Colorado Fire - Colorado Heart 2 (16 page)

Zander walked around the horse again, making sure he was okay. He urged Dusty to follow him and moved to the gate. Luckily Dusty was one of their calmest horses, and he stepped into the other pasture without any trouble. Zander closed the gate behind him. Dusty nosed the gate as Zander was securing it, his soft nickers making Zander worry even more. Dusty loved humans and wouldn't have left Marshal if he had a choice.

"Sorry Dusty. Head to the house, we'll let you through the other gate later. You'll be safe in this pasture. No mustangs, just cows." He knew the horse couldn’t understand him, but it didn't stop his nervous chatter.

Grant hung up with Duff and stood in the beam from the headlight. "I'm not sure where to begin. This field is huge. Over five hundred acres."

"Let's ride with the windows open and call out. He might be injured."

"Zander, the bridle and saddle were taken off. If he were injured, he wouldn't have taken off the saddle. If he could get up to remove the saddle, he would have pulled his ass up on the horse and stayed with Dusty."

It wasn't what Zander wanted to hear. Marshal disappearing on his own scared the shit out of him. But what if something else happened? What if...he stopped his thoughts, focusing on his and Grant's next step.

"We need to search this field," Zander said.

"Let's get moving."

Grant drove slowly down the dirt path to the end of the pasture without spotting Marshal. They turned around and could see the headlights of the other trucks swarming to the pasture. They rumbled down the dirt road, the bumps jarring but they needed to find Marshal and every second counted.

The truck hadn't even stopped and Zander was out, rushing to Duff and the other guys. Mike and Tucker had shown up too.

"What's the plan?" Zander asked. His hands were shaking and he didn't feel right. Thoughts of Marshal lying on the ground, blood pouring from his body, flashed through his mind. He cringed. Billy moved closer to him and placed an arm over his shoulder.

"We're running this as a grid search. We'll spread out in a line and walk the whole field," Billy said.

"We're starting at the fence line," Mike added.

"Let's move." Zander didn't want to waste any more time. Already the temperature was dropping.

There was a small dirt path they could use to drive their trucks a little more than halfway to the fence line. With flashlights in hand, they marched to the fence then spread out, making sure they were spaced about every ten feet. Had they been doing this in the daylight hours, they would have spaced themselves fifteen feet apart, covering more ground, but the dark hid things. Zander worried that they'd miss Marshal even being only ten feet apart.

"Let's move," Duff called out.

Only the sound of them striding through the grass broke the silence. Then a wolf howled, sending a shiver of fear through Zander. He swung his flashlight toward the man to his left, it was Mike. Their gazes connected and Zander shivered. They had to find Marshal.

Ten minutes later he heard someone shout. Duff called a halt to their forward march. "Stay in your place for now."

Zander tried to wait patiently but it was impossible. "What's going on?" He hoped someone far enough down the line would know. After four more minutes, the call came out for them to all move to the fence. Zander raced over, searching the ground for Marshal.

"Where is he?"

Duff turned to face him. "We don't know, but we found this."

Three guys pointed their flashlights at the fence and the ground surrounding it. At first, Zander saw nothing. Then he made out scuffmarks in the dirt and the plants that looked like they'd been crushed. He glanced at Duff then turned back to the area they were investigating.

"What is that caught on the fence?" Zander asked.

Grant stepped forward, taking a closer look. "Cloth. Looks blue. What color shirt was Marshal wearing?"

"Blue," Zander answered.

"Yeah, that's what I remembered too." Grant's lips turned down in a frown. "This isn't good."

"Fuck." Zander swung his flashlight around, searching for his lover. He didn't understand how the fuck Marshal had disappeared. He stared at the guys around him, watching as they worked the scene like a crime scene, collecting evidence.

"Hey, the fence has been cut here and patched with wire. It's recent." Billy had walked about ten feet away, his flashlight swung back to them, blinding Zander for a few seconds.

"Cut?" Zander asked.

"I hate to say this, but I think someone has Marshal." Grant moved closer to him, putting his arm around Zander's shoulder. "I know he's been stressed, but you don't think he left on his own, do you?"

Zander shook his head violently. "No, he sure as hell didn't. He was doing better. The stress was there, but he seriously was getting to a place where he felt like he could come back to work."

"The question is, who the hell has Marshal, and how did they know to grab him?" Duff asked.

Zander's eyes burned as rage built inside, twisting his guts. He wouldn't rest until he got Marshal back. And if Marshal died... His whole body shook and he cringed, trying to catch his breath. The thought pinged around his brain, almost forcing him to his knees. Marshal couldn’t die. He glanced to Grant, desperate for answers, but Grant looked just as desperate as he was. They were fucked over and Marshal was paying the price. Nothing good could come of this.

Chapter Fourteen

Craig hadn't fully thought through grabbing Marshal, but the opportunity materialized out of thin air and he had to act. The plan was to go down and set fire to the house, trapping them all inside tonight. Then Marshal came along.

He hefted Marshal again, half carrying, then dragging the heavy fucker up the hill. Out of breath, he dropped Marshal and let him lie in the dirt. It was impossible. When he was about forty feet from the fence, he saw lights in the distance. A truck was slowly making its way through the field. They knew Marshal was missing. Grant would be devastated. Craig smiled and glanced down at Marshal again. He hauled off and kicked him in the ribs. Marshal flinched but didn't move. Craig kicked him again, gaining pleasure in causing him pain. He gave one more swift kick then stopped and lugged the asshole up on his shoulder.

"Fucking bastard. You're too heavy," he groaned. The strain to climb was too much. The slope had increased and Marshal wasn't light. Ten feet was all he gained in total because he'd slipped back down about five feet. He unceremoniously dropped Marshal to the ground, not caring that his face hit the dirt hard.

"Stupid fuck, lose some weight."

He needed a plan and dragging Marshal's sorry ass up the hill wasn't going so well. There were multiple vehicles in the field below. They would look for Marshal, eventually finding the fence he'd cut. It wasn't realistic to keep carrying Marshal. Hell, he should have stayed hidden and left the jerk alone, but anger had surfaced, calling him to seek revenge on Marshal for being with Grant.

His ex would go first. They had something special and Grant should honor that instead of trying to get back at him. That Grant had taken Michael, getting him locked up in prison, pissed him off to the point that he was almost ready to kill Marshal right now. But the fucker could be useful.

Craig glanced around, taking in his situation. The darkness was working against him. He had a good feel for the hills, having lived here for a while, but he also knew the dirt and rocks weren't always stable.

The rope he needed to tie Marshal's hands was back at his base camp. If he left the man here on the hillside he could wake up and make his way back to Wild Bluff, telling everyone who had knocked him out. He wouldn't be able to control Marshal if he woke.

Craig opened his pack, searching for something to immobilize him once he woke. He had the wire he'd used to close off the fence line he'd cut, but the wire wasn't the best option. It would do in a pinch, and he was in a tough spot thus qualifying as a pinch.

He knelt beside Marshal, noticing the cuts. Dragging his heavy ass up the hill had left marks. When he'd dropped Marshal, he'd landed funny on his arm which was now swelling. Rage built inside and he wanted to do more damage, instead he grabbed the wire and started to work it around Marshal's wrists. It was hard to manipulate. At first he was afraid he would hurt Marshal then he realized he'd kill the man without question so he wrapped the wire tighter around his wrists. If he cut off circulation, too bad.

"Your friends are looking for you. They're desperate now. You just stay quiet and we'll be fine."

He glanced down the hill to the field where the guys had spread out, watching them walk in a line as they moved across the area. They would figure out what had happened. They were too good to miss the mess he'd made by the fence. He was high enough up the hill not to be seen, but if Marshal woke right now, he'd make too much noise.

It was only a matter of time before they found him. Again the question of abandoning the man popped in to his thoughts. If he kept Marshal with him, he could gain some leverage, figure out how to get past their defenses and make a move. But Marshal had been trained to not succumb to interrogation tactics. He'd never give up information.

He'd need to make a decision soon. Right now, he could stay with Marshal. If the guys got closer, he'd run and attack later.

*~*~*

Grant closed his eyes and shut out the voices around him. There was only one person who would come onto Wild Bluff and take one of their men. No one else knew where they were. None of their targets could pinpoint them. Everyone was careful about hiding their identity. They all knew how to ensure they weren't followed. If they even suspected that they were being followed home, they'd change directions, take an exit and stop for food or gas. It could only be his ex who'd come on to the ranch and done this. That he'd taken Marshal was particularly disturbing.

"Hey, I've got a theory you're not going to like." There was enough light from their flashlights for Grant to see each man. They'd all quieted and were staring at him. His throat closed up causing him to swallow. The guys shuffled their feet as their shoulders drooped.

"What do you think, Grant?" Duff asked.

"Whoever came onto our property and took Marshal knew what they were doing. We are careful when we leave and when we come back. No one knows our location. This wasn't random."

The men grumbled but one voice rose above the others, voicing exactly what Grant was thinking.

"Are you saying Craig is back?" Mike asked.

"I hope not, but who else would take Marshal?" Grant shook his head. "Maybe I'm wrong, but there isn't really anyone else who would go to these lengths. If someone figured out we were assassins and wanted get retribution, they sure as hell wouldn’t have taken Marshal, they would have killed him and the horse, hiding all the evidence until they snuck up on us, butchering us as we sat unaware. This feels personal."

"Shit." Duff scratched his head and glanced back at the place in the fence that had been cut. "You think he's up there watching us?"

"No way he could have lugged Marshal up the hill on his own. If Marshal were awake, he'd be raising hell," James said.

"We need to get Marshal back." Zander moved toward the fence but James's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You stay put. We'll go look."

"It's too big. Too much space to cover," Zander said.

Grant stepped forward and held up his hand. "Zander, James is right. You're too involved. We're going to follow the path the guy left."

"It's dark. We might miss something," Tucker said.

"We'll go slow." Grant replied.

"Wait." Zander didn't say anything for a long moment. His brows were bunched as he stared at the ground. Grant felt for him. If Roger were in the same situation, he knew he wouldn't be thinking straight.

"Say it, Zander," Duff said.

"Weapons. Who among us has a gun?" Zander's gaze came to rest on Grant's. "He'll kill us, won't he? He won't aim wide or hold back because it's us. Am I right?"

Grant blew out a slow breath. "He's right. Craig will shoot to kill. He won't hesitate just because he lived here with us. He's not our friend. He's the enemy."

Silence fell among them. Realizing that one of their friends, ex-friends, would gun them down, not even pausing to give a warning, was sobering. Zander stepped into the center of the circle.

"Marshal is my lover. I'm too close to go in with you, but you can't go in without guns. We need to make a plan—a real plan. Let's think about this before we act. He's high on adrenaline. He'll make stupid decisions."

"Zander's right." Tucker said. "We can't just go following Craig and Marshal up the mountain. He'll sacrifice Marshal and won't hesitate to kill us if he feels cornered. I know we want to get Marshal back no matter the cost, but we have to think about this before we jump in with both feet."

"Okay, we obviously need to slow down. If he's going to kill Marshal, he's already done it," Duff said.

Zander sucked in a breath and his whole body shuddered. Grant placed his arm around the man, supporting him. It was weird comforting Marshal's lover. Not that he and Marshal were ever like that, but they could have easily been together had he not been so stupid. Marshal wasn't his, but he cared deeply for the guy. And Zander was his buddy. He'd do anything for the pair.

"We need equipment," Tucker spoke, stepping into the center of the circle, taking the lead role. "Night vision goggles, communication headsets, guns with rubber bullets in case Marshal is used for a shield. I think Mike should be equipped as a sharpshooter. I'll take lead, planning the operation. Grant, I want you to be the commander on the ground. We'll work together to develop the best plan possible."

"Looks like we've got it covered. Let's head back to the ranch," Duff said.

"Not yet. We need to make it look like we're still here." Tucker glanced around the group. "We need a branch to tie our flashlights to. One truck will head back with everyone but one of us inside. One guy will stay here, moving the branches around, making it look like we're still looking for Marshal or at least planning."