Chapter Three #2
Jayce didn’t see how she could possibly get lost, no matter how overgrown the trail was. The horse she rode had made this trip dozens of times. But the sheik was a guest, and he must care a great deal about his sister, considering how much trouble he’d gone to, to bring her along.
Malika rode a full ten minutes in silence, mostly because she still refused to speak to her brother, but also because she appeared to be thinking, which wasn’t ominous at all.
“Why let that man go off by himself if Adam is going to guide him to his car anyway?” she asked, finally breaking her silence.
Because it would take twenty to thirty minutes for the Rohypnol Adam had slipped into the orange juice to take effect.
Then he’d find the scientist, load him onto his horse, lead the horse down the mountain, and drive him to where he’d left his car.
He’d wake up with no idea how he’d gotten there, only that he’d been alone when he lost track of time.
Adam had planted the heatstroke seed to explain any memory gaps by mentioning he could use a drink and a meal, and how warm the day was.
But Jayce couldn’t explain any of that. Most people wouldn’t understand the importance of keeping Burning Scrub a secret.
Its clients paid enormous fees for a unique experience—clients like Sheik Ali—and the revenue was used to fund any number of social programs across Beaverhead County.
A casino and a few car dealerships too, as well as one or two real estate ventures.
Adam was simply doing most of Montana a favor.
“Adam didn’t want to embarrass him any more than he already is,” Jayce said. “Only an out-of-stater gets lost in the mountains.”
*
Malika
An out-of-stater sounded like a very bad thing to be.
Perhaps that was why Adam had slipped something into his drink. Malika wondered if Adeel had noticed it too. If so, he said nothing about it. Since she was still angry with him, she wouldn’t draw it to his attention.
Besides, there was no need for her to worry about the out-of-stater who had earned the cowboys’ contempt. Vanessa Hanson was too lovely to be involved in a murder.
She couldn’t have known about her kidnapping either, Malika decided. That was all on Adeel. But Vanessa might make an excellent ally. All Malika had to do was slip away from the theme park when no one was looking, follow the trail to the Ride No More Ranch, then plead with her for help.
The possibility perked up her spirits, which had begun to flag with every mile of civilization they left behind. The road they were on had abandoned any claim to the name a long time ago. It was little more than an overgrown trail, strewn with rock and large chunks of deadwood.
But if the quirky, lost little out-of-stater who’d overpacked could survive on the mountain for what must have been weeks, then Malika, who had nothing to carry, could manage a downhill trek on a trail for no more than a day.
She had nothing to carry.
Another reason to be enraged with Adeel.
Her meagre belongings, already pared down to absolute essentials, had been left behind.
There had better be shops in Burning Scrub where she could purchase necessities to tide her over until she made her escape, or she’d add this further outrage to the long list of things he was going to live to regret.
She could no longer bear the sight of her brother. She turned to her other travel companion, who remained an enigma, and amused herself by trying to figure him out.
The handsome cowboy who didn’t know how to flirt was nothing at all like his sweet mother, except in appearance.
Vanessa was gracious and charming, whereas a thundercloud hung over her son’s morose head.
What did he have to be so gloomy about? His family owned land.
He hadn’t been kidnapped. He wasn’t about to be forced into an unwanted marriage. Or was he?
Perhaps that was it. Was he the great-granddaughter’s groom? If so, why was the marriage undesirable to him? Was the bride poor? Worse, was she ugly? Malika couldn’t imagine this beautiful man married to someone less attractive than he was. What a shame for their children.
At least the upcoming wedding wasn’t hers.
Except now, she had no idea as to why Adeel would insist on her being here.
He could have left her in Butte under the care of his bodyguards.
While he might not approve of the way she and Jamal flirted, ultimately, he knew it was harmless.
He also knew that if he’d instructed his bodyguards to make sure she stayed in the hotel until his return, then she could not have escaped them.
He’d hired them because they were the best.
Burning Scrub was her last hope.
*
Two hours later, with the afternoon almost done and the waning sun peeking in and out of the trees, her hope and her spirits began to flag once again.
The trail widened, once more becoming a road.
It fed into what must be the main street, identifiable mostly because a sign dangling from a weathered and gray wooden post proclaimed it as such.
A second sign welcomed visitors to the town of Burning Scrub, population 36, a number Malika believed to be overstated.
The ghost town that morning had shown more signs of life.