Snowbound Amish Survival, page 6
“Denki,” he murmured when she looked into his eyes.
Hunter cut the scarf into two equal pieces. He handed Hope one half and advanced toward the injured man with the other. As soon as the man figured out Hunter’s intentions, he began screaming at the top of his lungs.
The second man joined in. Hunter worked fast to secure the scarf. As he turned to silence the second man, Hope beat him to it.
While the two continued their muffled protests, the sounds of the vehicle grew closer. Doubts chewed at Hunter’s brain. If they came down the alley behind the shops, would they see his and Hope’s attempt to cover the car’s tracks? As much as he wanted to believe they’d done a sufficient job, he wasn’t convinced enough to put his life on it.
FIVE
They would be an easy target. Hope’s mind went to work on ways to escape should those dangerous men venture this way.
She didn’t want to share her fears with her daed. He had been through so much already. Hope went over to Hunter, who stood by the window trying to get a glimpse of what was happening, and told him her concerns.
He glanced past her to where the others stood watching the men. “You’re right. If these two called their partners and told them about the barn, then they’ll look inside.”
Almost as if on cue, one of the cell phones inside the car began ringing. Hunter shot her a look before he hurried to the car and grabbed the phone. The call ended. The second phone rang. Cell service was apparently working.
Hunter turned both phones off and came back to where she stood. “I don’t like it. Who knows what ways they have to find their missing people?”
Chill bumps that had nothing to do with the cold peppered her arms. Unfortunately, there was only one option. The two double doors in front of the barn were the only way to get the car out. “I have an idea.” She told him they should get everyone into the car and unlock the two doors. If the rest of the men reached the barn, they could drive the car through the unlocked doors and get away. Hunter had backed the car inside, which would give them an advantage.
“But they will come after us. The car has snow chains on it, but I’m guessing the other vehicle is equally equipped. We need a way to disable their transportation. It will give us a head start at least.”
She frowned as she watched him. “But how?”
“I have a way, but it will require you driving the car. Can you do it?”
Her stomach tightened. Once she’d helped her daed with the tractor. But that was only briefly, and this was life and death.
“I am not sure,” she said honestly.
“Komm, I will give you a quick lesson. It isn’t hard. This is an automatic transmission.”
Hunter opened the door on the driver’s side. “You see that thin narrow pedal?” He pointed to the floor.
She saw the one he indicated. “Jah, I do.”
“That’s the gas pedal. You use it to go. The one beside it is the brake, for stopping. To go forward, you make sure the car is in Drive. To do that, you pull the gearshift down to the D. The R is for Reverse and the P is for Park.” He indicated the gear shifter. “It’s that simple.”
She wasn’t nearly as sure. “What do you have in mind?” Hope had a feeling she wasn’t going to like it.
“If the vehicle comes this way, I will slip around behind the barn. I’m hoping they’ll search all the buildings starting with my family’s storage space next door. If so, it will give me time to grab the keys and disarm the battery cables when they go inside.”
“You know how to do that?” she asked with a shocked look on her face.
Hunter smiled. “Jah. I picked up a few things while working on our old tractor. Anyway, as soon as I’m done, I’ll jerk the two doors open and hop into the car. We won’t have long to get away.”
If they stopped at the storage building at all.
“What if they see you?” She wouldn’t leave him behind.
“If they spot me, I’ll head around to the front of the businesses near the bakery. Get out of here as fast as you can. You can pick me up there.”
It was a daring attempt and one that might end in Hunter losing his life.
“It is too risky. Perhaps if we leave now.”
He shook his head. “They will see and follow us.” He kept his attention on her eyes. “Hope, we have to try.”
She stared at his handsome face and wondered if he was speaking of more than just their escape. But how could they try when they’d burned their chance at happiness to the ground?
She slowly nodded and whispered, “We have to try.”
He squeezed her shoulder, his smile a knife to her heart. “Gut.”
They returned to the window. Hunter cracked the door and listened. “It sounds as if they are close to the phone shanty.”
“I’d better go. Get everyone into the car.”
She grabbed for his arm when he would have left. Hunter stared down at her hand and then to her.
“Be careful, Hunter. These men won’t think twice about hurting you.”
His jaw tightened and he nodded before slipping from the barn.
“Everyone, get into the car.” She told the people she cared about what was planned.
Conrad escorted Naomi and Hope’s daed into the back seat.
Hope climbed behind the wheel and struggled to pull enough air into her lungs. She was so afraid. For Hunter. For them. For Penny. What if the men had already found Penny? She could be dead. They wouldn’t want to leave any witnesses behind. She and Naomi and Conrad. Her daed. Hunter. They’d seen the faces of the two men inside, plus a third who was injured. Conrad could probably identify more.
Hope glanced back at the others, who watched her with fearful eyes. It was up to her to get everyone out of the barn and away before those men figured out Hunter had disarmed their vehicle. When that happened, they’d come out shooting.
* * *
Hunter slipped around the side of his family’s storage building. The vehicle was turning toward the alley. He opened the door and left it standing ajar. Coming from the direction they were, he was certain their headlights would pick up the open door.
The vehicle made the turn. He slipped along the side and around back, then hurried down the space between his family’s building and the barn.
Car doors slammed closed.
“Someone’s been here. Our people told us they were coming to the place where the phone is near those businesses. Let’s check inside.”
Hunter peeked around the edge of the storage building. It wouldn’t take them long to search the space. He left his protection and moved to the large SUV. A glance inside showed the keys were still in place. Clasping the door handle, he slowly opened it. The SUV’s door squeaked and he froze, looking back toward the noise. When no one came running out, he grabbed the keys and released the hood.
As he moved to the front, he stopped. Voices inside sounded far too close. They’d finished their search. Hunter raised the hood and disconnected the battery cables.
They were coming out. He ran to the barn where Hope and the others waited. Hunter threw the doors open and jumped into the passenger seat.
“Go, Hope. Now.”
She shoved the gear into Drive and hit the gas pedal. The car spun its tires, then flew from the barn. Hope grabbed hold of the steering wheel and jerked the car to the left without slowing down.
From his side mirror, Hunter spotted the men running after them with weapons in their hands.
“Get down, everyone.” Just as the words cleared his lips, they were followed by rapid gunshots. The back window was hit. The glass shattered but held in place. More shots took out both side mirrors. Somehow, the shooters missed hitting the tires.
“Don’t stop,” he warned as Hope ducked and tried to keep the car in the alley.
She kept the pedal down and fought the conditions as they continued. Soon, the shower of bullets could no longer reach them and he breathed out a huge sigh.
“Is anyone hurt?” he asked the people in the back seat.
Conrad looked his wife over to make sure she wasn’t, and Abe shook his head. “We are all fine.”
“Did you get the keys?” Hope’s voice was shaking. She and the others had gone through things that would break most people.
“I did, and I disabled the battery. They won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.” Still, he couldn’t help but believe the men would find a way to come after them. “Do you want to keep driving?”
She immediately shook her head. “I was so sure I would wreck us just getting out of the barn.”
Hunter smiled despite the harrowing experience. They’d left the community shops behind. Hope gripped the steering wheel so tight, her knuckles turned white.
“Pull over the first chance and I will take over.” His mind worked through the details of the route that lay ahead of them. There would be little chance of forgiveness for mistakes on the road to the bridge. One false move and they could die.
“Gladly,” she said and didn’t waste time stopping. Hope put the vehicle in Park and got out. They swapped seats in a matter of seconds and then were on their way.
Hope rolled the window down to look behind. “I don’t see anyone. Still...” She shared his doubts. She raised the window and settled into her seat. “Do you think they’ll get the SUV running again?”
He believed those men were resourceful, and none of them had bothered to disguise their faces.
“Probably.” He peeked her way. “I don’t think they’ll give up and leave. They came here looking for Penny and have gone to great measures to find her.”
The worry grooves between her brows deepened. “That isn’t what I wanted to hear.” She shook her head. “I keep thinking about Penny. If they find her...” She didn’t finish, but he’d thought the same thing. Penny’s life was in jeopardy.
Through the driving snow, something materialized ahead of them almost too soon to stop in time. Hunter braked hard, throwing everyone forward. Thankfully, they were all wearing seat belts. The car shuddered to a stop. Hunter leaned forward and focused on the object in the road with a sinking feeling. A huge bur oak had given way under the weight of the snow and ice. The road leading to Eagle’s Nest—to freedom—was blocked.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He shoved the door open and braved the storm because there had to be a way to get around it. If he could shove the tree from the road enough to make it through, they’d be okay.
Conrad got out and followed him to the massive oak. The road was completely blocked. There was no way they could move such a heavy object, and no getting around it on either side. They were trapped. It was just them against some very bad men he was positive they hadn’t seen the last of.
“Without a chain saw or an ax, that tree isn’t going anywhere.” Conrad confirmed his thoughts.
Hunter glanced around the frozen landscape. “Let’s get back to the car. We need to keep moving.”
Once inside, Hunter dusted snow and sleet from his coat.
“It’s too big to move, isn’t it?” Hope asked.
The sinking feeling settling into the pit of his stomach continued to grow. There would be no reaching the sheriff on their own and he had no way to move the tree.
He shifted in his seat. “It weighs too much, and we have nothing to use to cut it up.”
She searched his face, obviously counting on him to find a way to save them, and he couldn’t let her down.
“What do we do now, Hunter? We can’t keep driving around. Eventually they will discover a way to start their vehicle. They’ll find us.”
Not to mention the car had a little over a quarter of a tank of gas. Under normal conditions, it would make it to Eagle’s Nest without a problem. But these weren’t normal conditions, and Hope was right. They couldn’t keep driving around without a plan.
There was only one option that came to mind—his bruder Mason.
Mason was a former US Marshal who had returned to the Amish faith. Hunter, Mason, their bruder Fletcher and gut friend Ethan Connors assisted the sheriff and the county’s search and rescue teams in finding those who went missing up in the mountains. Because of the work the Amish brothers did for the community and the county, Mason had been allowed to own a satellite phone and other emergency equipment, including a four-wheel-drive vehicle. He’d know what to do.
“There’s only one option. Mason.”
He waited for the response he expected, and it came quickly. “But that’s on the other side of the mountains.”
To reach Mason’s farm, they would have to traverse a pass over rugged mountains that separated most of the rest of the West Kootenai community from the few farms on the other side. The road that crossed the mountains was narrow and not well maintained normally. He couldn’t imagine what it would look like under these conditions.
“Jah, and it won’t be easy.” He glanced back at the people hanging on every word of their discussion. “But we have snow tires, so that’s something. We can’t give up.”
When no answer came, Hunter put the car in gear and slowly forced it around on the road. The best way to reach the mountain pass was the main road leading into the community. With armed men looking for them, that was no longer an option.
Hunter worked through their options in his head. Some of the less traveled roads around the community were fine in good conditions but in this weather, he wasn’t sure they’d make it.
“If we take the road right before the shops, we can connect with the mountain road after a little ways,” Hope offered as if sensing his dilemma.
He’d considered it. The road was narrow and mostly used by the Amish buggies around the community.
“I know it’s not ideal,” she said when he didn’t answer.
But it was their only real option. “It’ll be fine.” Still, he didn’t feel very confident.
As they neared the shops, Hunter leaned forward and tried to peer through the blanket of white surrounding the car, but it was almost impossible. Had the SUV moved? They could be close. In these conditions, he wouldn’t know it until it was too late.
SIX
The headlights penetrated the onslaught of snow just enough to see the road.
“Are those fresh tire tracks?” Hope studied the limited visual in front of her.
Hunter did the same. “They are.”
“Those can’t be ours. The blowing snow would have hidden them by now.” The other option was terrifying.
“Let’s get off this road.” Hunter slowly turned the car onto the less traveled lane that would eventually connect to the mountain road.
The tracks were alarming. It meant the men who had been after them had found a way to get their SUV running again. Hunter told her he had the keys and he’d disconnected the battery. How had they managed to start the SUV without the keys?
Outside, the snow tires dug into the thick drifts but held the road. Hunter did his best to keep them moving forward at a safe speed. He periodically rolled the window down to check behind. Though the tire tracks had been ahead of them, Hope hadn’t seen any further activity of someone driving down this road.
With no direct threat in sight, Hope went over every single conversation she’d had with Penny. Nothing in them gave any indication why armed men would be coming after her so relentlessly.
“What are we missing?” she asked under her breath. She looked over at Hunter. “There was nothing in my visits with Penny that made me think she was anything but a sweet young woman put in a difficult situation of having to raise her sohn alone.”
“She never told you anything more about her husband?” he asked curiously, then gripped the wheel tight when the car hit a slick patch of ice.
Hope braced against the armrest while Hunter fought to keep the car on the road.
“Penny didn’t say much about her husband’s absence,” she said once the car was under control. “Only that he was no longer in the picture.”
“Maybe he passed away,” Naomi reasoned.
Hope frowned and glanced back at her friend. “I guess it’s possible.”
“Or it could mean anything,” Conrad said and drew his wife close. “Did she say where she came from originally?”
Hope ran through their conversations in her head. “No, but I did see some grocery bags from a store in Eagle’s Nest.” That didn’t necessarily mean Penny lived in Eagle’s Nest. She might have stopped at the store to buy food on her way here. Hope looked to her father, who was staring out the window. “Daed, do you remember her saying where she lived?” Her father shook his head.
“Where is this house she’s staying in?” Hunter asked with his full attention on the road.
Hope gave him the location.
He nodded. “I know the place. That farm isn’t too far from Mason’s home. It’s been vacant for a number of years, though. At one time, there was an older Englischer couple living there. I think he passed away.”
She remembered. “You’re right. Several years back. I wonder what happened to the wife. I believe she lived there for a while by herself and then she was gone.” Hope didn’t believe she’d passed away—the news would have reached the community. “Maybe she moved? If so, how did Penny end up at the house?”
“She could be related to the former occupants,” Hunter suggested.
She hadn’t thought about it. “I guess it’s possible, though she never mentioned having any ties to the area.” Hope realized there were a lot of things Penny hadn’t shared.
“Whatever her involvement is with these men, we can’t leave a young mother and child alone with armed men looking for them.”
He was right. They had to do everything possible to get to Penny before those bad men did.
Hope’s thoughts flew over the details of the evening. When she’d awakened that Sunday morning, her thoughts were all about attending the biweekly service. It was one of the things that helped keep her grounded. The message given by the bishop had spoken of finding Gott’s purpose through every event in life. What was Gott’s purpose in this?
