Cowboy's Redemption

by B. J Daniels

  The murmurs rose. One woman called out, “What’s to become of us?”

  He’d bilked them out of all their money. A lot of them were old enough now that they would have a hard time getting a job. He didn’t need this crowd turning on him as Sister Rebecca had.

  “Brother Zack will be taking those who want to go to property I’ve purchased in Arizona. It’s farmable land, so you can maintain a life there. Each of you will be given a check to help with your expenses.”

  The murmur in the main building grew louder. “If you have any questions, please give those to Brother Zack. I trust him to make sure that each and every one of you will be taken care of.” That quieted them down, either because they were assured or because they knew how Zack had taken care of other parishioners who’d became troublesome.

  “It is with a heavy heart that I must step down, but I know that you all will be fine. You will leave tomorrow. Go with Godspeed.” He turned and walked away, anxious to get back to his cabin and pack. The sale of his property would be enough to pay off his followers—not that he would be around to hear any complaints after tonight.

  He rang for Zack. Since he’d told Zack of his plan, the man had been more than excited. Jonas had recognized that frenzied look in Zack’s eyes. He’d seen it in his own. Zack would be Father Zack. God help his followers.

  “I need you to pick about six brothers and a few sisters for a special mission,” he told Zack. It would be one of their last missions under him.

  Zack nodded, clearly understanding that he needed to pick those who would still kill for their leader.

  “Make sure one of them is Brother Elmer.”

  “Are you sure? I mean—”

  “Already questioning my authority?” he asked with a chuckle.

  “No, of course not.”

  “Good. I have my reasons.”

  “I’ll get right on it,” Zack said, and left him alone.

  Jonas looked around the cabin. He’d had such hopes when he’d moved his flock to Montana. He couldn’t get maudlin now. He had to think about his future. He stepped to the safe he had hidden in the wall, opened it and took out the large case he kept there full of cash and his passport. Next to it was Lola’s purse.

  He took that out, as well, and thumbed through it even though he knew exactly what was in it since he’d often looked through it. He liked touching her things. He found her passport. Good, it was up-to-date. He’d deal with getting the baby out of the country when it came time.

  After putting Lola’s passport beside his own into his case, he closed the safe. There was nothing keeping him here after tonight. He would have everything he’d ever dreamed of, including a small fortune waiting in foreign banks across the world.

  He thought of his father, wishing he could see him now. “Go ahead, say it. You were right about me, you arrogant old sanctimonious fool. I was your worst nightmare and so much more. But you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Colt woke to the sound of both outside doors bursting open. The sudden noise woke the baby. Grace began to cry in the room down the hall. Lola stirred next to him and Colt, realizing what was happening, grabbed for his gun in the nightstand next to him.

  Moments before he had lain in bed, with Lola beside him.

  They were on him before he could draw the gun. They swept into the room, both men and women. Colt fought off the first couple of men, but a blow to the back of his head sent him to the floor and then they were on him, binding his hands behind him, gagging him, trussing his ankles and dragging him out of the house.

  He tried to see Lola, but there was a group of women around her, helping her dress. In the baby’s room, he heard Grace quiet and knew they had her, as well.

  The strike had been so swift, so organized, that Colt realized he’d underestimated Zack—the only ex-military man in SLS. Clearly he had more experience at these kinds of maneuvers than Colt had thought.

  Still stunned from the blow to his head, he was half carried, half dragged to a waiting van.

  “Take care of him, Brother Elmer,” he heard Zack say, the threat clear in the man’s tone. Zack must have known that Brother Elmer was a weak link. “Brother Carl will go with you to make sure the job is done properly.”

  The van door slammed. Elmer started the engine and pulled away. The whole operation had taken less than ten minutes.

  * * *

  “DON’T HURT HIM!” Lola had cried as Colt was being dragged from the bedroom. Three women blocked her way to keep her from going after the men.

  “Dress!” Sister Caroline ordered.

  “My baby?”

  “Grace will be safe as long as you do what we ask,” Sister Amelia said. But there was something in Amelia’s tone, a sadness that said not even she believed it.

  Lola had no choice. They had Colt. They had Grace. She dressed quickly in a blouse and jeans, pulled on her sneakers and let the women lead her outside to a waiting van.

  Sister Shelly was already in the van and holding Grace.

  “Let me hold her,” Lola said, steel in her voice.

  The women looked at one another.

  “Give the baby to Lola,” Sister Amelia said and Shelly complied.

  She sat holding the now-fussing Grace as the van pulled away. “Where are they taking Colt?”

  No one answered. Her heart fell. Hadn’t she feared that Jonas would retaliate? He’d be humiliated and would have to strike back. Isn’t that what the sheriff had warned them about?

  But what could he hope to achieve by this? The sheriff would know who took them. The first place Flint Cahill would look was the compound.

  She remembered something she’d overheard while a prisoner at SLS. Some of the women had been worried that Jonas wasn’t himself, that his memory seemed to be failing him. He often called them by the wrong names, got lost in the middle of a sermon. They questioned in hushed voices if it was his heart or something else, since they’d seem him taking pills for it.

  “What is going on?” Lola asked, sensing something different about the group of women.

  “We’re leaving Montana,” Sister Amelia said, and the other sisters tried to hush her. “She’ll know soon enough,” Amelia argued. “Father Jonas announced it earlier. He’s selling the land here. Some are going to a new home in Arizona. Others...” Her voice broke. “I don’t know where they’re going.”

  Lola realized that their leader wasn’t here. “Where is Sister Rebecca?” The question was met with silence. “Amelia?”

  “She’s gone.”

  “Everyone is leaving,” Sister Shelly said, sounding near tears. “Father Jonas... He’s letting Brother Zack lead the group in Arizona. He will be Father Zack now.”

  Lola couldn’t believe what she was hearing as the van reached the highway and headed toward the compound. “He’s putting Zack in charge?” She knew that the women in this van must feel the same way she did about Zack. “Did Jonas say what he is planning to do?”

  Silence. Lola hugged Grace to her, her fear mounting with each passing mile as the van turned onto the road up to the mountain. Lola saw no other taillights ahead. No headlights behind them. Where had they taken Colt?

  * * *

  COLT COULDN’T SEE OUT, but he could tell that Elmer and Carl weren’t taking him to the compound. He had a pretty good idea what their orders had been when Zack had told Elmer to take care of him.

  He was furious with himself. He’d thought Jonas would have no choice but to give up. He should have known better. He should have taken more precautions. Against so many, he knew he and Lola hadn’t stood a chance.

  When they’d gone to the compound and rescued Grace, he’d thought this could be settled without bloodshed. It was why he hadn’t taken a gun to the compound the first time that night. He didn’t want to kill one of Jonas’s sheep. The
y were just following orders, though blindly, true enough. But he hadn’t wanted trouble with the law.

  Now, though, he saw there was no way out of this. Jonas had taken Lola and Grace. Nothing was going to stop him. He was going to end this once and for all no matter whom he had to kill.

  Colt rolled to his side. They’d bound his wrists with plastic ties. He worked to slip his hands under him. If he could get a foot into the cuffs, he knew he could break free.

  As he did, he watched the men in the front seat. Neither turned around to check on him. He got the feeling they didn’t like being awakened in the middle of the night for this any more than Colt had. And now they had been ordered to kill someone. They had to be questioning Jonas and the SLS. He already knew that Brother Elmer had a weak spot for Lola and her baby.

  He managed to get his hands past his butt. He lay on his back, catching his breath for a moment before he pushed himself up. Once he had his hands in front of him...

  The van slowed. Elmer shifted down and turned onto a bumpy road that jarred every muscle in Colt’s body. Colt caught a glimpse of something out the back window and realized where they were taking him. The old gravel pits outside of Gilt Edge. He caught the scent of the water through the partially opened windows up front. It was the perfect place to dump a body. Weighted down, there was a good chance the remains would never be found.

  He felt his heart pound as he worked to free his wrists. The plastic restraints popped—but not louder than the rattle of the van on the rough road. Colt went to work on the ones binding his ankles.

  As the van came to a stop, he resumed his original position, his hands behind him, feet together as he lay on his side facing the door.

  Both men got out. He waited, wondering if either of them was armed or if the plan had been simply to drown him.

  The van door opened noisily. “Can you get him out?” Elmer asked his companion.

  Carl grunted but reached for him.

  Colt swung his feet around and kicked the man in the chest, sending Carl sprawling in the dirt. He followed with a quick jab to Elmer’s jaw. The older man stumbled and sat down hard on the ground.

  So far, Colt hadn’t seen a weapon, but as he jumped out, he saw Carl fumbling for something behind him. The man came up with a pistol. Right away, Colt saw that he wasn’t comfortable using it. But that didn’t mean that Carl wouldn’t get lucky and blow Colt’s head off.

  He rushed around the back of the van to the driver’s side. Grabbing open the door, he leaped in and started the van. As he threw the engine into Reverse, he saw Carl trying to get a clear shot. Elmer had stumbled to his feet and was blocking Carl’s way—either accidentally or on purpose.

  Colt didn’t try to figure out which as he hit the gas. The van shot back. He cranked the wheel hard, swinging the back end toward the two men.

  Carl got off two shots. One bullet shattered the back window of the van. The other took out Colt’s side window, showering him with glass, and just missing his head before burying itself in the passenger-side door.

  Elmer had parked the van close to the edge of the gravel pit, no doubt to make unloading his body easier.

  As Colt swung the van at the two men, they tried to move out of the way. But Elmer was old and lost his footing. He was the first to go tumbling down the steep embankment and splash into the cold, clear water.

  Carl had been busy trying to hit his target with the gun so he was caught unaware when the back of the van hit him and knocked him backward into the gravel pit. He let out a yell as he fell, the sound dying off in a loud splash.

  Colt shifted into first gear and tore off down the bumpy road, thankful to be alive. He hoped both men could swim. If so, they had a long swim across the pit to where they would be able to climb out.

  If either of their cell phones still worked after that, they might be able to warn Jonas. Not that it would matter.

  Colt sped toward his house to get what he needed. This time he was taking weapons—and no prisoners.

  * * *

  FOR LOLA, WALKING into Jonas’s cabin with the bundle in her arms felt a little like déjà vu. Only this time, there was a precious sleeping baby instead of rocks in her arms. As she entered, propelled by Brother Zack, she told herself that she would die protecting her daughter. Did Jonas know that, as well?

  “Leave her,” Jonas ordered. Zack started to argue, but one look at their leader and he left, saying he would be right outside the door if he was needed. The sisters scattered, and the door closed, leaving Lola and Grace alone with Jonas.

  He still had a bandage on the side of his head, but she knew better than to think his injury might slow him down.

  “You are a very difficult woman.”

  “Only when someone tries to force me into doing something I don’t want to do or they take my child from me.”

  He glanced at the bundle in her arms. “May I see her?”

  Lola didn’t move. “What do you hope to get out of this?” she demanded.

  “I thought I was clear from the beginning. I want you. It’s what your parents wanted—”

  “I don’t believe that. I heard from my father before he...died. He wanted out of SLS. He was trying to convince my mother to leave. I believe that’s why you killed them both.”

  Jonas shook his head. “Are we back to that?”

  “You’re a fraud. This is no church. And you are no god. All this is only about your ego. It’s a bad joke.”

  “Are you purposely trying to rile me?”

  “I thought maybe it was time you heard the truth from someone instead of Sister Rebecca telling you how wonderful you are.”

  “Sister Rebecca is no longer with us.”

  “So I heard. Did you kill her yourself or make one of your sheep do it?” She knew he could not let Rebecca simply walk away. She’d been with him from the beginning. She’d done things for him, knew things.

  “Why do you torment me? I cared about Rebecca.”

  “And yet you had her killed. I don’t like the way you care about people.”

  At the sound of vehicles and activity on the mountain below them, Lola moved cautiously to the window, careful not to turn her back on Jonas.

  She frowned as she saw everyone appearing to be packing up and moving. Fear coursed through her. “What’s going on? I thought they weren’t leaving until tomorrow?”

  “Our time in Montana has come to an end. We are abandoning our church here.”

  What Amelia had told her was true. “So they’re scurrying away like rats fleeing a sinking ship. You’re really going to let them go?”

  “All good things must end.”

  She thought of Colt as she had on the ride to the compound. Something told her that he hadn’t been brought here. “Where is Colt?”

  Jonas shook his head. “As I said, all good things must end.”

  Tears burned her eyes. “If you hurt him—”

  ‘What will you do? Kill me? They will put you in prison, take away your baby. No, it is time you realized that you have never been in control. You are mine. You will always be mine. I will go to any lengths, including having Grace taken away so you never see her again if that’s what it takes to keep you with me.”

  Fear turned her blood to ice as she looked into his eyes and understood he wasn’t bluffing.

  “You have only one choice. Come with me willingly and Grace will join us once we are settled.”

  No, she screamed silently. She didn’t trust this man. But she also knew she couldn’t keep someone like Zack from ripping Grace from her arms. Just as she knew that Jonas wasn’t making an empty threat. She’d known this man was dangerous, but she hadn’t realized how much he was willing to give up to have her—and Grace.

  “You have only a few minutes to make up your mind, Lola.” He had his phone in his hand. “Once I push this button, Zack will
take Grace. If you ever want to see her again, you will agree to go with me.”

  “Where?” She knew she was stalling, fighting to find a way out of this. Colt. If he was dead, did she care what happened to her as long as she had his baby with her?

  “Europe, South America. I haven’t decided yet. Somewhere far away from all this. I have money. We will live well. We will be a family.”

  She thought of the family Colt had promised her and felt the ring on her finger.

  Jonas’s gaze went to her left hand. His face contorted in anger. “Take that off. Take that off now!”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Colt dialed the number quickly, knowing he had no choice even if he ended up behind bars. It would be worth it as long as Lola and Grace were safe from Jonas Emanuel once and for all.

  “I need to borrow a helicopter,” he said, the moment his friend answered.

  “Mind if I ask what for?” Tommy Garrett asked, sounding like a man dragged from sleep in the wee hours of the morning. Tommy worked as a helicopter mechanic outside of Great Falls. Colt had served with him in Afghanistan and trusted the man with his life—and Lola’s and Grace’s.

  “A madman has the woman I love and my baby daughter.”

  There was a beat of silence before Tommy said, “You planning to do this alone?”

  “Better that way. I’ll leave you out of it.”

  “Like hell. Tell me where you are. Outside my shop I have a Bell UH-1 Huey that needs its shakedown. The old workhorse is being used to fight forest fires. I’m on my way.”

  Colt knew the Huey could do up to 120 mph. But a safe cruising speed for helicopters was around a hundred. Without having to deal with traffic, road speeds or winding highways, the response time in a helicopter was considerably faster than anything on the ground. It was one reason Colt loved flying them.

  So he wasn’t surprised when Tommy landed in the pasture next to Colt’s house thirty minutes later. The sun was coming up, chasing away the last of the dark. He could make out the mountains in the distance. Within a matter of minutes, they would be at the compound. He tried not think about what they would find.