Kidnapped in Montana, page 9
Between the truck and the trees there was no place to take cover. He stayed low to the ground and moved as stealthily as he could.
The man’s build could be that of the helmeted rider whose face he had never seen. That man had been keenly interested in finding the diamonds. Would he hold a gun to Catherine’s head believing she was Victoria to get her to confess where the gems were?
His foot slid on some rocks. The noise seemed to augment in the nighttime silence. The other man turned, grabbing Catherine by the collar before he did. Ryan dropped to the ground praying the darkness would conceal him.
The man stared for a long moment.
Ryan’s pulse pounded in his ears. He dared not even take a breath. A bit of moonlight allowed Ryan to see the glint of the man’s gun as he swung it in a slow arc.
The man jerked Catherine by the collar, swinging her around and then pushing the gun into her back.
Once Catherine and the man disappeared into the trees, Ryan sprinted to get to her before it was too late. The closer he got, the slower he moved.
It grew darker once the trees enveloped him.
He picked up on the sound of footsteps and several grunts. Then a cry of protest from Catherine that seemed to get cut off.
He thought he heard her say, “Please, Dave, no.”
Was this man Catherine’s ex-husband?
He moved with a light footstep toward the sounds, fearing that the next noise would be a gunshot.
* * *
The cold metal of the gun barrel dug into her back as Dave pushed Catherine deeper into the trees. Her mind raced at a hundred miles an hour.
“Please, Dave, don’t do this. I know you think you won’t get caught—”
“Shut up.”
The truth is he probably wouldn’t get charged even if her body was found in this remote place. The local police department wouldn’t point the finger at him.
If she could distract him and pull the gun out of his hand, maybe she could get back to the truck before he caught her. He had put on some pounds, and she was in good shape from the hiking and climbing her job required.
She pivoted so she was sideways to him. The gun was in his right hand.
If she tried to get it away and failed, he’d shoot her on the spot. She knew him well enough to know that rage made most of his decisions for him.
“Turn around and keep going. We need to get deeper into the forest, so they don’t ever find you.”
She prayed silently to herself.
She heard a thud and then the pressure of the gun was no longer on her back.
Her heart flooded with gratitude when she saw Ryan jumping on top of Dave and wrestling him to the ground. He had figured out that something was not right and had come after her.
Dave’s gun lay on the ground. Ryan scrambled to his feet and aimed his gun at Dave’s back where he still lay on his stomach. “Don’t you try anything. I’m Agent McCloud and I’m taking you into custody. Now stand up nice and slow.”
“Ryan, this is my ex-husband, Dave Reed.”
He didn’t answer right away. His gaze stayed on Dave and then he glanced at Catherine. “So I gathered.”
Once he was on his feet and turned around, Dave lunged at Ryan. The gun went off. Both men were still standing. Dave punched Ryan in the jaw. The gun fell from his hand.
Ryan dove for the gun, retrieving it, but Dave jumped on his back. The two men wrestled.
Catherine reached down to get Dave’s gun where it had fallen. She lifted the gun to aim it. In the dark, it was hard to see any separation between the two men.
“Get off of him right now, or I’ll shoot.”
Dave glanced in her direction and it was enough for her to know where to aim.
The momentary inattention gave Ryan the chance to get on his feet.
Dave reached toward Ryan’s gun where it had fallen. Ryan placed his boot on Dave’s hand, causing the man to cry out in pain. Ryan retrieved the gun himself. Aiming the gun at Dave who was still on the ground, he took a step back. “Like I said, stand up nice and slow with your hands in the air.”
Grunting, Dave pushed himself to his feet.
“Oh, come on now, Catherine. I’m sorry about this.” Dave spoke in a tone of voice she recognized, fake contrition. How many times had she fallen for that when they were married? How many times had she wanted to believe he was sincere because she wanted the marriage to work?
Did he really think that would have an effect on her now that she saw him so clearly?
Dave looked at Ryan. “Look, I see you’re trying to help but you don’t know this woman. She likes to make up stories.” His voice had taken on a soft quality.
Catherine clenched her teeth. Now Dave was trying to manipulate Ryan.
Ryan held his gun steady. “Catherine, I’m a witness here that this man kidnapped you and attempted to murder you. I’ll see to it that charges are brought against him.”
“You can’t turn him over to the local police.”
“I get that. I know what to do,” said Ryan. He turned his attention to Dave. “Now let’s take it real slow and head back to the vehicles. Keep your hands up where I can see them.”
For the first time since she’d seen going into hiding as her only option, Catherine felt hopeful that this time Dave would go to jail, thanks to Ryan. It was a comfort to her to know he was on her side. Not since her father had died had she felt like she had that in her life.
They started the march back to the cars.
Dave turned his head sideways as Ryan and Catherine walked behind him, both still aiming the guns at him. “What about my truck?”
“You’ll have to make arrangements for a friend to come get it,” said Ryan.
Once back at the cars, Ryan addressed Catherine. “Open the back door of the car so he can sit in there. Let the dogs out for now.”
Catherine obliged. “What’s going to happen now?”
Dave sat in the car with his head down.
“I’ll have my contacts at the closest field office make arrangements to have him put in a jail not in this county and make sure charges are filed.” He pulled the phone out. “Let me make the call. We might have to drive him there, but I want to see if another agent is close by, so you don’t have to be in the car with him. Keep the gun aimed at him just to be on the safe side.”
Dave barely lifted his head when she stood by the window with the gun. She saw him for who he really was, a coward.
Ryan took a few steps away from the car to make his call. She caught only pieces of the conversation.
He turned to face her as he clicked a button on his phone. “There’s an agent ten minutes away who can come for him. They did show up to comb the area to look for the vehicles and the man whose face we saw.”
“That’s good.” She was glad not to have a long car ride with Dave. And she sure didn’t want the dogs to have to endure being near him. Judging from Ryan’s actions he’d probably realized how frightening that would have been for her. She appreciated his sensitivity to the situation. In fact, she found herself appreciating a lot of things about Ryan.
“And they have a safe house set up for you. The agent gave me the location.”
She didn’t object, but her back stiffened.
“What exactly happened back at the tree house? Did Victoria even show up?”
“Dave scared her away,” she said.
He ran his hands through his hair. “You didn’t get to talk to her at all?” He sounded frustrated.
“I heard a car start up and she drove away,” said Catherine.
“I don’t know what is going on with your sister. The other agents might locate her if she stays in the area,” said Ryan.
“Maybe Victoria will try again. She might get in touch with Andrea to reach me.”
“If she has those diamonds, she has the connections to slowly sell them off and enough money to leave the country.”
“She wants to talk to me for some reason. She’s tried twice.”
“And she got scared off twice,” said Ryan. “I know you don’t like the idea, but you need some protection until we can catch those two men.”
“You were right. I’m sorry I argued with you.” Ryan taking Dave into custody had shifted her impression of him. She knew she could trust him at least as a law officer...and maybe in other ways too. “I hope they track down those men quickly. That’s all I can say.”
Dave’s words about her always believing she had to do everything alone made her realize that thinking that way had almost gotten her killed.
They waited until the other agent, a tall blond woman named Agent Fields, showed up to take Dave into custody.
As he was led off toward the car, Dave gave her a backward glance, grinning in a way that his teeth showed. It sent a chill down her spine.
Ryan came up behind her and placed a supportive hand on her upper back. “The charges will stick this time. I’ll see to that.”
His touch calmed her. “I hope you’re right. His family has money. They’ll hire lawyers.”
“I saw how he treated you. I’ll do everything I can to make sure justice is served.”
A weight lifted off her, and it was all because of Ryan. “Thank you. You don’t know what it means to have someone on my side.”
He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s get you to that safe house.”
She grabbed his arm. “No, I mean it. For the first time since I went into hiding, it feels like my life might get back to normal someday after all this is over.”
His voice held a warmth she hadn’t heard before. “Just trying to help out where I can.”
Catherine didn’t know why Victoria was afraid of Ryan; all she knew was that he’d proven himself to be someone who would risk his own life to protect her.
They got the dogs loaded up. While she settled into the passenger seat, he checked a map on his phone.
Except for light from the stars, the road was dark until they got back out to the paved road. Once the road beneath the tires was smooth, she could feel herself nodding off.
“I’m sleepy. You must be tired too,” she said.
“Getting there.”
Ryan’s voice seemed to come from far away as she rested her head against the window and slept.
She was awakened when by a jarring bump that caused her to bite her tongue. A second later, the car lurched violently.
She turned her head as glaring headlights filled her vision.
Someone was trying to run them off the road.
TEN
The car seemed to have come out of nowhere. It was the dark blue SUV the curly-haired man drove. Fatigue had made Ryan drop his guard. Though he was more prepared for the second bump, it was much harder. He veered into the other lane, grateful there was no oncoming traffic.
Catherine gripped the handrest and let out a cry. The dogs yelped from the back seat.
The man was going so fast that his car went halfway off the road. The car tires rolled over the grass for twenty feet before he could get back on the pavement and turn into his own lane.
How had they even been found? The guy must have followed the agent, figuring she might lead him to them. The agent would have identified herself while in town asking questions. That had to be it.
The other car moved into the right lane and evened up with Catherine’s car. The driver swung the wheel and bashed into the side of their car.
Ryan tried speeding up. The other driver kept pace with him and scraped the side of the car again. A screeching noise filled the air as metal rubbed against metal. Ryan gripped the wheel in an effort to keep the car on the road.
He hit the brakes and did a turn on the empty road as the other car sped ahead. The maneuver put some distance between his car and the other driver while he got turned around, but they were headed in the opposite direction from the safe house.
Maybe it was for the best. They needed to shake this guy before they went there.
The other driver gained on them. The needle moved past eighty, but Ryan slowed when the road grew curvier. With only his headlights providing a degree of illumination, he strained to see the road ahead.
They were headed back to town.
Catherine’s voice wavered as she spoke. “You could maybe cut through the farm and get turned back around. Lose him by making a sudden turn like we did last time.”
“You have to tell me when the turnoff for the farm is coming up.”
Headlights filled his rearview mirror.
Catherine leaned forward to peer through the windshield. “It’s not far. Maybe another five minutes. Remember, you’ll see the water tower.”
It was hard to see anything in the dark. Everything looked different at night.
The other car was within twenty feet of them.
“There, now,” Catherine said.
He made the turn, missing the road by a few feet and bumping along. The other car turned as well and crashed into their bumper, driving them farther into a ditch by the road.
The impact jarred his body.
The other driver backed up, engine still racing as though prepared to make another run at them.
Their car chugged forward making grinding noises. They were stuck in the ditch. “We have to get out of here.” Adrenaline coursed through his body as his heart pounded.
Catherine had already opened the passenger side door, which faced away from where the other car stood revving its engine.
The driver of the other car got out, using the door as shield and taking aim with a gun.
Ryan pulled his gun as the first shot impacted the back window. Catherine had just let the dogs out of the far side of the car and took off running.
Ryan crawled across the front seat and slipped out of the passenger side. He lifted his head to get a visual on the other man, who still shielded himself behind the car door.
When he looked in the other direction, Ryan could just make out the white coloring on the dogs as they ran alongside Catherine. He sprinted toward them.
Another gunshot reverberated behind him. Ryan stumbled but kept running. Catherine seemed to have a plan of where to go. They were on the far side of the farm close to the tree house and line of trees planted as a windbreak, but not close to the farmhouse and outbuildings.
They passed tall cottonwoods and he could hear the rippling of a creek, though he could not see it.
She slowed so he could catch up.
When he looked over his shoulder, he saw a bobbing light headed toward them but in sort of a serpentine pattern. The guy didn’t know exactly where they were.
The sound of water flowing over rocks grew louder. Catherine’s boots made a splashing sound as she and the dogs crossed the creek. Ryan followed, feeling the water soak through his boots. His ankle still hurt a little.
The noise of them moving through the creek would have been enough for the pursuer to hone in on where they were. She kept running across an open field that had been plowed. He took big strides jumping over the furrows. There were no trees or brush close by to conceal them. The bobbing light edged closer to them.
He could see the tree windbreak, but it had to be at least a half mile away. Because this part of the farm was open and flat, there was no place to hide. Only the darkness provided them a degree of cover. The pursuer gained on them, closing the distance. He had a light to guide his footsteps while they ran in the dark.
They came to a field filled with round hay bales. Catherine and the dogs slipped behind one and Ryan edged in close to her, their shoulders pressed together. They were both gasping for breath.
He angled around the hay bale, not seeing the pursuer’s light anywhere. She ran to the next hay bale and then another until they were almost to the edge of the field.
The pursuer might be slowed by having to check each hay bale, but they couldn’t stay here for long without being found.
“How far away are we from the farmhouse?”
“A mile or more,” she said. Her words came out between breaths. “It’s too far and I don’t want to put Celeste and Ralph in danger.”
He still had his phone. Maybe that other agent close by could get to them before the curly-haired man did.
The zing of a bullet in the air told him there was no time to make a call. Catherine ran toward another hay bale. He followed.
Straw poked into his back as he pressed against the bale. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw flashes of light. The man with the curly hair was still searching the hay bales for them.
His heart pounded as they both fell silent. Footsteps seemed to surround them.
The pursuer’s car was still operational even if theirs wasn’t. Maybe they could double back and use it to get away. More footsteps indicated the guy was too close.
If they tried to run now, they’d be spotted. The dogs pressed close to Catherine’s legs. Both he and Catherine remained still, watching the light get closer to where they were hidden.
His heart pulsed in his ears as he considered their options; none of them good.
How were they going to escape?
* * *
Catherine squeezed her eyes shut hoping to be able to tell where the pursuer was from the sound of his footsteps. She couldn’t see the light anymore. The noise of feet padding on soft earth and fallen straw seemed to echo. It was impossible to pinpoint where the pursuer was, other than he was close enough for her to hear his footsteps.
Her muscles tensed as she waited. She could no longer hear the footfall.
Maybe he wasn’t as close as he sounded, or he could have turned off the flashlight. He could be standing very still too. It was hard to tell.
Ryan tugged on her sleeve. Staying low, he hurried toward a hay bale at the edge of the field and hid on the end of it. She followed him. He put his finger to his lips indicating they needed to be quiet and then he pointed beyond the field.
