Forgotten Secrets (13 page)

When a natural fork appeared in the woods, he paused momentarily. The right appeared to be easier, more traveled terrain. Of course Thayne didn’t hesitate. He headed left.

“You’re sure?” she asked under her breath. “The other path looks to be more recently traveled.”

“A single mine shaft is dug into the side of the mountain about five hundred yards from here. It’s older than the rest. It didn’t pan out. They moved up about a half mile and hit it big. If it were me, I’d go with the road less traveled. And this guy thinks like me.”

Good enough for her. She gripped her weapon tighter, every sense on high alert.

Leaves shuffled to her right. She whirled around. A rabbit pounded across the path and streaked back into the forest. She let out a small sigh.

Over the next quarter mile, Thayne dismantled three more traps. If anyone else had come along, they could’ve been killed.

A few more feet and she could just make out a vertical rock face at least fifty feet above them. Thayne stopped, freezing, still as stone.

A blur of camouflage rushed into the cave.

A muffled explosion rumbled. An avalanche of rocks bombarded down. Thayne jumped back and threw Riley to the ground. He landed on top of her, letting out a grunt as rocks pummeled his back.

When it was over, a layer of dust covered them and Thayne’s body covered hers. “You OK?” he whispered in her ear.

She coughed then nodded, blinking the dirt from her eyes. She looked over her shoulder. Her breath caught. “Thayne,” she choked out.

A man dressed in woodland fatigues stood, his face streaked with camouflage paint, his black hair pulled back from his face in a queue. He carried an M4 carbine aimed at Thayne’s back.

His eyes shifted from wide with fright to cold with purpose.

“Password!” their attacker shouted, digging the barrel of the gun into the back of Thayne’s neck.

He lifted his hands. “Crimson,” he said, his voice too calm.

Immediately the automatic weapon pulled away. Thayne rolled over but kept his body between Riley and their assailant.

The man’s eyes were glazed, and Riley recognized the look. He was in a war zone, and they’d stumbled into the middle of his nightmare.

The man blinked. “Thayne? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Kandahar.”

“New assignment,” Thayne said. “Top secret, Kade.”

“Who’s she?” he hissed, nodding at Riley.

“CIA,” Thayne lied without missing a beat. “Undercover.”

“Damn spooks, always doing a deal that gets us killed,” Kade muttered. He squatted down. “At least a half-dozen enemy swarming the woods. And they’re not alone. I’ve seen more.”

Thayne carefully stood. “Kade, what’s your mission?”

“Get the team home,” he said. “Strategic objectives have been compromised. They have hostages. It’s a no-win.”

A branch cracked to Riley’s right. Kade whirled around, spraying the forest with gunfire.

Riley hit the dirt.

“What the hell?” Jackson’s voice shouted in the distance.

“At ease, Kade,” Thayne ordered. “We’ve got friendlies out there, too.”

Kade’s face went white. “Oh God.” His weapon dropped to the ground. His entire body started shaking. “They’re dead. They’re all dead.”

He whirled around and raced into the woods, favoring one leg and disappearing from sight.

Singing River had just become way too much like Kandahar. Thayne let out a slow whistle under his breath, the echo of gunfire still ringing in his ears. His gaze narrowed on the quivering leaves at the edge of the clearing behind Kade’s disappearing figure just in case the man returned. He couldn’t be trusted, not in that state.

Thayne could feel the tension thrumming through every nerve in his body, the fight-or-flight response he’d honed over years of training. He placed his hand on Riley’s shoulder. “You OK?”

She shifted, facing him, her eyes wide, but she nodded. “Just had the wind knocked out of me.”

“Sorry about that.” He held out his hand and helped her to her feet.

“Better than being squished by a ton of boulders.”

A stream of curses peppered the air from a few feet away. Thayne rushed to the edge of the clearing. “Jackson? You still breathing?” he shouted.

“Damn, that was close.” His brother walked out from behind a large evergreen, dusting the twigs and pine needles from the front of his shirt and jeans. “You can keep your special ops work, bro. Give me a fire anytime.”

Thayne grabbed his brother in a hard hug. Over Jackson’s shoulder, Thayne winced at the damage the bullets had inflicted on the tree trunk. His brother could have been killed. He gripped him tighter.

“Let me go. I might think you care.” Jackson quirked a grin at Thayne, but his eyes betrayed his relief.

Thayne could tell the attack had shaken his brother, and he wasn’t the only one. “You scared the hell out of me. Don’t do it again.”

“Yeah, Dad’d skin you alive if anything happened to me.” Jackson shrugged, the kind of shrug Thayne used when he’d come an inch from meeting his Maker.

Sometimes you had to say a prayer of thanks today wasn’t your day to die.

“Dad gave you hell for getting me into trouble when we were kids,” Jackson added. “If I were a different kind of brother, I might consider using this little fiasco against you. For the next ten, fifteen years, I’m thinking.”

Thayne slapped Jackson’s back. “I’ve got a blackmail moment or two, don’t forget.”

Now that Thayne knew his brother was safe, he glanced over his shoulder. Riley hadn’t said a word. She had the strangest expression on her very pale face. He walked over to her. “You OK?”

“Of course. I’ve been in the line of fire before.”

Something wasn’t right with her, but he couldn’t stay to figure her out.

“Don’t remind me.” He sent a pointed look at her right arm. “Somewhere inside Kade may know about Cheyenne. I have to go after him. I might have tugged him out of his flashback, but he could fall right back into it. Someone could get hurt.” He turned to his brother. “Jackson, take Riley back to the base clearing. I’ll be in touch.” Thayne didn’t need her as a distraction. God knows she was one.

Riley opened her mouth, and he placed a quick but firm kiss on her lips. Her eyes widened with shock. “Just in case.” He leaned forward, his lips next to her ear. “For the record, I lied to Fannie. There’s nothing complicated about what I feel for you. I just didn’t want her to know exactly how much you’ve gotten under my skin.”

He straightened, and not giving her time to respond, took off in a run following in Kade’s direction. He trusted Jackson to keep her safe so he could focus on finding Kade, rescuing Cheyenne, and getting all of them out alive.

He still couldn’t believe Kade would do this. Thayne had to keep reminding himself Kade’s third tour had been the stuff of nightmares. Thayne’s unit had cleaned up the aftermath of one mission gone horribly wrong. They’d discovered Kade near death, pinned below two dead teammates.

He’d been the only survivor of an ambush caused by bad intel.

Thayne didn’t know what had happened in the firefight; the report had remained classified, need-to-know, but he could imagine.

Legs pumping, pushing him through the woods, Thayne followed the trail Kade left behind. An easy-to-follow path. That alone telegraphed to Thayne his friend wasn’t himself. If Kade had wanted to hide in these woods, he could vanish and survive for years without being seen or heard from again.

The signs led Thayne around a bend. He stopped at a thick grove of aspens. A broken branch halfway down one of the trees grabbed his attention. He pushed it aside, revealing a crevice just large enough to squeeze through.

He’d thought he’d explored every inch of these woods, but he could see how he’d missed the narrow opening.

Kade’s boots had left an impression in the ground cover. Thayne was close, but sneaking up on the panicked ranger wouldn’t work. Thayne could end up shot. Whatever mental state Kade was in, he was a dead-on marksman.

Slowly, deliberately, Thayne eased through the tight crevice. Rocks scraped against his back. He tilted his head to maximize his view. No sign of a camp, any collaborators, or Cheyenne, though. Where was she?

A single shot exploded from a weapon, slamming against the rock a few feet above Thayne’s head.

“Stay away!” Kade’s voice choked. “I have to find her. I don’t want to kill anymore, but I have to save her.”

Thayne’d already be dead if Kade had really wanted to hit his target.

“It’s Thayne.” His entire body tense and ready to drop to the ground, he moved into the open. “What’s going on, bud?”

His friend lowered the barrel slightly, but his wild eyes made Thayne pause. What did Kade see? Was he in that last firefight from hell?

“They’re all around us. How’d you get through?” Kade aimed directly at Thayne’s head. “You’re one of them! You betrayed us.”

Kade’s body shook with fear, his finger trigger-light. Thayne had one chance.

“I was sent in to extract you,” he lied—well, maybe not quite a lie, just a partial truth. “We need the intel to save the guys on the south ridge.”

Kade blinked once, then again. “Intel.”

“Where’s your base?”

“This way.”

Standing, he led Thayne across the dried streambed to a small campsite. A doused fire, a sleeping bag, some food from Fannie’s.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noted a haphazard pile of items. Lip balm, a plastic bag with Earl Gray tea, Cheyenne’s favorite. And a sewing kit he recognized.

A chill settled at the base of his skull. “Where’d you commandeer the supplies, Kade?”

“Found ’em,” he said, his gaze blank.

Thayne straightened to attention. “Time and location, soldier.”

“Twenty fifteen. About thirty clicks due west of here. On the side of the road.”

“Was there a cell phone?” Thayne dreaded the answer he knew would come.

“Affirmative. Too risky to confiscate. They could use it to track me.”

“Kade, it’s very important. Can you identify the vehicle?”

“2014 Escalade. Nevada plates. Whiskey Hotel X-Ray 0501. Someone tossed a purse from the backseat.”

“Did you recognize anyone?”

“Tinted windows,” Kade said. “I couldn’t see who was driving. A man threw out the purse and phone. Then a woman tossed something before they drove off.”

Damn.
Thayne closed his eyes, both disappointed and relieved that his childhood friend wasn’t responsible for Cheyenne’s disappearance. He was a witness.

Based on the timeline, a couple of hours after she’d been abducted, Cheyenne’s kidnappers had dumped her purse and phone.

Too long ago. Careful to keep Kade in his sights, Thayne put on a pair of gloves and scooped up the items. He opened the compact. Just a mirror. “Is this everything?” he asked.

Kade shook his head. He slipped his hand into his vest pocket. Thayne tensed, tightening the grip on his Glock, until Kade pulled out a necklace. The thin gold chain was broken. A carved amulet hung down, the largest piece of Wyoming jade Thayne had ever seen. “
She
threw it.”

Cheyenne?
Slowly, Thayne approached Kade, still cautious. “Cheyenne’s missing, Kade. My sister, Cheyenne. I think you might have seen whoever abducted her.”

Kade frowned, his brow furrowed in confusion. His hands started shaking; his face dripped with sweat.

Thayne took another step toward Kade. Then another. “We’re heading back to town, Kade. Hand over your weapon.”

Suddenly a golden eagle swooped low, its squawk erupting above them. Twenty feet away, the sharp talons struck a rabbit and carried off its prey.

Kade whirled around, weapon aimed. He fired. Before Thayne could disarm him, Kade knelt down and took aim right at Thayne.

“You’re one of them!”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A burst of shots pierced the air north of the clearing. Riley froze, as did the other men waiting, their low mutterings gone silent.

Thayne.

She stalked to the line of trees at the edge of the grass and peered into the forest as if she could see anything through the thick grove. Above, an eagle cawed, flying overhead.

Jackson crossed to her and clasped her arm. “You’re not going out there.”

She winced when he squeezed her right arm and pulled away. “You heard the gunfire. What if Thayne needs help?”

“Kade might have an elite set of skills, but Thayne is better. I trust my brother.”

Riley recognized the worry in Jackson’s eyes, though. “I saw Thayne’s face. He wants to talk Kade down. It won’t be an even playing field.” She unholstered her weapon. “We’ve waited long enough. I’m going in.”

Jackson didn’t hesitate. He rooted himself between her and the forest. “If Thayne finds out I let you out of my sight, I’ll never hear the end of it. Hell, even if he’s dead, he’ll probably haunt me.”

Another dozen rounds blanketed the sky.

Riley planted her feet. “He needs backup. Are you going to let your brother stay out there alone, with no help?”

The muscle in Jackson’s jaw throbbed, the reaction so similar to Thayne’s it made Riley’s heart hurt.

“Thayne wants you safe. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing.”

Scrubbing her face with her hands, she couldn’t stand still, and Jackson shadowed her step by step, clearly not expecting her to stay put.

Her heart raced, her entire body tensed with worry. He had to come back. She couldn’t imagine her days without being able to talk to him, without his smile, his touch. His presence.

Oh God. Did she love him, in spite of herself? Had her heart won over her head?

A half hour later, Riley once again peered through the gaps in the pines. Still no movement. She refused to wait any longer. She turned on Jackson. “I did it your way. I’m done waiting. Don’t try to stop me.”

“My brother knows better than that,” Thayne’s voice called out from behind.

Riley whirled around. Carrying several weapons, he strode into the clearing with Kade at his side.

Before Riley could throw herself into his arms, Deputy Ironcloud sprinted across the clearing. “On the ground. You’re under arrest.”

“Stand down, Deputy,” Thayne said.

“You can’t let him go. He could’ve killed you and your brother. And what about Cheyenne?”

“Kade didn’t take her, but he got the license plate of who did.” Thayne turned to his friend and held up his handcuffs. “I’m sorry. These are for everyone’s safety.”

Kade’s eyes had cleared from when Riley had seen him last.

“What’d I do?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, his expression devastated.

“Almost killed Jackson and me,” Thayne said, voice matter-of-fact.

“What the hell were you doing up here, Kade?” Jackson asked. “Why didn’t you come to us for help?”

Kade’s hands shook. “I can’t take town. Too many noises. Too many old trucks backfiring. Sends me spiraling. I needed to be alone.” He lifted his wrists. “God, I’m sorry.”

Thayne snapped on the metal cuffs and placed his hand on Kade’s shoulder. “Did you take any shots late last night by Fannie’s B and B?”

Kade’s brow wrinkled. “I’ve been on a mission since I found the supplies. I warned the enemy not to look for me, but they didn’t listen.”

“Did you have backup?” Thayne asked.

Kade nodded. “I delivered the note, but my contact kept the enemy from attacking.”

Thayne closed his eyes. “We’ll get you help.”

“Kade threatened us?” Riley asked.

“Not us, the enemy. But the shooter’s still out there. They used his illness.” Thayne scowled. “Bastards.”

She paused for a split second then walked over and punched him in the arm. “You left before I could say good-bye. Don’t do it again.” She reached up and brought his head down to hers, kissing him with all the fear and terror she’d lived through the past hour before shoving him away.

He didn’t let her. “I told you I’d be back.” He clasped her against his body with one arm.

A few catcalls sounded behind them, but Riley was past caring what anyone else thought. He could have died because of his hero complex to do the right thing and help a comrade in need.

He pressed her close, and warmth seeped into her side. How could she live without this? How had she lasted a year?

Thayne motioned to Jackson. “Call Hudson. Locate the nearest facility that treats PTSD. In the meantime, he can take Kade to Fannie’s.” Thayne lowered his voice to a whisper. “Let Hudson know Kade’s unpredictable. He’ll need to be ready for anything.”

“You got it.”

Jackson steered Kade toward the edge of the clearing.

“Will Fannie be able to handle Kade?” Riley asked as, with apprehensive eyes, she watched Thayne’s brother escort the soldier to the edge of the clearing.

“Her late husband battled PTSD, though they referred to it as shell shock back then. Fannie understands what Kade’s up against.”

Before they disappeared from the clearing, Kade planted his feet in the dirt, forcing Jackson to halt.

Riley tensed, but Jackson had a firm hold on Kade, and the soldier didn’t try to escape. He simply turned to Thayne. “You need to know that after the purse and phone were tossed out of the SUV, they headed into the National Forest, not back to the highway.” Kade cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Thayne. If I’d realized Cheyenne was in that car, I would’ve done anything to save her. She’s been there for me.”

“I know.” Thayne clasped Riley closer. “Not only did Kade give us a license plate, we have this.” Thayne pulled an evidence bag from his pocket, containing a gold necklace with a carved stone amulet. “Jackson. Hold up.”

His brother paused, and Thayne jogged over to him. “Do you recognize the necklace Kade found?”

His brother shook his head. “I’ve never seen it before. Sorry.”

Thayne frowned at the jewelry. “Thanks anyway.”

He returned to Riley with a sigh of disappointment.

“Whose is it?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I’d hoped Jackson knew. All Kade could tell me was a woman threw it from the SUV. I’d hoped it was my sister’s, but I’ve never seen it before, either.”

The piece looked expensive. Riley filed through what she knew of Cheyenne. She couldn’t see the woman she’d studied buying herself expensive baubles.

“A gift, maybe?” she posed.

“Or she tore it off one of the kidnappers.”

“Wouldn’t they have stopped and searched for the necklace, Thayne? Especially if it could be used to identify one of them.”

A shout on the other side of the clearing prevented Thayne from answering. Sheriff Blackwood stalked over to them, his face red with exertion—and anger. “We’re having a serious conversation soon, Son, about keeping your little exploration from me. Until then, I want a sitrep. Now,” he demanded.

His eyes flashed with a fury Riley recognized. Thayne had inherited that slow-burning temper from his father.

“Don’t leave anything out. So help me,” he ordered.

After walking his father through Kade’s story and trying to calm down the sheriff—and not succeeding very well—Thayne handed him the necklace. “Do
you
recognize it?”

The sheriff let out a long whistle. “The stone alone’s worth a small fortune because of its size and since all the naturally occurring Wyoming jade has been mined. Cheyenne would
never
have spent that kind of money on herself . . . not on jewelry. The clinic, maybe, but not a luxury.”

Just as Riley had suspected. “Could someone have given it to her? Someone she’s dating, maybe?”

“Cheyenne keeps her personal life . . . very quiet,” he admitted. “I’ve never seen the necklace. You might ask . . .” He paused. “I almost suggested my mother. Cheyenne would’ve told her.”

Except Helen Blackwood wasn’t in any position to provide information. Frustration laced the sheriff’s eyes, and Riley could understand. So many questions that only one woman could answer . . . except she wasn’t able.

“What about Hudson? Thayne said he and Cheyenne are close.”

“The last thing my daughter would do would be to mention her love life to
any
of the boys,” Thayne’s father said. “They’d either threaten the guy or tease her unmercifully.”

Riley chewed on her lip. “Sheriff, there are two options: This necklace belongs either to one of the kidnappers or to Cheyenne. It’s got an eighteen-karat-gold chain, a diamond clasp, and a unique carving. If it’s one of a kind, we can trace the original owner.” She paused. “Is there anyone else who might know if the necklace belongs to Cheyenne?”

Thayne and his father met each other’s gaze.

“You’ve thought of someone?” she asked.

Thayne nodded. “Gram’s book club, the Gumshoe Grannies. They know everything. We need to talk to Fannie.”

Coming down off the ridge could be much more treacherous than climbing up. Thayne had learned the dangers the hard way as a teenager when he’d raced his brothers to the base of the trail and come inches from catapulting over a two-hundred-foot drop. Only concern for Riley kept him from giving in to the urge to race down the hill at breakneck speed.

Cheyenne’s life was at stake, and for the first time, they were looking at two solid leads.

By the time they made it back to the vehicle, the sun hung high in the sky. “It’s Sunday. They’ll be at the church,” Thayne said as he slipped behind the wheel. “At least DCI came through with a dozen satellite phones so we can communicate up here.”

He put out an APB on the license plate Kade had provided and waited for Riley to buckle up. She’d been a real trooper, but she was out of her element. He shoved the canteen at her. “Keep hydrating. It’ll help with any altitude sickness, since you’re based so close to sea level.”

He squeezed her hand, then flipped on the siren and drove as fast as he dared through the mountains until he hit the outskirts of Singing River.

When they arrived at the church, the parking lot overflowed with vehicles. Thayne pulled up near the makeshift tents serving as search-and-rescue headquarters and a refreshment stand. Everyone stopped and stared, their faces rapt with a combination of fear and expectation.

He jumped out and slammed the door, the sound reverberating through the air. “Nothing yet,” he announced to the crowd.

A bevy of groans waved through the volunteers. He could relate. He felt the same way. Bone tired and gut sick with disappointment.

At least Riley was by his side. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed, almost as if she’d read his mind. He needed her strength right now; he didn’t want to admit the truth, but he’d let his hopes rise too high.

Now the adrenaline had worn off, and his body risked crashing.

Thayne walked over to the deputy manning the S&R headquarters. “Any news?”

The guy shook his head. “We ran the license plate. A white SUV was reported stolen from Marbleton two days ago.”

“They switched the plates to the black SUV,” Riley said.

“Another dead end.” Thayne rounded on the deputy. “Coordinate with the Marbleton police. See if they have any leads that connect to Singing River or Cheyenne.”

The deputy snagged his radio and reported in.

“Nothing’s going to come of it,” Thayne said under his breath, scanning the sea of volunteers.

“Probably not,” Riley agreed.

At least she didn’t lie to him. The disappointments kept hitting, and time kept ticking.

“We still have the necklace.” She walked step for step with Thayne.

They crossed the asphalt to a table where Fannie and the other Gumshoe Grannies served coffee and food for exhausted townspeople pouring in from the surrounding woods for lunch. He could tell from the pitying looks they’d lost hope.

Well, he couldn’t.

He waited while the last of the searchers had collected a good meal and trudged inside the church to eat. He wanted to speak to Gram’s friends alone.

“Can I have a moment of your time, ladies?”

Fannie placed her hands on her hips and looked him up and down. “If you’ll eat while we talk. You both look like you could keel over at any moment.

“Norma, get them a couple of chairs and some food,” Fannie ordered. “Willow, lots of coffee.”

Thayne simply shrugged at Riley with a clear message. Best to give in.

Within minutes Thayne bit into a roast beef sandwich and washed the food down with a long swallow of black coffee.

Fannie sat across from him, hands folded on the table. “What do you need, Thayne?”

He glanced over at Riley, and she retrieved the necklace. “We think either Cheyenne or one of the people who kidnapped her was wearing this. Do you recognize it?”

The three women met gazes, their eyes wide with wonder.

“I’ve never actually seen it,” Fannie whispered. “I heard about the stone, though. I thought Old Man Riverton was telling a fish story all those years.”

Thayne sat back in his chair, stunned. The Blackwoods and Rivertons had never gotten along that well, but he couldn’t believe they’d be involved with a kidnapping.

Before Thayne could form words, Pops came up to the food table with Thayne’s grandmother in tow.