Saving Grace (#1 in the Red Valley Series)

Chapter 16

She felt like she was smothering! God, it was hot and stuffy. She couldn't breathe, her head was splitting and her breasts ached. Grace opened her eyes to near total darkness. The only light was from a few cracks here and there. She lay there for a moment trying to get her bearings, and most of all trying to stay calm. She knew she was in a wagon and they had to be on an extremely rough road. Tentatively she reached out her hands and felt rough wood all around her.

Grace was laying on her side in the fetal position and there was no way she could stretch her legs out. She must be in a wooden crate. Panic began to set in, and her heart began to pound. It took everything she had to keep from screaming for help and beating on the walls of the crate. "Breathe Grace." She whispered to herself blocking out her pain and discomfort.

"Did you cover our tracks?" Grace heard Jeremiah ask someone and her blood froze. She had somehow forgotten about him. Or maybe she just wanted to believe that she had imagined seeing him sitting behind Henry's desk. Wait. What was he doing sitting behind Henry's desk anyway? She tried to take a deep breath so she could think, but the way she was laying in the crate made that impossible.

"What about that diner owner? Aren't you worried that he'll talk to the sheriff or her husband?" She heard a man ask.

Jeremiah laughed, and Grace began to shiver despite the hot stuffy air in the crate. "That stupid son of a bitch isn't going to be talking to anyone, ever." It was all she could do to hold in her gasp. She didn't like Henry, but she certainly didn't want him dead. After all, he had given her a job and let her rent the room above the diner. She could hear the men talking but only caught a few words here and there. So far she had only heard two different men speak; maybe it was just the two of them. It would be a lot easier to escape from two men then three or more.

The thundering of hooves could be heard approaching the wagon and Grace prayed it was Cole coming to rescue her. But her heart fell when she heard the horse pull up, and the rider speak to Jeremiah. Tears fell unchecked and she brought her hand up to cover her mouth as she listened to the conversation.

"Boss! Boss!" The new man said.

"What's wrong Clyde?" Jeremiah demanded. "Are we being followed?"

"No Boss. I did like you said. I got the other wagon and drove it around in circles then I drove it into the river and left it. But that's not what I was going to tell you. I saw him!"

"Saw who?" His boss asked.

"I saw that Indian, the one she's married to. I don't know how but he was on your trail, hard too, but I got him Boss!" Clyde said excitedly; practically bouncing off his horse.

"What in the hell are you talking about?"

"When I saw him, I hid behind the big boulders at the top of the ridge about three miles out of town. As soon as I got him in my sights, I fired off a shot and I hit him too. He fell right out of the saddle." Clyde told him proudly.

"How do you know it was the Indian?" Jeremiah asked skeptically.

"He was wearing all black and he's the only one Frank and I saw around town that dresses that way."

Grace couldn't breathe. Her world felt like it was closing in on her. Oh God, Cole! Cole was dead!! Blake was going to be all alone, an orphan. NO! NO! NO! She would not believe that Cole was dead, not until she saw his body. She wasn't dead yet either. Anne and Andy would take care of Blake until she could get back to Red Valley, and she would get back to her son and her husband.

All she had to do was find a way to stay alive and kill this bastard. She needed to conserve her energy. Grace cleared her mind and closed her eyes shutting out everything. That was something Cole had said to her more than once. You have to shut down your emotions so you can think clearly. She took as deep a breath as she could and tried to listen to everything that was being said. She needed to know where she was going so she would know how to get back.