In Sight Of The Enemy

“What about your cell? If we called the sheriff, he could be out here in twenty minutes.”

Shane’s mouth flattened. “I didn’t bring it.” There was a sound then that had them both going silent, straining to listen.

Someone was on the front porch.

Cassie’s gaze went to the door handle, watched it twist slowly, first one way, then the other. Setting the flashlight down, she reached for her gun.

Shane grabbed his as well, and as if one, they walked silently to the kitchen, to the side door that led into the mudroom. They waited for long tension-filled moments, before hearing the sound of that door being tried.

Then swiftly, Shane brought the rifle to his shoulder, aimed and fired through the curtained window beside the door. They heard a muttered curse, footsteps running down the steps.

Cassie couldn’t prevent a tiny grin. “Sounds like you gave them something to think about.”

“For now, at least.” Shane crossed to her side and they went back to the kitchen. “But they’ve got all night, and we can’t be positive it’s just the two of them. We can’t watch all four sides of the house indefinitely.” If the couple out there wanted in badly enough, he was afraid they just might succeed. There were any number of windows that would provide access. And there was the outside chance that, if pressed, they’d try something even more daring.

“We could make a run for your car. With each of us providing cover for the other, we could probably make it, especially now that it’s dark.”

“They’ve probably already made sure the car is useless to us.” It was what he would do. Slit the tires or remove a distributor cap. “And if we leave here for a vehicle that’s been taken out of commission, we just put ourselves at their mercy.”

“Okay. We can probably hold them off until daylight. Jim and the other hands are usually here by six-thirty. That’s only nine hours or so.”

He knew they didn’t have that long. He looked at her, barely able to make out her features in the darkness. “If they’re as desperate as Hawk seemed to believe, they’re going to find a way in before then. We need to think of something else.”

She was silent long enough to have him watching her closely. The urgency of their situation would be enough to send most women into hysterics, and Cassie had looked on the verge of collapse just a few minutes earlier. But her voice, when she finally spoke, sounded remarkably steady.

“All right, then. I think our best chance is to make a run for it.”

Chapter 4

“What are you planning?” Shane couldn’t suppress a flicker of admiration. Not many women would be able to calmly map out escape routes with at least two armed intruders right outside. But in contrast to her earlier shaky moments, Cassie was composed.

“When we were kids, Hawk and I used to sneak out when the moon was full, to go for rides while our parents were sleeping. I think I can get us to the barn undetected.”

Shane considered the idea. “Are the pickups in there?” It was doubtful the couple outside hadn’t already rendered them undrivable, but it was worth a shot.

“Jim has one. The other should be parked nearby. It probably has been tampered with,” she added, as if reading his thoughts. “I think our best way out of here is by horseback.”

He was already shaking his head. “There’s no way we could get all the way back to town without having to take the road, eventually. We’d be walking right into their arms.”

“I’m not trying to get us to town. I’m thinking of heading for the forest.”

He started to dismiss the idea, before realizing it had merit. If they could get a good head start, or, better yet, give the kidnappers the slip completely, they could vanish into the wilderness, and to safety.

The plan wasn’t without risk, however. With the full moon, visibility would be better than usual. If they were spotted, they’d be sitting ducks. And the horses couldn’t outpace a vehicle, at least until they got to rougher terrain. He had no idea how many miles of open country they had to pass through to get to the forest bordering the area.

“There’s a cabin in the forest that my family used to camp in. We can hide there.” She paused, but when he still said nothing, a hint of impatience crept into her tone. “Well? What do you think?”

He was thinking that the risks were unacceptable. There was no way in hell he was willing to thrust Cassie and the baby into that kind of danger. But the situation was perilous, regardless. And he’d learned in Afghanistan that sometimes decisions had to be made when neither choice was entirely acceptable.

Hopefully, living with the consequences of this choice would prove easier than the one he’d made there.

“Let’s do it.” With the words came a sense of, if not peace, at least resolution. There were few in the state who could match Cassie’s riding ability, and she was familiar with the forest in a way the kidnappers couldn’t be. If something happened to him, she’d still have a good chance of getting away on her own. And those were probably the best odds they were going to get in this situation.