Montana Standoff

by Sharon Dunn

  Sarah ran over to her. She picked up a nail from the barn floor and cut Nadia free. “Quiet,” she whispered. She grabbed Nadia’s hand. Looking over her shoulder, she wove in and out of the stalls. The stomping of the shooter stopped. Had Bryan been able to disable him? They slipped through the door as a rifle shot splintered the wood above them.

  She could hear Jason shouting expletives as she and Nadia raced back to the car. Sarah started the car. She glanced out at the road and then at the field that lay between the barn and the house. She had a choice to make. She knew she was supposed to get Nadia out of there, but she couldn’t leave Bryan behind.

  She hit the gas and zoomed out into the field. Bryan stood in the middle of the field aiming a rifle at the barn. She accelerated toward him. Without a moment’s hesitation, he jumped into the backseat. “I think I got him when he ran around the side of the barn after you two.”

  The car slowed through the taller grass.

  “This isn’t an off-road vehicle.” Bryan’s voice held a note of humor.

  “We’ll make it.” Sarah pressed harder on the accelerator.

  Bryan glanced over his shoulder. Jason was halfway across the field. He favored his left leg. That must be where he’d hit him.

  The car slowed to a crawl.

  Bryan yanked open the door to tug Nadia out of the car. “Run,” he commanded.

  All three of them crouched low and sprinted toward the backyard. Angie burst out of the open door, meeting them at the gate.

  Evelyn peeked her head out. “Hurry, get inside. Help is on the way from Discovery. We’ve only got one policeman in New Irish and I don’t think he would be of much use.”

  Sarah and Nadia collapsed on the floor, exhausted and out of breath. Bryan darted over to a window, pulling a curtain back and peering out. He bent over, gripping his shoulder.

  Sarah scrambled over to him. “You’re hurt.”

  “Just a nick.” He grimaced.

  Evelyn stepped across the floor holding her rifle. “I can watch the field.”

  Bryan leaned against the wall. Sweat beaded his forehead. Sarah peeled back his bloody shirt. She sucked air through her teeth. “That’s quite a gouge.” She touched the skin around the wound and he winced. “I don’t think the bullet went in.”

  “First-aid kit in the bathroom,” Evelyn said without taking her eyes off the window.

  Nadia jumped to her feet and headed toward the bathroom. She returned a moment later and slid the kit across the floor to Sarah.

  “I think our guy has given up,” said Evelyn.

  “They don’t give up.” Bryan spoke through gritted teeth.

  Evelyn scooted along the window. “I can’t see him anywhere.”

  Sarah placed disinfectant on Bryan’s torn, bloody skin. She stared down at the kit. There wasn’t a bandage big enough to cover the cut. She grabbed some gauze and placed it gently over the cut.

  Gratitude shone in his eyes. He winked at her. “Thanks for saving my bacon.”

  She touched his cheek. “Thanks for saving mine.”

  Outside, sirens sounded in the distance.

  The tightness of Bryan’s expression told her he was still in pain. “Looks like the cavalry is here.”

  She put out a hand to help him to his feet. The four of them trudged toward the front door as the police sirens grew louder.

  A single thudding noise came from the side entrance. Jason Smith appeared, the rifle aimed at Sarah as she stepped toward the front door. Bryan pushed her out of the way. The boom of a rifle blast contained within the four walls of a house echoed in her ears as Jason tumbled to the floor, still alive but in pain.

  Evelyn let the arm that held the rifle she’d just fired fall limp at her side. “You said they don’t give up, so I was ready.”

  Discovery police officers burst through the door ready to shoot. They escorted Nadia and Sarah out while Bryan briefed them on what had happened. After receiving first aid, Jason was taken into custody.

  Sarah sat in the back of the police car with Nadia and Angie. She craned her neck to see Bryan coming out on the porch. As the police car pulled out of the driveway, Sarah wondered if there was any hiding place where Tyler Mason wouldn’t find them.

  NINETEEN

  Bryan placed the phone in the cradle and studied the two weary women in front of him. They’d been brought directly to the police station from the safe house. “We’ve made arrangements for you to stay at a hotel for the night.”

  “Just for one night?” Dark circles had formed under Sarah’s eyes. Nadia didn’t look much better.

  “We can’t risk him finding out where you are. Our best option right now is to move you often.” Bryan glanced around the police station. This time of day, most of the officers were out on patrol. The other detective had left to do an interview on another case. Only two other officers sat at their desks.

  Bryan stood up and rested an arm on one of the walls of the carrels. He addressed his comment to Grant, who sat at his desk staring at his computer. “Quiet day, huh?”

  “Compared to yours,” said Grant, running his hands over his short buzz-cut hair. “We did have a break-in at the 2100 block on Oak Street.”

  “What business on Oak Street?” Sarah had come up behind him. Her voice sounded strained.

  Grant sat up a little straighter in his chair and tilted his head. “That adoption agency downtown. Why?”

  “That’s where I work.” When she turned to look at him, her face was whiter than porcelain. Fear danced across her eyes.

  Bryan pieced a picture together. This wasn’t a coincidence. “They searched your home. And now your workplace....”

  Sarah thought for a moment. “There would have been pay stubs, letters in drawers.” She turned away. “There’s even a magnet on my refrigerator that says where I work.”

  “They put two and two together and figured out you might have something to do with April’s adoption.”

  Nadia released an audible breath. “No.” She jumped to her feet, shaking her head and pacing, her voice growing more and more frantic. “He will use the child to get my silence. He never loved the baby.”

  Sarah ran over to Nadia, grabbing her hands at the wrists. “He won’t find what he’s looking for. Those records are sealed in computer files. There are passwords and other security measures.”

  Tension melted from Nadia’s body. “If you say.” Sarah let go of her wrists.

  Bryan walked over to Grant. “Can you keep an eye on those two? And I think the dog will need to go out for a walk. The women are not to leave the building.”

  “I’m stuck at my desk for at least two more hours. I can do that,” said Grant.

  Sarah ran over to Bryan. “Where are you going?”

  “Out to see the extent of the damage at the robbery,” he said.

  “I’m going with you.” Sarah touched his sleeve. He saw the look of hard resolve in her eyes. “I’ll be able to tell you if any information on the computers has been compromised.”

  The truth was he didn’t want to leave her anywhere and risk losing her again. “All right, but don’t get out of my sight.” Bryan stalked over to Nadia. “You stay here. Don’t even go outside to take a breath. Do you understand me?”

  Nadia nodded.

  “Officer Pittman will deal with the dog.”

  Nadia lifted her chin. “I stay here.”

  “We’ll get you moved to that hotel in a couple of hours.”

  Nadia slumped back down, her expression indicating that she understood. “Don’t let him get April.” Fear and desperation clouded her eyes.

  Bryan drove Sarah toward the robbery location.

  Sarah laced her fingers together as the city streets passed by. “Would he really go after the baby?”
<
br />   “Maybe,” Bryan said. “He’s getting desperate. He can’t get at Nadia directly. He’s tried.”

  Bryan slowed the car as they came to a large brick building that housed several offices. Patrol officers had already cordoned off the place.

  “Let’s go inside.” He pushed open his door.

  Sarah led the way up the sidewalk. Bryan stopped one of the techs working the scene. He placed his hand on the small of Sarah’s back. “We need to go inside. She works here. She’ll know what’s been taken.”

  The tech wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Pretty obvious what they stole. After they rooted through a bunch of file cabinets, they pulled all the hard drives from the computers.”

  Sarah seemed to collapse, her shoulders slumped and her head bent. “He’s trying to find out who April’s adoptive parents are.”

  Adrenaline coursed through Bryan’s body. The break-in had taken place hours ago. How long would it take Mason to find what he was looking for? With all the men he had on his payroll, there was bound to be a computer expert or two who could get past the security measures. “We can call the parents, warn them.”

  “I don’t remember their phone number. All that information is private. It was on the hard drives. I doubt they are listed in the phone book. They only have cell phones. And I’m sure I deleted them from my contacts list ages ago.”

  “Can you disclose where the adoptive parents live...for April’s safety? We can dispatch an officer to check on them.”

  “They live out in the country. I took April out to them for visits several times. It would be faster for us to go there,” said Sarah. “Besides, I feel responsible here.”

  “Then let’s go. I’ll alert the station as to what is going on.”

  She grabbed his hand. “What if Nadia hears the radio? She does not need any more turmoil. We don’t want her doing something crazy.”

  “I can’t go maverick on this.” He turned a half circle and looked up at the sky. “I can phone it to the chief, though. Nothing for Nadia to overhear.” The concession was worth it for Sarah’s grateful smile.

  Once they were out of town, Sarah directed him along country roads. The car crested over a hill, and a cabin at the base of a heavily forested mountain came into view. A car stood in the driveway. Nothing appeared amiss. Bryan pulled up close to the front door.

  Sarah led the way up the front porch stairs. She knocked on the door. “Her name is Mackenzie and his name is Christopher. They’re a neat couple. April is the second child they’ve adopted. The other is a four-year-old autistic boy named Ethan.” Her words held a warm glow.

  “You like your work?”

  She gazed at him, blue eyes shining. “It’s rewarding.”

  “Did you do it because of Marie?” It was the first time he’d spoken their child’s name. He’d feared that all the pain of their bad choices would come rushing back with that single word. Instead, he felt a sense of release. Something that had been in the darkness, that he had refused to think about, was brought into the light.

  She studied him for a moment. “Not entirely. I wanted to do a job like this because Crew and I languished so long in the foster care system. Things might have turned out better for Crew if someone had cared a little more about finding us a permanent family. I didn’t want another kid to have to go through that.”

  “I think what you do is a good thing, a noble thing.”

  Happiness at his admiration shone in her eyes. “Thanks.”

  Bryan leaned in and knocked on the door a second time.

  “Someone must be here. There’re two cars in the driveway.” Her voice had a nervous edge to it.

  Bryan walked around the house. No one was in the backyard. Sarah met him on his way back. “The door isn’t locked. I think we should go inside and take a look.”

  He pushed the door open and stepped across the threshold. A fan whirred on the high ceiling of the cabin.

  “Mackenzie?” Sarah took several steps into the living room. “Christopher?” She walked toward the kitchen. “Ethan?” With each name, her voice became more filled with anxiety.

  Bryan’s hand hovered over his gun. “I’ll search upstairs.” He didn’t want to leave Sarah alone. They’d been blindsided too many times. “Why don’t you come with me?”

  They moved silently up the carpeted stairs and down the hallway.

  “Mackenzie? It’s Sarah from the Loving Hearts adoption agency.”

  They searched all the bedrooms. The house was empty, silent. Bryan stopped in front of what was probably a bathroom. His back stiffened. “This is the only door that is closed.” He adjusted his grip on the gun.

  Sarah pushed the door open. Bryan slipped inside, scanning the room. The shower curtain shook. Someone was in the bathtub. He kept his gun aimed at the trembling curtain and signaled to Sarah that she should pull it back.

  A woman with a gag on her mouth and fear in her eyes reeled back from Bryan pointing the gun on her.

  “Mackenzie.” Sarah bent toward the woman and peeled off the gag.

  Bryan holstered his gun.

  Mackenzie let out a burst of air once the gag was off. “The children. They took the children.”

  Sarah worked to untie Mackenzie’s hands. “We think they only came for April.”

  Fear clouded each word Mackenzie spoke. “Then where’s Ethan?”

  “He wasn’t in the house that we could find.” Bryan struggled to keep his voice steady. Would they hurt an innocent child?

  “He may have hidden. When he hears a stranger’s voice, it scares him.” Mackenzie leaned forward to untie her feet. She grabbed Sarah’s shirtsleeve. “Why do they want April? Do you think she’s all right?”

  Sarah patted Mackenzie’s arm. “She will be. We’ll find her. Right now, why don’t you focus on figuring out where Ethan went?”

  Bryan leaned toward the woman. “Can you tell us what the men looked like?”

  “They were wearing masks. There were three of them.” She stepped out of the bathtub and ran down the hall calling Ethan’s name.

  Bryan and Sarah chased after her down the stairs. She emerged from one of the side rooms on the first floor. “Ethan isn’t in his usual hiding place.” She ran one direction and then the other. “I have to call Chris.”

  Bryan understood Mackenzie’s panic, but he needed information. “Can you tell us which way the men went?”

  Mackenzie stopped. Her eyes glazed as a confused look came across her face. “We were upstairs and they came barging in. They took her from my arms. It happened so fast. The man knew April’s name.” A veil seemed to drop over her eyes as her voice grew cold. “He said ‘come to Daddy’ and he took her.”

  TWENTY

  Sarah let what Mackenzie had said sink in. So Mason had felt this mission was so important, he’d taken care of it himself. Or maybe he was running out of hired guns to do his dirty work for him.

  Bryan jumped into action. “We’ve got to get search parties out in every direction. They couldn’t have gotten far.” He turned back to face the frightened mom. “How long ago were they here?”

  Mackenzie rubbed her temple and squeezed her eyes shut. “Ah...I was...tied up and left there maybe ten or fifteen minutes before you guys showed up.”

  Bryan nodded and pulled his phone out.

  Sarah wrapped her arm around Mackenzie. “Let’s focus on finding Ethan. Is there another place he would hide if he were afraid?”

  “The thing is...he’d come out if he heard my voice,” Mackenzie said.

  Sarah fought hard to remain calm. Mackenzie didn’t need to see the fear that pressed on her from all sides. “How about the backyard? He couldn’t hear you from inside the house. Is there a place for him to hide outside?”

  Realization spread across Mackenzie’s
face. Her voice had a haunted quality. “What if he ran after his sister? He’s very protective of her.”

  The thought of a four-year-old boy lost in the forest, chasing after dangerous men, sent chills through Sarah. In the next room, Sarah could hear Bryan making frantic calls to get a search underway.

  Mackenzie crossed her arms over her body. “I have to call Chris.” She muttered something under her breath and stepped into another room.

  Bryan emerged with his phone in his hand. “I’ve asked for law enforcement and search-and-rescue to find these guys...and the little boy.”

  Sarah felt numb all over as fog invaded her brain. “She thinks the boy may have gone after his sister.”

  Bryan kicked the leg of a chair. “This is bad. How could anyone put a kid in jeopardy like that?”

  “As soon as Mackenzie calls her husband, we’ll go out. We’ll start calling for Ethan. He couldn’t have gotten far.” If something didn’t get him first. The forest was crawling with bobcats and bears—and men like Tyler Mason.

  Bryan’s phone rang again. She watched his expression harden as he listened and then answered by saying, “Well, get her over there as fast as you can.” He clicked the phone off.

  Sarah stepped toward him. “What is it?”

  Bryan’s hands curled into a fist. He ran his fingers through his hair. His expression grew grimmer as he closed his eyes and tapped his forehead with his fingers. “Mason knows we’re keeping Nadia at the station. One of his thugs got her on a phone and let her listen to April cry. Nadia fell apart and tried to leave the station. She’d do anything to make sure that baby is okay including trading herself for the baby’s safety.”

  Sarah swallowed as her throat grew tight. Mason was pulling out all the stops. “I assume the other officers are watching her closely so she can’t leave the station.”

  “They’re taking her to the hotel room right now. We’ll have two officers with her at all times. She’ll be shielded from Mason’s destructive influence for a while anyway.” Bryan took in a heavy breath. “One good thing. We have a better idea of where Mason is. We can pinpoint which cell tower provided the signal for his phone call.”