Montana Standoff
While he talked, Sarah wandered around the sparse room. A double burner for cooking rested on a counter. Canned goods and gallons of water were stacked against the wall. An instrument of some sort with a map was in the dead center of the circular room. There was a desk and a chair in one corner, a cot in another. She sat down on the chair. A stack of books rested by the bed. He must stay up here weeks at a time. Yet, the place was utterly impersonal. Why had Bryan chosen such a solitary life? What had happened in the ten years since she’d seen him?
Bryan signed off and placed the radio back on the hook. He turned to face her. Those same warm brown eyes looked out at her, though they were edged with crow’s-feet and worry lines now, and there was a hint of weariness in his expression that hadn’t been there ten years ago. They had both been so naive and full of hope back then.
“What now?” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.
He walked over to the windows, picked up the binoculars and peered down the mountain. “We catch our breath.”
“We wait?” Fear returned, sending a shock through her system. Those men meant to kill her.
“The forest service will notify the sheriff’s department. They’ll get those guys.”
The memory of the gun pressed against her temple returned. Her throat constricted and her heart raced. “Do you think it’s a good idea to just sit here?”
“We’re not just sitting here.” He handed her the binoculars. “Look, they’ve already left. I figured they would give up.”
She walked over to the windows and peered through the binoculars at the shimmering water below. No car. She focused on the road where she saw the light-colored SUV heading away from the lake. So he was right. “Can they drive up here?”
“It will take them over an hour. And if they don’t know these roads, they’ll never find us.” His voice was filled with reassurance.
Sarah let out a breath, relaxing a little.
He leaned close to her and touched her forehead where the tree branch had cut the skin. “I’ve got something for that. Go sit down.” He pointed toward the cot.
Sarah put the binoculars down and wandered to the cot. She tried to take in a deep breath. Those men had meant to kill her. Would they give up that easily? After grabbing the first-aid kit from a storage box, Bryan walked across the room and sat close to her. She could feel his body heat.
He handed her a piece of leather. “Tie your hair back, so it’s out of the way.”
She gathered her hair into a ponytail.
He pulled disinfectant out of the first-aid kit and touched the end of the tube lightly to her forehead. “It’s going to be okay, but we should get moving. After I deal with this cut, we’ll hike over to my truck.”
She closed her eyes as he gently pressed the bandage against her forehead. Memories of his touch all those years ago awakened old feelings. The power of the attraction made her forget the pain of how everything had ended...for a moment.
“There’s a little country store eight miles up the road. You can call for a friend to come and get you.” He wadded up the packaging the bandage had come in. “By that time, the sheriff will catch those guys.”
The warm feelings evaporated. So he meant to ditch her as quickly as he could, just like old times. He’d only been doing his duty. It was the kind of person he was. But now that his duty was finished, he wanted nothing more to do with her. “I suppose I should go to the police.” She hoped her voice didn’t give away the hurt she felt.
“Yeah, you’ll want to report this.” His voice was tainted with a bitterness she didn’t understand. “But not to the city police. This happened in the county. You’ll want to talk to the sheriff.”
“But they grabbed me at my house...in town.”
He rose to his feet and ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair. He spoke without turning back to look at her. “If you don’t mind my asking, why were those guys trying to kill you? What did you do?”
His tone was disconcerting. Did he actually think she was mixed up with something illegal? It had been a sore spot with them when they dated. His parents had never thought she was good enough for their football star son. His lawyer mother and business-owner father viewed her as the girl from the wrong side of the tracks. By that time, Crew was already having problems, too.
It didn’t matter that she had been a good student and never been in trouble. She didn’t have the wrong pedigree. She had no pedigree.
She took a deep breath and idly picked up one of the books in his stack. “They were looking for Crew.”
Bryan’s face brightened. “How is Crew?”
“I wish I could tell you. He has a drug and alcohol habit. Sometimes he has a place to live, sometimes not.” Now she was the one who sounded bitter. Crew, two years older than her, had been her protector when they were kids. But years of having to be an adult too soon had worn him down. He’d started out a petty thief and picked up a drug habit along the way.
Bryan stroked his chin. “I always liked Crew. I liked the way he looked out for you.”
Sarah felt a stab to her heart. Crew had made bad choices; she knew that. But the image that burned in her mind of her brother was of him offering her his last morsel of bread when they’d run away from an abusive foster home and hidden in the forest. Her heart warmed toward Bryan that he could remember the most positive thing about Crew, the reason she still loved her brother.
“I keep hoping he’ll turn things around.” And she wouldn’t give up that hope no matter how bad things looked.
Bryan stepped away from the window. “Sometimes people do, you know. Get their lives together.” He rested his gaze on her long enough to make her feel self-conscious. His look could still send an electric charge through her.
Sarah glanced down at the book she had picked up. C. S. Lewis, one of her favorite authors. But what was Bryan doing with a book like this? He’d never been interested in books with faith messages when she’d known him. Maybe his comment about people getting their lives together had been as much about himself as her brother. She hoped so. She’d found faith at the home where she stayed while she was pregnant. She’d gotten her life back on track at Naomi’s Place. Maybe somewhere along the road Bryan had had a similar transformation. She’d never stopped praying for him.
She put the book back on the stack. “We should get going.”
“Yeah, it’s a little bit of a hike to get to the truck.” Bryan walked across the room. “Do you want a drink of water before we go?”
She rose to her feet and stared out the windows that provided a panoramic view of the forest. “My throat is dry.” She still couldn’t figure out why Bryan would choose such a lonely job. He’d always been so outgoing. “How long do you stay up here at a time?”
Bryan lifted one of the gallon containers of water to the desk and retrieved a cup. “Three weeks on and one week off.”
She crossed her arms and stared down at the rocks and forest they had climbed through to get here. She saw a flash of yellow and then Deep Voice stepped free of the thick forest. His gaze traveled up toward the tower. Panic pulsed through her. “Bryan, I think we have a problem.”
THREE
Adrenaline flooded through Bryan’s body. The thug charged straight for them at a steady and intense pace. He was the bigger of the two men, muscular to an excess. The short, thin man must have taken off in the vehicle, maybe planning on taking the winding road that would eventually bring him to the other side of the fire-lookout tower in case his friend didn’t make it up the mountainside. It was a rookie mistake for Bryan to assume they’d both left in the SUV. He’d been too distracted by Sarah to think straight—and he was paying for that now.
“What do we do?” The fear in Sarah’s voice intensified.
His mind catapulted from one possibility to another. She was the prime target. He had to get her out of here.
Bryan flipped open the glass door that led to the catwalk, grabbed a length of rope and tied it off on the central post in the tower. “He’ll come up the stairs. You slip off this side of the tower. Go due east, and you’ll see a trail that leads to an open area. My truck is there.”
“But what about you?”
The look in her eyes was wild. She was so afraid. He longed to take her in his arms, but after all they had been through ten years ago, would she even accept his comfort? “I’ll hold him off.” He walked over to a box and pulled out a set of keys which he handed to her. “Go to town and get help. I’ll be all right.”
She shook her head. “We should stay together.”
“Go, Sarah. I can handle this guy.” He pushed her toward the door. They didn’t have time for a discussion.
She grabbed the rope, stepped out on the catwalk and moved to the edge of the tower. Her gaze locked on to him, longing filling her eyes. He’d seen that look before. She’d been a strong, resourceful young woman when he’d met her. But there was a vulnerable side to Sarah that stayed hidden from most people.
He pressed his hands against her face, kissed her forehead. “Go. You’ll be fine.”
The look of fear and doubt remained as she shook her head.
“And I’ll be okay, too,” he added.
She nodded, though the worry lines in her forehead intensified. She slipped off the side of the tower and disappeared from view.
He raced over to the radio. Where was his replacement? Had the sheriff made it out to the road by the lake and stopped the thug in the car? He had to let the authorities know what was happening. Before he could reach anyone, he heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs.
The fire tower door had no lock. He could buy Sarah precious minutes by holding this guy off. He’d taken down him and his cohort once before. This time it was only one man.
The footsteps intensified, grew louder.
Bryan grabbed a steak knife. There was no closet, no place to hide and try to get the jump on the guy...or was there? He crawled out on the catwalk and pulled himself to the roof just as the door burst open.
He pressed flat against the roof, angling his head so he could see through the skylight. Maybe the assailant would look around, figure they hadn’t come to the fire tower and leave. That would be the best case scenario. He’d be able to catch up with Sarah and make sure she got safely into town.
From this angle he could see the top of the man’s head. There was a pistol in his hand. So, he had found the gun.
The thug surveyed the room. Then he noticed the open door where Sarah had escaped. Bryan cringed. In his haste, he’d forgotten to close it.
The assailant stomped through the open door that led to the catwalk. He studied the rope where Sarah had descended.
With his belly pressed against the roof, Bryan swung around, head facing downward on the slanted roof. Sarah should be emerging into an open section of the forest. If the thug looked in that direction, he would see her and know where she’d gone.
Bryan slid down the roof. The man looked up but had no time to brace himself before Bryan leapt on top of him, knocking him to the ground and breaking a section of the railing around the catwalk. Both men recovered and rose to their feet. Bryan was relieved to notice that the assailant had dropped his gun in the struggle. The narrow catwalk provided little room to maneuver. Bryan struck the man across the face, hoping to throw him off balance.
The man had a square jaw and eyes like slits. His lip curled back, revealing large teeth. He lunged toward Bryan. If he could get an upper hand, find a way to subdue him and restrain him, the sheriff could question him and find out why they were after Sarah’s brother.
“Where is the Langston woman?” The man barreled toward him.
Bryan dodged, but slipped off the edge of the catwalk where the railing had broken free. He fell to the rocky ground below. It took him a moment to recover. When he looked up, he couldn’t see the man.
On hands and knees he scrambled to the base of the tower. The overhang of the catwalk shielded him from view. He worked his way around the tower back to the stairs.
Grabbing a thick branch for a weapon, he crept up the stairs. The door was slightly ajar. Peeking around it, he was rewarded with a quick image of the thug staring at the floor. He was looking for the gun. Bryan watched until the man’s back was turned. He pushed the door open and landed a blow across the man’s shoulders.
The thug groaned in pain, turned and swung for Bryan. Bryan hit him a second time on the arm with the log before the man wrenched it free. The two men wrestled. The assailant was twice his size, but Bryan refused to back down. Slowing this man down was the only chance Sarah would have to escape. They exchanged blows, drawing nearer to the open door.
Bryan lifted his arm, hand curled into a fist, ready to land a hit. The solid surface beneath his feet evaporated. He tumbled backward down the stairs. Like being smacked over and over, he could feel the hits to his body on the way down. He stopped at the bottom, still conscious, but disoriented. The assailant hadn’t come after him. He heard the sound of things being moved around inside the fire tower. He was still looking for the gun and probably assumed Bryan was unconscious or dead.
Bryan wasn’t sure if he could move. Had he broken any bones? Every muscle felt like it had been cut or bruised. He sat up. Pain shot through his body. It hurt to breathe. He needed to hide. He couldn’t fight in his current state. But no, he couldn’t back down, either. The assailant wouldn’t give up until he found out where Sarah was. Bryan tried to push himself to his feet.
The noise inside stopped. The thug came to the top of the stairs. He lifted the gun, taking aim. “Where is she?”
By force of will, Bryan scrambled to his feet. He stumbled toward the shelter of the trees. He was pretty beat up. He probably couldn’t outrun the thug, but he could hide, maybe draw the man into chasing after him instead of Sarah. He stepped into the trees and onto the trail.
Sarah appeared. A look of shock flashed across her features when she saw him. He had bruises on his arms. She grabbed him. “I couldn’t leave without you.” She wrapped her arm around his waist. The first shot from the thug’s gun pierced the air. “We’d better hurry.”
As she held on to him, he could feel his strength returning. Nothing was broken. He may have bruised a rib. He was in shock and badly beat up, but not to the point where he couldn’t move quickly. They ran along the trail. A second shot broke off a tree branch in front of them.
They came to the clearing where the truck sat. “I can drive,” Bryan said.
Sarah hesitated, drawing the keys close to her chest.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” said Bryan.
She handed him the keys and sprinted around the truck to the passenger-side door. He climbed into the cab, started the engine and closed the door just as the assailant came into the clearing. Bryan hit the gas doing a tight turn to get out of the parking area. The back tires spat out gravel as a bullet collided with metal.
Sarah craned her neck. “I think he hit the side of the truck.”
He’d probably been aiming for the tires. Bryan pressed the accelerator to the floor. He didn’t want to give this guy a second chance. The truck jolted and lumbered down the mountain road.
Sarah leaned back against the seat, tilting her head. Her curly brown hair had worked free of the ponytail. Her face was covered with sweat and dirt. She turned her head, soft blue eyes resting on him. She’d come back for him, risked her life. “He won’t be able to catch us now. Not on foot.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t want to worry her about the second hit man. Had the sheriff made it to the car or had the thug gotten away?
“How far is it to this country store?”
“I’ll take you all the way into town...and to the police station.” He didn’t like the idea of leaving her anywhere until he could be assured she was safe, though he dreaded the thought of returning to the police station. His departure had not been a quiet one. Incensed at the lack of justice over Tyler Mason, he’d let his chief know how he felt.
“Thank you for doing that.” Sarah leaned back and closed her eyes.
He reached over and patted her leg without thinking. It was a gesture he’d done a thousand times when they were dating. She sat up straight, and her eyes popped open.
He bit the inside of his cheek. What a stupid move. Of course, he didn’t think he could go back to where they had been ten years ago. Too much had changed, even before they parted ways.
He cleared his throat. “We do need to stop at the country store and make some phone calls. My cell phone is back at the fire tower. I need to find out if my replacement made it.” He hated abandoning his post and worried that he’d sent his replacement into a dangerous situation if the guy was still skulking around the woods with a gun. Though he doubted the thug would hurt anyone else and risk having another person who could identify him.
The road evened out, decreasing the bouncing in the truck. Sarah folded her hands in her lap as a tense silence fell between them.
What did they talk about now? What could they talk about that wouldn’t open old wounds? Even thinking about how their relationship had ended made his chest tight. No, he couldn’t go there again.
Sarah leaned toward him and pointed through the windshield. “That must be it, huh?”
A hundred yards ahead was a concrete building with a parking lot full of trailers. As they neared the store, signs advertising raft and boat rentals and bait for sale came into view. A campground a mile up the road was the main source of business for the store along with the abundance of fishermen who came for the freshwater fishing. Bryan pulled into the dirt lot.
“It’ll take me just a minute to make these calls,” Bryan said.
Sarah nodded. The bandage above her eye had come lose. He reached over and pressed it against her forehead.
She lifted her chin as a show of resolve. She’d always been a strong person emotionally. She had had to be. But what she had been through today would have made anyone fall apart. He touched her cheek with his knuckles. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll get you into town.” She nodded and tried to smile. Bryan resisted the urge to pull her into a comforting hug. It wasn’t his place to do that for her anymore.
Bryan got out of the truck and ambled toward the store entrance.
* * *
Alone in the truck, Sarah glanced out the back window. A hard, cold mass of fear had settled in her chest. These men were not going to give up easily. What could Crew have done for this kind of wrath to come down on him? He must have gone into hiding or the men wouldn’t have sought her out. Wherever he was, she hoped he was safe.
She looked out Bryan’s window. Mixed in with all the trailers, there was only one car parked off to the side that must belong to the owner or store clerk. No one wandered around outside. Through the store window, she could see Bryan step up to the counter while the clerk rang up his purchases.
She would have been dead by now if it hadn’t been for Bryan. How had a forest ranger learned to fight like that? She placed her fingers on the bandage on her forehead. His gentle touch had caused memories of being held by him to rise to the surface. All those years ago, she’d rested her head on his chest surrounded by his heartbeat while strong arms enveloped her. Back then, she had felt safe for the first time in her life when she was with him. But it didn’t last.
Bryan emerged from the store holding two large cans. She leaned over and opened the door for him. He handed her one of the cans, an iced tea. “That drink I meant to get for you earlier.”
Moved by such a small act of consideration, she opened the can and took a sip. The cool liquid traveled smoothly down her parched throat. She took several more gulps. “That tastes really good, thanks.”
Bryan sat behind the wheel, popped the tab on his tea and placed it in the cup holder. “My replacement made it to the tower. No sign of the guy with the gun. I checked in with the sheriff and called the city police, too. They might be willing to get involved since the kidnapping took place in town. You can make your statement to them.”
“Did the sheriff say if they caught the other guy?” She shivered despite the heat, not wanting to think about those men being on the loose.
Bryan started the truck. “The dispatcher hadn’t heard anything. She’s gonna send the deputy up to the tower to make sure the area is clear.”
For a forest ranger, Bryan seemed to know a lot about how the police worked. She had to know what he’d been doing for the past ten years. “So did you go to college like you planned?”
Bryan’s head jerked back and he laughed. He pulled out of the dirt parking lot. “Boy, that question came out of nowhere.”
“I was just curious.” It was the first mention either of them had made of the past.
Bryan’s truck came to a crossroads. He turned onto a paved two-lane. “I...ah...started out that semester, but it was a little too much for me to handle.” Each word was wrought with tension.
Sarah crossed her arms and stared out the window. His discomfort made it clear that even such a benign question was off limits. She wondered, too, how and why he had ended up back in Discovery, but now she didn’t dare ask. She longed to have a normal conversation with him, but that wasn’t going to happen. It would be best if he just dropped her off at the police station. He could go back out to his lonely fire tower. If they ran into each other in town, they could keep the conversation to hello and the weather.
Bryan glanced at the rearview mirror. “What’s this guy’s problem?”
Sarah turned around to look at the SUV following too closely. Shock spread through her. “Bryan, that’s the vehicle.”
He glanced a second time just as the Suburban tapped their bumper.
“He must have been waiting for us.” Bryan pressed the gas. “Knowing this was the only road that led into town.”
“How could he know this was your truck?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he was watching the store. Maybe he has a way to communicate with the other guy.” Bryan pulled away from the Suburban only to have it catch up with them again. The car bumped the back of the truck again, causing it to lurch.
“Hold on.” Bryan executed a sudden turn onto a dirt road.
The other car overshot the turn, but spun around and charged up the road toward them. Bryan turned off into a grassy field and veered back to the main road, but in the wrong direction—away from town.
The car caught up to them. Bryan gripped the steering wheel as the Suburban came alongside them and smashed against his truck. Metal crunched. The truck wobbled, but Bryan kept it on the road.
The second hit was harder. The Suburban seemed to be attached to the passenger side of the truck as it pushed them closer to the edge of the road.
Sarah looked through her window at the leering, maniacal face of Acne Scars, as their truck was pushed off the road toward the rocky incline below.
FOUR
Their truck flew off the road at a high speed, sailed through the air and landed in the river at the bottom of the rocky incline. Sarah gasped for air as the truck settled and water rose up around it. She felt as if every muscle in her body had been stretched, and her thoughts seemed to move in slow motion.
Sarah turned toward Bryan whose head was tilted at an unnatural angle. Panicked, she fumbled with her seat belt and reached over to shake him. “Bryan!” She wrapped her hand around his muscular upper arm. “Bryan, please.”
He stirred, shaking his head and moaning in pain. She let out a breath. He was alive.
Bryan glanced from side to side as though trying to fathom what had happened. She reached across his stomach and unbuckled his seat belt.
The current propelled the car downriver. The metal frame creaked as the water pushed against it.