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“ I don’t hear anything,” Dawn said suddenly.

Sierra had been so busy trying to keep them from being shot that she didn’t hear Dawn at the beginning.

“Sierra, stop.”

“What is it?” She looked around, expecting the shooter to be standing near them.

“There’s nothing, no shots, no sounds of someone following us. I think we lost him.”

Sierra listened. “You’re right.” Truth be told, they’d been walking for hours without any more shots fired. Was it possible the shooter had given up and left? Could it be that easy?

“What time do you think it is?”

Exhaustion weighing on her had Sierra struggling to put one foot in front of the other. The flashlight flickered a couple of times and then went out. Sierra tossed it aside. “I’m guessing three, maybe four in the morning.” The thought of being out in the open when daylight broke was unsettling. They’d be easier to pick off.

Though summer, the night’s chill had sunk through the clothing she wore clear to her bones. The thought of a warm shower and something to eat urged her on.

“Every time I close my eyes, I see those barrels and the women in them staring out at me. It was sick what he did to them. And there was an empty barrel with my name on it, Sierra. I was supposed to die.”

Sierra shivered. Dawn’s name had been handwritten like her own. Like the others.

“Did he sit and talk with you?” She wondered if Henry chatted all the victims up like he had her.

“Yes. He told me I reminded him of her. I assumed he meant his wife. He called her Maggie. He took me over to his little sitting area where those poor women were looking on and he talked like he was my friend and not someone who wanted me dead.”

“But he didn’t want you dead. Henry was protecting you from his partner. He hid you in that room because he didn’t want you harmed.” Sierra got the impression Henry hadn’t wanted to kill her either. But he obviously was willing to supply his partner with victims even though he appeared to have an aversion to killing. Why? Who was this person Henry protected?

“Can we sit for a second?” The exhaustion in Dawn’s voice had Sierra searching for some place out of sight to rest. She found a group of trees in the meadow.

“Over there.” She and Dawn headed toward them and lowered themselves to the damp earth.

“I sure hope we find a house soon. The longer we’re out in the open like this the more our chances are of being captured again. Henry or his partner knows we escaped. They’ll keep looking for us. Our time is running out.”

Dawn shivered. “We can’t let that happen. There’s got to be someplace we can go. I know Wyoming is remote, but there’s a town nearby. You’d think there’d be houses out here somewhere.”

She was losing hope. Sierra understood. Hers had been fading for a while. Her analytical brain wanted to go over everything they had gone through. Everything they knew about Henry and his partner.

“You said he called his partner T, right?”

Dawn opened her eyes and looked her way. “That’s right.”

Dawn hadn’t mentioned this before. “What did T say?”

“T became furious and stormed out.”

“Wait, did you see T’s face?” If Dawn could identify T this would be huge.

Dawn shook her head. “No, T wore a mask and didn’t talk. When T stormed from the basement I could hear them, or I should say Henry, arguing with T. I couldn’t make out what T was saying.”

T had made sure Dawn couldn’t identify him. Why had Henry been so reckless?

Sierra shook her head. “I don’t understand any of this. We’re missing something.”

Dawn leaned her head against Sierra’s shoulder. “If we make it out of here, I’m going to appreciate my life more. My fiancé. My kids I teach.” Her voice sounded wobbly. “It’s so easy to take things for granted. You see them all the time, and you just naturally assume you’ll get the chance to continue to see them. But you may not.”

Sierra knew what she meant. She’d been so intent on bulldozing forward with her and Zeke’s relationship that she hadn’t considered what he needed.

“Come on. We won’t solve any of this sitting under a tree. Let’s finish this.” Sierra stood and held out her hand. She and Dawn had formed a friendship out of necessity. But she had a feeling after everything they’d gone through, their friendship would be around for a long time.

Dawn rose unsteadily. “I can’t wait to have pizza again.”

Sierra laughed. “Me too. And chicken-fried steak. There’s this place near where I live that makes the best chicken-fried steak. I’ll take you there once we’re safe.”

“I love chicken-fried steak. Speaking of steaks, there’s a place in Oklahoma that makes the best rib eyes. We’re going there, too.” They were both laughing.

“Absolutely. I’ll gain so much weight no one will recognize me, but it will be worth it.”

“Yes, it will.” Dawn’s expression sobered as their reality sank in. “And I won’t ever take anyone for granted again.”

“And I’m not going to bully my boyfriend into doing what I want anymore.”

And she was going to tell Zeke how important he was to her the second she saw him again.

“Wait, do you see that?” Dawn stopped.

Sierra looked toward where she pointed. “That’s a light. On a house. We did it.” She clasped Dawn’s arm, and the two jumped up and down.

“Wait, what if it’s his home?” Dawn’s question shattered the euphoria and brought reality crashing down around her.

“You’re right. We have to be careful.”

Whoever the house belonged to was awake even though it was still early. The hairs on the back of Sierra’s neck stood up. Maybe it was someone going to work at a ranch or a factory job. There could be a simple explanation.

As they neared the property, a dog barked somewhere in the distance, and Sierra froze.

“What should we do?” Dawn asked nervously. “What if it’s him?”

“Stay back here. Let me check. Maybe I can see in the window.”

“But you don’t know what T looks like. How will you know?”

A good question. “I’ll know. Just stay here out of sight. If there’s trouble, get out of here.”

Dawn shook her head. “No, you can’t. It’s too risky.”

“I’ll be okay. I’m a trained agent. I can handle myself.” As she headed away, those words came back to haunt. She was highly trained, and yet an old man had managed to get the better of her. She was weak from walking, and God only knew what type of drugs she’d been injected with. She wasn’t a match for Henry. She wouldn’t stand a chance with someone as demented as T.

Sierra eased toward the house. So far, so good. Once at the side, she did her best to keep to the shadows as inch by inch, her heart pounding in her ears, she reached a set of windows.

A loud thud echoed through the silty darkness. Sierra tried to identify the location.

Dawn? As much as she wanted to call out to her friend it was too risky.

Lord, keep her safe.

Curtains blocked the first set of windows. She moved to the next. There was just enough space between the curtains to see inside. A cozy living room appeared through her sliced view. A sofa and a couple of chairs gathered around a large fireplace. There were photos on the mantel.

When Sierra spotted one she recognized, a smile spread across her face.

Another had her turning to flee.

She ran toward the place where she’d left her friend. Before she reached the trees, what sounded like the crunch of dried leaves snapping underneath someone’s foot had her halting.

Sierra whirled. A shadow emerged from the darkness and charged for her. She recognized the person.

Something sharp was jabbed into her neck. “No.” She tried to lunge for her attacker but they stepped easily out of her way.

“Why?” she pleaded as her legs gave way. She dropped first to her knees and then to the ground unable to save herself.

Her eyesight blurred. The figure moved past her to where something else lay on the ground. No. Dawn’s lifeless body was dragged away, and all Sierra could do was watch and wait for her turn to die.