Part 35 (1/2)

For once she kept her mouth shut, but her mind still raced. Had reckless Reef really changed?

Kayden woke, her body in severe pain, her neck stiff. It was dark, except for a small battery-operated lantern set up on a table about fifty feet to her left. She turned, her arms catching with the movement. She yanked, finding herself handcuffed and chained to a wall.

Fear rippled through her.

Where was she? And what did Angela have planned?

”We got it,” Landon said, spreading the topographical map across the table.

”Okay,” Jake said. ”We could use Marshall's help.”

”Right here.”

He turned to find the sheriff already standing behind him. Marshall nodded. ”Whatever you need, Jake.”

”What are the likely places Angela might hide out? Hunters' cabins, ski lodges closed for the summer months, even cave systems-though I doubt that's Angela's style. The ferry employee said she'd taken the ferry to Imnek once a week for the past couple months. She could have been searching out a spot and supplying it.”

Marshall set to work circling areas in red. ”Can't say I know every hunting cabin, but most are in these two regions.” He boxed them in red. ”We've got two ski lodges, but both areas are pretty heavily hiked and mountain biked during the off-season. We've got a number of wilderness emergency shelters and ranger stations that can all be empty at any given time. An abandoned mine out on the south face of the Eagle Mountain and, of course, a handful of abandoned military bunkers.”

”Bunkers?” Jake asked.

”Left over from World War II and the Cold War.”

”Like Fort Greely on Kodiak?” Gage asked.

”Yes, but like the majority on Kodiak, they haven't been designated as historical landmarks. They're just abandoned facilities. You'll get groups of teens or vandals partying out there, and the occasional group of eager explorers or history buffs, but for the most part they are just a reminder of Imnek's pivotal location during World War II and the Cold War.”

Few people realized the role Alaska played in World War II or how close to American soil the threat had come anywhere other than Pearl Harbor.

”Okay,” Jake said, quickly formulating a plan. ”Let's split up. I'll call Reef and Kirra, tell them to go ahead with the blocks of hunting cabins. Landon, you and Piper take the old mine and shelters. Gage and Darcy, you'll be with me on the bunkers.” He couldn't explain why, but deep down he was certain Angela had Kayden in one of the bunkers. Even so, they had to spread out the searchers. He couldn't take the chance he was wrong.

”And Rodney has organized the search-and-rescue volunteers-they'll head out at dawn, if not before,” Sheriff Marshall said.

Gage nodded. ”Yes, they're ready to roll.”

”We've got to a.s.sume Angela's armed and dangerous,” Landon said, ”so if anyone locates her, call it in immediately. And remember to keep an eye out for her truck. She'll be keeping it close by.”

”For a quick getaway?” Reef asked.

”That, and she had to transport Kayden from the truck to wherever she's holding her. With her broken leg, Kayden couldn't walk too far, especially out in the wilderness.”

Please, Father, don't let Angela hurt her.

”We meet back here at the end of the day?” Kirra asked.

”Yes, unless you want to take supplies and camp out. It would save a lot of time not having to make the trek back to town each night.”

”That's a great idea,” Gage said. ”Except we don't have our camping gear with us.”

”We can get you what you need,” Marshall said. ”Just give us a list.”

”We can also call Natalie Adams over at Imnek Adventures,” Gage added. ”She rents out equipment. I'm sure she'll be happy to help.”

Jake wasn't so sure, but it didn't hurt to ask. ”Let's do this quickly, people,” he said, urgency nipping at him. ”I'd like us deployed ASAP.” Angela already had way too big of a head start.

Forty minutes later, the teams were packed and ready to go.

Reef and Kirra headed for the first grid of hunting cabins, their camping gear stowed in their packs.

Rex was thrilled to be outside, but the fact that the search was extending into a second day had him antsy.

The sun had risen, signaling the beginning of a gorgeous day, but all Reef could think about was his sister in some madwoman's clutches.

He was so thankful he'd been home to help. He couldn't imagine the agony Cole must be going through while trying to make it back.

”Are you familiar with Imnek?” Reef asked.

Kirra shook her head. ”We aided in a SAR rescue here last year, but no, I don't know it like I do Tariuk.”

”You think that's why Angela brought Kayden here, because it's not as familiar to us?”

”Absolutely.” She kicked at a pebble in their path with tremendous force. ”I still can't believe she totally fooled me.”

That really seemed to bug her. ”You weren't the only one she fooled. Kayden thought she was a sweet lady.” He hated to imagine what that ”sweet” lady might be doing to his sister.

”I know, but the thought that a maniac worked at my shelter, at my home, with my dogs. . . . It creeps me out.”

”I can only imagine.”

Kirra pointed at the hunter's cabin ahead.

Reef pulled his gun, thankful his dad had taught them all to shoot from a young age, taught them respect for the weapon and for life, but also the importance of self-defense and self-protection.

He focused on the cabin before them.

”I'll head around back while you knock on the front door,” Kirra said, ”but Rex isn't signaling he smells her.”

Reef nodded and knocked on the cabin door, his rifle tight in hand. No one answered. He knocked a second time, then jiggled the handle and found it unlocked. He stepped inside the one-room cabin and waved at Kirra peering in from the back window. Empty. One down, who knew how many more to go. Rex wasn't the only antsy one.

Where are you, Kayden?

40.

The bunkers Marshall had labeled on Jake's map were spread across the island at strategic military points, and it would take them days to reach and explore them all. Jake prayed the rest of the teams were having better luck, moving quickly through their search grids. Unfortunately no one had called in yet, which meant Angela and Kayden were still missing.

It took much longer than he'd hoped for Jake to get to the second bunker on his list. It was more than a simple bunker, as the first had been-it was a military outpost. A large five-story tower loomed over him, and he had no way of telling how deep or wide the underground complex ran, or how long it'd take him to thoroughly search it. Frustration seared through him. Where was the next clue? Why was it taking him so long to find it, and what was Angela doing to Kayden in the meantime?