Authors: Paige Cameron
“Did you question him about the woman?” Sheriff Grady asked.
“Sure did. He said she wasn’t feeling well. He mentioned flying made her nauseated.”
“Did you see which way they went?” Ty asked.
“No. The pilot put the helicopter in the hangar and joined them in the car. I came back inside, did a little paperwork, and decided to head home. They rode down the two-lane road toward the highway, but that’s as much as I know.” He looked at Ty. “Sorry.”
“Thanks. We’re glad you were here and could give us this much info. Can we see the copter?”
“Sure, Sheriff. Let me get my key. I locked the place up.”
Ty stayed behind and snapped his cell open. There was a signal. He punched in Brent’s number. Angie answered.
“They left soon after you called,” she said. “Do you have any news?”
“We’ve found where they landed the helicopter. They left in a brown car. It’s something, but not much. I’ll keep in touch.”
He snapped the cell shut. Drake and Brent would be at the ranch before too long.
His cell rang. “Ty here.”
“This is Mick. I’ve landed at your ranch. I wasn’t too far away. I have family in upper
Wyoming
. Where are you?”
Ty told him they’d found the private airport where the men who took her had landed.
“Your cousin, Dirk, said to tell you we’re coming your way in his truck.”
Ty gave him directions to head toward where they were. “You can track on wheels and we’ll be above in the copter.”
“Sounds good. We’ll head out now.”
“Great. We can use all the help we can get. We may have a fight on our hands if we find them, no, when we find them.”
When the Sheriff and the owner of the landing strip came back, they all spread out a map and studied the terrain. The pilot came in and joined them.
“What direction would they have taken?” Grady asked, looking at the others for suggestions.
“I’d think they’d stay here in the western section. The eastern part of
Montana
is getting much worse weather. So let’s narrow our search to this area.” Ty circled a large western section of the state and made a mark where they were located. “We need to start out and go over each section like the spokes on a wheel. What do you all think?”
“I agree, and we don’t want to fly too low. Hopefully if we get close they won’t hear the copter,” Sheriff Grady said.
“I have a friend and my cousin headed this way in a truck. If we see something suspicious they can drive in that direction and check it out,” Ty said. “When my brothers land at the ranch, we’ll send them driving in the opposite direction so one car will hopefully be close to what we find.”
“Sounds good,” the pilot said. “We have limited time. It’s going to get dark before long, and I’m afraid we’re in for more snow.”
As they walked toward the copter, Ty’s cell rang again. “Hello.”
“We’ll be there soon,” Brent said. “Where are you?”
Ty told him what had happened since his call. “After you land, call Mick. See where he is, and then take my truck. I just got it back the other day. I was going to sell it, and thank goodness I changed my mind. It’s got plenty of gas and should be running fairly well. Head in the opposite direction from Mick, but stay west. We only have a few hours before we all have to turn back.”
“Will do. We’ll keep in touch.”
Ty’s hopes lifted knowing everyone would soon be involved in the search. The more people looking increased their possibility of finding Lily. Their helicopter lifted into the air and started on the first spoke of the wheel on their map. They’d drawn out each direction to go. Time was running out for them today.
* * * *
The minutes dragged by. Lily’s hands were feeling numb from being tied so long. Muscles ached from where she’d been sitting in the hard, straight chair. Once in a while one of the men would look in on her, but mostly they ignored her. It sounded as though they were playing cards and waiting for the man who wanted her. If he didn’t get here soon, they’d kill her.
Hell, he might kill me, too. I’m in a very bad position.
She glanced out the window and saw the light beginning to fade. If they were looking for her, there wasn’t much daylight left to aid them in the search.
To keep her spirits up, she continued her mantra.
Believe. Ty will rescue me.
The words comforted and calmed her. She didn’t want to fall apart and get hysterical. The tall man who’d kidnapped her had a short fuse. There was no reason to take a chance on lighting it.
Her head fell forward. She must have dozed for a few minutes. A cell phone rang, and her kidnapper answered. She recognized the tall man’s voice.
“I know the weather report. Get here quick. As I said before we’ll be gone by tomorrow. This front is coming in faster than we expected. And we ain’t taking no prisoners with us. Sure, you paid me. I did what you wanted. It’s not my fault you’re having a problem getting here to collect her.”
“All right. But your man better get here soon. It’s going to snow tonight.”
The conversation ended. He looked around the door to Lily and frowned. “You’re becoming a liability. We need to leave. I lied on the phone to shut him up.” He chuckled. “Never trust a dishonest man.”
Lily heard him talking to his buddies. In a minute, they all came into the room. Her heart rate ratcheted up and out of sight. Her vision blurred as she saw him take out his gun.
“Come on, Karel. Let her live. What the hell. We have our money. It’s a toss of the dice. If the cold gets her, we didn’t do it, and we’ve left no evidence,” the man who’d taken her to the bathroom said. “If she survives, she can’t identify us. We’ve worn our masks whenever we’ve been around her. Then again, maybe the other guy will get here. But with this weather, I doubt it.”
Lily held her breath. She knew pleading wouldn’t help her case with this cold-hearted man. She stared back at him and held her head high. The others stamped out to go to their car. It was probably only seconds, but it felt like minutes as the two studied each other.
“You aren’t going to cry or plead with me to save you?”
“It wouldn’t change your mind. You’ll do whatever you want to do.” She held herself steady, trying to hide how scared she was.
He cocked his head to the side and gave a harsh laugh. “I’ve made strong men weak and tearful when I faced them with my gun. People say I don’t have a heart.”
She didn’t speak, didn’t move. Her heart was lodged in her throat, but she held on to a tiny whisper of hope.
“The only thing I respect is courage. And, little lady, you have it. So, I’ll give you a chance. Maybe your people will find you before starvation or the cold ends your life. I’m leaving the generator running. When it runs out of gas, it’ll quit.” He shrugged. “As my partner said, it’ll be the luck of the draw.” With those words, he pivoted around and strode outside, slamming the door shut behind him.
Lily heard the car engine start, and the sound of the wheels crunching on the icy snow faded as they drove off. Tears she’d been holding back ran down her face. Finally, she took a deep breath. He’d left her tied. She hadn’t dared to ask him to untie the ropes.
Alone, now, she began to work on the ties around her wrists. Over the hours, she’d been pulling on them, trying to stretch the cords. They felt a tiny bit looser. She’d survive. He’d given her a chance. She wasn’t going to waste it.
Chapter Nine
Ty leaned against the window and stared out. Light and hope were fading, but he wouldn’t give in. Lily depended on him and the others to find her.
They finished searching the first spoke of the wheel and started on the second. Dusk was falling.
“We’re going to have to turn back soon,” the pilot said. “My last weather report said we’d have snow in the next hour or two. We’ll take a quick sweep of this area and head home.”
The Sheriff and Ty nodded, but didn’t take their eyes off the territory below. Ty rubbed his eyes and looked toward a narrow road off to the left. He blinked. “Circle around toward that road,” he said to the pilot.
As they got closer, they saw the car speeding toward a major highway. They’d kept their lights off, and with the car’s dark color they had almost faded into the landscape.
“Is it brown?” Grady asked.
“Can’t tell for sure, but it’s the only car we’ve seen in the last hour.” Ty flipped his phone open and called Brent. “Where are you?” When Brent told him they’d landed and were in the truck headed in their direction, Ty gave a sigh of relief. “Good. Take a right on the next road you come to. With luck you might just meet our kidnappers at the last intersection before the interstate. We’re going to circle this area.”
“We’ll follow your directions, and I’ll alert Mick to head this way. They could have divided up. Hopefully you’ll sight a cabin or house that appears deserted.” Brent hung up.
Their pilot turned and began a wide circle. Ty and Sheriff Grady took out binoculars to help see the area better in the fading light. They made one circle with no luck.
“We need to turn back,” the pilot said.
“I have a gut feeling. Make one more smaller circle, please.”
“All right, and that’s it. We’re heading to the ranch afterwards.”
Ty’s heart sank. He saw nothing. They’d have to leave her overnight and hope tomorrow she’d be found alive, or maybe she was in the car speeding down the road.
The helicopter swung toward home. Sheriff Grady patted his shoulder. “We’ll find her tomorrow. Maybe earlier if Brent finds that car and the people inside are the kidnappers. Don’t give up hope.”
“Thanks. I appreciate the help today. I won’t forget it.”
They landed and let Ty off before taking flight again and heading to the landing strip where they housed the helicopter.
Sheriff Grady had promised they’d be out at first light, weather permitting. Ty went into the empty house and put on coffee. Eventually the others would be heading home. A few flakes of snow were already coming down.
* * * *
Drake was driving. He speeded faster then he should on the slick roads, but he took a chance keeping the speed up as much as possible. Brent, sitting beside, him watched for the intersection and a car. Daylight was fading fast and the first few snowflakes plopped onto the windshield.
They’d almost given up when they saw the crossroads. They stopped, pulled off the road, and waited.
“If our boys are headed this way, they either should be here any moment, or they’ve made it past us and are on their way to the interstate,” Drake said. “We can’t wait long or we’ll be stranded on the side of this road all night.”
“See that old tree?” Brent pointed. It lay close to the intersection. “I wonder if we could drag it across the crossroads?”
“Probably, but the next car could be innocent people, or Lily might be in the kidnapper’s car. If they hit the tree trunk, there’ll possibly be injuries.”
“I doubt anyone else is out in this weather, especially in this unpopulated area. Lily might be hurt worse if we do nothing.”
“True. Hurry, if they’re headed this way we haven’t got much time,” Drake said.
Quickly they dragged the rotten tree trunk to the intersection and placed it across the tarmac. Drake and Brent ran to their car. Not two minutes later they saw a vehicle approach. Since it was almost dark, the driver didn’t see the obstacle right away.
“Their driver isn’t familiar with these roads, or he’d be driving a bit faster,” Drake said. “I think we may have our kidnappers.”