Catherine locked herself in the bathroom in the ranch house and checked her screen again with trembling hands, rereading the text.
Need help. Don’t bring Garrett. I’m at the gate to the ranch.
Her pulse pounded. Of course, it could be the perfect trap. Stone might have gotten Antonia’s phone somehow and he was luring Catherine out there to abduct her. There was no way she was going to hand herself over like a lamb to slaughter. But if she was wrong? If it really was Antonia texting?
While she tried to figure out what to do, the phone vibrated with a call. She answered.
“Can you talk? Are you alone?” It was indeed her sister’s voice.
The breath rushed out and her body sagged in relief. “Yes. I’m alone. What’s going on? Are you really at the gate?”
“Yes, but I don’t have time to explain. Do you have any money? A warm jacket?”
“Tony...”
“Bring them to me, okay? Now. Can you get away without being seen?”
“I’m not going to do that. This is ridiculous. I know you think you can handle Stone by yourself, but you can’t. He killed our father, remember? He’s got Uncle Orson imprisoned somewhere. This is a dangerous man and we need help.”
“Other people will only make things worse. Stone will kill our uncle if he gets a whiff of cops or PIs, especially Garrett Wolfe.” Her tone was venomous.
“Tony, please be smart about this. You are not some sort of vigilante—”
“Catherine,” she snapped, then quieted with a loud exhale. “You promised you’d take care of me after Dad...” There was a soft, small gulp. “I need you to keep your promise right now. Nobody else, just you. I’m at the gate. Please come.” And then she disconnected.
Catherine stared at the phone. Emotional manipulation aside, she had promised to take care of Tony. And she would. But this harebrained scheme of her sister’s must be brought to a speedy close. The only way she was going to talk Tony out of her mission was a face-to-face encounter. If Tony saw Garrett, she might not cooperate, or worse yet, she’d bolt.
The choice was clear. She’d tell Garrett where she was going, it would be foolish not to, but insist on meeting Antonia herself. Garrett could stand by in the house in case she needed him, or even watch through binoculars.
Decision made, she marched from the bathroom.
Garrett was huddled around the phone with his siblings. “Sorry,” he whispered. “Hospital conference call about Mom.”
His mouth was pinched with concern.
Her plan crumbled on the spot. There was no way she’d interrupt that important conversation. New plan. She’d handle the Antonia meeting without troubling them and hopefully return with her stubborn sister in tow. She nodded to Garrett and pointed outside. When the door closed softly behind her, she hurried down the steps and along the path that led to the trailer. Hopefully Garrett was too engrossed in the phone call to look out the kitchen window and abandon his call to stop her. She jogged by her temporary residence and scurried into the tree-shrouded section that led downhill to the security gate.
The crowded canopy of branches kept off most of the rain, but not the chill. She pulled her coat tighter. Her sister wanted a jacket and money, huh? There was a wadded twenty in her pocket but she didn’t intend to hand it over. Antonia was going to listen to reason if Catherine had to sit on her and holler in her ear. There would be no negotiation.
The metal gate came into view, a sturdy structure that blocked the road to any vehicles. It was more of a deterrent than a barrier since anyone on foot could hike onto the sprawling Security Hounds property.
The woods were still, except for the hum of the rain. She snuck a look backward. The ranch was far out of reach now, as was any chance Garrett would come to her aid if something happened. She squared her shoulders.
You don’t need help. This is your sister and your problem.
“Tony?” she called. “Are you here?”
The wind scuttled leaves across her path as she peered into the foliage. “Tony?” she called again.
Antonia stepped from behind a screen of bushes, hair wild.
They embraced in a fierce hug. Tears splashed down Catherine’s cheeks as she thanked God her sister was safe. Antonia shivered. Catherine immediately stripped off her jacket and wrapped it around her sister. “Don’t get the idea I’m on board with your plan. We’re going to walk back to the house and call the police.”
“No, we aren’t,” Antonia said in her ear.
Catherine brought Antonia to arm’s length and squeezed her wrists. “Honey, listen to me, please. I appreciate what you want to do. Daddy never got justice and it’s not fair that Porter Stone has made our lives a living nightmare, but I’m not going to watch you get yourself killed trying to punish him on your own. We’re going to let the police—”
Antonia shook her off. “No, sis. That’s not how to end this.” Her eyes glittered like shards of ice.
Where had her quirky, effervescent sibling gone? The woman standing before her was deeply wounded, rigid with determination and anger. Catherine grieved the loss of innocence they’d both experienced at the hands of Porter Stone. “I’m sorry, Tony. We’ve got to do this the right way.”
Her lips thinned and she glared at Catherine. “You don’t understand.”
“I do. It was my father too, remember? My uncle’s missing. I’m just as worried as you are.”
Antonia unzipped the jacket pocket and extracted the twenty-dollar bill with a grin. “You always keep cash in your pockets for an emergency. Well, this definitely qualifies.”
“That’s not why—”
A bird shot from an overhead branch, startling them both.
Antonia moved away a step. “I have to go. The longer I stay here, the greater chance he’s followed me and you’re in danger too.”
“Exactly. We need to...”
A branch snapped and Catherine twisted around. As if out of a dream, Stone appeared behind Catherine, with a sly smile.
He locked eyes on Antonia. “You always thought you were smarter than me didn’t you, Tony?”
Catherine immediately stepped between Stone and her sister. “Get away from us.”
He pulled something from his pocket—the knife. He was armed and so much stronger than they were. Could she physically prevent him from taking Antonia?
“Tony, run to the house. Get help,” she muttered to her sister. She felt Antonia moving closer instead of following her command.
“Listen to me, Porter,” Tony snapped. “This is between me and you. It has nothing to do with my sister.”
“Agreed. I don’t want Catherine. I only needed her to get to you.”
Tony shifted. “Then let her leave and you can have me. I’ll go with you right now.”
“No,” Catherine snapped. “That is not happening. You’ll have to go through us both and I think you’ll regret it.”
He laughed. “The Hart sisters. Small but mighty.”
“That’s right. And you’re going to find out how mighty.” Catherine’s stomach was balled into a knot but she forced strength into her voice.
He raised the knife and stepped closer. “Get out of the way, Catherine.”
Catherine tensed, arms up, ready to take him off his feet if she could.
From the direction of the ranch house, she heard a howl, then another.
“They’re coming,” Catherine said, feeling a gleam of hope. Help was on the way.
Stone shifted uneasily as the sound of running paws and feet carried through the air.
“If they catch you, you’ll be arrested. The cops won’t believe you,” Antonia growled at Stone. “No one will.”
Catherine willed her sister to stay quiet. Antagonizing the man wasn’t going to buy them the precious moments they needed.
The barking turned into a noisy cacophony. Two bloodhounds, Chloe and Pinkerton, barreled over the ground with Garrett and Steph right behind them. Chase was a minute behind them with Tank.
“I’ll never leave you or Catherine alone,” Stone said edging back toward the bushes. “Not until you pay, Antonia. She’ll never be free of me and neither will you. You won’t get your uncle back. I’ll kill him and it will be your fault.”
Antonia moved to run to him, but Catherine grabbed her by the arms.
She struggled. “Let me go, Cath. You don’t understand.”
She clung with all her might.
“Catherine,” Antonia screamed, thrashing now.
Stone turned to run.
A moment before he vanished, Antonia shouted, “I’ll meet you at our place in Burney, Porter. I’ll call you and tell you when I’ll be there. We’ll settle it once and for all.”
Our place?
Stone’s eyes narrowed. He nodded once, whirled around and plunged away into the trees.
Catherine held on but her sister hauled herself free except for one wrist. “You’re not leaving. Whatever you’re planning, stop it right now.”
Antonia smiled, jerked her other wrist free. “Sorry, sis. Thanks for the jacket.” She snagged a foot out and caught Catherine’s ankle, bringing her to the ground.
Catherine tumbled backward but she was up again in a moment, head spinning, looking around wildly.
The dogs overtook her, a slobbering, tail-wagging mob as Steph and Chase pursued Stone, Garrett stopping by her side.
Stone was gone.
And so was Antonia.
Garrett bandaged the scrape on Catherine’s elbow. He felt the tension still humming through her body. Chase had gone back to the house to alert Hagerty, but he didn’t have much hope. Stone had a vehicle hidden somewhere; he had no doubt. Maybe the SUV he’d stolen from Orson’s or something else he’d swiped. There was no use risking the safety of the dogs to track Antonia at the moment either.
“You...” He was going to berate Catherine for setting off on her own to meet her sister, putting herself at enormous risk, but the words died away. He silently thanked God he’d seen her hurrying off so he’d ended the phone conference and they’d pursued.
When they got back to the house, Chase had hung up with the police and Stephanie was on hold with the hospital to try and reschedule and reassure their mother, who was likely climbing the walls.
Catherine thanked him, her voice a monotone. “I was going to convince her to stop running.”
“You said she told Stone she’d meet him at their place in Burney. What did she mean by that?”
Catherine was still shivering. He snagged a soft blanket and draped it across her shoulders.
“I was trying to remember. They only dated for...” Catherine stopped. “Wait a minute. She told me that on their second date he took her to Burney Falls. They hiked to some cabin owned by a friend of his, but I don’t know the exact location.”
Garrett pulled a map from the shelf and spread it on the table. “This is Whisper Valley and surrounds. Burney’s a big area and she’s on foot. How would she get there?”
Catherine groaned. “My sister is resourceful. She’ll hitchhike, maybe. And Stone probably still has the SUV. But what about my uncle? Do you think... I mean, wouldn’t it be risky to move him from here to Burney? Unless he’s...”
Garrett squeezed her shoulder. “We can’t think that way. Until we know differently, we’ll assume your uncle is okay.”
Chase filled bowls for Tank, Chloe and Pinkerton. The dogs set to work slopping water everywhere.
“We should strongly consider Catherine’s theory about Burney,” Garrett said.
“I admire her spirit, but it’s rugged there,” Chase said. “That’d be no easy hike to a cabin.”
Catherine nodded. “My sister has completed a lot of training, survival stuff. She told me she did one of those experiences where they drop you in the wilderness for three days with minimal supplies and you have to find your way out.”
“Oh, boy.” Chase drained a bottle of water. “And Stone has a vehicle, but it won’t be easy to transport Orson there. He’s familiar with the area though, so he might know a way. Spent a lot of time climbing and such, didn’t he?”
“Yes.” Garrett toyed with his napkin. That was the Porter Stone he’d known, or thought he did. Someone who loved to be outside. Happy, easygoing, content.
Until he wasn’t.
Until Antonia broke up with him and his affection turned to obsession. And when Catherine’s father had argued with him...
“Burney Falls is in Shasta County.” Chase glanced at the rain, which was now splattering the window. “About an hour and forty-five minutes driving time from here.”
Steph hung up the phone. “Conference call rescheduled two hours from now.” She looked at the map.
Garrett knew his twin was thinking about the hazards. The water that fed the falls came from underground springs, which provided an explosive flow rate of 379 million liters per day, even during the dry summer months. Snowmelt was at its peak now.
“We tracked a missing camper there when the park rangers needed assistance,” Steph said.
“There’s a reason Teddy Roosevelt called it the Eighth Wonder of the World.” Kara jotted notes on her iPad.
At the moment, it felt anything but wondrous to think that Antonia might be heading for the state park. All that water...an icy forty-two degrees year-round.
“I’ll ask Hagerty to alert the rangers to be on the lookout for either Antonia or Stone,” Stephanie said, poking at her phone. “But the weather’s horrible.”
Steph drew several circles with a compass. “I’m suggesting we break up into two teams.”
Steph glanced out the window. “I hate to be a Debbie Downer here, but this storm’s going to hit full force this evening and we need to prep supplies.”
Catherine groaned. “Please don’t tell me we can’t start the search until tomorrow.”
“It would be unsafe for us and the dogs,” Garrett said gently. “Tomorrow we’ll have a morning window. Leave before sunup.”
She pulled in a deep breath. “Before sunup. I guess I’ll have to accept that.”
Garrett shifted a little on his chair. “I’ve been wanting to ask about another topic, the identities for you and your sister.”
“What about them?”
“Your uncle provided you with new ones? How exactly?”
She frowned. “He gave us names, money to get started elsewhere.”
Chase cocked his chin at her. “Are you still using the same social security number you had as Catherine Hart?”
“No, Uncle Orson thought it would be too easy to track us so he got us new ones.”
The air in the room seemed to grow heavy as they all looked at her.
“Where did he get them?” Garrett asked softly.
“I never asked.” She pushed away her coffee. “But if you’re saying he did something wrong...”
Garrett held up his hands. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It does upset me that you’re implying he could have broken the law. Bad enough he’s been kidnapped.” Her tears bubbled close to the surface and she got to her feet. Pinkerton bustled over to lick her wrist. “And why is that relevant anyway, Garrett? I thought we were focused on finding my sister and my uncle. If that’s not your priority, I don’t want your help.”
“It is the priority.” He gestured for her to sit in the chair. When she didn’t, he sighed. “Please.”
She hesitated, trailing her fingers over Pinkerton’s furrowed brow. “I actually did wonder where he had gotten our new social security numbers, but I guess I never really wanted to know. Uncle Orson was the closest thing we had to a father.” Slowly, she settled back into her chair.
“We’ll leave that issue for the moment,” Chase said.
But it wouldn’t surprise Garrett if Kara’s flying fingers didn’t clear up the mystery of the social security numbers before long. He tried to breathe away the concern. Priorities, remember?
Catherine rubbed her temples. “I should go. Stay at Uncle Orson’s. Maybe Tony will come there for supplies or something.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Catherine swallowed, looking as if she was doubting her decision, doubting everything. Was she doing the right thing insisting on staying there? Would she ever find a safe place in this world? He had a desperate craving to show her that all was right and she was cared for, secure. Garrett covered her hand with his.
“You’re not alone,” he said. “Not anymore.”
He heard her tiny gulp. Pinky curled out his tongue and gave her another warm slurp. A rumble of thunder ripped through the clouds.
She pulled in a breath. “What do we do next?”
“We make a war plan. Assign the search grids around the areas with cabins, gather our supplies, hit the ground running tomorrow and find your sister before she gets herself hurt.”
“That plan sounds good,” she said. “And I’m going to help.”
Garrett sighed. “Yep. I wasn’t even going to suggest that you stay here. Burney is a huge area to cover, but if Antonia is there, Pinkerton will find her.”
“Or Chloe,” Steph said.
“Or Tank,” Chase added.
Steph gathered up the map. “One of us needs to stay at the hospital with Mom. It took hammer and tongs to get her to agree to let one of us be there. It’s possible they’ll do her surgery tonight if an opportunity presents itself.”
“I’ll do it,” Kara said. “Since I don’t have a dog at the moment. I’ll head over first thing in the morning. I’ll keep you all posted and if anything goes sideways, we can recalculate.”
Chase gave her a thumbs-up. “Okay, so I’ll take Steph and the eastern grid. You’ve got Catherine and the western.”
Steph rolled her eyes. “Why does it sound like we’re in junior high picking kickball teams?”
Chase caught Garrett’s eye. “It’s rough terrain up there. Be sure...”
Steph raised a finger. “If you say to protect the women, I will have to express my displeasure.”
“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” Chase joked. “I was merely going to say that we’d best step lively because the storm will foul the conditions and I happen to know that Pinkerton, the tender sprout, doesn’t like to get muddy. Neither does Chloe.”
“Unlike Tank, who detests being clean.” Steph rose from the table. “But point well taken. It’s rough terrain and we’ve possibly got a killer in the area so radios charged and extra batteries, first-aid kits, the works.” Her phone rang.
“Hello, Officer Hagerty,” she said, putting it on speaker. “Perfect timing.” She filled him in on their search plans.
He cleared his throat. “All right. You all know how to handle yourselves on a search and rescue mission, but remember you have the park rangers to back you up. Matter of fact, I’ve been on the horn with them about Stone so I’ll let them know you’re coming at first light. Something else you should know about before you dive in. We finished our analysis at Orson’s house. Prints in the garage area belong to Stone, which isn’t a surprise.” He paused. “Housekeeper called to tell me there was something missing from the property besides the car. The security camera is still offline, so it’s impossible to know if it was taken during the abduction or after.”
“What?” Catherine demanded. “What’s missing?”
“A gun, from the desk drawer, a Glock nineteen. The housekeeper confirms it was there when she put away his papers Tuesday morning.”
Catherine’s hands clenched into fists. “Stone took it.”
“That was my first guess too, but none of his prints are in the study.”
Catherine bit her lip. “He might have worn gloves?”
“Why for the study and not in the garage?” Kara said. “And how would Stone have known to look for it in the desk drawer? He’d never been to Orson’s house before, according to the same housekeeper. Possible Linda or Tom might have told him where it was if they are somehow in league together, but it’d be just as easy for them to give it to him rather than him risking a break-in.”
Garrett leaned back in his chair. “Did you have a cop stationed at the house?”
“Not since yesterday evening. Sorry, but we don’t have the manpower to babysit a crime scene, especially after it’s released.”
“Antonia has a key to my uncle’s house. I do too. Aunt Linda didn’t want us to, but he sent them anyway.”
The rain lashed against the roof.
“Does Antonia know how to shoot?” Chase said.
“Yes,” she said finally, “Dad taught us, but she never had the patience to be good at it. Dad called her...”
“What?” Garrett asked.
Catherine took a breath. “Trigger, because he said she was likely to shoot first and think it over later.”
The silence was so profound Garrett could hear the grandfather clock ticking from the entry. He checked his watch. “Maybe she snuck into Orson’s after she left the hospital? Stowed it somewhere when she came here to meet Catherine?”
“Yep,” Chase said. “Plenty of possibilities.”
Garrett felt as though the storm outside was battering the walls, trying to get in.
“If Tony’s armed...” Catherine said.
“Then we better make sure we find her, or Stone, first.”
If they didn’t...someone wasn’t going to come out of it alive.
He looked at Catherine’s pained expression.
Her sister’s life hung in the balance.
Please let us get there in time.