by Susan Bohnet
They went a few feet into the trees and made their way toward the road. “We’ll cross when we’re out of sight of the cabin.”
“Why this way?”
“It’s longer, but not as steep.”
Beth nodded. She seemed to know he chose the route for her. The climb had not been an easy one.
Just as Kai was considering whether it was safe to cross the road, a vehicle approached at a faster clip than you’d expect on a narrow camp trail. He and Beth jumped further back; Kai landed in a crouch. “Now what’s going on?”
Chapter Thirty-two
Kai and Beth crept close enough to see. They stopped at a large fallen tree. It provided cover and a good vantage point. The car came to a screeching halt only a few feet from the door of the first cabin. This one was set a little back from the others and straight across from the main building, visible from its window. Kai had noted this cabin earlier, noted that it smelled particularly foul. It was the same cabin the men had emerged from earlier, and now several more men got out of the car in front of it.
They opened the trunk. Kai straighten his neck for a better look. Boxes. The men lifted the boxes out of the trunk and quickly carried them into the cabin. Beth started beside him and stifled a gasp. He glanced at her and saw that she was staring wide-eyed at the men below. Her jaw was dropped and she clutched a nearby tree branch.
“What is it?” he asked. “What do you see?”
Her eyes darted his way and then back at the scene below. “That man … the one in the blue plaid jacket,” she said, her voice rising. “I saw him on TV the other day. He’s wanted by the police.”
“Really?” Kai said. “What’s he wanted for?”
“He’s a drug dealer,” she whispered, dropping down behind the log they were peering over. “And he’s wanted for murder. They believed he was in the city and were pleading for citizens to call if they’ve seen him.”
Kai looked back at the activity around the cabin. “Do you think they are using the kids’ camp as a front for drug dealing?” he asked.
“I think they are doing more than dealing in drugs,” Beth said. “I think they are making them. Can’t you smell that? That is not the kind of smell that comes out of a cabin used for storage … even storage of drugs.”
“But why here? This is a camp for children! How did they think they would hide this from the kids? Surely the kids would see it and tell their parents what was going on. They can’t keep this a secret here.”
Beth’s forehead wrinkled as she pondered. At the sight, Kai dug his fingertips into the bark of the log. He loved her so much. Over the past few months, they had had so much fun together, and, despite the fear and anger he was struggling with while being here, he realized he was actually enjoying himself a little. He was spending time with the woman he loved and actively doing something important.
His thoughts were interrupted by a shout from below. Ronan stood on the front stoop of the main building and was directing the men. There were no children in sight. They must still be inside eating. Perhaps Ronan had come out to make sure the men were done unloading the supplies before the kids were sent back to their cabins. He seemed impatient.
At last the final box was delivered to the cabin and the men, without a word, crawled back into the car and drove off again, dust rising several feet into the air behind them. Kai heard Beth let out a breath. He glanced at her.
She was watching him, her eyes dark in the shadows of the forest. There was a stirring in his chest. He wanted to hold her, to protect her, but he suddenly didn’t know what to do with his feelings. They were so powerful right now. So strong that he had to concentrate in order to stop himself from reaching over and pulling her into his arms. She wasn’t ready for that yet. Maybe she never would be again. She felt he had broken her trust and he had to earn it back … and now was not the time for that conversation. But how could he live without her? How could he let her go across the ocean to live so far away from him? Kai felt stirrings of unease at the thought and broke eye contact.
“Kai,” Beth whispered, “what do you think is happening down there? Why do they have these children here? It just doesn’t make sense.”
“I don’t know.” Kai was compelled to close the distance between them. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. This was as close to her as he was likely to get. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her. Kiss her so hard she would never forget him. Kiss her so passionately she would never want to leave his side.
And yet … he couldn’t be with her. She could never know the truth about the Trebladores and his part in everything they did. She must never know that he had killed two people. The guilt of that still rippled through him in unguarded moments. They were evil men, true, but did that mean they deserved to die? Who made him judge and jury? He had to maintain control while he was here, too, so things didn’t get out of hand. But this camp was not what it seemed and he wanted the truth.
And then he and Beth could go to the police … before she went out of his life.
Chapter Thirty-three
Once the vehicle thundered away, the woman who had escorted the children to the track earlier came out of the building, followed closely by the children. Ronan stood out front, both feet planted wide apart and arms crossed. The children filed into a straight line, like soldiers, their eyes focused ahead. Ronan strode up and down the line, stopping once to touch one of the girl’s faces.
“If this is inspection,” said Beth, “none of them should be clean enough to pass. But I’m sure he’s not looking for cleanliness.” She shook her head. “He makes my skin crawl.”
“How do these kids fit into his drug business?” whispered Kai.
They watched as Ronan pointed at four of the older girls, probably eleven to thirteen years old. The girls stepped out of the line, and with grim, serious expressions, they looked at each other. The other children were dismissed to their cabins with a wave of Ronan’s hand. Most left immediately.
“Our red-head still isn’t with them,” noted Kai.
One of the younger girls, an especially spindly-looking child, seemed unwilling to leave without one of the four who’d been chosen. She grabbed at her hand and tried to pull her away to the cabins. The older girl looked at Ronan. His mouth was a hard line. She turned back to her little friend, patted her shoulder, and turned her lips into a smile. She spoke but Kai and Beth were too far away to hear her words. The little girl backed away and entered the second cabin.
“Maybe they are on KP,” said Kai. Beth raised an eyebrow. “Kitchen patrol,” said Kai.
“I hope you’re right.”
All was quiet in the yard between the cabins. In a regular camp, this would be the time for journaling or preparing skits or laying a fire for the evening campfire sing-a-long. None of that appeared to be on Ronan’s agenda. He said something to the girls he had chosen and they entered the main building. Ronan stood for a few moments, surveying the area. His gaze rested on the fifth cabin where the boxes had been put, watching the smoke billow out of the metal chimney.
Then he smiled … a smile that took Kai’s breath. It was a cruel smile and it reminded him, for some strange reason, of the look on Derek’s face just before he forced his dog to fight for his life.
The sun had dipped a bit lower in the sky, bringing out pinks around the clouds. The glittering lake behind the main cabin stretched out invitingly, but no one from the camp heeded the invitation.
“Let’s go,” said Beth. “We can still get the cops out here tonight.”
They made their way along the road, careful to stay within the trees. Kai let Beth set the pace. They’d gone maybe a quarter of a mile when the sound of gravel crunching under tires alerted them to oncoming traffic. They moved further back into the brush and crouched behind some dense shrubs. This car was a silver SUV and it was moving at a slower pace than the last visitors. A sing
le man was inside behind the wheel. He was about fifty years old, chubby in the jowls.
“Maybe that’s the redhead’s father,” said Beth. “Come to pick her up after she tried to run away.”
Kai nodded. “That’s logical.”
They looked at each other. Logical was for normal camps; not Ronan’s. “Check it out?” said Beth.
Kai grabbed her hand and they hurried back the way they’d come. Even with the slower speed of the SUV, they weren’t going to make it to their spot before the car reached the camp. Frustrated, Kai picked up the pace. He was burning with unanswered questions.
They came to the same log they’d leaned against in their last surveillance. “Where is he?” The camp looked exactly as they’d left it except for the SUV parked in front of the main building. No children out in the common area, no adults in sight; only the stream of smoke from the fifth cabin showed there was any sign of life here.
Suddenly the door to the main cabin swung open with enough force for the bang of wood on wood to echo on the lake. The man with the jowls laughed heartily as he walked out the door. It was a laugh that seemed unpleasant and somehow underhanded. The jowls were just a hint of the man’s size. He was as near to round as any man Kai had ever seen. Ronan exited next. He nodded as though indulging the man’s sense of humor. They took a few steps, then Ronan turned, said something into the doorway, and one of the four girls he’d selected followed them out. Her face was completely expressionless.
“He’s not here to get the redhead, then,” said Beth. “Does she look like his daughter?”
“Maybe if she ate about four hundred Big Macs.”
He spoke with Ronan again while the girl stood a couple of feet behind them. She looked at the ground. She wiped her hands on her skirt. Skirt? “Was she wearing a skirt before?” whispered Kai.
“No. They were all in shorts or sweat pants when they stood in line. Her shirt is new, too.”
The short-sleeved white blouse was a little too tight across her small chest. The red plaid skirt reminded Kai of a school uniform. She seemed uncomfortable in the new clothes, tugging at the skirt and shuffling her feet back and forth in the gravel.
Then the men shook hands.
“I wish we could hear them,” said Kai.
The fat man reached out for the girl. She seemed to pull back even as she stepped forward. He wrapped his sausage fingers around her upper arm and led her to the SUV. She stumbled along beside him, his height towering over her.
As they neared the vehicle, he let go of her arm and slid his hand to her lower back. The girl flinched, but he tightened his fingers around her waist. Then the fat, beefy hand slid lower and he gave her left buttock a squeeze. The girl squirmed.
“The pig!” hissed Beth. “That’s not her father — not a normal father, anyway.”
The man opened the passenger door and guided the girl into the seat. He closed the door, took a deep breath, and stared at the girl through the glass. Then he waddled around to the driver’s side and hoisted himself into the seat. The vehicle turned and drove under the wooden camp sign. For the first time, Kai read the letters at the top: Silver Lake Camp.
Ronan stood watching until the vehicle was out of sight. Then he wiped his right hand on his jeans, the hand he had used to shake hands with the fat man. He started to turn, but then he swung back around. His eyes narrowed.
Kai froze. Ronan was looking right at them.
Chapter Thirty-four
Kai felt suspended in time for a fraction of a second. And then he moved. Grabbing Beth’s arm, he swung her effortlessly ahead of him, steadying her as she fought to gain her footing. “Run!” he hissed. “Run as fast as you can. Head for to the truck and don’t look back!”
Beth must have seen something in his face that scared her, because she didn’t stop to argue. She looked past his shoulder and then turned and sprinted through the underbrush, jumping small fallen logs, swinging around tall, spindly pine trees.
Kai looked back at the camp. Ronan screamed something, rage clearly written on his face. He had seen them and was sending his men out after them. For a brief, faltering moment, Kai considered his new power. He could just drop this evil man in his tracks with a thought. It brought a shiver down his spine. But his next thought was that if he did something like that then that made him one of the rebels. A Trebladore who would turn away from all that he was born to be and become something else. A killer. Someone who murdered a human … for whatever, even seemingly justifiable, reason.
Filled with adrenalin, Kai didn’t dare try to Influence Ronan. He also suspected that Ronan, as angry and frightened as he would be right now, was most likely not open to being Influenced anyway. In quiet moments, he might have been able to do something with the man. Find some part of Ronan’s mind that held just a little bit of love and be able to use that to guide him to make the changes that would make him a better man. A forgiving man. A decent man.
A shot rang out and Kai felt the whistle of the bullet as it spiraled past his left ear. Without another thought, Kai turned and saw that Beth, who had raced halfway up the hill, had paused to look back. “Keep going!” he yelled. Kai ran up the hill after her. Glancing back, he saw that three men were running toward them, brandishing their guns. Ronan stood at the bottom of the hill holding a still-smoking rifle to his shoulder. Kai turned to Beth. Feeling a surge of energy, he moved quickly. His only thought was to save Beth.
Beth moved at a steady pace through the trees, making her way up the hill and toward the road on the other side.
Kai kept moving, hearing the sound of bullets rip through leaves and the occasional pop of the guns as the men paused long enough to take a shot at them. Fortunately, the men’s attempts to race up the hill were impeding their ability to aim and they kept missing. He glanced behind him once and saw that two of the men had fallen back slightly while the third, a man slimmer than the others, was coming on strongly. Kai looked back up at Beth. She had succeeded in topping the rise, where the trees thinned and the underbrush was slightly thicker. She paused, bent half over, gasping for breath.
Then he heard the sound of one of the guns being discharged again and he watched in horror as Beth suddenly stumbled forward with a cry, spinning in the air and then falling down the other side of the hill, disappearing from view.
“Beth!” he yelled. “Beth!” He sped forward. In seconds he was at the top of the hill and saw that she had tumbled halfway down the other side, sliding between trees and through bushes. She lay in a broken heap beside a boulder the size of an outhouse, and he threw himself after her, his heart pounding in his chest.
When he reached her, he crouched and she looked up at him and blinked. There was blood on her shoulder. He stood and reached down to grasp her arm and pull her to her feet. She was crying and unsteady, but they couldn’t wait. He could hear the men as they crashed through the branches and underbrush on their way up. Soon they would come over the top of the hill and continue shooting.
He pulled her uninjured arm over his shoulder and threw his arm around her waist, supporting her as he half dragged and half carried her down the rest of the way. He flinched each time she cried out in pain but couldn’t stop.
He heard the men calling to each other and knew it was only a matter of moments before they reached the top of the hill. The truck was in sight now and he felt Beth exhale forcefully when she saw it. “Almost there,” he said. “Just keep going.”
They reached the truck as the men came over the top of the hill and he heard more shots ring out. He pulled the door open, handing Beth into the passenger seat before slamming the door and racing around to the driver’s side. Precious seconds were spent getting the key out of his pocket. The truck engine jumped to life as two more bullets slammed into the side of the truck. Kai reached over and pulled a moaning Beth down so she was lying on the seat. Then he threw the truck into gear and, as dirt flew ou
t behind them, drove onto the road, gravel spinning into the air as he pressed the accelerator all the way down.
The men would follow as quickly as they could. Some might be in vehicles already. The road was rough. He pushed the speed as high as he dared, fairly flying over the mounds and smashing into the dips in the road. Beth was silent now, not making any sound when the truck bumped. Kai called out her name twice. She was unresponsive. With every passing moment, he grew more frightened. The hospital was so far. Lips pressed together to keep them from quivering, he kept his eyes on the road and pressed on.
——<>——
“Kai.” Beth’s voice was soft but he would have heard it all the way across the emergency room. “Kai?”
“I’m here,” he said, rising from the chair next to her bed. He leaned over her as she lay stretched out on the gurney. “I’m here. It’s okay. We’re at the hospital.”
Beth’s head swiveled as she looked around at the curtains, pulled to form a measure of privacy. “What happened?”
“You fainted before we got here and I carried you in. The doctors rushed you into emergency. Beth, they want to take you into surgery.”
“Surgery?” her voice cracked and Kai reached for her hand, holding it as if it would break.
“Yes. They need to remove the bullet. It went into your shoulder but didn’t hit anything major. You were lucky, they said.”
“Kai,” she whispered. How could listening to someone say his name make his heart skip a beat like that? It was such a sweet sound.
By the time they got to the hospital, Beth’s entire shirt had been covered in blood and Kai had feared the worst. Then they had taken her away from him so quickly, racing her into the emergency room and ripping at her clothes, gently pushing him out of the room so they could do what they needed to without interference from him. One of the nurses had led him to a private room where she left him with a tepid cup of water and the admonition to stay where he was until they came for him. He had tried to stem the tide of fear and anger that washed over him, had fought to stop the tears, too. He had managed to beat back the emotions but had failed with the tears.