Bitter Wild (10 page)

“Go
ahead.”

She
glanced at Skip. “Don’t take this personally, but I think you ought to stay
here with the boys. You’re a good man, but the fact is, Jack is a much better
rider.”

Skip
wasn’t offended. He knew riding wasn’t one of his better skills. He just nodded
in acceptance and Jack tried not to be pleased that Casey had chosen him to go
with her. It wasn’t a personal choice. She was just selecting the most sensible
option. It felt good to receive even that small measure of her praise, though.
She shot him a quick glance before turning back to Skip.

“We
contacted all the ranger stations the morning of the day we left. They were all
put on alert. That means they’re supposed to be making regular reports. When
this station doesn’t check in, they’ll know something is wrong. They’re
probably already on their way in. Most likely, they’ll come up the old road.
It’s the long way around, though, and it’s going to take a while for them to
get here. I’d expect them to show up sometime tomorrow. If we’re lucky, they
might even make it in tonight. If, for some reason, they haven’t shown up by
noon tomorrow then you will have to go out on your own.”

Skip
frowned. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“The
same way you got in here. You and the boys get on the horses and you ride out.
Follow the road. Terry knows it well enough to keep you from getting lost.”

Jack
spoke up. “Paul will never survive it.”

Casey
turned to meet his gaze. “He might not survive long enough for it to be an
issue. Either way, getting him out of these woods is his only chance.” She
turned back to Skip. “Help will come up that road. They’ll have a radio and a
chopper on standby.”

Skip
finally nodded. “Okay.”

Casey
glanced back at Jack. “Give me a hand with the horses, will you?”

Skip
went back into the building to give Terry a hand and Jack followed Casey to the
horses. They went through all the gear on the packhorse, taking only the
absolute necessities. Then they loaded it all onto their two animals. By then,
Skip was calling that the food was ready. They ate, then Casey explained things
to Terry. He clearly didn’t want her go, but he also obviously understood that
Casey and Jack were his little brother’s best chance. It seemed like no time at
all before Casey and Jack were walking out the door.

Skip
gave Jack a hard look. “You be careful out there, Jack. Don’t put yourself into
any dangerous positions.”

Jack
got the feeling that Skip wasn’t just talking about Jester. When his partner
darted his gaze toward Casey, Jack knew Skip was talking about her as well. He
nodded, then turned to take his horse’s reins from her. They both mounted up,
then they were on the move again. Jack glanced at his watch. It was getting
late already. He didn’t think they were going to make it far before they were
forced to stop for the night. But he had no idea just how determined Casey was.

Contents

CHAPTER
FOUR

Twilight
had come and gone when Casey finally forced herself to stop. It was too dark to
see the tracks she was looking for. She wanted to keep going, though. She was
tempted to get out her flashlight and follow the trail on foot, if that’s what
it took. But she knew that would be too risky. Tracking in the dark was a
fool’s errand. She turned to meet Jack’s gaze as he reined his horse in beside
hers.

“I hate
the thought of Jesse being out there alone with this lunatic.”

Jack
nodded. “I know.”

She
sighed, then nodded toward Jack’s left. “There’s a tight grove that way. It’ll
give us a little more shelter from the night wind.”

He
turned his horse and headed for the cluster of trees she’d indicated. They
didn’t make a fire that night. They hadn’t brought anything along with them
that required it. From now on they’d survive on jerky, trail mix, protein bars,
and water. They laid their bedrolls directly on the ground and turned in as
soon as it was too dark to see their hands in front of their faces. Jack found
it vaguely amusing that the dog stretched out between them. He couldn’t imagine
any more effective chaperone.

Morning
came more quickly than he’d have liked. He woke feeling tired and cold. He’d spent
a fair portion of the night dreaming about things that he couldn’t quite
remember in the light of day. He thought they’d involved the dog, but he wasn’t
sure. It took them only minutes to pack up and get moving. By mid-morning Jack
detected a distinct nip in the breeze. He was wearing his jacket, as was Casey.
He glanced up through the trees and saw only blue sky and large fluffy clouds
that were moving overhead at a surprisingly quick pace. He focused once more on
Casey. She stopped as she approached a large boulder.

She
studied the ground for a long while, then lifted her gaze and gave Jack a
smile. He frowned. “What?”

“Jesse
led him to a dead end.”

Jack
shook his head. “A dead end? How’d he manage that?”

She
waved to their left. “This trail leads straight up the side of the ridge. It
ends at a rope bridge that isn’t big enough for horses. Jester will have to
either leave his horses behind or turn around and come back down the trail. He
hasn’t, which means he’s somewhere ahead of us.”

Jack
glanced up the trail she’d indicated. If she was right, then this thing might
be over by nightfall. The problem was, Jester might be waiting up there for
them. He glanced back at Casey.

“I’ll
take point.”

She
shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I know the terrain better than you do. It
isn’t easy going. If he’s up there waiting for us, Chance will let us know.”

Jack
sighed. She always had to do things her way. She turned her horse and started
up the trail. At first it was a relatively gradual incline. Then it began to
grow increasingly steep. They’d been riding for nearly half an hour when the
dog suddenly barked and darted forward. Casey had her rifle out almost as
quickly as Jack drew his gun. The dog disappeared behind a large group of
rocks, then came back out a few moments later accompanied by someone. Jack
immediately guessed it must be the boy, Jesse. Casey jumped off her horse and
ran to him.

“Jesse!”

The boy
grabbed her with every bit as much enthusiasm as his brother had the day
before. Jack got off his horse as Casey led the boy toward him. She was
checking him for injuries as she questioned him.

“What
happened?”

He
started relaying the story from the beginning. For the most part it was
virtually identical to the scenario Casey had outlined the day before. The boy
cried when he talked about Jester shooting at his brother and Paul. Then he
cried harder when Casey explained that Terry was okay. He said Jester told him
they were both dead. She folded him into her arms and met Jack’s gaze over the
top of the boy’s head. Then she pulled away and looked into Jesse’s eyes.

“How
did you manage to get away from him?”

He held
up a key ring. It was attached to a small pocket knife.

“He
checked all my pockets, but he never thought about looking at my shoes.” He
gave Casey a tremulous smile. “I always tie it to the laces so I’ll never be
without a knife. You know, like you said. Anyway, he tied me to a tree last
night and I used it to cut the ropes.”

Jack
gave the boy an admiring look. “That was smart thinking, son.”

Jesse
shrugged. “I knew he’d kill me once he figured out that I’d led him into a
trap.”

“So you
did tell him to take the ridge trail.”

Jesse
nodded. “His map said there was a bridge. I told him it was right. It was late
when we started up the trail and I knew he’d never make it to the top before
nightfall. I cut my ropes and ran down the trail as fast as I could. I finally
got scared that he’d come back down and catch me so I decided to hide. I guess
I fell asleep.”

Casey
reached out and smoothed his hair away from his face. “I’m proud of you,
Jesse.”

Jack
watched the boy’s chest puff out. He smiled to himself, then turned to look up
the trail. Jester was up there somewhere, waiting for them. He turned back to
Casey.

“Now
what?”

She
looked up at him. “Now we go up there and find him.”

Jack
shot the boy a quick look. Casey glanced down at him. “Jesse, I want you to
stay right here, okay. Don’t go anywhere.”

He
frowned at her. “I can help.”

Casey
shook her head. “No, I need to know you’re here, just in case something
happens. You’ll have to go get help.”

Jack
realized she was giving the boy a sense of purpose as the kid nodded. “Okay,
Casey. You can count on me.”

She
patted his shoulder, then turned to Jack.

“Let’s
get this thing done.”

They
got on their horses and continued up the trail. Jack never took his eyes off
the path in front of them. He kept expecting Jester to pop out at any moment.
Finally, Casey reined in her horse and dismounted. Jack did the same, moving to
tie his horse to a tree beside hers. Then he moved to her side. She glanced up
at him.

“The
summit isn’t far, now. It only makes sense to go the rest of the way on foot.”

Jack
nodded. “Okay, but I go first.”

This
time she didn’t argue. He moved up the trail, scanning every tree and rock. He
realized quickly that the dog was actually the one taking point, though. It
stayed several years ahead of them. For once Jack was glad the beast was there.
It took almost an hour for them to reach the top. Jack didn’t dare go any
faster for fear of walking straight into an ambush. The trees gave way to open
rocks and Jack realized that neither Jester nor his horses were anywhere in
sight. He scrambled up the final rise and found himself standing only yards
away from a sheer cliff. He took in the bridge that spanned the ravine, then
turned to face Casey.

“He’s
not here.”

Casey
could see that much for herself. She also saw a number of other things. The
breeze that had been with them all morning was stronger up here. Off to the
west she could see that the clouds were getting thicker. She walked over to the
bridge, then turned around to search for any sign of Jester. Two horses didn’t
just disappear into thin air. She backed away from the edge of the cliff and
carefully made her way toward the tree line several yards away. She searched
the ground there for a few minutes, then came to an abrupt halt when she found
what she was looking for. She turned and called out to Jack.

“I’ve
got something.”

Jack
started to come to her, but she shook her head. “Stay there.”

She
stayed with the trees as she worked her way back to the trail. Jack was waiting
for her when she finally reached it. She shook her head. “He’s gone. The fool
tried to follow the river.”

Jack
frowned. “What do you mean?”

“There
are two bridges across the river. This one and another about six miles
downstream. That one is large enough for horses. He must have thought he could
avoid whoever was on his trail by following the ravine down to the other
bridge.”

Jack
shook his head. “And why does that make him a fool?”

“Because
there’s no way to make it through there. On foot it would be risky. With horses
it’s impossible. He found that out the hard way, I’d say, since he came back up
on foot.”

Jack
sighed. “You mean he’s still out here somewhere?”

Casey
nodded. “Probably on the other side of the ravine. Without the horses there
wouldn’t be any reason for him not to cross the bridge.” She turned to scan the
sky again, then shook her head. “This isn’t good.”

Jack
thought that was a monumental understatement. She locked her gaze onto him once
more. “I need to find the horses.”

“Why?”

“Because
we need to know how much gear he has now.”

“I’ll
go.”

She
shook her head. “No, you get down the trail to Jesse and the horses. I’ll meet
you back there as quickly as I can.”

Jack
wasn’t about to let her go off alone. Not when they were this close to Jester.
“No way. You’re just guessing that he crossed that bridge. For all you know
he’s out there watching us right now.”

“If he
was then he’d already have picked you off so he could come after me. He’d be a
fool to wait around and I’d say we’ve established that Jester is no idiot.”

“I
don’t like this.”

“Neither
do I, but it has to be done.” She nodded toward the trail. “Go on. I’ll be
fine.”

Jack’s
gut told him to refuse, but Casey didn’t give him that chance. She turned on
her heels and headed for the trees. Her dog followed her and Jack assured
himself that it wouldn’t let her get hurt. By the time two hours had passed,
though, he was berating himself for letting her go. He should never have let
her out of his sight. He tried not to look worried because he knew the boy
would pick up on it. It wasn’t easy to sit there, wondering what had happened
to her and trying not to let his fear show. It didn’t help that the clouds were
getting thicker overhead and the wind was starting to really pick up. Jack
might not be experienced in survival, but he was smart enough to figure out
that a front of some kind was coming through and that probably meant a storm.

Another
fifteen minutes passed before Jack glanced up to see Casey and the dog coming
out of the woods. The relief that swept through him was intense. She didn’t say
anything as she moved to sit down on a large rock a few feet away. Jack could
see the strain on her face and he knew that she was hurting. She met his gaze.
“He lost the horses about a mile down. Frankly, I’m amazed he made it that far
with them. He set up some ropes and I used them to go down and check out what
was left of his gear. Most of it was probably lost or destroyed. I spotted some
of the guns near the edge of the water along with most of the other stuff. It
was too far down for him to reach it. My guess is he’s got little more than we
do, now. I didn’t see a tent, but that doesn’t mean anything. It might have
gotten swept downstream. Either way, he’s lost a great deal of his advantage.”

Jack
nodded. He had to stop himself from reaching out to her as she rubbed at her
leg. Again, he wondered what had happened to her. She obviously had some kind
of injury that was causing her a lot of pain. It occurred to Jack then that
while it might be good news that Jester had lost some of his firepower and most
of the other gear he’d stolen from Millie Briggs, they had a new problem to
face. If Jester had crossed that bridge then he and Casey were going to have to
do the same. That meant they were going to be on foot. How far would Casey be
able to go on that leg of hers?

Casey
got to her feet and turned to the boy. “Jesse, I’m going to need your help.”

The boy
nodded and she continued. “We’ve got to go after him, but we can’t take the
horses across the bridge. I need you to take them back to the ranger station.”

Jesse
looked like he wanted to refuse, but he didn’t say anything. Casey reached out
and rested her hand on his shoulder. “I know you’re scared, Jesse. That’s okay.
I’m scared too. But I believe you can handle this. The man we’re after is on
the other side of the ravine. You don’t need to worry about him.” She glanced
at her watch, then back at the boy. “It’s just after twelve, now. You should be
able to make it back to the station before nightfall. By now there should be
someone there who can help you. When you get there, tell them everything that
happened. Tell them where we are and that we’re crossing the bridge.”

He
nodded, but still looked anything but confident. Jack had never spent much time
around children. He’d been an only child and didn’t have any friends with kids.
He felt like a fool as he cleared his throat and tried to encourage the boy.

“It’s
never easy to face our fears, but you’ve already dealt with the worst of it.
I’ve known a lot of federal agents who wouldn’t have dealt with this situation
nearly as well as you have.”