The Uncharted Series Omnibus

by Keely Brooke Keith

  “I don’t know. I jumped on this horse and tried to follow but I lost them.”

  “They haven’t passed here. They must have left the road.”

  Everett straightened his back and pushed both hands through his dark hair. “What should I do? He has my sister!”

  “Go tell your father.” Levi mounted the black horse. “Where is the injured man?”

  “Lydia is with him.”

  “Alone?” Without waiting for a response, he turned the horse to the road and tore out of his property. He dug his heels into the horse’s flanks, urging it to gallop until he reached the Colburn house. Guilt deluged his system as he regretted his decision to leave the family home. He should have been there to protect his young sister. He had sensed there would be trouble when he heard someone had camped near the Fosters’ property. He should have done something about it before they had a chance to attack. He should have watched the road while he was building or—better yet—never have left home at all.

  He leapt down from the horse between the main house and Lydia’s cottage. John Colburn stood outside the back door of the family home with Bethany wrapped in his arms. She wept violently with her eyes clenched shut. Levi dropped the reins and darted for Lydia’s cottage. He threw the door open and came within an inch of hitting Connor with it. Lydia stood near her patient and jumped at the commotion.

  “Where is he?” Levi demanded even as his eyes landed on the insentient man sprawled on the patient cot. The man’s head was swollen to one side with a purple bulge. A slow stream of blood trickled from his ear canal. Levi instantly recognized the injured man. “That’s Felix’s son! I knew it! I will kill him!” He lunged toward the patient cot, but Connor held him back.

  Lydia snapped her head at Connor. “Get him out of here!”

  “I’m not leaving you alone with him,” Connor yelled at Lydia. He kept a grip on Levi but it was half-hearted and Levi knew it. Both men wanted her patient dead, but Lydia’s sworn duty imposed a standard on them that required unmitigated self-control. “He will die.” Connor lowered his voice as if to give Levi a covert message. “Save your anger for Felix.”

  Levi shook his shoulders away from Connor and stomped to the open door. “Where is the other one? The one who has Mandy?” Before Connor answered, Levi blew out a breath and punched his fist into the doorframe. “I will find her. I will kill Felix… and his son. I will kill them both.”

  Levi looked out at Bethany, who was clinging to their father. He wanted to comfort her, but he did not want to take a step outside of Lydia’s office as long as Felix’s son was still breathing. He also wanted to find Mandy and kill the man who took her. His nerves quivered as much with anger as dread. Bethany opened her crying eyes, and when they met Levi’s she let go of her father and rushed to Levi. She buried her face into his neck and sobbed. It sickened Levi to think of anyone harming his little sister. He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “Are you hurt?”

  “Not really. Not like Mandy.” She pulled back and looked at Levi. “The other man took her. Everett tried to follow them.” Her blues eyes were encircled by red from weeping. The striking contrast tore at his racing heart.

  “I know. Everett came to me. He lost them.”

  John moved close to them. “Where is Everett now?”

  “I sent him to his parents.” Levi looked at his father and suddenly felt like a child again—like the twelve-year-old boy who had watched Felix push his mother into the hearth. His jaw ached from grinding his teeth. “We must do something, Father.”

  John nodded then looked past Levi’s shoulder into the cottage. “Connor, stay here with Lydia. Do not let her out of your sight.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I will keep Bethany with me.” John reached for her and Levi opened his arms to let her go. “Levi, I want you to go to the Fosters. I know Everett is distraught, but I want you to devise a plan with him—a way to protect the village. Be strong for Samuel and Roseanna, son.”

  Levi did not think that was much of a plan. He drew in a slow breath through flared nostrils. Connor was the only man among them ever to engage in battle, and his opinion meant more to Levi than any other. Levi looked back at Connor, needing a visual cue confirming John’s orders. Connor seemed to understand and nodded once at him. Levi looked at Bethany one last time. She was safe now, though he had not been the one to protect her—Everett had. And now Everett was the one missing a sister.

  The black horse grazed in the yard, indifferent to all the chaos. As Levi took the reins and raised himself to the saddle, he realized this was one of the two horses hitched to his father’s wagon when Felix and his sons stole it on the road near Northcrest two years prior. Lydia had given those horses to Levi as a gift and—though he had not owned the horses long—he knew this was one of them. His emotions coursed with such explosive anger over Mandy’s abduction they left no room to enjoy the satisfaction of getting his horse back.

  He squeezed the horse’s barrel with his heels, sending it into a gallop. Dirt and gravel flew behind them on the road. Even as the sun’s last light faded, he wanted to keep riding until he found Mandy. He considered getting Everett and searching for any tracks diverging from the road before it was too dark. He also considered riding to every property around the village to make inquires—perhaps someone saw something. But his father had said to comfort the Fosters and devise a plan. Connor had agreed, but it did not feel like enough to Levi. His compunction over the attack grew every second. He had to do something.

  Levi rode to the Fosters’ farmhouse and let himself in the front door. He found Everett and Samuel and Roseanna huddled together in their front parlor, weeping. As an elder in the village, Samuel Foster was a figure of strength and wisdom. But Levi could see his own father was right: in the wake of the traumatic abduction of their daughter, the Fosters needed someone else to be strong.

  The wooden floor in the Fosters’ kitchen creaked as Levi paced the room. Everett walked into the kitchen and lowered himself into a seat at the table. His brow was tightly knit as Roseanna continued to weep from the sorrowful shock. Eventually, her sobs lessened to whimpers. Finally, she lifted her head from Samuel’s shoulder. She stepped into the kitchen and went straight to the sink. Samuel remained in the parlor, staring out the window into the blackened night.

  Levi glanced out the kitchen window to the west. He felt desperate to search for Mandy, but it would be futile at night without even knowing in what direction they went. He wanted to jump on the horse and ride until he found her, but he would not be able to track them in the dark and it would be unwise to set out alone. Felix’s sons had not plotted this on their own, so there would be at least two men out there to fight. Levi felt confident he could handle both men, but his attention would be divided if he were also trying to free Mandy.

  He remembered his father’s instruction to devise a plan and decided that plan should not be to protect the village but to search for Mandy and kill her abductor and Felix. He pulled a chair away from the table and sat across from Everett. “We should start with the campsite you found.”

  Everett leaned forward. “Do you think it’s the same men?”

  “Yes. It’s Felix Colburn and his sons. The wagon tracks you saw at the campsite were probably from my father’s old wagon—they took it when they attacked Connor and me two years ago.”

  Everett straightened his posture and crossed his arms over his chest. “Connor has taught us to fight. We could easily overpower them—you and I—and save my sister.”

  “I want Connor with us.”

  “Your father won’t allow all three of us to leave the village. He will want Connor to stay for Lydia’s sake.”

  Levi knew Everett was right. “There are only two of them now—Connor said the man in Lydia’s office will die from his injuries. The three of us could take care of the problem once and for all. They can’t get away with this. They deserve to be punished and we’re the only men willing to deliver justice.”


  He looked up as Samuel stepped into the kitchen from the parlor. Samuel had his hand over his heart as he lowered himself into a chair at the table. “Are you boys going to search for Mandy?”

  Everett shifted in his seat and turned to his father. “Yes, but we want Connor to go with us.”

  Samuel nodded, then his eyes moved to Levi. “Did you get a look at Bethany’s attacker?”

  “Yes. He is Felix’s son.”

  “Then there are still two demons out there.” Samuel rubbed his forehead with his thumb. “And they have my Mandy.”

  “Father,” Everett’s jaw bulged as he clenched his teeth. “I’m sorry I didn’t save Mandy.” He looked at Levi then. “I’m not sorry I saved Bethany… I just wish I could’ve saved them both.”

  Levi glanced at Samuel and saw his chin quiver beneath his white beard. He understood Everett’s dejection. “You saved my sister and I’m grateful, Everett. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I can’t tell you how sorry, but our regrets will not help us find Mandy.”

  “When I do find them…” Everett pounded his fist onto the table’s surface. “I am going to tear that man’s head from his body. I am going to—”

  “Enough, son.” Samuel raised his palm, silencing Everett’s angry words. “Your fury will serve you well when it’s time to fight. Let your love for your sister and for justice drive you into that battle.”

  Everett pressed his lips together and nodded. It was a wonder he was able to control himself at all. Mandy had been stolen. Felix and his sons had to die. Levi stood from the table and paced to the window as his aggression surged. He craved the battle, not simply for the potential of serving justice, but also for the pleasure of releasing years of anger over his mother’s death.

  Samuel looked at him. “You too, Levi. Focus on the task at hand and keep anger in its place. Come sit back down.” Levi returned to the table out of respect for Samuel. After a moment, Samuel rapped his knuckles on the table. “Very well, then. I have maps of the westward property. We will need them to plan your search.”

  Chapter Five

  The night air remained warm and thick. Every sash window in the Fosters’ farmhouse gaped at the darkness. Roseanna Foster stood at the kitchen sink scrubbing one spot of the porcelain basin with abandon. The scratching sound of her scrub brush paused occasionally as she lifted her wrist to dab her tears with her sleeve. Levi had never witnessed such anxiety from the usually cheerful matron, and he prayed she would be reunited with Mandy soon.

  Samuel emerged from the hallway clutching a bundle of rolled-up papers. He sat beside Everett and unfurled the documents on the table, revealing hand-drawn maps. Levi began to examine them from across the table when the sound of voices outside caught his attention. He left the table and walked to the front parlor just as Connor opened the door from the outside. John, Bethany, and Lydia followed Connor into the house. Connor was holding Mandy’s violin case. He set it on the floor of the parlor as Roseanna met the women at the door. She directed them down the hallway and into Mandy’s bedroom, where their collective weeping swelled into a cacophony of grief.

  John and Connor walked to the table. John pulled out the chair next to Samuel and sat. “Bethany’s attacker is dead. Lydia said there was nothing she could do for him. I believe he was the younger of Felix’s two sons—if so, his name was Christopher Colburn.” John looked down at his hands as he brushed his fingertips together. “Felix’s other son is named Harvey.”

  Levi’s anger flared as John announced Mandy’s attacker’s name. He stretched his neck deep to one side, then the other, and repeated the name with a barely audible growl, wondering how his father knew the names of Felix’s sons. He decided to focus his attention on finding Mandy as Samuel had suggested.

  Levi returned to his seat and motioned to the empty chair next to him for Connor. Samuel shook his head somberly and turned his attention back to his maps. Connor pointed to the faded maps spread across the kitchen table. “Is this a map of your property, Mr. Foster?”

  “And the area beyond my property.” Samuel cleared his throat, but his voice remained gruff as he traced his finger along the ancient paper. “The western edge of my land is bounded by this creek—it would probably be shallow this time of year. I haven’t ventured far beyond that point, but my father occasionally did. He drew this map of the pine forest and the simplest route to the river from there.”

  Connor glanced at Levi. “Is that where you think Felix and Harvey are taking her?”

  Levi nodded and pulled another map from the stack. The heavy papers crackled as they slid over the table. He looked at his father and motioned to different aspects of the map. “We think they came from here—near the mountains to the west. If they came to Good Springs to steal women, they were probably planning to return this way. Everett said he saw wagon tracks at the campsite he found last week on the western edge of the property here. The closest bridge over the river is here—about thirty miles from Good Springs.”

  John leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow as he looked at the map. Levi judged his father’s demeanor as one of barely-cloaked superiority and thought such confidence was unwelcome in the situation no matter how much undisclosed information his father held. Maybe Connor—with his military experience—would have a right to exude such confidence, but not his father. The man had never fought anyone in his life.

  John shook his head, disagreeing with Levi’s assessment of the attacker’s plan. “Felix does not yet know Christopher is dead. He will not go home. He will wait nearby for his son.”

  The quick dismissal of Levi’s opinion stoked the fire of his already burning anger. He glowered at his father. “How do you know what Felix will do?”

  “Because I am a father!” John shoved back from the table and stood. He paced to the window and pushed his hands through his hair. Levi watched his father and felt no less angry but was pleased the impudent question had elicited such an outburst.

  When John did not turn back to them, Levi glanced at the other men. Everett looked at his hands. Connor tapped one finger on the edge of the table. Samuel stared at John’s back, stunned by the overseer’s loss of control.

  Levi studied Samuel for longer than he intended, and all at once Samuel seemed old to him. He had always thought of Samuel as fatherly but never as elderly. Perhaps it was the dread of the situation that cast shadows through the creases around Samuel’s eyes, leaving him sallow. His shoulders slumped, aging him even more.

  Samuel looked at Levi but angled his head toward John. “John, you can keep guard over your house and I can keep guard over mine in case Felix does come back, but I think the boys should go and search for Mandy.” Samuel pulled his lips tightly together as he struggled not to weep. “You are the overseer and I will respect whatever you think is best for the village. Please, send the boys to search for my daughter—my precious daughter.”

  John stepped behind Samuel and put both hands on his shoulders in support. Everett dropped his face into his hands, and Connor blew out a breath through pursed lips. Samuel’s palpable agony filled the room. Levi felt it and thought his own pain was only marginally less as he waited for John’s response.

  “Levi, Connor, Everett—you will depart at first light.” John’s jaw was tight as he gave the orders. “Take the horses and whatever provisions you need. Begin with the campsite to the west and look for tracks. Stay together. Find Amanda and bring her home.”

  Everett lifted his face from his hands. Connor leaned forward and pulled the maps close to examine them. Levi’s anger shifted away from his father and back to the man who took Mandy.

  * * *

  Mandy remained curled in a protective ball beside her abductor in the back of the wagon as the older man drove them westward through the night. She tried not to look at Harvey, but she felt him leering at her through the darkness. Her body ached; every muscle and sinew felt torn from the attack. She wondered how she would fight whenever Harvey finally decided to make his move.


  The wagon jerked hard and then swayed, throwing Mandy closer to Harvey. She sucked in a breath and jumped back against the wagon’s side. When he did nothing, she wondered if he were asleep. She relaxed her arms but kept them wrapped around her legs.

  Harvey sniffed and shifted his position. She froze, hoping not to wake him. The wagon continued swaying as it rolled. She glanced through the small opening at the front of the wagon cover and saw the back of the older man’s head and the blackness of the sky beyond.

  Harvey moved again and cleared his throat. “What’s your name?”

  Mandy’s breath came in short pulses as her fear intensified. She considered remaining silent but her intellect was her only remaining defense. She decided to find a way to use it. “Amanda Foster.”

  She waited with every breath to flinch at his advance but he did not move, nor did he say anything. After several minutes, she turned her eyes and looked in his direction. His face was blackened by the darkness inside the wagon, but she could see his silhouette.

  “Foster?” His voice was barely above a whisper. “Aren’t you a Colburn woman?”

  “No, I am not a Colburn woman.” She wondered why he thought she was a Colburn. Then she remembered she was walking with Bethany across the Colburn property when they were attacked. She could not understand how these men knew the Colburns of Good Springs or why they had specifically targeted women they believed to be Colburns.

  The wagon rattled as it moved through the darkness. Every shake vibrated through her aching body and intensified the pain in her chest. She wondered where they were taking her and where the other attacker was and what he had done with Bethany. She wanted the wagon to stop but also feared when it did stop she would be forced to endure something much worse.

  Harvey breathed heavily several times, his nose whistling with each exhalation. “Don’t tell my father.”

  “Don’t tell him what?” Her throat burned when she spoke.