by Amy Gamet
This time there was movement from the guard tower closest to her. A light whipped around the perimeter of the property, landing on her with a blinding beam, even in the waning daylight. She forced air into her lungs. “Please, help!”
She made her way to the fence and gripped the thick metal wires in her hands. She could hear footsteps, people running toward her, and another sound as well — familiar from TV and movies.
The metallic sounds of weapons being readied.
Oh, God, I’m going to die.
So is Austin.
She suddenly felt so responsible for that man. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be here at all. What had she done by coming here in search of Julianne? She thought of her parents, so worried that they sent people to look for her. They must be so afraid for their only daughter. She should have known better. Told them the truth, or something besides just leaving without a word, assuming they wouldn’t check up on her.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered under her breath. She swiped at her cheek, surprised to realize she was crying. Three men jogged toward her, the one in the middle taller and lankier than the others. David.
“It's me, Cassidy.”
There was a hitch in his walk when she identified herself. Then he was in front of her and she was unable to read his features, everyone speaking at once in chaotic conversation through the fence. She hoped she looked like a traumatized and very sorry. “You have to help us, David.”
“Us?”
She gestured behind her to where Austin lay on the forest floor. “There's a man. He saved me. He brought me back to you. But he's sick, and I don't know how to help him.”
David snapped his fingers. “Let them in.”
The men beside him moved to the gate and she let her hand graze the thirty feet of fence that separated her from The Community. David walked beside her even as the others filed out, searching for Austin with bright lights, weapons drawn.
“Don’t hurt him!” she yelled.
She could feel the emotion coming from David. Was it anger? Fury? Or something else? She wondered what awaited her back inside. Then he took her in his arms, holding her tightly against his bony ribs, and she struggled to relax in his arms.
“I thought I'd lost you, Cassidy.”
He'd never called her by her first name without the term sister, and the difference could only signify a change in a relationship.
“I'm sorry. I was scared.”
He pulled her back from him, holding her at arm’s length. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “No. It wasn't like that. He helped me. Without him I probably wouldn't have made it through the night.” She looked at the others, clearly listening to the conversation. Brother Thomas glaring at her like the traitor she knew she was. “I was so stupid.”
David followed her stare. “Leave us, Brother Thomas. Tend to the man. We owe him a great debt for bringing Sister Cassidy home.”
“Where would you like us to put him?” asked Thomas.
Cassidy put her hand lightly on David’s shoulder. “Someplace I can help take care of him.”
“As you wish.” He raised his voice to be heard by the men. “Take him to my residence. Cassidy, too.”
13
Cassidy dipped her washcloth into a bowl of ice water, wringing it out before folding it and placing it back atop Austin’s forehead. He had a fever of a hundred and four, his skin incredibly hot to the touch, and he hadn’t regained consciousness in the three hours he’d been here.
What if he dies?
Maybe he ate too much of the nettle or confused it for another, more toxic plant.
“You have to get better,” she whispered, letting her finger trail down the side of his face. “I can’t do this without you.”
A voice from behind made her stiffen. “You seem very attached to this man.” It was David. She’d been waiting for him to come, but when he failed to materialize she began to relax, thinking he wouldn’t demand an explanation for her flight tonight.
She’d been wrong.
She straightened her spine. “He saved my life. It was foolish of me to go out alone on the mountain. I’d be dead if he hadn’t appeared and helped me.”
He sat down across from her, light from a single candle on Austin’s bedside illuminating half his face, leaving the other in shadow. “Why did you leave?”
The smell of alcohol reached her nose, something spicy and sweet. Her toes curled in her shoes. “I was afraid.”
“Of The Community?”
She reluctantly met his eyes. “Of you.”
“I scared you.” He hung his head. “It is part of God's plan that man should be with woman, Sister Cassidy. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Neither of them said anything for a few moments.
“How is our patient doing?” he asked.
“Not well. His fever is very high and he hasn't regained consciousness.”
“He has the best nurse available, I'm sure.” David stood, softly touching her shoulder as he passed, making her flinch. “What's his name?”
“Austin.”
“How did he come to be on the mountain?”
“I'm not sure. You’d have to ask him that.”
“If he doesn't die tonight, I will.” David walked away.
14
Austin’s eyes slowly opened, already searching for Cassidy. He no longer felt like he was dying, so that was an improvement. She sat on the edge of his bed and smiled. He could get used to waking up to her beautiful face especially when she was looking at him like she was right now. “You look better,” she said.
“I feel better. Where’s David?”
“He went to say morning prayers with The Community.”
He lowered his voice. “Did he believe you?”
“I think so, at least for now. But I think he was upset I brought you here. Brother Lucas is coming soon to take me on a tour of the ranch.”
“I’m coming too.”
“You weren’t exactly invited.”
“We’re in this together. You need to find your friend and I need to bring you back home safely to your mom and pops. We stay together.”
“Fine. You weasel yourself an invitation and you’re welcome to come. The way David looked at you, I don’t think he’ll take too kindly to me asking you to join Lucas and me.”
“No problem.” He swung his legs off the side of the bed, clenching his teeth at the wave of dizziness that followed.
She rushed to his side. “You're still dealing with the toxicity of the nettle. Your thick skull isn't going to get your body through this one.”
He rubbed his forehead. “How long have I been out?”
“Five hours.”
“Damn it. That’s longer than anticipated. Did you find your satellite phone?”
“No. It’s not where I left it. The rest of my things are there so I’m sure it was taken.”
“Any other problems?” He stood and the room spun, knocking him backwards onto the bed.
“Nope. I just stayed here with you and played nursemaid.”
He raised his eyebrows suggestively. “We’ll have to try that again sometime when we’re out of this place.”
“Oh yeah? Maybe with a little nurse’s outfit and a hat?”
“And a stethoscope. Nothing turns me on like a stethoscope.”
She laughed and looked at her hands. “Thank you for doing this for me.”
“You’re welcome. But I’m not doing it for free.”
“No?”
“I’m going to call in the debt when we get out of this place. I figure you owe me another chance.”
“What kind of chance?”
The bedroom door opened, framing David, who looked from Austin to Cassidy and back again. His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. “You seem to have made a speedy recovery.”
“I'm feeling much better. He held out his hand and introduced himself.
“I hear I owe you my thanks for helping bring Sister Ca
ssidy back to us,” said David.
Austin smiled. “She was just telling me she’s going on a tour this morning. I’d love to take a look around this beautiful ranch of yours. Mind if I go with her?”
David nodded. “Of course. And then you’ll join us for a fine hearty meal before you head on your way. Lucas will be ready momentarily. He’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Great, I appreciate that very much.”
David left the room and Austin turned to Cassidy. “A fine hearty meal before I head on my way. And don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.”
She stood and crossed to him. “What kind of chance, Austin?”
If they were anywhere but here, he’d answer her with a kiss, maybe more. “For you and me. To see if this can work for real.”
The kiss would have been easier. She was staring into his eyes, her expression unreadable, and he was back in her parents’ house listening to her tell him all the reasons it wouldn’t work.
He had to show her right then that she was wrong, remind her how good they were together. He closed the distance between them, slipped his hand behind her neck to hold her in place and kissed her.
She jerked away from him, her cheeks flushed. “He could walk back in at any moment.”
He stared at her lips, red from his touch. “You should answer me now, then.”
“We can talk about it when we get out of here.”
“Why not talk about it now?”
“Austin, what we have together is incredible. But all the reasons it didn’t work the first time are still there.”
He frowned. “It didn’t work the first time because you thought you were too good for me.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Hell yes, it’s true. You and your Mommy and Daddy all agreed. I was okay for a little summer fun, but that’s where it needed to stay.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I was there, remember? I got to be on the receiving end of your goodbye speech. Let’s not pretend now that’s not how it happened.”
Two spots of color appeared on her cheeks. “As I remember it, you thought I was something special in the sack, as long as I didn’t expect anything from you outside of it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what I said. You wanted to fuck me as long as I didn’t actually have feelings for you.”
Whoa. What the hell were they talking about here?
Cassidy was acting like the injured party, as if she’d wanted more from the relationship than he’d been ready to give. He tried to think back to who he was then, try to remember what it was he had wanted, but time had distorted reality too much for him to answer that question.
All that mattered now was how she felt today.
“Did you have feelings for me?”
She took a step backwards. “It doesn’t matter. That’s not the point. The point is you never wanted a real relationship from me, so you don’t get to say it was my fault we didn’t have one.”
“You’re the one who broke it off.”
“Yes. I was.” She put her hands on her hips. “We should go downstairs. Lucas will be waiting for us.”
“This is David’s house, right?”
She nodded.
“I’m going to look around for a way to contact HERO Force. There must be a phone line or a computer or something. Maybe I’ll find your satellite phone.”
“I’ll stay here in case someone comes. His office is right across the hall.”
Austin was much less sturdy on his feet than he expected, and he leaned heavily on the wall when he walked. David’s office had an ancient computer, but he couldn’t get it to turn on and from the dust on top of it, it could have been sitting here untouched for years.
He went through the desk drawers, hitting pay dirt in the fourth one he tried. A satellite phone, likely Cassidy’s. It was even charged up and he dialed the number for HERO Force from memory, unable to remember the cell numbers for the individual men.
“Give me Leo Wilson, quick. It’s Austin Dixon.”
While he waited to be connected he noticed a large street-level map of Seattle on the wall, about twenty red tacks marking different locations. He stood and leaned in more closely.
The Space Needle.
Pike Place Market.
The Great Wheel and the Art Museum.
“What the fuck?” he whispered. These locations were some of the biggest tourist attractions in the state.
Locations crowded with people.
He got Cowboy’s voicemail and he cursed the idiot switchboard operator. “I’m all right. I found Cassidy. She insisted on going back to find Julianne; Cassidy doesn’t believe she’s dead like the senator said. I found a map of Seattle, Washington with about a dozen major locations highlighted. He’s either planning a terrorist attack or the vacation of a lifetime. Send reinforcements.”
15
Cassidy sat in the front seat of the truck with Lucas, Austin in the back. The ranch was far larger than she suspected, even after David told her it was over four thousand acres. It was something that had to be seen to be believed.
She was distracted, and while she was looking for anywhere Julianne could possibly be hidden, her mind kept replaying her conversation with Austin.
He wanted a second chance with her. She bit her lip. The first one had knocked her heart around but good. That man had felt like home to her the first night in his bed, and her feelings for him had only grown in the weeks they spent together.
It wasn’t rational. She knew that. She hadn’t known him long enough to truly fall in love, but the feeling was as real as any she’d had before or since. Which was to say she’d never felt it before — nor felt it after.
There were men in her life. Good men who looked like decent matches on paper. They fit into her world like they were to the manner born, perfectly casted for the role of boyfriend, lover, husband. Yet each one of them had chafed at her soul, only serving to remind her of the man she had lost and the feelings she was incapable of recreating.
I was okay for a little summer fun, but that’s where it needed to stay.
His earlier words mocked her. He seemed to think she’d been using him for sex and hell, maybe she had. But Austin Dixon had broken her heart, no matter her initial intentions.
“Pretty impressive, huh?” asked Lucas.
“Definitely,” said Cassidy. There were fields upon fields, most lying fallow, unused. “David’s parents must have had quite a large business.”
“They did, though not by today’s commercial farm standards. They were potato growers. It would be hard for a farm this size to sustain itself on potatoes alone these days.”
“How did they get their crops to market?” asked Austin. “This place is pretty isolated.”
Lucas nodded. “Now it is, but it didn’t used to be. There was a dirt road that wound all the way up here from town and the interstate, back in the day. Years of disuse and it all went wild.”
“Wasn’t it a public road?” asked Austin.
“Oh, no. The Kellehers owned all that back then, all the way down to the highway. When David’s parents passed on, he let it all go.”
“It seems odd he would choose to be more isolated,” said Cassidy.
Lucas chuckled. “If that seems odd, then you don’t know David near as well as you think. The farther away he can get from traditional society, the better. That’s what makes The Community work. It’s its own little world up here.”
She’d been expecting more buildings, barns or places Julianne might be, but there was very little in the way structures out here.
“Where did they store things?” asked Austin, echoing her thoughts. “Seeds and machinery, crops, that sort of thing?”
“There’s a big pole barn on the other side of the property, not far from the main house. That’s where the equipment is kept. The crops used to go into the potato cellars up there on the hill.”
>
Cassidy narrowed her eyes. “I don’t see anything.”
“Sure you do. See those five little hills all in a row?”
“Yes.”
“That’s them. They have concrete floors dug down in the earth and cinderblock walls. The roof is a big metal half-circle that can take the weight of the ground on top of it.”
“You mean the potato cellar is underground?”
“That’s right.”
“What are they used for today?”
“I don’t imagine I know.”
“Can we take a closer look?” asked Austin.
Lucas clucked his tongue. “Unfortunately not. It’s getting on lunchtime, and I need to get you back.”
“But we haven’t seen the whole property, have we?” asked Cassidy.
“The rest is just more fields, Sister Cassidy. Acres and acres of fields.”
They headed back toward the main ranch. If Lucas was being truthful, there were only a handful of places that Julianne could be. The pole barn that held the equipment and the potato cellars.
Her shoulders shimmied just thinking about what Lucas described. A room built under the ground with a cement floor and no light. It would be damp and cold — perfect for potatoes, but not so perfect for people.
By the time they pulled in beside the dining hall, Cassidy knew she had to go back there and see for herself if her friend was inside one of those underground prisons.
16
“Senator Keaton Lane is here to see you, sir.”
Jax scowled at the phone. He’d just talked to Mrs. Lane this morning, updating her on the situation with Cassidy. Austin’s message should have reassured them. Cassidy had been found, was in the company of a HERO Force agent, and should be home soon, assuming all went well going forward.
“Show him into the conference room.”
The senator must be worried. As a parent himself, Jax understood what it was like to have your heart separated from your body and walking around the earth, where anything could happen to it.