Rocky Mountain Showdown

by Victoria Austin

  Laura’s throat was almost too tight to talk. “My home?”

  Mahoney looked almost rueful. “Oh, yes. While you were at young Joshua’s funeral. We did not find the papers anywhere.”

  Laura was going to throw up. “I’ve been wanting to know. How did you know about the key?”

  Mahoney’s face tightened. “We’ve been watching you. Waiting. Thinking that eventually you would take the papers to the authorities. But you never did.”

  They had been watching her, even up on the mountain. Seth had been right. Of course he had been. The logical answer was usually the true answer. Was the feeling of safety ever real?

  “We’ve been monitoring calls—both your phone and Joshua’s firm,” Mahoney said. “You called them last week, asking about the key.”

  She really was the reason Mahoney was here.

  “Once I knew you had the key to the box that held those papers,” Mahoney continued, “I had to plan a way to get to you. It turned out that my preparation really paid off.” More anger in his voice. “You and that park ranger made this much more difficult than it needed to be.”

  Laura’s own anger bubbled and roiled.

  “But I have you where I want you now. And this will all be over in a minute.”

  The bubbling and roiling froze and Laura’s blood was ice.

  * * *

  For a second, Seth thought he was stuck in yet another dream about Afghanistan. The only thing he could feel was the acid inside his body, eating away at what was left of his soul. And he was alone, all alone.

  Seth opened his eyes and sucked in a ragged breath. Smoke. Wetness. Rocky ground. He wasn’t in his bed having another nightmare. He was up on Laura’s mountain. And she and Abby weren’t here.

  The men. Seth jerked as the full implication hit him. Those men had Laura and Abby. They took them. Why did they take them if they were just going to kill them? Where were they now?

  Slowly, Seth turned on his side. He took a couple of deep breaths and tried to assess what his body was telling him. Beyond the pain. Beyond the shock. After a minute, he sat up. He saw Laura’s pack on the ground not too far away. It had either fallen or been thrown there. Seth tried not to picture that scene, what it had looked like when those men had taken them.

  Seth crawled to the pack and opened it. Laura had lightened it up before making that run to the rafts. He rummaged around and smiled. The first-aid kit was still in there. That woman was an expert survivalist and she knew how to prioritize. Thank you, Laura Donovan.

  Hs hand froze when he saw Abby’s Duckie. That sweet girl was scared somewhere. She needed her Duckie. She needed Seth.

  Seth groaned and slowly took off his shirt. The bleeding had slowed and the entry wound was crusty on the outside. How long had he been out? Seth tried to reach his hand around to his back, but that wasn’t happening. He could feel blood running down his back, so the bullet had exited. At least it wasn’t still inside.

  Seth shouldn’t be alive. Those men were pros. Why wasn’t he dead?

  Seth looked down and felt his breath catch. His dog tags. He’d had them on under his shirt. They’d been a part of him for so long, had seen him through so much. He still wore them every day, even though he had left military service far behind.

  They were a mess. Not just covered in blood, but...dented? Seth quickly took them off, examining them with his eyes and fingers. They’d been hit. With a bullet.

  It was impossible that they saved his life. But here he was, alive. The bullet should have killed him. They must have slowed it down. Maybe changed its path. He didn’t know. All that mattered is that he was still alive.

  Seth bandaged his wounds as best he could and then crawled to where he saw a large stick. Using it as a makeshift cane, he slowly stood up. This was doable. Seth knew what it felt like to be dying, and this wasn’t it.

  He wouldn’t say he was in good shape, but he was much better than he should be, all things considered. Leaning on the stick, Seth looked around. He did not see or hear anything except the normal forest sights and sounds.

  Mahoney must have taken them back to the cabin. To kill them there. That was the only thing that made any kind of sense.

  Seth looked up the mountain. That’s where Laura’s cabin was. That’s where the fire was. That’s where Mahoney had wanted to kill her and Abby to begin with. He swallowed and took a couple steps in that direction. That was probably where Laura was. The helicopter could have left while Seth was unconscious. But if it hadn’t, then Laura and Abby were up there.

  Seth took a few more steps and had to stop again. Going uphill was not easy at the best of times, but especially not with a hole going through his body. He’d have to go through the fire again. And when he got there, then what? It would be him against a large number of armed men. Men who were not injured.

  Seth wanted to go up. He wanted to charge up that mountain and save Laura and Abby. Save the day. He wanted to know that they were safe because he made them safe. That the bad guys were captured because he captured them.

  Seth wanted to climb the mountain and be the hero. Do it all himself.

  He sat down on a large rock, dropped the stick and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and holding his head. It hurt, bent over like this, but it hurt even more when Seth realized what he was thinking.

  Do it all by himself. Isn’t that how he got here in the first place? Isn’t that what he counted as one of his greatest regrets? He didn’t want his family to help him recover. He didn’t want to admit weakness. No, he left so he could do it all by himself.

  And it had been a mistake. He should have stayed. He should have leaned on those who loved him. He should have let them help.

  No. He wasn’t making that mistake again. He needed to go down the mountain. Away from Laura and Abby.

  It felt an awful lot like he was running away and leaving them to take care of themselves.

  But it was the right move. The hard move, but the right one. It gave Laura and Abby the greatest chance of surviving whatever it was they were enduring right now.

  Seth stood and started walking down the mountain. He turned each step into a prayer.

  Let me find help.

  Let Laura and Abby be okay.

  Don’t let them be afraid.

  Comfort them.

  Help them feel loved.

  Don’t let me be too late.

  Please, God.

  Please.

  The prayers were a rhythm, his heart bleeding into his pleas to God. He didn’t feel the pain of his injuries. He didn’t consider how far away help might be. He didn’t look at the setting sun or the dark shadows that surrounded him. He only looked at the ground about three feet in front of him. Made sure he placed each foot securely. Firmly on the ground. Held on to his cane and begged God to find Laura and Abby in this mess and be with them.

  His mom would have chastised him for that prayer. She believed that God was always with you. No one needed to ask God to be with a hurting person, because He never left. Ever. Instead, she would have told Seth to pray for the hurting person to be aware of God’s presence. To open themselves up enough to feel it and to take comfort in it.

  Seth almost missed a step as a longing for his mom caught him off guard. He should have called her. He’d written that his leaving was his fault. Not hers. His demons to face. Not her mistakes. Not her anything. But he should have called his mother.

  Seth coughed and intentionally cleared his head. No. Laura and Abby didn’t need his regrets over his past mistakes. They needed his prayers. And his help. Both came with him taking this next step. Then the one after that. And the next one.

  Seth walked for forever. He started to wonder if he was maybe still on the forest floor unconscious. Maybe this was a nightmare where he walked and walked and walked but never reached his destination.

&nb
sp; Maybe he should have gone up the mountain. To the fire at least. There might have been emergency personnel there, fighting the blaze. They could have helped.

  The fire was closer than the bottom of this never-ending slope.

  He should have gone up.

  Seth stopped walking and looked back up the mountain. The scent of smoke had faded. He could not see any. Had they finally managed to put the blaze out? Or was he that far away?

  Should he continue on? Maybe he should reverse course. Maybe going down was yet another mistake, but he still had time to fix it.

  Seth was frozen. He didn’t know which way to walk, but he needed to move somewhere. Do something. Soon.

  Seth was all alone in the forest.

  FIFTEEN

  Laura needed a plan. And a weapon. Her dad. Seth. Pretty much anything. And everything.

  “Well, Mrs. Donovan, I won’t say it’s been fun. But I’ll certainly remember you and all your spunk.”

  That compliment made Laura’s skin crawl. He was going to get up, leave, and then they were going to die. The situation was unbearable. Laura was more afraid of watching her daughter be hurt than she was of dying. That’s just how bad life had become. Death was the preferable outcome.

  No. That was not true. She was her father’s daughter. She was her Holy Father’s daughter. She was a mom. Laura was smart and capable and more than willing to fight for her child’s future. She needed to come up with a plan. Which was exactly where this crazy internal monologue started.

  Stall. She needed to figure out how to stay alive as long as possible. If there was any way at all that Seth was alive, he would come for them. Laura knew in the depths of her being that Seth would bring help. If he was alive.

  If he wasn’t alive. Well, then she needed to just try to stay living, and keep Abby alive and unhurt, for as long as possible. Maybe something would happen in the future to give them a fighting chance. So they needed a future.

  The plan was to stall.

  Now that she had a plan, Laura needed to figure out to how to execute it. And quickly, because Mahoney was getting ready to leave.

  “Mr. Mahoney.” It was the first time she had addressed him as anything formally. For a few extra minutes of life, she would be respectful toward this man. With her words at least, if not in her heart. “You’re making a mistake. I can help you.”

  Mahoney moved to get up out of his chair, so Laura began to talk faster. “You’re going to need me to get inside that safe-deposit box.”

  Mahoney smiled, fully standing. It was not a nice smile. “I have a copy of your husband’s death certificate. I have a copy of your identification. And I have a woman who looks like she could be your twin. I don’t need you at all.”

  “You’re wrong,” she said.

  Mahoney settled back down into his chair, and some of the tension left Laura’s muscles. Sitting was good. Sitting meant listening which meant taking up more time which meant stalling. The plan was to hold things up, and Laura intended to work that plan until something better popped into her brain. Please, God, give me something better. Help me to think my way out of this situation.

  Mahoney’s eyes were narrowed and he looked like he doubted her words. Well, she doubted them, too. But it was all she had.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “I found a letter from my husband warning me that the box was very important. I called the bank and told them to make sure not to let anyone but me inside. There’s no way your woman looks enough like me to pass careful scrutiny.” That was a lie. All of it. Laura hoped she was convincing.

  “We’ve been monitoring your phone, Mrs. Donovan. You did not call the bank. In fact, you told Joshua’s former secretary that you didn’t know what bank the key was from.”

  Laura told herself to stay calm. Steady. And hopefully very convincing. “I found an envelope with a bank name on it the next day. I went back to town to make a call. My cell phone was dead, so I used Mr. Miller’s phone at the general store.”

  Laura had gone back into town the very next day because her generator had died. She’d purchased the necessary part to fix it at the general store. But she had not made any phone calls.

  Mahoney opened his briefcase and pulled out a large cell phone with a long antenna, probably a satellite phone. He made a call. “Yeah. Give me the rundown on what Laura Donovan did the day after she called the firm about that safe-deposit key.”

  Laura saw spots in her vision and forced herself to take a breath. She was thankful she had kept her lie close to the truth. The report Mahoney was hearing should match what she said. Should.

  “Got it.” Mahoney did not sound happy. He pushed a button on the phone, presumably disconnecting the call. Then he looked at her and his eyes were blazing. “Okay. Let’s say you’re telling the truth.”

  He bought it. “Take me with you. I’ll get you the papers if you’ll leave us alone after that.” He wouldn’t. Laura knew whatever he told her would be a lie. But it would buy them some time and that was good enough right now.

  “And why didn’t you mention any of this before?”

  Laura’s shame was not faked at all this time. “You told me that all you wanted was the key. You said if I gave it to you, that you would leave. That no one would get hurt. I believed you.” Like a fool. She had given the man the thing he wanted without a second thought. He’d had a gun and he’d had her daughter and she had just caved. She was determined to be smarter this time.

  Mahoney didn’t say anything. He just stared at her for a long moment. Then he was back on his phone. “Yeah. I need to know about the phone calls made from that general store the second day that Laura Donovan went down there. From the owner’s phone, too.” Mahoney looked at Laura. “Last name Miller. Specifically, any banks that were called.”

  Laura forced her face to remain confident. Why had she been so specific? And how quickly would Mahoney get the information and know she was lying?

  Mahoney ended the call and leaned back in his chair. “We shouldn’t have to wait too long. I don’t think I believe you, but it never hurts to check. I’ve had men working since last week to track down the bank. That should be easier now that I have the key.” Mahoney pulled out the gold key Laura had given him days ago. He waved it in front of her face before putting it back in his jacket’s inside pocket. “I’m still thinking it will be best for all if you and your daughter die in a tragic accident and are quickly forgotten.”

  He planned to make it as though she and Abby were never here. Never lived. Tears rushed up behind Laura’s eyes as she realized that she truly would disappear. No one would notice her absence. Or Abby’s. Her family was all dead. Josh had been an only child of only children. His mom passed before Laura met him, and his dad passed their first year of marriage.

  And Laura was really, really good at being alone. At not making friends. At pushing the few people who tried far, far away. Really, it was a wonder that Laura had ever met Josh. Known him. Loved him.

  If she and her baby died, no one would visit their graves. Laura didn’t even know if they would have graves.

  This had been what she wanted. To be left alone. Loving people hurt, especially when they died and left. Her parents. Her dad. Josh. Everyone she loved had left her, and that was okay, because she wanted to be alone. Except she didn’t. Laura didn’t want that kind of life anymore, and she definitely did not want that for her sweet girl.

  Laura wanted to attack this man. Her fists were aching with the pressure she was using to squeeze them into tight little balls. Abby was shaking, her head buried into Laura’s shoulder, her arms squeezing Laura’s neck tight. It almost felt like Abby was trying to climb inside Laura’s body and hide there. Laura would let her if she could.

  But Laura could not attack this man. She had to keep stalling and have faith. Faith in God. Faith in Seth. That was her mission right now.
>
  Mahoney’s cell phone rang, and he answered it. He was talking in a low voice, and he sounded pleased with whatever he was hearing.

  Laura looked out the window, feeling desperation rising like a tsunami wave ready to wipe her out. She blinked hard at the shining reflection she saw.

  A shining reflection. Like what had warned Seth about the men earlier. The warning that had allowed them to hide.

  Laura knew her mountain, and she really knew her dad’s cabin and the surrounding land. There wasn’t anything out that window that would reflect light. And, since it was dark, there shouldn’t be any light to reflect in the first place.

  Maybe it was Mahoney’s men. He had certainly brought enough men and equipment with him.

  But maybe it wasn’t.

  Something was out in the woods. There was light. And it was reflecting. In a pattern. A very subtle pattern.

  Laura looked away. At Mahoney. He was still on his phone, talking quickly and not paying any attention to her. Good.

  Laura looked back out the window. That same reflection.

  Could it be a clue? A signal? She didn’t know if that thought was blind hope or a reasonable conclusion. Either way, Laura was going to assume it meant something.

  Mahoney put his phone back in his pocket and glared at her. “It seems you have a problem with your story, Mrs. Donovan.”

  It was a signal. Laura tightened her grip on Abby, and pictured all the ways out of this cabin. All the places she could hide. Something was going to happen. When it did, she would be ready.

  “Problem?”

  “Yes. There is—”

  Her world exploded. Again. There were gunshots. Men yelling. Flashes of light and strange smells.

  Laura jerked out of the chair, clutched Abby to her chest and ran. It was pure chaos, but Laura could navigate this cabin blind. If this was her chance, Abby’s chance, she was going for it.

  * * *

  Seth was actually rocking back and forth on his feet to keep from running in. Joining the fight. The past two days had challenged him in ways that Afghanistan had never managed to do. But this? This standing here useless while others went in and fought to save Laura and Abby—this waiting—might be the greatest challenge yet.