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HUGH WAS EXHAUSTED as he helped Jackson to the cot in the tent. Traveling by canoe hadn’t been easy. Kim had tried to row, but she’d actually made it more difficult, shoving them off course more than once. He’d finally asked her to focus on Jackson who’d fallen asleep, a fever raging.
He’d had no idea how he and Kim were going to make it to camp, dragging Jackson through the forest. Fortunately, one of his teams of scouts had seen them and had come to their aid. He’d wanted to take Jackson to base camp but he wasn’t sure the Guard would make the trip, so they settled in the war camp.
“I’ll get some water to clean your wound.” Kim left the tent.
“That’s not going to be pleasant.” He handed the Guard a half-full bottle of whiskey.
“Thanks.” Jackson struggled to a sitting position and took a large swallow.
“As soon as you’re well enough to travel, I want you to go to base camp. Millie should take a look at that wound.”
“Hugh, before I pass out, there are some things I need to tell you.”
“You should rest. I can get a debriefing from Tim or Bo.”
“They’re not here.”
“All three of you were gone at the same time?” He’d made it clear that one of them should always be here. Their troops needed some form of leadership present.
“You might want to sit.” Jackson took another swig and then held it out to Hugh. “And you may want a drink.”
He glanced at the chair, but continued to stand, a sinking feeling in his stomach. “It’s true about Trinity and Jethro?”
“Who told you?”
“Jethro mentioned it.” He almost laughed at his choice of words. The boy had gloated about it as if she were a prize he’d won.
“What did he tell you?”
“That she and he...” He dropped onto the chair. He couldn’t say it.
“Did the little shit tell you why?”
“What difference does it make?” He’d never seen the Guard so angry which was funny because he should be the furious one, but he felt nothing. His heart was beating so he knew it was there, but there was no pain, only a hollow emptiness.
Kim came inside with the water.
“Give us a minute.” Jackson waved her away.
“Let her take care of you. You’ll tell her everything anyway.” Her cheeks were pink and her eyes kept darting to him as she made her way toward Jackson. “Apparently, she already knows.”
“I don’t know anything but rumors and I won’t believe a thing until I hear it from Trinity.” She helped Jackson remove his shirt.
“Tell me what you know.” He held up his hand at Kim’s glare. “Tell me what you heard.”
“Jethro captured Trinity and Travis,” said Jackson.
His chest constricted for a moment before he remembered that Jethro didn’t have her now.
“Trinity...well, she...she did what was necessary for her and Travis to escape,” said Jackson. “I’m sorry. This has to hurt like—”
“Did he force her?” His voice was low and deadly. He’d kill Jethro. It didn’t matter that he was his brother and that Martha would never forgive him.
“No,” said Kim. “He wouldn’t do that.”
His gaze went to Jackson’s wound.
“This was an accident.” She squeezed Jackson’s hand. “He wouldn’t force...He hasn’t changed that much.”
He stood. “You have no idea—”
“I’m sorry, Hugh,” she continued. “According to Jethro and the other Guards, she went to his tent willingly.”
“Just because she went to his tent with him—”
“Soldiers saw them together.” Jackson glanced at Kim and she nodded. “Jethro wasn’t forcing her.”
Anger raged through him without an outlet. He was glad she hadn’t been raped, but this...hurt more. He began to pace. He wanted to hit something, preferably Jethro. “Jethro made it clear she was no longer with him. Did she escape when he was asleep? I’m sure he was exhausted after...” He may not be able to say the words, but his mind had no problem painting the pictures—detailed, explicit pictures.
“It wasn’t like that.” Jackson flushed. “I mean...maybe, but...I don’t know. All I know is she drugged Jethro with something. No one knows what.”
“All Jethro remembers is passing out and then she and Travis were gone,” said Kim.
“How could he not remember? Maybe they didn’t...” The look on Jackson and Kim’s faces stopped him, killing the flickering hope like a cold, wet wind kills a spark.
“Guards outside of his tent saw shadows and they were...” Jackson looked down at his hands.
He was more pissed at himself than her. He’d seen her drawings and had known she still loved Jethro, but he’d hoped she loved him too.
“There’s more,” said Kim.
He dropped back onto the chair, all energy gone. He wasn’t sure he could take any more, but he’d find out eventually. “Go on.”
“Jethro was punished for his involvement with her.”
“Good.” He couldn’t stop the sneer from spreading across his face. “He fights for the Almightys’ law he should be held accountable to it. Too bad they didn’t punish him to the fullest extent.”
Kim stiffened. “They punished him enough without killing him. He was flogged in the square. Twenty times.”
He inhaled sharply through his teeth. “They never give that many.”
“I don’t know how he survived,” Kim’s voice cracked.
He kept his face passive. It had something to do with Conguise and the surgery. He’d bet his life on it. He’d love to get his hands on some of Jethro’s blood for analysis. Maybe, he’d beat the kid senseless or slit his throat to collect a sample. He snorted back a laugh. Beating Jethro wouldn’t be easy. If Jackson hadn’t arrived when he had, it would’ve been his throat spilling blood. The kid was fast, faster than anything he’d encountered, and Jethro seemed to sense danger and react without thinking. The wound in Jackson’s gut was testament to that.
“There’s still more,” said Jackson.
“What else?” He closed his eyes for a moment, bracing himself. He already felt like he’d been run over by a team of Grunts.
“Trinity is missing.”
“What do you mean she’s missing?” He stood so fast that the chair tipped over.
“No one has seen her since she escaped from Jethro. That’s why I went to Kim’s house. She’d gone there before. I’d hoped she was hiding there.”
“They have her and they’re lying about it.” He started to pace. He had to figure out where she was and how to free her.
“No,” said Kim. “Jethro and the Protective Services are actively searching for her too.”
“Tell me everything. How long has she been gone? Where was she last seen?”
“She never went to base camp,” said Jackson.
“That was weeks ago.” It was too long. She should’ve found her way back to one of the camps by now. The forest was her backyard. An image of the River-Men and the swamp sprang into his head and he pushed it aside. She wasn’t dead. She wasn’t.
“We didn’t know she was missing until a week later. “ Jackson pulled Kim to his side. “We still don’t know what happened except that Jethro captured her and Travis and then they escaped.”
“Typical.” She was always going off on her own and getting herself and others into trouble. He was done with her and not just personally. She’d made that decision for him, but as far as the war was concerned, she was out. He couldn’t have someone under his command who refused to obey orders. She could stay with Gaar and Mirra, deep in the woods until it was over.
“From the rumors we heard,”—Jackson glanced at Kim—“Travis was captured right away but Jethro went after Trinity.”
“That’s not surprising.” He really wanted to beat that kid.
“But what is surprising is that Jethro’s Guards couldn’t find either of them for days and when they did, Jethro had Trinity as his prisoner.” He glanced at Kim again and she nodded. “He was going to use Trinity as bait to capture Mirra, Gaar and you.”
He dropped back onto the chair. It would’ve worked. He would’ve turned himself over for her. He still would. He wouldn’t lose another woman that he...that he was responsible for.
“They tracked her after her escape but they lost her trail,” said Jackson.
“Find Gaar. Send him and Mirra after her.” It was simple, but Guards never thought logically.
“Can’t,” said Jackson. “Gaar is high in the mountains meeting with a group of Handlers and Mirra’s missing too.”
“Are they together?” Please, please let them be together.
“We don’t know. Nirankan came to camp looking for Trinity because he couldn’t find Mirra anywhere.”
“Shit. If something attacked and killed Mirra, there’s something very dangerous hunting this forest.”
“What’s more dangerous than a Tracker? The Council hasn’t released the weapons,” said Jackson.
“Do you know that for a fact? Did you find spies to replace the Petersen team?”
“No, but we’d know if there were armed soldiers out here. We have troops everywhere—watching the soldiers and searching for Trinity.”
“Conguise could’ve created another monster and turned it loose.”
“Araldo help us.” Jackson’s face paled.
“Send Birdie to find Gaar.”
“Already did that,” said Jackson. “Birdie went as far north as he could but he couldn’t find any trace of Gaar and the Handlers he did find weren’t friendly. He barely made it back alive. He actually caught a knife in the side. Millie had to stitch him up.”
He ran his hand through his hair. This was going from bad to worse. He stood and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” asked Jackson.
He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m not going to sit around and wait for her to turn up.”
“We need you here,” said Jackson.
“No. You’re here now. You run things. I’ll be back as soon as I find her.”
“You can’t go alone.” Jackson started to stand.
“You’re in no shape to go with him.” Kim pushed the Guard back down on the bed.
“I’ll take someone with me.” He hated being this useless.
“What are you going to do when you find her?” asked Jackson.
“That’s a good question.” He’d worry about that later. Right now, he had to make sure she was safe. Then, he’d kill her.
“She did what she had to in order to survive,” said Kim, a hint of anger in her tone.
“I don’t care what she did.” He did. He really, really did. “She made her choice, and there’s no going back, but we can’t let her be captured by the Protective Services. Too many on our side would do something foolish to save her.”
“Like you?” asked Jackson softly.
He turned and walked out of the tent. He couldn’t just stop loving her. He would eventually, but it wouldn’t be overnight. It’d take time, so once he found her, he’d stay as far away from her as he could until he didn’t love her anymore.