Chapter 16 – A Daring Plan
As he stared at the smoke and quieting flames, Riley stood beside a fire truck with a look of such menace that everyone but his siblings gave him a wide berth. Connor lay unconscious on a gurney just feet away. A treasured family home was on fire. And he was certain those two punks who’d been here earlier were involved. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t sensed something. He’d never forgive himself, especially if Connor wasn’t alright and if something happened to Sophia. Finding her was his next priority, right after learning if Connor was okay.
Earlier, Riley had made it inside the inn over the objections of arriving firemen, none of them strong enough to stop him. He’d seen the muddy footprints from Seth’s boots. He couldn’t know it was Seth. But he was sure. The most decisive of the Kendall family, Riley had no doubt what had happened here. Seth had somehow taken Sophia, set fire to the place, and knocked out Connor. The car belonging to the other guests was gone, making him fairly certain they were involved. This was no coincidence.
As he glared, Kris touched his muscled arm and nodded at Connor, who was just stirring.
Connor moaned, hearing a cacophony of sounds he couldn’t place. Voices he recognized, and others he didn’t. The sound of water rushing. The hiss of steam. A few crackles of flame. And lots of feet moving on gravel, by the sound of it. His head hurt like hell and was cold on one side. Hands gently gripped his arms and legs. When he opened his eyes, fuzzy blackness greeted them and then he realized he was on his back, looking at the night sky. He groaned again and Chloe’s concerned face appeared above his, followed by that of their cousin, Tiger Kendall.
“Hey. Do you know your name?” Tiger asked, grey eyes intent behind frameless glasses that added to his scholarly appearance. One slender hand held an ice pack to Connor’s head.
The patient groaned. “Connor. What are you doing here?”
“Ryan called me. Closest doctor. I got here before the ambulance. You’ve got a nasty bump on your head so we’re taking you to the hospital in a minute.”
He was about to ask how that had happened when images suddenly flashed before his eyes—of Seth’s gun heading for him. Of Sophia crumpled on the floor. Of Seth’s livid eyes. Of a stun gun connecting with his chest. Panic surged through him and he struggled to sit up. The possibility of a bullet wound didn’t stop him.
“Sophia! We have to get Sophia!”
Tiger and Quinn pushed him down. “Whoa there, buddy,” began the doctor. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“But they’ve got her!”
“I figured as much,” said Riley. He pushed Connor down, too. “Stop struggling. You have a concussion and that’s only gonna make it worse. We’ll find her.” Connor’s eyes pleaded with him so desperately that Riley looked like he was going to say something more comforting, but beating people up was more his style, so he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll gut the little shit when I find him. I assume Seth took her. And those two we thought were guests? Anything else?”
Connor shook his head, wincing at the motion. “He had a gun. We have to find Sophia.”
Ryan said, “I’ve got my guys combing the area now and the state police are almost here, in force. Seth isn’t going far, trust me. Certainly not out of the state. The Virginia police are watching the river crossings, too.”
That relieved Connor some, especially as there were only three river crossings within reasonable distance, but Maryland was a big place. He was going to protest that there wasn’t enough surveillance when Tiger indicated it was time to go. EMTs wheeled Connor over the bumpy gravel driveway to the ambulance and lifted him in backwards, causing him to get a good look at his home. His eyes widened at the damage. One side of the house was gutted, the dining room and renovated kitchen destroyed. Black scorch marks. Broken windows. Gallons of water pouring out the rear door. Smoke rising into the night. Firemen tromping over his ruined hardwood floors. A sharp pain struck his chest, which he touched with one hand that shook, whether from fury or despair, he didn’t know.
If Seth was willing to go this far with him, Connor had a pretty good idea how far the little shit would go with Sophia.
Seeing his expression, Kris climbed into the ambulance with Tiger and gripped her brother’s hand. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” he said, as the door shut, blocking out the sight.
“The inn will survive. So will you.”
“And Sophia?”
She took his chin in one hand and forced him to look into her emerald eyes, where strength sparkled and passed straight through to him. “Yes.”
Connor squeezed her hand. As the ambulance started moving, the siren off because he wasn’t critical, Connor stared out the rear window. Seeing the red and blue lights flashing on the trees as they headed for the hospital, he wondered where in that darkness his love had gone, and whether he’d be able to rescue her from her fate.
The trip to the brand-new Holy Cross Hospital in Germantown took fifteen minutes. Tiger ordered an x-ray and said he’d have to see the results before discharging his cousin. Connor chafed at the delay as he lay in a bed. Tristan, Victoria, and Riley had arrived by now to join him and Kris. Chloe and Quinn had stayed behind to deal with the police, fireman, and the inn, and Sheriff Ryan had official business to worry about.
“I want a plan,” said Connor, eyeing his family. He felt grateful for their support. He needed it. “We’re going after them tonight, the minute I get out of here.”
“Agreed,” said Riley. “The first thing is to figure out where he might’ve taken her. Ryan has ruled out their houses, as those are already being watched. He called me on the way over. Local hotels have their description. The inn was one of the few other places they could’ve stayed.”
Kris asked, “Do you think they returned to wherever they’ve been?”
“Probably,” Riley said, “but one thing I noticed at the inn was muddy footprints. I assume they aren’t from the other two; they were clean when they arrived or we’d have noticed. That leaves Seth.”
Tristan touched Connor’s lower pant leg. “There’s mud here. I noticed it before.”
Connor speculated, “Might’ve gotten on me from Seth when we were wrestling on the floor.”
“Okay,” began Riley, “so if Seth has muddy shoes, he likely got that way on Sugarloaf Mountain or around it. It rained a lot recently and when I went hiking up there the other day, my boots got muddy.”
“You know,” began Kris, “now that you mention it, I did notice some smoke from the mountain yesterday. Safe to say he wouldn’t honor the no-camping restriction.”
“Then it’s worth checking out,” Connor suggested.
“Yeah but you can’t go up there after dark, right?” Victoria asked. Though she was local, too, she hadn’t spent nearly as much time on Sugarloaf Mountain as the Kendalls.
“Not legally,” said Tristan, “but there’s really nothing stopping you. We’ve gone up there after dark. The hiking isn’t even that dangerous.”
Victoria asked, “Do you think he’s using the old buildings up there?”
“I doubt it,” Riley said, “because people go into them during the day and he’d be found, or evidence of him would be. Nobody’s seen them in days.”
Connor nodded. “There are only so many places he could camp for that long and no one realize it. The mountain isn’t that big and people hike over most of it.”
Kris said, “If we split up, we could cover the roads pretty quickly—there’s only the three of them.”
“Yeah but he could see car headlights, and hear engines,” said Connor. “We need to catch him by surprise. I don’t want him to hurt Sophia if he realizes we’re coming.”
Riley looked at Kris. “We will catch him by surprise.”
“You’re thinking the horses?” she asked. “I’ll tell Nick to get some horses ready. We can use the trail that goes up to the road from the house, or the one that goes around the mountain.” Kris pulled out her phone and began texting the barn manager. He’d probably gone home for the night but he’d do this for her.
“Six of them,” said Riley. To her raised eyebrow, he elaborated, “three teams of two. You and Nick, Quinn and Ryan, and me with Connor, who I’ll keep from getting carried away.”
Kris smirked. “And who’s going to keep you from getting overzealous?”
“No one. And that’s just how I like it. Seth is mine. Normally I’d say Connor can have him,” he added, looking at his brother, “but you’re hurt and Sophia is your priority. You get
her
. I’ll get that little shit.”
“Done,” said Connor. “Just save me a piece.”
“What about me?” Tristan asked. “I’m not gonna just sit around while my whole family goes out there.”
Riley put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re about to be a husband and a father, so you and Victoria will stay at the house and coordinate anything extra we need or forgot to take. And have a room ready for Sophia when we get back with her.”
Victoria put an arm around her frowning fiancé. “I’ll take care of that, and keep Tristan out of trouble.”
“What about Ryan?” Kris asked. “You really think he’ll let us do this?”
Riley smiled. “No, but we’re just going to tell him to meet us at the house. By the time he’s there, the rest of us will have gone, leaving Quinn to explain it to him. Ryan won’t be happy but he can follow with Quinn.”
Connor looked at him in admiration for skillfully arranging this and knowing just how to get Ryan to help without getting the sheriff in trouble. And Ryan wasn’t endorsing their mission, just reacting to it. “I love you, brother. You plan like the wind.”
Riley winked.
“We’re sure they’re really up there?” asked Victoria.
“No, but this is the only lead we have,” said Riley.
“Kinda thin,” admitted Connor, “but my gut tells me we’re right.”
“So does mine,” said the Marine.
“Right about what?” Tiger asked as he walked into the room with Connor’s x-rays. Not waiting for an answer, he put them up on a lighted board and began scrutinizing them.
“Nothing important,” replied Connor.
Silence descended as they waited for their cousin, who was Ryan’s younger brother, to tell them the verdict. It didn’t take long.
“Well,” said the doctor, “no fractures or skull damage, so you’re basically fine, or will be.”
The patient pulled Kris closer and whispered in her ear, “Kris, make sure Tiger’s at the house later. I want him to check out Sophia when we get her back, okay?”
“Great idea.”
“So you’re free to go,” Tiger concluded, oblivious to their plans. He turned to his cousins. “Just take it easy for the next several days and don’t exert yourself. Put ice on that again when you get home, twenty minutes at a time.”
“Sure thing, Tiger,” Connor lied, getting up.
They said their goodbyes and soon piled shoulder-to-shoulder in Tristan’s car, making it to Quinn’s house in twenty minutes. Quinn was already there, standing on the porch as he waited for an explanation for why Nick, the barn manager, had arrived and begun saddling a half-dozen horses. When they’d revealed the plan, he went inside to the gun cabinet and began preparing. Kris left for the stables while Riley disappeared to the guest house and returned with a small arsenal of guns, knives, flashlights, walkie-talkies, and more. He’d changed into black Marine fatigues and boots. Something about the sight sobered Connor as to the seriousness of what they were about to do, and he wondered if it was better to just let the police handle it. But when Riley handed him a revolver, his resolve strengthened.
No one was saving the woman he loved but him.
Chapter 17 – Sugarloaf Mountain
Connor cantered across tree-dotted fields toward Sugarloaf Mountain on Valentine, a palomino gelding whose golden hair matched his. Beside him rode Riley, who sat astride the giant Triton, a fierce, black gelding which required his strength and expertise to control. Their hunting dog, Coby, trotted alongside. Just ahead, Kris and Nick led the way on Sabre, and Indy, a bay gelding. Only the thudding hooves made a sound, as Kris and her staff kept the saddles and tack in good condition so they seldom creaked. Bright moonlight lit the way forward and cast shadows from trees, but the riders hugged every tree line and avoided the center of clearings on the off chance that Seth was watching from above.
The wooden planks of the footbridge made quite a racket as they crossed, but Seth was presumably too far away to hear it. They soon reached a gravel road beneath the mountain, rain having washed out sides of it here and there. By silent agreement, the riders split up. Kris and Nick crossed into the woods and turned right onto the trail that encircled the mountain’s base and led to the far side. They were the fastest riders and took the longest route. Connor and Riley went left. Ryan and Quinn, who’d just radioed that they were on the way, would take the closest trail, in the center, when they arrived.
As Connor followed Riley, his head pounded a bit from the concussion, even though cantering was easier than trotting. His heart pounded more than his head, with fear and adrenaline. Most of that fear was for Sophia and that he might already be too late to stop that son of a bitch from getting his disgusting hands on her. The thought threatened to make him lose his cool.
With Seth having already fired a gun at him, death was in the night air. The sight of a rifle on the back of Riley’s saddle lent seriousness to their mission. The whole idea of a mission was alien, like something Riley would do, not him. He felt glad the Marine rode before him and that Ryan wasn’t far behind. He decided to take their lead and just do what they told him.
With Coby roaming ahead, they slowed to a walk on reaching the first side road, Riley looking at the canopy of trees above before turning on a powerful flashlight, with a beam narrow enough that it was less likely to be noticed. He swept it back and forth as Connor fell in beside him, though he didn’t really know what they were looking for, so he asked.
Riley answered, “Either his car is in the open or it’s hidden. If it’s in the open, we’ll just run across it if it’s here. If it’s hidden somehow, which seems likely given that no one’s seen it, then we’re looking for signs of a car leaving the road.”