by Wendy Vella
His words shocked Ava, because even now there was a glimmer of hope that her boyfriend still cared.
“It’s okay, Ava.” She leaned in again, pretending to comfort the girl, and whispered, “Be ready.”
“Move!”
Zander motioned them to take the lead, and as she passed him, Piper pretended to stumble, and knocked into him, sending Zander backward.
“Run, Ava!”
She heard him cursing as she followed Ava to the trees, but the bullet that dug into the trunk beside her head, had Piper dropping to the ground.
“Stop, or I shoot!” She felt something hard digging into her neck, and knew it was the muzzle of the gun. “Ava, come back here now!”
He dragged Piper to her feet.
“She’s gone, Zander. She’ll get to the others, and they’ll know it’s you,” Piper taunted him. Anger twisted his face into an ugly scowl.
“Bitch!”
Piper knew he didn’t want to let her go and chase Ava, because she’d escape.
“Now what, Zander? Maybe you should just let me go and make a run for it. Who knows, you may get out of Ryker before they catch you... or you might not.”
“Adjust,” he said. “I just need to adjust.”
Grabbing her, he wrenched her arms behind her back and tied them.
“Only one of us now, Zander. It won’t be long before they find you. Then what happens?” She continued to taunt him.
“I’ll escape, but not before I put a bullet in you and your man.”
Piper shivered as he nudged her forward with the gun. She didn’t want to die, and all this mess with Dylan now seemed foolish. He’d messed up, and she hadn’t forgiven him, and while she had every right to be pissed, she should have at least let him explain. The thought of not seeing him, Grace, and her family again was too painful to contemplate, so instead she focused on doing what she was told for now. But they’d come, and she’d get through this. She had to believe that; no other option was acceptable.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
His mind was running through scenarios, trying to work out the next step Field’s son would take. Pushing aside thoughts of the two women he loved, he tried to remember everything he could about the case.
“The old man will be running things,” Mickey said from beside him. “He’d have it all planned right down to the last detail, so the boy will be doing what he’s told is my guess. That bastard will have manipulated and messed with his son’s head since birth. We need to get to some cell coverage so I can see if that picture has been emailed through.” Mickey held up his cellphone. “Dale said he’d do it ASAP.”
The Trainers were disappearing every few feet, off the main trail and back again while they searched each section for signs that people had come this way.
“Help!”
“Ava!” Dylan heard his sister’s cry and started running in her direction. “Where are you?”
Crashing through the bush, he knew the others were on his heels.
“Ava!” He heard her coming from the left; seconds later she burst through the trees sobbing his name. He caught her as she threw herself at him.
“It’s all right, I have you now.” His grip was punishing, but he couldn’t make himself release her.
“Where’s Piper?” Joe Trainer appeared.
“H-he has her.”
“Who, Ava?” Dylan eased her off his chest.
“Zander. He’s the one who’s been d-doing all this stuff to us he told me.”
“Zander!” Like everyone, Joe looked shocked.
“He said he’s doing it for his father.”
“Where, Ava? Where has he taken her?”
“I don’t know. Piper knocked into Zander, and screamed at me to run, so I did, but she didn’t follow because he caught her. He has Buzz too.”
“Christ!” Luke Trainer echoed everyone’s thoughts.
“He’s using her as bait to catch you, Dylan.” Ava looked up at him. “He—he said he was going to k-kill us, and make you watch.”
“He’s not killing my cousin!” Joe roared. “Do what you do best, Dylan, and find her now!”
“Where is he going, Ava? I need you to think hard about what he said.”
“Upward.” She looked to the top of the mountain they were currently standing on. “He’s going up until dark to hide, then he’ll come down and implement his plan.”
“Okay, most of us know every inch of these mountains, but still, it’s never easy to track people if they don’t want to be tracked,” Fin said. “Can you lead us back to where you were, Ava? If we can start from there, it would help.”
She grabbed Dylan’s hand and held it tight.
“I know it’s Zander, Ava, and I know this must hurt.”
“It does, but I’m angry too, and scared.”
“Hold on to the anger, little sister.” While I hold on to the fear.
They found the place Zander had grabbed them, and Jack found the bullet hole in the tree.
“He was firing at me,” Ava said. “And he told Piper to stop or he’d shoot her.”
Dylan’s stomach dropped. She wouldn’t die. He couldn’t let that happen, not now. He loved her, and he needed to tell her that even if she never forgave him.
“Blood.” Luke dropped to his knees.
“It’s from Buzz. Z-Zander cut him, but it’s not bad.”
Fin examined the scene, as did the Trainers, looking for clues as to what direction to take.
“You bastards don’t follow orders is my guess.”
Cubby Hawker crashed through the trees wearing a backpack.
“No time,” Dylan said.
“This way.” Fin pushed aside some branches, and soon they were moving again.
They heard the helicopter then, and Dylan knew that would scare Zander, because it would signal they were hunting him.
Piper moved as slow as she could, but every time she stumbled or tried to stop, Zander jabbed her in the back with his gun.
“Get moving, and stop playing games!”
“Yes, because this is fucking hilarious.”
“I’ve always hated your smart mouth.”
“Yeah, we’ll I’ve always hated you because you’re a loser.”
“You won’t be such a smartass soon.”
“And you’ll look nice in prison orange. Should be a real reunion for you, being locked up nice and tight with your daddy.”
“What do you know about my father!”
She heard the shock in his words, but didn’t turn. He might see the fear then, and Piper wasn’t giving him that.
“Dylan knows everything. You messed up, Zander... if that’s even your name.”
“No! I never mess up. We planned everything perfectly.”
“Doesn’t look perfect from where I’m standing. Dylan said something about rerouting and a place in Queens.”
“No! I didn’t make a mistake.”
“Yeah, you did. So maybe you’re not quite as switched on as that sick bastard you call a father.”
“Shut up!”
“That your next thing, torturing and murdering women?”
“He didn’t do that, he’s innocent!”
“Oh come on, Zander. Do you really believe all those FBI people and the months they spent on your father’s case could get it so wrong? You need to wise up.”
“Shut up!”
She could hear the fear in him now.
“Adjust,” he muttered. “He told me that things change so I need to learn to adjust.”
“Who? Dear sadistic Daddy? He’s gonna be pissed with you if you muck this up.”
“Shut up!”
She’d never heard that particular tone in Zander’s voice, and it scared Piper enough to do as he said... for now.
They heard the helicopter, and every time it hovered overhead, Zander dragged her down and forced the gun into her ribs.
They climbed and climbed, for hours, and Piper’s fatigue had long since turned to numbness. She
concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other and continuing the punishing pace Zander forced on her. Focusing on the fact the people she loved would come for her kept her mind off what this man planned to do to Dylan.
Looking at the sky, Piper guessed it was now early evening, as the sun was lowering and the temperature dropping. Buzz was pressed to her legs, and she felt a small measure of comfort that he was with her. Zander had dropped his lead as soon as he heard the helicopter, but Buzz had stayed at her side. She just hoped Zander didn’t shoot him if he got in the way.
It was cold enough now that she was shivering, but having the fur ball close helped.
“I can’t see,” Piper complained as dusk eased into night.
“You can, now keep walking. We need more distance.”
Her eyes had adjusted, and Piper knew they were reaching the first ridge. There were some steep drops here, and a mistake could be fatal. She walked, because he kept nudging her. Like her, he was scared. All his plans had been shot to pieces. Zander had to hope that he could get her back down off the mountain without anyone noticing, which was not going to happen. There were only a few places you could safely walk off Roxy, and those would be covered by people, but she didn’t tell Zander that. Or that he was never going to get away with this.
Piper placed her foot on the ground as she had been doing since they’d started hiking upward, but this time it started to slide. Seconds later she was heading over the edge.
“No!”
She heard Zander’s roar, then felt his hands reach for her. Piper grabbed him, and together they fell.
CHAPTER FORTY
Dylan heard Piper’s scream and started running. Adrenaline gave him strength and pushed aside the tiredness. He was behind Fin and Joe, and the others behind him in single file. The sudden pounding of their feet filled the cool night air.
“It’s coming from the ridge!” Joe roared the words over his shoulder as he climbed.
Dylan tried to shut out thoughts of how Piper was suffering. Shut out images of what Field had done to the women he’d tortured.
“No time,” he rasped. “He’s had no time to hurt her.”
Not Piper, not his girl. Any suffering she experienced was down to him. He was the target, and the people he cared about were just pawns in the game to catch him... to make him pay.
“Stop!” Joe lifted a hand.
Dylan listened for a sound, anything to tell him she was all right.
“I hear something,” Luke said. “Beyond these trees is a sheer drop down, and I’m sure it’s coming from below us.”
They listened again, and heard raised voices, then a loud woof.
Moving cautiously through the trees, they found Buzz lying on his belly. Dylan dropped to his front beside him, running a hand down the frightened dog’s spine. Edging forward slowly, he looked over the edge. He kept the curse inside his head as he saw Piper and Zander about ten feet below him. Piper’s arms were wrapped around a branch, and Zander’s around her waist. Both were balanced on a small ledge, no bigger than two feet wide.
Dylan tapped Fin’s shoulder, who was next to him, and pointed down. Soon everyone had seen what the situation was.
“Move back so we can talk,” Cubby whispered into his ear. He didn’t want to. Fear that she would fall if he left had every muscle in his body urging him to go down there and rescue her.
A hand on his shoulder pulled him upright.
They huddled together well back from the edge. Joe had Buzz between his legs, stroking his head.
“I can’t get a clean shot without hitting Piper,” Fin said.
“They could go over the edge at any time, so I’m going down there,” Dylan said. “It’s me Zander wants, so if he sees that I’m close, he might let her go.”
“His father will have told him failure is not an option, Dylan. You know how Field works; he won’t care if his son dies for the greater cause. No way in hell is he letting her go, or you for that matter,” Mickey said.
“I have to try.”
“Okay, so we send him down as a decoy, and I climb down further along,” Joe said. “Luke and Jack can lower me, and you three have got Dylan. I’ll grab Pip, and you go for Zander, who probably has another name, but is Field’s son.”
“We got enough ropes?” Fin asked Cubby, who was busy unpacking his backpack.
“Two.” He handed one to the Trainers and the other to Dylan. “We send you over, but you don’t tell them you’re there until we know Joe’s in place.”
“How the hell do we do that without alerting Zander?” Dylan said.
Luke cupped his mouth and made a bird call that was so lifelike that if Dylan hadn’t seen him do it, he’d believe it was a bird.
“Do they do that at night?”
Luke shrugged. “You got another idea?”
“Okay, so that’s the signal. Now move it, she can’t stay down there much longer. That ledge is narrow, and it’s dark and cold,” Jack said.
“Shit.” The breath hissed out of Fin’s mouth. “I’m nervous because we haven’t planned for eventualities and don’t even know what’s waiting for you two over that edge. Hell, we’re not even sure we can hold you!”
“No time for nerves now, ranger boy, Pip could fall at any time,” Joe said. “Keep Buzz from following me.”
Everyone moved into position, and Dylan tied the rope securely around his waist. Mickey wrapped it around a tree, then he and the others took the other end. He lowered himself over the edge to the right of the ledge Piper and Zander were on.
“What now, Zander?”
Piper’s voice sounded husky, like she was in pain. Was she hurt?
“Shut up, I’m thinking.”
“I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to stay here either.”
“I said shut up!”
Dylan gritted his teeth as Piper moaned in pain. That bastard had hurt her. The rope jolted, and he went down hard, his feet scrambling to find a foothold.
“What was that?”
“Bats,” Piper hissed. “Big ones.”
Dylan eased down a few more feet until he was level with where they were. They couldn’t see him, as he was pressed to the edge and they weren’t looking. It was hell knowing he was this close to her and he couldn’t tell her.
“We need to climb out.”
“You climb out, I can’t. Let’s face it, Zander, you’re screwed. Your plan is toast, and the only place you’re going is to jail—or plunging to your death.”
“No! I can adjust.”
He heard her snort, then the call from Luke.
“What was that?”
“A Northern Fickler. They’re night birds.”
She was quick, he’d give her that. He eased forward. Looking beyond the ledge, he saw Joe was moving in too. Gun in hand, he looked at Dylan.
Holding up three fingers, Dylan made a swinging motion, and Joe nodded. Pulling out his gun, he counted down, then silently he pushed off on three, at the same time as Joe.
They swung wide and landed in front of the ledge.
Piper screamed as Joe grabbed her. “Up now!” he roared.
Dylan pointed his gun at Zander.
“Don’t move or I’m shooting, and I don’t care where it hits.”
“No!”
Zander lunged at him, catching him around the middle. Dylan wrestled with him, hearing the curses from above at the extra weight.
“I’m killing you!”
“Stop, Zander!”
Dylan tried to grab the boy as he slipped, but his hand found only air, and then he was gone.
“Dylan!”
Piper’s scream filled the air.
“Pull me up!”
It was slow going, but finally he was able to climb over the ledge and onto the trail.
“Dylan!”
“Piper.” He reached for her.
“Watch her left shoulder,” someone said from above them.
“God, Piper.” He held her gently.
>
“I-I thought you’d f-fallen.” She was crying now, trying to burrow into him. “It hurt so much.”
“No, love, Zander fell.” He cupped her face, easing her out of his arms. “You’ve hurt your shoulder?”
“Yes.”
Joe touched it, and she yelped.
“You need to let me have a look, Pip. We can set it for you if it’s dislocated,” Luke said.
“It hurts.”
“Well, obviously. Now stop being a baby, and let me fix it.”
Dylan watched as Luke crouched beside Joe to examine it.
“I’m glad you’re safe, cousin.” He kissed the top of her head.
Dylan caught the nod Luke threw him as he moved into position behind Piper.
“Piper, look at me.” Dylan lifted her chin. “That’s it.” He kissed her softly. “I need to tell you something, and I’ve never spoken these words before, so pay attention.”
“Is this gonna make me puke?” Jack Trainer said, lifting Piper’s hair out of the way. “Because if so, I’d be mighty pleased if you left it till you and Pip are alone.”
“I love you.” He whispered the words against her lips.
Her scream as Luke forced her shoulder back into the socket made his ears ring, and he wasn’t entirely sure he’d ever get full hearing back in one ear, but it was worth it just to say the words.
“It’s done now.” She’d fallen forward onto his chest, one hand gripping his so hard he couldn’t feel his fingers.
“Ouch,” she whispered, making him snort. “I’m making you pay for that later, Luke.”
“Look forward to it. Now, I’m not sure about you, but I’m hungry as hell, and it’s getting cold up here. What say you we all head on down now?”
“But Zander?”
“He’s dead, Pip,” Fin said. “I just radioed the chopper, and they’ll check on the way up to get you.”
“I know he’s bad, but... well, it’s still kind of hard to accept,” she said, looking up at Dylan.
“I know.” Dylan held her then until they heard the chopper.
“Okay, there’s a clearing that way. We’ll head there, it’ll be easier to get her into the stretcher.”