* * *
Letting the professor stay was simultaneously one of the hardest and easiest things Caleb had ever done. He'd left her there with plenty of firewood and supplies, so there was nothing to worry about.
Except that he couldn't get her out of his head.
It was as if a string was tied to his heart and stretched all the way from his cabin, across the park, and into the hunting shack. Last night he'd been plagued by dreams, all of which had featured her. They'd passed from erotic to violent and back again with such speed and intensity that he'd finally rolled out of bed before dawn, sweaty and shaking. Now he stood on his porch drinking the last of his coffee and pondering the day before him.
He had to forget about her, drive her out of his mind, at least for a few hours. So he decided to continue his search for the miners. It was time to investigate the only clue he had -- the overflow of the Alsea.
He knew the cliffs nearby were riddled with caves and decided to start there. Caleb loaded his kayak onto the ATV roof and made sure to secure his pack before taking off for the riverbank. He decided to head a couple of miles upriver to avoid the mud, and when he finally slid his kayak into the water and climbed inside, the sun was high above him.
Caleb paddled downstream, thankful that this stretch of water was far enough away from the falls to be somewhat calm. The high water still raced around him, but it was not white water. Not long after he'd started, he saw the cliffs rise up before him, and he moved closer to the bank.
Although the water was rapid, he was able to use his paddles to slow himself down as he floated in front of the rock face. He remembered there being a decent-sized entrance to the cave system coming up, and he decided to pull ashore nearby and investigate it. Caleb steered into a section of bank that was low enough to climb onto, and he pulled his kayak up behind him.
Turning to face the cliffs, he checked his pockets to make sure he had his phone. He figured it would serve to capture pictures of whatever he might find. Caleb used all of his skills to move quietly along the cliffs, seeking the entrance he knew was around here somewhere.
Finally, he found it, a dark maw that opened a hole in the rock that was nearly ten feet high and at least as wide. Caleb pulled his flashlight out of his pack and crept closer. He waited to turn on his light until he was in the cave and the natural light was no longer great enough to see by.
It was risky, exploring a cave alone, which is why he'd ignored these caverns so far, preferring to wait for the survey team. He flipped on his flashlight and shined it on the walls around him. The cave was straight for the next thirty feet before him, but then it made a gentle curve around a corner. Caleb crept forward, realizing as he made his way around the curve that there seemed to be some light up ahead.
He turned off his flashlight and waited for his eyes to adjust. Sliding forward, his back against the wall, he listened carefully. He thought he heard the hum of machinery, and as he made his way around the corner, the light grew brighter.
Finally, a large chamber revealed itself, dimly lit by an artificial light. The humming sound was obviously a generator.
I don't fucking believe it. They're here.
He'd heard Brice's warnings, even seen the footprints around Dani's camp. But he hadn't really believed that someone would have the balls to set up an illegal mining operation on state-owned lands.
It was incredibly risky, and he knew then that the risk wasn't the miners' alone. If they spotted him before he got back out, chances are he wouldn't make it out unscathed.
Caleb glanced around the cave and realized then why he had not been able to find any machinery hiding in the trees. That was because it was here, tucked away inside the cave and out of sight. There was a small dozer and a jackhammer, and a couple of other pieces of machinery that Caleb could not recognize.
It was amazing that they had been able to bring all this equipment in by boat, but there was no other way they could have gotten it here. The operation was larger in scale than he had imagined. It would have taken months of planning and movement of equipment. Would they have hauled the machinery on massive rafts, or taken it apart and reassembled it here?
However they accomplished it, these miners now had a well-outfitted operation that had nearly remained secret. Caleb pulled out his phone and prayed that the light was bright enough to make out the evidence before him. He snapped some shots then put it away when he heard voices coming from deeper in the cave.
The voices were getting louder, and he knew that soon the miners would be in the same part of the chamber as him. He slid backward along the tunnel wall, counting on the shadows to hide him. Crouching low he listened, at last able to make out their words.
"I can't believe they finally hit the vein," one said with a laugh. "I thought for sure that rich old man was crazy, but for the pay he was offering, I figured it wouldn't matter if we found the gold or not."
"Still, I'm happy they did find it," another said. "It means a hefty bonus for all of us."
"Yup," the first voice replied. "My wife is really excited about that bonus. She's already got a necklace picked out at Tiffany's."
"You told your wife? Weren't you worried she'd gossip about it? This is supposed to be top-secret, you know."
"She knows it's illegal, and she won't tell anyone. She doesn't wanna jeopardize her acquisition of that new necklace."
Both men laughed. Caleb wished they'd talk about something more important than the first man's greedy wife. He didn't have to wait much longer, though, as the next thing they said caused his heart to freeze in his chest.
"I don't know how you can even think about you wife when we've got such a hot little ticket in the vicinity."
"You mean the frog lady?" the first one asked with a hoarse cough. "Yeah, she's a great catch, that one. Too bad she's off limits."
"Says who?"
"Says the boss man. He doesn't want anyone to even know we're here. He said we're not to disturb her, or that big bastard of a forest ranger. Besides, I think that asshole ranger's got dibs on her."
Damn right, Caleb growled in his own mind.
"That's bullshit," the other muttered. "No one's gotta know it's us, anyway. More than likely they'll think it's a bunch of drunken turkey hunters. I've got some camo in my truck back in the lot. Maybe, later on tonight, after the boss man's left for the night, we'll paddle back here with our hunting gear and bag us a little game, if you catch my drift."
"She'll think we're hunters, huh," the first guy replied, his tone indicating that he was thinking things over. "That could work. Okay, I'm in."
"What about your wife?"
"Screw her. She gives all her attention to jewelry and none to the family jewels if you catch my drift."
The pair started laughing again, and Caleb clenched his hands into fists. It took all of his willpower to stay where he was. He wanted nothing more than to rush into the chamber and beat the living shit out of them, but he knew there were others in the cave, and he guessed that they were probably armed. So he backtracked silently, making his way out of the cave.
He headed down the path, returning to his kayak, but stopped suddenly when he saw two men dragging a canoe onto the banks next to his craft. One looked up and caught sight of him, then pointed him out to his partner, a giant wearing a pistol in the holster on his hip.
Caleb ran, breaking through the foliage, heading along the bank and trying to keep hidden. He heard the men crash through the vegetation behind him and sped up, keeping low. Still, the high water, weeds, and bushes made movement difficult.
He was unable to lose the men who were following him. Managing to stay several steps ahead of them, he ran downstream toward a shallow portion of the river where he could cross and make it back to the other side.
Soon he couldn't hear the men behind him anymore and he thought he might have lost them. He entered a clearing and sprinted across it, toward the large trees on the other side.
Suddenly from behind the trunk of a tall pine stepped a man holding a shotgun pointed straight at him.
Damn, they must have walkie-talkies. Caleb tried to skirt around him and take cover behind a tree. A crash from across the clearing stole his attention. The men who had been chasing him tumbled out of the woods and caught sight of him again. "Freeze!" the man with the shotgun yelled, and soon all three had converged on him.
He stopped, panting, chest heaving. "Hands in the air," the man with the gun ordered, and Caleb complied. One of the men from the canoe pulled out a plastic zip tie from his utility belt and told the ranger to put his hands behind his back.
Caleb just stood there, staring, and the man was forced to yank his arms to secure them behind his back.
"Go back and get the canoe," the giant told his companion, and he departed, leaving Caleb to face the man who'd tied him up, while the shotgun-toting goon stood behind him. "Let's put out his lights," the large man said, looking past his shoulder, and Caleb braced himself.
Still, the blow from the butt of the rifle sent up a flare of pain before he collapsed into unconsciousness.