At the Crossroads (Buckhorn, Montana #3)(60)

The vehicle bumped down the road and finally onto the interstate. She tried to keep track of the length of time it took before they slowed and turned off, even though she felt sick to her stomach. A turn to the left, then another to the left, then one to the right and another to the left.

She had managed to get a small hole into the heavy fabric as the vehicle came to a stop. The engine shut down. Both men climbed out, and an instant later, the side door slid open and she felt hands grab her and lift her out. They carried her into a building and down some steps.

As she was dropped on what felt like a mattress, she caught the smell of fresh paint and sawdust. She lay perfectly still, listening. One of them was still in the room with her. She didn’t dare breathe for fear of what might happen next. She’d never felt more vulnerable, bound the way she was.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and jerked away.

“We aren’t going to hurt you,” Cline said again, making it sound even more like the lie that it was.

She said nothing, knowing that asking about Culhane would be a waste of her time. Just as would asking what they planned to do with her. She didn’t want to believe that Garwood had gone from insurance fraud to kidnapping. Murder wasn’t that far off, she feared. But knowing what he had to lose if the truth came out, she hoped he hadn’t reached that point yet.

“Leave her be,” said a male voice from another room. Deputy Dick Furu, of course.

She said nothing as she listened to Cline’s retreating footfalls. She heard him close and lock the door. She waited until she heard him move away from the door before she began struggling with renewed effort to get free of her restraints.

CULHANE HELD THE necklace out as he took another step down the mountainside, then another. The falling snow and the deepening shadows of the late afternoon made it hard to read Jana’s expression. She was having a hard time holding the gun in her hand steady.

He dropped the necklace into the snow at his feet. Jana’s gaze followed it to the ground—just as he’d hoped. He moved swiftly, wrenching the gun from her hand and grabbing her around the back, before picking up the necklace from the ground and pocketing it again.

She started to scream, but he quickly covered her mouth. The deputies would be following the sound of the gunshot. They could be on them at any moment. He had to get her out of here, but going anywhere near the cabin would only get them caught. He had to keep Jana quiet. She really thought these men were here to save her.

He stuffed a glove into her mouth and held her down until he could get the supplies he brought from the backpack. As a deputy, he had experience with cuffing squirming perps. Within seconds, he had plastic cuffs binding her wrists behind her. He put duct tape over the glove already in her mouth and jerked her to her feet. Her eyes were wild with fear and anger, but damned if he was going to let her be killed.

Spotting an animal trail below them, he quickly took it and headed higher up into the mountains. Jana fought him, refusing to move, so he flung her over his shoulder and headed up the trail. He could see a rock cliff ahead with an overhang where they could get out of the snow. With luck they would have a view of the cabin below.

He climbed quickly even with the weight of his ex-wife on his shoulder. Below he thought he heard a door slam and movement at the cabin. As he reached the cliff and the rock overhang, he stopped and set her down.

Through the pines, he caught sight of two sheriff’s deputies far below them. They’d come out of the cabin and were looking around. One of them was on his phone. He could hear their voices but not what they were saying. He’d expected this trap would involve only Deputies Cline and Furu. But he didn’t recognize these two deputies.

With luck, Alexis had gotten away, he thought as he forced Jana to sit in a spot where she couldn’t run from him. He had no idea what he was going to do with her. Just keep her alive was his only plan right now, while they waited out the deputies on the mountain below them.

He’d been sitting under the rock ledge high on the mountain for some time when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly checked it, hoping it would be Alexis.

With a groan, he saw it was Sheriff Willy Garwood.

He stared at it, debating whether or not to take it. The fact that Garwood was calling wasn’t good news. He felt his stomach roil, fearing what this was about. Garwood wouldn’t be calling unless they had Alexis.

He hit Accept and took a calming breath. Saying nothing, he waited.

“Culhane? You there?”

He didn’t answer.

Garwood didn’t need him to, apparently. “I think we should meet and talk.”

“Talk?” he scoffed. “I’ll do my talking before a court of law, thanks.”

“I think that might be a mistake on your part. Your ass is in a sling, son. I’m just trying to help you.”

“I don’t need your kind of help.”

“I guess it depends on how much you care about your girlfriend. Not to be confused with your wife.”

The words hit him like fists, one after the other. The man had Alexis—just as he suspected. But he had Jana. Garwood had apparently thought that Jana had gotten away. He looked over at his former wife. Didn’t she realize her days were numbered if she kept making deals with this man? Apparently not.

But Alexis...

“Listen, Garwood—”

“It’s Sheriff Garwood to you.”