18.

E LIZABETH

I looked at the canopy of trees above us and realized we’d been in the woods for at least two hours. Darkness was falling quickly, and the setting sun barely gave me enough light to see ahead. Unfortunately, I could still hear the men around us, spread out like an actual search party now, as they combed through the brush to find us. I had the girls hidden well, or as well as I possibly could. I’d stuck leaves and grass to the mud that covered them until they looked like the woods around us.

The tree I found to hide them in was thick with foliage and had a tall trunk that made the first branch impossible to reach without help. Once they were camouflaged, I boosted them up to the lowest branch with instructions to climb as high as they safely could, taking care not to disturb the branches too much and leave an obvious trail.

Before I lifted each girl, I gave them a kiss and told them I loved them then got their solemn promise not to climb down for any reason until they saw me or one of the men they’d come to trust standing below them. Once that happened, they could softly call out but try very hard not to draw too much attention to themselves in case there were still strangers waiting nearby.

Now, it was up to me to draw the attention of the intruders and lead them deeper into the forest in the hopes that they’d get lost or injured, all the while making sure that I was far enough away not to get caught. That would be easier than it seemed considering I’d retrieved one of my backpacks full of supplies and the men looking for me didn’t seem to be avid hunters judging by how loudly they traversed the forest.

I wasn’t a passionate outdoors person or hunter, by any means. When I’d prepared each of the backpacks I’d stashed in the woods, it wasn’t because I thought I’d ever have to use them. They were just to give myself the security of knowing that if I did end up out here ever again, I wouldn’t be without supplies. Now, every dollar I’d spent, which was a considerable amount because the things I was carrying were not cheap, was well worth it if it helped me and the girls until help found us.

One of those items was night vision goggles that I’d just strapped to my head. As I pulled them down and adjusted them over my eyes, I hit the button to power it up. The forest took on a greenish hue and became bright as day. The armory in Rojo, Protect the Queen, where some of my friends worked, had come in handy once again. Once I got settled at home, I’d have to make sure to let them know the night vision goggles were worth every penny.

I steadied my breathing and concentrated on the sounds around me, surprised to see two animals in the distance. I thought it might be the same bear I’d seen that day by the stream, but there was a wolf standing with it this time. The fact that those animals were so close to each other struck me as strange, and as I watched, they made no aggressive moves toward me or each other. Instead, the wolf tilted its head and then swung it to the side as if he was trying to urge me to go that direction.

I felt the almost overwhelming urge to follow his suggestion, so I veered off the track I’d been making to the north and headed northwest in a line parallel with the stream to my left where I could hear someone making their way through the water. Suddenly, there was a loud shout and a pained scream. Water splashed violently, and there was complete silence for a few seconds before another man called out, most likely coming to the aid of the man who had fallen into the water.

I glanced back at the wolf and saw that the bear was gone now. The wolf swung its head again, and I realized that I’d been standing still for a few minutes, so I took off, wondering if my mind had finally snapped and I’d begun to hallucinate. Even if that was the case, I couldn’t stop moving, especially now that I could hear more men calling out nearby.

Just as I reached up to strip the leaves off a low-hanging branch, giving myself a trail to follow back, I heard another man’s surprised shout and then a loud roar that reminded me of a field trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with my elementary school class years ago. That sound confirmed my first inclination; I was definitely hallucinating because there was no way in hell a tiger lived in the mountains of Colorado. That was absolutely ludicrous.

◆◆◆

DUB

Luckily, we were at the last stop on the run when Fain got the call from Sin, so we were only about thirty minutes from home if we were following the posted speed limit signs. We took the roads as fast as we could, but the winding path slowed us down considerably. It took us almost twenty minutes before we were pulling up Elizabeth’s gravel drive, ready and willing to do whatever it took to rescue her and the girls.

The place was eerily quiet when we shut off our bikes. As I dismounted and started walking toward the barn, I saw Bear bent over. I was shocked when he reached into his boot and pulled out a pistol. He lifted his other pant leg, pulled out a second gun, and handed it to Fain. Luke did the same and brought out two guns before he handed one to me along with an extra clip.

“Just in case you run into a . . .” Luke shrugged. “I was going to say bear, but you know I mean an asshole. Shoot them, and we’ll take care of the rest.”

I held the handgun down at my side and crept into the barn, not that I needed to since the sound of our engines had announced our arrival. The kennels were empty, so I walked outside to the corral and found all of the dogs except for Charlie in the play area. They were relaxed and happy to see me, but I couldn’t give them any attention right now.

I heard Sway, Fain’s nephew and one of the twins Elizabeth referred to as her godson, gasp and the other muttered a curse. I turned to find them staring down at a man who had obviously been stomped to death. A few feet away, beneath a mound of dirt, was another body, and I could tell by the size of it that it was female. I rushed across the corral with Dice beside me and knew the second I saw the blonde hair that it wasn’t Elizabeth, but fear gripped my chest when I thought it might be one of the girls.

I flipped the person over by the shoulder, dislodging the dirt that had somehow been thrown over her, and was shocked to see my mother staring up at me.

“Help me, William,” Aleta croaked. “I can’t feel my legs, and there’s something wrong with my . . . Please help me.”

“Holy shit,” Rooster whispered as he stepped up beside me. “It looks like she got run over by a semi.”

I heard a whinny in the distance and realized that she hadn’t been hit by a vehicle but stomped by a horse that would do anything to protect the woman he’d marked as his - Elizabeth.

“Please help me, William,” Aleta said with a groan.

“Where are the girls?”

“I’m going to die if I don’t get help, William. It hurts so badly . . .”

“Good. And you are going to die, either by lying there and bleeding out internally or by my hand when I get back from finding the woman I love and the girls you should have protected with your life.”

“Please, William . . .”

“When you’re down in hell preaching to the devil on behalf of your false prophet, I want you to remember this moment when the son who should love and respect you happily watched you die.”

“She’s not worth our time,” Fain said as he glanced toward the woods. “Look!”

I studied the tree line where the woods began and saw Hercules standing there. He whinnied at me but didn’t move, and Charlie’s ears perked up, but he didn’t stop pacing back and forth just at the edge of the woods.

“What are they doing?” I asked.

“They know better than to go into the forest,” Sobie said as he started jogging that way. “Come on. Uncle Fain, let’s go in and find her.”

“Fuck, man. I don’t know the first fucking thing about hunting for someone in the . . .”

“I know. Okie and Dice stay here and make sure no one comes in after us and no one fucking leaves. Take the dogs inside. They’ll know which kennel they belong in. Give them water but no food. I’ll take care of that later. And then move these fuckers out of sight so when the girls come back, they don’t . . .” I let my voice trail off as I looked around at the people on the ground. When Sway shouted and pointed at the tall grass, I realized there were two more assholes out in the field. “Holy shit.”

“That horse has been fucking busy,” Rooster said as he started running across the paddock with Sarge on his heels. Luke and Bear were checking the people on the ground, and by the time I got there, Hercules was staring Bear down like he was ready to get back to work.

“Easy, Herc. He’s friendly,” I murmured as I reached up to rub his forehead.

“Like hell,” I heard Luke mutter.

“Where’s our girl, big guy? Did you protect her?”

“Let’s go,” Bear said as he walked past Hercules toward the forest. “I feel the urge to continue his good work.”

“Charlie! MajQa' SuvwI'!” Charlie whined and looked at the trees, so I repeated myself and watched him take off toward home. “Go with him, Herc. I got this.”

Herc whinnied and then shook his head as if to answer me, so I gave him one last scratch and then rushed after Sarge, Rooster, and Trout. These men had experience in the outdoors, probably more than I had, even though they were from different areas. Sarge had spent years in the military that gave him training for such things, Rooster was born and raised in New Mexico and known to be an avid hunter, and Trout was from a small town in Wyoming where living off the land came second nature.

I’d spent my fair share of time outdoors, learning to hunt out of necessity rather than sport, and knew my way around the woods near my new home from all the time I’d spent hiking when I needed a break from the chaos that was Aleta. I knew that Luke was a veteran and Bear was the one who had taught Elizabeth about survival, so they’d be fine.

But I wanted to stay close to Fain, Sobie, and Sway. They’d been raised in this area and were confident as they entered the woods. I had a feeling they’d be the best guides available and didn’t want to lose them as they searched for Elizabeth.

We padded silently through the trees for a minute, and then Bear stopped and touched a bare branch before he looked at the ground. He made a tsk sound and pointed at the leaves at his feet and then the branch before he pointed to his eyes and then made a swirling motion toward the canopy above us. We walked further, and Fain reached up and grabbed a naked branch before he nodded and let it go.

Elizabeth had left a trail for us to follow, but one that someone who didn’t know her would probably have never noticed.

Deeper in the woods, I heard a man shout and then a loud roar. When Fain stopped walking, the rest of us did too. He slowly turned his head and stared at Sway and Sobie who were standing beside him with eyes as wide as saucers. They shrugged in unison, so much alike even though they looked completely different from one another.

“What the fuck was that?” Rooster whispered from my left.

“Was that a mountain lion?” Sarge whispered from my right. “How big is that fucking thing?”

We started walking again and found three more signs from Elizabeth before we heard another roar - this one different than the first but just as menacing.

“Bear,” Rooster said firmly and Fain nodded.

A man started screaming just as the bushes ahead of us jostled. I didn’t know if it was the wildlife or one of the men who had chased the girls into the forest, so I lifted my gun. A man stepped out into the clearing and nodded at Fain before he lifted his hands and said, “Sin sent me to help. The girls are just up ahead, and the woman is farther along but safe.”

“Why didn’t you . . .” I started to ask, but Fain turned and lifted his hand before he shook his head to stop me.

“How many are left?”

“Two,” the man said mysteriously. He paused for a second and looked around before he smiled. There was another pained scream up ahead before he said, “One.”

The man walked ahead of Fain, Sway, and Sobie but stopped beneath a huge tree that was so thick with branches and foliage that I couldn’t see the top. I thought that might be due to the darkening sky but realized it was just that thick. So thick that even though I peered up into the branches just like the man was doing, I didn’t see a thing until there was movement at the same time that I heard Laura whisper, “Dub?”

“Shit,” Sarge whispered as Luke snorted.

“The woman is a fucking genius,” Trout said quietly as he looked around. “She hid them here and drew the searchers further into the forest.”

“Can we come down?” Mary asked, her voice not much more than a whisper.

I looked over my shoulder to thank the man who had led us to the girls, but he was gone. I swiveled my head around to find him and muttered, “Where the fuck did he go?”

“Take them back and clean them up. We’ll bring Elizabeth home to you,” Sway said firmly.

I was surprised when Bear nodded in agreement before Luke said, “We’ll be waiting at the house.”

“I can help,” Sarge offered as he walked toward Fain.

“We know these woods,” Fain said as he shook his head.

“What about the bodies?” Trout asked.

There was another loud scream and then silence. Sobie laughed before he asked, “What bodies?”

I wholeheartedly trusted that the twins and Fain were Elizabeth’s best bet in coming home tonight. I wanted more than anything to find her and bring her home myself, but the girls needed me too . . . probably more than Elizabeth did right now. The woman was stronger than she gave herself credit for and had worked to overcome every fear she had on the off-chance that something like today’s events ever happened again.

Once Elizabeth and the girls were home safe, I was going to make sure that none of them ever had to worry again. I’d do that by killing every single son of a bitch who threatened my family, including my own mother if my horse hadn’t beat me to the task.

“Come on down, sweetheart,” Rooster encouraged as he held his hands up to help the girls. “You’re safe now.”

“I feel like . . . there’s something,” Sarge said hesitantly as he looked around.

“Lurk would understand,” Trout said softly, just as on edge as Sarge. “The Appalachians are full of weird shit.”

“We’re not in the Appalachians,” Luke reminded him as he watched Mary who was slowly making her way down, testing each branch before she put her full weight on it. “There are some things you shouldn’t study too hard, son.”

“There you go, sweetheart,” Rooster said as Mary’s foot finally got low enough for him to touch. He squeezed her ankle and said, “Jump, kiddo. I’ll catch you.”

Mary shook her head and looked at me. When I put my hands up, she launched herself off the limb and slammed into me with a sob.

“It’s okay, honey. I’ve got you now,” I whispered as I ran my hand over her dirty hair.

“Elizabeth made us promise that we’d only come down for you, so when that man was standing there, we didn’t make a peep,” Laura said as she jumped off the branch.

Rooster caught her, and she rushed over and threw her arms around my waist. I took one arm off of Mary and squeezed Laura to my side.

“It’s okay, girls. I’ve got you. You’re okay.”

There was another loud roar, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bear shudder before he said, “We should go now.”

“What about Elizabeth?” Mary whispered.

“I have a feeling she’s going to be just fine,” I said as I turned around to take the girls home. “She trusts those men, baby, and Elizabeth doesn’t trust many people. They’ll help her get back in one piece.”

“What about those men?” Laura asked with tears in her voice. “And Aleta?”

“They’re all gone, honey. They’ll never bother you again.”

◆◆◆

ELIZABETH

I hunkered a little deeper into the hollow tree stump I’d found and waited for the footsteps I’d heard a few seconds ago to start again. This man, whoever he was, seemed much more stealthy than the others, which terrified me.

A man who was that careful must be dangerous, but then again, all of them were chasing a woman and two young girls which didn’t exactly make them choir boys. But a man who could stalk his prey without making a sound was a true hunter, regardless if his prey was game or people. I didn’t want to be his next target.

So far, I’d managed to keep it together. However, there had been a few times when I was so close to the edge, I could see the abyss of a panic attack. Luckily, I was able to pull myself back with some deep breathing and centering exercises that I’d been practicing for years.

I was trying my hardest not to worry about the girls, but it was impossible. They’d promised to stay high up in the tree no matter what, but if they somehow got captured, they were to scream bloody murder so I would know to come back for them. Once I left them there, I made plenty of noise to draw the men who were hunting us deeper into the forest and far away from them and then fell silent again until I got to my main backpack. When I reached that hiding spot, I left the first pack there - minus the flasks of water I’d left with the girls - and exchanged it for my main pack which had much more efficient tools for protection.

So far, I hadn’t heard a peep out of the girls, but I had heard the men hunting me fall one by one. I’d ended one of them myself, or at least, I thought I may have. He managed to get within two feet of me before he realized I was hiding next to him. When he opened his mouth to call out, I used the tactical knife Bear had given me all those years ago and stabbed him in the throat, right in the soft spot that Bear had shown me worked best at not just disabling an attacker, but ending them all together.

I didn’t stay there long enough to make sure because I was positive that the other men were close by. I could hear footsteps less than twenty yards away, so I darted even deeper into the trees, making sure to mark my path just like Bear had taught me.

The sounds of the forest were different than I’d ever heard them - much more active with wildlife rather than the serene sounds I was used to. There were several animals out there stalking the two-legged beasts who were hunting me, and I welcomed their help. Every time I heard a man scream out in shock or pain, I chalked one up for the home team and had to resist doing an end zone dance like an NFL player.

I couldn’t help but smile at the image that gave me because right now, I looked more like the swamp thing than a human. I had a feeling my hiding spot was compromised since the man who had been so close by hadn’t gone away yet.

Suddenly, I heard him clear his throat, and then a familiar voice said, “Thanks, Aksel. We owe you one.”

“No. You don't,” the man answered.

I was shocked to hear a woman’s voice say, “We’ll call and tell everyone that you’ve found her and the girls so they can quit worrying.”

“Thank you, Stassi.”

I knew that voice! It was Sway!

But was it? Was I imagining things? I took a deep breath in through my nose and slowly let it out, calming my heart rate in the hopes that whatever hallucination I might be having would go away. That had happened to me once before when Troy was hunting for me. I was so weak that I could barely walk, but I’d managed to get quite a distance from the cabin only to fall down a ravine and hit my head. When I came to, I heard my grandmother calling for me. I answered her, but she didn’t call out again so I kept calling her name. That was how Troy found me. I shuddered at the recollection of how he’d punished me for trying to escape.

I was jerked out of my memories by Sobie’s calm voice when he said, “Beth, you can come out now. It’s safe.”

“Don’t get too close, son. She might not . . .”

“Sobie? Fain?” I asked softly, praying that I wasn’t hallucinating and giving myself away for no reason.

“Come on, honey. Crawl out of there, and give these boys a hug,” Fain ordered.

“How do I know you’re real?” I whispered.

“I’m coming in, Beth,” Sobie said just before the goggles I’d put on earlier showed the young man who looked so much like me crouched down in front of the log. As he slowly put his hand out toward me, he said, “It’s me. I promise.”

I extended my arm and touched my fingertips to his and then burst into tears before I grabbed his hand. He pulled me out of my hiding place and then fell backwards when I launched myself at him, happily wrapping my arms around his neck as I sobbed with relief. I felt his arms around me and then someone else running their hand over my hair before Sway said, “It’s okay now. Everything’s okay.”

“How did you find me? The girls . . .”

“Dub has them now,” Fain assured me. “They’re fine.”

“And the men who were looking for us? There are three back at the house. And Aleta. She’s . . .”

“She didn’t make it,” Fain assured me. “Neither did those men. Considering the amount of blood on your dog’s muzzle and the blood splatter on that huge fucking horse, they took care of business.”

“I have to go to them. Charlie . . . the girls,” I sputtered through my tears. “Oh my God. I made it! This time I made it!”