Betrayal in the Badlands

She tried several times before the words came out. “It was the man, the one who pushed me into the ravine. I went to visit Cassie’s grave and he was there, watching me.”

Logan frowned. “How do you know it was the same man?”

Her eyes brimmed with tears. “That awful song. He sang the same song.”

He kept his voice soft and gentle. “Did he touch you? Hurt you?”

She started to tremble. “No. He just watched me. Watched me run and fall and get up and run again. He just watched me. And…”

“And what?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Logan, he knew my name.”

DANA MENTINK

lives in California with her family. Dana and her husband met doing a dinner theater production of The Velveteen Rabbit. In college, she competed in national speech and debate tournaments. Besides writing novels, Dana taste-tests for the National Food Lab and freelances for a local newspaper. In addition to her work with Steeple Hill Books, she writes cozy mysteries for Barbour Books. Dana loves feedback from her readers. Contact her at www.danamentink.com.

Betrayal in the Badlands

Dana Mentink

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Thou hast taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Thy bottle; Are they not in Thy book?

—Psalms 56:8

The book is dedicated to readers both near and far who honor me by reading my words and lighten my heart with their kind words of encouragement.

Thank you.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

LETTER TO READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

ONE

The dead quiet made Isabel Ling’s skin prickle. In less than an hour the sun would set and she’d be all alone on this road, a good forty minutes from town and another half hour from Mountain Cloud Ranch. She couldn’t stop the thought that rose in her mind as she wrestled with the flat tire. Was it a spot like this where her sister died not three weeks ago? A lizard darted under her truck, causing her to drop the lug nuts.

She chided herself as she retrieved them from the dust. “You’re thirty-two years old, Is. Not some scared teenager. No one is going to hurt you here.” Gritting her teeth she heaved the new tire from the trunk and began to wrestle it onto the axle, ignoring the ache in her head. It was not the time for another attack. She had nothing else with her, not so much as one piece of hard candy, so going unconscious from her hypoglycemia was not an option.

“Need a hand?”

Isabel yelped and whirled around, losing her grip on the tire. She found herself staring into the tanned face of a stranger. He wore a baseball cap with the Air Force logo embroidered on it. His hair was crew-cut style and his chin shadowed in stubble. Perspiration glistened on his forehead and darkened his tank top. Isabel saw her own scared face mirrored back at her in his sunglasses, until he removed them.

She closed her mouth and lifted her chin, willing her knees to stop shaking. “I didn’t hear your car.”

He shrugged, breathing hard. “I’m out for a run.”

She tried not to gape. “In this heat?”

The green of his eyes were a startling burst of color in his browned face. “Good for the soul. Where are you headed?”

Something about his voice was familiar. She wiped a hand across her brow to buy time. “Mountain Cloud Ranch.”

His smile wavered. “Cassie Reynolds’s ranch? Are you related?”

“We are—were sisters. I’m Isabel Ling.”

“Logan Price.” He rested his hands on his hips. “I knew Cassie.”

The tension in her stomach grew as the pieces fell into place. “Oh, yes. You called to see if you should finish the work on the ranch.”

He looked down for a moment. “I hope that was okay. I didn’t mean to bother you. I hate leaving a job unfinished.”

He had sounded kind on the phone, with a voice that was uncannily familiar, but she’d suspected that his call was motivated by the desire to be paid for his work. Now here he was, and he probably knew more about Cassie than she did.

Since Isabel had run away from home at sixteen, she had only exchanged six letters with her sister. Six ridiculously small pieces of paper, instead of the volumes they should have shared. She swallowed hard and forced herself to look him in the eye, feeling again a stab of familiarity she could not explain.

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you taking care of Mountain Cloud?”

Isabel shot him a tight smile. “Looks that way. I think I’d better get this tire on.”

“Let me help you.” He bent to take the lug wrench from her hand, muscled shoulders gleaming in the sunlight.

“No, thanks. I can do it.”

“I’m sure you can. I’d be happy to help. You look tired.”

Isabel stepped between him and the tire. “I appreciate it, but I don’t need help.”

He looked at her for a long moment, expression unreadable. “Okay. Do you have a phone?”

She pulled the new satellite phone from her pocket. He took it.

“Nice phone.”

“Thanks.” She was still smarting over having to buy it at the airport after she lost track of her other one. She wished her checking account total was as hefty as the balance on her credit card.

He punched a few buttons and handed it back, long fingers brushing hers.

“I programmed in my cell number, just in case you need it. I really am sorry about your sister.” After another searching look, he turned and ran back down the road, long legs moving easily over the scorched ground.

Isabel watched until he was out of sight. She finished fixing the flat, wondering if Logan knew more than he was telling about things. The suspicious look on his face had been evident in spite of his warm smile.

She brushed the gravel off the knees of her jeans. Maybe he was simply a kind-hearted guy, on a Good Samaritan mission. He could be just what he seemed, her wariness only a product of her past and guilt over not knowing her own sister.

Remember Rawley, Isabel. Remember what happened with him.

She shivered at the thought, the tiny throb in her hand reminding her of the kind of pain misplaced trust can bring. She repeated her hard-earned wisdom again, to cement it more firmly into her brain.

Never trust a stranger.

She recalled the flash of Logan’s green eyes.

Especially a handsome one.

Logan ran faster, the sweat pouring off him in a tide of heat. So Isabel was Cassie’s sister. He should have known, in spite of the different last names. They both had the same dark hair and delicate Asian features.

His earlier conversation on the phone with Isabel had stuck with him for an inexplicable reason. The honest emotion in her voice when she talked of her sister awakened something in him. He didn’t think honesty and emotion went together, in view of his past experiences. He had a divorce certificate to prove it.

While Cassie had been exuberant and impulsive, Isabel seemed different. Maybe it was grief over her sister’s accident, but his gut told him it was more. She was scared of something or someone.

He was so lost in thought, he didn’t notice the strange play of light until the pain in his ankle forced him to a walk. He froze. A glint, the barest moment of light that shone from the cover of a cluster of spruce trees in the distance. He knew it instinctively. It was the gleam of sunlight bouncing off binocular lenses.

His pulse accelerated a notch, and he had to force himself not to seek cover and get a bead on the enemy.

You’re not on a mission anymore, Logan.

When the odd glint did not repeat, he decided it was probably a kid playing, enjoying the last few days of August before school started up again. Still, the tingle of unease remained with him down the mountain, all the way to his truck and during the drive to his condo.

The ungainly pounding of Tank’s approach brought a smile to Logan’s face when he entered the gated yard. How had this nutty dog twined itself around his heart so completely? In a way, it was a good thing that Bill couldn’t keep him anymore. It was the only positive thing about his friend’s extended absence, as far as he could see. The broad-shouldered rottweiler galloped up and threw himself on his back for a belly rub, as if he hadn’t seen Logan in months. He tossed the rubber ball for his eager pet. When they lay tired out on the grass, his mind returned to the lonely mountain road.

The standoffish Isabel Ling had arrived as suddenly as a mountain storm. She was wary, reserved, as she had been on the phone, but his unease began before, when he had first arrived on Cassie’s property with his backhoe. It was nothing he could point to directly, no outward sign of danger. A feeling had crept up on him as he’d started work, as if someone was watching from behind the trees. Watching and waiting.

His instincts shouted the same message when he’d seen the glint of binoculars earlier.

It must be a by-product of his training, a remnant of the dire situations he’d found himself in during his six years in pararescue. Was it simple paranoia?

He’d learned long ago, on the bloody sands of Takur Ghar, to trust his instincts.

But women were an entirely different breed of danger.

What were his instincts telling him about Isabel Ling? He could sum it up in one word.

Trouble.

Isabel finally rounded the last turn as the sun set, plunging the ranch into eerie darkness. In the distance, towers of rock jutted out like clawed fingers against the sky. She hadn’t realized her sister’s property was so close to the fabled Badlands. Isabel hadn’t ever seen Mountain Cloud, the place Cassie bought after their father’s death four years before. She hoped it had been a healing place for Cassie. She deserved it after caring for their father, who had shredded the family into unmendable tatters with his drinking and rage, the horrible depression that gripped him when his business had failed along with his wife’s health.

Not completely unmendable, Isabel reminded herself, thinking of the letters. The thought made her throat thicken with tears.

She’d made a stumbling step toward reconciliation after far too many years and Cassie had been receptive, or so Isabel thought. The hope that Cassie had forgiven her desertion lifted Isabel out of the despair that had seemed inescapable. Though Isabel had never forgiven her father, refusing to even keep his last name, maybe she and Cassie could have put the past behind and started fresh.

A tear trickled down her cheek. Too late. Why had she waited until it was too late? The quickening wind drew her back to the present, bringing with it a wall of clouds that seemed to press the air down around her in a hot blanket. Though she should have been exhausted from her flight and the seemingly endless drive, her nerves tingled.

Living in Los Angeles meant being surrounded by people, noise and unending business.

Here there was only the wind rattling the dry leaves and the lonely hum of some hidden insect.

The wood-sided cabin beckoned, and Isabel wanted nothing more than to run inside and lock the door. Instead she dropped her bag on the steps and headed for the corral and adjacent barn. Six horses stood quietly, watching her approach, whinnying softly.

“Hey, fellas. Glad to finally meet you.” She let herself into the corral and kept a respectful distance. Her horsemanship skills were rusty, leftover from summers spent at her uncle’s place. One thing she did remember was that horses didn’t like surprises, especially horses rescued from abuse and neglect, as these had been. Keeping up a steady stream of conversation, she checked to see that the water trough was filled as she made her way to the barn.

She was pleased and surprised to find the barn clean, stalls mucked out and fresh bedding on the floor. It must be the work of Cassie’s hired hand, John. A soft snuffle made her start. Off in the corner, almost lost in the shadows, was a horse unlike the others. He was smoke-black with a streak of white between his eyes. A thick mane flowed over his wide shoulders. He danced nervously when she took a step toward him, but did not back away.

“Hello there.” She could not take her eyes from the powerful lines of the horse. “You must be Blue Boy. Cassie sent me your picture.” She felt instinctively that he must be the one that had thrown Cassie to her death. She should despise the animal, but she couldn’t, not when she knew how much her sister had loved the beautiful creature.

The horse continued to shift around, the straw crackling under his well-tended hoofs. Blue Boy’s coat was glossy and smooth, marred only by the scar that circled his front leg. “It looks like someone has been taking good care of you.” She held out her hand, fingers outstretched, and Blue Boy allowed a quick stroke to his muzzle. “We’ll be getting to know each other better,” she whispered as she backed out of the stall, Blue Boy’s dark eyes fixed on hers.

The first drops of rain splattered on her face as she exited the corral and hurried toward the house. She wasn’t sure how she would get in if the door was locked, but fortunately it swung open under her hand. The interior was dark and stifling, as if it hadn’t been used in a very long time.

Isabel grabbed her bag and started into the house.

Before she made it over the threshold, a loud flap of wings erupted from the nearby trees as an owl shot out of the canopy with an alarmed cry.

She froze in terror.

It’s just an owl.

The thought comforted her for only a moment.

But what was hidden in the silent woods that had startled it into flight?

Hours later, Isabel lay awake, thrashing around in her sister’s small bed. It seemed wrong to sleep here, but there was no other bed in the tiny cabin. The wind increased to a howl and rain splattered in angry gusts on the roof. A squeak from outside caused her to sit up, heart pounding.

It’s just the weather, Is. Your sister wrote you the summer storms were rolling in.

Cassie’s last letter had been chock-full of enthusiasm and even an invitation to visit, peppered with details about an upcoming event in the Badlands. The words were full of life, like Cassie had been. She wondered again. Why had her sister gone riding at night? Had it been a night like this? Wind-whipped and wild?

When the clock ticked its way to 3:30 a.m., Isabel finally threw the covers off and went to the kitchen for a drink of water. Little stacks of Post-its overflowed from a basket on the counter. She prowled the cupboards until she found a glass, noting the pantry was stocked with boxes of cereal, soup and packages of Oreos. She smiled. Cassie had still had the same sweet tooth from her youth. She used to fill her pockets with cookies every day before school.

Isabel felt like an intruder poking through the cupboards, as if she was somehow violating her sister’s privacy. Finally she located a glass and filled it. A small window over the sink looked out on the property, moonlight trickling between the thick clouds. Isabel nearly choked as she caught a glimpse of Blue Boy disappearing into the trees.

How had the horse gotten loose?

She didn’t take the time to consider, as she pulled on her jeans and windbreaker from that day and ran into the rainy night, stopping just long enough to grab a flashlight from her backpack. The fence around the corral was open, but a quick head count showed the rest of the horses safe in the barn. Only Blue Boy had made an escape.

Slamming the gate shut, Isabel tried to formulate a plan as she took a bridle from the fence and headed toward the woods. She considered trying to call John, Cassie’s hired man, but she didn’t have his number and was afraid to take the time to search the cabin to find it. There were no neighbors for miles around.

You’re it, Isabel, so figure out what to do.

She gripped the bridle and flashlight more securely. Blue Boy was skittish and they hadn’t yet developed trust between them, but somehow she had to find him and convince the animal to be led back home. The rain dampened the August heat, settling the dust and leaving the air crisp and clean. As she plunged into the trees, she wondered again what had startled the owl earlier.

A cold ribbon of fear snaked up her spine. She purposefully shook it off. No fear, Isabel. Never again.

She pushed her way past rain-soaked foliage and pine branches that slashed at her face. There was a movement a few yards to her right. She thought she glimpsed the flicker of a mane.

“Come here, fella,” she called softly, edging closer to the place where she’d seen him. The trees thinned and the air became cooler. Her flashlight beam picked up only the soaked foliage.

“Where are you, Blue Boy?” She wasn’t sure she would be able to see his smoke-dark coat in the gloom. Maybe in the daylight, but if she waited another three hours she might never see the horse again. If she had arrived earlier and scouted out the property she might have an idea of where Blue Boy was headed, but she was on completely unfamiliar ground that was getting more and more uneven the farther she progressed. Gritting her teeth, she edged closer to a pile of rough-hewn boulders.

The wind lifted her hair, whirling it around her face. A sudden gust of cool air hit her and she took another step forward. She felt a presence behind her.

Out of the darkness someone rose up, pushing her forward with a violent shove. Arms flailing, she fought to keep her balance, but tumbled forward.

A loud crack of rock sounded above the wind, and the ground began to move under Isabel’s feet. She slid on an avalanche of rock down into a ravine, concealed by darkness and foliage.

Rocks and dirt rained down as she tried to shield her head with her arms. Desperately she dug her feet into the sliding debris, but the effort did nothing to stop her momentum as she was carried along.

With a sudden jolt that shook her to the core, Isabel slammed into a boulder at the bottom. A shower of rock fragments continued to move past her until the rush slowed into a trickle and then stopped.

Her head spun and sparks danced before her eyes. For a strange moment, she thought she heard snatches of a man singing.

The old flag, lovely old flag.

She tried to clear the muddle in her head.

Eyes closed, she took stock. Gingerly she moved her legs and arms, fearful of setting loose another rock slide. Wiping the grime from her face, she discovered she was wedged against the large boulder, her legs buried under a foot of soil and rock. Inch by inch she wiggled her feet, testing to see if anything was broken. A shooting pain up her ankle made her gasp, and she realized with a start of terror that her foot was pinned between two enormous hunks of rock. Try as she might she could not pull it free.

Struggling to catch her breath and control the fear, Isabel looked up toward the mouth of the ravine. It was steep, the top bathed in darkness.

She’d been pushed; there was no mistaking that, probably by the person who had let Blue Boy loose. She could still feel the blow that toppled her over the edge. Someone wanted to kill her, someone who could very well be waiting at the top for her to crawl out. Or maybe on their way down to make sure she hadn’t survived.

Her entire body was shaking and she could feel her ankle beginning to swell.

Screaming for help would alert her attacker that their mission wasn’t complete, and the chances of a passerby hearing her cries were negligible.

Isabel’s teeth chattered and panic flowed through her veins like a strong poison. Hugging herself to try to stop the shudders, she felt the hard surface of the satellite cell phone in her pocket, under a blanket of rubble.

The phone with Logan’s number programmed in.

Her heart thudded wildly. Call Logan.

She didn’t trust him, didn’t even remember his last name.

He could have something to do with her sister’s accident or be covering for the people who knew what had happened to Cassie. He could have been the one who pushed her.

But he’d offered to help her before, his smile gentle and seemingly genuine and strangely familiar.

Trust your instincts, Is.

Instincts? Instincts hadn’t helped her steer clear of Rawley Pike. Instinct hadn’t helped her at all. Except for one important thing, she reminded herself. That strong urge inside had brought her back to the faith her mother had tried so desperately to instill in her girls. Should she follow her heart now?

Trust a stranger?

She clenched her hands together and mumbled a prayer.

Help me trust the right person this time.

Biting her lip until she tasted blood, Isabel dialed.

TWO

Logan jerked awake at the ringing of the phone. He was instantly alert, ready to ship out on the next mission, until the present rushed back in again. Four in the morning and he didn’t recognize the number on the caller ID. He made a move to roll over and ignore it, but turned and snatched up the receiver in spite of himself.

“Logan.”

He couldn’t hear an answer, only the crackle of a bad connection and the word that had always given him purpose. “Help.”

He recognized the voice, fear running deep through her words. “Isabel? Where are you? What’s wrong?” She whispered her predicament. He got the gist of it; just enough to know her location and that she didn’t want a rescue crew. “You need an ambulance.”

Her words came through forcefully this time. “No. Just you.” There was a pause. “Please.”

He heard her difficulty in uttering the last word and understood. He’d never been good at asking for help either. “Stay put, don’t try to move. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Then he was throwing on clothes, grabbing some essential supplies and racing to the truck, with Tank thundering behind. On the way up the mountain, he pushed the vehicle as fast as it would go and thought about Isabel’s half-crazy chatter. Something about Blue Boy and a stranger in the woods. She said she’d been pushed into a ravine.

Logan pressed the accelerator harder. Pushed? She’d probably gotten confused, alone on a strange property before sunup. Still, the twinge of unease he’d felt before began again. He shook it off as he crested the last ridge before Mountain Cloud Ranch.

It was still dark but the rain had eased off, turning into a soft mist that enveloped him as he headed for the rocky end of the ranch, Tank at his heels. There was no sign of Blue Boy or anybody else as he pushed through the greenery and found the edge of the ravine where there was clear evidence of a recent rock slide. He lay belly down on the edge and called into the darkness.

“Isabel?”

“I’m here.” The relief in her tone was palpable.

“Are you hurt?”

“I banged up my ankle. It’s caught between some rocks and I can’t get free.”

“I’m coming down. Hold tight.” He told the dog to stay as he fastened a rope around a sturdy spruce and looped it through the carabiner on his belt. Shouldering the backpack, he began the backward descent into the ravine. Each step was precarious, causing the rock to move and shift. He paused often, fearing his progress would shower more debris on her.