Now Owen urged his horse forward, and Jack followed. At some point they’d have to get off the animals. The area was stony and treacherous, and the horses could slip on the rocks. He’d left Nathan behind at the ranch to wait with Robert and Terra’s father for an ambulance and backup. Jack had grabbed some climbing gear from Nathan’s vehicle, just in case the helicopter dropped in a precarious place on the mountain.

He urged Lilly up and forward, behind Owen’s horse on the trail. “How much farther?”

“I’d say a mile,” Owen said. “I can’t be sure about the location of the crash.”

“I heard it go down.”

Anguish filled Owen’s voice. “I was in the barn looking for a potential weapon when I saw him drawing her out to the helicopter and forcing her on. I shouted and ran after them, but I don’t think Marcus heard me over the rotor wash.” Owen slowed his horse to a stop, then got off. “I think we’re headed the right way. Let’s go in on foot now. The horses could twist an ankle.”

Jack got off Lilly and handed the reins to Owen, who simply dropped the lead ropes to the ground. “I’m leaving them ground tied in case we need them. They’re trained to wait unless otherwise directed, and they’ll come to me on command. Now, let’s go get my sister.”

Jack appreciated that Owen spoke about her as if she was still alive.

Just hang in there, Terra . . . We’re coming.

Jack and Owen hurried through the trees, their flashlights set to wide angles. Despite his prosthetic, Owen appeared to keep up with Jack just fine, though Jack was moving slower because of his injury. The bright eyes of wild animals reflected back to him now and then. Jack’s panicked gasps for breath echoed around him, along with his own footfalls.

The pain in his arm stabbed through him, and he stumbled as Owen moved ahead of him. The pain didn’t matter. Only Terra mattered—and getting to that dirtbag Marcus Briggs, or rather, Tony Gray.

Owen slowed. “I see the helo up ahead. Looks like the rotors separated from the fuselage. One’s stuck in a tree. The good news is, the fuselage appears relatively intact. I’m betting the trees slowed the descent, but then he wasn’t able to pull up at the last moment to land using the autorotation maneuver.”

Jack huffed. “English, please.”

“It was still a hard landing, and they could be injured or dead. I suggest a slow approach because he could still be dangerous. Oh, right, you wanted me to speak English. I’m saying he could put a bullet in both of us.”

Jack readied his gun, and Owen did the same. They spread out, each approaching the helicopter from opposite sides, Jack sending prayers up for Terra’s safety.