Chapter 13 #2
“There, see?” Kevin said. “I think it might be a good idea to bring Anita along too. She and Bonnie can patch Robert, Jeff, and Hunter up if they need it.”
“They have Joel too,” Bonnie said.
“Oh, right, of course, and him too,” Kevin said. He exchanged looks with Andrew and Michael.
“What is it?” Bonnie asked.
“That notebook you found in the tent. You gave it with the bomb to Troy, and he’s been reading it.
It sounds like there might be a plan to spy on us.
It’s all very vague, but there is a hint of something, and so we’re being a lot more cautious,” Kevin said.
“We’re not sure who to trust apart from certain people who couldn’t possibly be in cahoots with El Aguila. ”
“He’s sneaky, and he might have found a way in,” Andrew said.
“What does that have to do with Joel?” Bonnie asked.
“We don’t know,” Kevin said. “Most likely nothing since he’s been captured too.”
“That point is moot,” Kyle said. “I’ll have the horses ready at dawn. We all had better get some sleep.”
Bonnie slept soundly despite her concern for Jeff. She was exhausted and nothing could keep her awake. She dreamed of holding him, of the time they’d spent together in the last week or so, and how much she had longed to be with him through all the months of letters that had passed between them.
When she woke, she dressed quickly and was soon back in the saddle. This time she was on the back of a mare named Strawberry. Despite her inexperience, she was a little more confident than she had been before, and the ride out wasn’t onerous even though her muscles were still terribly sore.
Anita rode beside her, at the back of the troupe.
Considering how long it had taken Bonnie to find Unity, she expected it would take ages to find the campsite. Somehow, within a couple of hours, they were at the place where things had gone so wrong.
“You wait here,” Kevin said to her and Anita, and once again, Bonnie was left with the horses as the men went around the rocky outcropping and vanished from view.
“Oh no,” Bonnie said, shaking her head. “I’m not sitting here while things happen without me. Not this time.”
She climbed down from the saddle and, pulling the pistol she had borrowed from her belt, went after the men.
“Wait!” Anita called. “You can’t seriously want to go!”
“Actually, I do,” Bonnie said. “I ran away when Jeff needed me. I’m not doing that again.”
Anita came running after her. “Bonnie, please! Think about it! This is too dangerous!”
Bonnie rounded the outcropping and stopped dead in her tracks. Anita almost ran into her but also stopped and stared.
“Where are they?” Anita asked.
All Bonnie could do was stare at the place where she was certain that Jeff had been. She had thought he would be there, just waiting for her and the others to save him. Where was he? Where were all the bandits?
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Where are they?”
Kevin spotted her and Anita and came striding over. “We missed them,” he said, sounding only a little disappointed. “It’s not too bad though. We’re guessing they left yesterday. If we hurry, we can find them.”
“Okay, Kyle found the trail,” Andrew called. “Mount up!”
Bonnie and Anita hurried to their horses, and soon they were galloping across the grassland.
The bandits had left a wide trail to follow, and as the day wore on and the sky grew dark with clouds, Bonnie began to hope that they would find Jeff soon.
She couldn’t stand another night not knowing if he was alive, dead, or hurt. It was all too much.
At some point, they had to stop when it seemed that some of the bandits had turned one way and the others another. There was much debate about which way to go, and eventually it was decided by a coin toss to follow the original direction. Bonnie could only pray it was the right choice.
That afternoon, it rained heavily. After a hot day with the sun baking down on them, Bonnie was grateful for the moisture on her sunburned skin. She felt like she cooled down and didn’t even bother finding shelter. They all rode on during the storm, which passed quickly.
But now the trail was muddled and confused. Kyle, Kevin, Michael, and Andrew all walked on foot, looking for signs.
“This way!” Michael called after checking something on the ground. “It looks like one of our men had the forethought to leave us a little present.” It was a strip of flannel shirt stuck on a bush.
To Bonnie, it looked like Jeff’s shirt. Had he torn it on purpose, or was it simply a happy coincidence? She didn’t care. It was a clue to where he was, and she thanked God they had spotted it.
Bonnie was convinced that she would see Jeff any moment. Before long, she would have her husband back.
They rode on into the night until they were too exhausted to continue and had to make camp. In the morning, they set off again early.
By now, Bonnie was quite worried. How long would the bandits keep their prisoners alive? Why were they keeping them alive anyway? It seemed ridiculous to assume that state of affairs would continue indefinitely.
She began to dread each rise that they crested, fearing that they might stumble upon the bodies of the men lying dead on the ground. She didn’t tell anyone this, but Anita seemed to pick up on her worry.
“We’re closing in,” Anita said with a certainty that Bonnie didn’t share. “Kevin says this is the clearest trail that the bandits have ever left.”
And that was another worry. What was El Aguila planning? Everyone seemed to have forgotten that he was such a sly blackguard. Everyone, that is, but Bonnie. She worried they were rushing into another trap.