“Where’s your rifle?”Adam barked, because the man didn’t have one on him, which proved scientists might be book smart, but common sense wasn’t necessarily a chapter they read.
“Don’t need one.I have bear repellent.Besides, I know how to read bears.I did my PhD dissertation on the migratory habits of the North American brown bear in the Alberta Rockies.”
Dear god.Not only a scientist but a Canadian.Those crazy Canucks didn’t believe in the right to bear arms.Somehow, he’d circled around to the Ride No More land without falling off a cliff or drowning in a creek, or getting eaten by bears, proving miracles did happen.
Jayce exchanged a long look with Adam.They’d have to steer him away from the old access road because they couldn’t have him blundering into Burning Scrub by mistake.
“You feeling okay?That’s a heavy load you’re carrying.You need to be careful of overexertion in this heat,” Adam said, even though the day wasn’t unusually warm.
He reached into his saddlebag, dug around for a moment, and withdrew a bottle of juice.
He gave it a good shake, then unscrewed the cap before offering the bottle to the man.“This should tide you over until you get back to civilization.You look like you could use a good meal too, but I can’t help you there.”
“Thanks.I am a bit dry.I’ve got some energy bars left, but I ran out of water this morning, and I didn’t want to risk drinking from a stream.Beaver fever is nasty.I was headed back to Butte for supplies when I got lost.”
The man downed the bottle’s contents in a few long, thirsty gulps.Adam took the empty bottle from him and stowed it away.
The man wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.“If you could point me in the right direction, I’d be eternally grateful.”
Adam pointed in the direction the man came from.“Your GPS has you turned backward.”
The man thanked them again, waved, and headed off.He whistled as if he didn’t have a care in the world.The whistling and his loud thrashing around in the underbrush were intended to alert any bears in the area of his presence, because in theory, they’d avoid human contact.The problem with the theory was that it was only as good as a bear’s previous meal.
“I’ll give him a head start, then make sure he ends up at his car, safe and sound,” Adam said to Jayce.“You go on ahead with our guests.”
Jayce didn’t want to go on ahead with their guests.He’d rather help the scientist back to his car, but Adam was more experienced at relocation, so he didn’t argue.Besides, Side-eye was too skittish to be of much use in carrying dead weight.
Side-eye had settled enough now for Jayce to remount though, so Jayce mumbled agreement to Adam—he didn’t dare say what he really thought—then put his toe in the stirrup and swung into the saddle.
“I’ll take the lead,” Sheik Ali said, in the careless way a man who was used to being obeyed gave commands.“I know the way.You will ride with Malika and make sure she doesn’t get lost.”
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 soundedlike 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.
