by LENA DIAZ,
“Why are you s-smiling?” she asked, a shiver creeping into her voice again.
“No reason,” he said, eager to resume the conversation lest she slip back into the near-hypothermic state she’d been in earlier. Switching the shirt and jacket back and forth and briskly moving through the woods while they talked had helped to push back his own chill. But she was much smaller and seemed to be in steady decline. He needed to keep her talking and moving.
“Back to Palmer,” he said, pressing his hand against the small of her back as they circled a thick group of pine trees. “If his primary goal was to kidnap you, he could have taken you when you were out in the field or even in town, back in Lexington. Maybe that would have drawn too much attention. Maybe kidnapping you was his goal, and by having you leave of your own accord to track down Gladiator, he got his wish.”
She slowly nodded, looking thoughtful. “I suppose that makes sense. If I just disappeared, Billy would have called the police. But right now, he thinks I’m still out looking for Gladiator. He has no idea that I’m missing.”
“What happens if you lose your prize stallion?”
She blew out a long breath. “He’s my main moneymaker. I could lose everything. The economy’s been tough. And I’m behind on payments to the bank.”
“Then maybe he took him to ruin your business. But if you don’t even know him, the person who wants your business ruined has to be someone else, someone pulling the strings. This Wilkerson guy, maybe, or someone else. Who would benefit if your ranch failed?”
“No one. And even though Mr. Wilkerson and I aren’t close, there’s never been anything ill between us. I can’t imagine him being behind this, or anyone else, really. I breed horses for people, horses that have made them a lot of money in show rings and at racetracks. Why would anyone be mad at me for that? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Have you ever bred horses that didn’t work out as hoped, that cost their owners money?”
“Well, sure. Breeding is both an art and a science. Even when you think you have the science part worked out, there’s always the chance that the foal doesn’t turn out the way you hoped. It’s a gamble. But everyone knows that. No one assumes a specific horse is going to become the long-awaited champion. You hope. You plan for the possibility. But in the end, it takes dozens of mediocre foals to get one true champion.” She held her hands up. “But like I said—anyone in the horse business knows that.”
“What if Palmer isn’t in the horse business? What if he, or someone he’s working for, bought one of your horses hoping it would be the answer to their money woes, but instead the horse turned out to be a dud?”
She stiffened. “None of my horses are duds. They may not be champions, but they’re not duds.”
“My apologies.” He had to try hard not to laugh at the indignant expression on her face. You’d have thought he’d insulted her firstborn. “I’m just saying that if someone was less...educated on the potential outcomes of a breeding program, they could have invested unwisely and lost everything. That would explain a grudge. And it could explain why Palmer said it wasn’t about the horse. It was about revenge for something bigger, like someone losing their ranch.”
“Well, if that’s what this is about, then that’s ridiculous. Hurting people over a bad investment makes no sense.”
He hugged her against him. “That’s because you’re not the kind of person that Palmer is. You would never blame someone for something that’s out of their control.”
She gave him an odd look, then nodded. “You’re right. I wouldn’t.”
Piper stopped. “Do you hear that?”
He cocked his head, concentrating. Then he heard it. It was distant, barely recognizable, but it was there.
Splashing.
“A waterfall.” He grabbed her hand in his. “You, Miss Caraway, may have just saved our lives.”
She grinned. “And you, Detective Vale, owe me one. I can’t wait to make you pay up.”
“I don’t think the detective will get that chance,” a menacing voice called out from the darkness.
Colby shoved Piper behind his back and whipped out his knife.
Half a dozen flashlights blazed to life, forming a semicircle around them. Colby blinked, raising a hand to shield his eyes. As if at someone’s signal, the beams lowered to point toward the ground.
The openly hostile looks on the faces of the four men and two women who were holding those flashlights made Palmer and his thugs look like friendly greeters at a neighborhood store.
They were each wearing a mix-and-match assortment of hats, camouflage pants and jackets, like the kind carried in an army surplus store. Thick, rubber-soled boots kept the cold and rain from freezing their feet. But this wasn’t some search party out to rescue lost hikers. Every single one of them was holding a rifle, and they were all pointed at Colby.
“Drop the knife, cop.” The same voice they’d heard earlier nearly spit the word cop as if it were an obscenity. The owner of that voice, a man, stepped out from behind a tree.
Just under six feet tall, he was about Colby’s height but probably carried a good twenty pounds less muscle.
“I’m Detective Colby Vale, from the Destiny Police Department,” Colby announced in his most authoritative voice.
The man who’d spoken stepped a few feet closer, obviously the leader. “Destiny? Sounds like one of those stupid theme parks with a squeaky mouse mascot.”
There were a few snickers behind him. Piper’s hands curled against the back of Colby’s shirt.
“Destiny’s a small town in Blount County, about halfway between Knoxville and Maryville. What’s the closest town to this place?”
The man frowned. “You don’t know where you are?”
Colby shook his head. “We were abducted and dumped here. I’d appreciate it if you all could help us find our way down the mountain. Or let me borrow a phone and I’ll call my men so they can come pick us up.”
A low rumble of angry voices sounded behind the leader.
“Ain’t no one calling no cops,” the man said, and a chorus of “hell yeahs” sounded from his team. “Tell your partner to quit hiding or we’ll blow a hole through the both of you.”
“She’s not my—” Colby stopped short when Piper stepped out beside him. He tried to shove her back. But she stepped out of reach and faced the gunmen.
“I’m Piper Caraway.” She held out her hand.
He ignored her hand. “You don’t look tall enough to be a cop.”
She dropped her hand to her side. “My height has never stopped me from doing anything I wanted to do. And I’m not a police officer. I’m a horsewoman with a ranch outside Lexington. My Friesian stallion was stolen, and Detective Vale was helping me find him. He’s a good man. He doesn’t deserve to have a bunch of rednecks pointing guns at him.”
Colby winced. He was about to grab Piper and shove her behind his back again, hoping his body would give her some protection from the bullets that were about to slam into him. But then the craziest thing happened. The leader started laughing.
Not a deep laugh, and no one else joined in. But at least no one was shooting.
The leader scrubbed the stubble on his face and shook his head. “You’ve got spirit, Piper. I’ll give you that. You can call me Jedidiah. And all those rednecks behind me are my family. We don’t cotton to trespassers around here. And we sure don’t cotton to cops or anyone who hangs with them. Guess you could say it’s bad for the neighborhood.” He grinned, then raised his hand in the air and made a rolling motion.
Leaves rustled and another half-dozen camo-dressed men and women stepped from behind the trees on either side of Colby and Piper, pointing an assortment of long guns and pistols.
The leader’s amusement had been short-lived. The look on his face now could only be described as menacing. He pulled a pistol from his pan
ts pocket and pointed it directly at Piper’s head, while keeping his narrow-eyed gaze on Colby.
“Drop it,” he ordered.
Colby dropped the knife.
Chapter Ten
Colby rested his arms on top of his drawn-up knees, keeping watch on the door to their prison—a drafty shed the size of a small bathroom in an average household with a cold dirt floor. At least they’d been given some crackers and water last night. And before being locked up, they’d been allowed to use what amounted to a privy outside. But there was no heat in the shed, and the only concession to the temperatures were a couple of lumpy pillows and two scratchy blankets.
Piper had immediately curled up with one of those pillows and a blanket and sighed like she was in a five-star hotel. She’d been asleep about two seconds later and still hadn’t woken up. Colby glanced over at her. She still had a smile on her face. He just hoped it wasn’t the last time she ever smiled.
He’d allowed himself a couple hours of sleep just so he could function. But after jerking awake a little before dawn, he’d kept his vigil. Watching. Waiting. And hoping he could figure something out to save both of them from the self-proclaimed leader of this little mountain gang—Jedidiah.
The sound of feet shuffling in the dirt outside had him shaking Piper awake.
She blinked sleepily up at him. “What?”
“Get up. They’re coming.”
Her eyes widened, and they both scrambled to their feet.
* * *
PIPER STOOD SIDE by side with Colby in spite of his attempts to again shove her behind him. Whatever happened, she wanted to face it, not hide like a coward.
The lock clicked and the door swung open. Instead of Jedidiah, a woman stood in the opening. Or, rather, a girl. She couldn’t have been more than fifteen years old, sixteen at the most. But she wasn’t a “sweet” sixteen. There was nothing sweet about a teenager pointing a pistol at them.
“Out.” She motioned with the gun, then backed up.
Colby looked like he wanted to charge at her, but the four armed guards outside must have made him change his mind.
“I’m Mindy,” the girl said. “Dad told me y’all stink and not just because of the cop smell.” She rolled her eyes as if she thought her father was a bit too dramatic with his insults. “Come on up to the house and you can both get showers and fresh clothes. Then we’ll see about getting you something to eat.”
Without waiting for a reply, she shoved her gun in her pocket and turned around. Piper wondered who “Dad” was. If it was Jedidiah, she wasn’t too keen on going wherever this girl was leading them to.
Colby pressed a hand against the small of her back to urge her forward. The guards weren’t nearly as friendly looking as the girl had been and they were all watching them closely, guns out, but at least pointing at the ground instead of at the two of them.
They followed a well-worn path through the woods, with the sun’s rays breaking through the trees overhead. Just knowing that they’d survived the night and made it to a new day was enough to lift Piper’s spirits.
Then she saw the house.
Her shoulders slumped.
Colby’s hand found the small of her back again, urging her forward since Mindy was waiting for them at the door, the one that was made of vertical black bars. The whole place appeared a little bigger than the shack they’d just come from.
“Just think about getting clean,” he whispered from behind her. “It looks like there’s some kind of boiler outside. A hot shower sounds good, right?”
Piper drew a deep breath, then stepped through the opening under the sign that read Communal Bath.
* * *
PIPER’S FACE WAS hotter than the water from the boiler by the time she and Colby were washed, dried and dressed in the jeans and tops that Mindy gave them. Not that Colby had been anything but a gentleman. Without any dividers or even curtains between their two showers, he’d kept his eyes closed and turned away from her as much as possible as he washed himself.
She was the one who’d misbehaved.
She couldn’t count the times her gaze had strayed his way, lingering far too long on the intriguing angles and planes of his body, imagining her fingers splaying across his flawless skin and exploring the rippling muscles of his abs. And his arms. Good grief, they were perfect. There was something about biceps that turned her into mush inside. And Colby’s were Goldilocks perfect—not too small, not too big, just right for holding a woman or bracing himself above her as he—
“Piper?” Colby waved a hand in front of her face. “Earth to Piper?”
Her face flamed even hotter as she realized she’d been caught staring at him. Of course, he was dressed now, in a long-sleeved denim shirt and jeans that looked like they’d been made for him. So he didn’t know that she was remembering how he looked naked.
His brows drew down and he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead. “Do you feel okay? You seem flushed.”
She ducked away from his hand and tossed her used towel on the pile of discarded clothing where Mindy had told them to put their things after they showered.
“I’m fine. Clean, warm and wearing clean, warm clothing.” She plucked at the white heavy-knit sweater she’d been given to wear over a tank and a plain but serviceable bra. “Honestly, I can’t complain except for the fact that we’re prisoners. Everything fits great.” She wiggled her toes in the thick socks and waterproof boots she’d been given. “Even the boots fit fairly well. They’re only a little too big.”
“I imagine they have all kinds of supplies stockpiled so they don’t have to interact with civilization too often. Makes sense they’d have something that would fit us. The fact that they’re sharing their supplies is a good sign. But keep a watchful eye out. We need a good understanding of where everything is, whether there are any vehicles we could steal if it comes to that. They obviously have no love for law enforcement. And you’re guilty by association.”
“You think they’d actually...kill us?”
His gaze slid from hers. “Of course not. But they might want to hold us for a while to make sure we aren’t a threat.” He waved toward their surroundings. “It’s likely they’ve built their compound on land that’s owned and protected by the government, part of the national park system. So they wouldn’t want us to share information about their location with anyone. We just need to make sure they trust us. Then they’ll let us go.”
“Just like that? You really think so?”
He gave her a sharp nod, but he still wasn’t looking at her. She was pretty sure he was lying again to protect her from worry. And she appreciated it.
A loud rap on the wall was their signal to hurry up. They exited the building and Mindy stepped onto the path in front of them, waving for them to follow her into the woods again. Although they didn’t see any guards this time, Piper assumed they were within earshot in case Mindy needed them. Maybe it was a test of sorts.
They’d probably walked about fifty yards when the path ended at another shack. This one was much larger than the others, probably four times the size of the bathhouse. The same bars covered the door and a set of windows.
“Raccoons.” Mindy waved toward the windows. “Possums, too. If we don’t bar all the openings, they’ll get into everything. We tried chicken wire at first. Then the bears came, so we had to get the bars.”
Piper gave a nervous laugh and looked around. “Have any bears poking around lately?”
Mindy gave her a droll look. “In the winter? Really?”
Colby laughed, then coughed to cover it.
Piper aimed a glare his way before following Mindy inside.
The smell of bacon had her mouth watering as soon as she stepped through the door. All her fears about bears and crazy mountain people with guns melted away when she saw the large open kitchen on one end, the rows of tables an
d benches that filled the rest of the space, and more importantly the food set up like a buffet on one of those tables.
“Go on,” Mindy said. “Eat your fill. The rest of us already ate.” She paused. “You two ain’t veggie people, are you?”
Piper exchanged a confused look with Colby. “You mean vegetarians?”
Mindy nodded.
“I’m not.” She arched a brow at Colby.
He snorted. “Is that a joke?”
Since Mindy looked confused, Piper clarified. “We’re both meat eaters. No worries. I’m sure whatever you have will be great. Neither of us has had much to eat in the past twenty-four hours. Thank you for helping us.” She waved her hands at their clothes. “Shelter, food, clothing and hot showers. We couldn’t have found better rescuers.”
Mindy blinked, then laughed. “Okay. Whatever.” She waved toward the open kitchen, separated from the dining area by a long bar. “Don’t waste your time looking for weapons in there. All the cabinets are locked up tight. So are the drawers. And unless you want to starve, I suggest you use the time I’m giving you to eat. Waste time searching this place and it just means your bellies stay empty. I’ll be back in twenty.” She headed out of the building.
“What a delightful little teenager,” Piper grumbled.
Colby arched a brow. “Rescuers?”
“Yeah, well. Call it psychological warfare. I was trying to put the idea in her head that we’re friends.”
“Good luck with that. She said she’d be back in twenty. We need to be ready in ten.” He grabbed them both a plate from a stack at the end of the table and started spooning scrambled eggs, potatoes and bacon onto his.
Piper scooped the same onto hers and set bottles of water in front of both of them. “To do what? Search the kitchen? She said everything was locked up.”
He paused with a plastic fork full of eggs halfway to his mouth. “I didn’t see any other buildings near this one, so that means the knives they use for cooking have to be in those cabinets or drawers. If I have to rip the kitchen apart to get to them, I will. Then we’ll surprise Mindy.” He shoveled the eggs into his mouth.