Page 29 of Tied to Trouble

“He has a gun,” she squeaked in alarm.

Quickly, Az stepped in front of her again. “There’s no need for that—put it away before someone gets hurt.”

By now, the truck that had cleared the head of the road was coming towards them. It pulled up and stopped, and the driver opened the door to get out.

Az looked around for inspiration. He knew they couldn’t outrun a gun. He might have stood a chance if he had been alone, but he had Mandy to protect.

“Howdy, Murph.” Pete hailed the man emerging from the truck. “We were wondering what happened to you.”

“Don’t go getting any ideas,” Harley warned, keeping an eye on Az. “You just stay still until Murphy identifies you. Then, if you’re legit, I’ll apologize. If not...” He didn’t finish the sentence—there was no need.

Az could feel Mandy shaking, and his arm tightened around her. As the man called Murphy approached, he whispered in her ear, “On my signal—run.” He studied the man approaching them, his muscles tensed for action.

Mandy squeezed his hand in silent assent.

Murphy appeared to be in his forties with salt and pepper hair, an untrimmed mustache, and a hangdog look about his features, as if life had played a cruel trick on him. He was a big man, slightly overweight and heavy around the jowls. Az thought he might have seen him around town at one point, but he couldn’t be sure.

He returned Az’s stare, his eyes assessing them both. “Who the hell are you?” he asked bluntly. When Az didn’t answer, he turned to Harley. “I take it they aren’t friends of yours?”

“They told us they were your friends,” Pete replied, looking bewildered.

“I don’t know ‘em.”

“Alright, that settles that,” Harley replied, scowling. “Now the question is, what do we do with them?”

“Bring them with us,” Murphy ordered curtly. “I have a cow in the back that’s going to wake up soon, and I don’t want to shoot it here. I pride myself on leaving no traces to be found. Let’s get it to the cutting shed, and then you boys can take the meat for distribution to your people, and then go on home. I’ll figure out what to do with these two nosy people later.”

“You aren’t going to kill them, are you?” Pete gasped, looking worried. “I don’t want to be mixed up in nothing that smacks of murder.”

“Shut up, Pete,” Harley snarled. “You’re in this now, no matter what happens.”

He turned to Az and Mandy. “You two get in the back of the car. And no funny tricks.”

Mags tried to jump into the car when Az grimly bundled Mandy into the backseat of the beat-up sedan.

“Stay, Mags,” Mandy ordered her dog.

Pete and Harley got into the front seat. Harley kept the gun pointed at them as they followed Murphy’s blue pick-up around the lake.

Mags wasn’t the least bit happy. She started barking and following the car when they left, but the dog was too old to keep up. Soon she was trailing further behind.

Mandy’s eyes filled with tears at the sight of her loyal companion panting with her tongue hanging out after she finally stopped to watch the car disappear. Mags,” she whispered, her heart breaking for her faithful friend who wouldn’t understand what was happening. Would she ever see her again?

“It’s all right, honey, Mags will be just fine,” Az whispered in her ear as he pulled her in close to him. He squeezed her hand tightly, trying to reassure her. He just wished he could be as sure about them.

“Dang it, Harley. I don’t know if this car will make it in and out of this place. I hope the road doesn’t get any rougher,” Pete complained once they reached the logging road.

“Just shut up and drive, Pete,” Harley ordered.

They were bouncing all over the place as the sedan traversed the rugged terrain. Murphy’s truck was having a much better time of it. The logging road was not the place for a car.

When they finally arrived at their destination, Murphy took over. “Put those two in that shed behind the barn. I’ll deal with them later.”

The old shed and barn were dilapidated buildings left from the logging camp where lumber had been cut out of the hills. There wasn’t even a window in the shed to let in light, and Mandy huddled into Az, her body shaking. Probably afraid of what might be in the dark that she couldn’t see. He wasn’t too comfortable himself, and he held her protectively in his arms.

“What are they going to do, Az? I’m scared,” she whispered to him in the inky blackness.

“We’re going to watch for an opportunity to escape,” he told her, hoping he sounded more optimistic than he felt at the moment.

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