Page 17 of Fear for Her Life

“There’s a cabin ahead.” Margos pointed through the trees. “I want you to go right up to the front door and knock. Tell them you got turned around in the forest and lost your friends. Just get the front door open, get invited inside, and I’ll do the rest.”

Heart thundering in her chest, Amy gaped at him and then looked away quickly. “What are you going to do to them?”

“I haven’t rightly made up my mind.” Margos slid a knife out from his belt and ran his thumb along the blade. “I’m not planning on shooting anyone. I don’t want to make a noise and alert the cops. They’ll be somewhere close by, but my friends are watching them. They’ll be coming soon to meet up with us. Once I have dealt with the owner, I’ll give them a call.” His lips spread into a wide grin. “I bet you’re looking forward to another night with us. Isn’t that right, Amy?” He gave her a little push. “Off you go now and do what you do best.”

Staggering along the dark trail, Amy searched her mind for something to say to the homeowner to alert him that Margos was intending to kill him, but Margos was keeping very close behind her and would hear every word. Could she stand by and see another person murdered? She stumbled out of the forest and into a clearing before a log cabin. Just knocking on the door of a cabin in the middle of the forest at night was dangerous. It was a given that people were armed in this vicinity. The wildlife was dangerous, and it surprised her that they hadn’t run into anything that considered them as a potential meal. Trembling, Amy lifted her hand and knocked on the door. “Hello, is anyone home?” The sound of footsteps came from behind the door and the curtain across the window beside the front door moved slightly.

Stepping back to be seen in the shaft of light streaming from the window, Beth held up both her hands, so that the person peering at her from inside could see she wasn’t armed. When the door cracked open an inch and a man’s face appeared, she formed a gun with her fingers and indicated behind her with the other hand. Hoping the man would understand her, she lifted both eyebrows and mouthed, “Help me.”

The man appeared to be oblivious to her gestures and just stared at her as if she had gone completely mad. The door opened a little wider, and the next second, a knife flew through the air and with a sickeningthunkstuck in his throat. The man grasped at his neck, eyes bulging, and made frantic attempts to remove the knife, and then he fell back, crashing to the floor and sending a statue of a horse on a side table toppling. Terror-stricken, Amy stepped to one side too shocked to speak or scream. From behind her, Margos appeared out of the gloom. He pushed past her and walked straight into the house, bending only to pull the knife from the man’s throat before checking each room. Paralyzed, Amy stared at the man as bright red blood gushed out and spilled across the floor. His eyes locked on hers and, horrified, she watched his life slip away.

“Get in here.” Margos stood at the door to a kitchen. “Make supper.”

Fear had turned the blood in her veins to ice. She couldn’t move. A sticky crimson slick had pooled around her feet. The smell of it and the dead man’s voided bowels made her want to puke. She covered her face with both hands, unable to believe what was happening. She jumped when Margos’ voice came from close behind her.

“Turn this way and walk around the blood.” Margos shook his head and grabbed her by the arm. “You can’t possibly be that stupid.” He sighed. “Ah, well, I guess maybe you can.” He gave her a shove toward the kitchen.

Desperate to survive, Amy pushed her thoughts in another direction. So far, she’d practically ignored them and not complained. Although she had endured mental and physical abuse, they hadn’t killed her. Every minute she remained alive was a chance to escape. Perhaps when they were asleep, she might be able to sneak away. Margos mentioned there were cops in the area. Likely when the others arrived, they’d speak about them. If she discovered where to locate the cops, she’d be able to get to them. It seemed that playing dumb was her only chance of survival. Hunting through the kitchen to discover ingredients to make supper, she found a large container of chili in the fridge. She lifted the lid and sniffed. The container was full and from the smell had been made only recently. She recalled how her mother had made slow-cooked chili over six to eight hours and then left it to sit overnight in the fridge before serving it the following day. She had always said that the next day’s chili was the best. Maybe this man had the same idea?

The poor man who owned the cabin kept a well-stocked pantry and she found the fixings for making cornbread. Trying to keep her mind on her task helped a little to keep away the horrors of what had happened. Her hands trembled as she prepared the cornbread. Margos announced he’d found alcohol and she could hear the clink of glasses as he dropped them on the coffee table in front of the fireplace. As she slid the cornbread into the oven, voices came from the front of the cabin. The other men had arrived and they went about dragging the body from the front door down the steps and into the forest. Risking a peek around the kitchen door, Amy watched as they dragged a rug from another room and placed it over the smeared blood trail inside the door. They closed and locked the door behind them and went into the bathroom to wash up, all chatting as if on a great adventure. She caught enough of the conversation to know they had a plan to deal with the cops, but they didn’t discuss anything in front of her. The sight of their grinning leers made her sick to her stomach. The depravity they would make her endure overnight terrified her. As they filed into the kitchen one by one and sat at the table, she avoided their gaze and kept herself busy. Perhaps with the drink and full bellies they’d fall asleep. It would be her only chance to escape.

NINETEEN

Wolfe followed Kane as they did a recon around the cabin they’d discovered. It was a reasonably sized hunting cabin. One large room, divided up into a small cooking area with an old wooden table and mismatched chairs. A Dutch oven hung on a tripod over the grate in a large fireplace, in front was a ratty old sofa. Two sets of bunkbeds along one wall had rolled up mattresses tied with twine. It was dusty but reasonably clean and had a few emergency provisions inside, but the air smelled old and musty with an undertone of critter pee. Whoever owned the cabin hadn’t been by for a long time. The boarded-up windows and back door would suggest they wouldn’t be coming by again soon. The front door, with wide metal strips across it, reminded Wolfe of one on an ancient castle. Each side of the thick door, strong metal brackets held a thick piece of wood that slotted in. At one end, a large padlock held it in place. It would keep most folks out, but Kane had taken less than a minute to unlock it.

As he followed Kane around the back of the cabin, they took a small path through the trees to a clearing some twenty yards away. A corral had been erected and on one side was a small shed that held bales of hay. A water trough in the corral was fed by an artesian well, which piped fresh water to the house as well. Impressed, he turned to Kane. “Nice setup. We won’t need to worry about the horses tonight, will we? We can store our saddles in the shed. This area is completely hidden from the trail. I figure they’ll be safe enough here.”

“Yeah, I haven’t heard anyone or seen any signs that people have passed this way. There’s no smell of woodsmoke in the air. Raven mentioned there was another cabin approximately half a mile away on this trail. With the wind blowing from behind us, if there was a fire, we wouldn’t smell it. I figure we’ll need to stay on our guard even though this place looks safe.” He turned and led the way back to the others. “We’ll collect our horses and get them settled first. We have plenty of supplies, and the kitchen looks clean. I figure I’ll be able to rustle us up a decent meal.”

Smiling, Wolfe slapped him on the back. “Right now, I’d eat the stewed leather off the soles of my boots.”

They met the others and collected the horses. Wolfe grinned. “Dave has volunteered to make supper.”

“I’ll help.” Raven rode to his side and handed him the reins of his horse. “Living alone for so long, I’ve been able to make a meal out of practically nothing.”

The sound of horse hooves came from the opposite direction and they all turned, hands on weapons, as Carter, Rio, and Takoda headed toward them. Wolfe lifted his arm to wave, and as they stopped beside them, he looked from one to the other. “Any sign of the prisoners?”

“Nope, we lost their trail once they got into the forest. The pine needles are so thick they cover footprints.” Carter shrugged. “We know they split up. The girl was able to give us very good descriptions of the men. Margos is traveling with the prison guard. Callahan and Romero followed the river for a time and then went inland. They didn’t follow any of the trails but weaved in and out of the trees. After a time, we lost any hope of following them. How they are getting around without getting lost or eaten by wildlife, I have no idea, unless the package dropped by the drone contained satellite phones with GPS.” He looked from Wolfe to Kane. “This situation is getting crazier by the second. We apparently have three men who’ve been incarcerated for years and yet they’re able to vanish in the forest like smoke in a place they’ve never been before and with no supplies whatsoever. If you don’t figure that’s unusual, I’ve slipped into a different dimension.”

“I’m convinced something’s going on.” Kane took hold of Warrior’s reins and led him around the back of the cabin. “Right now, we need to get out of sight. We might not be able to see them, but they could be watching us with binoculars. We have no idea what was dropped to them from the drone.”

With the horses settled and Kane and Raven working in the kitchen preparing a meal from the supplies they’d brought with them, Wolfe removed the old Dutch oven from the grate and lit the fire. Once the wood glowed red, he filled and then placed a large kettle in the embers. Whatever Kane made for supper, they’d all need coffee. Once that was done, he got the others together to organize which order they’d stand watch. “Two hours max. I’ll take the second watch because y’all know I work until midnight most times. I figure Kane, Carter, Raven, and Styles need to sleep. They’re able to rack out anywhere and it would be an advantage to have them fresh.”

“We’ll take the first watch.” Blackhawk indicated to his cousin. “We’ll head into the forest after supper and take up a position where we can watch the trails. If we hear or smell anything, we’ll let you know.”

“I’ll take the third with Rowley.” Rio removed his hat and dropped it onto the table before the fire. He looked at Carter and Styles. “Can you go from two?”

“Yeah, sure.” Carter moved a toothpick across his mouth and dropped onto the sofa in a cloud of dust. He waved one hand coughing. “If I survive this sofa.” Beside him Zorro sneezed.

“One thing.” Kane pushed food wrapped in aluminum foil into the hot coals and straightened. “Keep your kit and weapons beside you. We don’t know what surprises these guys have up their sleeves.” He turned and took a large pot from Raven and suspended it over the fire. “I figure they’re trying to turn the tables on us. If I’m right, we’re the hunted.”

Later that night, only the sound of breathing surrounded Wolfe as he sat by the window observing the forest. He’d moved around peering through the boards covering the windows, but nothing but the wind stirred the trees. The fire had long fallen to ashes and darkness filled the cabin with only a few streaks of moonlight filled with dancing dust motes penetrating the gloom. He kept his movements silent and changed up his routine, going to different windows each time. Aware his blond hair might be noticed in the shafts of moonlight, he’d pulled on a black knitted cap. He moved again, checking each window. One mistake and they could all die trapped inside the cabin. A scraping sound came from the front porch, and immediately on alert, he stepped carefully around the men sleeping on their bedrolls and crossed the living room floor. Another very slight creak came from outside, but it was difficult to tell if it was the wind blowing through the forest or someone stepping on a creaky floorboard. He slid with his back against the wall to peer through the cracks in the wooden panels nailed across the window.

Nothing moved outside and he continued his vigilant rounds of each window. Loud thumps on the roof woke everyone with a start. In seconds, Kane was beside him, peering out of the window. The smell of burning filled the air and curls of smoke drifted down between the logs making up the ceiling. Zorro, Bear, and Duke barked a warning and ran around in circles. Bear jumped on Raven and then on everyone else on the floor until they were on their feet.

“Grab your gear and get out.” Kane pushed Blackhawk and his cousin toward the front door. “Fan out and keep low. This might be a trap.”

“The door’s locked.” Blackhawk had one foot on the wall and both hands on the door handle and was pulling. “It won’t move.”

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