Ranch Hideout

by Sandra Robbins

  Her heart thudded at the memory of Brick lying wounded on the ground and Gabriel advancing on Andrea. The fact that she had followed Liz up the trail could mean only one thing. Andrea had either killed or wounded Gabriel. And poor Brick...hurt because he’d tried to protect her.

  Tears rolled down her face as she hurried on, and she prayed with each step. She didn’t pray for her own safety but for Brick—and most especially for Gabriel. At this point all she could do was place the man she loved in God’s hands, but that was one of the most difficult things she’d ever done.

  What if God allowed him to die? Surely He wouldn’t do that, not before Gabriel had come to embrace God and follow Him in faith. Living with the thought that he’d died still questioning God’s existence would be unbearable for her. So she prayed and prayed as she put one foot ahead of the other.

  Her mood took a turn for the better when she spotted an opening in the trees on either side of the trail. Maybe she had made her way back to the lodge. She rushed forward as fast as she could and came to a sudden halt. Her momentary hopefulness vanished to be replaced with a shot of panic.

  She had chosen the wrong path the second time, and it hadn’t led her back to the lodge. It had brought her to the cliffs of Mount LeConte’s summit. The rocky shelf stretched in both directions, and she pondered which way would take her back to the spot where she and Gabriel had sat earlier today. She scanned the area to try to determine where she was in relation to that place. She hadn’t chosen wisely on her way up the mountain, and she wasn’t sure of her choice this time.

  She threw a petrified glance at the sharp drop-off and then over her shoulder. There was only one thing to do. She took a deep breath and stepped out onto the rocky shelf. She held her breath as she inched forward.

  A wind whipped across the mountain, and Liz came to a stop as she braced herself against its force. After a second it calmed to a gentle breeze, and she continued moving forward. Her ankle throbbed so painfully she didn’t know how she was still walking, but she couldn’t stop. If she did, she’d be a sitting duck for Andrea.

  After what seemed an eternity Liz caught sight of the spot where she and Gabriel had been earlier. She could make out the trail that led back to the lodge, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Now all she had to do was avoid Andrea on the way down.

  A cackling laugh filled the air, and Liz froze. She’d heard that sound before, and she knew without turning around that Andrea was close behind her. She weighed her options—make a run for it and hope Andrea didn’t catch her or face the woman who wanted to kill her.

  The first one wasn’t about to happen. She couldn’t possibly run with the way her ankle felt right now. Even if she could, Andrea was in better physical shape than she was, and she’d catch up to her in no time.

  Her decision made, she spun and faced Andrea. “Okay, Andrea. Let’s get this over with.”

  * * *

  Gabriel’s last thought before the bullet struck him was that Liz had gotten away. He had no idea where she’d gone, but she’d run like he told her to. Would that be enough to keep her alive with Andrea on her heels? He could only hope—and pray—that God would watch over her. He lay on the cabin porch and pretended to be dead as Andrea stood over him. He held his breath and didn’t move as she studied his still form. Would she check his pulse? He couldn’t fake that.

  But to his relief, she moved past him and hurried down the steps. He opened one eye to see what she was doing. She stood over Brick, her gun aimed at his head. Please, Lord, don’t let him be killed just for trying to help us. Moments later, the sound of loud voices outside the dining room pierced the air, and Andrea turned her head in that direction, clearly realizing that people were approaching. Then instead of pulling the trigger, she took off in the direction that Liz had run.

  “Thank You, God,” he whispered, quietly but with absolute sincerity.

  He wanted to go after Andrea, to stop her before she killed Liz, but he couldn’t move. He fought the darkness that swirled in his head, but it was no use. He slumped into unconsciousness on the porch.

  The next thing he knew, someone was bending over him. “Mister, mister. Can you hear me?”

  Gabriel blinked and stared up into the face of a young man he’d seen working in the dining room earlier. He held a flashlight and peered down at him. For a moment Gabriel couldn’t say anything, and then he tried to push up.

  “Don’t move,” the young man said. “We’ve called for a helicopter for you and your friends.”

  Gabriel’s heart dropped when he heard those words. Friends? Was Liz hurt?

  When the young man tried to restrain him as he tried to stand again, Gabriel shoved his hand away. “Where is she?”

  A puzzled look crossed the boy’s face. “There isn’t a woman here. There are two men, and they’re both unconscious. You’ve been shot. You need to take it easy.”

  Gabriel swayed as he stood up and looked around. Brick and Ray lay at the foot of the steps, and they both appeared to be unconscious. Several of the lodge staff knelt over them, providing some first aid. Blood trickled from the side of Brick’s head, but at least it looked like he was still alive. Gabriel didn’t see any blood on the hit man.

  Where were Liz and Andrea? He turned his head and stared up the trail as he remembered seeing Liz running in that direction and Andrea chasing after her. He had to find them.

  Gritting his teeth against the pain in his side, he looked at the young man. “I’m an FBI agent. The man who’s unconscious is a hit man for a drug organization. The other one tried to help us and was shot for it. Call the park rangers and get them up here right away to put that man under arrest. In the meantime, I have another fugitive I have to capture.”

  He took a step to leave, but the young man caught his arm. “I don’t think you’re in any condition to go after anybody.”

  “You don’t understand,” Gabriel said. “I don’t have a choice. The woman I love is in trouble, and I have to save her.”

  He pressed his hand to his side and forced his legs to move. He was well on his way up the trail to the summit when he realized he didn’t have his gun. It still lay in the cabin where he dropped it when Ray was holding them at gunpoint. It was too late to worry about that now. There was no time to go back. He had to go on. He had to get to Liz in time.

  As he stumbled along, he stared up at the sky and whispered another prayer. “God, help me find her, and please take care of her until I get there.”

  * * *

  Liz didn’t move as Andrea came closer to her. When she was a few feet away, she stopped and aimed her gun at Liz’s chest. “I don’t want a bullet in you, but I will shoot if you try anything funny.”

  Liz swallowed and let her gaze drop to the gun in Andrea’s hand. “Why are you doing this? Is money worth what this is going to cost you? You’re a well-respected FBI agent, and you’re going to exchange that title for murderer. Where’s all the ethics and respect for the law that you’re supposed to have?”

  Andrea threw back her head and laughed. “I’ll tell you where it is. It went down the drain one day when one of my fellow agents, a man, got the credit for closing an investigation that I had led. He got the glory and the promotion, and I got a pat on the back for all my hard work. I knew right then that I was never going to be considered a highly respected agent. I’d only be a woman agent who assisted everyone else. If I wasn’t going to get rewarded by the agency, I’d have to look somewhere else. So I contacted Daniel Shaw, and I’ve been working for him for about three years now. I have a tidy sum hidden in an offshore account that could take care of me for life. And he’s willing to double that amount if I make you go away. All I have to do is finish this one task before I disappear.”

  “You won’t get away with this, Andrea,” Liz shouted. “Gabriel will hunt you down and see that you pay.”

 
“Gabriel?” Andrea scoffed. “Didn’t you see him before we left the cabin? He was lying on the porch dead.”

  Tears sprang to Liz’s eyes, and she wrapped her arms around her waist. “No, no. I don’t believe that.”

  Andrea advanced toward her. “It’s not going to matter in the next few minutes what you believe. Once you go over the side of this cliff, none of this will be your problem anymore—and you won’t be Daniel Shaw’s problem either.”

  Liz cast a frightened glance at Andrea and backed up a step. “Get away from me!” she screamed.

  All she received in return was Andrea’s high-pitched laugh.

  The wind blew across the rocky cliff, and Liz stopped as it whipped about her legs. She looked down in the inky darkness below the cliff and clenched her fists at her side. She had to do something. But what?

  As she inched away from the edge of the cliff, her foot dislodged a small rock, and it tumbled over the side. She could hear it striking the sides of the mountain as it dropped downward. For a fleeting moment, she wondered how far it was to the base of the mountain, and then she remembered. This mountain was over sixty-three hundred feet tall. There was no way anyone could survive the fall. And as sheer as the drop-off was at this spot, there was no chance that she’d land anywhere other than at the very bottom.

  She moved a few inches away from the edge again, and Andrea stepped so close that now Liz could make out her features in the night rather than just the shadowy outline of her face. “Don’t even think that you can get away. I’m wasting time here. I guess I’m going to have to push you.”

  Andrea reached out and grabbed Liz by the front of her blouse. “No! No! Andrea, think what you’re doing!” Her voice echoed through the mountains.

  “I know what I’m doing,” Andrea rasped.

  “Andrea!” Gabriel’s voice rang out, and Liz turned her head to see him staggering to the craggy shelf of the summit. “Let her go!”

  Andrea released Liz and whirled to face him. “So I didn’t finish you off at the cabin after all. Well, I can take care of that right now.”

  She raised her gun and aimed at Gabriel, but he didn’t stop. He kept coming straight at her. “I’m warning you, Gabriel. I’m going to...”

  Before she could get the words out, Liz brought both her arms up underneath Andrea’s and shoved her away. The gun dropped to the ground, and Andrea stumbled backward. Liz had once glimpse of her before Andrea disappeared over the side of the cliff.

  Terror ripped through Liz as she realized that the momentum of the blow had caused her to lose her own balance. She reached out a hand to Gabriel as she teetered on the edge. He rushed forward, his hand outstretched, and she grabbed for him. His fingers brushed her arm, and then she was falling over the brink of the cliff.

  Suddenly her body slammed against the side of the mountain, and she looked up to see what had happened. Above, Gabriel lay on his stomach, his hands wrapped around her right arm while she dangled in space.

  Fear gripped her as she swung back and forth. Gabriel had hardly been able to make it across the rocks to where she was. There was no way he could pull her up in his condition. It was astounding that he was able to hold on to her at all. She closed her eyes for a moment and then gazed up at the sky. “Into Thine hands,” she whispered.

  Then she stared back at the man she loved hanging on to her with every bit of strength he had. In a few minutes he would be exhausted, and both of them would fall to the valley below. “Gabriel,” she called out.

  His head peeped over the side, and she could see the energy draining from him. His grip was becoming looser by the second.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I love you, and I don’t want you to die. You have to let me go.”

  His head jerked up. “No!” he yelled. “I’ll never do that.”

  She felt tears stream down her face. “It’s time, Gabriel. I want you to let me go.”

  Then she closed her eyes and waited for his hand to release her.

  FIFTEEN

  Gabriel held on to Liz as tightly as he could, but he could feel his hands beginning to sweat. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep his grip. He’d tried several times to pull her up, but every time he did, his injured side flared with pain like a hot poker had been pressed to it.

  He heard her plea for him to let her go, but there was no way that was going to happen. He would follow her over the mountain before he would release her.

  His body began to shake, and he knew he was nearly to the end of his endurance. He closed his eyes and grieved briefly for the future he’d imagined with Liz that now would never be. In few minutes they would be together in death.

  In the last moments of his life he had to decide where he stood with his belief in God. Liz had such strength and peace. Even now when she was suspended in the air, she could speak in a calm voice and tell him to let her go. She wasn’t afraid to die. He wanted the peace that she had.

  His eyes still shut, he whispered, “Thank You for giving her to me for a short time and watching over us in these last minutes of our lives.”

  The final word was barely out of his mouth when he heard footsteps running onto the cliff. He gasped in surprise when Clipper and Patch dropped to the ground, one on each side, and reached over the cliff. Clipper’s strong hand clamped around his, and Patch’s voice yelled down to Liz, “Give me your other hand!”

  He watched as she raised her arm as if in slow motion, and the man grabbed it. “All right, together now,” Clipper said. “Pull!”

  Gabriel summoned up his last strength and tugged with all his might. With the three of them pulling together, Liz’s head appeared at the edge of the cliff, and the next thing he knew, she was on the ground beside him.

  He heard her gasping for breath, and then she was bent over him. “Gabriel, can you hear me?”

  A smile curved his mouth as he looked from Liz to Brick’s two motorcycle brothers, who’d just risked their lives to help him bring Liz to safety. He reached up and caressed her cheek. “I’m all right now.”

  Patch jumped to his feet. “I’ll go get help. You are in no shape to walk back down.”

  Gabriel watched as Patch jogged down the trail and then turned his attention to Clipper, whom he’d first seen at the lodge office. That day he’d been suspicious of the men with the skull tattoos, but tonight he thought maybe Liz was right. There was some good in everyone because they were all God’s children.

  He held up a hand. “Thank you, Clipper.”

  He took Gabriel’s hand. “I’m glad we got here in time.”

  Liz grabbed the man’s hand in hers. “Thank you for saving my life. How did you happen to know we needed it?”

  Clipper stroked his long beard and smiled. “We’ve been watching that Ray guy ever since we first saw him in the dining room. We’d seen him with some of Daniel Shaw’s men before, and we knew he wasn’t up here on vacation. We wanted to find out who his target was. Brick followed him last night and got there just in time to keep him from stabbing you. We were sure surprised to find out it was you, Liz.”

  “But there was no one there when I came to check on Andrea,” Gabriel said.

  “Naw, Brick took off. Figured he might have to answer too many questions. He didn’t figure Ray could run away, but he did.”

  Gabriel tried to sit up, but Liz laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Is that why Brick followed us tonight and attacked Ray at our cabin?”

  Clipper shook his head. “Well, he’d been watching you all day long, but he followed you tonight because we found your purse on our table in the dining room. Brick said he’d take it to you. When he didn’t come back, we went looking for him. By that time the lodge employees had found him and called for a helicopter. When they told us that the wounded FBI agent had said he was pursuing a woman, we k
new you needed help. So that’s how we came to be at the summit.”

  Liz reached over and squeezed his arm. “Thank you for that. Do you know how Brick is?”

  “I don’t think he’s hurt bad. Looked like a bullet grazed his head, so he ought to be all right, as hard as his head is.”

  Liz laughed, and Clipper smiled back at her. A sudden thought flashed in Gabriel’s head, and he winced. This man was a member of a motorcycle gang that the FBI had been after for years, and yet he had put his life on the line for them tonight.

  Just minutes ago he and Liz had been close to death, and God had placed these men in the right place tonight to help them. It reminded him of a line from a poem that said something about God moving in mysterious ways.

  “Let me add my thanks for what you did, Clipper,” he said.

  Clipper turned his head and stared at him. “We did it for her. I reckon my brother would be dead right now if she hadn’t helped him on the trail.”

  Gabriel nodded. “Then let me rephrase what I just said. Thank you for saving Liz. We may find ourselves on opposite sides in the future, but for now I’d like to shake the hand of the man who saved the life of the woman I love.”

  He held his hand up and waited. Clipper looked at it a moment before he nodded and shook it. “For Liz,” he said. Then he grinned and stared up at her. “In fact, whenever you get tired of this guy, just let me know.”

  Liz laughed, but Gabriel reached out and clasped her hand. “I’m afraid you’ve missed your chance, Clipper. I’m gonna make sure that never happens.”

  * * *

  Liz stood at the window of the waiting room outside the hospital’s surgery unit and stared out at the sun that had just peeped over the horizon. She could already tell it was going to be a glorious day in the Smokies. In fact, it was just a wonderful day to be alive.

  Across the room Bill Diamond and agents from the Memphis office waited for word on Gabriel. He’d been in surgery for a while now, and she was beginning to get antsy. What if something had gone wrong? She shook her head. No, she couldn’t let herself think that. She and Gabriel had been through too much for anything to happen now.