Cassie carefully sat up and laid Samuel down on a soft bed of leaves. She changed his diaper, tucking the soiled one into a rotted-out tree trunk. If her uncle and father were following her, she needed to be careful. She smiled and talked to Samuel as he woke. Her voice a mere whisper, but her baby responded kicking his legs and waving his arms in the air. Even in his desperate circumstances, Samuel was a happy baby. Cassie took a bite of one of the protein bars and cringed at the chalky taste. The water bottle was empty, but she could rectify that in short order. The creek should be within a half-hour’s walk. She let Samuel nurse as she finished her bar, nearly choking on the last bite because her mouth was so dry.
She gathered her possessions, put Samuel into his sling and worked her way out of the leaves that obscured her from view. Unfortunately, the branches obscured her vision as well. Cassie stood up and stretched as far as she could once she moved past the small thicket of trees. She looked up at the ridge and froze. Her uncle was coming down the trail. She bolted back into the trees, but she knew…he’d seen her. She moved quickly through the trees not even trying to hide the route she took. Her only chance now was to get to civilization. Her uncle was a brute of a man. Her one advantage was his bulk made him slow.
Cassie headed into the trees. The branches pulled at her thin clothes, tearing the fabric as she race-walked through the thickets. Her hands and arms covered Samuel protecting him from the environment. Cassie’s heart pounded. There was no way she could make it out of the valley. She needed a place to hide until her uncle tired of searching for her or believed her to be gone, but she didn’t have enough food to do that. She glanced back and missed ducking away from a branch. It cut through her sleeve, and she gasped as she tightened her grip on Samuel. He startled at her movement and started to wail. She heard her uncle’s raging yell behind her. Oh God, he was so much closer than she thought. Cassie searched for a place to hide as she ran with Samuel clutched to her chest. She broke out of the trees and stumbled. Tucking and turning so she fell on her back she screamed when her shoulder hit an outcropping of granite. Samuel’s cries and hers echoed in down the valley. Cassie tried to get up and hold her baby, but pain shot in hot pokers down her arm. She checked Samuel over quickly making sure he was okay. His face was red, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. His arms and legs kicked and flew about. Thank God, it seemed other than being mad or scared, he was alright. Holding him with her good arm, Cassie braced against a tree and tried to stand as she searched for a place to hide him from her uncle. She had to get him to safety.
Chapter 8
Van dug his heels into his horse, and they launched from the tree line. His mount raced like a bat out of hell heading toward the face of the rock. He heard a woman’s scream at the same time the child’s cries made it to his ears. The big bastard that clambered down the mountain had entered the trees to the west, and that was where Van raced. He let the horse have its head and lowered over the saddle. He grabbed one of his forty-fives out of its holster and squeezed the grip, neutralizing the safety on the weapon. The only sounds he heard were the pounding of his horse’s hooves as they raced the twelve hundred yards that separated him from the base of the mountain.
Van caught sight of the man and flicked the reins of his horse’s bridle sending them into the trees again. It was the most direct route to his destination. The horse jumped a fallen, decaying tree and raced through the smaller trees as if the hounds of hell were at its heels. Van crouched, keeping his center low, so the horse didn’t have to work as hard. He saw the man approaching a smaller person who was propped against a tree. The small figure lifted a hand as if that would keep the menacing figure at bay. The bastard lifted an arm and swung, sending the smaller figure to the forest floor.
The screams of the infant grew louder as he approached. Van lifted his weapon and aimed. The bastard must have heard his horse’s approach because he looked up. Van hesitated for a moment as he realized he knew that son of a bitch. He leveled the gun and squeezed the trigger, purposefully missing the man and the person he’d jerked off the ground. The shot echoed throughout the valley. Travis would hear it, and he’d be hightailing it back to his location, but Van didn’t have the luxury of immediate backup. The horse Reichs had given him was true and steady even when the weapon fired. He kicked his feet out of the stirrups and hung low over the side of the saddle making himself a difficult target if the fucker had a gun. Van timed his jump. His horse tore through the small clearing where the man held the smaller person. His fist lifted again, and Van shot. The smaller person dropped like a rock, and the man who held them stood unmoving above the pile at his feet. Van knew his aim was true, but with the movement of the horse, he prayed he’d hit his target and not the victim.
As the horse approached Van leveled his gun again and pulled the reins, sending his mount into a sliding stop. Van vaulted out of the saddle and charged the fucker, landing with his shoulder against the bastard’s gut.
The big man raged and swung out with hands the size of small boulders. Van continued to roll past the bastard, forcing the man to miss. He sprung to his feet ready to put the fucker down. He noticed blood soaking the man’s shirt. Van didn’t know if it belonged to him or the person he’d been holding, and he didn’t have time to play doctor. The larger man lifted to his feet quicker than Van would imagine he was capable of moving and then dropped into a fighting stance. Van didn’t wait for the asshole to strike first. He moved in and landed a combination left hook and a right uppercut to the jaw before he dropped and swept the big fucker’s legs out from underneath him. The son of a bitch went down, and when he hit the ground, he stayed down. Van moved quickly, instinct and training taking over. The brute was a brawler, but Van had been trained by the Marines and then by Guardian. The asshole didn’t have a chance. Van dropped a knee on the man’s back and grabbed his arm, wrenching it behind his back. He pulled a zip-tie cable from his vest and secured his wrists before he lifted off the dazed man. Gripping his jacket, Van rolled the asshole over and made sure he wouldn’t bleed out, but only because it was ingrained through years of training. Van didn’t give a flying fuck if the man expired. He saw the through and through wound his bullet caused. No arterial bleeding. The fucker would live until he made sure…
Van swung and scurried on his knees to the smaller person. He saw the mass of blonde hair and he…knew. Carefully, he turned the woman over and pushed her hair out of her face. Bruises marred her beauty, and they weren’t all new. The split lip, the swelling knot on her jaw and the lump on the side of her head were from this altercation…maybe. The rest? Damn it, what the fuck was going on?
He examined Cassie’s bruised and swollen face. He could see her pulse beating strong in the column of her neck, but that bastard hit her hard enough to knock her out. Fuck, she was so skinny. A gusty wail from an infant drew Van’s attention from Cassie to the far side of the small clearing. He carefully moved away from Cassie after glancing at the bastard he’d cuffed to make sure he was still secure. Van kept one eye on the man who was now stirring as he scrambled to where he heard the child crying. He had to reach under a fallen tree, but he was able to gently remove the baby. It was wrapped tightly in damp, ragged fabric, not a blanket. He had no idea how to hold the kid, but he knew enough to support the baby’s back and head. Thank you, television. Van tucked the child to his chest, careful to hold the kid’s head and moved back toward Cassie.
The baby settled and stopped crying almost immediately. Van glared at the fucker across the small dirt clearing. That was her uncle. The man who’d dropped her off in Denver before their mission. He remembered. He hated the son of a bitch then, and now…well, he was fighting the urge to kill the fucker.
888Van fell back against a log, near where Cassie lay. The child was young. He had no idea how to gauge how young, but it wasn’t old enough to be on its own, that was for damn sure, and Van was useless with kids. He pulled out his sat phone and activated his comms.
“What the fuck hap
pened?” He winced as Travis’s voice bellowed over the comms.
“It’s Cassie. She was trying to get away from her uncle. The bastard attacked her before I got to her.”
“Is she alright?”
He could tell by the way the wind thrummed through the comms that Travis’s horse was traveling fast.
“He knocked her out. Her pulse is strong. I’ve got the kid.”
“Wait, Cassie has a kid?”
“Tiny one.”
“Fuck me.”
“Yeah.”
“Did you make it to the homestead?”
“Nope, I was about a half mile away. I could see it, but when I heard the weapon’s report, I headed back. I’m about an hour away.”
“Don’t kill the horse. Reichs will skin you alive. I’ve got the situation contained. I’m calling Guardian to get a helicopter in here to pick us up.” Van surveyed the meadow. Damn he hoped they had, or could get, a pilot brave enough or stupid enough to land a copter up here. There was no way Cassie needed to ride down this mountain.
“I’ll slow the horses down and give them a breather. I’ll get ahold of Reichs and have him contact the local authorities.”
“Copy that. We are at the base of that massive granite wall at the south end of the meadow.”
“I’ll be there ASAP. Keep your comms on, Skipper.”
“Roger that. Hey…what do you know about kids?” Van looked down at the baby who was squirming in his arms.
“According to my sister, who has a small army, you keep them fed, keep them dry, and keep them warm.” Travis laughed. “So, change it, and wrap it up in something warm, but unless you have a milk cow around or Cassie has some bottles with her, keeping the kid fed might be a problem.”
Van nodded even though Travis couldn’t see him. He checked on Cassie again before he pulled up his satellite phone and called in the Calvary. The conversation lasted twenty seconds tops, but he had help inbound and they would be there at first light in the morning.
Van put the phone away and looked down at the bundle in his arms. Why would Cassie be down here with her baby? Van’s hand shook as he lifted the blanket off the little one’s face. The child blinked up at him and wiggled his arm out of his cloth cocoon. It took a moment to sink in, but what he was looking at? Cassie had a child. She'd left him and what...immediately hooked up with someone else? That made no sense. No matter what, he knew Cassie wouldn't, no, couldn't have been that callous. She had to have cared for him. God knew he loved her. He glanced over at her. He still loved her.
The baby was tiny. It couldn't be that old. Van did a quick calculation and he balked at his conclusion. He tapped the tip of each finger counting back the months. Holy shit. Could this be his child?
Van’s phone vibrated. He answered the call feeling like he’d fallen down a rabbit hole.
Chapter 9
Cassie couldn’t outrun the monsters chasing her. Samuel was crying. She could hear him, but she couldn’t find him. What had they done? She screamed his name, but she had no voice. She had to find him. She had to save him! “It’s alright. I’ve got your baby. He’s fine.” Van…no, God this was a dream…somehow, she knew that. Van’s voice? Why was he here? Cassie pushed against the darkness. She had to get to him. She had to find Samuel, to get him away from those monsters.
Consciousness slammed into her with the impact of a baseball bat swung at full force. Her mind exploded with terror, coating everything in a film of horror.
Samuel! She had to find her baby! Panic took her breath away. She pushed up and rolled onto her hands and knees a mere second before she vomited. Her head split into a million different fragments.
“Cassie, stop. I have your baby. He’s fine.” She knew that voice. She dreamed of that voice.
Cassie trembled violently. No, her mind was playing tricks on her. Van couldn’t be here, but her eyes wouldn’t focus so she couldn’t see who crouched near her. She listened for Samuel.
“My baby. What have you done with my baby?” Cassie croaked out the words and clawed at the ground searching for the rotted-out log where she tried to hide Samuel.
“Cassie! Stop!”
The raised voice shredded her brain into fragments. White spots exploded behind her eyes, and she crumbled to the ground, sobbing through the pain. “Where’s my baby?” She couldn’t think, repeating the words over and over. They had to tell her. She needed to find Samuel. Warm gentle hands touched her. Cassie curled into a ball covering her head with her arms. Ragged shards of pain sliced through her body.
“He’s right here. Hold still, I’m going to roll you over and put him in your arms.”
She froze when the words registered. Big hands gently lowered her onto her back, and she felt the weight of her son placed in the crook of her arm. Cassie reached up with her hand and felt him because her eyes remained unfocused. She was unable to see more than a haze of a bundle next to her, but she could hear him. He gurgled and cooed as he moved in her arms. Shaking horribly from sobbing, and from pain, Cassie leaned over and kissed Samuel. She clenched her eyes closed and held back another wave of nausea the movement produced.
“Your uncle isn’t going to hurt you anymore.”
Cassie’s hand stopped stroking her baby at the sound of his voice. Van’s voice? No, her mind was playing tricks on her, just like her eyes. “Where is my father?”
“Is there another threat?”
Cassie heard a different voice that time. She blinked hard trying to clear her vision. The sound of a fire crackling somewhere near her acted as a lightning rod, bringing her back to the clearing where her uncle had tried to kill her. He’d taken pleasure in telling her he was going to beat her to death and leave Samuel for the wolves.
“She said something about her father. I wonder where her mother is.”
It had to be Van’s voice, but Cassie knew it couldn’t be. She was still dreaming, only this was a different kind of nightmare.
“She’s dead,” Cassie spoke between shuddering breaths. She could feel the tears falling down her cheeks but did nothing to wipe them away.
“Cassie, the baby needs to eat. Do you have a bottle for him?” Van’s disembodied voice asked.
She blinked back the haze and glanced down at her baby, seeing him clearly. Her finger stroked his cheek, and he turned to suckle at the motion. He was wrapped in a big fleece shirt made of a thick warm material, definitely not something she’d had when she fled the mountaintop.
Slowly she rolled her head. Van and Travis crouched next to her. She blinked several times, making sure the men were truly there. “How?” So many questions screamed through her mind, but that was the only one she could voice.
“Guardian sent us up here to relay a message to you. We heard your baby crying last night. I came in search of whoever was up here with an infant. We were going to check on them and give them our extra supplies. I found you just after your uncle caught up with you.”
“Is he dead?” Cassie hoped he was, and she knew that was wrong, but it would mean Samuel was safe.
“No, but Van put a bullet through the bastard’s shoulder. He’ll never hit another person with that arm again.” Travis answered. “We’ve got him patched up and tied up over there with the horses.”
“My father?”
“Is he a threat?” Van’s voice pulled her eyes to meet his for an instant. She couldn’t hold his gaze. The guilt she carried was too much to bear.
“Cassie? Is your father a threat?”
“I don’t know. He told me he wanted me to die.”
Samuel began to fuss in earnest. Cassie tried to sit up, wincing from nausea and…oh God, the pain.
“What are you doing?”
Van’s voice carried sudden concern. An emotion she hadn’t heard or seen since her mother died. “I need to nurse him.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” Travis’s question almost brought a smile to her face.
“Why? Do you have the equipment to nurse him?” Van quipped
before Cassie could comment.
Travis looked everywhere but at Cassie as if he was embarrassed at the notion of her breastfeeding her son. “Well, no, but…she’s been unconscious.”
Samuel’s angry cry sent everyone into motion. Van’s big body moved behind her as he gently slid her up into an elevated recline against his chest. The gentleness of his touch sent a fresh wave of tears down her cheeks. Cassie reached up to unbutton her shirt, but Van’s hands stayed their action.
“Travis, her father may be out there. I need you to take the out position until I relieve you or reinforcements arrive.”
“Copy that, Skipper.” Travis stood up quickly and headed into the darkness.
In another life, the embarrassment the big man showed might have been funny. But there wasn’t anything remotely amusing about her life. Van released her hand, and she unbuttoned her shirt. She attempted to lift Samuel, but a shot of pain raced up her arm when she moved.
“Here, let me help you.” Van slid his big hand under Samuel and repositioned him against her breast. The baby rooted around and latched on, suckling as if he hadn’t been fed all day. She tried to think of how long it had been since she’d last nursed him…three, maybe four hours? The sun was past the ridge, and it was darkening, but the stars weren’t out yet.
Cassie carefully laid her head back against Van’s chest, unable to support herself without pain rifling through her neck and head.
“What’s his name?” The deep bass of his voice rumbled through his chest where she rested.
“Samuel.” Silence filled the area around them. Van had adored his grandfather. He’d told her about the wonderful days he’d spent with Grampa Samuel. When she’d named his son, she wanted a name that had good memories associated with it.
Montana Guardian: A Guardian Security Novella (The Kings of Guardian) Page 6