Ryder Policy Read online

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  * * *

  Chapter Seven

  Two jeeps were visible from where Hudson squatted low to the ground. He scanned the area critically. He looked back over his shoulder and waved a hand, motioning Simetra towards him. She moved silently through the trees. Hudson opened the vehicle door; he slipped inside. It had been a long time since he had hotwired a car.

  With meticulous precision he manipulated the wires until the roar of an engine sounded. He hurried out of the jeep. Ryder began to cry. Simetra shushed her, but the baby's howling increased in tempo. Hudson flew back and smashed against the jeep's open driver side door when a bullet ripped through the upper flesh of his left arm. Simetra screamed and spun, dropping to the ground to shield the baby. Hudson slumped to the earth, resting halfway in the jeep and on the ground, when he was pistol whipped across his head. He never saw his attacker.

  * * * *

  “No, Terrance,” Simetra pleaded when the man raised his weapon to fire upon Hudson.

  Terrance gave her a disgusted look. “I won't kill him. If I kill a cop they'll never let me be.”

  “But killing Max didn't mean anything to you! He was your brother,” she raged back.

  “He was no brother of mine,” Terrance spat. “He was Freemont's bastard.”

  Simetra's eyes widened in stunned surprise. “That's not possible—he never said a word.”

  “I'm not going to stand here and argue with you. Put the baby in the car. Once Apollo gets what he wants he'll leave.”

  “I can't just leave her out here when no one will be watching her,” Simetra said, horrified.

  Terrance strode over to her and hauled her roughly to her feet.

  “You can better believe Apollo and Banner heard the shot. Now move or I'll kill you in front of her.”

  Shaking, Simetra kissed Ryder's head. She tucked her into the backseat of the jeep and closed the door. Sobbing heartfelt tears she moved off with the sound of Ryder's terrified howls in her ears.

  * * * *

  Hudson came to slowly. He shook his head, clearing it of the numerous cobwebs he felt had taken up residence in his brain. His arm throbbed with pain and since he landed with it over his chest he was covered in his own blood. His weapons were gone, Simetra was gone. The car was empty.

  He studied the ground. He felt overwhelming confusion. If Banner and his men had attacked him, why hadn't they just taken Simetra and the baby and left? He searched for clues. He found two sets of prints leading away from the vehicles. What was baffling was a trail of drag marks, too small to be Simetra's. Every few inches also had drops and smears of fresh blood.

  “Get up!” came a demanding voice from behind.

  Hudson rose from his squatted position, hands splayed at his sides. The action caused him to wince from the pain in his arm.

  “Turn around.” Hudson complied.

  He found himself to be staring down the barrel of Banner the Hammer's silver gun.

  “Where is she?” Apollo demanded to Hudson.

  “I don't know,” Hudson replied with confusion. His hand absently rubbed the back of his head. “I was shot, then cold-cocked. I just woke up.”

  Hudson was beyond dismayed. If these men didn't have Simetra, where the hell were she and Ryder?

  “What the hell do you mean you don't know?” Apollo demanded. His frustration and worry was apparent. “She should have been safe with you!”

  “Maybe next time you could give me the heads up I'm to babysit!” Hudson snapped. “What the heck is going on anyway? Why was she dumped out here with an infant? Why was she handed over to me? You knew I would be out here, didn't you?” The last was snapped at Banner.

  “It's a long story and we don't have time to chit chat!” Banner declared. He then turned to Apollo. “You think Terrance wised up?”

  “Hell yes! We have to move, now!”

  “What do we do with him?” one of the men asked, motioning towards Hudson.

  Apollo appeared to size him up. “Can you walk?” he asked.

  Hudson nodded his head affirmative. “I can track too.”

  “Then get busy. If we don't find them soon Terrance will kill them for sure,” Banner claimed.

  * * * *

  Hudson continued to follow the trail. The drag marks veered off at a juncture in the woods then stopped altogether, and he assumed an animal must have captured something and taken off with it. Farther up the trail he determined Simetra's steps were a mix of stumbling and drag marks. Terrance must have been pulling her along to hurry her.

  “She's fighting him,” Hudson declared. He came to a halt.

  “How can you tell?” Apollo asked.

  “See here?” He pointed to the ground. “There was a scuffle, he must have hit her and she went down here, where the vegetation is crushed. She came up and lunged at him and they both went down over here. There are more struggling signs, like perhaps they exchanged blows. There's blood, he must have hurt her. He's back to pulling her along. Damn!”

  Apollo was staring at Hudson with a concerned look. The same idea occurred to both men at the same time.

  “If she is fighting him she must not have the baby in her arms,” Apollo said.

  Apollo looked back down the trail. Hudson followed his gaze, his heart hit his belly. The drag marks, what he had thought was an animal could have been Ryder being carried off by something. The urge to run back down the hill was overwhelming. He didn't know what to do. He knew Simetra was in danger, he knew someone, probably Terrance, had her. But what if he was wrong? What if Simetra did have Ryder and he raced off for nothing?

  “Banner, take one of the men and go back to the marks that veered off. See if it's my baby,” Apollo said quietly.

  Banner and another moved off.

  “So you really do believe Ryder is yours?” Hudson asked.

  “I know she's mine. And I know Terrance murdered Max. That's why I came back,” Apollo replied. He then began to move off.

  * * * *

  Simetra continued to kick and punch at Terrance. She howled out vile filthy words she had never before used in her life. Terrance finally tossed her to the ground when they reached the top of a large hill. She landed painfully, but took great satisfaction in the blood dripping down the man's nose and over his lips. The back of his wrist slid across his face, smearing his blood across his cheek and he swore at her. His breath was coming in heaving gasps.

  “You'll pay for that, you bitch,” he sneered.

  “Haven't I paid enough?” she screamed back. “You murdered my husband!”

  “Your husband was a coward. He killed himself!” Terrance shouted.

  Simetra didn't believe him. Her eyes centered hatefully upon him. “You're a dirty liar.”

  Terrance knelt to one knee before her; he snatched at her hair and pulled her close with his painful grip. She winced, but refused to cry out.

  “Oh, I held the gun. I told him I would kill you and the brat if he didn't sign over everything to me. But he wouldn't. Not until I told him he was really Freemont's bastard and Apollo was his half-brother. I told him all about how you and Apollo had been together. He didn't believe me at first, but in the end he knew Ryder wasn't his.”

  “Ryder is Max's,” Simetra ground out through gnashed teeth.

  “Poor Max. He was so hurt. He signed everything over to me, and in his anguish he killed himself.”

  “You lie!” she screamed.

  “It's the truth. And now in your deep anguish for causing the death of your beloved husband, you're going to throw yourself off this cliff.”

  Horrified, Simetra looked deeply into his crazed eyes. “You're insane.”

  “You've lost everything. Your husband, your baby. There's no reason to go on,” he said, as though trying to convince her.

  Simetra grew furious. Anger bubbled to the surface like boiling lava and she exploded. She smashed her fist into his nose once more. Terrance howled and tried to jump back, but his h
and was ensnared within her long hair. She clawed at his eyes, leaving jagged streaks of erupting blood on his face. Terrance struggled to remove his weapon from the back of his belt.

  Simetra would have none of that. This coward was going to fight fair, without a weapon. She bit him hard on his chest and he screamed in agony. His arm wrapped around her neck. She gave a vicious yank to his ear. He finally freed himself from her brutalizing assault and threw her to the ground. Terrance whipped out his weapon and aimed. Simetra jumped to her feet.

  “Go ahead!” she bellowed, she was unafraid of the coward before her. “Explain how I jumped from a cliff in grief with a bullet in me! You will never get your hands on that money; you will never get your hands on my baby, never!”

  The two of them were perched precariously close to the edge of the high hilltop. A sinister gleam entered Terrance's eyes. He lunged for her, arms outstretched to shove her. Simetra dropped into a crouch and her hip smashed into his knees. Terrance stumbled, recovered, and then turned; his feet began to slip out from under him. His arms flailed for a brief moment, but the ground gave way beneath him.

  Simetra saw his eyes widen in terrified surprise as he dropped in a surreal motion until he was gone from her sight. He fell to his death screaming while discharging his weapon. Simetra ducked as the gun boomed, the sound a rapid loud popping. She lay curled within a tight ball, her hands covering over her head, and she heard at last a sickening, thudding crunch. Terrance screamed no more, the gun ceased firing.

  She was suddenly hauled to her feet where Hudson crushed her against him. She clung to him, crying.

  “He was going to kill me,” she sobbed.

  “It's all right,” Hudson soothed.

  Simetra abruptly released him. She looked past him to Apollo, who was watching the scene before him. He looked sad to her. She noticed the other men, Banner and another, approaching them.

  “Where's Ryder?” she whispered. Hudson gazed down at her with concern. A cold chill rose up her spine.

  Apollo looked to Banner, who shook his head. “No trace.”

  “Hudson, she was in the back of the jeep,” Simetra whimpered. She clutched at his shirt, eyes wild, bunching her hands into the material as though willing him to produce her child.

  “There were two sets of tracks, Simetra,” Hudson began gently. “Somehow, Ryder must have gotten out of the vehicle and followed you. I hadn't noticed it before, but it was her crawling and dragging her knees and feet along the ground that confused me. The tracks just stopped. The crawling ended. I'm so sorry, Simetra. I don't know what happened to her.”

  Simetra felt the blood drain from her face; she threw back her head and screamed. Her encompassing despair sent her to her knees. Hudson dropped with her, as her hold on his clothing remained; he rocked her back and forth while she cried her misery. Apollo came forward.

  Simetra watched him approach through her tears. She stumbled up. With renewed vigor, her wrath spurring her on, she ran past him to throw herself at Banner.

  “You did this!” she raged. “You killed my baby. You left us out here!”

  Banner held her wrists while she struggled to hit at him; he remained expressionless.

  “It was my fault,” came Apollo's deep voice.

  Simetra stilled. Her devastated expression settled onto him. She ceased her assault on Banner.

  “Why?” she asked, her pained voice caused the man to wince.

  “Terrance was after you both for the money. I knew he had killed Max. I needed you away while we took care of...things,” he replied somewhat evasively. He cast a glance towards Hudson.

  Simetra yanked herself from Banner's grasp. Glaring, she strode towards Apollo. He didn't flinch when the palm of her hand connected to his cheek. She backed away, her narrowed eyes settling onto him with loathing. Turning abruptly, she raced down the hill. She could hear Hudson yelling for her. She didn't pause; she had to know what happened to Ryder.

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  * * *

  Chapter Eight

  Simetra barreled down the hill, her terror urging her forth. She knew her baby had to be alive, she knew it in her heart. She came to the fork in the path where she noted the drag marks Hudson had mentioned. He was right; they had come to an abrupt halt. Judiciously scanning the area and spying something under a wooden log, Simetra cried out. It was one of Ryder's shoes. She sobbed and held it to her breasts, breasts that were full and aching with the need of blessed release. Ryder must be starving, she thought.

  Slowly she ventured further. She found another little rubber soled running shoe. Her tears cascaded down her cheeks to drip from her chin. The tiny blue overalls Ryder had worn came next. They were tattered and smeared in a large amount of tacky-feeling blood.

  One by one, the babe's other clothing followed: her little blue sweater, a light blue sock, a torn denim jacket, also covered in a large amount of blood. The items piled up in her shaking arms as she crushed them to her heaving breasts. Her stomach lurched and she battled to breathe. She felt large hands on her shoulders.

  “She's out there, Hudson. I know she is out there.” She lifted a hand to rest it momentarily on his. With resolve, she moved further.

  Ever cautious, she peered into the foliage, bracing herself to be witness to one of the worst images of her life. Each step sounded like thunder to her ears, each breath she inhaled ached. Still, she struggled further with a mother's determination, her surroundings barely visible through her wall of tears. She bent forward into a crouch. The imprint of her child's one tiny foot was visible in the thick wet muck.

  “Ryder?” she sobbed out in a hard gasp.

  “Ma, ma,” she thought she heard, or was it just the wind and hopeful wishing?

  Simetra stumbled into a small clearing. Her hand flew to her mouth; Ryder's clothing tumbled from her arms. Before her was the most amazing sight she had ever beheld. A massive buck stood not more than five feet before her. His head held high, he was watching her, unafraid. She felt Hudson try to pull her back, but she shrugged him off. She had thought she had heard her baby; nothing was going to stop her now, nothing. She swallowed hard over the lump in her throat. With a surreal movement she moved closer to the massive animal.

  The buck allowed her approach; his fine ears flickered, his nose twitched. When she could have reached out to touch him, he moved past her with purpose to disallow the approach of the men trailing her. She watched as his regal head dipped to threaten with his impressive antlers. She saw both Hudson and Apollo still any weapons.

  Simetra moved on alone. She could feel each individual thump of her heart as she moved around the buck. Standing behind the buck was a large doe. She remained peaceful, even though she was nursing her fawn. Her body shifted ever so faintly. Standing slightly back behind the doe were two little brown legs, another half hidden fawn, thought Simetra.

  But the muck-soaked leg bent at the knee and lifted. At the bottom of the ankle was a foot, not a hoof. Tiny toes wiggled. It was Ryder. She was holding onto the doe's flank for balance. Her almost completely unclad body was pressed next to the warm animal. Her head peeked around the doe's back leg at Simetra's surprised exclamation.

  “Ma, ma.”

  Simetra moved as though in a dream towards her baby. One kick from the doe and Ryder would be gone forever, although Simetra sensed she was in no danger—the doe remained motionless. She dropped down onto a knee; Ryder released the doe and took two wobbly steps towards her, grinning with her accomplishment. Simetra reached over and pulled Ryder into her embrace. Through her tears she looked up into the doe's eyes as it looked around to study her.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  She bundled the babe in her coat and silently moved away. Once more the buck allowed her to pass, though it snorted disdainfully at Banner and his men. He turned his regal head, and the family of three disappeared into the bush noiselessly. Once Simetra reached Hudson, he, too, wrapped Ryder in his jacket after checking her over carefully
for cuts. He determined aloud she must have crawled over him before setting off after her mother. The blood must belong to him. Simetra concurred. She also determined Ryder must have stripped herself as she crawled along and somehow during the process she had taught herself to walk.

  Ryder was smiling. Her unclad pudgy arm waved towards the distance. There was nothing but powerful oaks to be seen. Simetra had a strange thought. Perhaps Hudson had been right all along about the Dryads, though they were decidedly still in some apparent danger. Apollo was staring at her and she was unable to discern his mood. The imprint of her hand still flared angrily upon his cheek.

  “I think it's time to take Simetra and Ryder back to safety,” Hudson said in the no-nonsense tone Simetra was becoming accustom to.

  “They're leaving, all right. But they come with us,” Apollo declared.

  With Banner waving his gun, Simetra could see Hudson had no choice but to relinquish Ryder into Apollo's arms. Apollo's hands were tender as he clasped the babe to his broad chest. He turned and motioned Simetra to follow him. Simetra did as he commanded, also having no choice; the man held her baby. She followed the men away from Hudson, and with a sad, woe-filled last look at him, she moved off down the hill to their jeep.

  * * * *

  Hudson was going crazy with worry. He had built up a blazing fire to ward off the night chill. His arm throbbed, but he ignored it. His head was spinning with his thoughts. He wondered how Simetra and the baby were faring. The look she cast as she was led away from him wanted to make him climb under a rock. With his Sig and both knives confiscated, he had been powerless against four armed men.

  He could have challenged them; he might have if he hadn't been so worried about Simetra or the baby being injured. He had promised to protect them both. He didn't feel either was in immediate danger. Granted, Apollo had them dumped out here, but he assumed it was more frantic stupidity than malice.

  He settled himself back against a log he had covered over in soft vegetation. His guts rolled. He determined when Troy came for him he would set out to Freemont's casino. He wondered if Apollo would have threatened Simetra into silence and obedience. He honestly felt that would be the case. He had no doubt Apollo had already had a paternity test done on the child.