Page 25 of Fear for Her Life

“They all did frequently.” Amy lifted up her knees and, with her elbows resting on them, placed her head in her hands. “I fought back at first, but how many times can you be punched in the face before you give up? Margos was the first and he wanted to tie me to the bed to stop me fighting, but at that time they hadn’t found the rope.” Trembling and allowing the tears to fall, she went on to describe the horrific time with the men.

“There are hundreds of people out searching for them. They won’t get away with hurting you.” Beth’s fists were clenched. “You have my word.”

“Did you find the girl?” Amy looked from one to the other. “I know she fled the cabin. I saw her hair ribbon caught in a tree.”

Nodding, Jenna gave her a small smile. “Yes, Serena is safe. The prisoners didn’t find her. She ran into part of my team hunting down the prisoners in the forest.” She sucked in a breath and pushed on. “During your time with these men, were there any discussions on where they were heading or what they planned to do?”

“No, they did mention the town Louan a number of times, as if they wanted me to remember it.” Amy gave Jenna a bleak look. “You must remember I was either in the kitchen cooking for them or in the bedroom. They only discussed things when I was out of earshot. When we left that cabin, we split up for a time, I went with Margos and the others headed for the river. They acted excited and later came back with a package, which one of them let slip came from a drone. It contained weapons, ammunition, and satellite phones, along with some instructions that I didn’t get to see.”

“Going on to the second cabin, can you recall anything specific about it? Was it by any unusual rock formations or can you think of a way we can find it again?” Beth’s gaze moved over Amy as if assessing her injuries. “I know we have Serena to show us how to get to the first cabin, but I’m wondering if, in light of what you said about them receiving instructions, it was specifically chosen for a reason?”

“No, I can’t remember anything specific about the second cabin.” Amy shook her head slowly. “It was just a cabin in the woods alongside a fire road.”

Jenna shot Beth a look to prevent her butting in and turned back to Amy. “Forget the second cabin for now. Anything else you recall of significance from the first cabin?”

“It smelled of pigs, and Margos told the others to feed the old man to the pigs.” Amy shuddered. “I was pushed inside and didn’t see what happened to him.”

Leaning back in her chair to relieve the pain in her lower back, Jenna swallowed the sick feeling crawling up from her belly. Pigs would eat anything, including the man who fed them from the time they were piglets. “Can you tell me what happened when you left? Did you see anyone else in the forest?”

“No, I didn’t see anyone at all, but as I told you before, I did see a yellow ribbon snagged on a pine tree. How Margos didn’t spot it I’ll never know. I kept looking around the whole time, but I didn’t see hide nor hair of her.”

Amy described how they moved to the next cabin and the same deception was played out again. Margos had stabbed the owner of the cabin and dragged him into the forest. Later, as she prepared supper, she heard Margos call out that he’d found moonshine in the root cellar. They’d all dashed down to get some and commenced drinking before they’d eaten a meal. It didn’t take too long for them to fall asleep. She turned her attention to Jenna. “When this happened, I gathered a few things and ran away. I noticed the smell of fire when I got outside. I headed back to the fire road and ran downhill. Along the way I met a woman who was trying to get her horses off the mountain and away from the wildfire. She gave me a ride into the sheriff’s office and Maggie brought me here.”

“I know they beat you pretty bad.” Beth leaned forward in her chair. “Did any of them actually try to kill you? The men are very dangerous psychopathic murderers. I’d like to know how you managed not to trigger them into killing you?”

“I recalled that trying to make yourself useful to them sometimes prevents triggering them. I avoided eye contact, kept my head down, and did everything they asked me to do. Yeah, they beat me, but it wasn’t to kill me. I was part of their twisted sexual behavior.” Amy took a long shuddering breath. “Those men are animals.”

Nodding, Jenna couldn’t resist patting Amy’s hand. “Is there anything you believe might be important for us to know?”

“No, I figure I’ve told you everything.” Amy leaned back in her pillows looking exhausted.

“Do you have any questions about what happens next?” Jo’s expression was filled with compassion. “Has the doctor explained about the morning-after pill? Unless, of course, you have a religious reason not to take it. There will be a number of tests to ensure you haven’t contracted any diseases from the men. I’m afraid some of these must be repeated over a period of time.”

“Yes, they did explain everything to me. I just want to speak to my parents before I make any decisions.” Amy stared at her hands. “It’s not a decision I can make immediately. An hour either way is not going to make any difference.”

Pushing slowly to her feet, Jenna stopped the recording. “I’ll contact the men searching the forest and see if they can pinpoint where both of the cabins are located. Although with the wildlife hunting through the forest at this time of year, it will be difficult to find any remains.” She sighed. “I’ll send your parents in now, but I would like you to follow the doctor’s advice and stay here in the secure ward until she believes you are fit to leave. I can’t order you to do this, but we don’t know where the prisoners are at this moment. It might be safer for you to remain here.”

“I’ll stay here for a couple more days until I get some of the test results back and I don’t look so bad.” Amy tried to smile but her split lip prevented her. “Then I guess I will return to Helena with my parents, although I don’t believe I will be working in the prison service again. From now on I want a quiet life.”

Backing away, Jenna cleared her throat. “Someone will be by with a statement for you to sign. It’s likely to be Maggie.” She headed out the door and met Carter and Zorro in the waiting room chatting with Amy’s parents. She introduced herself. “You can go in and see her now.” She gave a wave to the guard on the door.

“You must find the men who did this to her.” Amy’s mother gripped her arm like a python.

Jenna nodded. “Oh, I know who did it. We have the forest crawling with law enforcement to bring them in. They won’t get away with what they’ve done. I promise.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

As Jenna stepped out into the bright sunlight, her heart missed a beat at the sight of a tall muscular man dressed in black leaning against the Beast. For one wonderful second she believed Kane had returned, but this man had a dog sitting beside him and it wasn’t Duke. Two steps closer and she recognized Johnny Raven. His handsome face creased into a broad white smile that would melt most woman at the knees. She couldn’t force herself to smile after speaking to Amy Clark. “Raven, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be taking a few hours rest.”

“I’m rested well enough, thank you, ma’am, and Kane’s instructions were to watch over you as if you were my little sister.” Raven nodded to Carter and held out a set of keys. “You can take my ride. I’ll be driving Jenna. My bags are in the back. I’ll be bunking with you guys in the cottage on the ranch until we catch these guys.”

“Can I have a word with you please, Jenna?” Carter took the keys but walked with her a few paces away. “Are you good with this arrangement? You hardly know this man? Why do you think Dave would choose him over me to watch over you?”

Not really understanding the reason herself, Jenna met his gaze. “First, I don’t need anyone to watch over me, and second, as someone is obviously trying to kill my team, I figure as Raven is new, it’s likely whoever is doing this doesn’t know about him. He’s dressed like Dave, so perhaps it was Dave’s idea to have Raven impersonate him while he’s away. It’s no secret Dave wanted to be in the field, hunting down those responsible for the fire. Shane is his best friend and would never let him go off alone. I figure he asked Raven to stand in for him, for that reason only and not to slight you in any way.”

“I guess.” Carter moved a toothpick across his lips and stared toward the mountains. Smoke rose from the forest curling up in gray wisps. “It appears that the fire is already out. We could go and assist in the search for the missing prisoners.”

Shaking her head, Jenna took in the dark circles under Carter’s eyes and hadn’t missed his raspy voice from inhaling smoke. “No, I need you all in town. From the interview I had with Amy Clark, there have been two murders in the forest. Right now, these are our priority. The Department of Corrections has teams of prison guards and deputies from various counties’ sheriff’s departments combing the forest. Once they are sure the fire is out, they will have choppers up as well. We’ve played our part in this search for now. I’m not giving them another chance at killing you.”

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