Power of the Raven (25 page)

Authors: Aimee Thurlo

Tags: #Bought A, #Suspense

BOOK: Power of the Raven

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Steve, with Lori beside him, parked, then waited for further instructions.

Gene looked all around him. Paul was out there somewhere among the wreckage, but the police, who couldn’t use their emergency lights or sirens without giving themselves away, were still en route. Steve and Lori would need to play for even more time.

Alert for any sign of the kidnappers or their vehicle, Gene slipped between two rows of smashed cars, moving slowly along and keeping one eye on the van.

“Nothing yet,” Lori whispered over the handheld radio.

Gene waited, listening for any sign of human activity. There was a slight breeze, and a windblown piece of paper flapped atop a wrecked sedan, trapped below a windshield wiper like a neglected moving violation. Somewhere, metal creaked, like an open door swaying back and forth.

He then heard the faint tone of Steve’s cell phone, and Lori’s whispered, “Speaker.”

“We see you. Turn your lights off, then drive slowly to the end of the row. Stop beside the pile with the white pickup on top,” the kidnapper ordered.

Everything was quiet again, then Lori whispered, “Get that, guys?”

“Copy,” Daniel whispered over his radio.

“Steve, go real slow, then stop a little short of the white pickup. Stay in the van as long as you can,” Gene told him over the radio.

Gene looked around, knowing Daniel was somewhere opposite him. His brother had used another road to get to the wrecking yard and had parked outside, intending to scale the fence.

“You getting all this, Paul?” Gene whispered.

“Four,” Paul confirmed in law enforcement shorthand for ten-four.

Squeezing between stacks of vehicles and stepping around and between the sharp metal edges of the wrecks made for tough going. More than once Gene had to risk circling around the outside of the row because the stacks were too close to allow for safe passage. At least he was able to stay in shadow.

Finally Gene caught a glimpse of an intact vehicle, a big SUV, parked at the end where the driveway circled the center stacks. Its headlights were out, but the driver’s-side window was down and he could see the faint glow of what looked to be a lit cigarette just beyond the steering wheel.

He watched Steve stop the van about fifty feet from the SUV, near what looked like the wrecking yard’s tow truck, then turn off the engine.

“Here we go,” Lori whispered. “You there, Gene?”

“Just a heartbeat away, Lori,” he whispered back. “I have to turn off my radio now or they might hear. Love you.”

She drew in a breath. That was the first time he’d actually said it. Unfortunately, the timing really sucked.

“Bring the woman and the flash drive,” the male voice from the SUV yelled out the window.

Gene caught movement across the way, to the right of a wrecked semi beside the tow truck. A man was standing in the shadows. Although he didn’t know Daniel’s or Paul’s exact positions, this clearly was neither of them. The guy was too short and stocky, and from what he could see of the weapon, the man had a shotgun, not a rifle.

“Nothing happens until I see my wife,” Steve yelled, his voice cracking at the end. “Nothing else matters to me but her. I’ll drive away unless I see Sue’s okay.” To add emphasis to his threat, he switched on the ignition.

“Way to go, Steve,” Gene whispered to himself. He had his rifle trained on the man with the shotgun standing in the shadows.

“Turn off your engine,” the kidnapper ordered in a booming voice. “I’ll bring your wife and you send out the woman with the data. Then we’ll make the exchange.” There was a brief pause, then he added, “Cross me and you’ll all die.”

Gene kept his sights on the man with the shotgun as he shifted to one side, angling for a clear shot. To his surprise, Gene saw that the man wasn’t wearing a mask.

As the SUV’s driver came out, he tossed his cigarette on the ground, then brought out a handgun. With his free hand, he reached back into the SUV and hauled out a stocky blonde with tape over her mouth.

“Here she is, Farmer,” the driver yelled, pushing her toward the van. “Your turn. Send the woman.”

As Gene drew closer, he saw that the SUV’s driver wasn’t wearing a mask, either. Sue had seen what both men looked like, and so would Lori and Steve in just a few seconds. The kidnappers’ plans were suddenly crystal clear to him. They planned to kill everyone once the exchange was made.

Steve climbed out of the van, according to plan. Then Lori, who was supposed to stay back, stepped out the passenger side.

“No,” Gene muttered under his breath. He thumbed the radio, signaling Dan, who was somewhere close by. “They’ve shown their faces, which means they’re going to get bloody.”

“I’ll create a diversion,” Dan whispered, “and you move in. Steve’s too pumped to think clearly, but maybe Lori will remember the backup plan.”

Gene hooked the radio back to his belt, then inched closer, feeling with his thumb to make sure the safety on his rifle was off. The guy with the shotgun stepped out into full view, right into his sights.

“Here we are,” Steve called out, stepping over beside Lori. “And here’s the flash drive,” he said, holding it up. “Once my wife is next to me, I’ll throw you the drive.”

“Dumb ass, we’re done bargaining.” The driver raised the pistol up to Sue’s head.

“No!” Lori screamed.

Suddenly the scene was flooded by bright headlights. The tow truck roared to life and swerved toward the man with the shotgun.

“Drop!” Gene yelled.

Steve stood there, confused, but Lori fell like a stone to the ground just as Sue grabbed her captor’s gun hand.

Gene raced past Lori, who’d raised her head to look around. “Stay down!” he yelled.

Sue was struggling with the driver, wrestling for the pistol, when Gene arrived. He swung the butt of his rifle, slamming the guy across the face with the wooden stock. The blow carried so much force, the man’s feet left the ground.

Daniel leaped from the wrecker, aiming his pistol at the guy he’d knocked down with the tow truck. “Stay away from that shotgun,” he yelled.

“Everyone freeze,” someone yelled from the passenger side of the SUV.

Gene’s smile faded as he realized this was no backup cop. The angry man was a third kidnapper, and the short-barreled carbine he held was aimed right at him. When he stepped out, Gene recognized him instantly.

“Harvey?” Steve said, sounding dazed.

“Yeah, I’m tired of working for peanuts. This is my go-to-hell money,” Harvey yelled. “Hand me that flash drive. Now!”

“Not a chance. Drop your weapon,” Paul ordered, coming into view from Harvey’s left, the red beam of a laser sight playing over the big man’s rib cage.

As Harvey looked down at the beam, Gene redirected his own aim. Now it was a standoff.

“You’re outgunned, man. Put it down,” Gene growled.

“
Way
outgunned,” Sergeant Chavez yelled, coming around the SUV with a riot gun. Beside him was an armed state policeman aiming an assault rifle. “Lower your weapons—slowly.”

The other kidnappers, who’d recovered their weapons as soon as Harvey had come out of cover, placed their guns on the ground and were quickly placed under arrest.

“We’ve been looking for you punks,” Chavez said as the criminals were lined up facing the SUV, then handcuffed.

Steve gave his wife a hug, then stepped forward. “Better take me, too. These kidnappers forced me to do some terrible things.”

Chavez waved him over. “You and your wife will ride up front with me, Mr. Farmer. No handcuffs are necessary. I’m leaving any charges up to the D.A.” He turned to Lori. “We’ll need a statement from you, of course.”

“I understand, but since Steve was coerced I won’t be pressing charges,” she said.

Chavez nodded, then motioned for the other officers to take away the prisoners.

Gene reached Lori just then and pulled her into his arms.

“I can deal with a bucking stallion and face down a seven-hundred-pound bear, but woman, you’re too much to handle.”

“But that won’t keep you from trying, will it?”

“What do you think?” Tilting her chin up, he lowered his mouth to hers.

Epilogue

It was midmorning as she followed Gene up a barely discernible trail behind the house at Copper Canyon. They hadn’t slept, but she wasn’t the least bit tired.

“Each of my brothers had a place in Copper Canyon that was special to him. I’m taking you to mine,” he said, then, meeting her gaze, added, “I’ve never brought anyone else here.”

Excitement rippled through her as they entered a tiny gap in the cliff side, not much more than a crack in the massive formation.

“Tell me more about where we’re going,” she said, trying not to feel claustrophobic in the tall, narrow enclosure. The feeling quickly disappeared as the gap between the walls began to widen and they proceeded into the cavity.

Before long they were walking along a grass-covered path bordered by narrow pines that had managed to survive despite the restricted sunlight. It was cool in this natural courtyard, though there was no sign of a breeze.

“We weren’t allowed to mark anything in or around the house, but I wanted to leave something behind that would show that I’d walked this path, that I’d been here.” Gene stopped beside a big hollow in the cliff side carved out by weathering and erosion. In its center was a carefully constructed mound of rocks almost two feet high.

“Cairns of rocks just like this one are all over the Navajo Nation and represent someone’s passage. Mine was one of the soul as much as of the body,” he said, gazing at it, lost in thought. “After each battle and victory in my life, I added a rock.”

“Then this is a place of strength and courage,” she said quietly.

“That’s exactly what it is,” he said. “Our legends tell us that rocks are all that remain of the monsters that once walked the earth and preyed on mankind. Each rock on that cairn represents a ghost, or memory, of my own past that I fought and conquered.”

She looked at him, wondering why he’d brought her here at this particular time. There was something else on his mind—she could feel it with each beat of her heart.

“The war I fought, like the one you’ve struggled with, was mostly inside me.” He handed her a small stone. “This is a rock a bear turned over. It’s special, and we use them in our War Ceremony. I want you to place it on the top. It’ll mark your own victory over the ghosts of
your
past. Let this become a place where our spirits join to celebrate a new beginning.”

She took the flat stone from his hands and carefully set it upon the stack of rocks already there. “I’ve spent my life running away from myself,” she said, turning to face him. “I was afraid to love because when I had, all I’d found in return was pain. Then you came into my life and everything changed. I love you, Gene, and for me, there’s no turning back.”

As Raven cried out overhead, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her in a slow, pervasive way that left her tingling all the way down to her toes.

“Then we’ll go forward together. I love you,
sawe
.”

With a sigh, Lori melted against him. “The Bear and the Raven. Maybe we’ll start a legend of our own.”

As the morning breeze blew over Copper Canyon, the shadows faded, and in the distance, Bear woke to Raven’s song.

* * * * *

ISBN: 9781459220997

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