“Robo!” She knelt, spreading her arms.
He tried to brake, but his exuberance made him thud into her chest, knocking her down. She grabbed onto him while he whined, licked her face, and wagged his whole body, snuggling as close as he could. She said his name over and over until tears choked her and all she could do was sob, amazement and joy filling her until it spilled over into the only outlet she could manage.
Robo licked her tears, and she pressed her face against his cheek and into his ruff as she hugged him close, stroking his fur, touching him to make sure he was real. Her hand came in contact with a cord, and she realized that he wore a leash clipped to his collar. Holding onto him with one arm, she tugged it toward her, recognizing the tough, nylon cord used in a retractable leash. It was frayed at the end.
He must have broken loose from someone. The guy who held her captive? Or someone else?
She used Robo’s strength and size to help her kneel, keeping him close and leaning against him. She hadn’t realized how desperately she’d been running on empty, and the fire had moved even closer. Time to run.
Robo began to bark, his front paws lifting with each effort as he faced the direction he’d come from.
Shadows of three riders materialized through the trees, and Mattie stood braced against Robo, her heart thudding with fear.
“Mattie!” She recognized Cole’s voice, making her breath catch with a sob.
He swung down from his horse and hit the ground running, closing the gap between them and gathering her into his arms. “Thank God we found you,” he breathed, his mouth against her ear.
Brody and Garrett Hartman were the other two riders, Brody shouting orders and Garrett holding Mountaineer steady while Cole made her let go of Robo so he could lift her into the saddle. He swung up behind and wrapped both arms around her, gathering the reins and nudging Mountaineer forward.
Hot wind washed over them as they headed straight across slope, trying to reach the north side of the blaze. Off balance, Mattie reeled in the saddle.
Cole steadied her, holding her against his chest and speaking close to her ear. “Did he dart you? Are you sick?”
“He did. Dizzy. Nauseous.”
Cole slowed, and Brody pulled up alongside. “We need to stop and give her the antidote.”
The typically stalwart Mountaineer danced in place, fighting the tight rein that Cole had on him and making Mattie’s vision swirl. Fiery wind blew over them and smoke filled the air. Sparks landed in trees. Robo barked.
“We don’t have time, Doc. We’ll stop as soon as we’ve beat this fire.”
“Go,” Mattie said, not wanting to endanger the others. “I’m okay.”
Cole hugged her tightly as he allowed Mountaineer to follow Garrett. “Hold on.”
She gripped Cole’s arms and stared straight forward, hoping to anchor herself to keep the swaying movement from making her sick. As they rode, the hot wind that beat against her left side gradually lessened, the air became cleaner, and then they broke into forest that appeared untouched by sparks. Soon the roar from the fire came from behind instead of sideways.
“Hold up Garrett,” Brody called, and as they came to a halt, he said to Cole, “Okay, Doc, we can take a minute now.”
Cole swung down to the ground and extracted a syringe and vial from his pocket. “Mattie, this is the antidote to the drug you were given. I already gave some to Robo and it reversed him within minutes. I can inject you with the same dose.”
“Do it.”
“Can you take this arm out of your sleeve?” Cole said as he drew the dosage into the syringe.
Mattie shrugged off the sleeve while Cole helped. Robo pranced at his feet, looking up at her. She wished she didn’t feel so weak and could get down on the ground with him. She spoke to him soothingly.
“Now lean forward so I can reach you,” Cole said. “That’s it. Little sting.”
Which was an understatement. The shot stung like a hornet as the medicine infiltrated the muscle of her upper arm.
Cole swung back up to sit behind her. “Let’s keep moving. Tell me how you’re feeling, Mattie. Keep talking to me so I know you’re all right.”
“I’ll be all right,” she said, as they moved off, Garrett leading the way.
Every thirty seconds, Cole asked her how she was feeling and after a few minutes, she could honestly say she was beginning to feel better. The trees had stopped circling in her vision, and Garrett and his horse had solidified into one image instead of morphing into double. Her nausea subsided, leaving her with a raging thirst. Cole handed her his canteen while they rode, and water had never tasted so good.
After a half hour, they reached a trail and turned to head down it.
“This is the Balderhouse trail,” Cole murmured. “Do you know it?”
“Sort of.” Then she called to Garrett. “Hold up a minute.”
Brody rode up beside.
“If this is the trail he brought me up on, I was in a cave off to the south somewhere,” she said to Brody. “It would be up where the fire started. He might still be there.”
“Do you know who he is?”
“He wore a mask, a gas mask. It distorted his voice. I couldn’t recognize him.” She had another thought. “But I might recognize the scent of his cologne if I smelled it again.”
“Great, Cobb. Your dog is rubbing off on you.” The teasing note in Brody’s words reestablished some normalcy.
“Let’s go up there and look for him.”
“You’re not going anywhere except to the doctor,” Brody said, and Cole made a sound of agreement.
“We can’t let him get away. Robo can track him.”
Brody studied her, as if taking her measure by the glow from the fire. She tried to straighten in the saddle.
“We’ll pull up here and wait for the rest of our party to come up this trail,” he said. “Then we’ll decide.”
THIRTY-THREE
There was no way Cole would let Mattie head up that mountain to go after a killer. No freakin’ way. The wind had pushed the fire southward, but still, it could shift back on them at any minute.
Sunrise glowed on the eastern horizon, providing enough light to see Mattie clearly, and she looked terrible—her pale face smeared with ash and bloodied from cuts and scratches, the whites of her eyes bloodshot, a reddened angry bruise around her neck from some type of ligature or garrote. Her voice was hoarse.
That monster must have strangled her, tortured her. When she’d taken her arm from the sleeve of her hoodie so that he could administer the injection, he’d seen abrasions at her wrist, dark splotchy bruises, and a blistered burn on her forearm.
The antidote had reversed the effects of Thianil for the most part, but occasionally he could feel a fine tremor course through her body. When he climbed down from Mountaineer and helped her dismount, she staggered as her feet hit the ground before catching her balance.
“You need to get to a doctor,” he murmured, for her ears only. He’d start with trying to convince her before bringing Brody into the picture, but if he had to ask the chief deputy to pull rank, he would. “At the very least, you’re dehydrated, and you need to be monitored for side effects from that drug.”
“I just need more water,” she said, reaching a trembling hand for the canteen. Robo pressed against her legs, looking up at her.
He handed his reins to Garrett and then led her to a small boulder a short distance from the horses. “Sit down here with Robo while we wait. I’ve got some energy bars in my pack. Do you feel like you can eat one?”