Chapter 8

Jenna woke to the sound of Tauri’s voice. She blinked, not realizing that she had fallen asleep. “Good morning, sweetheart.” She gathered up the little boy and kissed his cheeks. “You’re up early.”

“Where’s Daddy?” Tauri climbed onto the bed and frowned. “I can’t find him and when I asked Duke, he just went and sat in his basket.”

Jenna sat up and smiled at him. “You know he likes to ride his motorcycle on Saturdays if we’re not working. He’ll be back soon.” She glanced at the bedside clock and blinked. It was five after eight. “Oh, it’s later than I thought. Why don’t you go and get dressed. I’ll take a shower, and if Daddy’s not back, I’ll cook your breakfast.”

When Tauri scampered off, Jenna frowned. Kane had been gone for two hours. He never stayed out that long. Calling him would be a waste of time because he’d never hear the phone on his motorcycle. She took a quick shower and dressed. Not wanting to show her anxiety to Tauri, she made eggs and toast for both of them. She ate her meal and smiled at Tauri. “He might be in the garage working on his Indian. You finish your breakfast and I’ll go see.”

Dragging on her coat, she hurried outside and made her way to the garage. The door was locked, but she opened it using her palm print. Everything was as it should be. The Beast sat where he’d left it the night before and his project motorcycle hadn’t been touched. Fear had her by the throat. What had happened to him? It was so unlikely he’d been in a wreck. He drove fast but was very experienced and wouldn’t risk his life doing anything stupid. She glanced around the yard. Frost still glistened on the grass. Maybe he’d hit a patch of ice. She needed to go and look for him. He always took the same route. If something had happened, she’d find him. She looked at the Beast and her stomach cramped. Her cruiser was parked outside the sheriff’s office. She’d have no choice but to take the tricked-out truck. The power of the Beast unnerved her. She couldn’t do much to damage it, but as it was Kane’s pride and joy, she rarely got behind the wheel. The truck was programmed with fail-safes and recognized her tracker ring, so she wouldn’t need a key. She opened the door and climbed behind the wheel. The roar as she started the engine deafened her and, watching the camera array, she backed out of the garage and drove to the front door. Leaving the engine running, she ran up the front steps and back into the house.

Keeping a happy expression on her face, she waited for Tauri to finish his milk and then placed the plates into the dishwasher. “Let me get you bundled up and we’ll go and see if we can find Daddy. Maybe his Harley has a flat tire and he’s pushing it home.”

“Okay.” Tauri scampered off and she followed him into his bedroom. “If he’s lost, Atohi will be able to find him.”

Tauri was mentioning their good friend Atohi Blackhawk, a Native American tracker they’d known for a long time. He’d been Tauri’s guardian prior to his adoption. Jenna smiled. “I’m sure he will but let’s hope Daddy isn’t lost. He knows his way around these parts. I’m sure he’s fine.” She helped Tauri into his coat and hat, pushed on his mittens, and took his hand and led him to the front door. “The Beast is outside. Wait there for a second. Come on, Duke.” She put on Duke’s coat, set the security, and hurried to the Beast.

Nerves in tatters, she aimed the truck along the driveway and headed along the glistening blacktop. She drove slowly, searching the sides of the road for any sign of Kane. “Look for Daddy. Tell me if you see him or his motorcycle in the grass.”

“Okay.” Tauri looked at Duke. “Bark if you see my daddy.”

Fear mounting for Kane’s safety, she turned the corner into the straightaway that went through a wooded area. This part of the road went along behind the ranches and at the end circled back to her ranch. The sunlight barely broke through the canopy of trees but by the time she’d driven halfway, a glint in the trees caught her attention. She pulled the Beast to the side of the road. “Stay here.”

Jumping out, her heart missed a beat. The Harley lay on its side, and pieces had sheared off as it hit the trees, but it didn’t seem to have been in a wreck. Both wheels looked fine. She looked around. “Dave, are you out here? Dave?”

Nothing.

From this point he could have walked through the trees and made it to the snowplow guy’s ranch in ten minutes, unless he’d broken his leg. She bit hard on her bottom lip. If he was hurt, he’d have called her, but if he was injured and lying in the forest, his phone might be broken. She pulled out her phone and used it to locate the tracker in the belt she’d given him for Christmas. Only she and Wolfe knew of its existence. She gaped at the phone. There was no signal. She ran back along the road, searching each side for any sign of him. “Dave, Dave, call out. Wave. Do something. Dave.”

Nothing.

Panic gripped her. She called Wolfe. “Shane, Dave’s missing. There’s no signal on his tracker. I found his Harley smashed on the side of the road near our ranch.”

“Call the hospital. If anyone was involved, they’d have called the paramedics.” Wolfe sucked in a deep breath. “Track his phone. I’m on my way.”

After calling the hospital without luck and finding no response to the locator she had on her phone, Jenna went back to the Beast. Think. Knowing Kane, he’d have been riding fast. If he’d swerved to miss an animal, there would be evidence where the Harley left the blacktop. If he’d been knocked from the motorcycle, it could have traveled some ways on its own before coming to rest where she found it. She walked back to the Harley and searched all around. The soil was moist and impact marks where the vehicle had slid sideways were evident. Although she found no signs of footprints or marks to indicate Kane was riding the Harley when it hit the trees. Fear mounting for Kane’s safety, she walked slowly following the tire marks back to the blacktop, stopped and called again.

Nothing.

Refusing to fall to pieces in front of Tauri, she called Blackhawk. Whatever happened here, she needed expert eyes to scan the area. After explaining, she heaved a sigh of relief to discover Blackhawk was close by on the edge of town. “I’ll wait here for you and keep searching.”

“I’m on my way. Tell Duke to search for him, Jenna. He’ll find him if he’s there.” Blackhawk blew out a long sigh. “Dave is very resourceful, if he can walk, he’ll be heading home. Do you have spare phones at home?”

Cold blasted through Jenna’s clothes, sending chills over her flesh, but she kept walking along the blacktop, searching each side as she talked. “Yeah, satellite phones and spares. If he’s there, he’ll call. He’ll know I’ve taken the Beast to go look for him.” She turned and ran back to the Beast to get Duke. Not wanting to leave Tauri alone, she’d left Duke with him. “I’ll go and get Duke. He’s with Tauri in the truck.”

“I’m turning off the highway now. I’ll see you very soon.” Blackhawk disconnected.

Jenna unclipped Duke’s harness and helped him down from the truck. She looked at Tauri. “We need to hunt for Daddy in case he’s hurt.” She unclipped Tauri from his car seat and lifted him down. Taking him with her might be a problem if something bad had happened to Kane. She took his hand and, pulling Kane’s woolen cap from between the front seats, held it out to Duke. “Seek, Duke. Where’s Dave?”

Duke moved along the highway, crossing from one side to the other with his nose to the ground and tail out straight like a rudder. They’d walked at least fifty yards before Duke barked and turned in circles looking at her. She picked up Tauri and ran to the dog. Heart racing, she stared all around. Setting Tauri on his feet, she smiled at him. “Stand here on the grass and don’t move. Uncle Shane and Atohi will be along soon, and I don’t want you on the road, okay?”

“I’ll wait right here.” Tauri stepped away from the road and stood with one hand resting on the trunk of a tree.

Trembling, Jenna patted Duke and held Kane’s hat in front of his nose again. “Show me.”

Duke moved off slowly, nose to the ground. He walked another ten yards and barked. Jenna ran to him and searched the blacktop. Panic gripped her at the sight of blood. The next moment, Duke walked off again heading for the trees. Keeping close behind him, Jenna noticed the crushed vegetation and then to her horror, Kane’s helmet in the bushes. One side was dented and her stomach cramped. Frantic, she turned searching all around. “Duke, seek. Where is he?” She cupped her mouth, “Dave, Dave where are you?”

Nothing.

When Duke walked back to the road, barked, and sat down, everything fell horribly into place. She swallowed hard and pushed her trembling fingers into her pockets. This had the markings of a setup. The only way to take down Kane would be to render him unconscious. He never left the house unarmed and she’d seen him take down six men with his bare hands. Teeth chattering, she pulled out her phone and called Wolfe. “This looks like a setup. Dave’s been kidnapped.”

“No one could take him alive, Jenna.”Wolfe sounded serious. “He must be around somewhere. Have you tracked him with Duke?”

Shivering as the cold seeped into her clothes, she nodded. “Yeah, Duke tracked him. We found his helmet, but he just vanishes in the middle of the road. His helmet is damaged, Shane, and there’s blood on the blacktop. He must be hurt bad.” She sucked in a deep, freezing breath. “He’s gone.”