He followed the North Canadian until it branched and continued moving along the southern river route until he found where the men exited the South Canadian. “Bass, you know this area better than I do. Is there a hideout nearby or somewhere they would hole up?”
Bass glanced at Teague, who gave him a quick nod. “From the direction you’re headin’ in—they seem to be movin’ toward Pleasant Ridge. There’s a large cave down that away where outlaws like to lay low. Not many know about it. I’ve gotten in once disguised as a runaway slave.” He chuckled. “Course, at the time, most people livin’ out here didn’t recognize that the war was over and Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. To them I was a slave, so it wasn’t stretching the truth too awful much.” His grin widened. “Let’s just say I made it work in my favor and got my man and my bounty. Guess I can do it again if I have to. Think you can pick up their trail from here?”
Josiah didn’t bother answering. His horse moved forward while he scanned along the ground, not missing even the tiniest detail. He found the outlaws' trail without difficulty and followed as their horses traveled behind one another in a single line. Mile after mile passed, the men and their mounts drooping with weariness.
“Josiah, we’ve covered enough miles today and will make the cave by midday tomorrow. No use killing the horses,” Bass hollered above the increasing wind.
The storm had nipped at their heels for the last couple of hours and finally caught up with them, the wind driving the rain in torrents as they made camp. No one talked as they all hunkered beneath their long canvas coats and wide-brimmed hats, the rain pouring off in sheets.
Josiah lay apart from everyone, the storm fueling his fury, or maybe it was the other way around. He could no longer tell anymore. His only thought was the driving need to make the men pay for taking Mia and the boys from him.
Lightning forked across the night sky and was quickly answered by the thunder’s booming voice. The horses tossed their heads, pawing the ground around their tight circle in agitation. The men’s low murmurs as they calmed down their mounts drifted to him, but he ignored them, instead focusing more on Bass’s voice as he talked with Summer nearby.
“What do you make of his attitude?”
Summer shrugged, and Josiah waited, holding his breath as he strained to hear Summer’s quiet answer. She glanced at the sky, the water pouring off the back of her hat.
“I think he is doing this—the storm. There are many Creek stories of how things came to be. How people and animals appeared, how the Breath Giver or the Creator gives us our soul, and many other things I’ve forgotten. One thing I do remember is a story about the Weather Controller—special ones who are able to manipulate the rain and wind. If Josiah is one of these special people and loses control of his emotions because of Mia…”
Bass nodded. “I’ve lived among the Creek for several years and have heard the creation stories. I’ve also seen things I can’t explain and wouldn’t want to even begin. If he is one of the Weather Controllers like you think, we may be in for a very wet and dangerous time tomorrow.”
“We won’t be,” Summer said, her dark gaze meeting Josiah’s as another brilliant burst of lightning lit the sky, turning it almost as bright as daylight. “But the outlaws will.”
Chapter 11
Josiah crept up the rocky terrain toward the cave. The rain had finally stopped just after dawn, but the damage had been done. The landscape was lush and green, but the nearby creek was swollen. The water had escaped its bed and was two times its normal size. Most of the surrounding land had turned to thick mud, miring their boots with every step.
He’d given up and changed into the old moccasins he always kept in his saddlebag, which allowed him to almost walk on top of the brambles and dense foliage lying in clumps everywhere. Once he reached the rocky base of the small mountain, he made faster time, as did the other men. Bass hadn’t wanted to take any chances of the outlaws escaping, so he and the others had circled around to the other side and were coming at them from behind, cutting off any escape. Summer had stayed behind with the horses, far enough away so she wouldn’t be in any danger. Thankfully, she hadn’t argued, setting Josiah's mind at ease. He’d already lost everyone else, and he wasn’t about to lose her, too.
Keeping low, he pulled himself over a boulder jutting out above the path. If he was watching his back trail, that would be the most likely place for a lookout. Inch by slow inch, he eased himself out across the large rock until he could see the trail as it turned the corner. Sure enough, there was a man hidden in an alcove. If he’d stayed below, he would have had a knife in his gut.
From his vantage point, he could only make out the man below him and the next curve. Anything further in was hidden from view, which didn’t help his situation at all. Easing back from the ledge, he rolled onto his back and stared at the gray sky overhead. The storm clouds hovered, as if waiting for him to decide whether or not he needed them to vent his building frustration. He couldn’t get to the man below without being on the trail, and that would get him killed.
He turned his head and noticed a good-sized rock lying nearby. His mouth rose in a partial smile as an idea formed. He was at least twelve feet above the man hiding below him, so dropping a large enough rock on him should at least knock him out. Rising into a crouch, Josiah grabbed a rock about the size of his head and moved back to the ledge. Peering down, he held out the rock, making sure it was directly above the man, exhaled, and let it fall. With a sickeningcrackthe man slumped to the ground.
“One down, four more to go.”
Staying high, he followed a narrow animal trail leading around the rocky face until he couldn’t go any further. Muttering to himself, he backtracked to where he started and dropped down to the trail, hoping he hadn’t missed anything. He wasn’t in the mood for any surprises.
He took his time, stopping and listening as he made his way around the base of the mountain and up an incline where he had to walk almost sitting down, the massive rocks looking as if they had shifted sideways. He knew from Bass’s description, he should be coming up to the large divide in the rock where it looked as if the mountain had split into two large pieces.
He found the natural formation and, just as Bass described, further in there were naturally carved stone stairs leading up to the cave’s giant mouth. He stepped off the top of the stairs and headed toward an ancient tree that had toppled sideways. The air after the storm lay heavy and silent. He caught the quick stench of unwashed body a second before the massive arm wrapped around his neck, pulling him back against the thick chest.
“Thought you was better than this for an Injun.’”
Josiah gagged as the odor of rotting teeth washed across his face. The man’s face pressed against his and the hard end of a pistol jabbed into his side. He focused on his anger and what this man did to his wife. No matter what happened to him, this man would pay.
“If’n you know what’s good for ya, you’ll walk. I don’t much care if you die right here, but I have something of yours that just might make you change what yer planning’ on doin’ in that mind of yers.” The man shoved the gun into Josiah’s side harder. “Now, march.”
They rounded a large boulder jutting out into the path, which widened as the rock walls climbed high above them. Josiah stumbled, almost dropping to his knees. Before him, bound in rope with a bloody bandage wrapped around one arm and a dirty handkerchief tied around her mouth was his wife. Standing beside her, holding a knife against her throat was Johnny, the fourteen-year-old boy who'd been labeled a "troublemaker" since the day he was born.
Josiah stared into his wife’s frightened gaze, not quite trusting his eyes. Mia was alive… How could he have been so wrong? His chest tightened, his heart swelling with emotion, and he sent up a silent prayer of thanks and also asked for forgiveness. He should never have doubted in the first place.
Mia blinked and stood a bit straighter as if to let him know she was all right. He couldn’t have been prouder…and more terrified as he stared at the knife resting against her pale skin.
He took a step forward and Johnny tightened his grip, pressing the razor-sharp edge against Mia’s neck, nicking the skin, causing a thin line of blood to appear. She flinched but didn’t make a sound.
“What do you want?” Josiah asked, keeping all emotion from his voice. By now, he hoped Bass had taken out the other two men who should have been watching the trail along the back side of the mountain. With Mia alive—as long as he could keep Johnny calm with that knife pressing into her throat—they might just get out of this alive.