Last Stand in Texas

by Robin Perini

  * * *

  STORM CLOUDS COVERED the sun. The sky had turned angry and violent.

  Faith stared at Stefan’s weapon. Behind her, Burke let out a curse and grabbed Faith around the waist. He plastered her to his body. Cold metal pressed across her throat. She glanced down. He held a knife against her skin.

  “Throw your weapon down or she dies.”

  “Burke. You can’t do this.”

  “Of course I can,” he said. “Who’s going to stop me? You? My father?” Burke chuckled. “Father’s dead and can’t protect you any longer. Mother doesn’t know a thing. And you, you’re going to end up at the bottom of that gorge along with your lover. If they ever do find you, they’ll assume you both died in a lover’s quarrel. All the better for me.”

  “Burke, Zoe needs me.”

  He scoffed. “Zoe needs a woman to raise her who knows what it means to be a woman. You, you’re nothing. I was a fool for thinking you could ever learn to be my consort.”

  She struggled against his tight grip, but his grip only tightened. “Have to tie up all the loose ends. Then life will be perfect again.”

  He really was insane.

  Burke dragged her to the right. Stefan followed step for step.

  “Please, Burke. Where is Zoe?” she begged.

  “There’s no need for you to know. You don’t get to see her again. She’s mine. Didn’t I tell you that?”

  “She’s alone, afraid. Please. She’s your daughter.”

  Faith wanted to duck down, let Stefan do what he was obviously willing to do, but she couldn’t. What if they were unable to find Zoe?

  Burke chuckled. “Oh, she’s not alone. If I don’t come back, he’ll take Zoe away. You’ll never see her again.”

  He jerked her toward rocks at the edge of the clearing, using her as a shield against Stefan.

  “You don’t have to do this,” Stefan said quietly. “We just want Zoe to be safe. We can all walk away.”

  Burke shook his head. “Father was right about one thing. No loose ends is the only way.”

  Stefan chuckled. “You don’t believe that, do you? We know all about you, Burke. Faith figured out your little hobby. Why else do you think she ran away?”

  Burke gripped her even tighter. “It’s not possible.”

  “Faith is smart and resourceful. She figured out your twisted game, and she gave me the file.”

  Burke gripped Faith’s throat and squeezed. She gasped for air. “You’re lying.”

  “Cassandra. Allison. Mary Ann, Brittany, Alexandra. Do those names sound familiar?”

  With each name, Burke’s grip tightened. His hands shook. Faith could feel the fury. Spots circled in front of her eyes.

  “We know.” Stefan glanced at his watch. “In fact, as we speak, a very influential member of the state attorney general’s staff is perusing the documents right now. It’s over, Burke. Your best move is to let Faith go and tell us where to find Zoe. If you do that, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

  “No. Not possible.”

  Faith held her breath. Burke had stopped moving. He’d turned slightly. She met Stefan’s gaze. He gave a slight nod of his head toward the ground. Did he want her to try to get away?

  Burke bore down on her throat again. “I don’t believe you. Father covered my tracks. I killed him and the men who helped him. No one’s left. No one can prove anything.” Burke pulled out a knife from behind his back. “Except you.”

  “Now!” Stefan shouted.

  Faith wrenched her body forward, but she couldn’t break Burke’s hold. The knife sliced her skin. Warm fluid trickled down her neck.

  She tumbled to the ground. A loud gunshot echoed through the woods. Faith’s gaze flew at the noise. Stefan held the gun in his hand.

  Burke screamed. He dropped the knife. One arm hung limp at his side. Blood dripped down his arm. He stared at Stefan in shock.

  “You shot me?”

  “Be thankful I wasn’t aiming at your head. Now where is Zoe?”

  Burke shook his head. “This isn’t the plan.”

  His hand jerked. He twisted, looked at Faith and then behind her. “This is all your fault. Everything is your fault,” he screamed. “You were supposed to be perfect for me. You were supposed to replace my true love. My Heather.”

  He gripped her arm with his good hand and dragged her backward. She tried to wrench away, but she couldn’t escape his grip.

  “Give it up, Burke. It’s over,” Stefan said.

  “It’s not over,” he said. “Not until I have control.”

  He shouted out a curse and rammed her with his body. She stumbled toward the rocks.

  Stefan let out a loud curse and rushed toward them.

  His eyes wild and desperate, he lunged at Faith. She rolled to her side to avoid him. He pitched forward and let out a loud yell.

  “Move!” Stefan yelled.

  Faith lurched to her left. Burke tripped and couldn’t regain his step. He hurtled over the cliff.

  “No!” Faith shouted. “Zoe!”

  * * *

  DIRT RAINED DOWN on Zoe. She blinked up at the hole she’d fallen through. No way she was climbing out that way.

  “Damn it, kid. Your dad’s gonna kill me. Wait right there.”

  The puppy squirmed in her backpack. She peeked inside, but she could barely see in the dark. “You okay, Catcher?”

  She nuzzled the dog. A flash brightened the hole she’d fallen into. Thunder clapped and echoed.

  “We’re not getting out that way,” she whispered. “And I’m not waiting around for that bad man to hurt you.” She dug into the pocket of her backpack. “Stefan gave me this.” She pulled the mini flashlight out in triumph.

  A rope dropped down through the hole in the ceiling.

  Zoe swung on her knapsack and flipped on the flashlight. There were railroad tracks on the floor of the cave. It was a very small train. Her mom had taken her onto a big train once. She swept the flashlight around. No way would that train fit in this cave.

  A glint blinked at her through the light. She tiptoed through the cave. A big pile of dirt had come down. “Look, Catcher. Another tunnel.”

  She peered around the mound that was twice as tall as she was. A bunch of shiny gold rocks were piled high in a corner. She picked one up that was the size of a baseball. It was way heavier than her ball.

  “Cool.” She stuffed it into her backpack with Catcher.

  A loud curse echoed through the cave. She whirled around. The man’s feet came through the hole. “We gotta go.”

  She hesitated. There were two tunnels. “Which one, Catcher?”

  Zoe squinted down the one with the yellow rocks. Dirt sprinkled down from the ceiling. The other one was bigger. Catcher whined.

  “I think you’re right,” she said. “Let’s go that way, boy.”

  “Kid. You better stay right there,” the man shouted.

  She’d waited too long. Zoe took off running beside the railroad track. A trickle of water followed her.

  Her heart beat fast. Her pants for breath echoed against the rocks around her.

  “Kid! Stop. There’s a flash flood coming.”

  She didn’t know what he was talking about, but she knew she couldn’t trust him.

  A loud rumble sounded behind her. Rocks came down. The man shouted. Zoe didn’t care. She kept running, the light from her flashlight bobbing in the dark.

  “Kid. Stop!”

  She glanced over her shoulder. He was gaining on her. A huge wall of rocks rumbled down behind him. Water rushed through a small hole at the side. She looked down at her feet. The whole cave was wet. Zoe stared into the blackness ahead of her. She was trapped. There was nowhere to go.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Through the sprinkling rain Stefan stared over the si
de of the cliff. He couldn’t see Burke’s body, but no one could have survived a fall hundreds of feet down. He turned to Faith. She sat on the ground, her eyes wide with shock.

  “Is he—?”

  Stefan nodded and crouched beside her. He pulled her into his arms. Her nails bit into his skin. “Zoe.”

  “We’ll find her.”

  He helped her to her feet. “Let me look at your neck.”

  She slapped his hand away. “I’m fine.”

  The cut wasn’t deep, but still oozing. He tore a strip from his T-shirt and pressed it against the wound. “This should stop the bleeding.”

  “Zoe!” Faith shouted, while he tied the makeshift bandage around her neck.

  “Don’t call out to her,” he said. “You heard Burke. Someone’s with her.”

  “Then how will we find her?”

  He glanced around the clearing. The trees just to the northwest were disturbed. “This way,” he said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “As much as I can be.” He took her hand and led her out of the clearing.

  She glanced back to the cliff.

  “We’ll find his body. After we find Zoe,” he said.

  Thunder growled ahead of them. Angry clouds hovered over the mountain. “The water’ll start coming through the canyons soon,” he said. “Looks like a huge rainstorm up there.”

  “Zoe doesn’t know anything about flash floods. We’ve got to find her.”

  Stefan stared at the ground. The wind and rain would compromise any trail he might have followed if they didn’t find her soon.

  The sky darkened even more. Stefan stopped. The mountains were too quiet. He could only make out the sound of the wind through the branches and the pattering rain. No Zoe. No sounds of human activity at all.

  He looked around him.

  “She’s with some kidnapper. What if he—”

  He recognized the panic in her voice. He understood, but they had to stay focused. “Burke’s a powerful employer. The guy doesn’t know Burke’s dead. He has to keep Zoe safe.”

  Faith nodded. “Right. Janice loves Zoe. He’ll want her safe.”

  Stefan didn’t mention Burke’s erratic behavior. Faith knew. They both did.

  Before long, the signs Stefan had been following had disappeared.

  Stefan walked a few steps forward. He bent down, then craned his neck to look back the way they’d come.

  “You don’t know which way, do you?” Faith said. “What are we going to do?” She rubbed her arms quickly.

  Stefan pulled her close. She was chilled to the bone. “Burke wouldn’t have wanted her too far.”

  “But maybe far enough not to be heard? Or to hear him.”

  “Exactly.” Stefan grabbed his sat phone and verified his location. Thank God for CTC.

  “Are you okay?” Ransom asked.

  “Burke’s dead. He’s hidden Zoe. Who knows these mountains?”

  “Sheriff Galloway.” Ransom didn’t hesitate. “He’s on his way. About thirty minutes from your location.”

  “Can you patch me through to him?”

  “Want me to send the chopper?”

  “We need everyone you can spare, but it’s raining in the mountains. Warn them about flash floods.”

  Ransom let out a curse. “I’ll patch you through to Garrett.”

  Faith plastered herself against Stefan. He wrapped his arm around her. “We’ve got help.”

  She gave him a stiff nod.

  “Galloway.”

  “This is Léon. We’ve got a missing child—”

  “Ransom filled me in. I’m heading your way.”

  “The guy hid his daughter out here somewhere. I need likely locations. The weather obscured any signs.”

  Stefan fed Garrett his GPS coordinates. Paper rustling filtered through the phone. “Okay, I’m looking at the map.”

  “There are a lot of old mine shafts,” Garrett said. “They’re not safe, though.”

  The phone went silent. “This looks interesting. There’s an old hunting cabin a mile or so northwest from your current location.”

  Stefan could have cheered. “Thanks, Garrett. I’ll be in touch.”

  “We’ll send searchers up your way. Good luck.”

  Stefan ended the call. “This way,” he said, and led her up another hill.

  A quarter mile in, the rain let up, but thunder and lightning still hid the top of the mountains.

  He fingered a broken branch. “Someone came this way, and not that long ago.” He turned to Faith. “We’re headed in the right direction.”

  “I want to call for her,” Faith muttered. She dug her hand into his arm. “I want her to know we’re coming for her.”

  “You can’t.”

  Stefan could tell Faith was near her breaking point when they reached the cabin. It was nestled back in the woods. Stefan pulled out his weapon. He slowly turned the doorknob and shoved into the one-room shack.

  Empty.

  Faith turned to Stefan, her eyes devastated. “Where is she?”

  * * *

  ZOE TOOK A step back, her foot sloshing through cold water. The puppy whimpered from her backpack. The yellow rock weighed it down.

  She shined the light through the rocks. The side of the man’s face was bleeding. He looked really mad.

  “You’ve killed us, kid,” he growled.

  Water streamed behind him. It started getting deeper and deeper.

  He pushed aside the rocks and came closer and closer. Zoe didn’t wait for him to catch her. She whirled around and ran.

  “Nowhere to go, kid. I’m gonna to do what Burke was too scared to do. Before I die, you’re dead.”

  Zoe heaved forward. She tried to run, but the water was at her knees now. She lifted her legs, but she couldn’t get any traction. The water pushed her forward. Soon it was up to her waist. The flashlight slipped through her wet hands and blinked off.

  Dark surrounded her. Rushing water carried her forward in the small cave. She blinked. The backpack weighed her down. Catcher barked at her. Her teeth chattered.

  This wasn’t good.

  The man behind her sloshed closer. She rounded a curve and blinked. A little twinkle of light shone from one end, like a star in the rock.

  She headed toward it.

  “Got you,” the man growled.

  His hands gripped her shirt. She squirmed, but he had her. The water climbed higher.

  The man held her down, below the water. She couldn’t breathe. The water shoved her forward and suddenly she was free. She lifted her head and sucked in a deep breath.

  “Damn it,” he groaned. He floated close to the ceiling. Blood dripped from his head.

  Zoe only had one chance. She let the water carry her toward the hole with the light. It wasn’t very big.

  She pulled herself up. “Don’t worry, Catcher. We’re almost safe,” she panted.

  Something grabbed at her foot.

  “Oh, no you don’t.”

  * * *

  THE EMPTY CABIN sucked all the life out of Faith. Her gaze swept the floor.

  “Someone’s been here recently,” Stefan said.

  A glint of string caught Faith’s attention. “Zoe,” she said, picking up the red tie. “This was on her backpack.”

  Stefan tilted his head. “There’s a trail across the floor.” He grinned. “That feisty little sweetheart.” He glanced over at Faith.

  “She escaped. Zoe ran away. Come on,” he called.

  They ran through the back door. Stefan headed for the edge of the clearing. “Broken branches,” he said.

  Faith raced after him. The wind had slowed down. She could even hear the songs of a few birds.

  A high-pitched yip pierced the air.

  “Stop,”
Stefan said.

  The yip sounded again.

  “The dog,” Faith shouted. The dog she’d denied Zoe. They ran toward the noise.

  “Let me go!” Zoe shouted.

  “Zoe!” Faith yelled. Her legs pumped harder as she scrambled over the rocks. They rounded a bend and she gasped.

  Zoe’s torso came out of a hole in the rocks and water poured out on either side. Her orange backpack lay on the ground. Catcher raced around in circles, yipping at Zoe.

  “Mommy. Help. I’m stuck.”

  Stefan positioned himself in front of her. “I’m going first. We don’t know where our friend is.”

  Faith scrambled over the rocks behind him.

  “Zoe!” she shouted.

  “Mommy. Hurry. The man’s going to get me.”

  “Where is he, Zoe?” Stefan asked.

  “He’s grabbing at my feet.”

  Stefan shoved his gun away. “Start digging,” he shouted.

  Two rocks in and they were able to pull Zoe out. Water rushed from the hole.

  Faith picked her up and rocked her. “Are you okay?”

  Zoe nodded. “Catcher and me escaped the bad man. We got wet.”

  “I see that.”

  A man’s arm stuck out of the hole. “Help,” he gurgled against the churning water.

  Stefan grabbed a large tree limb and dug away at the edges of the small hole. Water rushed out, and the man squirted through. He lay on the ground, gasping for air.

  He looked over at Zoe and glared at her. “Kid, you ruined my life.”

  Zoe glared at him. “Then you shouldn’t have been bad.”

  * * *

  STEFAN STOOD OUTSIDE the room at the medical clinic in Trouble, Texas. Waiting. Daniel walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Ransom called. They found Burke Thomas’s body at the base of the cliff. He died on impact.”

  “It’s for the best. Faith and Zoe have their lives back now.” Stefan didn’t think too hard about the emptiness lingering in his heart. He couldn’t change reality. “What about the guy we brought in?”

  “He’s in custody. Singing like a canary. He worked for both Thomases. Cleaned up a lot of messes. He’s added several names to Burke Thomas’s kill list. Not to mention more than one politician who will be resigning. Starting with a couple of police commissioners who looked the other way.”