Page 11 of Good Girls Don't Cry

Another tremor shuddered through the truck and Kane increased his speed as they climbed high into the mountains. Up to now most of the rockslides had occurred in the areas that had been damaged by either fire or flood. The higher they moved up the mountain the safer they should be. There was also another road they could take to get home if necessary. It would take some time, following the lowland road, but they could get to Louan and then loop back to Black Rock Falls. He glanced in his rearview mirror to see Rio close behind him and then Jenna let out a small cry. A boulder rolled down the side of the mountain across the road in front of them, bounced like a bowling ball across the blacktop, and then disappeared down the other side of the highway. “That was close.” Kane looked at her. “I’ve never seen rocks bounce like that before.”

“This doesn’t look good for Emily and Raven.” Jenna peered up at the mountain. “They’re directly below the ski resort. That road was cleared only recently after the floods. The odds are if there’s going to be a slip, it’s there.”

Although Kane had been considering the same thing, he flicked her a glance as they turned from the highway and headed along the mountain path. “Don’t forget that Raven is an experienced mountain man after living there for so long. He’ll know where to go to get out of any rockslides. I would say he’d start moving as soon as he felt the first tremor.”

“I’ll call Emily.” Jenna pulled out her phone and made the call. “She’s not picking up. It went to voicemail.” She gave Kane an anxious stare and left a message. “Emily, call me right away. We are just above you at the ski resort.”

Kane glanced at her. “Call Wolfe and give him the heads-up. He is heading up the mountain and he needs to change course and get off the mountain. Tell him to use the highway not the back road.”

“Okay.” Jenna made the call and then looked at him. “Are we safe at the resort?” Her hands went protectively to her belly.

In truth nowhere was safe in an earthquake but Kane didn’t believe it would come to that. He nodded. “It’s at the top of the mountain, so the chances of a landslide there would be remote, plus they placed all kinds of protection around the resort to prevent avalanches. I’m sure we’ll be okay. The worst-case scenario with the tremors is rock or mudslides. The chance of an earthquake is remote. I believe there hasn’t been anything really bad since the nineteen fifties, but I guess anything is possible.”

“Why is this happening now?” Jenna stared up at the mountain.

Kane had been reading up on just that topic. The sudden changes in the weather, including the weird storms and hard winters had made a difference. “From what I’ve read, the damage by the prolonged winter and then the floods have made parts of the mountain unstable. That’s where the slips are occurring and the forestry can’t get the trees to grow fast enough to fix the problem. Without the tree roots holding everything together, this will keep on happening.”

As they reached the resort, Kane scanned any suitable area where a shooter might be hiding. Seeing nothing of interest, he concentrated on the main building. A high window would be his choice, but all the shutters were closed and no vehicles sat in the parking lot. The place appeared completely deserted, perhaps the owner and employees had taken their vacations at the same time. He noticed the CCTV cameras swiveling toward them as they drove into the parking lot. He climbed out and gave them a wave. Obviously the company they employed for security was doing its job. He’d need to ask FBI whiz kid Bobby Kalo to check out the feed and see if it picked up the shooter. He handed Jenna a Kevlar vest from the back seat. “Put this on. I doubt the shooter is around, not after the tremors, but it’s better to be safe.”

“Okay.” Jenna climbed out, pulled the vest over her head, and headed to the entrance to the back road that led down the mountain. “I’ll just take a look.”

Rio pulled his truck to a halt beside the Beast and as the deputies climbed out Kane turned to them. “I’ll get Duke. You guys stick to Jenna like glue. There’s a shooter on the mountain and he’s likely in this area.”

“Copy that.” Rio took off at a jog with Rowley on his heels.

As Kane opened the back door to allow Duke to jump down, Jenna’s cry of anguish broke the silence and he ran to her side. The three of them were staring down the back road. It was the one used by staff during the winter and easily cleared by the snowplows. It was also the road where he’d found body parts hanging from a tree during his vacation there with Jenna, some years ago. It wasn’t body parts he could see this time, but right before the first bend, the road had vanished under a rockslide. Dust still hung in the air and the mountain shuddered as if complaining. The Native Americans would insist that it was angry for all the deaths that had occurred there. Blackhawk told him that when bad things happened the mountains created the landslides to cover the scars, made by the stupidity of man.

“The road is blocked.” Jenna paced up and down. “They’re stuck down there with an active shooter.” She reached for her phone and then looked up, anxiety etched in her face. “They’re not answering their phones and she hasn’t activated her tracker.” She turned to Rio and Rowley. “The satellite phones should work here.”

“Not if they sheltered in a cave. I doubt her tracker would either.” Rowley lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Raven knows the forest. He’d get up close to the mountain. He’d know that part of the mountain is stable. There are caves all along that side. I don’t figure he’d risk driving down. Once you get past the first bend, there’s a drop right down to the valley.”

Kane grabbed his field glasses from his pack and moved them across the area. “The slide looks concentrated to the back road almost as if it channeled it. I’m hoping once the tremors stop, Raven and Em will venture outside and then you’ll be able to contact them. Why don’t you send them a message? There’s a good chance that will go through and they’ll be able to reply.” He rested his arm across her shoulder. “There’s no way down. We’ll need to wait until the dust settles or get choppers out here.”

“We have two pilots here now and choppers ready to go.” Jenna frowned at him. “I’m guessing you’ll be the one going down to help them?”

Not wanting to concern her about the complexity of doing a rescue beside a mountain range in high winds, Kane nodded. “Carter is the most experienced in mountain areas and I’m trained to do this in my sleep. First, we try and communicate and then get the choppers up.” He glanced up as dark clouds rolled in from over the mountain. Lightning flashed and thunder echoed through the mountains. “Oh, now that’s all we need.” He took Jenna’s hand and raised his voice. “Everyone back in the trucks. It’s not safe out here in a storm.”

A loud crack and a blue flash came so close it raised Kane’s hair. He pulled open the door for Jenna and helped her inside. He turned to check that Rio and Rowley were running for their truck. Another loud crack and the mountain shook as thunder rolled around them. Beside him Duke whined and pressed against his leg. He bent to pick him up and drop him onto the back seat and then ran around the hood as rain pelted his back. As he slid behind the wheel, he looked at Jenna’s stricken face. “I’m sorry, we can’t risk a rescue until the storm passes.”

“They haven’t responded, Dave.” Jenna stared at her phone and then lifted her gaze to him. “I hope they’re okay.”

He’d never admit it, but hope was fading fast. Even the elements were against them. It was getting late and he could see no way of reaching them. In the dark in this weather, risking the shifting rocks in a storm would be suicide. They had no choice but to keep trying to contact them and hopefully organize a rescue at first light. Kane squeezed her hand. “So do I.”

Twelve

The Mine

Pain shuddered through Samantha Haimes’ body and the tight belt around her neck made it hard to breathe. The disgusting man had forced himself on her in the shower, deep underground in the old mineshaft with her friends ordered to watch through their barred windows, except Olivia, who refused to witness her humiliation. Exhausted and way past screaming and crying now, she stood under the warm flow, scrubbing every inch of her flesh. Her attacker leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest staring at her through the mask he wore to cover his face. The fact that he kept his face covered gave her some modicum of hope that he was afraid of being recognized, which meant there may be a chance of escape. He’d made her wear examination gloves throughout the ordeal, no doubt afraid that she might scratch him. After, he’d sprayed her all over with a chemical before allowing her to shower.

“Turn off the water.” The man tossed her a towel. “Dry off and put on those clothes over there.” He indicated to a small pile on what had been an old desk against the wall. “When you’re done, we’re going for a ride.”

Trembling so hard her teeth chattered, Samantha found it difficult to do anything with the tight belt around her neck. Well, it wasn’t a belt, more like a leading rein for a horse, looped at one end to tighten easily and he’d never let go of the end. He seemed to get great pleasure out of seeing her choke as he tightened it.

Samantha dried quickly and pulled on old but clean blue jeans. She reached for a pink T-shirt, and the man held a gun on her and then dropped the leash to allow her to feed it through the neck of the T-shirt and a yellow sweater. All had been neatly folded and set on the top of a surprisingly clean wooden desk. As she glanced across the top of the desk, she searched for anything she could use as a weapon. She found nothing, not even a pen or a pencil she could use to stab him. Fear and anger mingled as she glanced at him over one shoulder. She wanted to hurt him so bad.

“Give me your leash.” He held out one hand and she reluctantly passed it to him. “There’s a good girl.” He tugged hard and dragged her toward him. “You’ve amused me. Don’t spoil it.”

The talk between the girls in his absence had been about how to avoid making him angry. Olivia had said that people like him feed on fear, so no matter what happened they should all try and not react when he threatened them. That was all right for Olivia to say, but she hadn’t been tied up, gagged, and raped. Her stomach heaved. The way he’d chuckled all the way through and insisted the girls watched what he was doing made her sick to the stomach. She would do anything to get away from him—anything.

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