face was tight with pain, and a piece of splintered wood was wrapped around her lower leg, secured with three strips of cloth torn from her shirt.
“Liz? It’s Jesse,” he whispered.
Marlow ran past him, headed straight for the elderly woman on the floor. The big dog sank down and licked Liz’s face while Jesse carefully removed the muddy piece of cloth from her eyes.
“You came for us. I knew you would, Jesse.”
“You’re just determined to make my job interesting, aren’t you?” Jesse’s voice was gruff as Liz gripped his arm with trembling fingers. He ran an experienced eye over her leg, glad to see there was no sign of blood.
She blinked up at him and her tanned face lost some of its strain. “I never meant to make it this interesting,” she said hoarsely. “I was a fool, Jesse. I should have come to you as soon as I suspected those people were using my land. But I didn’t want to look stupid in case I was wrong. I should have known better.”
“You can tell me what happened as soon as I get you out of here, Liz. I’m going to help you outside into the grass. You’ll be safe there.”
She was tired and obviously in a great deal of pain, but her smile was as bright as a Sedona sunrise. She licked her cracked lips and took his arm. “I’m ready when you are. I think my leg is broken. I made a splint, but you’ll have to help me.”
The woman had a spirit of iron, Jesse thought. He was impressed beyond words as he lifted her gently. Sliding an arm around her waist, he helped her hobble to the door.
“Once you’re clear, I’m going for the others. Where is Hannah Winslow?”
Liz’s voice wavered. “I heard them say they were taking her higher up in the canyon. It’s not far, straight north if you have a compass. I made a mental note of whatever I heard them say.”
Jesse scanned the brush. It was slow going on the uneven ground and he was afraid to hurry Liz. Her hand felt very frail on his arm, but the force of her clenched fist was unmistakable.
This woman could teach a lot of men he knew about courage, Jesse thought. “Why did they leave you alone down in this shed?”
“After I fell, they figured I couldn’t move anywhere. They left me a little food, but they didn’t bother to guard me, so I made a splint, and I found some rainwater in a broken cup near the shed door.”
“They didn’t give you anything to drink?” Jesse glanced at the water bottle.
“Only a glass once a day. They left the bottle there to torment me because they wanted my bank code and the location of my cash and credit cards in my house,” the old woman said angrily. “I delayed as long as I could, acting confused and telling them only bits and pieces. All of them should be shot. And those poor people think they’re going to be taken someplace safe and given work.” She shook her head. “All they will do is lose their money. Maybe their lives. It breaks my heart,” Liz whispered. “Especially that young woman with the baby. These people are simply cargo.”
“Don’t talk, Liz.” Jesse helped her lie down behind a cottonwood tree completely hidden by a mound of tall feather grass. She started to speak, but Jesse shook his head. He held his canteen up and helped her drink, then set the canteen in the grass next to her.
The white-haired rancher gripped his arm. “You have to find Hannah. They hit her when she insisted that they give me more food and water. It was me she was worried about, not herself. I owe her, Jesse.”
“We all owe her,” the deputy sheriff said flatly.
* * *
Sara had managed to peel away most of the tape on Hannah’s ankles with the help of a rusty tin can lid Hannah had hidden between the cracks in the floor. While Hannah finished wriggling free, Sara went to work on her sister’s hands. When she was done, Hannah removed her blindfold and returned the favor.
“We have to go find Liz,” Hannah whispered. “They left her somewhere down the hill. I’m very worried, Sara. I think her leg is broken. And they wouldn’t leave her any extra water, just a glass every day until she told them where her cash and credit cards were hidden.”
“We’ll find her.” Sara stood up and took her sister’s arm.
She froze as the grass outside the door rustled. A shadow moved beyond the rough slats of the boarded-up window.
Without a word Hannah dropped to the floor and curled up in a ball, moaning. Sara slid behind the door and pressed against the wall, waiting.
The minute the man came in and bent over her sister, Sara used a heavy rock hidden near the door and smashed it down on his head. He swayed and then turned furiously, swinging at her face. She ducked and then her sister launched herself from the ground and grabbed his legs while Sara hit him again and again until he cursed and toppled sideways.
When he hit the floor, it was one of the nicest sounds Sara had ever heard. Hannah sat up and smiled. Her face was bruised and streaked with dust, but she was full of enthusiasm. “That will teach them to mess with the Winslows.”
Between them, the two women dragged the man across to the far corner and then Sara closed the door of the cabin, replacing the lock. She helped her sister, who was still wobbly, as they followed a narrow trail toward the cliffs, winding through rugged boulders and patchy brush. So far there had been no shouts or signs that they had been seen. But they needed water. If they didn’t get it soon, their survival chances were slim.
Something moved in the tall feather grass beyond the trail. Remembering her confrontation with the snake, Sara grabbed her sister’s arm. The grass rustled again, then parted, and a big dark shape nosed closer. Something wet pressed against Sara’s hand.
“Marlow.” Sara looked up and caught her breath at the sight of a man farther up the narrow trail.
Jesse.
He pressed one finger to his mouth, beckoning her toward him. Sara helped Hannah the last ten feet and felt Jesse squeeze her shoulder hard.
Then he scanned the trail. “We have to go. Head to your right.” He passed a canteen to Sara’s sister. “Have a little of this while you walk, but take it slow.”
Hannah sipped, then gave the canteen to Sara, who had to force herself not to gulp down the whole thing. When Jesse led them to a shady spot concealed from the trail by a cottonwood tree, Sara saw a wiry, white-haired woman propped against the trunk with a canteen cradled in her lap.
Hannah muffled a cry of relief. “You found her. Liz, are you all right?”
“I could do with a gallon or two of coffee and one of Charly’s pecan pies, but I think I’ll survive. Thanks to all of you,” the elderly woman whispered, her voice breaking with emotion.
Once the three were comfortable, Jesse straightened the grass that had been flattened when they’d walked in. He left a canvas bag next to Sara. “There’s more water in there, along with some chocolate and protein bars, which I imagine are more appealing than the food they gave you here. I’ll be back for you as soon as I can.” He looked at the three and shook his head, his mouth curving in a grin. “You three ladies are something, you know that?”
Then he vanished like a shadow into the tall grass.
* * *
When the government helicopter set down on the cliffs above the canyon, the officers saw a curious sight. Three men were standing in a clearing, their hands and feet roped together. Deputy Sheriff McCloud waved a shirt like a flag, directing the team to the only trail that would lead them from the rim down into the canyon so that they could take custody of the assailants.
As the smugglers were rounded into custody, Jesse pointed to a second helicopter banking in from the south. His arm slid around Sara
’s shoulders. “That ride will be ours, honey. I’m cooking dinner tonight. It might be a long night.”
“Is that a promise?” Sara whispered.
Their fingers linked.
Emotion shimmered in her eyes as Sara watched Jesse’s fellow officer Miguel Rodriguez bend protectively over Hannah. It was clear that theirs was more than a casual friendship.
“Looks like your sister has a beau.” Jesse slanted a searching glance at Sara. “Looks like you both do. Is that a problem?”
She cocked her head and ran a hand over his shoulder. “Not with me. By the way, that was nice climbing. You’re not as rusty as you thought.”
“All it took was the right motivation. But it was a fight not to drop down on the trail when they shoved you, Sara.”
“You did what you had to do.”
“So did you.”
“What about the people traveling in that group, Jesse?”
“The people are fine. They’ll be treated and given whatever medical aid they need. It’s already being arranged.” Jesse cleared his throat. “By the way, I think I’m going to be seeing a lot of your sister. I want to help with this new elder care project she’s working on. We’re way past due for this kind of program in the county. I’m ashamed it took an outsider to show us that.”
Sara moved her fingers against his, feeling the calluses and the strength there.
A man she could trust. Her first instincts about him had been right.
She was about to tell Jesse that, when Marlow came bounding up the trail. He lunged, and his dusty paws slammed against Jesse’s chest. The three of them sprawled back into the feather grass, dirty, exhausted, but happy. Their laughter was as bright as the clear Arizona sky.
EPILOGUE
Sedona
One year later
"Charly, I need two more pecan pies over here. One’s for the Garcia family and one’s for Molly over in Cottonwood.” Little tendrils of hair
tumbled around Sara’s tanned face as she surveyed the controlled chaos of Liz Stone’s big kitchen. Boxes were organized in neat piles, all of them stamped with a bright red “Home and Heart” logo. Tools were set out for the handyman, who was due to arrive in twenty minutes.
More Than Words, Where Dreams Begin: Black Tie and PromisesSafely HomeDaffodils in Spring Page 16
