by Lisa Harris
“Now!” the man shouted. “Toss it over here.”
“Okay. I will.”
Caden followed the man’s instructions and tossed his gun, with the safety on, onto the shore. The taller man nodded at the shorter man—who sounded much younger—to pick up the weapon. But there was something bothering Caden. Something wasn’t adding up. Why grab Gwen in front of so many witnesses? Surely they weren’t planning on killing all of them. If that had been their plan, they would have already done it. Plus, killing all of them would be a huge risk, with too many things that could go wrong. No. He was missing something. What was their motivation? Their actions weren’t adding up, but he couldn’t put his finger on the reason.
Was this really just an act of revenge, or was there more at play? They’d left Gwen on the canyon wall, knowing that the odds of her surviving a fall were slim. But they’d taken her brother for leverage, then circled back to ensure she was taken care of. If that was true, why not just shoot her now and be done with it? Why take her? There had to be another reason.
She pulled away from him. “I have to go with them, Caden.”
“Wait.” He gripped her arm, then turned back to the men. “Tell me why you need her. Maybe we can work something out.”
“Apparently, you’re not understanding. This isn’t a negotiation. You’re not going to be able to talk your way out of his. Do what I say, or we will start shooting.”
“I have connections,” he said. “If there’s something you want, money—”
“Enough!” One of the men put a bullet into Levi’s leg.
The shot echoed across the water. Caden froze. He’d called his bluff, but there was no deterring the other man. And as for options… They wanted her. Alive. But why?
“Stop!” Gwen stood up. “I said I’m coming.”
“Gwen, wait—”
“I have to do this.”
“Listen to her,” the taller man said. “And if you’re smart, the rest of you won’t move, because I’ve got enough bullets for each of you.”
Blood seeped through Levi’s pant leg as Gwen pulled away from Caden’s grip. She stumbled slightly, caught her balance, then stepped out of the raft as Levi groaned in pain. The younger man grabbed her as Caden forced himself to sit still, heart racing and every muscle tense. He had to figure out how to rescue her. He couldn’t just let them take her.
He wasn’t sure how he’d become so protective of her, but she’d somehow managed to get under his skin. Gwen Ryland was the one woman, next to Cammie, that he wouldn’t have minded never seeing again as long as he lived. And yet here he was, fighting for her life and willing to do everything he could to save her. The thought surprised him, but in reality this wasn’t about Gwen. He’d always fight for someone in trouble. It was what he’d been trained to do. To serve and protect. But this—He had to fix this. He just wasn’t sure how. Or if he was going to be able to find her in time.
She glanced at him one last time as the men cut the rope. Seconds later, the raft dropped off into the churning basin below them. Their attackers had chosen the spot well, because for the moment, there was no way to stop. And no way to go back.
SIX
Gwen glanced down at her leg as she struggled to keep up with the men. Her ankle was swollen, her head throbbed and every muscle ached from the fall—even more so today than it had yesterday. Going uphill seemed far more brutal than going downhill had, but it wasn’t as if she had any choice in the matter. All she knew to do was to keep moving forward and pray Caden would find her. Because at the moment, he was her only hope.
But even that lingering hope wasn’t enough. They hadn’t shot her, which meant for some reason she was worth more alive than dead, though why, she wasn’t sure. And even if Caden did show up, he was no longer armed, which put them at yet another disadvantage. She could try to escape, but was that even possible? She couldn’t run very fast with her injured ankle and, on top of that, where was there to go beyond the unmarked trail?
“Stop trying to slow us down. He’s not coming after you.”
She tried to ignore the implication of what would happen if Caden didn’t come after her, because she refused to believe he wasn’t doing everything he could to get to her. He’d come after her. She knew he would, and if she could slow them down, he might be able to catch up. Even if he had to backtrack upriver, he was still faster than the three of them. At least that was what she was praying for.
She glanced back down the trail. What if he didn’t come? The smart thing for him to do was probably make his way down the rapids, then call the authorities. Not try to track her down. There were a number of trails they could have taken, and while she’d left him a clue, there was no guarantee he’d see it.
But whether Caden was behind her or not didn’t matter at the moment. Her body ached and she felt nauseous. She needed to stop.
“I have to rest,” she said, struggling for air.
“We don’t have time. Keep walking.”
She stopped in her tracks, ignoring his demand. At this point, she didn’t care what they did. “I said I needed to rest.”
“It is hot, King…” One of the men pulled off his mask.
“Fine… I guess it doesn’t matter at this point if she sees our faces.” The man in charge pulled off his own mask, revealing his bleached-blond hair, then pointed his gun at her. “But we don’t have time for games.”
“I’m not playing games. If I’m so valuable, then let me rest.”
“King…”
At least the younger of the two seemed to have a heart.
“Fine.” King glared at her. “You’ve got three minutes and not a second more.”
He glanced at his partner then handed her a bottle of water. “Since when did you become such a softy?”
She sat down on a rock, ignoring the men, and pulled off her shoe and sock, both of which were still damp. Blisters had started to form on the bottom of her left foot, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as her throbbing ankle. And while they’d been hiking uphill for quite a while, they still had at least another thirty minutes to get to the top.
Which made her ask the question again. If they wanted her dead—like she’d thought—why drag her up the canyon again? It didn’t make sense.
She studied the two men, who’d argued most of the way up. She’d figured out their names, and now she knew what they looked like. King, with his spiked hair, was both older and taller, and clearly in charge. Sawyer, on the other hand, had a baby face and didn’t seem to want anything to do with roughing her up. But it was the dynamics between the two that interested her the most. Through her job, she’d learned to read people. Sawyer seemed almost sympathetic toward her, while King was quick to throw out threats and keep his hand on his weapon. If she could find a way to play off Sawyer’s sympathy, it might give her an advantage. Or, at the very least, keep her alive. But in order to do that, she needed to figure out what they intended to do with her.
“What’s your plan?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” King asked.
“I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on here. I thought you wanted me dead, but instead you’re dragging me up the canyon. I’d like to know what your plan is.”
Sawyer took a step back. “Why would we want you dead? At the moment you’re worth a whole lot more to us alive.”
She tried to read between the lines, but nothing made sense. She’d assumed this entire situation was because Carter Steele wanted revenge because of her role in his conviction. How was her staying alive of any value to anyone, especially Steele? Because even if she wanted to, she couldn’t do anything to change the judge’s sentence. It was far too late for that. And anything he managed do to her would only get him into more trouble.
“I don’t understand. I thought this was about revenge.”
“What is?”
“The reason you kidnapped me. Steele threatened me in court. I thought you were his hired goons.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sawyer said, “but this—this is about your brother.”
“My brother?” Gwen’s mind scrambled to put the pieces together. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t know what he did?” King asked.
“If I did I wouldn’t be asking. But you had him—”
“He managed to get away,” Sawyer said.
Which was why they needed her. Suddenly everything made sense. Except for one thing. She knew her brother. He would have come for her.
“What did he do?” she asked.
“He’s a bounty hunter—”
“I know that.”
King frowned. “He was hired by a bondsman to locate a man who had… Let’s just say gotten into trouble with the law.”
“What happened?”
“Your brother stole three hundred thousand dollars at the scene of the arrest. Our money.”
Gwen felt a wave of nausea sweep over her as the pieces of the puzzle finally started falling into place. “And I’m your way to get it back.”
King nodded.
But that wasn’t possible. Aaron had always been one to take risks, but stealing three hundred thousand dollars from some crooks? He wasn’t that stupid. Was he?
“My brother would never do something like that.”
“Then you must not know him very well, because he did.”
“Wouldn’t the police confiscate any sums of money at the scene? Maybe they have it.”
“Apparently he thought that we would think the police took it. Except we found out they didn’t. Which left the only other person involved—your brother. And we want the money back.”
At least now she knew why they wanted her alive. Three hundred thousand dollars was a lot of motivation, and they were clearly ready to do whatever it took to get it back.
King glanced at his watch. “Time’s up. Let’s go.”
She started putting her sock and shoe back on. The bottom line was that she was on her own. She had no idea where Caden or her brother were, and once they got to the top, she was out of time.
She needed to escape.
They might need her for leverage, but once they got the money, then what? They might let her go, but even that wasn’t a guarantee. Especially since he could recognize them. No, if she planned to get out of this alive, she couldn’t rely on anyone to come find her. She was going to have to bide her time and find a way out on her own.
The men were still arguing as they reached the top of the canyon. Sawyer stopped and started digging though his bag for something. She took a step back, ignoring the pain from her throbbing ankle. She was less than ten feet from the tree line. All she had to do was slip into the trees and disappear. For the moment, they weren’t paying attention to her. The only thing in her favor was the element of surprise, which meant it was now or never. She took another step, then started running. Every step felt like she was being stabbed as the pain shot up her ankle, but she kept running, knowing that each step was another step closer to freedom.
Seconds later, she could hear them crashing through the brush behind her. She looked for a place to hide, knowing she wasn’t going to be able to run much longer. The trees on top of the canyon were thick, as was the underbrush. It was the perfect place to hide, but would it be enough?
She crouched down behind the thick trunk of a tree, then held her breath.
“We know you’re here,” King shouted. “You can’t run far and there’s nowhere to hide.”
A branch crunched behind her. They’d stopped less than twenty feet away from her, searching the trees for any movement.
“Do you really think you can outrun us?” King asked. “There’s no one here to save you. No one.”
“If you ask me, she’s more trouble than she’s worth,” Sawyer said.
“Yes, but not only has she seen our faces, we still need her as leverage.”
Sawyer took a step away from King. “This plan has entirely fallen apart. I agreed to going after the money, but now you’ve shot someone and we have a witness who can identify us. I didn’t agree to murder.”
“How did you think this was going to end?”
Gwen held her breath as the men continued to argue with each other. They were going to find her. Then they’d kill her.
Caden fought the current. Past the swift-flowing rapids that had almost managed to flip the raft, the river held its breath for a few hundred yards, but soon the water would drop again into another round of churning rapids. Which gave him about ten seconds to make a decision.
He glanced at the two men who had rescued them and forced back the guilt at getting them involved. But it was too late to change anything. They had to stop the bleeding in Levi’s leg, and he needed proper medical attention as soon as possible. Caden glanced downriver. He also had to get off this raft and go find Gwen.
He shouted at Bruce to help him get to the shoreline, then paddled with strong, even strokes. Seconds later, they managed to guide the raft into a small alcove. The boat bobbed against the shoreline, held in place only by a jetty of land and a fallen tree.
“How much farther do you think until there’s phone service?” Caden asked, moving to where Bruce was in the center of the raft.
“I’m thinking a mile. Maybe less,” Bruce said.
“Levi needs to get to a hospital, but we have to stop the bleeding.”
Bruce got up and rummaged through a backpack at the front of the raft. “I’ve got a fleece jacket we can use.”
Levi gritted his teeth and groaned.
“Hang in there,” Caden said as he took the jacket.
He frowned as he put steady pressure on Levi’s leg. His military training had taught him the statistics. Blood loss could kill a person within five minutes, even quicker than a gunshot wound. If the bleeding didn’t stop soon, he was going to have to make a tourniquet.
“You want to go back after her, don’t you?” Bruce asked.
“Yes.” Caden nodded. “But I’m not sure if it’s the wisest move.”
“I’d want to do the same if I were you.”
“What about the two of you? I’d be leaving you to make it by yourselves.”
Bruce glanced downstream. “That’s the last set of rapids coming up. I think I can manage getting through them on my own. After that, I can call for help.”
“I packed a basic first-aid kit in my go bag,” Caden said. “There should be some gauze and tape.”
Levi grabbed the bag, then quickly dug around for the supplies. “I’ve got some bandages, but this… We weren’t expecting this.”
Caden nodded. None of them had been. His weeklong trek off the grid had turned into a nightmare. He glanced up at the canyon wall. The raft rocked beneath them as Bruce’s fists tightened at his sides. But the bleeding was slowing down, and Caden knew what he had to do. Gwen was out there, and he had to find her.
“Contact the authorities and let them know what’s going on,” Caden said, securing the gauze and tape around the gunshot wound as best as he could. “I’m guessing they took Rim Rock Trail to the top, since it’s the nearest trail to where they grabbed her, and the easiest of all of them on this side of the canyon, because it’s a shorter distance to the top.”
“I think you should go,” Bruce said.
Levi nodded. “I agree. I’ll be okay.”
Caden stood up. “I’m sorry we got you involved. If I’d have known what was going to happen…”
“You couldn’t have known,” Levi said. “Go find her.”
“Please, call and speak to deputy Griffin O’Callaghan at the Timber Falls Sheriff’s Department when you can. He’s my brother. Tell him that two men kidnapped a woman in the canyon, and I’ve gone aft
er her. Tell him I’ll get ahold of him as soon as I can.”
Bruce helped Levi get down to the center of the raft, where he’d be the safest going through the last set of rapids. “Will do.”
“And you be careful, as well,” Caden said as he climbed out of the raft. “Not only do you have an injured man, you’re going to struggle just to keep the raft upright.”
“I’ll manage. We’ve wrangled worse rapids than this. We’ll make it.”
Caden helped push the raft back into the water, then started upstream. He figured he was at least fifteen, maybe twenty minutes behind them, but on his own he was going to move a lot faster than the three of them with an injured hiker.
All he had to do was catch up, then figure out how to take down two armed men.
Caden started up the steep trail toward the top of the canyon, certain Gwen and the men had to have come this way. There were distinct signs of recent activity along the unmarked path, where a number of hikers had made the ascent. It could be another group, or several individuals for that matter, but because of the low traffic these unmaintained trails normally received, he was convinced it was them.
He kept climbing another couple hundred feet, then stopped again and picked up a discarded piece of trash. It was the same blue plastic packaging for the chickpeas that Gwen had been carrying. She must have had some in her pocket.
No. This was no coincidence. He’d teased her about eating chickpeas on the trail, and now she’d left it as a bread crumb for him to find in case he’d come after her.
Smart woman.
He pushed aside the thought, and instead studied the area closer, certain they’d stopped here for a few minutes to rest. What he didn’t know was how far he was behind them. He looked up at the steep trail toward the rim of the canyon. He knew he had to be moving faster than the party of three, but he’d lost time going down the rapids and then having to backtrack to the trail’s access point. If he didn’t catch up with them before they reached the top, where they could drive away, his chances of finding them were going to diminish greatly.
