Beneath A Texas Sky (Harlequin Super Romance)

by Winters, Rebecca

  By the time she rounded the summit to the observatory, the wind was buffeting the car. She parked close to the building. Not bothering to lock it, she hurried inside so she wouldn’t get blown away.

  She made a beeline for her office and e-mailed the latest project she’d been working on to her father. With that accomplished she turned off all the machines. Now she was ready to join everyone at the café.

  Be there, Jace. Please be there.

  The wind played havoc with her hair, blinding her as she stepped outside with the remote to set the electronic lock. Then she retraced the few steps to the car.

  She’d just fastened her seat belt when an arm grabbed her around the neck from behind in a head-lock, almost cutting off her windpipe. She felt something hard pressed to the back of her skull. Then she heard the unmistakable click of a gun hammer.

  “Give me any trouble and I’ll kill you.”

  Oh dear God.

  “W-what do you want?” She was so terrified she could hardly form words.

  He reached in front for her purse. “We’re going to take a little ride. If you so much as look at anybody or cry out, I’ll blow everyone away. Let’s get going. I’ll tell you when to turn.”

  She was trembling uncontrollably. It took her a minute to start the car, let alone put it in gear.

  “Quit stalling!” He shoved the barrel of the gun harder against her head.

  “I—I’m not.”

  The whole time she descended the summit, a vision of the horrors awaiting her filled her mind.

  Why had she left her gun at the apartment?

  Why hadn’t she thought to tell Heidi her plans?

  No one knew she’d come up here. No one would know where this monster was taking her. She started praying.

  “Turn left at the next road.”

  What choice did she have?

  It was a fire-lane road that ran through the mountainous terrain beyond the ranches. One afternoon she’d followed it for a little while before turning around because it was too isolated.

  Why didn’t some rancher or forest service employee come along who would at least remember passing her car?

  Maybe her assailant wouldn’t notice if she turned on her headlights. In case there was someone out there, she could flash them on and off to get their attention. But the second her left hand moved off the wheel, she felt the nudge of the gun.

  “Both hands where I can see them.”

  She tried to get a good look at him in the rearview mirror. Though he stayed out of her line of vision, she had the impression of dark hair and an unshaven face. His voice was unfamiliar.

  In prison she’d listened to the other inmates talk about the ways they defended themselves against abusive husbands and boyfriends. The one thing they were unanimous about was that they’d rather take the chance of getting stabbed or shot than lie down and submit to whatever was going to happen.

  Dana felt the same way. At the first opportunity she would do whatever it took to escape, or die trying.

  She heard her cell phone ring, but he had her purse. It was after eight. It could be Jace or Heidi wondering where she was.

  A mile farther and he told her to pull off the road. “Wind around the back of that clump of trees.”

  “My car’s going to high center.”

  “Do it!”

  She geared down and left the road to drive through the underbrush. The underside of the car mired down two or three times, killing the engine. She had to keep starting it up again.

  “Don’t stop till I tell you when.”

  He wouldn’t let up until he’d made sure her car was hidden from the road. Her body broke out in a cold sweat.

  “This’ll do.”

  She applied the brakes.

  “Turn it off.”

  Please God. Help me.

  “That’s it. Now slowly undo your seat belt.”

  When she was free of the straps, she decided it was now or never. Taking several deep breaths, she fell sideways against the passenger seat to reach the other door. By the time he got out of the back, she’d rolled out on the low-growing vegetation and had begun to run.

  “You little bitch.”

  As she raced to the next clump of trees, she could hear his footsteps gaining on her. He should have fired by now. The fact that he hadn’t meant he was afraid someone would hear gunshots and come to investigate.

  Encouraged, she scrambled up the steep terrain. At one point her lungs were ready to burst, but she didn’t dare stop. Ahead she could see an outcropping of rocks. If she could reach them before he did, she could throw a small slab at his head to slow him down.

  It wasn’t much farther now, but she had a pain in her side. Gasping for breath, she pressed on. Then like a miracle, she saw movement. Someone was standing on the rocks above her.

  “Help me!” she cried out. “There’s a killer after me! Please help me!”

  A head appeared over the edge. A head with long blond hair parted in the center and a pathetic goatee. She grew icy cold.

  “I got her here,” came the voice behind her. “Now let’s get the hell inside.”

  “Inside where?” she whispered, conscious of a ringing in her ears.

  “You’ll find out.”

  Her assailant grabbed hold of her arms and dragged her around the rocks until they reached the ledge. Behind him was a yawning black hole.

  “Welcome to your home away from home. Glen’s been waiting for you.”

  “Don’t make me go in that cave. I can’t!” she screamed.

  “Better shut her up, Glen, or I will,” she heard him say before she wasn’t cognizant of anything else.

  THE STAKEOUT had been in place three hours, but nothing was happening. Jace got on the forest service truck’s speakerphone, which was patched in to Pat.

  “It’s already eight-fifteen. Glen doesn’t work weekends and could be sleeping in, but this is taking too long. I’m going to wait five more minutes for him to come out of the house. If he doesn’t, I’ll ring the bell and wait for someone to answer. When the guys see me go inside, tell them to close in.”

  “Understood. While you’re waiting, I thought you’d like to hear this. The info on Burdick came in an hour ago. He’s been on the FBI’s ten most wanted list for over a year.”

  “I knew it.”

  “He has a string of aliases. Was doing time in a Florida prison for murder when he escaped. Get this—he was born in Nebraska. Among his occupations as a mechanic and construction worker, he’s been a crop duster.”

  Jace let out a cry of satisfaction. “He and Glen met up somewhere and planned that robbery. With the ability to fly a plane, and a place to land it, they must have thought all their ships had come in.”

  “Wait it out a year, stay clean, then fly over the border and live it up in good old Mexico.”

  “Not this time,” Jace vowed.

  “I got on the phone to Austin. They’ve sent more manpower and they’re rounding up Burdick at his apartment as we speak.”

  “Why does this seem too easy, Pat?”

  “What are you talking about? It’s taken two months for you to break this case with only a hope and a prayer. I’m proud of you. Now go get Mason, and every Ranger in Texas will be celebrating tonight.”

  I hope you’re right. But for some reason, Jace had an unaccountable sense of foreboding. It had come over him while he’d been waiting for Glen to make an appearance. Another one of those gut instincts that told him something was wrong. He just didn’t know what.

  “I’m getting out of the truck now. Tell the guys to be ready.”

  HEIDI HUNG UP the phone and glanced anxiously at her husband. “Mr. Watkins said Dana left the apartment in her car around seven-thirty this morning and hasn’t come back.”

  Gideon rubbed the lower half of his face with his hand. “She never showed up at the café. Neither did Jace. We’ve been to the observatory. She’s not there, and she’s not answering her cell phone.”

&nb
sp; “Do you think Jace was able to drive up here after all? Maybe at the last minute he asked her to meet him halfway?”

  After a hesitation he said, “It’s possible, but one of them would have called to let us know.”

  Kevin sat on the end of their motel-room bed with Pokey. “She was really upset last night about Jace. Maybe she felt so bad she just decided to fly home to California as soon as she got up this morning. She knows we’re on vacation and probably didn’t want to wake you up.”

  Heidi’s gaze met her husband’s. “Kevin could be right. Shall we call the commuter airline in Alpine?”

  Gideon nodded. “I’ll do that right now.”

  Her body tensed while she waited for him to get the number. When he finally reached someone, she saw lines darken his face. Her heart dropped to her feet. Kevin’s face mirrored her concern.

  She got up from the chair. “What did you find out?”

  “Dana hasn’t been there. In any case, all planes in the West Texas area are grounded because of an incoming storm. Two tornadoes have already touched down near Odessa and Marfa.”

  At this point Heidi was beside herself with anxiety. Her husband’s grim expression wasn’t reassuring.

  “Why don’t you call her folks. Maybe she talked to them last night or early this morning and they know something we don’t.”

  “You must be worried or you wouldn’t want me to alarm them when it’s only a little after 7:00 a.m. in California.”

  He gathered her in his arms. “I’m only trying to narrow the field.”

  “You’re thinking what I’m thinking!” she cried out. “That horrible Glen’s been stalking her. What if he found out where she lived and waited by the garage. He could have overpowered her when she was in there and she would have been helpless to—”

  “Hush, darling.” He crushed her against him. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.” Just then Heidi’s cell phone rang. “That’s probably Dana now.”

  “Oh I hope so!” She dashed over to the dresser to pick it up. “The caller ID says out of area.” She pressed the talk button. “Hello?”

  “Is that you, Rose Red?”

  “Dr. Turner, hi!”

  “A few minutes ago I was checking my e-mail and saw that my daughter has decided to pay us a surprise visit today. We thought she was planning to vacation with you this weekend.”

  “We were all going to go to Big Bend Park, but something came up and Dana changed her mind.”

  “Well, since she’s not answering her phone, we thought maybe you knew the details so we could meet her plane. She didn’t give us the name of an airline or a flight number.”

  Heidi flashed her husband a distress signal. “There’s bad weather here and all flights have been grounded. She probably didn’t know that when she sent you the e-mail.”

  “Let me handle this,” Gideon murmured.

  “Just a minute. My husband’s right here and wants to talk to you.” She handed him the phone.

  “Dr. Turner? Gideon here. I’ve been following your conversation with Heidi. Could you tell us the time Dana sent her message?”

  “It’s on the screen in front of me. Here we are. It came in at seven-forty Texas time.”

  “That explains why she didn’t know about the planes being grounded. When she finds out, she’ll drive back to Cloud Rim. I’m sure she’ll phone you as soon as she can. If we hear from her first, we’ll call you so you won’t worry.”

  “I’d appreciate that. Say, just between you and me, how come she wanted to come home while you’re there? Is she having a hard time?”

  “Not in the way you think. She’s met a man.”

  “Jace Riley.”

  “Yes. Maybe she just wanted to talk to you about him in person.”

  “That sounds like my Snow White. Thanks, Gideon. Enjoy the rest of your trip.”

  “We will. Talk to you later.” He hung up.

  Heidi grasped his arms. “Dana must have gone to Alpine straight from the observatory. She’s probably on her way back now. If her cell phone died, that could be the reason why she’s not answering. Let’s drive to Alpine. Maybe we’ll see her on the highway coming home.”

  Gideon’s instincts told him that finding Dana wasn’t going to be that simple. If she was missing, and Jace didn’t know about it, then all hell was about to break loose.

  “Let’s go.” He ushered his family out to the car. Raindrops carried by the wind hit the car with surprising force. They rushed to get inside and took off. When they reached the outskirts of Cloud Rim, Kevin cried, “Whoa, Dad, what are all those police cars doing there?”

  “Oh please don’t let Dana have been in an accident—”

  Gideon’s hand slid to his wife’s thigh. “It a roadblock, darling.” He pulled the car over to the side and stopped. “Stay here while I find out what’s going on.” He climbed out and started walking toward the barricades.

  The rain was coming down hard now. With his back to his family, he phoned the number Jace had given him to reach Pat Hardy. When the other man picked up, he said, “Sheriff? This is Detective Poletti.”

  “Jace said you’d be calling about Ralph Mason. He’s going to be all right, but it looks like Glen eluded surveillance and escaped on foot during the night. We’ve got police swarming these mountains looking for him.”

  Dear Lord. “How long has the road been blocked out of Cloud Rim?”

  “Since five this morning.”

  “I have more bad news for Jace, Sheriff. Dana Turner’s missing.”

  “Oh boy.”

  “We know she was at the observatory at quarter to eight this morning. If she tried to drive her white Toyota to Alpine around that time, did any of your officers see her?”

  “One minute and I’ll check.”

  He rubbed his eyes while he waited. His wife’s deepest fear might be closer to the truth than she knew.

  “The guys have made a notation of every vehicle trying to get in or out of Cloud Rim. There’s been no sign of her or her car.”

  Gideon felt as though a thirty-foot wave had just pounded him into the ocean floor. “Glen’s obsessed with her. I’m thinking he kidnapped her at the observatory and has taken her somewhere in her car. It wasn’t there when I drove up earlier.”

  “At least you’ve given us a point of reference to concentrate our search. Trust a big storm like this to blow in now. We can’t send the helicopters for a look yet.”

  “They might not be able to fly all day,” Gideon surmised. “I’m going to help with the search.” He gave Pat the information on his Acura and his license plate number.

  “If you’re going to join in, you need to know Lewis Burdick, Glen’s partner, also turned up missing from his apartment this morning. The FBI’s been looking for him for over a year now. He’s a murderer with an arsenal of handguns and assault rifles.”

  His jaw hardened. “Thanks for the info, Sheriff.”

  “Be careful.”

  Gideon hung up and raced back to the car. By the time he got in, he was soaking wet.

  “Darling?” she cried in panic. “Did you find out anything about Dana?”

  “I’ve been talking to the police. We believe Glen kidnapped her at the observatory. There’s a manhunt on for him.”

  She broke down sobbing.

  “Jace is out there looking for her. You better believe he won’t rest until he’s found her. I’m going to help with the search.”

  “Can I come?” Kevin asked.

  “Thanks, son, but I’d rather you and Pokey kept Heidi company until I return.”

  Her head reared back. “I don’t want you to go, but since it’s Dana—” Tears gushed from her eyes.

  “Do you think I want to leave you?” he asked urgently. “Tell me not to go and I won’t.”

  “I can’t do that. She’s in trouble. I’ve got to call her parents and tell them what’s happened.”

  His wife was right, but he groaned because he knew what the news would
do to them.

  In a few minutes she handed him the phone. “Dana’s mom wants to talk to you.”

  He took it from her. “Mrs. Turner?”

  “Gideon, my husband and I are on our way. Before we hang up, there’s something you should know. When I was a youngster and visited my grandparents, my cousins and I used to play on the property up there. That part of the ridge near the top to the west has a lot of caves. I—I’m afraid the kidnapper might know about them. If he’s taken her to one—”

  They all knew about Dana’s claustrophobia. Yet no matter how shaken she was, Dana’s mother must have been inspired just now.

  “God willing, we’ll find her, Mrs. Turner. Stay in close touch. I have to go now.”

  Before handing his wife the phone, he called Pat.

  “Sheriff? It’s Detective Poletti. I’ve been given a tip you and Jace should know about.”

  “Hold on. I’ve got him on the other line. We’ll make this a three-way.” After a moment, “Go ahead, Gideon.”

  “Jace?”

  “I’m here.” The man’s voice sounded haunted.

  “Dana’s mother told me something that could be vital.” Without preamble he repeated her words.

  “You just told me what I needed to hear,” Jace said.

  “Jace? I’ll start a search along the first firebreak road below the observatory. It’s the one that cuts through the terrain in a westerly direction.”

  “Sounds good. Pat? Give him backup and tell the patrol division to send their K-9 handlers to that area. Without helicopters, we’ll need the dogs to track.”

  “We’re going to find her,” Gideon said.

  He heard a harsh intake of breath. “In what condition?”

  “Don’t think like that, Jace. I’m hanging up now.”

  TWO HOURS LATER the thunder had passed over, but the weather still resembled a monsoon. Despite the impossible conditions, the guys behind him were relentless and methodical in their search. Jace had nothing but praise for them, but so far nothing had turned up.

  He made his way between the huge clumps of junipers, keeping his eyes poised on the ground for anything that might give him a lead. Suddenly he heard something that made him stop in his tracks.