Page 63 of Love on the Run

What next?She wanted nothing more than to crouch in a corner and cry, but that wasn’t going to help her at all. Instead, Callie went back to the locked door. Whoever was going to come in had to come through that door. If Callie was quick enough, she might be able to…what? She tried to figure it out. She couldn’t hide, since there was nowhere to do so in the narrow entrance way. If she stood behind the door, though, maybe Skinner—or Malcolm—would step past her, and then she could run out. Nodding to herself, Callie moved to be behind the door when it opened, still gripping her improvised weapon. She didn’t know how long she would be waiting, so she slid down to the floor, her legs shaking. She had to trust that she would hear someone coming in time.

10

The men arrived at the old resort just after four in the afternoon.Jake, knowing the lay of the land, chose to park the car well away from the building, so no one watching could possibly see the vehicle or the cloud of dust it kicked up on the dry, gravelly road.

“On foot from here?” Quinn asked.

“Yeah,” Jake responded, squinting in the light. “Follow me. I’ve been here before.” They began to move through the trees, Bruiser moving swiftly beside his owner. Soon they reached the edge of the forest, the last place they could stand unseen from the building.

He’d trained his whole life for this kind of thing.The irony of the thought was not lost on Jake as he contemplated the large, dilapidated wooden structure nestled at the base of the mountain.The hotel was a big, rambling one, five or six stories tall. Faux-western style, designed to remind visitors of a camp lodge.

The mountain dominated the landscape at this distance, the hotel just a small outpost of civilization in this wilderness. Pine trees swept up the rocky surface until they gave way to shrubby plants, and then to mere grasses at the summit. In winter, the mountain was covered in perfect white snowdrifts, pristine and wild. No wonder someone wanted to bring the skiers here.

The swathes that had been cleared for skiing were still visible, though the hotel had been shut down years ago, and the trees had begun to grow back.Jake knew the property as well as anyone in the county.

“There aren’t any cars,” Quinn noted, after looking around the scene.

“There are fresh tire tracks on the road though,” said Jake. “Their cars are either in a hotel garage, or they drove them somewhere close but out of sight.”

“I bet garage,” Ty said. “They’d want the cars nearby. And twenty bucks says they wouldn’t step outside on a Montana night. They’re probably afraid of the dark. Why does it matter? You think we should puncture their tires?”

Jake considered the idea. “If you see the cars and it’s not going to slow you down, sure. But the main thing is to find Callie as quickly as possible.”

“Got it,” Ty said.

“Okay.” Jake nodded, looking at the building again. “Kyle is directing the boys to circle the property. They’ll let me know if they see anything.” He pulled out the two-way radio he’d taken from his car. “I hope it doesn’t take too long.”

They waited in near silence, watching the apparently empty building. Then the radio buzzed. “Yes?” Jake held it up to speak.

“Okay, we’re all in position,” Kyle’s voice came over the radio. “Elliot says he saw something odd out one of the windows on the north side. Said it was like a long strip of paper or something, dangling out of the window. It’s the only one like that, and the window’s not broken.”

“Paper?” Jake asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, long and whitish,” Kyle paused, speaking to someone near him. “He says about six or seven feet long, like a thin strip.”

“A bandage,” Ty said suddenly. He was grinning. “Smart girl.”

Jake got it at once. “What floor?”

“Uh, top floor,” Kyle replied. “Right about the middle of the building.”

“Okay, thanks. Hold tight for a second. Out.” Jake flipped the radio off.

“What’s going on?” Quinn asked.

“Callie’s leg was wrapped up in medical gauze. She must have got it off and stuck it out the window. She’s definitely here.” Jake felt his heartbeat quicken. She was close, and she was alive. And she’d been smart enough to let them know she was there. Jake had to keep from smiling. His Callie. When he got her back, he was never going to let her go.

Ty grunted slightly as he got up from where he’d been kneeling, but he caught Jake’s look before he had the chance to suggest that Ty might not be strong enough to join them.“I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

“And what do I tell Serena at the funeral?”

“Who’s Serena?” Quinn asked.

“My daughter,” said Ty. “And there won’t be a funeral, so never mind about it. What’s the plan?” Ty asked, double-checking the ammunition for the guns Jake had brought.

“We can circle around to the east side of the building. It will be in shadow by now, and it’s the opposite side from the road. If there aren’t that many of them, they won’t be watching every corner.” But the ground, once a wide meadow-like lawn, lay between the men and the hotel. It was all open, and Jake knew it was risky.

“We’re going to wait until closer to dark,” Quinn said. “They have the advantage now. You can see the whole mountainside from those windows. Anyone with one eye and half a brain could pick us off. But at dusk, we’ll have cover.”

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