Whispers of the Falls: Book one (Twelve Oaks Farm Series 1) (25 page)

Randal shouted, “We’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot.” Matthew stumbled from the car. A huge gash on his forehead oozed blood where he had smacked the steering wheel on impact. He raced around the back of the car and opened the trunk.

Randal shouted, “Forget the drugs. Let’s get out of here while we can.”

In the distance she could hear Shadow barking. “Where are you taking me?”

Instead of answering her, Randal gave her a hard shove. “Keep moving.”

Chapter Nineteen

Grant turned onto the drive leading to Twelve Oaks Farm. Thin moonlight filtered through the trees. He loved the look of the shadows and light playing over the ground in front of them as he sped along. The tight muscles in his neck relaxed knowing they would be at their destination in seconds. Sitting in the passenger side of the Camaro, Juan had not said two words on the hour long drive from Raleigh. But then he had been through a traumatic experience. The kid was tough and he didn’t think it would bother him mentally. Maybe just a few nightmares would be all he would have to endure.

Thoughts of seeing Nina caused his heart to skitter into his throat. Would she still be angry at him? Maybe once she saw Juan had not been harmed she would forgive him. It should mean something to her that he had risked his life to rescue the boy. Desire clenched in his gut. He felt like it had been a year since he held her. As his mind shifted to the last night they spent together, he smiled. She was one hell of a woman. He should never have let her into his heart. He wished he knew what he wanted to do with his life. Did she have a place in it?

Stars whirled like diamonds in the night sky when the road opened up revealing the barn and pastures. Emotion swamped him seeing the place he had come to think of as home. The moment he pulled into the yard he felt he was where he belonged. He stepped out of the car and shut the door. Juan was already half way across the yard. He swung open the front door and disappeared inside.

Grant stopped and listened. He could hear Shadow barking somewhere down the hill. Something sure had him upset. His heart was racing. Instincts told him danger lurked in the darkness. He jogged across the yard and opened the front door. Maria, Beth, and Lacy were all circled around Juan listening to him tell about his harrowing experience.

“Where’s Nina?”

Beth crossed the room. “I thought she was outside with you.” Her face filled with alarm when she saw his expression. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Maybe nothing. Just stay here until I make sure everything’s okay.”

Even though everyone was watching, Grant fished into his pocket and brought out a fresh magazine. He shoved it into his pistol and put one in the chamber. The metallic sound was loud in the quiet of the room. Grant pointed his finger in Beth’s face. “You stay here.” Knowing he was probably talking to the wall, he ordered, “Juan don’t let them leave. Call 911 and have the dispatcher to get in touch with my Uncle Tate. Tell him I think Collins has Nina.”

He stepped onto the porch and glanced into the darkness. He could just barely hear Shadow’s barks. With long strides he hurried to the black SUV parked closest to the house. He tried to open the door but it was locked. Agent Marcy Daniels shouted, “Grant!” and threw him the keys from the porch. He pressed the clicker and both doors unlocked. Without being invited, she slid into the passenger seat. He revved the engine and raced out of the yard toward the sounds of Shadow’s barks.

The trail was too narrow and the limbs too thick for a vehicle the size of the SUV. Several limbs smacked the windshield and sides of the SUV. The side mirror on the passenger side shattered when he veered too close to a tree. Suddenly Grant stomped down on the brakes before crashing into the back of the sheriff’s car. It was too tight to go around.

“We’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot.” He shoved the door open and jumped out. Agent Daniels tried to open the door on her side but couldn’t because of the trees, so she crawled across the console and fell to her knees on the driver’s side of the SUV. She struggled to stand, pulled her pistol from her shoulder holster, and raced after Grant who was already disappearing from sight.

She shouted at his back, “I’m right behind you.”

****

Nina could hear the roar of a motor. As they emerged from the forest into the bottoms, a helicopter came into view. She went limp as a ragdoll. She had to keep Randal from forcing her on that helicopter. In the moonlight she could just make out the small white helicopter with red stripes where someone had landed it in the bottoms. Blades propelled ready for takeoff. If she got on that chopper, she would never see her family again.

Randal tried to pull her to her feet. “I don’t have time for this shit, Nina. I swear I’ll let you go as soon as we land safely in Mexico.” She knew better. He would never let her go. “Get up or I might just shoot you.”

“That’s preferable than going with you to Mexico.”

Randal grabbed her ponytail and yanked it like a rope causing an intense pain to her skull. “Get up or I’ll pull it out from the roots.” She gritted her teeth to keep from screaming in agony as she was jerked to her feet by her hair.

Matthew Collins moved to her other side and gripped her arm. “Come on, son. We have to get in the air before the FBI discovers we’re here.” Randal grabbed her other arm and they began to drag her toward the chopper.

“You won’t get away with this. The FBI is going to catch you.”

“Not with you as a hostage. They won’t shoot us down knowing I have you with me. As soon as we get in the air, I’ll call your boyfriend and let him know I have you.”

Where were Grant and Josh? Looks like one of them would have returned to the house by now. Juan called and let them know he was okay. Maybe they had to go to the police station and make a statement or something. She fought waves of ice-cold panic when they were only a few feet from the chopper. Even over the roar of the chopper, she could hear Shadow barking. At the top of her lungs she screamed, “I’m here, Shadow. I’m over here.”

Randal slapped her so hard across the face she fell hard to the ground on her hands and knees. Briars and pebbles cut into her palms. He raised his gun in the air and aimed it toward the sound of the dog baying loudly. “No, don’t.” Nina grabbed his arm and began to wrestle for the gun.

Over all the chaos, Matthew shouted, “Leave her! We need to get moving!”

Randal pressed the gun to her head, his finger on the trigger. “I loved you. You have no idea how much. If I can’t have you, no one can.” She held her breath and waited for the impact of the bullet tearing into her temple. Time seemed to drag by so she began to pray.

Not able to pull the trigger, Randal shoved her to the ground and bolted for the chopper. It didn’t take long before he raced by his father and jumped into the seat next to the man sitting in the cockpit. Matthew Collins fell in the deep grass as the wind from the propellers threw him to the ground. He struggled to his feet and fell again before he was able to make it to the chopper.

Shadow’s barks were loud and intense as he tore up the ground to get to Nina. She pushed herself to a sitting position and watched him with pride. He was her dog and he’d do anything to protect her. A filthy, wiggling Shadow bounded into her lap licking her in the face. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his smelly fur. “I’m okay, Shadow. I’m okay.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone dart out of the forest. Taking deep gulps of air, Grant shouted, “Go get him, Shadow.”

The dog looked like a bullet tearing up the ground in his race to catch Matthew Collins. In seconds he dived onto the man’s back throwing him to the grass. Dog and man rolled over and over a tangle of legs, fur, and arms. Matthew placed his arm over his face to keep Shadow from attacking his head.

By the time Grant got to them, Matthew was screaming at the top of his lungs for help. It took a lot of effort to pull Shadow off of him. The dog was so excited he was out for blood.

Hand in Shadow’s collar, Grant shouted, “Sit, Shadow.”

Matthew struggled to stand. He took a step as if to try for an escape. “Try it and I’ll turn him loose.”

The man held up his one good arm in surrender. The other arm dripped blood turning the green grass black. Shadow had gotten in several good bites.

The roar of the chopper had Grant reaching for his pistol. Randal Collins was escaping. “Stay, Shadow!” When Grant released his hold on Shadow’s collar, the dog dropped to the ground on his stomach and began to crawl toward the sheriff. In a more forceful voice, he shouted, “No, Shadow, stay!”

By the time Grant turned his attention toward the helicopter carrying Randal Collins it had lifted into the air. Ten bullets went into the chopper but none of them seemed to have damaged it as it lifted toward the full moon. Agent Daniels sprinted to his side, raised her pistol toward the chopper, and unloaded. Then Grant saw the stream of gas spewing from the back of the chopper. One of them had hit the fuel tank. Randal Collins would not go far before he would be forced to land.

Voices and lights penetrated the quiet woods. Beth, Lacy, Maria, Juan, and the other FBI agents emerged from the dark forest carrying flashlights and making enough noise to wake the dead. So much for telling them to stay at the house. All four descended on Nina, touching and hugging. Shadow whined and wiggled wanting to join the reunion. “Go ahead, boy.” He bolted forward and forced his way into the center of the group.

Agent Daniels was cuffing Matthew Collins. Feeling as if he didn’t belong, Grant gestured toward the path leading back to Nina’s house. “Looks like your son deserted you. Don’t worry. I imagine he won’t get far with that much gas leaking from the chopper. He’ll be joining you in prison.” Matthew stumbled toward the forest only to fall again. “I didn’t know you were so clumsy.” He pulled the sheriff to his feet and gave him a hard shove. “Move it. I’m not in the mood to keep picking you up.” His face and arms were scratched from his mad dash through the forest to save Nina. The road was too curvy and would have taken too much time to follow so he ran down the hill through the thick undergrowth toward the sound of the helicopter.

The sound of sirens could be heard as they neared the house. Josh and his Uncle Tate ran out to meet them. “Randal Collins?”

His eyes met his uncle’s. “He kind of got away.”

“What do you mean kind of?”

“A helicopter was waiting for him in the bottoms. Agent Daniels and I shot several rounds at the chopper. He was losing fuel so he couldn’t have gotten far.” Uncle Tate fished into his pocket and found his phone. While making a few phone calls he took Matthew Collins by the arm and led him toward a squad car and pushed him inside.

“Where’s Nina and the rest of the family?”

“In the bottoms. I’m sure they’ll be along shortly.” Dirty and tired, Grant made his way to the barn. He walked to the porch and sat down. His brother took the chair next to him.

“What are you going to do about Nina?”

Grant rolled his aching shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to do about me yet. Lancaster offered me a huge bonus to re-enlist, not to mention higher rank and a hike in pay.”

“When you joined the marines, I thought you were ten feet tall. I have always looked up to you. Now I’m not so sure you should have. It has brought you a lot of pain.”

“Only because my last mission didn’t go as planned. Being a marine is all I know.”

“Just because you decide to stay in the Marines doesn’t mean you can’t have a wife and family. Ask Nina. Talk it over with her and see how she feels.”

The beam from flashlights filled the darkness as Nina, Beth, Lacy, Maria, and Juan made their way back to the house flanked by the FBI agents. When Nina stopped to speak to Grant, Josh followed the others to the house to give them some privacy. Dirt streaked her face and her hair was a mess. Didn’t matter, she was still beautiful. He motioned for her to sit in the chair beside him but she chose to stand instead. That was not a good sign.

She folded her arms against her chest. “Thank you for saving me.” By the tone of her voice she was still angry with him. “Still, you are responsible for Juan being kidnapped.” She pushed strands of hair away from her face. “He could have been killed. You lied to me. From the beginning everything out of your mouth has been a lie.”

He stood and reached out to take her hands. She put them up in front of her. “Don’t touch me. You came here under false pretences and acted as if you cared about me.”

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I do care about you.” The problem with Nina, she was too damn proud. “I admit I came here for all the wrong reasons. But you have no right to say I don’t care about you, because you know I do. After what we shared you know better. I have never felt for a woman what I feel for you. Nothing can or will ever change that.”

He saw the tear slip over her cheek and he wanted to wipe it away. The urge was so strong to touch her he balled his hands into fists. She turned her back to him. Should he tell her he loved her? No that would be cruel. There was no reason to break her heart. It would be better for her to believe him a callous bastard

Agent Daniels appeared out of the darkness. “Miss Reynolds, would you please accompany me to the house? I have a few questions.”

She didn’t even look his way or say anything as she led the way to the house. Grant’s jaw was rigid as he watched until they disappeared into the house. He squeezed his eyes shut and let the pain wash over him. It felt as if someone had plunged a knife into his heart.

****

Nina sat at the elegant dining room table and took a deep breath. She wiped her tear stained cheeks with the back of her hand. Over Agent Daniels’ head who sat across from her with a pad in her hand, she saw Beth watching her with a look of worry on her face. She gave a weak smile to her sister to try to convince her she was okay, but Beth knew better. It was all she could do to sit there and not fall apart. Thankfully the agent’s questions could be answered with a simple yes or no. Her mind couldn’t handle a complicated explanation of all that had happened to her tonight. None of it seemed real. Even now her hands still shook to think how close she came to being kidnapped by Randal.