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TWELVE

STANTON FOREST

After estimating the distance the prisoners might have traveled, they headed to the river’s edge to find their trail. It was clear from the footprints left in the sand along the riverbank that the woman was still with the prisoners, although from the footprints, she often stumbled and might be injured. Kane decided the best chance of catching them would be if they broke the group into two. He, Atohi, Raven, Wolfe, and Rowley had the fastest horses and would head back to the fire road. By using well-known trails, they’d get in front of the prisoners. Keeping in touch with their coms, they should be able to close in on them in two different directions. Sitting astride Warrior, Kane took Duke from Blackhawk’s arms. His dog had become quite familiar riding this way. As he wasn’t getting any younger, keeping up with a galloping horse would be difficult. Raven’s dog, Ben, wouldn’t have any problem at all. Given that Styles and Carter had worked together in the past and having Rio as backup and two of Blackhawk’s cousins to guide them, the plan would work well.

They’d traveled approximately three miles ahead of the other team, and were moving along trails running parallel to the river to keep undercover in the forest, when Kane’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He listened in astonishment as Jenna brought him up to date. “I’m sure glad that Jo and Beth decided to stay with you.”

“I know, you were concerned about leaving me alone, and this time you were right.” Jenna’s voice sounded strained. “We’ll be leaving for the ranch in a few minutes. I’m going with Nanny Raya and Tauri. Beth and Jo are driving my SUV. Beth figures, being blonde, they won’t confuse her with me.”

Since Souza kidnapped Tauri from their ranch, Kane had spent a great deal of time scoping the area, looking for threats and possible sniper positions. Since they had engaged the laser net around the area, landing a chopper or flying a drone above the house was impossible. The laser net interfered with the onboard computers but unfortunately did nothing to prevent a sniper’s bullet. He pressed the earbud tighter into his ear and constantly scanned the immediate area for the prisoners. “You’ll need to get inside the house and stay there. Keep everyone there. They’ll be fine and we have plenty of spare bedrooms. You can’t risk sending anyone to the cottage. The path from the house to the cottage is in a direct line from the hillside, and if there’s a sniper up there… well, you know the rest. Suit up for the ride home as well. Just in case.”

“I intend to. We have enough Kevlar vests for everyone, including Tauri. I’ll add helmets as well.” Jenna took a deep breath and blew it out slowly as if trying to keep calm. “We’ve made so many new improvements to the security, I’m sure we’ll be safe once we’re inside the house.” She paused a beat. “Any sign of the prisoners?”

Kane readjusted Duke in front of him. The old dog was prone to falling asleep and sliding off the horse. “No physical signs, no. We found tracks alongside the river and decided to split up into two teams. Rio, Carter, and Styles along with two of Blackhawk’s cousins are following the tracks. The rest of us have gone ahead using the fire roads to hopefully get around in front of them. With luck, we can surround them and take them down without too much difficulty.”

“I hope so.” The familiar squeak of Jenna’s office chair came through the earbud as she sat down. “We’ll be leaving soon. I’ll call you again when we get there. I don’t really know Agent Katz, but when Styles assisted me he insisted she was tougher than she looked and fought like a demon. I figure she’s going to be an asset if anyone shows.”

Kane smiled to himself. “I’m sure if a few of Souza’s henchmen manage to get through our security, which I doubt, they won’t know what they’re up against. Nanny Raya was chosen for a good reason. She might be older than us, but she has a chest full of medals for bravery under fire. Along with Jo and Beth, I’m sure you’ll be just fine. Don’t forget these men are more than capable of creating a diversion to try and get you out of the house. The horses are safe in the corral. They have plenty of food and water to last them for a week at least. If they set fire to the barn for instance, call the fire department. You know the fire chief by sight. Don’t leave the house.”

“And the house is covered with fire retardant, I know. Maybe we should have used some on the barn as well?” Jenna cleared her throat as if someone had just come in the room. “I’d better let you go. I’ll call you later.” She disconnected.

After catching up to the others in his group, Kane brought everyone up to speed. “So this was well planned ahead of time. It seems the moment the prison warden started moving his extra prisoners to Black Rock Falls County to avoid overcrowding, Souza decided to set fire to the maximum security area so there wouldn’t be any space for them. All Souza needed to do was to get the plans of his escape to his associates. The moment the fire was lit, it was only a matter of time before the transfer was made.”

“I’m impressed how fast someone in maximum security can get the word out to organize a prison break.” Raven moved his horse alongside Kane. “Money talks, huh?”

“So it would seem.” Rowley came up behind them. “The women should be safe at the ranch.”

Kane nodded. “I sure hope so.” He tapped his mic. “Copy. Is there a problem?”

“I believe so.” Carter was keeping his voice low. “They’ve split up. Two are continuing along the riverbank. One is moving in your direction with the prison guard. I figure you’ll be running into them soon if they keep heading in the same direction. We figured we would stay on the heels of the two walking along the riverbank.” He cleared his throat. “We also found hoofprints, which Blackhawk’s cousin insists are fresh. So we have an unknown rider in the mix as well. I’ve heard a few shots, but I believe they’re from the other side of the river. Over.”

Shooting a glance at Rowley, Kane raised his eyebrows in question. Rowley knew which areas were designated for hunters. When he gave him a nod, he tapped his com again. “ Don’t worry about them. They’re hunters. They should be moving away from the river. Over.”

“That’s good to know. Just a second, we’ve found something. Over.”

The others had heard Carter’s transmission and they slowed, bunched up in a group along the trail waiting to hear what they had found. Kane waved them on. “Keep moving and stay alert They could be anywhere close by.”

A few minutes went by before Carter got back to him.

“We found a cabin with blood on the front stoop and drag marks. We followed them and discovered partial human remains in the pigpen. The cabin has been ransacked. There’s evidence there’s a female living here. Looking at the clothes hanging in the closet, I would say female around ten to twelve years old. There’s no sign of her anywhere and we’ve found no footprints or any evidence that she’s left the premises. We can only hope that she visited here at one time. Or maybe she died and he’s just kept her room as is.” Carter, heaved with the effort of remounting his horse. “Rio has marked the cabin with crime scene tape. There’s nothing we can do for the victim now. So we’re going to keep moving. Over.”

“The hoofprints you discovered, do you figure the girl took a horse to escape?” Raven tapped his com. “Maybe you should check out the place and see if there’s a stable anywhere. It’s pretty easy to see if there’s fresh manure or a dirty stall. Over.”

“Copy that. Will go. Over and out.” Carter disconnected.

Kane wiped a hand down his face. If there was a young girl alone in the forest, that was another problem to add to the list. With serial killers running around, she would be in danger with them or on her own. Now nowhere was safe. He turned as Blackhawk came to his side. “You heard about the girl?”

“Yeah, I know the family. That would be Troy Lee and his granddaughter, Serena. If Carter comes across her, one of my cousins would be able to get her out of the forest safely.” Blackhawk met his gaze. “With Jenna out of town, it would be safer to take her to the res. There are trails from the riverbank that no one would be able to find. They look like they’re going nowhere but they offer good cover if you’re trying to get away.”

Nodding, Kane heaved in a deep breath. “Thank you, I figure that’s my only option at the moment. We don’t want a kid witnessing the takedown of serial killers or running across them in the forest. I just hope she didn’t witness the murder.”

“If she hightailed it on a horse, there’s a good chance she did.” Wolfe’s horse sidestepped and danced sideways along the trail. “I figured they holed up in the cabin overnight, and maybe found a change of clothes. If they’re wearing regular clothes, we won’t be able to distinguish them from local hunters.”

“Styles here.” Styles came through the coms. “We found signs of a horse and some kid’s footprints. The cabin’s been ransacked, but from the prison clothes tossed all over, I’d say the prisoners are all dressed like regular guys.” He paused a beat. “We have a kid out there alone in danger. I’ve read their files. These men really love to kill kids. We need to locate her ASAP.”

Kane took two seconds to consider the options. Children in danger took priority over everything. “Follow the tracks of the horse and locate the girl. Send her with one of Blackhawk’s cousins to the res. He’ll know a safe way through the forest. Right now the res is the closest place, and no one will get in there.”

“How can you be sure?” Styles wasn’t convinced. “Blackhawk’s people aren’t going to be there to stop serial killers getting onto the res.”

“Yes, they will. They are aware of the threat.” Blackhawk stared at Kane and his mouth turned down. “The prisoners would need to cross the bridge from this side of the forest. The elders will have people there to stop them. I doubt they’ll be able to find the bridge. The trails through the forest and into the res are known by only a few outsiders. Most people who visit come by road.”

Kane tapped his mic. “Find the girl. We’ll keep moving in from this side. There should be a number of empty cabins along the river. The prisoners might stop to hole up there, so check them out. It would be better for us to do the same. Right now, the escapees don’t know we’re chasing them. The moment we light a fire in the forest, they’ll know—smoke from a cabin they’ll ignore. You know the deal: take turns sleeping and stay alert.”

“Okay, gotcha.” Styles paused for a beat. “I nearly said, ‘yes, sir.’ It felt like I was back in uniform. I’ll run it back at you. We find the girl, send her off with Blackhawk’s cousin. Locate an empty cabin and hunker down for the night.”

Glancing at Wolfe’s sudden grin, Kane shrugged. He took charge naturally, and everyone accepted it without comment until now. “Copy that.”

“We’ll call you with our coordinates when we stop for the night. Over and out.” Styles turned off his com.

“Military police.” Wolfe continued to ride beside Kane. “I’ve worked with him on many cases, and he worked alone before Beth Katz joined him at Rattlesnake Creek. He’s a maverick and follows his own rules, but he gets the job done. Rattlesnake Creek is a mining town with a sheriff and no deputies. Styles wades into the brawls there and no one gets killed. One look at his revolver and they seem to fall into line.”

All he needed was a maverick loose cannon in charge, but Jenna had found him responsible, and as an ex-MP, at least he had the skill set. Kane dismounted and dropped Duke gently on the ground. “As I’m in charge, I figure it’s time to take a break. Maybe if we sit here for a time, escaped prisoners will come to us.”

“We can live in hope. I’ll unpack the supplies.” Raven dismounted and led the packhorse to a tree and secured it before opening the saddlebags. “I know this area of the forest down that way.” He indicated along the trail with his chin. “There are three cabins in this area owned by the forestry and used as hunting cabins. The first one is about six miles away. There is another closer to the river, so I figure if the prisoners planned to hole up in one, it would be the one close to the river. They wouldn’t know about the one inland. None of them have ever lived in this county. I checked that out before we left. These guys are walking around blind.”

Kane smiled at him. “I’m starting to like these odds.”

“There is only one main problem that I can see if we hole up in the cabin, and that’s the horses.” Blackhawk’s dark gaze moved across Kane’s face. “If they steal our horses, they’ll take the advantage.” He looked from one to the other. “We’ll need to take the horses to a safe place. I’ll stay with them.”

“I’ll take first watch.” Wolfe took a pack of sandwiches from the bag and sat on a boulder. “I’m used to working late.”

Kane glanced at his watch. “We still have three hours of daylight left.” He looked at Raven. “It’s slow going along these small trails. You sure you can find this cabin?”

“Oh yeah.” Raven held up his satellite phone. “I have the coordinates of every cabin I’ve found. I buy many of the abandoned ones from the council or the forestry. Making them available for vacations is a lucrative business.”

Astounded by his ingenuity, Kane poured coffee from a Thermos and reached for the sandwiches. “You never cease to amaze me. Is there nothing you can’t do?”

“Not yet but I usually draw the line at killing people.” Raven shrugged. “It goes against my Hippocratic oath.”