And off to the side, parked between two trees, making use of their canopy overhead for concealment or shade, was a dark van.
Yashi stood, as noisy as a gaggle of schoolkids, in the middle of the road. Placing her feet carefully, she eased off the trail and behind the nearest tree, a scrawny blackjack that couldn’t conceal even the scrawniest of the aforementioned school kids. She carefully worked her way deeper into the trees and toward the cedar side of the house. That was a tree to hide behind.
Better yet, inside. She eased apart the branches, prepared herself for the prickliness and stepped in. Inside the Christmas tree had been Brit’s favorite place to hide when she’d been young enough to do such things.
Found house. Dark van, she texted Ben. Haven’t looked inside yet.
That’s enough. Get back here.
I have to know, she responded before returning the phone to her pocket and taking out her pistol. His responding message vibrated against her thigh, but she ignored it as she crept out of the tree’s shelter and headed for the back of the house. It was impossible to be quiet with dead leaves everywhere, covering dried twigs and acorns. All she could do was her best as she eased around the corner and to the nearest gaping space that had once held a window.
There were no shadows inside—holes in the roof provided natural light screened through honeysuckle and other leaves—but Yashi thought it might be the most beautiful place she’d ever seen, because sitting against the wall not ten feet away with ropes securing them to an iron rod were Will and Lolly. Battered, beaten and broken, but—Yes! A shuddering groan, a raspy snore. Thank God, they were alive.
Yashi’s first impulse was to climb through the hole and rush to them, hug them, cry with them, assure them the kids were safe. She’d even raised one leg to a protruding stone on the foundation before common sense demanded she proceed with caution. She texted Ben: They’re here. His response came a moment later. On our way.
The house was only one room, broken boards all that remained of the furniture. The floor was littered with leaves and debris but showed hard-packed earth in places. Rocks from the fireplace were left lying where they fell, dotted like everything else with animal droppings. And there was no place to hide. Not a corner, not a shadow, not a crawl space.
Yashi crept around the far side of the house, nearest the van, to satisfy herself that it was just the three of them, then jogged in the front door, dropping to her knees before them. “Will, Lolly, wake up!” she whispered fiercely, fumbling the knife from her pocket.
Will’s eyes slowly fluttered open. Lolly came awake fighting. With her hands tied in front, the best she managed was a weak kick that barely connected with Yashi’s hip. “Get away from us, you bastard!” she shrieked before her eyes focused clearly and filled with tears. “Oh my God, Will, it’s Yashi! I told you she’d find us. I told you!”
Will’s startled gaze went to the door. “You’re not here alone, are you? I swear, Yashi, sometimes you have the sense—”
“Remember how our moms told us don’t play with knives?” She unfolded the blade, locking it into the hilt, and held it up, wicked sharp, for him to see. Will had warned her to be careful, but it still took her several swipes to cut through the ropes binding his wrists. Lolly eagerly offered hers, not even flinching at the idea of Yashi sawing away so close to her skin. Her ropes were tighter—no doubt she’d put up the most resistance—so Yashi had to maneuver carefully.
When the last strands gave, Lolly threw her arms around Yashi and began weeping. “Brit,” she gasped out between sobs. “Theo.”
“They’re fine.” Yashi returned the knife to her pocket, then clenched their hands. “Listen to me. We’ve got to get out of here. Can you walk?”
Will’s answer was a firm nod. Lolly swiped her cheeks, her wrists chafed and her arms covered with bruises, and smiled. “Honey, I can run to the moon and back.”
Life was attitude. Yashi helped Will to his feet, supporting him until his wobbly legs could do the job, then they both pulled Lolly up. Captivity, abuse, hunger and dehydration had taken their toll, but with a determined breath, she stood straighter and took a few stumbling steps toward the door. Attitude would get her through this.
At the door, though, Lolly immediately spun back. “He’s coming. Oh God, hurry, he’s coming!”
Yashi heard the distant rumble of an engine, and ice swept through her. Praying it was Ben, she peeked out the front window from the side, and half an instant later, a fancy SUV came into view at the far end of the trail. Not Ben. The disappointment stabbed through her, edged with fear, but she shoved it away. Ben would come. He’d said he would, and he would.
“Come on, this way.” She hustled her cousins to the rear window, and Will clambered out. He lifted Lolly down, then gave Yashi a hand.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she gave the knife to Will and pulled out the pistol and the phone for herself. She punched in Ben’s number and braced the phone between her ear and shoulder.
Will looked from his weapon to hers with a weak grin. “Trade you.”
“You’ve never fired a gun,” she whispered.
“I’ve never defended anything with a knife, either.”
Daniel answered Ben’s phone, road noise loud in the background. “Where are you, Yashi?”
“We’re behind the cabin. Wind’s coming. He’ll be here any second. Where are you?”
“Just turning into his driveway. Can you stay on the phone with me?”
“Lolly will, but once he gets here—”
“Hold on, Yashi. Just hold on.”
Lolly’s hand was extended for the phone. Yashi gave it to her and listened to the louder engine noise, the vehicle drawing closer. Wind wasn’t driving fast, but he wasn’t creeping along, either. She hoped those were good signs, that he wasn’t expecting trouble.
She intended to give him more trouble than he could handle.
* * *
“Hi, Lolly, I’m Detective Daniel Harper. I’m with Ben Little Bear, and we’re going to be with you in just a couple of minutes.”
Daniel was his usual calm and confident self. The only time Ben had ever seen him lose control was on the rooftop of the Prairie Sun Hotel when Natasha’s stalker had tried to drag her off with him. Then, in the building opposite with a sniper rifle, it had been Ben’s turn to be calm and confident. He hadn’t had a good enough shot to kill the man, and he’d regretted it. A clean shot would have saved them the frantic scramble to free Natasha from the man’s death grip.
He’d practiced clean shots since then. Once-in-a-lifetime shots, taking advantage of the narrowest target in the narrowest window. He wouldn’t settle for less again.
He didn’t slow when they reached the house. The Mercedes was gone. He drove between the house and the slab from the old shed and picked up the trail that led into the woods. It didn’t look like much, with weeds grown tall and deep ruts from last weekend’s rain. The farther he drove, the thicker the trees grew and the harder the ground was. He had to drop his speed ten miles, then another ten. Before long, branches were slapping at the side-view mirrors. He hit the button that folded them against the vehicle. He didn’t need to add damage to county property to his deeds today.
Beside him, the mobile on Speaker, Daniel said, “I know you have to whisper, Lolly, and I’m sorry, but I can’t understand. So let’s do this. You stay quiet as long as you need to, but I’ll be here. I’ll be listening, and I’ll let you know when we get there.” He glanced at Ben. “How long?”
“Don’t know.” Ben’s grip tightened on the steering wheel as they hit a rut hard enough to jerk the truck to one side. “Never came back here except on foot, and that was twenty-five years ago.”
“He’s here.” Lolly’s voice, feathery and thin, came from the phone, breaking into a squeak at the end.
“Okay. Stay quiet now.”
For a moment, there was nothing, then came a distant roar. Lloyd had just walked into the house, Ben presumed, and found his hostages were gone. Shouts followed, the tone threatening, the words indistinct. Then they became very clear.
“Yashi Baker! You’ve just signed your death warrant! I’m going to kill your precious cousins, and then I’m gonna kill you, you bitch. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll kill you!”
Ben imagined the man standing at a window or door, screaming his rage, and worried just how far away Yashi, Will and Lolly’s hiding place was for the phone to pick him up so clearly. While he and Daniel had waited, he’d studied the satellite image, and it seemed the only decent place to hide was behind a tree, if they could find one big enough. And all Wind had to do was find one of them to get them all.
“Look.” Daniel pointed ahead and to the left. Through the trees was a flash of red—Wind’s vehicle. It stood out against the earth tones like a beacon. “Are we going in quiet or loud?”
In response, Ben gunned the engine. The truck fishtailed on a patch of ground before finding traction.
“I guess we’re going in loud.” Daniel’s voice was dry as he turned back to the phone. “Lolly, we’re here. You stay where you are, and scream if you need us. I have to get off the phone now.”
Daniel had already braced himself by the time Ben stomped on the brakes. He steered hard to the right, and the instant the vehicle stopped, they both bailed. Daniel had their truck for cover; Ben ducked behind the Mercedes. Lloyd hadn’t wanted blood in his brand-new SUV. What would he think about bullet holes?
Lloyd came to the door of the house, so enraged that his skin was flushed a violent red and his eyes seemed as if they might pop out of their sockets. He was careful to show only half of his body, which likely meant he had a gun in the hand they couldn’t see. Damn it.
“Get the hell off my property, Little Bear!”
“Mr. Wind, it’s Detective Harper. You know we can’t just go away, not this time. We’ve got to take you in. We’ve got to get medical care for the Muellers, and we’ve got to take Yashi Baker, too.”
“Do you frickin’ see the Muellers or that bitch?” Lloyd slammed his free hand into the door frame, and Ben was pretty sure the entire structure swayed. “You’re trespassing! We’re in the county, you idiots. This is Wind land. Creek land. You have no authority here.”
Ben crept along the SUV, careful to keep his head below the windows, until he reached the front passenger door. Lloyd had parked at an angle so that, to reach the corner of the house, Ben would be exposed only a moment. He wondered how good a shot Lloyd was, and how willing he was to kill someone he’d known his whole life.
“The sheriff’s on his way, Mr. Wind,” Daniel continued calmly. “And just to cover our bases, we also called the Lighthorse police. One of their officers will be here soon. It will be safer if you’re not holding a gun when they arrive.”
“It’ll be safer if I’m not here when they arrive.”
Lloyd raised the hand he’d punched the door with, examining the damage, and Ben launched away from the Mercedes. A shot cracked behind him, but except for a crazy wild jump in his blood pressure and the pounding of his heart, he was unharmed when he leaned against the north wall of the house. There were no windows on this side, which made him feel less a target...until another bullet tore through the century-old wood, leaving a hole the size of his head.
The next shot fired was Daniel’s, forcing Lloyd to forget Ben for the moment and find cover for himself. Expecting him to go out the back and try to disappear into the woods, Ben raced toward the rear of the house, only to skid to a stop when a figure darted around the corner. He brought his pistol up, his finger on the trigger, then just as quickly shifted his aim to the ground.
Yashi pressed her back to the wall, panting hard. When she sensed his presence, her eyes grew big and she slapped her free hand over her mouth, turning her shriek into a squeak. She moved as if to throw herself into his arms, and he wanted to grab her and never let go, but instead he shook his head, then bent to press his mouth to her ear.
“Where are Will and Lolly?”
“In the cedar tree,” she whispered back.
“In it?” When she nodded vigorously, he raised a brow. It wouldn’t make his list of hiding places—hopefully, not Lloyd’s, either.
“Mr. Wind,” Daniel called, his voice coming from the opposite side of the house. “Let’s not do this. You’re in enough trouble as it is.”
“Trouble?” Lloyd was somewhere behind the house. “I’ve had nothing but trouble since that bitch came into my life.”
Finally, Ben joined the conversation. “You’ve had nothing but trouble since you killed that man, Lloyd. This isn’t Yashi’s fault. It’s not the system. It’s not bigotry against Native Americans. You killed a man, and then you bought a confession from Gerry Dillard to get yourself out of prison. No one’s responsible for your bad luck except you.”
A moment of silence followed, broken by the crunching of leaves underfoot. “Did you figure that out, Ben? Or did she? I really don’t think you’re smart enough.”
The steps stopped, and something rustled heavily. There was a scuffle, a scream, Will shouting, “Run, Lolly!” Damn it, Ben would give anything for a shelter with a view. Instead, he eased right up to the corner, took a breath and peeked around, ready to retreat in an instant.
He didn’t have to. Lloyd was there, twenty feet away, one arm around Will’s neck, the other hand holding the gun to his head. There was no sign of Lolly or Daniel. Ben prayed he’d gotten her to safety.
The prayer hadn’t even faded when he sensed that Yashi was no longer behind him. A glance confirmed it, along with the knot tightening in his gut. He wanted to think she’d gone to comfort Lolly, but the fear roiling inside him suggested otherwise. He got a confirmation of that, too, almost immediately when her voice came from inside the house, strong and steady.
“Let my cousin go, Wind.”
Lloyd dragged Will back a few more yards, his gaze constantly shifting from left to center to right. “He’s my ticket out of here. You let me get in my car and drive away, and the rest of you get to live. If you don’t, I’ll kill every damn one of you.”
“Let him go,” Yashi repeated. “He hasn’t done anything to you. You let him go, and I’ll drive you out of here myself.”
Aw, come on, Yashi. Retreat while you can. Go take care of Lolly.
“You hear those sirens, Mr. Wind?” Daniel asked. “I count at least four. Probably more. Probably at the entrance to your place about now. You only have a couple minutes before they get here. They’re going to see you with a hostage and a gun, and they’re going to shoot you, no questions asked. Is that what you want?”
For a moment, Lloyd seemed to waver. Then he directed his gaze into the house. “This is because of you, bitch. You’re gonna have to live with this the rest of your life.”
Terror whitened Will’s face. He clawed with his fingers, trying to loosen Lloyd’s grip as his captor’s finger tightened on the trigger.
Ben settled his weight evenly, took a deep breath and tuned out everything else. Clean shot, narrow target, narrow window. The hum in his ears blocked sound, and his vision blurred except for Wind. Narrow target. Narrow window.
Then he pulled the trigger, and there was no target at all.
* * *
Will’s second experience as a hostage left far less of a mark on him, Yashi had decided—physically, at least—than the first. By the time she’d vaulted out of the window and reached his side, he was sitting, a bleak, lost look on his face. He’d raised one hand to his cheek, but he hadn’t touched the blood splattered there. He’d just grabbed her hand in a bruising grip and held her tightly until Lolly had forced her way past Daniel to join them.
Now her cousins sat in the back of an ambulance, side by side, too stunned and shocked to celebrate t
hat they were alive. At the hospital, they would get to see Brit and Theo, and that would do them more good than anything else. Then they would need time.
Lloyd Wind hadn’t gotten the justice he’d hoped for, but he’d been right about one thing: Yashi would live with this the rest of her life. The regret that he’d hated her enough to take it out on her cousins. That they and Theo and Brit had gone through such an ordeal. That Ben had been left with no choice but to kill a man he’d known forever.
But she would live with it. Examine it, deal with it, file it away with other life experiences. It wouldn’t destroy her.
She was sitting on the tailgate of Ben’s pickup, finishing the second bottle of cold water that the paramedics had provided. They’d arrived after everyone else. JJ and Lois had come first, followed within minutes by Sam and Sheriff Moulton, two deputies and two Lighthorse officers, the Muskogee Creek Tribal Police. Moulton had been in a very pissy mood and simply looking at Yashi seemed to set his hair on fire. Right now, he was around back, supervising officers and crime scene techs who were far more experienced than he was, and probably putting all of them in a very pissy mood.
He couldn’t affect Yashi’s mood. Her family was safe. Her world was whole.
Mostly, she added as Ben approached her.
He sat down beside her but didn’t speak for a long time. He was always serious; now he was achingly so. It weighed on him, the taking of a life. He would grieve, and regret, and wonder if he could have done anything differently, and eventually he would acknowledge and accept that the only person responsible for Lloyd Wind’s actions was Lloyd Wind himself.
“Moulton’s going to want to talk to you soon,” he said at last. “Just remember two words—exigent circumstances. And when he points out that you were trespassing, don’t be flippant and say, ‘Then put me in jail,’ because he will do it.”
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