Page 6 of Fear for Her Life

“Yes, ma’am.” He chuckled when she threw the cloth at him. “Ah… I mean, sure thing, Jenna.”

FOUR

STANTON FOREST

Terrified, Amy Clark stumbled along root-covered trails. The uneven ground beneath her feet made every step more difficult. Her blood-caked clothes and skin stank like death. Her legs ached and her tongue stuck to the roof of her parched mouth. Even with the thick jacket she’d brought for the trip, overnight had been a horrifying nightmare and so cold. The sun had been up for some time now, and as she walked, sweat trickled between her shoulder blades, soaking the back of her shirt. The prisoners had their own ideas about what they wanted to do to her, and their suggestions terrified her. Her experience with psychopaths was limited to the few shows she’d watched on TV. She understood it was small things that triggered them into an uncontrollable rage. There could be no reasoning with them, so her only chance to stay alive would be to remain as passive as possible and say nothing.

They’d walked all night, only stopping occasionally for a short break. These men had little to do in prison but work out, and all of them were extremely fit. Mason Margos did all the talking. It seemed that he’d earned respect in the world of maximum security prisoners. As they walked, the smell of woodsmoke drifted toward them, and Amy searched the gaps in the pine trees for any sign of a cabin. Fear gripped her belly. The prisoners had been talking about finding a cabin where they could hole up to get some sleep. As they rounded the bend, the trail ended at a dirt road leading to a small cabin. The roof held antennas and two solar panels. A washing line with an assortment of large men’s clothing waved in the breeze. The distinctive prison garb worn by the prisoners wouldn’t go unnoticed and one glimpse of them would be enough for the homeowner to come out blasting. Beside her, Margos removed the clip from her weapon and handed it to her. She took it and just stared at him.

“Put it in your holster. When the guy comes out, tell him someone crashed into our bus when we were working alongside the highway. It knocked out your communication with the prison and you need assistance.” Margos waved Romero forward. “Keep your gun in her back. If she says one wrong word, shoot her.”

Realizing the reason they hadn’t murdered or raped her, Amy swallowed hard. They wanted to use her as their spokesperson. A distraction to lure people into a false sense of security. If she wanted to stay alive, she must do what they say. Sooner or later, search parties would be out looking for them. If she could just stay alive long enough, help would be on the way. When Romero dug the pistol in her back, she flinched but nodded in agreement. From what she knew about these prisoners, they’d all murdered women. Maybe they would just tie this guy up and be on their way. A knot of worry caught in her throat as the door to the cabin creaked open to reveal the muzzle of a double-barreled shotgun. The gun in her back propelled her forward a couple of steps. “Hello, we’ve been in a wreck. Do you have a phone I could use? Mine was damaged. I need to get transport for these inmates.”

“Why is a young woman like you walking through the forest with prisoners? Don’t you figure that’s a might dangerous?” A man’s graying head peeked around the door and his eyes widened. “How come you’re covered in blood?”

Trying to stop shaking, Amy met the man’s inquisitive gaze. “We were collecting garbage alongside the highway and a truck clipped our bus. The driver died on scene. This is his blood. I couldn’t just leave the prisoners on the side of the road, could I?” She rested one hand on the handle of her empty weapon. “Do you have a phone I can use or not?”

“No phone, but you can speak to someone on the CB radio. The local sheriff’s office has one now. Come along inside. They can wait there.” The man opened the door, dropping the shotgun so it pointed to the ground.

Before Amy could take a step forward, the bang from Romero’s pistol deafened her. She gaped in horror as red blossomed across the shirt of the man in the doorway. Clutching his chest, he tumbled down the steps, falling flat on his face, arms and legs spread out like a snow angel. Horrified, she stared as the life drained out of him and his eyes stared into nothing.

“Get rid of him. I smell pigs.” Margos grinned. “Go and feed them.” Two of the prisoners rushed forward, took one arm each, and dragged the dead body away like yesterday’s garbage. He turned to Amy, slid out her empty pistol from its holster, and slammed in the clip. He indicated with the gun toward the washing line.

“Collect those clothes. We need to get out of this prison gear, and they look like they’re going to fit just fine.”

Trying to push the image of the poor man from her mind, Amy complied without uttering a word. As she pulled the clothes from the washing line, her heart thundered at the thought of spending time locked inside the cabin with the men. This might be her last few minutes on earth. She gazed up at the trees and the mountains trying to memorize one last bit of beauty to keep locked in her mind. The washing collected, she dragged her legs toward the cabin and up the steps trying to avoid the blood spatter. She stood in the middle of the small room as the men ransacked the cabin.

“See I told you she’d be useful.” Margos smiled at the others and then turned back to her. “Get to work and cook us a meal before I change my mind and feed you to the pigs. On second thought, first go and wash up.” His expression changed and cold eyes raked her body. “Washing is a privilege, and you need to earn them—right? Step out of line, complain once, and we’ll punish you.” He kicked her backpack across the floor to her. “Use the clothes in your backpack.” He waved a hand under his nose. “You’re stinking up the place.”

FIVE

BLACK ROCK FALLS

In the bulletproof, bombproof, tricked-out black truck affectionately known as the Beast, Jenna stared at the list of escaped prisoners. Knowing Eduardo Souza was out there, free to exact vengeance against her and her family, sent shivers down her spine. She hadn’t divulged the names on the list of criminals who had escaped the prison bus and, taking a deep breath, turned to look at him. “I have the list of names. One of the missing prisoners is Eduardo Souza.”

“What!” The tires screamed as Kane slammed on the brakes and pulled alongside the highway. “We just sent Tauri to the kindergarten. If this happened yesterday, it’s possible that Souza was picked up by a chopper. He could have his goons in town by now.” He pulled out his phone. “Shane, we have a code red. Eduardo Souza escaped from prison yesterday.”

“Copy that. Have you activated the chopper security net?”Footsteps echoed on tile as Wolfe walked through the mortuary and into his office.

“Yeah, it’s never off unless we know someone is dropping by.” Kane met Jenna’s gaze and his eyes widened when he read the list of escaped prisoners. “Souza is likely the organizer and will be in the wind, but the others are in Stanton Forest with a female prison guard. They’re all serial killers and tried and convicted scum of the earth, but right now Souza is my worry. You know as well as I do, if we let down our guard for one second, he’ll use Jenna and Tauri to get to me.”

“Leave the security to me. You have Nanny Raya to watch over Tauri. It would be very difficult to infiltrate the kindergarten after all the changes we’ve made since the last attempt on your life.”He cleared his throat.“What are y’all planning to do? The DOC should be in charge of the retrieval.”

Unable to meet Kane’s gaze, Jenna swallowed hard. “I’m only guessing the warden has gotten the wheels rolling. He has no men to spare. The fire is taking up all his resources. The Department of Corrections hasn’t contacted me yet, but I’d expect them to send officers from the state pen. We have the Blackwater Sheriff’s Department on the ground, and I guess we call in Louan and the Montana Highway Patrol to set up roadblocks.” She frowned. “There is another resource, the Two Bear Air Rescue. The DOC will need to call them in to assist with air surveillance. The problem is, Shane, right now we’re on our own and we can’t sit on our hands. We need teams out there searching and we need them moving now.”

“Blackhawk is here today. I’ll ask him to supply the horses we’ll need and bring along any other trackers available. If you work out what you need, I’ll get the supplies together.”Wolfe sighed.“Call me when you get a team organized. I have a storeroom filled with survival packs. You don’t know when a relief team will arrive. Do you need me to pull some strings?”

“Okay, thanks, Shane.” Kane stared straight ahead. “We need to bring these guys in before they hurt someone.”

Concerned by Kane’s reaction to knowing that Souza was free, she grabbed the list of the other prisoners to show him. Surely if Souza had arranged the breakout, which was more than likely, he’d be long gone by now and back in a secret family facility. She tapped Kane on the arm to allow her to speak with Wolfe. He gave her a slight nod. “The governor has already offered to call in the local sheriff’s departments to join our search parties. All I need to do is call him, Shane. It might be better if you’re not seen to be involved.”

“Trust me, Jenna, no one will ever know that I’m involved.”She could almost see Wolfe smiling.“You handle the governor and I’ll keep you safe in other ways. I’ll arrange for someone to monitor the exterior security footage at the ranch and around your office. If he or one of his men takes a step inside your property or work, we’ll know about it. We have ID on the majority of Souza’s people, so the facial recognition software will be running until he’s caught.”

“That’s good to know.” Kane looked over one shoulder and moved the truck back onto the highway. “Thanks. We’ll need you in the field. These guys need to be captured. Can you make time?”

“Yeah, not a problem.”Wolfe’s chair squeaked in a familiar way as he pushed away from the desk.“I’ll get my gear ready. Just call when you’re organized and I’ll load up my truck.”He disconnected.

“Call Nanny Raya.” Kane spoke to the Bluetooth phone connection and in seconds she picked up. “Souza escaped from prison. Take every precaution to protect our son. Leave an hour early today and stay inside the ranch.”

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