Kujo dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and pulled on his boots. He clipped the satellite phone onto his belt. If Molly wanted space, he could go for a walk with Six.

He paced the room several times, counting the minutes until Molly’s return. How much space was enough? And how did that translate into time? Was she rethinking their microburst of a relationship? Did she regret making love with him? Shit, had she faked her orgasm just to get it over with?

He shook his head. No way. Her body had been as tense as his, and her tremors had appeared uncontrolled.

With a glance at his watch, he tucked his pistol into the waistband of his jeans and stared at the door, willing Molly to enter. Five minutes had passed since she’d left the room. As far as he was concerned, that was long enough. Kujo’s hand was on the doorknob when Six started barking.

Kujo’s heart thudded against his ribs. He yanked open the door and ran to the head of the stairs.

Six was at the screen door, tearing at the mesh with his paws, frantically trying to break through to get outside.

By the time Kujo made it to the bottom of the staircase, Mrs. K had emerged in her bathrobe with her hair up in sponge curlers, blinking the sleep from her eyes. “What’s going on? My lord, why is Six destroying my door?”

He didn’t respond, just powered past her, opened the door and ran outside.

Six shot ahead of him, racing down the street after the disappearing taillights of what appeared to be a truck turning onto Main Street.

Kujo could think of only one reason Six would be chasing the truck.

Molly.

Mrs. K came out of the B&B behind him.

As he ran to his truck, Kujo yelled, “Call 911. Molly’s been abducted. She might be in a pickup. I’m going after her.” He jumped into the driver’s seat and cranked the engine. He was halfway down the street in seconds.

Six cut through a yard, leaped over a low bush and ran like the wind.

By the time Kujo reached the corner, the taillights were near the edge of town. Six ran down the middle of the street, losing ground on the disappearing truck.

Kujo raced after them. When he came alongside the slowing dog, he flung open his door and yelled. “Six, come!” The dog shot a glance toward him and then back at the truck, so far ahead. As if making up his mind, he slowed long enough to jump up into the truck, clambering over Kujo to the passenger seat. Once there, he sat forward, his gaze on the road in front of them, his tongue lolling from his mouth as he gasped for air.

Kujo closed his door and slammed his foot to the accelerator. He’d have to push it to catch the other vehicle. And he didn’t know for certain Molly was in it. What he did know was Molly had been taken. He knew in his gut she wouldn’t have gone walking alone, leaving Six in the house.

He switched off his headlights and focused on the taillights in front of him, doing his best to catch up to the truck and yet, not be seen. He pulled the satellite phone off his belt and hit the numbers for Hank.

Hank answered after the second ring. “Kujo, what’s wrong?”

“Molly’s been taken. I’m following a pickup I think she might be in. The B&B owner is putting a call through to 911. I might need help.”

“I’m in the process of gathering the team. Which way are you headed?”

“East, into the Crazy Mountains.” He told him the highway number and the direction. “I’m flying in stealth-mode with my lights out. I don’t think he knows he’s being followed.

“As I said, I was in the process of gathering the team, anyway, and I was about to call you,” Hank said.

“Why?”

“Swede found a social media group Tanner Birge belonged to called TA for Take America. On the page, we found images of weapons, political statements against the current administration and more.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re plotting a coup.”

“No, but there were several passages that seemed to be encoded messages. I had Swede and Molly’s boss, Pete, work on decoding. It didn’t take long. Apparently, they’re planning something big in the next couple of days. They put out a call to all their disciples, as they call themselves. And they end the messages in AA.”

Kujo’s blood ran cold. “Allah Akbar.” The cry most jihadists called out as they killed non-believers of Islam. God is greatest.

“That’s not all. The owner of the ranch has been missing for several months. Supposedly, he left on a vacation to Mexico. He hasn’t been heard from since.”

“Great. A missing woman, a missing ranch owner and ISIS training leaders calling their forces together for a big operation.” Kujo laughed, humor absent from the sound. “Any more good news for me?”

“Four of the team members are on their way out to the ranch now. We can be at your location within fifteen minutes.”

“I’m not waiting. If they’re planning something big, they might not let Molly live long enough for the team to get in there and free her.”

“Do what you have to, but don’t get yourself killed. We’ll be there as soon as we can. I’m mobilizing now. I’ll meet the team on the road. Do you still have your GPS tracker on you?”

“I do,” Kujo said.

“Good. If you get to a point you can’t communicate, we’ll follow your blip on the screen. Kujo, we’ve got your back.”

Kujo felt the sense of belonging he’d missed since he’d been cashiered out of the military. That feeling of family, a community of people who understood him and his way of thinking. “Thanks.”

The brake lights on the truck ahead of him blinked red as the vehicle slowed and turned off the highway onto a side road.

Though the darkness changed his perspective, Kujo could tell this road was the one leading onto Pinion Ranch.

They should have gotten out there sooner, uncovered the ISIS training activities and shut them down before Molly was taken.

Now, he had nothing but his wits to guide him through what might happen. The team wouldn’t be there before he had to ditch his own truck and follow on foot.

He prayed Molly was all right. If they hurt her, he’d make them pay with their lives.

His fists clenched around the steering wheel as he neared the turnoff onto the dirt road leading across a cattle guard onto the ranch with the missing owner.

Kujo couldn’t be sure the entrance wasn’t being monitored. He pulled past the turnoff. When he reached a bend in the road, he waited until he was past it to apply his brakes to keep anyone watching from the Pinion Ranch entrance from seeing his brake lights flare.

He pulled the truck off the road, hiding it behind bushes and trees. Then he snapped a lead on Six and got out. Kujo reached into the back of the cab for the rifle he kept in a case behind the back seat. Shoving boxes of bullets into his pockets, he straightened and closed the door. From this point, he’d be on foot.

He just hoped he could cover enough ground fast enough to be there in time to help Molly.

Kujo took off at a jog, carrying his rifle and encouraging Six to find the truck he’d been chasing.

Molly came to when her head bounced against what felt like a rubber mat. She opened her eyes and stared around at what appeared to be the cab of a pickup truck. She lay jammed between the front and back seats on the floorboard. The scent of dust and diesel fuel filled her nostrils, making her want to sneeze. She wiggled her nose, willing herself to hold off long enough to figure out an escape plan. If her captor knew she was awake, he might hit her again.

She lowered her eyelids and, peering through her lashes, looked around the interior, searching for a quick exit. If she could reach the door handle above her, she could open it, do a flip and roll out the side.

The likelihood of success was minimal. She’d have to be a contortionist to flip over backward while jammed between the front and the back seat on the floorboard.

Her head pounded, her left temple aching from where the man had hit her, but she couldn’t give up, nor could she let him win. When she got the chance, she’d give the bastard what he deserved and more.

Molly used every time the vehicle bumped over a big rut to shift her body until she lay on her belly. If she played her cards right, she could use the next bump to shift her knees beneath her. The driver might see her bottom rise from the floorboard, but by then she might be able to get her hands on the door handle, shove it open and propel herself out of the truck. Then all she had to do was to survive the landing, pick herself up and run into the woods. Being lost in the woods wasn’t nearly as concerning as being in the clutches of someone who’d knocked her unconscious and carried her away from the B&B and Kujo.

Another bump gave her enough momentum to lunge for the handle. She grabbed it and shoved the door open, pushed hard and flung herself out onto the ground.

She fell hard, landing on her shoulder. Pain shot through her arm. Molly couldn’t worry about it, she had to keep going. Rolling away from the truck and the tires, she pushed to her feet.

The truck ground to a halt behind her. A door opened and a man jumped down. “Goddamn, bitch. You’ll be sorry.”

He caught her before her vision cleared, and she could take ten steps. Grabbing her by her hair, he dragged her backward.

Instead of trying to run and risk losing a hank of hair, she backed into him, fast and hard, knocking him off balance. He let go of her hair and fell on his ass.

Unfortunately, so did Molly, landing in the middle of the man’s belly.

Air blasted from his lungs.

For the moment, he lay there. Molly struggled to get her feet beneath her and shot to a standing position.

A hand clamped on her ankle.

She tried to raise her foot, but the hand around her ankle kept her from going far.

Molly turned and slammed her heel into the man’s face. “Take that, you son of a bitch.” She heard the satisfying crunch of cartilage breaking in his nose.

The man jerked his hands back to cover his face, spewing curse words muffled by his hand.

Once again, Molly turned to run but hit the brick wall of someone’s chest, bringing her up short. Hands gripped her arms and a familiar face stared down into hers. “Why the hell did you bring her?”

Molly gazed into the face of David Perez, the real estate agent who’d shown her and Kujo around the county, searching for properties for sale.

“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?

“That’s not as important as your reason for being here,” He grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her up against him.

“Trust me, I don’t want to be here. That man hit me and shoved me into his truck. Ask him why.” She glanced around at the view in the darkness. Several electric lanterns had been lit, but it was the tents beneath the camouflage netting that made her pulse quicken.

Men stood beside trucks loaded with wooden crates. One by one, they handed out weapons, in many sizes and shapes. Most appeared to be military-grade rifles and machine guns. Another man passed around vests, and yet another distributed hand grenades.

From what Molly could tell, they were gearing up for war. Only they weren’t US military forces. They appeared to be a bunch of bearded bubbas, some younger, angry looking men of a variety of ethnic backgrounds and a few men Molly had seen in Eagle Rock recently.

Perez nodded to the bearded man who’d gotten out of the truck. “Diener, why is she here?”

“I owed her boyfriend for making my wife leave me.”

Perez’s mouth twisted into a snarl. “You realize what bringing her here means?”

Diener smirked. “It means she can’t leave. She’ll have to die. Serves that Kuntz fellow right.”

“It also means her fiancé will be searching for her. You’ve raised the chances of being discovered before we’ve completed our mission.” Perez nodded to one of the men standing nearby. “The penalty for revealing our location to outsiders is clearly outlined in the training.”

“Hey.” Diener raised his hands and backed away, his eyes widening. “I did you a favor by bringing her here. She’s the one who was snooping in the valley the other day.” He shouted to another man. “Birge, tell ’em.”

A clean-shaven younger man stepped away from his position handing out grenades to others. He carried one of the grenades in his palm as he approached Perez and Diener. “What are you talking about?”

Diener glared at Birge. “Tell Mohammed about the person you thought you shot in the valley. The one who was flying the drone.”

Birge shrugged. “I shot down a drone in the valley and chased someone on a four-wheeler. So?”

“So? You thought it might be her, the woman who was shackin’ up with the stranger in the old DeLong hunting cabin in the woods.”

“Again.” The younger man stared at Diener with a deadpan face, no emotion nor expression in his eyes or anywhere else. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I figured whoever was flying that drone shouldn’t be snooping in the valley when we were still moving supplies. So, I took care of it.”

Molly stared into the eyes of Daisy’s ex-boyfriend and struggled not to let a shiver shake her entire body. The man appeared to have no soul whatsoever.

Diener’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not what you told me. And I suppose you didn’t bother to tell Mohammed it was you who set that explosive at Al’s Diner.”

Molly couldn’t see Perez’s expression, but she felt him stiffen behind her.

“Birge, were you the one behind the explosion in town earlier today?” Perez demanded.

Birge shook his head. “Why would I start something that could bring in the ATF, the FBI and the National Guard? That would undermine our mission. I’m not that stupid.”

“You lying bastard.” Diener lunged for Birge and slugged him in the face.

Molly clenched her fists. Birge was lying and deserved to be slugged. He’d almost killed Al and his ex-girlfriend was in the hospital. If she could Molly would have put a bullet between the jerk’s eyes.

Birge staggered backward, clutching at his jaw. “I’m not the one interested in revenge. I didn’t burn down a hunting cabin to kill the man who broke up a fight between my old lady and me.”

Diener pointed at Birge. “No, but you planted the explosives to take out your girlfriend who worked at the diner.”

“From what I heard, the man who broke up the fight between you and your wife was inside that diner when the explosives went off. I have no interest in hurting Daisy. We’ve been done for a long time. She just did me a favor by moving all of my stuff out of her apartment.”

Perez’s grip tightened on Molly’s arm. “And by all your stuff, are you referring to furniture and clothing? What about your computer? Can you tell me where your laptop is at this very moment?”

In the light from the open door of the truck, Molly could see Birge’s face pale. But he raised his chin. “It’s in my vehicle.”

“Liar!” Diener shouted. “Daisy had it. When you went to get it, someone got there before you.”

Birge’s lip curled back in a snarl. “You don’t know that.”

“I was there. I saw you go into her apartment. I also saw someone sneak into her car and take the computer bag.”

“Since your vehicle is here, Birge,” Perez said, his tone low and threatening, “be so good as to show me your laptop.”

Birge turned and started to walk away. He took only five steps and then broke into a run, veering toward the woods.

Diener raised the pistol in his hand and shot Birge in the back.

Birge staggered and fell, face first, to the ground, where he lay still.

“I told you he was lying.”

Molly’s heart thundered, but she had to play it cool. She was in enemy territory and the man holding her wasn’t the friendly real estate agent she’d thought he was. Apparently, she’d found an ISIS training camp, and he was their leader, a man they called Mohammed.

So much for not engaging the enemy. Now, would be a good time to come up with a backup plan. She had to get out of the camp, back to town, and call for reinforcements.

The arm around her tightened. “Bind her,” Mohammed commanded.

Diener smirked. “I told you she was worth capturing.”

“You’ve caused enough trouble with your petty desire for revenge. Don’t give me a reason to do to you what you did to Birge.” He shoved Molly toward Diener, who caught her in one of his thick arms, crushing her against his side.

Molly cocked her elbow, ready to plant it in Diener’s gut, but stopped when she stared down the barrel of a nine-millimeter Glock.

“All I have to do is pull the trigger and take care of two thorns in my side.” Mohammed’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Go ahead. Tempt me.”

Molly lowered her arm. She could fight people, but a bullet wasn’t as easily overcome.

Perez’s hand never wavered, but he raised his gaze to the man behind Molly. “We’re moving our mission in Bozeman and Helena up a day.”

Diener shifted his weight. “But we can’t move all the supplies by morning.”

“Then we’ll take what we can and destroy the rest.” Mohammed stared at Molly. “And by the rest, that includes you.”