No Going Back - 07 Read online

  She wished to know more about him, though this was neither the time nor the place. All that was important was that he was there and prepared to do everything to see her to safety, coupled with his promise that he’d return for Nicole. She knew he could be trusted to do everything possible to save her best friend. His was a selfless attitude: she didn’t doubt that her father had paid handsomely for his services, but she suspected that Joe Hunter wasn’t motivated by money. His reward was his opportunity to help others. She wondered what would feed such altruism in a man, or if indeed she was even on the right track. Perhaps his need to help others was his way of atonement, making up for some perceived sin from his past. Or maybe she was totally off base and he was simply someone who, as she often joked about herself, liked to live on the wild side. Perhaps he required the adrenalin rush guaranteed during a conflict with the Logans and it was his way of unleashing his ferocious side without having to turn it on to those closest to him.

  That was a sobering thought. She couldn’t picture him turning on his loved ones, quite the opposite in fact; he was the type who’d die for them first. She imagined that he was loyal to a fault. His friends would be very important to him, the reason he’d asked that she telephone his friend, Jared Rington, at her first opportunity. Something about that name sounded familiar, his nickname more so, and she was certain she’d heard her father mention it in passing. Perhaps her dad knew these men from the days when he was in the army. She didn’t know much about her dad’s military past, only that he’d served his term as a chef to the guys who did all the fighting. She wondered now if that tale was true, because you didn’t get to know the likes of Joe Hunter dishing up chicken and fries.

  Joe was running a few yards ahead of her, his attention on the rocks around them, but regularly straying back to ensure that she was keeping up. On occasion he’d held out a hand to help her over the most rugged obstacle, but had quickly released her again, not because the gesture was too familiar but because he was trained not to compromise his weapons. What must it be like being in a constant state of readiness like that? Jay believed that she would burn out within days and couldn’t fathom how Joe had attained the age he had. Not that he was old, but he had to be in his late thirties, though his stamina belied that somewhat.

  Hunter had come to a halt, and was staring out from between two large rocks. Their run had brought them towards a massive structure that reminded her of a petrified mushroom, with a wide umbrella-shaped overhang. Hunter seemed to be listening, his head scanning back and forth like a radar dish. He nodded silently to himself, then beckoned her forward.

  ‘That’s the trail down there, the one they’d have to use with their truck. We can’t afford to be out in the open so we’re going to continue up this way. Once we’re beyond the trailhead it’s only a short run to my car.’ He paused. ‘You still OK? You can make it?’

  ‘I don’t need carrying any more if that’s what you’re asking?’

  A smile turned up the corner of his mouth, the first she’d seen from him, and it softened his features in a way that she liked. He had eyes the colour of the desert sky, but they were changeable, sometimes shifting through light brown and green, though that could have been down to reflections.

  ‘Come, then.’

  ‘Hold on,’ Jay said, passing him the container of water. ‘Have another drink while I sort myself out.’

  Her shoes were full of sand and larger pebbles, making walking painful. She removed each in turn, and shook them out. Hunter took a small pull on the water, but handed it back. ‘You’ll need that before you’re done. I’ll get plenty later at the watering hole.’

  That was a sign of confidence. Or maybe he was only trying to allay her fears that he might fail. She glanced down at the revolver in his hand, and knew he’d deal with the Logans differently next time. He wouldn’t be as restrained when he didn’t have her well-being to worry about. She only hoped that her friends would be more important to him than his personal agenda.

  ‘When my dad hired you, he did ask that you find Nicole as well?’

  ‘I’m here for all of you,’ he said. ‘Nicole, Ellie and you.’

  ‘You mentioned that other woman earlier, Helena Blackstock.’

  Hunter’s head dipped, and for the first time since his fight with Samuel Logan he looked weary. ‘I’m afraid I might be too late to help her.’

  In the next instant Hunter straightened, and the wolf was back in his gaze. Jay had the feeling that he spared her his next words because of her earlier inability to shoot Samuel in cold blood. Nonetheless she could guess what he was thinking: he was too late to save Helena, but he would avenge her.

  18

  From somewhere to the south-west of our position came the thrum of an engine and it sounded like Carson had extended his search around the far side of Mushroom Mountain. I doubted that he’d hooked up with Samuel yet, because the truck sounded the best part of a mile away. I couldn’t be certain, because the canyons had strange acoustics, and for all I knew the pick-up was nearby, but the sound had been carried and brought back to my ears via a different route. Thumbing the volume on the radio, I listened. I thought that I’d heard a short query come over the air earlier, but it could have been static. Now I longed to hear the bastard call out for his cousin, because it would mean both men were still separated and Carson would have no idea of my involvement. While they were apart, it gave me a window of opportunity to get Jay out of the way and return for the others. If I could return to the cabin before them, then I could drop Brent and lead the others somewhere safe. I could have my time with Samuel and his older kinsman on another occasion.

  We had made it beyond the pass, the mushroom shape now well behind us. The breeze still stirred the sand, and the enveloping cloud helped to conceal us. My only misgiving was that it also offered cover to Samuel. We’d hear the truck coming and be able to hide, but for all I knew the ugly troll I’d battled earlier could have picked up our trail again. If he ambushed us, it wouldn’t matter if he was armed with a gun or not, because there were plenty of rocks lying around he could brain me with. If that happened, then Jay would be defenceless.

  I pulled her to a halt, digging my hand into my back pocket.

  ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ she asked.

  ‘Nothing. I just want you to take this.’ I handed her the folding knife and she looked at it like it was an extraterrestrial artefact that had fallen out of the sky. ‘It’s a knife,’ I explained.

  ‘I know what it is,’ she said, with a roll of her eyes. ‘What do you expect me to do with it?’

  ‘Just keep hold of it, OK.’

  ‘I could have used this a few hours ago when I was trying to get out of that box.’

  She told me about being confined in a sunken box, how she’d been bound at her ankles and wrists and how much effort it had been to cut free of her ropes. Jay had proven resourceful, unlike her predecessor who I suspected had gone into a similar box. That made me more determined than ever that the Logans would pay for all the misery they’d inflicted on their hostages. It wasn’t something I was about to share with a girl who found the thought of stabbing someone abhorrent. ‘Yeah, it would have been useful. Never mind, you have it now and it might come in handy.’

  Jay couldn’t use the gun on Samuel, but it had been different then. He was engaged in a fist fight with me, and in her eyes that didn’t qualify for a cold-blooded execution. At the time her own life wasn’t in peril; I only hoped that if she was threatened in the future she’d have the fortitude to do the right thing. It would be best if she never had to use the blade, but supposing things went to hell then at least she’d have a chance.

  Jay secreted the knife away, pushing it deep in a trouser pocket. I’d have preferred that she held on to it, but at least she hadn’t dropped it like it was a hot brick.

  Leading her again, I followed the route into the labyrinth of gullies, my gun held close to my side. With each step she took, the water sloshed back and forth
in the container, a reminder of how little there was left. It would have to be enough. I’d no intention of being stuck out here in the heat for much longer.

  It was disturbing to think about what must have happened to Helena Blackstock. I didn’t doubt that the Logans had snatched her, and used her for whatever abominable purpose they’d taken the subsequent women for, and it hurt that I’d come too late to help her. Something about the sequence of events told me that the Logans had been seeking a replacement for her when they’d happened across Nicole and Ellie at the gas station. To my mind that meant one of two things: the Logans had killed her, or Helena had managed to escape their clutches. The problem with the latter scenario was that if she was still alive, then surely she’d have shown up somewhere by now. I wondered if, like Jay, she’d managed to get free, but had chosen the wrong route through the desert. Without water, she’d have perished in no time. By now the sun and the wildlife would have been busy, and I didn’t want to picture the poor woman as a rack of bleached bones out there in one of those canyons. Then again, perhaps it was better than the alternative, that she’d remained in the hands of those sickos to endure further humiliation and pain; at least she would have died a free person. More than ever, I was determined that Jay, Nicole and Ellie wouldn’t face a similar fate. If it meant my own death, then so be it.

  The Yukon was where I’d left it, and I was glad to find the keys were still in the ignition, meaning that it had gone undiscovered. It was a huge vehicle, but I didn’t doubt that Jay could handle it, having driven her father’s SUV the length of Route 66 to here. I started it up, reversing it out of the S-bend gully so she’d have a good start. Clambering out, I left the engine purring. We couldn’t dawdle, because even if Carson didn’t hear the engine over the top of his own, then Samuel might and come running. He could run for me now, I didn’t care, in fact I relished the idea, but not until Jay was clear.

  ‘Do you want this back now?’ Jay held out my knife.

  Call me a pessimist, but I wasn’t ready to let her go unarmed. ‘No, keep hold of it. Think of it as a lucky charm.’

  Tears were in her eyes as she tilted her head up to me. ‘I think I already found one of those. Thanks for everything, Joe.’

  Before I could stop her she threw her arms round my waist and hugged me tight. I gave her a brief hug back, but it was a little too early for her thanks. She could give me a proper cuddle when I got back with both the other girls in tow.

  Extricating myself from her arms, I took the container of water and splashed some of it in my mouth. It went as far as swilling down the grit that had embedded itself round my gums, but that was all. The rest I handed back to Jay. ‘You know your way out of here? Just keep the sun over your right shoulder and it’ll take you back to State Highway seventy-seven. When you hit it, try the phone, you should get a signal there. Don’t go north to Indian Wells, head south for Holbrook because that’s the direction the cops will likely come from. When you find the first truck stop, pull in and wait for them. You’ll be safe there, OK?’

  ‘Yes, I remember that place. We passed it on the way towards the Painted Desert on Tuesday. God, what day is today? I’ve no idea how long those animals have been holding us.’

  ‘It’s Friday,’ I said.

  ‘Four days? It felt like for ever . . .’

  I touched the side of her cheek, my palm cupping her jaw. ‘It’s over with now. You don’t have to be frightened any more.’

  She blinked tears from her lashes, and her gaze was forthright. ‘Not for myself, I don’t.’

  ‘I’ll get them out. Trust me.’

  ‘I do. I really do.’

  ‘OK, get going then.’ I turned her towards the Yukon, and gently pressed her inside. She slung the water container on the passenger seat, then looked back at me. Her mouth opened to say something, but I anticipated her. ‘Don’t come back here with the cops. Just tell them where the girls are being held and who’s responsible. Tell them that I’ve gone to get them free. I don’t want to be confused with those arseholes and have a well-meaning cop put a bullet in my brain. And remember, as soon as you’ve spoken to the cops, ring my friend and tell him where I’m at.’

  Jay shifted into drive as I closed her door. I scanned the desert for movement but could neither hear nor see any sign of the Logan pick-up. Flat-handed, I banged the door. ‘Go, and don’t stop for anything.’

  The Yukon spat gravel at me as Jay gave it a tad too much throttle. The thick tyres chewed at the desert, found traction and then surged forward. I watched it go until it was enveloped by the sifting dust clouds. Finally, I thought, as I allowed my body to fold slightly. I massaged my ribs, but it did little to alleviate the pain I’d suffered since Samuel hammered me. At least one of my ribs felt like it had cracked, and the flesh around it was puffy with bruising. If only Jay had suspected how much pain I was in, then maybe she wouldn’t have trusted me to get her friends out alive. She would have quite rightly argued that we should both leave and allow the police to handle the rescue. Ordinarily I might have gone along with her, but I wanted my time with the Logans before the police could arrive. Jail wasn’t good enough for those sick bastards.

  ‘OK, suck it up, Joe,’ I commanded.

  I straightened, feeling the pull of tissue in my side, but ignored it. I’d had worse injuries before, some of them life-threatening. Then I began to jog. By the time the mushroom mountain came into view I was up to full pace and the agony in my body had been pushed to the dim recess where all my other troubles were shelved.

  I felt fine, and ready for the Logans.

  I’d have felt better if Samuel had appeared out of the dust before me, but he didn’t. That was OK, I was happy to leave him to last. Carson and Brent weren’t going to be personal kills, but Samuel was a different matter. The father and son were just for starters. Samuel Logan: he would provide the icing on the cake.

  19

  ‘You’d better not be dead, goddamnit! Now answer me, Sammy.’

  I had made it back to the junk pile unhindered. Now, peering across at the ranch, I was tempted to take out the radio and reply to Carson Logan as he grew more frantic by the second. For the last few minutes he’d been calling out regularly, and his tone had gone from one of slight concern to one of anger. That was good, because he wouldn’t be thinking straight. His cousin’s silence was helping to both demoralise and confuse his own search.

  I could hear the pick-up truck out there in the desert but couldn’t see it. There was too much dust in the air as the afternoon began to slip towards evening and the wind started to kick up again. The acoustics were still hit and miss and occasionally I couldn’t pinpoint the direction of the truck, but it was still behind me. Since he’d disappeared among the ravines I’d had no sign of Samuel. Part of me hoped a rattler had bitten him, or he’d fallen and smashed his skull on a rock, while another part looked forward to a rematch. My only worry was that he’d actually returned to the house and was now inside, preparing to move the girls as soon as the older cousin returned. I had to plan for two men at the house, which could cause me major problems if they each held one of the girls when I entered. Not to mention that both Samuel and Brent had assuredly armed themselves by now. Best-case scenario would be if Samuel was still out there trying to pick up my and Jay’s trail and Brent was still oblivious to the danger. I wouldn’t know how things would play out while crouching there listening to Carson’s rant over the radio, and the longer I waited, the greater their chances of returning before I got moving. I resisted the amateurish temptation to taunt him, knowing that would only bring him back here at speed.

  Before moving on the ranch, I gave the gun a cursory inspection and found everything in order. Jay had test-fired it for me, so I knew that it was a reliable piece. I positioned fresh shells in my pockets for easy access. Then I advanced, moving in a crouch for the outbuildings. Even if Samuel had made it back, there was nothing like the present for a rapid assault on the ranch while even he would think that Jay
and I were still running in the opposite direction.

  Earlier, Carson had commanded his son to guard the others, waving him back inside off the porch, so it was a good bet that both girls were inside the house. The outbuildings didn’t require checking for hostages, but I still wanted to scope them out. The first was a barn that hadn’t seen livestock in a generation, but what I found was very troubling. A huge table that weighed more than I did – perhaps more than I would with my big friend Rink on my shoulders – dominated the centre of the space. Trailing from one leg was a length of rusty chain with a robust dog collar on the end. The food bowl, spoon and bucket left untouched beside it told me that the chain hadn’t held a mutt.