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“She’s there!” he yelled back at Annie and Naomi. “On a ledge below.”
Kylie huddled on the ledge with her knees drawn to her chest. “I’m cold. Where’s Mommy?”
Annie flung herself down beside him. “I’m here, Bug. Mommy is right here. We’re going to get you. Don’t move.”
Her voice was so soft that Jon wasn’t sure Kylie could hear it. “Do you see Mommy? She has been calling for you, and her voice is about gone. She’s here, though. Don’t move. You don’t have much room.” He sat up and asked Naomi, “Do you have any climbing gear with you?”
“We don’t normally do cliff rescues. We locate the missing and call in resources when necessary. I’m not a climber.”
“I’ll try it.” Annie’s voice barely registered above the wind. “I’m not a climber, but I’ll figure it out.”
This rescue would take a lot of upper-body strength, and he was the logical choice. “I’m an experienced climber. I’ll get her.”
Naomi took off her backpack and unzipped it to retrieve a coil of nylon rope. “Here’s the rope I have. I think it’s only twenty feet, though, just barely enough to get down to her after you tie it off. This looks dangerous, Jon. The rescue team is on its way to get Bree. We could wait for them.” She dug into the backpack again. “I do have some gloves.”
“Those will help.” He had a plan forming. The best course of action would have been to double the rope so he could rappel the right way, but they didn’t have that much. He could make it work, but it would be a challenge, and falling would be a distinct possibility. He had to try anyway.
“Mommy,” came the small voice from below. “I’m scared.”
Annie tried to call to her daughter, but nothing came out. Jon leaned over. “Mommy’s voice is gone, but I’m coming to get you, Kylie. Just stay still. I’ll be right there.”
Annie reached for him before he could get up. She grabbed a small notepad from her backpack and jotted out what shewanted to tell him.You’re recovering from a concussion. I don’t think you should do it. Let me go.
“You’ve never rappelled or done any climbing, love. I can do this.”
Uncertainty flickered in her eyes. He knew she wanted her daughter, but she also loved him and didn’t want him hurt.
“Careful,” she managed to rasp out.
“Always.” He rose and grabbed the rope. The only tree near enough to hold was four feet away, which wouldn’t allow him to get all the way to the ledge once he tied it. And he needed enough length to fashion a loop to slip around Kylie so Annie and Naomi could hoist her up. He tied knots in the rope every foot or so, praying the whole time there would be enough length left to reach her.
It had to have enough. The women couldn’t support his weight as he rappelled down the side. He hurried to the large spruce tree and tied off that end of the rope, using as little nylon in the knot as he dared. He yanked on it to test it. It held for now. It would have to do.
He tied a loop on the other end and tested the strength of his knot. Good. If only he had good climbing shoes. At least his sneakers were flexible and nimble. He’d be able to feel the rocks under his feet.
“Keep as much light on the rock face and on Kylie as you can,” he told the women. “I’ll need to see where I’m going, and I want her to be able to see the ledge clearly so she doesn’t scoot over too far to make room for me.”
Annie embraced him in a fierce hug. “Praying. Be careful.”
He tossed the length of rope over the side of the cliff, yanked on the gloves, then stepped off into space.
***
The humid air in the dark cabin stank of fear. Sarah’s dread escalated as she waited for Michelle to respond to the man’s ultimatum: draw a map or be killed. It was bad enough to be here with another woman, but she couldn’t imagine facing this dark, claustrophobic space by herself.
“You’re never going to let us go,” Michelle said.
“Try me and see. Just as soon as you give me what I want, you can walk out of here. You haven’t seen my face, so you can’t identify me. No risk.”
He walked farther inside and leaned against the end of the cot as if he didn’t care, but Sarah didn’t trust him. If she was going to get out of here, it was up to her. The cabin door still stood open, and she made an instantaneous decision to escape. There would be no better time than right now.
She looked over toward the back door. “Who’s there?”
The man instantly straightened and rushed to the door. In the moonlight, Sarah caught the gleam of a gun she didn’t know he had. But she couldn’t let that stop her. She leaped for the door and caught the handle on her way out. The door slammed behind her, and she knew better than to try to pause and figure out how to lock it. He’d be on her instantly.
She ran for the cover of the forest to her left and dove for a thicket in the darkness. She barely pulled her legs under the foliage when she heard his feet pounding down the steps. His angry shouts made her cower, but as long as he couldn’t find her, he couldn’t hurt her.
She squirreled farther under the leaves and tried to make sure nothing could be seen if he shone the flashlight her direction. Hisfootsteps went past her, deeper into the woods, and she waited until he came back this way. He was cursing under his breath, and she didn’t dare breathe as he stomped closer to the cabin.
