Chapter Nineteen
Sally woke slowly from a deliciously naughty dream. One that she wished she could go back to sleep and finish. A disappointed sigh echoed around her until Luke filled her mind’s eye. He would no doubt be more than willing to help her begin and end her dream…when he returned. She glanced at the bedside clock. Ten forty-five? No way. She’d only meant to close her tear-filled eyes for a few minutes’ rest after saying an emotional good-bye to Jen and Luke. Not an hour and a half.
It’d been her idea to send Jen away. Yet when Luke had returned to tell her the plan had been set in motion and they’d be ready to leave within the hour, she hadn’t been ready to let her daughter go. Through an abundance of caution, Daniel had agreed that Ellen and Bridgett would travel to the lodge too. Ellen would drive the girls in their Suburban while Travis and Coop followed closely in Travis’s Chevy until their little caravan met up with Garrett and Jonathan. Then Travis and Coop would turn around and hightail it back.
The plan had broken down, however, when Luke discovered there was no cell service. At that point, the decision had been made that Luke would follow the others in the Jeep until he acquired a strong-enough signal to phone his brother and make the necessary arrangements. It’d been the last straw for Sally’s frayed nerves to see them both drive away. She’d held it together until the three vehicles were out of sight, excused herself to Daniel and Matt, saying she’d been looking forward to a long soak in a bubble bath, and scurried back to the cabin before her tears betrayed her.
Enough of feeling sorry for myself. Jen will be safe even if the worst happens. Luke will probably be back by noon at the latest.
With a determined toss of her head, Sally slid her legs over the side of the bed. Forty-five minutes later, she’d showered, dressed in jeans and a pale blue tank top and tidied up the small cabin. With the aid of some plastic wrap she’d found in the cupboards beneath the sink, she’d been able to shower without getting her butterfly bandages wet. The wound looked good, just the right shade of pink, and the swelling had disappeared. Probably not ready for any races yet, though.
Sally’s stomach grumbled loudly. Time to investigate the leftover situation in Ellen’s refrigerator. Perhaps the boys would be interested in lunch too. She laughed at her choice of words to describe Matt and Daniel. No one would mistake those two for boys.
Savoring a deep breath of clean mountain air as she stepped from the cabin, Sally started up the foot-worn path. A slight wind tossed the tall grass around, and a host of lacy clouds dotted the sky with thunderheads building to the north. They might get some rain before the day was over. Hopefully, Ellen and the girls wouldn’t get caught in a lightning storm.
Sounds of pounding drifted to her from the direction of the barn. Two bay horses and Bridgett’s spotted pony grazed in a pasture nearby. Daniel, no doubt, working on something. Otherwise, the peaceful setting was undisturbed. She looked around for Matt but didn’t see him. He was probably helping Daniel on some project in the barn.
The other cabins she passed all stood silent but clean, thanks to their frenzied activities the day before yesterday. Of all the things Clive Brennan had said and done, paying Ellen the full rent on the cabins for the length of his reservation was what had impressed Sally the most. Well…that and his informing her she didn’t have to live in fear of him any longer. She still couldn’t believe it.
As she walked by the last cabin before Daniel’s, wood slapping on wood caught her attention. She stopped and searched the windows, porch and sides of the smaller cabin for signs of Matt. No one. She started to call out, but then the wind gusted again and a branch from a large willow scraped against the corner of the cabin.
Jumpy. That was apparently her lot in life now. It was true they still hadn’t determined who blew up her house or tried to run them off the road, but they were a long way from Huntington. Besides, if she didn’t count Jen’s father, she didn’t have any enemies. Try as hard as she could, Sheriff Connors simply didn’t fit the role of killer.
As she stepped from the shadow of the cabin and continued along the path, suddenly an explosion rocked the ground. The tremendous roar deafened her. The air currents propelled by the blast, and a barrage of flying debris, slammed into her, knocking her flat on the ground and the air from her lungs. Ringing in her ears disoriented her as she tried to sit up. Heat from the inferno singed her skin. She pushed herself along the ground backward to escape the superheated air. A small particle of wood caught her above the eye as it flew by. Blood obscured her vision.
Daniel’s cabin! What happened? Where are he and Matt? Please, God, don’t let either of them be in that blaze.
The next instant, Sally was surrounded by blurry figures. The one straight in front of her smiled and said something. All she heard was the ringing in her ears. He reached out as though to help her up, and she let him have her hand. Gaining her feet at the expense of her equilibrium, she squeezed her eyes closed and refused to throw up.
“What happened? Who are you?” She addressed her questions to the nice-looking blond man who’d helped her up, but since she couldn’t hear herself and all she got from the blond was a perplexed smile, it was quite possible she hadn’t spoken out loud.
There were others as well. Were they ninjas? She sensed their blackness surrounding her…or was that her pending unconsciousness? That question was answered when someone behind her tugged a musty-smelling bag over her head. What the hell? She twisted away and brought her hands up to jerk off the offensive thing, but she was too slow. Someone yanked her arms behind her back. She heard a zip as they fastened her hands together cruelly, the bindings cutting into her skin the more she struggled. Everywhere she turned to get away, she ran into another body. Hands touching her, pushing her into the next person.
Finally, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly against him, and she could feel his breath on her cheek through the bag. “Can you hear me?”
He must be yelling because she could. She nodded, biting her lip against the tremble that signaled her fear. She couldn’t afford to be afraid.
“Good. It doesn’t matter to me whether you live or die. You are insignificant. Only a distraction for me and my men while we wait.” He trailed his finger across her throat and down to where the neckline of her tank top met her skin. A few of the other men laughed, speaking in a language she’d never heard before.
She shrank from him, but he apparently wasn’t ready to let her go. His grip tightened around her arm. “There are some rules that will help your chances of staying alive. You will not speak unless spoken to. You will bow your head in our presence, and you will do exactly what we tell you to do. Do you understand?”
Not a chance in hell, buddy. Sally nodded again because she had no choice.
“That’s good.” He dropped her arm and ran his hand down her side until he reached her bottom, where he squeezed a handful.
Sally sidled away from him, bumping into the men on the other side of her. They all laughed crudely and then the apparent leader—probably the blond man—said something in their language. One man on each side, they dragged her along by the arms over rough ground, snickering each time she tripped. The good news was, the ringing in her ears was getting less noticeable and she could hear again. Or maybe that was the bad news.
They were getting closer to the river. Sally could hear the water lapping over rocks in the current. Were they taking her to the barn? She’d heard pounding there earlier. What if Daniel and Matt were there?
The silence was like a wall when they dragged her inside the structure. If there was anyone else here, they weren’t letting it be known. The men jerked her to a stop while one of them shuffled another few steps. She heard a metallic click and the squeak of rusty hinges. Then the one beside her pushed her forward, bending her over with a blow to her stomach, and shoved her inside something metal. She sprawled on the rough flooring, unable to break her fall, her already painful knee taking the worst of the hit. Before she could move farther away from them, one of them grabbed her feet, holding them tightly together, while another bound her with a zip tie.
The rusty hinges squeaked again until the door she’d come through clicked shut and the men left her alone. When she could no longer hear their booted feet outside the barn, she struggled to sit up, drawing herself as far from the opening as possible.
This was so not good. Who were they? What did they want? And what had they done to Matt and Daniel? The roaring fire ripped through her memory and she shuddered. No. She wouldn’t believe they were dead.
Minutes dragged by with only the sound of her breathing. She occupied herself by feeling the inside of her enclosure, pleased when she determined it was a cage of some sort. That was good. If she ever got the bag off her head, she would at least be able to see her enemy. A supreme effort had brought her heart rate down to a reasonable level. It was hard to be unafraid when she was absolutely, mind-numbingly terrified, but that was what it would take if she was to survive this ordeal. Not just survive. Somehow, she had to get away, find Daniel and Matt and warn Luke before he drove into the middle of whatever this was.
The worst was not knowing what these animals wanted. Blondie had said they were waiting. For what? He’d also said she was incidental. Meaning she was just in the way—they weren’t out to kill her. Yeah; somehow, they didn’t seem like the kind of men who would leave anyone alive. Were they the people who’d planted a bomb in her house? Their latest act of destruction seemed to support that. If they weren’t after her, who were they trying to kill?
Luke!
But why? Luke had loyal friends. Did he also have enemies?
Sally jumped at the scuff of feet across the dirt floor of the barn. Don’t be afraid. She clenched her jaw and looked straight ahead. Damned if she’d bow to them. What kind of a psychopath demanded that?
Blondie’s tenor voice jolted her when he spoke from the vicinity of the door to her enclosure. “What’s your name?”
She didn’t answer.
“You may speak.”
“Go to hell,” she said.
Blondie’s footsteps scuffed to Sally’s right and then back, and she turned her head to follow his movements as though she could see through the bag.
“Would you like to know what happened to your friends?”
God yes, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“They’re alive, and they’ll stay that way as long as you don’t cause me any trouble.” His voice hardened, and she caught the barest hint of a New York accent. “What’s your name?”
His message was clear. He would hold Daniel and Matt’s lives over her head.
“Sally. What’s yours?” She spat the words in distaste.
“Much better, Sally. Pretty name. Very American. Very Christian. My name is Ahmed.”
Sally’s soft intake of air was met with a laugh. Ahmed. The American traitor who tortured Luke—who killed Daniel’s brother. Luke had told her he was dead.
“I see you’ve heard of me. Does the infidel tremble with fear when he speaks of me? He should. I’m here to finish the job I started. When your Navy SEAL is dead, I’ll be a hero to my brothers, and justice will be furthered.” Satisfaction rang in the creep’s voice.
Terrorists? Dregs of the earth, monsters, killers of the innocent in the name of religion. She’d never hated anyone as much as this man who stood tormenting her. “Ahmed? Traitor? Murderer? Yes. Luke speaks of you…with pity.” Hopefully, Luke would forgive the lie she’d blurted in her sudden, uncontrollable desire to punish this man for what he’d done. Judging by the slamming of his hand on the top of her cage, Sally had hit home.
Disgust deafened her to the warning bells in her head. “Do your terrorist buddies trust you, or do they see the American in you and despise you for it? The men you lead—do they beg to be assigned to another? Do you have any friends? Anyone left who’s willing to watch your back? You’re a loser. Luke beat you over there on your own turf. The truth is, you’ll never stand a chance against men like Luke Harding. You have no heart.”
Silence descended around her, and with it came the first inkling Sally might have gone too far.
When he spoke, the barely controlled rage came through loud and clear. “Are you finished? You are an infidel and, as such, you will die before the day is over—you and all your friends. Your Luke Harding will watch me plunge the knife into your heart as I spill my seed within your belly at my climax. You will die quickly, but I’ll take my time with him. I will break him yet.”
Sally bit her bottom lip to keep the tears poised behind her eyelids from falling. Don’t be afraid. Right. Easy enough to say, but putting those words into practice would be tough. Somehow, she had to warn Luke not to come back here. To take Jen far, far away from here. And she couldn’t do it trussed up like a calf at the rodeo.
“I have a few things to see to before our guest of honor arrives, but I haven’t forgotten your creamy skin and your sweet little ass. I’ll be back, and we’ll see if you’re still so arrogant when we’re done.” His nearly silent footfalls retraced his steps.
Sally followed his progress until she could no longer hear him. Then she exhaled the breath she’d been holding. She wrestled with the bindings on her wrists in despair but only caused them to cut deeper into her flesh. Her blood was warm as it ran down her fingers.
It seemed like a long time before she heard sounds again. She cocked her head as voices raised above the shuffling of feet. Matt, and from the sound of it, he was giving someone a thorough cussing. Her hasty prayer was answered as the commotion came through the open barn door.
“Sally? Thank God you’re alive.” If he was planning to say more, it was cut off hastily by an apparent punch to the abdomen. His breath expelled loudly.
She kept quiet so his captors wouldn’t find additional reasons to serve up abuse. As soon as they were gone, though, and all she could hear was Matt breathing hard, she turned her head toward him. Seeing him was suddenly of paramount importance, but it wasn’t happening with this damn bag over her head.
“Matt? Are you okay?”
“Yeah…just knocked the wind out of me. What about you? Did they hurt you?”
Sally pushed Ahmed’s threat aside. “I’m fine. Where’s Daniel?”
“I’m here too.” A new voice joined the conversation.
“Daniel! I’m so glad…” She didn’t finish the comment on her lips, but she was sure both of them could figure out what she’d been about to say.
“Sally, I’m sorry. I went by your cabin a half-dozen times this morning to check on you. The last time, those bastards came out of nowhere. Hit me with a chunk of wood, and I passed out. When I came to, Daniel and I were both hog-tied in the cabin next to his. I should have seen them or heard them. I let you down and I’m sorry. Luke is going to have my head.” Regret was heavy in his tone.
From the little she’d come to know of Matt “MacGyver” Iverson, he took his duties very seriously. If he hadn’t seen the enemy coming, it wasn’t from lack of attentiveness. Of that she was sure. “It’s not your fault. They’re after Luke. That blond-haired guy is the one who interrogated him in the POW camp.”
“Wait. Are you telling me that’s the murdering snake who killed Ian?” All kinds of shuffling noises and grunts came from Daniel’s position. Sally could only imagine he was frenziedly tugging on his bindings just as she’d done earlier.
“Take it easy, Daniel. We have to be smart about this,” Matt said.
Daniel’s activity lessened and then stopped. “Whatever happens, I want that son of a bitch. Promise me.”
“We’ll worry about that when the time comes.” Matt understood—it was there in his voice. “Do you know what they’re planning, Sally?”
“Aside from some of the gruesome killing stuff, no. He seems to be waiting for Luke to drive in.” They couldn’t let that happen. They had to warn him—but how? “Is there any way either of you can get loose?”
“We’re tied to a post. Given enough time, I could probably work these ropes loose, but Luke could be here any minute.” Matt groaned with the effort he was obviously expending on the knots. “Unless they cut one of us loose, we could be out of luck.”
Don’t sugarcoat it for me, Matt. Sally laughed softly for lack of anything better to add. “Ahmed may cut my bindings—at least my legs.” She assumed they would make the connection and figure out what Ahmed wanted her for. In the ensuing silence, she was really glad she didn’t have to make eye contact with the men she barely knew.
“Aw, fuck!” Matt’s sentiment somehow made her feel better.