Seconds later, with Wolfe at his side, Kane sped through town and out into the pale moonlight. He glanced at the glistening blacktop, the recent wash from the salt spreader holding back the ice. “What’s the latest on the road conditions? Can we get through at speed?”
“Checking now.” Wolfe scrolled through his phone. “Yeah, the salt spreader went through at seven. Road is clear to Blackwater, maybe ice patches before dawn. We’re good to go. No snow forecast until late tomorrow.”
“Roger that.” Kane flicked on lights and sirens and stepped on the gas. “ETA?”
“Forty minutes at sixty.” Wolfe turned to look at him. “So I’m guessing twenty.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t hold back on my account.”
“Good to know.” Kane blew through town in seconds. “But tighten your seatbelt, the ice patches are unpredictable.”
Stanton Forest and the houses scattered along the opposite side of the road flashed by in a blur of light and dark. He slowed to take the on-ramp to the highway and hit the blacktop doing seventy. Ahead it seemed as if every eighteen-wheeler trucker had the same idea as them, getting to the next town before the next snowstorm. He’d been in law enforcement for some time and he’d never yet had an eighteen-wheeler give way to lights and sirens. Looking ahead down the straightaway, he pushed the Beast to one hundred and ten to overtake the convoy of vehicles. His truck picked up at once, engine roaring like an angry lion, and they passed six vehicles before the next sweeping bend came rushing up.
Kane said nothing and kept his eyes fixed on the road as the miles ticked by, but his mind was playing and replaying different scenarios of finding Jenna. Would she be alive, badly injured, or bleeding out? “How much longer?”
“Ten.” Wolfe held up his phone as calm as if he were at home sitting in his armchair. “Show me what you’ve got, Dave. We need to get to her fast. We don’t know what shape she’s in and it’s below zero out there.”
Remembering Wolfe would have executed hair-raising stunts as a combat chopper pilot, Kane glanced at him and focused back on the road. Another convoy was moving at speed ahead, nose to tail like elephants in a circus, headlights piercing the darkness in a tunnel of light. He slowed a little but kept a good distance from the last truck to enable the burst of speed he needed to pass seven eighteen-wheelers at once. “When the road straightens out again, I’ll pass them. I hope the road is clear.”
Of course, headlights came around the bend in the distance but as the trucks turned, he spotted a gap. “Hang on.”
He slammed his foot on the gas and the truck’s engine roared. He waited until the last second before pulling out. Flying past one truck, two, three as the lights on the other side of the road grew larger and horns blared, he kept his foot flat to the floor. As he passed the fourth truck, he hit the brakes and in a scream of tires the Beast drifted sideways into the gap. He hit the gas again and wheels spinning leapt forward almost rear-ending the vehicle in front of him. Horns blasted all around him as the eighteen-wheeler in the other lane sped by in a rush of wind. Kane eased out to look, and finding the way clear, pulled out again. The Beast’s hood seemed to lift as the tires gained traction and they shot past the remaining three vehicles.
Ahead, the glistening blacktop snaked out before him, a black line through snow-covered lowlands. The moonlight shone intermittent between the gathering clouds changing the snow packed scenery into every shade of gray. Traffic coming in the other direction blinded him with their headlights but he followed the road, watching the signposts flash by. “How much longer?”
“There should be a sweeping bend ahead. At the end look out for a wooded area and a road on the right. That was where Kim stopped for about ten minutes before returning home.” Wolfe turned to look at him. “I can’t see Kim overpowering Jenna. She’s a tall, strong woman but Jenna was armed and can handle herself.”
Kane slowed as they hit the sweeping bend and spotted the trees. He switched off lights and sirens before turning down the snow-covered road and following the deep grooves made by other vehicles. There was no need to advertise the fact they were there—just in case someone was standing guard over Jenna. “I’m not ruling out an accomplice. I wouldn’t put anything past that woman.”
“You may be right.” Wolfe was looking ahead. “I see a truck outside that cabin.”
Kane shook his head in dismay. “Kim told me she had a cabin but that one is posted as a hunting cabin. One of many in this designated hunting area no doubt.”
“So, we may be dealing with a hunter sheltering from the weather.” Wolfe raised one eyebrow. “Maybe we go in silent?”
Kane turned off the headlights as they rounded the bend and the small hunting cabin came into view. He turned off the engine and the truck coasted down the hill and came to rest not ten feet from a silver pickup. “Stay here.” He patted Duke on the head and slid from behind the wheel.
He edged around the other vehicle running one hand over the hood and turned to Wolfe. “It’s still warm. He must have just gotten here.”
Pressed against the rough log wall, Kane turkey-peeked through a window and it was as if he couldn’t breathe. Jenna lay on her back on a mattress on the floor, eyes closed and not moving. A man on his knees was bending over her and easing down her jeans. He heard Wolfe grunt behind him and they both ran at the door. He tried the handle. Locked. Without hesitation, he aimed a kick beside the handle and followed the shriek of splintering wood into the cabin. In two steps, his fingers closed around the man’s coat and he hurled him into the wall. He heard Wolfe crashing in behind him and the sound of fists hitting flesh but Kane’s focus was on one person—Jenna. He fell to his knees and pushed the raven hair from Jenna’s ashen face. He dragged off his gloves and searched her neck for a pulse with trembling fingers. His ice-cold fingers should have gotten a response from her. “Jenna, Jenna.”
No sign of life pulsed against his cold fingertips. Blind fury smashed into him. He stood and turned slowly to stare down at the unconscious man lying in a pile against the wall. He wanted to destroy him and started toward him fists clenched.
“Dave, forget him.” Wolfe headed toward Jenna. “Help me here.”
Kane stared after him, empty, drained of emotion. The machine had taken over again to deaden the pain. “It’s too late, she’s gone.”
Thirty
Kane paced up and down the cabin staring at the inert body of the crumpled man. He wanted him to regain consciousness so he could shake the truth out of him. He swallowed the waves of emotion crashing down over him. It was his fault Jenna had died. It was no different to when Annie died in the car bomb. Two innocents dragged into his world. If Kim hadn’t seen him fight those men or the terrorists hadn’t blown up his car, both women would be alive. He roared and punched at the cabin walls.
“Dave, get over here and help me. Now!” Wolfe had dropped to his knees and was feeling for Jenna’s pulse. He ripped open the front of her shirt. “She’s warm.” He pressed his ear to her chest. “Thank God! She’s alive but only just. Her heart is failing. What did they give you, Jenna?” He checked her eyes. “Opiate overdose. It’s not too late to reverse it. Get my bag.” He tapped Jenna’s face and gave her a shake. “Jenna, wake up. Come on, fight.”