Page 20

NINETEEN

Wolfe followed Kane as they did a recon around the cabin they’d discovered. It was a reasonably sized hunting cabin. One large room, divided up into a small cooking area with an old wooden table and mismatched chairs. A Dutch oven hung on a tripod over the grate in a large fireplace, in front was a ratty old sofa. Two sets of bunkbeds along one wall had rolled up mattresses tied with twine. It was dusty but reasonably clean and had a few emergency provisions inside, but the air smelled old and musty with an undertone of critter pee. Whoever owned the cabin hadn’t been by for a long time. The boarded-up windows and back door would suggest they wouldn’t be coming by again soon. The front door, with wide metal strips across it, reminded Wolfe of one on an ancient castle. Each side of the thick door, strong metal brackets held a thick piece of wood that slotted in. At one end, a large padlock held it in place. It would keep most folks out, but Kane had taken less than a minute to unlock it.

As he followed Kane around the back of the cabin, they took a small path through the trees to a clearing some twenty yards away. A corral had been erected and on one side was a small shed that held bales of hay. A water trough in the corral was fed by an artesian well, which piped fresh water to the house as well. Impressed, he turned to Kane. “Nice setup. We won’t need to worry about the horses tonight, will we? We can store our saddles in the shed. This area is completely hidden from the trail. I figure they’ll be safe enough here.”

“Yeah, I haven’t heard anyone or seen any signs that people have passed this way. There’s no smell of woodsmoke in the air. Raven mentioned there was another cabin approximately half a mile away on this trail. With the wind blowing from behind us, if there was a fire, we wouldn’t smell it. I figure we’ll need to stay on our guard even though this place looks safe.” He turned and led the way back to the others. “We’ll collect our horses and get them settled first. We have plenty of supplies, and the kitchen looks clean. I figure I’ll be able to rustle us up a decent meal.”

Smiling, Wolfe slapped him on the back. “Right now, I’d eat the stewed leather off the soles of my boots.”

They met the others and collected the horses. Wolfe grinned. “Dave has volunteered to make supper.”

“I’ll help.” Raven rode to his side and handed him the reins of his horse. “Living alone for so long, I’ve been able to make a meal out of practically nothing.”

The sound of horse hooves came from the opposite direction and they all turned, hands on weapons, as Carter, Rio, and Takoda headed toward them. Wolfe lifted his arm to wave, and as they stopped beside them, he looked from one to the other. “Any sign of the prisoners?”

“Nope, we lost their trail once they got into the forest. The pine needles are so thick they cover footprints.” Carter shrugged. “We know they split up. The girl was able to give us very good descriptions of the men. Margos is traveling with the prison guard. Callahan and Romero followed the river for a time and then went inland. They didn’t follow any of the trails but weaved in and out of the trees. After a time, we lost any hope of following them. How they are getting around without getting lost or eaten by wildlife, I have no idea, unless the package dropped by the drone contained satellite phones with GPS.” He looked from Wolfe to Kane. “This situation is getting crazier by the second. We apparently have three men who’ve been incarcerated for years and yet they’re able to vanish in the forest like smoke in a place they’ve never been before and with no supplies whatsoever. If you don’t figure that’s unusual, I’ve slipped into a different dimension.”

“I’m convinced something’s going on.” Kane took hold of Warrior’s reins and led him around the back of the cabin. “Right now, we need to get out of sight. We might not be able to see them, but they could be watching us with binoculars. We have no idea what was dropped to them from the drone.”

With the horses settled and Kane and Raven working in the kitchen preparing a meal from the supplies they’d brought with them, Wolfe removed the old Dutch oven from the grate and lit the fire. Once the wood glowed red, he filled and then placed a large kettle in the embers. Whatever Kane made for supper, they’d all need coffee. Once that was done, he got the others together to organize which order they’d stand watch. “Two hours max. I’ll take the second watch because y’all know I work until midnight most times. I figure Kane, Carter, Raven, and Styles need to sleep. They’re able to rack out anywhere and it would be an advantage to have them fresh.”

“We’ll take the first watch.” Blackhawk indicated to his cousin. “We’ll head into the forest after supper and take up a position where we can watch the trails. If we hear or smell anything, we’ll let you know.”

“I’ll take the third with Rowley.” Rio removed his hat and dropped it onto the table before the fire. He looked at Carter and Styles. “Can you go from two?”

“Yeah, sure.” Carter moved a toothpick across his mouth and dropped onto the sofa in a cloud of dust. He waved one hand coughing. “If I survive this sofa.” Beside him Zorro sneezed.

“One thing.” Kane pushed food wrapped in aluminum foil into the hot coals and straightened. “Keep your kit and weapons beside you. We don’t know what surprises these guys have up their sleeves.” He turned and took a large pot from Raven and suspended it over the fire. “I figure they’re trying to turn the tables on us. If I’m right, we’re the hunted.”

Later that night, only the sound of breathing surrounded Wolfe as he sat by the window observing the forest. He’d moved around peering through the boards covering the windows, but nothing but the wind stirred the trees. The fire had long fallen to ashes and darkness filled the cabin with only a few streaks of moonlight filled with dancing dust motes penetrating the gloom. He kept his movements silent and changed up his routine, going to different windows each time. Aware his blond hair might be noticed in the shafts of moonlight, he’d pulled on a black knitted cap. He moved again, checking each window. One mistake and they could all die trapped inside the cabin. A scraping sound came from the front porch, and immediately on alert, he stepped carefully around the men sleeping on their bedrolls and crossed the living room floor. Another very slight creak came from outside, but it was difficult to tell if it was the wind blowing through the forest or someone stepping on a creaky floorboard. He slid with his back against the wall to peer through the cracks in the wooden panels nailed across the window.

Nothing moved outside and he continued his vigilant rounds of each window. Loud thumps on the roof woke everyone with a start. In seconds, Kane was beside him, peering out of the window. The smell of burning filled the air and curls of smoke drifted down between the logs making up the ceiling. Zorro, Bear, and Duke barked a warning and ran around in circles. Bear jumped on Raven and then on everyone else on the floor until they were on their feet.

“Grab your gear and get out.” Kane pushed Blackhawk and his cousin toward the front door. “Fan out and keep low. This might be a trap.”

“The door’s locked.” Blackhawk had one foot on the wall and both hands on the door handle and was pulling. “It won’t move.”

Wolfe pulled on his backpack and looked at Kane’s unreadable expression. The smoke was getting thick and burning his throat and nose. “I heard a sound earlier but didn’t see anything. Maybe they dropped the wood into the crossbar lock?”

“Seems that way.” Kane glanced around. “It’s almost as if they prepared this cabin for us, to burn us to death. The back door is the same and the windows have been fortified with iron bars.” He turned to the others. “We’ll need to blast our way out of here. With luck whoever is out there will hightail it into the forest.” He looked at Styles. “Jenna mentioned you carry a Magnum. Maybe you need to put that bad boy through its paces.”

“Help me drag those bunkbeds away from the wall.” Carter coughed and then headed toward the beds. “That’s the weakest area.”

“Spread your fire from left to right. We only need a hole big enough to crawl through.” Kane aimed his assault rifle at the wall. He turned to Carter. “You go first. I’ll cover you. Take Duke and Bear with you and get clear. Get the dogs out first.”

“No worries.” Carter picked up his rifle.

Flames licked through the logs above them and the smell of gasoline permeated the smoke. Wolfe picked up his rifle and joined the others in a line. They all aimed their weapons. He looked at Kane as blackened wood rained down on them. His throat and chest burned. “On your command.”

“Fire.”