by Tanya Stowe
“I don’t have time to explain. I have six women in my Jeep. They’re all victims of a trafficking ring operating here in our area. I’ve just rescued them from a cabin and I need a place to hide them and my vehicle.”
“Hide? Don’t be crazy. Let’s call the police.”
“Kent Pierce is the leader of the ring, Uncle Butch. After what you said about Pierce’s influence over the local police, I don’t know if I can trust them. I need to hide these women until men from my station can get up here. I thought about the railroad’s roundhouse.”
His uncle hesitated for a moment before he nodded decisively. “It’s big enough for your vehicle and it has a couple of floor heaters. We can get the women secured there.”
“We’ll need your truck, too. I’ve got the women crammed into my Jeep and one of them is injured.”
His uncle turned and pulled a key ring off a rack near the door. “Get it started. It’ll be cold. I need to get my shoes.”
“We also need blankets and food,” Austin called out as his uncle moved down the hall.
“Grab what you need out of the kitchen and load it in the truck. I’ll get the blankets.”
Austin hurried to the garage and started his uncle’s truck. Then he pulled microwave soup cups, boxes of cereal and packaged cookies into a bag he found near the door. He snatched a container of bottled water up with one hand and headed toward the garage.
His uncle met him in the hall, his arms full of blankets and heavy towels. Nodding toward the microwave cups peeking out of the top of the bag, he said, “It’s a good thing I’m widowed and have tons of microwave food lying around.”
Austin grunted. “It doesn’t fill me with confidence to know this is how you eat all the time.”
He pushed open the garage door and held it for his uncle, who paused. “You should talk. Frozen pizza is better?”
Shaking his head, Austin nudged his chin toward the car. “We don’t have time for this discussion.”
They’d had this talk many times, the one where his uncle told him it was time to stop mourning, to move on with life. Celebrate Abey and all she did by living life to the fullest. His uncle had said many times how disappointed she would be with the half life Austin had been living. Before, Austin had no purpose, no reason to change...until Dulcie. Now he had everything to look forward to...if they survived the night.
“We need to move someone into your truck so we can make Susan more comfortable.”
His uncle nodded. “I’ll see you down there.” He punched a button. The garage door lifted. Austin ran down the incline to his Jeep and opened Susan’s door. “Come on. Let’s get you better situated.”
The young woman was weak. She struggled to get out. Finally, Austin slid one arm behind her and another beneath her legs and lifted her out. His uncle parked beside him with his truck engine running. Butch opened the door and Austin slid Susan onto the front seat. Two other girls piled into the backseat and in seconds, both vehicles were headed down the road to the railroad’s roundhouse.
He told Dulcie where they were going. “Okay,” she said. “But what is a roundhouse?”
“It’s a huge building where they do repairs and store the engines during the winter. Back in the day, the buildings were round so they could drive the engine in and around a circle and out. That’s how they got their name.”
“I see...a round house with round tracks.”
“Exactly. The company doesn’t run excursions down the narrow-gauge rails during the winter. It’s far too icy and dangerous, so they store the engines and the railcars in the roundhouse.”
Dulcie nodded and leaned forward as the large building loomed ahead of them. His uncle’s truck stopped. He exited his vehicle, ran in front of the headlights, unlocked the tall metal doors blackened from the smoke of the coal-driven steam engines and then hurried back to his truck. He pulled inside and Austin followed, parking on the opposite side of one massive train.
Austin jumped out to help his uncle close the sliding door. “Go get the heat going for the women. I’ll lock this.”
His uncle nodded, then went back to where Dulcie and the others were helping Susan out of the truck. Austin didn’t like the young woman’s pale features and trembling posture. He was afraid she was going into shock. Apparently, Dulcie feared the same thing. He heard her tell the other women to make a pallet for her so they could get her warm.
A small area at the back served as the break room, complete with a microwave. Uncle Butch plugged in two large floor heaters. They had things under control, so Austin went to check out the building.
Steam engines filled the tall, long and somewhat narrow roundhouse. They’d barely had room to park their vehicles on the sides of the two huge train engines. He moved past the small break area to examine the rest of the building. The old roundhouse burned down in the 1980s and had been rebuilt. Only one original brick wall remained...and it was full of four-foot-high windows. Austin stared at the wall in dismay. No way could he secure those. If Pierce and gang figured out where they were hiding, it would be easy to break through those windows. He wouldn’t be able to protect the women. One man and one gun against three men, probably heavily armed. There would be bloodshed.
Austin took a deep breath. But where else could they go? All they could do was keep the lights low and stay hidden. Hopefully, Pierce and his gang would not guess their location.
He moved back to the break area. The women sat on the floor, huddled around the heaters with blankets around their shoulders. Susan lay on a pallet. Dulcie pulled a foam cup of soup out of the microwave, blew on it and began to spoon-feed the young woman. A faint smile filtered over her lips.
The sight of Dulcie doing what she did best warmed Austin’s heart. An hour ago, he’d thought she was lost. But here she was ministering to other women. God was good.
She was the only one without a blanket but his uncle had found her a bright yellow workman’s jacket, two sizes too big for her. It hung over her hands but she’d rolled the cuffs up, out of her way. He shook his head. She wouldn’t let anything like a little freezing cold impede her efforts to help these women.
How had he been so blind? He did not recognize that she was a warrior...different from Abey, but still a fighter. A champion of everyone except herself.
Austin decided then and there that if they survived tonight, he would spend the rest of his life showing her how wonderful, strong and beautiful she was.
Please, Lord. You came to me in my hour of need. Made me see how You’ve held me up. Pointed the way for me. Give me one last blessing. Let me spend the rest of my life showing Dulcie how valuable she is.
She looked up and caught him watching her. A sweet, soft smile filtered over her beautiful, coral lips...lips that were so expressive. They could go thin with displeasure and harden with determination. They were lips he wanted to kiss.
And please, Lord, if it is not Your plan for us to be together, let me kiss her just once.
His uncle walked toward him. Austin dragged his gaze away from Dulcie and nudged his chin toward the back of the building. When they had stepped away, he shook his head and kept his voice low. “I forgot about that wall with windows. They make this place indefensible.”
Butch nodded. “But it’s warm and safe for now and they need to rest.”
Austin agreed and looked up at the rafters. A giant mechanized lift that slid back and forth was attached to the roof. A ladder led up to the arm. It was the highest point and offered the best view out the high windows across the building. “I should be able to see pretty far out the windows from up there. Call me if you need me.”
Butch nodded and moved back to the women. Austin climbed the ladder to the top. Wrapping his arm under the rung, he leaned back to look out the window. He could see for several blocks over the city. Snow covered the streets in a blanket of white. Two black strips of tire track
s marked their way to the roundhouse. An easy trail to follow if Pierce and his gang saw them. What would he do if they found them?
For the second time that night, Austin hit a blank wall. No ideas came to him. He didn’t know what their next step would be.
He inhaled and clung to his rediscovered faith. The Lord had pointed the way once. He would do it again.
Time passed. Austin could hear the women quietly talking, his uncle’s low voice and the soft laughter of the women. Leave it to his uncle to lighten their hearts. Uncle Butch told them how the road from Durango through Silverton to Ouray was called the Million Dollar Highway because it cost a million dollars to build at the turn of the century. Others said they called it that because of the million dollars’ worth of discarded gold ore that went into the dirt used in the road’s building. Butch told them how, at times, the highway paralleled the narrow-gauge tracks and in weather like this, the tracks were safer.
Austin smiled with the women. He’d never appreciated his uncle more than tonight, when he’d jumped into danger without a second thought and tried to make these desperate women comfortable.
Austin’s arm, clinging to the rung, was getting tired. He needed to climb down and rest for a while. Conserve his strength. He was about to begin his descent when the flash of faraway headlights caught his gaze.
He froze and watched as the lights flashed again, pointing straight down the cross street of the roundhouse’s location. Austin’s pulse pounded in his temples. Adrenaline surged through him as a black SUV turned down their street.
Kicked into gear, he clamored down the ladder and ran to the women. His uncle and Dulcie looked up. The fear must have shown on his face because his uncle came to where he stood in the shadows outside the circle. Dulcie followed close behind him.
“They’ve found us.” He couldn’t keep the stress out of his tone. “Is there someplace in this building with no windows where we can secure the women?”
“I think I know a way to get us out.” Uncle Butch gestured them to follow him to a small yellow engine about twelve feet long. “This is a speeder. They use it to get to the Tacoma power plant. It’s in here for repair, but I got it running yesterday. It’s in tip-top shape.”
“How does that help us?” The speeder had sliding doors and a small enclosed area behind the driver’s seat. Outside the speeder on the back was a wide bar with a narrow platform. A small basket-trailer for equipment was hitched behind it.
“I think we can get all the women inside and drive the speeder. There’s no road to the plant. They can’t get there by car. Just railway tracks over a bridge and five more miles up the snow-covered mountain. They’ll never make it by foot in this wind and snow. The building is warm and secure so we can hold out there until the storm passes.”
Austin eyed the speeder. “Do you really think we can get all the women inside?”
“It’ll be a tight squeeze, but what other choice do we have?”
Austin didn’t have an answer for that.
His uncle went on. “There’s just two problems. There’s a stretch of open, flat meadow before we hit the bridge that crosses the river. Those men could follow the road above and maybe catch us before we get there. The speeder doesn’t travel very fast. But the second issue is the bigger problem.” His uncle paused.
Austin eyed his silent relative. “What’s that?”
“You’ve got to open the doors, let the speeder get through and hopefully jump on the back. I can build up steam and get us out the door quickly, but you might find it difficult to hop on...and someone else could get on with you.”
Austin studied the giant doors of the building and the small bar at the back of the speeder. He wrapped his hand around it. The black metal was just the right size for his grip. The metal platform at the bottom wasn’t even wide enough for his feet. But he could manage.
“Let’s do it.”
Dulcie gasped. “Austin, you can’t! Even if you get on, you’ll be an easy target for those men and their guns. They could shoot you!”
“I don’t think they will risk a shot this close in town where citizens might hear. So far, they’ve tried to keep all of this under the radar.”
“Then let’s call the police. If they don’t want their presence known, they must be trying to avoid the authorities. That means it’s safe to call them.”
Austin shook his head. “You saw how Deputy Shaw disrupted the proper order of operations. It only takes one bad egg to send files missing or to release prisoners. We can’t risk something like that happening.” She started to protest but he grasped her arms and said, “You are witnesses and our only real evidence. Do you want these men to go free to do this again?” He shook his head. “We’ve got to get you out of here now.” He turned to Butch. “Let’s get them loaded and take as much blankets and food as we can carry. We don’t know how long this storm will last.”
Dulcie stepped close and grabbed the lapels of his jacket. “Austin...please don’t do this.”
He gripped her hands. They were cold. Her eyes were wide and her amazing lips were so close...and they trembled. He wanted to bend down and kiss her.
A loud bang at the back of the building made them both jerk.
Austin pushed her toward the group of women. “They’re trying the back doors. In minutes they’ll find those windows. Get moving!”
The women were loaded into the speeder. Katharine held Susan’s arm and led her while the others carried the bags of food, water and the blankets. Butch was right. It was a tight squeeze but they managed to fit everyone in with spots for Dulcie and Austin. But she waited outside for him.
Butch gathered enough steam and released the brake. The engine crawled along the tracks to the tall doors. Austin met Dulcie and they walked behind the slow-moving vehicle.
His uncle leaned out of the open window on the driver’s side. “Give me a few minutes to build up speed. I’ll punch it the minute the door is wide enough. You let go of that door and grab on. I don’t plan to lose you, nephew. You hear me?”
Austin gave him the thumbs-up sign. Dulcie reached for him. He grasped her hand and pulled his gun out of his holster and placed it in her open palm. “I want you to take this.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I don’t know what to do with it.”
He pointed to the lock. “Flip this open. It’s the safety. Then point and pull the trigger. You probably won’t hit anything, but you’ll scare them.”
“I can’t, Austin. I’m afraid of guns. I’ll freeze up again.” She gave another shake of her head.
“Take it. If these men find a way to get to the power plant and I’m not there, Uncle Butch will need it.”
Her lips parted. Now. Now was the time for the kiss he’d been wanting since that first night in her apartment when she walked in with her wild hair, distinctive brows and sensitive mouth. He ran his hand over her soft curls, gripped her head and pulled her close...
Glass shattered at the back of the building.
They were in!
He shoved Dulcie toward the speeder and ran past his uncle to the front of the building.
“They’re here. Go!”
His uncle nodded. Austin reached the large metal sliding doors and looked back. Dulcie had climbed in. He unlocked the door and shoved it wide. His uncle nodded again and released the brake. The speeder shot forward. Austin stepped close as it moved past him. He grasped the black metal bar. It jerked him off his feet and dragged him as the speeder moved out of the building. It was still slow enough he was able to gain his footing. He hopped, trying to jump on the narrow platform. Just as the speeder took off, he gained footing on the back and pulled himself up.
Then he heard a shout. Carson ran toward them from the back of the building. Obviously Pierce and Benally found him at the cabin and set him free. Austin kicked him away, but he grabbed the basket at the back and t
umbled into it.
* * *
Dulcie caught her breath as Carson tumbled into the flat basket attached to the speeder. Carson recovered quickly from his side tumble into the carrier and struggled to come to his knees. The basket wouldn’t support the weight of the man so it dipped and swayed. He lost his balance several times. That gave Austin time to react. He bent behind the back of the speeder, out of Dulcie’s vision.
All the women were turned, looking out the window. “He’s pulling pins from the bar attached to the trailer.” Waves of relief swept through Dulcie at Katharine’s announcement.
Carson reacted too. Balancing on one knee, he lunged forward and snatched at Austin as he leaned over. Carson’s growled shout echoed over the noise of the speeder engine and the women screamed.
Austin jerked back, pin in hand. Carson cried out in surprise as the basket carrier fell away. The connecting bar hit the tracks and tipped the carrier end over end, sending the man flying. He bounced, landed flat and didn’t move as the speeder rushed down the tracks.
A collective sigh of relief flowed through the small cabin. Austin gave them a thumbs-up through the back window. But Dulcie wasn’t satisfied. The storm still raged. Sleet bit into Austin’s face and hands. He had to be freezing. She wanted...needed him inside with the rest of them. She faced the front as the speeder pulled away from the rail yard. They were still too close to the road but there had to be a wide, safe spot to stop so Austin could climb inside.
They all watched the railroad yard fall farther and farther behind. Dulcie thought they might make a safe getaway. Then she saw men run from the building and the black SUV pull onto the street, headlights flashing along the empty road.
She leaned toward Butch. “They just got into their car and drove away. Can they follow us?”
He nodded. “The highway runs on that flat space above us.”
Dulcie glanced up the rocky cliff. A wide swath was cut out of the rock, wide enough for a two-lane highway. “But you said they couldn’t reach us at the power plant. Where do the tracks pull away from the highway?”