Reagan continued to walk as she kept her ears open for unnatural sounds. She knew Carter wasn’t far, but she couldn’t hear him moving around anymore. In fact, it felt as if she were all alone. That was until she heard the crack of a branch behind her.
Reagan spun around, Miss Mambo whinnied, and Reagan came face to face with a baby deer and its mother on the way to the stream. Reagan’s breathing was heavy. Her body was shaking with adrenaline as the two deer moved on. Just as fast as they’d appeared, they disappeared into the dense forest. Miss Mambo nudged her arm and Reagan scratched the mare’s nose. “Sorry about that. I thought it was someone else.”
“You mean me?”
Reagan’s heart stopped at the sound of Mick’s voice. She slowly turned around and found him standing not more than five feet away. If she hadn’t stopped to see the deer, she would have run right into him on the path.
“Do you know how many times I had to cross that damn stream to find you?” he asked as he held a rifle casually in his hands. “I’ve been all through this damn forest looking for you. And here you are. Where’s Carter? And don’t you dare scream to warn him.” Mick’s eyes were cold as he raised the gun and pointed it right at her head. A kill shot. There would be no living, but Carter could live.
Reagan opened her mouth to scream and Mick moved fast. He spun the rifle around, slamming the butt of the gun into Reagan’s face. Pain exploded, sending her to her knees as she gripped her throbbing face. Pressing her fingers to the blooming pain, she struggled to breathe. Reagan and her sister had sparred growing up. Reagan had worked out with Ahmed’s daughter, Abby, in the boxing ring, but none of their hits compared to the pain she felt now.
“Where’s your fiancé? Tell me or I’ll break Miss Mambo’s leg.” Miss Mambo was dancing around nervously as Mick loomed closer.
“He’s right here,” Carter ground out between clenched teeth.
* * *
Carter had found what he was looking for. A two-inch javelin like branch with a pointed tip would be perfect for Reagan to use while walking and to protect herself. As he headed back toward the trail, he found a thick, knotted tree branch that would require two hands to swing like a bat. It was perfect for him.
Carter hefted the club branch on one hand and carried the javelin in the other as he made his way toward the path. He whistled out the blue jay’s song and waited. Reagan usually whistled back so he’d know she was expecting him. He paused and waited but heard nothing until he heard the sickening sound of someone getting hit.
He instantly knew Mick had found them. There would be no one else to encounter on the path. Carter crept slowly toward the path, making sure he was well behind Mick before he came out and snuck up behind him.
Reagan was on her knees, tears streaming down her face. Carter didn’t think she noticed him. She was cupping one side of her face, but redness was already spreading out from behind her hand. Anger had Carter silently bending over and placing the sharpened stick on the ground. When he rose he had the club in both hands and was already pulling it back as if it were a baseball bat.
“He’s right here.”
Carter smirked when Mick turned at his voice. He didn’t wait. He swung right at Mick’s head. The branch hit hard and Carter felt the reverberation up his arms as the club took Mick down. Carter looked at him lying unmoving on the ground for a split second before he was on the ground in front of Reagan.
“Are you okay? What did he do to you?” Carter asked as he gently pulled Reagan’s hand from her face and cringed. It was red and angry. He hoped Mick hadn’t broken her cheekbone.
“I’m okay,” Reagan said after throwing her arms around his neck. Carter wrapped his arms around her and hauled her against him. When he stood, he brought her with him.
“We need to go. We can’t be far from that town now, and we need to get you to a doctor.”
Reagan didn’t want to bend over, but she did. Blood rushed to her head as she grabbed Mick’s rifle off the ground, forcing more tears from her eyes, but it was worth it. “Take off your belt and see if you can tie him to the tree, or at least tie his hands. We’ll send the police after him.”
Reagan stood wobbling against the rifle as Carter went to work. Carter reached down and grabbed Mick by the arms before dragging him on his back to a large tree. He used some of the vine attached to Miss Mambo to tie him to the tree trunk. “Come on. If we hurry, we can have the police here before he wakes up.”
Carter felt impatient. He needed to get Reagan out of there. He had to keep her safe. He promised Cy he would protect her with his life, and to do that, he needed her in a hospital and away from these woods and that man. Carter reached out and took her hand in his. He felt the diamond he’d given her twenty-four hours ago press against his palm, and the urgency increased as Reagan swayed slightly.
He looked at the sky and noted it was midmorning. They had to have already run at least three miles, which meant they had around seven to ten more to go. Maybe less. Hopefully less. With that facial injury, running wouldn’t be high on Reagan’s list of things she would want to do.
Carter squeezed Reagan’s hand as they began to quickly walk down the trail. He tried to stay focused on the path in front of them, but it was hard to keep from looking over his shoulder. The last thing he wanted to do was to make Reagan worry. But there was no denying his own worry.
23
Cy was growing desperate. They had found where Reagan and Carter had spent the night, and they’d found hoofprints in the mud leading to the stream; hopefully, that meant they had found Miss Mambo. However, they also found a bullet lodged in a tree. And it was no old hunting shot from a previous deer season. It was fresh.
Robyn had been working nonstop. Her tongue hung out of her mouth and her normally perky tail was starting to sag. She was now resting in Ahmed’s arms as the group stared at the broken vines around a tree trunk and a brown leather belt with a brass-plated nametag that read CARTER ASHTON on the ground.
“Who was tied up?” Will asked as he bent to pick up his son’s belt.
“And where are they now?” Cy asked the question they were all wondering.
Robyn growled low in her throat as she tensed in Ahmed’s arms. “What is it, Spawn?” Ahmed cooed quietly to the red dog. He set her down and using her hunter-pointer instincts, Robyn faced the woods, lifted her front paw into a point, and froze.
It was then Cy heard it. A rustling deep in the woods.
“Someone’s coming,” Miles said tensely. “Nash.”
Miles didn’t need to say more. Nash took off down the path and disappeared silently into the woods as Cy and Miles went the opposite direction before disappearing into the woods. They would surround whoever was coming, hopefully Mick, and then find Carter and Reagan.
Ahmed and Cy already had their guns drawn and had taken defensive positions behind trees. Cy pointed to a large tree for Will to hide behind as they waited. They tensed as the rustling turned into footfalls and then those footfalls stopped at the tree where the vines had been broken.
Cy looked to Ahmed, and when he nodded, they made their move. Robyn leapt from the brush, teeth bared, as Cy and Ahmed stepped out with guns leveled.
“What are you doing here?” Cy asked with surprise.
Matt and Annie stared at them with hands on hips as Miles and Nash stepped from the woods with their guns lowered.
“We followed Mick. His trail comes out here. What are you doing . . . oh no.” Annie looked at the vines and then over to Will, who was still holding Carter’s belt in his hand. Her eyes scanned the ground and the tree as her body tensed. “There’s blood on the tree.”
“I know,” Ahmed said quietly, his eyes darting to Will’s.
“Blood? You didn’t tell me there was blood.”