Page 24

chapter twenty-three

Tuck

“Mother fucker!” I hissed as I watched the two Amish men—who were most definitely not Amish—wrangle Charlie and Emily behind the diner. Even while being practically dragged, Emily continued to move her hand furiously behind her back in every gesture possible except the one we’d discussed.

Even so, the fact that the men were holding a gun on Emily and Charlie and manhandling them up the street told me all I needed to know.

I wanted to kick myself. I’d known there was something off about those two, even from several hundred feet away. I hadn’t been able to say exactly what and so I’d talked myself out of the feeling, but I should have listened to my instincts. I couldn’t take credit for a lot, but I knew I had two things going for me: honed muscles and honed instincts. And because I’d dismissed my gut, now Emily and Charlie were being abducted.

As soon as the four of them disappeared behind the build ing, I came to my feet. I quickly considered what I had in my backpack that I might use as a weapon but there really wasn’t anything. Even the small knife on the wine opener I’d used to sharpen the stick in my belt had dulled and eventually fallen apart and so I’d discarded it. I set my hand on that stick now as I exited the bushes. It wasn’t much, but better than nothing. I made my way swiftly across the street and then plastered myself to the side of the diner, moving my head inch by inch until I had a visual of the area in the back.

There was another road behind a parking lot at the rear of the building that ran parallel to the main road. And there were two horses pointed in the other direction, each hitched to a buggy. The buggies appeared to be more compartments than the typical riding carts, perhaps used to transfer business materials. But because of that, I couldn’t see what—or who—was inside.

I peeked out farther and saw one of the men with his back to me peeing at the side of the lot. I considered whether to take advantage of his position, but I didn’t have a visual on the second man and didn’t want to risk getting shot in the back of the head.

At the thought, the second man exited one of the buggies and jumped down. “Hurry up!” he yelled to his partner, who then turned and jogged over to the other buggy and climbed up into the driver’s seat. Emily and Charlie were nowhere in sight, so I could only assume they were in the compartments and if the men were leaving them back there, they had to be either incapacitated or tied up.

“Shit,” I murmured, heart speeding as my mind flew from one rescue possibility to another. My best bet was to ambush them once they’d begun to move. Surprise was my best weapon at the moment as they didn’t yet know I existed.

I turned and ran back around the front of the diner, past another business next door and moved along the side. I could already hear the clop clop of the hooves moving closer on the road behind where I was and listened intently, knowing tim ing was going to be everything and hoping that the man with the firearm had put it away to handle the reins of the horse.

I waited, holding my breath, muscles tensed as the sound of the horses drew closer. The horse’s face appeared next to where I hid, then its shoulders, and I let out a gust of breath as I darted from behind the brick. I raced for the buggy, ducking low, and then grabbing onto the side of the seat and hopping up. The man holding the reins let out a short yell of surprise, reaching for what I was sure was his gun. My heart slammed against my ribs as I drew in a quick breath and kicked him hard in his shoulder. He jerked to the side, recovering quickly as he too came to his feet on the seat, the gun he’d managed to retrieve firing in the air right before he dropped it.

The horses let out shrieks of fear, the one in front of me rearing up and sending both me and the man slamming into the wall of the compartment behind us. The horse let out another shriek, and the man and I both grabbed on to what we could as the horse’s hooves hit the pavement, jarring me so that my teeth clacked together and my ears rang.

A scream sounded from inside and though it was muffled, I could tell who it was. Charlie.

As I began to turn, I spotted the gun the man had dropped on a small ledge near the wheel. Holy shit. I attempted to go low and reach for the weapon, but the man grabbed the back of my jacket and yanked me up, spinning me around and flipping me so that now we were on opposite sides of the seat, and I was farther from the gun. Mother fuck!

From the corner of my eye, I saw movement from the other buggy where the horse was exhibiting equal fear, shaking its head and emitting ear-piercing shrieks as the driver tried to get it under control. Then Emily appeared, eyes wide, mouth open, a switchblade clutched in her fist and ropes hanging from her wrists. I gaped, and that momentary pause caused the man I was fighting to get his bearings and lunge at me, his fist connecting to my jaw with a crack.

Emily climbed around the buggy as the man at the helm gained control of the horse, but then she let out an ear-piercing shriek as she lunged forward and lodged the knife in the side of the man’s neck and then just as quickly pulled it out, ducking away from the sudden spurt of blood. I let out another jolt, my stomach dropping and my focus on Emily allowing the man I was struggling with to get in another solid whack on my cheekbone. Fuck!

The man Emily had stabbed let go of the reins and brought his hand to his gushing wound as the horse took off running.

It all happened in less than thirty seconds.

I pitched forward with the man I was fighting as we both grunted with the effort of the struggle while simultaneously attempting to stay on the small seat of the buggy. From my peripheral vision, I saw the man Emily stabbed jerk back and lose his balance. I turned my head in time to see him crash into Emily, each of them tumbling off the buggy on opposite sides.

“Em!” I yelled, grasping the stake at my waist and then using the strength brought on by my sudden panic to gouge the eye of the man I was fighting. He screamed with pain as he reeled away, taking the sharpened stick with him. “Em!” I leaned around the side of the buggy to see that Emily had stood—and so had the man she’d stabbed, still gripping his neck, a look of murderous rage on his face. The horses had both picked up speed, running alongside each other, the buggies bouncing in their wake. “Emily! Run!”

She only paused for half a heartbeat, looking behind her at the man who’d begun to stagger forward, before she began sprinting after the runaway buggy.

I heard the man on my buggy pulling himself up and felt the weight shift as he moved closer. But my heart was in my throat, and I couldn’t turn from Emily, who was quickly gaining on the buggy, even as both horses increased their speed. I could attempt to jump off, but I’d almost certainly break something, and I’d also be leaving Charlie, who was tied up inside.

In that moment, I decided that if Emily wasn’t able to catch up to the other buggy, I’d jump—come what may—so as not to leave her behind. If it was a choice between her and Charlie, I chose her, without a singular doubt.

But she could do this. She could catch the buggy and take control of the horse. I knew she could. “Run!” I yelled before turning quickly toward the man who was almost on me, his eye bleeding profusely, teeth bared. I raised my fist and surprised him with a right hook to his jaw. He went flying backward, and I looked behind me to see that Emily had made it to the buggy, reached for it with a yell of effort, her grasp falling short as she let out another sound of frustration and increased her speed.

Spooked by the slams and bumps and yells coming from behind it, the horse raced faster. We’d passed the scattered businesses on the edge of whatever small town we’d entered and were now speeding through what looked like the center of town, buildings more plentiful and closer together. And though we were one street over from the main drag, cars were appearing, some parked, and a few abandoned here and there, pulled to the side of the road, or standing in the center of it, causing the horses to veer around them.

I looked over my shoulder to see that the one-eyed man had regained his balance and was gearing up to lunge at me, his partial blindness no deterrent for his rage. I looked around the buggy, ready to jump, reminding myself to roll when I hit the ground in order to minimize injury, but saw Emily push herself forward, a look of intense concentration on her face as she reached forward and grasped something on the back of the buggy. “Yes, holy shit! Emily! Climb up!”

Fingers dug into my shoulders, and I was pulled backward before hands wrapped around my throat, my air halting. I kicked backward, vision blurring as I brought my hands to the man strangling me, prying them off just enough to gasp in a breath before he tightened them again. Emily had found purchase with her feet and was now moving around the side of the buggy. For a moment, I floated, sure I was going to pass out, and in that dreamy moment, I was so fucking proud of her. I almost laughed. She was climbing next to the wheel, pressing her weight on the buggy, mindful not to drag it over. That’s it, Em. You’ve got this.

She looked over her shoulder at me just before she hopped up to the driver’s seat. “Tuck,” she yelled, as the horse pulling her buggy broke into a gallop, now neck and neck with the one I was on, down the center of the street that I blearily hoped to God wasn’t blocked by a stranded car that left no space to move around. “The light!”

Dark spots appeared before my eyes, my head pounding as I pulled the man’s hands, kicking backward but with dwindling strength. The light. The light. Then my eyes caught on something reflective on the side of the buggy. A red reflector light was attached. The sight of Emily in the driver’s seat of the buggy, now careening wildly, and the horses running at a full-out gallop, gave me the burst of strength I needed to let go of the man’s hands, grab for the light, and pull it toward me.

Thankfully it came off with a twist and then with the dark spots melting together before my eyes, I slammed it backward into the side of the man’s head.

His hands unclenched, and I sucked in a gasping breath, pivoting around, the world swaying and blinking as I faced the man whose face was scrunched into a grimace, his hand holding his head as he let out a wild howl.

I turned back toward Emily, the wind whipping my face, buggy shaking and tilting and rocking side to side, Charlie’s sobs increasing in volume from inside the compartment. Emily was on her knees now, leaned forward as she tried to grasp the reins that had fallen forward and were draped over the side of the out-of-control horse.

Oh, shit! There was a car in our path ahead, and my horse was going to have to veer left into the horse Emily was currently draped over as she tried to catch hold of the reins, or right where there was—hopefully—just enough room for the horse and buggy to fit between the car and a large brick building. My eyes darted between the man—now leaning toward me, hands reaching for my neck again—to the upcoming car and building.

Instead of leaning away from the man, I leaned toward him, but ducked so his hands came up empty, throwing my body down so that both of our weights were on the right side of the buggy. The horse followed the tilt, racing right around the car, and then with a mighty roar, I stood and used all my strength to sweep the man’s legs out from under him and then push him off the buggy, grabbing on the side as the man was flung out, his yell cutting off abruptly as he hit the side of the building with a loud crunch.

I cringed even as I pulled myself back and quickly clambered into the driver’s seat and grabbed the reins.

I didn’t slow, not yet, but instead steered the horse around another car and then came up on Emily’s right just as she pulled herself up onto the horse, the reins clenched in her fist. Holy fuck. “Hold on!” I shouted. Emily scooted backward as carefully as she was able on a galloping horse attached to a careening buggy.

I looked ahead to see that this street dead-ended in a grouping of trees, and my heart lurched. Come on, Em. I kept pace with her, and if the horses saw the trees ahead, they didn’t make any attempt to slow. They’d likely turn at the last minute and the buggies would tip, all of us smashing into the trees in a heap of splintered wood and cracked bones.

Four hundred feet…

Emily lifted her head to look in front of her, her eyes widening as she began moving more quickly now, losing her grip once and freezing as she gripped the horse and got her bearings.

Three hundred feet…

“You’re good, Em. You’ve got this,” I repeated. She did. I had faith in her. She was going to get control of the horse, I knew she was, even if my heart was beating so hard it felt like it might slam through the wall of my chest. How many games had we played growing up where we’d encouraged each other? Faster! Run! That way! And she’d always come through, the mighty little thing with the skinny legs and will of iron. She’d pushed and pushed, surprising everyone because she was so full of heart that her size didn’t matter.

Emily gave a nod, right before she flung herself forward, landing awkwardly in the driver’s seat, the horse shaking its head in response to the sudden jolt and speeding up again. Shit, shit, shit.

Two hundred feet…

Emily sat up, holding the reins and looking ahead. “Gently, Em,” I said, pulling slightly on my own reins. “Take control. That’s it. They’re tired. They want to stop.”

I pulled harder, but not too hard, and both of our horses went from a gallop to a canter. I glanced over at her and met her eyes, both of us leaning back slightly as we pulled harder.

A hundred feet…

The horses slowed, going from a canter to a trot and I heard Emily let out a sound of relief as the horses bounced to a stop, the trees a mere twenty feet in front of us. For a moment I sat there in stunned shock, blinking at the reins held so tightly in my hands my knuckles were white. Then my head pivoted, and I looked over at Emily, who was already looking at me, her face bright red, eyes shimmering with shock and fear and victory as one emotion after another shifted over her expression.

I propelled my body forward, leaping off the driver’s bench and racing over to her. She was already standing, and I reached up as she practically flew into my arms and I lifted her down, her back against the side of the carriage.

My palms were slick, blood pumping furiously. Heart skittering and slamming as my breath came in rapid pants. I ran my hands over her hair, her face, smoothing her tears away and tracing the tremulous smile on her lips. “You were fucking amazing. God, Em. You did so good. Holy fuck. Come here.” I pulled her to me, and she wrapped her arms around me as well, holding me tight and then running her hands up and down my back as she let out a small sob.

I pulled back and looked at her again. I couldn’t stop taking stock of her, making sure I hadn’t missed some injury or another, ensuring she hadn’t been harmed and I didn’t know it. She was shaking, but also laughing, little bursts of what sounded like shock and awe, and we were both breathing heavy as we ran our hands all over each other. “I was so scared. Oh my God. We did that. Tuck. You and me.”

“We did. You and me.”

“I thought I was going to die for a minute there—”

“But you didn’t. We didn’t. You should have seen yourself, Em. I’ll never forget it.”

“Me neither. Oh my God.”

She breathed out another startled laugh and I smiled, but it quickly dropped. My face felt as out of control as the horses had been moments before, my emotions just as runaway.

We stood, our bodies pressed together as our chests rose and fell with our quickened breath. Sweat gleamed on her skin and her eyes were still shiny with tears, but also with victory and she was wild and brave and beautiful, that same bright spirit I’d always been so enamored by shining before me.

Her lips parted and she brought her hands up between us, gripping my jacket in her palms as I leaned in, our breath mingling, lips—

“Hello? Hello? ” Charlie yelled, a sob punctuating his call, the sound of his voice and memory of his existence causing me to jerk away from Emily. “Help!” he yelled. “Someone help!”

The world cleared, Emily blinking at me as I stepped away and ran my hand through my sweat-drenched hair. “Shit, Charlie,” we both said at once, her eyes widening.

I turned, rounded the back of the buggy and pulled the door open, before peering into the interior. Charlie was right inside the door, hands and feet bound and tied to the steel bar that connected the seat of the bench to the backer. His expression was wild, face red, eyes darting everywhere.

And next to Charlie sat a young woman wearing a traditional Amish dress and an unbuttoned coat, bound, but also gagged, her expression very similar to Charlie’s. What the hell?

“Oh, thank God,” Charlie said. “I couldn’t see what was going on. It felt like we were riding into hell!”

“Here,” Emily said, nudging me from the side where she’d come to stand as she too peered into the buggy. She brought the switchblade from the back of her waistband and held it out to me. “Katelyn Goodfellow gave this to me,” she murmured. “I’d almost forgotten it.” She’d wiped it on something at some point because only a trace amount of blood remained. Our eyes met as I took it from her, and I glimpsed her barely contained shock—perhaps at the memory of what she’d done—before I leaned in and cut Charlie’s bindings.

I moved aside as he practically threw himself through the door. I didn’t look back, but I heard the sounds of what I thought were him embracing Emily and murmuring jumbled words that blended together.

I cut the girl’s bindings too and when they fell to the floor, she pulled the gag from her mouth, sputtering before drawing in a big breath of air. “My papa?” she asked.

“He’s in the other buggy,” Emily said from behind me. “I knew I had to catch it. I knew he was in there.”

“Oh shit. Okay,” I said. We helped down the young girl, who looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, and then we all hurried to the other buggy where I could now hear moaning from inside. I pulled the door open, and the girl let out a sob, ducking under me and climbing up into the compartment where an older man with a long beard was slumped against the wall, a large bruise on his head where he’d either been hit, or the injury sustained during the unexpected bumpy ride we’d all just gone on.

I stepped up and leaned inside to cut his bindings too and then the girl removed his gag and helped him out. He blinked as he obviously got his bearings and now that the gag was out of his mouth, I could see that he had a bloody lip making it obvious that he’d been beaten.

“Those men came to our farm,” the girl said. “They stole clothes off our line and food from our house. They tried to take me, and my papa fought them and so they hit him with their gun and tied us both up and stole our horses and buggies.” She sucked in a deep pull of air, appearing like she might start crying. Emily stepped over to her and put her arm around her shoulders. “You’re okay now. What’s your name?”

“Lavina. This is my father, Abram.”

“I’m Emily, and that’s Charlie and Tuck. Where is your farm?”

“Indiana. We’ve been traveling for four days.” The girl wrapped her arms around herself, her expression bleak as she looked away. I bit back a curse. I could imagine what had happened in those four days in the back of that buggy.

“You have a community there, in Indiana?”

“Yes,” Abram said. “A small community. There’s a prison a few hours from us, and I believe those men came from there. They were wearing prison uniforms. It’s why they needed our clothes. But then they put a gun to my head, and they took us too.”

“I’ve gotta sit down,” Charlie moaned.

“Oh,” Emily said, putting her arm through his. It looked like the guy was going to pass out. My gaze lingered on the place where their arms were linked, and I tightened my jaw so hard I bit my tongue. He hadn’t even asked her if she was okay. Didn’t even care to know what she’d experienced. “Here, there’s a curb over there,” Emily murmured.

I rubbed at my jaw, just beginning to notice that my throat felt sore from where the man had attempted to choke me out and almost succeeded. A shiver went down my spine as other scenarios—ones where he’d killed me and taken Emily—raced through my mind. “Were there other men or just the two who abducted you?” I asked Abram.

“They were the only ones that came to our community that I know of. Unless more have showed up since we’ve been gone.”

“You’ll want to get back to them. I’m sure they’re worried sick. And you’ll need to come up with a plan to protect your people.” At that thought, I turned, bending down so that I could see beneath the buggy where I’d watched the handgun slide. Yes! There it was, wedged between two sections of the undercarriage. I reached in gingerly and hooked it with my finger, sliding it toward me and then pulling it out. When I turned and stood straight, both Lavina and Abram stepped back, their gazes on the weapon. “Do you have any guns at all? Hunting rifles?”

“No. Guns are a form of violence and inconsistent with our beliefs.”

“Okay, then,” I said, glancing at his daughter staring at her feet, expression blank. Abram glanced at his daughter too, his troubled eyes returning to me. He obviously got my point but chose not to comment. “If not,” I said, “then it’s time to get creative.”

“What do you mean?”

I squinted off into the distance for a moment. “Off the top of my head? I’ve heard you can build a barn in a couple days.”

“One.”

“One what?”

“One day.”

“Badass. Okay. Think barriers, trenches, traps.” I looked over to Lavina, who seemed to be fading emotionally by the moment. “Get her home. Start building right away.”

Abram nodded, seeming bolstered by the plan. He extended his hand, and I clasped it. “You’re traveling, right? Take the other horse and buggy. We only need one to return in. I use the compartments to deliver goods for my business, but I don’t think that will be necessary for a while,” he said, his voice tinged with sadness. “I trust that you’ll take care of our horse.” I looked over at the horses, both of which were nibbling the grass in front of them and drinking from the puddles of melted snow as they recovered from their run-of-terror.

“I’m grateful for the offer. Thanks. We will. We’ll take care of her.” The beautiful thing about horses was that there was food everywhere for them. Hell, maybe we could travel all the way to California by horse and buggy. It’d take a while, but it sure would be nice not to have to walk.

Abram helped his daughter up into the seat of their buggy, and then climbed up and sat down next to her. I waved goodbye as he turned and began trotting out of sight.

That’s when I noticed several people on their porches, peering curiously at us. I gave a tentative wave, wondering if we’d walked into more trouble, but the people waved back, one man giving us a thumbs-up. Emily and Charlie stood as a man crossed the street and headed our way.

“You rescued them, didn’t you?” the man said as he approached. He held out his hand, and we shook in turn. “Tim Cramer. Word traveled that those men were breaking into businesses. Never seen Amish do shit like that. I knew we had some bad apples in our midst.”

I gave Tim our names. “You were right to be concerned. They were prisoners who must have gotten free when the electricity went off. They abducted a father and his daughter and…weren’t treating them well.”

His gaze held mine for a moment before he thinned his lips and nodded. “More and more of that seems to be happening. I suspect it’ll get worse before it gets better. If prisoners are escaping…damn.”

I nodded in agreement because what that likely meant was that not only had the power and generators failed, but guards had deserted their posts. “Any word at all from local officials around here?”

“Nope. Radio silence. Even the officers who live in town are home taking care of their own.”

“Mr. Cramer—”

“Tim.”

“Tim. The two escaped convicts are back that way, likely gravely injured if not—”

“I’ll send word that they need to be picked up.” He gave me a resolute nod. “I’m grateful we didn’t have to contend with more than that. They were armed and headed this way.”

I glanced back the way we’d come. “We’ll need to backtrack to collect our gear.” As much as I didn’t want to do that, I wasn’t willing to give up the precious possessions we had.

“Stay put,” Tim said. “I’ll use the walkie-talkie and have a couple of the kids bike your things to you. Where’d you leave it?”

“I appreciate that.”

I described where our packs could be found and Tim gave me a fist bump. “You did us a solid and we’re grateful to you.”

I mustered a tired smile. The adrenaline was leaving my body and taking my energy with it. Even so, we’d need to get back on the road. Despite that I wouldn’t want to live through the terrifying, precarious moments on that runaway buggy as I fought for my life, because of the experience, we now had a horse and a firearm. And being in possession of a gun—especially—was damn lucky because no one was going to be willingly parting with any right now.