58. Cole

After handing Arianna off to Leila to check into a drug rehab center, I took a helicopter back to Bison Ridge. I told the pilot to land on Montana”s father’s ranch. He ran out to meet me. He was out of his mind with worry. He couldn’t reach Montana, and after checking my house to find the bloody, violent mess that it was left in, he was able to piece together that his daughter was in terrible danger.

But the second he saw me running towards him he grabbed me and nearly knocked the lights out of me. I didn’t have any time to explain but told him that my daughter too was with Montana and that rather than attack each other, we needed to find a way to save them both. He calmed down then and managed to take a seat.

”There’s been no word from them,” I told him. ”But I think they have escaped. There was talk about an accident right at the entrance to Bison Ridge. I saw the commotion on my way here, but the police didn’t seem to have found anything.”

Her father looked down, and it was as though something had occurred to him. ”There was an accident at the entrance to the town?”

”Yes,” he said, and then he hurriedly got his phone. ”I’ll make a call to the sheriff and get all the information.”

He waited. “What kind of car is it?” he asked.

“An old Volvo?” He looked at me with wild eyes. “That”s Montana”s car!”

”Yes, it is!”

”What?” he said into the phone. Then he looked at me and repeated what he’d heard from the person on the phone. “She crashed straight into a tree, and so far, two bodies have been found. A man who was crushed to death on the windscreen and another who was flung out of the back seat. He flew through the crushed windscreen and landed a few feet.”

He ended the call. ”She did it on purpose. There’s a bunker in that area of the woods. It”s a bit far away, but she would have been able to make it on foot. To get to it, you have to go through an underground cave that is extremely well-hidden. Maybe that”s where she went with your daughter.”

There was no further need to speculate. Instantly, we got into his car. We did not speak, both of us were out of mind with worry. I had my weapon in hand however, he didn’t have one. He looked at it suspiciously as he got ready, then asked, ”Will we need that?”

”I don’t know, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry,” I replied. ”The men tried to take her. If they are not already dead, they will be loitering around trying to find her, so we have to be careful.”

”Alright,” he said, and we drove faster.

Soon, we arrived at the location, and after confirming that the girls weren’t there, we began the hike toward the bunker. It took him a little while to find it, but just as we did, we waited in the corner and began to call out to them.

It was a very small building, almost completely hidden away from sight. Unless you were actively looking for it, it would be very difficult to stumble into. But there it was, and eventually, we heard a little creak. I felt her before I even saw her, and my heart nearly stopped. I put my hand out to stop her father, but he was so happy to see his daughter that he rushed for the house. He had hardly taken a few steps before a shot rang out of nowhere.

Montana screamed, and so did my little girl, but I managed to stay calm as the men showed themselves. I watched as they headed to the house while Montana hurried back inside, and slowly and quietly, I followed. The first man went down without ever seeing me coming, and by the time the second one turned around and drew out his gun, I sent a second bullet straight to his head.

Both girls were huddling in fear. I wanted nothing more than to go to them, but I couldn’t. I needed to get Montana”s father to a hospital and there was no reception here, but I knew the sheriff was on his way, as we had agreed. After checking him, I tore off my shirt and handed it over to Montana, and then she hurried over to stay by her father”s side.

”It”s a clean wound,” I told her, but realized I was so choked up with emotion and nervous tension I could barely speak. Eventually, I took a moment to calm myself down because this wasn’t over yet. Her father needed to be okay; otherwise, this would be a monumental disaster. His face was pale and his breathing was shallow.

”He’ll be fine. I’ll go get help. Just press down on the wound, don”t move him.” Montana nodded in response. Her face was full of bruises, her hair plastered to her forehead in sweat, and there were cuts on her hands, but otherwise, she was all right.

”Dad!” Anya screamed.

“Be brave and wait for me,” I said because I couldn’t focus on her right now. I needed all of the strength I had to get help in time. I started the trek back and halfway through I saw the sheriff and the paramedics we had sent for. Together we raced back to the bunker. Montana”s father was still alive, but he was losing consciousness fast; the medics worked quickly. In record time he was lifted and sent to the ambulance. Montana got in with him, but I didn’t.

”I’ll be behind you all,” I told her, and they hurried away.

I turned then to look at my daughter, and in that moment, it was as though the world had stopped. I collapsed down to the ground, and she hurried towards me, sobbing uncontrollably. I caught her in an embrace, pulling her into my arms, and we stayed that way for the longest time. I could see that she was only superficially injured but I gave her body a thorough check up. Seeing that she wasn’t hurt or harmed, I held her tightly to me.

I was unable to let go for ages.

Eventually, my strength began to come back once again, and I felt my heart beating in my chest. It was a strange feeling because for the past several hours, it had felt as though it had completely stopped. I pulled away and looked into her eyes then, and all I could do was apologize.

”I”m so sorry, sweetheart. I am so sorry,” I said.

“What about Mommy?” she asked.

“She’s going to be okay,” I said with a smile.

“Really?”

“Yes. Soon you might be able to visit her.”

My daughter’s face broke into a big grin. “Daddy. She’s never going to come live with us again, is she?”

“No, honey. Your Mommy and I are not meant to be together.”

She thought for a while. “What about Miss Moore? Are you meant to be together?”

“Would you like that? Would you like Miss Moore to come live with us?”

She nodded. “Yeah, she’s nice. And brave. She was very brave today, Daddy. Mommy’s scared of creepy crawlies and snakes and rats. Miss Moore is scared of nothing.”

I laughed, and suddenly out of the blue, I remembered something Anya had told me about her nightmares. In them, her mother was lying on a black bed and she was very still. That was indeed how I found Arianna. She was lying on a black bed and she was so still and pale she could have been dead. I wondered if somehow, on some psychic, subconscious level Arianna had connected with her mother and seen and felt the danger she was in.

I hugged my daughter once again and swore to myself that I would never, ever, put her or anyone else in danger ever again.