Mountain Ambush

by Hope White

  A soft vibrating sound drifted across the cabin. She snapped her head around, trying to make sense of where it was coming from.

  The blanket—it was coming from the blanket.

  She scrambled across the room, thinking it was her phone, that somehow she’d managed to keep it.

  Tossing the blanket aside, she spotted a phone but it wasn’t hers. She picked it up and read a text.

  You are safe. There is food under the table.

  Could this get any stranger? She reached below the table and pulled out a soft-sided cooler. She unzipped the flap and peered inside: fresh fruit, cheese and raw vegetables.

  So she’d been kidnapped by a health nut?

  Hang on, if he’d texted her that meant...

  She called 9-1-1.

  “9-1-1 Emergency.”

  “This is Maddie McBride. I’ve been kidnapped. I need help.”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, what did you say your name was?”

  “Maddie McBride.”

  “Please stay on the line while I contact our chief.”

  “Okay.”

  “Can you tell us where you are?” the dispatcher asked.

  “I have no idea.” She scanned the surrounding area. “Somewhere in the Cascade Mountains. All I see are lots of trees.”

  “Maddie, it’s Nate. Are you okay?”

  “I’ve been better.”

  “He hasn’t hurt you?”

  “No, and he left me dinner. This whole thing is seriously creepy.”

  “Describe your surroundings.”

  “It’s a one-room log cabin with multipaned windows overlooking the forest. There’s a wood stove, but no wood.”

  “Stay on the line. We’re going to trace your phone signal.”

  “Okay, sure.” She grabbed the blanket off the floor and cloaked it around her shoulders.

  “Maddie?” Spence said.

  Her fingers tightened around the phone. “Spence, it’s good to hear your voice.”

  “What happened? How were you kidnapped?”

  “I was checking on Ruth and someone grabbed me from behind. Then I woke up in this strange cabin with a massive headache.”

  “He didn’t take your phone?”

  “He did, but he left me a different one. It’s weird, like he’s trying to take care of me, like he doesn’t want to hurt me. But Spence,” she confessed, “I’m kind of freaking out here.”

  “You’re a ninja, remember? And the toughest person I know.”

  She half chuckled. “Yeah. But if something happens—”

  “Don’t, don’t say it.”

  She squinted to see better out the window. “But Spence?”

  “Yes, Maddie.”

  “Oh, this is stupid.”

  “Talk to me.”

  “I was going to say, well, even with all the threats and craziness this past week, I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent together. That’s twisted, isn’t it?”

  He didn’t answer right away.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “You don’t have to agree in order to make me feel better.”

  “Maddie, I would give anything to be able to switch places with you right now because,” he admitted, “I love you.”

  She closed her eyes, and felt a tear warm her cheek. “I thought I was crazy, ya know, because I feel this way.”

  “Then we’re both crazy,” he said. “Hang on... Nate is trying to tell me something.”

  A few long seconds passed.

  “What’s going on?” Maddie said.

  Spence didn’t respond.

  “Spence?”

  “Nate can’t track the phone.”

  “Then how can I tell you where I am?” she said, gazing out the window.

  “Have faith, Maddie. You taught me that,” Spence said.

  A man in snow gear, including face mask, came out of the forest and was heading toward the cabin with a definite limp.

  “It’s him. He’s back.” She stepped away from the window.

  “How do you know it’s—?”

  “He’s limping. It’s the guy Ryan shot. Okay, okay,” she said, considering her next move. “He’s wounded. This could be my chance to get away.”

  “Maddie—”

  “I’ve got to focus.” She shoved the phone into her pocket and her fingers touched metal keys. Her house and car keys. She slid the keys between her fingers and curled up with the blanket around her shoulders, pretending to be asleep.

  A thumping sound echoed from the other side of the door. He was tapping snow off his boots.

  The dead bolt clicked.

  The door squeaked open.

  “Still asleep?” a man said.

  She didn’t move, didn’t breathe. A surge of determination gave her a new kind of strength thanks to Spence’s words.

  I love you.

  “Time to eat something,” the man said.

  She didn’t answer. If only he’d come close enough, she’d nail him with the keys.

  Adrenaline pulsed through her body all the way to her fingertips.

  “Maddie?” he whispered.

  She remained still, curled up. Floorboards creaked as he approached.

  Through cracked eyelids she saw him kneel by her side.

  She swung her arm and nailed him in the face with the keys. Stunned, he stumbled back and she jumped to her feet, delivering a kick to his gut. He doubled over and she raced past him out of the cabin.

  Pulling the phone out of her pocket, she said, “I don’t see a car, or other cabins, or anything. We’re in the middle of nowhere!”

  She ignored the wet ground chilling her stocking feet and the panic spiking her blood pressure. She sprinted toward the forest where she’d find cover.

  “What else do you see?” It was Nate’s voice. “Lights below? A clearing, anything?”

  “Nothing distinguishable. There’s no obvious road, either.”

  “Where’s the perpetrator?”

  She cast a quick glance over her shoulder, but he wasn’t behind her. “He must still be in the cabin.”

  “Run, Maddie, run!” It was her brother’s voice.

  She practically dived into the forest but couldn’t find a clearly marked trail. Without the moonlight, her vision was limited.

  “It’s dark and I don’t have shoes or a coat.” She kept moving.

  Finally out of breath, she dodged behind a boulder and collapsed. “What now?”

  “Keep the line open,” Nate said. “We’re still working on tracking your location.”

  She started shivering, her body’s natural response to the cold, and she struggled to focus on something else, something other than the chill in her bones. Not easy when the moisture from the snow was soaking through to her skin.

  “Hang in there, Maddie,” her brother said.

  “I think we’ve got something,” Nate offered.

  As she focused on her breathing, reality permeated her thoughts. They’d never get to her in time. They didn’t even know where she was. And if they didn’t find her soon, she could succumb to hypothermia.

  Nate, Ryan and Spence kept talking to her, but after a while their voices seemed to fade.

  She felt herself drift, then felt nauseous, dizzy.

  “Have faith,” she whispered, repeating Spence’s words. “Have faith,” she repeated over and over again.

  “That’s right, have faith,” a man said.

  Spence?

  She glanced up and saw his broad form standing over her.

  “Spence.”

  He extended his hand and she took it.

  FIFTEEN

  “Maddie!” Spence shouted at the spea
kerphone.

  There was no response. He glanced at Nate and Ryan, who stood close by in the conference room.

  “What happened? Where did she go?” Spence said.

  “He found her.” Ryan slammed his fist against the table and paced to the opposite side of the room. He spun around. “Why couldn’t we track the phone?”

  “He disabled the GPS,” Nate said.

  “Then why let her call us at all?” Ryan said.

  “To show us he’s in charge,” Nate offered.

  Spence couldn’t take his eyes off the speakerphone. Waiting, praying, to hear Maddie’s voice.

  “That’s right,” a gravelly male voice whispered through the room. “Watch your step.”

  Spence jumped to his feet. “Let her go!”

  Nate placed a hand on his shoulder. “He’s messing with your head.”

  “Almost there,” the man said.

  “His voice,” Nate said. “It sounds like he’s trying to mask it by talking from back of his throat.”

  Ryan stood in the corner, eyes widening with fury. “Come on, give us something,” he ground out.

  “I’ve got dry socks in the cabin,” the man whispered.

  “S-s-s-ocks,” she said.

  Spence’s legs gave way and he collapsed in a chair.

  “And we’ll have dinner.”

  “D-d-d-dinner.”

  “Yes, you and me.”

  Nausea rolled through Spence’s gut. He’d never felt such helplessness or desperation in his life. At this point he’d do anything to ensure Maddie’s safe release.

  “That’s it,” the man said. “Let’s get you comfortable.”

  Spence’s eyes were glued to the speaker, yet a part of him feared what might happen next.

  Seconds stretched into minutes.

  Nothing.

  Nate glanced at his phone. “9-1-1 just confirmed the call ended.”

  Ryan shoved a chair aside and stormed out of the room. Nate spoke to someone on the phone in low tones, and Spence glared at the speaker with such intensity he thought it might melt.

  “I don’t care if he’s in a meeting, we need assistance ASAP. A witness has been kidnapped.” Nate headed for the door. “Hang on. Spence, I’ll be in my office working on getting help from the feds.”

  Spence nodded, but couldn’t speak. He had no words.

  Nate left the room and the utter silence started to erode Spence’s hope.

  His fault. It was his fault.

  Spence had involved Maddie in this by accepting her help from the beginning. Why hadn’t he tried harder to drive her away? Instead, he’d leaned on her, relied on her and now she was being terrorized by Spence’s enemy.

  “God, I’ll do anything,” he whispered, assuming God understood his meaning.

  And he would. He’d sacrifice his own life if it meant saving hers.

  Because he knew he could not live in a world without Maddie McBride.

  His phone vibrated with a call—a blocked number.

  “Hello,” he answered.

  “I don’t want to hurt her,” a throaty voice whispered.

  Spence’s heart dropped. “Then let her go.”

  He stood to get Nate.

  “If you involve the police, I will kill her.”

  “What do you want?” Spence sat back down.

  “You.”

  “I’ll do whatever you ask.”

  “I know you will.”

  * * *

  An hour later the energy in the police station was stifling. Spence had finally received instructions on where to meet the kidnapper and when—three hours in the mountains beyond Deception Pass. But Spence had no vehicle or hiking gear.

  He had a bigger problem: he had to leave the station without creating suspicion. He didn’t like keeping Nate out of the loop, but he wouldn’t risk Maddie’s life if the kidnapper figured out Spence had backup.

  For all he knew, the kidnapper had a partner in the police station. At this point they weren’t ruling anything out, and Spence didn’t trust anyone to save Maddie’s life.

  But he had the power to do so. And he would.

  Reaching out to Ruth seemed like the best strategy. She and Cal were at the resort taking it easy. He asked if he could stop by, hoping to borrow one of their cars.

  Spence approached Nate’s office doorway and waited for him to finish his call.

  “Good, keep me posted.” Nate hung up and glanced at Spence. “How are you holding up?”

  “I need to distract myself. Thought I’d check on Ruth at the resort. Who knows, maybe she remembered something else that can help us.”

  “I’ll have Adam take you. I assume you want to be kept in the loop about Maddie?”

  “You know it.”

  Nate called Adam and asked him to return to the station. As Spence went to the exit, he passed Ryan, who didn’t even look up. Of course not, Maddie’s brother probably blamed Spence for her being kidnapped.

  Spence surely did.

  He went outside and pulled his jacket closed in front. Glancing up at the mountain range in the distance he shook his head. If it was this cold down here...

  Fighting the image of Maddie suffering from hypothermia and being tended to by a killer, Spence tried thinking of something else, anything else. But her bright smile and emerald green eyes filled his thoughts. Gentle, caring green eyes.

  “Please, God,” he whispered.

  A few minutes later Adam pulled up and motioned for him to get in.

  * * *

  Ruth looked exhausted, Spence thought as he entered her resort room. She motioned him to the dining table and he sat down.

  “Is Cal here?” Spence said.

  “Went to get me something from the snack bar.”

  “Probably just as well.”

  “He shouldn’t have said that before, about it being your fault. He was upset.”

  “I know the feeling.” He glanced at his friend. “I need a favor.”

  “Sure.”

  “I need to borrow a car.”

  She leaned back in her chair. “What’s going on?”

  “I’d rather not involve you further.”

  “Please, tell me what’s happened.”

  “Someone kidnapped Maddie.”

  “Oh, Spence.”

  “The kidnapper wants to meet, alone. I haven’t told police.”

  “You can’t go by yourself. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I have no choice. I have to save her, Ruth. I have to...” His voice trailed off.

  “You love her,” Ruth said.

  Spence nodded.

  Ruth grabbed her purse. “Cal drove us over in my car.”

  “Will he be upset with you for letting me use it?”

  “I’ll handle Cal.” She pulled keys out of her purse.

  When Spence reached for them she hesitated before letting go. “Please be careful.”

  “I will.”

  * * *

  Since Adam was posted in the hallway, Spence slipped out of Ruth’s room through the patio door and left the resort without being detected. He didn’t feel all that great about leaving his bodyguard in the dark, but felt he had no choice.

  Spence decided to stop at a store outside of town to pick up clothes and a warm jacket since his things were destroyed in the fire. He also purchased blankets, boots and fresh clothes for Maddie, along with a thermal blanket to treat exposure.

  Second thoughts about excluding Nate taunted him, but he couldn’t risk involving the police.

  An hour later he made it to the trailhead and after a short hike, he spotted the small cabin in a clearing. Heart pounding, he crossed the property and step
ped onto the stoop.

  What if she was gone? What if the kidnapper had moved her, or worse, killed her?

  Please, God.

  With a deep breath, he opened the door and went inside. The first thing he saw was Maddie on the floor. He quickly scanned the room, but she was alone.

  If the kidnapper left her alone without locking the door that meant...

  “No, no, no,” he muttered, rushing to her side. “Maddie, can you hear me?”

  He checked her pulse—sixty beats per minute.

  Thank God.

  Pulling off his pack, he dug out the warming blanket. Her clothes weren’t as wet as he’d expected, which was good. He wrapped her snugly in the blanket and kissed her forehead.

  “She’ll be okay.”

  Spence whipped around and saw Ruth’s husband leaning against the doorframe.

  “Cal?”

  “You know I’d never hurt her,” he said in his normal voice. “She’s a lovely girl and that family has been through enough.” Cal stepped inside and locked the cabin door. He clutched a gun in his hand.

  “I don’t understand,” Spence said.

  “It’s simple. You’re too perfect.”

  “Excuse me?” Spence held Maddie close, stroking her hair.

  “We had to do something to destroy your reputation before you opened a Pandora’s box.”

  “You? That was you in the mountains with the mask?”

  “No, that was Anthony. Mr. Wick procured her phone and passed it to Anthony. He was supposed to ensure you had a fatal accident.”

  “But why?”

  “Stop pretending. You’d discovered our side business. You kept asking Ruth about billing discrepancies.”

  Spence shook his head. “No, Cal—”

  “You were building a fraud case against us. You insinuated as much at the hospital board meeting. Anthony failed to kill you in the mountains, but then you suffered brain trauma and we decided to capitalize on that instead of killing you. Almost convinced you to kill yourself trying to save your brother.”

  “You were the ambulance driver, the doctor who led me into the mountains?”

  “The one plan that worked in our favor. I had to draw you out of whatever resort cabin you were hiding in and knew you couldn’t resist saving people from a fire. Anthony drugged you in the kitchen and dumped you outside. Once paramedics got you into the ambulance I knocked out the driver and drove off. If only you would have ended your life then and there.”