Chapter Ten
Sierra half walked, half carried Lieutenant Strohm deeper into the jumble of giant boulders, picking her way over the smaller rocks and around the larger ones. The sound of ATV engines moved closer until they had to be on the trail where she’d left T-Rex and Major Bailey. She moved as fast as she could to get Strohm out of harm’s way.
Finally, the injured man ground to a halt. Leaning heavily on her, he whispered, “I can’t...keep going.”
Her back aching from the strain, Sierra looked around, searching for a place to hide and praying their attackers wouldn’t see her or the lieutenant before they found one. “You can’t stop out in the open. We need to get you hidden.”
He agreed. Between the two of them, they got him wedged behind a pile of big rocks, completely out of sight to anyone passing by.
Moments later, gunfire echoed off the rock walls, and Sierra ducked low next to Strohm. Her heart pounded hard against her ribs as she knelt behind the boulders, wondering whether T-Rex and the major had been hit.
Then she heard the sound of engines moving away. Once the noise had faded, she counted to ten and slowly straightened.
The lieutenant grabbed for her. “What are you doing?”
“I have to see if they were hit. They could be injured and need help.” She peeled the lieutenant’s hand from her arm. “Will you be all right?”
“I’ll be fine, but I’m worried about you,” he said. “Your marine would kick my butt if I let anything happen to you.”
He wasn’t her marine, and the copilot was in no shape to protect her, but now wasn’t the time for Sierra to correct him. She had to find T-Rex.
Easing her way back toward the trail, she pushed to the north, hoping to swing around and come from behind where she’d heard the ATVs stop. She grabbed a rock the size of her hand. It wasn’t much of a weapon, but it was all she had in case someone attacked her or T-Rex.
As she neared the trail, she hid behind a boulder and studied the path beyond. It was empty. No one stood nearby or lay on the ground.
Then she heard someone grunting, the sound of gravel being disturbed and muttered curses.
Sierra eased back behind the larger boulders and followed the noise.
She had almost reached the source of the sound when she noticed a black helmet on the ground and a torn shirt. As she stepped toward them, she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she had time to move or scream, a hand clamped over her mouth and an arm wrapped around her belly, trapping one of her arms to her side.
Heart pounding, she tried to remain calm. Whoever had her was bare-armed and smelled of smoke and body odor.
“You’re coming with me,” he whispered.
The hell she was. She flung her free hand with the rock up behind her, crashing it into the man’s head.
He cursed, and for a brief moment, his hold on her loosened.
Sierra broke free, spun and kneed him in the groin.
He went down, his face turning a sick shade of green.
Her adrenaline still firing through her veins, she kicked him in the chin, sending him flying backward to land on the ground.
Sierra stood with her rock in her hand, breathing hard, ready for anything the punk might try next.
When he didn’t move, she inched toward him.
The man was out cold.
Quickly, before he came to, she grabbed the abandoned shirt, ripped it into strips, rolled him over and tied his wrists securely. Then she tied his ankles. The jerk wasn’t going to come after her or anyone else in her party, if she could help it. Wadding up the last piece of fabric, she stuffed it into his mouth.
Armed with her rock, she slipped back among the boulders, determined to find T-Rex and the pilot. What had happened to them?
It would be night soon, which would make it even more difficult to find them if they were injured.
She glanced up at the rocky hillside ahead of her and noticed a shadowy figure slipping down between the trees and rocks.
Was it another member of the gang of ATV riders who’d attacked their helicopter? She stood still, watching as the man made it to the edge of the boulder field carrying what appeared to be a military-grade rifle.
Where were T-Rex and the pilot?
The sun ducked behind the hills above them, casting the landscape into a deep, gray shadow. With adrenaline wearing off and no sun to warm the air around her, Sierra shivered.
Another shadowy figure followed the first, edging his way down the slope. Then another. That was three, plus the one she’d tied up made four. Where was number five?
Sierra stayed put, afraid to move and draw attention to herself. She had yet to locate T-Rex. Most likely he was hiding among the boulders, waiting for his chance to take down the attackers, one at a time. He wasn’t injured or dead. Sierra refused to believe the combat veteran would have exposed himself to the gunfire.
Straining to hear footsteps or voices, she pressed herself back into a crevice and waited.
* * *
T-REX HEARD SOUNDS from both in front of him and to the rear of where he stood. He was only mildly reassured by the fact that the man he’d knocked out behind him was unarmed. The men scurrying down the hill toward him still carried their AR-15s. He almost wished he hadn’t given the major the rifle. If he had it now, he could have picked off the attackers as they worked their way down the slope.
Armed with only a knife, T-Rex’s four-to-one odds were pretty lousy. He moved silently through the boulder field, easing from shadow to shadow until he was close to where the men would enter the rock-strewn area. His best chance was to get them one at a time. That plan would work only if the ATV riders split up.
He waited as the first man entered the field several yards away from him.
T-Rex backtracked and circled a huge boulder, praying he’d correctly anticipated the man’s path. With his knife in hand, he listened.
The rattle of gravel alerted him to his quarry on the other side of the boulder. When the man in black stepped into view, he didn’t see what hit him.
Neither did T-Rex.
He hadn’t even touched the man, when he heard a loud thud and the guy dropped to the ground with a grunt and lay still.
Stunned, T-Rex glanced up to find Sierra standing with a big rock in her hand, her eyes wide, her breathing coming in ragged gasps.
T-Rex must have moved because Sierra’s gaze shot from the man on the ground to him. She stifled a squeal and backed up several steps before she realized it was him.
A soft curse and the shuffle of gravel warned T-Rex others were coming. He shoved Sierra behind him. Then he took the man’s arms and dragged him backward, hiding him among the rocks. He removed a knife from the man’s belt and took his rifle.
The crack of gunfire filled the air nearby.
T-Rex grabbed Sierra and rolled her to the ground, throwing his body over hers. The shooting continued in spurts, very near to where they lay hidden behind the boulder.
At one pause in the firing, he thought he heard the sound of engines in the distance.
More shots rang out, and then another pause ensued. A deep voice shouted, “Vehicles coming! Get out! Now!”
The man Sierra had knocked out stirred, sat up and looked around.
“Move! Move! Move!” the same guy shouted, and more shots were fired in rapid succession from the semiautomatic weapons.
T-Rex pointed his weapon at the man sitting up and touched a finger to his lips.
The man took one look at T-Rex, rolled to his side and scurried behind a big rock.
“Don’t let him get away!” Sierra urged, in a quiet, yet insistent voice.
“I’m not leaving you,” T-Rex whispered.
“Then shoot him,” she said.
“If I do, I’ll give away our position.”
“But he’s getting away.” She struggled beneath him.
T-Rex refused to let her up. “I’d rather he got away than you get killed.”
When she tried again to get up, he touched a finger to her lips. “Shh.”
She went still, her eyes wide, her chest rising and falling beneath his.
Heat filled him and raced to his groin. Sierra’s soft curves beneath him and the adrenaline of the chase rushing through his blood had him hard in seconds. But now was not the time to have sensual thoughts about the woman he covered with his body.
The sound of feet moving through gravel came to them from so close, it had to be on the other side of the boulder.
T-Rex quietly rolled off Sierra and sat up with the AR-15 rifle in his hands. If the attackers found them, T-Rex would empty the magazine, protecting Sierra.
Major Bailey tiptoed into the gap between the rocks, the rifle T-Rex had given him nestled against his shoulder, his hand on the trigger. He turned, aiming the weapon at T-Rex.
T-Rex held up his free hand and whispered, “Don’t shoot.”
The man’s shoulders relaxed. “Oh, thank God. For a moment, I thought you were one of them.” He jerked his head toward the trail. “There are more ATVs coming up the trail from the south. The guys who were shooting at us scattered into the hills.”
T-Rex climbed to his feet, reached down to give Sierra a hand up and pulled her into the crook of his arm. “We need to be ready in case they aren’t any friendlier than the others.”
The major glanced at Sierra. “Where’s Strohm?”
“I have him tucked away pretty nicely. But I better find him before it gets too dark to see.” She started to step away from T-Rex.
He didn’t let go of his hold around her. “We’ll find him when we know for sure the ATV riders are gone and the new ones headed this way aren’t here to harm us.”
Sierra nodded.
The three of them eased up to the edge of the trail.
T-Rex insisted Sierra stay farther behind. He and the major aimed their weapons at the approaching vehicles.
Four ATVs rolled into sight.
T-Rex waited until he recognized the jacket of the man in front of the pack. It was the same jacket, with the Department of Homeland security emblem on it, Kevin Garner had worn that morning.
T-Rex lowered his weapon, raised a hand and stepped out of the shadows.
Garner leaped down from his four-wheeler and pulled off his helmet. “Holy hell, T-Rex. What happened?”
T-Rex glanced at the hillside where their attackers had run to. “You might want to step into the shadows. Up until a few minutes ago, we were under fire.”
Garner’s brows rose, and he joined T-Rex, the major and Sierra near the stand of boulders. He waved to the others, who all dismounted and joined them, removing their helmets.
Hawkeye, Ghost and Caveman crowded close.
“We got the mayday from the sheriff’s office that your aircraft had been hit and was crash-landing in the hills,” Garner said.
“Dude, you had us all worried,” Hawkeye said.
“You were worried?” T-Rex chuckled. “You should have been on the helicopter.” He clapped a hand on Major Bailey’s shoulders. “This man did an incredible job landing the chopper.” He shoved his AR-15 at Ghost. “But right now, we have an injured copilot we need to get to medical attention. Can you cover us?”
Ghost hefted the weapon in his hands, released the magazine, inspected it and slipped it back in. “Gotcha covered.”
T-Rex turned to Sierra. “Think you can find him?”
* * *
HER HEART STILL racing and her body on fire from the pressure of T-Rex’s pressed against it earlier, Sierra nodded and took off through the maze. She stopped a couple of times and studied the paths. Everything looked a bit different in the dusky light, but she recognized the landscape and moved on. Finally, she came to what would appear to the others to be nothing more than a pile of big rocks.
Sierra ducked between them and found the copilot, lying on the ground. “Hey, Lieutenant, I told you I’d be back.”
“I swear you’re an angel,” he said, his voice strained, the pain making his mouth tight. His face was pale, and he struggled to stand.
“We could use a hand,” Sierra called out, moving quickly to slip her arm around the man.
T-Rex stepped into the gap and looped one of the lieutenant’s arms over his shoulder.
“Let me.” Caveman entered the hiding place and motioned for Sierra to move out so that he could get in and take Strohm’s other side. They eased him out into the open.
Forming a two-man fireman’s carry, T-Rex and Caveman transported the copilot to the trail.
After they settled the lieutenant on the ground, T-Rex straightened. “If he hasn’t gotten away, we caught one of the guys who was with those who shot us down.” He started toward the stand of rocks to the north end of the trail.
Sierra joined him. “He’s not where he was before.”
“No?” T-Rex frowned.
She shook her head. “But he’s not far.”
T-Rex’s frown deepened. “And you know this because?”
She shrugged and gave him a twisted grin. “I have a mean arm when it comes to rocks.”
“I’ve seen that arm in action.” He chuckled. “It was pretty impressive.”
They found the man where Sierra had left him bound and gagged.
“Are you sure you weren’t a secret agent in a past life?” Garner asked.
She shook her head. “No, but I watch enough movies and television to know how to incapacitate the bad guy.”
They pulled the gag from the man’s mouth and dragged him out to the trail.
Now that she had time to study him, Sierra thought she recognized him. “Cody Rausch?”
The young man glared at her but refused to speak.
She shook her head and planted her hands on her hips. “What will your father say when he finds out you’ve been shooting down government helicopters?”
He still didn’t say anything, just continued to glare at Sierra.
“Fine. But you know the sheriff will be talking with you as soon as we get back to town.”
Dusk had settled over the mountains, casting the group into a shadowy darkness.
A few minutes later, a rescue helicopter flew overhead, shining a bright spotlight down on them. The aircraft landed on the hillside above them, and the trained rescue team hurried down with a basket. They radioed back to the chopper to bring another.
Once they had the copilot and the bad guy in baskets, the rescue workers and the Safe Haven team carried the men back up the hill and loaded them into the helicopter. Major Bailey boarded the helicopter with his lieutenant.
Garner stood beside the helicopter to address his team. “I’m going with them to the hospital. I hope to be there when the sheriff interrogates Rausch. This might be the breakthrough we’ve been looking for. I trust you can get back to Grizzly Pass on your own?”
“We’ve got this,” Ghost said.
Sierra wasn’t as confident. Night had settled in. Thankfully, each of the ATVs had headlights, but the trails were treacherous in the daylight. They’d be downright deadly at night.
They waited while the helicopter took off, headed for the closest hospital, then the four men mounted the four-wheelers.
T-Rex tilted his head toward Sierra. “You can ride with me.”
“I wasn’t planning on riding with anyone else,” she said, her words soft enough only T-Rex would hear. She slid on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I hope you know where you’re going, because I don’t.”
He nodded. “I’ve been on this trail before. Though it was in the light of day at the time.”
“We’ll take it slow,” Caveman said.
They left the boulder field. Caveman took the lead, T-Rex and Sierra behind him. Hawkeye and Ghost brought up the rear.
The night had turned cold, the temperature dropping close to freezing, even though it wasn’t yet fall.
Sierra leaned close to T-Rex, absorbing as much warmth from his body as she could. By the time they reached the Stone Oak ranch house, she was shivering uncontrollably, her toes numb and her entire body exhausted.
Olivia Dawson met them at the gate and ushered them through, closing it behind them. “Come inside. I just happened to make a huge pot of beef stew. You look hungry and cold.”
“Sounds like heaven,” Sierra said, her teeth chattering. “Hi, Liv. Glad you’re back in Grizzly Pass. I missed you.” She hugged the rancher, glad to see the woman and the house ahead with the glow of lights welcoming them.
Sierra stumbled, her cold feet barely able to carry her. She refused to give up now. Not when she was so close to a warm fire and food.
T-Rex came up behind her, scooped her into his arms and marched toward the house.
“I can walk,” Sierra protested, though she didn’t struggle. Being in T-Rex’s arms meant she got to rest her body against his warmer one. She leaned her cheek against his chest and tucked her hands between them. “I don’t think I’ve ever been quite that cold.”
“We didn’t go prepared for the possibilities.”
She snorted. “Who would have guessed our helicopter would be shot down? Things like that don’t happen in America.”
His lips thinned and his brows descended. “Yeah, well, sometimes they do.”
Caveman reached the door first and opened it for T-Rex and Sierra.
T-Rex entered and went straight for the living room, where he laid Sierra on a couch by a roaring fire and smothered her in throw blankets.
She laughed. “I think one will do.”
“You might have hypothermia,” he said. “You need to bring your body temperature back up.” T-Rex tucked the edges of the blankets around and beneath her until she couldn’t move her arms.
“Seriously. I feel like a mummy.” She wiggled until she could get her hands and arms out. “I’m okay. Really.” As if to belie her statement, she shivered violently. Her cheeks heated, and she shrugged. “At least I’m on my way to being okay.”
When T-Rex dived for the edges of the blankets again, Sierra touched his cheek. “I’m okay.” She smiled up into his eyes. “Thank you.”
He frowned and stood straight. “I shouldn’t have brought you with me today. I got you involved where you shouldn’t have been.”
“I’m glad you took me. I’ve never flown in a helicopter.”
“And I bet you’ve never crashed in one either.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I hope like hell you never crash-land in one again.”
“We have hot cocoa for anyone who wants some,” Liv called out. She entered the living room swinging a sack of puffy white marshmallows. Hawkeye followed carrying a large tray filled with mugs and a pot of steaming cocoa.
After they all had their mugs filled with brew and a marshmallow or two, the men settled in the leather seats scattered around the spacious living room.
T-Rex paced in front of the fireplace, having sipped only once on his cocoa before setting it on the mantel. “That was too close.”
“Now that we’re all in the same room, tell us about it,” Ghost urged.
T-Rex recounted what had taken place, from leaving in the helicopter to spotting the truck backed up to the cave. When he came to the part about being shot down from the sky, he was interrupted.
“They shot you down with a rocket?” Ghost exclaimed. “Holy hell, what kind of arsenal do they have?”
Caveman leaned forward, his hands clasped together. “We need to get back up in those hills first thing in the morning.”
“Hell, we need to have people on the roads, watching for any movement out of the hills.” Hawkeye rose from his seat and paced the opposite direction of T-Rex. “They might decide to pack it all up and move it to an alternate location tonight.”
“I’ll coordinate with Garner and the sheriff. Who’s up for a night shift?”
T-Rex raised a hand. “I’m out. I’m worried that now that Sierra’s involved, she’ll be targeted.”
Ghost nodded. “I think between us and the sheriff’s department, we can handle the night. But we need to be out looking tomorrow.” He nodded toward T-Rex. “Except you.”
Sierra directed a frown toward T-Rex. “I don’t need you to look out for me tomorrow. I’m headed to the park at Yellowstone. I won’t be anywhere around.”
His brows furrowed as he studied her. “Alone?”
She smiled. “No. I’m going with my coworker, Brenda, and several mothers. We’re taking some children to the park since they didn’t make it there the day they were kidnapped.”
T-Rex’s brows dipped deeper. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?”
“No one is going to kidnap half a dozen women in a couple of cars headed for the park. It’s not like there will be a bus of children with only three adults. We’ll be okay.” She shook her head. “We can’t stay home, afraid to get outside because of some band of troublemakers.”
“I’ll come with you,” T-Rex said.
As much as Sierra loved having him around, she couldn’t take him away from his duties. “You have a job. I’m not a part of that. We will be fine on our own, and the vehicles are already full.”
“She’s right,” Hawkeye said. “Besides, we’ll need all the help we can get if the hills are full of Free America homegrown terrorists.”
For a long moment, T-Rex stared at Sierra. He didn’t appear happy about her going off without him. But he didn’t have a say in the matter. He’d be out of Grizzly Pass soon, and she’d be back to living alone.
A deep shiver shook her frame. A couple of days ago, she’d been perfectly happy to be alone.
Since she’d met T-Rex, everything had changed.