Linda Warren - Forgotten Son

Eli shook his head and started walking. Caroline followed. Even though he was perturbed at her stubbornness, he admired her courage. That courage would help her in the days ahead.

After another long walk, the road at last came into view. They sat in the bushes, out of sight in case Buford was looking for them.

“We’ll wait until a vehicle comes along so we can get help.”

“Okay.” Caroline was glad to rest, and she stared down the blacktop road toward a bend in the distance. She hoped someone would come soon, but as long as Eli was with her she could wait. Her hands and feet burned and her clothes were torn and filthy, but freedom was an exhilarating feeling.

Eli had saved her life. Her sanity.

She was out of the darkness, and her thoughts weren’t so disoriented or confused now. Fresh oxygen had cleared away the cobwebs, the near insanity, and she knew this was real. The man beside her was real.

She glanced at him and took in this extraordinary person. He was tall, his features prominent and sharp, as if they’d been carved from stone. He had an aura of strength that would deter anyone from daring to change anything about him. She didn’t know him, but she instinctively knew that Elijah Coltrane did not take well to change.

“How are your hands?” he asked, watching the road.

“They’re burning a little, but they’ll be fine.”

He turned his head caught his left sleeve with his teeth and jerked. The fabric tore at the seam. With his right hand Eli unbuttoned the cuff and gathered the cloth, which he continued to rip into strips with his teeth. She watched in awe.

Without a word, he took her hand and wrapped some strips around it. He did that to the other one, and she knew better than to tell him it wasn’t necessary.

When finished, he asked, “How’s that?”

“Better,” she had to admit. “The burning isn’t so bad.”

“You couldn’t have done all this on the fence.”

She swallowed. “When I was scared, I’d beat on the wall of that room with the palm of my hand, then my fist, hoping someone would hear me. I just wanted out of there.”

“You’re out now and you’ll soon get medical attention.” She couldn’t see his eyes, but she knew he was upset.

“My hands feel much better now,” she said again, to reassure him.

“Good.” He turned his attention to the road.

Caroline watched his unyielding face. He hadn’t removed his shirt, because he didn’t want her to see his right arm. She had a feeling it was bad. Maybe he didn’t want to see it either—not yet.

They sat in silence. A squirrel ran across the road and a crow landed in a tree with a frantic squawk. Everything was peaceful—another spring day in the Texas Hill Country.

But it was so much more to Caroline.

“Did you volunteer for this job?” she asked.

“The FBI asked for my help, since I know the area.”

“Why didn’t an agent volunteer?”

“The agents went in with a warrant and searched the place, but found nothing.”

Goose bumps popped up on her skin as she remembered the prophet’s chilling words and the devastating effect it had had on her.

“How did you know where to find me?”

“A woman in the group gave me a clue. They call her Jezebel, but she’s not one of them. Buford said they found her wandering the streets and they gave her a home. They treat her like a slave.”

“You have to get her out of there, too.”

“I plan to, but right now you’re my top priority.”

The words had a soft, sincere ring to them. She just wanted to keep hearing his voice.

“So the Texas Rangers help the FBI?”

“When they ask. The FBI was getting a lot of flak from Washington and they needed something done quickly. The sheriff knew I had investigated Buford before, so the FBI called me.”

“And you agreed to go undercover?”

“Yes.”

“Why would you do that? You don’t even know me.”

“Usually it’s my job to investigate, but I have personal reasons for wanting to get Amos Buford.”

“Does he know you?”

“No, I’d never met him until two days ago.”

“Then…”

“He killed someone I cared about.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It happened a long time ago.”

She licked her cracked lips. “Was it a woman?”

“Yes. My fiancée.”

“Oh.”

“His men grabbed her from the street because the bastard chose her to be his next wife.” Eli glanced at Caroline. “She wasn’t strong like you. She lasted two days in the room, then agreed to marry him. After a month, she managed to escape.”

He took a long breath, hardly able to believe he was telling her this. But he couldn’t seem to stop. “Then I got the call. She was missing, and I found her not far from our ranch, in a ditch, strangled to death.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” Caroline touched his arm. “Why isn’t Buford in jail?”

“The police couldn’t prove anything. It was her word against theirs, and there was no evidence Ginny was ever in the compound. They never found a secret room like Ginny said there was.”

“Ginny was her name?”

He swallowed, struggling with his emotions. “Yes.”

“Since Buford is free, I’m assuming they couldn’t prove he killed her, either.”

“No. There wasn’t one shred of evidence, but the FBI were able to close down his camp. He just moved on to these hills, terrorizing other women.”

“I don’t understand how that could happen,” Caroline said. “Why hasn’t the law done something?”

“They will this time. Buford screwed up by kidnapping a congressman’s daughter.”

“I’ve hated that title most of my life. Today it feels good.” Her gaze swung to the road. “My parents are probably very worried.”

“Yes. Your father has posted a big reward for any information leading to your whereabouts.”

“How is Colin, my fiancé, taking this?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything about him.”

She bit her lip. “We were having problems. He wanted to get married right away and I didn’t. Now I can’t remember exactly why I was against it. At thirty, a woman should be ready to get married.” She paused. “Are you married?”

“No.”

“I’ll be glad to see Colin.” She glanced at Eli. “Thanks to you, I will.”

“I’m just doing my job, ma’am.”

Blood trickled down the side of his face into his beard. She reached out with her bandaged hand to touch it.

“You’ve scraped your face.”

He wished she wouldn’t keep doing that—touching him. He had to keep this on a professional level, and when she touched his skin, he found that difficult. All he had to do, though, was close his eyes and see Ginny’s face, and everything was fine.

“It’s nothing,” he murmured, trying not to pull away.

She let it drop and he was glad. His arm was on fire, but he couldn’t let her see he was in pain.

“It’s early, but the FBI is patrolling this road, so someone should be by soon.”

She studied her bandaged hands. “I probably won’t see you again after they arrive.”

“Probably not.”

“I want to thank you again for getting me out of that place.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “As I said, it’s my job.”

“But you did it for Ginny, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” he admitted. “That bastard deserves to be put away for what he did to her and probably many other girls.”

Caroline put both arms around his neck and hugged him. “Thank you, Eli.”

Dammit. Did she have to keep doing that? He closed his eyes, but he couldn’t see Ginny. That scared him. It was the first time that had happened. He was just exhausted physically and mentally, he told himself. He had to hold on to Ginny, but all he could see and feel was Caroline Whitten.