Yanking the blade from the meat of his shoulder, I wiped it clean on his shirt. Getting skewered by an axe was a dramatic injury, but I’d made sure it wouldn’t be a lasting one. Nothing some antiseptic and stitches wouldn’t heal in a few weeks.Hopefully from the inside of a prison cell.
Stuffing the first wad of cotton into Ben’s mouth, I dragged him over to the closest tree, braided the second strip of fabric around his wrists, and then tied them behind the trunk.
It wouldn’t hold him for long, but I only needed it to hold him for long enough.
Standing, I turned to tackle my next hurdle: the woman going into shock.
Making sure to keep myself between her and Ben, I approached her slowly, my hands raised in aI mean no harmgesture.
“Sarah, are you okay?” I asked. “I need to know if you’re hurt at all,” I said, but with no more success. “It’s okay now. No one is going to hurt you. We’re going to get you out of here.”
I must’ve gotten close enough to pull her out of her stupor, because she jerked and stammered, “What ... What ...” And then turned pale.Pass-out pale.
Shit.
I reached for her, guiding her to the ground before she took herself there. “You’re all right. We’re going to get you out of here, okay? Lara and I.”
“Calder!”
I stiffened and turned as Lara came through the trees, her wide eyes raking over the wreckage and stopping on Ben tied to the tree, blood trailing down his arm.
“He’s alive, just unconscious,” I informed her. “But we have to go before Matthew comes back.”
“I don’t—I don’t understand what’s happening,” Sarah murmured, her head swaying like it was about to become untethered.
Lara beelined for her, crouching and taking her shoulders and turning her toward the light.
I leaned close and murmured just her for ears, “She’s in shock. Trent hit her, and Matthew and Ben came to escort him off the retreat, but Ben got violent. He beat up Trent, and when Matthew stepped in and took Trent away, Ben tried to assault her.”
Lara nodded somberly, her eyes narrowing on the wounded woman. “Did Dr. Julia give you another smoothie, Sarah?”
Damn. How had I missed that?
Sarah nodded weakly. “She said it would make me not nervous ... for the change. But then I didn’t want to, and she said I had to. That I needed it.” Now that she was talking more, I could hear the alterationin her voice. “I signed and ... and then when I told Trent ... he hit me ...”
“Okay. It’s okay now. You’re okay now.” Lara blew out an exhale, and I could feel her anger pulsing underneath. “We’re going to get out of here, okay?”
Sarah nodded again.
“Good. You’re doing good.”
Releasing her, Lara turned to me and lowered her voice. “How are we going to get out of here?”
“The highway is less than five miles. I’ll call my brother to pick us up.”
“I don’t think she can walk five miles.” She glanced over her shoulder, catching Sarah just as she swayed. “Not the way she is.”
My jaw locked, my eyes darting around. “All right. Stay with her. I’ll be right back.”
This time, I knew she’d listen.
I moved much faster knowing Ben was restrained and Matthew was busy dealing with Trent. I doubted the beating Ben had given him was part of their plan, so Matthew was likely consulting with Maxwell on what to do.Who would probably call Adam.
I cut a direct path to Maxwell’s RV and saw the ATV parked by the door, Trent still lying across the back. In the shuttered windows of the RV, I made out two shadows: one still and one moving.
They were in crisis mode. We didn’t have much time.
The rain had worked itself down to a drizzle. Just enough to disguise my determined stride over to the ATV. Lifting the seat, I found a small maintenance toolbox and pulled out a screwdriver from the bag.