Kidnapped in Montana, page 2
Ryan peered down at the scene below. If he wanted answers, he needed to catch Victoria and take her in.
Victoria traveled across the hillside as the other ATV gained on her. She appeared to be headed toward the trees that surrounded the open area where her destroyed campsite was.
The other ATV rider stopped and pulled a gun.
No. He wasn’t about to watch her die.
Half running and half limping, he pulled his own gun and fired a shot in the direction of the ATV rider. The bullet pinged off something. The shot had been wild but was enough to draw the helmeted rider’s attention away from Victoria for a second.
The guy aimed his gun at Ryan, who dropped to the ground.
The distraction had allowed Victoria to put some distance between herself and her pursuer. But his desire to protect her may have cost him the chance to take her in. He watched her disappear into the trees.
Though he had no idea who the Dave person she’d mentioned was, it was clear she was frightened of him.
The other rider returned to his ATV and headed in the direction Victoria had gone.
Ryan stumbled toward his own four-wheeler, which looked to be mired in the mud. As best as he could remember the crash, the ATV had rolled but ended up on the wheels. He swung is leg over the seat, said a quick prayer that it would start and turned the key in the ignition.
The motor made a grinding noise and then flared to life. He took in a breath and rolled down the hill back toward the trail. The other rider had just disappeared into the trees. Ryan followed, his ankle still hurting.
The overcast sky and canopy of trees made it seem like night instead of afternoon. The trail narrowed and then split off. He couldn’t see either of the riders, though he could hear a mechanical hum that seemed to fade and then intensify. It was hard to tell where the sound was coming from as it echoed through the forest.
The cover of the trees kept the trail from getting too muddy, but there were no clear tracks to follow. He made a choice where the road forked, turned and kept going. His headlights cut a cone of light. After not seeing or hearing anything for at least five minutes, he stopped and turned the engine off.
A faint yipping noise reached his ears. A dog emerged from behind some brush. The animal had the same coloring as Victoria’s dog, Liz. Three black legs and one white salt-and-pepper front leg. A white stripe divided Liz’s face in half. Victoria had spoken very little about her family or her past. Only that her mother and father had bred border collies and that Liz was one of the last in the line.
Ryan flipped up his visor and called the dog’s name. She came running to him tail wagging.
“Hey, remember me?”
He reached down and lifted the dog. The animal, wet and shivering, nuzzled close to him.
“You’re kind of out of your element, aren’t you? Used to a lot more pampering.”
Grateful that Liz was on the small side, he unzipped his coat and put the sides of it around her to keep her warm.
He found a wide place to turn around and returned to where the trail had split. He hadn’t heard the other ATVs since he’d found the dog.
He rumbled down the trail as it became more twisty, not seeing or hearing anything that would indicate he was headed in the right direction.
He wondered if the helmeted rider was somehow connected to the people Victoria had taken the smuggled diamonds from...if she had taken them. The guy had clearly been searching for something in the camp.
The man had a gun. Would he simply kill Victoria for revenge or keep her alive long enough to find out where the jewels were? Maybe kidnap her so she could lead him to the stones.
In any case, he couldn’t let that man get close to Victoria. He had to keep looking for her. Hopefully, he could find her before any harm came to her.
* * *
Catherine brought the ATV to a stop behind some brush and turned off the headlights. She had one advantage over the two men who were after her. She’d been up here long enough to easily navigate the labyrinth of trails, paths and open country that wove through this mountain.
She and Betty had been hired to track the migration patterns of the animals that lived in this area, the bear, the mountain lion and the wolf. If they could show that this was prime habitat for any of those animals, it would affect the choices the landowner made for development. The job meant she had been up here for months, retreating back to civilization only to get supplies. The forest service loaned her a cabin not too far from town where she could shower and regroup when needed.
Because of her knowledge of the landscape, she was confident she could dodge the two men on ATVs in the short term. What she was more worried about was finding the dogs. How deep into the forest had their fear driven them?
Betty would at some point return to the camp. She only hoped that Liz would tag along. Fearing the noise of the ATV would give her away, she opted instead to slip off the trail and work her way back to the camp on foot.
The two men had guns and that gave her pause. If she could find the dogs and get them loaded up before she was spotted, she’d be able to escape. There was more than one way off this mountain, and she was familiar with most of them.
She stepped through some brush and trees, her hiking boots padding lightly. Every rock and fallen log functioned like a signpost to her. It was easy enough to navigate through the forest to where she needed to be. She came to the edge of the trees and found a spot where she had a view of the camp. The sight of her destroyed camp tied her stomach in knots.
Behind her, she could hear an ATV, though it sounded far away. She kneeled down where the brush provided a nice hiding spot. After waiting about twenty minutes, Betty made an appearance, sniffing the overturned supplies and the torn tent. Catherine’s spirits lifted at the sight of her dog.
Good girl.
Catherine glanced around. No sign of Liz.
One of the ATVs was getting louder and closer.
She whistled and Betty raised her head. “That’s my girl,” she whispered.
Betty rushed toward where Catherine was hidden. The dog leapt into Catherine’s lap and licked her face. She drew the dog close. “You had a little scare, my friend. So glad you’re safe.”
She stroked the dog’s muzzle and torso as the rumble of the ATV engine intensified. He was getting close.
“We gotta be quiet.” She petted the dog’s ear.
The vehicle lumbered by maybe ten feet from where she and Betty were hidden. Knowing the dog would give a warning bark out of habit, she wrapped her hand gently around Betty’s muzzle.
She could feel the warmth of Betty’s body against her chest. The dog seemed to instinctually know to be still.
It was a good ten minutes before the noise faded enough for her to feel like she could move. She rose to her feet. “Come on, girl. Let’s go find your sister.”
Betty followed her to where she’d stashed the ATV, which had a platform on the tailgate with metal sides, creating a sort of basket with a door, designed for Betty to travel in. Betty jumped up into her place and Catherine started up the ATV, got it turned around and headed toward the camp.
Her intent was to pick up a few supplies and hope that Liz would show up. Otherwise, she’d have to search for the other dog while avoiding the two ATV riders. Betty was trained to respond to different hand signals, commands and even a whistle. Catherine had no idea what commands Liz had been trained to respond to. The dog came when her name was called, but shouting might attract the wrong kind of attention. Betty waited in her carrier while Catherine quickly loaded some food, utensils and supplies to make a fire. She grabbed a canteen filled with water and placed the items in the saddle bags on the ATV, giving Betty’s head a quick pet.
The hum of an ATV told her she could no longer be in the open. She had just reached her ATV when the man in the helmet emerged through the trees headed straight toward her.
She hurried to get settled on the ATV as the man idled and reached inside his jacket. She turned the key in the ignition.
The helmeted rider lifted his hand from inside his jacket without pulling the gun, knowing he was too far to get an accurate shot. He drove the ATV closer to her just as she rumbled toward the trees.
The second rider, the man with the blue eyes, emerged from the forest.
Catherine did a double take. Liz was sitting on the front of the seat nestled in the rider’s unzipped jacket. Why would the dog trust a stranger?
After the blue-eyed rider lifted his leather jacket and Liz jumped from the ATV, he moved toward the man whose face was hidden by a helmet, cutting the other rider off with his ATV before he got close enough to fire an accurate shot at Catherine.
The helmeted rider lifted his gun, but the blue-eyed man was already on top of him pulling him off the ATV. Why was the blue-eyed man protecting her?
Catherine was grateful that neither man had had time to fire a shot. It could have sent Liz into the forest again.
“Liz, come!” Catherine called.
The dog spotted her and headed her way. Catherine got off the ATV and boosted Liz up into the carrier where Betty greeted her by licking her face.
While the two men were fighting, she had a chance to get away.
Catherine jumped on the four-wheeler and twisted the throttle. As she headed toward the forest, she couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling. Liz had trusted the man with the blue eyes enough to get on the ATV with him, and he had stopped the other man from shooting her.
Maybe the two men weren’t working together after all. None of it made sense. All she knew was that two men with guns was bad news. She still needed to focus on her own survival and getting the dogs to safety.
As she headed toward the trail that was a long ride back to her cabin and beyond that, the little town of Two Bits, she prayed she would get enough of a head start that the men wouldn’t see where she went and she could get back to civilization alive.
When she looked at the gas gauge, she saw that she was low on fuel. Tension threaded through her chest. Now escape was going to be even harder.
THREE
Ryan sought only to subdue the helmeted rider. His focus was on catching Victoria before she got away. He landed a blow to the man’s stomach and then his back, which put the man on his knees. The helmet protected his head.
Though his ankle still hurt, Ryan ran back to his vehicle, jumped on and headed in the direction he’d seen Victoria go.
He could hear her ATV as he followed her on the trail through the forest, but he could not see her.
The evergreens opened up into a meadow, and he spotted the glow of the other vehicle’s taillights as it rumbled toward a stand of trees.
He revved the engine and rolled across the grass wondering how he could possibly catch up to her without risking a wreck. At least the grass of the meadow was less slippery than the muddy trails, and the incline more gradual than the trail that had brought him to this remote location.
The route through the meadow wasn’t even really a trail. He wondered where Victoria was going.
He glanced over his shoulder, knowing that the other rider would recover and probably follow him. He needed to get to Victoria before the helmeted rider got to him.
He pressed the gas and watched the speedometer move as he rolled toward the trees where Victoria had gone. Once in the forest, there was a wide trail clearly used for vehicles like his. The trees ended, and he came out on a trail that had a steep drop-off on one side and a mountain on the other.
He kept going, aware that one slip could send him rolling down the mountain. Gradually, the incline leveled off and there were some trees down below instead of a rocky death trap.
When he’d gone for at least another ten minutes without seeing the other ATV, he began to wonder where Victoria was. He had a view of sections of the trail as it wound down the mountain. He stopped and let the ATV idle, watching for any sign of her below but seeing only forest, rocks and trail. It didn’t seem like she’d gone this way. She must have veered off somewhere.
When he turned his machine off, he could hear nothing but forest sounds and the soft drizzle of the rain. He’d not had time to put his helmet back on. His hair was soaked.
She had to have gone off the trail where the land leveled off. Probably hiding somewhere or maybe she took a connecting trail by going cross-country. After he found a wide spot in the road, he turned around. Fully aware that he ran the risk of encountering the helmeted rider, he eased back along the trail much more slowly until he saw the indentation of tracks that led off the main trail. That had to be where she’d gone.
He turned the handlebars and followed the tracks until they were no longer clearly marked. He got off his vehicle and checked the ground more closely for indentations.
The hum of a motor up on the trail told him that the helmeted rider had just sped by. Would he keep going or would he backtrack as well?
Ryan and the ATV were mostly hidden from the other rider by some brush. Still, he couldn’t waste time. He thought he saw the glint of metal through the trees, a parked ATV maybe?
He had to find her. If he approached on foot, she wouldn’t hear him coming.
He kept walking, seeing a fresh tire track now and then that told him he was headed in the right direction. He came to her ATV covered in pine boughs to hide it from view.
It appeared her strategy was to hide until she thought both he and the other rider were far enough away that she could make a safe escape probably on another trail. She seemed to have solid knowledge of the trail system and she likely had a plan.
But why hide, why not just try to get away?
He noticed the gas gauge on her ATV. When he turned the key in the ignition, the needle showed it was one line away from empty. She didn’t have enough gas to get out of here. There had been gas cans at the camp. She probably planned on returning before escaping. No wonder she needed to wait him and the other guy out.
He looked all around the area, hoping to see a footprint that might tell him which direction she’d gone. It was a distant single yip of a dog that told him which way he needed to walk.
He moved through the trees, stopping to listen. He heard her talking soothingly to the dogs before he saw her. He stepped quietly toward the sound of her voice, grateful that the rain masked his footsteps.
She and the dogs had taken refuge in a lean-to built from pine boughs and covered in a weathered tarp, which indicated it must have been there for a while.
He stepped out into the open raising his hands in surrender, knowing that seeing his gun had frightened her.
Her head shot up. The wide eyes and the hardness of her features indicated fear.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” said Ryan.
Liz wagged her tail at the sound of his voice.
“Whatever you’ve done, Victoria, we might be able to work something out,” he said.
She rose to her feet and squared her shoulders. “Victoria? What are you talking about?”
* * *
Fear struck through Catherine at the sight of the man with the blue eyes. Betty growled at her feet, taking up a protective stance incongruent with Liz’s wagging tail. Dogs were a good judge of character, but she was getting a very mixed message from the collies.
It seemed this man thought she was Victoria. “What’s going on here? Why do you think I’m my twin sister?”
The man dropped his hands to his sides as his face drooped. She watched him closely. He would have to unzip the jacket to get to the gun.
His forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Twin? We didn’t have a lot of personal conversations, but it seems like Victoria would have mentioned having an identical twin sister.”
“Long story,” said Catherine. “But my sister and I were not on the best of terms before she disappeared.” This man had known Victoria. Why did it hurt that her sister hadn’t mentioned her to him?
The man shook his head. “I’m not sure what brought you to this point to be hiding up here. But the bureau will work with you.”
He didn’t believe that she wasn’t Victoria. “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Liz kept wagging her tail and whimpering. The man with the blue eyes kneeled down. “Hey there, Liz.” His hair was slicked back from the rain, revealing a firm jawline.
The dog ran to him bouncing around and licking his face. There was something sweet about the way he interacted with Liz.
“She knows you?”
“Yes, but you know that, right? You brought her with you when we would meet in the park.”
“I am not Victoria. My name is Catherine.”
“Okay.” The tone of his voice suggested he still didn’t believe her. “Do you want to explain to me why your sister wouldn’t have talked about you?”
“Our parents split when we were thirteen. She chose to live with mom in the city, and I stayed on the family farm with our father. It was an unhappy marriage and a bitter divorce. We were always sort of opposites, but when we were forced to choose sides, it caused a chasm between us.”
There were more reasons for the lack of communication. Four years ago, when she’d gotten engaged, Catherine had tried a reconciliation traveling to Seattle with her fiancé. Only to have Victoria steal her fiancé and then dump him months later. The marriage to Dave had been a sort of rebound. He had said all the right things and seemed to offer a refuge to the betrayal and loss. But his promises and the picture he painted of their life together had all been lies that had created an even worse nightmare for her.
