Chapter 14
Issa stared at the bullet hole as Gray checked it out. “It’s ugly.”
“That’s also how you got this head injury,” Gray added. “One shot hit you high in the shoulder and another just missed you, scraping alongside your head.”
She frowned at the older man. “In other words, they missed twice?”
He gave her a half a grin. “You could look at it that way. You’re one very lucky lady.”
She thought about what she’d been through the last couple weeks. Then her gaze landed on Eagle standing protectively at her side, and she realized she really was lucky. Without Eagle, she’d have been lost. Probably forever.
The poking and prodding became worse as Gray went over her body, checking out each of her wounds.
Eagle helped her remove clothing and then redressed her. By the time she was fully clothed again, her teeth were chattering. He wrapped her in both blankets and held her. “Easy. It’s shock.” Eagle scooped her up and sat her down in the big armchair. She thanked him with a smile.
Still, she hadn’t told him she knew who the man was she’d seen on the laptop. She didn’t want to mention it while Gray was there.
Just then Gray brought a cup of coffee and placed it beside her. “Get this down. It will help.”
She glanced at the mug, realized he’d put both cream and some kind of sweetener in it. She had watched him do it, but it hadn’t registered the cup was for her. She’d heard sugar was good for shock, except she hated her coffee that way.
“So, will I live?” she asked in a laconic voice.
Gray nodded. “You’re doing much better than when I saw you last. Have you remembered anything else?”
Instinctively her gaze went to Eagle. He gave a tiny half nod.
She smiled. “Just a little. Nothing major. I know my name is Issa McGuire, and I’m a biologist.”
At that Gray’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Well, you two are well matched. Especially if you know anything about birds.”
At that her heart froze. She’d checked for Roash earlier but hadn’t seen any sign of him. Neither had he come back since they’d returned. Although she’d been sleeping, so maybe he was in the bedroom. She mentally searched for him, but there was no response. That was disheartening. Neither was there anything from Humbug, and that made her heart hurt. He hadn’t been at the cabin. So where was he?
She huddled in the chair, drinking her coffee, while the two men discussed various events. Her mind was filled with worry for the birds. She closed her eyes and mentally sent out more signals, calling quietly, Humbug, hear my voice. Come to me. She strengthened her tone and commanded the bird to make his way toward her.
In the background she heard an odd screech. She glanced over at the men, but they didn’t appear to notice. She sank back down into the chair again, closed her eyes, and concentrated on sending message after message to Humbug. Then she switched to Roash. Where are you? Come to me.
Outside the long screech repeated. She tried to get to her feet, but Eagle was already up, a finger pointed toward her. “Stay. I’ll go look.”
He bolted to the door and looked from one side to the other. “Now what the devil made that racket?”
She shrugged. “One of the birds.” But inside, her heart hammered. Which one had it been?
*
Eagle stood on the front porch. He’d grabbed his single shot rifle as he went out the door. It wasn’t the most efficient but was deadly accurate. The dogs were beside him, both relaxed, neither one concerned about an intruder. He looked again and thought he heard the same screech. He walked around to the side of the house but found nothing there.
No birds were in the tall trees, and no signs of a large bird anywhere close could be seen. He thought he’d heard an eagle’s call. It had an odd tone to it. Then again, everything was odd these days. Sometimes he couldn’t trust what he thought he always knew. He walked around the house, making sure nothing was here. Then calling the dogs to heel, he went back inside.
He placed the rifle on the table and caught Issa’s raspy breath as she saw it. He gave her a flat stare. “We have a lot of four-legged predators around here too.”
She swallowed as her gaze lifted from the rifle. She put down the coffee cup and tucked deeper into the chair. “Did you see anything?”
He shook his head. He knew she was asking if he saw signs of anyone other than what he expected.
Gray stood. “I better be heading out now. I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay, young lady.”
“Thank you very much for looking in on me,” she said formally.
Eagle walked Gray back out to his truck. “Is she really doing okay?” Eagle knew she was, but it was reassuring to know a professional could put his stamp of approval on her progress.
Gray slapped him on the shoulder. “She’s doing better than I could possibly have imagined. I took a good solid look at that bullet hole, and it’s healing very nicely. Almost too nicely,” he muttered to himself as he got in his truck.
Eagle frowned. What the hell did that mean? But he didn’t dare ask. He opened the gate for Gray.
Still, he’d seen her strange progress for himself. And Gray was right; she was healing very quickly. It could be because she was getting food and warmth, and she was safe, or because her body had a remarkable capacity to heal. Maybe she was not as badly injured as they’d first thought. At least that was an easier concept than thinking something unnatural was going on.
He waited until Gray pulled out, then he locked the gate behind him again. The sun had lowered on the horizon, sending an orange glow across the land. He headed to the pens, handed out food, set up the new batch of eggs in the incubator, checked on the injured, and continued into the house. The dogs needed feeding next.
He filled their bowls, added some leftovers from the night before, and poured some of the gravy he had left in the fridge over it all. They didn’t always get something like that, but, when he could share, he did. He walked over and stood in front of Issa. “Gray has gone.”
He tried not to see it, but it was hard to miss the whisper of relief that crossed her face. That he could understand. “He isn’t one of the men who took you. I know that for sure.”
She nodded, then motioned to the laptop. “The man you captured on the security camera is one of the men who did kidnap me. And, if he’s found me here, you know he’ll come back a second time.”
Eagle stared at her for a long moment and then gave a clipped nod. “I’m counting on that.”
*
“Did you find her?” The order came cool, quiet, and deadly.
Dylan nodded. “We’re on it.” He turned to look at the other men.
The boss barked, “No. Go alone.”
Dylan looked at the boss, someone he’d come to regard as his son, and in a lower voice asked, “Why?”
“I don’t want any security tripped. We have to make sure nothing goes wrong this time.”
He shoved his hands in his jeans. “And if this rancher hobby farmer has brought in more men?”
The boss frowned and tilted his head. “Fine. Take one man. If the rancher has brought in more men than the two of you can handle, then come back and tell me. I’ll assess from there.”
Relieved, Dylan nodded. “On my way.”
He headed outside, one of the new guys in tow, and hopped into the decrepit truck that came with the cabin. He had to twist the wires together under the dashboard for it to start. Then he drove out of the property. It probably wasn’t a good thing his mind was looking for ways to escape the boss. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but then the boss had kidnapped the little girl. That didn’t sit right with Dylan. And what they’d done, … well, that was just plain bad.
In his mind Issa would always be a little girl. That she’d grown into a beautiful young woman—one he’d tortured—was not something he’d been able to face. Just because no mirrors were around didn’t mean he was capable of accepting what he’d done.
For some reason being in America had changed the boss. Dylan didn’t like that. He liked certainties. He liked things he could count on. He needed to know white was always white, and black was always black. Apparently it no longer was. But what he did know was, until he found Issa and could confirm where she was, the boss would never let Dylan off the hook.